Here was the situation as it stood. We had everything we needed. We consumed them immediately and started Kanae's procedure. She would now be fully healed in 48 hours or so. We were happy. We did it. Dorth and Elma came together, and they went for the Missions they could get done quickly. Dorthaunzee finding the perfect missions, Elma acting quickly--it all led to this. Kanae's was being bathed in heavenly light, and she was being healed.

We were in happy times. Svilran went and got a fruit platter from the <Mess Hall>. Why not? This was our victory. Spending 10 Points wouldn't be so bad... Well, I knew we could use them at the Observatory, but I would rather use them on a sure thing right now... There were Heroes we had to save out there, but we also had to take care of our Heroes here...

So, we were all sitting around Kanae's bed, enjoying the fruits and just chatting.

"I gotta say, girls... We're over 300 Points in so many categories... This feels good. Thanks for your hard work," I said.

"Yes! And you two aren't too tired, right?" Svilran followed.

Elma nodded. "Actually, I rested a bit today. I think I'll be able to go out for an Auxiliary Mission or two tomorrow."

Dorth made a 'so-so' gesture. It went without saying that bringing out the tentacles so often was tiring for her.

"So what do you think you'll build next, Fainn?" Kanae asked.

"Well... I almost don't want to say it, but we're not in the worst position right now."

Svilran giggled. "It's the benefit to having so many different Point currencies."

"I want to save the Build Points for something expensive... Something like <Inventory Shrine> or the <Material Analyzer>..."

Svilran gave me a knowing nod. She knew why I was thinking about the analyzer.

"Anyway, given that we have 439 Upgrade Points, we can probably upgrade something," I said.

Svilran bit into an apple. "I think we should upgrade the <Portal> to Level 3. We need to make it so that the <Portal> makes better bodies for our Heroes. We might not be able to mitigate a Kanae-level problem, but we can most certainly prevent an Elma-level problem."

"And upgrading the <Portal> will do that? We're sure?"

"My intuition says so, yes. Even if it doesn't, it won't be terrible to try. We'll gain no matter what we do."

"That's true... Yeah, I shouldn't be so conservative now. Upgrading's probably got the nicest benefits."

I opened my screen and upgraded the <Portal> to Level 3. We were now at 403 Upgrade Points.

***

Portal Level 1->3

1. Heroic Bodies Improved.
2. Up to three additional Heroes can be dispatched to a Mission already underway.
3. Freshly Dispatched Bonus will be applied. Heroes gain a temporary +5% to basic parameters for the first hour of a Mission.

***

I whistled as I read out the new deets. "That's crazy. We actually got stuff... Item #3 seems to be good for quick elimination missions. It won't really help us on multi-day Missions."

"It's a good head start," Elma said.

"If we get a Mission to destroy the Neo-Demon, I would appreciate every bonus you could give me," Kanae said.

"Oh, boo," Svilran said with a pout. "We didn't unlock anything. Fainn unlocked so much today that I was hoping we could keep unlocking Structures!"

"We could keep upgrading," I suggested.

"Yes. I suggest upgrading the < Infirmary> to Level 3."

"Yeah, I was trying to be careful with this one earlier, but it probably wouldn't hurt, right?"

***

Infirmary Level 2->3

1. Structure Effectiveness Improved.
2. New Items added to Infirmary Store.
3. Four beds were added.
4. More lighting and decor options are available.

Unlocked Structure: [R] Alchemical Lab.

Description: A lab dedicated to making the strangest compounds known to man. Try not to blow it up.

***

"Who writes these descriptions?" I asked. "Still, we got something."

"I thought so," Svilran said. "Level 3 tends to give us new structures... Perhaps the Hero Hub follows the Rule of Three."

"You mean something good happens at increments of 3?" I looked at our heroines. "We didn't get a bonus there..."

"Never mind that, Fainn! Let's upgrade something else!"

"So, I don't want to go to Level 4, because things get really expensive at Level 4... But... I wonder what happens if we upgrade a Shrine."

"Let's try! Improve the Hero Hub!" Svilran cheered, with the other girls excitedly mimicking her.

"Let's power up the <Hero Merit Shrine>. That'll help the girls the most."

***

Hero Merit Shrine Level 1->3

1. Shrine Effectiveness Improved.

***

"Well, that's boring. I guess it's nice the girls will get to pay less for more."

"Fainn, could we upgrade the <Training Range>?" Elma asked. "I felt like it was very worthwhile."

"Yeah, sure... but we're at 281 Points right now... I'm getting a little scared, so this and the <Mess Hall> will be the last upgrades."

***

Training Range Level 1->3

1. Structure Effectiveness Improved.
2. New Targets Available

Unlocked Structure: [SR] Magic Development Range.

Description: A Training Range with functions to aid in developing magical abilities more readily.

***

"Nice, a new facility! Since the <Training Range> is locked to only affecting martial proficiencies, this Range must be the one that can affect magical proficiencies!"

Elma got excited and read my screen with me. "If this Range could give me the same epiphanies that the other one did... I could really learn a lot!"

***

Mess Hall Level 1->3

1. New Menu Items Available.
2. Heroes may use Merit to purchase Menu Items at the discretion of the Hero Hub.

Unlocked Structure: [R] Distillery Facility.

Description: An add-on Structure for producing alcohol. Don't abuse it.

***

"Oh, so we can make alcohol now? But our Menu Item already lets us buy alcohol with the Feast."

"They probably mean we have more control over the kinds of alcohol we can make... Maybe there's a machine in there that lets us make watermelon wine..." Svilran suggested.

"Well, it's another item... Girls, you have my permission. You can use your Merit to buy food if you want... I can see why they limited this. Imagine spending the Merit on food and leaving none for your Levels."

"I guess so..." Svilran smiled at the girls. "We're trusting you, okay? Be responsible with your Merit."

"Alright, we got quite a lot," I said, feeling pretty accomplished. "Good job, everyone."

We all cheered, happy that this place was becoming more and more interesting.

Kanae then spoke up, pointing out an observation she made. "Fainn, you, Svilran, and Elma seem very close."

"Huh?"

I just noticed it too. Elma was to my left and Svilran was to my right. Dorthaunzee was across the bed, on the other side of Kanae. Yeah, these two and I were really close. Elma was practically shoulder-to-shoulder with me, and Svilran's left boob was rubbing against my arm.

Yeah, we were really close.

Kanae must have smiled. "It reminds me of the couples I came across back home. Did I misunderstand?"

Svilran was beet red, and Elma was silent and looking at her fingers. Right. This was tricky because Svilran didn't necessarily want to acknowledge it... Yeah, I needed to cheat here. I went downstairs to speak with Narlivs.

"Just rip the bandage off. Svilran needs to stop letting her fears cloud her thoughts. There is nothing wrong here. The faster this is settled, the sooner Svilran can look Elma in the eye without feeling faint."

Well, that was that. That was all I needed. The girl's subconscious was giving me her blessings.

I put my arms around both girls and brought them closer. Then I put on a wide smile as I felt Svilran nervously squirm and Elma stay still.

"Actually, yeah. I'm involved with these two right now!" I said, happy. "They're the best, and I care for both of them deeply."

Svilran whimpered. "I'm sorry, Elma..."

"What? No, please don't be, Madam Goddess. I'm the one stepping on your toes--"

"No one's stepping on anyone's toes," I cut in. "We all know about each other, and I'm ready to give you girls my all. (And Narlivs, too, technically)."

Kanae giggled. "I thought so... It always made me happy to come across people who cared about each other. It was one of the small glimmers of happiness I saw in that dying world... Will you all have offspring?"

Wow, this girl was going in deep. I needed to give that one thought. Was it even possible for us? Svilran, meanwhile, whimpered and hid her face in my shirt while Elma became as still as a rock.

"Hmm, I don't know," I said. "Let's set aside that these relationships are pretty new. I'm not sure I'm actually capable of having kids anymore."

Kanae's eyes opened a little wider. "Truly? That is so sad."

Down in the Inverse, a smug Narlivs had a clarification for me. "Having children will not be a problem," she said. "Svilran is as fertile as a god of fertility, and I suspect the Imaginals of the Hero Hub will be able to bear half-human children... I'm not sure that those children would be able to exist outside of the Hero Hub, however."

"Oh!" I said. "Actually, I think we're fine. We would probably be able to have kids--"

"Fainn!" Svilran cried. "Please stop; my heart cannot take any more of this."

I ignored Svilran with a smile. Kanae smiled back at me too. "That's good. Children always had a way of livening up a settlement. Though, I'm surprised that time plays a factor in your copulation. Most of the familial units from my world formed quickly and focused on procreating just as quickly."

"Is that so?" I said, sincerely interested. "It must be because of how harsh your world is. They probably need to keep their population numbers up... That suggests there's a lot of resources, though."

Kanae nodded. "In a way. The more people a settlement has, the more monsters they can defeat and the more resource they can mine or gather from the underground veins."

"Ahh, so it's a manpower issue. Then yeah, that makes sense. The amount of resources you can have is proportional to how many workers you have."

Something was nagging at me. I got the feeling I had to look over toward Dorthaunzee. When I did, I saw that her eyes were wide, and I saw that she was as still as the dead. Was she even breathing? I looked at the two girls in my arms and realized that this must have looked bad.

"Ahh, Dorthaunzee, I'm sorry."

Of course, a nun would be the most likely person to disagree with something like this.

"This probably doesn't look good to you, right? Sorry."

She still hadn't made a move.

"If it bothers you, we'll be discreet about it. You don't have to worry about seeing anything you would find disagreeable."

Still nothing. Only her lantern seemed to be flickering... Actually, was it getting dimmer?

"Dorth?" I asked. "Do you want to hook up your shrooms? I'll be able to speak with you better--"

She suddenly started moving and waved her hands frantically. Then she showed me a 'thumbs-up.'

"This doesn't bother you then?"

She nodded many times.

"Whew," I said. "I was kind of worried you'd think I was deplorable."

Dorthaunzee seemed to playfully wag her finger at me.

"Are you sure you don't want to shroom up?"

She motioned with her hands that she was tired. I got that and stopped pressing. She already had a strenuous day; I didn't need to tire her out further.

I released the girls, but both of them just kind of stayed stuck on me. "Well, that's the story, Kanae."

Kanae turned her head from Dorthaunzee to me, but I saw her sneak one final glance at Dorth before she spoke to me again. "Thank you for sharing... I'm happy to learn about the familial units of other worlds."

"Yeah, we'll probably encounter tons of varieties as we continue our Missions. The ones we've seen so far have been very similar to what I would consider typical."

"Interesting... I look forward to meeting more too... Maybe in 48 hours, I could even go out?"

"Maybe!"

We kept chatting for a bit longer, but it was mostly Kanae and I talking about what she could expect on her first day at work, with Elma chiming in occasionally. I was getting the feeling we needed to call it for the night and got up to leave.

"You spent quite a lot of time with Kanae today, Fainn," Svilran said. "I think I'll stay here for a little bit longer and keep Kanae company." Svilran chuckled dryly. "I feel guilty not doing more... That'll be alright, right, Kanae? I'd like to get to know you more if possible."

"I have no problem with that, Svilran. Thank you," Kanae replied.

"Oh, okay. Don't ruin your sleep, Svilran. Dorth, do you want me to walk you back to the Dorms?"

Dorthaunzee suddenly shifted and waved her hands around. She gestured that she would stay with Kanae for a little longer.

"Oh. Okay."

"I'll go with you, Fainn," Elma said as she got up. "Have a goodnight, everyone, Madam Goddess," she said with a gentle bow.

Everyone exchanged their goodnights, and then Elma and I were outside.

"Quite the little turn there, huh, Elma."

She gently pushed my arm. "That was bold of you. I didn't know what Svilran would do."

"It's fine, it's fine. We can't keep walking on eggshells... Hey, Elma?"

"Yes?"

"Want to go back to the House?"

"Pardon me?" she said, looking at me with her eyes wide.

"How about it? My place this time? Change things up a bit?"

"But, Svilran..."

"It'll be fine," I said, totally coveting the possible amazing sleep I could get from having two wonderful girls nearby. "The sooner this becomes normal, the better."

Elma sighed, and then she grabbed my arm. "Okay... But if Svilran voices her displeasure, I am never doing this again."

"Fair enough."