章 35: Moving Forward

I woke up the following day to find Raya still at my side. I expected her to be gone in the morning, but that didn't happen. She woke up before me but hadn't left yet, and it seemed like she was watching me while I slept.

"Oh look, my snack woke up~," Raya said, flashing me a teasing smile. I didn't respond and released a sigh while looking up at the ceiling.

"What's wrong?"

"I think you know what's wrong."

"I see. Are you having doubts about what we did? And. . .the girl you left back home?" I didn't respond, and Raya took my silence as a yes to her question.

"You know what I think? I think that your situation was unavoidable. It's not like you knew things were going to turn out this way, so what's the point of beating yourself up over it?"

"What about the others then? Will they accept something like this?"

"I feel like you're overthinking it. If you and that girl ever meet again, I'm sure she will understand if you explain the circumstances. And as for us, I think it's fine."

"Really?"

"Mhmm. We all like you, and we get along well with each other. As long as a certain level of trust exists, it's quite possible to have a harmonious relationship with multiple partners. Monogamy isn't common among beastmen; even the queen of my homeland has a harem."

"The Lamia Queen? Really?"

"What, did you think it could only be the other way around? Albion is a matriarchy, you know. So stop being down; come on, let's go."

Both still naked from last night, Raya dragged me out of bed and brought me to the bath. She attentively washed my body before washing her own and pulled me into the tub with her. She huddled close to me and rested her head on my should as the two of us soaked in the relaxing hot water of the tub.

"The more you reject the current situation, the harder things will be for you. The best outcome is to give in. Don't worry about what comes after because either way, there's no escaping what you must do to move forward."

Maybe she's right. Perhaps I am just making it worse for myself. It felt good to give in last night. There's no escaping my bloodline, so maybe I should accept it now and deal with the consequences later.

A few moments later, I was pulled out of my thoughts by a commotion outside the door.

"Are you just going to stand outside the door all day? We already talked about this."

"Stop being difficult."

"I'm not being difficult!" The door burst open after that as Fleur pushed Luna inside.

"Hi, Rune," Fleur said, giving me a big grin.

Fleur's disproportionately sized breasts bounced up and down as she skipped over to a stool to wash her body. Luna just sat down next to her after doing her signature head turn with a 'hmph' and tried avoiding looking my way. I've come to learn that Luna is just a classic tsundere, and the way she occasionally glances at me while blushing when she thinks I'm not looking shows that she's not actually unhappy being here.

Once the two girls finished washing, they started whispering something. I couldn't hear everything clearly, but it sounded like Fleur was pushing Luna to do something. It went on for a few moments before the two came to an agreement. They got up and walked over to the tub, but Luna froze for a moment. Her face was red as a tomato as she muttered something under her breath.

"Why should I have to. . ."

"Oh geez, Just come on!"

Fed up with her act, Fleur grabbed Luna by the wrist and pulled her into the tub with us. The short stack took her place on my lap while Luna sat at my side. The three girls surrounded me, with Raya on my left, Luna on my right, and Fleur seated on my lap. Whatever brought this about seemed to have been decided by them beforehand, so I just accepted it. My hesitation at this point is all but gone, as I've decided to follow their advice and move forward regardless of whatever reluctance I still might have.

"Don't get the wrong idea, stupid. It's not like I'm here to comfort you or anything." Luna said. Contrary to her remark, she was clutching my arm tightly while caressing my cheek with one of her tails which ended up putting a smile on my face.

'Yeah, I don't think anyone here is actually going to buy that.'

"Hee hee, It's nice. all of us being here together." Fleur said.

". . ."

"You know, Luna. I've heard from the others already, but what made you want to join?"

"What am I not allowed to be here?!" She responded. I quickly denied it to calm her down, and she sighed before continuing what she wanted to say.

"It's because you treat me as Luna. Everyone else sucks up to me for being a princess or avoids me as an outcast. But you see me as just a person. You treat me the same even after discovering that I'm royalty. So that's why. . ."

"That's why you should rely on me more, idiot."

She buried her face into my arm in embarrassment after making her declaration, and I could clearly feel how hot her face was. Who knew she could act so cute?

"See, I told you everything would turn out okay."

"Yeah, the four of us will be together from now on, so don't worry so much."

After some words of comfort from Raya and Fleur and a playful bite on my neck from Luna, the four of us enjoyed soaking in the tub together until it was time to leave. We all changed into our adventuring gear and told them I wanted to meet with Vivienne before class. The three offered to come, so we all took the trip together before our course on the history of monsters.

*knock* *knock*

"Come in."

"Oh, Rune, whatever could you want? I don't remember us planning to meet today." Vivienne was trying to sound innocent, but the look on her face clearly showed that she was expecting me to visit.

"Don't play games, you slutty dragon; you know why I'm here."

"Slutty? Do you not like my outfit?" She said, pulling down the neckline of her sweater dress a little to expose her bountiful cleavage. She laughed and then decided to get serious after having her fill of teasing.

"I'm guessing this has to do with the teachers?"

"Yeah. Mako and Haruka, What's up with those two? Especially Haruka. Whatever she did to me affected me so greatly that I lost control. It even bypassed the usual hesitation caused by my bloodline."

"Really? that's good news."

"What?"

"I chose them to help you. We may not know much about your second ability yet, but that doesn't mean we can't prepare for it. Shark types and Foxen are strong, and their benefits will likely be worthwhile. Haruka, in particular, serves a double purpose. Part of the reason she was chosen was that I thought her charm could help cure your affliction, and judging by the different atmosphere around you today, I can tell there have been some changes inside you."

Is that what it was? Did her charm loosen up my mental barriers enough for Fleur and Raya to tear them down? It's plausible enough that I can't outright discredit it.

"I thought I had resistance to charm magic, though?"

"If you're talking about Fleur, then you're wrong. An imitation like hers is nothing compared to the real thing. No creature except those of the dragon race can resist true charm magic, which is why the technique is forbidden. The fact that she used it at all is a grave offense that wouldn't be overlooked if not for the fact that I deemed it necessary in the current situation."

Fleur was confused that Vivienne called her charm an imitation and questioned her about it, so Vivienne began explaining.

The story goes that a long time ago, a Foxen fell in love with a member of the Hare clan. The two desired to have a child, but because of the laws put in place to prevent birth defects in mixed offspring, they couldn't get permission from their families. They ended up against society and running away, where they had a child they raised secretly. A daughter and the first charm rabbit. When she grew up, her mother passed away from illness, and against her father's wishes, the girl ventured out on a journey to find where her mother grew up.

She had lived a sheltered life up to this point and didn't know much about the world, so she was unaware of the powers passed down to her by her Foxen father. Sadly the tale didn't end well. The dormant powers locked in her eyes activated from the excitement of finally returning home, and because of this, the residents ended up losing control. They kept her in captivity, doing unspeakable things to her. It's unknown how much time passed, but when her captors eventually broke free from the spell, the woman had already birthed many children, and the population of charm rabbits had multiplied.

Fearful of the same event repeating, the charm rabbits were banished. Charm magic was deemed forbidden, The Foxen were reprimanded and put under watch, and a new law was added to prevent the spread of dangerous inherent magics. Honestly, the whole tale was pretty grim, and I had to comfort Fleur after it was over.

"Make no mistake, Fleur's charm is powerful. She's the strongest inheritor that has appeared in many years, and you got lucky in that you are just barely strong enough to resist it. I put you in Haruka's class, hoping you can one day get close enough to her to be invited to the Foxen's hidden village."

"Why? Also, can't you find the location for us?"

"Because only a select few Foxen are capable of teaching her how to control it. Also, I don't have access to that information. Not even with my authority as the dragon representative. Only the Kaiser and a few select individuals know about it, and they keep any information highly guarded to prevent further incidents."

"Are there no other charm rabbits as powerful as Fleur?" Raya asked.

"I'm not sure. But I suspect the strong ones are secretly moved to the Foxen village."

"What happens to the ones that are moved there?" Luna asked

"They are most likely forced to live there forever. I took Fleur in on one of my expeditions with Carin. Her parents had been. . .something due to their charm, and they passed away. I'd rather not go into detail, and Fleur was too young to remember. Anyways, They asked me to look after their daughter and give her a chance at a normal life, so I've been protecting her."

I knew Fleur had it rough, but I'm only now realizing the full extent. We finished our talk after that, and Vivienne asked me to help protect Fleur. She said that if I felt anything for her, I should do my best to get closer to Haruka. It was an easy thing to agree to. I've grown close to this little bunny girl, so if I can help her by doing this, then I'm determined to give it a shot.

We wrapped up the conversation after that, and I remembered something I meant to bring up as we were about to leave.

"Oh, Vivienne. That reminds me, there was one more thing I wanted to ask you."