With a cute, grey-haired feline Beastkin relaxing on my chest under the gentle stroking of my hand, I finally begin summoning all the windows I've intentionally sent away before when we were having our little moment. The first one is obvious and just states that Astrea joined the ranks of my contracted Partners. It doesn't seem that she has a surname or anything else besides her first name as it doesn't appear in there.
While in contemplation, I notice the lack of purring that pleasantly filled the air up till now. Astrea must have sensed that I'm thinking about her and is currently looking at me from below, with her previous, calm and neutral expression.
"Something wrong?" I ask.
She tilts her head for a bit and her ear twitches. "It's weird. I can feel you. Do your other mates feel you this deeply too?"
"Hmmmm… I guess the girls I've bonded with have a stronger connection with me than just the people I register as my Partners, but I'm also pretty sure it goes even a level higher with you girls who I actually wish to be with, and vice versa. Like, the deeper your feelings for me are and the more I love you back, the closer we actually get. You can think of Sirgia or Cornelia versus girls like Shawure and Zalia as an example. We are in a different level of relationship."
Astrea lowers her gaze for a moment and ponders, returning it up to me shortly after. "Does this mean that… you like me? Even though I've been avoiding you and you barely know anything about me?"
I smile gently and move my hand to rub her adorable ear a bit more. "Silly girl, of course, I like you. I might not know a lot about you, but you definitely had a reason not to share, right? I can at least tell that you are a good person and that's the most important. And I can feel that your feelings are real."
Astrea pulls herself up and starts rubbing her cheek against mine, beginning to quietly purr again. This time, I join her in this weirdly satisfactory motion and move my face too, effectively making us nuzzle against each other in a quite lively fashion. It kind of reminds me of the videos back from home where two cats would rub their cute heads together.
A faint smile paints her lips as we share some affection. "I love you…" Astrea whispers, seemingly not fully conscious of it.
"I love you too," I answer back with a faint chuckle, making her stop nuzzling to me and look me in the eyes.
"Really?"
"What? You think I accepted you as my lover on a whim? I was pretty interested in you, you know?"
"You were?"
"I admit that it was—and partially still is—mostly due to how cute and charming you are, so it kind of feels like I'm infatuated with your exotic body, but I'm sure it can grow much deeper if we just get to know each other better."
She keeps silent for a few seconds before moving her lips close to my cheek to present it with a gentle peck. "I'm alright if you love me for my body. Actually, I'm a little bit happy. It makes us… kind of similar."
"Oh, how so?"
"Well… I mean… It's like you are following your male instincts, no? And I fell for you because of my own, feral instincts, making me lust after strong individuals. Aren't I technically just after your body too?"
I stop for a moment to think. Astrea's words actually hold more truth to them than I expected. The most common reason for falling in love is getting infatuated with someone's beauty. It's pretty much the same in this case.
With a smile, I peck her forehead back. "You are right. It seems like I've been overthinking it even more than you. So, let's just agree we both love each other and move on."
She nods cutely and then grabs my hand to place it on her breast. "And if you are interested in my body, you can just take it whenever and wherever. It's yours now. You can do anything you want to it."
I move my hand back to the top of her head and ruffle through her hair. "Wouldn't you rather do anything you want to my body?"
"I can? It wasn't just once?"
I chuckle seeing her slightly surprised expression. "I thought I was pretty clear by saying that I'd like you to be yourself from now on. You might be instinctively drawn to strong males, but isn't your desire to be the one in control? I'm fairly sure you've still held back when we did it even though I told you not to, isn't that right?"
Astrea lowers her gaze while quietly enjoying my pats, pretty much confirming my guess. She's ready to push back her own wants to be with me and that already shows a lot of dedication. But, I'd rather she didn't. Especially since I really don't mind.
I bring her chin up to make her look at me again and pull her into a short kiss. "I'm sure about it so don't analyze my words so deeply."
Her eyes change in a moment and I recognize that familiar, feral glint in them again. Astrea then entwines her arms around my neck and strongly pulls me into a kiss, taking the lead. Like the good mate that I am, I let her savour this feeling of superiority for as long as she likes. After a few moments, she finally releases my lips and slides back down onto my chest with her back pressing into it.
"Can you hug me?"
"Did your previous mates always ask you to do things for them?"
Astrea looks up at me, slightly uncertain of why I asked, but she quickly realizes what I actually meant and looks down again, making herself more comfortable in my lap.
"Hug me. And pet my ears."
With a smile, I fulfil her request, or rather order, and wrap one arm around her waist, using the other one to caress her fluffy ears. She instantly starts purring audibly. We might need a bit of work, but I'm sure Astrea will be able to act like the one in control in no time.
She must have been forced into the submissive female role quite badly for her to be this used to suppressing her desires. I've read that most Beastkin are quite rough, so it's easy to imagine, and she did mention she mated plenty of times while satisfying her heat.
Anyway, she's definitely worried about these things so I shouldn't press her to tell me more about her past until we get a little closer. We've just barely accepted each other. I shouldn't force her to talk about things that in her eyes are definitely emasculating and degrading. It would only hurt her pride even more. I'll have to wait until she understands that it truly means nothing to me.
While pampering my new partner, I continue checking on the information from our bonding and check what the system says about our relationship first.
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[PARTNERS]
Astrea - Feline Beastkin
Bond Level: 3/5
Bond Type: Instinctive Infatuation (Mates for Life)
»STATUS DETAILS«
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And one thing that again catches my attention is the fact that only her first name shows up. Now, as far as I know, Beastkin don't have surnames, but they actually have something that should follow their first name and it's their gained title.
Every Beastkin receives one when reaching adulthood. Some may get it earlier if they achieve something impressive, like hunting an incredibly stronger prey. It's usually names like Bloodclaw, Ironpaw, Braveheart and other quite cringy-sounding titles.
But, to not be granted that title, either means that the individual was extremely weak or unskillful, not being recognized amongst their kin, or they never had a family or a pack in the first place. And since Astrea does seem more than capable enough—granted that I can't know what kind of tribe she could have been brought up in—I'm actually inclined to lean towards the latter. Honestly, the curiosity is eating me away so badly, but I don't want her to feel sad reminiscing about her past if that's true.
Anyway, our Bond Level starts from three already, so she really is into me quite a bit. The Bond Type is actually quite close to what I had in mind. The fact that she considers me her mate for life does stroke my ego a little bit. I'll just have to not let her down on that part.
Finished with the Bond menu, I call for her Status window.
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[INFORMATION]
Name: Astrea
Race: Beastkin
Subrace: Feline
Age: 31
Job: Thief [▼]
Class: Martial Artist
Tier: 3
Titles: True Harem Lord's Partner
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[STATS]+100% (72h left)
| Strength: 41 (+34) | Agility: 35 (+33) | Constitution: 25 (+38) | Intelligence: 20 (+35) | Charisma: 19 (+36) |
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[SKILLS]
Common Abilities
Actives
| »Eye of the Tiger Lv. 6« | »Relentless Pursuit Lv. 3« | »Sneak Lv. 7« | »Martial Arts Lv. 6« | »Club Arts Lv. 2« |
Passives
| »Linguist Lv. 3« | »Nightvision« | »Keen Perception« | »Martial Arts Mastery« | »Club Mastery« |
Class-Specific Abilities
Actives
| »Twelve Palms of the White Tiger Lv. 3« | »Nightwalker's Five Relentless Steps Lv. 5« | »Body Reinforcement Lv. 3« | »Reverse Palm Lv. 3« | »Sound Transmission Lv. 1« |
Passives
| »Sixth Sense« | »Battle Sense« | »Tempered Body« | »Solidified Mind« | »Body and Mind as One« |
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So, she is thirty-one. If I'm not mistaken, feline subraces of Beastkin live up to something like one-hundred-fifty, so she can be considered pretty young—some years past her adulthood already—which is good. I kind of forgot to make sure about that. I'm starting to get complacent recently with all these almost eternal fantasy races around me.
Her Job is nothing surprising, but her Class certainly is. Until now, I didn't really have any idea what it could be, besides the fact that she seemed quite strong when we first met. I can still remember that crushing feeling around my throat. But, just strength isn't enough to figure out someone's Class and she could have been using some enhancing ability or something.
Astrea's stats are pretty normal considering her Tier. Well, excluding the boost from me, of course. As for her skills… Now, this explains a thing or two. It looks like her feline kind specializes in agility. With her Sneak and Keen Perception, it's no surprise she could move around the mansion pretty much unseen. If she knew I was pursuing her back then, I most likely wouldn't have been able to catch up to her that easily.
What's the most interesting is her Class abilities. She has quite a few techniques listed under there and some do sound pretty fancy and mysterious. I kind of want to see her in action now. Will she move as smoothly as people in these martial arts movies and anime? Are her skills and techniques that amazing? I really have to spar with her sometimes.
After familiarizing myself with her status screen, I keep spoiling my strong kitty for a while longer and we then move out of the bath. I have lots of things to take care of, even though I would love to do nothing but spend more time with my lovely ladies.
Making sure that Astrea doesn't need anything else from me and that she isn't left unsatisfied with me just running away like that, I split from the catgirl and head to the underground area where Teffith, Garrena, Leyne and my jelly beauties are warming up while waiting for my arrival. I apologize for my late appearance and we dive straight into practice. They show and teach me many useful things about combat with beasts and other humanoids.
It doesn't have to be said that after such an intense workout I have to return to the bath again before I can show myself in the dining area. Naturally, all of my teachers follow suit and we end up in the same pool. Nothing special, I guess. I'm pretty much used now to the sight of many nude women all around me.
They understand that I'm tight on my schedule and don't bother me much while we wash each other, but I make sure to show them my appreciation with some soft caresses. Of course, only towards those who want them and to a level that won't bother the innocent bystanders. I really don't want to make Teffith uncomfortable after she decided to hop in with all of us. She already catches me staring at her amazing body and scales more than a few times.
Breakfast is a bit more lively than usual. Perhaps because of the fact that I'll be leaving the establishment in their hands, the girls feel the need to actually start interacting with each other properly instead of doing it only when necessary.
They talk about a lot of things for the upcoming days, including me in their discussion too. It feels good to see everyone so engaged and Cornelia taking the leadership onto herself, with the support of Elea. With these two amazing women in charge, I can leave pretty much without any worries.
Next is my planned visit to the Monster Tamer's Guild to see if I can learn anything useful for the encounter with the Succubus, and about the seals for my slimy familiars. I'm not technically a Monster Tamer myself, but I'm fairly sure some things should be universal.
The thing is, I'm wondering if I should go alone or perhaps take Safi and Emi with me. Their presence might be useful, but is it fine to walk around with two Queen Slimes by my side?
Most likely sensing my hesitation, the two bouncy entities-in-question show up in my chamber. I brace for impact and catch the enthusiastic green girl into a hug, showering her in mana-pats while greeting the mature, blue woman with a mana-filled kiss. I think I might have made them addicted to these.
"You don't have to worry, Master! Emi will be a good girl! Elea and others are teaching Emi how to behave properly when outside and around Humans!"
"It's as she says. We both know Common too, so we will be able to understand everything clearly, possibly being of help to you, Master."
I smile at the two. "I know that I don't have to worry about you acting out of the line, but I'm still worried about the others around. I don't want you to get hurt."
"You said that we can defend ourselves, right, Master?" Safi asks.
"Yes, of course."
"Then I think there's no problem. We are plenty strong to fend off any possible attacks without hurting the assailants too much. Don't forget that Queen Slimes aren't your common Slimes everyone can deal with, Master, fufufu~" Safi chuckles softly, using her recently-gained, voice of a doting older sister.
"You might be right. With how carefree you two were around me since the beginning, it might have warped my perception of you a little bit."
"Yes! And Master will be with us too! Master can protect Emi and Safi easily!" the green girl happily comments.
"Alright, alright. Guess we are going together. Admit it, you two are just eager to finally get your seals, hm?"
Emi giggles cutely while Safi avoids my gaze. I've hit the mark perfectly. Who can blame them though? I've been putting it off again and again. Let's just hope they'll have a way for me to contract them somehow. I really don't want to disappoint my two lovely bundles of affectionate slime which accompanied me since the very first day I was left on my own here.
Since they are pretty much always in their maid uniforms, it's only me who has to dress up before we go out, and with the two of them present, it obviously turns into a dressing session where they help me don my adventuring outfit. Can't be helped. At least they are staying true to their roles as maids.
We let Elea and Cornelia know about our departure and head out. The moment we step into the open street, Safi and Emi take spots by my sides and both assume poses of professional maids escorting their master, with their hands elegantly joined in front of their short dresses. I'm quite surprised to see Emi being any different than lively and joyful. Looks like she was speaking the truth.
Naturally, we garner quite a lot of shocked and curious gazes as we move through the city towards our goal. My slime maids keep their postures straight and their gazes forward no matter what, ignoring all the commotion when it takes place. Fortunately, I don't notice any malicious intent from our surroundings and I'm fairly sure I spot a few people recognizing their uniforms.
We reach the guild without any unfortunate events occurring. The worst that happened was someone's dog pulling its leash from the hand of its lady and launching itself at Emi, but it came to an abrupt stop when she turned her head towards the charging animal. She somehow intimidated the dog and sent it running back, whimpering like a beaten pup. It was quite funny, I must say. I wonder how she did that.
In front of our eyes is a tall, four-story, wooden building. It's quite massive and the signboard above the main entrance confirms that this is our target. There's not much activity in the close vicinity. I partially expected this place to be as busy as the Adventurer's Guild, but now that I think of it, that might have been wrong.
Anyway, with Safi and Emi by my sides, I enter through the glass double doors and take a look around. The lobby is pretty spacious and decorated with paintings of various beasts and monsters. There's only one counter on the far side of the room and a young boy sits behind it, reading some small book.
We start walking towards him and he stops what he is doing only after we arrive right in front of his desk.
"Welcome to the Monster Tamer's Guild. How can I hel—ARE THOSE QUEEN SLIMES?!"
After lifting his gaze mid-sentence, he suddenly shouts loudly when his eyes fall onto my two companions. It seems he is not just a mere receptionist to recognize them with a single glance. Especially with the way they are dressed and how they hold themselves in my presence.
"Yes, they are. Would you kindly—"
"MAAAAAAASTEEEEEEEEEEEEEER! MAAAAAAAAASTEEEEEEEEEER!"
Before I can finish my question, the boy darts away through a door by the reception while screaming his lungs out, calling most likely for his superior or something. I sigh with my hands on my hips and hear Safi chuckle.
"I take it that we've made quite the entrance, Master."
"Oh yes, we did. I just wonder if it was a positive or a negative one."
"Don't worry! Emi will protect Master if they are bad guys!"
I pat my green queen while smiling at her. "I'm counting on you then."
In less than three minutes, we hear the sound of rushed footsteps from the same way the boy ran off to, leaving the door half-open. From the noise, it seems to be only two people. And my guess is proven right when the familiar clerk returns following an older man with a long, white beard.
"Great Goddess! Those really are Queen Slimes!" He exclaims excitedly after stopping in front of us; all his focus on my two partners. "What amazing specimens! What incredible control! I can't spot a single bead of slime leaking through their membranes! Truly magnificent!"
The old man reaches out to touch Safi's collarbone while in his weird, reverent trance, but I catch his wrist before he makes contact. His eyes snap to mine instantaneously.
"Take that hand away if you don't want to lose it."
"How dare you threaten Master!" the boy shouts from behind him but the man raises his other hand to silence him.
"Thank you for stopping me, kind sir." He bows his head lightly. "I almost made a grave mistake. I apologize for my impudence."
"Master! Why are you apologizing to him?"
"Shut up you idiot!" The man turns around and chops the young boy on the head. "You should have been the one to stop me! Watch!"
He brings out a wooden wand from the inside of his leather vest and glances at me. I nod, figuring out his intentions. The boy's master then directs the tip towards part of Safi's exposed sapphire skin and presses it against her membrane. The wooden stick penetrates it and slides inside her jelly body. In mere seconds, that part of the wand is gone.
The man pulls it back and shows the leftover half of his wand to his disciple. "See?! These are not normal! That would have been my hand! Elderwood in a blink! I bet it could melt a steel sword in under thirty seconds!"
Glancing at Safi, I catch her smug expression, clearly proud of the power of her acid. Was it always this strong? I don't know how corrosive it must be to eat away food and leftovers, but it is kind of scary now that I think of all the times I've stuck my hands—and other parts too—into her bodies.
A small shiver passes through my body. Hearing about a steel sword, I don't think it would end up with just severe acidic burns like in all of Cornelia's stories about people having a try at Slimes.
Safi, sensing the sudden change in my mood, gently takes my hand into hers and presses my palm against her chilly membrane above her chest, letting it slip inside, up to the wrist. As expected, nothing happens to my fingers, besides getting nudged by her hot core that she brings up and rubs against them affectionately.
She smiles at me charmingly after I softly catch it and brush its surface with my thumb. Our unexpected show leaves the two men with their jaws almost resting on the very floor, and one certain green Slime with a comically angry, pouty expression.
"No fair! Emi was being a good girl too! Why is only Safi getting rewards!"
"It can even speak?!" the old man raises his voice in surprise.
"Alright, alright, come here," I call for her to move closer and slide my hand into Emi's body too, starting to tickle her happily floating core and evoking a big grin from the emerald beauty. "And you," I turn to Safi, "don't take advantage of the situation to get more caresses. We are here on a business."
"I apologize, Master. I promise to be careful about my actions in the future," she says with a soft smile that doesn't really convey being all that sorry.
"You are their master? How unbelievable!" The man almost jumps at me.
I withdraw my hands and turn to him. "Well, not exactly."
"But a Slime's slime is not harmful only to its master! Or when it's commanded for it not to be!"
"They do view me as their master, but we are connected through a little different bond than what you'd usually come across. And that's why I'm here. I wanted to know if I can somehow enter a contract with them without being a Monster Tamer."
"I'll gladly answer your questions, sir…"
"Alastair."
"... sir Alastair. My name is Juvren and I'm the current Guildmaster of this establishment. The boy behind me is my young apprentice, Orno. Come! Let's move to a more comfortable environment than this lousy reception!"
We follow the clearly excited Guildmaster through a few corridors and end up in a fancy chamber most likely meant as a meeting room for important guests. The young boy brings some wine as we sit down and pours me a glass. Looks like another VIP treatment to me.
"Well then, sir Alastair. I'll first inform you that you don't need the Monster Tamer Class or any other derivative having skills and abilities connected to Monster Taming. Of course, contracts and bonds initiated by people with these are incomparable to methods others use to bind monsters to them, but it still is possible, albeit much harder. But, seeing how subservient these two Queen Slimes are to you, I don't think there would be any problems even with the simplest and weakest rituals."
"I see. That's good to hear. How does such a connection created with a ritual work and look?"
"Depending on the complexity of the ritual, it's almost the same as the magic used for demi-human slaves. You have pretty much full control of the monster's life and its will. Although, while it's possible to force it to kill itself if it's not mentally strong enough, you won't be able to kill it just with the connection, like Monster Tamers would be able to."
I shudder a little when he mentions forcing your companion to commit suicide, but it would be a fairy tale if Monster Tamers who capture and enslave monsters and beasts into being their familiars didn't exist. I bet there is plenty of scum who force them into submission through sheer violence and threats. It kind of puts me off a little bit.
"Are there any rituals that don't have such invasive functions? As you can see, I don't really need to force them to do anything."
"Emi would follow any order from Master! Even if Master wanted to use Emi's core for ingredients!"
"NO, YOU WOULDN'T!" I accidentally raise my voice after the unexpected statement from Emi, almost shouting at her. "I prohibit you from ever harming yourself or following any orders that would put your life at risk! And that's an order!"
She visibly shrinks into herself and lowers her head. "Emi is sorry…"
Safi's hand appears on my tensed shoulder from the other side and I turn my face to her. "Master… Even if it hurts a bit, we can shave off parts of our core at will. We can even split it in half if necessary, without it endangering our life. She didn't mean to say that she would kill herself for such a reason..."
Seeing Safi's concerned expression, I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Nodding at her, I turn back to Emi and pat her springy head.
"I'm sorry, Emi. I overreacted a little. I apologize for getting angry at you. I'm happy to hear that you care about me this much, but please, don't talk about hurting yourself so casually. You know I wouldn't want that."
She pushes her head more into my palm and brings her core close to the surface. "It's okay. Emi didn't think before speaking and made Master sad. Emi doesn't want to make Master sad. Don't apologize, it's Emi's fault."
"Nah. I didn't think over what you said too, so we both are at fault. Here, have some of your favourite mana. We good now?"
She beams with a wide smile after I leak some of my energy into her core through the external membrane. "Yes. Please, don't mind Emi, Master, and continue."
With a chuckle, I turn back to the Guildmaster. "Well… Uhhh… I apologize for raising my voice so suddenly. Where were we? Ah, less invasive contracts."
"Ummm… I think there are some…" Juvren replies while still looking between me and Emi, most likely trying to piece some things together. "Is there something specific you are looking for?"
"Pretty much anything goes if it could show others that they are under me like a Slave Mark does, so some kind of visual representation. Any other functions would be a bonus. I mostly want to confirm my identity as their master if someone asks. You know, walking around with two Queen Slimes isn't something common."
He cocks his head back in understanding. "Ahhhh, of course. It's not a problem. We can conduct such a ritual very quickly and at an affordable price if it's just about identification. Such things don't happen often, but I can see how obedient and trusting your familiars are. I truly respect you for achieving such a feat. Most would just force their way with them, but I always repeat that coercion leads to a huge loss in potential and capability… But do they listen? Pfft, they don't care… Younger generations are so disappointing…"
"I listen, Master! And I care too!" Orno tries to join in.
"Then study the books I tell you to instead of wasting your time on these indecent novellas, you damned brat!"
The boy averts his gaze and starts whistling. Looks like we have an adolescent man of culture here. Now I know why he is secretly—in his eyes—ogling Safi all the time. This little pervert is most likely infatuated with monster girls, which are quite plenty in this world. If only he was a little bit older I would pass our business card to him. Even if by this world's standards he's almost an adult, it still feels somewhat wrong to me.
"I'm really glad to meet a respectable Monster Tamer who doesn't treat their familiars like disposable tools." I smile at Juvren.
"The pleasure is mine, sir Alastair! Being able to lay my eyes on almost legendary beings is already a huge honour! And if you let me be the one to conduct the rituals, I will be delighted!"
"If you can then I will surely take you up on that offer."
"Then so be it! Boy! Go prepare the room and materials for the Heart Link ritual! Chop chop!"
"Yes, Master!"
Orno bows lightly and rushes out of the chamber, leaving us alone. Juvren looks very excited and happy. I can tell he is a man devoted to his passion like Sirgia or Cornelia and it brings him much joy to work with magical creatures.
"Well then, since we have some time before things will be ready, would you mind telling me more about Monster Taming without a Class related to it? I'm actually curious about people using coercion to exert control over monsters that you mentioned before. I've always stuck to approaching them with kindness and an open heart. What if I tried capturing a beast stronger than myself? I don't know, let's say a Succubus for example. Is that even possible to do? I managed to convince these two to follow me out of their own will and I'm wondering what I would have needed to go through if I was like these people you spoke about."
The old man keeps nodding along with my words. "Oh, yes, yes, of course, I'll tell you! I can sense a deep desire for knowledge from you, young man! That's really admirable! And you seem to have your heart in the proper place, so I don't mind talking about it."
"You humble me, Master Juvren. It's just simple curiosity."
"Doesn't matter! Anyway, it is possible, of course, but it's really hard and troublesome, not even mentioning the danger. You usually need to rely on many weakening rituals and spells, having to place them down before the attempt. The whole thing boils down to luring the monster into each of them until it gets strongly suppressed. Then, they—the classless tamers—naturally use the strongest binding rituals they can, making sure that the entity can't go against their orders or kill them in their sleep or something. It costs a small fortune and is extremely dangerous the smarter the monster is."
"I see. So, it's pretty much about stacking debuffs until you are the stronger one. But what if we assume that the person is pretty much equal or even a little stronger than said Succubus? Is it still like that or can they approach it differently? Of course, assuming that the monster is hostile."
Juvren strokes his beard while gathering his thoughts. "Hmmm… I guess it would be enough to restrain the monster and bring it into the ritual formation. No one knows why, but Succubi just can't stand the mixture of mashed watermelon, strawberries and squeezed lemon juice. This concoction burns them like hell when applied orally or through any other orifice. Just the smell can make them writhe in pain. I bet it would come useful when forcing the contract."
「Mashed watermelon and strawberries mixed with squeezed lemon juice? I think I remember watching a video with something like that… Wait... Wasn't that the recipe for...」
I involuntarily begin giggling and then laughing openly after making the connection. The old man and the girls stare at me weirdly.
"What's so funny, Master?" Emi asks curiously.
"Hahaha… Sorry… Haha… Sigh... I'm not sure if you are aware, Master Juvren, but that concoction is believed to boost a man's, you know, performance, pfftttt…"
He stares at me for a moment while blinking repeatedly until he finally registers what I meant after I make a move with my eyes down there. He slaps his face, chuckling a little too.
"Great Goddess… What an irony… But..." he glances at me with one eye covered, "does it really work like that?"
"I can't say for sure since I've never tried it, but where I'm from, many people boasted about the effects of such mix. And I believe there were other recipes similar to it. The potency isn't something formidable as far as I know, but that doesn't change the fact nevertheless."
The hidden spark in his eye makes me explicitly aware that this world might not know what viagra is. I'm not a chemist, nor randomly memorized its structure—not like it would be of that much help with people in this world not knowing most likely any of the scientific terms—but I should at least make an effort to try and recreate it with the help of my talented friends. It would be stupid to ignore the fame and riches this could bring to the one who introduces it to the world.
I'll need to talk about it with Dhosk and Elea later. It's honestly a bit surprising. They figured out anticonception pills, but not this thing? Maybe I'm just reading into the old geezer too much. Better do market research first.
"Anyway, thank you for the tip. I'll equip myself with a few vials of this concoction if I ever consider wandering into regions Succubi might inhabit. Great thing for self-defence."
"Cough, yes, certainly. I'm glad to be of help."
"Master! It's ready!" Orno comes in like a bullet, without even knocking, and informs us about his preparations.
"Well then, shall we?"
I nod and we follow the duo to a different chamber, more plain-looking and spacious enough to house a big, runic circle on the floor. It's already supplied with fresh ingredients; the glistening lines of the formation are proof of that.
"Alrighty then. Would you mind removing the upper part of your clothing, sir Alastair?" Juvren asks after picking up a small vial with dark liquid in one hand and a brush in the other. "I need to ask the same from your familiars."
We three look at each other and I shrug. Ritual is a ritual. I follow the request of the ritual expert and take off my leather coat, vest and purple shirt, revealing my bare torso to everyone present. Turning to face the man and his apprentice, I find them staring behind me with wide eyes. The boy is practically salivating. One glance over my shoulder explains everything.
Two completely naked jelly beauties stand right behind me with every single nook and cranny of their bodies visible to the world. And that includes some of their private organs inside as they keep their slightly translucent appearance. They must have shoved their whole uniforms into their storages inside their collar badges.
I shake my head and ask them mentally if they can do anything about the fact that their smoking-hot bodies are distracting our hosts and they happily oblige by resummoning their black panties and controlling their slime to cover their breasts in the shape of bandages wrapped around them, additionally going fully opaque. Well, good enough I guess.
"Ekhm. Let's continue then. Boy, create the markings on Sir Alastair. I'll take care of his familiars."
"But Master, I think—"
"Boy!"
"Yes, Master!"
Orno skilfully draws immersive lines all around my limbs and torso, finishing in around ten minutes. His master is even faster and completes the markings on Safi and Emi during the same time. These are way more complex and actually cover their whole bodies. I guess he is going all out for me. I wonder if this may have a connection to my chemical revelation.
With that finished, he leads us into the circle and activates it with the help of his apprentice. First, the patterns on the floor get illuminated and then, the ones on our bodies lit up, both in a crimson hue.
"Alrighty. Now just feed them your mana and it will activate. Don't forget to clearly imagine the mark you'd like to use as your identification. Or leave it to fate," Juvren instructs me with a wave of his hand.
"Hm, how would you like to—mwhhmm?!"
As I turn to my lovely slimes to ask them about the method, my lips get sealed mid-sentence by the sapphire beauty and we enter a deep kiss. I can hear both men gasp behind my back.
"No fair! You broke your promise! Ghhnnnnnn… Emi's turn!"
The emerald girl pouts while angrily clenching her fists and then slams her jelly body against her friend's, pushing Safi away enough for her to slip her own lips onto mine too while she stands on her tiptoes.
And just like that, I end up getting kissed by both of them at the same time as the formation enters the next stage and pleasant warmth fills my whole body, flowing towards the direction of my heart.
Well, I guess I can let them have this one, so I just stand firm and enjoy the feeling of their tongues caressing my mouth and my own muscle, relentlessly fighting each other over the territory of my lips. It's such a bizarre scene.
In a short moment, the ritual finishes what it's intended to do and I watch the markings disappear from our bodies. Even though I can't see them right now, I know that their cores earned a glowing, purplish tattoo on their surface, in the same style as the fake seals I've applied on the other girls. I can feel their happiness flowing into me through our bond.
It takes me a good minute after everything fades to pry them off me, especially Emi who turned way more competitive due to Safi getting two headstarts on her. I compensate my overenthusiastic shorter slime girl with a deep, affectionate kiss one-on-one after Safi backs away. Of course, filling it with plenty of my mana, which is greedily sucked in by her floating core.
"Phew. Don't forget that—unlike you—I do have to breathe or I will drop dead," I jokingly berate them, earning myself a chuckle from the mature lady and a giggle from the tomboyish girl.
Turning around to the two men again, I'm met with the most shocked and surprised expression they have shown so far. And I'm pretty sure there's a hint of jealousy hidden somewhere there, especially in the eyes of the young Orno.
Dressing up again, we stay in the guild for a short chat after the ritual and then head back home. The girls are clearly overjoyed and it's extremely visible with how they handle themselves on the street. Emi walks with a skippy step while Safi looks as if she is lost deep in her thoughts, with a faint smile on her charming face. I feel like our bond might evolve again after this.
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