บท 162: When in Doubt, Lure Out [ * ]

With the gruesome death of their commander, most if not all the Sahuagin soldiers freeze on the spot, with their gazes directed at the fresh corpse lacking a heart, and more importantly, a dick. I'm not sure what scares them more, the fact that their strongest warrior fell this easily, or the fact that their own genitals might be at a huge risk if they continue opposing my fierce sharkgirl mate. If I was going to make a guess, I would most likely pick the latter.

Nevertheless, none of my lovely girls shows those bastards mercy and they all continue slaughtering the ugly fishmen without rest, now having it even easier with the majority of their targets dazed from disbelief. Meru jumps in to join them while I return to Lheyman and the Merfolk women to continue protecting them as I promised the beautiful Nershark, giving all the pleasure of taking revenge on those freaks to her.

It doesn't take long before we clear up the remaining trash inside the food storage, even though some Sahuagins start fighting again after waking up from the shock. A bunch of guys who are scared shitless choose to run away but that proves to be an even worse decision as my charming ladies go after them first, picking off the easiest kills.

Of course, we can't relax just now since the entire town is still swarming with Sahuagins. The waters around the kelp forest are no different. But, for a moment, the poor women can calm their strained nerves and let the accumulated tension and anxiety finally fade away. They seem to be a bit less wary of me now, perhaps thanks to everything they've seen and Lheyman's claims that we are the good Humans coming here to save all of them.

While Cornelia, Neira, Safi, Emi, and Meru secure the perimeter to avoid a random Sahuagin taking a peek inside and relaying the massacre to the rest of the army, I approach the group of female Merfolk. The women are in a somewhat poor state, with most of them sitting on the ground completely naked. Those monsters must have ripped all their clothes off while bringing them in.

With Lheyman's assistance, I take a look at each girl and use my Rejuvenate as much as I can, getting rid of the small bruises, scars, and even some wounds from their pretty bodies. I'm met with lots of hesitation at first, but after a few women end up with blissful smiles on their faces, the rest quickly line up to receive treatment.

Some of the girls in the slightly worse state go even as far as to rain kisses all over my face while unintentionally rubbing their bare breasts into me after I take all their pain away. Lheyman only chuckles on the side instead of pointing out their behaviour. I don't say anything either since there's a chance that everyone would grow embarrassed after and things would slow down or even stop completely.

With all of the females treated, they surround me with mostly kind and grateful smiles—though I can spot a bunch of blushing, shy ones—and roam their palms curiously all over my body, whispering something about how I'm so different from the Humans they've heard about, in a good way, of course. I'm not even surprised that many of them might not have had any contact with other Humans considering the fact that they live under a protective dome. Women must not be let out far away from it too often.

Before things take a slightly more inappropriate turn, Lheyman steps in and asks the females to compose themselves since we aren't yet safe from danger. Some girls giggle between themselves as they realise their behaviour and I try my best not to meet their adorable gazes. Having a bunch of dazzling, nude Merfolk ladies of various heights, body sizes, and general charm is already distracting enough.

"What do we do now? The streets are still occupied and the soldiers will surely keep coming this way to either report to their dead commander or to join the feast." The sole male steps between me and the crowd to save me from their inquisitive gazes.

"Our priority should be to escort your women to the ship. We can either try to sneak them around as we did with men, or we can try clearing up the town first. I can leave someone here to protect you. A single one of my companions will be more than enough." I rub my chin while pondering.

"I vote for the latter," Cornelia says, showing up by my side. "The group of Merfolk women is big enough to force us into splitting it into two or more just to be completely sure about their safety during the walk to the ship. It might be faster and better to just pick out all the remaining Sahuagins."

"I guess. That depends on our ability to find them amongst those buildings. We might not be able to confirm that we got all of them, though," I reply.

"Can we maybe like lure them all into one place? The grunts might know some kind of a gathering signal or something similar. There definitely are other ways too but I don't have any more ideas," Neira chimes in.

"We would need something that can reach all of them. I'm not sure if sound can travel that far between the buildings and past the barrier…" Meru ponders while roaming around with her gaze until her eyes stop at the group of females. "Pheromones. That's it."

"Pheromones?" Cornelia raises a brow at her.

"While the commander might have been a bit smarter, Sahuagins are very simple creatures, as you have already seen. Their desires and urges lead their actions. The strongest amongst those being the lust for food and carnal pleasure," Meru explains. "Alastair is a master at managing his pheromones. If we could somehow emulate the scent of a female dying to get bred, the Sahuagins would sense it from miles away and flock to our position as if their lives depend on it."

"That could work, even though it would be extremely dangerous at the same time." Lheyman nods.

"I know you can enhance your own enticing aura, but can you control another person's?" Cornelia asks, turning to me.

"I've never done anything like that, I think. At least consciously." I shrug. "But, it might not be impossible. I should be able to figure something out with my Carnal Mist, Charm Magic, and Charm Affinity. And the peculiarities of my Class, of course."

"So, we just need a female who will become the lure with your help," Neira points out.

"I would volunteer but my condition definitely limits the pheromones my body emits the way that they are the most appealing only to Alastair as he is my body's chosen mate. Others should still be able to sense them, although much, much weaker," Meru says, shooting me an apologetic glance.

"It's alright." I ruffle through her charming hair and glance at my other companions. "Any of you want to get a little frisky in the middle of the street?"

"I think a female from an aquatic race would work the best," Lheyman suggests. "Maybe one of the rescued?"

A quiet sigh escapes my lips as he turns to the gaggle of naked women behind him, who start discussing the plan amongst themselves. I've really wanted to avoid making closer contact with them and that's why I didn't say anything but it looks like it's plainly impossible to escape fate.

Before I can interrupt, the small crowd parts like when we were trying to find a representative amongst the males, and a single girl walks forward. She has shoulder-long dark grey hair, emerald eyes, light blue skin, and is of generally petite stature, even though her chest is quite well-developed. Stopping right in front of me with a deep azure blush, she appears to be about half a head shorter than me.

"Did you come here or did they tell you to?" I ask the pretty Merfolk lady.

"I'm the best person for the mentioned role, sir," she replies with a timid smile, holding her hands in front of her pelvis, slightly squishing her delicate breasts together.

"How so?" I raise a brow at her.

"I reached maturity a month ago and haven't mated yet. My fresh arousal should be easily sensed by any male in our close vicinity. The first few months after we become adults are often one of the toughest since the pheromones are the most potent and can leak out way too much, causing possible misunderstandings between our people. We can only wait that period out or find a mate and copulate," the cute girl explains with a deepening flush.

"A fresh fruit ripe for picking, eh?" Cornelia jabs me in the side with her elbow while showing a small smirk.

"I'm not going to consume that fruit." I bump into her waist with mine and smile wryly before finding the girl's eyes again. "Are you sure about it? I'll at least have to touch you, most likely a bit inappropriately. In front of at least a few people."

"Yes. I'll gladly assist you to ensure the safety of my friends, sir." She makes a little bow.

"Well, I'm not going to talk you out of it, then." I nod at her. "Let's move out and see if this works. Who stays with the women?"

"I'll remain," Meru offers. "The others have more abilities and skills with range or wide area of effect which will definitely be more useful against the swarm of enemies."

"Alright. We'll make it quick."

I walk up to her and pull my lovely sharkgirl into a gentle parting kiss before heading out with the rest of the team plus one pretty Merfolk lass. The Sahuagins guarding the entrance from the outside are more than shocked to see us stroll into the streets. They don't even get to react properly as my companions get rid of them in a flash, going right after the bastards celebrating amongst themselves at the bottom of the stairs to the storage.

Lheyman comes out with us to lead our group to the most central place in the underwater city. Unfortunately, we are slowed down a little bit due to the number of enemies we stumble on. The vicinity of the storage is as crowded as we've seen from above and expected. But, that's just a small nuisance since Cornelia and the others wipe the floor with them at first sight.

Soon, we reach a big square with some kind of a stone statue in the very middle, depicting two Merfolk, one male and one female, hugging each other. The man holds a spear by his side and the woman is bringing up a necklace, most likely with the goal of putting it on her partner's neck.

Before we get to our brilliant plan, we have to clear up the square too. Cornelia, Neira, Safi, and Emi each pick a direction and take it upon themselves to deal with their chosen sides. I stay with Lheyman and our new friend to protect the duo from any attackers they might miss. But, as expected, not a single Sahuagin makes it past them and their unescapable net of death.

They stay on the edges of the square and signal to us to begin. I nod at them, then at Lheyman, and turn to the lithe lady in front of me.

"Would you mind telling me your name?" I ask, extending a hand to her.

A faint flush colours her cheeks and she takes it gently. "Zheylu."

"That's a lovely name." I bring her palm up and place a delicate kiss on the top of her hand. "I'm Alastair. If you start feeling uncomfortable or uneasy at any point, just let me know. Promise?"

She makes a light nod as a dazzling smile curls the corners of her lips up. We stare each other in the eyes for a brief moment and I trail my fingers over her arm, slowly brushing against her slick, smooth skin. She doesn't take her gaze off me even as I reach her neck and then face, grazing over her cheek. A small sigh escapes her lips as I move my thumb to them and caress those two soft bumps tenderly.

Her mouth parts hesitantly and she starts pecking at my finger, still looking back at me. My other hand rests on her side and I slide it to her lower back, bringing her closer just a little. Zheylu grows a tad bolder and even nibbles on my thumb, giving it some prodding licks as I graze my fingers along her spine.

Noticing even more deep blue over her cheeks, I bump into her from the front and unhurriedly bring my face down. Her adorable blush spreads even further over her pretty face and she hastily lets go of my thumb, positioning her mouth upwards. Before our lips touch, though, I hover over her for a few long seconds, just drawing out more of her need for casual intimacy.

When her eyes start jumping up and down faster and faster, with her breathing rising sharper accordingly, I cross the remaining distance and finally grant the desperate Merfolk lady her long-awaited pleasure. Zheylu literally hums in bliss as we brush our lips together, closing her eyes to live through the sweet moment. I don't think she even realises that her arms slide over my shoulders and wrap themselves together. Naturally, that results in her soft chest making itself more apparent by squishing into my front.

After a while, I draw back and a quiet whine escapes her throat as she tries to chase after me, opening her emerald eyes.

"You taste so sweet… And smell so good…" she whispers softly. "I didn't know Humans were like that…"

I chuckle quietly and brush a lock of hair behind her fin-like ear. "I'm pretty sure there aren't many like me out there amongst them. It's not like I'm exactly pure Human either. But, what you sense is partially due to what I am. Does it excite you?"

"Yesssss…" she hums sweetly. "My body is becoming so sensitive… It needs to be touched or I'll go crazy… Please…"

"Well, I apologise in advance, but we need to make you crave it even more. Can you bear with it?" I move my hands to her warm cheeks and cup them up with care.

She nibbles on her bottom lip while clearly hesitating. "I'll… try…"

"Good girl." I smile at her tenderly and lean forward, slipping my tongue into her mouth this time.

Zheylu lets out a sensual moan when I take her soft muscle for a lively dance, using that opportunity to share some of my saliva with her. Since the moment we started, I've been powering my quite indecent body to its limits, taking care not to overdo it and make her desire unbearable or even dangerous for her mind. I know well how harmful even my scent can be to random women when condensed way too much.

As our kisses grow sloppier and sloppier, Zheylu's breathing increases too. She starts rubbing her front into me and I begin feeling something hot and moist touch my thigh now and then. There's no need to look to know what she is pushing into my leg. As much as I would love to assist her, we need to drag this out as long as possible. Thus, I pull my thigh away to the point that she can only barely graze her puffy folds against my skin, which definitely frustrates the young Merfolk lady.

To give back a little, I snake my hands down her body until they are both behind her. Slowly trailing lower and lower, I take her plump butt into each and give her tender cheeks a good squeeze. It sends a jolt through Zheylu's figure as she moans into my lips. I keep kneading those amazing buns between my fingers, lovingly playing with her irresistible ass. Whenever I pull her cheeks as far as I can to the sides, Zheylu shudders even more. The chilly air tickling her butthole must be making her feel pretty nice.

As we are coupled in that static carnal dance, I leave her lips and bring my mouth to her neck, starting to place loving bites on her skin. Each gentle prick evokes a salacious moan from my partner. During all that, I focus on sensing Zheylu's arousal and succeed pretty easily. The sweet scent of her need fills my nostrils and spreads thick around us in a diameter of about ten metres. Technically, that's a lot, but since we aren't in the water, it can't spread further that fast.

"We need to step up our game," I whisper seductively, getting an idea. "Try your best not to cum too fast, okay?"

"I can't… mmmmm… promise that…" she moans into the air.

Chuckling softly, I invoke Carnal Mist and take full control of the pinkish smoke. First, I make it fully transparent. Then, I wish for it only to enhance the target's desire by raising the sensitivity of their body even more, without influencing their mind. Finally, I let Zheylu inhale some of it before I mix the mist with her arousal.

Her moaning quickly becomes much louder and I'm still only playing with her buttcheeks. Since we aren't connected in any way, I can't feel her rising orgasm as clearly but I'm still decently aware of the limits of her pleasure. Focusing my mind on that limit, I choose to turn the charming girl into a literal furnace that produces lewd fumes like a steam locomotive.

To achieve that, I put my foot between hers and push her legs open just a little bit more. Zheylu doesn't even notice but I can literally hear the quiet pitter of her nectar hitting the ground, that's how much she's leaking already. And when I slide my fingers down her smooth tummy, reaching the hot, puffy lips of her pussy, she lets out a mighty, shivering groan.

The pheromones she releases grow thrice as intense, joining with my Carnal Mist. I constantly swirl it around and manage to cover the entire square with her arousal. Its power seems so strong that all my companions are heavily influenced by the indecent aura but hold themselves strong and steady, keeping their minds on the task of defending us from any intruders.

Now, I just need to cause a literal explosion of lust that will consume the entire town.

Well, I'm pretty sure I know what will cause that.

Peeling my body off Zheylu, I take her hands down from my shoulders. She opens her lust-filled eyes and furrows her brows adorably, wondering why I deprived her of the so addicting pleasure. To answer her, I guide her right palm down my chest and stomach, slowly arriving at the incredibly sticking-out rod hidden behind the tight material of my suit.

Seeing the outline and all the details so vividly, Zheylu's eyes turn into saucers. She bites into her bottom lip so hard when her fingers brush against the hard as rock shape that I'm surprised not to see any blood dripping down her chin. But, my trick is successful and I'm hit with an incredible wave of desire from the excited Merfolk girl.

As she starts massaging my hidden member up and down through the thin material, I slide my left hand to her left breast and keep my right still over her precious slit. Her breathing is a complete, ragged mess at this point and I have no idea if it can get even worse with me now kneading her pillowy chest and rubbing my palm back and forth over her pretty lily. I try my best not to touch the sensitive inner flesh, squishing her lower lips together between my two fingers and letting them rub themselves instead.

The Carnal Mist I emitted that mixed with Zheylu's arousal has already travelled far past my vision, spreading further into the streets. It won't be long before the Sahuagins start making their way here to take the aroused female. Therefore, I have to finish it in the next move so that I can focus on protecting Zheylu too.

Keeping my teasing as delicate as possible to hold the panting girl right on the edge, I close my eyes and muster all my mental strength to force the Carnal Mist to travel even further, laying the groundwork for the next step. Multiple thin tendrils of invisible smoke slither through the streets, heading in every direction. I keep them condensed, just achieving as much coverage as I can.

When I'm pretty sure that I hit the edges of the dome, I pump some more mist in every direction so that it climbs up the crystal walls. It's tough to figure out where the breaches are located so I have to hope that a stream or two find some of them and leak outside. It's a crucial part of my plan.

Finished with my preparations as much as I can, I return my attention to Zheylu, who is bucking her hips back and forth alongside my fingers, trying to force them into brushing against the pink of her pussy. Thankfully, she doesn't succeed and the powerful need is clearly visible on her completely flushed face full of intense effort.

Drawing another sweet but frustrated whine out of her, I take away my hands, moving them to her butt again. Leaning into her ear, I press Zheylu into me strongly.

"Look down," I whisper sensually.

Her eyes follow my command. At that very moment, I shove my diving suit into one of the spatial rings and my hard member makes direct contact with her belly, squeezed tenderly between our bodies. Traces of precum leak out of the tip, now trailing onto her navel and underbelly.

In an instant, another wave of immense lust wafts from Zheylu, enveloping us together. To bring that desire even further, I start thrusting against her skin, rubbing myself all over her stomach. Her eyes are glued to my dick and open as wide as physically possible. I bet even as a normal Human with a random Class I would be able to smell and sense how hard she yearns for it to be inside her right now.

Since there's no way we can raise the intensity of her arousal any more than this without some direct action, I hastily connect to all the tendrils created by Carnal Mist mixed with her need and infuse as much mana as I can into a Charm Magic spell called Explosion of Lust. On its own, that spell doesn't do much, but I'm not just some random, weak-ass Charm Magic user, am I?

All the spread-out trails of Carnal Mist mixed with Zheylu's arousal literally blow up like pipe bombs buried under the streets that have been lying in wait for their moment. All those pheromones burst out into every single direction, filling every single square inch of space inside the dome with invisible lust gas. Zheylu flavoured, of course.

In a flash, there's not a single hole that isn't filled with the passionate fumes. The explosions have been so impactful and strong that there's no doubt about a lot of the alluring scent making it past the barrier, far away into the water where it travels even further, even faster. All we have to do now is wait.

"Alastair…" Zheylu's strained voice reaches my ears as her fingers find my hair and tug on it strongly, bringing my face in front of hers. "No more of this torture… Please, breed me… Put your thing inside me… Drown my womb with your seed… Please, thrust in already or I'll die from how much I need it…"

Tears start welling up in the corners of her mesmerising eyes and Zheylu's legs literally wobble under her weight. Before I can respond, something else reaches my ears, this time not as pleasant as her gentle voice. Powerful thudding and stomping roll into the square from all sides, echoing between the buildings.

A huge swarm of all the Sahuagins in this entire city is about to pour onto us at any moment. Yet, Zheylu's eyes drill into me with desperate pleading for the long-denied release. Her face begs for mercy as she barely stands upright with the sheer power of her will to get railed. I can't leave her like that after edging her so much but I need to be ready to fight right now.

"Fuck it." I click my tongue, spotting the first bastards arriving at the edge of the square. "This is gonna be fast."

Zheylu yelps in surprise as I spin her around and bend her forward. Grabbing her wrists, I take a quick aim and slam my hips forward while pulling on her arms. My cock pierces her tight entrance and impales her hot insides in a flash thanks to how wet and aroused Zheylu is.

She screams in pleasure, throwing her head to the back, and reaches an orgasm the very instant I bottom out in her convulsing pussy. Her legs quiver like jelly as I hastily pound her with all I have, ploughing through her climax like mad. With each mighty thrust, a spray of liquid gushes out of her slit from how powerfully she is cumming.

Observing the starting battle, I drive myself as far into Zheylu as I can and release too, pumping her snug channel and welcoming womb full of my creamy seed, just as she requested. The warmth spreading through her sensitive, climaxing passage evokes an even louder scream of ecstasy from the pretty Merfolk lady.

Before she even finishes shaking, I plop myself out of her tight hold with some effort and lay Zheylu on the ground, summoning the draconic hilt to my hand just in time to slice an incoming fish dude in two. I don't get any more time to do anything else so I start swinging the mesmerising greatsword around, getting rid of all the Sahuagins blindly rushing in to have their way with the girl I have just finished inside of.

Certainly, fighting off a horde of fish monsters with a freshly unloaded stiffy isn't the most graceful and elegant thing to do but it's not like I have a choice. The only thing I need to think about is mass murder. The swarm is so big that the girls are having a hard time managing it by themselves. That's where I have to step in and get rid of all the individuals that make it through the first line of defence.

I have no idea how long we are fighting for, but the enemies literally don't end. It's like they are respawning out of our sight like in some fucked up video game that wants us dead no matter what. The only positive side is the fact that the majority of Sahuagins are lost in their desire and thus react poorly to anything if they even do in the first place. It certainly makes it a tad safer for us but it doesn't change how fiercely they charge towards their target, currently lying on the ground in a big puddle of love juices with a silly, blissful grin on her pouty lips, shivering once in a while in the post-orgasmic jolts.

Finally, after what feels like an hour or two, the reinforcements start thinning out and we begin picking out the weakest leftovers. The remaining Sahuagins must have been trampled on by the others as they are often bruised or straight-up wounded. We still have to get rid of them no matter what and we do exactly that.

When it doesn't look like any more will come, the girls drag themselves to the centre of the square, all panting, sweaty as fuck, and exhausted to the brim. No wonder. The surrounding area is in total ruin. They didn't hold back their spells and techniques. A quarter of the square is frozen and shattered, a quarter is flooded and ground up, and two are almost completely melted and burned with acid. Complete carnage. I don't even want to mention the dark blood spilt everywhere and the hundreds if not thousands of corpses.

"Never… again…" Cornelia somehow fits her words into her irregular breathing, supporting herself with a staff made of ice.

"I'm afraid we might have to fight forces a few times bigger than this later on." I chuckle at her.

She groans loudly and rolls her eyes, which end up on my dangling stiffy.

"Some of us… didn't get a chance for a blissful release… after being subjected to an ungodly aphrodisiac… for like fifteen minutes straight…" She squints at me accusingly.

"I wasn't planning on it either but Zheylu was in pain." I raise my hands up in surrender. "Speaking of which, how is she?"

"Greeeeeeeaaaaaat…" The Merfolk girl giggles from behind me, slowly stroking her creampied pussy with her fingers while lying on her side.

Cornelia snorts while Neira and my lovely Slimes chuckle together. I approach all of them and fill them up with my mana through Rejuvenate. As much as I would love to fill them up with something else too, now is not the time and we both know it, even though we jokingly bantered about it with Cornelia. Next, I take care of Zheylu too and bring her back to an operable state.

She still seems a bit weak in her knees so I jump back into my diving suit and take her up onto my back to carry her to the food storage. Naturally, she blushes heavily while holding onto my head as I hold her thighs under my armpits. The position might be part of the reason why, but I would bet on the fact that she is still dripping my seed from between her pretty folds right onto the ground with each shake that my steps cause to her body.

Returning to Meru and the females, we find them quite hot and bothered, unsurprisingly. My fierce Nershark mate handles herself the best, only showing a deep blush on her collected face and squeezing her thighs together. The other women are on their butts or knees on the floor, with quite some puddles underneath their bodies. It's apparent that over half of them couldn't stop themselves from touching a part or two.

Luckily, they don't throw themselves at me or the only other man in the room with abandon.

We wait for a little for everyone to recover properly and head out to the nearest breach. I inform Lianne and Alyssa about our arrival as we walk down the streets. Not a single living soul crosses our path. I would be disappointed in myself if we found any Sahuagins still hanging around after everything we did.

Peeking our heads outside the crystal barrier, we spot no enemies anywhere in sight either. I can easily sense traces of Zheylu's arousal in the water so things must have worked out here perfectly well too. If we are lucky, not a single bastard escaped our trap and the area is completely clear.

Nevertheless, we escort all the females to the ship so that they can reunite with their families, and most importantly, their lovers. The quicker they find their mates, the lower the chances of me getting dragged into another orgy full of aquatic ladies. I've had my fill in recent weeks. Not that I hate it, of course.

As the men mix with the women while looking for the people they know, we move to the side. Alyssa and Lianne approach us. A wide smile paints the Queen's lips.

"We could literally smell the sweet scent up here. You must have been working hard down there, hubby." She smirks cutely.

"Oh, you have no idea." Cornelia shakes her head with a wry smile.

"Alastair was incredible. His prowess has given me so many new ideas and inspirations. I'm almost as excited at the prospect of creating those masterpieces as I was about taking him in during the lure operation." Neira sighs dreamily.

Everyone chuckles together and we see Lheyman approach us.

"Are your people well? I hope the clothes we shared with them aren't too rough or uncomfortable," I speak first.

"They are more than fine. Thank you for your generosity." He makes a low bow towards us. "I came to you to discuss the future of our tribe."

"Even though we took down all the Sahuagins, I don't think it would be wise to stay in your city for now," Meru says, capturing his attention. "You won't be able to repair all the damage quickly and would be at risk of more enemies appearing at any moment. Your population is now greatly reduced too."

"What should we do, then?" He roams his gaze over all of us.

"Hmmmm… What are your relations with Mermaids?" I ask.

"We've traded with a few tribes in the past, but generally speaking, nothing special," he answers. "Why?"

"We recently helped a certain tribe settle down in old ruins not that far from here. They could definitely use some help in turning the new location into a proper home. I think they wouldn't mind letting you live with them for a while if you lend them a hand," I suggest.

"That's a great idea." Lianne nods excitedly.

"And a very safe one. We killed the strongest predators in that region." Meru agrees too.

"Then it's settled. If you are willing to share space with them, I can let the Mermaids know about the situation even right now." I glance at him.

"Please, do. We will be indebted to you and that tribe. If you ever need anything from us, we will answer without hesitation." Lheyman repeats the respectful bow.

Politely accepting his vow, I make contact with our friends in high places and quickly negotiate their cooperation. Though, I'm not sure if I should call it a negotiation when they not only accept all my requests but even try to push more benefits onto me. In any case, they are happy to host the Merfolk so we agree on that plan, deciding to let the rescued men and women rest for a day on the ship before they head out to their new temporary home.

Things move pretty fast after that as we are all quite tired after the recent events and it's soon evening, with everyone gathered in the mess hall for late dinner. Our new Merfolk friends quickly succeed in socialising with the sailor women and we all eat in a cheerful atmosphere.

Eating my fill, I excuse myself to our cabin for some well-deserved rest. The girls are still having fun amongst the others so I don't bother them unnecessarily. Just moments after I throw the diving suit off me and fall onto the bed, the door opens and someone walks inside. I raise my gaze, turning my eyes to the entrance, and find my two lovely Slime Queens making their way towards me.

"Got bored already?" I ask with a soft smile.

"We won!" Emi beams at me.

"Won what?" I furrow my brows at them.

"During the last battle, we struck down more enemies than Meru, Cornelia, and Neira, Master," Safi explains. "So many more that we actually ended up with the highest body count. Therefore, we actually finished in first place in the competition you hosted earlier."

"Yes! Emi and Safi worked hard!" Emi bounces up and down with excitement.

I chuckle at the jiggly cutie. "I see. Congratulations. I guess you want to receive your reward for being such good girls. Anything you have in mind?"

With a weak flash, the maid uniforms they have put on for the dinner disappear, leaving their translucent bodies fully exposed to the world.

"Right." I smile wryly to myself.

Looks like I can forget about resting for a while.