บท 219: It's Almost Time

There are no additional visitors today after the Mayor of Dewhurst leaves. Using all the new motivation my encounter filled me with, I get to work. Not long after focusing, I finish up the documentation, seal it all up, and ready it for mailing. It's a little close to six in the evening now so I leave my office, eager for what the night has in store.

There's barely been any work done on the entrance hall whatsoever, and there are no maids to be seen. Curious. "Peri? Cherry?" I call out to them, only to hear nothing in response.

Being the paranoid man I am, it isn't long before I start envisioning dreadful reasons for the lack of Guild kittens. Then I hear rustling coming from the east wing, and I rush off to investigate. My hand clutches the golden ring I put upon my right index finger, intending full well to use my weapon if an intruder gives me a reason to.

"Kittens? I'm done with work for the day, it went smoother than I expected, so I'm somewhat early."

"Shit, Cherry, go stop him!" I hear Peri's voice coming from the occupied storage room. Cherry rushes out the door, closing it fast behind her before I can even get a glimpse of what's going on.

"H-Hey, Myaster. Um..." She looks around, unsure of what to say or how to say it. "We're kinda busy, and you can't come back here... ok?"

"Cherry, I need an explanation. As far as I can tell, the two of you haven't done a lick of cleaning all day-"

"Tell him there'll be LOTS of licking soon if he just goes away, nyaa!"

Cherry blushes at this lewd comment and furrows her brows, "Peri says there-"

"Yes, yes, her innuendo did not escape me." I sigh and cross my arms. "I take it there's a very good reason for this?"

"Yes!" Cherry stares straight at me, a fierce look in her sharp, magenta eyes. "You gotta just trust me, alright, Myaster? You'll find out later tonight, I promise."

Measuring up the seriousness in her expression, I nod my head. "Alright. Sounds like there's no helping it, so I'll back off for now. Do I need to make dinner as well?"

"No, we won't be that much longer! We're just... um... yeah." She looks away, evasive and still covering up the door like she has something to hide.

"Well, alright. I'll leave you both to it." I turn to walk away and hear the maid utter a sigh of relief before opening the door and disappearing back inside it.

I'm not mad that they disobeyed my cleaning orders for the day. I'd have to be real petty for that to actually matter. My mind is just adrift with all the possible surprises that the two maids have planned for me tonight during the ceremony. There's no telling what they could have been up to in our very own glorified sex closet.

Without much else to do, I go and visit the recovering girls only to find they're no longer lying around. Sam and Meri both are sitting up, playing a game of cards together. By the look of frustration evident on Her Highness's face, Meri is winning.

"How are we feeling, girls?"

"Better!" Meri smiles as she slaps down another card, "Mostly, I mean. We can get up and move around now, but we're still pretty sore."

"Who are you calling a sore loser, you dirty fucking cheater!" Sam throws her hand onto the bed, splattering the playing cards into many different directions.

"S-Sam, I didn't say that-"

"Shut up! If you're feeling good enough to win at card games, then you're feeling good enough to go make me those damn cookies you owe me!"

"Hwaah!" Meri blushes, hiding behind her cards like they were her beloved shield.

"By the way, Boss, the kitties said not to go in the main storage closet." Deciding she no longer wishes to play this losing game, the Princess folds her arms and plops down on her back.

"And why is that?"

"Master, don't ask too many questions. Y-You're not gonna get the truth from us...!"

"So what you're saying is you both know what's happening?"

"Yes, Boss, but you gotta understand that trying to surprise you is really fucking hard!" Sam grunts. She sits up again, looking right at me with an angry expression. "Those stupid eyes of yours make it so it's tough to lie to you, meaning everyone has to be like 'yeah something's up but don't ask about it, we promise you'll like it'!"

"Sam! You weren't supposed to say there was a surprise...!" The Shield Maiden frowns but begins to twiddle her thumbs. "She's kinda right, though... it's tough to pull one over on you, even if it's something you'll like..."

"I hadn't considered that. I guess I'll just try not to think about it while we wait for dinner..."

"What're you doing up here, anyway? Are you done with work already, Boss?"

"Yup, I had a meeting with Niall. It went well, for the most part." I feel no reason to panic the girls with his threats to forcibly close the Guild, so I omit that part of things. "Scoot over, and let me play a few hands with you." Taking the pile of playing cards off the bed, I sit between the girls and begin to shuffle the deck.

Sam gets over her hangups on losing long enough to give playing a game with me a shot. I deal the cards out, intending to have a fun time with the women I love, but... after only a couple of hands, Sam and Meri ban me from ever playing card games with them again. Why? On account of my ability to see through their absolutely pitiful attempts at making poker faces.

In my defense, Sam starts sweating bullets whenever she has a lousy hand, and Meri can't help smiling when she has a good one. It's not hard to pick up on their tells, magic eyes or not...

After Sam rage-quit once again, we ended up just hanging around together, lounging on the bed and talking about various things until the kittens interrupted us for dinner. Sam and Meri took their meals in the guest bedroom, relocating for the night, knowing that we would need it for the mating. Meri volunteered to help feed Zutiria, leaving me to eat with the kittens alone.

The tension between the three of us is palpable even as we idly sit around eating our supper. Cherry and Peri both sneak glances full of longing at me in between bites. Their cheeks flushed and their tails wagging incessantly behind them to the point where one might confuse them for Dogfolk.

It gets to be too much for me to bear, and I ask, "You really can't hold in your excitement for just a bit longer, can you?" Far from being mad, I give them a smile and watch as they both blush even harder.

"It's almost time, Myaster. How could we not be this excited...?" Peri cocks her head to the side, grinning.

"Yeah. What she said, nyaa..."

I sense more anxiety from the pink-haired kitten, so I take both of their paws in my hand and squeeze tight to reassure them. "It's ok, Cherry. I promise I'm going to take good care of you and make you feel better than you've ever felt. That's what you deserve."

This contact quickly proved to be too much for them. Cherry's mouth falls open, and she pants for air while Peri's ears twitch with pleasure. She attempts to nuzzle my hand, but I pull away. "Come on now, finish up eating so you can take your bath. I'm just as eager as you are, trust me. I saved up for today."

"What? B-But we heard you playing with the Mistresses last night!" Peri blurts out.

"I was only giving them a reward using some of the new toys. I didn't get any release myself. Even though I have practically unending stamina, I still wanted to make it special for us... for you."

The kittens both light up, look at each other, and smile. "Myaster... after hearing something like that, I doubt I can wait any longer..." Cherry purrs. "Can we go bathe, nyaa?"

"Please, please, please!" Peri adds, begging. "I think we're both too excited to hold down much more food, anyway..."

They only made it through about half of their dinner, but given how my own excitement is almost too much to contain, I can empathize with the plight of the two maids. "Of course, kittens. Go and get ready for me." By the time I finish my sentence, the two maids have already scampered halfway up the stairs.

Cherry turns, remembering something and making sure to let it be known. "By the way, you still can't go into the main storage room! You'll... uh... you'll ruin everything if you do, ok?"

"Very well. Don't keep me waiting too long, now." After enjoying a tankard of cheap ale, I wipe my lips and watch them both disappear from view. At once, my eyes are drawn to the entrance of the east wing.

When I finish with dinner and carry all the plates and trays to the kitchen, I pause and look down the short hallway leading to the collection of storage rooms. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say, so I don't intend to break my word and potentially ruin whatever surprise they have in store for me. Gods know that they've been looking forward to this for days on end. I don't want to make tonight any less special just because I can't be patient.

Right as I turn to enter the kitchen, I hear a shuffling sound coming from the end of the hallway, like the sound of boxes being moved. My desire to not spoil the surprise is tested- knowing that I could be hearing an unwelcome intruder.

I put the plates on the bar counter and move halfway down the hallway before calling out, "Hello? If there's someone here, then I would suggest you leave. Now." I activate the golden ring on my right hand, summoning the arcane tech pistol and gripping it firmly. After waiting for several more minutes just to be safe, I hear no other sounds and finally return my weapon into its natural state.

It's probably just the building's creaky wood or faulty support. At least, that's what I tell myself while doing the dishes and storing whatever leftovers can be stored. Feeling that I might have a bit of time left before the hour is at hand, I brew myself a cup of herbal tea and think about what lies ahead.

The wait to mate with Peri and Cherry was torturous, in no small part thanks to Peri herself. Yet as I sip my warm drink, I realize that I will never again have that problem. Hopefully, mating with the large-breasted Catfolk will help calm her down and make her easier to deal with from here on out. I still need to figure out a way to get her to reliably take her Succu-Bye every week, but I'll tackle that problem later on tonight.

When I leave the kitchen and the empty cup of tea behind me in the sink, I hear the words I've been longing to hear. Cherry yells at me from the second floor. "Myaster! We're ready for you now!"