Chương 58: Afterglow

The date Kir had with Kordia and Rain turned out so wonderfully Kir's week passed in a haze of bliss. He felt oddly proud of himself for being able to work with Rain to grow Kordia's magic enough that she grew two of her potential nine tails.

Even though he was pushed into dueling three people in his same-year group - in separate incidents - he added three more victory stripes to his tail with barely any trouble.

He was more concerned about what he could get away with when it came to him, Kordia, and Rain's newfound intimacy, which often saw him either pinned or pinning one or the other or both to the wall as they made out - though in Kordia's case some vertical assistance was required for her to pin or be pinned.

Then came the night Stella fluttered into the window and transformed into her usual self.

"Hey boss," she said, looking utterly exhausted as she plopped her cheek against his bed.

"Are you alright?" Kir asked.

"Yeah... I just lost track of time writing... Sequels are hard... Can I get some mana?" she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Of course," Kir said lightly, beckoning her up for a kiss on the forehead.

As soon as he delivered the kiss, Stella shuddered, a sound vibrating out of her throat as she held herself before-

"You got fucking laid?!" she shrieked.

Kir instantly panicked, "Quiet! We're in a dorm, remember?"

"You got fucking laid!" she growled. "And you didn't tell me or summon me. I could have participated! Or watched!"

"First off, I thought you knew or something. Aren't I feeding you through your smut books or whatever?" Kir asked.

"When you're in range! I can't get shit out of you when you leave campus. No wonder I started writing so many make-out scenes with you and that angel slut..." she angrily chewed the tip of her tail, her wings fluttering with aggression.

"Don't call Rain a slut," Kir said flatly, remembering that Stella could read some of his experiences through his mana.

"He's an Erosian! Breeding is what they're for even if they're all prissy about it!" Stella snapped.

"I've been wondering about that," Kir said. "What does that mean, exactly?"

Stella rolled her eyes. "Ugh... he didn't knock you up, did he? I mean, you think you're half-angel or whatever. Not sure how that could work..."

"Kordia introduced me to some safestem tea," Kir said. Truth be told, he was unsure if he could even get pregnant, but he wasn't about to risk it.

'Safestem' was a catch-all name for any local variety of contraceptive drink or potion. In Norneau's case, it was an actual variety of tea leaf.

"You'll want to double up on that stuff at least once a week then. House of Eros is basically Heaven's go-to for their little breeding projects. Ensuring nobility in bloodlines and blah-blah-blah. Nobles aren't any different than anyone else if you haven't figured that out, but Erosians can pass on pink hair or more mana or whatever the Choir of Love wants to see in their pets. Also gives them an 'in' to tell them what to do."

"Pets?" Kir raised an eyebrow.

"Half the fucking kings and queens out there have angel blood in their family trees; for the man-like races at any rate. Angels don't typically go in for beastfolk, which is why your little angel would probably get his ass whipped if he knocked up that fox girl... Still can't believe you went out and got fucked without me..."

It was Kir's turn to roll his eyes.

"I could ask Rain if he'll let you watch us-"

"You mean it?!" Stella turned, her eyes glittering with hope.

Kir swore inside. He'd meant that as a joke, but Stella was still looking exhausted after receiving her dose of mana.

"I guess I have to now..." Kir grimaced.

A squealing sound rose out of the back of Stella's throat. She dove forward and hugged Kir.

"Thanks boss! Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you!" she bounced with excitement. "I'm so ready to get my next metamorphosis. I'm so close, I can taste it! I just need a big surge of mana..."

Kir flinched. "That's, um, not going to be bloody, is it?"

"Huh? No. Why would it be?" she tilted her head a little in confusion.

Kir described how his wings came in, which set Stella pondering. "Evolutions aren't supposed to be bloody at all. I mean, I grew out my wings slowly. Are you sure you're not part beastkin?"

"You can't tell from having demonically possessed my body?" Kir asked.

"It's more like demonic cohabitation," Stella retorted, "Just because I get run things doesn't mean I know how it was built."

"But don't angels and demons have different mana or something?" Kir asked.

"Do I look like a mana scholar?" Stella scowled.

Kir sighed and lay back on the bed. "No," he said. "But if you want I can teach you more things. Math, science, and stuff. I'm already tutoring Rain a little."

"I know math plenty good," Stella puffed her chest out proudly. "Ever heard of interest? My old boss had me dribbling numbers every day for all his little contracts and schemes."

"Compound or regular interest?" Kir asked with a cocky smirk.

"Both." Stella gave him a rude gesture and fluttered over until she was kneeling on his chest.

"Now that you're not a virgin, how about you show some interest in my compound-"

After the first six syllables, Kir picked her up by the armpits and carried her to the window before throwing her out.

"Asshoooooole!" Stella shouted as gravity took her.

Kir shut the window as she fell out of sight.

* * *

The next weekend came all too quickly.

True to his word, Kir had asked Rain if Stella could watch them. He was relieved when his boyfriend said 'Uh... No.'

Despite their newfound closeness, Kir and Rain still slept in separate beds. Over the week, Kordia had grown taller and more buxom, and far more confident as she adjusted to her newfound level of power.

The double-full moons passed without incident as the three of them rented another hotel room in town, only to discover that she didn't feel her heat very strongly. That night instead became a night of steady and gentle experimentation, and they all came away with more trust and affection for it.

The morning after, they woke up early to go to the local adventurer's guild, the trio having agreed to register as a team. Somehow, Kir got talked into accepting the role of leader, since he had the most interest in exploring such a dangerous profession.

After answering a whole bunch of questions and signing a lot of paperwork, the three of them were escorted to a large backroom to await testing.

After a few minutes, an older elven man with silver hair and a veteran air about him stepped into the room. He was dressed in rugged leather boots, a gambeson, and had an axe in a sling on his back. His voice when he spoke showed none of the age about him, and he was straight-backed and obviously well-muscled.

"So, we've got a trio of mages first today. I'm Luthien Karst," he gave everyone a respectful nod. On his belt was a badge of onyx.

"You're the hero of Priesgar!" Rain practically jumped to his feet as he stood at attention, "I'm Rainier Eros! But everyone calls me Rain! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"You look like the muscle of the group. I take it you're good with bodily enhancement magic?" Luthien smiled, ignoring the comment on his heroism.

"Wow, how did you know?" Rain asked.

"It's more common than you think. Take myself, for example. People assume I'm just a mavin and I let them, which won me more duels than battles, but that's beside the point. I can see you don't slouch on your body just because you can make it stronger."

Rain beamed, "My older brother told me that getting stronger helps the magic work."

"He's wise then," the old elf said. "Well, come down. Those of you who are going to be fighting up front will need to show me you're at least somewhat competent."

Kir rose up as well. He was far skinnier than Rain, but he didn't want to let Darlae's training go to waste, especially since he felt a bit guilty about slacking on his workouts lately. Unlike Rain, who was sporting his newly won claymore, Kir entered the arena with nothing in his hands, though he did roll his sleeves up to reveal his storage tattoos. He'd already lost one shirt to trying to bring the knives out without doing so.

"And you, little lady?" Luthien looked around the pair to Kordia.

"Oh, uh, I don't really know how to fight-fight..." she said, sounding far less nervous when dealing with strangers outside of school than in the past. She was still nervous though.

"Fair enough. You'll get a white rating on your badge for it, so don't worry about people expecting it out of you," Luthien assured her, before stepping towards the middle of the ring.

As the guild clerk had explained, beginners got red, orange, or yellow chips - typically made using squares of magically dyed and etched animal bone to prevent forgery - added to the center of their badges as indicators of the risk level they could take. The greater the skill they showed, the further along the spectrum they would advance until purple.

Beyond that rank, the badge itself would be replaced with one of mage-crafted onyx, set with precious gems to indicate one's specialties.

Six specialty marks indicated three magical and three physical proficiencies. The three on top of the badge were for offensive, defensive, and utility magic. The three on the bottom were for offensive, defensive, and utility skills. The chips that were slotted into those came in similar colors to the central one. White chips would be used to indicate skills that adventurers didn't have or did not wish to emphasize. If one earned an onyx badge, one was considered beyond needing such distinctions.

The receptionist had told them that the utility indicators was meant for people who wished to indicate they had some skill not covered by the other five, such as lockpicking, smithing, or cooking. It was also considered the "Ask Me" chip, since it had the broadest amount of applications. Only completely unskilled adventurers or nobles tended to accept white chips in utility skills.

"Which of you wants to go first?" Luthien asked as soon as he turned around, standing in the center.

Rain was so excited, Kir couldn't help but encourage him with a pat on the shoulder. He stepped forward, drawing his claymore by pulling until the straps unclipped from the side of the sheath.

"Let's begin," Luthien said with a grin.

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