AN: Im sorry im late, had hand injuries that took long too heal cuz I'm a damn diabetic. But anyway it healed a while ago, so i just wrote chapters. Have like a week or so written, just not edited and i might add stuff. So expect a chapter a day, roughly, for like all this week. Um, but they might be late if I'm writing chapters for other stories and whatnot
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"I am so proud of this community." That was my assessment after less than ten minutes wandering the bustling, still-developing city. "It's glorious!"
"It's certainly chaotic." Bubbles stated. She started ripping apart her clothing due to the heat and ended up with an exposed leg and midriff before putting up a finger and lightly spraying water into the air as a sort of mist to cool off. "It suits you. Looks like it's going to be big, too, this place."
"I did hear reports of a Solaire making waves in the Dry Lands." Becks folded her arms as she gazed around. "It's unexpected that it was to this extent."
"
"Well, it's partly due to me." Her sister replied. "Because we entered into a political marriage the residents would obviously migrate and seek help from his followers after Ko was attacked,"
"Ko was attacked? Why?"
"I had a scuffle with his uncle a while ago."
"Llyr." The cold-faced woman's expression turned even chillier.
"Yeah. Wait, you know his name?"
"I've known Muriel for a long time. Though I've not met him personally before coming to this real, I still heard him being mentioned a time or two. And after finding out she's here and remembering what kind of Dragon he was, it was simple connecting the dots. After all there are only so many Dragons of Royal blood out there."
"Yeah, pretty hard to mistake an Okeanos family member. That uncle is a tough bastard, too. I barely made it out alive, and Ko was ruined, but most people survived. By the way, I saw a giant icicle when we visited his hideout. Was that you?"
A nod. "I went back to get his blessing. It was time. I wasn't sure why, but it was."
"Blessing for…?"
The woman jerked her chin towards me.
"Ah. Right. So that's what he meant. He did say something strange back then."
"I wanted to beat an acknowledgment out of him. I was going to do the same with Muriel...she would never have given it otherwise. But I ended up losing control of myself when I saw you two…" She trailed off and clenched her jaw tight. "Well. It was a surprise, to say the least. I got emotional. Sloppy."
"Saw us do w--oh my god. " Realization quickly dawned. Her eyes went wide. "That's right, his mother likes to peep...and you saw when we...oh, hell. Becks. I'm so sorry."
"It's fine." Her sister waved her off.
"I mean I knew you liked him, but I didn't know he was your...you know. If I did I would have stopped myself. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wasn't even sure I believed it myself." The woman's indifferent tone sounded out. "It'd been so long. I thought I'd be cold forever. Numb forever. And the only time I felt like I wasn't, was when he was nearby." She turned to me then. "I watched you, you know. For a long time I'd be near, just close enough to feel the warmth you give me. I couldn't be there often, but whenever I had time I would go to you and enjoy the feeling of my beating heart. The blood pumping through my veins. They became my most cherished moments." Her calm, steady gaze was bright and full of intense sincerity.
I shrugged. "I dunno, lady, you haven't had nearly enough screentime for that to make my kokoro go dokidoki. But hey, you can follow me if you want. I mean we don't have to be lovers, eh? I could always use another attendant."
"...Attendant…" I could feel the surrounding area start to cool just a little. "That's not what I want. I--"
"Tough titties, kid. That's the deal."
The lady opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted.
"This guy won't fall easily. He is under the delusion he is a devoted man." Bubbles patted her sister's back. "Don't worry, we'll rape him later."
"Oi." I warned.
"What? Everyone's doing it."
Vera snorted. "Some of us don't need to."
"Jeez. Can you be any more annoying?" Bubbles sneered. "I was just joking."
Meanwhile Mary took a step towards me and clutched at my shirt. She stared at the other, younger woman until she turned white and blanched.
"I was really just joking, alright? Gods!" She threw up her hands.
"You shouldn't be joking about something like that at all." Mary all but hissed, a cold venomous edge to her voice.
"Come on. I wouldn't seriously do that to him anyway."
"But you could." Mary replied. "You could, and he'd just shrug it off like it doesn't matter. But it should matter. And if you were really his friend you'd be horrified by it too, not standing there joking about how he'd been used."
Bubbles raised a brow."That's rich coming from someone whose relationship with him started only because she couldn't keep her panties dry in his presence. Oh yeah, honey, I know. I don't care if you are the most important figure in the realm, you have no room to talk. At least I was his friend first. In fact from what Dolly told me you were practically his second mother and you still ended up sleeping with him. How is that not messed up?"
"She's a sexy milf. It's not messed up, it's hot. And I mean. There's no use crying over spilled milk. You call it rape. To me it's just another Wednesday. It's just sex." I sighed. Well, if it happened to other people I wouldn't be saying that. But it's me and I'm not your average guy. I couldn't care less. Being taken advantage of by beautiful women? Could be worse things done to me.
"You don't have normal values." Vera stated. "You don't understand how fucked up it is, but we do. So just be quiet and let us protect what little remains of your dignity."
"My dignity? Um, excuse me, aren't you the one who was letting me service her in front of her own mother? Your dignity is the one that seems to be in danger, love."
"My dignity is pristine. I indulge the man I love, how is that wrong? It's just foreplay anyway. We're all consenting adults, who is anyone else to judge?"
"Same thing with me."
"Young Master, the keyword is 'consenting'"
Good point. "Oh. Well then. Alright, I'll be quiet." I relented. Maybe she is right, after all. I'm fucked up six ways from Sunday. I'm probably not a good judge of what's acceptable or not, in this case at least.
"Uh." Mira finally spoke up. "Before you do that, what is this place? Why are we here?" The swollen Fae beauty was busy fanning herself due to the ungodly heat. I immediately ripped my coat into a large piece, conjured some ice, and handed it to her.
"Here."
"Thanks." She took it gratefully and placed it near her neck. "But you didn't answer my question."
"Yet." I pointed out. "And it's just my Kingdom. I sort of became a local deity here and people started coming over."
ther
"You also forcefully converted the bandit population and made them your subordinates." Bubbles helpfully reminded.
"Right. That too. I was hunting some blasphemous scumbags and needed the help, so I drafted people into my army. After a while they started deifying me because I kept exploding with life energy back then and accidentally creating oases. Very important to these guys."
Mira looked at me strangely. "So that's why your essentia changed. I see. It's the power of their faith."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Your Divine power. It grew. It normally wouldn't since even Angels can't convert faith to Divine energy. Theirs is allotted to them. Some get more, others less, but they can't change how much they possess unless they're given more by the gods themselves."
"What is it, this Divine power?"
"Well, mother once said it's the power of miracles but that's all I know. How it differs from mana and magic, I don't understand."
Miracles, hm? Pretty vague, that. Just being able to use my life energy to bring back people who have a foot in the grave is already pretty miraculous. And magic is as great a phenomena as I've ever imagined. I'll probably learn more about it later, though. It's not exactly important right now.
"Ok, well that's enough talk. Let's explore, shall we?" I was eager to see just what this place had in store.
***
"Is it just me, or is there something weird about the people here?" Mira asked.
She'd noticed it for some time now, but…
"Weird how?" Damien, Mira's father, questioned back as he strode forward with two green-haired beauties in each arm.
"The women. They're staring. At you." Mira pointed out.
"Hm?" He gave a cursory glance at their surroundings.
Vera, Mira's first stepmother, raised a bro as she looked at her from the side."But that's normal?"
"They look like they want to eat him."
Mary, Vera's mother and Mira's second stepmother, raised a brow also. "But that's normal?"
"No, but they look...zealous."
The blue-haired Chelsea--more famously known as Bubbles, as dubbed by Father--who was technically Mira's real first stepmother, gave another odd look. "But that's--?"
"Okay, fine. Forget I said anything." Mira huffed. "But even the men are looking at him!"
The cat-eared beastkin, Minerva, was Mira's saving grace. "It's okay, Miss Mira. Those are just Master's followers. They must sense his divine countenance."
"Master's holiness emanates from his every pore. It's very soothing." The blonde-haired beauty, Evie, whispered solemnly. Mira had almost forgotten that the two were quite...devoted to her father. For example each day before every meal they would sit at the table and say grace, thanking her father for the meal and quietly paying homage. Or they would pray in front of a shrine they'd built in the living room. They'd light incense for him and kneel in front of it for almost a full half hour.
Other times they would take to the streets and try to convert the populace. Suffice it to say, they were zealots. Though they didn't seem like it at first glance, whenever the topic came to her father they would go into a strange state of calm god-worship. Devotion towards Mira's father had settled deep into their bones.
"You know, actually, they do seem a bit different from normal now that you mention it." Her father agreed. "Aren't they looking at Bubbles, too, even?"
"Oh, you're right." The woman exclaimed. "Well, people should know me. But you've always kept your head covered, right? Not many should recognize you as Solaire."
Just then a random man in leather armor walked up and knelt down. Father stared at him for a moment. Rather, at a bit above the man's head.
All of a sudden the man jumped up and started pumping his arm. "Oh my god. Guys, he gives buffs!"
"What?!"
"Buffs?!"
"So it IS Solaire!
"In person...this is amazing! A Divine personally appearing this early in the game? And giving buffs? Insane!"
"Me next, me next!"
"Move over!"
"Quit shoving!"
"Those buffs are mine!"
All of a sudden various exclamations rang out.
"Look, it's the hottie God from the church!"
"Hubby~!"
"He's even sexier in person, oh sweet Jesus."
Mira tensed immediately. What was going on?! People were gathering around them like moths to a flame. Mira feared being overrun and trampled, but moments before the crazed men and women reached them several figures rushed out faster than the rest and encircled them protectively.
"Blasphemous scum!" A sharp female voice shook with fury. "Do not dare touch our Lord with your filthy hands! Back away! However many dares still come is however many will die!"
The voice belonged to a brunette--the veil covering her face doing little to hide her beautiful delicate features--in modified nun robes. WIth two slits on the side she revealed a pair of legs bearing fishnet stockings and a short leather belt wrapped around each thigh. The woman's top half had a heart-shaped hole at the breast area and at her neck was a thick collar, also leather, where a small lock was keeping it shut tight. Most notably the woman's eyes were blindfolded by a blue piece of cloth, but that didn't seem to hinder her at all. A golden earring also hung on her right lobe in the design of a sun, seen through the veil due to it's bright luster.
After making her statement to the general populace, she turned. And approached father, her every step precise. She fell to her knees in front of him and took something out of from between deep within her breasts. A silver key.
"My Lord, I am Sister Agnes. With this key I offer you my body and soul. Please accept and grant me the honor of servicing you tonight." She held her hands and prayed "Bless me and my Sisters with your seed so that we may birth strong warriors for your glorious Kingdom. "
Mira and the rest of the women around her blinked in surprise.
Meanwhile father was sighing and rubbing his temple.
"Fucking hell. They're Mormons."