We take the carriage back home and immediately crash on the bed, emotionally exhausted from the intense experience. Hukarere doesn't have the energy to return to the barracks, so she ends up falling asleep in the pile of women, though her [Solidify] runs out in the middle of the night.
--
Today is the 15th, Fo, day of Fire. It's thought to be the only day of the week when Okross could be melted in a magical forge, but there are few people alive who can actually confirm or deny this bit of trivia.
Lina happily wakes me up, struggling a bit to swallow my thick monster. It greatly pleases me to see her innocent face with my cock in her mouth, so of course, I paint her skin white, giving the cumslut her preferred makeup.
--
I increased my [Polearm Use] by 1 (now 12+4).
Ciel increased her [Wind Magic] by 1 (now 14+26).
Aoi increased her "Intelligence" by 1 (now 9). Her talks with Roxanne about bullets and chemistry have been really stimulating for her, it seems.
--
I cast my custom [Materialize] on Hukarere, and she gives me a lick on my cheek, then rushes out to get back to the barracks so that she won't miss the morning training.
I invite Anton and Krysta for breakfast because I want to give my personal chef a challenge. I ate not-Catupiry once, and now I'm dying for some chicken and Catupiry pizza, but the pizza culture in the empire is a bit lacking. The Mainlanders use pita bread, which is kind of a precursor to pizza, but mostly for dipping or sandwiches instead of baking it with something on top, and it lacks the softness of pizza dough.
Osaria seems to be enamored with me today, just staring at me and smiling absentmindedly while I describe what I want to Krysta. "I know that we need food to live, but don't you have a bit of an obsession with it?" She suddenly asks once I'm done.
"He only thinks about pussy and food. Pussy first, though," Roxanne innocently answers.
I smile smugly and reply with a snobbish tone, "I'm a bit of a 'gourmet.' I simply love having my tongue massaged by new and interesting flavors just as much as I like to put my dick into new pussy."
Anton is completely ignoring this conversation.
"'Gourmet'?" Klein questions confusedly, her face almost a mirror of her mother's.
"A person who enjoys savoring a wide variety of food," Ted begins.
"And has high standards for what they enjoy," and Suzy finishes.
"So, they're like your personal scholars, or something?" Anton questions as he gives the golems a curious glance.
"Personal bodyguards, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and tireless servants," Jarn diligently answers, and I swear that her tone carries a hint of pride.
"'Encyclopedias'?" Klein questions again, and the golems answer her immediately, then she starts shooting off questions in quick succession, amusing Anton quite a lot.
We ignore them, and Osaria turns to me. "I just find it endearing how intensely he enjoys things," she comments and chuckles softly, then her foot runs up my leg, aiming for my crotch.
Do you want a Ravaging? Because that's how you get a Ravaging.
--
As the special dish of this meal, there's toast with melted not-Gorgonzola and honey. It's a dragonkin recipe, so Hana enjoys it quite a bit. Ciel also has a thing for hearty, sweet things on toast, so she loves it just as much as I do. Only Yunia and Aoi are more reserved, the former because elves don't eat a lot of cheese, and the latter because of the lack of meat.
I find it interesting that lactose intolerance isn't really a thing here. While different races have different preferences when it comes to food, actual significant genetic differences between them for digestion are very rare.
And once our bellies are filled, we call Teresina to the castle.
It's a bit odd to think that we're getting married right now, but I also think that it'd be wrong to wait until the ceremony. We've been engaged for a little too long, and the girls deserve to be able to show off the Ryder surname to their parents when they reunite.
We put on our social, traditional racial clothes and wait in the main hall.
I could claim to be either half-Thorninan and half-Mainlander or just a pure Rabanarian, so I chose the latter. I'm wearing a long, black velvet cloak with silver stripes, silver horns on the back, and golden detailing that make it even prettier. Rabanarians like soft and tight-fitting clothing that can be easily worn under armor.
Alissa put on a long, orange not-kimono that trails along the floor behind her and has a large flower-shaped red ribbon above her tail. She's like a neatly-wrapped gift begging to be opened.
Roxanne donned a semi-transparent, black and purple ball gown with leather belts holding it together and black leather underwear. Of course, succubi fashion is all about being sexy and domineering.
Hana went for a puffy fur dress with a boob and abs window. She considers herself more of a Sommerlande, but for racial clothes, she obviously fits better in something dragonkin. She looks like a mix between a posh lady in fur and a barbarian.
Ciel is sporting a silvery sundress embroidered with yellow flowers. She could go for the Rabanarian look, but she feels much more comfortable in something like this. Loose and brightly-colored clothes fit her best as they enhance her curves and skin tone, respectively.
Lolita fashion is actually racially appropriate for Lina, so she put on the cutest silvery dress that fits with our heraldry. I'm a sucker for cute, so I feel like defiling her petite body and her innocent clothes.
There's no known dragon fashion, so we decorated dragon-Aoi with as much jewelry as we could, Chimera-style, and tied a silver veil to her back. She actually looks pretty majestic like this, waking up the dragon inside me.
Yunia's chosen dousnadeia is made of long white strips of cloth that drag along behind her on the floor, and every inch of it is covered in silvery or black patterns. This time, she's wearing as much clothing as she ever did, though she also has a boob and abs window like Hana.
These are just our best formal clothes. For the actual wedding, we'll have a lot more imagery going on.
Gify and the golems aren't marrying me, but we give them some silvery jewels, too, since we have more of those than we can count. Not even Yunia knows how much there was in the treasury, and that's before we added Arreira's legacy to it.
We all look really sexy, though, so I pull out the [Instant Painting] gem and take another "photo," then Aoi uses me to keep my excitement down while we wait, but the twins arrive soon after, so that ends earlier than she wanted it to.
Teresina doesn't take long to arrive. The gilf enters the castle with an energy level that you wouldn't expect from someone her age, strutting forward with as much determination as a soldier.
With just a thought, Yunia uses an enchantment in her throne to grow a table up from the white grass carpet.
"I must say, this is a rather unusual request," Teresina comments as she comes closer, then she notices the red patch near the middle of the hall and frowns softly. It's become red because the grass actually absorbed Ira's blood.
The gilf decides to ignore it and walks past the patch, then, with a *poof*, she pulls out a heavy, ornate book directly onto the table.
"The ceremony will be held one day, don't worry," I assure her with a confident smile.
"That's not what I meant…" She complains and gives me an annoyed side-eye.
"Some of us lack a last name, so we'd like to rectify that," Yunia coolly replies.
Teresina's stern face softens a bit, and she nods. "Ah, I understand." Then she gestures to the book. "Come forward, and we shall start."
For every marriage, there needs to be witnesses, and ours are the golems, Klein, Osaria, Poosh, Mimi, and the twins. Alissa invited my loyal sheep because she thought that she would enjoy this.
We get up from our thrones and approach Teresina, crowding around the table.
She gives everyone a look, then clears her throat and starts, "Today, these lovers, Wolf Ryder, Alissa, Hanafuria, Roxanne Succubus, Ciel, Lina, Aoi, and Yulania are to be married. From this day forth, they'll work together for the sake of each other's happiness and safety; they'll work together to further prolong the gift of life given to us by the God of Creation; they'll work together to fulfill their duties as members of the humanoids and create a family, be it of blood or not. They have decided that their lives together hold more value. And so, we'll now bear witness to their vows."
First, I turn to Alissa and grab her hands, then I stare into her entrancing orange eyes and whisper, "I am yours, and you are mine."
"I am yours, and you are mine," she repeats in the same tone, her eyes becoming misty-eyed.
I kiss her lips gently, then I lovingly rub her cheek with my tail and release her.
I turn to Roxanne and grab her hands, then I stare into her bewitching eyes and recite, "I'll protect you, I'll keep you happy, I'll fight along with you and defend you. Together, we'll venture far. I'll entrust you with my life."
She gets all giddy, gushing with happiness, and takes a few seconds to get her emotions under control again before she repeats, "I'll protect you, I'll keep you happy, I'll fight along with you and defend you. Together, we'll venture far. I'll entrust you with my life."
I get on my tip-claws, and she leans down so that we can kiss, then I move on to Hana.
I grab her hands, and she strongly grips mine in hers, giving me a fearsome smirk with her yellow eyes as I announce out loud, "I swear to you my body and soul, my sword and magic. I swear to protect you and keep you happy forever."
She stands tall and proud, towering over me even more than usual since she's wearing heels, and her strong voice echoes through the hall, "I swear to you my body and soul, my sword and shield. I swear to protect you and keep you happy forever."
She suddenly hugs my waist and pulls me up, then gives me a strong kiss that ends in a wet smack before letting me back down again.
Still slightly stunned, I move on to Ciel and hold her soft hands. We stare warmly at each other while I huskily recite, "I'll take care of you, support you, fight along with you, and love you. I swear to be always at your side and that I'll always work towards a better future, together."
She doesn't hesitate to repeat, "I'll take care of you, support you, fight along with you, and love you. I swear to be always at your side and that I'll always work towards a better future, together." And her voice started to crack near the end.
I grab her face and savor her juicy lips, then I move on to Lina. Her little hands contrast so strongly against my big, mean claws that I feel like worshiping her right here, right now.
She suddenly wakes up from her daze, and I declare, "I'll protect you, I'll keep you safe, I'll always support you and encourage you to grow. I'll always love you, and I entrust you with my life."
Her droopy eyes stare at me as if they were empty, her anxiety overwhelming all other emotions, and her mouth moves on its own, reciting the words that she thoroughly memorized, "I'll protect you, I'll keep you safe, I'll always support you and encourage you to grow. I'll always love you, and I entrust you with my life."
I press my lips against hers, and that breathes some life into her. She grips my hands and pushes her lips against mine, then we end it with a wet smack, and she giggles softly.
I turn to Aoi and hold her large, draconic head. "I vow to kill for you, to never abandon you, and to stay by your side, forever."
She calmly repeats, her thin lips curled up, revealing a toothy grin. "I vow to kill for you, to never abandon you, and to stay by your side, forever."
I press my face against her snout, and her long, slippery tongue invades my mouth, giving it a strong lick before letting me go.
I pat her head lovingly, then I turn to Yunia. I grasp her delicate, perfectly feminine hands and stare into her striking, blue eyes.
"I'll never let you feel alone again," I whisper gently.
"I'll never allow us to stray apart," she responds in kind.
Our lips meet in a gentle caress for a second before they part.
Hana suddenly pulls Roxanne into a hug. "You belong to me," she breathes, domineeringly.
"I belong to you," Roxanne reflexively answers and giggles.
Then Lina lifts her innocent, gloomy eyes towards Ciel. "I'll become someone you can rely on," she vows earnestly.
"You already are…" Ciel breathes reflexively, her heart touched by Lina's determination. "I'll always be here for you," she replies affectionately, then kneels down and hugs my little girl.
Teresina turns her amused face towards the rest of the girls, waiting for more vows, but there aren't any other sub-couples among us, at least for now, so she motions to a white magical quill on top of the book.
I pick it up and write my name in it, then the girls follow suit. Meanwhile, Teresina chants [Detect Evil], then her hands glow, and she touches me. I feel "something" enter my soul, and it immediately searches every nook and cranny of it, but it finds nothing, so it leaves after a split second. It isn't exactly unpleasant, but it's definitely a weird feeling.
Teresina touches each of us in turn, giving Aoi a curious look when she touches her, then she moves on and announces, "No evil is present in this ceremony, no lie was spoken between them. All those present thus accept this wedding as valid, and now the gods will watch and judge your union as you progress. May happiness and success find all of you. You are now husband and wives."
Second time's the charm, I guess.
The witnesses clap, and we share a group hug. After waiting for so long, we're all finally married. After going through so much together, so much pain, struggle, happiness, and love, it feels like it was a bit overdue. I only slightly blame Alissa's stubbornness for that because I'd have married them all ages ago if she didn't want to wait until we were True Nobles.
"I have no regrets!" Alissa happily exclaims through [Bind].
While we crush each other's bones, I feel my "Status" change. Once I'm finally allowed to breathe again, I confirm that everyone's "Fiancée" entry has changed to "Wife," and they all now have the "Ryder" last name.
The burst of emotions eventually subsides, and Yunia walks over to the twins, then she grabs their hands and states, "You're now the last of the original Este family. Wear your name with pride."
They both lower their heads and reply in sync, "We will, sister."
Hana approaches Mimi and lightly punches her shoulder, but Mimi doesn't even flinch.
"Jealous?" Hana teases with a fearsome grin.
"Honestly, a bit," Mimi casually admits, though her expression is as serious as it usually is.
Hana lifts her eyebrows suggestively. "You can still join as a concubine."
"I'll pass," she declines without hesitation.
Osaria comes in to give me a hug, and the witnesses gather to give us their congratulations.
"I'm grateful that you allowed me to witness this intimate moment," Poosh happily coos and lowers her head respectfully.
"You're quickly becoming someone important to this family. We'll always welcome you with open arms," Alissa kindly replies, making Poosh blush.
"I'm happy for you," Osaria whispers and pats my head lovingly.
"Yeah, you all really do deserve it!" Klein happily exclaims, a bit emotional herself, which isn't unexpected considering the small roller coaster that is our relationship.
--
With that done, it's time to visit Lina's parents. We put on our metal armor and inform the High Officers about where we're going.
Sandoro makes us take Azador and a squad of (female) Companions with us, this time all veteran elves, but we don't take anyone else with us to avoid annoying Mimi. Though, I want to bring Osaria and Klein to visit Mountainhome one day.
We enter the underground stone hall of the Imperial [Eternal Gate] Network and request a teleport to Mac Gantus, the capital. As Crown Lords, we just need to show our ID tablets, and we're allowed to pass. Seeing the name "Ryder" being repeatedly recorded in the log by the officer brings me a great deal of satisfaction and pride.
The gigantic metal gate slowly creaks open, revealing a large and wide corridor blocked by a white veil, which is the [Eternal Gate] itself.
After we cross through it, we immediately notice that the air is cooler, but much more humid here. The guards are now all either humanoid or weredog with olive skin and dark hair. They don't even bat an eye at Aoi, surely having seen far more stranger things in the past.
It'd be nice to get out of here and see the town, but we don't really have the time, so we continue on to Hombombein, Mountainhome's capital.
After passing through, the air is now significantly drier and perfectly pleasant with a hint of artificial air conditioning since the dwarves are obsessed with air quality.
The guards are all muscular and wide Tolkien dwarves, though they're sporting sets of shining metal armor, so we can only see their eyes and long beards from underneath their full plate.
Then we take another, smaller [Eternal Gate] to Bersidon. There's no perceptible change in the air, but the guards here are visibly stiff, trying not to gawk at the completely outlandish troupe that we form.
We're not allowed to exit into the Lord's home, so we take the one to the Lord's Hall in their small Nobles' Quarter.
We exit into a cool, comfy, stone building somewhere underground. The lighting in here is solely provided by crystal lights, giving it a moody atmosphere. Simple geometric carvings in dull colors decorate the gray, smooth stone that everything was carved into. The ceiling is quite tall, and the hall is very roomy, forcing them to use pillars to support the building's integrity. I guess the dwarves must be compensating for something.
The commoners and officers in here are all cute and look like children, just like Lina, and they definitely haven't been trained in proper etiquette since everyone gawks at us, even our Lordsguard, who are the most plainly dressed out of all of us. I figure that the wooden elven armor that our men use must seem very conspicuous to the short-statured metal experts.
"I think I just made someone urinate themselves," Aoi proudly comments through [Bind].
"I doubt it, though it was probably a close call," Alissa replies and kindly pats her scaly head.
Lina ignores the stares, and her feet suddenly move on their own, taking her out of the Hall, so we follow close behind her.
Once she gets out onto the street, she immediately stops and slowly takes in everything around her. We're in some sort of cave composed of gray and light green stone. Square buildings are carved into the rock everywhere, not only embedded into the floor and the walls but also going up into the ceiling, with suspended bridges or brick roads connecting them.
Then Lina's head jerks towards a huge, straight tunnel nearby that lets the sunlight from the surface pour in, and we see a considerable number of people traveling along its length.
"There…" She mumbles, and we start walking towards it.
"Perhaps I should secure a carriage, your Highness?" Azador politely inquires.
"No need. We're all physically fit here," Yunia replies for me and glances towards Roxanne, who pouts angrily for a second in response.
"As you wish." He lowers his head and drops the subject.
--
The grid-like organization of the roads here makes it extremely easy to find the main road that leads to the surface. It's quite busy, but our presence is so imposing, and our armor is so shiny, that everyone immediately gets out of our way, and the few distracted people who don't eventually do so with haste once they notice Aoi's glare.
I pull out the Golems just to let them experience the megalophobia I'm feeling right now.
"Honestly, I think it seems pretty comfortable to live underground like this," I casually comment.
Hana grunts in agreement and adds, "Yukiyama is also underground. It's pretty hot and humid, though."
"A cave gives a lot of protection, which allows us to relax more," Aoi chimes in, sounding strangely wise.
"Hey!" She grumbles inside my soul space.
"Of course. That's one of the main reasons that we build underground," Lina explains, suddenly breaking out of her spell.
"This cave feels rather cold, though," Aoi complains.
"Of course the big lizard would prefer the heat," Hana remarks sagely with a nod.
Aoi narrows her eyes at her and softly growls, scaring the almost literal shit out of the cute dwarven man/child walking past us.
Then, a second later, a wagon being pulled by ox-like beasts swerves to avoid us, though I'm not sure if it was deliberate since the animals are definitely distressed.
Aoi's anger cools down after seeing all of that. "I kind of like this…" She admits with a toothy grin as she amusedly watches the wagon moving away.
"It's actually pretty surprising to see how afraid people get around you," Hana adds in wonder.
Alissa frowns and retorts, "Not really…? I mean, she is a dragon. Outside of Rakontagne and Rabanara, I don't think anyone here has ever seen one from up so close."
Hana rests a hand on Aoi's large head. "How could anyone ever be scared of this beautiful, feminine face?"
The Companions share a confused look.
"She's not serious, not completely," I state out loud with a wry smile, at which, Hana smirks.
--
With each step, Lina's heart beats faster as more and more memories rush to the surface of her mind. She didn't come down underground that often, but she still fondly remembers these walls.
The air gradually becomes drier and hotter, and our view suddenly opens up once we emerge from the tunnel.
We're on the slope of a gray mountain with dust and stone covering everything around us. Small square roofs peek out from underground since the houses here are half-sunk into it, kind of like a Hobbit's home. Farther down the slope, we see what appears to be a canyon, the famous Kanom Road, and it seems to be pretty busy with people going up and down the serpentine path that connects it to Bersidon. Far off in the distance is the Atskild Mountain Range, which is a chain of jagged, rust-colored hills that stretch across the entire horizon.
Lina takes a minute to reorient herself, and then her feet move on their own again.
We continue down the mountainside, and I notice how the steps for pedestrians are all perfectly carved into the stone. Signposts for inns and other shops dot the road with increasing frequency as we get closer to the town's wall, but there's rarely any other type of decoration to be seen here on the surface.
Underground, we saw mostly dwarves, but now, up on the surface, we see a lot of Mainland humans, Asian humans from Wideberg, dark-skinned humans from Sommerland, weredogs, werecats, werebunnies, halflings, the odd dragonkin, and even a few beastfolk, but not a single silver-elf can be seen, even though we're so close to Elaria.
Lina gradually picks up speed, her little feet scurrying down the steps before she suddenly makes a right turn and darts down a corridor.
The numerous signposts suddenly become far less common as we enter the residential area, but Alissa spots one far ahead, and Lina notices it too soon after, then she breaks into a run.
We hurriedly follow after her, smiling warmly at her eagerness, then we see a young dwarf emerging from the shop up ahead.
The boy has dark hair and droopy, gloomy eyes just like Lina's, and his open wide once he notices the troupe running towards him, but then he turns to Lina, and his jaw goes slack in surprise.
"Fuda!" Lina shouts, her voice cracking as she starts to cry.
"Lina?!" He shouts back, but then he freezes up completely, like a deer in headlights.
That's her brother.
--
--
Hall of Fame of Patrons
The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:
Prince PreownedFIN.
Prince Creamy Spinach.
Lord Andrew Meyers.
Lord Samuel Lim.
Lord Bill.
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Lord Michale Erwin.
Lord Bakerdea.
Lord Maurice.
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Lord Mattirro Draca.
Lord Colorblind.
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Lord Sean Drake.
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Lord Mike Bartter.
Lord Cardinal Steiner.
Lord Krawn.
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Lord Christopher Welsh.
Lord DJ.
Lord Philip.
Lord Tenebris Lupus.
Lord ImportantNPC.
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Lord Chris Carter.
Noble Salty Panda.
Noble Mild Fracas.
Noble Aclys.
Noble Shawn Plumley.
Noble CarlBaxter.
Noble Yeuromain.
Noble Brandon Lai.
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