After we bury Lorena's body, the Chimeras stay with her to help her adjust to her new life, then I quickly take my leave and return to the castle.
Ciel, Lina, Yunia, Osaria, and Mimi are having a meeting, but after the funeral, I really need my milf to comfort me.
"O-sa-ri-aaaa~…!" I whine childishly as I burst into the meeting hall.
She jumps in her seat and turns a surprised face towards me. "O-oh…?! Y-yes, my love…?" She reflexively replies, giving me a boner from hearing her say the words "my love."
"I want to be pampered!" I exclaim as I pull a chair over to hers, then I sit down and lay my head on her armrest.
She gives me a warm, motherly smile, and her dark fingers run through my hair. Her touch is a bit more intense than Poosh's delicate fingers, so it's a different experience. She's full of passion while Poosh would show more respect.
"You did well at the funeral," Yunia kindly praises me, and I smile softly at her.
"I was actually worried that Sandoro would scold me, but the meeting with the High Officers went much better than I expected," I bashfully admit and close my eyes for a moment.
"Since when did you become so childish?" Mimi unamusedly questions.
"He always acted like a baby when it came to my breasts," Osaria teasingly comments, and my wives all nod a bit bashfully.
"I'm just acting my age," I cheekily reply and show Mimi my tongue, making her snort.
"How old are you, actually?" Osaria softly asks.
"Seventeen," I answer with an innocent tone and show her my best wide, puppy eyes.
"Liar," she immediately accuses.
I grin and deflect, "Apologies for interrupting your meeting. You may continue now."
Yunia rolls her eyes and continues the discussion.
We directly control a good part of the Eia production, but the Lordship also has a few other businesses to complement our income, and she's talking about the direction that she wants those businesses to take since Mimi and Osaria will be supervising them from now on.
Ciel and Lina also pay attention to this meeting to help them learn a little more about how to govern since we all want to help ease Yunia's burden from managing our territory.
I'm not an economist, but if we want to get closer to the dream of a socialist utopia, I also need to pay attention to this to help out in the future. My contribution is my (limited) knowledge of Earthling politics, so I may be able to provide foresight in certain matters that could prevent catastrophes in the future.
My take is that the High Forest's economy is a bit complicated. As Lords, we have absolute power over our territory, but the Tribunal (and the temple, though with less influence) prevents us from abusing our power since it has direct approval from the Elder Council, which lets them do their thing, as long as they also don't abuse it.
But who watches the Watchmen?
In the end, only the Emperor watches over the Elder Council, which is why I'd like to find a way for us to enter their ranks.
But anyway, back to the economy. The Lordship-owned businesses have the advantage of not paying taxes, so it's easy for us to overtake every other business and establish an absolute monopoly, but neither the temple, nor the Tribunal, nor even the Gods want such a thing to exist.
"Power" in Rupegia is something only to be held by the noble class, so merchant companies growing so big that they can "own" a country is a concern for everyone with even a smidgen of "Piety." But on the other hand, this kind of "power" is to be used exclusively to provide an environment for everyone to "grow." And that growth also needs a certain degree of freedom to actually take place.
The age of God-Rulers, who had absolute control over everything concerning the commoners' lives, is long gone. In this age, the main philosophy for managing businesses is "balance." The God of the Sun may have been kind of a libertarian, but he also preached about "moderation" to an equal extent.
The "balance" of our businesses is maintained by controlling a number of the elements of a business, and the most common control is the number of employees that we can hire. It's the Tribunal that dictates those elements so that the growth of our businesses is highly controlled, but in matters of "national security," like the supply of Eia, we're allowed to control a large share of the "market."
Curiously, this artificial limit forces some of our businesses to cater exclusively to nobility so that they can handle the demand, and as a result, they end up being quite profitable for us since the nobles compete to "forge relations" with the Lord. Though, that also annoys Osaria since it ensures that there's a lot of greedy nobles bothering her with business proposals.
Tangentially, it's those proposals with nobles that will allow us to build our clan. The limitations are only set on businesses directly owned by the Lordship, so if close relatives open up shop, like the Gilbiks, then they're free to grow as much as they can as long as certain laws are obeyed to prevent monopolies. It's kind of a loophole, but maintaining a loyal clan is harder than it looks, so that's "balanced" enough for the Tribunal.
Back to the economy, again. These "Lord-owned-businesses" have a lot of financial reports that they have to submit, which the Tribunal uses to keep an eye on them, and that's kind of convenient for us since we need that same process of accounting to implement our intended socialist plans in our territory.
We don't collect income taxes, so there's certainly a lot of revenue that we could squeeze out of the higher class that currently goes untouched. This money could fuel so many projects that it makes me salivate, figuratively.
"Taxing the income of the merchants will cause a lot of problems for us," Yunia tries to shoot down my idea.
I knit my eyebrows in confusion and point out, "I thought that the Tribunal protected the commoners."
Yunia nods gently, making her beautiful drills bob, and explains in a scholarly tone, "They do, but their goal is to protect anyone from the schemes of nobility, which helps merchants more than commoners. Not only that, but they also enforce the laws through economic threats, like fines and compensation, yet again benefiting merchants more than commoners."
"But if the commoners unite and rebel against the merchants, then we can keep the Tribunal in check," I riposte.
Ciel suddenly leans forward and excitedly chimes in, "That's what the temple does. They can rile up the people to go against both the nobles and the merchants in case either class goes too far."
Nobility, merchants, and clergy. I think I read about something like this being the three pillars of power in medieval society.
Then my head is struck by a [Lightning Bolt] as an idea suddenly comes to me. "Our social projects would give us the approval we need from the people, and with the support of the temple, we could ensure that the commoners stay on our side!" I exclaim.
But Yunia's expression turns grim. "This… could cause a lot of change within the High Forest, and the Elder Council would have to approve of our actions first," she soberly points out.
I anxiously run a claw along Osaria's thicc thigh. "You think they wouldn't?"
Yunia gives me an apologetic smile. "I'm not sure. I do believe that they'd criticize our fight with the old royals since they've left Heretic's Rest untouched for millennia."
I grip my milf's thigh and raise my head as I assert, "They deposed your father because he opposed the agricultural reforms. We have to lean on that angle to convince them to accept our plans."
Yunia frowns grimly and looks at the table, gazing at the colorful recreation of Escanso that's been carved into it while she describes, "The Council is greedy like the merchants, and their focus seems to be the stability of the High Forest. The money for social programs will come from our coffers, which would leave us vulnerable to monetary crises, so the Council might oppose them just for that reason alone."
And the solution immediately comes to mind. "In the name of the safety of the commoners, it's in our power to forcefully seize funds in response to any sort of crisis," I stoically propose.
Yunia doesn't spend long thinking about it and speculates, "The commoners and the merchants would definitely resist, and I don't think the Tribunal has the capability to soothe them." Then she turns to Ciel, waiting for her response.
"But the temple does," Ciel eagerly completes the thought, then her gentle face becomes briefly stoic as she elaborates, "If the temple has the trust of the commoners, the priests can easily raise levies and force the commoners to march to their deaths."
Yunia closes her eyes tiredly, then Gify pops onto her shoulder and starts her spiritual "massage."
"Oh, that's good…" Yunia moans softly, and relaxes for a long moment, then suddenly straightens her back and opens her eyes, re-energized, though Gify doesn't stop the massage. "So the plan is: increase the power of the temple, increase the commoner's piety, start social projects to garner the commoners' support, convince the Elder Council to accept our ways, improve the tax laws to increase our income, divert that income towards more social projects, add more protections to the slave class, deal with the reactions from the merchant class, then finally, spread our reforms throughout the empire."
"The first two parts are already well underway, it seems," Osaria comments and gives me a proud smile as she massages my horns.
I lay my head back down on the armrest and suggest, "Our social projects can also benefit the other Lords or nobles. For example, creating an Engineering Corps that would build and maintain the bark shield-wall for all villages."
"Getting the Root Lords on our side," Osaria adds, seemingly becoming quite excited about the future.
"Sounds like a solid plan to me," Mimi gently accepts.
But Lina has some concerns, "I'm still afraid about the response from the merchants. Money is power for them, and an increase of their taxes will be resisted by all of them, especially once we start giving slaves more rights."
Mimi nods in agreement and solemnly adds, "Yes, I'm sure they will respond, but Lords are still feared by merchants since they can always execute unruly merchants in the name of stability."
"The temple will get involved if we start killing people," Ciel coldly points out.
"'Involved,' but they won't really 'stop' us, correct?" Yunia asks with a sly smile.
Ciel sighs and looks down at the table in dejection. "Yes… that's why the temple is always at odds with nobility."
Yunia assumes a scholarly tone as she preaches, "If we don't enforce our power over the other classes, they'll slowly erode our authority, then take over our position. Humanoid greed has to be constantly trimmed and curtailed to preserve the balance."
Ciel raises her eyes to Yunia, twitching in annoyance. "Which just makes more work for the Templars, who have to watch the nobles to make sure that they don't go too far."
"Templars rarely have to come to the High Forest, though," Yunia calmly points out, and Ciel fails to find a retort to that.
My thick tail lazily wags as I deliberate, "Elven society isn't very pious, but they make up for that with their tightly knit culture. Though, now that I want to open up the High Forest for outsiders, they'll need the help of the temple to keep things under control."
"Meanwhile, the rest of the empire lacks the same degree of protections that the Tribunal provides," Yunia wisely completes.
I bend my tail towards her twice like a "nod" of agreement. "Yes, the three pillars of power are unbalanced in both regions. In the High Forest, the pillars of laws and nobility are equal, but it lacks religion, so the commoners here are content with wallowing in their misery. In the rest of the empire, the nobility is too powerful, taking part of the share that belongs to the laws."
Faith, money, and leadership.
Religion to protect us from ourselves, laws to protect us from each other, and the nobility to protect us from the outside.
The temple guides the commoners and keeps the balance, the Tribunal guides the merchants, who push for progress, and the rulers shoulder the responsibility to guide us all.
This is the triarchy of this society. Though not perfect, I feel like it can become better than the wreck of greed and lies that Earthling society was spiraling down towards. At least there's nothing like climate change looming over our heads over here, so there's no need for us all to unite, like there was back on Earth… or maybe not, I don't really know how things are over there anymore.
I want to explore the Folder of Cycles some more…
The girls continue talking about the details of our plan, and I tune out from their discussion just a bit to savor Osaria's caressing, but I still keep enough focus on them to keep learning because the whole talk ends up being very enlightening overall.
--
At just an hour before lunchtime, we receive an urgent message.
"The human Nero Gavalas has passed through customs."
That's one of the names that we put on a secret list of people that we must keep an eye on. More specifically, he's a suspected agent of Katasko, the one who manipulated the Enforcers to go after us.
The fact that he entered the town so brazenly means that he's confident that we won't abduct or assassinate him, which is rather concerning. I had made it pretty clear that I was suspicious of him when we met.
Yunia and I immediately take a [Gate] to the entrance that he came through, then we meet up with the Lordsguard unit that's currently stalking him.
It's a bit difficult for me to hide my eye-catching horns, even with a cloak, so I put my points into [Illusion Magic] so that I can use [Ignorance] on myself.
We meet up with the squad leader in an alley to avoid calling attention to ourselves since Nero is currently taking a casual stroll along the busy main road.
"Your Highnesses," the squad leader politely greets us as he kneels.
"Rise and report," Yunia sternly replies.
The leader obeys and keeps his head low as he continues, "Nero had hired a nondescript caravan from Goldcross to escort him here, and when they entered the town, he immediately broke off from them. He seems to be hiding neither his name nor his face. Regarding the reason for his arrival, he simply declared 'for business' with an undetermined length of stay."
At least, if he truly meant to come here just to get fucked by us, then he didn't lie.
Yunia and I share a look as we communicate both confusion and suspicion to each other through [Bind], then she orders the squad leader, "Continue stalking him, but be ready to abduct him at a moment's notice."
"Yes, your Highness."
And then I do my part, "Describe his face and outfit to me, I'll use my monsters to stalk him, too."
--
But Nero still manages to surprise us all by going directly towards the Lord's Hall for the commoners.
We return to the castle and take an [Eternal Gate] to the Hall, then the confused attendant hands us Nero's request form.
"Request: meeting with the royals.
Reason: Katasko.
Time limit: at any time.
Demands: none.
Is the requester a noble?: no.
Attendant's observations: none."
Yunia and I share a look, then I shrug.
--
The petitioner's hall for the commoners is a bit more imposing when compared to the one for nobility. Our thrones are almost a full floor above the petitioner's stand, and we're protected by a thick glass wall enchanted with Gods-know-how-many defensive spells. The lack of windows also gives the hall a more austere look that's actually quite uncommon in the usually pretty elven architecture.
It's beautiful here, as usual, but damn, if it isn't overbearing.
Yunia and I equip our Bastión armor, then we sit on our thrones, and I summon a line of five light elementals behind us to give us a holy air. The Lordsguard line up behind the enchanted glass while two mages feed it their mana to activate its defenses, making the glass faintly glow.
"Send him in," Yunia orders, and a grim bell is rung.
The double doors open, and Nero is let in while flanked by two heavily armored Lordsguard.
He's a tall, bald man with the usual imperial brown tan, a perfectly square black beard, and a bit of a posh mustache. His demeanor seems to be casual, but not completely relaxed, which gives Yunia the impression that he's got a high-level [Acting] skill.
"You're now in the presence of Crown Lords Wolf and Yulania Ryder. Kneel in respect for the royals," the guard sternly orders.
He takes off his dark cloak and obeys.
I breathe in deeply and let my fresh point in [Intimidate] fill my tone as I order, "Rise, and state your business, Nero Gavalas."
He stands and gives us a smirk, showcasing his shining, white smile. "I've come to offer information on Katasko," his low, gravely voice resounds through the hall.
"In exchange for…?" Yunia lets the question hang.
He nods repeatedly in a dramatic way as he completes it, "A fair reward, of course."
"You defected?" She sternly questions.
And he nonchalantly replies, "I quit due to 'disagreements' with the direction that the company was taking."
"I have an idea," Yunia shares through [Bind].
"Go for it," I encourage her.
"Arrest him," Yunia coldly orders, and the doors behind him slam shut as all the defensive enchantments activate in the blink of an eye, making the glass between us glow brightly as it's flooded with mana.
"WHAT?!" He reflexively squeaks, his mask of composure cracking.
The two Lordsguard flanking him draw their maces and assume an offensive stance, ready to smash his brains into paste, then more Lordsguard pour in from a hidden door.
Yunia's tone becomes imperious and vigorous, drowning out the clattering of our men. "You're known for engaging in bribes, fraud, and corruption with the Enforcers. You shall await your trial in the dungeon, so you'd better start thinking of anything you can offer us in exchange for a lighter sentence."
"YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE!" He bellows, his tanned face quickly turning scarlet with anger.
And I smugly divulge, "But I do, and I'm willing to have my testimony validated by the Truth Seekers."
Nero's jaw limply drops in disbelief, and he falls to his knees with lifeless eyes, then the Lordsguard put manacles on him and take him away.
After the door closes again, we both sigh and slump on our thrones.
"Was he just an idiot?" I mumble to Yunia.
She shakes her head softly and clutches my claws for comfort. "I don't think that many people know that you can see someone's real name, and though it was a bold, risky move to saunter into our town like that, it was still within reason for him." Then she guides my claws to caress her rosy cheeks, which I promptly do.
Then something occurs to me. "How far will it spread if I reveal the extent of [Sense Soul] to the Seekers?" I wonder.
She closes her eyes and answers, "They won't personally share it with others, but the problem will be the trial. It'll be difficult to prevent the evidence from reaching the hands of someone corruptible."
"So, it'll be based on luck."
"Yes."
--
We tiredly return to the castle for our lunch.
What a fucking day, and there's still half of it left.
I happily eat Krysta's cooking again. This time, she surprises us with curry chicken accompanied by cooked beans and steamed grains. It's a Rabanarian dish, though it's usually made with Dragolite. It'd go perfectly with rice, but I still haven't found that in this world, so I have to make do with substitutes.
I also give Krysta a tip to add not-tomato sauce and make it a bit sweeter so that it tastes similar to Japanese curry.
After our spicy meal, we cleanse our mouths with a deep [Clean] because I'll soon be sucking on Osaria's clit.
First, I start with Osaria's mouth, fucking her with my tongue as I grope her jiggly parts. I taste the liqueur that she drank at lunch on her tongue, which feels a bit nostalgic for me since she usually enjoys a little drink every now and then, though I rarely see her actually getting drunk. Knowing her insatiable hunger for cock and pussy, she probably keeps herself from drinking too much to avoid making a "mistake."
Hngh, how I missed her.
Though it was just a day apart, she's so fucking hot that my cock gets sad if I can't breed her regularly.
But today, I want my "moms" to pamper me.
"Poosh, come help me with Osaria," I gently order her with a smirk.
She adjusts her round glasses and smiles warmly. "With pleasure, your Highness," she obediently replies.
Osaria grins like a child on Christmas morning as she gains a new toy to play with.
My head, my chest, my limbs, and my cock. They're all enveloped in squishy tits and soft fluffiness.
I cum straight upwards and make it rain as the two women giggle softly, playing with my body as they see fit.
The needy child within is slowly cleansed from me, wiping the weariness away in the process and replacing it with the draconic hunger that grows hotter and hotter by the moment.
I gradually shift their caresses from me towards each other to satisfy my lesbian fetishes, then I suck on their clits as they finger each other, their gentle moans making my cock quiver with excitement.
I need to fuck them now!
I get them to lay on the table, then I use my tentacles to guide them into my favorite sex position for a threesome: Poosh on top of Osaria as they kiss and finger each other while I use four thick cocks to fuck all four of their holes simultaneously, which are now lined up and ready for me.
Ah, yes. Fluffiness plus thiccness is the perfect combo.
The lack of Alissa's Blessing is making me tire out more easily, but this little orgy replenishes my energy reserves.
--
I walk out to the balcony, still completely naked, and stretch as I observe my town going about its business. I observe the Sky Docks where my ships are moored and start thinking about what we should do next for our airship plans.
Hm… how about wind tunnel testing?
I'll talk to Almaria and Silvano later, but for right now, Yunia is in need of some comfort. She's been working hard lately, so I want to reward her.
"Yu~…? Do you want to cuddle for a bit?" I cutely call for her.
She sets her goblet down on the table and comes out to me with a subtle, wry smile. "Are you going to make it lewd?" She amusedly questions.
"Always… I mean, only if you ask," I cheekily reply with a grin.
She pouts cutely, but still comes up to me, then I pull her into a hug and use my tentacles to create a platform that makes me as tall as her.
I give her juicy red lips a series of gentle pecks that progressively grow longer and gentler as we let our steel hearts soften again.
Suddenly, a female Companion bursts into the dining hall and immediately freezes upon seeing Lina using her tongue to clean the two passed-out women who are still covered in semen.
I see the nostrils of the mature elven woman flare as she breathes in deeply, taking in the smell of my cum, but then she regains her professionalism and walks right up to me.
She briefly glances down at my Dragonator and swallows heavily, then hands me a letter and immediately leaves the room.
I almost tell her to stay, but then I stop and frown when I recognize the Anara family's seal.
Oh, boy.
I quickly open the letter and read through it, then Yunia starts to gently caress my head as I feel a headache coming on.
Vanea wants to arrange a secret meeting with me.
Oh… boy…
--
--
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.
Lord Novgarod.
Lord Michale Erwin.
Lord Bakerdea.
Lord Maurice.
Lord Empyrean.
Lord Mattirro Draca.
Lord Colorblind.
Lord Fullmoon.
Lord Sean Drake.
Lord EESDESESESRDT.
Lord FrostyCube.
Lord Mike Bartter.
Lord Cardinal Steiner.
Lord Krawn.
Lord Warwulfv.
Lord Jorge Franco.
Lord Christopher Welsh.
Lord DJ.
Lord Philip.
Lord Tenebris Lupus.
Lord ImportantNPC.
Lord The Tallest Joshua.
Lord Copey Dunt.
Lord Dracopuppy23.
Lord Freddie.
Lord Cidant.
Lord Stellerbattle.
Lord GoodKat.
Noble Salty Panda.
Noble Mild Fracas.
Noble Aclys.
Noble Shawn Plumley.
Noble CarlBaxter.
Noble Yeuromain.
Noble Brandon Lai.
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