"What even are these things… are they… board games?" Fuda hums as he peruses through the treasures. Then he slowly raises his head and gives me shota-puppy eyes that make it impossible to say no.
And I kindly encourage my little bro, "Yes, they are. We have plenty of duplicates, so don't be afraid to grab one of each."
"Okay!" he happily exclaims, instantly turning into a child on Christmas.
Maybe I should introduce Rupegians to Christmas… It sure would be fun.
Then Lyle approaches, an open book in hand, and the wild-haired boy seems eager to show me something. "Wolf! Didn't you go through a 'Looping Wind' during your dungeon delve in Legado?" he excitedly asks and shows me a very familiar picture of Looping Winds Station.
I don't remember telling him that story, so he must've heard about our adventures from someone else. Though, by now, there are quite a lot of people who could've told him.
"Yeah, we did. Why?" I hum back.
And he points to the picture of the floating metal dome with four spinning arms and their mini-domes. "Is it like this? The book describes how it works."
And I take a look while Lina immediately starts making her way over to us as she's also curious about it.
Apparently, something about spinning large things really fast makes it easy to turn them into a tornado with magic, and then you squish the tornado into a donut, hence, "Looping Wind." But it was so important to the old Hauhuri Empire that it's even part of the name; somewhere in "Rangatuhinga o mua Hauhuri," there's the words for "Twisting Winds," or something like that.
But the important part is that this makes for the perfect aerial highway, and we're also researching cargo and transport planes…
"This seems like a hidden gem, but do you want to get involved with this?" I question the eager boy.
He frowns and runs a hand through his black, wild hair. "Hmm… not really. It looks interesting, but I'm still too involved in developing the 'computer.'" Then he brightens up. "That's going great, by the way. I started copying the books on taxes to the 'datatowers' with the help of summons, but the towers are becoming quite big as there are a lot of people."
"We can help with that," Lina declares, her voice very quiet, but she was still heard since her approach was noticed from afar due to Aoi coming with her in her dragon form.
"We can make precision parts that allow for smaller components," the "stealthy" dragon follows up, and I remind her to control the loudness of her voice.
But Lyle is completely unfazed, the brave but crazy boy. "Ooh… I see. Smaller and more delicate, but also more efficient."
And Aoi corrects him, "Not 'more delicate.' We use tempered metal alloys that are more resilient than what you've likely been using."
He hums thoughtfully and grabs his chin as he remarks, "I don't even know what mine are made of. I just asked the scholar priests for help, and now they aid me in building the components with the same materials they use for their engines."
By "engine," he means the mechanical computers they use for complex calculations, though those are slowly becoming obsolete the more functions that Lyle adds to the Lylanine calculator.
I land a hand on both of my cute little wives as I brag about them, "These girls know all about metals when it comes to reinforcing alloys to use in battle or for work tools, but I'm certain they'll just as easily learn all about magnetism now."
"It wasn't easy to learn that…" Lina quietly whines.
"Magnets… electricity?" Aoi questions in sudden interest.
And I smirk. "Electricity, yes. You two are going to make magnetic tapes and hard drives."
"A new challenge for precision engineering…" the little big blue dragon hums with a dreamy tone.
The girls then start a little discussion, with Lyle only participating out of curiosity, so I turn to the rest and observe.
I want to flirt with Noblewoman Silvina, but even Alissa hasn't been able to pimp me up to her, so I'm not sure if I'll ever get lucky with the tall, gentle mommy golden-elf. Having her alongside Aoi for double tall fun would be amazing.
I see that the Tranfkoevers, Foersters, and Grosshils are all close together. Then I notice that Klein is talking with Hermann, but it looks like she's still suffering from the aftereffects of a wild Ravaging, so I let her be just so that it's imprinted upon his mind how you really fuck a woman, though his gayness kind of ruins my plans half the time. But I just ignore him for now as my eyes focus on Krysta, and my heart feels confused because I love her without actually wanting to fuck her.
I mean, she is hot, but I've gotta respect Anton.
"Krysta, I have so many recipes for you!" I happily exclaim as I approach her.
"We might be able to open a whole restaurant with just your recipes, Your Highness," the monkey-mommy cheerfully replies.
"And we already have the 'cafe' ready," Klasse, Hana's father, calmly adds.
But I point out to him, "Unless you want to manage both of them, we don't have enough people for it."
"Dad's already going to be managing the refinery, so he can't take on more jobs," Mimi interjects.
"I'm not qualified to manage something as important as that," he cautiously replies.
And I explain, "You're the only one we can trust. If you don't accept the position, we'll just hire someone."
He seems to tense up from the pressure and even looks to his wife for help, who seems to be rather confused by his hesitation. So he just tries to deflect, "Mimi's already doing it. She has the talent to manage something so big."
"Isn't she too heavily burdened by being our High Accountant?" I ask out loud and turn to my kuudere concubine/Blood Slave.
But she shows a bit of bite as she banters, "Only when you decide to flood us with purchase receipts. Even if we have a large treasury, things must be carefully managed so that nothing goes missing."
I chuckle softly and kindly reply, "Apologies. We try not to give you too much work."
"I believe you're quite conservative with your spending," she politely states, dropping the banter.
"Still, maybe we should get you some more help," I kindly suggest. Even though she's so direct, I appreciate how there's not even a hint of malice in her tone.
"That'd be wonderful," she hums back and politely lowers her head.
But then we notice that the conversations are dying down a little, so this is the best time to make the announcement.
I give Poosh the signal, and she rings a cute little bell, which produces a faint sound that calls for everyone's attention in the most gentle way possible. Then I wait a second after the silence settles in before I begin.
"Friends, family, lovers. We've called you here to celebrate our return and share some of the bounties we acquired on our divine quest, but there's also a confession we must make…" -I pause briefly for impact- "One of the reasons I was sent to the Sky Land by the Gods was to meet more of my countrymen. I understand there's been some speculation about my origin, but the truth is rather difficult to explain.
"That's because I wasn't born in this Realm. I'm an Earthling, not a Rupegian, or rather, I was an Earthling, as now, I believe I've been fully naturalized." I detect a bit of confused murmuring, so I add a simple explanation. "Remember the Tale of Creation. There are many Realms, which are like the Sky Lands, isolated stretches of land in the sky, each governed by one or many Gods. My homeland, my home Realm, which is called Earth, is very different from Rupegia, and I was brought here to share some of my knowledge with this world and help it progress further. That's why I was blessed by the Goddess of Knowledge and not the God of Intelligence.
"Having met with more of my fellow Earthlings during the divine quest, we believed it was time to lay out the truth instead of letting wild rumors spread."
And the crowd becomes confused, as this is basically the same as someone confessing to being an alien, but the mention of the Gods lends credence to my claims because why would they Bless an insane person?
"Your Highness, may I ask a question?" Noblewoman Silvina politely asks out loud as she steps forward.
"You may," I stoically reply.
And I'm not able to discern whether she's excited or wary. "Are your 'countrymen' also Gifted?"
I nod. "They are."
"I see…" she hums thoughtfully and steps back into the crowd. It seems that her reaction is positive, though I can't discern much more than that.
But this is a bit of an astounding revelation for a lot of people, so Ciel kindly speaks out loud to guide their thoughts to a happier place, "The Gods gather their chosen here. We all shall be 'blessed by the light.'"
And now, the mood becomes much happier, but Klasse, Stefan (Hermann's father-in-law), and Ereia still look rather fearful. I believe the first is because he's just a very cautious man, the second is because he's hyper-aware of conflict, and the last may be because she isn't the bravest person. Still, nothing bad.
"Can you tell us what your home Realm is like?" Fuda innocently asks.
For my little bro? Of course, I can.
--
The gathering ends up lasting a long time, as I have a lot to tell. With so many people listening, everyone has a different thing they want to ask about.
"Wait, does this mean that you're older than us?!" Arturus suddenly exclaims, and his twin brother Antares frowns at the sudden loudness in his ear.
I look at him, then turn to everyone else, and they're suddenly very interested. It really doesn't make sense for a boy my "age" to have so much life experience.
And I carefully answer, then joke, "Yeah… I'm thirty-one. I guess I'm closer in age to some of the parents here than to the children."
"Not much of a difference for me," Osaria sultrily remarks. Then she pushes her tits against the back of my head and pats it as if I was a child.
"I'm still a cute boy at heart," I reply with a youthful tone and grin.
"Yes, you are," she hums back, my voice likely making her pussy heat up. Then she kisses the top of my head.
Anton seems to be in deep thought, then seems to come to a satisfactory conclusion that lets him casually remark, "Well, not much different from a dwarf."
And that's the reaction most people have, but the twins haven't had much contact with that race, so they still seem conflicted about things.
"Yeah, that's still Ciel's type," Alonso, the cheeky halfling, remarks with a shrug.
"Both big and small are good," Kyora, his big blue dragonkin wife, hums with a nod.
Then the halfling lets his intrusive thoughts out, "But our dicks continue to grow to adult size, so is his dick still small like a boy's?"
Poppy and Timas (both also part of Kyora's harem) facepalm in unison while everyone else stares at him in disbelief.
But I feel like playing along, so I grin as I shout, "Turn around if you don't want to see it because I'm pulling it out!"
HARAMBEEE~…!
And only Klasse and Stefan look away. Then I show them all why I got the "Shapeshifter" Title.
"Can you teach that to someone?" Kyora grunts as she scans my long, long Cock up and down.
And I casually answer as I wave it around like a club, "It'd be very difficult. Our Celestial Horns have learned a similar technique, but it was very painful and uncomfortable."
"An acceptable cost," she immediately answers, almost salivating.
"Oh, Gods…" Timas, the elegant gray werecat, quietly whines, but his brother-husband seems like he's very eager to learn.
And even Poppy seems intrigued. She's a dwarf like Lina, so I bet there's some morbid curiosity about how it would feel.
--
Unfortunately, the gathering doesn't evolve into an orgy, so we declare an end to it because nobody would dare leave before the royals do. Kyora is definitely looking horny, and our minds echo with the memories of the sounds of her Ravaging her husbands.
The only ones that don't leave are the Clown Troupe and Ereia, as they have a lot to talk about with Yunia.
And Little Pomp begins the serious talk as they sit around a table and play cards while they drink, "There's been word that a few Dark Elves have been spotted in town."
By that, he means elves from Heretic's Rest, which are even darker than Osaria.
"People are afraid of shadows. They know that the Ryders are going to clash with the traitorous royals over there, so they're getting anxious about it," Ereia wryly replies and deals a card. Whatever game they're playing, she sucks at it, or maybe she just forgot this isn't strip-not-poker.
"They're our next target, actually. Unless another divine quest appears to take us away from here," Yunia casually delivers a killer line.
"How would you even do that?" Pomp questions and gets elbowed because he's already forgotten about the game.
What even was the plan, again…?
"Diplomacy, of course, but if that fails, we do have a wide variety of options," Yunia vaguely answers as we didn't finish planning our moves.
And Masochist snorts, then remarks, "It doesn't seem like you'll have any real problem dealing with them."
"The question is how much blood will be spilled," Gentle Shadow states with a somber tone, and Ereia seems to really dislike the mood of this conversation.
"Hopefully, very little. The Dark Elves are stubborn but not stupid," she harshly replies and kicks Pomp so that he plays his card.
"But they've-… ow!" -He glares at her- "But they've been involved in lawless behavior like piracy for too long," he points out.
"You'll have to do some 'cleaning up,' at least," Masochist adds with a sadistic smirk.
"People are betting on how many months until war breaks out," Betting Imp casually adds and shows his card, wiping the table.
Yunia shakes her head as she pushes her gold coins to the center. "No, 'war' is too much. If they try, it'll simply be a repeat of the event that created Heretic's Rest."
"The God of the Sun might even burn them all out of spite," Masochist casually remarks as he stares at Imp's hand, trying to see if he's cheating.
And now Ereia is getting ticked off. "Such grim events would never happen," she bitterly states.
So Yunia mercifully helps her friend/sexual harasser, "Indeed, they'll never happen. We wish to reintegrate Heretic's Rest with the rest of the elven lands, not conquer them."
"I heard the Dark Elf princesses are something to look at," Pomp suggestively remarks.
Ooh~…
"Ooh~…" Masochist hums excitedly.
"Hmm~…" Ereia hums suggestively, now very happy with the conversation.
--
Meanwhile, I flirt with Teresina on our bedroom's balcony. We drink a bit of Eia while watching the mist cover the town like a rising sea held back by the dark bark Shell of the castle. Just before it reaches the top, it stops rising and then begins to wave back and forth, but it never spills past the wall.
And the gorgeous gilf begins with a serious topic, "Osaria passed me some reports about your progress, but I wanted to hear more about this 'Lord of Storms.' Its behavior was very peculiar."
But I don't feel like talking business, so I flirt a bit, "Okay, but in exchange, I want to hear about you because you didn't send any 'reports' back."
She glances at me, mildly amused, and snorts like a snobbish elf, "Hmph, fine, you sticky little slime. I'll bore you with my day-to-day events."
Lina's Trivia: "Little slime" is actually endearing, as it's a mildly popular pet. If you don't feed the slime, it doesn't grow, ensuring that it remains harmless, and you can actually pet it if you wear gloves. Just don't kiss it, or else your lips will start to hurt.
And I continue with a dreamy tone, "I just like to hear your voice. It'd be even more soothing if you could talk about your days while I rest in your arms or vice-versa, whatever you prefer."
"Sticky little slime," she quietly repeats as she glances at me.
So I huskily insist, "Answer me, which option do you want?"
That actually makes her stop to think. Something is blocking her from being frank, and I'm going to bet that it's her pride. So I lower my voice, and with a very gentle tone, I whisper like an innocent, earnest boy, "Just be truthful, please."
Then I stare at this stern gilf intensely, attacking her resolve with my youthful and boyish [Sexual Charm], along with my high Wisdom that gives me a mature air. This woman needs to be broken by the Cock ASAP, so I'm gradually turning up the seduction dial, though it's also because I'm getting very, very horny for her.
She even looks away and frowns for a moment. But then she makes an annoyed grunt and finally confesses, "In your arms, please. I prefer to be hugged."
"It's a deal, then," I hum.
"But first, your side," she stubbornly demands.
And I hum, "Sure."
Then we have a talk about the Lord of Storms. She believed it was just a legend, so I also tell her about Gecynd, another legend, and it sparks her curiosity.
So she starts to ponder, "Your Fate reacted to you meeting them? I wonder why since they're such reclusive beings. It seems that you'll do business with the Lord of Storms again in the near future, but I don't understand this 'Gecynd's' significance…"
"She did teach Aoi how to shrink herself, and that's been very useful so far," I point out.
"Hm…" she hums absentmindedly and stares at the sea of mist, deep in thought.
So I start the seduction again. "Now, any more questions?"
"No, not for now," she quietly hums and takes a sip of Eia.
And I lower my voice. "So… the hug…?"
She glances at me, suddenly very nervous, and decides to retreat, "May we… postpone that until our next meeting? It's late."
"You could sleep with us," I seductively suggest.
And her response is fearful, not disgusted. "No… not yet."
I understand that she's very reserved, so I'll leave her be, for now. "Fine, but I'll at least give you a goodbye kiss."
And this time, she doesn't complain.
--
--
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 Owldente.
Lord Andrew Meyers.
Lord Bakerdea.
Lord Maurice.
Lord Mattirro Draca.
Lord Tenebris Lupus.
Lord Paul Daval.
Lord Paul Daval.
Lord CopeyDunt.
Lord BlindTactic.
Lord Philip.
Lord d3235.
Lord SubJef.
Lord School work.
Lord patrick__starz.
Lord David England.
Lord Ddraig Wynn.
Lord Unaskedcaboose.
Noble Aclys.
Noble Carl Baxter.
Noble DND.
Noble Anon A Moose.
Noble Esteban Naud-Dubé.
Leave a rating or a review to help me rise to the top or fix my shameful understanding of prose.
Take a look at my blog where all information about the world of Rupegia will be posted. At: manasongwriting.wordpress.com/
Join the Discord to discuss, rant, meme, or try and fight me so your waifu gets more screen time. At: discord.com/invite/3GqMxQc
Become a Patron and read chapters in advance, read the side-stories, leave your mark on the story, and help choose the next artwork or the next side-story. At: patreon.com/manasong
Come watch my Streams on twitch to hang out with me as I play cool and/or old games. At: twitch.tv/manasongwriting
Take a look over at my twitter as I post about a variety of things. At: twitter.com/ManasongWriting