Our return journey to Iliasburg was blessedly free of monster encounters. In fact, the bandits did have ample water, which made our four hour hike back to Iliasburg much easier to endure. Lime and the imps had in fact been worried sick about us, and the imps had needed to talk Lime out of coming to look for us. They were all relieved that we had returned in one piece.
The apologies from the bandits went as well as in my original adventure. I'd never had any doubts, given that the first time around it had been a risky gambit, since hatred of monsters in Iliasburg ran deep. But in this new world, where monsters and humans already did get along pretty well, acceptance of the childrens' apologies was an even easier pill for the townspeople to swallow.
"Thank you so much for solving our bandit problem, heroes!" the lady who owned and ran the Sutherland Inn said to us. "You are welcome to stay in my establishment any time you like. Tonight is on the house. Afterwards, I will be happy to charge you the heroes' rate."
For comparison's sake, Sutherland's hero rate was lower than the normal rate at the cheap inn we'd stayed at three nights before. Knowing that we had a nice place to stay whenever we came back to Iliasburg was pretty great. It also meant that the imps were staying with us for at least another day, as they weren't about to miss out on a night in a high class establishment. It wasn't all perfect, however.
"What do you mean you have no Ama Ama Dangos?!" Alice asked, distraught.
"I'm sorry, child," the owner replied. "What with the crisis in Happiness Village, we haven't been receiving our shipments of Happiness Honey. Hey, you heroes were able to solve the problem of the bandits terrorizing this town! Perhaps you could solve the mystery of the missing harpies?"
"We will not fail!" Alice said with determination.
"Well, if you succeed, come back any time and you can have as many dangos as you want for free," the owner replied.
"You should probably reconsider that," I joked. Well, half joked. "Alice can bankrupt you if she eats all the dangos she wants."
"Haha, what a funny thing to say," the owner laughed. "Anyway, enjoy your stay here, and order any other fine foods you desire from the room service menu. Hero rates apply."
"Oooh, at least there will be other foods for me to try!" Alice said with excitement. Now I was the one who had to worry about being bankrupted, even at the reduced rates.
The room situation was the same as at the cheap inn. The imps and Lime were thrilled to all crowd into one room. Lime simply chose to fill the bathtub, while the three little imps had no problem sharing a king sized bed. Ilias had her own room, of course.
"I declare this room to be adequate," the goddess said, which was high praise indeed coming from her.
Alice received her own room, as did I. Not that I expected her to stay in her room. This was the place where Alice had first er…. Rewarded me. I was pretty sure she'd be looking for a meal once night fell. The only mystery as far as I was concerned was whether she would return to her room when she was finished with me, or stay the night. Although we'd shared rooms on our journey the first time, Alice had tended to grow cold and return to her own bed after eating. But this time there seemed to be more affection from Alice at the outset. I wasn't sure why she was mostly skipping the tsundere stage(I learned that word from reviews of my literary work!), but I liked it.
I smiled when I heard the tentative knock on my door. Alice's small form peaked in. "Are you asleep?" she asked.
"No, come on in," I said. I thought of dramatically saying that I'd been expecting her, but decided that she was already at enough of a disadvantage, already believing that I knew too much about her.
Alice entered and sat on the bed. She asked me how I was feeling.
"I feel one hundred percent," I answered. "Ilias and Sonya told me the leg was still delicate, but it's held up so far."
"How bad was the pain? When we were moving the boulder off of you?"
"The screaming didn't give you a pretty good idea?" I asked.
"Sorry," Alice said sheepishly. "With my real body I would have simply lifted it off of you."
"I'm sure even you aren't that strong."
"Okay, maybe I would have needed Ilias to help. The boulder wasn't that big, though. I think I could have done it. So was that the worst pain you've ever felt?"
"Second," I said. "Worst ever was Granberia using Vaporizing Rebellion Sword on me."
"Yes, that would probably be the worst," Alice said, nodding. "She did that to me as well, during our battle for the throne."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Oh, so there is something you don't know about me!" she said, smiling.
"When someone is interesting, there's always something new to learn about them, no matter how long you've known them."
Alice laid down next to me, her tail fitting perfectly with the bed's length. Her true body was about fifteen feet long. Her sealed body, about six feet.
"So," Alice said. "You want to talk about it?"
"About what?"
"About…. You know. Us."
"There is no us, Alice," I said. In hindsight, it came out more harsh than I intended. "My Alice died a long time ago."
"I'm so sorry, Luka! She's dead?" Alice asked, shocked and horrified. "What happened?"
"Old age," I replied.
"But that's impossible! My race lives at least twice as long as humans!"
"There was this… this ring that gave me immortality. How I got it is a bit of a story, and it involves time travel. What matters is that I wore that ring because there were a lot of people who felt the world needed me. But in the end, all that extra life got me was seeing nearly everyone I loved die. I had no further adventures past my normal lifespan."
"But you got to live through all of that other Alice's life at least. You didn't leave her a young widow. That's the fate of most monsters who marry, and it's very hard for them."
"Yes, that's true," I conceded. "And I'm grateful that didn't happen to her. We spent nearly two hundred wonderful years together."
"So you were married? That surprises me, given how difficult it is for a man to marry someone in my family. But given what I know about you so far, it's not THAT surprising. So are you married now, to someone back on your world?"
"I was. About a century after Alice died, I married Tamamo."
"Tamamo," Alice said, having difficulty chewing on that word. "You married…. Tamamo."
"She'd always been sweet to me and she was…." I remembered that she'd kept her origin secret from Alice, so caught myself before outing her. "She was… nice."
"So what happened there?"
"I died."
Alice abruptly sat up in the bed. "You died!? But that would make you….."
"No it wouldn't, Alice," I said, not wanting her to run screaming from the room. I also wanted to avoid saying the g- word. "I'm flesh and blood, Alice. I'm not even possessing the other Luka, according to ilias. It's just me, in my own body, completely alive."
"But still," Alice said, relaxing a little, much to my relief. "That means you were resurrected. But by who? And why?"
"I suspect it was my world's Ilias that did it, but I'd thought she didn't have the power anymore. I also don't know why she'd care about what's happening on another world. Ilias isn't generally prone to caring about much of anything but her own needs."
"Because she appeared to you at the temple?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "She at least knows that I'm here, but isn't able to communicate with me except very briefly that one time."
"I wonder if she also had something to do with this world's Ilias returning after a thirty year absence?"
"Lots of mysteries to solve," I shrugged. "So what else is new?"
"So you've done this sort of thing before? Saved worlds that aren't your own?"
"Yes. There's this god, this person who is even more powerful than Ilias, and he grabbed me once to have me save a world he cared about. But I got the impression from talking to him that he ruled many universes. Maybe he's the ultimate power behind all this. Maybe he just grabbed my soul, made me a new body, and sent me on another mission."
"Or maybe that's not what's going on at all," Alice mused.
"What else could it be?"
"Were you dead for any of those other adventures?"
"No," I admitted.
"So what similarities are there between what's happening now and what's happened to you before?"
"The only similarity I can think of is that this is a world that's the same as the one I came from other than a single event changing everything. This Great Disaster people keep talking about. But that's a pretty big similarity. Every alternate world I've been on had one big thing that was different."
"I guess that's true, but I just have this feeling that this situation is not what you think it is. I know in my head that I met you only four days ago, and yet…. I feel like you should be familiar to me. Isn't that strange?"
"I guess it is," I admitted.
"When you met other versions of me in other dimensions, did those other Alices feel they knew you?"
"No."
"Luka, I know this sounds crazy, but…. I think I love you."
I had the weirdest feeling as my heart broke and yet filled with hope at the same time.
"Alice, are you saying that you think you're my Alice?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "I'm a rational person. I know I just met you, and yet I feel like I've known you my whole life. There are a lot of things in the universe that we just don't understand. Maybe…. I'm just saying that maybe this situation isn't what you think it is, that's all. I'm sorry if my random musings hurt you. Just beware of making assumptions, okay? What we think we might know isn't the same as knowing, and can often be more dangerous than knowing nothing at all."
"That's a paraphrase of something Alice told me a lot when we first met. Wise words."
Alice put her hand on my leg. "Soooo…. I'm a little hungry."
I don't know if it was the emotional rollercoaster that her musings had sent me on, but I reacted angrily.
"Were you saying all those sweet things just so you could feed yourself!?" I asked.
"What?!" Alice said defensively. "N-no! Of course not! I wouldn't do that to you!"
"Then go back to your room," I said coldly. "If you didn't say those things just to get me to feed you, then I'm sure you won't be too upset about not getting fed tonight."
Alice looked at me, not sure how to respond. Typical of Alice, she chose anger.
"Fine! I will go back to my room!" she yelled, getting out of my bed and heading towards the door. Opening it, she left me with some final words. "I hope you enjoy your own hand tonight!"
I shouted back after the door slammed, knowing she could still hear me. "I can't use my own hand anymore! You monsters saw to that!"
It was true. I hadn't successfully masturbated since the first time Alice had drained me. At first, it had simply been because I was being drained too often to need to. But when exiled back to my own world, which happened twice, I found that I couldn't achieve orgasm with my hand, or even sex toys.
I lay in bed, stewing, alternately angry at Alice and then at myself. It seemed just like Alice to say anything she could to get her belly filled, and yet she had never pretended to love me before. She didn't, and then she did. Of course, before she loved me, I couldn't have stopped her from having sex with me, so there was no need for wooing. Still, I had to admit to myself that Alice wasn't the type to lie about something that would break my heart if it wasn't true. Or if she didn't at least think it was true.
Well, no point in worrying about it now. This wasn't a date and it certainly wasn't a vacation. Alice needed me and I needed her, so we would continue to work together to save this world and get her back in her real body. When it was all over, and we hopefully had answers, we could revisit all of this. I tried to roll over and go to sleep.
"Goddammit!" I yelled into my pillow, and got out of bed. I trudged over to Alice's room and knocked.
"Who is it?!" Alice yelled.
"It's me, Luka."
"Oh. Come in if you want."
I opened the door to find Alice laying in her own bed and pouting. I sat on the edge of the bed and tried to compose an apology.
"Alice, I'm sorry I snapped at you," I said. "It's just that-"
"You don't need to explain any further," Alice said, sitting up. "You've been through a lot, and I can see now that my offer must have been…. Suspicious. I did mean what I said, though."
"If that's true, and you still want to…."
"I don't know if I should," she said. "Maybe it would be too much for you emotionally?"
"No, I've missed you…. Her…. Now I don't know anymore."
Alice winced. "Sorry to put ideas into your head. I really don't want to act as if I'm the one you knew. I just don't know. But I couldn't ignore this feeling that I have. I should have waited until I knew more to go there."
"My Alice would have. She used to never tell me anything until she thought I was ready. Usually she kept information from me too long."
"Well, if you want this, then lay down," she said gesturing to the spot on the bed next to her in invitation. "And thank you for this, Luka. I was afraid I was going to bed in this wonderful hotel with no dangos and no semen. What did I do in a past life to deserve this?"
She had no idea. But before I submitted myself to her, there was one more thing to do.
"Alice, not in this body," I said. "I want your true body. May I?"
"Oh, you're going to do the thing? But you won't be able to maintain concentration once I…. you know…."
"You should be able to maintain it yourself once you get energy from me. That's how it worked before. It probably doesn't matter if it works that way or not with my version of the spell. If I believe it will work, it should work."
I didn't even bother with the incantation. My power worked through my will. The incantation had only been an aid, a way for me to better visualize what I wanted. Each time I did it, it would become easier. This time I decided to do it by touch. I placed my hands on Alice's shoulders, closed my eyes, and imagined her as she used to be. When I opened my eyes, I was looking into the face of my true love. The expression she gave in return was nothing like the expression she'd given me in this hotel the first time. That first time in the Sutherland inn, despite the fact that she had told me it was a reward, the look on her face was of a predator capturing prey. The look Alice gave me in the present was of a woman rediscovering her long lost love.
"Hey there, stranger," she said. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Alice."
"I'm Luka," I said. "I'm glad we could meet this time... in private."
"Can I go look?" Alice asked softly. "I never got to see when we were chasing Ilias."
"By all means," I said, as she got out of bed and went over to a mirror mounted on the closet. She smiled as she admired herself.
"Was she prettier than me?" Alice asked.
"No," I said. "You two look exactly the same."
"Maybe you made me a little more mature? I think I look about thirty, maybe forty. Or maybe in your mind she just grew more lovely with time?"
"I wish I'd said that line instead of you," I chuckled.
Alice laughed. "If you had, 'no' would not be in my vocabulary tonight. But since you didn't…." Alice roughly pushed me back into the bed, although she at least refrained from wrapping me in her tail. Not that I didn't like being wrapped up. It was actually kind of hot. But I'd often been put off by it, because it was a clear signal that she was feeding more than loving.
She placed her body between my legs and began undoing my pants. She pulled them off and stared at my seemingly always erect member. I was excited. It had been so long…. I'd never imagined that I'd get another chance to experience Alice's touch.
"Do I get to make a request?" I asked.
"This isn't a battle," Alice said. "So no, you don't get to make a request. When it happened in this hotel the first time, how did she do it? Wait, don't answer. Did she do it this way?"
Alice wrapped her ungloved hand around my penis and begin to lightly stroke. Even that was overwhelming for me. Alice was pleased to get such a reaction.
"I guess that is how she did it," Alice chuckled. "it makes sense."
Abruptly her demeanor changed. "Luka, I guess this means I don't have to pretend with you. I'm really nervous right now."
"Really?" I asked as she continued to lightly stroke. "I can't imagine you being nervous."
"You do know this is the first time I've ever touched a man, right?"
"Yes, but you have the best training a woman could possibly have."
"So you know that, eh?" Alice said, squeezing me and then stroking me some more. "I bet she acted so confident. Probably gave you the extra predatory routine in order to hide her nervousness. Maybe she even taunted you for being so weak to this."
"That's exactly what she did."
"Then I won't do any of that," she said, using her thumb to play with my head and just under the crown. "but I'm glad to know that I could have pulled it off."
"Can I pretty please make one request, though?" I asked hopefully.
"Fine, but I won't guarantee that I'll do it. This is my first time, after all. I need to work up to better things."
"This is something you did the first time," I assured her. "I want to feel your tentacles."
Her hand changed into the familiar tentacles, with their own lubrication, which enhanced the feeling of her handjob even more. She could even vibrate them, something she could not do with just her hand. It was going to be a good night.
I woke up in my own bed, alone. I understood. Alice probably didn't want anyone coming to her room and finding me in her bed. Ilias would be angry because she'd assume I'd always take Alice's side in any dispute, of which I expected there to be many, and Sonya…. Well, Sonya would have been livid. I wasn't sure how much in her mind she'd managed to separate me from her Luka, and until I could be sure where I stood with her, it was probably for the best that Alice's feedings be…. Confidential.
We gathered in Alice's room to once again discuss our next steps. Alice was back in her small form again, and opened up the meeting. Alice wanted to go to Happiness Village, for obvious reasons. Ilias had other ideas.
"That's a stupid quest," Ilias said. "It's monster business. If you want to go off alone and resolve the harpy issue, that's your business. But Luka and I have more important things to worry about. Although if I tell you what I know, I think you'll want to join us."
"What do you know, Ilias?" I asked.
"I talked to some other guests yesterday," Ilias began. "I'm so glad we stayed here now! Anyway, they told me that these so-called Tartarus rifts are super strange and causing all sorts of anomalies. The words they use aren't that scientific, of course. They talk of curses, and scary monsters. Oooohhhhh!!!"
"I knew we'd want to explore one of those rifts eventually," Alice mused. "And the closest Tartarus is closer to us than Harpy Village. Still, the problem with the harpies feels more urgent to me."
"I disagree," Ilias countered. "First, your harpies aren't the only ones who have disappeared. The village of Rostrum also disappeared. But I've got an even better piece of intelligence for you. There have been many sightings of your white rabbit near that rift."
"Wait a minute," I said. "Why would the presence of a rabbit girl in a region full of rabbit girls be all that interesting? Were you asking about our rabbit specifically?"
"Nope," Ilias answered. "Seriously, was I the only one gathering intel from people before bed last night? What were the rest of you doing?"
"I wonder if the white rabbit is doing what she said she would do, trying to guide me?" Alice mused. "I hate being led around by the nose, but maybe she wants us to investigate that rift?"
Both Ilias and Alice looked at me expectantly. I shrugged. "I have no dog on this fight."
"Speak like a normal person!" Ilias and Alice said in unison.
"What I mean is that it doesn't matter to me whether we do Harpy Village first or this rift. Both are important to me. And both could be related to what's going on."
"I'd argue that both are definitely related to what's going on," Alice said. "I doubt the causes are exactly the same. Rostrum is near that rift, Harpy Village is not. Also, why would the harpies be affected and not the humans? Did the harpies disappear on your world, Luka?"
"No, they didn't."
"Since the primary difference between Luka's world and ours is the Great Disaster that opened these rifts, then it stands to reason that the disappearance of the harpies is related to the rifts."
"Maybe we should split up?" Sonya asked tentatively.
"No," Alice said firmly. "Luka is the only one here with real power, and either place could be extremely dangerous. We'll do both, but one at a time. The rift is closer, so I reluctantly agree with Ilias that we should investigate that first. It sounds like the white rabbit wants us there as well. Maybe I can get another shot at squeezing answers out of her."
"That reminds me, Luka," Ilias said. "since you can do what you imagine you can do, is there any chance that you can imagine us with powers, since you presumably knew us with powers? I understand that it wouldn't last long, but even a few seconds could help a lot."
"I can try," I said. "I'll do my best next time. It's just that without knowing how your magic abilities worked, it would be tough."
"I think what he means is that at best, we'd have the abilities he envisions us having from his memories. But since those wouldn't be OUR powers as we understand them, they wouldn't work the same way for us. We'd first have to understand what HE understood our powers to be, then use them as he imagines we must have. I take it you didn't get much formal education in magic back in your world?"
"I had a great tutor, but I just didn't have the aptitude," I replied. "Still, she did help me better understand my own power. But your kind of magic? I looked at what was supposedly the simplest book on magical theory, and I couldn't understand any of it."
"All that power wielded by such a small mind," Ilias said. "Scary."
"So we're all agreed?" Sonya asked. "So who is coming?"
"I'm always with you, Luka!" Lime said supportively.
"We discussed it," Rami said, speaking for the imps. "And we'd like to come with you, especially to Harpy Village. I really want to get advice on flying. But I don't know if we should be going near that Tartarus Rift. That sounds super scary."
"I might have a little something for that," Alice said. "Meet me outside, everyone."
It turns out that by "outside" Alice didn't mean just outside the hotel. She meant outside the city. We stood far enough away from Iliasburg to only see its tallest watch tower in the distance, a walk that took us a full hour. Since we were heading in the general direction of the Tartarus rift, no one complained, but we all had questions. Alice abruptly stopped us once she felt we were far enough from the city. She began rummaging through her magic sack again. At least, I assumed it was magic, since she kept on bringing it out of nowhere and it never seemed big enough to have as much as she seemed to keep in there.
"Ah, here it is!" Alice said triumphantly, pulling what looked like a dollhouse out of her bag.
"It's a dollhouse," Ilias said dryly. "You had us get several miles away from the city so that you could show us your dollhouse."
"It's a castle, not a dollhouse!" Alice replied indignantly. "It's a replica of my castle, the Monster Lord's castle!"
"Oh, so it's a cute model castle. Still not impressed."
"I guess I'll just have to impress you, then!" Alice said, and pressed a button at the base of the castle.
The next thing we knew, we were standing in the courtyard of…. Well, the Monster Lord's castle! Alice noticed my expression of shock.
"Have you never seen the Monster Lord's Pocket Castle before, Luka?"
"No," I breathed. "If Alice had one of these things, she never felt the need to tell me about it."
"Maybe she didn't have it, then. Well, why don't you go inside?"
We did exactly that. Sure enough, it was my old home. Mostly, anyway. I noticed some slight differences here and there, just by being in the main entrance hall. I'd have to be careful not to get lost in this place.
"So is this entire castle sitting right outside of Iliasburg right now?" I asked. "Won't the people of Iliasburg be alarmed?"
"No," Alice laughed. "It's still a little pocket castle. But the way the magic science works, it requires sufficient space to open as if it was really there. I'm not quite clear on why, it doesn't actually occupy that space. But I was told never to try to use it indoors or close to a populated area. If someone were to walk by, they'd simply see a little castle on the ground."
"Won't someone steal it, then?" Sonya asked.
"No, because it weighs as much as a real castle when it's on. So it's impossible to steal."
"I've always wanted to visit the Monster Lord's castle!" Rami breathed.
"Then stay for awhile!" Alice said, smiling. "All of my well behaved subjects are welcome here. It's not the real castle, so all of the servants are programmed magical apparitions. But they get the job done if you need anything. What we'll do is whenever we go somewhere too dangerous for our weaker party members, they can take shelter in here until we get back. This can also be a place to stay if we need a smaller party. It seems to me that we have five core members, but some missions might be better undertaken with fewer members, or perhaps even one. Those of us who aren't going on the mission can wait here."
"We wouldn't need inns, or have to camp!" Ilias said excitedly. "Very well, I accept your generous offer of accommodations. Monster Lord!"
"You're welcome," Alice said sourly. "The most important reason I'm showing this to you though, is because you seem to be collecting party members. Ragora left, but the imps stayed, and it seemed as if you were trying your darndest to get that earthworm girl to follow us around."
"I really wasn't," I insisted. "That did not happen on any of my other adventures."
"Well, it's happening now," Alice said. "You've collected a slime, three imps, a human, and a…. goddess."
Alice said the last one with clear distaste. Ilias chose not to hear it, or judging by the way she was looking around, perhaps she was too busy planning how to decorate the place more to her liking.
"I was always going with him!" Sonya said hotly. "Don't act like you're the only one entitled to be on this quest, Monster Lord!"
"First off, little girl, you may call me Alice, since I actually like you. The goddess may continue to address me by my title."
"Lord of Abominations?" Ilias said snarkily, evidently paying attention again.
It was a two day journey to the Tartarus Rift. The walk on our first day was mostly uneventful, except for one incident that I'll share that was an "attack" of sorts, but….well, let me just tell the story.
It was around noon, about five hours into our trek. Sonya cooed in delight at the sight of a dog girl in the distance. The dog girl eagerly ran towards us. Ilias reached for her knife, but seeing that no one else was alarmed, simply stood there and folded her arms in disapproval as the dog girl jumped on everyone, licked them, and barked happily, the barks mixed with actual words like, "Oh, I'm so happy! Oh! I like you! Oh! Wanna play?"
Dog girls were rare where I came from until the advent of big cities, which led to more opportunities for dog girls to thrive. Many got into the protection business: police, firefighters, soldiers. The wild just had not suited them. Wolf girls were more common, and the dominant canine race in the harsher world of my adopted universe. At least until I worked to change things.
"Okay, little girl, run along now!" Alice commanded. "We have important business. Very dangerous business."
"Go on, scram!" Ilias added helpfully.
The dog girl whimpered. "But…. I have no master."
"You're a strong, proud monster," Alice said. "You don't need a master. The very idea is demeaning. Why don't you dogs have any self respect?"
"I'll adopt you if you want," Sonya said. "I've always wanted a dog. I don't know about a dog girl, but if you really want someone to take care of you that badly…"
"No!" the dog girl said petulantly. "I need a man master!"
"No one should be your master…. What's your name?" I asked.
"It's Pochi," the dog girl replied.
"I see. Why do you think you need a master?"
"It's my instinct! Most monsters seek prey, or want to get married, or force men to mate with them and let them go. We dog girls don't want any of that. We just want a man to love us, take care of us, and play with us for our whole lives!"
"That sounds a lot like a marriage," Alice said.
"Minus the equality," Sonya added.
"Is not!" Pochi argued. "A man can have many pets. We don't get jealous! At least not much! I'll love my master's wife just as much as I love him!"
"So it's a polyamorous marriage," Ilias said. "Lovely. Luka's not interested, so buzz off!"
"No! Wanna follow you guys!" Pochi yelled.
"Luka, please k-" Ilias started to say, then thought better of it. "You know what? I don't care. My appointed hero doesn't kill monsters. What is this world coming to?!"
"Pochi, I am Alipheese the Sixteenth, the Monster Lord," Alice said to the dog girl. "I'm in small form, but you should recognize me by my majestic scent."
Pochi sniffed Alice suspiciously, then made a face. "I've never smelled a monster lord before, but you kinda stink."
Alice looked insulted. Ilias laughed.
"Well I was going to offer to let you stay in my castle for a bit-" Alice started to say.
"That's a great idea!" I interrupted. "She looks so lonely!"
Pochi agreed, showing me the biggest puppy dog eyes I'd ever seen.
"If you let me finish," Alice said. "Pochi, as one of my loyal subjects you may stay in my castle. You do have some unique skills that I may have a use for later on, so you will be earning your keep, okay?"
"Okay! Okay!" Pochi said happily, jumping up and down around Alice.
"But no one is your master, not even me! Got it? I understand your instincts, but not every monster has to give in to their basest instincts. The desire to have a master comes from your dog DNA. But you're a more evolved creature, okay? You need to learn to rely on yourself. You can stay in my castle and we'll work with you on becoming the strong, independent monster that I know you can be."
I thought that was a fine idea. Alice smiled in satisfaction, opening up the pocket castle and guiding Pochi to the entrance. Pochi happily ran into the castle, immediately greeted by the three imps, who ran to the dog girl and began snuggling with her.
"She can be independent and strong, right?" Alice asked when the castle doors closed.
"She can be," I said. "Where I come from dogs are important, upstanding members of society. She'll do fine."
"Whew, that's good to know," Alice breathed. "By the way, If you're going to collect all these monsters, you have to feed them."
"I know," I said. "It's a good thing you have those big dining rooms and that amazing kitchen. You know how good my culinary skills are."
"Oh, I don't just mean THAT kind of feeding," Alice said, smirking.
"Wait, you don't mean-"
"It's the pocket castle. The only semen source in that castle is you. Wipe that smile off your face, pervert!"
"I shall do my duty, Alice. Reluctantly, of course."
It was great to stay indoors, rather than camping. I still had to cook, because Alice's magical apparitions were not really up to the job, although they could do it in a pinch. I tested them by having them make a simple meal: meat and potatoes. The results were less than satisfying, although better than anything Alice would have made. The meat could actually be cut. Still, even if I had to cook, having access to a real kitchen was so much easier than a pot over a campfire.
Today's meal would be something special. In honor of our newest party member, Pochi, I was making steak. I also decided that if I was in fact going to end up collecting monsters, I should probably make meat while everyone in the party ate meat. I knew that some monsters were vegetarians or even vegans, so as we added those kinds of monsters, I'd need to prepare more such dishes. But Pochi I knew, being a dog girl, would love a good, juicy steak.
You're probably wondering where all this food came from. So am I. You see, the steaks weren't even refrigerated. The castle had no electricity, which was also true of the castle when I first saw it back on my adopted world. The food was kept in a magical storage area that kept the food fresh basically forever. When I asked how long the steaks had been there, Alice told me that she had no idea. They'd been there at least her entire life. The steaks were quite fresh, however, so I decided to just trust the magic storage thingie. Magic in general was just more common on this world than the one I'd just left, presumably due to the Great Disaster. Perhaps that's why I hadn't heard of any Pocket Castle from the Alice I was married to. There probably hadn't been a Pocket Castle to tell me about. I certainly didn't remember a magical storage room for food.
The only problem was that there was only enough food for a couple of weeks at our current party size. I would still need to buy more, but at least there was more than enough to get us through to the Treasure Cave, which I decided we would have to brave whether or not I needed Poseidon's Bell. Large adventuring parties are expensive to maintain.
When I finished the cooking,I plated the food and placed all the finished entrees in yet another magical area designed to keep food hot basically forever. I then went in search of my companions to tell them dinner was ready.
The first of my friends who I encountered were the imps. Rumi and Remi were watching as Rami continued to try to get airborn, with results no better than the last few times I'd seen her try. In addition, she was almost beating her own face in as her breasts came perilously close to hitting her as she jumped. They were only barely kept in place by a makeshift piece of cloth covering her nipples.
"Hey, Rami!" I called. "Could you come here for a moment?"
"What's up, boss?" Rami asked cheerfully. I hadn't been called 'boss' since Promestein had insisted on using the term. More memories came flooding back.
"I don't know if it will help you fly, but that piece of cloth you're wearing is providing you with no support. Are there bras on this world?"
"What's a bra?" Rami asked.
"I'm guessing not. I don't remember them on my world until they started showing up in ladies' clothing sections after trade with Earth began."
"I didn't understand anything you just said."
"Rami, may I touch your breasts?" I asked.
"What?!"
"Let him touch your boobs, Rami!" Rumi yelled. "Everyone else does!"
Rami flushed red. "Just my friends! But I guess you're my friend, too, Luka. So it's okay. Go ahead and touch them. They're really soft!"
"it's not a sexual thing," I said. "I just want to see if maybe I can help you."
I placed a palm on each partially covered breast. Rami giggled. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the most supportive bra I'd ever seen. I knew it wouldn't be permanent, but at least we could test it out, and then I could show the bra to a tailor who might be able to reproduce it for Rami. Heck, in the long term, inventing the brassiere would solve all of my money problems!
When I opened my eyes, Rami was wearing a more than passable bra, causing her breasts to ride higher than they ever had, as well as producing some really nice cleavage. I removed my hands and admired my work. So did Rami and her two friends.
"Wow!" Rami exulted. "it's so supportive! I love it!"
The little imp began jumping around again, thrilled to have support. It didn't get her any higher off the ground, but at least her breasts weren't flopping as violently anymore. I turned to her two friends.
"Would either of you happen to know someone who could make something like that?" I asked.
They both shook their heads.
"I didn't think so. We'll have to find someone in a city who can reproduce that for her so that she can have one."
"Doesn't she have one now?" Remi asked.
"No, that was created only by my magic, it won't la-"
Rami was bouncing back towards us when her bra reverted back to the loose piece of cloth. Except it was no longer properly in place, causing her breasts to simply fall out. Rami covered herself with her hands in embarrassment. Her friends pointed and laughed.
"You did that on purpose because you wanted to see my boobs!" Rami said accusingly.
"No, I didn't! Honest!" I protested. "I just wanted to see if I could make you a bra! Now that I know I can, we can find a tailor in one of these towns who can make you one that's permanent!"
"Well, I did like it," Rami said thoughtfully, taking her hands off of her breasts, treating me to the full view. "You'd do that for me? That sounds expensive."
"You're my friend, Rami, of course I would! If I can. Money's a little tight right now."
"Well, since you're staring at my boobs right now…" Rami signaled to her friends. Before I could react, I was taken down and pinned, just as I had been the first time I encountered these three.
"Hey, what gives, guys!?" I protested, although I knew all to well what they were up to.
Rami undid my pants, gently this time, and sat on my chest. "The Monster Lord said that if you're going to keep collecting monsters and keeping them in this castle, you gotta feed us. Still, we planned to respect your boundaries, but then you had to go and feel me up!"
"I told you it wasn't sexual, Rami! C'mon, you know it wasn't!"
"Maybe it wasn't sexual to you up here," Rami said, touching my forehead. Then she reached back for my stiff penis. "But right here definitely seems to think it was sexual."
She moved down between my legs, poised over my dick. "Since he likes these breasts so much, I should give him a taste of them."
With that, she squeezed my penis between her breasts and began moving up and down. I decided to surrender. She meant no harm and I have to admit, I had been looking at those breasts. A lot. I was being honest about my motives in touching them, but it's also true that it aroused me.
"Guys, you can let go of me, I won't fight back. Just go easy on me, I want to be awake enough to eat dinner. I made a great m-"
I gasped as I felt Remi's tongue on my dick. She was licking it in between Rami's breasts. Her tiny tongue was an interesting feeling as it explored different parts of my shaft, testing the head to see if it made me squirm. Rumi decided that there was nothing going on that I needed to see, so plopped her much smaller but still generous breasts onto my face.
For some reason, not being able to see made the experience even hotter, or perhaps it was the sweet smell and feel of Rumi's skin. In no time, my ejaculate went everywhere. I felt Remi licking some from my penis. Rumi removed her breasts from my face long enough to lick up any semen that got on my chest. Rami had more than enough on her own chest to lick off, as well as some on her face, which Remi licked off, much to Rami's chagrin.
"Okay, just one more!" Rami announced. "You can handle two, right?"
I felt that I could. I was definitely weak, but felt that I could at least stand and shuffle back to the kitchen for dinner.
"Okay, I'm going to put you in my pussy now!" Rami said.
"Hey, that only means you get to eat!" Remi objected.
"Don't worry, my bestest buds!" Rami said cheerfully. "Luka's going to tell me when he gets close and then we'll all gather around and drink from his fountain!"
"Oh, that sounds better," Rumi replied.
That impossibly tight feeling descended upon my still rock hard cock once again, making me nearly see white. Remi and Rumi, eager to help out, lifted Rami and thrust her back down, with much more force than she could have done on her own. I could only hold out for three minutes before signaling to them that I was about to blow.
Quickly, all three heads gathered around my penis, their little tongues darting out to finish me. The imps greedily drank everything that spurted out.
Rumi helped me up and led me by the hand back to the dining room, then went to go fetch the others. Rami and Remi went into the kitchen to retrieve the entrees. I got quite a few funny looks from my guests as they ate and I struggled to eat without sticking a fork in my eye. Alice smirked, knowing what must have happened. Ilias and Sonya didn't seem to approve, although Sonya seemed less bothered by it than I feared. The meal was so good, however, that there were nothing but smiles once it was finished. Pochi especially enjoyed it. I wondered when she was going to demand to enjoy me.