Rather than gather in the conference room, we had more of a working breakfast. I didn't make the food this time. Instead, we let the automated magical maids do it. They weren't great, but a basic breakfast was hard to screw up. I also found out a neat little trick. Remember how in Book 2, Gabriela had tried to teach me how to conjure a cupcake? Or maybe it was a muffin, I don't remember clearly. The point is, I had conjured something that resembled a cupcake, but it tasted like sawdust. Well, it turns out that magical maids didn't only have to use the ingredients in the storage room. They could do some basic conjuring. It took some work, but after about an hour of explaining what I wanted, I had in front of me a bowl of what passed for Lucky Charms. Alice gave me a funny look.
"What is that?" she asked.
"It's called cereal," I answered.
"I know what cereal is! That's not cereal. It smells sweet!"
"It's a type of cereal from where I come from. It's called Lucky Charms. I taught the maids to make it."
"Can I try?" Alice asked.
"Sure," I replied, eager to get back on her good side. Sweet things were a tried and true way to put Alice in a forgiving mood.
She dipped a spoon in and tasted it. "Oh! Even sweeter than it smells! But the marshmallows are so much better than the cereal. The cereal is kind of dull. Why not just have a bowl of only marshmallows?"
"I've long wondered the same thing. Probably because the cereal is where the nutrition is."
"If that was created magically, then the marshmallows can hold the nutrients the same as the cereal. Tomorrow morning, have them make me a really big bowl with only marshmallows."
Alice called the meeting to order, of course while talking with her mouth full. I'd forgotten how bad her table manners were. She'd learned how to eat in polite company once humans and monsters had begun to coexist. Monsters have so many ways to eat, that manners were not really a thing for them. It's hard to complain about a lamia dislocating her own jaw and then chewing her massive mouthful loudly while the fly girl across from you is sucking up her food through her proboscis and a slime is shoving her food directly into her stomach with her hand.
"I'd like to welcome Flippy and Flappy, the two representatives from the harpy race who will be accompanying us on our quest," Alice announced.
Now it was my turn to be a little rude, blurting out. "Flippy and Flappy?"
"I'm the queen's daughter," one of the harpies, a blue haired girl replied. "The queen wanted to come herself, and may still accompany you on particularly dangerous missions where her power is needed. At the moment she is needed at home, for obvious reasons. My real name isn't Flippy, that's my nickname, because I am a skilled martial artist. I flip a lot. My real name is Twila. But only my mother calls me that. I prefer Flippy."
"She is also the best flyer in Harpy Village," her companion, who I guessed must be Flappy, added.
I was getting serious Granberia vibes from the other harpy. Whereas Flippy was beautiful and refined, with long blue hair, Flappy kept her hair shorter and economical, although she was not hard to look at by any means. Her severe look almost certainly hid a beautiful smile like Granberia's, and her body was fit and hard, although I knew that could be deceptive. Granberia had been hard in many places, but soft in all the right ones.
"I am Flappy," the other harpy continued. "My real name is…. Flappy. I am the foremost warrior in Harpy Village. Alas, the way we harpies fight does not leave much room for individual prowess on the battlefield. Thus, I was considered an ideal candidate to travel with you."
"Flappy has been my best friend since childhood," Flippy added. "That's one reason I'm called Flippy. We were inseparable, so our people kept on jokingly referring to us as Flippy and Flappy. It stuck, and I like it."
"We welcome you to our quest, Princess Flippy and Warrior Flappy," Alice said graciously.
"Please, don't call me princess," Flippy insisted. "We harpies only recognize the queen. I have no right to the throne. I will have to earn it just as you earned yours, your majesty."
"Oh?" Alice asked. "Forgive me, there are so many monster races and I haven't been out in the world. When we have time, please remind me how harpies choose their queen."
"Can we get on with it?" Ilias asked impatiently. "We're going to the Tartarus Rift to the east, right?"
"We'll get to that," Alice said patiently. "Enjoy your pancakes and listen to what Flippy has to say about how the harpies came to catch the virus."
That got Ilias' attention. The goddess listened attentively.
"Just before we came down with the sickness, we had three visitors who came to see my mother," Flippy said. "They were succubi."
"Succubi?" Alice asked. "That is unusual. What business would succubi have with the Harpy Queen?"
"These weren't just any succubi," Flippy continued. "They were powerful looking. Like, Heavenly Knight level powerful looking. I'm no expert, of course. Maybe they just looked strong. Anyway, they said they were studying Tartarus and asked the queen if anything strange had happened in the village. My mother said that things had been peaceful, as usual. The youngest looking succubus took exception to that and insulted my mother, questioning her right to rule, living in peace with humans rather than using them as breeding stock."
"The youngest said this?" Sonya asked. "Wouldn't a young succubus have only known peace between monsters and humans? Why would she be upset about that?"
"Well, she was scolded by her elders, who were apparently her sisters. The queen chose to ignore the slight given her youth. They asked more questions, the queen answered that nothing unusual had happened. They talked among themselves, saying something about how killing someone had caused ripples, but that things were apparently still stable."
"It sounds like they killed someone and it caused consequences?" I mused. "I wonder if they meant consequences in this timestream?"
"I am an expert on time," Ilias said. "Although I don't remember everything I'm supposed to know. They could only be talking about this world's timestream. They changed something by messing around with time. That alone could cause major problems. Did they give you their names?"
"They didn't give them," Flippy answered. "But they referred to each other by name: Lilith, Morrigan, and Astaroth."
"That's an unsightly group of names," Alice commented. "Why would powerful succubi run around with such unrespectable names?"
"I know Lilith," I said. "I haven't heard of the other two. There would be a fourth sister then."
"Possibly, but not necessarily," Alice noted. "Lots of succubi in history have used those names. But the original Lilith, Astaroth, and Morrigan were three sisters of legend from ancient times. I'd say that's impossible, as succubi, even legendary ones, just don't live that long, other than Minagi, the original succubus."
"If it is the legendary sisters, that's very bad," Ilias said. "They hated humans, treated them as livestock, and killed them without hesitation."
"I'd ask how three ancient succubi got to the present," Sonya said. "but we have a Luka from another universe, so…."
"So nothing is impossible," Alice finished. "The key piece of evidence, however, is that virus. Did the harpies begin getting sick right after the sisters left?"
"The timeline matches up perfectly," Flippy replied. "A few days later, we had our first patient."
"Do you think they did it on purpose?" I asked.
"If they caught it during the Great Monster Wars, they might not even know that they have it," Sonya said.
"A succubus is already so promiscuous that I doubt that a virus would change their behavior in the slightest," Ilias noted.
"It's also possible that they aren't symptomatic," Sonya continued. "If the virus was endemic back then, they could be carriers. But monsters today would have no immunity, so it would spread rapidly."
"It was very wise of the queen to quarantine the harpies," Alice said, addressing Flippy. "If another monster had visited the village and spread it among her race as well, the disease would have spread uncontrollably."
"Can humans get it?" I asked.
"As far as we know, there are no cases of monster to human transmission of any disease," Alice answered. "Not even the common cold."
"It's one reason why so many men prefer monsters!" Lime said, speaking for the first time. "Not only are we better in bed, but it's risk-free!"
"If you ignore the 'I might eat you, fuck you to death, or keep you as my slave' factor, I guess that's true," Ilias retorted. "in any case, there's nothing we can do about those three except hope they don't give any more monsters the virus. We'll have to keep those names in the back of our minds in case we encounter them in the future. So now that that's settled, are we going to Tartarus or what?"
"We're still deciding that," Alice replied. "it has also been brought to my attention that we have a financial problem. I've never concerned myself with such things, so I have little to contribute. But Flippy may have some useful information for us."
I guessed that the queen must have told Alice of my money concerns at the party. I hoped that she'd kept her promise to not reveal that Nero was my son.
"There's a village called Midas Village northeast of here, about a day's journey by foot," Flippy said. "There are gold mines there that have been abandoned due to infestation by monsters. The gold is there for the taking. The quest would be well funded for the forseeable future if we retrieved even a small amount of it."
"Hmmmmm…." Ilias mused. "Money is primarily a human concern. We don't use money in heaven, either. Personally, I've never approved of it. Do we really need it? I've ordered my followers for centuries to give heroes whatever they need."
"I'm afraid the faith isn't as widespread as it was when you were more…. Active," Sonya said uncomfortably. "People don't just give up their gold and possessions for heroes anymore. As a matter of fact, the owner of the Sutherland Inn was the first person I've heard of in years doing so. And she probably only did it because the church has a deal to reimburse her."
"Then it's clear that we will in fact, need money," Alice said. "This Midas Village takes us further away from the Tartarus, but it's closer to our current location than Tartarus is. Luka, if we did go to Tartarus first, would we be fine, financially?"
"The main issue right now is food," I replied. "But we're good there for a few weeks. What worries me about going to Tartarus first is that we don't know how long we'd be in whatever alternate universe we ended up in. I assume we wouldn't be bringing this castle into Tartarus?"
"I don't want to risk the lives of everyone living here," Alice said. "Those rifts are frightening and the apoptoses guarding them are extremely dangerous. I can't in good conscience ask the weaker monsters to brave that. As before, we will be leaving the pocket castle a reasonable distance away."
"Then we should do Midas Village first. Hit the mines, get gold, bring it to the village for melting it into currency that can be used on any world. I haven't seen a world yet where gold isn't accepted."
"Is that your decision, my hero Luka?" Ilias asked, surprisingly with cuteness rather than sarcasm. Or perhaps the cuteness was sarcasm. It did remind me that I was the Decider, so to speak.
"Yes, I think we should go to Midas Village. Besides, we'll probably run into hostile monsters in those mines, and you two need to practice your magic in combat conditions. As you have said, you know how to do magic, you just have to exercise your magical capabilities like a muscle."
"And in order to practice your magic, you have to be willing to use it on your little abominations," Ilias said, looking directly at Alice.
Alice sighed. "Fine. I hate fighting my fellow monsters, but I do need to get my skills back to a reasonably credible level. From here on, Luka, I fight by your side. Unless you cause a fight unnecessarily, in which case you are on your own, do you understand?"
"Perfectly," I said, happy that she was already on my side so early in the journey. I also assumed that I was a lot wiser than I was the first time around, and so would blunder into fewer unnecessary confrontations.
"Meeting is adjourned, then," Alice announced.
I rushed after Alice, who was moving down the hall so quickly that I had to run to keep up with her.
"Alice, are we okay?" I asked.
"Why wouldn't we be?" she asked, in a tone that said, 'we are definitely not fine.' Being married for hundreds of years made someone even as dense as me more aware when a woman was angry.
"I know you pretty well, Alice. You didn't seem to like me dancing with Sonya. You didn't seem to have a problem with me dancing with anyone else, though."
Alice stopped and sighed. "Can't hide anything from you, huh? It's nothing, really. I'm a lamia. You know what that means. I said that I think I love you, so seeing you with someone who is into you…. I'm trying to be an adult about it, okay? Don't mind me. I'm mad, I admit, but I know it's silly. We're not together, and Sonya's in love with a different Luka."
"Do you want to be together, Alice?" I asked.
"When did we become officially… 'together', on your original quest?"
"It's hard to say," I admitted. "Officially? Not until it was all over. But long before that, we had a confrontation similar to this one, and the end result was that I made a promise that I wouldn't let anyone touch me but you, at least not willingly. I of course still got touched nearly every day, because we were traveling in a world where monsters did that sort of thing everywhere."
"And I wouldn't help," Alice finished. "Luka, I'm not going to pressure you into that sort of promise. I can relate to it, but I can't justify it."
"Actually, you could. The issue then was that you wouldn't claim me, because you couldn't protect me. Now you can."
Alice looked at me in shock, not sure what to say. Finally, she found her words.
"Luka, are you asking me to claim you?"
"I… I don't know. Do you want to? Would that be good or bad for our quest?"
"I do want to," she said softly. "More than anything. But it would be a terrible idea. It would jeopardize the quest. After what Nero did, Ilias is more essential than ever. I mean…. Can we even have sex anymore? Are you willing to touch this body? You do know I'm not actually a child, right?"
I did know that, of course. And I'd had sex with Tamamo, willingly, in her child form, just once, on that first birthday. I'd just always seen Tamamo as a wise woman who just happened to look like a child. But mentally, I'd been used to the fact that Tamamo just looked that way. I'd barely given it a second thought when she led me to a room and had her way with me. But Alice, I was used to that lovely, adult form. I'd felt that it would be weird to do anything with her child form. But she was in love with me, and she had to eat.
"You don't have to eat again for a few more days, right?" I said. "Give me time to think. It's just… difficult for me."
"I understand," Alice said. "And don't feel as if you have to. I've lived off of second hand semen all my life. Lime can extract it from you and give it to me. It'll taste delicious mixed in with her jelly anyway. I'll be fine, Luka, don't worry about it."
"All right, Alice. And thank you for being willing to fight by my side. I had to wait a lot longer for that the first time. It means a lot."
"Well….. let's get ready to travel to Midas Village. Oh, and you're feeding Pochi tonight after dinner!"
I laughed. "That doesn't bother you?"
"It's necessary," Alice said reluctantly. "It's all right for you to enjoy it, too. You're doing a nice thing for our companions. I know that experience with Ratty couldn't have been pleasant. You took one for the team to save our cheese."
"Yes, that's why I did it. To save the cheese."
Alice laughed. "And Luka? I know I got mad about you dancing with Sonya, but I think there is a connection there. That's why I was upset. She's a great girl, Luka. Just because I look like your late wife doesn't mean you need to repeat your own history. And besides, as you said, once this mission is over, you….."
"I probably pass on," I said.
"Which means that when Sonya kisses you goodbye, she'll be saying hello to her Luka moments later. Perhaps it's better that way. It would break my heart if we were together and then you were gone. I have no feelings for that other Luka and I'm sure he'd be frightened of me."
"We're getting way ahead of ourselves," I said. "Let's survive this first."
"You're right. Well, let's get ready."
The vast majority of the journey would be through Ilias Continent's massive forest on the eastern portion of the continent. I enjoyed forests, thanks to the lack of sun beating down on my head. I also enjoyed the smells. I even enjoyed the monsters, as the forests of Ilias Continent tended to be the habitat of the most likeable monsters. Slimes, slugs, various beasts such as wolves, pigs, rabbits, and even a few kitsunes. The kitsune race was particularly interesting. In this time period, kitsunes were mainly concentrated in three areas: Hellgondo, Yamatai Village, and a few small kitsune villages in the northern Ilias continent. A very civilized race, they weren't often seen in the wild. As society modernized back on my world, kitsunes had captured the commanding heights of the economy and political power. Once that had happened, Tamamo had purposefully disappeared from the public eye, not wanting to be seen as the true power in the world. That was around the time that she married me and we lived a life of relative anonymity in Yamatai Village. As time had passed, even her own people didn't believe she existed anymore. She didn't make a huge effort to hide herself. She simply chose to live a quiet life with me and let the world simply regard us as legends. Neither of us even had to change our names. By that time, the Monster Lord was a kitsune and the leader of the free world was also a kitsune. Neither the world, nor the kitsune race, needed Tamamo. Or the hero Luka for that matter.
I felt quite safe in the forest. First, as I mentioned, the monsters in this part of the world were mostly kind and gentle. Second, the group was a bit on the large side. Flippy and Flappy scouted and provided air cover. Flappy was appropriately named, as she was a very awkward and inefficient flyer, often even struggling to get off the ground. Part of the problem may have been her muscular body, which added weight. Her wings weren't getting any bigger, so working out so heavily may have required her to give up some flight ability as a tradeoff. Flippy, on the other hand, was even more beautiful in flight than her mother. She glided effortlessly among the trees, flying at dangerous speeds but never risking hitting anything. She entertained us with tricks when the tree cover was light enough for the group to watch one of her flying exhibitions. Flappy, on the other hand, reminded me of George of the Jungle at times, as at one point I heard Flippy yell, "Flappy! Watch out for that--- oh!"
In addition, Lime and Pochi were out that day as well, along with the three imps, mainly because Rami wanted to chat with the harpies and watch them fly. I was surprised to learn that Flappy had been one of Rami's "victims" in the tower battle. There were no hard feelings, in fact, Flappy had enjoyed Rami so much that she asked if Rami would do it again sometime.
"I'm not into girls, sorry," Rami said, trying to be gentle. "It was a fight. Actually, I don't even like sex at all. I just like semen. I've never wanted a man in my life. All I need in life are my friends."
"Not an uncommon sentiment among monsters," Flippy commented, walking for the moment rather than flying. "There are no true gay monsters, because we all need semen. But human males make difficult mates. We have different cultures and often cannot relate to one another. Men also like to be the stronger partner. They become insecure around women who are better than they. Thus, many monsters, while still desiring male bodies, will have romantic relationships with other monsters. Or no romance at all. Romance is more of a human concept. Monsters are more practical."
"I believe in romance," Lime said. "one day I'm going to meet a man who will sweep me off my feet. And then I'll wrap him up completely and we'll quiver together like a big bowl of jelly!"
"Goddess," Flippy asked, addressing Ilias, who was walking along, keeping her own counsel. "Is it the same for angels? I've never met one before. Do angels take human mates?"
"From time to time," Ilias replied. "Angels, like monsters, are all unique. I created each of them for a different purpose. But I found that over time, if they interacted too much with humans, they changed. One of my Seraphs fell in love and married a human. Some of my lesser angels have as well."
"And what of you, goddess? Have you ever desired a man? Or perhaps a woman?"
"That would be none of your business, monster! I have used my heavenly body to reward particularly loyal heroes in the past, I don't mind admitting that. But my heart is my private business."
"I did not mean to offend, goddess. I was merely curious. I shall not pry further."
"Well, although I love semen as much as the next monster," Flappy said. "I am in to women. Just not… harpies. That would be like having sex with my sister. I don't know how humans mate with each other. It just seems so wrong."
"If humans didn't mate with humans, there'd be no humans," Flippy laughed. "We'd all go extinct if that happened."
"I know, I know. It just seems weird to me, that's all."
"Do you like me, Flappy?" Rami asked.
"You have fine breasts," Flappy replied.
"And THAT's why I don't believe in romance!" Rami said. "All men see are these boobs. Most of the time it's all women see too!"
"Your boobs are really, really big," Remi commented.
"Oh, really? Thanks for letting me know that! And all this time I couldn't figure out why I can't get off the ground!"
"I could teach you to fly," Flippy said. "If you do something for my friend while I'm teaching you."
I was shocked by what I was hearing. Were monsters just that casually transactional about sex?
"You'd do that? Just for me giving Flappy a little pleasure?"
"A LOT of pleasure," Flappy corrected.
"I cannot guarantee that you will actually fly with just your wings," Flippy said. "But it may be possible. If we can secure those breasts properly and teach you proper techniques… You will have to be an absolute expert at the science of flight to even have a chance. And even then I might have to teach you some wind spells. You may end up needing magical assistance. So don't expect results quickly. But I've never seen anyone with wings who couldn't be taught to use them. Even Flappy flies. Allegedly."
"That reminds me that we need to get you a bra," I said. "Maybe there's a skilled tailor in Midas Village. I wish I'd remembered to ask in Happiness Village."
"Do you like me, Luka?" Rami asked. "I don't mean romantically. You see more than just my chest, right?"
Of course I did. That incredibly tight vagina of hers had made me forget all about her breasts. I didn't say that of course.
"There's a lot to like about you, Rami."
"But you did enjoy them, right? Just because men notice them doesn't mean I don't like it when they do. I just wish they'd see more."
"Let me give you some advice, Rami," I said. "Spend time in the city, hanging out, talking to humans, especially males, and they might surprise you. Don't try to rape them or come on to them right away. When you offer to give a man pleasure, and he doesn't know you well, of course he's going to take a look at what's being offered and not see the whole you. You want a man to appreciate the person that is Rami before you make a move on them. Then when you finally do decide to…. Um….."
"Drink his semen?" Rami finished for me.
"Yeah, that. By then he'll love you as a person. It won't just be an amazing pair of breasts pleasuring him. It'll be Rami pleasuring him. And it wouldn't matter to him whether your chest was ample or not."
"And you also won't be just drinking his semen," Sonya added. "You'll be giving him pleasure because you love him."
"That's another issue that gets in the way of human/monster relationships," Flippy said. "For humans, sex is about lovemaking, or procreation. It is that for monsters as well if they are in a relationship with a human, but sometimes monsters just need to eat. Many men enjoy just being used. Not all men do, however. Harpies being motivated more by their appetites than by love is a primary cause of marital tension in our villages."
I could certainly relate to that. Once married to Alice, I never minded being used by her. It was actually kind of hot, plus it meant I didn't have to do anything. But before our marriage it had often hurt me a little when Alice simply drained me and then left. Tamamo's appetite had been much lighter. Either that, or she was just better at making it seem like she was loving me rather than eating me. I couldn't recall a time when I had just "fed" Tamamo.
Pochi and Ratty, out of breath, came into sight and conferred quickly with Alice. While the harpies had been resting their wings, our two fastest land monsters had been scouting ahead. Both Pochi and Ratty were skilled trackers and good at staying out of sight.
"Really?!" Alice asked, exasperated. "Those idiots! Now I'm glad to fight. They need a good spanking."
"What gives?" I asked Alice.
"Orcs," she sighed. "Ratty and Pochi sighted about thirty of them heading this way."
"Orcs?" I asked. "There are orcs here?"
"They must not have been called that where you come from," Alice said. "Pig girls. Just pig girls. With delusions of being warriors. They raid human villages from time to time, raping and pillaging. They never actually kill or injure anyone, nor do they carry anyone off. But I've been told that men don't always appreciate being raped, and no one likes their possessions stolen. And without a beast queen it's been difficult to keep the more unruly beasts in line."
"Are they going to attack us?" Rumi asked, shaking in fear.
"I don't know. If they do, don't be frightened. They rarely ever hurt anyone seriously. If they do attack, it will be to rough us up a little and take our things. You are actually well equipped to fight orcs, Rumi. They are extremely weak to pleasure attacks. You three imps did a great job back there against the harpies. If you want to travel with us, you need to earn your keep. I'd never ask you to fight anything that would be too much for you. This is an opponent that you can defeat. Do you think you can do that, Rumi?"
Rumi whimpered. Rami and Remi reassuringly put their arms around her shoulders. "Don't worry, your majesty! Rumi is a little scaredy cat, but once the fight starts she knows we've got her back! She was great in the harpy tower! We'll send a few orcs to heaven today!"
"The orcs that you defeat with pleasure attacks will be fortunate," Flappy said. "All my opponents will taste is cold steel and my talons."
"Just remember the rules of this quest, Flappy," I said. "No killing unless absolutely necessary. Alice said these orcs don't really want to hurt us badly. So use restraint."
"Monster Lord?" Flappy asked.
"I probably should have mentioned at the meeting that Luka is our leader," Alice answered. "Treat orders from him as you would orders from me."
"As you wish, your majesty!" Flappy said, then turned back to me. "No killing, then. I shall try not to even harm them too badly. May I request something of you in return?"
Uh oh. "Um… sure?"
"I would like to spar with you whenever we have the time. You carry yourself like a warrior."
"Oh! Sure, any time is fine. I love sparring!"
"And if I defeat you, I shall claim the victors' spoils!"
"You'd better involve Flippy in those 'victors' spoils as well," Alice chuckled. "Luka's already spread pretty thin in that respect."
"Win for me, Flappy!" Flippy laughed.
"You'd better not lose on purpose, male!" Flappy warned. "We can make it very good for you if you put up a good fight. If you lose on purpose, however, we won't be gentle."
A battle cry was heard a short distance away and the sound of charging feet followed. Flappy turned to me and put her hand on my shoulder.
"I am eager to see you in action, hero," she said. "Slay a dozen for me! Figuratively, of course."
Yes, there was definitely a Granberia vibe with her. I immediately liked her, although my heart yearned for my old friend. Those thoughts would have to wait, however, as the orcs emerged howling from out of the trees and waded into our group with formidable looking clubs.
"There's a male here!" one of them shouted, and swung her club at me. I ducked under her swing and retaliated with a slash of my sword. She felt the wound and stared dumbly at the lack of blood, before being knocked out with a single punch by Flappy.
"Good form, male!" Flappy said, drawing her sword and engaging another orc ahead. I think that was the first time I'd ever been complimented on my form.
Since I wasn't being attacked for the moment, I surveyed the scene. Alice was throwing dark magic everywhere. Four orcs went down, writhing in pain. I knew that the spell Alice favored the most did no real damage. It was a pain spell, designed to make the opponent not want to fight anymore, although sometimes it actually provoked instead. The orcs, however, once hit, stayed down. She had been right. As barbaric as they appeared, with no clothes and rudimentary clubs, they were not hardened warriors. Granberia could have beaten all thirty of them in less than a minute.
Unfortunately, Alice also hit Pochi. The poor dog girl's fight ended within the first minutes just as it had in the harpy tower, as she yelped and laid on the ground whining pitifully. "Sorry!" Alice said, wincing as she placed herself in front of Pochi. Sonya knelt down quickly and used her healing skills to relieve Pochi's pain.
A yelling, charging orc, club raised, bore down on me. Her charge was so reckless that I simply used a judo throw to flip her over my head, using her own momentum to do nearly all the work. She went down on her back hard. I put my sword at her neck as she lay on the ground. "Quarter!" she pleaded. I smiled at her and helped her up, although I confiscated her club.
Ilias was only staying within the letter of my rules, using her bow to embed arrows in several orcs, who howled in pain and gingerly tried to remove the arrows from various body parts. One poor orc took one in the nipple. I'd have to be sure to have Sonya heal that one once the arrow was removed. That was going to hurt. A lot.
One orc that managed to reach Ilias received a roundhouse kick laced with holy power. The flash of light as Ilias' foot connected with the orc's jaw came closer to killing the orc than I would have liked. Realizing that she'd gone too far, Ilias immediately bent down to begin healing her fallen enemy.
The battle was really no contest. We were outnumbered, but most of our allies were superior to any five pig girls. When it was over, twenty orcs lay on the ground wounded by swords or arrows, disabled by pleasure attacks, knocked cold by flying fists and feet, or in pain from Alice's magic. The others had fled, leaving their comrades behind. The only uninjured orc was the one I had defeated, who had been doing what I guess must have been the honorable thing and following me around.
Sonya and Ilias began treating the wounded orcs. Ilias seemed to take great joy in yanking the arrows out of the ones she had hit. Their screams were horrible, to which Ilias responded, "Oh quit being a baby, I'm going to heal you! Maybe next time you'll learn not to attack innocent travelers!"
Alice approached the orc standing next to me. "Your name?" Alice said in a commanding tone.
"I am Pig," the orc said, not meeting Alice's gaze.
"Are you the leader here?"
"No. No leader here. Our leader is back at our village."
"What kind of leader just sends her subordinates to risk their lives against a superior force?"
"Not superior. We thought you'd be easy. More of us than you."
"Since your leader isn't here, I can't punish her myself. And I don't feel like going to your village. You all disgust me!"
"Sorry," the pig girl replied, still not meeting Alice's gaze.
"Do you even know who I am?!"
"No."
"I am Alipheese the Sixteenth, the Monster Lord. Do you know what it means to attack the Monster Lord, Pig?"
"Monster Lord? We didn't know! You look too young to be the Monster Lord! Please, Monster Lord, we didn't mean any harm!"
"No one may attempt to harm the Monster Lord and live!"
The orc got down on her knees. "Please Monster Lord, have mercy! We couldn't have known!"
Alice seemed to think for a moment. While she thought, another orc screamed piteously as Ilias pulled an arrow from her backside. That did nothing for Pig's stress levels.
"Since you didn't know," Alice finally said. "I will show you mercy, on the condition that you go back to your village and inform your chief that you are not to attack travelers or nearby villages. You can make your living farming or through commerce just like everyone else. And stop acting barbaric and idiotic! I know pigs aren't stupid!"
"Thank you, your magnificence, thank you! I'll tell her. We won't make trouble anymore!'
"Good. There's just one problem. As you can see, Pig, I'm traveling with a mixed group here. There is an angel, and two humans. Since they are not my subordinates, I cannot order them around. You know our laws, Pig. You were defeated by this human. He has the right to do whatever he wants with you. He can rape you, kill you, sell you, even eat you."
"Humans eat pigs! Please no!"
"Don't tell me," Alice said disdainfully. "Tell him. Your life is in his hands."
Pig, still on her knees, turned to me, begging. I was getting uncomfortable with the whole thing, but had known Alice long enough to know that she felt it necessary to scare monsters straight when they misbehaved.
"Please, human! Don't eat me or kill me. Look!" she said, opening her mouth. "Fuck my dirty pig mouth!"
"No! It's okay!" I said quickly. "You're free to go! No eating, raping, or anything else! Just pay it forward."
"Pay it what?"
"Pay it forward," I reiterated. "That means that the next time you have an enemy at your mercy, be kind to them."
"Let my defeated enemy fuck my dirty pig mouth?"
"Oh my goodness, you're making my head hurt, Pig," Alice said, facepalming. "Please gather up your companions and go back to your village before I reconsider."
Pig quickly ran off to help her fallen comrades. I looked around. We'd taken a few minor casualties as well. Aside from Pochi, who was now up and happy again, frolicking around friend and enemy alike, Flappy had a bloody lip. Remi was looking at her hand.
"Remi, do you need healing?" I asked.
"Naw, I just broke a nail," the imp replied. "Dammit."
"Has anyone else been hurt?" Sonya asked, finishing with the last orc that needed healing. "No one? Wow, we're pretty badass, aren't we, Luka?"
"This wasn't a serious attack," Alice said. "This was more the charge of the idiot's brigade. But yes, everyone fought well. Not as a unit, of course. But well, nonetheless. Great job, everyone."
"I could use some help here!" Ilias shouted, trying to restrain the orc who had taken an arrow right in the nipple. Sonya went to her aid. That job might require two healers, I thought.
Pig came back and kneeled before Alice. "Your majesty, I don't know why you're traveling, but I want to serve you. You're right, my chief is an idiot. I want to employ my club for a good cause."
"Oh, look who got more articulate!" Alice said with satisfaction. "I knew that 'dumb as rocks' act wasn't entirely real. What do you think, Luka? Is she worthy?"
Of course I wanted to say yes, as we could use all the help we could get. I was also cognizant of the fact that it was another mouth to feed. At this rate I wouldn't be able to quest at all. I'd just be food for the monsters while they did all the questing, Still, she looked strong.
"Sure, Pig, we'd love to have you," I said. "But there are a couple of rules in this group."
"Rules?" Pig asked. "What rules?"
"Yes, Luka, I only know of one rule," Alice asked.
A piercing scream startled everyone. That poor orc!
"Um…. The first rule is no killing," I said. "Unless you have no choice. The second rule is that we have a dress code."
"A dress code? Really?" Alice asked.
"It's a very liberal dress code!" I insisted. "As in, there must be some dress. That's the only requirement. Wear something, anything."
"I probably should if I'm traveling with a human," Pig agreed. "After all, you won't be able to concentrate on fighting if you're always staring at all of this."
Pig showed off her body, turning around in a circle so that I could get a good look at all of it. Maybe I was just spoiled, and I don't like to be shallow, but…. No. I'd feed her, but nothing about Pig was very attractive.
We made camp that night, or more accurately, we all went home to the pocket castle. I made dinner, more meat since we still had all meat eaters and omnivores, although fruits and veggies were always part of the meal as well. I really enjoyed cooking for everyone, and it made me very popular for reasons other than my own tastiness.
"Good night, Luka," Alice said, tenderness replacing the diffidence I'd heard in her voice the previous night. "Don't forget about Pochi. She had a rough day, mainly thanks to me. My control still isn't what it should be."
"All right," I said. "Where can I find her, anyway? Which room is she in?"
"You'll find her in the inner courtyard. Just go to the double doors at the end of the hallway at the entrance. Don't you know this place?"
"You know, I never did learn how to find my way around, except to the most common locations. I also think this castle has a somewhat different layout than the one I was used to."
"Well, dog girls like to sleep outside under the stars, in the grass. If she had a master, she'd want to sleep by his bed, or in his bed, but we're teaching her that she doesn't need a master. Do you have plans for getting back to your room?"
"Oh yeah, I hadn't thought of that! She's not strong enough to carry me!"
"Then just feed her once," Alice said. "She'll be fine. You're not an all you can eat buffet. No monster HAS to have more than one load per week. Except for succubi. Then we might have a problem here."
I bid her farewell for the night and found the courtyard. Pochi, who had been expecting me, came running. She really was a pretty girl, friendly to a fault, but hard to see as a sexual partner. Nevertheless, she was clearly an adult, and required semen to thrive, so I had to do my duty. Hopefully it would be quick. I'd never been with a dog girl before, so had no idea what their skill level was or how strong their magic was.
"You wanna play first?" she asked. "I've got a ball. I'll throw it and you can fetch it and bring it back to me."
I laughed. I wasn't sure if she was joking, but I found the idea of a dog throwing a ball for a human to be hilarious. If she was serious, I thought I might enjoy doing that. But I was tired.
"It's been a long day for both of us, Pochi, but that does sound like fun sometimes. Ever played catch?"
"What's catch?" she asked.
"It's where we don't run after the ball, we just throw it to each other. I throw, you catch, then you throw, and I catch."
"Sounds boring, but if it's with you I'll enjoy it. So does that mean you want to just feed me now?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry I'm being so abrupt, but I really do want to get to bed. Maybe next time we'll have more of an opportunity to take it slow. How do you want to do it?"
The dog girl thought for a moment, then smiled.
"My favorite thing is to lickety-lick. I love licking. I love it so much I don't always do it sexually. I just like licking people."
"Well…" I said, quite pleased. "I really enjoy the lickety-lick too."
"Awesome!" Pochi said, undoing my pants, taking them down, and immediately attacking my penis with her long tongue.
Safety first, so I lowered myself to the ground and laid back on the nice, soft grass. Pochi followed me down, her tongue never leaving my dick as she relentlessly licked it over and over. Once I was down, she started to use her mouth, sucking and licking quickly. Every few seconds she would go a little deeper, her tongue never letting up as it massaged more and more of my dick. There didn't seem to be any real technique to it, but it felt like an entirely new experience to me. I'd never been licked that fast before.
The wonderful lapping continued as her lips made contact with my pelvis, my penis now entirely inside her large mouth. Saliva began to get everywhere as my taste made her mouth water and she got more and more eager to receive my semen. Despite her seeming abandon, I never felt her sharp teeth. Most monsters with sharp teeth had to be extra careful when doing this. Pochi was sucking like a woman who had no teeth.
The rougher taste buds at the back of her mouth began making contact with the underside of my penis, causing my back to arch and my semen to explode into her mouth. The relentless lapping never stopped. When my orgasm ended, she made a loud sucking sound, creating a vacuum, trying to coax out the last bit.
Wagging her tail, she took my dick out and smiled at me. "Was it good?" she asked. I nodded appreciatively. "Want more?"
Alice had advised me to only feed her once, but that experience had been so different and so amazing that I knew I'd be thinking about her mouth for days until she did this to me again. I had to let her make me come one more time. It was for the good of the group.
"Yes, I absolutely want more," I said.
Pochi smiled and went back to work. The renewed assault seemed to feel even better. This time she changed it up a little, curling her tongue around my shaft from time to time to add a twisting motion to the licking. She also would switch to hard sucking from time to time, since I had been so appreciative of her doing it the first time. A second orgasm splashed into her mouth minutes later. This time she slowed down during the orgasm, lovingly licking and gulping more tenderly than before.
"All done!" Pochi said, smiling. Oh, I definitely was going to want more of that!
"Whoo-hoo! Go Pochi!" a voice from the distance shouted. Was someone else in the courtyard?
"Thanks, Flappy!" Pochi yelled back. Flappy?
Flappy and Flippy landed near us in the dim moonlight. It was a big courtyard, Now that I was thinking about it, a lot of spectators could have been present and I wouldn't have known.
"Is there anyone else here besides you two?" I asked, a bit embarrassed.
"No, just us and Pochi," Flippy replied, smiling. "You really loved that. Blowjobs aren't my specialty, but if you like them that much I'll have to practice on you. Pochi, can you give me tips?"
"That would be so much fun!" Pochi yelled joyfully, running around Flippy.
"Harpy pussy is legendary," Flappy said. "Oral is just a warmup for us."
"I know," Flippy said. "But it might be fun to try to get a man off using just my mouth. Pochi certainly had no problem."
"Her anatomy is more advantageous for that than ours," Flappy noted clinically. "still…. Luka, should you fight well, I shall endeavour to pleasure you in any way you wish."
"Um…. Let's talk about that another time, okay?" I replied, now beet red. I had never gotten used to how casually monsters discussed sex. They talked about it the way men would stand around talking about the virtues of their favorite sports team.
"You appear to be a bit tired," Flappy said. "Shall I carry you to your room, or would you prefer to lay here for the night?"
I asked Flappy to carry me back to my room, which she did, after putting my pants back on. I slept quite well that night, dreaming of being double teamed by the harpies. They weren't wrong about harpy pussy being amazing. I was looking forward to it. This adventure was emotional and stressful, but it was certainly proving to have its good sides.