Four of my five pets began working to disperse the crowd as soon as my speech was complete. Rir was the only one to stay behind with me.
With a bark, he expressed his concerns and informed me that he would have preferred I put a little more pressure on the mob, but I simply laughed it off as I gave him a few good old pets.
"My bad. But you know, the matter of fact is, while I'm totally cool with being your master, I have no intention of taking control of your lackies."
I'd already worked it out internally. My pets were a part of my family, and I would do my utmost to protect them. But my protection would not extend to their underlings.
After toying with his ears, I took a moment to look him in the eyes. "You five matter to me, and a helluva lot at that. But I don't feel the same about the monsters working under you. Honestly, I couldn't give half a flying fuck about what happens to them. I don't really care if they die. So yeah, it's pretty much like I said. I'll try to keep you safe, but keeping them out of trouble is gonna fall on you."
He stayed silent for a bit, but eventually gave in, breathed a small sigh, and barked.
"Heh, you got that right. I'm never gonna change," I replied. "I'm pretty much going to keep causing trouble for you and asking you to do all sorts of shit. You're pretty much the only one I can rely on, for most of it."
Lefi was technically the dungeon's secret weapon, and Nell could pull her fair share, being a hero and all.
But I'd long decided that I wasn't going to rely on them.
As a man, I simply couldn't.
"Oh right, I know this is kinda completely unrelated, but I'm going to be heading to the country Nell works for soon. I want you to come with me. I'm going to be spending some time there, and want your help while I'm at it."
Rir nodded.
The demon king had mentioned that there was no need for me to hide my identity anymore, due to an increase in interspecies relations. That said, he'd advised me to bring Rir along whenever I went nonetheless. Apparently, the reason was that I looked a lot like a human, at a glance. Having Rir around would make me seem more dignified and inspire awe in any potential observers. A major part of it stemmed from the fact that humans were simply bad at detecting magical energy. He didn't want me to intimidate them, but he also didn't want them to look down on me, especially since I was going to be approaching them on friendly terms.
I heard a pair of footsteps come from behind me as we began discussing our schedules.
The kids had been told never to leave the plains on their own, and Nell had already gone back home, so I figured it was either Lefi or Lyuu.
But turning around, I found neither.
"Oh, hey Leila. It's pretty rare for you to come out here."
"That would be because Lyuu said 'I've already started workin' on all the chores, so you can go right ahead 'n take a break, Leila. Oh, Master's out 'n by himself right now, 'n I think it might be worth thinkin' 'bout gettin' a breath of fresh air.'"
"Uh huh…"
I bet she was grinning from ear to ear too, when she said all that. Yup, I can definitely see it.
"You know, I never realised, but you do a pretty good Lyuu impression."
"It's only natural, with all the time we've spent together."
"Yeah, but I mean, you didn't just get her speech patterns, you even got all the pitches and tones and stuff right too."
"I suppose I did," she said, with a giggle. "Though, I'm not quite as good as Shii. She can copy both the mannerisms and the voice."
"Yeah, I know right? Gets me every time." I chuckled. "Well, since you're out here, what do you say we go for a walk. Rir?"
At my command, the massive wolf bent over.
Thanks man. I owe you one, as always. And you know what? I'm starting to feel like I'm gonna end up using you as my mount no matter how far this world's tech ends up progressing.
"Alright, get on."
After jumping atop the steed's back, I offered Leila a hand.
"If you don't mind, then I'd be glad to take you up on the offer."
She reddened a bit as she took my hand. I got a firm grip, pulled her all the way up in one go, and placed her in front of me. Though I was used to being in close contact with my wives, it was a whole new experience with Leila. I couldn't help but feel a little nervous. It was rare for us to be by ourselves. And almost somewhat refreshing.
If the blush on her face was any evidence, I wasn't the only one entertaining that exact thought.
"This is… rather embarrassing," she said. "We're rarely ever alone like this."
"Yeah, it's definitely got some novelty to it. And uhhhmmm… I guess we'll probably be doing this a little more, from now on."
"I'm sure we will," she said, with a giggle. "Thank you."
I was caught off guard as she leaned back into me, grabbed my arms, and wrapped them around her waist.
"Woah!"
It was like I was hugging her from behind.
"U-uhmm… L-Leila?"
"I can hear your heart… it just sped up by approximately fifty percent. You've also started respiring more often."
"Errr… I mean… yeah? I doubt there's a guy out there that wouldn't react with a girl as hot as you doing something like this."
It was a completely different sensation from the one I got when I hugged any of the kids, or even any of my other wives.
Leila was unreasonably voluptuous. No one else in the dungeon could even begin to compare. Yeah… can't say that one out loud ever. Nope.
"I'm very happy to hear that." She turned to face me with a bewitching smile. "If you enjoy them, then I suppose I'll have to work on furthering my charms. Just for you."
I couldn't help but gulp. It felt like my heart was stuck in my throat.
The lack of distance was mind-numbing. I could feel her body glued to mine. I could feel her warmth as we shared it. And I could feel the way her body moved, each time she took a breath. The way it shook, as Rir slowly walked through the forest.
"Yuki… I must say."
"Y-yeah?"
"It really is rather embarrassing for us to be in such close proximity. I feel like my face is about to catch on fire."
"I-isn't it literally your fault?"
I didn't know when it happened, but her face had turned beet red.
Evidence that she had been forcing herself to act the way she did.
And seeing her push herself, for me, filled my heart with warmth.
***
"Hehehe," giggled the resident warwolf.
"Y-yes, Lyuu? How can I help you?"
Leila stuttered as she watched the beastkin approach, a wide, entertained grin plastered all over her face. The expression was so bright and vivid that it was obvious she wasn't even trying to hide it.
"It ain't nothin'," she said. "I was just thinkin' that you're lookin' a little happy."
"I don't think I'm behaving any differently from usual."
"So that's how it was? You two were havin' a real good time then. As your friend, I'm glad as heck that you're so full o' glee. Really makes me happy."
"Oh, please, Lyuu."
"Aw, 'n look at you! Embarrassed already. Ain't you just the most adorable thing."
As Lyuu continued to make fun of her, Leila turned her face away and did her utmost to refuse eye contact.