Chapter 42 - Chapter 7

Everyone in the village lived in tents. With the dozen or so fires scattered across the area, it looked closer to a large campground than an actual village, but only at first glance. What I was initially too distracted to notice was how well they used these tents to fashion little homes for themselves. Between blinks, when my eyes were closed and I had a chance to focus, I had wondered how they managed to tell them all apart, but many of them were actually very distinguishable.

From regular tents to those that used the leather as a gate surrounding their exposed bedding, to some using the leather as just a make-shift doorway to cover up their semi-underground abodes while they used the soil as walls and the leaves of the overhanding trees as a roof. And everything in between. There was no apparent limit to their imagination when it came to using the pelts they hunted.

As simple as it all was compared to the city, none of it looked flimsy. They built their homes how they wanted them. They built them how they needed them. They built them for the purpose of declaring "this is my spot" and no more.

These tents, however, were not what Yua and Mana wanted to show me. While they did touch on them, and I stupidly didn't think to ask how they survived when it rained or snowed, they quickly moved on to the next topic of the tour . Meanwhile, I tried my damdest not to stare too hard at their backsides or their swaying tails as they took me on a tour through the village.

Why did I need to feel so much caution when Yua effectively and explicitly gave me permission to look at her whenever I pleased? Well, the simple answer should have been "out of respect for Mana," but it was also due to how there were several others from their tribe mixed in with the tents that apparently hadn't wanted to join in the crowd earlier.

They at least seemed to have heard all or most of what happened there, as they didn't immediately glare at me. They just waved and called out to Yua, who then waved back, her paying no mind to how her breasts swayed as she did. Or to how Mana seemed to nuzzle against them harder each time they bumped against her cheek.

Some of these people also waved to me, surprisingly. I, in my attempts not to notice how beautiful the other women were or by the equally revealing amount of skin the men around them showed to Yua and Mana, forced myself to wave back as coolly as I could.

This is going to be a tough visit.

If Yua's earlier declarations of how content she was with our sex life hadn't been enough, the sheer strain it took me to keep my libido from acting up in the face of the constant eroticism of just existing in this space was going to kill me.

"This way, Alex."

Yua turned back to me, arm still wrapped up by Mana, and smiled lovingly. It was just enough to soothe my worries some, but noticing the occasional glimpse of her vagina as her hips shifted drove the worries right on back.

She pointed ahead of us to a large, mostly flat area between the rest of the village and the edge of the forest. She smiled proudly at it, but all I could see were several lines of small trenches dug into the soil to make six squares, each about thirty feet wide. At first, I thought this was supposed to be some sort of soon-to-be farm land, but besides them in a square tent without a front were a couple dozen or so barrels, each filled with the weapons that weren't already resting on the accompanying racks.

Swords, axes, spears, flails and even slings and bows and more. All of them sharp, all of them pointy, and all of them dangerous, there was not a weapon style that was left underrepresented. It was undoubtedly an armory.

Seeing how readily available weapons meant for war were, I decided then and there to redouble my efforts to keep myself from offending these people. This was Yua's first trip back to her people in years. I couldn't give into the temptation of her allure and pounce on her.

"This is our training ground."

I must remain rigid. I must compose myself to be as calm and collected as I was during our first nights together back in the inn. While not looking wasn't really an option for me anymore, I could, at the very least, look respectfully and do no more.

"I see," I said, trying to sound stoic as I crossed my arms. "So, this is the place where you got so strong."

"Hehe. Yup. But I've gotten much, much stronger since my last time here. All thanks to you."

As if trying to break my stoicism and concentration all at once, she turned my compliment back onto me and leaned in for a kiss. Naturally, I accepted it without pause, but when doing so brought the girl hugging her along, I froze up.

Mana's petite body squished against mine as Yua and I shared a brief, but wonderful kiss and, like a man trapped in a crowded train filled with nothing but women constantly on the alert, my hands shot into the air so that nobody could say I touched her. Not that anyone tried, Mana herself included.

Yua, for her part, found this amusing and giggled, while Mana… well, she just kept nuzzling into Yua's breast. It was as if she didn't even notice when her own tiny bust rubbed up against my abdomen. I wanted to chalk it up to a little skinship like that just being nothing to their people, but it was likely more because of how utterly content Mana was in hugging Yua.

They said they were as close as sisters, but isn't it about time for the greetings to end already?

"Big Sis," Mana said, finally drawing her face away from Yua's bosom to look up at her. "Did you really get stronger?"

"Yup! Way stronger. So strong that I was able to break the leg of the dungeon's first boss in one hit!"

"Eh?! Really?!"

Mana's shock was understandable, but I had to wonder how she even understood what Yua was essentially bragging about. Hasn't this girl spent her whole life with her tribe? How can she know how big that boss was to be appropriately amazed?

Or, no. Maybe it was just an excuse to rub up against Yua again.

"Um, Yua, is your entire tribe as interested in strength as you are?"

"Yup," she said without missing a beat. "Living out here is tough, so you won't last long if you're weak. Plus, fighting is really fun!"

I feel like one of those reasons is a lot less understandable…

"Oh! Speaking of," Yua grabbed Mana by the shoulders. "It's been a long time, do you wanna spar?!"

Yua's tail excitedly swished through the air, displaying her love for the fight more than her beaming expression never could. Mana, however, rejected the idea on the spot.

"Nope."

I had never seen the energy levels of Yua's tail plummet so fast. It was actually a little alarming. I couldn't tell if it was just her or her people's love for the fight being denied by a single word, or if she was just looking forward to fighting her long lost friend again, but Mana's curt answer left no room for negotiation. Not that Yua didn't try.

"Eh? Come on, Mana. It's been years since I was able to properly spar with someone!"

What, did all the thugs in the slave house and the monsters you brutalized in the dungeon not count? I feel like I've been left out of a loop I didn't even know existed.

"Don't wanna. Fighting is boring and you always win anyways."

"What?! Since when did you… Oh, right. I suppose you gave up a long time ago."

"Hmph. Why not? You kept getting bigger and I… Hmph."

As Mana tore her face away from Yua in a pout that nearly caused my heart to explode from sugary overload, Yua's ears followed her tail and drooped. Apparently, the love for fighting wasn't as prevalent in each of this tribe's members as she thought.

"If you wanna fight, then just wait for the Chief to get back."

"Oh, right," Yua said, her ears shooting right back up. "Where is he? I haven't been able to find them since we got here."

Yua raised her chin to the sky again to search, but came up with nothing. Mana shrugged, trying to lunge forward again to bury herself back into Yua's cleavage, though Yua unwittingly kept her in place by not letting go of the girl's shoulders. Mana sighed.

"The Chief went with my parents on a hunt…"

"Oh? Did Mother go too? I can't find her either."

Mana nodded, looking slightly annoyed to have to explain.

"They all went. They'll probably be back soon. Maybe."

Which is it…

"Darn. Alex, I'm sorry but you'll have to wait to watch."

Wait to watch? Watch what? I thought we were here to let her parents know she was safe and sound. What's this about waiting? Fight?

I looked over my shoulder back to the village and saw that, aside from the tents and the few fires burning for the warmth their lack of clothing denied these people, and came to the realization that there seemed to be nothing to do here.

While Amoranth, and presumably every other human city, had other things to keep you entertained such as the dungeons, the various merchants hawking their wares, and taverns for drinking with your buddies, this place looked to have nothing of the sort.

Did this love of fighting spring up from having nothing better to do?

"I don't mind waiting," I said, trying to cheer her up a bit. "But while we wait, could you tell me how this sparring business works?"

From the looks of things, they had a dedicated training grounds and they most definitely had the want, so there had to be some sort of rule set to go with it. What worried me, though, was that since Yua and likely many others here had the Monk class and could therefore use Healing Punch, they might get a little too enthusiastic and take their brawling too far.

And, as I thought, Yua immediately launched into an explanation.

"The first rule of sparring with someone is that you can't use any abilities, since your opponent might not know them. So, it wouldn't be a fair fight. The second rule is that nobody is allowed to interfere, no matter how the match goes. The third and final rule is that, unless someone surrenders or is knocked out, the match only ends once someone draws blood."

Yea… I knew they'd take things too far. With approximately half the village having the class that allows them to heal one another, it's too easy to let things escalate.

"Oh, and you can't hit a male in the penis," she added quickly. "That's considered cheating and everyone would look down on you."

I don't know why, but I continue to be baffled at how easily Yua could sling words like those around without ever breaking her smile. Even a literal porn star would probably think twice before letting something like that slip in public.

"Eh? Big Sis, what's a penis?"

"It's the human word for manhood."

"Mm… Penis?"

Clenching my fists so I didn't notice Mana noticing my crotch, I asked,

"Aren't those rules a bit dangerous? Sounds like you could get really hurt."

"Hmm? Not really. I'd show you if Mana would fight me."

"Nope!" Mana rejected again, this time sans pout. A brief raise to her brow said she wanted to further deny her, but then she changed the topic. "Hey, Big Sis, why do you keep getting bigger and I don't?"

Just when I thought her change in subject was referring to her obviously lacking height, Mana reached out with both hands and groped Yua's breasts, squeezing them with as much enthusiasm as I usually did.

Yua, though well within her rights to be annoyed by this, let it happen and shrugged back.

"It's probably because you never eat your vegetables."

"Bleh! They're too gross. Meat is all I need."

"So, Mana's small and hates eating vegetables…."

Just when I focused on her again to reconfirm her age, she growled, summoned up the strength to break free from Yua's softness and lunged at me.

"I'm not small!"

Without hesitation for our mutual lack of clothes, Mana jumped into my arms. Or rather, she jumped onto my chest, wrapped her legs around my back to hold herself tight to me. And hold herself tight to me. And hold herself tight to me… And growling fiercely (cutely), she pinched my cheeks and pulled.

The pain she inflicted was no joke, but after having already experienced the joyous ecstasy of taking a girl to bed, I was all too aware of how certain parts of our bodies were touching to fully notice.

"Come on, Mana. Stop it. Alex wasn't being mean."

Sighing at her sister/friend's sudden outburst, Yua scooped Mana up by the armpits. Mana tried to resist and clung to me tighter, making it harder not to notice her softer bits, but Yua's strength proved the deciding force as the smaller girl was made to let go, where she then dangled in the air, pouting like a kitten that had been picked up by its owner.

"I'm not small," she repeated, still growling. She then, for some fucking reason, pointed to her crotch. "See, I have woman's hairs. I'm an adult, too."

As she said, Mana's crotch held a small tuft of hair that really didn't cover much of anything. In fact, it looked like it would have left her completely exposed to the elements regardless of how she stood.

So, she's small, hates veggies, but also has pubes? None of these factors line up.

"Alex?.... Alex?..... Hello, Alex?"

"Huh. Who? Oh…"

"Are you okay, Alex? Your heartbeat went crazy for a second when you stared at Mana's pus… vagina."

"Er, I, uh… Sorry. It's just…."

I guess my brain short-circuited so hard that I didn't even notice I'd blacked out.

Also, please stop saying those things in public!!!

"Sorry," I repeated, coughing into my fist to both clear my throat and to have an excuse to look down and make sure that my legs were the only part of me currently standing. "I was just a little surprised that she jumped on me."

"Hmph. I know," Yua huffed, setting Mana back down. "She won't fight me, but she'll fight you, apparently."

"What's the point?" Mana huffed right back, crossing her arms. "I couldn't beat you before you left the village and if you got stronger, then what chance could I have now?"

Even though Yua slumped her shoulders after being hit with another sound rejection, she apparently wanted to savor the fight more than the easy victory. But Mana had a point. She was still only level 2 and, while Yua herself was an easy example of how a thin body didn't necessarily mean a weak one, Mana was even thinner. If these two were really to duke it out, I'd be too worried to just sit by and watch Yua pummel her, knowing exactly what sort of damage she could do to a person.

I didn't have a concrete answer on all of what a healing potion or Yua's Healing Punch could actually heal, but I didn't want to test it on this girl here. No way. If she said she didn't want to fight, then I was on her side.

Ugh. What am I doing siding with this girl I just met over Yua?

Well, no. I suppose giving into her wants here would just be wrong. The only real fight Yua's had since her power up had been against dungeon monsters strong enough to send me flying through a brick wall in one hit. Aside from that fight in the forest earlier, she's had no recent experience fighting a non-monster.

"Fine," Yua pouted, showing a bit more of her cuter side. "Then, Alex, how about I show you the village's…"

"Daughter Yua, how about you face me?"

While I was in a three-way deadlock of stupid thoughts consisting of wondering why she didn't just ask to fight me, then remembering that if she hurt me, she'd just end up hurting herself through the slave spell's rebound, and then trying to focus on the section of village she was pointing to instead of noticing the cute way Mana continued to huff, even though she'd effectively won the argument, another cat girl appeared seemingly out of thin air.

She was beside me so suddenly that it took a full five seconds to realize she was just as naked as the rest of them. Her face, while keeping with the status-quo of most if not all cat girls being attractive, was so fierce that even her short-cropped hair looked to be running away from her. She was easily fifty-percent thicker than Yua when it came to muscle and was proud to show it with by grinning as she flexed her exceedingly-defined muscles at Yua. She didn't even notice Mana and I.

Yua, showing that true warrior spirit of hers, didn't so much as flinch when presented with this challenge. Instead, she instantly un-slumped her shoulders and turned to face the girl directly.

"Oh, Miso," she said, fighting back with an equally fierce glare. "So, you were here after all. And here I thought you were hiding."

"Hiding? From you? Ha. As if I would ever need to. Do I need to remind you that I've won the majority of our fights?"

"Pfft. Only if you count scratching me with your little claws a win. If the first blood rule wasn't in place, I think we both know who would have won."

"Oh? You've always thought yourself the best just because your daddy is the chief. How about I show you that you're still full of it?"

Hoping Yua's original cockiness didn't spawn from her being the chief's daughter, I thought to remind her to keep things peaceful so we didn't upset her parents before we even met them. But as her eyes locked with Miso's, I didn't think she'd listen.

Seeing rather than feeling that a fight was about to break out, I focused on this apparent rival of Yua's, making sure that I didn't look too hard on her overly-muscled chest and mostly flat chest, and read her info box. Miso was a level 9 Beast-Warrior. So, she'd likely be on par with Yua. Though I had to wonder how she managed to keep up with Yua's level without my EXP boosting trait, since they were the same age.

Then again, it was likely the three years Yua spent in captivity that prevented her from leveling more.

As if noticing that I looked at Miso's chest, which I most definitely did not do, Yua turned to me, a fierce grin still on her face and it was almost impossible to believe that that same face only just hours ago held the sweetest of smiles as we relaxed together in the bath.

"Master, may I have permission to spar with this fool?"

I opened my mouth to protest her choice in name, but sensing the animosity between them, couldn't quite bring myself to answer for fear of what might happen to Miso.

"Fool?" Miso laughed. "Ha! You went and got yourself enslaved and I'm the fool?!"

"Ha! That was just because someone took advantage of me after a fight in the dungeons. At least I'm not hiding from my betters. Where were you this whole time, huh? The whole village knows I'm back by now."

"Oh, please. I was with my mate."

Yua's ears twitched, her fierce expression slipping for the smallest of seconds before she once more furrowed her brow. In that split second, I could have sworn I saw a warm smile on her lips. Though it was quickly erased with a sneer.

"So, someone finally managed to pin you down?"

"Finally? Do I need to remind you that you left us when we were still young? We weren't even allowed to have mates back then. But the second I became a woman, he stormed into my tent and pounced. Can't say the same for you, late bloomer."

Miso chuckled provocatively into the back of her palm and, while I would have thought that Yua would have taken that slight at the prolonged existence of her maidenhood as a deeply-cutting insult, as I would have, she just smiled back.

"Alex here was worth waiting for. So, brag all you want."

Oh. My heart!

I was not expecting that sneak attack, Yua! Please, we're in public and you're making me blush! Also, I'm supposed to be the one doing the flirting!

"Which of the males here was dumb enough to make you his mate?"

"Kai, of course. You were too busy punching everything that moved to notice, but it was clear what his intentions for me were for the longest time. Like with yours, my mate can't exactly hide his love for me, you know?"

"Ha," Yua rolled her eyes. "Glad to see the two fools of our village managed to find love."

"And I'm glad you managed to find a man fool enough to love your worthless self too, despite being a slave!"

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome!"

Both Yua and Miso crossed their arms and turned away from each other in a huff. Meanwhile, I just blinked, at a complete loss.

Where did all the animosity go? These two looked ready to kill each other a second ago, and now they are offering up back-handed compliments and platitudes to each other? Are they enemies or rivals or friends or what?!

I looked to Mana for the answer, who had at some point taken root beside me to watch the two "argue," but she shook her head and sighed.

"These two have always been like this. Just a couple of muscle-heads that can't admit they're friends."

I nodded. If that's true, then maybe Yua wasn't as cocky as Miso suggested and that was just her being overly provocative for no reason. But given how Yua didn't exactly deny it, it was hard to come to a conclusive decision there.

Both of their ears twitched after Mana's comment on the true nature of their relationship, but it was Yua that turned to me. Still glaring fiercely, or rather, having picked up that fake menace again, Yua growled a question at me.

"Alex, please let me put this fool in her place!"

"Ha. Having to ask for permission from your master to fight."

"Please. I bet you already asked your mate, too."

Miso shrugged, completely unmoved by Yua's apparently truthful assumption. Or, was it just the cat-kin way to ask for permission from their significant other first? I mean, I could imagine it being deeply troubling to have your wife/husband to come back home with their face and body covered in bruises.

"Alex?" Yua repeated, no longer glaring at me, but at her not-friend-friend.

"Oh, uh… Go for it. You have permission to fight anyone here you want… But only if they want to, though."

Can't have her going around and picking fights with anyone that looked at her.

Yua grinned widely, baring her canines as she tossed me her bag, who smirked right back and shrugged as if she were actually expecting Yua to run away from the proposed fight.

 Without further debate and with no more pointless banter, Yua and Miso sauntered past Mana and I straight for the nearest sparring ring. Both side-eyed the other the entire time they walked beside each other, but when they passed us, I got a clear look at their true emotions by how their tails flicked about happily. Yua's above her soft, shapely bottom and Miso's above an exceedingly chiseled backside.

The two squared off against each other in the center of the ring. They'd already spent more than enough time sizing each other up, so came to a stop about ten feet away from each other. They bowed to one another, neither taking their eyes off the other even as they lowered their heads. Their movements were so perfectly in synch that I was instantly sure they'd done this countless times before.

When they came back up and Yua adopted her usual stance, Miso squat down, much like a cat ready to pounce on its prey. Her thick thigh muscles bulged and her sculpted abs folded in on themselves, as if trying to make her body a smaller target. Miso then held her forepaws (hands) up, one in front of her and one behind. Slowly and without a word, all ten of her fingernails began to extend on their own until they were each about four inches long. At a glance, I knew each one was as sharp as a knife.

Watching the two square off felt like it should have been the sort of moment where the world around us would have gone silent, waiting for a battle to the death to start, but the day-to-day sounds of the village people going about their usual routines remained ever present in the background.

"Hey, Mana," I whispered, thinking it'd be best not to distract the fighters. "I thought abilities weren't allowed in sparring matches. Why is she using her claws?"

"Hmm? Oh, Big Sis didn't tell you? That's not an ability. All cat-kin can do that with our nails. See?"

Mana stuck out her hand, palm down like she were just admiring her freshly manicured nails, but they extended into five little blades as well.

She offered me her hand to examine them and, once more being filled with elation at getting to experience the joys of a fantasy world, I took her up on her offer. Careful not to cut myself, I took her hand in both of mine to examined it. Turning her hand over, I saw that her nails, which looked completely normal seconds ago, had become just a little thicker than a pocket knife's blade.

Wondering where she'd been hiding them, I ran my thumb along the backs of her fingers. She wiggled them, as if my touch tickled her, but she didn't seem to mind me anymore than she did with her earlier sniffing. However, when I noticed the casual flicking of her tail and how I was being just a little overly friendly here, I quickly let go.

Yua, seemingly unawares or just too preoccupied with her stare down, didn't seem to notice this slight.

From the looks of things, there was no starting signal for the fight to begin, so I didn't want to see her lose just because Miso took advantage of the distraction. Mana didn't seem to mind all that much and just retracted her claws, her tail swishing about against the back of my leg, reminding me that I too, wore nothing and of how strangely comfortable I've been with that fact since actually entering the village.

Goddess… here I am watching the girl I love square off against another fighter that basically brought a bunch of knives to a fist-fight and I'm over here messing around.

This Miso girl was a pure Beast-Warrior, so she didn't have the Monk's ability to heal an opponent after a fight. Which means that, in the event she managed to land a hit on Yua, winner of the fight be dammed, I didn't want to stand here and watch her bleed for a bit of sport.

Deciding to discretely air on the safe side so I didn't wound Yua's pride, I shoved my hand into the backpack and pulled a few Health Potions out of my item box to keep them at the ready.

As if the slight clinking of the two glass bottles settling into the bag were the starting gunshot, the fight began. Miso lunged at Yua.

With the distance between them so miniscule, and with how fast she was, I knew I wouldn't have been able to dodge her attack. But Yua blocked it perfectly. Piercing her hands through the gap between the twin sets of claws, Yua pushed the dangerous weapons aside before pulling her arms back to throw a punch straight for the smug face of the girl whose grin remained unbroken.

Miso dodged this easily by ducking down to the side, her feet skidding in the dirt to stop herself. There, she sped around to try and attack Yua from her blind spot. Using her hand like a spear, she made to jab Yua in the gut and run her through, but Yua jumped to put distance between them.

After their brief exchange, they stared at each other again. Neither made a move, like they both needed a minute to sum up the other after testing them out.

Slowly, Miso lowered herself again. Her grin shifted into a confident smile just before she lunged again.

This time, she swiped at Yua's chest, who only barely managed to dodge by the skin of her teeth due to her sizable bust actually making her a bigger target. My heart clenched at the thought of Yua getting cut by such a vicious attack, as there was no way those claws would have left a shallow wound.

Just when my worry for Yua's safety, the very safety I fought for three days straight to protect, had reached its limit and I considered forcing her to throw in the towel, Mana's tail once more brushed up against my leg.

The girl looked bored out of her mind as she watched, leading me to believe that not everyone in the village was as obsessed with violence as I thought they were. Likewise, seemingly to guide my train of thought, her tail swished from me to point to the barrels filled with practice weapons sitting off to the side. None of which where dull or blunted.

Everyone in the tribe must spar while putting out their maximum effort. No wonder Yua was so eager to face death in the dungeons. She's probably been fighting with her life on the line from the moment she first balled her hand into a fist.

I took a breath, silently thanking Mana for keeping me from doing something stupid. Their village, their rules. Just like this world, I suppose. Yua knew what she was up against and still accepted the fight without hesitation. She wouldn't forgive me for interfering.

Miso lunged and swiped again. When Yua so easily dodged the attack, I thought she was letting her opponent strike first so she could safely counter, but she didn't. Instead, she took a long step back. Miso swiped at her stomach again, but all Yua did was take another step back, fists still raised and lips still smirking. It was enough to provoke Miso into leaping at her again.

Swipe. Miss. Swipe. Miss. Jab. Miss.

Her grin gone, fury now openly boiling more and more the longer this continued, the faster Miso's movements became. Soon, Yua was bobbing and weaving so fast that I didn't even have time to consider the generous sway of her bosom as she continually retreated backwards. Always backwards.

Then her foot hit the edge of the arena.

I didn't know if a ring-out was considered a win, but when Miso noticed the corner she had backed Yua into, her grin returned as fiercely as ever before. She pulled back her elbow, stiffened her fingers into another spear-like jab and lunged for Yua's stomach.

The memory of when Yua had been backed into the corner by the Great Proud Wolf made my breath catch, but Mana's tail brushed me again. She looked up at me and her ears flicked, as if she'd noticed my worry.

I almost smirked. Just as vividly, the memories of Yua's countless bouts with the monsters in the dungeon reminded me of her expert spatial awareness. The Great Wolf was just a cocky mistake. A brief look into their surroundings proved Yua was just fine.

With hardly any effort, Yua jumped into the air over the jab, suddenly showing off a speed that outclassed Miso's enough to both baffle her opponent and prove that she'd been holding back the entire time just for this moment.

Missing her mark, Miso's claws dug into one of the weapon barrels and got caught. Using the brief delay it took her to pull them back out, Yua grabbed her by her outstretched arm, locking her unmovable grip around the other girl's comparably beefier wrist and yanked it backwards.

At the same time, with two sharp strikes, Yua kicked out the backs of Miso's knees. Miso began to fall backwards, and still holding her by the wrist, Yua spun around her and yanked her hard enough to flip her onto her stomach. Still not finished, Yua jumped onto Miso's back and continued pulling her arm around her neck, choking her with her own bicep.

Barely grunting from the effort, Yua then wrapped her legs around Miso's to prevent her from putting any strength into them. This had the unintentional benefit of spreading the muscled girl to show off her everything to us spectators, but I didn't let myself ogle.

Gasping for air, Miso tried to kick, tried to dig her toes into the soil for leverage, but couldn't move her legs enough for it to matter. With her free hand, she tried to claw at any part of Yua she could. First with an attempted jab to the side, trying to end the fight by drawing blood before she could be rendered unconscious, but she failed as Yua was too careful with her positioning to give her enough room to touch her. Miso then tried to claw at Yua's forearm, but Yua caught the hand flying at her well before it became a threat. Pulling it back, she pinned Miso's face down into the dirt.

Watching the visibly stronger girl get so easily overpowered by another girl roughly the same level as her made it abundantly clear how overpowered my ability to distribute Yua's stat points truly was.

Miso's face was starting to turn blue from oxygen deprivation. Pressing her eyes shut, she opened her mouth to try and draw in a breath that just would not come. The movements of her legs gradually became slower, weaker. Her eyelids did their best to work against her to close themselves, but the fight was done.

Miso instantly retracted her all ten of her claws and slapped her palm on the dirt floor, tapping out. Yua, just as quickly, let go and leapt off of her to let her breathe.

As soon as she was able, Miso sucked in as much air as she could and pushed herself up to sit crossed-legged in the dirt to catch her breath. Yua stood behind her, still breathing normally. She looked as though the fight had been no more rigorous than a casual walk down the street.

"Ha… Ha… Daughter Yua…. You got stronger."

"… And you got faster. Have you been training this whole time?"

"Obviously," Miso said with a wry smile, still trying to steady her breathing. "With you off training in the dungeon, I wasn't about to just let you surpass me… But I guess beating up on my little brother and his friends can't compete with slaying monsters, huh?"

"Hehe. No, it's not that," Yua said, her warm smile now fully returned to her lips as she offered the girl a hand. "It's thanks to Alex that I got this strong."

Yua shot me a loving glance, which made Miso look my way too, but her gaze didn't linger anywhere near as long as Yua's did. She smirked and, despite nearly being choked out just a few seconds ago, she laughed and took Yua's hand and pulled herself to her feet.

Facing each other, they moved to shake hands, but clasped each other's forearms instead. They then leaned forward and touched their foreheads together before going silent.

Without any explanation set aside for me, I was forced to believe that this was some sort of "good match" gesture to show that both sides were content with how the fight ended, as both girls were all smiles.

Before I could even put any real thought into the stupid idea of how they looked like a pair of passionate lovers about to share a kiss, they go.

"I'm gonna go have Mother heal me," Miso said, rubbing at her neck. "Let's try again sometime soon, yea?"

"Sure. But I'll beat you then, too."

"Pfft. You got lucky this time."

"Oh, wait," Yua said as Miso turned to leave. "Did you manage to join the Expeditionary Force like you wanted?"

While I was surprised to hear her bring up the dream she'd given up on herself, Yua instead looked excited to hear the answer. Unfortunately, Miso shrugged and waved her off.

"Nah. My Mate asked me to stay here with him. He's a proper Hunter now and doesn't want me gone for long stretches of time. So, when I'm not helping patrol the village, I just sit back and help the other females cook or train… Though, mostly I train."

"Oh," Yua said, sounding honestly disappointed. Though the smile she showed her friend looked true. "I'm glad to hear you've been doing well."

"Heh. You too."

With that said, Miso shot me an unintelligible look and, with the tails of both girls swishing happily, walked off back towards the village. Yua watched her go for a short while and only when she was a fair distance away, did she turn back to me. With a gorgeous smile carrying her forwards…

… she stampeded straight towards me. Kicking up a cloud of dust as she ran, she dove full force into my chest, knocking me to the ground.

Where there should have been a burst of pain when my ass hit the dirt, it was immediately overshadowed by the twin mounds of pure softness that pressed firmly against my chest. It was further dampened and then erased completely when Yua pressed her lips to mine. I could practically hear her tail whipping up a storm behind her.

"I won! I won my second match today!"

"Haha. Yea, I saw. Great job."

From the looks of it, beating this rival of hers was one of the things she was looking forward to the most. Her happiness was so palpable that I almost didn't notice which part of her was pinning my member down as she sat atop me. Her level of excitement was right up there with reuniting with Mana and her parents. Maybe even more so.

With two of those three objectives now completed, I was happy to have brought her back. Even if I had a couple dozen heart attacks already.

As Yua squealed with utter delight and continued raining kisses down on me, Mana squat down next to us, completely unashamed with how much of her crotch she was inadvertently showing us and watched us with a curious expression.

Please don't tell me that even the concept of kissing is lost on these people!

"Big Sis, when was the last time you mated?"

What the fuck?! Does this girl have no boundaries?

Yua had to stop her squealing to tilt her head in confusion. Then, much to my surprise, showed exactly zero restraint in her answer.

"This morning, why?"

"Because his manhood's gotten bigger."

Both Yua and I simultaneously looked down to where she straddled me and saw that I was indeed, very erect. Given the state of this village's stance on clothing, I could say that it was only a matter of time, but to have it called out like this…

It's like one of those dreams where you realize you're butt naked in front of your classmates, but it's actually happening. And I had a boner.

"That happens when males want to mate, right?"

Mana, apparently unconcerned with my growing embarrassment, stared openly at my monster, her tail swishing about all the while. Then, as if suddenly alerted to something we weren't privy to, her ears perked up and she scrambled over behind Yua. Her hands shot up behind her Big Sis and, from the looks of it where I laid on the ground, grabbed her ass and spread it wide apart to look inside. And I forgot how to blink.

Apparently unbothered by the very sudden and very intrusive inspection, Yua just tilted her head. The only reaction the girl got for her efforts was the sort of forced smile that any parent would give their kid when they were doing something they didn't understand was stupid.

Meanwhile, with the way Mana kneeled next to us, I was compensated for her getting such a clear look at Yua by having her entire petite backside put on near-direct display in front of my face. Her tail showed no concern as it whipped about in tandem with her curiosity.

"Um, Mana, what are you doing?" Yua said, her tone more concerned than embarrassed.

"… How does his manhood even fit in there?"

Oh, Goddess… Why?

Yua opened her mouth to respond, wearing a happy smile for whatever reason, but she was cut off by another question. Mana jerked her head so suddenly, you'd think she'd been struck by lightning. The way the fur on her tail stood on end was concerning, but all she did was tilt her head and squint at Yua's crotch, looking even closer.

"Big Sis… Where'd your woman's hair go?"

"…"

Against my better judgment with the absolute feast set out before my eyes, I closed my eyelids. Pressed them shut. Sealed them tight, hoping Mana wouldn't look at me.

With her face practically buried in Yua's crotch, speaking of hair that no longer existed, there was only one thing she could be talking about.

"Oh, that? I cut them off because he asked me to."

And there it is.

One day, maybe a week into our living in the cabin, I'd noticed that a full set of stubble had appeared on my chin. Naturally, since my beard grew in super slowly back on Earth, I hadn't noticed until Yua pointed it out and offered to help me shave.

See, I didn't and still don't know how to use the straight razor we bought, but she learned how to through her former slave masters. And once she'd helped me out and my chin was baby smooth, again, ever so naturally, I wondered what it would be like to feel such a freshly-shaved smoothness on her as well.

So, with the tiniest bit of hesitation, I asked her to shave her pubes to give into yet another of my long-lived desires. And she responded with an "Really? Are you sure? Okay then."

And now that request has come back to haunt me. Mana further parted her knees to check on hers. There was a dubious arch to her brow. Though clearly confused, I was spared a spiteful glare from the girl that, for some reason, took her woman's hair as a token of pride.

"Hmm. Well, if your mate asked you to…"

"Yup. He really likes it."

"Oh?"

"Daughter Yua!"

As the two continued as though I weren't even here, I was saved further embarrassment by a faraway voice that even I heard. But both Yua and Mana let their ears draw them to the source before I could find it myself.

A young man roughly a couple years older than us waved as he ran towards us. I won't bother to state whether or not he was dressed, but I will say he had a pair of cat ears that pointed off in two different directions instead of straight up like Yua's.

"Daughter Yua, you just finished sparring with Miso, right? I heard the whole thing. Please, fight with me next!"

He jogged over and stopped by our feet. With Mana still groping her sister's ass with a great deal of curiosity flicking her tail, he must have had a completely unfiltered view of Yua's still freshly-shaven state, but he didn't even glance at it. He just beamed a chiseled smile at her.

Growing deeply concerned with how much of her he could see and with how admittedly handsome he was, I opened his info box on reflex to see if he was Miso's mate after how he name-dropped her, but his name was Hiroki, not Kai. And he was a level 5 Monk, not a Hunter.

Yua smiled brightly at him, happy to see yet another familiar face, but then her expression froze. Her gaze once more turned down towards my crotch where it took a decidedly uncomfortable turn towards reluctance.

"Um, Alex, do you think you could wait? I'd really like to fight first."

"… Y-Yea. Go ahead. Don't mind me. In fact, just forget about it. Go on and have fun."

I'd rather we all forget about it, honestly. So, if anything, I was glad to have her distracted so suddenly. Although, I would be grateful if this Hiroki would step aside so he wasn't within peeping distance of Yua's unmentionables.

"Thank you!" Yua said, quickly planting another kiss on my lips before jumping to her feet to help me stand. "I'll make it up to you later."

"D-Don't worry about it."

I took her hand and stood, only to then hunch over on reflex to hide my erection. However, do to the gift the Goddess bestowed upon me, this was effectively a pointless effort without any clothes to help hide it.

Yua grinned happily, unawares of my plight and dashed back to the same arena as before. Hiroki followed close behind her, leaving me and Mana alone by the side lines. I thought to offer her a hand up since she was still on her knees, but when I caught her staring at my crotch still, I thought now should be the last time anyone should ever be attempting to touch a girl this cute.

"U-Um, Mana, don't you want to watch the fight?"

"Hmm? Why? Fighting is boring."

As Yua and Hiroki faced each other and bowed, only to then adopt a nearly identical fighting stance, Mana just stared up at me. At a part of me. At only that part of me. I tried not to look down, as her tiny bust would only fuel the desires I was trying to repress. Though, I did my best to press it down with my hands, so that it did not offend her eyes.

"S-Sorry if this bothers you."

"Eh? Why would it bother me?"

"B-Because it's, um… hard?"

I definitely couldn't say that she was a good part of why it was still standing. I really, really didn't want to see a girl this cute look at me like I was a disgusting degenerate. Such an impactful blow would no doubt cause my heart to collapse.

                Thankfully, I think, Mana just tilted her head, ever the curious one, and looked up to me proper.

                "So what? Males get like that because they want to mate. There's nothing wrong with it, right? Besides, look. My special place is wet because of it."

                Without further ado, Mana widened her stance and spread her legs to let, or rather force, me to look at her crotch. Reluctantly, for the want for my third leg to stand down and stop saluting this cutey, I noticed that she was indeed a little aroused.

                What the hell is going on here? Why and how was she so openly admitting to how the body of another left her wanting? I used to fear this sort of admittance from happening whenever I caught myself admiring a woman on the streets, but she admitted to it like it was only natural. And the worst part is that she's not technically wrong. But her reaction to this sure as hell was!

                As I was gazing at her unbearably cute, inquisitive expression, her ears suddenly twitched and she let go of herself to turn to the two fighters already duking it out in the ring. I was intensely grateful for the distraction.

                Unlike with Miso when she had to avoid a set of very sharp, bladed fingers, she was standing her ground while Hiroki unleashed blow after blow on her. She looked to have been blocking them all perfectly, but Mana's attention seemed to have been caught because one of his punches managed to land.

                Right as I turned to where my attention should have been this whole time, I found Yua doubled over while Hiroki pulled his fist away from her gut. Showing no mercy whatsoever, he then pulled back his fist to drop a punch down on her head while she was distracted by the pain. But he couldn't have noticed how her tail swished about excitedly.

                "Raah!"

                He threw the unrelenting punch he promised, but it didn't land. Without even looking, Yua whipped out of its path and used her momentum to spin on her heel and kick him across the face.

                Hiroki stumbled back, grabbing at his nose while Yua stood back up. Without pause, she jumped right back into her fighting stance, looking as though she'd never even been hit. She looked to him and waited. There, she smirked and raised her chin, seemingly gesturing for an explanation on his condition.

A good sport, Hiroki smirked right back at this and let go of his nose to run his thumb under his nostrils. When he showed it to her, showed that there was no blood, the fight continued.

                "Was Big Sis like this in the dungeons?" Mana asked, her own curiosity making her forget that she wasn't supposed to be interested in the fight.

                "Mostly. But she wasn't having this much fun."

                "Mm."

                Remembering the good ol' days when she risked her life because it was in danger, and not because it was fun, I watched as Hiroki threw yet another southpaw at Yua. It landed in her gut again, but he didn't fall for her pretend pain a second time and continued his assault.

Pulling his fist back just enough to matter, he tried for an uppercut. Yua dodged this easily enough by jumping to the side. But the second her feet left the ground and Hiroki smirked; I think Yua and I simultaneously realized that this is what he wanted as she clenched her teeth.

It was the same tactic we used to fight the dungeon wolves and she fell for it.

                Using her lack of free movement as his chance, he expertly released the tension of his missed punch and dove into Yua's abdomen, tackling her to the ground much the same way she did to me a minute ago.

                Her back hit dirt with a heavy thud and she gasped from the forced exhalation of her lungs. Grinning fiercely, Hiroki threw a leg over her stomach to straddle her. Paying no mind to where his exposed parts dangled just over her flesh, he rained a barrage of savage punches down on her.

                Yua put up her arms to block, but forcing her non-Iron-Fist-empowered fists to block the repetitive blows was sure to cause some hefty bruising. Aware of this, Yua grit her teeth and endured. Hiroki seemed to be waiting for her guard to slip as he relentlessly continued his assault, waiting for a chink in her shield to open so he could hit her with a match-ending strike. I don't think either of them noticed that his punches were chipping away not wholly insignificant chunks of her life bar.

                Right when I noticed the real danger this posed, Yua's ears twitched. Either she found an opening herself or she had simply had enough of his assault, because when Hiroki pulled back his fist for what must have been his twentieth strike, she suddenly and very forcefully bucked her hips as hard as she could.

                I almost let slip an "I see" in admiration for Yua's skill and patience even under his assault. Because of how much strength she put into her blocking, her arms hadn't budged in the slightest. Instead, she powered through and pushed them towards him as she started to lift her back. Unawares of this, he was slowly forced to draw further and further back down her abdomen where he came to a rest over onto her crotch, all so he could continue throwing his punches. But this put him in the best position to be bucked off of her.

                It was a good plan if she could endure the pain. I would have applauded her with a hearty pat on the back and a health potion regardless of how the fight ended, were it not for what happened right after she bucked him off of her.

                Yua tried to use his momentary flight through the air to slip under his legs to place herself behind him, but in a panic after being thrown through the air, Hiroki flailed his legs to try and touch ground again. Because of this, when Yua slipped under him, his penis slapped itself against her cheek.

                Nearly forgetting where I was and that I was vastly outnumbered here, I took a step towards them, about to rush over there and kick the shit out of him myself, but Mana grabbed me by the wrist and pulled.

                "It was an accident," she said hurriedly. "It happens all the time when sparring. Please, don't be mad at Big Sis."

                "What? … I'm not mad at her."

                Not at her, anyways. Hiroki, though… He just made my shit list. Just like with Alphonse, I was prepared to help Yua end his ass and teleport us away to avoid the repercussions.

But Yua got right back to her feet and faced him again. Once more adopting her fighting stance as if nothing happened. she didn't even look remotely upset.

                "See?" Mana pressed. "Stuff like that's happened to me before, too. It doesn't count."

                "Doesn't count…?"

                I would and should have protested at that, saying that a girl this ignorant of such things shouldn't be telling me to calm down, especially after the thought of it happening to her doubled my concern, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

In actuality, there was some logic to it that made it easy to believe she was serious. Aside from those that use weapons, Monks like these two had to get up close and personal with their opponents to land their attacks. And with nobody here ever wearing clothes, I suppose accidents like that were truly bound to happen.

                The logic made a little sense, but I sure as hell didn't like it.

                Perhaps sensing this in me, Yua put strength into her legs, her toes digging into the soil beneath her, and launched herself at Hiroki the moment he stood and righted himself. However, because he landed with his back to her, he had to spin to face her. He was fit enough to only need a fraction of a second to do so, but that tiny gap was all Yua needed.

                As if intending to take revenge more on my behalf than for her sake, she threw a heavily weighted punch straight into his face the second he managed to look her way. The strike audibly shattered his nose and sent him back onto his back. Then, showing that he was at least worthy of a little admiration himself, he reeled for less than a second before jumping right back to his feet. And when a thick rivulet of blood dripped from his nose down his chin, he didn't groan in pain, but slumped his shoulders in defeat. And as soon as she noticed the crimson streaking down his face, Yua dropped her fists and walked over to him.

Just as she did with Miso, she shook the hand he offered with an easy smile and the two pressed their foreheads together. The mutual respect they showed despite one having his nose broken to the point of it actually twisting discomfortingly to the side, was so strong that Yua didn't even react when his blood dripped onto her chest.

It was the strangest of sights, but Yua looked to be nothing more than proud of herself as she smiled back at him once they parted.

"It was a good fight, Daughter Yua," he said, only now trying to staunch his bleeding.

The amount of blood draining from his nose was concerning enough, and his life bar was dropping steadily, but not so fast that he'd need to worry. Can't say anything about his broken nose, though, but it was a fitting punishment for what he did.

"It was," Yua agreed. "Do you know where you went wrong?"

"…When I was on top of you, right?"

Yua nodded, then raised a teacherly finger, almost like she was trying to imitate Madame Turquesse during one of her lectures on potions.

"Yes. You should have pressed your hips down on me and held me in place with your legs. I was only able to push you off because you were hovering."

"I see," Hiroki said, lifting his nose to the air to help with the bleeding. "I was trying for more leverage to strike harder. My mistake. Next time, then."

"Next time."

Baffled at how Yua had essentially told him the winning strategy would have been to straddle her properly, she instead agreed with his assessment and watched him leave the arena without another word.

I had to admit, the willingness of these people to seemingly hold no grudges even after being soundly beaten and broken was amazing. Monks or not, potions or not, hitting someone's nose just right might mess it up permanently. For all he knew, he was about to live the rest of his life with a crooked nose that would whistle every time he breathed.

I didn't have time to ponder this further, as Yua once more giddily lunged into my chest. This time I was prepared and caught her properly, but that didn't stop her from forcing another kiss onto me. Though, it's not like I would have stopped her anyways.

"Did you see that?!"

I blinked, then realized she meant her victory, not the little incident. Seeing how utterly happy she looked, I didn't have the heart to complain about it. All things considered; it really did seem to be an unfortunate accident. So, since she was fine, I decided to suck it up and let it go.

"I did," I said, wiping the blood from her breast with my thumb. "I think you broke his nose."

"Hehe. Yea, I did!"

She beamed at me, her smile stretching ear to ear before she squeezed me again. My heart relaxed significantly when I thought back on how the smile she wore this morning in the bath and upon meeting Mana again were brighter still. Thankfully, Yua wasn't just a "muscle head."

But comparing this happy, excited Yua to the one that seemed to have spent equal amounts of time being understandably angry at me for buying her, then sobbing over the most basic of niceties that I tried to give her, I could say without hesitation that I preferred her like this. That little incident was free to be forgotten by all, even if my Memorization trait wouldn't allow it.

Or so I would have like to say….

"Daughter Yua, can we spar next?"

Pulling her lips away from our elongated, passionate kiss, we turned and found that her last fight had drawn a crowd. Seeing some of the familiar faces of those that had been glaring at me earlier made me flinch, until I saw how openly they smiled at us in our embrace.

Geez. If all it took for them to calm down was to see her kissing me so, I would have done this sooner.

The man, or rather boy, that stepped up to challenge her next was a couple years younger than us, but his bravery in challenging his elders showed no signs of slowing him down. Yua smirked and, taking to my promise to let her fight whoever she wanted, didn't wait for my approval this time and eagerly led the boy to the ring.

 She beat him soundly. It was barely a contest. The only thing of note in the fight was that he tried to punch, not touch, her chest but she dodged him easily. She then jumped onto his shoulders, pressing her crotch into his face, before twisting her hips sharply, while spinning her body around to use its weight and momentum to throw him off balance.

The movement looked to be an incredibly convoluted way to toss him to the ground, but her movements were so fluid that it worked. And the moment it did, Yua jumped onto him, pressing her knee down on his chest and tossed a savage punch straight into his cheek.

After this, seeing how dazed he was, she immediately backed off and let him get up. Staggering, he did just that, but when he touched a thumb to his lips, he pulled back a bit of blood and sighed. She must have made him bite his cheek or tongue with that hit. Regardless, this gave her, her third victory.

"Alex!"

"Daughter Yua!"

Just like the last two fights, Yua lunged into my chest in order to be praised for her win, and after I patted her head, yet another challenger strode up to face her.

This pattern repeated for no less than five more fights. The more matches Yua won, the more of her people seemed to want to challenge her to put her happy reign of terror to an end. And each time she beat them down, she ran to me to celebrate until the next challenger made themselves known.

Had I not experienced her willingness to fight all day in the dungeons, I would have stopped her after the fourth fight. I didn't want her to end up meeting her parents covered in bruises, but I could tell she would have pleaded for me to let her continue if I even suggested she stop.

That being said, as Mana told me, there was one more incident we were forced to witness. And it came from the second, but not last, woman to challenge Yua.

Thankfully, all that happened was that Yua herself, in the heat of battle, grabbed her opponent between the legs and by the shoulder. She then used the momentum of the girl's failed punch to lift the girl into the air, before ending the fight by slamming her on the ground, knocking her out. After a quick check to make sure her opponent was still breathing, Yua then unapologetically readied herself to take on her next opponent.

As we watched, Mana and I allowed ourselves to be surrounded further as the crowd wanting to enjoy their beloved "Daughter Yua's" brilliant return by watching her create a one-woman blood bath. The violence and pain were real, but they watched on with the same level of awe as someone watching a cinematic masterpiece.

Yua hadn't lost a single fight yet and, while she did accept a Health Potion to top off her health bar during a short break, she didn't look at all tired. She was drenched in sweat from all the physical exertion, but she was having so much fun that she looked like she could go on like this for days.

Likely realizing this themselves, the crowd continued to cheer for her as she beat down yet another opponent, but she never let this go to her head. I could feel my pride in her swelling and an odd sense of happiness in how her people were now reveling in the strength she held so dear. As if powering through and finishing the third floor of Amoranth's dungeon wasn't enough to prove she'd gotten stronger where she once failed, this was all the proof she should ever need. This I knew because each time she ran to me for praise, she was happier and happier.

It was during one of these quick praise-breaks that the festivities had suddenly and forcefully been ended.

"What's with all the noise?!"

A booming voice broke out over all of our heads, cutting off Yua mid-way during her retelling of the fight I'd just watched myself and making half of those present wince and reflexively grab at their ears.

The voice threw the gathering into a slight frenzy as nobody seemed to know what to do. Given their extra-sensitive ears, everyone but me seemed to have heard where the voice came from and turned towards it. Where I had been within eyeshot of a seemingly endless lineup of bare crotches, I now saw only a line of well-toned butts. Most notable of all was Yua's, as even my lovely cat-girl's ears perked up as she spun around.

Once they saw who the voice belonged to, the crowd instantly parted, all except for me, who had no idea what was going on, and Yua, whose eyes were sparkling. The voice sounded pissed, but Yua giddily squeezed Mana roughly back into her chest as she watched.

Growling as he walked strode past the parted crowd was a tall, bulky man with short black hair. Once all the noise ceased, the sneer he wore faded, but that did nothing for the air of menace around him. His emerald glare cut through the tribe and struck me. I'd never met him before, but I recognized him instantly.

Chief or not, forget being born with a silver spoon in your mouth, this man was so heavily muscled that he must have been born chewing on a barbell. The ground practically quaked beneath his every step.

But it was not his impressive muscle that caused the crowd to shy away. The anger afflicting his brow made more than a few of the cat-kin to retreat into their tents to avoid his gaze. Fewer still, those with weapons at their hips, lowered their heads in a bow as he moved through the crowd.

He said nothing. From the uncomfortable twitch of his own sharp, black cat ears and his sneer, I guessed all the cheering had been beating the daylights out of his eardrums.

I could easily say, and unfortunately so for my noticing completely by accident after following the sway of his tail, that the man shared a certain kinship with me in that he too had a monster dangling between his legs. It was impossible not to notice. Which I definitely didn't.

Goddess… Is that what I look like?

Given how everyone reacted to his presence, I knew at once that he had to be Yua's father, the village chief. I checked his info box anyways and saw that his name was Tama, just like Yua said earlier, and that he was a whopping level 60 Beast-Warrior and Monk combo, again like Yua.

Seeing him, Yua beamed with sheer girlish delight.

"Daddy!"

Daddy?

I checked the man again and found that his lightly tanned chest bore a thick set of scars right where she'd said they'd be. A mark of shame for him, apparently. 

Yua finally released Mana, letting the poor girl catch her breath, and ran straight over to the man. She slammed into him much the same way she did me and pressed her cheek cutely against his well-sculpted chest. Seeing this girl's affection run at him, the man's eyes rounded out for a whole second and he almost let slip a smile. Almost. His confusion was too overpowering.

He put his hands on her cheeks and lifted her gaze to get a better look at her.

"Daughter, is it really you?"

"Yes, Daddy. I'm back!"

I could hear in her words that she was starting to tear up, but he brushed them away with his thumb before they could fall. He watched her for but a moment, then his eyes sharpened again.

"Does your return mean you have completed the fifth floor of the dungeon?"

Uh oh...

Yua took his hands in hers and shook her head.

"No, father. I failed, but…"

Before she could even tell him what happened, he threw Yua to the ground without a moment's hesitation after receiving his answer. She hit the not-so-soft-looking dirt by one of the nearby bonfires with a heavy thud that no doubt hurt. He looked angry, but at the same time, when he crossed his arms, I saw his fingers digging into the flesh of his impressive biceps. Everyone else just stood there, unmoved other than the frowns that stretched across their faces.

Not even Mana moved to protest. If anything, she looked strangely calm.

Is nobody going to say anything? Who treats their daughter like that?

"If you came back a weakling, then you are not my daughter. Leave... Leave and never come back."

Looking only briefly shocked to have been thrown to the dirt, Yua quickly jumped back up without bothering to dust herself off when her father turned to leave.

"Daddy, wait. I may have failed in the dungeons, but I've become much, much stronger since then."

Her father stopped, but did not turn around. The air of menace he gave off seemed to make everyone else shudder. But my eyes clouded over a bit when his black cat ears twitched and his tail revealed his true feelings by swishing about.

"Chief Tama. I can vouch for her strength."

Haru, the man Yua nearly put her fist through back in the forest, shambled over, still clutching his gut, to address his chief.

"Chief Tama, she beat me in only one punch."

"What? My daughter beat one of my best guards in only one punch?!"

While I was wondering how someone that was only level 8 could be considered one of the village's best, Haru bowed his head before showing Tama the bruise on his stomach. Seeing this, Tama turned back to Yua. He was glaring, but his lips were clearly trying their best not to break out into a smile. His tail, however, could not hide the joy he was feeling as a few of those in the crowd that had been watching her back-to-back sparring matches further vouched for her.

Yua, however, somehow managed not to notice and glared right back.

"Alright then, Daughter. Prove your strength to me here, right now, in front of everyone. And if you are telling the truth, I will give you another chance."

"Yes, Daddy!"

Like with Haru and all those after him, Yua took up her fighting stance and readied herself. Her father, on the other hand, met her challenge by uncrossing his arms. As he watched her, his matching emerald green eyes glowed like the search lights of a lighthouse in the middle of a deep fog. Neither of the two looked intent on making even the slightest move until they fully and completely sized up their opponent. The crowd, too, was silent. Their once boisterous cheers were replaced with dead silence.

I didn't like this. Weapons or not, Haru and Miso were lower level than Yua, so it made sense on a numerical basis for her to beat them. She did then go on to beat others roughly the same level as her, and even a few that were slightly higher than her, but that was due to her general skill in a fight.

But this man was level 60! Her father or not, he looked like he fully intended to fight her seriously with everything he had. And he's six-times her level!

Is everyone in this tribe so quick to jump into fights?!

Finding whatever she was searching for as her father stood firm, Yua kicked up a cloud of dust as she ran to him. Roaring, her fist raised, she flew at him. At once, it became clear to all that this was less a match of skill, but pure, unrestrained strength.

Multiplying the force she'd used against her tribesmen, putting even more into it than she did when she brutalized the Proud Great Wolf, she rocketed her fist straight into her father's sculpted abs.

The meaty thud of the impact shook the trees. His body gave and bent forward, but only slightly. Almost imperceptibly so. And only for a second. He easily straightened right back up. And when Yua removed her hand from his body, there wasn't even the beginning of a bruise to show he'd been hit.

Clicking her tongue, Yua bent her knees to distance herself, but Tama lunged at her so fast I barely saw him move. His fist buried itself so deep into her stomach that his hand all but disappeared until his force lifted her clear off of the ground. Her eyes widening in shock, she let out a brief cry of pain, coughed up a clot of blood, then fell back into the dirt holding her stomach with both arms.

Heaving, she coughed up another glob of bright crimson, only to stare at it vacantly.

"Yua!"

I shouted and tried to run to her, but Mana got in front of me before I could. I tried to push her away, but she put her hands on my chest and pushed with all her might.

"Don't go! Even if you are Big Sis's mate, interfering in a match is against the rules. Especially when Chief Tama is the one fighting!"

"But…"

Yua coughed again, her trembling fingernails digging into the dirt. And Mana smiled sweetly, as though nothing was wrong.

"Just keep watching."

                Finding her words oddly compelling after how she immediately burst into tears upon seeing Yua again, but could somehow smile in the face of her coughing up blood, I forced myself to do as she said and watched. If someone she cared for like a sister could put enough trust in this match to not even flinch after watching her get hurt so badly, then there has to be something more to this. There had to be. There better be.

                Tama looked down over his daughter and crossed his arms menacingly. The look on his face said it all. If she couldn't stand up on her own after that one hit, she was not strong enough.

                Gritting her teeth, Yua put her knuckle to the ground where her blood had pooled and struggled to lift herself up. But she did. She managed it. She got back to her feet and much to my shock, she brought up her fists again.

                "Yua…"

                Strengthening her body, Yua lunged again. Once more, her father took the blow without even blocking and shrugged it off.

                "Why isn't she using Iron Fist?"

                "Big Sis can use Iron Fist now? I mean, using abilities in a test of strength is forbidden. Same as sparring."

                Frowning at the rule I found pointless when the disparity in their strength was so obvious, I could only clench my fists and watch.

                Yua may be mine now, but this was their village. We had to play by their rules. Yua knew that and still unleashed another powerful blow that went nowhere without the aid of her trademarked ability.

                Her father dodged the hit this time, and countered with a merciless punch to her cheek. This one hit her hard enough to send her flying back to the ground, but she caught herself and bounced right back up before he could recross his arms. She charged again without stopping to wipe the blood from her lip.

                Eerily cool after striking his daughter so viciously, Tama raised his arms, seemingly ready to fight back seriously now. He smacked Yua's flying fist out of the air the same way she did Haru's spear, throwing her off balance before he shot another fist into her stomach. Her knees gave way. Once more, she collapsed, this time into him, but she pushed herself off. Gritting her teeth, she threw another, clearly weaker punch of her own.

                Tama blocked it with his forearm and returned the blow once more to her face. His fists moved so fast that I don't think Yua even had the chance to dodge it.

                This time, Yua's body slammed back into the dirt and I could see that she was struggling to breathe. Yet she tried to get up anyway. Her limbs shook beneath her own weight and she collapsed right back into the dirt. Ever the fighter, Yua tried to get up one more time, but only succeeded in flipping herself onto her back, wheezing.

                The fight barely lasted a minute.

                Still glaring at her, her father knelt and stretched a hand out towards her.

                "Yua!"

                Once more I tried to move and once more Mana got in the way. With her this time, another woman I didn't even know put a hand on my shoulder.

                "Just watch."

                Still smiling, Mana pointed to Tama and Yua.

                Crouched down over her, Tama put his right palm directly onto Yua's chest, right between her breasts. While I would have outright killed any other man for doing so, his intentions did not look even slightly impure. He left his hand there for a moment, then it started to glow green and I realized what was happening.

                "Healing Punch!"

                In almost an instant, strength returned to Yua's battered body and she sucked in a breath as desperately as though she'd been drowning. Moreover, all of the bruises she had just earned were healed almost instantly. His version of Healing Punch worked so much faster than hers that it was like the fight never happened. And he didn't look remotely tired, when doing so for me left Yua so fatigued that she couldn't even stand by the time she finished.

                Was this the difference in their levels or was there a way to improve the ability?

                Seeing his daughter breathing normally again, Tama pulled away and sat down crossed-legged right beside her. Her health and strength instantly returned to her, Yua crawled away from him, only to sit in the same pose not even four feet away. There, they stared into each other's eyes. And for some reason, I felt the mood in the crowd lighten.

                "Daughter," Tama said, his arms folded across his burly chest, his back arrogantly straight. "You really have gotten stronger."

                "Thank you Da… Chief Tama."

                His tail whipped the ground particularly hard when she changed up how she called him midsentence, but he took a deep breath. Everyone around us was quiet, waiting for his response. He'd already threatened to forsake her once and now that he'd beaten her soundly, I couldn't have been the only one scared for her right now.

                But the pressure exuding off of him lasted for only a minute or two. Any and all animosity between the two faded instantly, as if it had never existed to begin with.

                "Daughter… Welcome home."

                "Daddy!"

                Tama delivered his line with a genuinely happy, toothy grin and Yua threw herself at him, this time wrapping her arms around his bulky form in a tight hug.

                "Daughter!"

                He took her hug in stride and pushed himself off of the ground, only to then land on top of her where they fell right back down to the ground together. Merrily, the two rolled around and around like the speeding tire of a race car as they hugged and laughed and kicked up dirt, tumbling their way through the village. The entire tribe then broke into another jubilant round of cheers as they welcomed the now triumphant return of the chief's daughter.

                I, however, was left dumbstruck.

                "What the hell am I watching…?"

                "Goodness. Those two were always like this."

                An alluringly gentle voice chimed behind me, almost directly into my ear, tickling my braincells before my eardrums could even parse out the noise as an understandable language. So, thinking that the person this voice belonged to also somehow didn't hear me, I turned to repeat my question. However, my mouth refused to move once I caught sight of the aethereal beauty standing there.

                Her long, brown hair dangled over one of her shoulders and a pair of beautifully pointed ears of the same color stood on the top of her head, one bearing a slight crook in its tip. The soft features of her blue eyes accentuated the gentle smile on her peach-colored lips. The bare breasts that she freely let out into the world were noticeably much larger than Yua's, but at the same time, gravity seemed to have no effect on them. Down below was a set of hips so plump that they alone could inspire as much lust as what wasn't at all hidden by the gap in her incredibly toned thighs.

                "S-Sorry, but who are you?"

                "Goodness," the woman said, putting a hand to her cheek. "I'm so sorry for failing to introduce myself. I am Yua's mother. You may call me Kimiko or, if you would like, Chief Mother, like the rest of our tribe does."

                What the hell?

                Now that I think about it, her facial features looked close enough to Yua's for that to hold true. But it was the same chestnut color of her hair that cemented that fact for me.

                Wait… I just ogled Yua's mom's naked body, didn't I?

                "Wait," I said, shaking off my embarrassment to deal with it later. "If you're her mother, why didn't you stop them?"

                "Because, as Mana told you, it is forbidden. And because I knew it would end this way," she said with a small sigh. "My Mate always doted on Yua too much. So, this kind of outcome was expected. But I am proud of Yua for coming this far."

                My Mate? Are they not married?

                "Coming this far? He barely moved when she hit him as hard as she could."

                She turned her kind eyes from the loving father-daughter pair still rolling around in the dirt, forcing countless people to have to side step or leap over them to avoid getting run over, and let them fall on me. Somehow, I was both put at ease and worried by the look in her eyes.

                "Exactly. Each of her punches made My Mate budge. Even if it wasn't much, it was more than anyone else in our tribe could hope to accomplish. And well more than she could do during their last match before she left us."

                "But… Would you really have let him throw Yua out of the village? Your own daughter?"

                This aethereal beauty put a soft hand on my shoulder and smiled.

                "I know that you are human and that humans do things differently, but that is how our tribe works. Were it not for her efforts just now, My Mate would have turned her away without hesitation…" she said, glanced at the pair again, then leaned into whisper in my ear and I put all of my strength into not reacting to the large melon-like breast that pressed into my arm. "Between you and me, if that truly happened, My Mate would have spent the next month crying himself to sleep in my arms."

                Finding it pointless to whisper when everyone around us had such good hearing, I saw that many of the people around us were nodding with smirks on their faces. Though, they made sure not to look at us and show they heard.

                "Why are you telling me all of this? That sounds like something you should keep secret about your hus… Mate."

                "Goodness. No. Our people don't keep many secrets from each other. Didn't Yua tell you that? Aren't you her master?"

                "Y-You heard that?"

                Wasn't she out hunting with Mana's parents? Was her hearing really that good?

                She smiled sympathetically, like a mother might at a child's misunderstanding, and seemed to purposefully flick her cat ears to prove a point.

                "R-Right. But… You aren't mad at me for essentially stealing your daughter?"

                Seeing as how there was no point in whispering any more, I went ahead and spoke normally. I was concerned the crowd's anger might return, but they either continued to watch the pair rolling around in the dirt with contented smiles or went back to what they were doing before we arrived now that the show was over.

                Kimiko tilted her head in a way that was almost too beautiful and shook it. Her bountiful chest wabbled generously in front of me, but I was already transfixed by her eyes.

                "I reserve the right to pass judgement on you until I have heard Yua's story. Although, she seems to like you quite a bit. So, I won't complain even after I hear what she has to say."

                "R-Right…"

                "That settles it then," she said, clapping her hands. "How about we go break those two up and go have a nice chat somewhere private?"

                Without waiting for my response and with a very Yua-like manner, Kimiko grabbed me by the hand and led me through the still dispersing crowd and towards the pair now coated in dirt. Mana trailed behind us and Kimiko said nothing of it bothering her.

                "Daughter! You've gotten so big! It's only been five years and you're almost as big as your mother now!"

                "Daddy's as hard and strong as always! But imma be able to beat you up one day!"

                "Hahaha! I look forward to it!"

                With his back on the ground, Tama lifted Yua up into the air by her hips and she held her arms out like an airplane. As he was waving her around in the air, his eyes went wide for a moment when they happened across a certain part of her body and he stopped moving.

                "Daddy? Wah!"

                That instant, he threw her up in the air, shot up onto his knees, caught and flipped her over so that her butt was facing him and forcefully spread her legs. There he grabbed her ass much the way Mana did earlier and spread her, putting on full display his daughter's shaven pussy in its entirety to the remnants of the crowd that hadn't departed yet. All of whom only looked at them in amusement.

But as he did this, he stared openly at her, a look comparable to disgust causing him to sneer.

                "Daughter, where has your woman's hair gone? Don't tell me you actually got younger! You had it when you left!"

                Not even slightly embarrassed to have her father's face mere inches away from her privates, close enough to feel his breath on her, Yua turned back to him and shook her head without making so much as in inkling of an attempt to break free of his hold on her.

                "No, Daddy. My master and my mate says he prefers me this way."

                "Your what and your master?"

                As if on cue, that was the moment Kimiko had chosen to bring me over to them. Or rather, drag me, as I'd stopped moving the moment he flipped Yua. Once she saw me, her mother and friend together, Yua scrambled out of her father's grasp without a shred of embarrassment coloring her cheeks and ran to me. She then held out a hand to introduce me.

                "Daddy, this is my mate, Alex."

                "What?!"

                Suddenly looking leagues more menacing than he did during their fight, Tama got up off the ground. His eyes did not break free from mine even once as he stomped right over to me. Watching this mass of muscle stampede towards me already had me forgetting how to breathe well before I could consider the fact that Yua referring to me as her mate pissed him off more than being called her master did.

Standing before me, he was only about as tall as I was, but his sheer hulking frame easily made him feel ten feet taller than me. Seeing the supremely happy look Yua was wearing as she introduced us, I strengthened my resolve the best I could.

I may or may not have messed up in meeting Kimiko, but I'd been feeling as though my relationship with Yua had skipped a step or two. I had to be at my best meeting her parents. So, I met his emerald gaze with my own and stood firm.

"…"

Sneering again at whatever he saw in me, he started circling, speedily jumping around from side to side to take me all in. He, like Mana, might have even sniffed my scent a couple of times, but he was thankfully not as thorough as she had been in that regard.

Done with the visual inspection, he drew his face up to mine. Or rather, he pressed his forehead against mine and glared directly into my soul through my pupils. The furrow in his brow deepened tremendously. Apparently, he didn't like what he saw.

                "What's this about being her mat… master, boy?"

                Steeling my resolve further, all in an attempt not to show weakness to the man that clearly, if not begrudgingly, values strength more than his own daughter, I nearly suffocated on the spot.

                However, I was saved, then further endangered by the supremely gentle woman that moved close enough to leave her breast pressing against my back again. Doing so seemingly unintentionally, as if the sheer mass of those two globes led to this sort of mistake all the time, she put her hands on my shoulder to plead my case.

                But seeing me flanked by both Yua and Kimiko did nothing but fuel the rage he barely bothered to bottle up.

                "My Mate," Kimiko said. "Please hold off on your judgement until our daughter can tell us what happened."

                Tama looked from me to his not-wife without his forehead moving away from mine and grimaced when he saw her unwavering smile. He then backed off, but only far away enough to look at Yua again. He took note of her matching smile, but sneered again all the same. He then looked down between my legs and, I swear, I felt the monster shrink back.

                "This human boy is the one that enslaved my daughter? Impossible. He looks weak… And he's not even smart enough to wear clothes like the rest of the humans."

                What the hell, Yua!

                "My Mate, Alex here probably undressed to meet you as equal males, right?"

                I opened my mouth to lie, ready, willing and grateful to accept the life line she so graciously cast for me, but Yua beat me to it.

                "I asked him to take off his clothes, Daddy. He is my master and my mate. And he wanted to meet our people as one of us."

                Tama's eye twitched.

                Why do you keep calling me that, Yua! Give the man a minute to think!

                Switching his glare from me to her, Tama grimaced. Knowing himself that his people mate for life may have eased the blow of finding out what I was to her. But at the same time, she essentially and inadvertently said we've had sex.

                Grumbling, looking all the more furious for my existence having ruined the touching family reunion, he turned to Kimiko.

                "… Come!"

Grabbing her forcefully by the hand, she easily and without a word let him drag her towards the largest tent in the village.

                "Daughter," he barked over his shoulder. "Come. And bring that boy with you. Mana, you stay out of this."

                "Yes, Daddy. Please, hurry."

                Yua grabbed me by the hand and my legs were forced into motion again as she pulled me after him.

                Do all the people in this tribe just pull each other around like this? I guess I'm no better when it comes to Yua, but come on! If I'm going to die here, I want an audience. I need a jury for when I state my defense!

                "But Big Sis!"

                Yua turned back to offer an apologetic wave and told the cutely pouting girl they'd talk later. Swallowed up by the momentum of these cat-kin, we all entered into the chief's tent together, hand in hand and I prepared myself for the worst as the flaps making up its door were closed.