' Too bad it took us so much time, otherwise I would've taken some quests as well. '
Today would probably end in a monetary loss, but there wasn't anything he could do about it, he had bothered them enough to the point where even his shamelessness was barely hanging there.
' Oh right, there was that as well.. '
" Stella, what pledge did you take ? "
Asking her the question as they got out of the city to head towards the dungeon, this time, he bought a simple meal and put it inside his inventory, so he was ready to come back late without being too hungry, but just now did he remember about what he thought inside the building.
" I took the pledge of Chastity.. Did my answer surprise you ? Hehehe. "
Waiting to see his expression, she then asked him a question, and well, it surely did.
Coming from an erotic game, a priest that took a pledge of Chastity ?
It's not like it didn't exist, as in the story, you could talk to a few of them, especially the saintess which wasn't a playable character, but was obliged to abide by all the virtues, but now, the question was, to what point her pledge would take effect ?
If it was just moderating the sexual activities or have only one partner in her life, her powers wouldn't be that great, well, maybe a bit better if that was the second one, but she was a three star, wasn't she ?
" .. Where is the limit ? "
Knowing that it would cause some sort of misunderstandings just by asking it, he couldn't help it as his curiosity was killing him from the inside, especially after he found such a rare case.
" I made the pledge to keep my virginity, master, anything other than that is good !.. But if you really wish for it, I'll break my pledge for you as well... "
Looking at her squirming in her priest robe, acting all embarassed and pleased about a certain thought, he almost let out a sigh, but then, he remembered the tags he chose for her.
If he had put a single kink more in there, he was sure that he wouldn't have been able to summon her, or at least the probability was really strong as a white card wouldn't have much tags anyways, but remembering the one kink he said..
' ... I guess butt stuff are okay then. '
Something he had yet to experience since he came to this world, but as a member of the biggest eroge community and the porn culture, there was no way he wouldn't like it.
But if he were to make a choice, he would just pick the one his partner would prefer to make things easier for him.
" .. Arthur, what are you thinking about ? "
A stare, piercing his skin, and the voice that came from his side belonging to Mariane, he realized too late that maybe he shouldn't have thought about other girls in front of her, so he quickly came up with an answer made out of scratch.
" ... Nothing, I was just thinking, since she's a three star card, would she lose her power as a card if her pledge was broken ? Or would she stay as a card, but without having access to her skills anymore ? "
" ..... "
His maid, somewhat not convinced by his answer, still not answered as she thought that it was a tricky question as well, and the more she thought about it, the more she eased up, probably thinking that ' he wasn't that kind of man ' to begin with.
It's too bad, but luckily, she wouldn't know his past experiences, although not all pleasants, with the more than two thousands characters, without talking about his real experiences.
" Well, don't think too hard about it, in any case, I don't plan to break her pledge. It's something that she spent her life devoted to, it'll be disrespectful for me to even ask or think to break it myself. "
" Master.. "
" Arthur.. "
Receiving two kind of similar look, as if they misunderstood him as some kind of saint for a moment, he couldn't help but feel embarassed as he thought he was undeserving of such feelings when he was just trying to avoid being reprimanded by Mariane.
" Anyways, let's get to explore the dungeon a bit more today, we'll see how far we can go and by hunting stronger monster, you'll both grow stronger as well quickly. "
Since there was absolutely no way for him to create a party because that menu from the game was missing, he also started to wonder if Stella would even take a part of the experience from the monster hunted by Mariane, or if she would have to hunt them herself, but such a thought died down quietly as they reached the entrance of the forest.
And without a word, they silently went inside.
_________________________________________
' Two golden shards and four blanks one.. Not bad at all. '
It was the result of today's expedition, something he didn't even expect to happen, but it couldn't be helped, as the dungeon inside the game and the one he was going in was fundamentally a different experience.
Of course, the higher the level of the monster, the better the drop rate for the shards, that probably didn't change, but instead of going through floor one to ten and more like in the game, fighting five enemies per waves, right now, he could just let Mariane hunt and she would bring a better result just by herself than the one he knew back then.
Also, since they didn't have to stop at each floors to hunt specific monsters or get the drops on their bodies, they didn't waste much time and quickly reached the seventh floor.
He didn't know how, but there was a forest inside that cave, with trees bearing fruits and a crystal roof able to produce enough light to see everywhere around freely.
There, they got attacked by wolves and a few snakes, and seeing Mariane being in troubles to fight a few wolves with just herself, he decided to stop the climbing experience in the dungeon and to let her collect enough experience to level up a few times.
And while the changes wouldn't be much at the first few levels, the higher she would reach, the more the change in stats would become apparent... Though before that, he'll have to take care of gathering the materials necessary for her evolution.
" .. Master, is there anything bothering you ? "
With such a new problem in his mind, Mariane called out for him when she saw his head tilting and his walking pace disrupted.
Since there were people around, as they got back to the city and were heading to the inn, she called him that way, but her voice reaching his ears was enough to let him forget about his problems for now.
" It's nothing, really, but tonight, I'll have to unsummon the both of you for a moment to check your levels and such... "
Talking in a much lower tone when he didn't want others to hear him, he knew that the both of them, being beastkins, would at least have the hearing capabilities to hear him whisper even a few meters away with him.
" ... "
The both of them staying silent to his words, he didn't need an answer as he knew that his will alone would be enough to convince them to abide to his orders.
And slowly walking in the city, they soon got to the inn, where Arthur thought about introducing Stella to the innkeeper, and to either take a secondary room for her, or to let her sleep with them.
It was something he hadn't thought about yet, but since it wouldn't cause him enough trouble in both ways, he didn't feel the need to really think about it as well.
" .. Welcome back, sir... "
The state of Luce seemed to degrade everytime he would see her, as she wasn't able to get enough sleep because of his actions, but what could he do about it ?
Tell her that he needed to do his quests or that he couldn't resist Mariane's charm ?
If he would say something like that, he was affraid that she would start thinking about him like someone crazy, or a complete pervert.
" We're back, and also, I want to introduce someone to you. "
Walking towards the counter, he did realize that the entire hall was lacking the usual ambiance, as there was no one inside of it, and every tables and seats were empty.
" .. I can see that... So, who's that friend of yours ? "
" Her name is Stella, and she'll be residing with us from now on, if you don't mind. "
" Of course I mind !.. "
However, standing against his intentions, she quickly raised her voice as she gave him an answer, a reaction he hadn't predicted at all, especially when he saw her face filled with anger and embarassement.