35 Chapter 34

"Joousama, you should think these things through more!"

Those words from Julia echoed in Rei #6's mind. She had totally had a perfectly functional plan! She would spit Ishtar up outside the city, reshape her into a living onahole, and then fly back to the city! She'd be able to truthfully say she got rid of her, all that kind of stuff, everything

Okay, sure. The Ishtar familia members wouldn't be able to update their falnas, since you had to unlock a falna for another familia to be able to take on a member of yours. And sure, maybe Ishtar would activate her arcanum, causing her to explode and killing Rei #6 (and the other Reis, if she didn't realize in time). Whatever! Julia had ruined her fun. Now Ishtar was at Belit Babili, being watched over by Ottar and Finn, as she one-by-one unlocked every last member of her familia. And what was Rei #6 doing? That's right. Getting eaten out by Julia, who she hadn't given a "blowjobs feel good" enhancement this time! So there!

She came all over her soulmate's face, grinding Julia into her cunt, and let out a sigh as she let go of Julia's head, flopping back onto the bed. "I don't think you've thought things through all the way, joousama," Julia said. "We can still-mmf!" She was cut off as Rei #6 stuffed her face back into her cunt. She should just be quiet! Bah!

* * *

Rei #5 lazed in bed. She stared at the gorgeous, naked body of Alex, as her mom ate pussy like a true champ. Totally giving, never asking for any reciprocation. As she lazed there, enjoying the waves of pleasure seeming to emanate in between her thighs, she realized that Alex was her model for the ideal woman: badass, nice to her, big boobs, and, yes, totally selfless in the bedroom. She squirmed as the woman licked and lapped away, closing her eyes and just trembling in response to the touch.

"Hey!" Came the voice of Lena, interrupting her. Rei #5 jerked to life, adjusting her position on the bed awkwardly to try to disguise what she'd just been enjoying. "Another one of you came by, Rei! Am I supposed to do what she says?"

"Yuh, yeah, prolly," Rei #5 sputtered out. Alex hadn't stopped her pussy-licking, because of course she hadn't.

"Alright then! I'm gonna go get my falna unlocked, then I can join the Loki familia, and I'll get to live with Drake!" She clasped her hands together in girlish delight. Rei #5 just shooed her off, then settled back into bed once she was gone.

Fuck. The pussy-licking just kept going, and going, and it was so fucking good, she wished it was her pussy that Alex was eating out right now. But no - it was Chanelle's. She'd added a few drops of her blood to one of the meals that Chanelle had prepared, and now she could ride Alex, Lena, or Chanelle's senses whenever she made eye contact. Obviously she rode Chanelle's senses basically all the time, since Alex was an insanely generous lover, fuck, just the best pussy eater in the damn world. She mewled as Alex did something with her lips to Chanelle's clit that was positively mind-numbing.

She really had to figure out how to get that Alex's lips wrapped around her clit.

Later, though. Right now, she was just gonna enjoy this.

* * *

"And thank you for releasing Haruhime, we'll definitely be taking her," Finn said. He was wearing a blindfold to ensure that Ishtar couldn't Charm him. His counterpart from the Freya familia had no need to do such a thing, as his goddess's love was enough to protect him from Ishtar's. Blind or not, though, he could catch the sound of Haruhime's body stiffening in surprise at his words.

"I'm here to ensure you don't capture unwilling adventurers and upset the balance of power," Ottar grumbled like thunder rolling over a mountain range, and Finn just smiled.

"True. But, Drake was allowed one member of the Ishtar familia, if he was victorious - and he picked Haruhime."

"I-" Haruhime paused, and Finn could hear the words catch in her throat. "I... I don't understand. Why would he...?" She sniffled loudly. "He was already wed to Lena, he shouldn't have..."

Finn had a choice here, he knew, as he heard the girl sound like she was about to break into tears. Ishtar's presence was a minor problem, and the woman might be willing to spitefully use her Charm again, but careful wording and the speculative nature of another's motives meant that he could say one thing or the other. Either that Drake had done it for Haruhime's unique magic (the entire reason he had allowed this situation to spiral as far out of control as it had - to get that magic under the Loki familia's control), or that he had done it out of genuine love for the girl. Truthfully, he didn't know the man's motives, but by the sniffling of Haruhime, neither did she. "I honestly believe he did the entire thing in order to save you," Finn said. "From the very beginning, you were the one on his mind."

"I... I," Haruhime sputtered in confusion at the words, clearly not used to receiving positive attention like that.

"One of our familia members can escort you back to the Twilight Manor to see Drake again."

"That is your one member of the Ishtar familia. And if you have not represented Drake's desires honestly..." There was no real venom in his voice. The threat was almost pro forma.

Finn spread his hands magnanimously. "The Loki familia is nothing if not a reasonable familia, Ottar. You know us. There is no need for such nasty words." He turned his head to the renard, who still stood there, confused. "Please. Go on, Haruhime. We need to continue through the familia's members."

"Y-yes," Haruhime said, shuffling away. "I'll go." Her voice was quiet.

Ottar's wasn't. "Next!" He called out. A woman thumped in, and Finn could recognize her footfalls. Phryne. Androctonus. He didn't take a step back, despite her reputation - it would only serve to provoke her. The woman's malice still radiated from her as she approached, and he considered exactly what he would do if Ottar planned to allow the Level Five to kill him as part of some plot by Freya. He would have to risk seeing Ishtar, or else position himself such that it would be Phryne's swings that killed the goddess.

"Ehehehe," the woman's ugly laugh filled the room. Phryne presented her back to Ishtar, and Finn could hear her partly disrobed. "Well well well, Ottar. You're going to get a good look at the most beautiful member of the Ishtar familia." Even Ishtar, humiliated and defeated, snorted at those words. For his part, Finn was glad to have his blindfold on - Phryne's visage was as ugly as her heart, which was truly saying something. "If the Freya familia is recruiting-"

"It isn't," Ottar replied, his voice sharp. "Certainly not you."

"I'm a Level Five, come on, the Freya familia loves strength. Is it just that Freya is jealous?"

Finn could feel the atmosphere in the room stiffen, and he took a few quick steps backwards, placing himself far out from the space between Ottar and Phryne.

"What would possibly make Freya jealous of you?" Ottar asked. His tone was warning. Threatening.

"Because even she looks ugly next to me!" Phryne declared with pride and not a hint of hesitation.

The roar that filled the room was one that required no interpretation, and Finn certainly wasn't interested in interposing himself in whatever brutal beatdown Phryne was about to receive. "You have soiled the name of a most sacred goddess," he said, his footfalls simultaneously slow but forceful, like meaty slams against the hard floor. The sounds of flesh against flesh, bone against bone, well...

On the one hand, of course, Phryne had a reputation for the sorts of criminal acts that aren't repeated in polite company. On the other, Ottar was not punishing her for those, but for blasphemy - and if members of one familia were allowed to brutalize members of another familia for insulting their gods, then surely the streets of Orario would run red with blood. Perhaps most importantly, though... this was, in effect, a favor to Ottar, to let him run wild without interruption. And no one would care. Even Ishtar hardly cringed at what sounded like a very brutal sight, or did anything to complain as he hurled her highest Level adventurer out through the door to fall heavily against the floor and not let out anything but the softest of breaths, simply an inert body.

The man still fumed, his breathing heavy, and no Amazons stepped into the office. "Ottar. I can be generous and allow you your foibles, but we are here on business. Freya wanted you here to ensure that every member of the Ishtar familia lost their falna, not to ensure that no one insulted her, after all."

There was a long silence, and it seemed that he calmed himself down. "You are correct, Finn. Thank you." He took a few steps back. "Next," he said, his voice quieter now that the door to the office was open.

The next Amazon stepped in, though rather more tentatively than Phryne had.

* * *

Haruhime walked alongside the confident Amazon Tiona, the girl reminding her in many ways of so many members of her own familia... of her own former familia. She was chatting excitedly to Haruhime, who was quietly listening. "That fight! It was kinda like one of those hero stories! Except they tend not to mention when the hero has a harem," Tiona said, with a big, gregarious smile. "Rei really surprised me though! It was so close to going bad, but then she beat a goddess's Charm! Man! It was like watching it all firsthand! And it was a War Game, so everybody knows about it!" She paused for a moment. "Which I guess is bad, since now everyone knows what Rei can do."

It seemed so unreal, even now. Drake had really gone through all that... for her sake? But she remembered how false his claim of wanting to save her had seemed... had he changed his mind? Maybe the quiet girl... Cass, she thought her name was, had convinced him? It all seemed impossible to her. Unthinkable. The girl at her side continued to speak about the fight, but Haruhime's heart was busy thinking of Drake...

When they arrived at the Twilight Manor, Drake was already outside it, seeming to be waiting for her. He smiled as he saw her, and she felt a flush coming to her cheeks. "You two are kyute," she said, enunciating the last word in a way that made her blush even more furious.

Drake approached her gently, steadily - it wasn't a rush forward. She didn't move away, simply quietly continuing on her own slow course, until she found herself wrapped in his strong arms. Her heart beat faster in her chest, and her tail softly wagged behind her. She swallowed, and he held her all the tighter in response.

Then she realized that she was pressed against his chest, and the urge to vomit overpowered everything else.

* * *

I didn't let go of Haruhime just because she puked on me. I did loosen my grasp, providing her the chance to pull away, but other than taking an inch or two to move back so her face wasn't pressed into my puke-covered shirt, she didn't pull away. She did look up at me, those melancholy green eyes of hers starting to swim with tears. I just gently ran my fingers through her hair, reassuringly. "It's okay, Haruhime. I'm not upset. I'm just glad that you're safe."

She sniffled at that, before breaking into outright tears, burying her face in her hands. "I- I don't understand, I don't understand at all, I thought you- I thought you were just pretending, to want to save me, but you-!" I just kept petting her softly, letting her get it all out.

At the risk of sounding like an asshole, it was nice, seeing her bawling like that. It meant she was alive and safe, after all. Doing good feels good, and even being as generous as possible with number of the insecticide-treated nets I donated money to buy back on Earth, saving Haruhime was the best thing I had ever done in my life. After all, she was going to literally have her eternal soul destroyed. Compared to that, dying at four of malaria was a blessing.

"I wanted to save you from the moment I learned what- what Ishtar intended for you, Haruhime. That - those words were just a trick to keep Aisha from stopping me from saving you. I'm sorry."

She started crying harder at that, and Tiona gave me a nervous grin when my eyes met hers, not wanting to abandon her ward or to interject where she wasn't wanted. Rei had apparently been riding her senses, or else riding the senses of a Rei in the form of a bird that was watching her, and wanted me to go make a good impression.

"I don't understand," Haruhime finally said. "I- I'm just a lowly, who, whore, who traded her virtue for money. I didn't have to- I didn't have to, I just wanted money to spend, to be able to have some little things while I waited for my death sentence." Through it all, she was just crying and crying, tears staining her cheeks.

"I don't care about that, Haruhime. I really don't. Come on," I said, gently taking her hand in mine. "Let's get to the Twilight Manor." She nodded, gulping in air as I gently took her with me back to the manor.

At some point, Tiona started to talk, which seemed to comfort Haruhime a little. She wasn't talking about Haruhime, though. "How'd you do that thing where you just flew up into the sky?" She asked. "Did you buy sandals from Asfi?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"It's a Skill. I walk on strands of Fate. You can't see them." I could see them, though it's hard to describe. Imagine that you were playing a VR game, and there was something superimposed over just one eye's version of reality. It's something like that, except in both eyes, and you have to sort of concentrate.

"Ahh... but how do you know they're real, if no one else can see them?" Tiona asked.

"Well, I can walk on the air, for one," I said, earning a giggle from Tiona. "But also, Julia can see them now that I've taught her how to do it."

"Oh! You can teach it?"

"Only to people with the Essence Development Ability," I said, using the terminology of this world to describe it properly.

"Aw. I wanted to walk on the air," she said, though she was still smiling as she did so, sparing a glance down to Haruhime to make sure the girl was alright. "How do you get the Essence Development Ability?"

"I... don't think you can?" I didn't want to say too much, or anything I couldn't repeat in front of a god. "Only me, Rei, and Julia have it in the whole world, as far as I know."

"Awww. How lame!" It was then that we arrived back at the Twilight Manor, and Haruhime's hand clasped mine tighter. "Oh! Haruhime! Loki likes to grope girls, but it's totally okay if you bonk her on the head for it, don't worry!"

"Thank you," Haruhime said, her voice soft.

"I can tell her not to touch you, if that's what you want," I added, to Haruhime. "I have leverage."

"Is that what you call it?" Tiona asked, a big grin on her lips.

I let out a small laugh at the dumb joke, though Haruhime didn't seem to get it. I didn't want to hide this from her, so I only took the time necessary to find the most polite way of putting it. "She's making a joke. I have a sexual relationship with Loki. It isn't really... romantic." I did actually wish it was. Loki was kind of cute, in a very Rei-like way where your cuteness is directly proportional to how much of an annoying twit you were. Plus, I wasn't really the kind of guy who had sex casually. Of the eight girls I'd had sex with in this world, six were my wives, and the other two were Loki and Haruhime.

"Aww," Tiona said, with a sympathetic smile. "It isn't? You two seem like you'd be a great match." It was strange to hear her talk like that. Even inside the Loki familia, where I was part of the (big) family, most people seemed to have moderately negative feelings about me having a harem. Certainly enough to feel some sense of glee that I wasn't getting everything I wanted.

"Well, I don't know. She never wants to do anything besides grope me and have sex," I said. I glanced down at Haruhime to see how she was feeling. She'd stopped crying by this point, but her expression was distant. Hopefully Cass and Julia and Erza and Noriko could bring her out of her shell. (I held little hope for Rei; I had only barely managed to keep her from clambering atop Haruhime right now, proclaiming that if you thought about it, she was really the one to have saved her, and so forth.)

Tiona's gaze turned down to Haruhime, and she twisted around, walking backwards in front of the girl. "Hey, don't worry," she said, with a big, gregarious grin. "You're part of the familia now, Drake or no Drake! We'll keep you safe."

"...thank you," Haruhime said, with a small nod. It didn't seem to me like her complaint was really with the harem, or Loki, or anything, though. I could only guess at what was going on inside of her head, as we finally arrived at the gate.

* * *

Haruhime sat quietly as Loki laid claim to her. Despite the woman's ill reputation, she actually appeared quite kind. "Hard to believe that Ishtar was planning on killing a cutie like you," Loki said, patting her head softly, maternally. "But don't worry. Now you're part of one of the strongest familias in Orario, and we'll keep you safe! Plus, Ishtar's not exactly going to be able to do much of anything any time soon," she added, with a small cackle of delight at the idea.

"Yes," was all Haruhime had to say in response. She was kneeling before Loki, her back presented to the goddess, and Loki let out a long sigh, planting an elbow on the girl's head.

"Alright. Tell your goddess what's bothering you."

"I... I don't..." she hesitated to say it again, to request the words she didn't dare believe, to ask after the truth that would break her heart. "Do you think that Drake really... likes me? A prostitute who becomes ill when she has sex?"

"Guh," Loki replied. "How am I supposed to know how he feels?" Haruhime felt her heart sink, but the goddess kept talking. "Look. Kid. Drake went out on a hell of a limb for you. I know he definitely doesn't give a crap about you being a prostitute, since he saved your ass while you still were one." She paused for a moment, humming thoughtfully. "Hrm. Noriko, now you... maybe that's his type? Ahhh screw it," she said, noisily scratching her head. "If he just wanted you for your magic or whatever - I mean, we've got you now, eh? You're grateful to me, aren'tcha?"

"Yes," Haruhime said. She had been saved from a terrible fate by the Loki familia - of that, she was certain.

"Right. So, if he didn't like you, he could stop the pretense now that you're stuck here with me. Do you think he's gonna?"

"...no," she admitted. In her heart of hearts, despite how she feared that result, she didn't expect it.

"There's an old story, about a man who questions whether he's dreaming or not. He can't tell if what he's seeing around him is real, or if it isn't, see, on account of having his head messed up by thinking too much. But he concludes that, if it is all real, he gets to enjoy it and ought to treat others well - and if it's fake, hell, not believing it ain't gonna make it any easier to see your way 'round it!"

"I... don't understand the point of the story," Haruhime replied.

"If Drake's just pretending to like you, what are you gonna do? No, really. Whatcha gonna do?" Loki leaned forward at that point. "Bah! Now I'm playing his wingman," she said, huffing and leaning back. "If that guy treats you like crap, tell me, alright? I'll bash his head in, treating a beauty like you wrong."

"...thank you, Lady Loki," Haruhime said, slowly pulling back on her shirt, the woman in question letting out a longing sigh.

What Loki had said... it was wise. If Drake was just pretending to care for her, what would she do? What should she do? Even if he didn't truly love her... he had saved her life and more. She owed him so much. If he merely wanted her for the prestige of having her, or for the pleasure of her body, or for her magic - then that was fine too, wasn't it? Hadn't he earned it? It was a fair price, truly paid, for her... far kinder than what Ishtar had paid to own her.

"Hey," Drake said, as she finally stepped out of Loki's office. He had replaced his vomit-strewn shirt, though the scent still lingered to her senses, since he had not yet showered. He smiled gently down at her, real concern in his expression. "You want to do something fun?"

"...something fun?" She asked, curiously. Did he want her body, now? She would offer it to him, of course - though if he did not use that magic of his, it was unlikely that she would be able to avoid puking...

"You seem unhappy, and if you're going to be part of the familia - I don't want you to be unhappy. So doing something fun would help. What things do you enjoy doing?"

She thought about that. The question was so... vague. She had enjoyed... hero stories, she supposed. Those told by Princess or by Drake were very interesting. She had liked to prepare tea. Even the primping that was a prelude to being whored out had a certain pleasantness to it... though obviously the sex itself left much to be desired. With Drake it was pleasant, but - she didn't think he meant to make love to her right now. He meant... something else. "What do you enjoy doing?"

"Ah. I read. The Loki familia has a really big library, actually," he noted, and she did perk up at that, her tail beginning to wag. He smiled as he saw her excitement. "Be careful, though. The books are worth a lot of money. Some of them are old enough to be hand copied."

"I will be quite careful - my family taught me to respect books," she replied. "Where is the library?"

He took her to it, seemingly without any expectations of her doing anything... else at all. When they arrived, she felt her jaw drop. Rows upon rows of books, stacked as high as the ceiling. A library like this must have been worth more than the entire rest of the manor combined. She just stared up at it in awe, before finally picking something out to read with trembling hands, caressing the cover softly. Drake just smiled at her, finding a book of his own to read.

The book itself was entrancing, a story of heroism she hadn't heard before, a young man overcoming all the odds to defeat a great beast that menaced his hometown. His cleverness, quick wit, hard work, and gumption provided what was needed to trap the terrifying monster in a pit, which the villagers - slowly at first, then more and more - then began to hurl rocks down upon, bashing it to bits. By the time she finished the book, it was well and truly late at night, and she yawned, gently placing the book back where she'd found it. Drake was still there, though he put down the book as he saw that she was finished. "Where will... I be sleeping?" She asked.

"You can stay with me, and my wives, or in one of the other quarters," he told her. "They are gender segregated, so... your androphobia won't be a problem there."

She hesitated a moment. Her lips squirmed on her face. She wanted... what did she want? Her head was a mess. She was still lost for what had happened, what it all meant. She swallowed thickly the saliva that had begun to pool in her mouth. "I don't... know."

"If you're not sure, you can sleep in one of the other quarters. Just ask Loki to give you one. You're always welcome in my room - and you don't have to come at all, if you don't want to."

It was so - so absurd, she couldn't believe it, but her eyes began to swim with tears again. He really- he really- she didn't understand it at all. It was as if he had seen her, a lowly prostitute, and decided to be nothing but kind to her, and expect nothing of her in return! It wasn't possible, it didn't make sense, it had to be a trick. She felt him pull her into a hug suddenly, but when she looked up, it was another member of her familia. The scent of puke still clung to her, though. It was Drake? She still couldn't see it. She let out a faint little laugh.

"Thank you..." She didn't know what else to say.

"It's alright," came a masculine (but definitely female) voice, fingers brushing through her hair. She just cried and cried for several minutes, and when all the tears were done...

She did something so selfish, so inappropriate, so cruel to one who had been so kind to her. "I think... I'd like to sleep alone." It was a test, she knew it was a test, she was testing him, she knew that wasn't the way a proper lady should behave but she was doing it anyway. She knew that even if he failed, even if he stopped being kind to her now, she would still offer him her body, that she had no intention to sleep apart from him if that was not what he wished...

But the hand continued to pet her softly, only stopping when she began to withdraw from the long hug. A warm smile was worn on the taller Amazon (who logically was Drake)'s face. "Okay, Haruhime. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She just nodded quietly. She didn't trust herself to speak.

* * *

"Get out," Ishtar snapped at Alister, and he left his own bedroom. She'd bewitched him only a day after being forced out of Orario, and she had been bleeding him dry ever since. He was one of the wealthiest merchants in this small little town, a coastal suburb some distance outside Orario. Not that that was saying much. He didn't have even a million valis in all his possessions, much less his pockets. She chugged from one of his most expensive wines, directly from the bottle. She had been cast out. Hers was a familia of none, every member betraying her to join this or that other familia. Lena, that treacherous little bimbo, had even dared show herself with a stupid smile, and she had no choice but to unlock her falna too.

She had made a familia with over fifty Level Threes. They may not have leveled as fast as the heights breached by the members of the Loki and Freya familias, but that slow, steady work had meant that she would have been well-positioned to take charge, if and when the chaos and vagaries of life knocked the pair down a peg. Now... now she had nothing. She would have to start all over. She needed a real start. Not just some merchant to suck the funds out of. She would have to start again.

She didn't dare deal with the Kali familia, not now. Perhaps, if she'd had the killing stone in hand... but that hadn't been the case. She had stretched her hand too far, and now she had nothing. She shouldn't have fallen for that bastard Drake's bet. Just thinking of him made her blood boil, and she thought of Alister.

He was an appealing enough male. He had that sort of feminine height to him. Blubbering. Submissive. She'd have rather had a stud like her Tammuz, but even he had chosen to join the Freya familia, as unthinkable as it was. The bitch must have used her Charm on him, though how it overpowered Ishtar's, she'd never know. "Alister," she called out. "Your goddess needs you." He didn't reply, and her rage became incandescent. "Your goddess needs you, Alister!" Still no reply. She rose to her feet, stomping towards the door, hurling it open. He laid, unconscious, on the ground. She was baffled by that - then a dark hand came to strike at her throat, making her gag and putting her on the back foot. Her thoughts began to spin in her head, her legs no longer quite so sure as they once had been, some poison having hit her body.

"Ah... don't worry. It'll be just like what you were going to do to Haruhime," came a female, mocking, cloying voice.

The Black Agony? "I'm- sorry," she coughed out.

"Oh, don't waste your time apologizing! If you wanted to show you were sorry, you shouldn't have mind controlled poor Alister into being your wallet and sex slave!" The girl's voice was sing-songy as she spoke, and Ishtar tumbled from side to side, trying to keep herself upright, and conscious. "But like I said, it's no big deal. You'll just be going into a very, very deep sleep that you'll never, ever wake up from!"

Ishtar didn't get to respond. She fell unconscious, tumbling forward towards an all-encompassing darkness - and the ground.