Acceptance

Waking feeling refreshed, Cairn was once again thankful for the unique bedding Restia had given him as a Quest reward. Waking after exhausting one's Mana was typically accompanied by symptoms akin to a hangover, but Cairn felt like he was waking from a peaceful slumber, surrounded by down feathers or soft fur.

Opening his eyes, Cairn discovered the latter to be partially true as he found Kaia sharing his bed. He was a bit confused, however, as rather than lying next to him with her head on his shoulder, she was on top of him, her body inverted so that the first thing he saw upon waking was her fluffy ass, tail, and vagina.

Feeling Kaia's breath warming the base of his cock as she proactively inhaled his scent, Cairn considered what he should do before grabbing the Karakut's thin but taut waist, surprising her as he pulled her bottom closer and began licking her lower lips. The smell was a little intense, and a tart, somewhat metallic taste filled his mouth, but Cairn wasn't deterred as he shut his brain off and let his instincts take over.

As she wasn't expecting Cairn to wake up so quickly, Kaia initially felt a wave of panic wash over her. It was shameful to admit, but she had been trying to condition Cairn to her scent, resulting in him getting aroused just by smelling her pheromones. Fortunately, rather than asking what she had been doing, he just went with the flow and began licking her...

Seeing no reason to restrain herself, Kaia returned the favor by caressing, nuzzling, and licking Cairn's cock. It was too large to take into her mouth, but she could suck and lick the tip while stroking his shaft and massaging his balls. She was a little uncertain of her technique, but when Cairn came after a few minutes, she concluded it was at least adequate...

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"So, what happened after I passed out...?" asked Cairn, leaning forward slightly as Kaia dutifully washed his back.

"Nothing worthy of a report," replied Kaia. "We kept an eye on it for some time, but there have been no observable changes in the Dungeon's Core. Zarah and Tarou are monitoring it externally while I was entrusted to your care."

"Ah...she's going to be pissed if she finds out we've been fooling around..." muttered Cairn, a mischievous grin adorning his face as Kaia pressed her breasts to his back and proceeded to wash his front, her heated breaths like music to his ear. Elle didn't exactly leave him hanging when they were together, but the way Kaia yearned for him felt...fulfilling.

"C'mere..." said Cairn, guiding Kaia to his front before having her sit with her back to him. He was seated atop a stool designed for use in the bath so she could sit fairly comfortably atop his thighs as he kissed her neck, shoulder, and the base of her ears while caressing her belly.

Shuddering in response to Cairn's touch, Kaia exhaled a hot sigh and instinctively opened her legs to grant him access to the space between her thighs. The feeling wasn't nearly as satisfying as it could have been, but she suppressed the urge to ask for more, fearful of coming across as too eager...

"I noticed you managed to decrease the length of your hair..." muttered Cairn, referring to the fact Kaia's hair now only extended to the small of her back, just above her tail. He also noticed that her breasts had gotten smaller, likely to help with her balance, but as he had gradually become an equal-opportunity breast aficionado, he decided not to comment on it.

"I want...I want to master my Human Transformation as fast as possible..." replied Kaia, forgoing further explanation as there was simply no need to elaborate. Cairn knew she was doing it for him, just like nearly everything else...

"You should teach me how to knit," said Cairn, sending an intense quake through Kaia's body as he whispered, "I want to make you something..."

Having read up on Karakuts, Cairn knew that when individuals became a couple, they would exchange hand-woven cloths to show the rest of the tribe they were spoken for. His current outfit was made almost entirely of Kaia's fur, so if he wove and presented something to her in turn, it was no different from saying they belonged to one another.

Demonstrating how excited she was, Kaia's ears twitched atop her head while her tail brushed against Cairn's lower abdomen, generating a bit of turbulence beneath the water. Topside, her chest heaved as she breathed in and out through her open mouth.

Barely able to control herself, Kaia panted, "I want it..." in an impassioned, supplicating tone. Her wording was vague, making it unclear whether she was talking about the meaty appendage pressing against her beneath the water, but Cairn had no problem offering her both, whispering, "Raise your butt..."

Doing as she was told, Kaia readily leaned forward, allowing Cairn to direct his glans to her waiting entrance before guiding her back to his lap. A satisfied sigh emanated from his throat, but it was completely drowned out by the sonorous "Waaaauuuu..." that rose from Kaia's as she sat snug against him. The water should have made entry a little more difficult, but due to the volume of fluids leaking from her insides, Cairn had no trouble reaching her deepest parts.

Reaching his hand to Kaia's neck, gently caressing it as she angled her head back and gasped for breath, Cairn whispered, "You said you didn't mind becoming mine alone. To be honest, I felt a little guilty hearing you say that. Now, however, I won't let anyone else have you. No matter what the future holds, we'll face it together..."

Punctuating his words, Cairn tentatively bit the flesh between Kaia's neck and shoulder, causing her to tremble and moan. At the same time, he slid his left hand to where they were joined, stimulating her clit with his middle and ring fingers while caressing her belly with his right. They had gone at it like animals previously, so now Cairn wanted to teach her the 'benefits' of having a more humanoid physique...

*Ding! Your Bedroom Arts has increased to 31!*

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Seeing Cairn and Kaia emerge from the Interspatial Pouch, Zarah and Tarou narrowed their eyes, the former adopting an accusatory expression and tone as she asked, "The two of you were fucking again, weren't you?"

"We'll be more careful in the future," assured Cairn, joining the half-lionel near the Dungeon Core and using his Insight to check its condition. Zarah looked like she had more to say, but instead of doing so, she directed her gaze to Kaia, the two locking eyes for several seconds.

"Well, I have good news and bad news," expressed Cairn, drawing the duo's gazes as he explained, "I've successfully made the Astragora my familiar, but I have no idea how to free it from the—I stand corrected..."

Following the directions of the text window that had appeared before him, Cairn retrieved the [Restored Overlord's Belt] from his Inventory and put it on. Doing so granted him the use of the [Familiar Storage] Skill. After that, it was a simple matter of extending his hand and shouting, "Nue, return...!"

Reminding Cairn of a fairly famous cartoon he had watched as a child, a red light emanated from his palm, passing through the membrane of the Dungeon Core and enveloping the Astragora's body. When it disappeared a few seconds later, Cairn found himself holding a baseball-sized sphere. Fortunately, instead of possessing a distinctive red top and white bottom, it was nearly ebon-black, vaguely resembling an intricate jade carving of the Astragora in sphere form.

Just as Cairn was thinking about how it could be stored on his belt, the sphere shrunk to the size of a golf ball. As for how it was stored, he just had to hold it near one of the circular grooves lining the belt, causing it to snap and adhere to it like a magnet.

Observing Cairn's actions, Zarah's eyes blazed with intrigue as she asked, "What did you just do? That resembled the Skill of a Monster Tamer, but I don't recall you possessing such aptitude. That indicates it has something to do with your belt, but if that's the case..."

Imagining a future where Cairn's belt could be mass-produced, Zarah's golden eyes gleamed. Tamers were exceptionally rare, and the majority originated from the Felidae Tribes. If others could emulate the abilities of a Tamer without the need to specialize in animal husbandry, conquering the Frontier might not be an impossible task.

"I'll let you look at it after we return to the surface and escort this little fellow to the Church," said Cairn, tapping the Astragora's totem. Now that he and Kaia were in a relationship, he wasn't sure whether he and Zarah would share a bed again. Kaia and Elle would likely permit him to do as he pleased, but if he wanted to respect the former's devotion, he needed to put her first.

Seeing through Cairn's thoughts, Zarah narrowed her eyes and remarked, "It's barely been a day since we talked about building a nation together. If you believe I'll let you toss me to the wayside after everything we've been through this past week, you're even dumber than I thought."

"That wasn't my intention..." assured Cairn, his smile cramping as Zarah invaded his personal space, deliberately squishing her breasts against him as she stared at him with a half-lidded glower. Then, in a tone that left little room for discussion, she grabbed his collar and turned to Kaia, stating, "It seems I need to teach this idiot a lesson. You got a problem with that...?

Making it clear she never 'seriously' considered keeping Cairn to herself, Kaia adopted a smile and replied, "I understand. In the meantime, Tarou and I will begin the return trip to the surface. I was wanting to familiarize myself with fighting in this form, so this is an excellent opportunity to test my capabilities against familiar foes."

Returning her gaze to Cairn, Zarah narrowed her eyes and stated, "And that's that. So, are you going to accompany me willingly, or was all that shit about 'dominating' me complete bullshit?"

Realizing he was standing before a hole he had dug himself, Cairn exhaled through his nose and briefly turned to meet Kaia's supportive smile before looking back at Zarah, smiling wryly, and remarking, "It sounds to me like you 'want' to be conquered..."

"One of us is going to be," asserted Zarah, releasing her hold on Cairn's tunic, pilfering the Interspatial Pouch from his hip, and tossing it onto the ground before crossing her arms and tapping her foot. Her expression and body language made it clear she expected him to enter first, so Cairn took one last look at Kaia, prompting her to squint her eyes and tilt her head as she mused, "Be sure to have fun~" in a sing-song tone. With that, Cairn's fate was all but sealed. He wanted to be faithful, he really did, but every time he tried, the woman he intended to dedicate himself to quite literally encouraged him to sleep with others...

'Well, it's not the worst thing in the world..." Cairn concluded, squeezing his way into the mouth of the Interspatial Pouch. The Runegraad Kingdom and Plainaire as a whole clearly had a dark side to them, as could be seen with Reine's predicament and the situation in the Dungeons, so before he was forced to face the owner of the yellow eyes directly, he might as well enjoy the relative peace and happiness he had found for himself. After all, he had already died once. If he wasted his second chance, he, simply put, didn't deserve it...

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