Alma Elma

We returned to Iliasport with the Bell to get a ship to the Sentora continent. This would be the first time setting foot on Sentora for both of us. Arriving at the docks again, we tried to find someone with a ship. It wasn't easy, since ships weren't going out. Fishermen were abundant at the docks. Apparently Alma Elma was allowing fishing, but not attempts to cross to Sentora. Eventually we did find someone who looked like a ship captain. He thought I was crazy, not believing in the legend of Poseidon's Bell and refusing to take us to Sentora. That's how I got my first look at how her flashy thingie was supposed to work. The Captain's refusal changed into compliance in a heartbeat as he made preparations to sail. Once again she had helped me despite saying she wouldn't.

According to the Travelers Guide, our destination would be a place called Port Natalia. I'd had some idea what to expect in the places we'd visited so far, but Sentora was mostly a mystery to me. I was eager to find out what awaited me.

On the ship, Alice wanted me to train. The journey was to take about a day, so I'd hoped for some relaxation, but I understood why Alice wanted me to train at every available opportunity. How else would I ever have any chance to beat the Heavenly Knights? She said my potential was… unreal, as she put it. So maybe there was a chance!

"During battle, it's normally suicide to jump," she explained. "When you jump, it's pretty damn obvious what your movements are going to be until you land. But this Demon Skull Beheading is different. By falling too fast for them to hit you, you crush the skull of your enemy."

That move sounded stupid to me. She had me climbing up onto the mast and jumping off. Granberia had used a modified version of this technique to break my sword, but the way she did it was so much more quick and graceful. "Of course it was, idiot!", Alice agreed. "You have to walk before you can run. When you get good at doing it this way, then you can learn faster and better ways to pull a version of this technique off. This technique was a favorite of Desureia the Harpy., who was known as the Death on Wings. Smashing the skulls of three hundred enemies, their brains covered the field in a mess."

She said I'd need to practice this move in actual battle, but I failed to see how that was going to be practical. Turn my back on an opponent, climb something, and then jump off? Like the initial Demon Decapitation that she'd taught me, I was pretty certain it would be awhile before I found a good opportunity to use the move in a real fight.

"I was thinking about what you did to Nanabi yesterday," Alice said, sitting with me while we were taking a break. "I was wondering why my use of my magic eyes didn't cause such a violent reaction. I think it's that you were already in combat when she tried it. What I can't figure out is where it came from. I can sense magic and I didn't feel anything coming from you, although admittedly I could have missed something because I wasn't looking at the time. But the amount of energy you expended, I nevertheless should have noticed it. What I do know is that we need to figure out what that power is and get you controlling it, mastering it. Something like that, if you could call it at will, not even the Heavenly Knights would be able to stand up to you. Anyway, I'm sure we'll see it again. Many powerful monsters use eye magic, and if they are foolish enough to use it on you…. Boom." She said, spreading her hands apart to simulate an explosion.

Just as we were about to resume training, the sea began to rage. I was wondering if Poseidon's Bell actually enabled a ship to pass through a storm or kept the storm from coming in the first place. The dock workers had told us that the storm came as soon as a ship got a mile or so offshore, but we'd been allowed to proceed unmolested for quite some time. The Bell had started to glow as the storm overtook us. Despite the raging waters, the ship sailed on as if it was clear and calm. Even Alice had been impressed. She commented that it was unusual for a human to have such a useful treasure. But suddenly her expression darkened. The storm abated. And suddenly, a being appeared on the deck in front of me.

I recognized the figure immediately. It had to be Alma Elma. If you've never encountered a Heavenly Knight, the best way to describe the feeling is one of unrelenting pressure in the air, at least when there's tension.

"I see," Alma Elma said, appraising me. "So you're that human. The boy who caught Alice's eye. You look delicious."

That's the second knight to call me "boy". Were they much older than they appeared? Alma Elma was a succubus, and I probably don't have to describe to you what that is. Needless to say, she was beautiful, probably second only to the Goddess who was haunting my dreams.

Just then I noticed that Alice hadn't disappeared. Alma Elma addressed her. "Lord Alice, according to your order, I'll exterminate the hero who is attacking monsters. May I execute your orders of defense?"

That frightened me. She was going to kill me? Would Alice seriously do nothing in the face of that?

"I don't give exceptions," Alice replied. "I'm just observing this boy. I'm not protecting him, nor giving him special treatment."

But I wasn't attacking monsters! They were attacking me!

Alma Elma laughed. "That wasn't the answer I expected, but I understand." She turned to face me. "So it's like that, Luka boy. I won't let you through this area. How do you want me to violate you, Luka Boy. Do you want me to use my hand? How about my mouth? How about I squeeze you between my breasts? Or… do you want to try anal? Oh, how about I try it like this. Doesn't this tail look really good too?"

I started in surprise at the tail she showed me. It had an opening at the end that looked like it was for milking men. If I had to pick how she would violate me, that wasn't what I'd pick, but she seemed to enjoy my reaction and decided that she would use that tail. But then she said something strange.

"Without using my hands, feet, or magic, I'll play with you," she said. "Struggle as much as you can, and let me enjoy myself. After we finish playing, I'll be sure to suck you dry. Here I come!"

Even with just her using the tail, the combat was completely one-sided. She was too fast for me to hit and her tail playfully toyed with me, sometimes slapping me around, other times stimulating my penis, without actually sucking it in. During all this she was trash talking me, telling me how once she did suck me into her tail that the battle would be all over and she was only waiting so that she could savor the fight. I saw Alice watching, gravely, as I was completely humiliated by the succubus. But wait, no, Alice's eyes were doing something. They seemed to be pointing upwards towards the mast. Was she trying to tell me something? Wait! That new technique she taught me! I was convinced it wouldn't work, but what other options did I have? She had never steered me wrong before, despite my increasing resentment of her attitude towards my life.

So I climbed up to the mast as fast as I could and came crashing down on Alma Elma's head. At least, that was the idea. The reality was less satisfying. She blocked the move with her bare hands! It was over. I had nothing that could even touch her. At least I'd get to enjoy a succubus' talents before she murdered me.

But then the impossible happened. She gave up! "It looks like I lost," she said. What?! "I promised, right? I wouldn't use my hands, feet or magic. But I had to use my hands to stop that attack. This time, I'll give the win to you. Such a thing is fine, right, Lord Alice?"

"If that's what you want, it's fine by me," Alice replied.

"Haha. So that's how it is," Alma Elma said. "I'll retreat this time. But next time, I'll be a serious opponent." She licked her finger. "Next time, I'll violate you like this. Even if you scream. Even if you faint. Teasing you all over, I'll show you hellish pleasure. Make sure you look forward to it."

She vanished. My life had flashed before my eyes. Emotionally, I was as distraught as I'd ever been. Alice didn't care about me. Worse, she had unjustly agreed to my execution despite the fact that I hadn't been attacking monsters. And yet.... she had assisted me by indicating how I could survive the fight. I wasn't sure what to think. I told her I needed to go to bed, that I didn't want to talk to anyone for the rest of the trip to Port Natalia. She nodded and said nothing, leaving me alone for the rest of the night.

We arrived in Port Natalia late the next morning. I was feeling a little less distraught, but still hurt and angry at Alice for the way she so casually sold me out. I promised myself I'd be civil with her, as any attempt to confront her on her behavior would just result in an argument I couldn't win. Perhaps this port city would have more interesting things to do than Iliasport, and thus get my mind off of my depression.

So I was finally on the Sentora continent! This would be the bulk of my journey. It must have been four, maybe five times larger than the continent I'd left. I knew almost nothing about it except what I'd read from borrowing a more recent, although still outdated, version of the Travelers Guide from a neighbor. Unfortunately, he was attached to it, so I couldn't get him to part with his copy, so my memories of what exactly was here were spotty. Maybe I'd find a newer copy in one of the shops here in Port Natalia. Unfortunately, I never remembered to look for one when I was near a shop that might sell a copy.

Alice broke the silence I'd been maintaining since last night. "Hmmm… Unlike Iliasport, this place is quite lively."

What I wanted to say was, "No shit, moron! Your 'cute little subordinate' is blockading Ilias Continent!"

What I actually did was explain how since this was a big continent that it needed Ilias less than Ilias needed Sentora. There was plenty of business to be done on this continent alone, although I'm sure many traders were missing the lost business with the other human continent.

It was pretty crowded though, by far the busiest place I'd ever seen since arriving here on… this world? It sounded so strange to think that way. Shoppers and stands and stores were everywhere, and then there were the mermaids. Wait? Mermaids?

One in particular was running a stand. As we approached, she greeted us. "Would you like some Mermaid-made grilled starfish?" I couldn't help but to stare at her lower body, which I probably don't need to tell anyone was that of a fish. Although there weren't a ton of mermaids around, there were a few, and they seemed to be moving around the city pretty comfortably. Was Port Natalia a tolerant city?

Alice answered my unspoken question. "According to the book, Port Natalia is a port town that has a lot of mermaids. The town accepts mermaids as residents." I bought a grilled starfish from the mermaid stand owner. I wasn't interested in it myself, so I handed it to Alice to try. She did, and for the first time, didn't enjoy something she put in her mouth. She grimaced, spit it out, and threw it over her shoulder, where it just missed hitting the mermaid that had made it for us. She made a rude gesture, but Alice wasn't even looking.

As we walked, I decided to comment on the fact that the town seemed to be a lot more liberal than the towns on Ilias Continent. Even if it did seem to be limited only to mermaids, it was still fascinating.

"So where to now?" Alice asked.

"I guess we'll try San Ilia first," I replied. "It's probably the biggest stronghold of the Ilias faith on this continent." One of the few things I remembered well, because duh, the name. San Ilia was sorta like the Vatican, although not quite. Imagine if the Pope was in Rome, but the faith's most important temple was in Jerusalem rather than also in Rome. I never did find out why they did it that way.

"I don't particularly want to go," Alice said, which didn't surprise me at all. "The food seems bad, too."

"You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to," I retorted.

She looked at me as if she wanted to say something, but then looked down and kept silent.

"In any case," I said. "We're not going yet. I saw this on a bulletin board."

I showed Alice a piece of paper with handwriting on it.

"I was wondering why you were so interested in that board," she said, taking the paper from me and scanning it. "This sounds pointless."

"No," I argued. "It sounds interesting. Someone wants help, and they are asking for someone who doesn't have a problem with monsters. I'd say I qualify, don't you think? It sounds like a chance to learn something."

"Something pointless," she muttered. "Why do you keep on doing things for strangers?"

"Lots of reasons," I replied. "But right now, let's focus on the ones you know about."

"Like your neediness," she snorted.

That one hit below the belt, especially given my mental state at the time. Maybe that was partly what was motivating me, but there was more to it than that. It seemed like an opportunity to learn, but also to take another small step towards improving understanding between monsters and humans. So far, taking on these little missions had done some good.

I appeased Alice as I usually did, by buying her some snacks. Feeding her regularly seemed to be the key to managing her moods. We found the house where the writer of the bulletin board request lived easily enough. I knocked on the door and it was answered by a particularly lovely mermaid who introduced herself as Meia. She invited us in and we sat down to hear her story.

Of course, as in most social situations, she started with small talk, which just made Alice even more impatient. I suspected she was more annoyed that Meia didn't have any foods that Alice found appetizing, which was unusual, because Alice found almost everything appetizing. Mermaid cuisine had to be the worst. "We're somewhat busy," she said curtly. "Your request better not be stupid."

"So," Meia started. "I'm in love with a human."

"We're not matchmakers." Alice said.

"No,no, we're already in a relationship!" Meia responded. "We've been living together for awhile. He's just out fishing right now. But… Although we love each other deeply, we're not married. It's because we can't perform the marriage trial dictated by marine law. When a mermaid and a human get married, they have to offer a written pledge to the Queen at the temple on the seabed. But there are monsters on the way and they are too dangerous. I have some magic, but my darling isn't too strong. We wouldn't be able to make it there safely. Would you journey to the bottom of the sea and deliver our pledge?"

"It can be done that way?" I asked. "Seems like a very strange trial if the people who want to get married aren't even going through it."

"The law doesn't say the ones getting married have to do it."

I was pretty dubious about the whole thing. If I hadn't been mad at Alice, I probably would have declined the.. quest? Job? Trial? But I was pretty sore at her and may have been motivated to annoy her further because it was the only way I could strike back at her for hurting me. I was petty, but more likely to bring me satisfaction than shouting at her.

"You'll need these." Meia handed me a legal looking document, which I assumed had to be the marriage pledge, and a crystal ball. "You'll need that ball to get to the temple, since you're human. It will enable you to breathe underwater, as well as show you the path."

When we walked back outside, Alice was in a sour mood. "You sure do like to be used by others," she said. "There's no point in doing such a personal request like that."

"Alice," I argued. "She's in love with a human! Isn't it good to help break down the barriers between human and monster?"

Alice was having none of it. "You did notice all the mermaid/human couples around this town already, didn't you? What difference does one more make? Besides, I'm sure there's nothing good to eat down there."

As usual, I was never going to win arguing with Alice. She was just too smart for me. Which made me all the more determined to do this job anyway.

So we left Port Natalia and headed to the beach. Standing on the beach, I held out the crystal, wondering if something should just happen or if maybe I should have gotten instructions on how to use it. But before anything could happen, something came out of the water! It was crab like, with two huge crab claws and four crab legs. Even more unusual was the human portion. She had what appeared to be ten arms, four on each side of her shell and two normal ones connected to her human body.

Like a panhandler, she said, "Hey, could you give me a little of your semen? I'm a little hungry."

I had no idea there were sea monsters. Well, I guess I knew about mermaids, but it never occurred to me that there were other species. "I have a question. Human males don't live in the water. How do you feed?"

She laughed. "Silly goose! Why do you think I'm always hungry? I have to wait for men to come to the beach."

Oh. That also answered another question. I'd noticed that the beaches here were always deserted. I had a sudden memory of sunbathers and swimmers and scuba divers and jet skiers from beaches where I used to live. You know, beaches that didn't have monsters popping out of them.

"You look kinda dirty," she noted. Now that she mentioned it, I really was. I hadn't had a chance to take a bath since that farce with Alma Elma. "I'll have to clean you first."

What an unusual monster. I'd never had one point out that I was a little rank. Even Alice never mentioned it and she had a sharp nose. I made a mental note to thank her for not embarrassing me that way. After all, when you're traveling and camping most of the time, there aren't that many opportunities to get good and clean. The last good bath I'd had was at the Inn in Iliasburg, although I'd had a couple of dips in streams since then.

She started making bubbles with her mouth. Was this an attack? Her behavior was so unlike what I'd seen up to that point, I failed to recognize the danger. She blew the bubbles in my direction. They impacted and popped harmlessly against my skin and clothes. They didn't seem acidic. Actually, slightly soapy. Was she going to bathe me to death? I assumed that she was going to attempt to clean me before doing whatever nefarious thing she had planned for me. She seemed like a fairly weak monster, so I decided to just end it quickly. I didn't even attempt to use a Cursed Sword technique. I swung my sword at her body, my usual attack when I thought I was facing a weak monster. Even though Angel Halo didn't do real harm, it was apparently still painful, so I didn't want to go crazy on any monster I didn't have to.

My intentions may have been good, but my execution left something to be desired. She caught my sword arm in one huge claw and then tripped me with at least one, if not more, of her arms. In a second she was on top of me, the two huge claws pinning my arms and her body weight holding me down. She didn't seem that heavy, so I attempted to push her off. I couldn't even budge her. Probably the only thing I understood well in fighting from a theory perspective was leverage, and she had it. With her shell making up her center of gravity and her four legs anchoring her, there was no way to get her off of me through lifting or pushing. I would have to find a way to slip out of this predicament. But that proved difficult as well, what with the two giant claws holding my arms, and the fact that she could call on any of her ten arms to hold me in place if my struggles became too vigorous.

"Haha!" she laughed. "Caught you! I'll take my time washing your dirty body."

She blew even more bubbles and began to clean me. The bubbles created a large volume of suds as she used her hands to rub my body down. I continued to struggle. Not that I didn't need the bath, but as I said all the way back at the beginning, you just can't know what a monster will do to you once they have you in their clutches.

"Stop moving around so much!" she admonished. "I'm trying to make your dirty penis clean."

She blew bubbles directly onto my penis. As I suspected, everything about a monster seemed to have an erotic property, as the bubbles felt pretty nice even without further stimulation. But further stimulation was about to be applied.

"Hey," she said. "I'll do something amazing for you. Do you want a taste of my special course?"

"What's the special course?" I asked.

"I'll use all my techniques to wash your penis," she said. "From the base to the tip, I'll carefully clean every inch. Nobody is able to endure all the way to the end of my special course. Eeeeeverybody comes right in the middle of it. But I always go all the way to the end."

While that sounded like the greatest bath of all time, it also meant I'd be helpless before she was even halfway done. I renewed my attempts to free myself. "Don't struggle," she said. "I'll wash your penis with my best move, and show you heaven."

Naturally, I did in fact struggle. It was futile. With her ten arms and two giant claws and that big heavy shell, I could barely move a muscle. My struggling could more accurately be called twitching. Supposedly I was a lot stronger than normal humans in this world, but no matter how much I tried to increase my efforts I didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

"All right, time to start the special course," she said. "First I'll wash this sack. It's really easy for this place to get dirty."

She blew more bubbles directly onto my scrotum, then began scrubbing and rubbing it vigorously. I feared that it would be painful, but apparently the magic made even overly enthusiastic stimulation of the balls pleasant. No wonder a monster had never tried to kick me in the gonads!

"Okay, balls are clean now! Time for your penis!" she was starting to sing as she washed.

She began stroking it with one of her soapy, slippery hands. I must have been getting stronger indeed in that respect, because I had no thoughts of surrender. I continued to struggle. I was still getting nowhere. I desperately cast about for Alice. She wouldn't fight for me, but she'd helped me out of jams before with some advice. Maybe she'd help now. But I could not find her anywhere. Was she watching? Probably. Now I was starting to feel humiliated as well as scared.

By that point she had switched to using four hands to stroke me. I'll say one thing for monster girls, there are endless things to experience with them that you just can't experience from anyone else. If only they'd learn about consent, humans and monsters would get along famously. I was in definite danger at that point. I started to feel that I wasn't going to last much longer. But I still hadn't given up. I continued to struggle. No good. There seemed no way to escape.

In what must have been the third stage of her course, she switched from a stroking motion to using her hands to rub me in opposite directions, much like someone trying to create heat from friction when one is cold. I saw my life flash before my eyes in that moment. The stimulation was incredible and my eyes nearly rolled back.

"Oh, you like that part, don't you?" she said. "I'll do it a little faster then."

And that was it. My ejaculate shot through the bubbles and went so high some of it landed in her hair. I didn't even think it was possible to come that hard.

"You made yourself dirty again!" she admonished. "But don't worry, I said I'd complete my course to the end, and I will. But first…" she licked the semen off that had gotten on her body and then used some of her own suds to wash her hair. Hope rose in me as I realized that she wasn't holding me down with nearly as much force as she'd been before. I attempted one big push to escape. And found that I had nothing. I'd experienced critical ecstasy once before, with Alice, but that hadn't been a combat situation. I had been lying down and enjoying it. I knew I'd felt weak, much weaker than if I'd been having sex with a human woman, but since I hadn't actually tried to do anything strenuous afterwards, I didn't really experience what the concept truly meant. The crab girl probably could have held me down with just one hand. She was in fact holding me down with two. It was truly over. My heart sank. This was my fault. I'd taken on a quest I didn't need to, then completely botched this confrontation with a not terribly powerful monster. All I had to do was avoid her restraining attack. It hadn't even been that quick. Deceptively fast, but nowhere near the speed of a fox or a harpy. I was going to die or get taken away to be a slave because I screwed up once. It didn't seem fair.

The crab girl was continuing her course, as promised, using a variety of motions, all of which were sending me into a world of physical ecstasy. But my mind was in turmoil. My journey was ending here, on this stupid beach on some stupid quest that Alice warned me not to take and it's not like she even cares anyway, she's probably already left to go find something to eat. I didn't think the crab girl would eat me, she didn't seem to have the anatomy for it. Maybe she was going to keep me as her mate? But doesn't she live in the water? Wouldn't I drown? Maybe she would just finish with me and leave me helpless on the beach, for some more carnivorous sea creature to find and eat me. That's what Nanabi had threatened to do in the cave but she hadn't because foxes were so nice. My brain continued to ramble on.

I abruptly came again as she vigorously stroked me. "Oh! You made yourself dirty again! Now I have to start over! Does my technique feel too good? Don't worry, I'll keep going until you're clean!'

She intensified her efforts, now doing that friction technique that had defeated me in the first place, combined with massaging my balls. Other hands were washing my chest and legs since semen had sprayed on them. I had a passing thought that she must be hungry all the time in part because she keeps on wasting semen. She was washing off far more than she ate.

I exploded three more times in what seemed five minutes, which only consisted of one course. Although Alice had said part of the monster magic was that men experienced no refractory period, at that point I did start to experience a small loss of sensation, at least enough that she was able to get through a full course without me dirtying myself again. Despite the fact she was the one doing this to me, I felt ashamed that I was making myself so nasty and forcing her to start over again.

"Okay, time to rinse!" She grabbed some water and began pouring it on me, continuing to scrub and rub. She was almost done when I came yet again. "Oh! I was almost done! Oh well, I'll just have to start over again!"

Halfway through yet another course, I lost consciousness.

"Luka… Oh brave Luka."

What? Ilias? Am I dead?

"Did it feel good being washed by the crab girl? Do I need to look for a new hero?"

I didn't see her, but I could feel her presence. "Am I dead?" I asked again.

"Do you want to be dead, Luka? You'll never find your answers if you're dead. You'll never be able to complete the task I have set for you and receive your divine reward."

"I'm so worthless, Ilias," I cried into the light, towards the sound of her voice. "I don't know what I'm doing here. I'm a failure! I've let everyone down!"

"Luka…" the voice said gently. "I told you I would be watching over you. Even the greatest heroes can make a mistake now and then. The evil Monster Lord has been manipulating you, making you think less of yourself than you are, trying to make you think no one cares what happens to you. But I care, Luka. You can always trust in me."

"I want to believe, Ilias!" I said pathetically. "But these are dreams, I don't know if any of this is real!"

"You demand proof from a Goddess?" the voice's tone changed, became darker. The gentle light seemed to flicker, as if agitated. Then it softened again and spoke. "Then I will tell you the secret to defeating her when you encounter her again, and encounter her again you will. That filthy creature has the taste of you now and she will want it again. When bound by the crab girl, you must struggle."

"But I did, Ilias! She was too strong!" I protested.

"However, when she begins preparations for her special course, you should have an opportunity to attack her. She will then let go of you, and you can seal her. Now go, oh brave Luka, while I search for a replacement hero."

I regained consciousness, still lying on the beach. It was starting to get dark. I must have been out for hours. I looked around and found my sword and my pack lying just behind my head. I lay there unmoving for a few moments, trying to process all that I'd been through in the past couple of days. This journey had started out so wonderfully. I'd won some battles, done some good, even bested two of the most powerful monsters in existence. But ever since I'd left the Ilias continent I'd known nothing but humiliating defeat and failure.

I looked out at the ocean. Nothing had come to eat me. I must have been lucky. I wasn't sure what I was going to do now. I was obviously a failure at being a hero. I should have stuck with my original determination to not try being heroic. All week I'd wanted to be prudent but kept on getting caught up in taking risks and doing good things and I was only still alive and not a slave to some monster by the grace of…. Ilias? Whatever god I worshipped where I came from? It must have not been any, because how could I not remember that?

I decided to see how well I could move and turned over to my right side. As I turned, I saw a snake body in front of me. I looked up. There was Alice, arms folded, glaring at me. I wasn't sure whether to be grateful that she hadn't just left me there, or even more depressed at the further humiliation that was to come.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Alice asked.

"I screwed up bad, didn't I?" I said.

"You're damn right you screwed up!" Alice raged. "Every time I think you might be starting to show me that you have functioning brain cells you take on moronic quests and do idiotic things and nearly get yourself killed! How could you lose to a crab girl?! That's the kind of monster that you could have beaten on day 1 of this journey, probably even before then! You just stood there like an absolute imbecile while she prepared her attack and then when she pounced on you, you went down like a helpless…. Human! I joined you on this journey because I thought you were interesting, but the only really interesting thing about you is the huge variety of ways that you demonstrate your stupidity aaanddd, now you're crying."

Yes, I was. I'd thought I could get no lower after Alice let Alma Elma humiliate me without even a protest. But no, this was rock bottom. I was laying on a beach bawling my eyes out. In hindsight, I should have nutted up long ago. I'd said right at the beginning that I was a loner. Why was I reacting so much to what Alice thought of me? Why did I need her to care whether I lived or died? Why did I care if she didn't help me fight monsters? If she hadn't been with me I'd have had to do it myself anyway. I should have been doing this all for my own reasons, as I had planned at the start. Instead I'd been chasing approval from others and especially from Alice. But sometimes you have to hit bottom before you can start to rise again. I guess it's good that it happened early. I was sure that someone once said that we learn more from our defeats than our victories.

Given Alice's normal attitude towards, well, everyone, I was sure she'd berate me for being a baby and leave in disgust. But instead she surprised me: she knelt down next to me and cradled my head in her arms. "Look," she said, "maybe I've been… a little… unreasonable."

"I'm sorry, Alice," I sobbed. "It must be the after effects of the critical ecstasy."

"Of course it is," she soothed, rubbing my head. I had never imagined she had this side to her.

"It's just so overwhelming," I said, starting to get control of myself. "The enormity of what I have to do, and the person I'm traveling with not caring whether I live or die…"

"Is that what you think?" she said. "All right, that's fair, I've probably been giving that impression, especially yesterday on the boat. I should have explained myself, but I'm not good at… apologizing. You see, you just don't know Alma Elma like I do. She's really… immature….and capricious. It's apparently been getting around among the Heavenly Knights that you're my new pet or something. Tamamo thinks that's adorable, but Alma Elma… well, it's hard to know for sure, but she's the kind of person that if she thinks I have a favorite new toy that she might want to have it for herself, or break it. I had to let on that I didn't really care so that she'd lose interest. I didn't want her to kill you."

"Really?" I said. "So you do care?"

She seemed to grit her teeth and struggle. "Yeeeesssss…." Then she seemed to surrender and said, "Yes, I do care about you, Luka. You're a good person, you're interesting, you're kind, I guess I'd even call you a friend."

"So you're not going to leave because you're disgusted with me?" I said hopefully.

"You silly, pathetic boy," she laughed softly. "I already told you I need to keep an eye on you, so I'd have to stay with you even if I was disgusted with you. Which, I am, but I think you've learned your lesson, and you were lucky to learn it in such a way that you didn't die."

She continued to run her fingers through my hair as she cradled me for a few moments. "I'm going to try to be kinder to you from now on," she pledged. "Bear with me, because I am royalty after all, and I'm used to just making demands and getting what I want. I said I wouldn't help you, but you've probably noticed that I do in fact help you. So I'll just drop the pretense from now on. I'm going to help you when I think it's appropriate. As in, when you would be overmatched without my help."

She shook her finger at me sternly. "But I'm not going to help you when you get in trouble due to your own stupidity like today. I expect effort from you and if I don't see it, you'll have only yourself to blame for what happens."

"I get it," I said, starting to feel a little better. Alice really was kind, she just didn't usually show it. I was extremely grateful that she was showing kindness to me when I needed it most.

"Just understand that I won't lift a finger to fight one of my cute little subordinates," she continued. "That's a line I won't cross, no matter what. But when one of my subordinates attacks you without provocation, know that I am rooting for you. Do you know why I do that?"

"Root for me? Because you care?" I asked.

"No, not that, idiot," she said, gently. "Why I don't take a direct hand in chastising my subordinates. It's because I can't be everywhere. Believe it or not, Granberia actually does intervene sometimes when a monster attacks a human for no good reason. She hates it when the strong bully the weak. I tell her it's pointless because she can't be everywhere at once to enforce her will, but she's like you, she can't stand by while the weak are being attacked."

"Are you talking about the same Granberia I know?" I asked, disbelieving.

"There's more to her than meets the eye," Alice replied. "She craves challenge, for someone to come at her as an equal, or at least be trying to come at her as an equal, which almost never happens. Never happened, until you came along. Not from a human, anyway. My point is that the only way for random monsters to learn not to attack humans is for humans to learn how to fight them off. Preferably without slaying them as those unsightly heroes try to do."

"I think I understand now," I said.

"So what do you want to do now?" she asked.

"I agreed to take on this mission for Meia so I'm going to do that. I keep my commitments. But I'm going to try not to take on pointless tasks so much anymore. Only if I think it's really important."

"Okay, but you're not going to go into that water right now," she admonished. "We're going back into town and getting you some real rest. And you need time to think through where you went wrong. At least she didn't injure you, so one night of sleep should make you good as new."

That sounded sensible. I felt a pleasant tickling on my penis. I looked down. Her tail was gently playing with me. My dick was rock hard. I was mortified. "I'm sorry, Alice, I'm not a pervert."

"No," Alice reassured me. "That's not you, that's me. I am the Monster Lord after all, and I've been cradling you with my breasts against your head. It's to be expected. The only reason you didn't notice until now is because you were so upset. I thought I'd give you a little touch to see if it made you feel better. So do you like how my tail feels?"

I did, very much, although I wasn't sure if this was what I wanted right now. "I feel a lot better, Alice, but it was your words that made me feel better."

"I know, but don't humans do something called makeup sex? I've heard that it makes them feel better. Besides, I'm awfully hungry."

Her tail wrapped around my penis and started to gently stroke it. I said, "We do makeup sex if we're in a relationship. Are we in a relationship, Alice?"

The tail abruptly stopped. "Please don't get the wrong idea, Luka. I do want to make you feel good right now, and I am hungry, but I don't want to cause you any more emotional distress today. I'm a monster. We don't have the same attitudes towards sex as you humans. Can you think of this as just… making up between friends? Besides, you're so clean right now. It would be a shame to let this deliciousness go to waste."

Surprisingly, I would have been good with her stopping. But I did enjoy the uniqueness of what she was doing to me and after being so kind to me she deserved to get fed, and I'm sure as long as I was out cold she probably went through all the snacks she'd brought with her. That was all the rationalization I needed to nod my assent.

Her tail wrapped back around my dick again and resumed the wonderful stroking. "We have to walk back to town so I'm just going to make you come once. That's why I'm going slow. Just enjoy it." I'd never heard her sound so soothing. During our first encounter at the Sutherland Inn, she had been teasing, almost mocking, eager to demonstrate her superiority over me. But this time she seemed to be showing genuine affection. Maybe I was just human, maybe I shouldn't read to much into it, but it sure felt like more than just being friendly. I guessed that maybe she was just trying to comfort me, to build me back up after I'd fallen so low.

After several minutes of gentle stroking, I started to feel like I was getting close. She could sense it as well. She was still cradling my head to her breast as she stroked me. She said, "Now I'm going to do something and I don't want you to be alarmed. I don't like licking my tail, it tastes a little gross, so if I'm going to feed I need to get your semen inside me another way. Don't worry, it's not going to hurt you. It's going to feel amazing. Probably more amazing than anything you've ever felt up till now. But it might be a little scary for you so if you don't want to look, just turn and put your face in my chest."

I wasn't afraid, and now I was curious. "I'll look," I told Alice.

She smiled and her tail released me. She concentrated for a second and the tip of her tail changed into something that would have indeed been frightening had I not been warned that something was about to happen. Her tail had transformed into something that resembled a venus flytrap. That's the best way I can describe it. It poised over my penis for a moment and then with startling suddenness it clamped down on it and began to suck. The inside of it was soft, with an interesting texture that I couldn't compare to anything I'd ever felt before. The sensations were incredible. She hadn't been kidding, this was far more than anything I'd ever felt. It easily topped her hand, her tentacles, even Nanabi's tales, hopped up on whatever magic she used to intensify their effect during our battle. In ten seconds I exploded forcefully into it, while it continued to suck greedily. It was better than any ten orgasms from the crab girl. I don't know if Alice was trying to demonstrate her superiority over the hussy who had just pleasured me a few hours ago, but if she was trying to do that, she succeeded with almost no effort. Alice seemed quite satisfied as well. Although she had enjoyed the taste of me on her hands that first time, apparently me ejaculating into her… whatever that was, was much more euphoric for her.

She withdrew her tail and helped me up. She even took a new pair of pants out of my pack and helped me into them. I hoped this would be the norm for her going forward. I could get used to this kinder, gentler Alice.

Of course, it didn't last because no one changes overnight. If you're reading this book mainly because you enjoy me being idiotic and her pointing out my idiocy, there's no need to put it down just yet. There's plenty more of that to come. But at least we understood each other much better than we had before.