Gathering Quest

Meri and I had a small lunch out together, nothing too fancy. I don't even think there's a place in Dewhurst that serves fancy food, to begin with. We just duck into a tavern, and thankfully it's not one that cares enough to refuse me service.

We have a quick talk about our meeting with the Duke of Dewhurst, and I'm happy to see that Meri feels the same way about it that I do. Despite it being very much a big deal, both of us don't feel like it was.

His threat at the end was ominous, yes. Still, I already had a sinking suspicion that we'd be fighting some of his men in the months to come anyway... starting with a particular pimp.

As is, there's not much we can do about him. Guilds don't support rampant vigilantism. It'd be different if the local law authorities would place a bounty quest on Sir Pimpington or the Crystal Sage. Then we would have the go-ahead to do what needs to be done to bring him in.

But there's practically no law enforcement in Dewhurst, the town jail being more or less a revolving door and occasional drunk tank.

Gods, why couldn't Opal have waited for me? I would have told her to try and convince Lord Groomcrest to put bounties on the Duke and his men. Then we wouldn't have to deal with all this red tape.

I'm overthinking things again... It'll be alright. Just wait, and a chance will eventually appear. There are still many things that need to be done in two months' time, anyway.

Our trial period with Cherry and Peri is getting close to wrapping up. Three more days, and they'll be able to report to Snow that they want to stay with me permanently, and then it won't matter if the maids desire to do anything lewd with me.

That'll be a relief...

I haven't decided what my next move is, but I have lots of ideas floating around. I need to go on the offensive while also building up my defenses. That's a lot easier said than done given my lack of resources, capable adventurers, and backup from the law.

Speaking of capable adventurers, Luxy's hand-picked healer hasn't arrived yet, either. I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing, given how many warning signs there were...

We do need more adventurers. This goes without saying. Once the Healer arrives and gets acclimated, I'll have to see if Luxy is willing to work together on the next member of my roster or not.

Until then, I'll make the best use of the three I have. Starting right now.

Meri and I enter the Guild and see Peri and Cherry working together on cleaning the entrance hall. They're not arguing, and they aren't even working on opposite ends like I had them do yesterday. I'm surprised.

"Welcome home, Myaster!" They both greet me and bow as soon as I open the door. Gods, that does wonders for a man's ego. Cherry's bow is finally just as polite and delicate as her blue-haired friend's, but her face is still markedly more embarrassed.

"Doing a good job, girls." I smile upon looking around at the work they've done during our absence. More of the Guild's floor was dusted, more crumbled quest posters picked up, and more beer bottle shards adequately trashed.

Still a long way to go, but progress is definitely being made.

"No fights today, Peri?" Meri smiles warmly but has an anxious look on her face.

The two Catgirls look at each other and shake their heads. "Last night in horny jail, we reached an understanding, nyaa." Peri's grin becomes broader and more sultry, causing Cherry to blush.

"N-Not like that, it's not what it sounds like-"

"It is exactly what it sounds like." Peri corrects.

"T-that explains the loud meowing at three in the morning..." Meri thinks aloud, much to Cherry's further embarrassment.

Eventually, the pink-haired cat frowns and drags a sigh out of her lips. "I've been too overprotective, nyaa. I understand now that making sure Peri doesn't make a mistake only... um... makes her more nervous, and it makes her have even more mistakes..."

"Very good." I can't stop smiling and reaching out to gently pet Cherry, who purrs in response. I make sure not to linger, less the kitten becomes activated with lust. "What made you come to this conclusion?"

Cherry glances at her friend, her cheeks filling with a scarlet flush. "I listened to what she had to say, nyaa. What happened in the past was the past, and I've... been really unreasonable to Peri." She bites her lip to keep it from trembling.

"I forgive you." The soft-spoken maid leans over and gives Cherry a tender kiss on the lips, causing Meri to blush and myself to raise an eyebrow from interest. "Cherry won't cause any more problems because we have a common goal now, nyaa."

"Peri, no-"

"What would that be?" Meri smiles and clasps her hands together, tilting her head from curiosity.

"We both want the Myaster's kittens, nyaa!"

"I-I SAID NO SUCH FUCKING-"

Meri's jaw drops, and I take a few steps away from the group. "Yes, well. As enticing as that sounds, I am not currently looking to become a father. You'll be put on weekly doses Succu-bye just like the rest of my lovers, assuming anything sexual were to happen between us."

"I'll throw it up when you're not looking..." Peri mumbles under her breath, hoping I can't hear her sexy yet mischievous intentions.

"PERI. BAD." I stomp my foot and take an authoritative tone, and she recoils and blushes before hiding her head in Cherry's cleavage.

"J-Just kidding, Myaster... nyaa..." She says from the comfort of the tanned Catgirl's small-ish boobs.

Cherry sighs and begins petting her friend on the head, running her cat-like fingers through Peri's blue locks of fine hair. "I want to stay here. Not just for Peri, b-but because I like it here and I like YOU, M-Myaster." She does her best to not break eye contact with me, and I reward her with a smile.

"I like the both of you as well."

"We all do!" Meri smiles and reaches out to pet the kitties, her crimson eyes twinkling as they both lean into her touch and begin to purr. "This is just the best. I always wanted a pet..."

"Aren't you Myaster's pet, though?" Peri tilts her head.

"W-What?! No! That's-"

"Meri is indeed my pet." I smile and watch the Shield Maiden's face blush like mad.

"MASTER?!"

"Silly girl. A pet can't have pets." Peri affectionately licks Meri on her cheek.

Cherry smirks and looks at me. "Do you normally fuck your pets up the ass? Naughty Myaster. That's abuse."

There's no longer any part of Meri's face that isn't red. She stumbles and stammers, trying to defend herself, and I end up laughing a good deal.

"That's enough of that." I sigh with great amusement. "I've got a job for the three of you. First off, though, is Zutiria awake yet?"

"Mmm yeah, we made her breakfast about an hour and a half ago, nyaa." Cherry nods her head.

"Glad to hear it. Now, I'm going to give you a break from cleaning for the day so you can go out and help Meri with something..."

I explain my plan to the girls after going into my office and bringing out an alchemy manual for beginners. It's been a very long time since I've read it, but I remember some necessary ingredients to create health and stamina potions. They'll be low-leveled concoctions, sure, but the things we need can all be found in the surrounding area.

Maybe Zutiria knows how to add more of a kick to them. Even if she doesn't, I want to start building up materials for her, so we don't need to waste gold on buying potions from local apothecaries. Most Guilds have alchemy labs and alchemists onsite for this very reason. Only the Association makes a profit by selling potions using predatory subscription plans and additional fees if you need to refill before the next scheduled restock.

Needless to say, I won't be implementing these systems since it's not like the association will ever know. My adventurers will be getting free healthcare whenever I can help it; thank you very much.

I flip through the different plants we'll be needing, and I sketch copies of the illustrations. I'm not much of an artist, but my eyes make me very good at replicating what I see, almost with mechanical precision. There's nothing 'artistic' about my copies. They're just reproductions. It still impresses the girls, though.

For health potions, the girls need to be on the lookout for love cress, quiet berries, needleroot, and virin petals. All reasonably familiar sights east of Dewhurst, out where the Slimes and Living Fungi roam.

Then they'll need to head southeast for dancing brittlebush, twilight bittercress, aromatic goldenglow, and drine weed. These are all much easier found in the forest.

I assure Meri and the kitties that they can focus on one region or the other today. Still, they insist on being useful and promise to do both. I'm truly blessed to have such good girls, I swear.

Before they go, I quickly show the kitties how to use the Returners in case of emergency. They get it drilled in really, really hard that they can't use them at the same time, or else something terrible would happen when they teleport on top of each other.

Goddess knows we don't need some four-armed, four-legged fusion of the maids running about the place...

I bid my adorable gathering team good luck and go upstairs to check on Zutiria in the master bedroom. I figure I should tell her about my plans for her to brew some potions and figured she and I could go on a date in town to pick up bottles. Knocking on the door leads her to respond, 'Come in, Sir.'

I open the door and am greeted with a surprising amount of inky darkness. That's odd. Zutiria can't stand the dark. Soon after I think that, though, a little sweet-smelling ball of pink flutters out of the darkness and illuminates the room. Another appears, and another until the room is covered in these romantic-looking spheres.

"Zutiria?" I call out to my little lover and scan the room for her, seeing no sign of the Mage. As I walk closer to the bed, I hear the sound of the door shutting and locking behind me.

I turn to face the source of the phenomenon, and I see Zutiria standing there in nothing but a frilly black and purple sheer nightgown that hides nothing. I can see straight through the material to see the trail of trickling juices spreading down her thighs and the pointy hard nipples poking through the cloth.

She stares at me, panting heavily, and each breath seems to puff out like we were standing out in the cold. The room literally grows thick with her breathing, and it feels almost intoxicating to inhale. She smiles at me and takes her glasses off, putting them on the shelf.

'Hello, Sir. I have something to show you. Why don't you lie down on the bed?' She tilts her head and smiles softly, eyes shining pink.