Return to Furhen

Alex sped along the road at nearly the same speed he went to Ul while Hajime raced alongside with his two wheeler and passenger. Though both he and Will didn't want to be seated on it with another guy, Hajime also didn't want to bring out his large four wheeler just for the two of them. Meanwhile in Alex's car he had Yue in the front seat, while Rias and Tio were in the back and the still slumbering Shia was between them. He was starting to get a little worried about how Shia was still asleep after going berserk, but Lauren told him it was relatively normal and that she would improve as she got used to the skill. Even as he drove down the road Alex was already thinking of ways to help her better use the new skill, which was somewhat difficult since berserkers were famous for lack of control. He was brought out of his thoughts with Tio's questioningly tone from the back,

"Master, is this truly ok? Will's comrades..." Alex sighed at the question, having thought they dealt with this issue before leaving. Though Will didn't think much about when he first returned to Ul, when he saw Tio transformed during the battle he learned she was the one who killed all of party members. Alex diffused the situation when he tried to confront her, but it seemed Tio was still bugged about it.

"I said it before to Will, you were essentially just the tool that was used while Shimizu was the one controlling you. I mean when a person kills with a sword is it the swords fault, or the one using it?" Though Tio still felt guilty about killing those people, she felt better at Alex's words. This led to a relatively heated debate in her head, was the master that abused her or comforted her better? Alex thought she was seriously thinking about what he said and hoped she would get over it, but realized he was wasting his concern when the sound of slight panting came from the backseat. Rias looked at her while frowning and was glad that Shia was sitting in between her and that pervert, but also regretted the fact that Anne returned to Asora during the trip instead of Tio. They then sped the rest of the way back to Furhen with the only notable thing being Rias's irritation when Yue used Alex's lap as a pillow during the trip.

***

After returning Will to his family and officially closing the request with Ilwa, Alex was sitting in a newly rented inn room with everyone after Anne, Grayfia, and Kuroka rejoined them. By this time Shia had finally woken up and was fighting the embarrassment of losing control during the fight, and how gluttonous she was from not having eaten since before the battle. Though she didn't need to worry too much about it as everyone's attention was on Kuroka who was curled up in Alex's lap after being apart for several days.

"Nyan~ We finished that job for you Alex, so what now?" She practically purred, obviously looking for praise. Grayfia's eye twitched at the scene, and she was tempted to mention how Kuroka wouldn't even do her job right if she didn't threaten to report her to Alex. For at least the thousandth time she silently lamented the fact that Kuroka was their 'Queen'.

"We're going to stay in the city for a few days to rest and to eliminate the crime rings in Furhen, which will not only help those living here, but will also increase our own reputation." An predatory look appeared in Kuroka's eyes as she was tired of just silently spying on them and collecting information.

"Will we move on them immediately master?" Grayfia asked, similarly ready to do something. She would've helped in Ul since she heard about it in Asora, but Alex said to focus on their current project. He however shook his head and explained,

"If we just move against anyone who isn't good then it'll make us look like busy bodies who stick their noses into everyone's business. We should try to draw them out to act against first so were retaliating." Grayfia nodded and started looking through some of the information Kuroka gathered before handing a piece of paper to Alex.

"It appears that they had already marked us as potential targets to apprehend for their illegal slave trade, if we show ourselves around town then we might draw them out." Alex nodded and said,

"Sounds like a good idea, let's start with a date."

Later that night every eye was drawn to the three people walking around town, as Alex escorted both Kuroka and Grayfia around for their date. Even though her ears and tails were hidden Kuroka was eye catching with her black hair and kimono that was loosened to emphasize her breasts. Grayfia on the other hand had lost the maid outfit after being ordered to by Alex for their date, and was wearing a long non formal dress instead. As the trio walked around the city and enjoyed some of the spots for couples every eye was on them, including those whose attentions they were trying to draw.

"Some nasty people are following us~Nyan." Kuroka whispered while clinging to Alex as they walked along the street and the sun started setting. He barely grunted audibly and answered,

"It doesn't seem as if they plan to do anything for right now though, maybe they're just trying to see where we're staying or something. Remember we're waiting for them to make the first move." Kuroka nodded while Grayfia grabbed his other arm, he then spent the rest of the night properly escorting the two beautiful women both publicly, and privately.

The next day was Yue and Shia's turn to be escorted around the city as they relaxed while also trying to draw the pursuers out. Both girls were quite happy to be on a date and the trio drew even more gazes than Alex did the night before, there were even a few people that had seen him the previous night and recognized him.

"We should do this more often!" Shia said happily as she led both Alex and Yue around.

"... This is nice..." Yue agreed with Shia. Alex smiled as he looked at the two girls having fun, while also keeping an eye on those shadowing them. As he was using his observation Haki on his surroundings though, he picked up the small presence below them that he was looking for. Both girls were suddenly alarmed when Alex's expression hardened and he explained to them while heading to where he detected the presence.

"I detected someone below us, probably in the sewers, but what I'm feeling is someone weak like a child." Though both girls were confused why Alex was concerned about a presence below them as it was most likely a sewer worker, hearing that it was like a child they both became serious and followed him. After he closed in on it Alex went to one of the alleyways and used his strength to open a hole in the ground below them to the sewers. They soon closed in on the child, and Yue used her magic to search the water before pulling a small figure out of it. Alex's eyes shined with a dangerous light as he finally saw the reason he stalled eliminating the criminal groups until now, not minding the filth he grabbed the small figure in his arms and gently cradled the small child. She was about 3-4 years old and had emerald green hair, but the most noticeable feature on her was the fin-like ears she had and the webbing present between her fingers. She was barely conscious and hesitantly looked up at the Alex, to which he said,

"Don't worry, no ones gonna hurt you anymore." The girl let out a small sigh as if in relief of his words, before she lost consciousness.

"We should take her back and get her cleaned up." Shia said before Alex got the chance. After taking a brief second to fix the hole he made to enter the sewers, Alex teleported them back to the inn, not caring about the report the person following them sent back saying he lost the new merchandise.

***

A little bit later Alex was sitting in their room while the girls cleaned up the child they found. She had already regained her consciousness and they were feeding her with food they had ordered, after which she told them her story. The girls name was Myuu and she was from the Dagon race of Demi humans, one day she was swimming when she got separated from her mother, and was picked up by a bunch of human men before being brought to Furhen. She was then locked underground with several other children who would be taken away occasionally and she'd never see them again. One day she heard the familiar sound of water and went into it to escape, only to end up in the sewers. This was also the reason Alex hesitated to start assaulting the criminal groups, as he didn't want to risk missing the chance to rescue Myuu.

"This isn't good." Hajime said when he arrived from his room and heard the details of what was going on. Alex knew he was talking about the political situation regarding the Dagon race, as they were useful for collecting seafood they were the only protected Demi human race by the human kingdoms, one of their children being kidnapped by humans would put a strain on their relationship. Grayfia then asked,

"Master, what will we do with her?" Alex looked up to see every pair of eye on him waiting for his next words. It appeared that after only being around her for a short time all of the girls had already grown attached to Myuu, this was especially true for Grayfia since she was a mother herself. Going by her own personal feelings Grayfia wanted to eliminate those who would do such a thing, but as a loyal maid she needed to await her masters orders, and he did not disappoint. With a tone of authority Alex said,

"I think this gives us all the reason we need, Grayfia go and collect the Haulia from Orcus."