Take Up the Cross – Chapter 112: Bonds of Higher Learning

“Clearheaded” is an enlightened status that aura users pursue. It allows for the world’s truths to be witnessed, unobstructed by mundane distractions that poison understanding.

The conquest of another’s body, especially absorbing the furnace heat of their insides with one’s meat rod, is not a noble pursuit of the soul. Adris still relishes in it, even as the blurring pinkness tainting his vision begins to fade.

(… I made… this awful, sensational girl mine, though… right!?)

Faced with two spectators staring at an actor who suddenly flubbed his lines and threw himself on an unrelated figure, completely muddying the script thrown to the ground and stamped on, Adris only pulls Kol more tightly to him.

Her smell no longer soaks deep into his core. It cannot lock up his mind and let his guts order him, instead.

(Wait… who the fuck cares!? I have to—!)

Kol’s heat haze burns itself out finally, releasing Adris’ tension when her orgasmic ride ends with it.

“Hah… Bosh… alwaysh zah besht…! Jusht… don’t move…~”

But, it’s still enticing to have a beauty, no matter how vain, wolfish, and oppositional, cradling you while drooling in pleasure, leaving her head tucked against one’s chest and neck. Shivering with every movement he makes, because Adris gave what no one else can ever match.

“Nah…!”

It causes his hand on her firm butt to grope it, prompting a yelp from his captive…

“… Shtrong, Bosh…”

(Stop thinking!)

So much so that Adris nearly forgets their aftermath, and the ruination their struggle has unleashed on the hallway.

(The doors survived, but the rest cooked into a slag of wasted copper!)

Wherever that blaze licked, the walls “melted” and dripped like tallow. A great flickering flame carved itself into the falsehood, reshaping it with wavy terror just as Serras’ outrage broke the chapel.

(Okay, I know how that works… and what Kol can do…)

Revelations and speculations can wait.

Before lost momentum kills, Adris tries to pull a heavy, smothering girl away from his body and her volcanic hole off his cock.

(But, I also have to deal with them soon—!)

“NNRGH!?”

Pricking points of pain stab into his back the instant he starts pulling!

Nailing Kol to her prize!

“KOL— SAID— NOT, MOVE…!”

Despite Adris being sure that Kol was succumbing only moments ago, her fury reawakens with muscles far superior to his own ensnaring.

Kol lifts her head to whisper into his ear, full of moody, breathless wonder dappled with tired resignation.

“If Kohl… not ever feel, knot like alwaysh want… then Bosh, gunna help Kohl at leashte ‘member… haaah, Bosh’s bigness inshide for a bit…~”

Dulling the edge of anger, she then thinks about another possibility.

“Unlesh… Bosh, want, ahgain!?”

“No… now is not the time.”

“Ugh… fine… kuh…”

A sultry voice ends instead with a sigh before the dreamy kobold sinks her teeth into Adris’ neck. Feeling her messy hair rubbing on his cheek is similar to the fur along his body, brushing with loving possession as she delivers this bestial clamp…?

(What… what is she— AH!?)

Ever so gently and causing him to twitch in fright, Kol just nibbles long enough to moisten his neck before releasing with a huff of gratitude.

“Kohl… shtay like d’ish, few ‘turns’, ‘kay…?”

“Ah… sure.”

(And how do I manage that with him approaching!?)

Behind Adris, looming as the boy turns while carrying a partially furred and scaled demi-human champion in his arms, is the top slayer of Petripolis.

Gun still cocked, though mercifully pointed at the ground, the handsome hunter of lusty hearts is licking his left-top canine while squinting a bit.

(Like he’s tasting an odd situation… and doesn’t know what to do?)

“Disappointment” is what Adris’ suddenly cleared-up intuition reads, followed by annoyance and comprehension as the man decides his thoughts.

“… Not what I’d expected. You got Pink…” Tapping his bycock hat, the man offers a slight grin while eying Kol’s partly disrobed body. “Well, wrapped around more than just your finger, eh, kid? Enjoying something you’re claiming for yourself, is it?”

(Shit! I don’t feel…!)

But when the comment causes Adris to squeeze tighter, and for Kol to cackle appreciatively as she shudders again while whipping her tail around, he can no longer find the strength to deny it.

“She’s more than just something to be claimed. You… the kind of man you are, you should know by how I behave what she means to me.”

“Ho, prognosticating about me now, are you?” Castile’s grin vanishes, with him instead leaning down to stare Adris in the face.

The height of a man is something a kid cannot defeat.

It’s a humiliating display that Adris has boiled his gut over before today, many times.

(It never tastes any less potent than burning acid in your throat…!)

Even if a boy barely taller than the kobold he’s struggling to keep aloft stares back with confidence, it earns only a snort of condescension from the slayer. Forced to face Castile without feeling ridiculous, Adris also starts to hate the silent girl in his arms that is intently listening.

“Saying that only you can make Pink… satisfied, especially in front of a man whose feelings are—”

In this moment, Castile’s eyes flit to Kol.

Adris’ attention is sharp, noting the emotions actually revealed.

(That’s not lust… that’s just, affection! Concern!?)

“—realer than yours, just sounds like you’re dying to be loudly proved wrong.”

There’s even more bravado in how he lifts his hand invitingly, directing it toward the mad-cap kobold who is now staring at Castile with guileless interest.

(FUCK OFF! This girl is mine…!)

Rage without justification brings one hand off of Kol, reaching instead for the cross at Adris’ waist. The moment he chooses to draw it, the slowly lifting gun will be pointed at a false god’s face.

(Shit… calm down! Think, act, talk! I’m dead if I fight!)

“MMM!? Hah!?” With that rage overriding his better judgment, Adris feels his heart beating with renewed interest for the warmth clinging to him.

More than just his ire rouses…

“Kakaka…! Hmm…” Kol makes several sounds while gripping Adris tighter, before she licks her lips and responds to the offer. “Hooooh… Kohl… never… tried another…?”

“Oh?” Castile cocks his head, a gentler smile coming to him. “Pink, you never told me you were so innocent? Or did you give up on a busy man to stay dry after…?”

“Hah!?” Outraged at first, according to Adris’ understanding of her psyche, the kobold methodically forces herself to calm from being called “innocent”.

(… What?)

Instead of screaming bloody murder, Kol instead sounds almost sultry, or her attempt at it, while enticing Castile.

“… Kohl… not know, if Rooshter better, or worse~? Shtop ‘brag’, do…”

When Adris’ sight sharpens and his veins throb at the words coming from this idiot who rocks on his body, the arrogant kobold coos while sighing. “Haah, haaah… maybe… Kohl can, compare…~?”

In place of truly offering, Kol is staring Adris straight in the eyes while leaning back to let her breasts slacken against Adris’ chest. To peek out to be seen more of.

Held by one man, she’s tempting another. Eager to see the reaction it earns, her breathing getting quicker as the temperatures rise…

(You cunning little bitch. You’re getting off on making me— nonono, trying to make me…)

Whether she knows what she’s doing or not is irrelevant, only that she understands the consequences. Adris’ twitching features regain composure as he lifts her to be nose-to-nose with him.

(Feel jealous!?)

Putting himself in harm’s way, he hisses at a neophyte trying to ply a dangerous craft that she’s ill trained for.

“A dishonorable knight is one I can throw away after only a single ‘turn’ of judgment.”

“NAH!? GAH!?”

Kol’s own face distorts into shock, then rage as her cheeks re-inflame.

“Bosh, can’t…!”

“If I can’t trust you, always, then I’ll make Still my ‘right hand’ and release you of your oath.”

“No! ‘Shit’, grrrrraaah!”

(Even if it kills me, I will…!)

When the kobold starts vibrating with the anger overtaking her, Adris stokes her further by nodding his head and sneering in the masterful way he copied from Fatso so many years ago. Fatherly, yet without much sentiment, barely concealing total authority.

“Right, if I need to choose someone more worthy as my ‘Inheritor of Fire’, then perhaps… Echo would be—?”

Kol’s lips part as she begins to growl loudly. Sharp canine teeth that can tear through softness gleam.

Eyes bore into his skull while the girl nearly goes berserk!

“Bosh… never… throw… Kohl, away, ever…”

… before loosening her crushing arms.

“You’re right, I decline to. So long as you retain your honor.”

Losing his imperiousness, Adris just peers into his fiesty knight who is scrunching her lips.

“Don’t dishonor yourself, or you’ll be dishonoring me.”

“… Haaaaah… Kohl jusht… liksh shtrong bosh, good feeeel…! Sho… wush trying…”

The drunkard rolls her eyes before letting her head rest on him, choosing to shut up instead of continuing. So much more cruelty of spirit and avarice exists in Kol than Adris thought did, leading to the painfully effective result of Adris’ cock hardening again briefly in her mushy depths.

“Mmm!? Bosh… thick~. Kohl… lovsh, thick Bosh…~!”

(“Trying to spice things up” to get me into fucking you again!? That’s what a bratty, just-flowered bitch of a city girl would do…!)

Adris wants to deny jealousy, but he can hardly do so when every movement reveals to a groaning Kol how effective her guile was at possibly getting what she wants.

(I’m getting played by this idiot!? Serras… Serras would’ve never—!)

“Used such a juvenile attack” is left off of his thinking, because obviously Serras would just put her sword through his gut if she was sufficiently motivated to punish him.

(Huh… I guess I can forgive Kol for acting treacherous about something so minor?)

Absentmindedly, he pats her head and strokes behind her ear, causing the kobold to flinch.

“B-Bosh, too.. m-m-much…~”

Despite zero shame in copulating before others, a mumbling Kol finally bats away his hand with just the slightest affection delivered.

(That’s too much!? But, it provides absolute proof…)

Free to experience a strange bonding moment, Adris’ attention has been on the one keen to ruin it earlier.

This lively slayer has his hand to his chin, reaching up to hide a gentle smile as eyes full of warmth watch Kol being cherished by someone else.

(Kol finding happiness makes you happy… Only the Castile I know would react like this.)

At least until the man notices Adris’ inspection, and then hardens at private thoughts being read.

All of the good humor vanishes.

“So that’s how you’re leading her on?” Icy in tone, the slayer nods his head and prepares to intrude…

(You can’t win, because you’re not even trying.)

While not a long relationship, this man who calls Adris kin is like an open book as to his values.

After all…

(No one I’ve ever met has ever had as much good to show in his actions as yours have, brother.)

“Kol… did you know that Castile saved the slayers from themselves?”

That wistful feeling of inferiority empowers the way that Adris can begin his tale.

“NAH!? ‘Shaved’…?”

Rubbing her face and tired, a re-energized Kol lets her head fall back to eye the very man Adris starts upselling.

“Ho? That’s…?”

A distant look comes to that savior’s face. The familiar blankness of a memory being missing.

(I can accomplish the same thing!)

Once only unsettled because of embarrassment, Adris’ heart starts racing again with his mental training guiding along the “aura” rushing through his body.

“MMM!?”

Kol yelps when where they touch heats up. As internal darkness circulates, he lets his proximity to a receptacle fuel their resonance over a mystery being shared.

“… Brother…!?”

Even cut off from a “core”, the doll who has tasted the power of Beyond can feel its invisible presence thickening. She slinks away from Adris, while her cold blue eyes are locked in fascination.

(If “Serras” could become almost real with the truth about her being unveiled, then Castile is a simple story for me!)

After all, Adris has only wondrous things to say about the man who shook Adris’ hand and offered the boy a place in his life, providing a story that saved his entry into the slayers.

“Rooshter… did…?”

“… Ahhh. Well…?”

At Kol’s voice full of equal wonder, Castile’s taciturn expression shifts along with a breeze that whips up around the kobold and her handler Adris.

From puzzled, to dreamy, and finally to joyous, Castile changes with that current…

“Hahaha!? That’s a… bit of an overstatement!” Scratching his cheek, the man regains that gaiety that draws others.

A shine returns to the gun’s brass that draws Castile’s eyes, revealing shame in them. He showily spins it around on his finger and holsters it in one go, relaxing his tense muscles when its hammer decocks.

“People just can’t… find something honest and worth protecting, unless they can agree on certain rules.”

(You drew up the Code of the slayers. A man that can do that, would never come between Kol and I…)

But it’s not enough merely to “defeat” this man.

After all, Castile was never an enemy.

“Castile isn’t just the slayer’s protector… he’s also someone we all aspire to emulate, Kol.”

“‘Shit’!? Shtupid, female-running Rooshter, slayersh like…!? Shtrong… but, Kol, not… like, as…!?”

(“As an idol”!? Get your… paws out of my face!)

The spirited squire rejects Adris’ words, but the winds whipping up carry more memories.

When they settle into Castile, his more swarthy skin sparkles almost blindingly bright!

That annoying shine of an alpha male causes Adris’ eyes to twitch.

(Ugh… but, I just… can’t hate it if it’s…!)

“Hahaha! Pink, what you’re looking for in others is pretty narrow? But… why do you sound like you know…?”

Amiability is bleeding back into Castile’s mood with the hallway growing softer.

“Know you? There’s only one way I could know you…”

“BOSH! Shtop, being nice to Rooshter…!”

Toward this unapproachable paragon Adris extends his hand, causing Kol to sputter as the giant of a slayer slowly closes to reach for it.

“Huh… wait, you are…?”

“Only, make, more annoying!”

(Wrong! I’ll make him…!)

A large hand clasps his own as Adris shares the important bond that will connect them for forever.

“I’m who I always have been: Castile’s only brother!”

“NAH…!? Wha!?”

Shocking as it is to yell that out when a sloven, over-sexed girl is between two men who should oppose each other, a bond that Kol immediately chafes at becomes a bolt of current uniting two mentalities.

(SHIT!? That’s wild…!)

Memories of this seducer play through Adris’ mind, before a foreign presence tastes them. Their gripping hands burst free from the flow being too strong to keep together!

Shared willingly, whatever strange truths were drawn out quickly overfill Castile’s own thoughts. The man’s mouth hangs loosely open, while his gaze is distant.

The torrent of darkness briefly flaring up around them escapes into whispers and sighs, before the false light snuffed refills the gloomy hallway again.

“… I…!? Oh, right, it’s… You’re…?”

Adris waits for the truth to set him free, noting how the man grows even more human with each facial tic rediscovered.

“… Starr!? What are you even doing here!?”

Recognition forever changes their relationship, freeing Adris from potential warfare.

The Castile before him loses his domineering posture, falling back onto the balls of his feet as he takes up a friendly pose.

“The better question is: what are you doing here, Castile?”

“… Whoa, that is a good question!? Well, I’m… here for… Pink…?”

(Wake up, Castile!)

Lifelike now in a way that before was muted, Castile stares hard at the exposed kobold.

Before averting his eyes, a troubled expression forming as he squints.

“You know, Pink, you gotta learn the right time and place…”

“HAH!? ‘Eat shit’, Rooshter! Rooshter, wanted Kohl, too!? Gonna shay, don’t want, now!?”

A drunkard with arms flailing rails at the man, leaving the gentle giant only more troubled as he chuckles darkly.

“‘Obey her, say yes’? Why, this ignorant kid doesn’t do anything for me!? What’s going on…?”

Hands to his head now, craning back to dwell hard on the “rules” that Castile is bound to, the discord must be responsible for this cringing pain overtaking him.

(But you have genuineness, now! You can ignore them, like “Serras” did!)

“… [Maker]? [Unnatural Protean Manse]…!? Wait! That’s the place on the hill!?” Reality is harsh as Castile’s intellect fills in missing reasons. “I’ve got things I’m supposed to be doing!? Why am I up… here… ah…”

Taking in his body and the truths beneath, Castile’s teeth grit harshly.

“… Ah? That guy who owns it…? Shit… he… makes… dolls…”

Eyes full of anger shake, flicking to the matching pair of servant twins wearing Kestner’s colors.

“How? This unit… ignores commands?”

That same girl is suffering her own crisis, watching another like herself rebel.

(Learn from this pain…!)

“Bro—!”

“Castile’s” ego must be quite bruised, permanently devastated even. The unshakable man reaches for Adris, but then pulls away, something causing his hand to grow scared.

“… No, for me… you’d only be… Starr. Sorry.”

(I’m the one who’s sorry. For creating a situation where a fake like “you” would be born.)

Rubbing his hair while clicking his tongue, Castile looks more vulnerable than he ever has.

“… Right, I’m not your… ‘real’ brother. No reason to lie about—!”

“Shut up!” Unusual passion overtakes Adris, raising his voice before he grows softer. “… You, as long as your feelings are real, I don’t mind calling you my brother, too.”

To his credit, the older man refrains from disagreeing, regaining something of his lost smile at the statement.

(… It’s fine.)

“Rooshter…!? BOSH!? ‘Brother’!? Kohl, refuse!” The irate kobold is just as shocked as Castile, staring between the two with jealousy roasting inside. “Firsht, shitty corpshe!? Now… shitty ‘big butt hunter’!? Kohl, only learn from Rooshter, how he give up, everytime, for ‘nice female’!”

(Shut up, you drunken lecher!)

“So much is missing…?”

Memories that Kol has never heard are what the man needs to fully recover, leaving this Castile as a wreck without all that makes him real.

“I can’t… even… move away from Pink…!?”

Trying to exit from closeness, to give up on replacing Adris with himself, causes Castile to violently shake and return to her orbit.

(He doesn’t have enough [self] to throw off the commands! Then, remember the most important, definitely worst part about yourself!)

“Kol, Castile is not a womanizer.”

“‘BULLSHIT’!”

Finally losing her dignity, Kol grabs onto Adris’ vest and yanks hard, swinging the boy around and off balance.

“CALM DOWN!”

“Rooshter…! Mate, everythin’, move! ‘Romanshe’, ‘Lohve’, all Rooshter’s shitty reasons, shtupid! Always—!”

“He goes after tons of females, but he never half-asses it! It’s never a lie how he feels!”

(I don’t know what his “love” really is, but it’s a lot nobler than mine!)

“Plus, he only has… one female he can give his ‘perfect love’ to!”

(Even if she doesn’t deserve it! Even if he should be chopping her head off and burying the two pieces separately!)

“Castile… only loves the Alchemaster!”

“EVEN SHTUPIDER!”

At this statement and Kol’s retort, the air crisps. Thickens violently.

“AH!?”

Its truth buries itself into Castile’s “core”, freeing him from Kol as the man leaps back.

“RIGHT! How could I forget!? I even… learned her name, finally!”

Twirling in a state of pure reverie, Castile almost floats while coming to a window facing outside.

“When I arrive at the throne room…!”

His hand lifts longingly, pointing toward his goal.

In his view is the true dominating presence of Petripolis, towering over the gardens.

“I can finally announce myself with her true name tickling her ears! I…!”

Castile almost collapses, his hand falling uselessly to his side.

“I… will…?”

A deep sadness, one born of the feeling called “being betrayed”, burns on his skin.

“I’ll never see… her, in the perfect flesh.”

(I’m sorry!)

“Hell, I can’t leave this place… I’m not even real…? Only Pink is letting me…?”

(Kol’s core is giving you “life”, yes…)

Adris’ experiences on Xin all prove: the moment the aura flow ceases, this “Castile” will cease to exist. Drying up bit by bit until there’s nothing left.

(You don’t have what this other one does, and I don’t know why…!?)

“You’re still real—!”

Screaming past the source of Castile’s realness, Adris tries to intercede.

But…

“No, I’m not, bro.

I’m just a total fake!”

Tears are falling down Castile’s cheeks.

Pulling his bycock hat down doesn’t hide it.

“Even if I ever found the poetry to half-say what I… need to, I ain’t got the real mojo to make it work, anymore…”

Without a shred of dignity or masculine bravado, he’s just standing in sight of his goal while crying.

Sure that he’ll never reach it, now.

Because, even if he could, he’s not truly the man who decided on that goal in the first place.

“R-Rooshter…?”

Kol’s shock is the greatest, mewing at someone she’s likely fought beside.

A relationship Adris has yet to hear about has built up an image that is crumbling with Castile’s naked tears wiping out the foundations.

(I can’t fix this.)

Despite always looking like a warmongering barbarian in dress and effortlessly carrying others’ expectations on his shoulders with grace, Castile can only hide his mouth with a hand while staring at an unreachable paradise.

In his pain, he resembles a heartbroken kid more than Adris does most of the time.

(Shit! Falke Kestner… I’m gonna make you hurt—!)

Before Adris can try to find the words needed to salvage the situation, the great door behind them mechanically booms.

Its seal hisses as it swings open, one of the doors clattering as its mechanism encounters difficulty with the process.

(Worst timing!)

Into this curious situation full of poetic sadness, a lonely page harpy takes a few steps before jolting out of her absentmindedness by falling into a depression in the floor.

Spreading her wings out to steal balance, the random servant of Kestner sizes up all of the occupants…

She nearly flees at the sight of the deformed hallway’s current state of destruction.

Suffering both Adris and Kol’s combined energies, this location is now a sure sign of something terrible amiss, for the harpy is standing within a bowl carved into the floor.

(Fuck! If she escapes, then she’ll blabber to—!)

Before Adris can even move,

A man has already strode by him with great steps and sure purpose.

“—Intruder!? B-Back, get back!

‘W-W-We who call for the peace of roaring waves…!’”

Normally voiceless, the servant that is advanced on starts to whisper an incantation.

Pseudo aura winds around her as she calls forth moisture from the air…!

(Fuck! Get off me!)

Ready to throw Kol down, Adris is stopped by the cool response to a woman’s aggression.

Instead of drawing a gun, a shaking hand lifts toward this threat with an exposed body and luscious qualities.

“Could you make it… stop hurting, with that pretty song you’re singing?”

A troubled voice, full of pain but also a man’s natural strength, begs for release from an enemy.

“Set me free from this…?”

“‘… in place of—!’ Huh!? Free!?”

The harpy’s wings fold in as she calms, questions coming out instead of threats. When she tilts her head, and looks Castile up and down with unseen eyes, her body twists with a new interest.

“… Oh…? Wait… why are you crying…!?”

Rather than outrage, feminine gentleness overloads her prior concerns. The spell’s chant forgotten, the energies she called for vanish as she taps forward on avian legs.

Instead of responding, Castile merely turns to stare longingly at Adris and Kol.

His visible impression of loss grows, body language conveying the terrible cruelty of a boy embracing a girl with white fur who he sought…

(Why is this suddenly my fault!? No…? You’re…!)

Rather than betraying Adris or letting the boy’s presence become shared, Castile is…

“How can I live… having lost… everything I love?”

“L-L-Love!?”

The harpy darts her head around the man again, staring at Kol.

(Oh! OOOOH!)

Catching on instantly, Adris’ face becomes a hedonistic mask of total debauchery and allure. To the guest that is still riding him, he “whispers” an invitation.

“… The honored guest desired to continue with this servant in place of the other, yes? Because the guest only desires this servant?”

“HMM!? Nah? … Oh!? Wanna, definitely…!”

Though his member is completely soft and only being warmly crushed by the passage it remains within, new animus from that hole sends white droplets squirting to the floor past Adris’ seal on the entrance.

“MMM! Kohl, very much… want more…! Rooshter… can go… somewhere elshe! Kohl, found… Kohl, wants!”

(You’re… deadly…!)

All care for Castile vanishes from Kol’s brain when it starts to reheat with thoughts of mating, leaving the girl licking her lips and waiting impatiently for Adris to start.

In response to being abandoned, Castile visibly sags.

Nearly tumbling forward onto her, he’s saved when the harpy that was staring leaps quickly into action.

“SIR!?”

“… Am I… lacking… qualities to be loved…!?”

“How could you!?” Shrill when she shouts, the servant collects herself while staring hidden daggers past Castile. Kol is the focus rather than Adris. “You’re so… very handsome…! For a woman to… miss falling for you is…”

(I am only the servant in this tryst! Kol is the perpetrator! Oh, that’s… a good idea, my brother…!)

To play up the new role with Kol, Adris leans in and “whispers” once more.

“Does the guest so dearly enjoy having her way, denying all others what they want…?”

“KAKAKA! Kohl… veeeeery mush likes…~!”

Kol’s tail dances playfully while she rubs her head on Adris, her sopping hole only gaining fresh lubrication as her pulse intensifies.

With her back toward Castile, he’s not even a part of Kol’s world now.

(Good! That was it!)

Livid hatred lies under hanging cloth.

Ever unseen, page harpies are still people.

If you show them something so volatile, their hearts may be moved, too.

“… This honored guest is a wonderful specimen of a man!”

“Is that true…?” Neediness Adris has never heard from a man laces Castile’s sad plea for validation. “Please… tell me that… I’m not… worthless?”

Like an arc of pure pleasure, his plea grounds in the harpy that wraps her wings around the tall man. Folding up around him like a protective mother, the smaller woman’s spine stiffens as she keeps cooing.

“… Never worthless… a fine man! Grandmother says that my tea is very calming… would you, allow me to… calm you?”

“… Ah, I… don’t know…?”

“Please! Let me… serve you, take your mind from any— no, all the pain.”

(Your eyes can read a lot, can they?)

Nothing like this woman’s sudden fascination would’ve been predicted by Adris’ senses or experience. Though all page harpies appear to be loose like the monsters of Zennia are, this woman’s response isn’t sexually charged.

Instead, she only floats with a nurturing aura while enticing Castile away, offering him a black wing to be gripped.

But for Kol, an undying enmity is blazing.

“… Hateful, retarded mutt, overlooking a wonderful catch!”

A slanderous hiss that doesn’t bring any reaction from Castile must be in another language, because Kol just keeps rubbing against Adris instead of pounding the harpy’s face in.

Only the most quiet spectator in the hallway stumbles back, shaken by the vile utterance and whispering very quietly.

“A servant… insulting… a guest…? That’s… illegal…”

(Servants have feelings, too. They have expectations. And, mostly, a sense of pride.)

This is a wonderful lesson for Adris’ student, as well.

For that student’s simple world is becoming more complex as her “rules” fail to explain the manse she exalts, leaving her unable to explain what she should be doing to correct deficiencies discovered.

“There are wonderful rooms available to relax in, so please follow me, sir. I will pour tea for you and… hear you out, okay?”

“… Thank you! Just… thanks…? My name is… Castile.” Uncertain to the end, “Is it okay, if it’s you… to ask for your…?”

A “man who has lost his true love and been destroyed by betrayal” showing hesitation toward a woman, but then giving in “if it’s her”, causes the harpy to nearly vibrate with satisfaction at her improper request being accepted.

“Y-Yes, of course! My… my name is… Esira…!” Naming herself, despite a nameless servant doing so being a commission of a cardinal sin, leaves the harpy sounding only pleased.

“Please let me pamper you a lot, okay~?”

“Thank… you. Please… take me from here…”

(“A motherly type”? Can Castile read more than just names and what sort of monster…?)

A full scale passive assault completely melts the rushed harpy’s heart, combining the winning charm of a handsome man with the strange contradiction of a damaged heart inviting a woman to fall for an ill-confident mood, despite confidence usually being required to attract others.

(Damn, he is… effortlessly smoother than I am! He turned hatred of Kol into an inroad for his own seduction, letting the victim get back at her attacker by openly stealing away a better man?)

If Castile wished it, with only a single stuttering request he could be balls deep within this charming hostess who has taken him under her wing. And not just for lust’s sake, but for more, given how she instantly cherishes his company as the inoffensive Castile timidly pats the back of his head.

A forced smile “for this kind woman’s sake” cements the “setting”.

(… Maybe I should take lessons from him?)

“Lesser servant, one ‘turn’.”

“Geh!?”

(But, opportunities, first!)

Adris’ powerful, but unobtrusive, tone that brokers no refusal causes the harpy to flinch and fall in at attention.

“… Y-Yes, um… [Representative of the Maker]?”

A powerful title and suitable reverence bolsters Adris’ audacity.

(You will always respect me!)

Rubbing Kol’s body, feeling up the huffing kobold as he talks to this harpy, Adris has a passive smile that declares “I am only doing my job”.

“This honored guest wishes to travel to a specified place after cleansing herself. Share knowledge of the current location of a suitable basin room and also the destination key for the gateway which arrives at the harpies’ roost with the least effort.”

“… Deranged firebug, looking to finish us off…!?

Ah, yes…”

(They all definitely remember who Kol is.)

The hatred that the harpy exudes is special!

And, it becomes Adris’ newest fascination.

A plan is forming in mere moments to take advantage of it…

“Certainly I will provide that, Representative!

It’s…!”

While learning a couple useful pieces of information, Adris resumes his calculations.

The role that he slipped out of becomes his true skin once more, earning a strange look from Kol as she listens to the odd conversation transpire.

(Now, I need to make Kol understand…)

Unable to share goodbyes, Adris nods to this “brother” that he might never see again.

Castile’s eyes regain their glow upon noticing. He gives a wink before resuming his interference, vanishing into the gateway with wonderful company as it closes again…

(I can be scum sometimes, but screwing with people’s lives like this is truly evil! Pilfering memories, emotions, dreams, their very truths to re-mold them!?)

What “Serras” suffered was already too much.

Now, the punishment will be doubled.

(I’ll make him pay for both of us, Castile!)

Cold droplets coat the tiles on the floor, launched by an energetic kobold who has her head stuck into a basin.

“PFAH! Mmm, tastes good!”

Wiping her face off with her arm fur, Kol sticks her hands back in to swish them around.

(Good, she’s distracted.)

“… Why would brother provide service to a guest in place of a servant?”

“Because this guest chose me? It’s an interesting question…”

Watching Kol play are two overseers, with one undressing to join in. Being close to a girl as excitable as his champion has left Adris’ body and clothing soaked in her smells.

(The answer is: I need to talk alone. But, let’s rile you up?)

Adris’ expression is muted, but inquisitive. He seems just as unknowing as his “sister” of the answer, yet has more of a clue.

“Why are… any of us serving a guest like this one?”

“What? We…”

Immediately responding, the doll stops and examines Kol once more.

In place of proper bathing etiquette, a kobold is stripping free of her soiled clothes to dunk them into the basin full of once purified water.

“… Are there categories of ‘guest’? Do they deserve different behavior? Information for this, is not available.”

“I feel the same way. But, she asked for me and seems to not have warmed up to your presence yet, so perhaps ‘master’ and ‘servant’ require time to properly relate to each other?”

Showing full diligence as she considers this, the girl wearing a white mask nods once.

“I will clean your soiled clothing.”

“Ah, a question.”

Turning back after a few steps, this strange doll tilts her head in a less mechanical way.

“I will comply?”

“… How did you know that Cas—

No, that that man was a ‘unit’?”

(I’d anticipated that this doll’s efforts to make me blend in would be foolproof, but why was Castile obvious to you but not the harpy?)

“Strange question? The unit’s nature was obvious because its link to the guest existed.”

“You can… intuit this easily?”

(I couldn’t feel the aura link until I was right on top of Kol!)

“Yes. Brother’s nature as a guest is unnoticed because an alternate ‘tell’ is being replicated by this— by me, making us appear to be a single-core unit operating in physical tandem.”

“I see. You’re able to distinguish who everyone is in the manse?”

“Immediately so.”

“Oh, fortunate for us, as it lets us learn our roles without worrying about appearing out of place with each encounter. Then, leave this guest to me.”

A quick conversation leaves the doll appearing satisfied, until she fidgets once with her hands and then resumes.

“… Why would you choose the guest to handle your sexual needs as opposed to… me?”

Brushing through her hair once, despite it being shorter she is still brutally attractive enough to cause Adris to startle once she displays her appeal so openly.

“Am I not… suitable?”

(That’s…! That’s a very… delicate question.)

No matter her worthwhile qualities or dissatisfaction at being passed up, Adris doesn’t shiver with anticipation or grow heated thinking about her, even while tapping his pantaloons to come to life and jump from his legs.

Folding them carefully on a table for cleaning as he resents the air’s coldness on his hanging balls, Adris comes to his answer while she appraises his form.

“A servant exists to serve a guest, but a guest may not desire the servant for every task? Hoh, isn’t the better question this one: shouldn’t the servant be interested in accomplishing the task before being expected to carry it out effectively?”

“What does the servant’s willingness have to do with accomplishing a task?”

(Everything! True servants aren’t slaves! They choose to work, receiving…)

Shaking his head, Adris lets this conversation die off.

Another time exists for its fullest attention.

“I believe that the qualities that will… propel you to the height of your professional capabilities will be showcased by the lesser servants.”

“Despite them being lesser, they—?”

(Shut up! Leave some mystery to snare you with!)

“Lesser doesn’t mean useless!”

Against the wall is where Adris corners her, entrapping a talkative little sister between his outstretched arms.

“… Okay…?”

Though emotionless, the moment Adris acts with apparent importance he receives a higher state of her awareness. This doll is truly seeing him as an example, no matter how he might’ve frustrated her earlier.

“The place for servants is one where they receive instructions when appropriate. I chose her because… I do not choose you for the task of ‘pleasure’.”

“Is… it… because I am…?”

Nearly blanking on the word, the noble child’s voice finally hisses it out.

“Inferior?”

“No! Not all tasks exist to be carried out by all servants for the same masters!”

(I don’t need you for it, and I’m not going to ruin the relationship we’re making!)

This doll is a weapon.

The more she develops, the stronger the effect.

Even now, she seems more human than at any point before.

(Why is “a true life” the key to ruining Falke? Who knows! We have to find out, soon!)

Running his hand through her hair, he lets it fall through his fingers.

“… ‘Servants have pride’. I believe this is essential for… peak efficiency. If you are not ‘loved’ by someone who fits with you, you will be debased.”

“‘Debased’?”

“Damaged. I value you… because our relationship develops in its own way, free of expectations. Isn’t it fine if we keep that?”

“… Yes. I don’t understand, but if it pleases you, then I am fulfilled.

Then…?”

Adris points after pulling away from this fierce personal contact, earning a curt nod from the shorter girl before she takes his pantaloons to clean in another alcove.

(Castile became “realer”, while this girl grows assertive? Needy? I both love and hate this power I have over others…)

Just like his effect on four delvers, a doll is falling into the influence of a now naked Adris. He flings away the noose that unties itself too slowly from his neck. Having such an impact on so many people, he can only grin and accept his influence.

(It comes with benefits~!)

He slips up behind a Kol who is bent over the basin, letting his eager hand run down her scaled tail.

“NAH!? TOO MUSH!?”

“Kuh!?”

That tail whips free before slamming into his arm with such force that it knocks his balance fully onto his other foot.

(Why are you as sturdy as masonry, but as cracked as ice!?)

“Kol?”

“Huuuuh… Boss…”

Into the water she dunks her head again, drinking loudly before pulling back out. With a tired grin, Kol grumbles. “Mmmm… Kol, feels kinda bad, a bit.”

Still leaking small droplets from her tight entryway, the party’s bruiser also sounds like she’s nursing a sick stomach.

(With what you probably drank, you should be dead!)

But now isn’t the time to reproach her affection for alcohol, either.

Instead, Adris leans closer and applies cleansing powder to the water, dipping his hands into the foam and then placing them between Kol’s thighs.

“OOOH! OH! Boss…~!”

“Pretend that you’re just enjoying yourself.”

Though she no doubt is as Adris runs his fingers over her messy folds and wipes the grime of their lovemaking away, Kol also tenses up when whispered to.

“We have little time to talk, and so I need you to quickly understand what I need.”

“Mmm…? Boss is… involving Kol…!?”

(Involving?)

Kol responds by sidling up to Adris, rubbing her body on his as he continues cleaning.

“Boss, always… ignore Kol, in plan… but, Kol… Boss is Kol’s teacher!”

“Just stay quiet about it…! But…”

(As I feared… does she… see me the same way that Serras did, in how I act around others?)

The thought of Kol being scared of Adris, of doubting and mistrusting his very existence to its roots, puts a block in his throat.

Swallowing is only possible if he’s sure that he hasn’t…

“Kol… though I am certainly a strong existence, and also one that you cannot possibly comprehend fully… do I… mistakenly instill dread in you about my designs, as well?”

“Hmmm?”

More confused than put off, Kol leans over and looks up into Adris’ face.

“… Kakaka! Kol… not scared, Boss!”

She’s all smiles though, instead playing with the bubbles that skate on the water’s surface.

(Good! Excellent…)

With his worst expectations proving pointless, Adris’ hands grow bolder in feeling up the girl’s figure. From thighs, to stomach, to breasts as she yawns, and even to her fur which grows coarser when wet…

(More than just how she looks, I’m sure now: Kol has that quality Serras had that I don’t.)

Able to take others’ opinions in stride without it even changing her own self-respect or image, Kol also doesn’t easily fear the unknown. She only turns her nose up at the thought, looking forward to confrontations that lack details for victory.

Adris turns from the uncertain, while this white devil plunges in head first.

(I need someone to motivate me.)

“It’s good that you don’t fear me, Kol. After all, though others might, and for excellent reason… I am here to deliver the world to you four.”

Shivering with how he whispers it into her flicking ear, Kol grins wider and nods aggressively.

“Umu! Kol, remember! But, not important what Boss, here to do. Deciding if Kol should ‘be afraid’ of Boss, right? Useless, useless!”

“What do you mean?”

(Are you so used to dangers like me that they don’t bother you anymore? That’s pretty resilient…)

With her body thoroughly scrubbed, Adris dumps a pail of water over her to remove the lather.

“Kakaka! Feel good~! Hmmm, well, Boss, asking if Kol would ‘be scared’?”

“If you’re not scared of me, then there’s no—”

“Kol, never scared. Never feel, ‘fear’.”

As easy as saying what she wants to eat, the kobold says something profoundly dangerous right before she shakes herself to fling water all over Adris.

(Never… feel…?)

Whipping open a towel and hugging it around her, Adris’ face isn’t one he wants to show.

“Hmm!? Boss, hugging Kol, weird.”

“… You never feel fear?”

“Kol, said that! Ah, since, big monster in Castillo, Kol never once, feel ‘afraid’.”

Without a shred of pride or boasting, she just lays out a terrible problem and thinks nothing of its implications.

(That’s why she’s so… forceful and troubling!?)

“But, you refuse to fight things that are better than you, with no hope of winning without my power…?”

“Kakaka! Well, Kol, remembers what fear feels like? If someone, something, really stronger than Kol is, that’s when Kol thinks ‘probably a bad idea’, so then Kol doesn’t do it.”

(… That’s why she’s never cautious of anything “new” if it doesn’t remind of an older experience?)

The reason why Kol had never been afraid of Adris in the Castillo, despite all of his allusions and demonstrations, can be explained by her simply being incapable of bothering to be.

If a great entity offers you power for the first time in your life, then you need only make calculations of potential gain and loss absent niggling fears of painful repercussions.

“Nnn? Boss, keeps rubbing Kol’s head…! Not bad, but…”

“Then, at the threat of… a ‘male’ claiming you for himself, even if you don’t wish it…?”

(You’re not afraid of being… claimed? Then why is it you get…)

“Ah, Kol, can’t say? Always feel weird, when ‘male’ does something forceful to Kol and gets away with it? Really strange… but, you know…!”

Her claws rub on Adris’ legs, scratching at bare skin while she excites.

“If it’s Boss… that ‘rapes’ Kol, everything only feels way better!”

“Guh!? That…!”

(It wasn’t… intended to be…!)

“Mmm, Kol, never been ‘taken’, so first time, even though watched it before…! So, Kol, happy that Boss did it instead of Swordbird, because Kol finally understands, and wants to feel again, when ‘male’ force ‘female’ until it rips in—!”

“Stop!”

“Nah…?”

(That’s a bad kind of expectation! I don’t…)

“… Let’s… talk about… pleasure later.”

“Hmm? Why? Kol… enjoyed…?”

While the miffed kobold patiently lets a boy barely taller than her stroke her head, it’s impossible for her to comprehend how important Adris’ next decisions will be.

(She needs more sense of self… and especially dignity.)

“How does Neesiette carry out your lessons, Kol?”

“AH? Moon… well, kinda annoying…!”

Kol pulls away to finish drying her skin with a bunch of towels, draping them like she’s trying to mummify her body.

“Tell Kol what to do, always, but not why!? Or when why, never how!? Very difficult!”

(Because she’s someone who lives by the idea of “doing what is required” without bothering with “why”. Neesiette is a servile person at her core, so she can’t unite “purpose” with “action”.)

Such a person is ill-equipped to properly train Kol in the workings of the world.

Though he might come to regret his choice, Adris made a promise to Still that he intends to carry out.

“Oh!? Tap Kol, why…?”

Around her back, a tunic is laid so that it can redress itself with ghostly movements.

“Hm? Put clothes on Kol? Boss, being nice today~?”

“… It’s only correct that the master should care for his [disciple] (STUDENT OF AURA).”

“Tha—? NAH!? KOL IS!?”

(Neesiette cannot prepare the world ready for Kol. Only I can.)

Kol lunges for Adris’ chest, wrapping arms around his bare skin and staring up eagerly into his face.

“Kol, get Boss, as teacher!? Full!?”

“… There are rules and a test for this! Calm down.”

“Test!? What…?”

Placed on her knees, Kol’s thick eyebrows droop with the uncomfortable position. An often energetic tail whips only a couple of times, twitching in uncertainty.

Before her Adris finishes dressing, adopting his full wardrobe sans his pantaloons.

“Even if a student is worthy by talent, they cannot be accepted if they fail to adopt the right mentality.”

“But!? Kol, always listen, pay attention, to Boss!”

(Only to obtain what you want, and only what you want.)

Gravitas is difficult to maintain within a basin room, leaving Adris wishing that more time existed to mold Kol’s expectations and thoughts to his designs.

“Soon we will have to act for the sake of Neesiette. My plan will require absolute obedience and perfect fulfillment of your role, Kol.”

Adjusting his sleeves, he lets that sink in before continuing, noting how Kol’s eyes grow fierce at the mention of “acting for Neesiette”.

“I have three rules, which you must abide by always, both for your test and if you are chosen to be my disciple.”

“Mmm… Kol, listening…”

(But will you grasp how to impress me with your obedience?)

Discipleships on Xin, from Adris’ readings and exposure to others’ partnerships, were as much wars of the spirit as they were teaching initiatives.

He can feel that truth standing over this kobold. A girl who has already awakened to her aura, even if she cannot control it, instinctively asserts herself even before one who has beaten her multiple times and been sworn her oath to serve.

As he looms imposingly, her gut boils with the will to not be beaten down further.

Faint wisps of darkness circulate around both of them, flickering with their mental struggle.

“The first rule is thus: obey my instructions without question or interruption, seeking not to inquire as to the reasons for carrying them out, but instead trusting that they are just. Only after you have completed all tasks may you come to me to ask, and only if you bring what you believe the justification is for each task before seeking clarity.”

(I must curtail how you constantly interfere with my plans by needing an explanation for “WHY?”!)

“Nngh!?” Immediately, Kol’s claws stretch out. She strains while kneeling, clamping her jaws tight to each other to prevent further outburst. “Nnn…”

When her disobedient spirit succumbs, Adris grins slightly, offering her a nod of approval.

(Excellent! You obey right away, awaiting the rest of my instructions without interfering! Impressive, I am… happy with you.)

“The second rule is thus: never believe what others tell you about yourself or the world that you perceive, and never carry out the instructions of others without first understanding what they attempt to achieve by utilizing you, and especially what you stand to possibly gain or lose by aiding them.”

(YOU ARE AN IDIOT WHO CONSTANTLY ACTS BEFORE THINKING! Quit it! Understand the world around you and your impact before you act!)

Adris finishes this order with as much severity as he can convey, for this rule is perhaps even more important than its predecessor.

Immediately, Kol begins rocking in place, her face straining as her mind begins to boil with questions.

(Right, you see the issue? Then…)

“I allow you to ask your question—”

“HOW CAN KOl, DO BOTH THINGS AT ONCE!?”

Roaring loudly enough to draw the doll’s attention, her exasperation earns Adris’ hand dropping onto her skull.

“GAH!?”

The subtle qualities of Adris’ muscle movements transfer sufficient pain, despite Kol normally being uncaring of it.

“… Why, hit Kol…?”

“Do not scream when subterfuge is required.”

A finger to his lips brings only confusion from his prospective student. She keeps moving between him and the direction of the doll, before asking quietly the important question.

“Is Boss… carrying out plan, right now?”

“Everything I do serves a purpose and works toward a proper goal, because I obey this second rule in my own life, Kol.”

“Then… ‘goop’ is…?”

“She’s not a ‘goop’. You will be working closely with her when we depart. Make certain that you understand what motivates her and that she comes to see you as an example of a resolute figure of change.”

“Umu…”

(Kol is going to be the catalyst for this doll’s future rebirth.)

Not quite sure of all the details, Adris is certain that the animus both kobold and doll are motivated by is tied to “pride”. This virtue and vice will serve as a common starting point for them to grow closer, Adris thinks while stroking his chin.

“The first and second rule work together because I am an exception. You have come to me for instruction because you think I am both wise and powerful, correct?”

“UMU! Boss, both! Kol… very much wants to be the same…”

Naked ambition is unseemly for any aura disciple, but in the case of Kol’s chosen tutor, it’s definitely…

(Ambition is a virtue, not a vice! Besides, your ambition will blind you to what I instill in you… Hahahaha!)

“Then my worth is already obvious to you, and thus you should never need to question anything that I do.”

Having Kol on her knees is already a pleasant status quo shift.

“Nnn!? Boss… annoying~.”

Unable to revolt, she has to put up with his hand combing through her white hair and down her cheek, scratching under her chin.

“Rubbing Kol… also needed…?

(Just like I did with Serras, your very essence will be guided by me! I will remold you into a useful…!)

His hand freezes, causing the girl to tilt her head.

“Mmm… Boss, not gonna…?”

Toward her furry ear is where she guides his hand by nudging.

(… comrade.)

Even if the need to contain her, to stomp her down and prevent her from ever fleeing is so strong…!

Turning this wild child into a new lethal weapon, one that’s also subservient to Adris’ touches, is a terrifying attraction that he blames on how much closer they’re coming physically to each other.

(Even though nothing changes otherwise…? I’m not a man who doesn’t learn from his mistakes. I’ll reshape her in a positive way~!)

After all, this wolfish girl only needs to have her edges lopped off with a pickaxe.

Sanded down by hours of hard labor, she’ll become a perfect sculpture of a resolute aura warlord, standing above the meager talents and pointing the way to the pinnacle of strength!

(No, not a warlord, an aura knight! … I’m not sure why “tyrant knight” was chosen for you, but let’s fix that with time…)

With two rules down, the last will bind her not just to him, but also to…

(What do knights do again?)

Adris had asked both Ave and Neesiette, but their answers were dissimilar.

“That’s easy! They’re champions of princesses~! Protectors of the common folk! Crusaders of what is good and just! And brave to a fault, their only vices being that they can never fully meet the expectations of chivalry that they aspire to~!”

Said one, while the other…

“Hearing the word spoken, ‘retainer’ be adequate to correctly summarize the duties of a knight. ‘To serve the one found in allegiance to with martial pride and skill’, this be, despite minor differences, the summary of such a title’s responsibilities.”

(Sounds like Kol.)

“My third rule is simple: whatever you gain from my tutelage, you must devote it to protecting and encouraging the other three to follow in your footsteps, becoming a true exemplar of a knight in all aspects and owing fealty solely to this party.”

“Hmmmm….?”

The last rule seems to produce the most inner turmoil, judging by how Kol’s fangs poke out and she narrows her eyes, looking off into the unknown.

“… Kol, has to be… Puddle’s knight!?”

(Ah, no, that’d be insane.)

“No, to be more precise, she would serve the same role as you, so you’d be competing to prove that you’re better than—”

“AGREEEEEEE!”

Bowing low to the floor, Kol’s tail wags as she pledges herself.

“Kol fehl Dain, agrees to the rules! Will prove, that Kol, can become a ‘disciple’!”

“… Hoh, certainly.”

(I forgot, this is still…)

“Kakaka! Great! Kol, finally get closer to Boss?”

As if all ceremony is finished, Kol leaps up from her knees and wraps up Adris, almost carrying him up into her arms as the boy plants his hand on her face to resist.

“What!? We’ve… always been close—!?”

“Not true! Kol, get so many things, in one ‘short’!?”

(What things!?)

“Umu, but, Kol think that Boss shouldn’t tell others, that Kol, became ‘Boss’ woman’?”

The kobold is now almost cradling him, her womanly voice growing serious as she squeezes.

“… Kaka… Kol, doesn’t think, they’ll understand, also, because Kol becomes a ‘disciple’ at the same time~.”

(… SHIT! SHIIIIT!?)

Everything Adris yelled, when overwhelmed by putrid feelings of almost losing this girl to another’s touch.

The desperation that he dropped into, that neediness that murdered his better judgment and left him spouting stupid orders to Kol while ramming her warmth against a door.

(Oh!? Why, why did I say even half of that!? Especially to this idiot who not only misunderstands, but never forgets anything I say…!?)

“Kol, doesn’t understand what it means to be, someone’s ‘woman’, but… Kol will learn.”

“No, you’re… not grasping what I was trying—!”

“Because, kobolds don’t have ‘women’ or ‘men’, just different ‘things’? Also… Boss, wants to…”

(… No, no, no, that was…!)

Already following her thoughts, Adris recalls the last proclamation he made in the grip of lustful insanity.

“… A cub, with Kol, kind of weird… because kobolds don’t have what Elf called ‘family’.”

“I… I don’t think… you need to worry about—!”

“Hey, Boss… kobolds, the whole tribe is family. ‘Children’, ‘marriage’, ‘bloodline’, all of these, don’t make sense to Kol? Boss, explain?”

Soft with these questions, but filled with childish exuberance, a knight that coats her armor with the gore of her enemies the moment a challenge is issued seems uncertain how to proceed with Adris.

“… I…?”

(Am I… even the right person to look to for answers for that?)

Family?

Children?

A sense of continuity of one’s life… of things left after death?

(… I’ve only ever left… impressions through my “work”.)

“… Those aren’t topics that can be explained in one day.”

“Umu! Kol, also feels that way… which is why… Kol happy, that Kol Boss’ favorite of everyone!”

(What!?)

At the basin, Kol drops Adris, then starts to fish out her clothing and wring it.

“Boss, finally opened up! Just like Moon said, wait for!”

“… I did what…? No, she said?”

“Moon said, ‘Boss, have lot on mind. New world, new everything. Leave alone, let him, come to you!’ Kol, didn’t understand, but now… doesn’t matter!”

(No, it very much matters!)

“They came clean.”

Into the alcove marches a cleaning doll, carrying perfectly dry pants that leap to life and jog up to Adris.

They cinch up around his legs while the boy that’s watching lets his mind wander, the kobold beside him still yapping.

“Lots of stuff, Kol wants to talk about! Finally, Boss, open to Kol!”

“You weren’t… you were trying to ‘not bother me’ before now?”

(That was Kol when she was being considerate…?)

“UMU! Kol…”

Still damp pantaloons and a tight vest strap over Kol after the kobold pinches them with sharp claws until the wriggling clothing animates.

Looking mildly ridiculous with her fur still dripping along with her clothing, the “knight and disciple of a false god” huddles next to Adris.

Stealing his body heat.

“Has a lot to talk about! Fighting! Weapons! Ways of doing things, how rich do! But also, about the stone city!”

“I see…”

“Umu! Lots of things, to do! Kol, hasn’t been inviting Boss out for stuff Kol does!”

“But we do— AH!?”

Kol steals Adris’ arm, joining together as the other member of this plot is gawking at the familiarity blossoming between “guests”.

“Does… brother know this guest, before this day…?”

(Yes!? But, not as aggressively as…!)

“Females! Kol thinks that Boss’ taste, interesting~! Like, the one there!”

“… Pardon?”

When pointed at, the doll steps back, her hands searching her uniform for imperfections.

“Really cute~! But, strong look…!”

A boisterous pervert’s eyes narrow in the same way they did when eying her own species in the Castillo after victory. Full of possessiveness and amusement is her whispered question that causes Adris’ throat to close up in shock.

“… Boss, mate yet…~? Any good~? Kol… wants to watch, see Boss, claim more good ‘females’, look like the ‘man’ Kol belongs to…!”

The kobold nearly climbs on top of him while hugging, whispering in an obnoxiously heavy way as she appears to fantasize about his prowess.

“Boss… gonna show Kol, give more ‘lessons’…?”

(Just… just how familiar are you gonna get!? You… want me to stray!? Wait… I’m not even in a relationship with you…!)

Before he can even explain her part in this plan or the necessity of their timetable, a rowdy “disciple” who’s already been sated sexually is lining up conquests for her “master”.

(I mean, I sort of am… already with you, and the others…?)

“Please… maintain… distance…”

The kobold yanks on Adris, dragging him into a chase after the doll that eventually fails to escape being hugged by Kol’s other arm.

“Kakaka! Kol likes… being ‘Boss’ woman’, already~!”

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Chapter 111         Table of Contents          Chapter 113