Bad Kitty

Getting dungeons squared off is a pretty big bonus to my confidence level right now. Not that Taskmaster has a meter that shows me any such metrics; I just feel grand.

I’m sure that given my luck, it’ll come back to bite me in the ass somehow, and I already know I won’t have any time to prepare for it before it happens. Luxy is just going to drop it on us someday in the future when it makes sense to her. While I don’t entirely trust her judgment regarding when that might be, it’s hard to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Dungeons mean formidable enemies for the girls to train against, magical artifacts to power them up, and lots of treasure free for the taking. It’s hard not to be excited, especially knowing that my adventurers are just going to donate the treasure to the Guild. It’ll give us money for use on renovations and other things we need.

Gods, I love not having to pay my employees...

Speaking of things we need, we might need to take a day or two to prepare a stock of useful dungeon necessities. I think I have some standard-issue dungeoneering packs the girls could use in a storage room somewhere, but we’ll need to fill them ourselves. They’re handy bags that the Association offers to Guilds at a decently high price. 

Luckily, back in his day, Grandpa invested in picking up many of them. He was an asshole, sure, but he did what he could to make sure his adventurers came back home alive.

These bags are made of magically enhanced leather that is resistant to most types of physical damage and magical and elemental, too. The main selling point is you could fall on top of one, and it won’t crush the potion bottles you have stashed away inside.

We still have a large stash of stamina potions from what Opalina gave us to facilitate Nikita’s training. Zutiria could likely brew up a batch of healing potions if we all gather the herbs together, too.

I’m a bit worried about mana potions, though.

Dewhurst is suffering from an addiction crisis regarding the stuff. More specifically, the main ingredient.

A mana potion is made of mana crystals, essentially just natural formations of mana found in magically dense areas. When appropriately prepared and distilled into a liquid via alchemy, these crystals can be drunk to restore one’s pool of mana. Thus the potions allow the drinker to cast more spells than they typically could, without having to wait for their mana to replenish naturally.

However, when a non-magic-user drinks a mana potion, the world goes crazy. The drinker’s mind becomes ‘opened’ and ‘enlightened’. Once it settles into their body, the raw mana just leaks out in unpredictable ways until fully drained.

If it doesn’t kill you after the first couple of times, you’ll gain resistance as well as an addiction to the stuff. So, where does an addict go from there? They start crushing the crystals and inhaling, smoking, or eating the powder. It hits much harder because obviously, there’s a reason the alchemists specifically make a point of diluting the damn potions. You aren’t supposed to snort concentrated mana up your nose.

Why does that sound like a good idea to fucking anybody?

My main concern is that even if Zutiria could brew herself some mana potions, the ingredient stock in this town is most likely tainted. Pure mana crystals are ridiculously expensive because the addicts will pay almost any price for them. Instead, smaller ones get sold on the streets, ones of lesser purities, or ones that have been tampered with by adding unnecessary ingredients.

Thanks to the additives, these tainted crystals are more addictive than pure ones. Even a Mage like Zutiria could become addicted if she were to drink potions made through such nefarious means. Unless the mana crystal addiction on the streets of Dewhurst is dealt with, it's just not possible to send Zutiria on any quests with mana potions.

Sure, she could use the Warp Stone network to travel back to Imperalis or elsewhere, but because of the crisis, they don’t just sell them to anyone who asks. If Opalina were in town, I’d assume she’d be able to help us acquire some pure crystals, so I’m afraid we’ll just have no choice but to wait for her to return.

After the talk with Luxy, Meri and I rejoined the kitties in the entrance hall. Things went ok today as far as cleaning went. Not good, not terrible. If I’m generous, I’d say that about a third of the hall was cleaned today. That’s a bit of a stretch, though.

I ask Meri to give me some alone time with the maids to discuss how the day went, and she agrees despite being worried about them being left alone with my scent.

“Please... please don’t take me back, nyaa...” Peri begins shaking as soon as I sit down at one of the recently cleaned dining tables to talk with the two of them about the day. “I’ll work faster. I promise I will. So please...”

“No, it’s my fault!” Cherry bites her lip and hangs her head from the growing sense of shame building up within her. “If you’re going to punish anyone, punish me...”

“Girls, girls. Easy. I’m not punishing anyone.”

The two Catfolk maids look at each other and then at me, unsure what to think of this. “You’re not? Really?” Peri asks.

“Of course not. You did about as well as I expected you would do, maybe even a little bit better. Today was a test. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting you to handle cleaning this entire room by yourselves.” As Peri begins to perk up from hearing my words, I reach out and offer my hand to her, which she then starts rubbing her head all over.

Cherry stares curiously until I offer her the chance to do the same to my other hand. Quickly enough, the bratty maid starts cuddling up to it, and I pet them respectfully. “You did well. Good girls.”

“Thank you, Myaster...” Peri purrs.

“I... I don’t wanna ruin this for Peri.” Cherry states, barely able to contain herself from joining Peri in purring.

“And what about you?” I ask seriously.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I was just wondering. Have you given any more thought as to what your perfect master might be like?” Smiling warmly, I look to the pink-haired Catfolk maid and watch her begin to blush fiercely.

“Uh. Kinda. I guess... someone like you wouldn’t be so bad, nyaa...” Cherry cranes her neck away from me out of embarrassment, only for it to double when Peri pulls away from my hand to yank Cherry into her busty chest.

“Thank you for trying so hard for me...” She purrs. “I didn’t want to be mad at you. I didn’t... it’s just that after everything we’ve been through, you know...”

Cherry looks into Peri’s eyes and holds back a tear. “I know, nyaa... It’s my fault for never letting us have a real chance.”

“No... we wouldn’t even be here today if it weren’t for everything you’ve done to protect us...”

“It sounds like you two have been through quite a lot together.”

Cherry nods before keeping her eyes fixated on the floor below. “That’s one way to put it.” A sigh escapes her soft lips, and she struggles to fight back a persistent feeling of sadness rising from within her.

I stand up from my seat and lean closer to give Cherry some more pets. As she rubs her head into my hand, I say in the most comforting voice I can manage, “Nothing bad will happen to you anymore. You’re home now... if you want it to be.”

“I do.” Peri makes a jealous swat at my hand in an effort to make me pet her with it, and after laughing at her silliness, I give her some of my love as well.

“This isn’t about you, Peri. Cherry needs to make her own choice here, just the same as you. I think we all know that you intend on staying when the trial period is up.”

“I do.” She repeats herself while purring even deeper.

“And you still have five days to decide.” I look down at the pink-haired kitty to see her making a hilariously mixed expression on her face. Half frazzled, and half delighted from being scratched by a pair of skillful human hands.

“Mmmmmm, keep it up, and I might make up my mind a lot sooner, nyaaaaaaa...” Cherry sighs contentedly, and without a hint of warning, she paws at my crotch like she’s pouncing on a mouse.

At first, there is silence, and then there’s a second kitty who does the same. “Nyaa?” Peri asks as she places her hand on top of my bulge.

“Girls! Behave yourselves...!” I cough awkwardly and take a few steps back from the situation before it, and my erection, can escalate any further.

“I-I DIDN’T MEAN IT!” Cherry yanks her paw away before she becomes tempted to do more with it.

“I did.” Peri falls off the deep end and uses her claws to scratch open a hole in my dress pants big enough for my heaving manhood to drop out of it for both girls to see.

Cherry and Peri both gasp loudly with eyes wide open, my manly musk drifting out into the air and spiraling into their nostrils.

“B-BAD KITTY!” I try to hide from them, but I’m simply too big for it to work. Not even bragging.

“Guess you have to punish me.” Peri purrs and licks her luscious, full lips until they’re wet and shiny.

“P-P-Peri...?!” Cherry looks back and forth between my dick and her best friend before starting to draw nearer as well.

“This is for your own good. I swear on the Gods I’ll take your treats for the night if you... um...” Peri starts unbuttoning her shirt, and my gaze wanders.

Forgive me. I am only human.

The tits are blessed, fat, and stacked, and I am weak before them.

But still, I must stand firm. “STOP.”

“Don’t you want us, Myaster...?” She mews sexily under her breath.

“T-The fuck do you mean US, NYAA?!” Cherry asks as she sweats a worrying amount.

“Of course I want you! We can mate all you wish after the trial period is over. But it would be a terrible idea to do so early, and it would ruin my relationship with your tribe. What happens if the Guild needs more maids in the future, hmm?”

“Mmmm. I know a way we can make more.” Peri continues approaching me, and I almost lose my willpower and fall to her advances, lost in the momentary fantasy of a litter of kittens running around my Guild.

How does Peri change so much every time she gets a hint of my smell? When she’s three feet away from me, she acts reserved, shy and meek, yet any closer than that, and it’s like she becomes the least subtle sex kitten in all the realms.

“Myaster...! GO!” Cherry shocks Peri by leaping on top of her from behind, wrapping her legs and arms around her body as intensely as she can. “QUICKLY, NYAA! WHILE T-THERE’S STILL TIME!!”

“HISSSSSS, GET OFF ME, BITCH! I NEED THAT DICK, NYAAAAAA! HE’S THE ULTIMATE MATE, AND MY VIRGINITY IS HIS, HISSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!” Peri struggles harder in her friend’s embrace, and I stand enraptured by the literal catfight that erupts over my erection.

You know, you always think you’re above such depraved things like watching women rough each other up and wrestle each other for sexual thrills. But when that shit happens right in front of you... a true man cannot avert his gaze. Why, in fact-

“HOLY SHIT, JUST GO ALREADY,” Cherry hisses at me. “STOP GETTING HARDER OR I’LL HAVE NO CHOICE TO POUNCE YOU TOO, N-NYAA!!” 

Shit, I look down. I am indeed getting a lot harder just standing here watching the two of them. My bad.

Using the time Cherry’s noble sacrifice affords me, I run upstairs and lock myself in the bedroom before they can come running after me. Just in time, too. If I were down there any longer, I for sure would have lost myself to Peri’s assault...

“Master? Is every... thing... ok?” I look to the sizeable Dwarven bed to see Meri sprawled about it in her pajamas. She’s wearing a loose tank top and her panties, nothing else. It’s not even dinner time yet, but I suppose she wanted to relax a bit early today since it’s just her and me. She’s sitting there reading one of the many perverted tomes I have in my collection.

Her eyes make contact with my dick.

My dick sees Meri, too. Especially the way she’s laying across with her vast, jiggly butt pointed at me.

“Mas... ter...?” Meri says with a weak smile as she gulps, knowing exactly what the fuck is about to happen to her.

I jump on the bed and get behind her.