Forty-ninth Encounter

“Lily, we won!” (Lane)

“Uh, won? What happened?” (me)

“The war is over! The Lily kingdom is established! Can I be your queen?” (Lane)

“Uh, how can I be a king if I’m not actually in charge of anything?” (me)

“Oh, uh, I guess in name only?” (Lane)

“Calling it the Lily Kingdom is silly when I am stuck in this room and rule over nothing but this room.” (me)

“Is Mason dead?” (Sam)

“Oh, uh no. He’s still alive, and still wants to kill you. However, we did negotiate a peace treaty!” (lane)

“For one year.” (woman 1)

“... yeah. Kinda not much of a peace treaty. Stupid demon army showing up and messing with what should’ve been our victory.” (Lane)

“What happened, Lane?” (me)

“Ugh, we were winning. We were gonna crush Mason’s army, but then a demon army showed up, led by one of the four demon generals. With demons on our flank, we couldn’t risk pursuing Mason’s retreating army.” (Lane)

“Why would the demons show up?” (Sam)

“I wish I knew.” (Lane)

“The demon generals shouldn’t be making big moves like this if there isn’t a demon lord.” (woman 2)

“What about Lily?” (woman 1)

“If Lily is the demon lord acknowledged by them, they wouldn’t be helping Mason.” (woman 2)

“Someone already confirmed that Lily isn’t the demon lord.” (Sam)

“Enough about that! I wanna celebrate the end of the war with Lily!” (Lane) Lane then ran into my embrace. “C’mon you two! You should join in! Lily’s really good!” 

“I already told you, I’m not really into that kind of thing. I’d much rather spend time with her boyfriend.” (woman 1)

“Um… are you willing to be our partner?” (woman 2)

“Me? You want to be with me?” (Sam)

“You’re much more my type… wait, Daye, is that lust poison you’re taking out?” (woman 1)

“Well, there’s so many rumors about it really helping to spice up sex.” (Daye)

“Um… why me? Pretty sure lust poison would let you desire anyone you chose to use it with.” (Sam)

“Because you already have someone, so I don’t have to worry about you thinking this is a prelude to something more. So many guys take even a little friendliness as a sign that I want to be their girlfriend, that I dread to think how they’d interpret something like this.” (Daye)

“Uh, I… I hope I’m good enough for you.” (Sam)

“You look nervous. C’mon, why don’t we just relax a bit in the bath, and get to know each other a little more first, and put that lust poison away, Daye.” (woman 1)

“Oh, alright. I guess you’re not used to being the one pursued like this?” (Daye)

“Well, not by women, and not in a good way.” (Sam)

“Oh, you mean… men, trying to just use you?” (Daye)

“Yeah.” (Sam)

“Ooof, sorry to hear that.” (Daye)

“Maybe we can just spend some time together and help you build up some better memories of company and attention.” (woman 1)

“Yeah, this doesn’t have to be a sex thing. We can chat. Might be nice to hear a little of the other side of things here. I don’t have many male friends to talk to.” (Daye)

“You want to be friends?” (Sam)

“Sure! You seem pleasant enough. Besides, how many guys have managed to marry a dungeon floor boss? You’re probably the only one.” (Daye)

“Oh, uh, I hadn’t really thought about it like that before.” (Sam)

“That’s ‘cause you’re not used to thinking about your accomplishments. It’s important to know how to appreciate what you’ve managed to accomplish. Not just worry about your failings. Gotta have balance in your thoughts.” (Daye)

As I played with Lane, and enjoyed her reactions, I also listened to Sam’s conversation with the other two, as they went to the bath. It was nice to hear Sam make new friends and have a good time. Their conversation lasted much longer than Lane did, so I ended up falling asleep together with Lane in bed, as Sam and Daye and that other lady continued to chatter in the bath. I hope they enjoy their time.

***Author Note***

I don’t know why the demon army intruded either. The dice just demanded it somehow. Rolled a few times and the conclusion was: Demons saved Mason. Seriously? Wtf? This complicates things. How did Mason do it? How did he get help from Demons? *sigh* Now I have to figure these things out. Frankly, it’d have been easier to figure out if he’d been saved by monsters, but no, that’s not what the dice said. Darn dice.