Chapter 150: I’m On A Boat – Part 1

Chapter 150: I’m On A Boat – Part 1

Intermission - Koritipythia Lambros

The Empresses argue loudly with each other. Women all across the social ladder, from all over the Realm, with wildly different levels of power and the most varied of backgrounds, all rattled by the revelation of an undead organization conspiring within the Empire.

It's not fully confirmed, but the Punishers are going to carry out a Realm-wide Purge, so it's serious, and it has come to the point that it can't be ignored anymore. There are enemies working under our feet, and there's still no sign of the Monster King's revival even though it's awfully late.

A storm approaches, yet I've not been given a view of the future, which tells us that it's related to the Champions.

And as for me, I'm too occupied with trying not to leak onto my seat from all the overwhelming auras clashing at the round table to even make a guess about the future! And that's my job!

If only I had an official position in the harem, then perhaps I could feel more at ease, but things have been "tense" ever since the "incident" during the last gathering of nobles, so I need to prove my usefulness before I can consider myself an equal among them. Even if I'll never be able to officially become an Empress, being accepted as at least a sister would be enough.

But my daydreaming is interrupted by Andreas' and Hayakasha's stormy arrival, and they don't look happy.

"No body parts have been recovered, and his letter to the Ryders proves that he intends to come back!" the Emperor irately exclaims as he advances towards his seat.

I feel my whole body heat up as he freely lets out his aura, but unlike when he uses it to make me submit, it's tinted with his anger, making me feel an uncomfortable chill along with guilt, as if I, personally, have disappointed him.

"Do we not have his blood from his ID?" Empress Ho'Tree calmly remarks. The composed wereowl is the most unflappable out of all of the Empresses.

Andreas tiredly sits down on his throne and takes off his crown as he negatively replies, "It's extremely easy for someone to shield his spirit from being summoned through a single drop of blood."

"But if he is being shielded, it would only further confirm the presence of a heretic organization," Empress Efsevis affirms. She's a stern-looking weredog with close ties to the temple, and I've personally learned to never mention the Gods with levity in her presence.

"The question is whether the jewel that houses his spirit was stolen... or if he left of his own accord," Andreas states sullenly and closes his eyes to meditate.

And the mood around the table becomes thick with gloom as everyone fears these heretics.

Except for Andreas.

He suddenly opens his eyes again and frowns at us. "Why are you all so distraught? This organization can't possibly threaten any of us."

"But they can threaten the Champion," an Empress worriedly states.

"Not anymore. The Punishers will keep him contained," Andreas replies dismissively.

And Ho'Tree actually snorts. "That unruly dragon? You couldn't keep him from pulling his dick out in the Throne itself!" she exclaims amusedly.

"Keep him under watch..." the Emperor corrects himself as he rolls his eyes.

"Hmph...!" the Empress snorts again. Most of the other Empresses softly chuckle in amusement, but a few stand with Empress Hayakasha in their distaste of the Ryders' antics.

Then he soberly continues, "My point is that we must continue to perform our roles as usual. We're not needed in this affair."

"Well, if it's you who's saying this, I'll believe it," Empress Mena kindly states. The gentle dwarf often represents the more fearful Empresses, who usually look for a consensus and support from each other before taking any action.

But on this matter, they quickly accept the Emperor's reassurance, so Empress Piscila moves on. "On another matter, didn't Wolf visit you yesterday afternoon?" she calmly asks me with a wild smile. It is known that the lionfolk Empress lusts after Aoi, the Azurite converted dragon, but she's also suspiciously friendly with the rest of the Ryders, which makes Andreas uncomfortable, considering her personality.

But I was prepared for this question, so the gazes of all of the Empresses and the Emperor faze me not one bit. "Yes, he did. I'd asked for him to come again so that I could study his spirit and Thread, and he complied and spent the afternoon in my meeting room," I composedly explain.

And her amber cat eyes narrow in excitement. "Oh? And what did you discover?"Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com

Even Andreas turns to look at me curiously, so I swallow heavily and attempt to describe that abomination as clearly as I can, "His soul is simply... horrific. Warped, deformed..." -I frown- "confusing, and impossible. Our spirits, like our physical bodies, have organs and a logical structure, but Wolf's spirit doesn't. It's like there are random clusters of unknown organs all over his spirit, making for a hideous sight. Not only that, but his Gift is another mass of impossible and confusing structures that are added on top of the clusters. And then there's his ability to mold his spirit at will, adding to the chaos."

"So, his Gift is related to his spirit and its internal workings?" Andreas calmly questions, and I nod back.

"It would explain why he can summon such huge monsters without actually having the mana to do so," Empress Hayakasha wisely adds. She's concerned with all matters that could threaten the stability of the Empire, so it doesn't surprise me that she's the one who knows the most about the Ryders.

And so I continue on this tangent, "I think his spirit itself is part of the Gift. A normal humanoid's spirit simply shouldn't function with so many chaotic clusters. And he can somehow even bestow some of these clusters to his wives, though to nowhere near the same level of ridiculousness as with his own spirit."

"Is his dick the key to his Gift?" Piscila wryly remarks, drawing giggles and some glances toward Andreas. The Emperor's Holy Cock is definitely the key to the hearts of a number of the Empresses.

"I saw the clusters on his wives, but not on his subordinates," I reply as the more serious Empresses begin to turn her eyes to me.

"Could his spirit be the reason why the undead want him?" Empress Mena wonders out loud.

But Andreas promptly shuts it down, "They want him dead, not captured."

And Hayakasha adds a sober observation, "But the Ryders didn't actually use their Gift to win against Reinhold. It was one of their weapons that did that, and I find the Ryders' inexplicable expertise in scholarly matters to be their most striking characteristic."

"Are you... praising them?" Piscila teasingly questions, but it's actually a legitimate question.

And the other Empresses laugh, though they keep it under control to not offend Empress Hayakasha too much. The ascetic dragonkin Empress is very "teasable" since she doesn't riposte, but you have to be very careful not to enrage her.

Suddenly, Andreas slams his hand on his throne and exclaims, "He's a Realm Traveler! Does he come from an older Realm?!"

And we're all instantly silenced by the realization. This explains everything about him.

"He's Blessed by the Goddess of Knowledge, not the God of Intelligence," an Empress quietly points out.

"Then we have to make sure that he passes down everything he knows. Starting with [Golemancy]," Ho'Tree sternly declares.

Intermission end.

I feel a bit more reassured after our talk with Caterina. The Realm Travelers in the Sky Lands haven't been forced into slavery, and it's a pretty stupid idea to mistreat someone as powerful as a Gifted, so I don't have to worry about them. And while I was targeted by the heretics, there has been zero heretic activity in the Sky Lands for thousands of years, so they most likely aren't at risk.

Oritiki is also already over there, and she's in talks with the Chimeras about "cultural exchanges," so barging in and demanding to see the group of people that the Sky Chimeras are so carefully keeping secret would just make all of her efforts go to waste. There's no rational reason to hurry our meeting except to satisfy my emotional need for closure, and I know better than to let my emotions take control.

But it does seem like Fate is purposely keeping me away from them for a while longer.

I breathe in deeply and kill all my senses as I attempt to meditate. My mind is swirling with thoughts about the recent happenings and frustrations about our failures. But the thing that angers me the most is Alki-Alki's escape. If only we had killed him when he was traveling across the city...

I know. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. But I'm still seething.

Twice, the Emperor's rage cockblocked us from achieving our goals, so it's very important for us to stay on his good side because his approval basically gives us carte blanche to do whatever the fuck we want.

I surround an orb with my tentacles, then pop it with a dagger, making it explode into a cloud of magical dust that's instantly absorbed by my tentacles, and the burst of pleasure that follows is so great that I almost cum in my pants.

But I hold it in and focus on the mana circulation training. We'll have sex later, and it'll be so much better after letting the arousal stew than if we gave in and did it right now.

I gather all of my mana outside of my body, then attempt to cast a spell, but nothing happens except for a small "tug" on my mana organ, stimulating it to grow. Then I return my mana back into my body, only to take it out again to a different spot, and then I repeat this routine as fast as I can. This is the stupidly simple mana circulation training routine.

I've done this so many times that my mind has even created a sub-process for it, automating it to the point that I can do or think of anything else, except for casting spells. It's like there's a programming script in my mind that I can activate at will.

Which is a great thing since the girls and I can have some family time every morning as we train together.

"So, what's the schedule for today?" Ciel happily asks.

"Fucking all day long," Hana immediately replies.

"Fucking all day long," Roxanne repeats, and Yunia nods in agreement.

"We actually have a free day, so we should do something we can't normally do," Alissa tentatively suggests.

"Are you planning on stealing Ciel's role as the mythical angel?" Yunia teasingly comments as Roxanne rejoins us.

"I spent half of my life researching healing potions for diseases and poisons," she replies matter-of-factly. Potions are one of the few things that Roxanne feels a lot of pride about.

"Half angel, half devil," Hana casually remarks, and the succubus likes that analogy very much.

Then we crowd at the railing and observe the colorful underwater forest through the crystal clear water.

"I'm taking a swim!" Capri Sun cheerfully shouts, then grabs Laguly's hand and jumps, taking the squeaking mer with her.

I tell the golems to stop the boat so that we don't leave the two girls behind, but then they leave the command tower, with Hukarere now piloting the ship, and I find their behavior unusual.

"Master Wolf, we have a question," Ted speaks for them, her pitch seemingly a bit higher than normal.

"Ask it," I hum back.

"Your memories say that you didn't care for the beach," Suzy continues, her head gently tilted to indicate confusion.

"Yet now, your feelings indicate that you do," Jarn finishes solemnly.

Then Ted becomes surprisingly eloquent, "This type of change is unusual because your feelings reveal that you aren't just 'tolerating' this activity for the sake of familial unity, but that you actually enjoy being at the beach, except that the beach has too many uncomfortable details for you. For example, you don't like the sand, you don't like the heat, you don't like to sweat, you don't like to expose your body, you don't like to be outside, you don't like to be near strangers, you don't like large gatherings, and many other things. Yet now, these complaints are non-existent within your mind, so your behavior confuses us."

True, I started to enjoy the beach before I became a weredragon, so this change didn't come from my new race. But to me, the answer is clear.

"It's because the beach is a family activity, and I've become a family man," I confidently answer.

"Your fast change into a family man confuses us," Ted immediately replies.

And I grin at them. "Positive reinforcement. I've come inside my wives so many times that any activity with them activates the dopamine release in my brain, so now I enjoy even things that I clearly didn't back on earth."

But Ted insists, "Sexual activities aren't supposed to be addictive like drugs. Sex should become less rewarding the more you do it."

So I just shrug. "Then maybe this is the magic of this world. I've just become unable to get bored of sex."

"That explains his unending libido," Jarn accepts my explanation.

"Yes," Ted and Suzy reply in unison.

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