Sitting at my workbench, I studied the disassembled piece of equipment before me. Frame, slide, barrel, spring, magazines, ammunition.
I had done some testing and, unfortunately, the pistol and ammunition from my world didn't really do much of anything here. At least, not without modifying my stats—but even then, because I was a caster, using what amounted to a ranger's weapon came with some… well, I wouldn't call them nerfs. More like, I didn't have the necessary supporting skills to boost accuracy and damage, in order to overcome the magical protection that stat points gave to things being shot at. Increasing my dex could compensate for that—even a lot, if I really dumped mana into temporarily raising it—but in the end… it just wasn't worth it.
Beside the pistol, magazines, and ammo was the shoulder holster for it, along with my phone, ear buds, and charging cord. Finished cleaning the pistol, I reassembled it, slapped in a magazine, and chambered a round before setting it on the table and sending my cube the command to scan everything, then disassemble it. But while I felt a bit disappointed at getting rid of the things that had come with me from Earth, just because I was getting rid of it didn't mean I was doing without.
Immediately, my computation orb pinged me with a notification that the data from the phone had been copied and everything was readable. Bringing up a hologram, I smiled as I selected a book and verified that it worked. Then, I checked my music. The orb produced sound right at my ears, and higher quality than any speakers of headphones I'd ever used. Turning it off, I tested the other function. Selecting Yunyun, I had it call her.
"Um, he-hello?"
I smiled. "Hey, Yunyun."
"Michael! How…?"
"The orbs can communicate between each other. I'm probably going to sell this as a separate enchanted item for people so they can communicate across any distance. What do you think?"
"I think that sounds great!"
"Good to hear. Alright, that's all I wanted to do, so I'll let you get back to it."
"Alright."
Disconnecting the call, I went back over how she sounded. She was… happy. She and Megumin were getting along, and since I had basically forced the two into close proximity working together, they had begun talking more and Yunyun was excited to reconnect with her friend. I was pretty sure Megumin saw her as a friend as well, but she just didn't know how to express herself and was embarrassed to admit it.
Shaking my head, I moved on to my second project. The cube opened up and fabricated a… staff. A staff made of the sturdiest and most magically conductive wood on this world, threaded with metal. Metal that was an orichalcum and mithril alloy, which was highly magically conductive and very, very durable. A sphere of coronatite sat in the butt end of the wooden stock, already beginning to glow from within as it drew a charge off the mana coming in from the city. At the near end of the metal tube that made up the longest part of the staff sat a raised arch with two green pins that seemed to glow in the light of the room, and at the end of the metal barrel was a small raised blade with a similar red pin that, when lined up together, created a sight profile.
Yes, I had made a rifle.
Or at least, something like a rifle. A staff shaped a whole lot like a rifle. Except this rifle didn't fire actual bullets. It conjured a bullet-shaped magical construct in the chamber when fired with one of a variety of different spell effects attached—piercing, homing, explosive, incendiary, long range, continuous beam/laser, multi-shot, or combinations of those. Thanks to working with some clerics to Eris and Aqua, and Wiz, I could also add the Sacred and Cursed modifiers to any shot, for extra damage against different enemy types.
Picking up the rifle, I teleported out to the usual field. Lifting it to my shoulder, I activated the scanning and targeting spells built in and the area above the sights was filled with a hologram that zoomed into whatever the weapon was pointed at and highlighted anything living based on heat and mana—so theoretically, even someone invisible should still show up because they were using mana to bend light, but if that mana suddenly became visible, then so were they. At least, for the Light of Reflection spell. I wasn't sure how it would work against Lurk and other thief-class skills.
It worked very well at spotting toads hiding underground, however. Lining up a shot, I flipped the safety off, mentally selected a piercing round, and opened fire. There was a brief flash between my rifle and the target, a small explosion of dirt as it hit the ground and bored in, and then nothing. However, after a few moments of watching, I noticed that the toad underground was beginning to fade in my sights as the mana in it dispelled.
Shifting over to a new target, I switched to explosive and fired. Instantly, the ground exploded where I'd aimed and a shower of gore fountained up from the exploded toad. That kicked the hornet's nest, as toads began digging themselves out of the ground to flee. I grinned. "Don't run away, you'll just die tired."
Selecting incendiary, I lit one on fire and moved on to test the laser, sweeping it across three. Finally, I selected homing, piercing, and multi-shot, then started designating the last eight targets. Once I had the rest selected, I pulled and held the trigger. The rifle spat out a burst of exactly eight shots and the fireworks started. Every shot scattered in the air, breaking into eight individual projectiles and tracking on each target, making for eight smaller hits per toad that put lots of little holes in them… however, those shots that over-penetrated, which was all of them, then moved on to the next target, and the next, and the next, until they were spent. In the end, all that was left were lumps of meat full of holes.
Considering that a success, I stored the rifle. Let's hope I don't have to use it.
Speaking of things I hoped I didn't have to use… I teleported to the guild hall and looked around for a sparring partner. I needed someone to practice my one-handed sword skill on, along with the other class skills that came with Spell Blade. However, finding someone who would consistently volunteer to train was kind of difficult…
But not today, I mused, spotting a head of blonde hair and a set of fancy heavy armor. Grinning, I made my way over.
"Hey, there," I greeted the young woman, offering my hand. "Name's Michael. Say, you wouldn't happen to be a Knight or something would you, miss?"
"Ah. I am a Crusader, actually. You may call me Darkness, sir. What need have you of a Knight?"
"A Crusader? Even better. I'm a Spell Blade, myself. I'm looking for a sparring partner." Meeting her beautiful, light blue eyes, I added, "Basically, I need someone who I can just absolutely wail on with no remorse whatsoever, who can take that kind of punishment, get back up, and ask for more. Preferably, someone who can also help correct me on my sword form and help guide me through it. We'd spend a lot of time in close proximity, brushing against each other, occasionally hitting each other, as we work up a good sweat together. If you've got time for that and want to make a little extra money…"
Darkness had grown progressively redder and begun to pant the more I spoke, essentially hammering her buttons for what I knew of the little masochist's personality. "I, I ah, mmf~, that is, I will agree to take up this position! Seeking to improve yourself is always commendable, certainly. But I couldn't bear it if an untrained novice were to accidentally hurt someone! It would be negligent of me, and my duty as a Crusader. Please, abuse my body to your heart's content! …In the name of training!"
I grinned. "Really? You will?" Darkness nodded enthusiastically. "Excellent! Oh," I snapped my fingers as though just remembering. "Just a word of warning, I might ah, shit talk a little. That is, I've got a bad habit of cursing and throwing out insults. I don't mean anything by it, no hard feelings, it's just a bit of fun."
"Ah, hah, haah… Yes, I, I see! Yes, surely no one else is more suited to this task than I!" she nodded, sending her blonde hair bouncing. "I cannot, in good conscience, ask someone else to do this. Give me everything you have! Vent your frustration upon my body! Do not spare me, I say!"
"Oh, I won't. I really appreciate you agreeing to help out, Darkness. You ready to go? I'll teleport us back to my place where I've got a private training yard set up for this sort of thing."
"Yes! Take me away with you! To your home, where no one knows my whereabouts and anything could happen!"
I laughed, reaching out and taking her hand as she blushed and panted, before teleporting us to the manor. She really is great.
As soon as we arrived, she looked out over the grassy lawn and the manor behind us. "This is to be our training field? Where are we?"
"Yep. We're on the north side of Axel. The river and the northernmost wall are that way," I pointed north, then pointed the other way, "Town's back that way. There's a road leading off the property if you want to walk back when we're done, but I'd be happy to teleport you."
"I see," she nodded.
I took a moment to send a request off to my cube and, a second later, it opened up and spat out a couple of wooden practice swords—made of the strongest wood in this world and weighted inside with iron, so they would be heavy and land with a good, solid hit. Darkness raised one blonde eyebrow and I tossed her a sword. She hefted it in her hand curiously. "Here. We can use these. Less risk of actually damaging someone, but they're still going to hurt."
The woman nodded, a serious expression on her face as she did. "Yes. It is commendable that you're thinking of the safety of yourself and your sparring partner. However, you need not worry about me. I assure you, I can handle whatever you can throw at me."
"Oh, I don't doubt it. How about we try these first until I get used to it, then we move on to actual swords?"
At that, the young noblewoman smiled beatifically. "Yes, that sounds reasonable."
Then, she began stripping out of her armor, carefully laying it aside as she did. I had an idea of why she was doing it, but I wanted to look like the voice of reason here. "Ah, Darkness, what are you doing?"
"…My armor might damage the practice sword. I assure you, my body can handle the punishment!" Then, she added, "Besides, you must learn what it is like to hit a person with a sword. To feel flesh beneath your blade. Otherwise, you will not be prepared for it when it happens."
"Alright," I agreed, sounding reluctant. I knew her game, however. Darkness was a hardcore masochist and enjoyed physical abuse. She was just, well… too dumb to realize that what she wanted and what she'd get in reality were two different things. I can deal with it.
"Let us begin!"
"Ahn~!"
I watched as Darkness stood shaking, her eyes fluttering as she panted, clearly having an orgasm. I lowered my practice sword and gave her a moment to collect herself. This wasn't her first, and they had been coming closer and closer together the longer we progressed.
We had been at it for a few hours now and worked up quite a sweat. I had long since taken off my shirt, much to her delight as her light blue eyes feasted on my muscular form, while the black body stocking she wore under her armor had soaked through with her sweat… and other fluids, around the crotch area and it clung to her body in a way that would have been less lewd if she were simply naked. Her hard nipples stood out clearly under the stocking, fat and large, as did her fat pussy lips, outlined so clearly I could make out her clit and the way her lips spread apart.
Fuck it, let's go for one more, I decided, before stepping in with a swing she wasn't prepared for. I swung like I was teeing off and trying to put it on the green. My heavy wooden practice sword landed right between Darkness's fat lips, hitting the big nub that was her clit, and landed with enough force to lift her off her feet.
"Ungh!" she grunted, her eyes crossing, before the young woman collapsed to her knees, holding her crotch as she mewled… and a flood of liquid sprayed out from under the body stocking, between her fingers, to drip onto the ground below her. She panted and gasped, her face a deep, dark red as she shook, bowing over herself until her forehead hit the grass—completely uncaring.
Dropping my sword, I went to my knees beside her, prepared to cast healing if needed, but… I had a feeling she was enjoying it and would actually be disappointed if I did. Still, this had become a sexual thing for her, and it was the responsibility of the one in charge to make sure the submissive or masochist pain jockey wasn't actually hurt.
Rubbing her back, I asked, "You okay?"
"Yes," she managed to mewl out, almost in a whisper.
"You done, or do you want more?"
Darkness panted for a moment, before asking, "You'll give me more?"
"If you want." She nodded at that. "Okay. Darkness, I think, if we're going to be friends and do this again, it's time we were honest with each other. You want to do this again in the future, don't you?"
"Yes~!"
"I thought so. Then we need to make sure there are no misunderstandings about what's going on, and what we're going to do in the future. Do you agree?"
"Mmf~."
"I'll take that as a yes." I stroked her back, drawing a quiet moan from the blonde. "So, I'll just come out and say it. You're enjoying this." Darkness nodded. "No, I mean sexually."
"N-no—"
"Shh, no. Don't lie to me. You don't have to. I understand. Just be honest and we can work together. Now, you're taking sexual gratification from this. In fact, you're still having an orgasm from where I hit you, aren't you?"
"Noooo~"
Sighing, I grabbed my practice sword. Taking hold of her ponytail, I pulled her hair back hard, and Darkness let me pull her head up from the dirt. Looking down, I saw her hands were in the way. "Darkness, move your hands away."
Shakily, she did so. I pulled back, angled my strike, and smacked the shit out of her cunt. "UNGH~!"
The young woman bucked and would've fallen face first on the ground if I wasn't holding her head up. Another absolute flood of liquid seeped out of her body stocking. Sighing, I set the practice sword down again and rubbed her ass. "Let's try this again. If you're honest, I'll reward you with more of what you want, just like that. Understand?" She tried to nod, but my grip on her hair stopped her. "Okay. Now. You utterly indecent, shameful masochist. You just came, didn't you?"
"Yeees~!"
"See, there, was that so hard?" I asked, then reached down and slapped her pussy. It made a wet smack through the bodysuit and she whimpered, her hips bucking. "You're a masochist. You enjoy being hurt, abused, and degraded. Aren't you?"
"Yeees~"
"And you're looking for someone who will do that for you, right?" I asked, and she nodded. "But so far, every time people have begun to suspect, they've kicked you out of their party. Does that sound right?"
"Nnf, yes," she admitted. "I don't know why—"
"Because they're disgusted with you."
"Ahn!"
"And not in the fun way." I rubbed her ass and the girl actually shifted into my touch. "But Darkness, here's the thing. I enjoy it. I think it's fun. I think getting these kinds of reactions out of you is fun and I enjoy doing it. Moreover, for me, it's just play. I don't actually think you're disgusting, or hate you. In fact, I think you're a kind girl who goes out of her way to help people. Sure, you've got your own agenda in doing so, because you want to get hurt and take the risk of worse happening. Right now, this whole situation, it's actually got you more turned on than you've ever been in your life, because you feel there's a possibility that I might just cut your clothes off, push you down where you are, and ravish you. Right?"
"Mmf~… yes~."
"And if I did just… take out my knife, cut a slit in your body stocking right here," I ran my finger between Darkness's absolutely soaked pussy lips pressed tight against the body glove, making sure to firmly stroke her clit on the way.
"Ahn~!"
"Would you fight me?"
"…Nooo~."
"And if I told you to come back tomorrow for more training, after deflowering and ravishing you, if I told you outright that when we were done I was going to push you down and have my wicked way with you again, you would come back eagerly, wouldn't you?"
"…Yeees~."
"I thought so." I smacked her pussy again, earning another moan in response. "So, I'm going to make you an offer. I will take care of your needs. All of them. In return, you aren't to let anyone else touch you. No people, no monsters. Your body will belong to me, for me to use and abuse as I see fit—and only me. If I decide to let someone else degrade and hurt you the way you like, that is the only way it'll happen. If you're fighting in the field, I expect you to do everything you can to keep from being hurt, because your body will belong to me and I don't want filthy monsters touching it. As for what I'm offering… I'll hurt you. Beat you. Abuse you. Humiliate you. Use you, sexually. If I get married, you'll be nothing but a mistress we keep around for fun. That is, when you want. The rest of the time, I'll treat you as a friend. Someone I like and care for."
"I, I shouldn't…"
"Mm. And if I blackmailed you into it. If I forced your hand? Would that make you feel better… when it comes to your family?" She tensed under my rubbing hand and I continued, "It's obvious you're a noble girl who doesn't like where she came from, for whatever reason. Would it ease your conscience if I took away your choice and said that if you didn't agree to this, that I would ruin your reputation?"
"…Would you?"
"If you wanted me to. I'm one of the few people who will actually understand and appreciate you and what you are, who will enjoy the things you enjoy. You aren't going to find someone else like me, Darkness."
She considered for a moment, before nodding once. "Please."
"Alright." Standing up, I took up the practice sword again, then grabbed her ponytail and jerked her hair back roughly. "Listen to me, you shameless, cock-addled, ditz." I reared back and struck her cunt again, making her eyes roll in her head and drawing a yell from her lips. "You belong to me now." I hit her again. "This body is mine." Another smack to her cunt, then I let go of her hair. Planting my foot on her deliciously wide hip, I kicked Darkness over onto her back.
Bringing my boot down, I stepped on her beautiful face, before bringing my practice sword down across both of her titties. "AH!"
"You will treat it with respect and guard it with your life." Another smack to the titties, followed by another to the crotch. "Clean your act up! Stop acting like a shameless whore in public!"
"Y-yes~!"
"Act like the lady you are! Your actions reflect on me from now on. In private, I'll treat you like the disgusting pig you are, but you are to be a lady in public. Do you understand?"
"Yes~!"
I stepped on her harder, before starting to wail on her—beating her tits, pussy, stomach, and back until her hips jerked and thrashed and she came again. Finally, I lifted my foot from her face. Reaching down, I grabbed her by the hand and hefted her to her feet. I took a minute to clean off her face and hair, and swipe the grass off of her body stocking. Darkness swayed on her feet, panting and drooling as her eyes rolled in her sockets. Pulling her into my side and throwing her arm over my shoulder, I helped her towards the door. As I did, I directed my cube to store her armor.
"How do you feel?"
"G-good~," she managed to get out.
"Alright. You hungry?" When she nodded, I turned us towards the kitchen. When we got there, we found Yunyun humming happily as she cooked, while Megumin watched from the table, and Wiz sipped at a cup of tea, the three of them talking quietly.
"Eh? Michael?" Megumin asked as we walked in.
Wiz looked up at that. "Darkness? Are you okay?"
"She's fine," I said as I sat her down at the table. She squished as her bodysuit touched the chair. "Just a little over-stimulated. She's had a bit too much excitement for one day and needs a bit of a rest."
Yunyun turned and surveyed Darkness's state, taking in her flushed and sweaty appearance, the way her body suit stuck to her, her blonde hair clinging to her face. Biting her lip, Yunyun sent me an unsure look, before her eyes darted to the door of the kitchen. Instead, I moved up behind her and turned her around to face the stove, then reached over her to start helping. Leaning my head down a bit, I kissed her neck.
"What's wrong?"
"I… N-nothing."
"It's not nothing. This looks like it can sit for a few minutes." Reaching out, I turned the heat down a bit, before wrapping my arms around her in a hug. Yunyun's hands settled on my arms and she leaned back into me. I held her for a moment, before letting go. Putting one arm around her, I guided her out of the room. "We'll be back in a few minutes."
With that, I led Yunyun out of the kitchen, into the nearby dining room. Closing the door behind us, I turned around and pressed her up against the door, invading her personal space and resting my arms to either side of her head—a kabedon without the slamming. Reaching down, I tilted her chin up and forced her to meet my eyes. "It hasn't been said, and that's my fault for not coming out and saying it. Yunyun, I like you and I want to be with you. As friends, partners, lovers, and more." I leaned down and kissed her.
"Mmf~" Yunyun's mouth opened and her tongue darted out, slipping into my mouth as her lips pulled into a happy smile. Her hands came up and wrapped around my neck as she pulled herself to me. I pressed her firmly against the door and grabbed her by the waist, picking her up so I wouldn't have to stoop—and because I liked manhandling her. Her legs came up, wrapping around my waist as she clung onto me. Breaking the kiss, she panted softly against my face. "Michael, I, I like you too… I really, really want that!"
Reaching down, I cupped her ass, squeezing her firm cheeks and drawing a quiet moan from her lips. "I'm glad. Now, there are a few things I need to ask you, because I don't know. You know I'm a reincarnation. I'm not from this world." She nodded at that. "Where I'm from, relationships were generally between two people—a man and a woman—and that's it. Anything other than that, be it men with other men, women with women, or groups of more than two was not the norm—frowned upon, sometimes illegal, and considered amoral in some places. So, I need to know, are relationships between a man and two or more women legal and normal here?"
Yunyun bit her lip and looked away. "Legal? Yes. Normal? Sometimes. It depends on where you are. But it does happen."
"Okay. Now, most important question: would you be okay with that? I ask because it's stupidly obvious that Wiz is interested in being more than just friends and I've seen her eyes wandering over you as much as me. I don't want to hurt your feelings or make you feel unappreciated, angry, or jealous."
She swallowed, before licking her lips. I couldn't resist and took a moment to kiss those sexy little pink lips. She mewled and squirmed against me as I squeezed her ass and ground my crotch into her, feeling the wet heat of her lips against my hard cock through our clothes. "I, I wanted you to myself," she admitted, before quickly adding, "But I wouldn't mind if it was Wiz… She's kind, and a friend. The only one I have in Axel, outside of you and Megumin. I think… I think I would like that. If we were all," she hesitated, before smiling and finishing the thought, "more than friends together."
I felt kind of bad about what I was about to do, but it didn't stop me from doing it. I knew Yunyun now—knew her as more than just a character on a screen. The girl in my arms had a fragile heart and was very lonely, but she didn't have the bravery needed to make friends. She was desperate for more, and with her agreeing to Wiz as a potential addition later on, then there was no reason not to satisfy both her need for friends and my own desire to surround myself with sexy women and fuck them silly.
Leaning in, I nibbled at her neck, just below her ear, before biting the earlobe itself. She whimpered, her nails digging at my bare back as she panted quietly. "Michael, don't tease me~! I'm, I need you…"
"Tonight," I agreed. "So let me ask you this. You know Megumin. She's your best friend." Yunyun nodded, her own lips seeking out my neck and her tongue darting out to lick at my salty skin. "But she's a brat. You annoy each other. You want to be friends, but she doesn't know how to deal with it, so she pushes you away at times, and clings tightly at others. Right?" Another nod. "How would you feel about seducing her? Pushing her down onto a bed, stripping her naked, and seeing what noises we could draw out of her? Get a little payback. Punish her for being a brat towards you. Show her how much you love her…?"
"Ahn~," she shivered against me, her nails digging in a bit harder. "Yes! That! I, I want to do that! Please!"
Fucking called it, I chuckled, kissing her ear again. "Alright. We'll try to do that at some point. Until then, however… Darkness. I'll introduce you later."
"I've seen her around," Yunyun confirmed, before latching onto my neck and sucking. I groaned quietly, my cock throbbing with need in my pants. Darkness had gotten me worked up, but now that I had Yunyun in my arms, I wanted nothing more than to fuck her right here against the door. The only thing holding me back was that I didn't want that for her first time.
Taking a steadying breath, I continued, "She's a good girl, but she's got her own problems. She's a masochist. She likes being abused, hurt, and degraded. Kind of like Megumin, she can't keep a party because when people find out, they're genuinely disgusted and leave her—no matter that she's an amazing Crusader. She's getting desperate and actually considering letting some monster defeat her because she thinks she's going to get raped, as opposed to eaten. I'd rather she not die, so… I can give her what she wants, safely. She's interested in the idea. We can use her as our muscle—a human wall we can put between monsters and you and Megumin if necessary. And all we have to do is take care of her needs. I figured this out after she had an orgasm from getting beaten on in our training and managed to drag the rest out of her. I wouldn't feel good letting her go, knowing what I know now. I kind of feel a bit responsible, now that I know. But I wanted to ask you, because I didn't want there to be any confusion between us."
"So… she'll work with us," I nodded, "and you'll… be mean to her? Bully her? Because she enjoys it?"
"Basically. For me, it's just a game. Some fun play. I've known a few women like her, but none who could actually take the sort of punishment she wants. She's a ridiculously strong Crusader, so she can take the physical hits just fine, and getting into her mind and getting her all worked up is fun. Her problem is that she's, well, an idiot. I'm pretty sure she wants someone who will abuse her, but doesn't realize that play is one thing but actual abuse is another. She needs someone who actually likes her, who can give her what she wants by being rough with her, then turn around and show her affection. A real abuser like she thinks she wants is just going to get bored when nothing they do works and neglect her, since that's about the only thing that would work."
Biting her lip, Yunyun looked away for a moment. "But you," she paused, looking like she wasn't going to finish what she was saying. Then, taking a breath, she turned a determined look on me. "I want to hear you say it."
"Say what? Just so we're on the same page."
"Tell me how you feel about me," she insisted.
I smiled, proud that she'd been able to bring herself to make the demand. And like that, I realized I knew exactly how I felt.
Yunyun being happy made me happy. I cared enough to make sure her feelings weren't hurt. I felt angry on her behalf that her friend treated her like crap and made a point of stepping in and forcing said friend to treat her with more respect. I felt proud of her when she stood up for herself, confronted me, and demanded the truth.
It was pretty obvious what I felt when I put it like that.
"I love you."
"Michael," she whispered, before her lips found mine. "I love you too."
There was a knock at the door and Yunyun growled. "We're getting hungry!"
"Megumin!"
Laughing quietly, I set my frustrated girlfriend down and we went back into the kitchen to finish dinner. "So, Darkness."
"Yes, Michael? Also, do you have my armor?"
"I have it, yes. You look like you're feeling better. Do you remember what we talked about?"
Darkness blushed and her nipples immediately hardened under her body stocking. "Y-yes, I do."
"Good. We talked and the deal still stands, if you're interested." When she nodded, I continued. "We'll take you, then. Our party is myself, Yunyun, Megumin, and now you. One Spell Blade, two Arch Wizards, and a Crusader. Wiz sometimes tags along when she wants to stretch her legs and go for a walk, but not often enough to count. We're not concerned with taking a bunch of quests or leveling up quickly. I make magic items, accessories, and I'll probably start making armor and weapons soon. Yunyun and Megumin test them. Wiz sells them. We could use a strong Crusader to protect our casters from being hurt while they're testing new toys—"
"I accept!"
"—and we'll pay you out of whatever mission pay we get and from sales. I'll also equip you with new gear as I develop it, and probably have you test some things for me when it comes time to make weapons and armor."
"Yes! I accept!"
"We like to keep things in house here. I don't want it getting out that I'm making this stuff, because someone might decide they like the idea of chaining me to a desk somewhere and forcing me to turn out magic items for them—"
"I won't allow that to happen! I will protect you with my body and life if I must! I accept this duty!"
"She's nuts," Megumin murmured to Wiz, who giggled quietly and nodded.
"But the fun kind!" the Lich whispered back.
"So, because of that, and because it's just plain more convenient for a party to share accommodations, why don't you stay with us, here?"
"Gladly!"
"We've got plenty of rooms. Yunyun, would you mind picking her one close to ours later?"
Yunyun shut off the stove and at a look from me, Megumin got up and began putting plates on the table. "I can do that, Michael."
"Great. I'll get her a cube and set it to make her some upgraded gear if you'll show her how to use that, too." When she nodded, I turned back to Darkness. "As for fulfilling our agreement… I get up at first light to train. You'll train with me and we'll scratch your itch then."
"Yes!" She nodded eagerly.
"Then breakfast. After which, Wiz goes in to work while Yunyun and Megumin go get a job from the guild hall. Then we go out into the field to test new equipment. You'll be coming with us and making sure nothing gets to them."
She was practically salivating now. "Of course! No harm will come to you!"
Yunyun and Megumin sat down as they finished setting out the meal and we began fixing our plates. I worked absently as I spoke. "We come back for lunch, then go back out for more development and testing. I like to practice again just before dark, so you'll be coming with me then as well. Then, if you still need care, let me know and we'll work something out after supper. Is that all to your liking?"
"Yes! I happily accept, Michael!" she beamed a wide smile, blushing a deep red as she panted softly.
"If only someone would give me some 'care,'" Wiz muttered under her breath.
I reached out and laid a hand on hers, before giving her a smile. The lich squeaked quietly at the sudden attention. "Good. Do you have your things with you, or…?"
"They are in a hotel. I will need to collect them, after the meal."
"Alright. I'll take you by teleport. Then you girls can go have a bath and we can call it a night." It hadn't been long at all, once they discovered the extra large communal bath, before Yunyun, Wiz, and Megumin had all begun sharing their baths. I had a feeling that Darkness would soon join them anyway, so I might as well just go ahead and let her know it was a thing. I usually took a shower in my attached bathroom, but I used the big bath when I felt like soaking.
"I have several questions," Darkness began, and I chuckled.
"Ask away."