Date - 1
“Tirga?”
“Master, why aren’t you summoning me? Living alone is lonely and scary. Summon me right this instant.”
“That’s not happening. Do you even realize why your master ended up with this hideous machine bolted to his arm?”
The figures that appeared in the dream were none other than Tirga and Morvanel. The two of them were glaring at each other, clearly spoiling for a fight. If this weren’t a dream and they actually went at it in reality, the surroundings would probably be reduced to rubble. Even in the dream my prosthetic arm was still attached. Couldn’t I at least look like my old self here? No, better not. If my previous ugly mug showed up it would just be depressing. I’ll settle for this.
“A summon who can’t even protect her own master has the nerve to demand he call her?”
“But……”
“You’re nothing but a brainless muscle-head. You don’t get a say. From now on I’ll be the one protecting him, so you can relax.”
“Shut up, you damn spider bitch!”
Morvanel kept firing off sharp, fact-laced insults, and Tirga could only seethe in helpless rage. Truthfully, I didn’t hold any real grudge against Tirga. She hadn’t been weak; that martial-arts elf had simply been far stronger than expected. She had done her best. Without her I wouldn’t have survived this far, so I was actually grateful. The only reason I hadn’t summoned her was the ridiculously flashy thunder-and-lightning effect that came with her summoning. Everything else about her was fine, but that drawback was a real pain.
Morvanel, on the other hand, simply walked out of the gray mist.
“You’re a loser. Just throw that woman away and hold only me from now on, got it?”
“Hey, Morvanel? You’re going a bit too far. Maybe tone it down……”
“Losers belong in the corner, masturbating.”
A web shot out and wrapped around Tirga. Her movements turned jerky, puppet-like. She sat down, spread her legs, and began rubbing herself. I never thought I’d witness a woman masturbating right in front of me. Since it was a dream, it probably didn’t count for much. Meanwhile Morvanel pushed me onto my back and climbed on top. I’d expected to hit the floor, but instead I was floating. Looking closer, she had woven a hammock of silk and laid me in it. Ugh. Getting devoured by a monstrous spider girl on a web? Really?
“Now then, let’s have a taste of my cute master.”
“Hrk!”
So there I was, forced to watch Tirga pleasure herself while Morvanel had her way with me. In a normal dream, wouldn’t my eyes snap open right about now? Did Morvanel have some kind of dream-control power, like a succubus? Something felt warm and wet around my shaft…… I threw the blanket off and found Richel sucking me off.
“Richel?”
“Mar, you’re awake?”
“What are you doing?”
“This is your fault for getting more and more tempting every day.”
She said something straight out of a 19+ doujinshi, then climbed on top of me and kissed me. I was still a little tired, but my hands naturally found her hips. My cock was already rock-hard and leaking precum. So much for claiming I was exhausted; my body was far too honest. Richel really was a soldier through and through. In seconds she was dressed and heading for the door.
“My lady, your subordinates have arrived with your belongings.”
“Understood. I’ll be right out.”
She winked at me. “We’ll finish what we started tonight.” A shiver ran down my spine. Why the hell was I feeling the dread of a married man’s obligatory defense? I wasn’t even married, and I was a virile man who had absolute confidence in his stamina. After training with Tirga and Lati in threesomes, handling one elf woman should be child’s play. I could keep her up all night if I wanted.
Richel left the bedroom. Not wanting to just lie around, I threw on some clothes and followed. In the entrance hall stood a familiar face alongside the guards.
“As ordered, I’ve brought the major’s belongings.”
“Good work, Sergeant Ibre. The rest of you have my thanks as well. Ena, get them something cold to drink.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ibre was clearly one of Richel’s most trusted subordinates. She had been there when Richel came to rescue me, though I’d been too out of it to greet her properly at the time.
“Are you feeling better, Lord Marquelon?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”
“I suppose I should start calling you ‘Master’ now. Even if it costs me my life, I’ll make sure to attend your wedding.”
Birds of a feather. Richel had trained her men well. She was already treating me like a married man. No, we weren’t married yet! This was just cohabitation. Still, arguing with a rigid military elf was pointless. Richel’s expressions were relatively varied, but from what I’d seen so far Ibre maintained a perfect poker face at all times. Once she climbed the ranks, her future subordinates were in for a rough time. Dealing with that kind of superior wasn’t easy.
“Ibre, since you’re here, why not stay for dinner with the others?”
“That won’t be necessary. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your private time.”
“Then take this and buy everyone something nice. Consider it thanks.”
“Thank you.”
Richel handed Ibre a pouch that looked like it contained money. A model superior if I’d ever seen one. Ibre saluted sharply and left without another word. Did that woman’s expression ever actually change? Last time I saw her she’d been a corporal or senior private; now she was already a sergeant. She must have worked hard for that promotion.
Richel’s belongings were surprisingly few. Most women moving in brought at least three or four large trunks, didn’t they? With Ena helping, unpacking was over in no time. Damn. This really looked like two people combining households. Anyone would think we were newlyweds.
After our earlier romp and a nap, I was starving.
“Want to eat out?”
“Eat out?”
“Yeah. I’ve been discharged, the surgery went well, and I’d like to see Ermania while we’re at it.”
At the word “date,” Richel’s face lit up with joy. She got excited over something so simple. Cute. She went to change, not forgetting to add that I was welcome to follow if I wanted to watch. What a sly elf.
Something landed on my shoulder. A fluffy pink spider sat there, looking like a miniature version of Morvanel’s fur coat.
“Oh my, my dear master has been thoroughly hooked. Watching you two is never boring.”
“Don’t act like it’s none of your business. Your master is suddenly about to become a married man. Aren’t you jealous?”
“Jealous? It’s only natural for superior males to attract females. Besides, I’ll make sure to claim my own share, so don’t worry.”
If it had been Tirga she would have puffed her cheeks and grumbled. Even among summons of the same rank, their personalities could be so different. The spider-shaped Morvanel chuckled and vanished.
A little later Richel emerged wearing casual clothes instead of her black uniform. She was faster than I expected. I thought all women took forever to get dressed. In a green dress she looked like a pure, innocent goddess. The fact that I was thinking that probably meant Morvanel was right; I really had been reeled in. Until now I’d only felt lust toward other women, but with her it was different.
“Um, how do I look? Does it suit me?”
“Yeah. You’re stunning.”
Where had that perverted guy who wanted to build a harem gone? Ah, whatever. Even in typical harem stories there was always a main wife. I’d just think of Richel as mine.
We left the house hand in hand. Walking alone with a woman who wasn’t Tirga or Lati felt strangely unfamiliar. Richel was blushing so hard she couldn’t speak, simply letting me lead her along.
“What do you feel like eating?”
“Huh? W-well…… Actually, this is my first time in the capital too……”
Even Richel, who usually took the lead, was like this. Fine. Time for a manly charge. It was the imperial capital; there had to be plenty of nice restaurants.
Ermania really was on another level compared to every other city I’d seen. It felt like the place was proudly displaying the empire’s national power. The true measure of a country really did show in its capital. Was that giant tree in the distance the World Tree?
While strolling around holding Richel’s hand, we happened to run into a couple. The man’s face looked oddly familiar.
“Hmm, who was that again……”
“You’re the adventurer we saw in the goblin dungeon back then.”
Right. He was one of the male adventurers Richel, Ibre, and I had captured in that dungeon. The request had been quite something: hand the women over to the goblins as sex slaves and drag only the men away. Never expected to see him here in the imperial capital. Beside him stood a visibly pregnant elf woman.
“Honey, who are they?”
“Someone I met during my adventurer days.”
“Oh? Fancy running into you again. You’ve become an imperial citizen, human.”
“Yes. I resented you at first, but not anymore. If anything, I should thank you. Thanks to you I met my wife.”
The man gave a slight, slightly rude bow and walked past us with his wife. Now that I looked around, there were quite a few human-elf couples. I’d assumed an elf empire would be nothing but elves, but apparently not. I even spotted the occasional dwarf or beastman like Lati.
“Hey, Richel? There’s something I’ve been wondering.”
“What is it?”
“Those human adventurers we captured in the dungeon…… did they all end up like that?”
“Ahem. I’ll only tell you this. Most elves are born female, so we can’t sustain our population with elves alone. That’s why we capture strong, healthy human men from abroad and force them into marriage.”
According to Richel, capturing human men was one of the Imperial Guard’s duties. Their targets were adventurers, bandits, mercenaries—men whose disappearance wouldn’t cause much trouble. But if someone was handsome or otherwise desirable, they’d even kidnap nobles, royalty, or priests without hesitation. What a terrifying race. Now I understood. That guy in panties who had begged me for help right after I arrived in this world had probably been caught the same way.
“Then why didn’t you capture me back then? When I came out of the mountains and ran into Tirga.”
“Mm…… I don’t know what Second Lieutenant Ranea was thinking, but you looked too strong to take by force. Anyway, in the end……”
Richel leaned in and whispered the last part right into my ear.
“That strong-looking human man is now right beside me, darling.”