Artifact (2)

Anyway, after getting sucked off three times by Yustitia, I finally got a hint out of her.

"The hint is the original owners of the abilities you're using... the common emotion those three share toward you. It's not certain yet, but that's the only common thread among them."

A common emotion that Eileya, Sati, and Liliana all felt toward me?

I racked my brain, but came up empty. Yustitia saw my confusion and chimed in.

"You don't know? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Or are you playing dumb? Or maybe..."

No, what the fuck is it?

I was about to demand she just spit it out instead of talking in riddles when—

Ding-dong. The front door chimed open.

I turned toward the sound, and there was Hoaran, our eyes meeting through the gap in the door. Her face lit up like the sun.

"Hanjo, you're home early today!"

Hoaran bustled in, arms loaded with grocery bags.

Anyone could see she'd just come back from shopping. I blinked stupidly and mumbled a reply.

"Uh... welcome back, Hoaran-mama."

"Hearing you say 'welcome back' to me feels like a first."

"...Yeah, guess so."

She was always the one taking care of the house, so I'd never had the chance to say it to her.

But I didn't have time to dwell on that right now.

"...Hm? Looks like someone sprayed something."

Hoaran sniffed the air as she approached—sniff, sniff—and commented casually.

My heart damn near stopped. And for good reason—if she'd come home just a little earlier, she'd have walked in on Yustitia slurping my dick.

By the time we'd finished, cleaned up the mess, and gotten the hint from her, Hoaran was pulling in from the market. Of course I was on edge.

That super-effective odor eliminator, plus air freshener for good measure—no way her nose could pick up on what went down. But still, better safe than sorry.

"Oh, that... I was making something, and it stank pretty bad, so I sprayed some freshener."

Unlike me, sweating bullets, Yustitia lied through her teeth without missing a beat, all prim and proper.

She even glanced at me mid-sentence, like right? Her shamelessness was goddamn impressive.

We did make something. She sucked my cock like a champ and whipped up a batch of cum.

Which definitely reeked.

Anyway, Hoaran bought Yustitia's brazen bullshit hook, line, and sinker, nodding along.

"I won't complain about you making things, but since we all live together, try to be more mindful."

"Yeah, sorry! I'll be careful next time."

Another glance my way as she said it. She was definitely side-eyeing my teeth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the cum that dribbled out because I blew so hard she couldn't swallow it all.

Though half the blame was hers—I was just standing there with my dick out while she went to town.

"Ah, Hanjo. Are you hungry?"

I was still staring at Yustitia, wondering how many steel plates she had bolted to her face, when Hoaran asked that. I thought for a sec and answered.

"Uh... a bit?"

"Wait just a moment. I'll whip up a snack."

She seemed pleased I'd come home early, her tails swishing happily as she headed to the kitchen. I poked Yustitia in the side.

"...This what you meant by 'urgent'?"

"Who knows... what do you think? Curious?"

She licked her lips—the same ones that had been wrapped around my cock moments ago.

"If you're curious... you know the answer, right?"

That smug look screamed confidence. No idea how she timed Hoaran's shopping trip so perfectly.

"Hm? What are you two whispering about?"

"Nothing, ma'am."

Hoaran tilted her head at us. We brushed it off.

Not long after, Lilith came back too—the one who'd been suddenly called away.

But she looked seriously pissed.

I couldn't even report on Shirasgal because I was too busy reading the room.

But that didn't last. Her foul mood dragged on, so I had to ask.

"...What happened?"

Some ballsy fucker piss her off? But she just sighed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heavily at me.

"What is it?"

Why the sigh and the stare? You're freaking me out.

"Not sure if this is bad luck or good fortune."

What the hell? She handed me something.

"What's this?"

"Official notice from upstairs. Take a look."

I skimmed it. A summons for dispensers to report in.

Specifically, the top-ranked ones from each branch.

And right there, bold as brass: my dispenser alias, StrongCock.

"The fu...?"

This shit was no joke. Report date, penalties for no-show like losing top-dispenser perks...

"...Remember I mentioned it? Top dispensers have all these obligations."

Yeah, she did.

To avoid complaints about favoritism, they'd tacked on a clause: if the World Government calls, you go.

"Wasn't that just boilerplate?"

"It was. No reason for them to summon dispensers out of the blue. Basically meaningless."

But now they were using that meaningless clause to drag me in. Though it wasn't just me—top from every branch.

"Was I that high-ranked?"

About ten top dispensers per branch.

I knew I was in there somewhere, but top of the tops? The peninsula had eight branches, plus overseas ones—felt like top 100 overall.

Best man-whore in the neighborhood. Happy or not? Fuck if I knew.

Lilith eyed me as I processed.

"Your star ratings, reviews—they factor all that in. Plus 'potential' from the variety of species you've serviced... You fucked around without discrimination, so high score. And the Liliana thing boosted your value."

Apparently my slutty versatility paid off.

Didn't feel that diverse. Slime, werewolf, satyros, wererat, were-sheep, minotaur, harpy, lamia... yeah, okay, pretty spread out.

But what about Liliana?

"What about her?"

"Even if it's autonomous, it's a World Government-sanctioned kingdom. Over fifty thousand population, and you know from eating it—their honey's useful everywhere. Low-grade elixirs, reagents, cooking, you name it."

I only knew the taste part.

I shut up and listened.

"So when their queen singles you out? Huge rep boost in the industry. The previous queen couldn't bear kids and rotated dispensers normally. But now? Liliana's declaration ties the Wearhoneybee lineage to your dick. Plus, we used that pretext to spring you from the hospital."

Oh...

Had no clue.

Honeybee limo, that flashy palace—yeah, they had cash, but their status was bigger than I thought. Enough to skyrocket my value just for being Liliana's guy.

Anyway...

"What pretext?"

"Didn't want rumors if I stepped in directly, so we went through Liliana. 'Oppressing the Wearhoneybee queen's consort ain't cool.'"

I didn't remember signing up for consort.

Probably just Lilith's bullshit. But it fit—those upcoming Wearhoneybees from Liliana? My kids either way.

Mumungmumung hadn't even popped yet, but their crazy breeding speed meant daddy duty soon. Reality hit hard.