The Bird's Trap (2)

Tomorrow the Blood Axe King would lead his Fairies and Masters into the dungeon. That left only Kanisia and Abraham to hold the palace. There were soldiers, yes — but soldiers who couldn't see a status window were barely a cut above ordinary civilians.

Which meant the Blood Axe King's palace would be sitting empty.

And what do you do with an empty palace?

Time for a righteous(?) thief to make his move.

If I didn't help him, the Blood Axe King wasn't coming back. Everything he'd piled up over the years would be left without an owner.

You poor little treasures. I'll take you in. I'll be your new master.

Wealth only proved its worth once someone owned it. And I was more than happy to become the owner of all that soon-to-be-pitiful(?) loot.

Next up — Growth Stones, obviously.

I couldn't leave those behind either. Especially now that I'd hit 3-star — the only way to raise my stats was through Medium Growth Stones.

So Medium Growth Stones first. No — scratch that. I'll sweep up every Growth Stone I can get my hands on.

Neither Aquaril nor I could grow our stats on Lower Growth Stones anymore. But that didn't mean the lower ones were worthless.

I'll need to summon a Fairy of my own someday.

Building a power base required Fairies. Fairies never betrayed you. I had the ability to steal ownership of other Masters' Fairies, but taking someone else's wasn't easy. I'd have to find one that suited my tastes — and a Fairy like that would be a monster in her own right. I wasn't strong enough to snatch Fairies whenever I felt like it.

So I needed to stockpile Lower Growth Stones while I still could, if I wanted to grow my future summons fast.

Hmm... Fairies...

I'd have loved to steal the Blood Axe King's Fairies too, but that wasn't happening. He was taking every last one of them into the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠C-rank dungeon.

Shame. Gold and Growth Stones it is, then.

I couldn't take his Fairies — but I already had Kanisia, didn't I? That would have to be enough.

"Kh—!"

A surge of climax hit me, and I came.

"Mmph! Nngh... haaah~"

Aquaril, kneeling between my legs, swallowed every drop. She stuck out her tongue and licked my cock clean, not leaving a trace.

Gotta love that about her.

Whenever I slept with Kanisia, Aquaril always did this the next day. A blowjob. Without me even asking.

Is she jealous of Kanisia?

Maybe I was imagining it, but the feeling was strong — Aquaril was jealous of her. Could a Fairy even feel jealousy toward a human?

Well... different species or not, she looks just like a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠person. I guess jealousy isn't that strange.

I didn't mind Aquaril being jealous of Kanisia. I liked it, actually. Yes-girl Aquaril was great — but this Aquaril, the one who wore her feelings on her sleeve, was even better.

"Master."

"Hmm?"

"Are we not raiding a dungeon today?"

"Nah. Today's a rest day."

Giving up the Daily Quest reward of thirty gems stung a little, but I wanted to conserve my stamina. Just in case.

The secret organization Palos's Bird was luring the Blood Axe King into a trap so they could seize multiple cities and build a force capable of standing against Ferdium — the sole empire on Gaiarium. They'd spring the trap, then use his life as leverage to force him into cooperating. In the game, the Blood Axe King refused their offer and survived with the player's help.

But I was the one playing the player's role now — and I had no intention of helping him. He'd die in that dungeon.

So why was I conserving stamina?

Because of Palos's Bird.

No matter how I looked at it, those bastards wouldn't have prepared just one dungeon if they wanted to take Chinnimoni. They'd have a backup plan for if the Blood Axe King refused to play along. I intended to be ready for that.

Still...

Aquaril, my cum smeared across her lips as she licked my cock, looked obscenely hot. I wanted to fuck her right then and there.

I'm supposed to be saving my stamina...

Yesterday I'd gone at Kanisia like an animal for nearly two hours. Hitting 3-star had gone to my head — I'd actually thought I could fuck her unconscious. I'd pounded away with the insane conviction that I could conquer a woman stronger than me through sex, and I'd burned through a lot of stamina doing it. That was why I'd skipped the dungeon today.

But... once wouldn't hurt, right?

"Aquaril."

"Nngh... yes, Master."

"Turn around."

"...Yes."

Her face flushed as she turned. Those long, slender bare legs. The sky-blue dolphin shorts riding up to show the underside of her ass. I'd already come once, but Aquaril was so damn sexy that I was hard again in seconds.

I yanked down her shorts and panties together and stroked her pussy.

"Nngh..."

She was already soaked. Wet enough to take me right then. I grabbed her hips and pulled her onto my cock.

Schlick—!

"Fuck... Aquaril's pussy really is the best."

"Aaaah... Master... thank you. Nngh! Haaah!"

I gripped her ass and thrust, and that wet, springy pussy clamped down around me with every stroke. I reached forward and grabbed her tits through her clothes. No bra — I could feel her nipples standing stiff against my palms.

The dye's starting to fade.

Back in Indigo, I'd dyed Aquaril's dark blue hair gold to hide her identity. I'd killed Hwaryongwang since then, so there was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reason to keep it dyed — but gold suited her, so I'd left it. Her hair kept growing, though. If you looked close, you could see the dark blue roots.

Yeah. This.

I gathered her swaying golden hair in my fist like a set of reins.

"Ah—!"

I yanked, and Aquaril's head snapped back with a cry.

Smack—!

"Hngh?!"

My other hand cracked across her ass. Pale and round as a full moon — a beautiful ass. And it was mine to do whatever I wanted with.

Smack—! Smack—! Smack—!

I spanked her left and right. Red handprints bloomed across that paper-white skin. I grabbed her waist and pulled her up, turning her so she could bend over the sofa, and drove into her again.

"Haaah! Master! It feels so good! Nngh?!"

"Yeah, I love you too, Aquaril. Your pussy tastes incredible."

I'd already come once, so I could savor her for a long time. And my plan to conserve stamina went straight to hell.

Fuck. I really went to town on her.

"I leave Chinnimoni in your hands, Princess Lora."

"...Yes, Blood Axe King."

The next day, about a hundred people gathered at the west gate. At the head of the column stood the ruler of Chinnimoni — Glaust Tiger, the Blood Axe King. His Fairies, the Masters under his command, and his soldiers followed behind.

Kanisia's face soured at the title "Princess Lora." She clearly didn't like it.

What is this? Am I getting iced out?

Technically I was one of the Blood Axe King's Masters. I should have been in that formation. But nobody had told me when to assemble. Not even Kanisia. I wasn't going to go even if they asked — but the fact that not a single person had bothered to pass the word still pissed me off.

So that's the Blood Axe King, huh?

I was finally seeing his face in person. He was a little shorter than me. Brown hair, brown eyes — the kind of coloring you'd see on any street corner. His face was handsome, the way Masters' faces tended to be, and his scarred, well-trained body looked as solid as if he were wearing armor.

Status window.

Let's see what this bastard's made of.

...What?

I stared at the Blood Axe King's status window in shock. What the fuck?

Three traits and a Master-rank Voodooist? Forget that — he's 4-star?!

Seeing his face brought the game's information flooding back in detail. And the Blood Axe King standing in front of me was nothing like the one from Fairy Masters.

In the game, he'd been a mere 3-star. His only traits had been Fairy Master and Voodoo Adept. His class level, his stats, his skill levels — everything had been lower. The real Blood Axe King was on another level. Far stronger than the game.

Wait... hold on.

Berserker's Blood was the one that really threw me.

Special sat one rank below Mythic — the highest grade there was. The effect was simple: the more enemies you killed, the stronger you got. Every ten kills raised all stats by one point, up to a maximum of five. He was already strong, and slaughtering enemies would make him even stronger. And "enemies" didn't just mean monsters. People counted too.

If I'm not careful... this bastard might actually come back alive.

His Fairies weren't pushovers either. He had four of them, and every single one was ready to promote to 4-star on the spot. So this was what it meant to carry the title of King.

If Palos's Bird had prepared a trap at the same level as the one in the game, they wouldn't be able to kill him. Hell, they might be the ones who got wiped out.

And Palos's Bird failing was no different from me failing. The only reason I was planning to loot his palace was because I was counting on him being dead.

What now? Do I go through with the plan or not?

I bit my lip, watching the Blood Axe King's army recede into the distance.

Without meaning to, I'd been forced to a crossroads.

"Hah..."

Kanisia watched the Blood Axe King's retreating back and let out a sigh. She'd wanted to go with him. But she couldn't refuse his "order" to stay and guard Chinnimoni.

Tigris...

Protecting Chinnimoni was important. But couldn't he have left that to the other Masters? Or if he was worried about betrayal, he could have just left a Fairy behind. Entrusting her with Chinnimoni — his home base — could be taken as a sign of trust. But somehow, it felt more like he no longer believed he could turn his back on her.

She didn't know where things had gone wrong. And she had no idea how to put a relationship back together once it had come apart. It sat in her chest like a stone, heavy and immovable.

Kanisia stood rooted in place like a wife turned to stone, watching him disappear down the road, and sighed.

Shhk—!

"Kyah?!"

Something cold pressed against her neck. The sudden chill made her jump, and she spun around.

"What's got you thinking so hard?"

"Ah... Alan."

Alan was grinning at her, and Kanisia found herself smiling back. Just looking at him, the tightness in her chest came undone. They said wounds inflicted by people could only be healed by people. Kanisia thought that was true.

She'd only known Alan for a few days, but she felt a strange intimacy — as if they'd spent a lifetime together. Being with him made her happy. It was fun. And she liked sharing a bed with him, too.

"You just going to stand here? I thought you had a palace to guard."

"You're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right. I should go."

"Want me to come with you?"

"Hmm? You too?"

"Yeah. I just realized I've never actually been inside the palace. Show me around while you're at it."

"Oh, sure. Let's go together, then."

Alan and Kanisia headed for the empty palace, their Fairies in tow.

As they walked, a thought settled in Alan's mind.

Standing at the crossroads, he had made his decision.