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Chapter 643
The group of us stumbled through the Portal late in the night. I had planned to take Lydia and the rest of the girls to the house for the night as well, but they insisted on returning to the woods. They called it training, and I decided not to ask for any more details about it. As for me, I preferred a nice comfortable bed to rest in to regain my spirit.
“They’re bastards.” Shao snorted. “We’ll definitely make them pay for this, okay Master?”
“I might be able to trace the direction of the mana source tomorrow morning. I’m just too tired to do it tonight.” Miki added.
Both girls had only recently been resurrected. Miki then went on to resurrect three others. In general, Resurrection took about a day to recover from. Resurrecting from the destruction of your body could take up to a week. Thankfully, these girls only needed a night. It was because of all of the status bonuses my Hero and Slave Master jobs gave them that they were able to keep going.
However, the idea of tracking down the Bandits who already had a heads up on us last night would be a fool’s errand at best, certain destruction at worst. It was better to take it easy immediately after. Shao may have been a bit upset about finding out about Raissa, but the main reason she kicked up such a stink was to get everyone’s attention off of death. Things like that could build trauma in a group. I couldn’t even begin to understand how the bandits were dying so casually on the other side.
I barely even stroked their hair for a moment before I felt both girls fall asleep. Their breathing turned regular and both of them held me tightly with their eyes closed. They muttered slightly, their eyes tight. Their souls had been damaged, and it’d need some time to recover. At least, they’d need a good night’s sleep, and we’d probably need to take it easy for a few days. I definitely couldn’t afford to lead them into another massacre.
While thinking about my plans, my mind kept running around in circles. The basic reality was that I didn’t understand these Bandits. They weren’t like Salicia. I thought her expertise would have been enough, but she seemed to be blocking something out, and even Ruby, our mentor, was flummoxed. How did they resurrect so quickly? When did they get such a powerful spell? At first, I thought it was Meteor, but I suspect now it was just a giant fireball. It was still powerful enough to wipe out an entire band. The most alarming question, how were they so organized?
I realized that the more I thought about it, the less I was able to get to sleep. The girls were exhausted with death. My exhaustion was from my failure.
With a sigh, I decided to get up for a bit. Using Position Shifts, I quickly moved out of the way, leaving the two girls hugging each other. I stood up, stretched, and then headed out the door into the rest of the small house. From what I understood, this place costed an arm and a leg. Because of Lord Reigns ridiculous taxes, this place that was only a small two-story home was almost as pricy as my mansion in the capital would have been.
When I walked out the door, my eyes immediately landed on Raissa. Like me, she hadn’t been resurrected, so she was the least tired of the bunch. We were the only two up. As for Carmine’s managers, I had sent them to their own bedroom that they were forced to share while we lived here. They grumbled a bit, but they’d stay out of our way while we were here.
She glanced over at me. “Ah! Deek?”
I took a breath and nodded. “Raissa, we need to talk.”
Chapter 644
“Deek, I have something to say.”
“Raissa, let me speak first.”
“It’s all my fault.” She said.
“I’m in the wrong!” I said.
“Deek?”
“Huh?”
Raissa shook her head. “I knew I was pregnant, but I went on this trip anyway. I put our child into danger knowingly because I just wanted to have a chance to be closer to you! This was all my fault! I should have just been honest with you before. Wh-when you… I mean… when we… made love…”
“I raped you in front of hundreds of witnesses…”
“Y-yeah… that… when we conceived a baby lovingly together…” Her eyes grew scarily forceful.
“Ah… right… when that happened.”
“You knew pretty soon, didn’t you?”
“Ah… yeah, as soon as you became my slave, I can access your status information.”
“So, you just wanted to keep me safe… that’s why…”
“Raissa, I’m in the wrong here!” I reached out and grabbed her hands. “I thought I could keep putting off telling you. That the longer I delayed it, the less of a deal it would be. Your baby will be the first child I have ever had. I’m not sure I can be a good father. My own dad was a deadbeat who cheated on my mom and left us when I was young. I never had a good role model. Maybe, that’s why I have so many lovers. I’m so frightened that I’ll end up like my dad and leave the ones that love and need me, that I end up accepting more than I can handle.”
“Deek… no, Master… You will always have us. You don’t need to try so hard to keep us. Rather, we’re here for you, and I know every girl, even Salicia and Carmine, are willing to put their life on the line to protect you.”
“Salicia and Carmine? They have no reason to care about me.”
“You gave them something no one else could. You gave them a home. I think you might find their feelings for you are stronger than you think. As are mine!”
“You too? I saved your life, but that doesn’t mean you need to love me…”
“It’s not because you saved my life that caused me to start having these feelings. It’s simply seeing you that gave me these feelings. You’re an amazing person, who does amazing things every day. Knowing the secrets of how you’ve done it doesn’t scare a girl away, it only makes her realize just how much more incredible you are.”
“Raissa…”
“I mean it! I’m happy that it’s Master’s baby that I am having. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“I shouldn’t have brought you along, though. I’m your Master, and I knew you were pregnant. I didn’t think… that… I mean…” I suddenly found it difficult to find the right words.
“You didn’t think my life would be endangered.” She finished. “That’s not your fault either! I’m the one who chose to risk my life, okay?
“I…” I still wasn’t sure.
“Do you see them as slaves?” she demanded, squeezing my hands.
“What?”
“The girls… do you see them as slaves?”
“Of course not!” I responded emphatically.
“Exactly…” She raised her hand from mine and gently touched my cheek. “You don’t treat us like your slaves. You don’t make us do anything. You let us decide what we want. You always have. So, don’t take all the blame on yourself when things go wrong, okay?”
“Okay…”
Raissa suddenly blushed, pulling away. “Ah… but it is definitely your fault when you ignore us and leave us wanting!”
“Oh?” I leaned forward, a small smile forming on my lips. “Have I left you wanting?”
“Y-you… when you say it like that.”
“Raissa, don’t you think you’ve waited long enough?”
Raissa’s tail started to wag. The three guys were very annoyed when I kicked them out of their bedroom and ordered them to sleep on the couch.
Chapter 644.5
The first time I had ever slept with Raissa had been under some pretty extreme circumstances. She had been captured by Lord Reign and tossed in a gladiatorial rink to be used for entertainment. To save her, I had disguised myself and slipped into the rink. Various things happened, and she ended up pregnant with my child. Since then, she had been my slave, and I had kept her safe in Chalm.
Her time since then had been filled with training soldiers. In particular, her training concentrated on survival. Many armies only trained their soldiers how to fight, but in any given war, more deaths came from starvation and disease than an actual battle. I felt it was important that all of the troops had some basic survival knowledge, and Raissa was the most skilled at making use of her environment to stay alive.
I hadn’t realized it at the time, but I had been avoiding Raissa and perhaps disregarding her feelings too. It wasn’t intentional. It had more to do with personalities. The other girls were far bolder about demanding my attention. Whether it was Lydia, Miki, Celeste, Terra, or Shao… all of the girls would seek out my affection and demand my time. It should go without saying that Elaya and Astria would do the same. When it came to Raissa, she would just sit back and wait loyally. I could no longer act passively.
The relationship I had with my women went both ways. I had committed myself to give my love to any woman who committed herself to me. Now, it was time I made good on such commitments. After Raissa almost got hurt and it could potentially endanger the pregnancy, I realized just how much she meant to me. So, I made the time and the two of us were in a bedroom together alone.
I looked at Raissa lying on the bed. Her ears were perked up and the tail she was sitting on wagged excitedly behind her butt. However, since her tail was squished, it didn’t move much at all. She had her arms up and facing palm outward, and her legs up and spread too. I thought she was just getting into missionary, but then I realized that this was a submissive position an animal might take. Just lying there, Raissa did get the impression of a dog looking for a belly rub. Her shirt was even up, exposing her tan belly to me.
Feeling somewhat complicated, I reached out and touched her stomach.
“Nha haa…” Her cheeks grew rosy and she made a cute noise.
It appeared like Raissa liked to be touched on her stomach. Her tail was twitching under her excitedly, only the tip that came out from between her legs could move through. Seeing her reaction, I started to use the back of my hand to gently stroke her stomach. My fingernails brushed down her soft, yet well-toned skin. There was a small scar on her stomach. Raissa had many scars and bruises. She had a very rough life, after all.
As I stroked her, she licked her lips excitedly, looking at me with adoring eyes. She didn’t move at all though, waiting for me. However, through the imperceptible movements of her body, I could tell that she wanted to go farther. I brought my hands up and started pushing her top up over her head. She helped me remove her top, exposing her modest, pert breasts.
“I’m sorry we haven’t done this sooner,” I responded.
“Hah… Master…” She panted.
I gently kissed her while one of my hands worked on removing her pants and panties. My fingers began to explore the crevices of her underwear, rubbing through the fabric.
“Fff… ahhh… Uwa…” She moaned as I touched her gently.
I peel her underwear down, and this time she parted her legs for a different reason. I pulled out my cock, and slid between her legs. Our tongues met and began to wrestle both in and out of our mouths. Every girl kissed differently, and Raissa was a messy kisser, throwing her tongue out and even trying to lick me in various places. To stop her from licking my cheek, I grabbed her chest and pushed her down. My hands squeezed her breasts as I started to push inside her.
Although we had already had sex and she was pregnant, she still felt tight. However, she was wet enough and her pussy sucked up my cock eagerly. I acted gently, but I didn’t hesitate to shove myself in her all of the way. I took her slowly and thoroughly, enjoying her body. Whenever my face got too close to hers, she would end up licking me again. I didn’t want to tell her to stop and ruin the mood, so instead, I grabbed her tongue with my lips and began sucking on it.
“Mmm! Mmm!” She started moaning, and I could feel her having an orgasm.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly while the pair of us kissed aggressively. It was extremely raw and passionate. This wasn’t a perverted romp, but something far more physical. This was a man uniting with the mother of his child. She tasted sweet and accepted everything I gave her. She seemed to be begging me to kiss her harder and harder, even though she didn’t say anything.
With her small, but strong body under me, I couldn’t last anymore. My cock erupted, and I came deep inside her, filling her up with my seed. I didn’t need to worry about pregnancy since it was too late for that. Our lips finally broke. A bit of saliva dripped down her chin, but she didn’t seem to notice or care. Her eyes were completely focused on me.
“Master’s stuff inside me feels so warm and comfortable.”
“Is that so?”
She blushed, looking a bit shy. “It is.”
I noticed that her eyes turned distant, and she looked slightly sad.
“What is it?”
“I’m just a little sad that this is it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Master came, so it’s done. I just wanted master in me a little longer. I’m not sure when the next time we’ll be together will be, but I look forward to it!”
She made a fist when she said that, speaking with determination. She looked extremely adorable. It was to the point where I couldn’t help but tease her some.
“Who said I’m going to leave things like this?” I demanded.
“Huh?” She looked slightly taken aback. “Master, you don’t have to force yourself. Ow!”
“Silly girl!” I flicked her forehead. “You’re beautiful and sexy. I’m ready to go again.”
“Really?” She looked down at my cock in surprise, letting out a noise when she saw that it was still hard.
“How bad do you think I am?” I growled. “Even without Pervert, I can go longer than that!”
“S-sorry! I didn’t know.”
“Well, now you do.”
“Then, please, Master, stick it back in.”
“Nope! I’m going to have a bit of fun now. Let’s do a position I think you’ll like the best.”
“A position? What position does Master want me in?”
“What else? Doggie style!”
We had a great deal of fun the rest of the night.
Chapter 645
Just as morning arrived, I pulled the naked Raissa off me and snuck out of her room. Thankfully, she had tired out quickly and was now happily asleep. Every once in a while, her tail would start going again and I’d be slapped awake. So, overall, the night had been a disjointed one. I still had bags under my eyes come morning, but I had finally decided what I was going to do. Making sure not to wake anyone, I walked to Carmine’s room and snuck in. I had barely made it halfway across the room when Carmine’s eyes snapped open and she sat up.
“M-master…” She blushed. “So, you’ve finally come. Please, be gentler with me this time.”
“This time?” I raised an eyebrow and then finished walking over to her closet and opening it. “Salicia, we need to talk.”
“Ah! Sister… you!” Her eyes went from surprise to anger.
I hadn’t come into Carmine’s room for Carmine. Rather, I sensed Salicia was in here, and she was the person I needed to reach out to.
“I’ve been expecting you,” Salicia responded, standing up like she wasn’t just hiding in her sister’s closet half the night.
“Then, can you guess why I’m here?”
“Of course. The Bandits knew you were coming. They knew too much to be comfortable. They got the jump on us, and we even ended up being killed. That is inexcusable.”
“How much did they know?”
“It’s hard to say, but then again, you weren’t expecting me to have the answers.”
“No, but I need to have those answers before we can begin the next attack.”
“Wh-what are you saying?” Carmine broke in, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“You have a fight today, right?” I asked.
“Ah… y-yes…”
“Then, we’ll stay the day here. I need to go out with Salicia and get some things.”
“Wh-what about my fight? I haven’t done much leveling, and the enemies are growing stronger.”
“I’m a Slave Master with various boosts to those in my party, so you should be stronger now just with me in town. If we have time, we’ll go to the Gladiatorial match and watch. Alright?”
“Ah… yes…”
She looked like she wanted to say more, but she stopped with just that. The pair of us left the house. I put on an amulet I had gained from a dungeon which changed my physical appearance. It didn’t work as completely as Shao’s magic. That is to say that I couldn’t turn myself from one person into another person. I could only make superficial changes to my nose, eyes, and mouth. With Shao’s magic fueled by fairy dust, I could look like anyone, but the amulet used a lot less mana and was enough so I wouldn’t be noticed.
For the first time, I walked through the streets of Alerith and was actually able to see the state they were truly in. The food looked miserable, even by Aberis standards. The people were even more miserable. Most of them seemed to live on the streets. Every alley had been turned into a small shanty town using whatever garbage or wood that was needed to protect them from the weather. The people were dirty and underfed.
The only thing that kept order were Knights, who seemed to still be in a steady supply despite the large group I had taken out only a month or so before. He seemed to be able to produce an infinite number of Knights. It was like the Bandits and their never-ending resurrection. Were the two things connected? I wouldn’t put it past the Imperial Cloud Meadow to send the bandits artifacts to help destabilize Aberis.
We weren’t even in a particularly poor area of town, but the poverty was everywhere. Our district was probably around mid-tier. Even if I wanted to spend the money, the current laws in Alerith kept commoners from buying a better property in Alerith. Well, at least, they allowed commoners to buy at all. I certainly wasn’t going to buy the property as Lord Deekson, a man Lord Rein wanted dead.
There was one place that was spared from this dismal atmosphere. The inner city of Alerith kept out this level of riffraff with a secondary set of walls. That’s where the gladiator rink was. Most people visiting the city would never have seen the poverty in these sections, as there was a means of entering directly to the inner city, which was the path lords were sent. The levels of corruption were hidden for anyone who didn’t look too deeply. I should know, I was one of those who hadn’t seen this the first time I had come as Lord Deekson.
The pair of us reached the market and I turned to Salicia. “Okay, it’s time for plan B.”