It was still night—or perhaps very early in the morning; I couldn't tell—when I woke up after the hours-long session, my beloved Yue stirring beside me less than a moment later.
Such a thing—waking up after a short few hours of rest—would've been tormenting were both of us not only well-rested and beyond satisfied, but craving more of each other upon touching minds and eyes.
I wasn't particularly horny like how I'd been on the way to the inn, while we booked the room, and as we entered it, but sex was sex. Even on my deathbed I'd always be down for more of it.
The fact that Yue's incredible body, matching libido, and my abilities made each frolic better than the last rendered the question of eagerness moot.
Nevertheless, there was something else I wanted to do, even though the red orbs staring into mine with inquiry would instantly turn joyful and willing if I initiated the blissful activity once more.
Summoning a fresh blanket from the Treasure Trove, I unfolded and threw it over the bed, gently drawing Yue into me and wrapping her in my arms so we'd both fall under the covers.
She reciprocated my actions without a word and threw one of her legs over mine, the contact of our warm bodies, the rub of our perfect bare skins against each other, and the smooth cloth drawing long, contented breaths from the both of us.
After enjoying the comfort and silence for a good while, I spoke up, staring absent-mindedly at the wood ceiling. "Remember what we spoke about in Horaud? About what I did?"
"Mmhm… it was nice to see another side of you."
"Your acceptance made me happy as well," I said while threading my hand through her silky white locks. "I want to tell you more. Is that okay?"
Her head still laying sideways on my chest, Yue twisted it upward in search of my eyes. Looking down from the ceiling, I matched her gaze and found it unusually intense.
"I'm okay with anything so long it's you. You're the Rick that saved me. Nothing else can change that."
This woman. You can't be saying things like that. You make it sound like I'm a villain. Well, I might as well be one considering the things I'm willing to do.
Nodding in response to her statement, I smiled and kissed the top of her head, confident she knew exactly what her words meant to me.
She snuggled closer and exhaled, her warm breath tickling my chest and torso as she traced her dainty fingers on both, her expression one of contentment.
"I'm gonna start from the beginning. It may be a bit boring so I'll shorten it as much as possible."
"Mmn…"
"I was a fat child," I said, diving in without hesitation. "Even when I was small enough to be running around and playing with other kids, I was known as the big one. And the other kids teased me for it. I'd always cry and run to my parents every time it happened, but the teasing never stopped.
Eventually I stopped crying and started fighting. Because of my size I easily beat most of the other kids, but that got me in trouble, and the teasing didn't even stop.
Some of the kids were stronger than me, and they were the meanest when it came to the name calling and shirt pulling.
You might be wondering where my parents fit into all this. My mother worked from home and my dad was a driver. They were great parents. I have nothing to complain about really, except for maybe the bullying.
Mom would always tell me to ignore the other kids and dad would always tell me to listen to her. So I did, and it worked. It turned out kids lose interest fast when their taunts don't garner the reaction they want.
Life wasn't smooth sailing per say. There were always those special few who didn't get the hint, but my teenage years were fine.
People my age, especially the boys, still picked on me, but I ignored them as always, even though that didn't work on them as much.
One day, a friend wanted to talk to me. He convinced me to meet him in a place where the boys changed after sports. No one was supposed to be there at the time, so it should've been safe.
However when I entered the room, someone put a sack on my head from behind and started beating me.
More people joined in, I could tell. They laughed and hit me, calling me names, punching and kicking me. They tore off my shirt and slapped and hit my stomach.
After a while they just stopped and left. I ended up going to the hospital. The boys were found and suspended but by then they had already released the video of what they did.
That's how they were caught actually. Idiots. Everyone in the school watched the video.
At that point, I was angry, obviously, but also confused. Why would they do this? Was it because I kept ignoring them? I never got an answer, not that it mattered. No reason on earth would make what they did okay.
The school gave me some time to spend at home. I wasn't even hurt that badly. Nothing was broken, and I could walk. But hey, I didn't have to go to school so that was a plus.
I tried to put it out of my mind but I couldn't. I wanted to, I needed to know why they did what they did. So I went online to a place where people talk about stuff and searched for topics similar to mine.
I found a lot of them, way too many of them, a lot way way worse than mine. People my age were talking about killing themselves. It was… crazy, but I couldn't stop reading.
There were tons of similar stories under each one, with the occasional bit of advice mixed in between. One of these pieces of advice caught my attention. It was by a guy that went by the name." I paused and laughed,
"TheRedHoodedPunisher. His advice had a crazy amount of likes, at least before it was removed.
His solution for anyone being bullied was to find a public place and make sure their bully and everyone who always watches the bullying but does nothing is there.
The next step? Attack the bully and beat them like you want to kill them. That was it.
It was crazy, and I refused to believe it was that simple. I had fought a lot before, and it didn't work. Why would it work now? I wanted to know more so I messaged the guy and asked him more, and that conversation… changed everything for me.
Soon it was time to return to school. My first day back and I was getting stares everywhere I went. Even from the teachers. But I'd spent my whole life ignoring people so that was nothing.
The boys who beat me were also back, and they snickered and laughed among themselves when they saw me.
Again, I didn't react. I pushed down and compacted the anger, the hate, biding my time and waiting for the right moment.
That moment came during Chemistry. I still remember how quiet it was, glass clinking about the room and Mrs. Goldberg writing on the chalkboard.
I made sure no one was looking at me and I grabbed my chair. My lab partner whispered to try to get my attention but I ignored her.
I walked to where one of the boys who beat me was passing notes with another girl and let all the anger and hate I'd been holding down out.
I hit him from behind in the side and he fell down. He yelled in pain and everyone turned to look but I didn't care. As soon as he turned around I smashed the chair into his face. There was blood everywhere.
There was noise all around me, but it was all background. There was just me and this piece of shit.
I really wanted to kill him. RedHoodPunisher said this would only work if I actually wanted to. He said to imagine all the nasty things done to me and hold them in my mind.
So I kept hitting him, face, chest, face, chest, all the while feeling great inside. The way he begged me with his face and arms in front of his face made me want more, so I kept hitting him.
People tried to pull me off him, but I fought them off and lost the chair in the process. He tried to crawl away, but I pulled him back and started squeezing his neck.
The arms around me were plenty now but I didn't let go. I squeezed as hard as I could. I squeezed his neck so hard that when they tried to pull me away he came along.
They managed to save him in the end. Someone hit me with the chair and knocked me out.
When I woke up I was in handcuffs, but the first thing I saw made it all worth it. Everyone looked at me like I'd jump at them next. They'd look away when I looked at them, even the teachers.
It got even better when the officers marched me out and I smiled like it was the best day of my life. Nobody would look at me.
I spent some time in jail and the school expelled me, but I was happy. I felt great.
It didn't matter where they saw me, whether it was a store or a party, anyone who was there that day avoided me like the plague. The news even got to my other school, but they were well behaved so there was no repeat incident.
There's a lot more I want to tell you, but I think I've bored you with my sob story enough. Want to ask anything? It doesn't matter what it is, I'll answer."
Instead of asking something though, Yue said something that left me feeling awkward and undecided between laughter and sadness.
"I'm sorry you went through that."
I looked down to find tears threatening to spill from my girlfriend's eyes. Shaking my head, I hastily pulled my arm from our embrace and wiped the edge of both her eyelids.
"My story's not that bad compared to others. Really. Some will make you question humanity as a whole. Besides, I still had friends. Just fewer of them than before.
Most people distanced themselves when they found out what I did, but that made me happy. Because it means what I did worked. So don't waste your tears on me. I enjoyed and don't regret what I did."
Still saddened but slightly less so, Yue gave me a subtle and reluctant nod after a while.
"What else d'you wanna know?"
"Mmm…" she hummed, thoughts churning.
She did not care much for my past, that much I knew. Okay "not care" was not the most accurate phrase. It was more like, my past in her mind was inconsequential to her present.
It didn't matter if I happened to be the most evil man to ever exist, I was the Rick who rescued her and that Rick was all she wanted and needed. Everything else be damned.
It's why I expected her next question to be about something other than the information I just dumped on her. What she asked though threw me for a massive loop.
"Miledi," she looked up at me, catching my confusion. "Do you like Miledi?"
"Ehhh?" It took me a few to process the question, my eyes narrowing as I twisted my head to face her properly. "What brought this on?"
"Back in the labyrinth. When you were convincing her to take the deal, your admiration for her… it was a lot. It reminded me of when I used the Azure Blaze. You felt the same way toward me. You were amazed, proud and also, "she paused, coyness taking over her features, "...excited."
Any rebuttals and denials died in my throat at the last part, my hand brushing back my hair as I examined the interaction with Miledi again. And lo and behold, it turned out Yue was not totally wrong.
I examined the conversation a few more times before sighing in defeat. "Yes… I do… admire her. Greatly at that. She sacrificed everything so she could stay alive and make sure that Ehit is defeated. That was over 2000 years ago. She's endured all that pain and loneliness all this time.
That determination and perseverance… makes her a very attractive woman to me. Her age also helps, but it is less important.
So yes, I like her, but that's all it's going to be. Just because I like a woman doesn't mean I have to pursue her. Especially when I already have a special someone," I said and kissed Yue on the forehead. "I'm not an animal. Besides, when I think of the future, I can't imagine anyone else besides me."
Yue preened at that and hugged me tighter. "Mmm… I know, but it's okay if you want to pursue more. I want you to have more people who are important to you."
She wasn't looking at me when she said that, else she'd have seen the discomfort I held back from reaching her end of the connection. Her being this way wasn't new or surprising to me.
I'd expected it to come up and even prepared myself to tell her it wasn't necessary, that she was enough for me.
Even though my attraction to Miledi was no longer muddled and as clear as day, I truly didn't see myself with her or any other woman apart from Yue.
How was I supposed to love her back when other women were in the mix?
Shaking my head lightly, I put the matter out of my mind and changed the subject. It's not like I was being forced or could be forced to take on more women. Pssh.
"Any more questions? If not, why don't you tell me about your past? How was it being the queen of a whole kingdom?"
The fingers trailing my chest stopped and slowly curled into a fist. A somber and dark haze came from Yue's end of our connection and for the first time since I met her, she refused to do something I asked.
"...Can we… not talk... about... this?" she said, pleading.
Her current emotions made me recall her expression when I first found her. It was as though she were sealed back in the darkness all over again.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay," I gently palmed both sides of her face and gazed into those fearful eyes. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. In fact we'll never mention this again, ever. The past you doesn't matter to me. The current you is the one I love. Okay?"
She nodded in my hands and blinked repeatedly, the tears not making it past her eyelids.
After a moment of silence, her eyes and visage slowly morphed into a dreamy and happy smile. "You said it. You said you love me."
The words I spoke earlier repeated themselves in my mind and I met her smile with one of my own. "I did, didn't I?"
Quickly shifting till I lay on my side, I brought my face within inches of hers and bored into her gem-like eyes with all the intensity and certainty I could muster. "I love you."
"Mmm… I love you too."
The distance between us disappeared after that, our lips mashing together in a gentle but all consuming demonstration of our declarations.
We explored each other thoroughly, mouths and lips busy and fervent while our eager and warm hands slid up and down the other's bodies, our movements bringing me on top of her with our fingers interlocked.
The blanket rolled down my back as we blissfully joined together at the hip, my waist moving back and forth with none of the usual fervor, each entry and retreat into her, our deep kisses, lengthy moans, and sharp breaths into and onto each gentle and ardent as we drowned ourselves in the throes of passionate lovemaking.
.
.
.
.
With the aid of the magic compass, our journey to find the Haulia Tribe in the Sea of Trees should've been quick and straightforward. However it turned out I'd underestimated the sheer size of the magical forest.
The maps I studied in Oscar's library didn't do it justice.
Gazing at the leafy green carpet that stretched as far as the eye could see, with the only change being the giant tree disappearing into the sky in the center, the sea in the forest's name was more than accurate.
We were currently high above it, soaring like the birds we weren't. As always, I held Yue in a bridal carry and jumped while she scouted for anything on the ground below and controlled our landings.
Her vigilance and use of Farsight had picked up something other than our intended target, and I could sense from our connection she really wanted me to take a look.
"Babe… over there," she pointed at a spot below that was all brown and green to me. "There are people. Some are in… cages."
I nodded stiffly. "Drop us there."
Nodding, Yue raised her right hand like she was offering it to me for a kiss and the air around both of us went heavy.
Our arc through the sky came to a halt before the heaviness yanked us downward, cold wind beating against my pants and blowing up by shirt.
We rocketed toward the ground at speeds that saw the people she talked about become visible within moments.
Said people noticed us at a certain point, a point at which Yue reversed the direction of her arm, her palm facing downwards as the heaviness unwrapped from around us.
It didn't go entirely, holding both of us up just enough for us to land with a very loud thump but no crater.
Two quick clacks echoed in the silent encampment as I gently lowered her and took in the barbaric sight.
Thirty well armed men with well maintained figures stared at us in amazement and confusion, some with their weapons drawn, others halfway there, and a few too stunned to even think.
They all wore khaki colored leather armor, a dead giveaway that they belonged to the Hoelscher Empire. If that wasn't enough however, the fearful and hopeless beastmen packed like sardines into the multiple caravans surrounding the camp were proof of their affiliation.
Slavery. Right before my eyes.
"Who are you?" one of the men asked, the dusting of grey in his temples, his taut and alert posture, and fully drawn and tightly gripped sword telling me he was either the leader or one of the most experienced here.
I didn't know which of the two theories made me more disgusted.
"Who we are doesn't matter. I'm going to say this once; let the people go and you will leave this place alive."
Silence. The beastmen, Yue and the empire slavers remained completely silent at my words, their reasons wildly different of course.
As my partner, Yue knew I meant every word. Plus, she absolutely detested talking to men that weren't me, so that explained her silence.
Regarding the beastmen, a human not only standing up for them but also threatening to kill those of his own race for them probably set off flashbangs in most of their minds.
Most of them probably thought this was a dream. Or a hoax. Maybe I was another slaver. Who knew?
As for the slavers—"Pfft!—Hahaha! Oh my god! Hahaha! He said… he said…Hahaha!"
They laughed like my words had been that of the world's best comedian. Only one of them—the man who addressed us—maintained some decorum. Even then, the curl at the edge of his lips could be seen very clearly.
"Sigh… I tried."
'Babe, can you protect the beastmen?'
'Mmhm…'
'Thanks. You're the best.'
'I know. Love me lots later.'
'Count on it.'
Concluding that unseen exchange in less than a second, I raised a single hand and pointed it at the leader or whoever this old man was to this group, forming a finger gun.
The skill I obtained from Miledi's labyrinth not only increased the amount of energy I could emit beyond my body, it allowed me to compress more of it into smaller spaces.
And since cursed energy was invisible to non-socerers, no one present, not even Yue with her Divine Priestess class, saw the energy shaped bullet I launched from the tip of my finger straight into the old's man's head.
Without a single sound apart from the ensuing gore shower, the compressed cursed energy projectile slammed into the man's face and unraveled it with the force of a localized bomb, leaving him a headless corpse.
The guffawing and laughter ceased all of a sudden, silence followed by the thump of the body and battle cries taking their place as the men displayed the wealth of their training and reorganised themselves.
Finger gun still active, I turned to the next slaver closest in my field of vision and jerked my hand upward, blowing his head off as well.
Continuous explosions of craniums ensued without pause, the thirty soldiers dwindling to single digits in a matter of seconds.
Scared shitless by the rapid change in the situation, one of the last slavers dashed toward the caravan with an idea anyone with a brain present could see plastered on his back.
He didn't reach within two feet of his target when a golden rope manifested around his neck and coiled around it with such tightness that his chokes were heard instantly.
The rope hoisted him up into the air and he shook his legs and whole body in an effort to get them off. His struggles grew more and more violent until they stopped all of a sudden, his head torn clean off his neck by the ultra tight rope.
Glancing away from the falling body and back at the two last slavers who'd gone on their knees trembling and begging for mercy, I leveled my hand at them and paused before jerking it back twice.
Two thumps echoed and I nodded at Yue, telling her to unlock the cages.
The sight of the men asking for mercy made me think of certain conventions back on earth. Precisely the one about sparing those that waved the white flag.
Except, when I applied that to this situation, it didn't fit, like I was trying to push a square key inside a round keyhole.
From the moment they refused to release the beastmen, they had already placed themselves at my mercy. The death warrants had already been signed. No amount of grovelling would and should change that.
Putting the matter out of mind, I carefully maneuvered the carnage using tiptoes and short leaps, landing beside an impassive Yue in seconds.
I joined her in watching the beastmen, their number almost four times that of the slavers, fearfully and hesitantly leave the small and uncomfortable cages.
They gathered together into one big group, the adults hiding the younger ones behind them and helping up those too injured or too weak to stand on their own.
In the meantime, I observed their wariness and searching gazes, silently conversing with Yue on where to go from here. We didn't plan on this after all.
'Should we just heal their injuries and leave?'
Yue looked at them before turning to me. 'Let's stay. We can ask them about the blacksmith you need. Even if there isn't one here, some of them will know one or two.'
It wasn't like I hadn't considered this.
'That's true, but it's not them I'm worried about. Their leaders might make finding the Haulia difficult. I'm a human who wants to prance about their safe haven with my own agenda. They'll make things difficult if I don't come clean.'
'Let them.'
I chuckled in the real world, shaking my head. Just when I thought she couldn't get any hotter, Yue had to go and say something like this.
'Fine then. Let's wing it.'
First order of business; dishing out healing.
Bringing my attention back to the beastmen, I threw my gaze left and right across their gathering and strode towards them, right hand going up and opening in pacification.
"Hi. I'm Rick and that's Yue. We're adventurers. We were passing by and saw your plight so we decided to help. I'd like to speak to you about what next but first, is anyone injured? I can heal."
There was some immediate shuffling among the group. Someone or a group of them seemed to be forcing their way to the front.
I lowered my hand and waited, catching sight of a tiger beastman coming through a gap reluctantly opened by those in the front.
Now at a first glance it was disturbingly easy to pick out the signs of abuse on the former would-be slaves. There was so much of it even a blind man could pick up on it by standing close to the unlucky beastmen.
For most it was a scruff here, a tear there, one or two bruises alongside the occasional red of a palm or whip mark. It was such a demented galore that it looked like the slavers had taken their time to mark each person.
If they had indeed done that, then the tiger beastman weakly holding up one of the slaver's longswords to keep me away has clearly been given extra special treatment.
Both of their eyes were nearly swollen shut, the left one more than the right. The stripped side-burns framing their bruised and battered visage were caked with dried blood, a story that was almost the same when you looked down their body all the way to their feet.
If not for the curvature of her hips and laudable chest, I would've easily mistaken this beastman for a male.
"S-Stay…aw-way human," she said, looking like it had taken her every ounce of strength to do so.
With nothing suggesting I was about to do so, I appeared before her in a burst of speed, prying the sword away and gently grabbing both of her calloused and bruised hands, lowering them slowly while funneling reverse cursed energy into her.
The beastmen behind her panicked, their fear audible at the display.
As for the beastwoman herself, she clenched her hands around mine in panic, but the strength in her grips receded as the cursed energy did its work, her posture straightening and injuries fading to nothing as she let out a long drawn out moan / exhale of relief.
When I could no longer sense a drain on my cursed energy, I stopped the flow and let go of her with a smile, asking, "What's your name?"
Her expression somewhere between embarrassed and shy, the beastman whose beauty I could now appreciate, replied with a stutter. "S-siv…"
"Nice to meet you Siv. Is it okay if I heal your people now?"
She kept staring and nodded absentmindedly, the red dusting of a blush sticking stubbornly to her stripped and bloody cheeks.
"Alright people. Form a straight line. Those with severe injuries in the front."
Emboldened by the go ahead from their impromptu leader and probably the actions I'd taken since they laid eyes on me, the beastmen dropped their wariness a tad and got with the program.
Apart from Siv, I didn't have to do much for the rest of them. None of them required as much cursed energy as the feline beastman, leading me to wonder exactly why the slavers did her in like that.
By the time the queue reached its end, I found Siv walking towards me, the fur on her ears and face cleaned and drying, leaving me to wonder where she got water from.
Yue gestured to the two piles she'd gathered—slavers on one side and loot on another—and I understood.
"...Lord Rick. I—"
"Just Rick is fine Siv. Please continue."
"Ah… okay. R-Rick, on behalf of the beastmen and myself," she knelt on the ground and prostrated. "Thank you for saving us. We are eternally grateful for your kindness. Please, allow me to extend an invitation to our city. I assure you, our leaders will make sure you are well compensated."
I had to admit, I was finding more and more caveats to living in a fantasy reality. Well, apart from the obvious and manageable ones at least.
Maybe because I lived most of my life on earth or maybe I didn't find it as tasteful as some people did, but having someone bow before me was a cringe worthy experience I hoped to never go through again.
I didn't let my displeasure leak through my face or words though. No need to make someone expressing their gratitude feel like they'd done something wrong.
Bending down and grabbing her by the arms, I felt Siv tense as I hoisted her up, the beastman's serious visage now a blushing red, her animal ears twitching subtly. Again.
I wasn't that handsome was I? Or was this some enhanced pheromones plus enhanced sense of smell nonsense.
No, that couldn't be it. There were more than a few women amongst those I healed, and they didn't react as strongly as this horny beastman did when I touched them.
Reminding myself to refrain from touching her in the near future, I helped Siv into her feet, let go and took a small step back.
"Don't do that again. Please. A simple thank you and something like your suggestion is enough."
For some reason her cheeks went redder and the twitching in her eyes picked up.
Unfortunately for me, my brain picked up enough context clues to paint a rough, guess work picture of what was happening. Unfortunately for my dick and Siv, I wasn't interested.
Fighting the urge to shake my head, I examined the tiger woman who had gotten the sense to calm herself down and gestured to her people with a sharp head tilt.
"Get your people ready. I'm sure you don't want to be here if more slavers show up."
That seemed to snap her out of her funk. She gave me a sharp nod and grabbed a nearby sword before marching towards the group.
In the meantime, I drew closer to Yue, who had sensed my thoughts and met me halfway.
"Looks like we're going to Verbegen."
She nodded and looked away from me. I followed her gaze and found a rallying Siv.
"Looks like I have competition."
If I couldn't sense the playfulness behind her statement, I'd have laughed with her. Still, I felt the need to reiterate, especially after the Miledi talk.
"I'm not pursuing other women."
Still coy, Yue gestured with a nod and I looked where she referred to. "You better tell her that."
Siv was of course standing there shooting me the occasional shy glance, her body language showing the telltale signs of a hopeless crush.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, but what Yue said next made me facepalm. "Mmm… I think you put her in heat."
Come on!