My grin spread slow and dangerous. "Welcome to the team."
Darkness shivered like I'd just whispered sweet nothings into her ear.
Oh, this was going to be fun.
Back at the mansion, I gave her the tour. She followed closely behind me, practically vibrating with excitement every time I spoke.
"This will be your room," I said, pointing at a well-furnished bedroom we'd had prepared. "You'll keep your armor maintained, and you'll be ready whenever I call."
"Yes!" she gasped, fists clenching in front of her chest. "Treat me like a mere pawn! Use me for the front lines until I collapse!"
Being familiar with the story, I knew exactly what Darkness had always wanted—and unlike Kazuma in the anime, I had no problems giving it to her. "You see, Darkness, to be a part of this team, there are going to be certain expectations. You came along at just the right time. We needed a tank to take all the punishment for us." I whispered into her ear as her eyes turned watery and hazy. I could already tell she was imagining multiple scenarios as she started rubbing her legs together, lecherous laughs unconsciously leaving her mouth.
"Well, Darkness, your hazing begins tomorrow. You'll have to be my good servant and do exactly as I say from now on. And if you're really good, you just might be rewarded... Fail to live up to my expectations, and I might have to spank you."
Having already been overexcited by what I'd said earlier, she proceeded to faint, knees dropping toward the floor as I caught her and laid her on the bed before leaving. Shutting the door behind me, I turned around to Aqua, who was looking at me with confused eyes.
"When did we ever have a hazing ritual in the party?" she asked, perplexed.
"I mean, we don't, but she doesn't know that. Besides, you could tell she likes it, so why not just indulge her fantasy a bit? I need to please your future sister-wives, after all hahaha," I joked to her.
Aqua puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. "I'm already going to have to share?" she said, while thinking to herself, *Well, ever since Ethan got those upgrades, it has been hard to manage him in bed on my own... That's right, this is just division of labor! Really enjoyable labor...*
I smirked. "Plus, we finally have a tank."
"Whatever. I'm going to bed," Aqua said, turning around and walking a few steps before stopping. "Aren't you coming?" she said in a softer voice, eyes lowered.
Well, she didn't have to tell me twice. After about an hour of "fun time," we finally drifted off into sleep.
The next day, after selecting a handful of quests, we were in the forest hunting a party of kobolds.
To test Darkness's… peculiar motivation, I got a little rough. I barked orders, insulted her positioning during combat, and criticized her swing as "sloppy and pathetic."
Darkness nearly swooned. "Y-Yes! More! Break me down with your cruel words!"
Kazuma's deadpan was priceless. "Congratulations, Ethan. You've found the one woman in the world who enjoys being bullied by her boss."
I shrugged. "Whatever works. If keeping her happy means calling her useless trash, then useless trash she shall be."
Darkness actually moaned. Aqua gagged.
My party was… well, unique. But with a shield like her, I could push us harder. Much harder.
With Darkness soaking damage like a sponge and my talismans pumping everyone's mana and stamina to full, we carved through quests like a hot knife through butter.
Giant rats? Gone. Kobold nests? Obliterated. Escort missions? Efficient, for once. Even Megumin got to fire off her beloved Explosion every day—sometimes twice, thanks to me recharging her mana mid-battle. She passed out afterward, of course, but I carried her like a sack of potatoes while Darkness begged for more punishment.
We became monsters of efficiency. Quests that normally took adventurers weeks, we cleared in days. The guild couldn't believe the completion rates. Word spread: Ethan's party was unstoppable. As the level-up notifications poured in, I had quite the assortment of spears now, and the average level of the party was beyond my expectations, with all of us being level thirty or above. Even Kazuma had started to seem like a respected adventurer as he acquired various skills and improved his swordsmanship and archery.
Kazuma gloated about the gold. Aqua bragged about being the "star healer." Megumin boasted about explosions. Darkness… well, Darkness got off on losing half her health bar. Everyone was happy.
And me? I was just enjoying everything, thinking how much more fulfilling this new life was compared to my old one—how every day was something exciting. There was so much more freedom compared to when I was working and living paycheck to paycheck. Life was good.
After a long day of monster slaying, I leaned back in the guild with a beer in hand, scanning the bustling hall. My eyes landed on Luna—the ever-efficient guild receptionist—who was giving me doe eyes over the counter. With us having gotten closer over the past weeks, I was slowly laying the groundwork to make my move on her. Testing her thoughts on polygamy, deepening our feelings, and other more enjoyable things.
Today was the day. Conditions were perfect to finally ask her to come live with me in the mansion. With her dropping hints about wanting to be married every so often and talking about how her old coworkers had already started having kids, I knew she was hooked.
Later, I invited her to the mansion.
She stepped into the mansion, looking impressed.
"Why don't I show you around?" I said, walking her through the place. The place was so large that half an hour had passed before we finished. "And now for the most important place to show you: the bedroom." She walked in, looking a little nervous, cheeks red.
"It looks nice, Ethan..." she said, eyes darting around in anticipation.
Luna mentally shouted, "Kyaaaaa! He brought me to his roooom! Is this where it happens? Is this where I finally become a woman!?"
"There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about, Luna..." I said.
"So… what exactly did you want to discuss?"
I smiled. "An opportunity. I'm starting a company—skincare, health, anti-aging. I want you to help me run it." As I gave some of the cream to her, I demonstrated how well it worked, rubbing some on her hand where an old scar disappeared after about thirty seconds.
Luna blinked. Mentally shrieking, *Did I misread the situation!? I'm going to stay a virgin forever at this rate!* While outwardly, she said, "Me? Why?"
"Because you're competent. Organized. And you already know how to deal with adventurers, nobles, and commoners alike. Besides, you're wasted behind that desk. With me, you'll help launch something that could change the world."
Her cheeks flushed, but her voice stayed professional. "I would love to, Ethan. Well, we may as well head back downstairs then. I have to head home soon..." She turned to leave my grasp as I pulled her into me tighter.
"Now that business is over, it's time to talk about pleasure," I whispered to her. "Luna, I want you to move in with me."
"You jerk! You got me all excited, got my hopes up, and then brought me crashing down to talk about business. And just when I was about to give up, you do this to me!" she said, face red with both happiness and annoyance.
"Hahaha, sorry. I couldn't help teasing you. You're just so cute; I couldn't help myself."
As Luna calmed down in my arms after some placating and promising on my part, she muttered a shy "Yes."
"Yes?" I teased.
"Yes! I'll move in with you!" she said, embarrassed.
Warning R18+ scene starts here for adults only.
"That's good, 'cause if you're gonna stay here, we're gonna have to break in this bed I bought recently."
I proceeded to kiss Luna, her body going weak against mine as I lifted her in a princess carry toward the bed. Laying her down on it gently, I pulled off my shirt, revealing a perfect body courtesy of my new stats and the serum.
Luna couldn't help but reach out and run her hands down my abs.
"Like what you see?" I teased her. "If I'm gonna strip, it's only fair that you do too." I pulled her dress over her head, revealing red lingerie beneath. "Oh, it seems you were prepared for this?"
"I just wear this everywhere," she muttered, embarrassed.
"Well, I like it when you wear it only for me..." I said huskily as I skillfully unclipped her bra with my left hand, using the right to grab a handful of her pale, soft backside.
"Oh, Ethan," she groaned, as I trailed kisses from her collarbone down to her lower stomach, lowering her panties when I reached the bottom. They were soaked, and as I proceeded to finish pulling them off, a strand of her fluids broke off.
I didn't think I could get any harder than I already was, but I was soon proven wrong as I witnessed her neat, trimmed little garden—lips shaved with a well-kept area of hair on her upper pubic region. Slowly, I teased her, my tongue licking her garden as I sucked and teased her insides. Her legs wrapped around my neck, hands in my hair, as she could do nothing but let out gasps and groans incoherent in pleasure.
When I thought she was wet enough, I lay on the bed, back against the headboard, and said, "I think it's my turn now." Luna crawled down and began to lick my tip.
"I'm not sure if I'll be any good, Ethan," she shyly said.
"It's okay, Luna. I'll guide you."
As Luna began slowly picking up the intensity and speed as I gave her instructions, she quickly reached expert status as I crept toward my own peak. "It's coming out, Luna!" I shouted as she picked up the pace again, sucking like a Hoover vacuum, hand grinding up and down the rest of my shaft as I unloaded in her mouth. She also spasmed, reaching a climax of her own.
After a few seconds, I heard a gulp and a gasp for air as she caught her breath, sweat glistening on her nude body. I, however, didn't give her a chance to rest as I turned her underneath me and slowly asked, "Are you ready?" She gave me a simple nod, which I took as confirmation, as I guided myself inside with a tearing sensation, the white sheets slowly taking on a bright red hue.
Luna let out pained gasps as she slowly adjusted to my size. I kissed her, distracting her from the pain. When I thought she was ready, I began to thrust again, pained gasps turning into moans of pleasure. After what felt like an endless amount of time, we ended up standing by the window, me inside of her, one of her legs held up against me as I began to reach the end. Luna seemed to sense it in my expression and how my pace began to change as she wrapped her other leg around my waist and put both arms around my neck.
"Please, inside! Make me a mother, Ethan!"
I wasn't going to say no as I reached my peak, filling her up as she slowly lost her strength. I carried her—still inside—to the bed, her arms around my neck, legs loosely around my waist, as I set her down on the bed.
"That was great," I said, looking down at my still-hard erection. "But I feel like I can keep going."
It was then that I heard a cough as the door opened a crack and Aqua walked in, her shorts also with a clearly visible wet spot.
"Finally. I wanted to let you guys have your first time together alone, but now you need to take care of me too."
After what felt like hours more, they both lay on either side of me as I walked outside the room to get some water. That's when I heard scrambling and the sound of feet running as a door slammed. "Huh, that's Megumin's door," I said. Taking a step into the hallway, I felt my foot get wet. As I looked down, I noticed a sticky puddle on the ground as I smirked. "Oh, so our little wizard doesn't seem to have as much interest in Kazuma in this timeline. Well, I wasn't planning to, but I can take care of that. Well, that's for another time. I'm beat. Now, how about that water?" As I walked through the mansion to the kitchen.
R18+ scene ends here.
The next day.
Through Luna's connections, I was introduced to Wiz. The lich shopkeeper looked nervous the moment I stepped into her failing little shop. Shelves were half-empty, dust covering merchandise nobody wanted.
She bowed politely. "W-Welcome, Ethan. Luna said you had… business?"
I studied her carefully. "You're good with potions. Enchantments. Ingredients. Correct?"
She nodded timidly.
"Then you're exactly what I need. I have a formula. A cream. You'll manufacture it. This shop? This will be our launch point. You keep the storefront; I handle the product and marketing. We'll both profit."
Her eyes widened, hope flickering. "R-Really? You'd… you'd trust me with that?"
"Trust?" I chuckled. "I'm saving you. You desperately need the money. Work with me, and this store will never be empty again."
Wiz clasped her hands, nearly in tears. "Thank you!"
"Don't celebrate just yet. We can partner, but on the condition that you let Luna handle the money and purchases," I said.
"Anything, sir! I need money so bad..."
After signing some paperwork, I said, "Good. Now that I own the shop, with you helping to run it, let me get a better look around the place." As I walked toward a dingy closet, Wiz began to grow flustered.
"Ah! You know, we should really do this another time. I still haven't gotten a chance to clean yet! Yes, that's right, so..." Wiz exclaimed as she tried to finish her sentence, panic on her face.
When I opened the closet, I noticed a sleeping bag and pillow. "Oh, so you're, um, sleeping here?"
"It's so embarrassing!" Wiz yelled, hands hiding her face as her assets refused to stop jiggling.
Feeling bad for Wiz and seeing an opportunity, I said, "You know... as one of the founding members of the company, lodging is included, right?"
She went from crying to excitedly hugging me, my arm trapped in the valley of the great mountain peaks. "Thanks, boss! I will never forget this," happy tears going down her face.
"Neither will I," I thought to myself, imprinting the feel of my arm between Mount Olympus and Mount Othrys.
"Well, step one of the Wiz plan complete. A little easier than I thought, but that was just the logic of these anime worlds, I guess..." I thought.
Later, bringing Wiz to the mansion—her supplies loaded up in my inventory—we arrived at the mansion.
Aqua whispered in my ear, "You know she's an undead, right?"
"Yes."
"And you're putting her in charge of skincare?"
"Yes."
"And she's going to live with us?" she said, comparing her hills to the mountains.
"Yes."
"…You're insane."
"Insane," I corrected, "and brilliant."
That evening, after contracts were signed and Wiz began working on her first batches, I relaxed in the mansion. Luna stayed to review documents; Aqua hovered around me jealously.
One thing led to another, and well… let's just say the night ended in my bed with both of them. I won't go into details, but it was messy, passionate, and the kind of thing fade-to-black was invented for.
When I woke the next morning, Aqua was sprawled over my chest like a starfish, snoring softly. Luna slept curled on her side, looking more peaceful than I'd ever seen her.
For the first time, I thought: *This life I'm building… it's starting to feel real.*
The next day, at the guild, Megumin was in rare form. She puffed out her chest, cape fluttering dramatically as she bragged to a brunette beauty.
"My party is unstoppable! With Ethan's brilliance, Aqua's healing, Darkness's shield, and my unrivaled Explosion magic, we are leagues above the rest!"
*Hmm, finally time to meet Yunyun,* I thought to myself.