Always leave them wanting more

As much as you would love to spend all day teaching Lia the joys of sex, you really do need to get going. Demon Lord Evan Reynolds is a busy man, especially when every day could be the day the angels send more fanatics to kill you. The village needs its chief, the forest needs its lord, your army needs its commander: the list of responsibilities goes on and on. Most importantly, as Cady pointed out, you yourself need to grow stronger. In terms of physical fitness, you’re in the best shape of your life. You’ve never been this strong, and your {if@ sword = true}sword{elseif mace = true}mace{elseif spear = true}spear{endif} technique isn’t half bad anymore, either. Magic, though, is another story. A fireball, a heal, and a spell that fills a bottle with potable water: those are all of your tricks. If you’re going to survive in this world, you need to memorize more spells.

Which is why you have to pay another visit to the elven mage.

“There will be time for more fun later,” you say, still holding the horny catkin in your arms. “Right now, I have to go.” You roll onto your side, bringing Lia down beside you. You then try to sit up, but Lia latches onto you in protest.

“Stay.”

You look into the heterochromatic eyes of your catkin companion. She looks like a daughter asking her dad for take out, only to be told that there is food at home. Her stare does its best to dissuade you from leaving, but you hold your ground until her stubborn resolve crumbles.

She pouts. You crack a smile.

As soon as Lia releases you, you deftly swing your legs over the side of the mattress, stand up, and retrieve your clothes from the floor. “Come find me or Blythe as soon as you can,” you say as you pull your battered doublet on. “I’m going to talk to that mage again. Depending on how it goes, we’ll need to decide the best way to move forward.”

“I still think I should slip into town,” says the catkin. “I could swipe a few things without being noticed. Maps, cash, maybe a weapon or two? Wouldn’t even have to talk to anyone.”

“It’s—” You stop yourself before your reckless tongue can make the mistake of outright denying her plan. Dismissing it as too dangerous could come off as you not trusting in her abilities, and that’s the last thing you want Lia to think of you. Once fully dressed, you sit on the edge of the bed and take a hold of one of her hands. “Look,” you say. “It’s an option. But we might have others. Let me get what I can out of this mage, and then we’ll decide what to do. Okay?”

…

After Lia agrees to find you later, you leave the hut and head over towards the elf’s tree house prison. Four people are waiting for you at its base: Blythe, the two lamias currently on guard duty, and Scarlett. As soon as she sees you approaching, the named harpy speedily walks over to you and drops to one knee. Blythe casually follows after the bird woman, but instead of kneeling down she steps up beside you and whispers into your ear.

“It was so hard to leave you like that,” she says, referring to when you sent her away earlier. “Please play with me tonight. It has been too long since the last time.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” you whisper back. Your eyes signal in the direction of the kneeling harpy, wordlessly asking the elf if she knows what Scarlett is here for. Presumably, Blythe received her morning report already, making it unnecessary for her to come to you first thing in the morning. The blonde elf’s eyes answer that she is just as much in the dark about the kneeling monster girl as you are.

“Good morning, Scarlett,” you say, no longer in a whisper. “Is there something you need?”

“…Violet wants to talk,” says the harpy, without looking up.

That’s unexpected, you think. I haven’t seen her since the naming ceremony two days ago, but I’m pretty sure she still hates me. You glance in the direction of Violet’s tree house, on the other side of the village. Then, you turn your eyes to the tree house in front of you, currently housing your elven prisoner. Well, whatever it is she wants to talk about, I’m sure it can wait until we’re done here. “I need to have a word with the mage we’re holding here, first,” you say. “You can tell Violet to expect me some time this afternoon.”

Scarlett stands and looks at you for a moment, wearing her standard neutral expression. There’s something about her stare that suggests she has something more to say, but the harpy decides against it. After a quick bow, Scarlett turns, transforms her arms into wings, and flies off into the sky. She does a few circles to gain height, then starts gliding over towards Violet’s hut. You watch her until she lands on the lamia’s balcony, then turn your attention to the blonde elf beside you.

“Anything interesting in her report?”

“The rogue and the mage both tried to escape during the night.”

“A punishable offense,” you say. “Just those two, though? The knight and ranger didn’t try anything?”

“That is correct.”

Interesting, you think. The ranger is one thing, but the knight is a surprise. With her brute strength, it’s weird that she sat still. “They could be preserving their strength for something. We’ll have to find a way to keep them tired,” you say, nodding towards the mage’s tree house prison. Once Blythe nods her agreement with your comment, the two of you walk the short distance to the foot of the tree. The two lamias on guard duty bow to you, and you take the time to praise their hard work before climbing the rope ladder up to the small balcony. Blythe climbs up behind you, reaching the balcony just as the dozens of fist-sized spiders begin to melt away a hole in the web-covered doorway.