Chapter 141

--- 23rd Day, Evening ---

As Sage left, we stayed alone with Zoe in the middle of the forest, surrounded by nothing but nature. She leaned against my side, her tail wrapped around my waist. With my face buried in her hair, I noticed that despite just finishing training, she didn’t smell of sweat, as I had expected.

Her succubus nature was at work - she still smelled amazing, immediately bringing sex to mind.

“God, I’d love to fuck you right now,” I murmured, leaning back to look into her beautiful pink eyes.

Zoe grinned widely, closing her eyes as she pressed herself tightly against me, resting her head on my chest.

I wondered if it was my class that made my libido go crazy, making me want sex all the time, or if it was the effect of the succubus I loved. Any man in my position would have a hard time leaving bed every morning with Zoe in it.

Not to mention Azura and Amber being there with us.

“We can hide somewhere and ignore Sage,” Zoe whispered.

I snorted before answering, “She would kill us.”

“I’m safe,” the succubus replied. “I’m cute.”

“Right, how could I forget?” I said with a smirk.

“Maybe she would join us,” Zoe added.

“Would you like that?” I asked, teasing her, but also a bit curious.

“I’d want to see you fuck her until she passes out,” she replied. “That would be hot.”

I chuckled, pulling back just enough to kiss her. “You’re amazing,” I murmured as our lips brushed teasingly against each other. Turning more toward her, my hands wandered over her body, reaching her tits and squeezing them through her shirt.

Zoe moaned, breaking the kiss, then shifting her lips to my neck, brushing it softly before moving to my ear.

“She’s watching,” she whispered, before nibbling on my earlobe.

I glanced around and spotted Sage standing a short distance away, arms crossed, watching me with an expression that seemed more curious than annoyed or impatient.

“I must have gone too easy on you if you still have the strength for that,” she said.

“I regenerate quickly,” I replied, as Zoe continued kissing the soft skin of my neck.

“Did she drain mana from you?” Sage asked.

Frowning, I checked Zoe’s status. Seeing her mana was full, I replied, “She did. Why?”

“Interesting,” Sage said. “I didn’t sense it.”

“Mana doesn’t appear in this world,” I said. “She connects to it directly.”

“Zoe,” Sage said, waiting for her to stop kissing me and look at her before continuing, “Can you sense his life ****?”

“Yes, but it’s surrounded by his mana,” Zoe replied.

“Can you sense my life ****?” Sage asked.

“I can only do that while I’m having sex with someone, or at least kissing or touching them, but no, I can’t sense women that way.”

“Can you sense Zoe’s life **** when she drains you?” Sage asked, shifting her gaze back to me.

“Hmm… I can feel my mana being pulled away if I focus, but I don’t feel Zoe’s presence. Maybe if I tried to follow the mana…” I murmured, looking at the succubus, wondering if that was possible.

Her tail, still wrapped around my waist, slipped under the waistband of my pants, pressing against my half-hard cock as she activated her skill.

“Zoe,” I groaned as a burst of pleasure shot through my shaft, making it fully hard instantly.

She giggled before pressing her lips to mine. The kiss was slow, just like the way she drained my mana, giving me a chance to try to sense her presence. Detecting the trickle of mana leaving my pool already required concentration, and while I could follow it for a moment, it felt like it vanished into a fog, leaving me back at my core of mana. I tried again, but couldn’t trace where it went after Zoe took it.

“I can’t sense her. I don’t know if it’s impossible, or if I just can’t do it,” I said after pulling away from Zoe’s lips, looking at Sage.

She only stared at us in silence.

“Why are you so interested in succubi?” I asked.

“I already told you. Typically, they are not willing to answer questions,” she replied. “Let’s go,” she added. “Your vampire friend is getting impatient.”

This time, as she moved away, we got up from the ground and followed her back to the house where the Dragon was being held captive.

As we entered the house, which looked like it could collapse at any moment, one of Sage’s black-clad ninjas was waiting inside. She grabbed a cup from the table and handed it to me.

“Blood for Whitney,” Sage explained, as I looked inside.

“Whose is it?” I asked.

“Not important,” Sage replied. “There’s a sleeping bag for her.” She gestured toward the ground by the door leading to the basement.

At that moment, I realized I didn’t have a book or anything to write with for Whitney. I had only learned the previous night that she had upheld her part of the deal, and I hadn’t had time to prepare anything. Perhaps I could have grabbed something at the house, but I had forgotten about it completely. Three hot and gorgeous women eager to fuck all the time were not good for memory.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Sage said as I placed my hand on the door handle.

“Sure,” I murmured. “Is she free?”

“No. We cuffed her not long ago. She has a mana-blocking collar, but don’t remove the cuffs. She’ll attack you just to provoke Zoe into showing herself and learn who your vampire girlfriend is.”

“Thanks,” I replied, a bit surprised that Sage had actually warned me, instead of just letting chaos unfold.

I opened the door and entered with only Zoe, as we had agreed to talk without Sage present. I wasn’t sure what Whitney hoped to achieve this way, especially since I was fairly certain Sage would be listening anyway.

Zoe stayed at the top of the stairs as I stepped into the dimly lit basement. Whitney sat at a table, her hands cuffed. On the table were two stones - one emitting a faint glow, the other the Truth Seeking Stone, ready if she decided to say anything.

As she lifted her gaze to me, a smile spread across her face as she straightened in her chair. “Nice to see you again,” she said cheerfully.

“Sleeping bag for you,” I said, placing it on the table. “And-”

I didn’t even get to finish before she snatched the cup from my hand and gulped down everything inside in seconds. I had barely sat down across from her when she finished, wiping her mouth with her hand before licking it clean, making sure she didn’t waste a drop.

When she was done, she let out a deep sigh, a grin spreading across her face, her eyes closed.

“I learned today that your information was true. I didn’t bring a book or anything to write with yet,” I said.

“No worries,” she replied with a smirk, opening her eyes. “You’ll bring it next time.”

“If there is a next time,” I said.

“Sitting here, I don’t have much to do, so I’ve been thinking,” she continued, ignoring my remark. “If you were the boyfriend of one of the vampires I know living outside Liraveth, I would have heard about you already. Which means you’re with someone I don’t know. And I know every vampire here. So your girlfriend is new. She can’t be rich or influential, otherwise you wouldn’t be working for someone or needing to meet me for money.”

“Were you thinking about me this whole time?” I asked, but she ignored me, continuing her reflections.

“So my guess is that you and her fell in love and ran away from your rightful owner, and now you’re hiding here from whoever your Master in Liraveth is.”

“Interesting guess,” I replied.

“I can help you. Both of you,” Whitney offered. “You’re too close to Liraveth’s border. They’ll find you. You’re too valuable to just be forgotten. I can help you get deeper into Torania, and I have the connections to hide you from whoever it is. I’ll even let you and your girlfriend stay together, I can guarantee you a nice, peaceful life.”

“In return, I should help you get free?” I asked.

“And share some of your goods with me from time to time,” Whitney added, licking her lips.

“I’m not interested,” I replied.

“Think about it,” Whitney said. “You can’t hide forever on your own. And Gemma Ardenvale might help you, but only when it suits her. You are just a pawn for her, and she won’t hesitate to sacrifice you.”

“Some pieces are too valuable to sacrifice,” I replied.

“She only cares about winning,” the Dragon said.

“And what do you care about?” I asked. “Money?”

“And my friends.”

“Sure,” I snorted. “Do you have anything useful to tell me today?”

“No,” Whitney shook her head. “I won’t speak until you actually keep your part of the deal.”

“I’ll bring you that book and a pencil,” I replied.

“When?”

“Why do you need them so much?”

“It will help me organize my thoughts.”

“And come up with more theories about me?”

“For example.”

I sighed before speaking again. “If you don’t have anything to tell me, I’m not going to waste more time here.”

“I will have another demand,” Whitney added. “For more information. But your new masters might have something against it.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

“To take that off,” she replied, tapping the collar on her neck. “I want some time with my dragon.”

“Or to try to run away,” I said. “They won’t agree.”

“It will be your job to convince them,” Whitney replied.

“You will need to give me something valuable in return.”

“We will make a deal.”

“Sure,” I said, picking up the Truth Seeking Stone from the table and heading out of the basement. I had done enough to get paid, and if she wasn’t going to tell me anything, there was no reason to waste more time on her. Listening to her theories, so completely wrong, was almost amusing. But then again, who could possibly guess that I was from another world, and that Zoe was an exiled princess?

Zoe was standing at the top of the stairs when I reached her.

“It was nice talking to you,” Whitney called out from the basement. “And I hope we’ll have a chance to talk someday, Tobias’ girlfriend.”

I ignored her and walked out of the basement, joining Sage in the corridor.

“Were you listening?” I asked.

“Yeah. Nothing interesting. Your payment,” she added, handing me a coin.

“I’m taking the stone,” I said.

“Sure.”

“Don’t you want to know why I need it?” I asked, raising the Truth Seeking Stone between us.

“Probably something boring,” Sage replied. “Like asking a girl if she really likes you or is just pretending.”

“Do you know Marcellina?” I asked.

“Who?”

I just stared at Sage, sure she knew who I meant. Even if Marcy wasn’t working for her, I was certain Sage had been observing me and must have learned about my team.

“You mean that lioness shapeshifter?” Sage asked with a smile. “Do you really think I’d hire another cat shapeshifter to spy on you?”

“Did you?” I asked.

“Why would you think I’d care?”

“Because you always know when I’m back from exploring,” I replied. “And I doubt you’d waste time doing something as boring as watching the house, or me, all the time.”

“I did hire someone,” Sage said.

“Who?”

She giggled before replying, “It wouldn’t make sense to tell you. But don’t focus so much on Marcellina alone. I might have hired Cassia. Or maybe Hannah. I did save her from the laboratory, and we traveled together to Ortas. She might feel like she owes me for saving her daughters.”

“Hannah wouldn’t do that,” I said.

“Maybe one of her daughters would. Or that orc and bunny duo,” Sage added. “There’s also that waitress, and the librarian. You surround yourself with too many people. Now you’ll have to interrogate all of them with that stone.”

“Anyone else I should worry about?” I asked.

“It could be anyone,” Sage replied.

“Sure,” I said, doubting any of the people she mentioned were actually working for her. Why would she name them and draw my suspicion toward them? It felt more like she was trying to pull my attention away from Marcy, making me suspicious of everyone else instead.

“Did you hire Marcellina to spy on me?” I asked, raising the Truth Seeking Stone toward Sage, doubting she would actually answer while touching it.

“Yes,” she replied with a smirk, without touching the stone, so I had no idea whether it was the truth or if she was just teasing me.

I shook my head, closing my fist around the stone. “Do you need me for anything else?”

“No,” Sage replied.

“Let’s go,” I said, grabbing Zoe’s hand and leaving the ruined house. Talking with Sage really wasn’t productive, and I was supposed to meet Selira back in Ortas. I preferred the cute librarian’s company a hundred times more than Sage’s.