Grace Howard and Koleda Belobog of Belobog Industries

The next room on the tour, featuring a full-sized swimming pool, actually made Wise want to laugh. He couldn’t help it when he started imagining backstroking around and splashing water on the girls– the image was so at odds with his current, high-strung feeling, it was comical. The decor was also a little silly. Bangboo statues were spitting water like fountain fixtures, despite having no mouths to spit from. “Shouldn’t the decor be… I don’t know… arousing?” Wise remarked after getting a hold on his laughter.

“Oh, darling, there will be plenty to keep your attention in that regard without worrying about how silly the backdrop is. Nothing wrong with a little whimsy to balance the intentional eroticism and the inconvenient, barely-suppressed terror of the unknown you seem to be feeling, is there?” the Loverboo chuckled. “Oh! Speaking of better things to look at, isn’t that one of your friends over there? And isn’t she…” the host cooed, then trailed off into a dry, sarcastic monotone. “Still not wearing a swimsuit despite being inside of the pool?”

The familiar woman, probably at least a decade older than Wise, was seated on a pink pool float, petting one of the servant Bangboos. Even now, she wasn’t watching them at all, solely focused on the mechanical rabbit in front of her. The creature was nestled in a cozy cradle formed by her lap and her considerable breasts as she hummed to herself, ignoring everything else in the world around her.

“Grace?” Wise asked. When she didn’t respond, he cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted. “Grace!!”

“Hm? Oh, Wise! You’re here too,” she finally perked up. As Loverboo had pointed out, Grace was dressed in her usual outfit with orange-lensed safety goggles, a black, zipped up tank-top, and baggy slacks. It wasn’t unusual to see her luxurious black hair damp, but usually, it was from her own sweat. This time, it looked like she’d actually dunked herself all the way in the water at some point before getting to work. “You like Bangboos, right? Aren’t you interested in the internal workings of a Bangboo from outside New Eridu?” She spun around the Bangboo in her lap, revealing the open panel on its back. “It’s fascinating! It’s like something from an alien world.”

“I do like Bangboos, but no, I’m actually not concerned with them right now, if you can believe it,” Wise answered, amazed that she could be taking this all so in stride. “Why are you wet?”

“I’m in a pool, silly.”

“... But you’re not swimming.”

“I don’t usually have the option, but with a whole pool that’s free to use, it’s a great way to cool off while I work. I’ve just been taking a quick dip between discoveries.”

“You’re sure it’s okay to work on delicate machinery in the pool?”

“I’m very careful,” Grace giggled, holding up her dry, leather gloves to demonstrate that there was no chance of electrocution, for a certain extent of “no.” This charming but batty woman was the chief mechanist at Belobog Industries, an up-and-coming construction company known to use cutting edge robots in their work. No one was more absorbed in the workings of robots than Grace, who treated them like her babies in a mad science sort of way. She wasn’t one for social norms or, seemingly, safety, but otherwise, she was an impressive overachiever, one of the essential workers that put Belobog on the map. She was also sort of their team mom.

Her looks were a positive point too. The water glistening on her exposed abdomen drew Wise’s eyes, especially in the context that she was probably one of the game’s contestants. She was probably somewhere in her mid 30s but she barely looked older than Wise.

“I guess you already heard the rules? I just wanted to let you know, it wasn’t my idea, and I-”

“Not to worry. I theorized you'd probably show up as a central figure here. Glad to see I was right.”

“... You’re glad?”

“Sure, it’s going to be a little strange, but we've always worked well together in the past, haven't we? I just figured I would run into you, since so many of your friends are here. Now, please tell me that cute little Bangboo with the neckerchief came with you!”

Wise cracked a wry smile. “Not enough Bangboos for you already, between the host, all the servants, and even the decor?” he asked, gesturing to a spitting rabbit cherub statue. "No, he didn’t come with me. I'm kind of glad. He's sort of impressionable."

“Oh, there are plenty here, but yours is still the best and the cutest! You've always had an eye for fixing them up,” she sighed, pouting and turning a miniature screwdriver back towards the Bangboo in her lap. “Oh! Sweetpea is here too. You should go say hi to her.”

“Wait, are you serious? She's-”

“She's about the same age as you, Wise. Take it from me: If you treat her like a child, you're going to make her a lot angrier than if you treat her as the lovely lady that she is,” Grace advised, giving him a quick wink that caused him to blush in spite of himself. “Once you two are done catching up, you should both join me in the pool! See if you can convince her. She hates getting in the water…”

“I think she probably hates the idea of being in the water with an exposed electrical panel. Relatable, to be honest,” he laughed, giving her a polite wave as he walked towards the area she'd pointed out to him.

Koleda did mention it pretty often: she was an adult, despite her small stature. In fact, she wasn't just a working adult, she was a company president. When her father disappeared, she took over managing as the CEO of Belobog Industries. In his experience, she was more committed to that role than any business owner he'd ever met. She might have a tendency to throw tantrums and a secret penchant for sweets, but it was no lie to say she was a more mature, responsible business owner than he was.

He replayed those reminders in his head again as he saw the not-quite 5 foot tall girl inspecting a small locker at the back of the area, just in front of a few enclosed dressing rooms. She'd taken off her shoes and socks, but didn't seem eager to go any further– she was still otherwise dressed in her fire-print, sleeveless crop top and oversized white uniform slacks. As well as her eyepatch, of course. Her fiery red-orange hair was arranged in two massive pigtails with an overly cutesy bear-ear hairband. The look on her face was pretty sour, with a deep frown showing her fanged teeth.

“Wise, there you are. I overheard you shouting for Grace,” she greeted him gruffly. “I was wondering if I should change into a swimsuit to get in the pool with her, but…”

“I don't blame you. She's holding a live electrical device over it.”

“It's not that! I trust everyone I work with, Grace especially. It's that unlike her, I don’t like my work clothes all wet, and the swimsuits to pick from here are…”

“Not padded,” Wise thought to himself silently.

“Way too flashy,” Koleda finished, pulling her shoes and socks back out of the locker and slamming it shut with a loud clang.

“I sense that's probably not the only reason you're angry,” Wise continued with some hesitation. “We should talk about-”

“Nah, let's not. I'll get so angry about it, I'll probably cause some property damage, even though they took my damn hammer,” she sighed deeply. “I'm sure that stupid cupid Bangboo will **** me to think about it later anyway. I’m mostly pissed they took me away from work… That thing said it worked out the upkeep of the company with Ben, but there’s no way Ben's gonna be able to focus on his work with Grace missing.”

“Grace and you, you mean.”

“Yeah, obviously,” she grumbled, slumping down onto a bench and working on putting her black socks back on over her petite bare feet. “Look, they can try to **** me all they like, but pride is the core of my business. I'm not gonna make kissy faces at you for VP and all that crap. I’d rather fight one-hundred ethereals than do that.”

“Oh, I get it, believe me,” Wise agreed, joining her on the bench and slouching his shoulders a bit. “The Cunning Hares are here too. We'll figure something out.”

“Thanks. It's not you, you know? There's not any guy I'd be okay with being enslaved by.”

“Can't blame you there,” he agreed, watching her unreadable frown as she struggled her boots back into place. “I'll give you some space-”

“No, no! No space giving allowed here. I think what you really want is a big hug!” the host announced, popping out of one of the lockers she'd evidently stashed herself in when no one was watching and bouncing across the ground. The lockers were perfectly sized to hide a Bangboo.

“Screw you!” Koleda complained, standing up with a harsh thud of her boots on pool concrete and raising one fist. “I told you I'm… I’m n-not… h-hey!”

In spite of her words, Koleda found her feet advancing towards Wise against her control. As he raised his hands to show he had no intention of getting handsy with her, she suddenly fell forward, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around his back. To add to the insult, she rubbed her nose and cheeks back and forth in the one-night's sleep musk of his worn tee-shirt.

The Loverboo behind her spun its arrow in the air around its own head, creating an ominous circle of pink light. “I just wanted to remind you that I can **** you to cooperate. Especially when it's funny. Hm hm hm.”

“It isn't funny!” the small girl shouted between unwanted sniffs of Wise's clothes. “Stop!”

Wise gulped, still raising his hands out to either side as Koleda went to town on him. He already knew Loverboo was capable of magic, including transmitting migraines into his head when he disobeyed, but he didn't realize that she could so easily control the actions of other contestants. Koleda’s protests were loud, but her actions were like a hypnotized puppet's, and the Loverboo made exerting this mesmeric power seem effortless.

“That's just a little preview, darling. Call it a snack to hold us all over, since you turned down the big breakfast earlier,” the Loverboo laughed, finally releasing her hold over Koleda and returning the arrow to its quiver.

As the girl recoiled, trying to hold her quivering body back from pouncing in rage, Grace appeared from the other side, still dripping wet. Wise noticed she was carrying her screwdriver under-handed, like a bandit holding a knife. “Loverboo, I asked you to leave Koleda alone.”

The heart shaped eyes of the Bangboo squinted in amusement. “And in exchange…?”

“Huh? In exchange what?” Koleda questioned, shooting Grace a sharp look.

“... Nevermind that, Sweetpea,” Grace sighed, relaxing her stance a bit. “Let's both try not to antagonize Loverboo, okay?”

Wise gulped, feeling somehow forgotten in all of this despite being the Master in this arrangement. The tense silence lingered for a bit longer until Loverboo finally broke it. “Very well, then! It's up to me to move things along. Why don't we run our intros?”

At her command, monitors that had been hidden inside the walls of the pool house flipped out, displaying a picture of Grace first.

“Contestant number three is Grace Howard! An eccentric mechanical genius who works for Beobog Industries construction company, she catches the eyes of every guy without even trying, while reserving all of her affection for machines. Well, with plenty of familial love for her Sweetpea, lil’ Koleda. Grace is the kind of gal I'm sure Wise has fantasized licking the sweat off of a time or two. Her dream is to have a loving machine family that calls her mommy. Her charm points are her exposed midriff, soft but firm, and her wild cleavage. Her best personality trait is her nurturing nature. Her worst personality trait is that she's a total airhead about anything not related to machines.”

“Airhead? Me? Most people consider me pretty intelligent, I’ll have you know!” Grace complained, pouting and putting her damp gloves on her hips.

Wise and Koleda shared a quick glance, thinking to themselves that the summary was about right, before the next reel began playing.

“Contestant number four is Koleda Belobog! She’s the CEO of Belobog Industries, inherited from her father. Sounds like Wise can marry into some money! Oh wait, she doesn’t actually have much money despite being the CEO? Huh. Well, that aside, she’s otherwise apparently very dedicated and responsible, despite her hot temper and sometimes childish personality. Tough economy, I guess. Her dream is to establish Belobog as the top construction company in New Eridu. Her charm point is her sharp teeth. There’s another girl with sharp teeth? I guess it’s her size, then. Her best personality trait is her sense of responsibility. Her worst personality trait is her short temper and refusal to admit she’s wrong about things.”

“Why did my intro seem like you did it all in one take without any editing?” Koleda growled, baring her trademark, one-of-a-kind sharp teeth.

“To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to include you. There was a last minute request by a patron with some pull,” the Bangboo shrugged. “Rest easy! You’re here now.”

“Oh, joy.”

“This has taken a remarkable turn for the comedic considering that scene with the evil control magic a moment ago,” Wise remarked. “If this was a movie, I think I’d criticize it for tonal dissonance.”

Grace seemed to be trying to decide whether she wanted to argue in favor of including Koleda on account of her being a lovely, marriageable adult, or if that was too far from the obvious conclusion that she’d rather not have Koleda **** into this harem situation to begin with.

“Not that I’m not enjoying the company, but maybe we should move on with the tour,” Wise suggested, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. He wanted to see the other contestants as quickly as possible. Not because he was interested in knowing everyone who was going to end up being part of his harem– because he wanted to know who all might be on-hand for an escape plan when it finally came to fruition. “Grace… Please stop messing with that Bangboo in the pool.”

“I’m 95% sure it’s completely waterproof!”

“Please…?”

“Okay. I guess you are, possibly, my future husband, so if you ask me really nicely-” she teased, putting on a smile of mock innocence.

“Yuck! Enough jokes, Grace! I’m not letting you marry Wise!” Koleda complained, punching the taller woman in the arm.

Only time would tell if any of the contestants were actually going to have the option not to marry him. For now, Wise left the two bickering and headed to the next stop on the tour.