Everything they expected

"Wow, you're right. Olskroya really is the best place in the world." Fenri said happily as they reached the city's outer walls, the entire area Kolderia's polar opposite. Unlike gray cobblestone that Kolderia used to construct its walls, Olskroya was defended by tan colored sandstone sourced from the local desert. While Kolderia's defenses were solely human magic swordsman or holy professions like paladins, Olskroya was defended by more monsters than humans due to the sheer number of monster families in the world, the many groups working to complement one another. Minotaurs, dragonkin, kitsune, beastmen, orcs, and even goblins could be seen walking into the city alongside humans, elves, and the like without any major conflict, saving their bloodlust for the arena while exchanging verbal jabs. Surprisingly, there was little friction between the two groups, both sides more interested in the city's delights than droll topics such as morality or the greater war.

"You haven't even been in the city yet." Citrinas said as they walked along the main roads alongside the vast merchant caravans moving towards the city to sell their wares to the competitors. As they came within a mile of the city's walls, Verdi could feel his strength jump in leaps and bounds while Citrinas, Varrick, and Fenri felt their statuses shrank significantly thanks to the goddess of equality's blessing, leaving all of them with the strength of a tier 4 class.

"Yeah, but I can smell nothing but booze, blood, and broads there." Fenri said cheerily as they made it to the city's outer walls and finally entered the city and took in the many sights and smells. Unlike the prim and proper streets of Kolderia where the entertainment was more family oriented such as puppet shows or street performers, Olskroya was a hot, dry land that was packed with adult oriented services and blood sports.

Since it was already nighttime, these services were increased tenfold, with the stone streets laden with prostitutes of both monsters and humans of all races. They were accompanied by thousands of bars where gambling and drinking were in abundance and where humans could be seen hand in hand with devils singing merry songs. Most merchants in the area sold potions that enhanced one's sexual prowess or vigor while others sold weapons and enchanted gear for the arena, both groups making immense profits from their ventures. To everyone's surprise, as depraved as vice driven the city was, its hygiene was on par with Kolderia's, the janitorial staff of the city treated with the same respect a magic knight was given when they passed by.

"Oh, look at that knife! I'll be right back." Fenri said, her mind akin to a crow's as she spotted a particularly shiny knife hanging outside a shop. Just as she was about to snatch it up, Varrick grabbed her by the shirt and stopped her from wandering around the city.

"Wait. Can you smell where Tristiana is?" Varrick asked as she closed her eyes and sniffed the air.

"Can't really say. All I know is that she's in the city." Fenri answered as Citrinas looked to Verdi.

"Can you detect her?" She asked he touched a nearby wall and closed his eyes, focusing his mind on perceiving his surroundings. Since he could sense everything by touch, his perception ignored things such as walls and needed no line of sight to perceive the area. Despite using every monster core to scan the area, there was far too much movement for him to see her. It was akin to watching the city from a hot air balloon and trying to single out a person in a crowd.

"Any luck?" Varrick asked as the alchemist shook his head. "Do any of you have any other ideas?" He asked as the trio rubbed their chins, each of them trying to think of a way to catch the sneaky kitsune. Since Verdi and Fenri couldn't detect her with their enhanced senses, the only person left was Citrinas. She thought deeply for a moment before snapping her fingers, remembering some tidbit about her sister.

"Tristiana really loved eating sweets. We can wander around the famous bakeries and see if they've seen her." She said after a moment as Varrick rubbed his chin, searching his own memories for something useful.

"Yeah, I do remember her and the hero of the hearth baking sweets together on a regular basis in his Domain." He noted as the trio stopped and looked to the paladin.

"Hold on, those two were close?" Fenri asked, only for Varrick to stiffen like a board, as though he had given some sort of dark secret as he looked to Citrinas, her face stunned in shock.

"They...Were intimate." He said awkwardly as Citrinas' eyes went wide.

"I thought he was in a relationship with the hero of obedience." She said as Varrick looked away from her.

"The hero of the hearth was quite prolific." He said while coughing into his hand, uncomfortable talking about Tristiana's sex life with his former companion.

"Harvin said he was threatening her." Fenri reminded as Varrick sighed.

"He's a perceptive man, but he's quite cynical. For him, threats and **** make more sense than **** or persuasion." He said with a melancholic voice, speaking with the utmost respect towards the butler.

"How many heroes was this bastard sleeping with?" Verdi asked, jealous of the hero that ruined his existence. He felt his heart sink as Varrick took a deep breath, filling his lungs to recite a list whose length was akin to a magic formula.

"He was romantically intimate with the heroes of magic and hunt. He was sexually intimate with the heroes of peace, obedience equality, most of their party members, the 9 tailed fox Orchid, the current demon king Rael, her court mage Leraje, the elf queen, the previous generation of female heroes such as the-"

"Previous generation? Hold on, how old is this bastard?" Fenri interrupted.

"He's at least over 217 years old," He answered as Fenri frowned.

"Hold on, the Humanity skill gives you immortality?" She asked with a shocked voice. "That's overpowered as hell!" She said, ignorant of just how overpowered her own Hunt ability was.

"Humanity would only change his appearance. The damage from aging would have still impacted his true form." Varrick explained.

"So how has he lived so long?" Verdi asked as Varrick shrugged.

"Nobody knows where he came from or who he was. All we know is that he's a native of our world, he was first seen as a mercenary for the Black Fangs, left them to create the Company of Roses, and was finally offered the position of the hero of the hearth." Varrick answered, giving them what little he knew of the shady hero.

"So why is he doing all this? From what I hear, he was also a staunchly against the war, and primarily took jobs killing monsters that came from the Apollyon Gates." Citrinas said as Fenri made a low growl while rubbing her head, her messy white hair tussled up even more.

"I'm tired of thinking, let's just go find his girlfriend, kick her ass, find him, then kick his ass." She said as Citrinas prepared to conjure her Domain, only for Varrick to stop her.

"We're using an inn. I feel terrible for using Citrinas' Domain all the time, and opening portals in the street is IMMENSELY rude." He said as Fenri rolled her eyes, their paladin's insistence on courtesy costing them precious cash. They spent the next hour wandering around the city, looking for an inn that, in Varrick's words "weren't full of women of the night". Sadly, there was no such lodging in the city, the moans of women heard in each and every inn as the floorboards creaked from the vigor of their partner's thrusts. He eventually gave up, entering one of the higher class inns and walking to the male concierge.

"4 rooms. 1 month." Varrick said, slamming a handful of silver coins on the desk. Upon seeing the pile, the concierge made a wide grin, handing the party the keys to their rooms before telling them where each room was. Receiving the keys, Fenri waved the rest of the party goodbye while walking out the doors.

"Well, I'm off to buy some knives. Seeya." She said while waving them goodbye. Rather than follow her, Varrick let out a sigh of relief before looking to Verdi.

"I'll be taking my leave as well. We can plan our next move in the morning." He said, making his way to his room as Verdi smirked, glancing over to Citrinas.

"It's been 3 months. I hope you're ready for it." He said, the two now given some semblance of privacy after months of abstinence. Travelling together meant that they couldn't slip away without Fenri and Varrick noticing. At this point, both of them were on the verge of breaking down.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Citrinas said, trying to sound annoyed instead of excited as the pair entered her room and she began harnessing power to open her Domain. Just when she was ready to open the portal, the door to her room slammed open as Fenri walked in.

"Oi! Verdi, get your ass over here! I need an interpreter! I can't read or speak any of the weird languages here!" She said as both Verdi and Citrinas clicked their tongues in annoyance.

"I'm busy!" Verdi shouted back angrily as Fenri looked around the room, searching for whatever it was he was doing.

"Doing what!?" She asked with an impatient voice.

"Citrinas." He answered without hesitation, causing the arch-imago to blush while waving her hands.

"He's-he's joking!" She shouted as Verdi walked forward and poked her chest to make his point.

"You've stabbed me everyday for the past 3 months. I think I earned the right to stab something back for a night." He said indignantly, ignoring Citrinas' embarrassment rather than being ignorant of it.

"Verdi! Would you please shut up!?" Citrinas asked while going beet red at how blunt he was about their sex life. Fenri merely crossed her arms, more annoyed at the wait than embarrassed by the talk of Verdi's intimate life.

"How long's this gonna take?" She asked.

"All night." Citrinas answered with a sigh, realizing how pointless it was to be embarrassed with Fenri.

"All night? Come on." Fenri said as Citrinas threw a sour look to Verdi, his stamina quite literally unending.

"He's not human, so he tends to take a while before he's content." Citrinas explained as Fenri sighed while walking into the room and closing the door behind her.

"Oi, drop your pants." She ordered while the duo stared at her, confused why she was refusing to give them some privacy. "I said, drop your pants. Earlier I polish your knob, the earlier I get to polish my new knife." She said as Verdi rolled his eyes.

"Not interested. Go wait outside." He said, his rejection causing a vein to bulge on Fenri's head.

"Did you just reject the chance to fuck a prime piece of ass like me?" She asked as Verdi looked her up and down. She was a beauty that didn't lose to Citrinas, a full foot taller than him, with light olive skin and the build of an athlete. Her chest was smaller, but that didn't matter too much considering his abilities. From an aesthetic standpoint, she was well within his strike zone. The issue was...

"I don't feel like getting my penis crushed by your monster pussy." He explained, causing her rage to boil over.

"What did you call my pussy!?" She asked indignantly, now personally insulted by him. "I'm tight as a vice, but I'm not that tight you bastard!"

"Varrick told me you use spirit without thinking. Sticking it in you would be like sticking my junk between two rocks. My pain tolerance doesn't go that high." He explained as Citrinas chimed in.

"Besides, I doubt you can handle him." She said, her inability to read social cues on worsening Fenri's temper.

"Fuck's that supposed to mean?" She asked, taking a step forward and towering over the pair.

"Most people can't handle him unless they've gotten used to him. If he slept with you now, you wouldn't be able to fight." Citrinas said, speaking thoroughly from experience. This only served to egg Fenri on as she scoffed at Citrinas' warning.

"Oh please, you probably creamed yourself after he fingered you." Fenri said mockingly as Citrinas glared at her.

"Excuse me!?" She asked indignantly.

"Lemme guess, he's the first guy... First thing you've screwed?" Fenri asked as Citrinas clenched her fist and glared at the hero.

"So?" She asked as Fenri pointed to Verdi, who was now thoroughly confused where the conversation was going.

"Look at him. What you consider intense sex is a slow day for me." Fenri said as Citrinas glared at her.

"I doubt you can handle a single session with him without passing out!" Citrinas said as Fenri's anger reached its boiling point. Despite Citrinas' socially awkward nature, she made eye contact with Fenri as the two women faced off, both of them taking pride in their sexual prowess.

"Alright, you and me princess! We'll see how many loads we can milk out of him! First one to pass out loses by default!" She declared, her voice loud enough to be heard on the streets as Verdi took a step backwards, his genitals now in serious danger of being pulped.

"If you end up crushing anything or harming him, you lose by default." Citrinas added as Fenri scoffed.

"Fine! I'll fuck him so hard he'll be jizzing his pants whenever he sees me!" She said as Verdi walked towards the door, his lust now thoroughly diminished by the knowledge that he had been downgraded from being their pet to a literal sex toy.

"You know what? I'm not in the mood anymore. I'll go be your stupid interpret-" He began, only for Fenri to grab him by the shirt and lift him up like a mother cat to her kitten. She held him up to her face as she spoke. Though her plan was to bed him, her tone wasn't one of a lover, a sultry vixen, or even a prostitute trying to do her job. It was the tone of a hunter to its prey.

"You aren't going anywhere except my cunt." She declared as Verdi stared her down.

"Fuck you." He said as she smirked.

"That's the spirit." She said while carrying him to the bed, Verdi's cock now completely flaccid as the very real fear of having his genitals crushed came.

"Let me go! You're not pulping my cock today! That's the one thing you haven't ripped off me!" He said as Fenri brought him even closer her face, nearly kissing him as she spoke. Despite her now being his ally, she was somehow scarier than when the two had fought, her voice laden with venom.

"Either your cock is going in my ass or my foot is going up yours." She threatened as Verdi felt what little lust his body still had fizzle away. He blinked several times, using his human brain and all 8 monster cores to think of what actions he could take. Raising both hands, he abandoned his shirt before shoving Fenri back. Since she no longer outleveled him, he was able to at least knock her off balance as he made a mad dash for the door. As he flung the door open, Fenri pounced on him, the duo flying into the halls as she pinned him to the ground.

"Inventory." She said as a length of rope appeared around his body. Grabbing the slack end, she pulled it taut before doing the same to his legs, thoroughly binding him in place. He tried using magic to break free, freezing the sweat on both their bodies in the vain hope of cutting the rope binding him.

"Citrinas, he's trying to use magic. Stop him." Fenri ordered as Citrinas nodded behind the pair, equally interested in proving her sexual prowess. Before Verdi could saw through the ropes, he felt the rest of the sweat on his body shift, creating a thick ice wall around the ice he controlled. Since Citrinas' magic was still tougher than his, there was no way he could break through it. Realizing he was running low on options, Verdi played his final card to escape the two mad harlots.

"VARRICK HELP, I'M GETTING RAP-MPH!" Verdi began, only for Fenri to gag his mouth with a metal ball gag. He struggled against the bindings as Citrinas channeled magic power to enter her Domain.

"Stop making so much damned noise, you'll wake the bastard up." Fenri scolded, her demand going unheeded as Verdi tried to break free and shouted through his gag. Due to the dry air and lack of cuts on his body, there was nothing he could do to break free of her grip outside of struggle. Almost on cue, they heard Varrick's door room open as he poked his head out of the door, hearing the commotion they were making.

Though he was in the safety of the inn, he still wore his helmet as he he stared at the trio. His eyes jolted open behind the helmet's visor to find Verdi shirtless, bound, and gagged while Fenri had pinned him to the ground. A faint, otherworldly light could be seen emanating from his room as Citrinas opened the portal to her Domain. Hearing the paladin's room door open, Fenri looked up and made eye contact with him. The two stared each other down in silence as she stood up, holding Verdi by the legs like a prize fish.

"Mph!" Verdi said, struggling as Varrick placed his hands underneath his helmet to rub his eyes, assuming this was just a trick of the light.

"Go back to bed. This doesn't concern you." Fenri commanded, dragging the struggling alchemist back into the room and quietly closing the door behind her, the paladin still too shocked to properly react. It was only when Varrick saw the alchemist's pleading eyes through the crack of the closing door that he ran towards their room and flung the doors open to find Citrinas, Fenri, and Verdi already behind the portal to her Domain. It faded in a flash of light as Varrick stood in the hallway, unable to formulate words at just what happened. With a sigh he returned to his room, removed his armor, poured himself a stiff drink, and went to bed. He could deal with it in the morning. For now it was time to sleep and gather the strength to deal with tomorrow.