You want to do WHAT?

I spend about an hour wallowing in self pity.

Of course, I was very aware how immature my behavior was. Hiding myself in the bedroom like some small child just because I was laughed at. That was pathetic. So what if they did? I had to face my fears.

But as it turns out, I will have to face something else before that.

I stared in disbelief at the girls.

“Let me get this straight”, I began, trying my best to remain calm. “You want me to choose one of you to take out on a date today.”

“That is the gist of it”, Beatrice explained happily. “Oh, and you are going to have hot, steamy sex with the girl at the end of it.”

What the bloody hell did that witch concoct up now?

“It's not just Bea's idea”, Fisti put in. “We all came to the conclusion that that’s the only proper course forward.”

Nothing is proper about this.

I suppose that is their roundabout way of apology for making fun of me. It’s not that I can’t appreciate the gesture but…geez, can’t you just say your sorry like normal people?

“Look at it as a team building exercise”, Bea further tried to pitch this lunacy. “You never properly got the chance to go out and enjoy Rasheul, right? Getting cooped up in this tower isn’t healthy. So, go out and have fun! And lets not forget the hot, steamy s...”

“Oh, give me a break!”, I cut her off. “I can't waste the day like this! If I want to have even the slightest chance of beating Hebi-san I need to train like mad! In fact, I should already be in the training hall!”

My reasoning was perfectly logical. But instead of agreement all I got was blank stares. With the exception of Beatrice who had a tremendously smug look on her face.

“Well fuck me sideways”, Cassandra murmured. “The witch actually called it.”

“My Lord.” Sanakia looked at me with pity. “I am so sorry, you had to endure this. I promise we will fix you.”

Alright, what the hell is going on? Stop looking at me like I’m some sort of introvert shut in!

Beatrice was so giddy, she was basically bouncing up and down. “Please take a seat, Mari. Because, I, the witch of Miracles will now positively blow your mind!”

…

..

.

“You believe I am under hypnotic conditioning”, I summed up what Beatrice basically spend the last five minutes explaining.

“Precisely.” The ex-witch gave a nod. “Hebi-san has most likely put you under her spell many times since childhood. She would have almost assuredly imprinted some sort of reverence or fear into your mind.”

“Hebi-san’s are known for this”, Sanakia agreed. “They love hypnotizing and turning others into their playthings.” The knight blushed just thinking about it. “It is shameful!”

“It is known”, agreed Aiju with a vigorous nod.

“But...no way. I don’t feel particularly submissive towards her”, I argued. “I just know that she outclasses me. She always has.”

The girls let out a collective sigh.

“That’s pretty submissive, Daddy.”

“The snakegirl most likely didn’t go overboard with her triggers”, Beatrice mused. “That would arouse suspicion. And since you spend close to half a year away from her, the conditioning should have lost some of it’s effectiveness.”

“Ok, so that’s good.”

“Don’t get conceited!”, the ex-witch made a point of tapping my forehead. “This type of stuff is absolutely still in there. And if you where to spend today training with the intent of beating her, you reinforce this conditioning again. You would ironically train yourself weaker.” The witch cackled. “Quite the delicious irony wouldn’t you say? I have to hand it to the snakegirl, she has provided me with a rather amusing conundrum to solve.”

Well geez, I’m so happy you’re amused. “And I suppose this is where that Date stuff of yours comes into play, right?”

“Precisely.” Beatrice nodded. “Take today off, go out and have fun. Screw someone silly. Do not think about tomorrow. Do this and you will triumph over that bratty, little snakegirl.”

Of all the nonsense...“There is no way it’s that simple”, I replied.

At this point Beatrice stubbornly crossed her arms. “It IS that simple. I know what your capable of, Mari. You merely need to mentally untangle yourself. And immersing yourself with one of these mental cases...”, Beatrice gestured to the rest of the girls, earning many glares in the process, “...is the optimal way of doing so.”

“My Lord, please!” Sanakia was kneeling. “You saved me and gave my life meaning! Allow me to now return the favor!”

“I’m sorry that I laughed”, Fisti said with a surprising amount of resolve. “What that Hebi-san did to ya was horrible, if I can help ya get ****, I will.”

“Yeah sure, what they said”, Cassandra yawned. “And hey, if you crash and burn tomorrow you can blame it on the witch.”

Aiju nodded. “Will help Mari. Snake tasty.”

We are not eating her.

I took a deep breath. Bea’s crazy explanation aside...spending time with only one of them might not be so bad an idea. Depending who I choose it might even be relaxing. And there certainly was merit in not stressing me out before the fight.

Not to mention the sex. I gulped. Up until now Aiju was the only person I ever properly did it with. I can’t deny that this was a very enticing offer...no hold on what was I thinking?

“Master Beta, I believe this is a splendid idea”, Maria gave a polite bow. “You have managed to accumulate a wonderful assortment of slaves. Won’t you honor their devotion to you?”

The girls (well, most of them) looked extremely sincere. Turning them down now would just feel awful. “Fine”, I agreed. “I take one of you out on a date. But I don’t want any whining about my choice. And you better be on your best behavior!”

“Yeah, yeah, get on with it, daddy”, Cassandra groaned. “Just don’t choose me, ok? Not in the mood to go outside today.”