Dry off.

After being so deep in the ocean for that long, even with the magic necklace you were allowed to borrow, you feel so strange being on land. You lay naked now, right next to the steaming royal bath. The touch of the cooler tiles against your back is strangely soothing, and it feels good to just rest for a moment in pure silence--only the soothing sound of running water nearby. Your magic ring, Tol'vuus, sits atop the nearest bench by the wall. It's so tiny, yet it draws your eyes, and brings your mind back to a different time. It was Queen Catherine II who gifted it to you, not only as a signet ring to mark your knighthood, but as an item of power to aid you in your future endeavours, and boy has it. While Catherine is no longer sovereign of Tivera, with her now here, you feel that connection nonetheless. You're above just a knight now anyway. You're a king.

Your magic shortsword lays nearby as well, still in its scabbard. Awakened Lauo is what it's been called. Not only does it seem to glow pink and become more powerful in the presence of those who are horny, but that connection is far stronger around those you are bound closer to than strangers. Even without that power of lust, it seems to draw strength from their affection for you, and yours for them. Or perhaps that's a power you've obtained. Is it both? And to think: At first, it was just a magic sword found in a dungeon room full of slimes.

You exist as a template full of holes--an unfinished homebrew class by a wicked creator. Though where you had nothing, you've built it yourself. After surviving your time with the two godlike creators of both the catfolk and bunnyfolk people, you were able to learn their powers. Then it happened again when you were disarmed of Lauo--its power coming to you even with another weapon in your hand. It makes you wonder how William is doing. All you've been able to really theorize about him is that he must have other ways to fill said gaps, such as when he absorbed the soul of Sa'dis with his own magic ring.

The Arcane Eye. It's there too. You can give that to someone back here whenever you leave, but it's also a handy tool to bring as well. With how mighty your defenses have become, you can probably start using it more yourself, as a scouting tool to wherever you go next. It reminds you of Lady Sulta, as it was a gift from her. She's certainly one of the most gorgeous sorceresses you've ever seen, and it's no surprise she's a Chairmen in the Circle of the Unicorn.

Your Winged Boots of Herbes, a prize won from Meti the djinn in a magic card game, and your custom made Suit of the Demon King are in the capable hands of Yin. They'll be cleaned and dried, just as will your clothing,

A long, cathartic sigh echoes out from your lips and off the walls of the beautiful bathing room. This is all yours. It's easy to forget. Despite all the stress and looming dangers, you've still managed to climb your way up from struggling adventurer who people mocked, to the infamous Demon King of Tivera with a castle and village all to yourself. On top of that, you've gathered the best friends one could ask for. The girls were infuriating when you first met them--scatterbrained, chaotic, in denial most of the time. Now they're... scatterbrained, chaotic, in denial most of the time, but they're the best girls in the world, and you wouldn't trade them for any other party. That goes for your main group of Niki, Amara, and Eva, as well as for the expanded group you've collected.

Nyllia and her party (Bill & Phil, Zazra). Yin. Peony. Snow. Alice. Delphi. Vivi. Luna. Laira. Jelly. Dajy and her harem (Klava, Raleza, Brizi, Vodrani). Tom. Bek. Summer. Taiga. Stax and her monster group (Chini, Chula, Chila, Sen-nu, Shivra). Koblix. Mipa. Lynx. Mela. Fava. Linzeri. Fang. Lalarin. Dix. Even Queen Catherine II. Castle Phoenix has become so populated. It's really starting to feel like a legitimate society in the mountains, though you wonder if you should start turning it into even more of such.

Malakae Vraelion. She's the next goal. Whatever she wishes to do, you have a feeling it doesn't involve serving Elok Daven, and the mission statement behind all of this is to stop him. Any advance you can remove, the better. Then once you know she's safe, and perhaps she can even aid you further in this goal, you can perhaps even the Circle itself can move on Elok Daven and remove him from the picture. Then maybe you can finally relax in peace with everyone here.

Elok Daven. Nearly every major issue you've had in Abso has been because of him in one way or another. Him and Breiah are dangerous indeed. They have strange magics, as they are the ones responsible for your strange body, but also powerful advanced constructs. Not just mighty metal golems either, but the ALICEs. You're still not certain if they're all fully sentient, or if Alice is for some reason special, but they're some of his most dangerous allies. You've hardly seen any companions of his that weren't of his making. There was Meti the djinn, and at the Sports Festival, he had Anastasia Phairgem, a mantis insectrin named Ariusia, The Edge, and of course Malakae.

Just as you were thinking about finally getting up before your back starts to ache from the hard floor, you hear a gentle drumming against the door. You peer up from the steam wafting over from the pool beside you, and bring your mind back to reality. "Hello? Who's there?"

Alice's voice comes through from the other side. "It is me. Automated Lifelike Intelligent Construct Experiment. Alice."

You pull yourself up and tuck one knee inward, resting there on your rump as you continue to look across the room towards the door. "That's so formal, Alice. Don't worry. I can tell who you are from your voice. What do you need?"

"I was wondering if I may enter, Kyle."

"Sure. I don't mind."

The door slowly opens, causing the steam around you to waft towards the difference in air pressure. As she steps in, the first thing you notice is that she's garbed in nothing more than a towel, or at least you assume so. It isn't often someone wears anything beneath such a thing. And by how it hugs her curves so tightly, and with it being just barely long enough to cover her up, you have a pretty high chance of being correct.

What stands before you is more than just a doll, despite the faint wood pattern over her skin, or the lines between parts of her body that easily pop off. She's actually quite stunning. Her deep green hair is down, and just long enough to brush over her supple shoulders. She gazes down and across at you with glowing cyan eyes, though upon seeing you sitting there in the nude, the same glow starts filling her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose. One hand touches upon her blushing face, and the other holds the top of her towel secure over her modest bust. The woolen, soft towel squeezes the alluring curves of her figure all the way down to her upper thighs--just barely long enough. Whether she's more of a golem or an android straight out of something science fiction, she stands there before you, briefly caught off guard by what she sees. She stands there long enough for the door behind her to slowly swing shut.

"What did you need?" you ask to break her silence.

She gasps quietly. "You have been through much today as the others have told me, and I simply wished to spend time with you, and perhaps speak about things." Her voice is as monotone as it normally is, though you know full well that it's possible to get real emotion out of her tone. It just takes a lot.

"Well, I've mostly just been laying back, thinking about stuff while I enjoy the room's warmth. I was actually about to slip into the bath and get properly clean anyway. You can join me if you'd like, which I kinda assume was the idea given you're already in a towel."

"That sounds nice," she replies with a smile.

Hey there! I just opened a poll on my Patreon about Jelly, the slime girl. I was curious as to what people would like the most with the direction of her character in the future between three options. I'll present them here, so if you don't want to vote on Patreon (don't worry it's free), you can express your opinion here instead.
Option A: Keep her as a simple, clueless slime girl without a thought behind those eyes, who comes into the story occasionally as a **** to embarrass the other girls with her curiosity, and by her confusion on human decency (ei. walking around naked without understanding why that's looked down upon).
Option B: Make her start to understand things more, which causes her to be more mischievous as a result. She starts playing around with what she can get away with, still embarrassing the girls and pushing the envelope, but now on purpose because she finds the societal norms of humanity funny.
Option C: Advance her into more of a normal girl who must struggle with obtaining self-consciousness. She can do everything she can do now, but actually feels embarrassment, and must learn what that means.