Time for breakfast?

I finished pulling on the boots and gave myself one last look in the mirror, Ariel’s letter still in my hand. The outfit was… a lot. Black turtleneck clinging to every silver plate, cyan-and-black checkered vest, short flirty skirt, matching cyan panties that were already losing the fight, and glowing circuit leggings.

(Okay. New body, new clothes, new life. I can work with this!)

I stepped out of the bedroom with a bright little bounce in my step. Ariel was in the living room. The second he saw me he gasped.

“Finally! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting? I, the great and powerful Angel Ariel, woke up early, made food, and prepared a whole educational briefing, and you take forever just to put on clothes I designed!” He waved a hand up and down my body. “Although… I did an amazing job. Turn around. Slowly.”

I turned in a full circle, arms out, smiling. “Ta-da! You really do have good taste. It’s cute—wait, no. It’s cool.” (I saved myself there)Ariel stepped in close anyway. His hands landed on my waist, then slid down and openly groped my ass through the thin skirt.

“Mm. Perfect. This skirt fits you perfectly. An These panties are already stretching.” One of his hands slipped underneath, squeezing my cheeks while the other felt my cock twitch. “I made your outfit, You’re welcome. Most guardians would have left a monster core like yours in a potato sack.”

I let out a small, flustered laugh, rocking on my heels even as my face heated. “H-hey, hands are a bit forward this morning! But… thanks for the clothes. Really. They’re nice.”

“I was being kind !” Ariel’s voice jumped. “After last night I could have been much meaner. You’re lucky I’m so kind and mature and incredibly good-looking and manly… even though I’m stuck babysitting a mister -core machine the dark goddesses hand-picked.” He gave me one longer, firmer stroke through the panties until a damp spot bloomed, then suddenly pulled his hands away. “A-anyway! Breakfast. Sit down before I change my mind about being nice… I know machines don't need food but you can still eat food so enjoy.”

I dropped into the chair, already reaching for the bread. “It smells amazing! You didn’t have to cook, you know. But I’m glad you did.”

Ariel spread the map across the table with a long-suffering sigh.

“Listen closely. Weeping Forest ,Fog never leaves. There are critters such as Wolves, vine-snakes, and moss-bears near the road. Deeper in you’ve got Weepers that drop from the trees, corrupted treants, fog-elementals… all of them would love to ruin my day and yours by killing you.”

I leaned forward, eyes bright, chin resting on my hands. “Ooo, sounds! Dangerous, but adventurous.”

Ariel dragged his finger to the town mark on the map.

“Hollowbrook. Closest place with actual walls. Two days if you’re slow. Merchants still use the southern road, but the Fog bandits have been hitting caravans hard. They take cargo, money, people. Whatever’s left gets sold through the many crime syndicates. They especially like rare things… pretty fuckable constructs .” His eyes flicked to me. “So try not to look so stealable.”I smiled at him. “I’ll be careful! And if anyone needs help, I’ll help them. That’s what I’m here for, right? To get exp? ”

Ariel made a frustrated noise, then kept going.

“There are dungeons too. Weeping Catacombs, Mossdeep Hollow, Bandit’s camps, the Sunken Chapel. All dangerous. All annoying. He set his cup down hard and pointed at me.

“You are going to behave. You are going to be good. No charging into enemies to fight just because you're a machine makes you tough. No leaning into Aphroditism for fun. And you will ignore whatever Melanoche and Carnachias whispered to you. You took the Love Humanity oath. That means you protect people, not rape them.”

His hand landed on my thigh, pushed my skirt up, and wrapped a hand around my cock through my panties. He stroked once, twice, slow and deliberate.

“I am your guardian angel. I will keep you from dying. That’s the minimum. Anything extra depends on my generous mood.” He squeezed the head firmly. “Be good and I’ll help. Be bad and I’ll still keep you alive… but you're not going to have a good time

I nodded quickly, smile still in place even though my voice came out a little higher. “Got it! I’ll be good. Mostly. Ariel stared at me like he was already getting a headache. He released me, wiped his fingers on a napkin, and stood.

“Finish your food. Then We’re leaving. Where going to stay on the road. Watch and the fog. ”

I finished eating then I stood, Ariel walked me to the door and gave my ass one last squeeze.

“Be good out there, Clover,” he said “

I beamed at him over my shoulder, purple eyes bright and soft.

“I’ll at least keep things interesting. Let’s go!”

The door opened.

Heavy mist and cold forest light spilled across the threshold.