Chapter 149

--- 24th Day, Evening ---

Reaching my room, I could hear a giggle coming from inside. “It tickles!” the bunny girl gasped, as I was opening the door.

Zoe and Mia were sitting on the bed, with the succubus behind the bunny girl, brushing her hair, though at the moment she was more focused on using her tail to tickle Mia at her long ears. Azura had shifted into her wolf form and was lying between Mia’s legs with her muzzle on her thighs, while the bunny girl petted her between the ears.

“Someone’s in a better mood already,” I said, glad to see she wasn’t crying anymore.

“Oh… I’m sorry, Master,” Mia murmured, lowering her head, her ears flattening back.

“Are you apologizing for calling me Master again?” I asked, putting the food and drinks I brought on the nightstand.

“Oh… I’m sorry,” Mia repeated quickly.

I shook my head, not bothering to tell her she had nothing to apologize for. “You should drink something,” I said, handing her some water. After taking a few sips without a word, she passed it back to me.

“I’m not the best cook, but I made some sandwiches. We should eat,” I added, moving onto the bed with a plate full of food. Zoe immediately snatched one for herself as I sat next to Mia, picking one up too. The bunny girl took one after me and started chewing in small bites.

Azura shifted, moving from between Mia’s legs to lie across them, her snout now resting on my thighs. The bunny girl startled a bit, but then petted the wolf along her back.

The wolf stared at me expectantly, her gaze flicking to the sandwich in my hand. Tearing off a piece, I held it out to her, and she took it from my fingers, licking them clean and leaving them wet with her saliva.

Feeding my girlfriend as she licked my hand clean in her wolf form was another point on the list of weird things I never would have imagined happening in my life. I wasn’t even sure if sandwiches were proper food for wolves, but then she wasn’t exactly just an animal, and I figured it must be fine, especially since she clearly wanted more after swallowing what I gave her.

“Master, do you know that Mia cleaned our room today?” Zoe asked. “She changed the sheets and washed our clothes.”

“You didn’t have to do that, but thank you,” I said.

“She does that every day, Master,” Zoe added.

“Oh, really?” I asked.

“Who did you think was doing that?” Zoe asked.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t really thinking about it. I assumed you. Or Amber when we’re gone.”

“Sure,” Zoe snorted. “Amber would clean something and not complain about it or demand a reward.”

“Right… But you really don’t have to do it, Mia.”

“I-I want to be useful after you helped me so much,” she replied.

“So you want to be my cute maid?” I teased.

Mia blushed, averting her gaze, but gave me a small nod. Even though she barely moved her head, her ears flopped slightly anyway, catching my attention.

“I would really like that,” I said, reaching out to brush her long, fluffy ear.

Mia squeaked in a cute, girlish way, her ears pulling back from my touch.

“Are those sensitive?” I asked.

“A-A little,” Mia replied, then after a moment of hesitation, she brought her ears closer to my fingers.

“Why is it like that?” I asked, brushing softly over her soft brown ears. “Amber’s ears are the same. And your tail is sensitive too,” I added, glancing at Zoe.

“My tail is a completely different matter, but ears, and around them, are sensitive for everyone,” Zoe replied. “Look,” she added, quickly moving on her knees to my side. She pressed her body against me, then leaned in, brushing her lips just below my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. Her lips closed around my earlobe, and I hummed softly with pleasure, until it surged ten times stronger, and I couldn’t hold back a groan.

Zoe giggled and pulled back, staring at me with her pink eyes, biting her lower lip.

“That was not fair,” I said with a grin. “You could use that skill on my heel and it would still feel amazing.”

“Didn’t it feel good before too?” Zoe asked.

“Okay, you’re right, ears are just sensitive,” I replied.

“W-What skill?” Mia asked, immediately making the succubus grin mischievously as her tail flicked behind her.

“I can show you,” Zoe offered eagerly.

Mia looked at me questioningly. I wasn’t sure if she was asking for permission or if she wanted reassurance it was safe.

“It’s pleasant,” I said. “Maybe even a little too much,” I added with a smirk.

The bunny girl shifted her gaze back to Zoe and, with a bit of hesitation, still gave her a nod.

The succubus was grinning the whole time, her pink eyes focused on Mia’s long ears.

“Maybe stick with Mia’s hand,” I suggested. “At least for now.”

“Yes, Master,” Zoe replied, reaching her hand toward Mia.

Mia slowly placed her hand in hers, and Zoe gently brushed her fingers along her palm.

Mia jolted slightly, letting out a cute moan, before snapping both hands over her mouth, her eyes wide open.

I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling as I watched her blush under the effect of the succubus’ magic. Despite Mia’s better mood, we still hadn’t talked about what had happened with the kitsune, and I was worried it might end with her crying again, but I decided to bring it up anyway.

“About Mari…” I sighed. “She’s not going to bother you anymore. I told her to move out.”

“No!” Mia gasped.

“What?” I asked.

“Ugh… I… A…” Mia stammered, gasping with a frown, unable to form a single sentence.

“Hey, it’s okay. Breathe in,” I said, doing it myself. “Breathe out.”

“Don’t throw her out because of me,” Mia said once she was finally able to speak.

“It’s not because of you. It’s her own fault.”

“A-And what is she going to do?” Mia asked.

“I don’t know. And I don’t care.”

“W-What if something happens to her?”

“She’ll manage. She’s free, she’s an adult, and she’s strong.”

Mia averted her gaze, a worried frown forming as tears welled up in her eyes. “P-Please don’t throw her out.”

“She screamed at you. And made you cry. She’s…” I wanted to call her a bitch, but searched for something milder because of Mia. “Very unpleasant to everyone around her.”

“I-It was my fault,” Mia stammered. “A-And if something happens to her, it will be my fault.”

“It’s none of your fault. You were nice, kind, and tried to help her. She has her own problems and can’t understand that not everyone wants to hurt her. It’s all on her.”

“W-We should help her, not throw her out,” Mia murmured. “Y-You could help her, like you help me and Terra.”

“I already helped her, and it’s not working. Maybe this will even do her some good, she’ll understand what she lost and couldn’t appreciate.”

Mia whimpered before speaking again. “I-I don’t want you to throw her out because of me…”

“I’m not doing it because of you, Mia. It’s not your fault at all. She’s hostile toward everyone all the time.”

“I-I feel guilty,” Mia said quietly.

“Don’t worry. Mari is strong, nothing’s going to happen to her, and she can afford to rent a room at the tavern. She probably doesn't want to live here either. In the end, she wanted to be free, now she can experience it fully.”

“M-Maybe you can give her one last chance?” Mia asked.

“I’ve given her enough chances,” I replied. “I’m not going to change my decision.”

Mia hesitated for a moment before replying quietly, “Okay.”

“I’ll need to leave soon, but you three could hang out?” I suggested, looking at Zoe, then briefly glancing at Mia, hoping Zoe would keep an eye on her and make sure she didn’t fall apart if we left her alone.

“You could teach me how to cook something for our Master?” Zoe asked, turning to Mia.

“I-I’m not the best cook…” she muttered.

“The best I can do is burn a rabbit over a campfire,” the succubus replied. “I’m sure you can show me something tasty. Please?” she added, pouting sweetly, giving Mia a look that made it really hard to refuse her anything.

“Oh… O-Okay,” Mia replied, then glanced at me and quietly muttered, “Um…”

“Yeah?” I asked when it was clear she wanted to say something.

“W-What are my duties as your… maid?”

“Well, nothing new from what you’re already doing,” I replied. “I’d really appreciate it if you washed our clothes and cleaned up a bit from time to time, but you don’t need to be meticulous about it.”

“That’s not a lot…” Mia muttered.

“It means a lot to me, but if you want, I can think of something else you could do for me,” I offered.

Mia immediately nodded, clearly eager for more to do. I wasn’t sure yet what I could assign her, but maybe if I kept it in mind, something would come up.

“Are you better now?” I asked.

“Y-Yeah… sorry for crying,” Mia apologized.

I leaned in and hugged her softly, not holding it for too long before pulling away and getting off the bed. I picked up some clothes to change into, but my gaze fell on the table.

There was a list of Mari’s demands there, and as I picked it up to read, there were quite a few points. Beyond what we had already agreed on, she also wanted me to never enter her room, never touch her, never tell her what to do, stop having sex and doing perverted things all over the house and keep it only to my bedroom, not add more women to the team just because they had pretty faces and nice asses, stop criticizing her, and follow her orders in the dungeon regarding fights and tactics.

I snorted before crumpling the paper and tossing it onto the table. The only thing missing was her forbidding me from even looking in her direction. And some of those points didn’t matter anymore, since she wasn’t going to live with us anymore.

Still, I wasn’t sure if we were even going to write it all down. Would it really be that surprising if she was gone by the next morning? Maybe it would be better if she vanished completely from my life. That would, unfortunately, slow us down in the dungeon more than I’d like, and could lead to more dangerous situations later on.

But it all depended on her now, and there wasn’t really anything I could do to force her to stay, not that I was even sure I wanted that. The whole situation with her was fucked up.

“I’m gonna wash up and then leave,” I said to the three women on the bed before heading to the bathroom. After taking care of that quickly, I didn’t find them in our bedroom. Instead, all three of them were already in the kitchen, and as I stopped in the doorway, it only took seconds before Zoe rushed over and jumped at me, wrapping all her limbs around me as she pressed her lips to mine.

“Don’t get into any dangerous situations, please?” she pouted sweetly, using the same look she had given Mia earlier.

“It’s just meeting Cassia’s parents,” I snorted. “I’ll be back soon.”

Zoe kissed me again before sliding off me, stepping aside to make room for Azura, who approached in her wolf form. I crouched to pet her as she moved to lick my face.

“I love you too,” I chuckled, only slightly weirded out by it.

Standing up again, I looked at Mia, who immediately averted her gaze shyly. I stepped toward her and pulled her into a hug.

“I can’t wait to taste whatever you cook for me,” I murmured. I was going out to eat dinner, but after only having a small breakfast in the morning, eating twice shouldn’t be a problem.

After pulling away from the bunny girl, I finally headed out, making my way toward the arena to meet the parents of my fake girlfriend. I only hoped it would go better than it had with Azura’s mother. I also wondered if I would ever get a chance to meet Zoe’s parents, though that seemed unlikely, considering she had been banished.