Chapter 35

After the morning incident, Tori was tense, so I gave her a moment to calm down. We got dressed in silence and headed to the inn’s main room, where we bought food for the road.

The innkeeper demanded money for the destroyed door, but after a short argument with Tori, and a few threatening looks from her, he murmured something under his breath as we were leaving the building.

Tori, without a word, headed along the road to Ortas.

“Tori,” I stopped her.

“What?!” she snarled, turning toward me.

“Yesterday I went to share food with the wolf shapeshifter woman, and she wants to travel with us. We are supposed to meet by that road,” I said, pointing in the opposite direction from the road to Ortas.

Tori stared at me for a brief moment, but her face relaxed a bit. “Alright, let’s go,” she said, already heading that way.

We walked only a few steps in silence before Tori spoke, dropping an absolute bombshell on me.

“I know about your class.”

“What?!” I asked, startled.

“I have a skill that enhances my hearing, and I heard everything during your game two days ago,” Tori explained. “I know that you have a class and came from another world,” she added, glancing at me.

I hesitated, trying to remember everything that I had said aloud in the last two days. I had spoken about my old world and mentioned my class. But I hadn't said a lot of details and hadn't mentioned Gemma. At least Tori didn't know about it.

“I’m not going to tell anyone or use it against you in any way,” Tori said when I didn't answer her. “But I’m curious about you and your story.”

“I told you because I wanted to be upfront,” she said. “And just as clearly—I meant what I told Marcus. I’ll take you to Ortas. If you’re still interested, maybe we’ll spend some time together there. But after that, our paths will part.”

She gestured between the two of us with her finger.

“This,” she said, “is just sex. Two people who are attracted to each other, that’s all. No strings, no promises. So don’t get attached—and don’t get your hopes up.”

She stared at me intently.

I let out a breath of relief loudly and smiled. “Thank the gods you said that—because that’s exactly what I want,” I said.

Tori watched me for a moment longer, but then just nodded, and we headed toward the place where we were supposed to meet the shapeshifter woman.

When we were close to the trees, I noticed her black fur between them. She was sitting, waiting for us. As we approached, Tori walked forward and knelt in front of her.

“Do you want to travel with us?” she asked.

The wolf woman barked once, wagging her tail.

“Alright,” Tori said, rising from the ground. “Let’s go,” she added, and headed into the forest, walking around the city before we returned to the road to Ortas.

As we walked on the road, the wolf ran through the forest around us but stayed close enough that I could see her almost all the time.

“Tori, have you been to Ortas before?” I asked to break the silence.

“I’ve been there. It’s the biggest city around here, every adventurer passes through it at some point,” she said.

“Because of the dungeon?”

“Mostly. Many people delve into them, and that keeps everything else going. After killing the monsters, they need a place to sleep, something to eat, a place to sell their items or fix their equipment.”

The dungeon drove the local economy, which made sense. There was probably a large city near every one of them.

“What is the capital of Tenebre?” I asked.

“Carcera.”

“Is that where the Mages’ Guild is based?”

“Headquarters, but they have smaller facilities in every bigger city,” Tori replied. “There was one in Caldwin.”

“Do you know who’s the leader of it?”

“Gemma Black,” Tori replied.

I didn't expect Gemma to lie, but I preferred to check to be sure.

“Have you met her?” I asked.

“No. I was never interested in being more active in the Guild’s actions.”

“Do you know something more about this Gemma?” I asked.

Tori glanced at me, thinking for a moment in silence, but then shook her head. Perhaps I was asking too many questions about Gemma. “Not much. She’s been in power for over two hundred years without a break—and she’s pretty good at it.”

Gemma had been ruling for over two centuries. That meant she was over two hundred years old and perhaps could be even older. Her appearance as an eighteen year old girl was really deceiving. Perhaps I should be more careful around her.

“Do you have a class that allows you to enslave people?” Tori asked.

I looked at her, surprised, because I didn't remember speaking about it aloud.

“It’s because of Zoe. You don't have money and came to this world not long ago. So what other way could you have someone like her as your magically bonded ****?” Tori explained. “Perhaps you’re not aware, but those are really not cheap things, and she’s a young, hot demon.”

I frowned, glancing at Zoe, who was staring at me with her pink eyes uncertainly.

“I’m not an expert,” Tori continued. “But Zoe might be worth a lot. And if you wait for the right buyer, you could get a small fortune.”

Zoe gasped softly, but before she even had a chance to say anything, I grabbed her hand.

“Zoe, I’m not going to sell you, ever. I promised you that,” I said, looking into her eyes.

She nodded, smiling softly as she squeezed my hand.

“And I’m not interested in being a human trafficker,” I said toward Tori. “Mine and Zoe's situation is complicated.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that,” Tori said. “But I wanted to warn you that anyone you meet would think that you have a lot of money because of her.”

I nodded, wondering whether they might try to scam us on prices because of that—or see us as a potential target to rob.

“What are you, Zoe?” Tori asked.

Zoe looked at me without answering Tori. I wondered for a moment about it in silence. I didn't see a good reason not to tell her, but I barely knew her and this world.

“If you don't want to tell me, that’s not a problem. I’m just curious, because you don't meet hybrids so often,” Tori said.

“Hybrids?” I asked. Zoe had mentioned it before, but I hadn't paid attention to that earlier. It was about her double race, but I was curious if Tori knew something more. “What are hybrids?”

“When two demons of different races have kids, it's almost always the mother’s race, but sometimes it gets mixed and a hybrid is born. Most of the time, they don't even survive the pregnancy or die just after it. But sometimes they live.”

“Do you know a lot of hybrids?” I asked.

Tori walked in silence for a moment, focused on the road in front of us.

“No. As I said, they rarely survive until birth, and then… demons don't like it when their races are mixed and the kid is born from that.”

“Could other demons be prejudiced against her because of that?”

“Mostly no, they would not care. But vampires and succubi could.”

“How do you know that she’s a vampire and succubus?”

Tori smirked. “I was guessing, and you just confirmed it. But it wasn't really hard. She looks like a vampire, if not for those eyes, and when you add her tail, it’s not so hard to guess. Especially since those races tend to stay close.”

“Why?”

Zoe squeezed my hand tighter. I glanced at her, but she was avoiding my gaze.

“Because both of them need to drain something out of humans to survive,” Tori replied, smiling. “In Liraveth, it’s easiest for vampires to find human slaves to feed on—and no one there gives them strange looks for drinking their blood.”

“That’s true…” Zoe added quietly.

No one said anything after that. We walked in silence for a while, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

We traveled for another few hours. Tori had some more questions about my world and me, but I was trying not to give her too much information. I tried to ask her about this world, but I didn't learn anything extremely useful.

After noon, we found a small clearing and decided to stop to eat something. The grass there was short and soft enough to sit on comfortably—at least until Zoe climbed into my lap and wrapped her tail around my stomach. I didn’t mind the mild discomfort if it meant being close to her.

Tori looked at us but didn't comment, passing us the food. The wolf woman came out from between the trees and lay down close on the grass.

“Do you have more food?” I asked Tori, nodding my head toward the wolf.

Tori pulled out a piece of meat from her bag, unwrapped it from the package, and was going to throw it at the wolf, but stopped at the last moment and threw it to me instead. I grabbed it with one hand, as I held my other on Zoe’s back, and looked at Tori. She simply nodded her head toward the wolf that had risen from the ground and was watching me carefully.

I reached the meat toward her, wanting to see if she would approach. She watched me in silence for a moment, but then stepped forward. She sniffed the meat and then carefully pulled it out of my hand with her teeth, trying not to bite me.

She had long black fur with blue highlights, matted and dirty in places. Standing with her head held high, she was about a meter tall and quite slender.

She lay down close to me and started to eat, but it didn't take her long before she finished. Then she stayed in the same spot, resting her muzzle on her paws, which she had stretched slightly forward.

“You know you won’t be able to take her anywhere in the city, right?” Tori asked.

“She might be allowed to walk around the streets in her wolf form, but they don’t let shapeshifters into buildings while they’re in their animal forms—especially if they turn into creatures that are normally wild predators.”

I sighed. I had known that it could be a problem earlier, but I was worried that they would not even let her into Ortas. However, that didn't change anything, because if we wanted to stay there, she would need to change into a human sooner or later.

I could just abandon her and not really care what was going to happen to her. But we had killed her pack, and she was left alone. Also, I was curious about her, and she could join me. The idea of the harem of horny women surfaced in my mind. And even if she wouldn't be interested, just for safety, she was another demon with a class who could fight if something went bad.

“Hey,” I said to her. She raised her head, looking at me. “We’re traveling to a big city, and I can't take you with me as a wolf. You will need to stay outside, but I don't know how much time I’m going to spend there or if I will be leaving in the meantime.”

The wolf whimpered, curled her tail under herself, and then whined again.

I reached my hand toward her. She watched it for a moment, but then walked toward me. She sniffed it and then pushed it with her wet nose. She lowered her head and leaned into my hand so I could rub it. Her tail raised a bit as she wagged it slightly.

“Unless you will change into a human,” I said, and her tail immediately stopped moving and dropped down. “Then you could stay with us,” I added.

She whined again and shifted back, lying down on the ground. She looked like a sad dog, but I didn't have another option for her right now. I couldn't avoid cities all the time.

Once we finished eating, we set off on the road again. Nothing out of the ordinary happened as the suns made their way across the horizon and we drew closer to our destination. Tori stopped us when we reached the point where our smaller path joined a larger road that looked well-traveled.

“We’re close to Ortas, perhaps half an hour more. If she wants to stay outside of the city, she should remain here in the forest,” Tori said, nodding toward the trees that we had already left behind us.

The wolf woman stood behind us with her head lowered and her tail tucked. I walked up to her slowly and crouched down in front of her. She closed the last few meters between us and sat down in front of me.

“I don't know how much time I will spend in the city, probably a few days. I don't think you should wait here for us.”

The wolf whined and lay down on the ground in front of me.

“Unless you decide to change back into a human. Then you can go with us if you want,” I added.

The wolf looked at my chest for a moment, and then sat up. Her body started to transform.

“Tori, clothes,” I said. I had talked with her before, asking if she would sell me some of her clothes for the wolf if she decided to change.

Before my eyes, the wolf transformed into a woman. Her snout began to shrink until it became her human face. Her fur drew back into her body, revealing her naked figure. She was emaciated.

Zoe was a bit too thin, but this woman looked truly unwell. Her skin was darker, and her small breasts had brown nipples with narrow areolas. Her thin waist gave way to sharply visible ribs—she looked almost skeletal.

She sat in front of me, naked, her head lowered. Her face was partially hidden behind straight hair, the same color as her fur.

“I’m Tobias, and you?” I asked.

“Azura,” she whispered.

“I’m glad that you would go with us,” I said. “But you need to put clothes on, okay?”

Azura let out a strange sound I wasn’t quite sure how to interpret—something like a hum, but with her mouth closed. I took the shirt from Tori and held it out toward her.

She leaned forward, pressing her face against the shirt and sniffing loudly a few times, then she backed off, frowning.

“Have you worn something like that before?” I asked, unsure about her reaction.

“No,” she whispered simply.

How could she have never worn clothes before? If she’d been raised by wolves her whole life, that would make sense. But then how did she know how to speak? She must’ve had some contact with humans… but I didn’t want to overwhelm her with too many questions right now.

“I will help you,” I said. “Raise your hands.”

Azura listened, moving slowly. Now I had a chance to see her face better. She was young, with soft features and black eyes that shimmered with blue highlights—just like her fur. Her eyebrows were thick, and her lips were delicate and slightly pink.

I helped her put on the shirt, pulling her head through it. Azura shook her body, shifting her shoulders, trying to get used to the new feeling.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“I don't know,” she replied quietly.

“Can you get up?”

She again let out this strange sound that was like a hum, but started to rise, so I assumed that it meant agreement. I helped her as she stood on her thin legs, uncertainly holding my arm.

“Zoe, can you help her with pants and shoes?” I asked.

Zoe grabbed the clothes from Tori and knelt in front of Azura, helping her put them on. My gaze followed down along Azura’s body, and I could see her crotch, which was covered by a thick bush of pubic hair that was the same color as her fur.

When Zoe pulled the pants up over Azura’s hips, she had to tie the drawstring tight—they were too wide and kept slipping down, even though Tori was already quite slim.

“Can you walk alone?” I asked, when Azura was fully clothed and Zoe stood up, standing close to us, watching the wolf woman.

Azura made a small step while still holding my arm for balance. She followed with a few more short steps, getting more confident with every one of them, until she let go of my arm and walked herself for a short distance.

“Good job,” I said, smiling.

Azura gave her hips a little wiggle, standing in place, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. She seemed to be trying to wag her tail, clearly happy—only now, she didn’t have one.

“We can go,” I said to Tori.

She nodded, and we headed along the road to Ortas, traveling slower because Azura couldn’t move so fast. I was walking next to her, ready to catch her just in case she was going to stumble. She was walking with her gaze lowered, focused on her legs and every step that she made.

“How long do you want to stay in Ortas?” Tori asked.

“I don't know yet.”

“There’s an entry fee to get into the city. If you plan to stay at least a few days, it’s best to get a week pass. You’ll be able to come and go as you like.”

“How much?”

“Fifteen ryns per person,” Tori replied.

“Fuck,” I muttered. “I can pay to get in, but I won’t have enough left to pay you back,” I added. I already owed Tori for being our guide, not to mention the food she’d bought along the way—and the clothes for Azura.

“You can pay me back later,” Tori said.

That still didn’t solve the problem of food and a place to sleep.

“I don’t want to take advantage of your help, but I also won’t be able to afford food or a place to stay. Could you maybe lend me some money?”

Tori glanced at me briefly as we walked. “I’ll lend you a hundred ryns. But you’ll pay me back with ten percent interest.”

“Deal,” I said immediately.

Not only would I have money for food and lodging for a few days, but Tori would have to stay in contact so I could pay her back—and that meant more chances to sleep with her or learn more about this world.