<~> Chapter 114Silva looked thoughtful. "If I asked to be transformed... would you allow it?"

  I nodded my head. "If you wish to bee a succubus I offer it to you as well."

  She looked away for a few moments before smiling and shaking her head. "Not now. Maybe someday."

  I returhe smile. "Sure. The offer will remain open. It's not my wish to force this ge on anyone, nor would I be able to, based on the way the oath and ability is worded."

  Silva looked lost in thought, so I gave her a moment. When it didn't seem like she would tinue asking any questions I looked around at the rest of my party. "So, like I said, I was thinking about it to the people living and w here. What do you guys think?"

  Man cupped her . "It's holy not a bad idea. We talked about other potential didates but this group seems perfect. You said you were going to ask the Madame fgestions? Do you think you trust her?"

  I nodded. "I do. Our first experieh her was a bit te I think it was because she was worried about our iions. After Bel proved we were actually here to help she warmed up to us a lot. She looked genuinely relieved that one of 'her girls' was healed. I spoke with Raya for a while st night, she sees a lot of the people here like family and the Madame as a surrogate mother. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the irls here felt the same way. Based on how she has acted, I think Oe feels the same way about them."

  Bel shifted in her seat before speaking up. "What about healing? There were still others to heal."

  "We'll do that first of course. This isn't meant to be an exge like that. I'll only accept the people who want to be succubi, I won't allow there to be any kind of misuanding about our iions. We heal them first, free of charge as we have been. After that, we'll speak to Raya and Madame Oe about whether they and potentially others wish to bee succubi."

  "I think it's a good idea." Torien chipped in. Finally distracted from all the blushing she's been doing. "You are an in, spreading your species will start to solidify what it means to be a succubus and how they behave. Naturally, the sex part is noiable from what you've told us, so fog on people you believe to be kied and would take well to the lifestyle here would create a foundation that would remove a lot of the vulnerability in being an in."

  I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

  "in species are vulnerable because finding one early enough means you impose your will on the entire species. But if you spread your species more, they will be imprinted with what it means to be a succubus at the time of their transformation. Ohere are enough succubi, your ability to ge what it means to be a succubus will instead beore subtle and less susceptible to being like the moraley. Any value in capturing you for that purpose will be gone."

  I nodded. "That's good. I am still harb some doubts but spreading my race will actually protect me then."

  "There is ohing to keep in mihough," Silva said. "You are aware that you would be spreading your race to a bunch of prostitutes right? In the same way the moraley was turned into a race of sves that literally 't be anything but submissive pets, you would be creating a race of people who all spread their legs for money."

  I shrug. "I don't particurly have a problem with that, or with prostitutes in general holy. I am more ed that the people I choose are good people. Enjoying sex, even if it's for money, is a more important trait than anything else for a race of people who have to have sex to live."

  "And that part is something that definitely 't be ged?" Silva asked.

  I nodded. "Succubi were mythological creatures from the world I came from as a [World Traveler]. There is exactly one on thread for all succubi, they survive by having sex. I would have to pletely lose my memory of them for that to ge. Whether I like it or not."

  I paused for a moment befrinning. "Is there a problem with a race of people who would be proud to be a prostitute?"

  Silva's hands went up. "No, Of course not. I was just trying to make sure you sidered the potential sequences."

  Man's brow sched in thought. "Actually, she has a point. You may want to make a scious effort not to pibsp;only prostitutes after this. Otherwise, you might lo future succubi into only being capable of prostitution. Or at least heavily iivized to be o be a tricky bance."

  "That sounds reasonable, after this I'll o sider other kinds of people." I looked around again. "So, are there any other s?" Everyone shook their head. "It's settled then. After we heal everyone we'll talk to Raya and Oe. Oh! Raya also wanted us to go help her sge food today. I didn't wao go out into town aloer we just saved her yesterday. We either go as a group or split into two groups depending on how Bel feels after healing people."

  Bel smiled. "I wouldn't mind going out to look with Raya. She seems... nice." Bel looked away with a blush, clearly recalling all the flirting the vixen utting my poor deer girl through.

  I scratched the base of my horn and looked around. "It's odd not having any idea what time it is. I didn't realize how disorienting it could be to not have windows without any kind of clock."

  Man nodded. "I haven't heard any city bells since we've e to tow either. It's probably something that got destroyed, even medium-sized towns have at least one clocktower."

  I stood up. "I'll go downstairs and see if anyone is up."

  Torien eyed Silva before standing up too. "I'll go with you. We should... talk."

  I grinned. "Of course."

  I opehe door for the two of us and led her out of the room. Before Torien could head dowairs I stopped her. "Why don't we talk on the rooftop for a few minutes? I think any kind of talk we should be having shouldn't be in a rush while going dowairs."

  Torien blushed and nodded. "Sure."

  She followed me up to the rooftop entrand we let ourselves out onto the roof. The m sun was bright, my eyes hadn't adjusted yet after ing out of the cave like brothel. I gnced over and saw that I wasn't the only one squinting at the drastic ge in lighting. I sed the horizon for a bell tower but I didn't see one.

  I leaned against the wall in the same spot I had talked to Raya in st night. "So, you wao talk?"

  Torien fidgeted for a moment before leaning against the wall o me. "I... What..." She cleared her throat and posed herself again, being more like the cool and collected person I knew her as. "Would... you be against it if I started a retionship with Silva?"

  I ughed. "It looks like that ship already sailed."

  Torien blushed and looked away.

  I smiled. "No. Holy, I am surprised. But no, I would not be against it."

  Torien's ears went back. "What if it goes badly? Doesn't work out? What if we fight and are stuck with each other?"

  I scooted closer and put my hand on her shoulder. "If something like that happens we'll deal with it then. If she's someone you think you could e to like then I think you should go for it. I think that's doubly true for you since you told me you didn't fall for others easily. Is this the first time you've felt this way?"

  Torien sighed aail flicked bad forth showing her agitation. "I dunno, maybe? I don't think I've ever felt this way but... is what I'm feeling now love? It's all so fusing..."

  I shrugged. "It might be love, it might just be infatuatioher way, it led you here so I think you should give it a try. It beats sleeping with me just for the experience."

  Torien flushed with embarrassment and shrunk down against the wall. "I never did talk to my sister about that... maybe that's for the best now. Sure we share a lot of things but it still probably would have been a little weird." She turo look at me. "I... don't feel the same way about you as I do Silva... I like you a lot, maybe even love you, but only as family. Like I love my sister." She sighed and looked away again. "This is so weird, I've never felt this way before, I totally don't uand myself right now..."

  I sed the city, despite the general wreckage there were a lot of people out and about doing various things. I wasn't sure how many of them were doing ho things and how many of them were stealing and sging while the guards tio be busy at the gates. Either way, there sure were a lot of them out, despite the early hour. It did look like some of the rebuilding was already happenie how potentially dangerous other parts of the city still were, so that's good.

  I turo Torien. "You don't have to uand everything, love is weird and difficult. Just do your best. Not everything o make se's times like these that you go with yut." I said with a smile.

  Torien's ears fttened on the back of her head. "I'm as worried as I am excited, I feel... exhirated when I'm with her but I 't help but think of all the ways things could g when I'm not. I didn't even know I could feel this way."

  I rubbed her back. "It be just as fusing for people who do fall for people easier than you do. Like I said, it doesn't always make sense."

  She sighed, sat up straight, and looked me in the eye. "So... to be clear, I have your permission to tinue a retionship with Silva?"

  "Of course, who you choose to be in a retionship with is not something I will ever restrict. I know you're still my sve and it be hard to know how far the freedoms I've exteo you go but that's not something I'll ever oppose as your mistress. Perhaps I'll have opinions about them, as a friend, as family, but never as your mistress. As far as I'm ed the final decision is yours and anything I say about it is just me voig my own opinion. ...Though for practicality sake you'll have to at least tell me, it's hard to pn around things I don't know about."

  Torien turned away from me and looked back at the door. "Th-thank you Lilith. We should get moving."

  I followed her from behind, allowio lead the way and rein in her emotions. I didn't o be a genius to see the storm of flig thoughts going through her head right now, but that was okay. I couldn't help but smile. I hadn't known Torien for long, not really. But I felt like she is truly one of my closest fidants and I'd like to believe I'm that for her as well.

  '-maybe even love you, but only as family. Like I love my sister.'

  My heart swelled and I even teared up as I thought about the small slip-up she had. In her haste to expin herself she didn't even realize she had told me how much she really cared for me. She loves me like family.

  I had to take a breath to calm my breathing, to stop myself from getting choked up. Her words hit me in a sore spot I didn't even know I had. Family. It was something I didn't realize I needed, something that I had been unknowingly chasing. Family.

  I thought about Raya, the Madame, and the irls in the brothel. I thought about the way [Soultoubsp;was worded and suddenly my thoughts clicked into pce. I wasn't just a 'progenitor' as gross and ical as that sounded. I was the mother of the Succubi. I wasn't spreading my race, I was building a family. It also cleared up the fuzzy guidelines I had for who I would offer the transformation to. I would be asking them to join my new family, not just building some impersonal club. It suddenly meant even more to me that I picked people who would be good to each other, not just people who would be from being a succubus.

  I o myself and resolved my heart. It's time to grow my family.

  Saine