“You took your time,” Gemma said, sitting in front of me in the dream world. Typically, she was wearing a purple slutty witch dress, but this time she was clothed in a more casual shirt and shorts.

  “Zoe got nervous waiting, and then she sensed Whitney on me, so we needed to talk. Amber cuddled her when I was gone and deserved a reward. And Azura deserves my attention too. It takes some time to take care of three women.”

  “Is everything okay between you and Zoe?”

  “Yeah, we talked and fucked. It's all good.”

  “Luckily you can solve any problem with sex,” Gemma said with a tiny bit of sarcasm in her voice.

  I just shrugged, and we remained silent. I thought she would comment on my mission for Sage, but it wasn’t coming. “Aren’t you going to rebuke me or something?” I asked.

  “For what?”

  “Sage’s mission…”

  “Should I?”

  “You told me not to get in trouble and to be careful with Sage.”

  “It’s true that you got into trouble, but you also helped to save a lot of sves and catch a few criminals. And while I warned you about Sage, besides me, she’s probably the best person you could entrust your life to. I think you did well during the mission.”

  “Thanks,” I replied, surprised she was so calm about it all.

  “But seducing a vampire with your blood wasn’t really a hard task.”

  “Yeah… Actually, Zoe got really upset when she learned that I had sex with Whitney. She doesn't mind that I sleep with other women, but because it was a vampire, she… felt the need to bite me. Even if Whitney didn’t do it.”

  “Does Zoe know Whitney?” Gemma asked.

  “No.”

  “Vampires are like that,” Gemma shrugged. “They don't like to share.”

  “That doesn’t fit Zoe.”

  “It doesn't mean every vampire doesn’t like to share. And she’s not only a vampire.”

  “Do succubi like to share?”

  “It depends. Typically, a succubus needs a few men to draw their life force without killing them. They don’t like sharing their favorite, but they don’t mind sharing the other men that much - not with just anyone, but between friends, family, or lovers. Second thing, in Liraveth, a succubus is the dominant one in a retionship, and she has a few men. In your retionship, you are the dominant one, so you have a few women. At least that’s what I think is happening. Not that I can read Zoe’s mind and know what she’s really thinking.”

  “Thanks,” I murmured, appreciating the expnation. “What’s going to happen with Whitney?”

  “Are you worried about her?”

  “Why would I be?”

  “You seemed quite engaged when you fucked her,” Gemma replied.

  “Were you watching us?”

  “Just to make sure that she didn’t hurt you.”

  “You could have stopped it before we did anything. But you waited.”

  “I just assumed, why not? I gave you time to have some fun and enjoy your life.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course not,” Gemma replied. “We needed Sage to secure sves, because if Whitney got to them first, she would order them to fight to the death, and it would be much harder to neutralize them without hurting them. You provided quite a good distraction while Sage was infiltrating her pce.”

  “Sage mentioned that you didn't want to attack Whitney during sex,” I said.

  “There was a ward set in the room, but I couldn't recognize what it was doing while in the gargoyle. So it was better to lure her out of the room.”

  “How did you even sense it? I didn't feel anything.”

  “Because it was turned off. You would sense it if it was active.”

  “But you sensed it not even being there.”

  “Years of experience,” Gemma shrugged. “And I suspected she might have done something like that, so I was looking for it.”

  “And what’s going to happen with Whitney?” I asked again.

  “Sage is bringing her to me. I’ll interrogate her tomorrow. She’s going to end up in jail for a very long time.”

  “Are you going to free her one day? How many years is she going to be in prison?”

  “It depends if she will cooperate. But a few decades for sure.”

  “What do you want from her?”

  “Information,” Gemma replied. “She was organizing illegal fights all over Torania. In every guild. She knows people that attend stuff like that, and for sure there are important people among them. She knows how to find a pce to stay hidden for a few days with dozens of sves. She knows how to organize a pce to create an event like that. She must have contacts in every guild. And she must know a lot of stuff that might never be useful or might be crucial one day.”

  “That makes sense,” I nodded.

  Gemma yawned, covering her mouth. “If you have important questions, ask them. It's te and I’m tired.”

  “Couldn't you just go to sleep and connect with me in the morning? You wouldn't need to wait.”

  “It costs mana,” Gemma replied. “I don't want to use it first thing in the morning. I prefer to do it before sleep, so it can replenish during the night. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow someone will end up in bed with a dangerous criminal and I’ll need to save them.”

  “Right… Actually, how did you find me there?” I asked. “They found Sage’s locating stone.”

  Gemma was quiet for a moment, just looking at me, before she yawned again. “I put a locating enhancement on you.”

  “And didn't tell me about it?” I asked.

  “I just wanted to know where you are, in case you get in trouble, so I could save you. It worked.”

  “Did you put more enhancements on me?”

  “I can read your status,” Gemma replied with a shrug.

  “That’s all?” I asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Then why wouldn't you mention them to me before?”

  “I didn't see a need for that. And I was worried you might want to try to get rid of them. But now you can see that they are valuable, so I hope you won't try.”

  I sighed, not liking that she had hidden it from me. On one hand, I didn’t like that she had been tracking my location all the time, on the other, I didn’t want to get rid of it. It was reassuring to know she could find and save me if I got into trouble again. And there were two more things I wanted to talk to her about before we went back to sleep.

  “You finally showed me your css,” I mentioned.

  “One of them,” Gemma replied. “I can control monsters from dungeons. I need to beat it first, but not kill. And when it's subdued, I need to take control over its mind. Then I can control it or make suggestions.”

  “Suggestions?”

  “I can force it to do something, but then it's resisting. It's much easier to let it do whatever it wants, but push it in the direction I want. For example, the gargoyle wants to fly. I don't need to force it. I just let it fly and suggest the direction, and we kind of cooperate.”

  “When you were attacking Sage, was it you or the gargoyle?”

  “Both. The gargoyle just wanted to attack someone. And I was a bit angry at her.”

  “A bit?” I asked. “I don't want to know what you would do if you were very angry.”

  “When I’m using a monster’s body, even a bit is enough for the monster to sh out.”

  “You have prepared monsters that you can use immediately when you need them,” I stated, rather than asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “So you have a mini zoo of monsters,” I snorted.

  “Yeah, but I wouldn't say it's mini. I have dozens of them in cages.”

  “How do you get them from a dungeon into a cage?”

  “Beat them, subdue them, and force them to enter. It’s more tiring, harder, and requires more mana, but I can force them to do anything.”

  “And you just hold them all the time? Like pets? Do you feed them?”

  “I have people to take care of that.”

  “And what do monsters eat?”

  “Mostly meat, some eat other stuff. A few don't need to eat at all.”

  “They don't need to eat?” I asked, wondering what type of monsters those would be. I didn't know that many of them, but the skeleton from the lower levels came to mind.

  “Can we leave that for another time?” Gemma asked. “I really want to go to sleep.”

  “One st question?” I asked.

  “Go,” Gemma sighed.

  “What’s Bck Lotus?”

  “The Dragon mentioned it?” Gemma asked.

  “Brisa did,” I replied. “But Whitney knew what she was talking about.”

  “Hmm…” Gemma hummed. “Perhaps I should have a talk with Brisa too.”

  “Why?”

  “The Bck Lotus was an organization that stopped existing over three centuries ago,” Gemma replied slowly, as if she were thinking over every word.

  “But they attacked Whitney’s house.”

  “Not really,” Gemma replied, pausing briefly before continuing. “Sage was part of it, and while the Bck Lotus doesn’t exist anymore, she still uses their costumes out of habit. Or to cause fear. But only older people would recognize them.”

  “Maybe Sage brought them together again. I saw more than one person dressed like that when she was helping me save Amber.”

  “That’s impossible,” Gemma replied, shaking her head. “Almost all of the members were killed. And Sage doesn't have a reason to recreate it.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “The Bck Lotus was a very powerful organization that did everything for you as long as you could afford it. From protection to assassinations. They had members that would take care of everything. But they made the wrong enemy, and were wiped out.”

  “If they were powerful, who was strong enough to destroy it?” I asked. Before Gemma even responded, she smiled, and I had my answer.

  “Me,” she said.

  “You destroyed a whole organization? Because they were killing people?”

  “Because their leader, Reagan, decided she wanted to rule Torania. And I was standing in her way, so she wanted to use the Bck Lotus to get rid of me.”

  “Wait, was Sage sent to assassinate you?”

  “No, we were friends already. Not that close as now, but friendly. And Reagan knew about it. At first, she tried to get rid of Sage and… That’s her story to tell, but in the end, the Bck Lotus stopped existing, while Sage and I got closer.”

  “And the two of you were able to wipe out the whole organization?”

  “Yeah,” Gemma replied, and yawned again.

  “Okay, you must go to sleep,” I said, realizing that she was really tired, and pushing herself just to talk with me. “I don't want to hold you any longer. Thanks for finding me.”

  “Sure.” Gemma smiled softly. “Please give me a break, and don't get into any trouble tomorrow.”

  “I can't promise anything.”

  Gemma gave me an irritated look, tilting her head to the side, clearly not catching that it was just a joke.

  “Rex,” I said. “I’ve got a full schedule of women to visit around Ortas tomorrow.”

  “That sounds like trouble,” Gemma snorted.

  “Not one that would need your intervention.”

  “Hopefully.”

  “Unless you want to help me take care of my women before sleep. In person. That would really help.”

  Gemma shook her head with a smile. “Even if we were going to meet, it wouldn’t be in a big city like Ortas.”

  “You could always just pick me up as the gargoyle. It travels really fast.”

  Gemma was going to answer, but was interrupted when she yawned again. “Sorry,” she murmured.

  “Go to sleep, sweet dreams,” I said, ending the conversation so she could finally rest, and only after that did she send me back to sleep, as we left the dream world.

  ---

  When I woke up early in the morning, I would have loved to spend the entire day in bed, being zy and fucking. But I had promised Cassia an early training session since we weren’t going to the dungeon. With Sage as my new trainer, I wondered if I should stop training with Cassia. But I was almost certain that because of my css, my body could handle all the workouts and regenerate far faster than normal, without needing the usual rest between training sessions.

  Pulling out of the bed, I needed to take Zoe with me because she was still snoring on top of my chest. She mumbled something but got up too, and we were joined by Azura. Only Amber remained in bed, blinking her eyes open, looking at us half-awake before she drifted off to sleep again.

  We found something to eat in the kitchen and ate in comfortable silence, with Zoe in my p and Azura sitting close on my right. During breakfast, I fed Peri. After she finished devouring my mana, she explored the table, but before we could finish our meal, she was back on my arm. When we were done, I sent Zoe and Azura to wash the dishes and prepare while I grabbed more food and headed toward Mari’s room.

  I knocked softly on her door, wondering if she was awake, but she invited me inside immediately.

  “Oh… It’s you…” she murmured, disappointed when she spotted me, turning away. She was sitting by a window, looking outside.

  “Yeah, just me. I brought you food,” I replied, putting it on the table, but she didn't seem interested. “You hoped for someone else?”

  “Zelda. Or Mia.”

  “It’s very kind of her to bring you food and help with your healing. I hope you’re nice to her.”

  Mari remained silent for a moment, just staring out the window. I realized how weird it was - a bunny girl bringing food to a fox girl. As animals, one of them would be food and the other a predator. While they weren’t animals, they weren’t completely human either.

  “She is nice,” Mari replied, turning to look at me. “And it would be nice if you wouldn’t deprave her.”

  “Deprave her?”

  “You took her out on a date. She told me about it, pervert. Like you don't have enough women fawning over you, you’re looking for another. And a sve.”

  “I’m not forcing her to do anything.”

  Mari groaned, closing her eyes for a moment, her single ear twitching at the top of her head. “As if she can refuse.”

  “She can,” I assured.

  “If I put a knife to your neck and asked if you wanted to kneel and lick my pussy, would you refuse? With a bde pressed to your neck? That’s how it works for Mia and Terra. You can say whatever you want, but she is your sve, and you are taking advantage of her.”

  “You don't need to put a knife to my neck. You can just ask,” I joked.

  “God, you are such a pervert. You have only one thing in mind. Which only confirms my point. You only think with your dick.”

  “You mentioned it first,” I replied.

  “Do you understand what I’m saying, or did your stupid brain get stuck at the word 'pussy' and now you can’t think about anything else?”

  “I do, but you are not right. Mia is genuinely interested in me. That’s why she went on a date with me, not because she’s scared I would hurt or sell her.”

  Mari snorted, shaking her head, turning again toward the window.

  “You should eat something,” I said. “You need strength for your body to heal better. And after your second ear is healed, you should get out before Zelda starts healing your tail. Don’t you go mad sitting all day in this room, doing nothing?”

  “I was closed in a cage so small I couldn't straighten my legs for a few weeks,” Mari replied.

  “But you are not inside that cage anymore. Why do you cage yourself in this room when you can just walk out?” I asked.

  Mari remained silent with her back toward me.

  “I’m going to train with Cassia,” I sighed. “I hope your healing goes well today.” I was heading out of her room, but she stopped me.

  “What was going on in the middle of the night?” she asked. “The noise woke me up.”

  “Oh, sorry. Amber likes it really rough and gets loud when she comes.”

  Mari gred at me, her brown eyes looking as if she were trying to kill me with them, and I didn’t need her to say it - I knew she was calling me a pervert again.

  “I was seducing a criminal who was abusing sves,” I replied, hoping it would earn me some points with Mari. “She took me to her pce, Sage took her down, and freed the sves.”

  “Are you stupid?” Mari hissed.

  “What?” I asked, surprised by her outburst.

  “You could have gotten hurt! Or kidnapped! Or killed!”

  “When did you start to care?”

  Mari pressed her lips into a thin line, averting her gaze, before she frowned and looked at me with anger in her eyes. “If you die, Zelda won’t finish healing me, and I’ll be left looking dumb with only one ear. And without a tail,” she replied. “After I’m healed, you can… do whatever you want. I don't care!”

  “When you are healed, I’ll have my bodyguard back, and you’ll make sure that I’m safe.”

  She huffed again, turning toward the window. This time she didn't stop me as I left her room.

  After picking up all I needed, together with Zoe and Azura, we headed to leave the house, but before we could reach the door, it opened, and Sage entered.

  “I came here to apologize to Zoe,” she said immediately, looking at the succubus with a warm smile. Which was so weird that I suspected she was there to cause trouble again.