When we returned to the inn, Tori was already there eating. She must have just bathed, because her red hair, normally curly, was straight and wet.

  “How did it go?” she asked after we sat down and ordered food.

  “There are some teachers offering lessons, but I can’t afford to pay them. But I found someone who is looking for a team to explore dungeons, and she could teach me and Zoe. She has experience, and with her and Mari we could go into lower levels. What do you think?” I asked.

  “She? Is she good, or just pretty and you want to sleep with her?” Tori asked.

  I shook my head. “Why would I look for any other woman, when a beauty like you is warming my bed?”

  Tori rolled her eyes but didn't answer for a moment, thinking it over. “I must talk to her and check if she really has experience and is suitable. I could focus for some time on dungeoning.”

  “I agreed to meet with her tomorrow at the arena,” I said.

  Tori frowned slightly. “When? I found a job for us.”

  “Right after sunrise. I figured we might hit the dungeon tomorrow too. What’s the job?”

  “Protecting a cargo transport to a nearby town, less than a day’s travel. One person’s not enough, so I told them I have a group of five. I was hoping you’d all come with me.”

  “When do they want to set out?”

  “Morning. But if things don’t drag on with that…”

  “Cassia.”

  “…Cassia, then we should make it in time.”

  “How much do they pay?” I asked.

  “Sixty ryns.”

  “Nice,” I replied. It was quite a lot for a one-day job, but we would need to split it.

  “One-third for me, two-thirds for you,” Tori said, as if reading my mind.

  “That’s not exactly an even split.”

  “I’m counting Mari as equal to me, even though she’s injured and not at full strength, and the three of you as one person. I think that’s a fair split, especially since I found the job.”

  “Deal,” I said. She could’ve just as easily asked for half, so I wasn’t going to argue.

  After the waitress brought our food, I picked up two bowls.

  “I’m going to check on Mari,” I said.

  “If you want to sleep in one bed with me tonight, you must take a bath first,” Tori said before I could walk away from the table.

  “Azura and I will go first,” Zoe said suddenly.

  I looked at her, surprised. So did Azura.

  “Together?” I asked.

  Zoe nodded eagerly, her storm of white hair bouncing around her head.

  “Without me?” I asked.

  Zoe let out a soft breath. “Unless Master orders otherwise,” she said quietly.

  “If Azura doesn't mind, you two can go first,” I said, wondering what Zoe was pnning. “Knock on the door when you finish.”

  “Thanks, Master,” Zoe replied, returning to her food.

  With two bowls in hand, I headed upstairs. As I opened the door to the room, Mari, who was sitting on the bed with her back to the door, spun abruptly and growled, showing her teeth.

  I raised a brow, looking at her questioningly, but she just turned her back to me again.

  “I brought you some food,” I said, setting the bowl on the table. The one I’d left there earlier was now completely empty. Mari’s gaze followed me across the room, but she didn’t say a word.

  I sat down opposite her at the table and started to eat. After a moment of silence, Mari got up, grabbed the bowl for her, and returned to bed with it.

  “How do you feel?” I asked.

  “Isn’t it fucking obvious?!” Mari snarled.

  I didn't react, watching her in silence.

  Mari pouted and focused on her food, quickly shoveling it into her mouth.

  “Better,” she murmured after a long moment of silence.

  “We have a job to do tomorrow, we will protect a cargo.”

  Mari looked at me and nodded while chewing her food.

  “What css do you have?” I asked.

  Mari grimaced, parted her lips like she was going to answer, but stopped herself and put food in her mouth instead.

  “If we’re going to explore together, I need to know,” I said. It was pretty hypocritical, considering she had no idea I even had a css. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to keep it a secret, but for now, I hadn’t told her anything. My only potentially useful skill in a dungeon was summoning mana, and even that wasn’t anything special.

  “Kitsune Witch and Ice Mage,” Mari said after a moment of silence.

  “What levels do you have?” I asked, realizing that she was a mage and we were cking a healer, which in Cassia’s opinion was essential.

  Mari scoffed but replied. “Fourteen and eleven.”

  “What about skills? What do you have?” I asked.

  Mari grimaced for a moment but then listed them out. “Soul fire missile, Movement Curse that paralyzes opponents for a few seconds, Soul Rune that boosts someone's vitality and endurance, and Soul Cws.”

  She raised her hand in front of her face. Her nails started to glow blue, and then extended until they were at least ten inches long and looked like they were burning. I realized that they actually were created from fmes. Mari swiped them in front of her, cutting through the air, before they vanished.

  “Amazing!” I excimed.

  “From the Ice Mage I have Ice Bolt, Ice Wall, Icy Barrage, which shoots a few small icicles, and Freezing Shot, which covers the target in ice if I hit. And Icy Spear, as my css’ weapon.”

  “Css’ weapon?”

  “Some csses have it,” Mari said.

  “Can you expin?”

  Mari watched me in silence for a moment before she finally replied. “On the tenth level, some csses unlock a skill that allows them to summon an item, most of the time a weapon, that is connected to their css.”

  Mari raised her hand, and this time a blue light fshed in the center of her palm. It began to stretch and grow until she was holding a spear made entirely of blue ice.

  “I prefer to attack from a distance using my skills, but just in case, I have this,” Mari said. The spear in her hand glowed blue, then began to shrink, and just like it had appeared a moment ago, it simply vanished.

  “Amazing,” I said. “Is it always the same spear, or a new one each time?”

  “A new one.”

  “So you could throw it and then summon another?”

  “In theory. But it costs me mana. And I can’t throw it far.”

  “Can you summon more than one at a time?”

  I wondered if I would be able to summon a weapon on my tenth level. I wasn't sure what it could be from csses like Sex Mage or Demon Master.

  Mari shook her head.

  “Do you know how to fight with it?” I asked.

  “A little. But like I said, I prefer using skills from a distance.”

  “I need a teacher. Even if you just show me the basics, that’d help.”

  Mari pressed her lips into a thin line but nodded.

  Someone knocked on the door, which immediately opened.

  “All done, Master,” Zoe said, her hair still damp. Azura stood just behind her.

  I gnced at Mari, wondering if I should ask her more questions, but I decided to let her rest and not bother her anymore. We would have a full day on the road to talk tomorrow.

  “My turn,” I said, getting up from the table. I gave Zoe a long kiss, then headed to the bathroom while she and Azura went back downstairs, joining Tori.

  After a quick bath, I returned to the main room and rented a room for Mari, which drained my funds even further, but at least we had work lined up for the next day.

  I went back to the room with Zoe, Azura, and Tori. Mari was lying on the bed, but she sat up when we entered.

  “Room for you,” I said, holding out the key.

  “So what, I’m not sleeping with you after all?!” Mari snapped.

  I raised a brow at her. “I thought I made myself clear earlier,” I said slowly.

  “You think I don't know that you were staring at me as I slept, pervert.”

  I tilted my head, watching her. “I was checking out your wound,” I said, pulling out the salve that I had bought for her earlier.

  Mari grabbed it, looked it over with confusion on her face, but then shifted her gaze back to me and scoffed.

  “You’ll just add this to my debt so I have to work for you longer.”

  I shook my head, rolling my eyes. “Consider it a gift. I won’t add it to your debt.”

  Mari pressed her lips into a tight line, scoffed, and then headed toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, still holding the key to her room.

  “To the bathroom. I need a mirror to put this on,” Mari replied, leaving the room. She stopped in the corridor, standing there for a moment with her back toward all of us. For a moment, I wondered what she was doing, but then she just headed to the bathroom.

  “I’m starting to understand why she was so cheap,” Tori said, putting her backpack and sword on the table.

  “Mari’s been through a lot. You don’t have to be friends with her, but at least be nice, okay?”

  “I am being nice. I waited until she left before I said that,” Tori replied with a slight smirk.

  I sighed, then gnced at Zoe and Azura, who were standing there watching the whole exchange. Azura was still in her human form, not shifting into her wolf form right away like she had the previous day.

  “Is there something you want to talk about?” I asked.

  She lifted her eyes from the floor to look at me briefly, muttered a quiet “no,” and stared back down at her feet.

  I watched her, wondering what was on her mind. Zoe, standing next to her, was smiling with a slight blush on her face. I stepped closer to Azura, gently took her chin, and lifted it so she’d meet my gaze with her deep navy-blue eyes.

  “Do you want something else?” I asked softly, my eyes flicking down to her lips.

  Azura was beautiful, and I definitely wanted to sleep with her, but did she want the same? Was that why she hadn’t shifted? Was that why Zoe had taken her to bathe together? What had happened there?

  I looked at my sweet Zoe, who nodded eagerly, grinning wide, her tail flicking excitedly behind her.

  I focused on Azura again, leaned in, and brushed my lips against hers. Azura’s breathing hitched, but she didn’t react at first. Only when I pressed my lips more firmly against hers did I feel her start to move, kissing me back.

  When our lips finally parted, I stayed close, our eyes locked for a long moment until Azura looked away.

  “Do you want to join us in bed tonight?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Azura whispered, barely moving her lips.

  “I’m gd,” I replied, and kissed her again.

  I felt hands sliding up my back, slipping under my arms to my chest, and a woman’s body pressed against me from behind.

  “Think you can handle three women?” Tori whispered in my ear, resting her chin on my shoulder.

  “Is that a challenge?”

  “What do you think?” Tori teased, then kissed my neck.

  I turned toward her, but before I could kiss her, someone knocked on the door. Zoe darted over and opened it for Mari, who scowled when she saw how close I was to Tori, our lips almost touching.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “I need the room key.”

  “Ah, of course,” I said, throwing it to her.

  “I can share the bed,” Mari said.

  “Are you inviting me?” I asked, shocked by her sudden offer.

  “Not you!” Mari snapped, gring. “One of them, if she doesn’t want to spend the night with you,” she added, gncing at the other women in the room.

  I smirked, grabbed Tori and pulled her against my body, squeezing her firm ass.

  “You’re interrupting us,” Tori said, gripping my shirt and pulling me into a kiss.

  I heard Mari scoff and the door sm shut, but it didn’t matter anymore—the three women stayed with me, and I was going to fuck every one of them.

  I kissed Tori, kneading her breasts through her shirt. I gently pushed her back until she y down on the bed, and I knelt between her legs.

  I grabbed her shirt and pulled it up, revealing her small breasts. I immediately lowered my mouth to her hard nipples, teasing one with my tongue while my hand kneaded the other, my cock rubbing against her still-covered crotch.

  The mattress shifted beside us, and when I pulled back from Tori’s wet nipples, I saw Zoe, completely naked, joining us on the bed. Her tail was already brushing across my back. I leaned toward her and kissed her while still fondling Tori’s breasts beneath me.

  After a moment, I broke the kiss, gently biting Zoe’s lip and pulling on it as I moved away. She moaned softly, staring at me. I looked at Azura, who was standing by the bed, watching us. I wanted to invite her, but there wasn’t much room.

  “Let’s push the beds together,” I said, standing up from over Tori.

  We moved Mari’s old bed next to ours, aligning the mattresses and making sure they were stable on the combined frames. I climbed on and bounced lightly on my knees in the center to test it.

  I grinned—we now had a bed big enough for all of us, with room for another woman or two.

  I grabbed Azura’s hand and pulled her onto the bed. She y down on her back, and I leaned over her. At the same time, Zoe pushed Tori, who nded next to us. My little demon jumped on top of her, straddling her. Their lips immediately connected, as Zoe fondled Tori’s naked tits.

  My attention shifted to Azura, who y beneath me. Her straight dark hair, still damp from the bath, was spread around her head, as her deep navy eyes locked on mine. In their depths, shades of indigo and ink swirled—unnaturally intense, like they held a piece of the sky right before a storm.

  I leaned down slowly, capturing her lips in a soft kiss, our mouths brushing gently. My hand slid from her hip under her shirt, caressing her skin until I found her tits, kneading them softly.

  It was Azura who first slipped her tongue out, brushing it against my lips. I responded right away, our tongues teasing and exploring each other’s mouths. I slid my hand out from under her shirt and cupped her head, still kissing her as I y down on her, careful not to press my full weight.

  I pressed my cock against her crotch, feeling her small breasts push into my chest through our shirts. Our kiss deepened, her hands gripping my shoulders as the tension between us built.

  Finally, I sat up and pulled off my shirt. My eyes flicked to Tori, who was moaning softly between kisses with Zoe.

  I helped Azura out of her shirt, revealing her naked tits, her skin darker in tone. Impatient, I quickly pulled off both my pants and hers, tossing everything aside until we were both completely naked.

  I looked at her pussy, thickly covered in bck hair, but I could still see her folds beneath. My gaze roamed up her ft stomach and small breasts before settling on her face.

  I admired her naked body. Even though she was too skinny, she was truly beautiful, and I felt pride and desire rising in me. Another woman I’d seduced. Another woman I couldn’t wait to savor.