“I found a lead,” I said almost immediately after waking up in the realm of dreams.

  “About the b?” Gemma asked, sitting on the bed next to me. Her purple dress squeezed her tits together, creating an amazing cleavage that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get tired of.

  “Yeah. Azura remembers the food,” I said. “She was eating fish every day the whole time she was there.”

  “Okay,” Gemma said, thinking. “Okay,” she repeated with a nod. “That may lead to something.”

  “There’s a sea close to Ortas, right?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Gemma replied. Then she reached to the side, and when she pulled her hand back, she was suddenly holding a piece of paper that she spread between us on the bed. It was a map showing her guild’s territory.

  Using my skill, I took a mental photo, to always have it in my mind.

  “Actually,” Gemma said, “the biggest port city is near Ortas.” She pointed to a city on the map called Atranth. “Hmm…” she hummed. “I guess they could also get enough fish in Obscurmare,” she added, moving her finger up the coastline, “but Atranth is bigger, so you should check it first.”

  “I’m heading back to Ortas tomorrow, but I’ll go there soon. Do you know someone I could talk to for information?”

  “I’ll check and let you know tomorrow,” Gemma replied. “Good job,” she added with a smile. “You pushed things further than I ever could.”

  “Thanks,” I said. It was all thanks to Azura, but I was the one who had found her.

  “I don’t have much time to talk today,” Gemma said. “I just wanted to check in and make sure everything’s okay. Do you have anything urgent to talk about?”

  I quickly told her about the fight on the road and how we caught Mirage—someone Gemma had heard about before. Then our conversation ended, and I was back to sleep.

  ---

  I woke up in the morning, lying on my back, Zoe and Azura lying halfway on top of me, one on each side. I sighed happily—now that was a life worth living. Waking up every day with two hot demonesses in my arms... the future looked bright.

  Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for morning sex—Tori was in a hurry to return to Ortas. So, after a quick breakfast, we were on our way back.

  As we passed the pce where the fight had happened the day before, the bodies were already gone. The road, however, was still soaked in blood. Once we passed it, I caught up with Mari, who had barely said a word all day.

  “I don’t want to talk to you,” she said immediately.

  “We split the money from the job and from catching Mirage,” I said, ignoring her attitude. “Your share was 44 ryns. After subtracting 9 for upkeep, that means you’ve paid off 35 ryns of your debt.”

  Mari gnced at me, walking in silence for a moment before turning her gaze back to the road.

  “Mari,” I sighed. “I’m not going to force you to talk, but if you ever want to, I’m here. I’ll always help you. Just come to me.”

  “Unless you’re fucking one of your whores,” she snapped.

  I snorted. “First of all, they’re not whores. And yeah, that wouldn’t be the best moment.”

  She scoffed, and I slowed down, letting her walk alone, matching my pace with Zoe instead. The rest of the way back to Ortas was peaceful as we chatted about random things.

  We returned to the Dragon’s Inn and had a quick meal. I had a training session with Cassia ter, but since we’d made good time, I had plenty of hours to spare before heading to the arena.

  Now that I had some money, I decided to visit the market and buy some essentials.

  Leaving enough for food and lodging for the next few days, I set aside 100 ryns for supplies. Mari refused to join us, locking herself in her room at the inn—not surprising.

  Tori didn’t come either, saying she had things to take care of and that she’d meet us ter. It wasn’t the first time she left without expining much. Last time, she came back with a job, so maybe this was the same.

  I left my spear and shield in the room but took Tori’s dagger, fastening it to my belt. Together with Zoe and Azura, we went to the market and quickly found a stall where I bought two backpacks—one for me, one for Mari—and a side bag for Zoe.

  Then we went to a clothing shop. Having only one pair of clothes was starting to get really inconvenient.

  Zoe rushed into the shop, eyes sparkling as she browsed through the clothes.

  I started looking for something for myself, but noticed Azura still walking behind me, not searching for anything.

  “Azura, go look for something you’d like. Ask Zoe for help if you’re unsure. And have her pick something for Mari too,” I said. “And tell her to make sure it’s something decent—like she’s dressing a nun, not a slut,” I added, already imagining the things Zoe might pick and how furious Mari would be.

  I picked out clothes for myself, tried them on, and decided what to buy. Zoe was still going through the racks with Azura, grinning the whole time. Seeing how much fun she was having, I let her enjoy it.

  After over ten years in the forest, a little shopping wouldn’t hurt.

  A few minutes ter, the two of them carried a pile of clothes to the fitting room.

  “Did you pick something for Mari?” I asked.

  “Oh, yeah,” Zoe said. “I wasn’t sure what a ‘nun’ is, but I figured you meant something boring.” She nodded toward the clothes Azura was holding and Azura dropped them next to me.

  “Zoe, we don’t have the money to buy all this,” I said, looking over the mountain of clothes she still held.

  “Oh, I know, Master. But I need to try everything on,” she said, pouting, with her pink eyes staring at me. “Please?” she asked, sweetly.

  “Don't you think I don’t know what you’re doing,” I said.

  Zoe blinked rapidly. “But does it work?”

  I sighed and sat down on the chair in front of the fitting room.

  “You’re the best, Master,” Zoe said with a grin. “Come on, Azura.”

  As I listened to their whispers and Zoe’s giggles from inside the changing room, I checked the clothes they’d picked for Mari. They were decent—long pants, shirts, a coat. Big enough not just to fit her, but to let her hide her body if she wanted to.

  Finally, Azura stepped out wearing her new outfit.

  She looked incredible. Until now, she’d always worn Tori’s clothes, which were way too big for her. But now she had on a skirt that reached just above her knees, showing a lot of her legs, and a shirt that clung tightly to her thin frame, highlighting just how narrow her waist was.

  And on top of that—she wasn’t wearing a bra. I could clearly see her hard nipples pressing through the fabric as she stood there with her head lowered.

  I stood up, walked toward her, and gave her a short kiss.

  “You look amazing,” I said, staring into her eyes—eyes she quickly turned away.

  Then Zoe stepped out from around the corner, also changed, wearing clothes nearly identical to Azura’s.

  Except her skirt was much shorter—so short I wasn’t even sure it fully covered her ass. Her shirt ended at her ribs, exposing her ft stomach, and with her breasts being noticeably rger than Azura’s—and standing firm—it clung to her so tightly, especially without a bra, that it was practically like she was naked.

  “Do you like it, Master?” Zoe asked, doing a quick spin.

  As she twirled, her skirt lifted so high I saw her entire bare ass and pussy before it fell back down. It definitely didn’t cover her ass—not even when she wasn’t moving.

  “Sexy, but there’s no way they’ll let you buy that,” I said.

  “Agh, Master, but you like it,” Zoe replied, her eyes flicking down to my pants, where my cock was already rock-hard and straining against the fabric.

  “You’re showing too much.”

  “That’s the whole point—so I can show you,” she said.

  “But you’re showing everyone else too.”

  “So what? Let them look at what you’ve got. They’ll never have it anyway.”

  “No,” I said firmly. I wasn’t going to let her walk around half-naked for other men to stare at. She was mine, and only I gotta see her naked. And in that outfit, she was basically naked.

  Zoe looked at me, then grinned widely as she walked over, swaying her hips. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing herself close, and lifted one leg, hooking it around my waist.

  “I like you like this, Master,” she whispered, and kissed me.

  I grabbed her body and slid my hands up to her chest, kneading her breasts through the thin fabric. It clung so tightly, it might as well not have been there at all.

  Zoe finally broke the kiss. “And Azura’s outfit? That one’s okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Azura, do you like it?” I asked, turning to her.

  Azura gave a soft murmur of agreement.

  “Alright. Then Zoe, you need to find something a little more covering.”

  “Yes, Master,” Zoe replied, grabbing Azura’s hand and pulling her back into the fitting room.

  After a moment, Azura stepped out in a new pair of pants and a shirt—both clinging tightly to her body and fitting her well.

  Zoe followed right after, wearing almost the exact same outfit.

  “Look, Master,” Zoe said, grabbing Azura and spinning her around so she was facing away from me. Then she gave her a sp on the ass. “Do you like it?”

  The pants hugged Azura’s ass incredibly well, and just a moment ter, Zoe turned around too, sticking her own butt out slightly.

  My cock started getting hard again as I stared at their asses—but this wasn’t the pce for anything more.

  We were already pushing it, and the woman behind the counter was shooting us weird gnces every now and then.

  “You both look amazing,” I said.

  “I liked the other one more,” Azura said quietly. “This one’s way too tight,” she added, tugging at the waistband of the pants, barely able to pull it away from her body.

  “Pick whatever feels most comfortable,” I said.

  The two of them returned to the changing room and tried on a few more sets—or rather, over a dozen.

  I gave my opinion on each until Zoe and Azura finally picked a few outfits each, tossing the rest aside.

  All the clothes cost me just over thirty ryns, but at least we had the clothing situation sorted for now. We all had a few full sets.

  After I paid, Azura and Zoe went back to the changing rooms and returned wearing skirts that reached just above their knees, along with tight-fitting shirts. Neither of them wore bras—which was clearly visible from the way their nipples poked through the fabric.

  Azura generally hated underwear; she said it restricted her too much. I’d let her skip it, and once I did, there was no chance Zoe would wear hers either.

  At least I’d convinced them to keep their panties on.

  After that, we headed to an armor shop.

  For now, Azura stayed in her wolf form most of the time anyway, so I only needed gear for Zoe and myself.

  “Let’s find something for you first,” I told Zoe.

  She’d been using borrowed gear from Tori, but I preferred her having her own.

  We moved to the section with reinforced leather jerkins. Full armor would limit her mobility too much, so we needed something in between—lightweight enough to keep her agile, but sturdy enough to provide some protection.

  I started using my Inspect skill on items that were without my budget range.

  The problem was, all of it was Css 1, meaning it didn’t have levels, and the information I got wasn’t very useful—just the item’s condition. Unfortunately, my skill level was still too low to offer any deeper insight.

  For now, the best I could do was pick a Css 1 jerkin in good condition that I could afford. In theory, I could’ve bought a Css 2 jerkin for Zoe and a cheaper one for myself, but that would leave us broke.

  So I went with the cheaper route and pnned to repce it ter when I had more money.

  Zoe tried on the jerkin and the matching pants. They were comfortable—though, as she pointed out, not very sexy. But she could position her tail comfortably behind her without issue, and that mattered more.

  We ended up buying it.

  [Leather Armor][Css: 1][Condition: Very Good]

  Then it was my turn to pick between armor and a jerkin. Again, to save money, I chose a jerkin—practically the same as Zoe’s, just in my size. Or at least, from what I could tell with my limited info, it seemed identical.

  I tried asking the seller if he had any more details, but he just shrugged. Said it wasn’t worth spending money inspecting Css 1 items—there was never anything special in them anyway.

  With two new jerkins and a little over forty ryns spent, we left the shop.

  I had about ten ryns left before hitting the 100-ryn budget I’d set for the day—and I wasn’t even sure what else we needed.

  We already had the essentials, but then I remembered something that might still be useful.

  We returned to the market where I’d bought healing ointment for Mari earlier. Ten ryns wasn’t enough for anything fancy, but I managed to buy a healing potion that helped with wounds.

  That’s what the shopkeeper said—and my skill confirmed it, even with the limited details I could read.

  [Decoction of Bloody Cornflowers][Item Type: Potion][Effect: Helps in healing freshly acquired wounds.]

  And just like that, I’d burned through the full 100 ryns in under an hour—but we now had clothes, armor, bags, and a healing potion, just in case something happened.

  As we were leaving the market, I noticed a woman stepping out of one of the nearby buildings. It was clearly not a residence—much rger than the others around it, and older too. But what caught my eye was the stack of books she was carrying.

  If that was a bookstore, or better yet, a library then it could be a really useful pce for me.

  “Let’s go check it out,” I said to Zoe and Azura.

  We walked into the building and made our way down a hallway until we stepped into a rge room filled with rows of bookshelves.

  “Books,” Zoe said. “Boring,” she added.

  “Not necessarily,” I replied, gncing around. “There might be something interesting here,” I added as I headed toward the front desk, where a young woman was seated.

  It was immediately clear she wasn’t just any woman—she was some kind of demon. And the fact that I couldn’t tell exactly what kind made me think the books here might definitely be worth looking into.

  Her skin had a faint green tint, and her hair was a deep, dark green. From between the strands, thin fin-like appendages poked out—almost like fish gill fins. She was reading a book and only looked up when I approached.

  “Hi, can I help you with something?” she asked cheerfully.

  “Hey, I’m Tobias. I just arrived in Ortas. Is this a bookstore or a library?” I asked, still unsure.

  “Library. We don’t sell books,” she said, wrinkling her nose slightly. “And we don’t lend them out to non-residents either. But everything you see here is free to access,” she added, waving a hand at the shelves around us.

  “Are there materials not avaible to the general public?” I asked, picking up on something in her wording.

  "Tons,” the woman said, unching into a monologue. “Starting with books too valuable to be left out in the open—you need to file a special request for those. Then there’s a whole mountain of unsorted books sitting in the back, waiting for the city to finally hire someone to deal with them.”

  She paused only to breathe, and I didn’t interrupt. She was giving me more information than I’d have ever thought to ask for.

  “I’m the only one running this whole library. Sitting here at the front, checking books in and out… I’ve got no time to go through that backlog and catalog it all. I told the city officials we could just put the books on the shelves and be done with it, but nooo—every book has to be beled, recorded, cataloged properly so they don’t get lost.”

  “Besides,” she added, “some of them might be rare or valuable and should go straight into the restricted collection.” She leaned forward slightly, still speaking quickly—like she’d been holding it all in for too long.

  “And then there are the damaged ones. Some need to be thrown away, some sent to a scribe to restore if they’re valuable. But that takes time. Someone has to read them first to know whether they’re worth saving—and the city won’t pay anyone for that.”

  She gave a dry ugh.

  “Every now and then they send someone to help for a few days—but I think it’s more like a punishment duty for them than actual help.They barely get anything done. So it all falls to me.”

  She gestured around the massive library and gave a tired smile.

  “After a whole day at the front desk, I barely have the energy to keep reading or cataloging. I try to do it between visitors, but I’m already overworked.This pce is my whole life.”

  She chuckled softly, brushing a strand of green hair from her face.

  “I don’t even have a house anymore. I used to sleep here so much that eventually, I just gave up my pce and moved into one of the back rooms. I eat at the tavern across the street. They have really good meals at low prices. But I hardly ever leave. This is my home. And I love it.”

  At st, she fell quiet. There was a short pause.

  Then she ughed—and I ughed with her. Zoe smirked beside me.

  “Sorry,” the demon woman said, grinning. “I’m such a chatterbox. Since I live here, I don’t talk to people much. So when someone finally comes by, I end up talking a lot. Visitors are basically my window to the world. Without them, I’d have no idea what’s going on out there. Unless I read about it in a book—but those are always behind the times. I’m barely keeping up.”

  I smiled at her. “I don’t have time right now, unfortunately, but I’ll definitely come back. Do you have books on history? Magic? Demons?”

  Her face lit up.

  “Oh, we’ve got everything. Though with magic, most of the good stuff is request-only—only the really basic, common stuff is public. There’s an entire section on demons. And a few full shelves on history, right over there.”

  She pointed to a corner behind us.

  “I can show you, if you want?”

  “Next time, when I’ve got more time. Sound good?” I asked.

  She straightened up a little too quickly. “Sure! I’ll be here waiting for you.” Then she froze. “I mean—just waiting. Not… for you specifically.”

  She blinked rapidly, clearly flustered. “I mean, if you come back, I’ll be here. But not just for you. I wait here all the time. For, uh… anyone. Because it’s my job. Waiting. Helping. So—yeah.”

  She gave a nervous little ugh and looked away, pretending to sort something on the desk.

  I ughed as I said goodbye to her, and we left the library—me, Zoe, and Azura.

  “You were right,” Zoe said. “I thought it was going to be just boring books… but I didn’t expect a sexy sea nymph.”

  “A nymph?” I asked.

  “Ugh,” Zoe sighed softly. “Right. That was a nymph. Green skin and hair can come in different shades, but those—” she waved her hand near where the woman had her appendages, “those fins are one hundred percent sea nymph.”

  “That’s not exactly what I meant when I said it might be interesting… but yeah, she was interesting,” I admitted.

  As I was walking in there I wanted books. Though sleeping with the librarian didn’t sound like the worst idea either. I smirked. Maybe that’d be one way to get her to stop talking so much. Not that I really minded. I needed knowledge, and it looked like I could get plenty of it—not just from the books, but from her too.

  She had already given me an idea. I couldn’t access the more advanced magic books without proper clearance, but if I convinced her to let me help catalog the library’s backlog, I might gain access to materials I wouldn’t normally see.

  And with my Photographic Memory skill, I could save them in my mind and read them ter.

  But that would have to wait. For now, I had other things to take care of. There was still time before my training with Cassia, and since Mari wasn’t with us, I could finally try something I’d been meaning to practice—though we needed to leave the city first.

  “We need to head outside the city,” I told Zoe and Azura. “I want to train a bit.” They both agreed without question.

  Once we passed through the gate, we followed the road for a while. When we reached the nearby forest, we stepped off the path and ventured deeper among the trees.

  Azura, of course, transformed into her wolf form the moment we left the city. She looked happy, her tail wagging as she ran circles around us.

  After we got far enough from the road to feel safe, I stopped.

  “Azura, if anyone comes close, warn us, alright?”

  She barked once in response. I took that as a yes.

  “Are we gonna have forest sex like the first time?” Zoe asked, looking at me with hopeful eyes.

  “Maybe another time,” I said with a smile. “Right now, I need to train my mana. Then we’ve got training with Cassia.”

  Zoe gave me a deep pout, eyes wide and disappointed.

  I chuckled and shook my head. “Don’t worry. We’ll have time tonight—after training.”

  She pouted even harder but nodded. “Fine…”

  “Collect some small stones from around us, okay?” I asked.

  Zoe nodded and started walking around, gathering them without even asking why.

  I took a deep breath and summoned mana in front of me, guiding it through the air with my mind.

  I practiced condensing it, then loosening it while keeping control. It wasn’t easy—letting it expand meant easing my grip, and when I did that, I often lost control and it would dissipate.

  I also worked on splitting it into smaller portions, trying to control multiple mana balls at once—moving them through the air, compressing and loosening them in turn.

  Every now and then the mana slipped away, forcing me to summon more. Luckily, I had enough to keep going.

  “I’ve got a few stones already,” Zoe said after several minutes, pointing at a small pile nearby.

  “Perfect. Now I want you to throw them one at a time at those trees,” I said, pointing ahead.

  Back during the fight with Mirage, I was able to use mana defensively. But to stop projectiles, I had to either hit them mid-air or form a barrier along their path. That was what I wanted to practice.

  “Ready!” Zoe called, holding up a stone.

  I nodded.

  She threw it, and I tried to strike it mid-air—but missed. It took a few tries to get the timing and trajectory right. Even if it wasn’t the best long-term strategy for blocking projectiles, it was great training for precision.

  Next, I practiced forming barriers instead—protecting the tree from incoming stones. Moving the shield into the right spot at the right time was much harder than simply forming one and leaving it in pce.

  Especially when Zoe, at my request, started throwing the stones faster—and at different trees one after another.

  The training didn’t st long. Blocking stones with mana made it disperse on impact, and it didn’t take long before I was down to just 150 points.

  “That’s enough for today,” I said after blocking one st stone mid-air. “I don’t have much mana left, and I want to make sure I’ve got enough to feed my needy little demon.”

  “Ugh,” Zoe groaned, tossing the stone she was holding back onto the pile. “I’m not needy.”

  “Sure you’re not.”

  “I’m not!” she protested, sweetly stomping her feet.

  “So you don’t want to have sex tonight and take my mana?”

  “Ugh—I didn’t say that!” she shot back quickly, smiling shyly.

  “Then let’s head back to the city. We’ve still got training with Cassia, and after that—”I smirked. “The evening’s ours.”

  We gathered our things and began walking back toward Ortas.