Both Azura and Zoe joined me in the bath, making it a bit cramped. But with two naked and soft bodies to grope, I would be an idiot to do it any other way. Zoe procimed that I was too stressed out about the incoming talk with Sage, and I needed special treatment.

  After she swallowed my load and licked my cock clean, we finished washing. Yet, before dealing with the old witch, I wanted to check on my elven princess first.

  She was in my bed, with only her pale face, long white hair, and pointy ears sticking out from the cocoon she had created around herself from the bnket, as she was sleeping. I wondered if she was still tired after all that had happened to her or was just bored with nothing to do. In the future, she should find something to do while the rest of us explore.

  Leaving Amber to rest, we returned to the ground floor. Azura, after giving me a short peck, practically ran toward her mother’s room, as Zoe and I entered the living room where Sage was waiting, sitting by the table.

  “Oh, it’s going to be so fun,” Sage said, grinning. “Zoe, sweetie, can you put the Silent Dome around us?”

  While we had been washing, I had already told her to do that, so as we were sitting down in front of Sage, Zoe summoned one covering all three of us. She slid her tail beneath the table and wrapped it around my hand, as if she were holding it.

  “Perfect, thank you, sweetie,” Sage added.

  “You scammed me,” I said.

  “Me?” Sage asked. “Why do you even think so?”

  “You would save Amber, even if I didn't pay you,” I replied, my voice tinted with frustration.

  Sage tilted her head to the side, watching me in silence.

  “I’ll need to have a talk with our blonde friend and tell her to stop destroying my fun,” she said after a moment of thinking.

  “I shouldn't really owe you anything,” I said, well knowing there was no chance she'd let it go. “You would free Amber anyway.”

  “Maybe, or maybe I’ll put a colr around her neck and sell her to you for the same amount,” Sage replied. “We had a deal, now you need to pay back.”

  “Would you really put a colr on her?” I asked. She wanted to free other sves from Malvick’s house, so I had doubts if she would really do that.

  “Knowing you would do a lot to free her?” Sage asked, smiling. “Maybe,” she shrugged.

  “What do you want?” I sighed.

  “We’ll py a game,” Sage replied. “I’ll ask questions, and every honest answer will be fifty ryns paid back.”

  I suspected that she would try to learn more about my css, my world, or my deal with Gemma. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to really tell her anything, it all depended on what questions she would ask.

  “A hundred for a question,” I replied.

  “No.”

  She just sat in front of me, her gaze jumping between me and Zoe, as she didn't say anything more. We could sit like that and waste more time, or I could try to bargain, but I doubted Sage would relent, so I just decided to go with it and see if I could answer any of her questions.

  “Okay,” I sighed.

  “Perfect,” Sage replied, grinning. “Quick rules. You and Zoe must stay here for all the questions I ask. If you answer truthfully, I’ll consider fifty ryns paid back. You can refuse to answer any question. If you’re a coward, of course.”

  Not answering a question was an answer too, but that at least would let me keep some secrets from her.

  “Oh, and one st thing,” Sage added. “The game would be quite me if you could just lie to me.” She put a small bck sphere on the table and pushed it, rolling it toward me. Instinctively, I grabbed it, only realizing after that it wasn't the smartest thing to do in a world filled with magic.

  But nothing happened as I was holding it in my hand. It was cold, made entirely of bck metal, a bit slippery to the touch.

  “What’s that?” I asked, using my inspection skill at the same time.

  [Truth Seeking Stone][Css: 9][A magic stone detecting lies of those who touch it. Changes color to white and shines when it detects the person is lying. Changes back to bck when detecting the person is speaking the truth or losing contact with a person.][Condition: Perfect]

  “It’ll make the game fun,” Sage replied, smiling. “And make sure that you don’t lie to me, handsome.”

  That item made things much more complicated, as I couldn’t lie to her. And I had no idea how it would react to half-truths or incomplete truths. Would it detect them? I could only find out by testing it out.

  “Ready?” Sage asked.

  “Go on.”

  “Okay, the first one is to Zoe, so pass her the stone.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Oh, are you scared to learn some truth about your cute sve girl?” Sage asked, grinning.

  “Don't call her that,” I replied.

  In all of that, I didn't realize that Sage actually might want to ask Zoe about something. I gnced at the succubus, wondering if she might know something that Sage shouldn’t learn. She might know something about succubi, but I didn't really care if she would share that. Or maybe Sage hoped that Zoe would be less cautious when answering questions about me and would tell her something more than I would myself.

  “Can’t you just ask me?” I asked.

  “Oh, you don't know the answers to those questions,” Sage replied.

  I stared at the old witch, wondering what she was pnning, but I had a hard time finding an answer.

  “Are you okay answering some questions?” I asked, gncing at Zoe.

  “Yes, Master,” she replied.

  “If you don't want to, you can refuse, and I’ll stop it too if she goes too far.”

  “Oh, stop being such a pussy,” Sage groaned. “I promise I don't want anything bad for you. I want good, and you can maybe even learn something useful.”

  I wanted to call out her bullshit but then realized that I quite literally had a better solution at hand.

  “Say it again,” I said, rolling the Truth Seeking Stone toward her.

  Sage grabbed it, smiling. “Nice. Maybe it’s not often, but sometimes you show signs that there’s something happening behind this handsome face.”

  Then she rolled the sphere back toward me, and I grabbed it before it could fall to the ground.

  “I can promise that, but only after you answer one question,” Sage replied, the smile vanishing suddenly from her face as she leaned closer toward me. “If you want to come out of this room alive, I must like your answer.”

  Her gaze, suddenly deadly, locked on me, and her cold words caused a shiver to run through my body. I was fucked. I had no chance against her. I turned my gaze to Zoe.

  “Don’t worry, she will get out of here untouched. It’s only your life at stake,” Sage said coldly.

  “Gemma won’t let you do that,” I replied, hoping that it was just another of Sage’s games, and she wasn’t serious.

  “If I don't like the answer, she would be grateful that I killed you,” Sage replied, as purple daggers came out of her hand and hovered above the surface of the table.

  I was ready to summon my own mana, but I wasn't even sure if I would be able to stop them. And that would only be the first attack. My best chance would be to find Mari, but at the same time, I would find Zelda, and I had no clue whom she would join in that fight.

  “Let’s just have it over,” Sage said. “Do you intend to hurt or betray Gemma?”

  “No,” I replied truthfully, but that didn't stop the stress, as some stupid stone was deciding my life.

  But it remained completely bck.

  “I just needed to make sure. Pass me the stone,” Sage said, smiling, as her daggers vanished.

  I rolled the stone to her as tension was leaving my body. In a way, it made sense she asked a question like that, and if my intent was to hurt her friend, she wouldn't let it happen. But she could have done it in a bit more friendly way.

  Then a random thought crossed my mind. The slime didn't react to Sage’s mana summoned around, while when it was my mana, it immediately moved and watched what was going on.

  “So,” Sage began, holding the stone. “I don't want anything bad for you. I want good for you. I’m really good at reading people. I love drama. Zoe is sweet. You are handsome. I love Gemma. You should py this game with me for your own good, not only to pay back the debt. Oh, and I love you,” she added with a wink.

  The stone remained bck through the whole time she spoke, until her st sentence, when it shone with a bright white light.

  “Oops…” Sage muttered with a smirk before she rolled the stone back to me.

  When I grabbed the stone again, it was already completely bck, and I wondered why she had told me all those things, not only what she was supposed to. Unless she knew something about the stone that I didn't and was pying me.

  “My favorite color is brown,” I said. The stone immediately lit up. “It’s red.” It stayed white. “My name is Tobias.” The stone turned bck. “My name is Tobias. My name is Rob. My name is Tobias. My name is Rob.”

  Each time I lied, the stone changed color almost instantly. I could barely finish the sentence before it reacted. When I told the truth, it stayed bck. I wanted to make sure Sage hadn’t hidden another lie behind the obvious one at the end, like if the stone waited until you finished speaking before deciding. But it didn’t. It really seemed that she had told the truth when she said she didn’t want anything bad for me.

  “God, you’re so boring,” Sage groaned, interrupting my thoughts. “Even testing that, you go with colors and names. Can’t you have fun?”

  “I can, but I don't trust you,” I said, and the stone remained pitch bck.

  “Better, but can we finally start?” Sage asked.

  I rolled the stone back to her. “Does Marcellina work for you?” I asked, something that had been on my mind. Tori vanished, and a moment ter Marcy joined our team, and I was suspecting Sage might have a hand in it.

  “I was supposed to ask questions,” Sage replied. “But no, Marcellina doesn’t work for me. I don't know her. And as far as I know, she’s just a normal girl.” The stone between Sage’s fingers remained bck.

  “I answered your question, know my goodwill. But now it’s my turn,” she said, rolling the stone back to me.

  “Sure,” I murmured, passing the stone to Zoe. “Remember you don't need to answer any of her questions.”

  “Okay, okay, let’s just start the fun,” Sage said before Zoe could answer. “Do you really love Tobias, or are you just feeding him lies so he would feed you his mana?”

  I was ready to stop any question from Sage that would be too much, but hearing that one, I gnced at Zoe. That… I… I didn't want to believe that could be true. But… I wanted to know the answer. Or did I? Maybe it would be better not to know?

  “I love you,” Zoe said, staring into my eyes and tightening her tail around my hand. “Part of it is because you take care of me. That includes feeding me mana. But that’s not the only reason, and I would still love you even if you decided I don't deserve it anymore. And even though I think I would be able to take life force from other men without killing them now, I would follow you hungry till my death.”

  The stone remained bck the whole time as she continued to stare into my eyes. I smiled widely, relieved that all of that was true, and a bit worried about her saying she might not be worthy of my mana. Some of her insecurities were still there, and I should work on making her realize how amazing she was.

  “You see?” Sage asked. “It wasn't that bad. And fifty ryns paid. Sweet Zoe, are you ready for the second question?”

  “Go ahead,” Zoe said, turning her gaze to Sage. She looked like she was actually challenging her, but taunting the old witch didn’t seem like a good idea.

  “If the choice was in your hands, and it would not change your retionship with Tobias and how he treats you, would you decide to share him with other women?”

  This time, Zoe didn't answer immediately, her eyes widening as she stared at Sage. After a moment of thinking, she swallowed and shifted her gaze to me.

  “Your answer won’t change anything,” I said. “But you don't need to answer if you don't want to.”

  “I would still share him,” Zoe replied. “Maybe… Maybe just a little less than it is now.”

  The stone again remained bck, confirming the truth of her words. I was a bit surprised that she would choose that. On the other hand, she was a succubus, loved sex, and seemed really into fucking other women with me. So maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised?

  “Last one, Zoe,” Sage said with a smirk. “Do you think Tobias loves you?”

  “You don't need to answer that,” I replied, wondering what Sage was trying to achieve through this one.

  “I don't know,” Zoe replied quietly, but the stone shone for the first time in her hand. A sad frown crossed her face as she put the stone on the table and rolled it away. It was already bck when I grabbed it.

  Zoe turned her head away from me, but I spotted tears in her eyes before she did it.

  “Hey, Zoe,” I said, moving closer and wrapping my arms around her, trying to comfort her. She had told me she loved me more than once, but I never said it back. I cared deeply about her and couldn’t imagine my life without her, but at the same time, I didn’t think I was ready to love someone again.

  “I didn't want to make her cry,” Sage said. “So, a quick follow-up question, and don’t think too long about it, idiot. Do you love Zoe?”

  I should have seen it coming. Zoe's head snapped back to look at me with her big pink eyes that were filled with tears. When I hesitated, her gaze turned to the stone, as her lower lip trembled. Then she closed her eyes. “Y-You don't need to answer, Master. It's okay.”

  Seeing her like that was making my heart break. Which was the answer to Sage’s question.

  “I love you, Zoe,” I whispered, holding the stupid stone between us, praying it would not turn white.

  As the stone remained bck, I realized that Zoe was holding her eyes completely shut, refusing to look, trembling in my arms, with more tears streaming down her face and her tail squeezing tightly around my waist now, as she had freed my hands.

  “Zoe,” I murmured softly. “Open your eyes.”

  She shook her head slightly, keeping her eyelids closed. Smiling at how cute she was, I grabbed her chin and turned her head to pull her into a kiss. As our lips touched, it was soft and slow, just a gentle kiss that sted longer and longer.

  When I finally pulled back, I still kept her close to me, and she finally slowly opened her eyes, as if scared to see anything. Her gaze locked on my eyes.

  “I love you, Zoe,” I whispered again, staring deeply into her pink eyes. After a second, I brought up the stone between our faces as an additional confirmation in case my look wasn’t enough.

  Her gaze flicked between me and the stone a few times as she parted her lips. Then she hiccuped, more tears appeared in her eyes, and she leapt into me. I dropped the Truth Seeking Stone as my chair tilted back, and we were falling to the ground as the succubus attacked me.

  Fortunately, we stopped mid-air. Zoe began pstering my face with kisses, her tears falling all over my skin, as she wrapped her legs and arms around me to pair with her tail already coiled around my waist.

  I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tightly. Sage, who had caught us using her mana, brought us back to sit in the chair, with Zoe straddling me. She was crying badly, now kissing all over my neck, clinging to me as tightly as possible, and none of my words could help her calm down.

  It actually took a long moment, as Sage just sat there watching us with a wide grin, before Zoe managed to calm down. Even that was only a little, as she still clung to me tightly, not wanting to let go for even a second.

  After kissing all over my neck, she shifted lower to my chest, and despite Sage still being in the room, she tugged at my shirt. Any of my attempts to keep it on were pointless, as Zoe didn't relent until I let her take off my shirt and stick herself to my naked torso. She was rubbing her cheek and kissing all over my chest, leaving it wet from tears and saliva.

  Watching her like that, I was really shocked by how strongly she reacted, behaving like she was in some trance or completely drunk. It was to the point that it shouldn't be attractive, but knowing it was because of my love for her filled me with even more warm feelings inside.

  I loved her. I was shocked. Even if it was kind of obvious. I just hadn’t wanted to admit it before. I really, really hoped it wouldn't end up like the previous time. But watching Zoe, I knew that this cheating bitch had never loved me as much as the succubus in my p.

  “First of all,” Sage finally said after a long moment. “You shouldn’t drop the stone if you ever want to get out of debt. It’s expensive shit.” The bck ball flew back into my hand, being held by a purple mana. “And you’re welcome. I told you that I want good for you.”

  I gred at her without a word. If I didn’t feel like that toward Zoe, it would have broken her heart. Sage really shouldn’t gamble with something like that. But as she had said herself - she loved drama. And was good at reading people.

  “Ready for the next question?” Sage asked. “And that was the st one connected to Zoe.”

  “Go,” I sighed, brushing my cute succubus’ back softly.

  “Who’s Virelia?” Sage asked.

  I frowned, hearing that name for the first time in my life. “I don't know any Virelia, and never heard of her,” I replied, and the stone remained bck.

  Sage stared at the stone, and I had the impression that she was actually quite surprised by my answer.

  “Who’s Virelia?” I asked this time.

  “Interesting,” Sage murmured. “Do you think I’m hot?”

  “No,” I replied.

  Sage smirked as the stone shone with white light. “How did you meet Gemma?”

  I paused, wondering if there was really anything that I shouldn’t mention about our meeting, and decided that I could at least tell her the basic things, which shouldn’t be a problem and were true.

  “I was at my house when Gemma appeared and hired me,” I replied.

  “I want details,” Sage said.

  “There are no details I can share. I’m mean… What do you want to know? What were we wearing?”

  “What did she offer you?” Sage asked.

  “Is that another fifty ryns question?”

  “Sure,” Sage replied, rolling her eyes.

  “I asked for women, money, to be young again, and for a long life,” I said, quickly gncing at the stone, wondering if it was going to accept that answer as a true one. In the end, it was what I had asked for.

  “I assume she gave all of that to you,” Sage said. “Did she give you something more?”

  “Yes, but I’m not telling you about it,” I replied.

  Sage nodded, staring at me, thinking it over. She wasn’t all smiley and joking right now, and I wondered if it was because she didn't get what she wanted from my answers, or was getting more from them than I was thinking.

  “Have you slept with Gemma?” she asked.

  “No.”

  Sage frowned, looking at the bck stone, and then back at my face.

  “Not getting answers that you would like?” I asked.

  “Just not the one I suspected,” Sage murmured. She tilted her head, watching me in silence for a moment. “How long have you been in this world?”

  “Sixteen days,” I replied, after a moment of thinking if that information would tell her too much, but she probably already knew that I hadn’t been here long, so I told her the exact number.

  Sage leaned back in her chair, crossing her hands over her chest, staring at the bck stone in my hand. After that, there was a long pause as she remained silent, watching me and Zoe, and I just waited, deciding that it might be better not to taunt her. Unless I pushed her to ask some stupid questions to waste money.

  “How long ago did you meet Zoe?” Sage asked, smiling.

  “Sixteen days ago, on my first day here,” I replied.

  “Quite fast to already be in love, don't you think?” she asked.

  “With how amazing she is? No.”

  Zoe, who had managed to calm down a bit more and didn't cry anymore but still clung to me, hummed against my chest, but remained with her eyes closed and unmoving, like she was sleeping.

  “I don't have more questions, handsome,” Sage replied. “Eight hundred paid out of your debt, as per the agreement.”

  I was counting all her questions, along with all the small ones that seemed unnecessary, wanting to argue with her that those were questions too, and I answered them. But she had counted them on her own anyway, so I just nodded. There was still a lot to pay back, but that was a nice start and I didn't feel like I really told her anything important.

  “Did you learn what you wanted?” I asked, putting the Truth Seeking Stone on the table and rolling it toward her.

  “I found out that you don’t know shit,” Sage replied, smiling. “That's knowledge too. And having information from other sources, I can come up with some conclusions that are actually worth something. I’ll want to ask a few more questions ter on. But I need to talk with someone first.”

  “With the same rules? Sure,” I shrugged.

  Sage got up from the table, her gaze flicking between me and Zoe, and from the smirk that appeared on her face, I suspected she might have some stupid joke to say, but then she giggled to herself and didn't say it aloud.

  I was a bit tempted to ask but then decided it was not worth it.

  “Fuck her good, handsome,” Sage said, heading toward the door. “Make her a happy girl.”

  With that, Sage left the room, and I was left with Zoe still wrapped around me, clinging tightly to my chest. It was getting te, I was hungry, and I knew we both wanted to have sex.

  And then there was still the elf waiting for her punishment, fucking and cuddling. I’d have to take care of those two, and Azura in the meantime too. I wondered how to manage it, but if there was someone who could handle it, it was me.