“Are you testing me?” I asked Gemma first thing after I woke up in the dream world. We were sitting in front of each other on the spacious bed.

  “Yes,” she replied, her pretty face twisted with a confused frown. “I told you already I want someone who can manage on their own, not someone I need to babysit all the time.”

  “I’m talking about Sage.”

  Gemma sighed, rolling her eyes. “No. Whatever she came up with, it’s not my test. What did she do?”

  I regretted that I couldn’t bring the Truth Seeking Stone with me, because Gemma’s face was unreadable, and I couldn’t tell if she was speaking the truth.

  “She offered me a job,” I replied. “With a generous sary.”

  “What does she want?”

  “To find out who Virelia’s father is.”

  Gemma stared at me for a few seconds in silence before she asked, “What did she offer you?”

  “Ten thousand ryns, the house, and to be my sex sve for a week.”

  “Why are you telling me that?”

  “Because I work for you,” I shrugged. “And I have a few questions, but I’ll not pass anything to Sage.”

  “Did she tell you that Vi is my daughter?”

  “No, I found out myself. It wasn’t really hard.”

  Gemma nodded, just looking at me.

  “So?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “Who is her father?”

  “Why would I tell you, when I didn't tell anyone else ever?”

  “Because you were flirting with me, and now I find out that you have someone.”

  “No, you found out that I have a daughter. That’s a different thing.”

  “So, why did you hide her from me?”

  “Why should I tell you about her?”

  “You could have told me when I asked about Virelia. But you tried to hide her.”

  “I’m worried you’ll have a bad influence on her,” Gemma replied.

  “Are you jealous?” I asked, realizing that maybe Zoe wasn’t that far from the truth.

  “As if,” Gemma snorted.

  For a moment we remained silent, but whatever her reason to hide her daughter was, it wasn't as important as the other matter.

  “Are you with her father?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “So, you are single?”

  Gemma smiled, raising her eyebrow. “Interested?”

  “Isn't it obvious?”

  “Yes, I’m single. But I don't pn to change that anytime soon.”

  I hesitated, wondering if I should ask about the boyfriend who had been kidnapped, but Sage warned Gemma would be pissed that she told me about him, and I preferred to avoid that.

  “We will see about that,” I replied, deciding to ask about him ter. Or never.

  “Cocky,” Gemma snorted.

  “So… Who’s Virelia’s father?” I asked again, curious.

  “Do you really want that money so bad?” Gemma asked. “Or do you want to fuck Sage? She’s quite hot. And never give me an offer like that. Maybe I’ll accept the deal and skip you. Thanks for the info.”

  “I’m not going to tell her,” I replied.

  “And I’m not going to tell you.”

  I realized how pointless my attempts were. Sage, who had been her friend for hundreds of years, hadn’t managed to pull it out of Gemma in nineteen years. What chances did I have? Unless I used Sage’s pn and fucked Gemma so well she’d let all her walls down.

  But first, I’d have to actually be able to touch her. Second, I doubted I could pull off something like that, even with Zoe’s help.

  “You’ll need to find another way to seduce Sage,” Gemma added with a smirk. “Did she come to you with that offer or did she want something more?”

  “She had another series of questions. Then she came up with the idea. Just before she stormed out of the room, shouting she would discover the truth.”

  “Yeah, she has a small obsession over it. She returns to it from time to time.”

  “Small?”

  “You will see what happens when it's big,” Gemma said, giggling. “Better think again if you want to fuck her. She might get a bit clingy and possessive. Who knows if she’ll accept you fucking Zoe? Maybe she’ll want to fight her for you.”

  I hadn’t considered before that sleeping with someone like Sage might cause trouble if she wanted things to be exclusive. She knows I’m not doing that, but… I could easily imagine Sage refusing to accept it. Maybe it was better not to risk it.

  Fucking a crazy woman always seemed dangerous.

  Fucking a crazy, super-powerful assassin-wizard sounded even worse.

  Gemma suddenly burst out ughing, and I looked at her, confused.

  “Your face was amazing. That dilemma of ‘is she hot enough to risk it.’ But I was joking, you don't have to worry about that. She won’t mind you sleeping with others, because you’re not going to be enough for her, and she’ll want to sleep with others too.”

  “I’m not going to be enough for her?”

  “You probably think I’m challenging you, but you need to remember that in this world people have csses. And you still don't have any idea what css she has, right?”

  “You could tell me.”

  Gemma shook her head.

  “She told me about Virelia,” I tried to convince her.

  Gemma frowned, actually thinking, but then she shook her head again. “I don't want to start this war with her. She has no shame and no restraint.”

  I wondered what css Sage could have that one man wouldn’t be enough for her, but I was interrupted by Gemma’s next question.

  “What did Sage ask?”

  “About my css, but I didn’t tell her anything.”

  “Good.”

  “And she was asking what I do for you.”

  “I will need you soon, but for now-”

  “Train and get stronger,” I interrupted her, repeating her words.

  “Train and get stronger,” she echoed with a smile. “We don’t want you to die when I finally have a job for you.”

  “Oh, do you care about me?”

  “Zoe is a valuable asset, and you are my only way to control her,” Gemma replied with a smirk.

  Leaning back, I looked at her, surprised, wondering if that really was the whole reason. No other man could do that.

  “It was a joke,” Gemma said, shaking her head slightly.

  “Okay,” I nodded, wondering if it really was only a joke, or if there was a grain of truth in it. She probably wanted to have both of us working for her.

  “I have to go to sleep,” Gemma said. “If you don’t have any more questions, we can finish.”

  “When are you going to introduce me to your daughter?” I asked.

  Gemma’s smile vanished as she stared at me, surprised, before pressing her lips into a thin line.

  “It was a joke,” I said, imitating her voice, just like she’d said seconds before.

  “Be careful who you make fun of,” Gemma replied, but a smile tugged at her lips.

  “So many dangerous women all around me.”

  “It took you a while, but welcome to this world.”

  “I would prefer more in-person greetings.”

  Gemma giggled, her blue eyes sparkling. “Live long enough to prove that you’re strong, and we’ll meet one day.”

  “Is that the reason we haven’t met yet? You want me to prove that I’m strong and manly enough for you?”

  “There are no such simple things in my life,” Gemma replied.

  “Maybe it would be good for you if some things were simple from time to time. You could rex, have some fun.”

  Especially if that fun involved me.

  “If only it was that simple,” Gemma sighed, a hint of longing in her voice, before she yawned, covering her mouth.

  “Go to sleep, Gemma,” I said, not wanting to keep her in the dream world any longer. I was resting, but she needed to be awake to maintain our connection.

  “Yeah, you’re right. Sweet dreams,” she murmured with a naughty smile, before I drifted back into my ordinary dreams - which included a lot of sex with hot demonesses and witches.

  ---

  Suddenly I was pulled out of my dreams when someone on the bed gasped and jerked, making all of us move. When I opened my eyes, Amber was sitting up and looking around frantically.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, with Azura in my arms turning her head to look at the elf.

  Amber focused on me, blinking a few times, panting, her white hair completely disheveled and her forehead glistening with sweat.

  “Yes,” she whispered, her body rexing. “Sorry, I had a nightmare.” She y down again, still breathing fast.

  “It’s okay,” I murmured, grabbing her hand. “You’re safe now.”

  Azura wiggled in my arms until she was on all fours. She crawled over Amber, the elf letting out soft gasps whenever Azura’s hands or knees pressed into her, but she quickly made it to the other side. Then she pushed Amber toward me, and after the elf gave the wolf-shapeshifter a brief look, she shifted closer to me.

  I wrapped my arms around Amber and pulled her against my body. Azura pressed herself into Amber’s back, sandwiching the elf between us.

  “Nightmares are bad,” Azura murmured, with her eyes closed, hugging Amber.

  I reached past Amber, stroking Azura’s shoulder appreciatively for giving up her spot.

  After a few seconds, Amber pulled slightly away from me and looked at Azura.

  “I’m sorry that I called you retarded,” Amber whispered.

  Azura just hummed, still keeping her eyes closed and staying pressed against Amber’s back. The elf looked at her for a moment longer before turning and burying her face in my chest. Zoe remained pressed into my back with her tail wrapped around my waist.

  Soon after, we were all back asleep again.

  ---

  Apparently, it wasn't destined that day for me to sleep because I was pulled out of my dreams again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Zoe’s mouth wrapped around my cock, but the slime moving frantically over my stomach.

  I blinked my eyes open, trying to push away sleep, looking at the green goo shifting over my body.

  “What’s going on?” I asked quietly. Then I looked around the room, but nothing seemed wrong. The only sounds I could hear were the breathing of the women with me in bed, and it didn't seem like we were in danger.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked.

  The slime moved to the side and stopped moving. I was going to summon mana to feed it, only a bit irritated that it didn't wait and woke me up for feeding, but then the movement confused me, and I stopped myself.

  “Wait, do you understand me?” I asked.

  The slime moved to the left again. I rose, pulling my hands away from Amber, who groaned something and turned around, facing Azura. The wolf-shapeshifter had her small hands wrapped around the elf, so they were cuddling while being asleep.

  I quickly snapped a photo of how cute they looked together before I focused on the slime. Grabbing it in my hand, I put it on top of my other, bringing it closer to my face.

  “Move to the left if you can understand me,” I whispered, and the slime moved to the left. Grinning, I realized that it really could understand me, but also it could remember, as a few days before I had tried the same thing, with movement to the left meaning yes.

  “Left for yes, right for no, okay?” I reminded.

  ‘Yes.’ The slime moved to the left.

  “Now move to the right?” I asked, wanting to be sure that it really understood, and the slime followed my request.

  Watching it, I wondered what I was actually supposed to ask. “Do you remember your previous life?”

  The slime remained in pce for a few seconds before it moved a tiny bit to the right. I wasn’t sure why it hesitated, but I realized that yes and no questions aren’t the best way to communicate. But if the slime was understanding, I could come up with a better way to communicate ter on.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked.

  ‘Yes.’ The slime replied with its movement.

  I summoned mana, giving the slime time to absorb it.

  “Is that enough?” I asked.

  ‘Yes.’ It confirmed, then moved in a small circle on my hand.

  “Happy?”

  ‘Yes.’

  “Is there something else you need?”

  ‘No.’

  “Will you be able to speak one day?”

  The slime didn't move again, and I realized where the problem might be. “New option, move away if you don't know.”

  And as I suspected, the slime moved away.

  “Do you know how big you will grow?”

  ‘I don’t know.’

  “You don't know a lot about yourself?”

  ‘No.’

  “Do you have a name?”

  ‘No.’

  “Do you want to have one?”

  ‘I don’t know.’

  “Are you a boy or a girl?”

  ‘I don’t know.’

  Looking at the slime, I wondered if it even had a gender. It was green goo with a mind, so most likely it didn’t have one. But when I thought about giving it a name, its color reminded me of peridot.

  “There is a gemstone called peridot, simir in color to you, so maybe we can call you Peri? What do you think, do you like it?”

  The slime hesitated for a moment, as if thinking, before it replied.

  ‘Yes.’

  “Okay, Peri, is there something important I should know about you?” I asked.

  ‘No.’

  I wondered what else I should ask, but nothing really came to mind, especially with only three possible answers from the slime and its obvious ck of knowledge about itself.

  At least it was developing, and we were able to communicate. And it was happy.

  With no more questions to ask, I turned to look at the three gorgeous women in bed with me.

  Sleeping, they looked like angels. But awake, they were anything but innocent. Especially in bed with me.

  I realized I should probably thank Peri for waking me up so early. It was getting bright, but we still had time for some fun.