I Own a Brothel in Another World

Chapter 237 – Eminence in the Shadows

While Sirgia figures out the proper way to tie our furry friend to the carriage, I’m left with the task of waking up our dear client. It would be bad to leave Mevana sprawled on the ground like that so my first choice is to get her up onto something more comfortable. And I know you shouldn’t ever say this about a lady, but man, she certainly isn’t light.

I plop the Dwarf woman on a comfy cushion and rest her back against the wagon’s wheel. We shouldn’t stay behind for too long lest the guards decide to find fault with us again, so I pat her plump cheek a few times to try and bring her back. It partially succeeds as her eyelashes flutter a few times and she mumbles something about ten more minutes while nuzzling her face into my palm with a silly smile.

When her eyes finally open and she realises what’s been doing much quicker than expected, she sports a fair blush and jumps to her feet. “The hell are you doing? What happened?”

It’s obvious her slight anger is fake, a mask to hide her embarrassment behind, but the confusion in her voice is legit. I gesture with my thumb to the side and she turns her head just to face against Diana’s fierce snout as my animal companion stares at her curiously. Mevana squeaks and steps back, but fortunately retains her consciousness this time.

“What’s with this monster?!” she shouts in slight panic.

“Not a monster. A friend.” I chuckle lightly and start scratching behind Diana’s long ear. “One that might be willing to help with your beast of burden situation if you manage to ask nicely enough.”

Mevana gapes at the wolf in disbelief for a little while, noticing my petite lover hopping over the front beams of the cart and fixing them to the harness. That seems to allow her to snap out of her startled state and she glances between me and Diana. Swallowing heavily, she comes closer, reaching her previous spot still a tad hesitantly. But there’s no doubt she’s caught up on the current development.

“I apologise…” The curvy lady skips her head politely. “I don’t have much to offer for such a majestic creature, but I would owe you a favour if you would be willing to aid my troubles, Great Wolf.”

Diana lets out a soft snort and bops the girl on the forehead with her big nose, making Mevana tense and close her eyes. But, as she understands what has happened, our new Dwarf friend manages an awkward yet somewhat fascinated smile.

“That was a yes,” I translate what my familiar feels deep down. “Though, I’m fairly sure she will try to pass that favour onto me when the time to pay up comes. Are you going to be alright with that?”

“Well, it’s not like I have much of a choice.” Mevana lets out a deep sigh. “If I want to get anything done, I’ll need to trust you guys.”

Sirgia chooses that moment to drop to the ground next to me. “You won’t be disappointed. Master is the most trustworthy Human you can find. He won’t abuse your faith.”

“Master?” The merchant raises a brow at her and my petite lover’s palms flick to her lips.

Shaking my head, I pat my clumsy mate gently. “I’ve been teaching her a thing or two about mercenary tactics and such during our travels. Sirgia seems like a very respectful person so she’s been calling me that in private. She must feel quite comfortable around you to let it slip. As you can imagine, we wouldn’t want others to overhear her address a Human like that.”

“Ah. Understandable. You don’t need to worry about me. I won’t say a thing. It would do me no good to tarnish whatever hints of a positive relationship we might be starting to develop here.” Mevana smirks softly. “Okay, let’s talk business if we are almost ready to go. Are you sure you are alright with what you proposed earlier?”

“Absolutely.” I nod kindly. “Unless that’s still too much under current circumstances?”

“No, no, no!” The woman waves her hands at me. “I would feel like a total bitch going even lower when you are willing to do so much for me. Having to offer delayed payment is already bad enough, not to mention the risky investment. I don’t know how much help you will actually be on the road, but it’s always better than going alone.”

I notice Sirgia opening her mouth to sing me more praises so I tickle her cheek a little to beat her to it. “I’ll do my best to protect everyone. Sirgia has a strong Class too. It would be better if we didn’t have to show what we are capable of, but we will gladly step up when necessary, and hopefully show that you are getting your money’s worth.”

“And if you might feel like you underpaid a lot, I’m sure we will be able to find a satisfactory way to even the scales, like including some of your services, perhaps,” my lover still chimes in afterwards. “Coming from the family of Shaftmillers, I bet you are confident in your skills of handling all kinds of shafts.”

I glare at the naughty Dwarf as she tries to innocently ignore me, both of us knowing what she is trying to get at here.

Thankfully, Mevana doesn’t and glances me over a bit perplexedly. “I don’t see any weapons on him, though.”

“The Hero’s Holy Sword doesn’t emerge from its sheath unless it faces a worthy enemy.” Sirgia giggles at her own joke and I strongly consider giving that pert ass of hers a good smack. “I can assure you, however, that it hasn’t yet met an opponent it was unable to slay in just a few moves.”

Okay, she is laying it way too thick right now.

She’s clearly caught me ogling the stout female.

Pressing harder on Sirgia’s hair, I clear my throat to capture their attention. “I’m not the only one in this company and we are training our newest recruits right at this moment. They could use some quality woodwork for sure.”

“And I’m considering helping out with more magical aspects as a developing journeyman artificer,” my genius smith lady adds. “Perhaps we should consider joining hands after we reach our destination. Good allies are the basis of a budding business. I’m going to need a lot of quality materials in the future.”

“You for real?” Mevana’s eyes widen to the brim. “Even knowing that others might mess with you because of our cooperation?”

“We will just need to hire Alastair’s girls to keep us safe. Or to solve that issue at its root,” Sirgia states nonchalantly.

The crimson-haired lady has a hard time believing in the latter suggestion but then frowns at something else. “Girls?”

“Our current troops are majorly… female,” I reveal with a wry smile.

Our client snorts to the side. “Of course it does. Men.”

“Don’t misunderstand!” Sirgia protests in my defence. “It wasn’t his idea or demand!”

“Whose then?” Mevana crosses her arms under her significant chest, clearly not convinced.

“It’s a long story, one we might revisit on the road,” I interrupt them before this spirals out of control. “If there are no other things to take care of, we should go. Diana’s arrival might have caused a bit of a scene, and I’m afraid the local wardens would be more than happy to find a reason to mess with us.”

“Tch. Those bastards. I know what you mean. They gave me so much shit too. I’m almost sure someone paid them to harass me.” She spits to the side. “Aren’t we going to write a contract?”

“Are you going to shirk from paying?” I raise a challenging brow at her.

“Not in this life,” the Dwarf merchant insists confidently.

“Then we can draft the necessary documents at your home.” I hoist Sirgia onto Diana’s back and extend a hand to Mevana. “May I?”

She glares at it briefly before sliding her sizable palm into mine. “Be careful not to strain your back—”

A feminine yelp escapes her lips, interrupting her warning, as I easily throw the bodily woman onto the driver’s bench, her considerable posterior smacking the wood with a rather pleasant fleshy thunk. She blinks at me in shock and her cheeks colour a bit at my cheeky grin.

She might be weighing quite a bit, but it’s still of no issue to the current me.

I join my wife right after, hugging Sirgia from behind and letting her snuggle into my chest affectionately. There are no reins that Mevana can use on Diana, but they aren’t necessary. Our frightening lupine steed shares a mental connection with me and starts her trek when I politely ask her to, beginning our next journey together.

We ride through the streets without much of an issue. It’s quite the opposite. Seeing a massive wolf parading the town, all the Dwarves escape to the sides, making space for us. Diana holds herself like an imposing queen but does nothing to actually scare the other animals or even the people. She keeps her head forward with a thoughtful, collected expression.

Many whisper amongst themselves and point at the Dwarf woman riding the coach, making Mevana a bit self-conscious. It seems she’s not used to this kind of attention. She’s been bullied and abused by most likely a good portion of the population here. With Dwarves being even more profit oriented than Humans, it’s of no surprise her enemies could easily buy their way into harassing her.

Everything is great until we reach the main gate. I don’t think over a dozen guards are necessary to keep an eye on it at all times, not to mention twice or more as many. Plus, Acheron is there too, clearly not happy about something. I’m fairly sure I can guess what exactly.

“Halt,” he commands us to stop before we pass.

“Is there a problem, Protector?” I ask.

“Yes, there is. You are hereby forbidden from leaving the town until all allegations are cleared,” the captain responds. “You were reported disrupting public order for the second time, which includes smuggling unsanctioned wild beasts into our streets. I’m afraid we need to confiscate the creature until the investigation into these matters is concluded. Additionally, that woman is to be taken for questioning for physical assault.”

“Excuse me?!” Mevana gapes at him with pure bewilderment.

I’m not really in the mood for more mind games, especially knowing that they are intent on fucking with us even under false charges.

“And I’m afraid I have promised you to leave at dawn, Captain,” I answer, levelling the short man with a glare. “This unsanctioned wild beast doesn’t like big crowds and small spaces, so I would advise you to order your men to stand aside. Since it’s unsanctioned and wild, I’m not exactly in a position to control its savage instincts. Do you follow?”

As I finish, Diana lets out a deep growl, her muzzle twisting ferociously to show off her sharp canines and acidic purple jaws, violet saliva dripping onto the stone path. The soldiers shudder and exchange worried glances as her ominous eyes rove over each of them as if she’s deciding who is going to be the first snack.

Before the idiot has time to talk back, I ask her to move forward and she complies. After just one step, the guards blocking the gate scatter to the sides, dropping their gear in a hurry. Tipping my nonexistent hat at the captain, I bring us outside and Diana picks up the pace, entering a light trot.

“That’s not going to end well…” Mevana sighs heavily.

“Is this town a regular stop for you?” I glance over my shoulder.

“No, but they will definitely spread rumours.” She shakes her head.

“You were in a losing position no matter what,” Sirgia wisely points out. “At least we got you out safely and with your merchandise intact. If you are afraid of the consequences of your actions, grow your business and name into something formidable enough to stop anyone from even thinking of messing with you. The level of your enemy would be a good first step.”

“Easy to say. My family isn’t a prominent one. There are plenty of people who are good with wood,” the thick Dwarf girl replies, evoking a quiet giggle from my unruly mate. “I know our goods are more than good, but no one in big cities considers no-names. Towns like these are our only hope, but after the last two weeks, even that might be out of the picture now.”

“Are you going to just give up, then?” I ask.

She looks to the side for a good while before moving her gaze onto me. “No. I don’t want to throw away everything my family worked for. I’d rather die trying. However, I don’t know what to do. I’m quickly running out of options. You say I should grow my brand and influence, but there is no way a single person can fight against tens if not hundreds of companies. I see no future.”

“Then try asking for help,” Sirgia offers a piece of advice, peering past my side.

“Who would I even…” Mevana begins but pauses as her eyes wander over our faces. “Right. We talked about doing business together after we reached the capital. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to offer much.”

“This and that are completely different matters,” my short lover clarifies. “Is the only way of asking for help to offer something in return?”

Our passenger falls silent as she mulls it over. Honestly, I can see what she’s going through. I’m fairly sure she hasn’t been given handouts in her life. For a merchant, nothing is free in this world. Telling her to break that rule with some random strangers she’s just met is quite conceited. But, I can also tell that Sirgia seems to sense something in this girl, perhaps a part of herself from the past.

“Excuse me.” Mevana breaks me out of my musings, looking at us with a much more honest and thus vulnerable expression. “I don’t know how to word it properly without sounding either rude or fake, so… I’m currently in a really tough spot. If it’s not a bother, could you perhaps help me out a little? Just so I can find my footing amidst this chaos?”

Sirgia peeks at me with a tiny grin, making it clear that’s been her plan for a while. I roll my eyes so as not to shake my head and give our friend a misleading answer. We look back at her at the same time, causing the chubby woman to nibble on her luscious lip nervously.

“We’ll do what we can,” I reply with a warm smile.

“That’s what friends are for,” my mate adds with a cordial expression.

“Friends…” Mevana repeats and offers us a timid nod. “I would like that.”

After that, we leave the nice woman with her thoughts for some time. It’s not something we can rush, even though I can tell Sirgia wants to hop next to her and start chatting, definitely not just about their prospective cooperation. If I don’t keep her glued to my lap, she’s going to start barraging the poor Dwarf merchant with facts and tales about me. 

I do want them to get closer since it would be great for my withdrawn wife to make some friends among her kin, as I know well from her stories that there aren’t many people who approach her family casually. Especially considering her thin figure. But, that doesn’t mean she should start working on luring the poor but fairly attractive female into our bed yet. I need to remind my shy girlfriend how long it took her to get used to a Human like me and she was in a very desperate situa—

Ah, fuck.

It’s happening again, isn’t it?

Sighing deeply and wondering if I should even attempt to fight the inevitable, I decide to use that brainpower to worry about our journey. As we cover more distance, I spot the presence of our other companions. Shadowy figures dart between the trees on the side of the road, belonging to Diana’s proud family.

I do a double-take when something else flashes alongside those dark smudges. Squinting heavily, I catch a silvery woman atop one of the wolves, and she waves at me with a cheerful smile, her feminine charms jiggling openly. The Oreads are riding the damn cavalry.

Ianthe must have put them up to this.

Lilia and Lilie show up once too, announcing their presence. They ride together on the back of the lucky or unlucky beast. For now, I order all of them to be careful and not spook our client since Mevana has no idea about the rest of the team. They agree easily and promise to look after us, spreading out in a protective formation like guardians in the shadows.

The first day of our journey passes quite uneventfully. With so many scary wolves moving ahead of us, no other monsters dare to peek their heads out of the woods. Whichever brave idiots do attempt to get closer are quickly intercepted by the Lilies and the Oreads. I can only imagine how helpless these poor animals have to feel facing masters of plants and stone.

When it starts getting dark, we agree to find a good spot to camp for the night. I don’t think it’s a good time to reveal the suitcase yet with how much of a shock it’s going to be for our companion. She’s an artisan and Dwarf too so even if she isn’t proficient in this kind of craft, it’s obvious she will understand how much of a big deal this thing is. And Sirgia has been downplaying her capabilities by using her outer branch as a basis. It would be counterintuitive.

But, when Mevana dives into her wagon to dig out her tent and other gear, I arrive at her side to stop her. 

Looking fairly puzzled, she frowns at me. “Where am I going to sleep, then? Do you practise spending nights under the starry sky and want me to join you?”

Chuckling softly, I shake my head. “That sounds quite romantic, but no. Our tent will be more than enough for all of us. Allow me and Sirgia to set it up first before deciding if you want to bring your own.”

Her eyes widen a tad, and I realise too late how it sounded, so I simply walk away to get to work as it will be the best way to correct the misunderstanding. Meeting Siriga by Diana’s side, who is now free of her restraints, we pull all the necessary pieces out of the bags attached to the saddle. While they too are enchanted with increased storage space, they are inconspicuous enough to allow us easy use without raising any suspicions.

Mevana moves closer to examine the metal poles, connectors, and other parts, blinking in astonishment at the amount of stuff we prepare. But, how quickly the two of us assemble them is what bewilders her even more. It takes about fifteen minutes to complete the entire set, and we stand before a huge circus-like pavilion with a grand central chamber, two side compartments, and two auxiliary sections extending from those. Everything is locked tight and while the material covering the frame doesn’t look like much, it can stop even bullets.

“What is this?” The stunned girl gapes at the mini camping mansion.

“A portable camping kit my company uses during their expeditions,” I answer with a smirk. “It’s bigger on the inside, by the way.”

Sirgia takes her hand and guides our guest inside while I take the harness off Diana’s body and let her rejoin the other wolves, shoving it into my ring and taking the suitcase with me. Slipping past the entrance, I find Mevana spinning in circles while her eyes slide over everything, including all the furniture.

“When did you get all of this out?” she asks with an impressed voice.

“Trade secret.” My mate giggles softly. “Maybe you’ll learn about it one day.”

We then take her for a quick tour and show her to her chambers, the attached bathroom, and once again guide her through the middle section where the kitchen and eatery are located, alongside the lounge full of comfy sofas and pelts. I can never admire this gorgeous setting enough.

Sirgia brings us to the middle and orders us to relax while she prepares dinner. I know better than to argue with a loving wife who wants to cook for her spouse and their guests so I do exactly that, throwing off most of my gear and sinking into one of the fluffy couches in just my pants and shirt. Mevana looks a bit unsure but I busy her with some pointless chatter to take her mind off it, and as soon as I start talking about the details behind this structure, her artisanal mind switches on and forgets about anything else.

Crafters are so damn easy.

Soon, my skilled mate brings us a few freshly cooked dishes made from a bunch of animals our wolves have caught before and we both watch as the chubby girl salivates over the unimaginable feast. She acts extremely reserved, though. So, the two of us ensure she gets comfortable and eats as much as she likes since there’s more where that came from.

And man, that woman can eat.

I now understand where all that body comes from. Sirgia does actually have to bring in seconds with how much Mevana inhales the available meals. It brings an extremely embarrassed blush onto her soft cheeks, but we just smile at her warmly while consuming our own portions. Easy to guess, neither I nor Sirgia need a lot. She’s a tiny little thing and I’m a Primordial, in the end.

After lazing for half an hour just digesting all of it, my considerate wife gets up to clean the dishes. I jump to my feet too and glance at the half-asleep chunk of a Dwarf lady.

“I’m going to help with the cleaning and then most likely hit the hay so this is most likely a good night,” I say and gesture to the compartment opposite to hers. “If you need anything, you’ll find me there, be it a simple question or a request to check the weird noise outside. I’m the hired muscle, so don’t be considerate. I’m on your pay, and therefore under your orders. Understood?”

“Okay.” Mevana nods sleepily. “Good night, guys.”

I leave it at that and catch up to Sirgia, hugging my lithe princess from behind as she takes care of the plates. We mess around a bit since our new friend has gone to take a bath, then retreat to do the same. Marinating in the hot tub for a good while, we simply bask in each other’s presence, finding no need to speak. Sirgia’s delicate fingers explore my chest as I affectionately brush her back while she rests against me. Moments like these are just so precious.

Noticing her drifting off, I bring us both out and dry us up, evoking quite a few adorable giggles from my tiny lover as I obviously need to deal with a few sensitive spots. Thankfully, Sirgia seems too sleepy to provoke me into anything serious, giving me just a few half-conscious strokes as I carry her to our bed. 

But, she still manages to point towards our personal fire pit with a sofa full of furs so I instead tuck us into these exquisite covers next to the warm flames. Resting my head between the armrest and backrest, I let her snuggle to my chest at a pleasant angle with a beautiful smile and place a loving peck on her forehead, watching as one of my dearest lovers slowly embraces the night while embracing my front.

Before I follow her into the dreamland, my ears catch the noise of bare feet on the wooden planks making up the flooring.

“Ummm, Alastair? I forgot to ask earlier, and I’m starting to worry a little, so do you maybe know where Sirgi—aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh, there she is...” Our new friend stumbles and almost falls forward after peeking past the entrance curtain.

I raise my head to meet her eyes and the hefty Dwarf lady blushes heavily as her gaze roams over our situation. With my upper half exposed and one of Sirgia’s legs poking out from between the furs, she clearly connects the dots, figuring out the state of our attire beneath the thick pelts.

However, as she takes in the unexpected sight, so do I. She’s shown up wearing a see-through nightgown of a dark green shade, the delicate curtain hanging off her full bra, which, alongside her panties, is the only thing completely opaque. Even so, these fail to hide the world-class tits and monumental ass, not to mention the soft definitions of her wide torso.

Yeah, she looks even better than I thought.

We realise pretty much at the same time that we’ve been staring and Mevana grows even redder. Offering her a considerate smile, I bring a finger to my lips while skipping my head towards the sleeping beauty. She nods politely, and mimes zipping up her lips. I catch her eyes once more flick to Sirgia’s figure atop my chest and she retreats with an apologetic bow.

Well, that’s going to solve quite a few of her questions about us.

I can’t wait to see how she’ll react in the morning with Sirgia completely oblivious to this fact.

Expanding my senses and making sure she gets to bed safely, I rest my cheek atop Sirgia’s fragrant hair and follow my adorable wife into the night.

~Master. There are enemies.~ 

It feels like not even a minute passes before I hear Ianthe’s voice in my head. Groggily opening my eyes, I find the wood in the firepit halfway burned so a few hours have already passed. Taking a deep breath, I expel all the haze from my mind.

~Enemies? What kind of monsters dare to cross Oreads, Umbral Wolves, and a Liliraune?~ I ask her with mild surprise.

~The bipedal kind,~ she answers.

Bipedal?

Ah, shit.

~Dwarves?~ I inquire further.

~Yes, Master,~ the Lilies answer together.

Looks like someone really wants to see Mevana fail. Or the Captain is much more petty than I have assumed.

Sirgia stirs in my arms, her charming forehead furrowing lightly, and I quickly stroke her cheek with tender affection.

“Shhhhh. Sleep, my dear, sleep,” I whisper into her ear lovingly. “I’m going to take a quick leak and will be back in a jiffy. Love you so much. Shhhhhh.”

Carefully extracting myself from her intimate grasp, I tuck Sirgia in within the pelts, making sure she is warm and cosy. She pouts through her dreams and reaches out, so I lean forward to let her graze my cheek, letting myself get pulled into the tiniest little peck after which a blissful smile blooms on her cute face and she digs herself deeper into the furs.

Holding back the soft chuckle trying to escape my throat, I hastily step away. The moment I turn around, all the fun and games are gone. With a flick of my hand, the draconic hilt appears in my grasp and I walk out of the sleeping compartment, heading to the main entrance. Slipping outside, I take a few more steps forward and confirm through my bonds the position of all the assailants, crouching to the ground to spread the silencing barrier around us.

“Come out before I come to you,” I shout into the woods. “It’s your only chance to get out of this alive.”

A few seconds pass before nine short figures emerge from between the trees.

“Damn. He packs a punch.” A female snickers on the right.

“Feels like a waste to get rid of such a good log.” Another laughs next to her. “No one says we can’t have some fun first, right?”

“Target first,” a man rebukes them angrily. “The client doesn’t care what happens to the rest. I heard the guy is a fresh merc. Failing one of his first jobs will be a decent lesson not to fuck with the wrong people.”

From my observation, there are six guys and three girls. All wearing leather armour and covering their faces. Diana doesn’t recognize their scents so they aren’t dressed up guards, which is good. That means I can get rid of them without worrying about anything. They are most certainly paid assassins or unlawful mercenaries.

“Boy!” The leader raises his sword at me. “Stand aside and you will keep your life! We have no fault with you yet!”

“Listen to him!” The first woman brandishes her dual daggers. “You might even be lucky enough to taste some fine Dwarf pussy if you behave nicely! I’ve always been curious how far Human dicks can reach.”

Some men snarl in the direction of the speaker and her colleague, the third female seemingly uninterested in their debauchery. Ignoring their blabbering, I look to the night sky, wondering about what to do. I can kill them all in a second using Voidal Bondage and anything else. Though, I should leave one to question.

Yet, I don’t feel like ending this quickly.

They are not only after my friend, but they have even dared to disrupt my beloved’s sleep. Who knows what kind of atrocities they might have come up with when left alone with the girls? If even the females are this rotten, the males are bound to be even worse.

No. They will understand their mistake before receiving the mercy of death.

“Oi! Are you deaf?” The main guy growls at me. “You have three more seconds! I ain’t staring at your pathetic junk any moment longer!”

Taking a deep breath, I pick my path. The understanding of the Shadow Stalker flows into my mind, courtesy of a certain deadly spidergirl. It’s more than enough, especially when paired with my Void affinity further enhanced by Diana.

“That’s too bad.” I crack an amused smile at him. “Because it’s going to be the last thing you see before death.”

Taking a step to the side, I shape a vicious dagger with my artefact hilt. As my foot touches the shadow cast by the nearby tree, my body disappears like a black mist dispersed by the wind. The Dwarves flinch and assume battle stances. I spot two crossbows, one longbow, two swords, double daggers, two hammers with shields, and one spear. They take a decent formation, one tank front and back, the rest more or less in the middle.

“Where did the fucker go?” One shortsword spins around in search of me.

“Don’t know! Light torches! He can’t hide forever!” the leader replies.

Smart.

But too slow.

Spotting a nice fluffy cloud sailing through the sky, I hop into its shadow and follow its path towards the group, watching them struggle to take out their torches. They can’t see me with the level of their abilities and I gracefully step between them. Aiming for the archer who is about to light the fire, I sink my knife into his kidneys from behind and twist it, evoking a howl of pain.

Everyone turns to him immediately, but they catch only the squirting blood, their eyes sliding off me like I don’t exist. As the cloud quickly moves away, I drive my dagger into the stomach of one of the females, cutting it wide. She screams in agony, trying to grab her fleeing entrails, while I squeeze out of their formation and continue with my fluffy friend until I’m behind a tree.

Two down. It doesn’t look like they have a dedicated healer.

“Fuck! What is this fucking…!” Some guy curses repeatedly, managing to get his torch up.

Four of them are busy checking on the critically wounded, so I don’t waste my time and prepare for another strike.

“He is in the shadows!” The dagger girl manages to figure out my approach. “Pull that fire up!”

Decent thinking, but she forgets about one thing.

Dwarves cast shadows too.

Picking the longest one, I casually stroll back to them and arrive behind the bitch. The light licks at my naked body, dispelling part of the concealment ability, and she spots the flicker. Before she opens her mouth to shout, I grab her chin and squeeze, hearing it crunch. A quick slice later and her throat is open. Pushing her into the torch guy’s back, I throw him off balance and she falls onto the flame, screaming in pain.

As the group scrambles around, I move into a crouch and weave between them, abusing their shadows. It’s kind of comical, really. I’m crouched but that puts me more or less equal with them in terms of height now. That thought brings a snicker out of me and the closest guy spins my way.

Seeing an awkwardly squatting naked human with his junk hanging out pierce your heart while he stares into your frightened eyes must be horrifying. Maybe I should write a book about it later. Might sell amongst female nobles as a horror and drama. I’ll have to discuss it with Sirgia and my talented ladies.

Nevertheless, I finish off the torch guy on my way out, just as two more people bring out their own sources of light, finally illuminating my figure properly. The assassins gasp and jump back, their panicked eyes locked on my bloody frame. None of that blood is mine, of course.

Five down, four more to go.

“So, about that Dwarf pussy.” I smirk at the remaining females. “A few more cuts and I might start getting excited enough to consider the offer. Do you think you can survive until then?”

Surprisingly, they find a new well of courage and group up to launch a mob attack on me.

From what I can see, we have the leader with a sword, two tankers, and one crossbow left. Two guys and two girls. Perfect equality.

The shielders come at the same time, one of them holding onto a torch to prevent me from running away. But, I don’t intend to, anyway. As they reach me and swing their weapons, I simply jump over them, careful not to catch my dangly bits against anything sharp or hot. As they turn around, I stab one in the throat and swipe to the side, pretty much beheading the poor woman.

A twang of the crossbow reaches my ears and I spin around, watching it whizz right above my little friend.

Damn. That was a close one.

The bolt pierces into the other tanker’s shield and knocks it aside, just after he has brought it in position to defend against me. Smirking at the unfortunate bastard, I stab my dagger into his bulging belly and drag the blade up for a change, opening him vertically. Noticing footsteps behind me, I slip behind him and avoid a vicious stab from the leader, who snarls at me as he drives his sword into his dying comrade.

“Oof. Someone forgot there’s friendly fire?” I chuckle darkly. “I’ll be with you in a second. Let me just take care of the last annoying fly.”

“You will go nowhere!” He brings the torch he holds in offhand right in my face.

I raise a brow at it while leaning to the back and shaking my head. Reaching deep into my connection with Diana and her pack, my mental fingers wrap around something new, something that felt quite elusive before I accepted them all. Waving the man goodbye, I watch his expression shift into that of horror as I plunge into the corpse’s own shadow right at the spot where we are both standing.

“Watch ou—” 

He tries to warn his colleague, but I’m already behind the shooter. 

“Nothing personal, kiddo.” 

With an accurate jab, my blade sinks into the side of the final grunt’s neck before he gets a chance to turn around. One step back and I’m gone.

“FUCK!” The boss throws his torch away. “COME HERE AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN! FUCKING HUMAN SCUM! ALL YOU CAN DO IS HIDE AND RUN!”

Reappearing at my starting position, I fully disable the cloaking and rest the hilt against my shoulder.

“Here I am. What now?” I tilt my head at him.

“No more tricks!” he shouts. “You and me! The better fighter wins!”

Wow. I have literally no reason to accept, already having shown him who is the better one by obliterating his unit. Are Dwarves so heavy on honour that someone would agree? I don’t remember anything mentioning this in the castle’s library.

But, anyway, it’s not like I can’t humour the bastard and show him what true despair means.

“As you wish.” I take a more serious stance, shaping my hilt into a violet longsword. “Make it worthwhile.”

With a wild shout, he launches himself at me. I have to admit, I don’t have much experience fighting much shorter opponents, but I do have quite a bit of general experience with weapons and stuff. Additionally, it’s quite enhanced now thanks to the ladies and my insane race. I’ve never stopped training with my women and Shino especially. I’m fairly confident in my abilities even without borrowing any external feats.

Therefore, I easily deflect his first three strikes, surprising my opponent greatly. He must have counted on his high strength, but unfortunately, I’m not a baseline Human. Taking advantage of his brief lapse in concentration, I bump his shortsword up and land two quick slices on his chest.

He sneers at me, rushing to the side. I recognize a mana-enhanced skill from the gentle glow and a quick stab flies forward after my hip. Stabbing my blade into the ground, I angle it lightly and intercept the path, our weapons colliding with a loud clang. The momentum puts him right before me while extended forward and I kick him in the stomach hard enough to send him tumbling.

Casually strolling to the idiot, I spin my longsword and throw a stab into his shoulder. At the last moment, he rolls away, waiting for this opportunity, and my blade only grazes the target, still slicing into quite a bit of his flesh. He growls in pain while rolling and swinging his weapon at my ankles.

It’s too slow.

I raise my foot and stomp on it, stopping it in its tracks. The man snarls as his wrist gets squeezed into the earth, but a moment later, he has bigger problems to worry about. One quick slice and that wrist is gone, leaving him disarmed, literally. Grabbing the stump, he starts wailing in misery.

“I don’t know what exactly I expected from unfriendly neighbourhood bandits.” I shake my head and give his forehead a good kick, knocking him out. “Ladies! It’s time to clean up. Keep this one alive. The Lilies should be able to use their toxins to make him sing. I need to get back before Sirgia wakes up and gets angry about leaving her out of this.”

The wolves step into the light and lower their heads in affirmation, accepting my orders. Earth swallows the leader as one of the Oreads transports the guy to a different place, most likely where my cute flowers are. They should be able to stop the bleeding, turn his brain into mush, and make him spill everything while believing they are the sexy gods of the universe.

“Alastair?”

I freeze with my hands on my hips, turning towards the pavilion. Mevana stands at the entrance, her head poking past the curtains, gazing right at my bloodied chest and all the other rather exposed bits.

Really? Again?

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