前のエピソード――Chapter 10: Starry Lodge Proprietress, Saving a… Damsel? Priestess Lilia’s Schemes!

-Richard's POV

"Monica, I said that's enough!" I found myself yelling at very much enraged Monica who'd descended into animalistic brutality unlike anything I have ever seen in my life before. there was an almost inorganic emotionless face that betrayed her youthful appearance for what i was and replaced it with a mechanical facial feature that couldn't bother to hear the pleas of mercy of those she descended upon with speed and accuracy that looked to be beyond inhuman and gave me several chills in a split second just witnessing such a scene but whatever it is I knew I had to stop this now. I was mad at the duo don't get me wrong but the rage I see on Monica's face feels a little off maybe? I thought in a fluster. after all, yes, they had harmed me but seeing women or in this case a woman getting this angry for me in my behalf doesn't feel like what I've experiencing it's genuine for some reason even though I very much knew it was truly happening.

"Monica dear! I think it's best if you stop this now mkay?" Asked a voice which seemed to be Stella from out of nowhere since I've heard the voice directly from behind me despite no one being here at all just a short moment ago, and despite this I couldn't sense her, I thought as my body had naturally stiffened up since I know felt her coming towards me from my backside. If I could feel her now then she was deliberately letting know where she was coming from because it's no way in hell, I'd be able to detect her just now, nah she has had to been looking from somewhere around here but the speed to which she approached me left me unsure what to think.

"I think it's best if you stop it already Monica dear! I don't want to get angry you know. You're a costumer from my inn and you'll make my establishment lose face if you get my drift" Stella continued in a almost probing tone that gave a fierce sense of intimidation I couldn't pin down. It wasn't anger that was unbridled but it felt almost controlled fury if that makes sense, I hadn't felt anything like this back at the village of Heim.

""!""

The fact that she had close the distance from afar to almost touching my back was so startling that I immediately almost jumped out of my skin when I had heard that sweet almost motherly voice coming from right behind me but it wasn't just that what had me frightened but the cold air that woman was giving off in her immediate surrounding as if daring people to move in her presence, It was hard to describe precisely but it gave the feeling that you didn't want to find out what lay before you if you defied this woman command. I attempted to look back at her from where I was, but I could not because that woman's hands had already made their way around my chest from the back and gave me a semi tight embrace as her right arm scratched at my chin like one does to their kitten when showing affection.

If I didn't know what this woman was capable off, I would be so turned on right now but that's not the case so I can't feel nothing more than utter confusion. I perhaps should have resigned to my fate back at the starry lodge rather than what's happening now since that route would have not incurred this outcome here. It felt almost foolish that I ran away, and this woman just caught on and now saved me I think rather the bigger issue was how she just nonchalantly as passing through a sideshow in some carnival completely unnoticed waded through us completely unnoticed.

However, this woman didn't feel evil not that I know what evil feels like in the first place, but she didn't have what you call a dreadful presence, but at the same time I couldn't but question the information I had gotten from Pam even if just a little bit since there were some aspects where Stella wasn't the person she had been described to me as. if was just slightly but the information that I had gained from Rhea and Pam at the village had told me all manner of things that could very well still be true so I couldn't dismiss it. That means I will not be welcoming this woman with open arms willy nilly without her earning it anytime soon though.

In another note I came to one quick realization rather quickly, all of this had been nothing but my fault! I couldn't help but mentally berate myself slightly now that everything had played out as it is, as I had landed on a worse situation than I would have otherwise found myself on regardless of if I had run from Stella or not back at The Starry Lodge. evidently Stella had never lost sight of me for a moment since she wasn't very agitated and from what I could tell her skin and overall demeanor showed no sign of fatigue almost at the same level as Rhea which was by itself a rather frightening thought. that said if she had been observing why did she allow Monica to go loose like that if she treasures the reputation of her lodge so much, I thought.

As much as I stiffened at Stella's presence and argued her benevolence towards myself now that she was basically breathing down my neck, It seems I wasn't at all alone in my fears either, Monica had also stopped stiff atop the still barely conscious woman that lay right below her while her elven friend now disheveled with tears running down her cheeks attempted to heal the badly wounded Matilda because although very much conscious, Matilda had been left with a partly very swollen face and some cuts that were bleeding a little too much for my taste. If this had been earth whomever had received a beatdown of that degree would have become past tense already and/or deformed with rather ambiguous prognosis as to whether Matilda could recover fast enough to undo the scars Monica had inflicted upon her and clear bone fractures as some of the jaw had been clearly shattered by the merciless Monica that had me questioning how in the world such a party got surrounded in the first place and ever needed my help if they could do this much damage with just brass knuckles.

"Stella what are you doing here? This filth assaulted a man and should be put to death for her crime-" shouted Monica only to be immediately cut off by stella.

"Enough!" Stella immediately cut her off in a way that gave no room for discussion on the matter. Stella hadn't interrupted Monica in a angry or commanding manner but even I understood as someone who doesn't know a fifth of what a veteran fighter knows in regard to judging people accurately by their looks alone like Rhea and Shima usually do back at the village to handle intruders to the village to keep it safe that I wasn't in the presence of your run of the mill lodge owner.

The command had been sharp, but Stella's sweet voice never left her vocals, you'd miss any actual subtle change to her mood if she were a normal person, but she wasn't and right from behind me she had done it without doing much else. as the woman named Stella shut down Monica's accusation towards Matilda for her crime. I mean what she did hurt bad enough that I considered punching her straight up the moment her Elven companion released her spell from me but looking at the unrecognizable Matilda now who was holding just barely to her dear life, all of the sudden all of the anger I had suddenly been replaced by nothing more than pity and some concern for her wellbeing.

I thought it be best if I played the fool and asked, "Just who are you?" in a rather matter of fact tone to avoid giving much away momentarily forgetting that Stella had probably seen the whole interaction between me and that pair all along in the first place. more importantly where did Harlowe scurry off to? he's got to be a good source of information for me right? I mean he was bought in a slave market and frankly although i want to rid the world of it I can't don a superhero armor and impose my feelings on this society. that said Harlowe might have information I could benefit from down the line I thought looking in my surroundings for the man in a dress who I thought was a little girl at first, but I couldn't since Stella approached my ear from behind and asked "You okay boy? What did these pair do to you?" with concern on her voice which I hadn't expected much off her of all people.

She gently squeezed me from behind like if i was some small animal that needed some reassurance as she placed her mouth near my right ear and asked me about the status of my wellbeing, she wasn't being sexual at all but...I think but it's kind of inappropriate for a woman I haven't properly met yet to suddenly approach a healthy young man from behind like that and what's more Harlowe is somewhere out here I thought. as I was dealing with an overly touchy woman and the fact that I had lost sight of the dude in such a short time suddenly I heard a small scream.

"Eeek"

such a muffled scream was suddenly silenced after a slight muffled sound from the rear to my left and I slightly turned and noticed that the Elf Rainaire had her arms around Harlowe in a protective stance but was covering his mouth with a spell of some sort since she wasn't physically covering it, but no sounds came from his desperate face despite his efforts to open his mouth wide yelling something toward us. to detract from this Rainaire spoke in a commanding tone although you could hear the apprehension too given what Monica had done to her partner Matilda she must be, that said none of the previous appearance could be spotted on her and she now looked quite different from the sobbing Elven girl that was desperately trying to save her comrade's life. Rainaire had in a short span completely changed her appearance and her robes were back to pristine again.

I felt bad for the little dude though, I looked on with pity as the revealed male with women's clothes was handled like a puppy unable to break through the elves' embrace with any amount of effort, Rainaire surely had only silenced him yet his physical capabilities baffled me at how weak he was and as I stared the exchange continued.

"Ms. Stella! Matilda and I spent countless days limiting our meals to be able to purchase this man from a legal slaver all fair and square! I need your help with dealing with that brute there who ambushed my friend and proceeded to brutalize her without her being able to defend herself, we are penniless after our deal, and I need her healed and that crazy woman be punished for her crime!." thusly Rainaire spoke while gripping the man in between her arms like a child who doesn't want to let go of a precious belonging.

Rainaire then fell silent and just sternly looked at Monica with courage and outrage she hadn't demonstrated before when the conflict had been ongoing.

I couldn't fault her, but that didn't remove the fact that I was feeling a little queasy at the fact that humans were being handled like purchased goods and being a man that I was, the way I've seen that guy behave and his appearance had made me feel weird like I wasn't dealing something similar to myself, It might sound bigoted in a sense but I couldn't relate to that guy in any level except maybe the fear he felt at being surrounded but aside from that it only made me feel nothing more than confusion since I knew full well, I couldn't impose my sensitivities on them. things had rapidly changed because things went from me stopping a possible rape to a helpless young girl by a couple of lesbians to a pair of women who spent countless days saving in bizarre methods to be able to purchase a husband as unwilling as he in fact was and it was none of my concern to be sure, but that he had fooled my very eyes into believing that he was a young lady who was being assaulted by two sex crazed lesbians had made me lose a confidence in a sector I didn't know I had.

Tensing up slightly Stella looked away from me as she was trying to get a good look at my face and faced Monica and asked, "Is this true Monica?" on a still sweet but serious tone.

- Priestess Lilia POV

"The time has come ladies! You can have a shot of marrying and carrying a child yourself just as the Goddess Vita intended it instead of that plant alternative everyone else has to put up with, So how about it?" I challenged the virgin lot in front of me. they're pitiful women to be sure, looking at their youth pains me as a devoted followed of Goddess Vita. Ah I can still remember how she saved me from my dull lonely life of loneliness, perhaps since humans live for such a short time it's much easier but I was at my wit's end. just thinking back at those dull elders and their boastings of propriety really pisés me off.

they had the stones to call me lewd and lascivious when they full on well purchased sex slaves themselves to keep our magic superiority to the humans, not that was hard to do given how little magic they're generally blessed with that monster exception back at that lodge. that woman gives even me the creeps I thought, but I didn't show it on my face as both Laura and Olga were both still staring at me with abject shock on their faces for some reason.

"Are you serious? I mean I know it's you and all, but you realize what you're proposing right?" asked Olga mildly put together by what I had just said, the face of utter disbelief never left her as she leaned in and said, "You're an Elf and a Priestess and you're offering us a way to purchased husbands here?" Olga tilted her head.

"I've pledged my loyalty as a knight already so your offer means nothing to me." Laura cut in and gave me a stern but dignified look at me as if she was looking at absolute filth,

I honestly wanted to blast her for her sin and insolence but I'm much better than that brute as a follower of Goddess Vita I know I've committed no sin at all. her most important commandment is to "Seek love at all costs and have children" and that's what I've been doing, how could I find love if I just stick to just one man and not go around looking around? people do it with wares and other items they may spend their hard-earned money on so why not men? they're valuable to be sure but they're not all the same. If i denied those men, the opportunity to be with me an envoy of Goddess Vita then I would truly be committing a sin worth of death by denying those previous souls a meeting with me.

"I could blast you mountain ogre of a woman but I'm better than that!" I huffed and Laura didn't really care, she just looked at me pitifully and looked away. clearly, she was outmatched! I couldn't help but make a victory pose inside my mind at my prowess.

"More wine milady?" asked a waiter, it was a young male with good looks, property of the owner of the restaurant, he was polite and good looking but alas we couldn't be, I needed to move back to our conversation we were having so I said, "Yes, please!" and I extended my wine glass which had most recently circulated as a good lately. apparently, some girl in another kingdom had come up with the knowledge to make fine artifacts made of glass. that woman must surely be an envoy of the Goddess Vita as well as I hear she also spends her time tasting me to look for soul mate, what a fine soul! moving on back to the subject at hand.

"You guys should also get more wine you know? I have already paid for all you can eat so there is no sense in holding back." I let them know of my magnanimity. one of the commandments of the Goddess is to bless the less fortunate which I'm doing given the attire they're wearing in such a fine establishment.

[Slam]

"Cut the crap Lilia! Are you being serious?" Asked Olga with a angry annoyed face.

It seems I may somehow gotten my fellow kin angry at me but all I've been doing was giving her and her pitiful party member new hope. "Careful Olga, this table is worth more than a couple of years of adventuring from your party, okay? we don't want to go into debt, do we?" I asked sincerely to which Olga recoiled a bit and Laura's face grew a little pale as her eyes transfixed on the section of the table Olga had brought her fist down.

"...I can repair it" Olga mumbled in a feeble voice before shaking her head slightly and once more fixed me with a rather dangerous glare. she once again said "Lilia, are you being completely serious?". Oh my, It seems the great me Priestess and Apostle of The Divine Goddess Vita isn't being believed. such insolence but I'm full of benevolence and I'll respond properly. The nearby Nobles seem to be used to lively chats it seems as not one of them nor one of their dates turned to Olga's outburst I thought as I cast a sweeping glance at the rest of the floor.

I took another sip of my delightful wine and reiterated the truth "Of course I'm serious, you the Elf aside. your friends don't have long to make children, do they? as things stand, they'll die dried up and alone partnered up with another woman they don't even like. mind you that I don't judge as per the commandment of our divine goddess and her eternal love for us mere mortals." I gushed.

Olga had a creeped-out face for some reason and spoke. "You're serious, aren't you? you really believe all you're saying?" Olga's face had gone a little pale and Laura for the first time looked at me warily.

Eh? I'm getting the idea that people don't think I'm trustworthy, but it can't be, Olga it's probably a little slow when it come to the divine power of the goddess so it can't be helped, I sighed. "Of course I'm serious, I was saved by the goddess" I puffed my chest with pride. "What about that sleeping around with all those men?" asked Olga a little choked up. "I'm blessing them and helping them find their partner of course. what better experience than to get to know a priestess of our lady vita! I am also seeking my perfect husband and how could I fulfill milady's commandment if I don't meet many men?" I asked looking at the dolt with disbelief.

Come on Olga you're an Elf too, ergo you're much smarter than the humans by natural birthright so you should be able to at least grasp some of my thinking even if you're not blessed like I am by the goddess.

"Wha..." Laura looked at me even funnier than she was already looking at me, but I don't have the time to look at their dumb faces as funny and entertaining as they are.

[Clack]

I placed my wine glass down in the table and look told them. "Look girls, I don't have all day. only reason I came here is because Olga and I go way back at Alfheim, and I just helped a couple of adventures get the husband they wanted after saving money for so long, mind you they didn't get a discount but with my help both of you can get hitched and start making babies just as milady commandment stated, specially you Laura.

Laura was startled at me mentioning her. "You're a friend of Olga's so I'm helping you out here, but you may not get another shot at life you know? the goddess only helps those who help themselves. Olga here is an Elf, so she has all the time in the world to look for love, but your specie doesn't, right?". I asked with a genuinely concerned look.

Olga was looking at me funny and asked, "We're friends?".

"Of course we are my dear, it's thanks to you I found my lady's teachings and I'm on the path of righteousness I am today" I said with a lot of joy in my voice. Olga was now trembling "...I did that?" and I looked at her in affirmation. "Yes, when I was struggling with the old fools back in Alfheim you told me to seek Goddess Vita temple and redeem myself which I did" I said as a matter of course.

"Is there anything else I could help you with?" asked the waited once again. "No dear, I'm leaving soon. my friends here are free to keep ordering as I have already paid, okay?" I gave our waiter an endearing look and then turn my way to the other two who hadn't said much to me despite the opportunity I had presented them with.

Well, they'll snap out of it soon. "Here, I'll write her information down for you here. go to this place and ask for Lady Lucrezia and she'll help you out once she finds out that I've sent you, her way." I turned around to leave before leaving them with one final piece of advice.

"She leaves the kingdom in week so if I were you, I'd hurry along, okay?" and with that I made my way out until-

"Wait! why are you doing this girl?" asked Laura for the last time so I decided to answer the question. "Mm, well I have my reasons of course" I said with a wink "But mostly because it's part of my job as the Priestess of the Goddess Vita that people make children without magic being involved" I said convincingly, Truth be told I was also getting a large sum of money by sending people at Lucrezia's way, but they don't need to know that.

I just got paid one hundred gold coins just for sending that pair to her, there is no way these girls aren't loaded with cash Hehe. I smiled at this and I also get a cut finding young men for her but that neither here nor there. feeling the fat pouch of gold coins in my person, I smiled in satisfaction and prayed.

"A girl can't find love while she's broke now can she Goddess Vita?" saying so I now truly made my way out.

Olga and Laura were left alone in the massive restaurant that is "The Pastoria Grill" among many Nobles and merchants having dinner with their lovers all with great manner and speaking in a hushed tone. despite the place being filled to the brim with people all you could hear was the eating utensils moving across the many plates and the eventual clacking of wine glasses some nobles cheered as a form of good fortune or celebration.

"You think she was saying the truth?" asked Olga looking at the massive woman sitting comically on a normal sized chair in the restaurant among all the other nobles.

"Truth about what? it doesn't matter to me. I've already pledged my allegiance to Sir Richard" said Laura with an air of confidence of the kind Olga or anyone of her fellow party member had seen in their lives. "You're really not going to use the contact? Lilia aside, she's right you know. She and I can waste our time, but you can't" Olga approached with some concern.

Laura scrounged up her face and said "I don't look favorably on the purchasing of people as goods but it's not a crime so if you want to do it, have at it" the woman said before calling the waiter and telling him to pack plenty of food for her new lord Richard.

"I'll guess I'll do just that" Olga murmured pensive at the information Lilia had just unceremoniously dropped on her and honestly, she never thought Lilia of all people would just go ahead look out for their group this way although she also held some reservations on the t0oic of purchasing husbands.

Olga was by no means in a hurry to get married, she was sixty but an Elf still and she could take her sweet time and wait for the perfect man to be born but Richard intrigued her and to be honest he was so wildly different to the common weak frail men she knew and didn't feel much for that she had some expectations with him, nevertheless she took the information down and decided to take it with her just in case things didn't pan out with Richard. as things stood, her whole party was after the man and although polygamy was allowed and was the norm Olga decided on a extra sense of security. Olga had been saving money longer than the other party members had so somewhere in the back of her mind she had decided that she would just up and visit a high-class brothel and get pregnant there, she knew the spell and ritual after all to make sure the child wasn't just a half breed elf but a full elf with great magical capabilities.

Thinking so while watching her friend put food away to take back at "The Starry Lodge" the meeting with Priestess Lilia ended.

_ Stella's POV

"There! that should do it. Is there anything else that hurts Matilda?" I asked coyly at the now fully restored Matilda. I'm proud of my work if I say so myself. I thought I had gotten rusty over the years since most of my guests now are small time merchants and some adventurers that thread more in caution that back in my day where people missing a limb or two wasn't all that uncommon.

Looking at Matilda here in my lodge as a treated her sure made me nostalgic, Hm it seems my sweet Monica has quite the temper on her if she went on a rampage to this degree. If I hadn't been there, I'm sure this girl could have killed ya!. I smiled at her in satisfaction after I saw her stretched out her limbs and move about her facial features without issue meaning I did a good job.

Things have certainly changed from all those years ago I reminisced thinking back to twenty years in that forest,

"Thank you, Berserk Healer," Matilda thanked me profusely since her injuries were severe enough to demand at least four gold coins which was more than enough to live for a year and some change if you managed it well enough as a normal person.

"Berserk Healer?" Asked the boy who was still wearing a hood. Hmm right I don't make it a habit to tell people what my nickname used to be that said this girl says too much. I frowned disapprovingly at Matilda while Monica who was giving me the death stare not too long ago for healing Matilda was now cowering in fear of me.

"Oh dear. You never did lose the ability of speaking too much information about others did ya Matilda? perhaps I healed you unnecessarily" I gave her a good cold look and she retreated immediately to where that other man Harlowe was sitting atop Rainaire lap, It was a cute display but the poor thing was shivering like a newborn, and it was hard to watch sometimes as a single woman.

"That aside, you boy! take-off that hood now. I've said it once and I'll say it again. I don't allow secrecy at my inn any longer. come on now! show me that pretty face" I asked seriously but teasingly to avoid him running away once again not that I would let him go again. I want to see what the person who made our little Monica go out of control looks like.

"Do I really have to?" asked the boy back. hm this boy has some spunk in him, most men would be quivering with fear after being assaulted by a woman much less two women it's practically a life trauma but he's acting as if that's yesterday's news. that said before I forget.

"Hey Rainaire and Matilda, I helped you two cause you two are my regulars here and all that, but I don't look kindly at a woman forcing herself on a helpless man got that?" I asked seriously for the first time without any jokes. what that woman had pulled at my inn all those years ago had made me sick to my stomach and really, I've never forgotten it, I am not about to let anyone do shit like that in my watch while these two are my regulars. they represent the kind of people I let in my establishment and that make their problem kind of my problem too.

"That was a misunderstanding!" yelled Rainaire in a bit of a panic after she felt my killing intent. "Shut the hell up!" snapped Monica back as she couldn't handle it anymore and continued "You two were handling my prince's jewels like they were toys disregarding his safety and you even casted a spell on him so he couldn't move".

Matilda grew a little pale and said "I'm sorry Ms. Stella! I hadn't been around a man until today and I couldn't help myself. I mean it's straight out of a novel, isn't it? capturing a man by his lonesome in a back alley and have your way with him" and that only made Monica even angrier than she already was.

"Shup up you idiot!" snapped Rainaire at her friend's foolishness but I had heard something interesting here. "You said something quite stupid Matilda if I didn't know you well enough I myself would have half killed you know? You never were one for subtlety even after Monica here half beat you to death after what you two pulled on a lone weak male. That aside for now, Monica, what do you mean by Prince?" I asked curiously even if I had eyed both Matilda and Rainaire with scorn for what they had done but I had other things to address as I gazed more sternly at the boy who had frozen in place when he heard me describe him but soon enough started taking off his robes or rather some of them. It had bothered me when I first chased after him the first time, he had run away but I had put it aside since I thought Monica had just fallen in love with some guy but why are they with this guy with no bodyguard? I mean why is this guy all alone in a position where he had to be rescued at all? aren't high-born men supposed to be locked away in luxury away from the dangers of the world?

"Wait is he really?" asked Matilda once again which kind of agitated me. then it hit me, the boy took off his hood and what?

"Monica! What is the meaning of this?" I said agitated. It can't be, his majesty it's dead by now there is no way he can alive. there stood a 180cm tall man with black short hair which is unheard off anywhere with a physique that you'd only see in women except the breasts and his eyes, those eyes were a shade of violet that only the Nosfalt Kingdom Royal family possess.

[Gulp]

"T=There is no way this guy is him, right?" asked Matilda trembling, her face had gone past white to just blue as she sat down with her hands on her head, and she started muttering my life is over.

Catching on Rainaire also spoke up with a slight tremor on her voice "There is no way that's royalty, right? he wouldn't just walk around without any guards" Continued the Elf looking at me with hope in her face.

As I looked at Monica questioningly looking for answers, the boy spoke up all on his own. "Damn it, not this shit again. As much as I want to see those two squirm since that shit hurt bad" spat the boy who spoke rather harshly and not at all as the shy men of anywhere I've seen before, and he padded his possessions reassuringly.

"Thanks for that by the way" he looked at me and went over to Monica patted her head which made Monica stand at attention and looked dazed at that which Richard was doing. "To answer your question, no I'm not a noble or royalty and I have nothing to do there so it's all cool"

Matilda got some of her color back and said "He sure as hell doesn't speak like nobility though" quite brashly as she looked relived and enamored with the new husband Harlowe who had fallen asleep where he was with Rainaire.

"The name is Richard by the way! Is that guy going to be, okay?" asked Richard after he introduced himself

"Why wouldn't he be?" I asked?

"I mean-" he was about to say when suddenly there were several knocks at my door.

[Knock]

A heavy knock could be heard from outside the room. we were currently in an empty room I had taken this lot to heal Matilda and scold Monica and company for their foolishness. I guess Olga read the sign and made it here, I guess. "Can I come in? I brought food milord!" asked Laura who'd come back. Sighs "Go ahead Laura" I said as the woman walked in with the Elf carrying some containers filled with food.

[Gurgle]

Richard's stomach made quite the ruckus and he immediately went and covered it but it's too late dear. ah he is blushing, I guess even he can act appropriately when things like this come out right?

"You two took your time, the prince is hungry" demanded Monica in front of Richard as she got up and went ahead to grab the food off of Laura's hands ignoring her puzzled look at her changed attitude that had gone a dramatic change from almost an unfeeling doll to a loyal maid or bodyguard of sorts in one fell swoop.

"Monica dear, this boy in quite different wouldn't you say?" I asked proving into the mind of little Monica, I've seen some of what happened back there where Richard had been paralyzed and surrounded but even then, Monica actions wouldn't have been as severe as they had been back there. I was taken aback and although this boy denies it, there is no way he's unrelated to the Nobility at all.

Once glance at him and the entirety of the Kingdom might come down on him and try to fetch him. He's obviously too tall for a man and he's body build is nothing like I've ever seen before. what's more is that he isn't aware how rare he is and the lack of fear towards women it's concerning because it might lead him to the same outcomes it did with those two idiots over there, I thought glancing at Rainaire and Matilda who had now left the conversation and completely surrounded Harlowe their purchased husband looking at him sleep with slacked jaws like they were staring at a puppy.

It was both understandable for women who normally would have to pair up with another female to conceive and disturbing because only our Goddess knows what sort of deviant thoughts were crossing on their sick minds while they gazed down at the poor fella.

"I'd say so" answered Monica bringing me out of my little daze. "He's the prince I've decided to serve the rest of my life now and I'll make anyone who tried to harm him pay" continued the small girl with a cold tone which would be overlooked normally but after what she had done to Matilda, you couldn't really laugh it up could I.

"W-Watt a moment. Sir Richard it's Milord and I have become his knight, don't try to get ahead Monica!" shouted Laura, Wait! Laura? I had to take a double take and I saw the giant woman making it her where Richard was whose gaze was unconcerned with reality and was thinking of something. just the way a Aristocrat would behave when their underlings fought to prove their loyalty. there is no way he's some normal boy born from...wait where was he born anyway?

It's strange for the prideful bunch of adventuring women to be willing to do all this for a weak male not only because they're likely to be a liability but because it's much harder to protect them from other females than from monsters themselves and that says a lot doesn't it, I've never seen them do any of this for anyone. even that pervert Paula who might be a bit of a sex fiend, but she would never allow a man who will be a liability for the party to join if I think of this rationally.

"Ah the gaggle of idiots are at it now!" commented Olga unconcerned of the ruckus that was going all around her, she just up and prepared herself some tea while Monica and Laura hash the details down in regard to who was the first retainer which didn't make any sense, isn't that pitiful pervert Paula the party leader? isn't calling yourself the servant of someone while you're a party subordinate inappropriate? I thought as I looked at the duo talking above Richard's head and sent verbal barbs at each other while they discuss the outcome of their service for the boy.

Then it occurred to me that I hadn't really gained any information on him at all, I should be trying to have him tell me everything he knows because unlike last time if he turns out to be royalty and I didn't say anything my life as a proprietress might be over, I thought with a thick sweat growing in my brow and cold sweat moistened my body. putting that aside for the moment I thought rationally, I couldn't pry right now that their leader was away and the group leader Paula as pitiful as she was needed to make the decisions for the party in regard to sharing personal information. from what little Monica has said but I'll break her.

smiling a little I got up and commanded both Matilda and Rainaire to vacate the room because it was time for them to settle down their issues, none of the two defied me and walked out carrying the poor Harlowe outside the same way some attached little girl carries her stuffed animal. I told them I was leaving for the night and that I would expect an explanation early in the morning.

-Richard's POV

Boy was I in a pickle now. Stella might have left the room in part because I was now with three other "Party Member" when in fact I hadn't joined their party and the more I think about it doesn't appear like I could just show up to the Guild and ask to let me join their party officially now could I? aside from Harlowe I hadn't seen another dude since I came here. I really felt bad for the guy, he was probably forced into those clothes due to his appearances, human rights don't seem to be a thing here either.

I shivered just thinking the humiliation Harlowe must have fell and went through being forced to wear some dress because he had a feminine appearance alone and then be purchased by two women who will make you dress the same but if he has sex with two women does it even matter what he is dressed like? those two might be a little of their rocker but they were hot and had well defined bodies I thought, wait isn't he like a crossed dressing straight gigolo or something? I thought before I changed my mind since I couldn't afford to get turned on here even if I've been blue balled by Shima I hadn't had the time to masturbate since I got to this world and things only got harder after I was almost raped twice and that was doing numbers, I didn't think possible on my psyche.

Although Matilda had ruined whatever I had going for her the moment she was that rough with my boys I thought looking down and caressing them without thinking when-

"Is something wrong with your body?" Asked a very observant Olga who had finished her tea and walked over to me at blushed when she saw my hand there, but she got serious and asked once again "Did something happen?"

I was about to dismiss it as nothing, but Monica stared me down, it was a complicated feeling being stared down by a little girl that almost completely removed a adult female jaw with brute strength alone. I feel like I shouldn't be telling on Matilda, and I should settle this on my own as a man should but given the serious looks both Laura and Olga were giving me I had no choice but to-

"Girls! Girls! I found the opportunity of a lifetime. we may all be able to get married soon and not have to get lucky at a brothel or partner up with a woman now!" came Paula barreling in with several forms she had with her.

every single one of us, me included surprisingly eyed Paula with half lidded eyes as it was to be expected for the leader of this party not only to be absolutely late but speaking nonsense as soon as she got here at this hour of the night if It's still night.

"W-what's w-wrong?" Paula stiffened at the atmosphere and walked slowly were everyone was settled at, mainly around me leaving me no possible escape route.

"What do you mean that bitch handled your jewels like that!" screamed Paula in a uproar.

Well, it couldn't be helped, could it? Monica was basically breathing down my neck the moment Olga made the question and so, I had to tell everyone what happened earlier and every time I tried to simplify it Monica would clear her throat and I wasn't allowed to lie basically.

Of course, I'm no masochist that likes the way Matilda handled my boys and the fact that Rainaire just outright paralyzed me will definitely give me nightmares at feeling so damn impotent at not being able to do a thing about it. Matilda was rough but I never felt something was going to happen to them now that I think back on it but looking at the loopy leader looks so outraged on my behalf has me feeling a bit weird because she doesn't look or gives the vibe that she would be someone that cared.

however, despite Paula's outrage the one who really concerned me was Laura as her eyes had lost light in them and was giving Maintenace to her sword while muttering off with her head over and over again in ways that even out resident badass Monica who had given Matilda such a beatdown was beginning to question if we should have told her. Olga on the other hand was the scariest one of them all as she now was not thinking of Matilda much but rather had a demonic face when she heard I had been paralyzed by Rainaire's magic which to be honest I could sort of understand since I really doubt Matilda couldn't have really forced me down on into submission one on one. Fair and square without the aid of the elf would have been an impossibility for her, not that I'd seen her fight or anything after Monica had taken her in by surprise and all that, but I didn't feel anything that I felt when experienced people like Shima or Rhea stared me down you know.

"So that bitch made it possible to grope you like that didn't she? maybe she shouldn't have any eyes fufufufu" Olga was cackling to herself at something but I felt some shivers I'd thought couldn't happen. don't tell me this girl is off her meds or something? I don't think I can handle some psycho.

So for the next hour and a half I spent much of my time explaining but also eating some of the food Laura and Olga had brought us, apparently it wasn't necessary to get any money for it from Paula since some priestess named Lilia had literally paid off the entire restaurant for many guests worth of food in advance so the staff had allowed the duo to bring back food which Monica, Paula and I weren't going to reject no matter who bought it.

Food it's food and you don't waste it! that said I also spent time trying to calm them down since Laura had tried to leave a couple of times to behead both Matilda and Rainaire, but Olga was truly sick since she wanted to subject them to intensive torture first. Monica had all to readily joined the execution team without asking too many questions as she had seen what happened real time and I hadn't been able to do a thing about it to stop it.

Paula though, she was her own thing. don't get me wrong, she was also very angry, but she was the beat up someone to teach them a lesson kind of mad so once she seen the outright demonic looks the other three had developed, she had come to me and tried talking to me and have me stop them outright. she was pale white a trembling like a newborn calf, and I had to agree, I wasn't going to be accessory to both torture and murder in another world just as my first week it's coming to an end.

I did get my first proper culture shock ever today while talking them down though.

"Richard, you must understand that it's absolutely disgusting for a woman to take advantage of a weak male in society. It's absolutely dishonorable and worthy of a communal beating if not lynching"

Olga had sat me down and talked to me like if I was a child which since she was an Elf, maybe I was a child to her but what Laura had said next had really sent me reeling.

"Milord you mustn't allow any woman to take advantage of you or make any physical advances, do you understand? you don't want to be confused with the men that work for the sake of the kingdom in nightly duties sire"

Had I just been lectured on decency by Laura of all people. I get that the men here were sort of weak and all that but we don't get pregnant so what gives? I was growing a little agitated at the way I was being treated. sure, I was in another world, but I had saved their bacon all by my lonesome too you know? and Monica could see something the others hadn't because what she said next would set the tone for the rest of the night.

"Prince, all we are telling you it's common sense because we worry about what other women could end up doing to you fi we aren't around to stop it. Why do you grow agitated? It's almost as if you hadn't ever heard any of this before?" Monica was looking at me like some oddity, the way a kid would look at a classmate who didn't know what the use was of using the pedestrian crossing for, or someone who doesn't no one doesn't speak loudly inside a library. It was as if a sense of confusion was growing in the group and a sense of discomfort.

I could see it on their eyes as their rage they had lit in regard to today's incident had all but taken a back sit and now that Monica had verbalized it to this extent looks of curiosity had begun to replace the awkward stares the group had been sending me since meeting me at the fight with the Lightning Rabbits and the two Giant Boars.

Damn. that's right. I knew I was in another world but that doesn't mean that other couldn't tell I was different from them. my realization proved useless as it had come a little to late because the party leader Paula summarized it thus:

"Now that I think about it isn't Richard kind of abnormal. I mean look at his stature, appearance and his behavior. I've never seen a man so unconcerned at being surrounded by females like he is right now. I mean I've been around ya know fufu. even the most experienced of men I've been, they don't move much, and they prefer to keep their gazes down all the time when they're with someone."

spoke Paula as she reminisced at her memories, but she had lost her lamentable atrocious leadership skills and had gone in full in and was now walking around me and analyzing me like one assess a new unseen specimen. she was making reports on what she knew on the spot lecturing the others as she spoke poking at different inconsistencies she had noticed about me.

"They also won't accept being in a room alone if they don't see someone who can protect them within sight which is why those Gorillaz back that the Magic Mast would make no compromises in completely leaving the paying costumers alone with the men" Paula continued now sure at the fact that she was onto something even more. she had noticed that despite what I had gone through with that duo, I was percectly comfortable with being surrounded by women, by all accounts based on this world common sense I should be a sloppy trembling mess right now and the way I was now was all but foreign to them.

Monica was tilting her head but both Olga and Luara were threading in the same direction. "Now that you mention it, isn't Richard's physique a little strange as well? I've never once back in Alfheim saw a male this powerful and built this way before in my life. the elders and the other Elves would have gone crazy trying to buy him for a high-quality breeding ritual " Said Olga remarking the difference she had spotted back at her homeland which earned her some cold looks but she then quickly added "We don't harm the men of course and they live with dignity and respect, it's just that a ritual is needed so that our kids won't be born with low magic you know" Olga continued clarifying her point stating what went on with the men that undergo the ritual. they do so that the quality of magic of their offspring doesn't suffer which is something that I knew beforehand due to Pam's intervention which I didn't even know if this was beneficial knowledge, but I think had heard something about that, Pam hadn't gone into detail, but she had said that the elves were a crafty bunch and what I read here and there confirm it with Olga's testimony.

"That's true, the prince it's very stubborn in ways most of the nobility aren't. I'm sure he's very strong but sometimes it looks like he doesn't take women very serious as if they were never a concern for him at all when I was guiding him here through the plaza a few hours ago." Monica sealed my coffin and now they all had gone silent, and Olga spoke up.

"Richard, we intend to travel with you, and it isn't that we want to pry but it would be beneficial if we knew just enough about you so that we can better function as a party" Olga spoke concisely but apologetically since she was well aware that it had been that had saved their party from certain death, that would be a insurmountable debt if I hadn't gotten caught like fly by that bunch earlier. at any rate if I wanted to learn enough to circumvent magic and knowledge of this world then this party was good for me.

they seem honest enough and if anyone asked, they were protecting me which would make my research on my way back to my family that much sooner. Alison sorry for that but your brother might take a while, so perhaps wait and I'll bring over some souvenirs I thought thinking back at my dumb older sister. we squabbled sure, but we were twins and being far away from her for so long had made me ill in weird ways. In fact, I had been struggling to sleep the last couple of nights thinking and wondering if she is alright.

God Damn it!. "Well fine I'll tell you everything, but you mustn't tell another soul got it?" I prefaced before laying all the facts I knew in regards to this strange world and mine, details I hadn't really shared with the village just came flowing out here like they weren't important, at times I did wonder if it was a spell but given the fascination that had broken out in the faces of my new party that outcome wasn't likely at all which did give me some peace of mind.

"What do you mean when you say men are the dominant sex?" exclaimed Paula with a befuddled face, she wasn't alone as Olga had a thoughtful face and Laura was just listening with her eyes close as if trying to picture what I was saying. Monica wasn't having it though, she looked as concerned as a parent that catches her kids talking to their imaginary friend. I'm not a liar I thought but I kept going, I wasn't very detailed on the technology because in case things go south, I don't want to be anticipated or something and it could make me rich as well so I'm not giving this bunch ideas to steal just in case I can't leave this place I thought with a sense of dread.

We proceeded to talk almost the entire night about differences and collapsed onto our beds until four in the morning.

-Stella's Room

"So, there was a woman in fancy clothes that approaches you and makes you a sale?" asked Stella incredulously as both Matilda and Rainaire were laying it all thick about their benefactor and facilitator to their marriage to Harlowe who despite having calmed down was still anxious at being wedded to two women he had just met today for the first time.

"That's right lady Stella! Lucrezia is a amazing women surely ordained by the goddess. she's finding women like us who aren't of noble birth husbands' right Matilda?" talked Rainaire excitedly as they were on the room of the proprietress. unlike the other rooms available at the lodge, Stella's room came equipped with a bar and ample space to hold guests.

Stella had gone ahead and ripped them a new one for what they had done to Richard to which the two promised to personally apologize to after they wake up in the morning. Stella had been a little soft on the duo since despite being costumers they had also become drinking buddies that often came to give Stella some company since a lot of people feared her since she was so good at healing and her dark past, people assumed torture was her thing because she could do as much damage as she wanted because she could always undo the damage by herself.

"Do you think that boy Richard was also sold by Lucrezia?" asked Stella pointedly fishing for information in regard to the oddity the boy was in all metrics of common sense, but this was firmly shot down by Matilda.

"No way! Rainaire and I have been saying money for years. Priestess Lilia had always kept us in the loop to the catalog of the stock available for husbands Lady Lucrezia was selling and such as man wouldn't have escaped Lilia's grasp and she would have married him, she likes strong willed men after all."

Spoke Matilda bursting out. to which Stella responded with "For what reason does that dumbass has business transactions with Lucrezia of all people here?". Stella was incensed, there never was a time in which the Priestess of the Goddess Vita was involved in anything that didn't end up in some scam of sorts that ended with involving the church in general or the nobility itself to solve. from those experiences alone Stella had learned not to get involved in what that troublemaker did.

Noticing her bad mood Rainaire changed the subject "That said that boy is pretty incredible. If it hadn't been for my magic, I doubt we would have been able to overpower him."

"I'd say that boy is strange in all sorts of ways. never in my life had I met a male with that much self-confidence and spunk. back there I wasn't holding back enough for civilians to shrug off my killing intent. he was more worried about something else than the will I was emitting, I got to say the kid has quite a pair.

Matilda blushed opening and closing her palm saying "Oh, he has quite a pair alright!" which earned her a smack from both Stella and Rainaire.

"That kid sure is special though. I'll find out what he's hiding no matter what it is!" spoke Stella confidently. she had felt something for the boy the moment she laid eyes on him and the defiant way he stared down two women who had frozen him in place had more than impressed her which is why she hadn't helped him out right away, she thought that Richard would be able to free himself from the "Restrictus" Rainaire had shot at him no problem it had never occurred to her that such a defiant man hadn't made preparations to withstand status magic the same way Monica had which is why the Elf had been unable to stop her in her beatdown of Matilda that ensued.

even disregarding that, Richard had a presence that encompassed all, and she knew right away whether she wanted it or not that this boy was going to get the Kingdom on his tail sooner rather than later. so she waited for the next day, she was in no hurry. she needed them to stay at the inn and befriend the kid, he had the attitude to learn, and Stella loved to teach. it's just that that bunch of good for nothings didn't quite perform up to par and that they were women and Stella was interested in how different Richard was to any man she had ever seen before, another reason was probably after what happened all those years ago.

Stella didn't want Richard to end up committing suicide like the others who can't handle dealing with overexcited women in this world. Stella had also detected unbridle lust from Richard's gaze a couple of times during their way back and that had also intrigued her mind but what was the number one reason was the fact that he had ran for his life the moment he had seen her face, he knows something, and she wanted to know if despite what he says, he was Royalty after all.

"There is no other explanation after all" muttered Stella as Matilda and Rainaire proceeded to get wasted on her Alcohol telling Stella stories of their exploits and their plans for their new married life. Harlowe was now calmer and with a face of resignation at the fact that he would be making kids with the duo from now on, but he also had thoughts about Richard that he didn't understand at the moment.

[author] Hello. I'm back, I'm sorry it took so long to post but I was very busy from school, and I was dealing with Covid related issues that needed my full rest. things are hectic now but please do give my work a rating and share as I want to make it a author. I'll try everything I can to post more often but I can't make any promises. [/author]