As expected, Hecate isn’t bothered by the appearance of other people in the slightest. She regards the women with a calm glance while still resting her head on my shoulder, with her forehead pressed into the crook of my neck. I smile at the group of lovely ladies walking into our chamber and support the sweet spidergirl’s lithe frame by wrapping my arm underneath her tender bottom.
A gentle breath tickles my ear as Hecate sighs delightfully the moment my warm member leaves her chilly embrace from the motion of being pulled up. I already miss that incredible sensation but we’ll have plenty of time to explore our new relationship in the near future. I have a feeling that a certain someone will turn even more clingy now.
Knowing well that no matter her state Hecate is more than capable of manipulating her threads, I slowly descend to the ground as if I’m walking down an invisible set of stairs. Finally reaching a solid surface, my sharp hearing picks up the faintest vibrations from the air as most if not all steel-like strings snap, roll back, or do whatever they do when she dismisses them.
I guess they dissolve after some time or else we would have walked into plenty of them around the mansion already.
Sirgia, Cornelia, Neira, Elea, Ailish, Teffith, Astrea, Meru, Shino, Ellie, and Ria come closer to the bed. It’s honestly hard to believe such a sight. No matter how you look at it, this is pretty much a crowd of women. Women who decided to follow solely me and no one else. I know that I’ve decided not to think too much about things like numbers anymore but something this unusual still gives me a pause.
For a brief moment, I hesitate. What exactly am I doing? Is it truly fine for me to hoard so many incredible women just for myself? It’s not one, two, or a few at this point. Am I perhaps starting to turn into a real bastard who collects girls like figurines?
But, as I stand there with Hecate latched onto my waist, Cornelia stops right in front of me, her beautiful nose almost touching mine. Her smooth palms slide up my cheeks as she gazes deep into my eyes and shows a delicate smirk.
Ah, shit. Figured she could read my mind just from my expression.
Not a second passes before she leans in and pulls me into a loving kiss. Her supple lips brush against mine, affectionately grazing all over my mouth. She doesn’t bring out her tongue, limiting this tender exchange to just fluffy pecks. The faint noise of our light kisses travels through the silent air for a good while.
As we finally part, she opens her previously closed eyes and shows a charming smile. “Do I even need to say anything?”
“No. I got everything. To the finest details.” I chuckle softly and present her with one last peck right on that rosy cheek of hers.
“Good. Because you are not allowed to have such thoughts anymore. It’s no longer about just you. You have plenty of people to think about. And they expect to be thought about and cared for,” she replies.
“True.” I grin at her, pulling Cornelia into me with my free arm. “Thank you.”
“Oh, stop it!” She swats me away. “You’ll get my clothes dirty with your thing.”
A chuckle arrives from our side and Elea shows up next to me, hiding her smile behind her hand. “You would like that, wouldn’t you?”
Cornelia’s face grows redder as she escapes my grasp, patting out her shirt while avoiding our gazes. I lock eyes with the enticing Dark Elf beauty and Elea winks at me slyly, making me shake my head.
“Alright. Let’s get seated up.” I gesture at everyone and climb onto the mattress.
“I brought towels,” Elise adds quietly and blushes when I glance at her. “Thought they could be of use…”
I smirk at the somewhat timid receptionist and continue onto the bed. As I plop down with Hecate in my lap, Elise brings the small basin with a few towels to us and I begin to clean the silent spidergirl up after our earlier encounter. Something wet touches my back when everyone settles down around us and I take a peek over my shoulder to find a smiling face of Shino there with another cloth in her dainty hands. She giggles at me mischievously and proceeds to take care of me in the meanwhile.
“I have to say, I was quite surprised to see Hecate already knowing this much about verbal communication,” I begin to break the comfortable silence. “Were you being that hard on her or is she just that good of a student?”
“I can assure you that we haven’t been pushing the impossible onto her,” Ria answers first with a motherly smile, making Cornelia nod confidently. “We already have issues with one person who falls asleep from exhausting herself past her physical limits.”
My sweet little Dwarf lover blushes heavily and I smirk at Sirgia. This damned troublemaker. It’s pointless to argue with her, though. If even they can’t do anything about it, I can only reward my devoted smith and artificer as much as I’m able to. Therefore, I shower her dark brown hair with a myriad of affectionate pats and scratches.
“Honestly, we had a bit low expectations at first, and we need to apologise for that, to both of you, but Hecate shattered those in a flash and proved just how smart and intelligent she actually is,” Cornelia admits with a wry smile. “She is outstanding. You can rarely find someone with this much motivation and focus even amongst the top scholar trainees. Though, we have an inkling as to why she is like this.”
She smirks at me openly, watching Hecate’s soft sighs as I wipe the spidergirl’s chest and tummy with the pleasant towel. I roll my eyes at the teasing magician. Well, she isn’t exactly wrong. I’m not unaware of Hecate’s tendency to please me in all possible ways.
“Our new sister has also been taking her task assigned by you before your departure very seriously,” Teffith adds.
Yeah. Again, no surprise there. I mostly wanted to keep her mind occupied by having her focus on something that isn’t me, but she’s like a somewhat harmless yandere, going to the extreme with all her actions connected to her chosen partner, which obviously is me in this scenario.
“And what exactly does this entail?” I ask, curious about the details of our silent vigilante.
“Before the establishment of the new slavery laws and regulations, I had her observe the brothels we’ve taken under our wings in secret and resolve any potential issues they might have,” Ailish explains. “You know, the typical, one thug trying to attack a girl during the day, another trying to kidnap someone after being unable to live without the woman, someone getting rough, aggressive, shady, and so on. I quickly learned that our little spider has a talent for making people disappear without a trace. Everything melts. Including her threads.”
A cold shiver runs down my spine as I imagine the scene. Some not-so-poor bastard getting cocooned in her solid threads and then injected with something that turns him into a puddle. The only lacking part is Hecate drinking him up to finish the job. Don’t ask me why but I have a feeling that’s the only thing she doesn’t do.
“And after the new legislation?” I raise a brow at the Succubus.
“Not much difference but on a bigger scale. As you can imagine, not everyone was and is happy about the change. Demi-humans have to be treated equally to Humans now, pretty much. You can say that Hecate works as an invisible law enforcement officer, making sure that no one breaks the new rules and coming to the rescue of those being abused in the open and not-so-open streets.”
So, our own little Batgirl, pretty much. Save for the part about operating mostly at night.
“Hecate-san is incredible,” Shino joins in, scrubbing my thigh now with a gentle flush on her pretty face. “I accompanied her a few times and she is like the perfect assassin. Even I was having a hard time being so fast and versatile with my shadows. Her senses are just so amazing. I can see why you chose her as your hidden bodyguard, Sensei.”
“Yeah.” I chuckle at my lovely samurai girl, not mentioning the fact that it was Hecate who chose me for her boss instead and I didn’t have much say in that. “Speaking of which, should we take a peek at Hecate’s status? I’m going to show you mine in a moment anyway, just as I promised.”
“I don’t think there’s a lot that has changed for her besides the addition of your stats, Alpha,” Astrea answers with a quiet purr, rubbing her cheek into my shoulder. “But it’s a good idea nevertheless. Something might be different now that you two mated after so long.”
I play with her fluffy ear for a moment, raising the volume of her purrs to the amusement of everyone gathered on the bed, and summon Hecate’s windows with just a thought. This is practically second nature to me at this point. No need to navigate through all the paths.
“Let’s start with the bond,” I say and bring the smaller rectangle forth.
| 【PARTNERS】 | ||
| Hecate - Arachne (Unique Variant) | ||
| Bond Level: 5/5 | Bond Type: Unwavering Loyalty (Mates) | »STATUS DETAILS« |
“Well, I’m fairly sure she’s been at the fourth level previously, and the type revolved around pure subservience. It looks like a thing or two changed while I was away.” I glance at my wives and a few of the women escape my gaze.
I knew it.
Language and communication skills aren’t the only things these vixens have been teaching this pure girl.
Oh well. Not like I can do much about it. Hecate insisted that it was what she wanted herself and I didn’t feel any confusion from her at that moment. They at least taught her properly about some of the feelings she might have been experiencing on the inside.
“We’ll talk about this later.” I squint at Elea, Ailish, and Shino especially. “Status board now.”
| 【INFORMATION】 | |||
| Name: Hecate Age: 29 Race: Arachne Variant: Azure Widow Evolution Stage: Homo Araneae (Unique) Advancement Stage: 2/∞ | |||
| 【STATS】 +100% (71h) | |||
| Strength: 90 (+262) | Agility: 110 (+260) | Constitution: 77 (+251) | Intelligence: 89 (+218) |
| Charisma: 35 (+236) | |||
| 【SKILLS】 | |||
| Actives | Passives | ||
| »Poison Fang | »Perfect Darkvision |
“So, you worked so hard you advanced in the meanwhile, huh?” I ruffle through Hecate’s hair. “Looks like your status is properly displaying the buffs from our bond too. If you already are so deadly on the streets, I can only imagine how much more the criminals will fear you now.”
“All thanks to you, Master,” Sirgia whispers quietly with a tiny smile.
I switch my ruffling target to her head, causing the cute Dwarf to giggle. “Maybe. But I’m now curious about the mercenary girls. It’s been a night since we’ve partaken in the initiation. I should pay them a visit and see how they are adapting. It will be good to put them through some more exercises before their first real job so that they grow accustomed to their newly-enhanced bodies.”
“Their training is not finished. And never will fully be. For us, vagrants and mercenaries, it’s important to keep polishing our skills and senses all the time. They will keep practising with us, albeit not as much as during their preparation phase. We have also already arranged a session with the boost they should have received from you in mind. Garrena will make sure they can go all out and find their new limits,” Teffith explains.
“I’m really glad to have you and her on board.” I smile at the Dragonewt lady.
“It’s our pleasure to train your forces, Alastair.” She bows her head while smiling back. “It’s also a whole lot of fun. It reminds me of times when I instructed one or two younglings in our nomadic community as we travelled in a bigger group. It’s even more enjoyable with students who are actually interested in getting better. And Garrena just loves beating others up.”
“Hahahaha, right. That she does.” I shake my head, remembering our first meeting and how excited she got about the chance to spar with me and the others in the future. “Naturally, I’m grateful to all of you and whoever else might be involved in this project. It’s not a small thing. I still can’t believe you’ve aced the submission exam so easily and we are only headquarters short of matching all those professional mercenary companies.”
“Correction. We are short of being a step ahead.” Cornelia smirks, waving her slender finger at me. “Only the big ones have their own base of operations. Most operate from within the guild. We are going to take the capital by storm. Sirgia and I are already on it. Just you wait until we get our hands on all the permits and papers linked to our new estate.”
“I’m looking very forward to it, then.” I nod at the lovely duo.
They might be often seen competing with each other in front of me, acting somewhat snappy and teasing, but when it comes to things for my own benefit, there is no greater pair of creative minds in this establishment. Cornelia has the power of magical research and the government on her side while Sirgia matches that with her knowledge about construction, artefacts, engineering, and all those fields Dwarves are pros at. Whatever they come up with will definitely be great.
“As for the girls, Master, you can visit them in the section to the left of my forge,” Sirgia informs me. “We turned it into a temporary garrison until they can move into the new building. Though, they have nothing against staying under the brothel. In the end, it’s close to you.”
“I see. I will. I would still like them to be stationed in our company’s base but they are obviously free to come here anytime, be it just to hang out, take a dip in our amazing baths, or to meet with me. We need to start saving rooms and space, as much as I would love for them to have their own chambers here just like the rest of the girls.” I rub my chin while thinking.
“My plans for the underground connector are almost ready, Master. After you made your final pick yesterday, I started making checks through the drafts I had prepared ahead of time. When Lianne gives us the permission, I shall start the construction,” my smart Dwarf adds.
“Perfect. I love your resourcefulness, even though it majorly comes from working way too much.” I grin at her. “Alright. Time to see my changes. Are we done here, Shino?”
“Yes, Sensei!” My angelic samurai girlfriend pokes her face past my shoulder and places a peck on my cheek as I catch her dainty hands escaping from between my legs. “I took care of every inch of your skin.”
I squint at her playfully and watch how her cute face grows redder and redder while she tries to hold my gaze. She might have been taking more thorough care of specific parts of my skin, this little imp. Chuckling at her embarrassed blush, I steal a peck from her delicious lips and turn forward again, picking Hecate up and seating her next to me as everyone else huddles up even closer.
“Here we go,” I announce, bringing forth my own status.
| 【INFORMATION】 | |||
| Name: Alastair Carter Race: Primordial Age: 28 Job: Guildmaster [▼] Class: Sexmancer Tier: 6 Titles: Otherworlder, Demigod of Lust, True Harem Lord, The One Who Controls Life | |||
| 【STATS】 | |||
| Strength: 66 (+570) | Agility: 66 (+576) | Constitution: 89 (+540) | Intelligence: 83 (+481) |
| Charisma: 95 (+490) | |||
| 【SKILLS】 | |||
| Common Abilities | Class-Specific Abilities | ||
| Actives | Passives | Actives | Passives |
| »Livelihood Magic Lv. 15 | »Linguist Lv. MAX | »Love Contract | »Lover’s Intuition |
“No matter how many times I see it, your numbers always make me sweat just from looking at them.” Cornelia chuckles awkwardly. “Late, but congratulations on reaching the sixth Tier. And you switched your Job?”
“I did. I made a habit of checking them regularly and noticed this one recently. I bet it came up after your girls had us registered as a proper mercenary company. It provides similar buffs to Slave Master or Slave Trader but focuses on subordinates instead. They will need my support more than you guys, at least for a little while, and it sounds way better too,” I explain.
“Sensei, what are those?” Shino points at the lower part of my status window. “You got a lot of new skills I haven’t seen yet.”
I follow her finger and move to the abilities. We all know that my stats change statically so there’s not much to see there anyway. The only variables are the brackets. And they keep gradually rising the more Partners I have. Additionally, I have taken a look at them during my trip back home so they aren’t that much of a surprise.
Which can’t be said about the abilities.
Lumina told me in the past that I shouldn’t expect too much at the higher Tiers as many skills are conditional and won’t show up immediately after advancing, needing the owner to fulfil additional conditions, so I was pretty sure I would get one or maybe two new skills. But, looking at the bottom end of my status, I can clearly see five new things in total.
And they don’t exactly sound too normal.
“Vessel of the Goddess?” Ria ponders quietly. “That must have appeared after the Goddess descended upon him, right? At least that’s how it sounded from Cornelia’s story.”
“Yeah.” My beautiful magician nods. “She was forced to inhabit Al’s body to fight off her evil sister. It must have become a permanent thing.”
“That does check out with what she said.” I scratch my head. “But I have no idea what the Divine Spark is. Nevertheless, let’s go one by one. The Vessel first.”
I tap the entry to see if anything comes up.
| 『Vessel of the Goddess』 You have been designated as the vessel of Goddess Lumina and are now capable of storing her divinity inside your body. The divine energy strengthens you passively and its effects rise with the amount you store. After a certain threshold is passed, you are able to become the [Avatar of the Goddess]. [Avatar of the Goddess] allows you to temporarily host the soul of the assigned goddess inside your body, relinquishing its control to the descending entity. The level of manifested power depends on your proficiency in handling divine energy and the capability to withstand its spiritual radiation. Attempting to surpass those limits has a high chance of extinguishing your existence. |
“That sounds… scary…” Elise shudders a little. “Although very unbelievable too…”
“If I had not witnessed Alastair becoming an avatar with my own two eyes, I would also have a hard time believing or even trying to imagine this,” Meru comments. “It’s not something mortals such as us have a chance to witness in centuries if not thousands of years.”
“And it’s not something that will happen often, if ever again,” I interject. “Lumina can’t interfere much in the matters of the world and the previous time was a special case. Her sister crossed the line again and she was able to confront her. I won’t be able to call on Lumina’s power whenever I wish to beat up a few thugs. I don’t think I will be able to make use of this even in front of something that threatens the balance of the world until the moment it truly does since she doesn’t want to risk anything anymore by taking direct action first.”
“That’s understandable.” Elea joins her hands in a fashion resembling a prayer. “We should not blame the Goddess for not breaking the balance of the world to take preemptive actions against the forces of the darkness. In the end, it would make her no different than them and could lead to serious consequences for her and all of us.”
“How do you know that?” Ailish cocks a brow at the religious Dark Elf.
“I just know. It’s part of my identity as a Priestess. And I can feel things even better after becoming Alastair’s wife. My connection to the Goddess only grew when we became one. I even had a chance to speak with her, even if briefly as my soul isn’t strong enough to withstand the divinity for long, and I will never be able to express my gratitude for such an unbelievable opportunity.”
“I always thought you were deliberately hiding her from us after learning that you two can meet in your Soul Realm.” Cornelia smirks at me impishly.
“You know that’s not it.” My lewd Succubus chuckles playfully. “Even my soul can barely hold itself back from exploding when near the Goddess. My entire existence literally vibrates with power like I have dozens of those buzzing toys up my ass and turned on to the strongest setting. I don’t think there’s anyone else than Alastair who can handle interacting with her directly, and he is getting better at it. He didn’t immediately flail in agony after she kissed him on the cheek this time.”
The older of my women in terms of seniority grin at me while the newer individuals look my way with pure shock and amazement. I guess not many receive a peck from the Goddess and live to tell the tale. Or even receive a chance to try.
“Enough of that.” I wave a hand at them before it becomes too much. “We should continue. There are plenty of important things to take care of. Let’s check the Divine Spark.”
| 『Divine Spark』 The first stage of your divinity has been unlocked. Your body now hosts a Divine Spark, the source of your divine powers as the Demigod of Lust. You can slowly accumulate your divine energy inside your body and strengthen yourself with it. Your divinity can grow from slaying the forces created by other divine beings, gathering worldly energies and converting them into divine power, receiving prayers from your followers, and spreading your influence to other people. After accumulating enough divinity, your Divine Spark may evolve into the next stage. |
“Uhhh…” I stare at the floating text with a blank expression and mouth hanging open, trying to process what I’ve just read.
“Did he… become a god?” Elise asks in semi-awe, semi-disbelief.
“It does mention followers…” Sirgia whispers quietly.
“Sensei a god…” Shino’s eyes literally sparkle with excitement as she looks up at me.
I can only smile wryly. Things are starting to get really crazy. I always had to be careful with Elea and the others not to suddenly start a cult with me on the top, but now, this is no longer just fun and games. They really can do it.
“We are not making a religion out of it,” I hastily shoot them down, not risking anyone saying a word about it before me.
“Awwww…” Shino whimpers sadly. “I already had a few nice ideas for uniforms and robes…”
A few of the girls giggle and I glare at them. I do not need people of this world to worship me. Or worse, become some sex-crazed lunatics holding nationwide orgies in my name. Let’s just leave the divine territory to Lumina and her sister. Mainly to Lumina.
“Are you going to check your active skills now?” Cornelia asks, peering at the three other entries. “They sound kind of… connected to this.”
I can tell just by looking at their names. And I really do not want to dig myself even deeper into this hole but do I have a choice? It doesn’t matter if I read them or not, they are going to be there nevertheless, already making some kind of influence on me. It’s much safer at least knowing what kind of shit I’ve gotten myself into.
Therefore, I pull up the first new active skill.
| 『Divine Form: Avatar』 You are able to consume your divine energy to temporarily assume one of your Divine Forms, the Avatar of Lust. All your innate powers are strengthened to their mortal limits as you call upon your godhood. You are capable of directly controlling and commanding the spiritual energy around you and harnessing your divine energy to enhance anything you do, save for altering the reality of the world. Duration: 15 minutes |
“What the fuck…” I absentmindedly mutter under my breath.
“Does that mean Alastair can become that glowing figure just like with the Goddess’ help back there but on his own?” Meru tilts her head cutely but I barely register it.
“The cooldown is so severe for such a short duration,” Shino comments. “This must be extremely powerful.”
“Obviously.” Cornelia snorts. “It uses his divine energy, whatever that is. If that’s a basic resource of the gods, there’s no surprise it would be unbelievably strong and most likely scarce.”
“We should test it,” Neira suggests. “I’ve been unable to portray Asterios as a god so far but this changes everything. I need to see it.”
“No chance.” I hastily interrupt them. “No way I’m going full godmode in the middle of the mansion. We have no idea if this is any similar to what has happened to me back during the fight and we can’t risk being careless with stuff like this. This is no joking matter.”
“But, you are going to test it, right, Sensei?” Shino looks at me expectantly.
I sigh heavily. “Of course. I need to know what it does just in case. Even if to avoid ever thinking about using it. But not without having a good, long chat with Lumina about all of this.”
~I’ll await your visit patiently. Come and see me whenever you have a moment.~ A pleasant voice echoes in my head, quite a familiar one at that.
I flinch, looking around. “Lumina?”
A chuckle follows, confirming my guess even further.
“You weren’t so keen on contacting me directly in the past. What changed?” I ask while the girls stare at me curiously.
~You are now my vessel. We are connected much better than before. You can think of it as you being my Partner from the perspective of your Class, or something like that. It won’t be a problem for us to communicate this way anymore.~
“Great.” I rub my temples with a quiet groan. “I’ll meet you soon. And I’ll need answers. Lots of them.”
~And you shall get them. As many as I can provide,~ she replies. ~Also, you can speak to me in your mind.~
“I know. I’m doing this so that everyone knows I’m talking to you and not just ignoring them pointedly,” I say and smile wryly at the ladies.
~As kind as always. Well, then. I’ll leave you to continue examining your new abilities in peace. I think you’ve just been getting to the most interesting ones.~
My gaze falls upon the last two entries. I have a really bad feeling about them.
“Okay…” I glance around at everyone. “So, I can now speak with the Goddess without having to disappear into my Soul Realm…”
“We figured.” Ailish nods with a smirk. “Did she tell you something about this skill?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m sure it’s impossible to sum it up in a few short sentences. I’ll get the details later. She suggested that we focus on finishing the list first.”
“Well. What are we waiting for, then?” Teffith asks, sharing the eager anticipation with almost everyone else.
I bring up the second to last entry.
| 『Appoint Apostle』 As a full-fledged demigod in possession of a Divine Spark, you can now assign mortals as your Apostles. Appointed Apostles will share a great deal of your strength and will be able to call upon your divine power when in need. They will also be capable of gathering divinity with the same means as their patron, transferring it to their god through a sacred ritual. Additionally, Apostles have the right to appoint Devotees in the name of their patron. Current limit of Apostles: 1 |
Since this ability is deeply connected to another one, I quickly opened another window with the description of the last skill to compare them side by side.
| 『Appoint Devotee』 As a full-fledged demigod in possession of a Divine Spark, you can now accept mortals as your Devotees. Accepted Devotees will share a faint divine connection with you, enjoying lesser benefits than Apostles. They will also be capable of gathering divinity in a greater amount than normal followers by praying to you and spreading your influence to other people, transferring it to their god through meditative prayer or a sacred ritual. Current limit of Devotees: 25 |
Silence fills the room for a good moment as my wives and mates read through all the text and absorb the offered information. I say nothing either. It’s starting to become really, really too much.
“This is incredible…” Ailish whispers. “You are just like the Allmother or Allfather… Or even greater…”
“So epic…” Shino shivers excitedly behind me.
“This is perfect,” Teffith comments. “The mercenaries can be your Devotees. It will make them even stronger and they can easily spread your influence across the realm. It’s a win-win situation. There is no way they would decline such an honour.”
“Let’s maybe not get ahead of ourselves—”
I try to regain control of the situation before it gets out of hand but Sirgia interrupts me. “As you said, Master, we should test your abilities out. And not making use of something like this wouldn’t be smart. You can grow stronger with this. It will make you safer against the forces of the evil goddess. It will make us safer.”
She looks me deep into the eyes and I hold her calm gaze for a longer moment. Sirgia is definitely right. And I want nothing more than to make all of them safer. But this is also extremely scary. I did swear to change the world but this was meant to be done with sex and brothels, not starting a religion and converting people onto the right path. There are just so many things that can go wrong there.
At the same time, there are so many things that can go right. We could spread the love for all the races much easier like this if we made sure that no one has the chance to twist the teachings to their own benefit. Maybe even unite everyone in front of the looming calamity. But, that’s a huge if. On a scale of the whole world, not just a single city or nation.
I sigh heavily once more. “I guess…”
Sirgia shows a tiny smile and pulls herself up with her arms around my neck to leave a loving peck on my lips. We nuzzle our cheeks together for a second or two and I help her sit back down in my lap this time, hugging her dearly to my chest.
“So… Who are you going to appoint as your First Apostle?” Cornelia asks with a curiously raised brow.
Everyone looks at me in a flash, all the faces turning my way at the same time. I roam my gaze over all of them while meeting their eyes, full of various different emotions, ranging from expectant, through hesitant, to flat-out scared and panicked.
Until I stop at one person.
Elea’s eyes widen to the brim as everyone turns to her. There’s honestly no better person for such a role than someone with years of experience, no matter what I said about our resident Princess and her slight fanaticism in the past.
“Well…” I start.
The Dark Elf beauty gasps loudly and her hands fly to cover her mouth and nose. Her long lashes begin fluttering quickly and traces of tears start gathering in the corners of her eyes, one small drop already racing down her enchanting skin.
“You aren’t…” Elea’s muffled voice escapes through her obstructed lips as she crawls backwards on her knees and steps off the bed.
I hastily follow after her and sit on the edge. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle or offend you. I know you are loyal to the Goddess even if you are no longer serving as the Princess. If you don’t want to—”
“No! No, no, no, no!” She drops to her knees and grabs my palms, resting her forehead against them. “It’s an unbelievable honour! But I’m unworthy! I once abandoned my duty! I sinned! I’m no longer of pure faith and devotion! Someone like me can’t taint your divine name!”
“Elea!” I shout at her to break through the stream of self-depreciation, succeeding at making her flinch and look up with a tearful face. “There is no one else who would make me happier being my Apostle. I personally know the extent of your devotion. I don’t care about the past. This is about the future. Will you help me make it a good one? Together?”
Her lower lip trembles a few times before the dam breaks again, with tripled ferocity. I somehow pry one of my hands out of Elea’s death grip and gently caress her mesmerising, dark violet hair, letting her cry her heart out as much as she needs to. I can tell that those are tears of joy and happiness rather than sadness or despair.
After she finally calms down, wiping her face off a little bit, she looks up at me with a determined gaze, still on her knees down on the floor.
“Your wish is my command, My Lord.” She kisses the back of my hand with utter reverence.
Great.
Cult it is.
Saileri
So, it begins.
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As expected, Hecate isn’t bothered by the appearance of other people in the slightest. She regards the women with a calm glance while still resting her head on my shoulder, with her forehead pressed into the crook of my neck. I smile at the group of lovely ladies walking into our chamber and support the sweet spidergirl’s lithe frame by wrapping my arm underneath her tender bottom.
A gentle breath tickles my ear as Hecate sighs delightfully the moment my warm member leaves her chilly embrace from the motion of being pulled up. I already miss that incredible sensation but we’ll have plenty of time to explore our new relationship in the near future. I have a feeling that a certain someone will turn even more clingy now.
Knowing well that no matter her state Hecate is more than capable of manipulating her threads, I slowly descend to the ground as if I’m walking down an invisible set of stairs. Finally reaching a solid surface, my sharp hearing picks up the faintest vibrations from the air as most if not all steel-like strings snap, roll back, or do whatever they do when she dismisses them.
I guess they dissolve after some time or else we would have walked into plenty of them around the mansion already.
Sirgia, Cornelia, Neira, Elea, Ailish, Teffith, Astrea, Meru, Shino, Ellie, and Ria come closer to the bed. It’s honestly hard to believe such a sight. No matter how you look at it, this is pretty much a crowd of women. Women who decided to follow solely me and no one else. I know that I’ve decided not to think too much about things like numbers anymore but something this unusual still gives me a pause.
For a brief moment, I hesitate. What exactly am I doing? Is it truly fine for me to hoard so many incredible women just for myself? It’s not one, two, or a few at this point. Am I perhaps starting to turn into a real bastard who collects girls like figurines?
But, as I stand there with Hecate latched onto my waist, Cornelia stops right in front of me, her beautiful nose almost touching mine. Her smooth palms slide up my cheeks as she gazes deep into my eyes and shows a delicate smirk.
Ah, shit. Figured she could read my mind just from my expression.
Not a second passes before she leans in and pulls me into a loving kiss. Her supple lips brush against mine, affectionately grazing all over my mouth. She doesn’t bring out her tongue, limiting this tender exchange to just fluffy pecks. The faint noise of our light kisses travels through the silent air for a good while.
As we finally part, she opens her previously closed eyes and shows a charming smile. “Do I even need to say anything?”
“No. I got everything. To the finest details.” I chuckle softly and present her with one last peck right on that rosy cheek of hers.
“Good. Because you are not allowed to have such thoughts anymore. It’s no longer about just you. You have plenty of people to think about. And they expect to be thought about and cared for,” she replies.
“True.” I grin at her, pulling Cornelia into me with my free arm. “Thank you.”
“Oh, stop it!” She swats me away. “You’ll get my clothes dirty with your thing.”
A chuckle arrives from our side and Elea shows up next to me, hiding her smile behind her hand. “You would like that, wouldn’t you?”
Cornelia’s face grows redder as she escapes my grasp, patting out her shirt while avoiding our gazes. I lock eyes with the enticing Dark Elf beauty and Elea winks at me slyly, making me shake my head.
“Alright. Let’s get seated up.” I gesture at everyone and climb onto the mattress.
“I brought towels,” Elise adds quietly and blushes when I glance at her. “Thought they could be of use…”
I smirk at the somewhat timid receptionist and continue onto the bed. As I plop down with Hecate in my lap, Elise brings the small basin with a few towels to us and I begin to clean the silent spidergirl up after our earlier encounter. Something wet touches my back when everyone settles down around us and I take a peek over my shoulder to find a smiling face of Shino there with another cloth in her dainty hands. She giggles at me mischievously and proceeds to take care of me in the meanwhile.
“I have to say, I was quite surprised to see Hecate already knowing this much about verbal communication,” I begin to break the comfortable silence. “Were you being that hard on her or is she just that good of a student?”
“I can assure you that we haven’t been pushing the impossible onto her,” Ria answers first with a motherly smile, making Cornelia nod confidently. “We already have issues with one person who falls asleep from exhausting herself past her physical limits.”
My sweet little Dwarf lover blushes heavily and I smirk at Sirgia. This damned troublemaker. It’s pointless to argue with her, though. If even they can’t do anything about it, I can only reward my devoted smith and artificer as much as I’m able to. Therefore, I shower her dark brown hair with a myriad of affectionate pats and scratches.
“Honestly, we had a bit low expectations at first, and we need to apologise for that, to both of you, but Hecate shattered those in a flash and proved just how smart and intelligent she actually is,” Cornelia admits with a wry smile. “She is outstanding. You can rarely find someone with this much motivation and focus even amongst the top scholar trainees. Though, we have an inkling as to why she is like this.”
She smirks at me openly, watching Hecate’s soft sighs as I wipe the spidergirl’s chest and tummy with the pleasant towel. I roll my eyes at the teasing magician. Well, she isn’t exactly wrong. I’m not unaware of Hecate’s tendency to please me in all possible ways.
“Our new sister has also been taking her task assigned by you before your departure very seriously,” Teffith adds.
Yeah. Again, no surprise there. I mostly wanted to keep her mind occupied by having her focus on something that isn’t me, but she’s like a somewhat harmless yandere, going to the extreme with all her actions connected to her chosen partner, which obviously is me in this scenario.
“And what exactly does this entail?” I ask, curious about the details of our silent vigilante.
“Before the establishment of the new slavery laws and regulations, I had her observe the brothels we’ve taken under our wings in secret and resolve any potential issues they might have,” Ailish explains. “You know, the typical, one thug trying to attack a girl during the day, another trying to kidnap someone after being unable to live without the woman, someone getting rough, aggressive, shady, and so on. I quickly learned that our little spider has a talent for making people disappear without a trace. Everything melts. Including her threads.”
A cold shiver runs down my spine as I imagine the scene. Some not-so-poor bastard getting cocooned in her solid threads and then injected with something that turns him into a puddle. The only lacking part is Hecate drinking him up to finish the job. Don’t ask me why but I have a feeling that’s the only thing she doesn’t do.
“And after the new legislation?” I raise a brow at the Succubus.
“Not much difference but on a bigger scale. As you can imagine, not everyone was and is happy about the change. Demi-humans have to be treated equally to Humans now, pretty much. You can say that Hecate works as an invisible law enforcement officer, making sure that no one breaks the new rules and coming to the rescue of those being abused in the open and not-so-open streets.”
So, our own little Batgirl, pretty much. Save for the part about operating mostly at night.
“Hecate-san is incredible,” Shino joins in, scrubbing my thigh now with a gentle flush on her pretty face. “I accompanied her a few times and she is like the perfect assassin. Even I was having a hard time being so fast and versatile with my shadows. Her senses are just so amazing. I can see why you chose her as your hidden bodyguard, Sensei.”
“Yeah.” I chuckle at my lovely samurai girl, not mentioning the fact that it was Hecate who chose me for her boss instead and I didn’t have much say in that. “Speaking of which, should we take a peek at Hecate’s status? I’m going to show you mine in a moment anyway, just as I promised.”
“I don’t think there’s a lot that has changed for her besides the addition of your stats, Alpha,” Astrea answers with a quiet purr, rubbing her cheek into my shoulder. “But it’s a good idea nevertheless. Something might be different now that you two mated after so long.”
I play with her fluffy ear for a moment, raising the volume of her purrs to the amusement of everyone gathered on the bed, and summon Hecate’s windows with just a thought. This is practically second nature to me at this point. No need to navigate through all the paths.
“Let’s start with the bond,” I say and bring the smaller rectangle forth.
| 【PARTNERS】 | ||
| Hecate - Arachne (Unique Variant) | ||
| Bond Level: 5/5 | Bond Type: Unwavering Loyalty (Mates) | »STATUS DETAILS« |
“Well, I’m fairly sure she’s been at the fourth level previously, and the type revolved around pure subservience. It looks like a thing or two changed while I was away.” I glance at my wives and a few of the women escape my gaze.
I knew it.
Language and communication skills aren’t the only things these vixens have been teaching this pure girl.
Oh well. Not like I can do much about it. Hecate insisted that it was what she wanted herself and I didn’t feel any confusion from her at that moment. They at least taught her properly about some of the feelings she might have been experiencing on the inside.
“We’ll talk about this later.” I squint at Elea, Ailish, and Shino especially. “Status board now.”
| 【INFORMATION】 | |||
| Name: Hecate Age: 29 Race: Arachne Variant: Azure Widow Evolution Stage: Homo Araneae (Unique) Advancement Stage: 2/∞ | |||
| 【STATS】 +100% (71h) | |||
| Strength: 90 (+262) | Agility: 110 (+260) | Constitution: 77 (+251) | Intelligence: 89 (+218) |
| Charisma: 35 (+236) | |||
| 【SKILLS】 | |||
| Actives | Passives | ||
| »Poison Fang | »Perfect Darkvision |
“So, you worked so hard you advanced in the meanwhile, huh?” I ruffle through Hecate’s hair. “Looks like your status is properly displaying the buffs from our bond too. If you already are so deadly on the streets, I can only imagine how much more the criminals will fear you now.”
“All thanks to you, Master,” Sirgia whispers quietly with a tiny smile.
I switch my ruffling target to her head, causing the cute Dwarf to giggle. “Maybe. But I’m now curious about the mercenary girls. It’s been a night since we’ve partaken in the initiation. I should pay them a visit and see how they are adapting. It will be good to put them through some more exercises before their first real job so that they grow accustomed to their newly-enhanced bodies.”
“Their training is not finished. And never will fully be. For us, vagrants and mercenaries, it’s important to keep polishing our skills and senses all the time. They will keep practising with us, albeit not as much as during their preparation phase. We have also already arranged a session with the boost they should have received from you in mind. Garrena will make sure they can go all out and find their new limits,” Teffith explains.
“I’m really glad to have you and her on board.” I smile at the Dragonewt lady.
“It’s our pleasure to train your forces, Alastair.” She bows her head while smiling back. “It’s also a whole lot of fun. It reminds me of times when I instructed one or two younglings in our nomadic community as we travelled in a bigger group. It’s even more enjoyable with students who are actually interested in getting better. And Garrena just loves beating others up.”
“Hahahaha, right. That she does.” I shake my head, remembering our first meeting and how excited she got about the chance to spar with me and the others in the future. “Naturally, I’m grateful to all of you and whoever else might be involved in this project. It’s not a small thing. I still can’t believe you’ve aced the submission exam so easily and we are only headquarters short of matching all those professional mercenary companies.”
“Correction. We are short of being a step ahead.” Cornelia smirks, waving her slender finger at me. “Only the big ones have their own base of operations. Most operate from within the guild. We are going to take the capital by storm. Sirgia and I are already on it. Just you wait until we get our hands on all the permits and papers linked to our new estate.”
“I’m looking very forward to it, then.” I nod at the lovely duo.
They might be often seen competing with each other in front of me, acting somewhat snappy and teasing, but when it comes to things for my own benefit, there is no greater pair of creative minds in this establishment. Cornelia has the power of magical research and the government on her side while Sirgia matches that with her knowledge about construction, artefacts, engineering, and all those fields Dwarves are pros at. Whatever they come up with will definitely be great.
“As for the girls, Master, you can visit them in the section to the left of my forge,” Sirgia informs me. “We turned it into a temporary garrison until they can move into the new building. Though, they have nothing against staying under the brothel. In the end, it’s close to you.”
“I see. I will. I would still like them to be stationed in our company’s base but they are obviously free to come here anytime, be it just to hang out, take a dip in our amazing baths, or to meet with me. We need to start saving rooms and space, as much as I would love for them to have their own chambers here just like the rest of the girls.” I rub my chin while thinking.
“My plans for the underground connector are almost ready, Master. After you made your final pick yesterday, I started making checks through the drafts I had prepared ahead of time. When Lianne gives us the permission, I shall start the construction,” my smart Dwarf adds.
“Perfect. I love your resourcefulness, even though it majorly comes from working way too much.” I grin at her. “Alright. Time to see my changes. Are we done here, Shino?”
“Yes, Sensei!” My angelic samurai girlfriend pokes her face past my shoulder and places a peck on my cheek as I catch her dainty hands escaping from between my legs. “I took care of every inch of your skin.”
I squint at her playfully and watch how her cute face grows redder and redder while she tries to hold my gaze. She might have been taking more thorough care of specific parts of my skin, this little imp. Chuckling at her embarrassed blush, I steal a peck from her delicious lips and turn forward again, picking Hecate up and seating her next to me as everyone else huddles up even closer.
“Here we go,” I announce, bringing forth my own status.
| 【INFORMATION】 | |||
| Name: Alastair Carter Race: Primordial Age: 28 Job: Guildmaster [▼] Class: Sexmancer Tier: 6 Titles: Otherworlder, Demigod of Lust, True Harem Lord, The One Who Controls Life | |||
| 【STATS】 | |||
| Strength: 66 (+570) | Agility: 66 (+576) | Constitution: 89 (+540) | Intelligence: 83 (+481) |
| Charisma: 95 (+490) | |||
| 【SKILLS】 | |||
| Common Abilities | Class-Specific Abilities | ||
| Actives | Passives | Actives | Passives |
| »Livelihood Magic Lv. 15 | »Linguist Lv. MAX | »Love Contract | »Lover’s Intuition |
“No matter how many times I see it, your numbers always make me sweat just from looking at them.” Cornelia chuckles awkwardly. “Late, but congratulations on reaching the sixth Tier. And you switched your Job?”
“I did. I made a habit of checking them regularly and noticed this one recently. I bet it came up after your girls had us registered as a proper mercenary company. It provides similar buffs to Slave Master or Slave Trader but focuses on subordinates instead. They will need my support more than you guys, at least for a little while, and it sounds way better too,” I explain.
“Sensei, what are those?” Shino points at the lower part of my status window. “You got a lot of new skills I haven’t seen yet.”
I follow her finger and move to the abilities. We all know that my stats change statically so there’s not much to see there anyway. The only variables are the brackets. And they keep gradually rising the more Partners I have. Additionally, I have taken a look at them during my trip back home so they aren’t that much of a surprise.
Which can’t be said about the abilities.
Lumina told me in the past that I shouldn’t expect too much at the higher Tiers as many skills are conditional and won’t show up immediately after advancing, needing the owner to fulfil additional conditions, so I was pretty sure I would get one or maybe two new skills. But, looking at the bottom end of my status, I can clearly see five new things in total.
And they don’t exactly sound too normal.
“Vessel of the Goddess?” Ria ponders quietly. “That must have appeared after the Goddess descended upon him, right? At least that’s how it sounded from Cornelia’s story.”
“Yeah.” My beautiful magician nods. “She was forced to inhabit Al’s body to fight off her evil sister. It must have become a permanent thing.”
“That does check out with what she said.” I scratch my head. “But I have no idea what the Divine Spark is. Nevertheless, let’s go one by one. The Vessel first.”
I tap the entry to see if anything comes up.
| 『Vessel of the Goddess』 You have been designated as the vessel of Goddess Lumina and are now capable of storing her divinity inside your body. The divine energy strengthens you passively and its effects rise with the amount you store. After a certain threshold is passed, you are able to become the [Avatar of the Goddess]. [Avatar of the Goddess] allows you to temporarily host the soul of the assigned goddess inside your body, relinquishing its control to the descending entity. The level of manifested power depends on your proficiency in handling divine energy and the capability to withstand its spiritual radiation. Attempting to surpass those limits has a high chance of extinguishing your existence. |
“That sounds… scary…” Elise shudders a little. “Although very unbelievable too…”
“If I had not witnessed Alastair becoming an avatar with my own two eyes, I would also have a hard time believing or even trying to imagine this,” Meru comments. “It’s not something mortals such as us have a chance to witness in centuries if not thousands of years.”
“And it’s not something that will happen often, if ever again,” I interject. “Lumina can’t interfere much in the matters of the world and the previous time was a special case. Her sister crossed the line again and she was able to confront her. I won’t be able to call on Lumina’s power whenever I wish to beat up a few thugs. I don’t think I will be able to make use of this even in front of something that threatens the balance of the world until the moment it truly does since she doesn’t want to risk anything anymore by taking direct action first.”
“That’s understandable.” Elea joins her hands in a fashion resembling a prayer. “We should not blame the Goddess for not breaking the balance of the world to take preemptive actions against the forces of the darkness. In the end, it would make her no different than them and could lead to serious consequences for her and all of us.”
“How do you know that?” Ailish cocks a brow at the religious Dark Elf.
“I just know. It’s part of my identity as a Priestess. And I can feel things even better after becoming Alastair’s wife. My connection to the Goddess only grew when we became one. I even had a chance to speak with her, even if briefly as my soul isn’t strong enough to withstand the divinity for long, and I will never be able to express my gratitude for such an unbelievable opportunity.”
“I always thought you were deliberately hiding her from us after learning that you two can meet in your Soul Realm.” Cornelia smirks at me impishly.
“You know that’s not it.” My lewd Succubus chuckles playfully. “Even my soul can barely hold itself back from exploding when near the Goddess. My entire existence literally vibrates with power like I have dozens of those buzzing toys up my ass and turned on to the strongest setting. I don’t think there’s anyone else than Alastair who can handle interacting with her directly, and he is getting better at it. He didn’t immediately flail in agony after she kissed him on the cheek this time.”
The older of my women in terms of seniority grin at me while the newer individuals look my way with pure shock and amazement. I guess not many receive a peck from the Goddess and live to tell the tale. Or even receive a chance to try.
“Enough of that.” I wave a hand at them before it becomes too much. “We should continue. There are plenty of important things to take care of. Let’s check the Divine Spark.”
| 『Divine Spark』 The first stage of your divinity has been unlocked. Your body now hosts a Divine Spark, the source of your divine powers as the Demigod of Lust. You can slowly accumulate your divine energy inside your body and strengthen yourself with it. Your divinity can grow from slaying the forces created by other divine beings, gathering worldly energies and converting them into divine power, receiving prayers from your followers, and spreading your influence to other people. After accumulating enough divinity, your Divine Spark may evolve into the next stage. |
“Uhhh…” I stare at the floating text with a blank expression and mouth hanging open, trying to process what I’ve just read.
“Did he… become a god?” Elise asks in semi-awe, semi-disbelief.
“It does mention followers…” Sirgia whispers quietly.
“Sensei a god…” Shino’s eyes literally sparkle with excitement as she looks up at me.
I can only smile wryly. Things are starting to get really crazy. I always had to be careful with Elea and the others not to suddenly start a cult with me on the top, but now, this is no longer just fun and games. They really can do it.
“We are not making a religion out of it,” I hastily shoot them down, not risking anyone saying a word about it before me.
“Awwww…” Shino whimpers sadly. “I already had a few nice ideas for uniforms and robes…”
A few of the girls giggle and I glare at them. I do not need people of this world to worship me. Or worse, become some sex-crazed lunatics holding nationwide orgies in my name. Let’s just leave the divine territory to Lumina and her sister. Mainly to Lumina.
“Are you going to check your active skills now?” Cornelia asks, peering at the three other entries. “They sound kind of… connected to this.”
I can tell just by looking at their names. And I really do not want to dig myself even deeper into this hole but do I have a choice? It doesn’t matter if I read them or not, they are going to be there nevertheless, already making some kind of influence on me. It’s much safer at least knowing what kind of shit I’ve gotten myself into.
Therefore, I pull up the first new active skill.
| 『Divine Form: Avatar』 You are able to consume your divine energy to temporarily assume one of your Divine Forms, the Avatar of Lust. All your innate powers are strengthened to their mortal limits as you call upon your godhood. You are capable of directly controlling and commanding the spiritual energy around you and harnessing your divine energy to enhance anything you do, save for altering the reality of the world. Duration: 15 minutes |
“What the fuck…” I absentmindedly mutter under my breath.
“Does that mean Alastair can become that glowing figure just like with the Goddess’ help back there but on his own?” Meru tilts her head cutely but I barely register it.
“The cooldown is so severe for such a short duration,” Shino comments. “This must be extremely powerful.”
“Obviously.” Cornelia snorts. “It uses his divine energy, whatever that is. If that’s a basic resource of the gods, there’s no surprise it would be unbelievably strong and most likely scarce.”
“We should test it,” Neira suggests. “I’ve been unable to portray Asterios as a god so far but this changes everything. I need to see it.”
“No chance.” I hastily interrupt them. “No way I’m going full godmode in the middle of the mansion. We have no idea if this is any similar to what has happened to me back during the fight and we can’t risk being careless with stuff like this. This is no joking matter.”
“But, you are going to test it, right, Sensei?” Shino looks at me expectantly.
I sigh heavily. “Of course. I need to know what it does just in case. Even if to avoid ever thinking about using it. But not without having a good, long chat with Lumina about all of this.”
~I’ll await your visit patiently. Come and see me whenever you have a moment.~ A pleasant voice echoes in my head, quite a familiar one at that.
I flinch, looking around. “Lumina?”
A chuckle follows, confirming my guess even further.
“You weren’t so keen on contacting me directly in the past. What changed?” I ask while the girls stare at me curiously.
~You are now my vessel. We are connected much better than before. You can think of it as you being my Partner from the perspective of your Class, or something like that. It won’t be a problem for us to communicate this way anymore.~
“Great.” I rub my temples with a quiet groan. “I’ll meet you soon. And I’ll need answers. Lots of them.”
~And you shall get them. As many as I can provide,~ she replies. ~Also, you can speak to me in your mind.~
“I know. I’m doing this so that everyone knows I’m talking to you and not just ignoring them pointedly,” I say and smile wryly at the ladies.
~As kind as always. Well, then. I’ll leave you to continue examining your new abilities in peace. I think you’ve just been getting to the most interesting ones.~
My gaze falls upon the last two entries. I have a really bad feeling about them.
“Okay…” I glance around at everyone. “So, I can now speak with the Goddess without having to disappear into my Soul Realm…”
“We figured.” Ailish nods with a smirk. “Did she tell you something about this skill?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m sure it’s impossible to sum it up in a few short sentences. I’ll get the details later. She suggested that we focus on finishing the list first.”
“Well. What are we waiting for, then?” Teffith asks, sharing the eager anticipation with almost everyone else.
I bring up the second to last entry.
| 『Appoint Apostle』 As a full-fledged demigod in possession of a Divine Spark, you can now assign mortals as your Apostles. Appointed Apostles will share a great deal of your strength and will be able to call upon your divine power when in need. They will also be capable of gathering divinity with the same means as their patron, transferring it to their god through a sacred ritual. Additionally, Apostles have the right to appoint Devotees in the name of their patron. Current limit of Apostles: 1 |
Since this ability is deeply connected to another one, I quickly opened another window with the description of the last skill to compare them side by side.
| 『Appoint Devotee』 As a full-fledged demigod in possession of a Divine Spark, you can now accept mortals as your Devotees. Accepted Devotees will share a faint divine connection with you, enjoying lesser benefits than Apostles. They will also be capable of gathering divinity in a greater amount than normal followers by praying to you and spreading your influence to other people, transferring it to their god through meditative prayer or a sacred ritual. Current limit of Devotees: 25 |
Silence fills the room for a good moment as my wives and mates read through all the text and absorb the offered information. I say nothing either. It’s starting to become really, really too much.
“This is incredible…” Ailish whispers. “You are just like the Allmother or Allfather… Or even greater…”
“So epic…” Shino shivers excitedly behind me.
“This is perfect,” Teffith comments. “The mercenaries can be your Devotees. It will make them even stronger and they can easily spread your influence across the realm. It’s a win-win situation. There is no way they would decline such an honour.”
“Let’s maybe not get ahead of ourselves—”
I try to regain control of the situation before it gets out of hand but Sirgia interrupts me. “As you said, Master, we should test your abilities out. And not making use of something like this wouldn’t be smart. You can grow stronger with this. It will make you safer against the forces of the evil goddess. It will make us safer.”
She looks me deep into the eyes and I hold her calm gaze for a longer moment. Sirgia is definitely right. And I want nothing more than to make all of them safer. But this is also extremely scary. I did swear to change the world but this was meant to be done with sex and brothels, not starting a religion and converting people onto the right path. There are just so many things that can go wrong there.
At the same time, there are so many things that can go right. We could spread the love for all the races much easier like this if we made sure that no one has the chance to twist the teachings to their own benefit. Maybe even unite everyone in front of the looming calamity. But, that’s a huge if. On a scale of the whole world, not just a single city or nation.
I sigh heavily once more. “I guess…”
Sirgia shows a tiny smile and pulls herself up with her arms around my neck to leave a loving peck on my lips. We nuzzle our cheeks together for a second or two and I help her sit back down in my lap this time, hugging her dearly to my chest.
“So… Who are you going to appoint as your First Apostle?” Cornelia asks with a curiously raised brow.
Everyone looks at me in a flash, all the faces turning my way at the same time. I roam my gaze over all of them while meeting their eyes, full of various different emotions, ranging from expectant, through hesitant, to flat-out scared and panicked.
Until I stop at one person.
Elea’s eyes widen to the brim as everyone turns to her. There’s honestly no better person for such a role than someone with years of experience, no matter what I said about our resident Princess and her slight fanaticism in the past.
“Well…” I start.
The Dark Elf beauty gasps loudly and her hands fly to cover her mouth and nose. Her long lashes begin fluttering quickly and traces of tears start gathering in the corners of her eyes, one small drop already racing down her enchanting skin.
“You aren’t…” Elea’s muffled voice escapes through her obstructed lips as she crawls backwards on her knees and steps off the bed.
I hastily follow after her and sit on the edge. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle or offend you. I know you are loyal to the Goddess even if you are no longer serving as the Princess. If you don’t want to—”
“No! No, no, no, no!” She drops to her knees and grabs my palms, resting her forehead against them. “It’s an unbelievable honour! But I’m unworthy! I once abandoned my duty! I sinned! I’m no longer of pure faith and devotion! Someone like me can’t taint your divine name!”
“Elea!” I shout at her to break through the stream of self-depreciation, succeeding at making her flinch and look up with a tearful face. “There is no one else who would make me happier being my Apostle. I personally know the extent of your devotion. I don’t care about the past. This is about the future. Will you help me make it a good one? Together?”
Her lower lip trembles a few times before the dam breaks again, with tripled ferocity. I somehow pry one of my hands out of Elea’s death grip and gently caress her mesmerising, dark violet hair, letting her cry her heart out as much as she needs to. I can tell that those are tears of joy and happiness rather than sadness or despair.
After she finally calms down, wiping her face off a little bit, she looks up at me with a determined gaze, still on her knees down on the floor.
“Your wish is my command, My Lord.” She kisses the back of my hand with utter reverence.
Great.
Cult it is.
Saileri
So, it begins.
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Enormous gratitude towards our Living Legends of the highest tier - Moheebi3abc, Lynderyn, Muff Diver Dave, and Jeffrey B.! No less respect for our EX-rank Guild Members - Alvzorin, Julian, William H., James M., and Kody B.! And naturally towards all the S-rank Guild Members - Fandley, S. Kigi, Darth Mole, Luiswu, Skyell, Dennis W., William J., Michael S., Tonatsi, Robert H., Fussel, Trenton S., SIDracon, James M., Rando C., Sura, Jampodevral, Julian L., Drew P., D3mon Emper0r, Riley M., and Doug C.! We wouldn't be able to have such epic adventures without your support! This Guild Master is greatly honored by your presence!
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