3,317AN: This fic is continuing to serve as my "fic to learn on", and now we're trying something new. Rather than 30k chapters once every 4-8 weeks, I'm going to break my normal chapters into smaller chunks of 4k-10k and release them more often. I know it's weird to suddenly switch up the pacing, but I wanted to try this, to see how it goes. Also changing up the chapter title schemes a little bit. Additionally, I won't be updating Axton's character sheet with every upload, that will still be every 'chapter'.
Kyu Sugardust woke up in the same way she did every morning; with the sun on her face, in a big and comfortable bed, and wearing only the dried sweat, cum, and other bodily fluids from the nightly orgies she had with Axton and his harem.
She came to consciousness slowly, lethargically sitting up and stretching, her body pleasantly sore. After a yawn, she opened her eyes and looked around. She wasn't surprised to find herself alone on Axton's bed. All of the others were weirdos who did things like 'get up at a healthy time' and 'be productive'. You wouldn't catch her doing something like that.
A translucent pink rectangle that only she could see appeared in her vision, hanging in the air before her. She grimaced as she saw the time. 10:30? That was entirely too early. But it was too late to go back to bed now, she was already up. She stood up and then kept ascending as she used her wings to float instead of walking. Of course, they did this through magic, not through actually flapping. That would be exhausting.
She floated over to the window the sunlight was pouring through and pulled the curtains shut. There. Now, so long as no one opened it, tomorrow morning she'd be able to sleep in until a proper time, like noon.
She floated her way from the bedroom to the attached bath. Ironically enough, it wasn't the one that was most often used. The house had a larger communal bath, and Axton usually used that one. Outside of Kyu, the one attached to the master bedroom was rarely used, since it was rare for Axton to take a bath alone.
But Kyu did every morning, so she had come to think of her as her own private bath. She quickly washed up, wiping away the grime that had settled on her body overnight, and then sank into the hot water that filled the tub, sighing in contentment.
Technically she could save herself some time by getting Axton to use [Clean Body] on her before they went to sleep or when he woke up. Or she could even use it herself since it was a lewd skill. Though it was a pain in the ass to use skills like that. Axton's System wasn't hooked up to her like it was to him, so she had to do it manually, which was annoying.
But at the end of the day, she didn't do either of those for one simple reason. She liked doing it this way. She liked waking up in a big comfy bed, surrounded by the smell of sex and the evidence of it staining her body. She also really liked a nice hot bath. This way she was killing two birds with one stone.
Speaking of things she enjoyed, Kyu reached into Axton's inventory and pulled out a small slice of chocolate cake. She moaned as she took a bite of it, ignoring the crumbs that fell into the water and focusing entirely on the rich and sweet taste filling her mouth.
As a Love Fairy, Kyu didn't need to eat. She got her sustenance entirely from the ambient lust and love generated by Axton and his harem. And Axton produced so much of it that she didn't ever really have to worry about going 'hungry', even with Axton's System taking more energy from her than the ones she normally used. Hell, she had built up enough of a reserve that she could keep going for nearly a year on just it alone.
So no, normal food did nothing for her, in terms of nutrition and energy. But just because she didn't need to eat didn't mean she didn't want to. Like many Love Fairies, Kyu had a sweet tooth, and Axton had known it without her even having to tell him. Ever since she had bullied him into grabbing the [Cooking] skill he had made a habit of making cakes, cookies, and other pastries and putting them in his inventory, just for her.
It was one of the things she loved about him. She knew he mostly did it to train his [Cooking] skill, but whenever he was grinding it, he always made more sweets than he did normal food. They hadn't talked about it, but she knew they were for her since he never offered them to anyone else or ate them himself. He didn't seem even slightly surprised to see them missing either.
Her mind wandered as she finished off the slice of cake and grabbed another one, her thoughts remaining on Axton. In a lot of ways, she had gotten really lucky when she stumbled on him in the Void between worlds. Hooking him up with one of the Gamer Systems was totally worth the angry message she got from her bosses. Sure, it was a risk, but none of the other Systems she had access to could have helped him get out of there and get a body back.
And her bosses had backed down once he started getting results. Not just any results either, but spectacular ones. He wasn't the number one current client, but he was by far the fastest-growing and was closing in on hitting the top ten. And he had done what many in the top ten hadn't- he had gotten a Goddess in his harem.
Granted, Aqua was a pretty easy catch by Divine standards. She was young and dumb and already reliant on Axton in a lot of ways. But a client's first goddess was almost always one of the 'easy' ones, being goddesses that fell in love with them with no effort from the client, or ones related to sex, lust, and love that were easy to get into bed.
Though she also knew that he could get more if he really wanted. The powers his System gave him made him extremely formidable in a lot of ways. [Hypnosis] was a good example. Instead of doing his trick with [Erotic Pierrot], where he manipulated a girl's arousal at key moments to condition a girl into thinking she was into him, he could be much more direct and mind-whammy them into loving him. Or he could just be more aggressive in general, claiming girls as he wanted and relying on his lewd skills to break them down in pleasure until they accepted him.
Kyu wouldn't have minded either method. Both were pretty hot in their own ways, and so long as the girl genuinely enjoyed getting fucked, Kyu didn't really care how Axton got there. She was a Daughter of Venus, and Venus wasn't one of the crueler goddesses, but she wasn't a pure Good one either. Lust was a sin after all, and while Venus balanced it with Love, it left her fairly neutral.
When she learned of his deal with the succubi and asked him why he didn't just seduce them and fuck them into submission, he laughed and called a plan like that short-sighted. He explained that, on paper, the succubi got the better end of the deal. But if you looked at it carefully, Axton came out far ahead.
What he gave cost him merely using his [Mentor] skill, spending half an hour making a couple dozen rings with enchantments, an amount of money that was only a small part of his fortune that he wasn't doing anything with, and a promise of protection.
In return, he had a Countess-ranked demon at 99 Affection who had already basically sworn herself to him, two succubi actively addicted to his dick, a whole other group of succubi who wished they were addicted to his dick, a spy network who could do things without it being connected back to him, and the ability to send empowered succubi to anyone's house and alter their dreams to whatever he wanted.
He did admit that he could have persuaded them with less, but he was also adamant that for every bit he 'overpaid', he received twice the amount of goodwill. If he had used force, building Affection with Ariel would have been difficult, and she wouldn't have sworn herself to him so willingly, and she would generally be less enthusiastic. But since he was generous, he gained far more loyalty from her. And that generosity cost him very little.
Kyu liked that kind of thinking, where everyone benefits and Axton gets laid more. She wouldn't have minded if he was more forceful, she knew what System she had given him. But being nicer about it suited her just fine. She certainly couldn't complain about the results.
The water was starting to cool off by that point so she decided she had spent long enough soaking and got out of the bath. After using an extremely soft and comfortable towel to dry herself off, she snapped her fingers and a set of clothes appeared on her. The trick she used was actually pretty similar to what Axton did with his inventory. Mostly because Axton's inventory was based on Love Fairy pocket space magic.
The clothes she wore were not her normal ones though. Instead, she wore the outfit she used for blending in with the locals. Which, here in this world, meant a cute but simple dress with some shoes to match. She left her hair alone though. Pink hair wasn't all that unusual in this world, something she was thankful for.
As she walked through the halls of the mansion, headed for the door, she ran into Kuro Usagi, the cute bunny girl Axton had summoned a few weeks ago.
"Oh, are you headed out to town again?" Usagi asked cheerfully.
"Yeah, got a couple places I want to stop by," Kyu replied. "You can clean the bedroom now that I'm up."
Usagi sighed. "Alright, I'll get that done. Anything else?"
"You don't sound very enthusiastic," Kyu teased. "Not liking being a maid?"
"No no!" Kuro Usagi denied with raised hands as she shook her head. "I'm not all that used to cleaning, but it's not bad at all. It's just…" she trailed off, averting her eyes.
Kyu wasn't one to miss a sign of worry that obvious. "Just what?" she pushed.
"It's not a big deal," Usagi downplayed. "I just feel a little guilty for having such a normal life. I know Axton said that time was weird between worlds, but we've been living a laid-back life here and all I can think of is the kids back home who don't have anyone to rely on. They're too young to participate in most Games, especially when they don't have any Gifts. And instead of getting back to them, I'm just…being a maid."
Kyu couldn't really relate to her feelings. It sounded like she had escaped a hard life and now had an easy life, and that's all Kyu would have wanted in her position. But she knew that a bunch of people had those pesky things called 'responsibility' and 'duties'.
"Why don't you get Axton to train you?" Kyu suggested. "That way you're not just sitting here doing nothing. You can't speed up getting back, that's dependent on Axton, but you could start preparing for when you do get back."
Not that she would need to. By that time, Axton should be strong enough to take on the whole world. Probably. Kyu wasn't familiar with the 'Little Garden' Usagi was from, so she wasn't sure exactly how dangerous it was. But Axton was a Gamer, and so long as they didn't get themselves killed or take the slow path, a few years was enough for any Gamer to grow insanely powerful.
"I don't know…" Usagi replied, still averting her eyes. "I mean, that does sound nice, but I don't want to impose on him any more than I already have."
"Nah, Axton won't mind," Kyu denied. "He's pretty used to training people, his skills make him pretty good at it." Kyu then suddenly stepped closer to Usagi, a predatory grin on her face. "Though, if you really want to repay him for it, you could offer your body to him."
Kuro Usagi let out a squeak of surprise as one of Kyu's hands clasped her inner thigh just above the knee, going slightly under her skirt, while the other one slid up the other girl's waist, stopping to cup her breasts.
"K-Kyu?!" Usagi stammered in shock.
"Your body is seriously sexy, you know?" Kyu said as she gave the flesh she had grabbed a squeeze. "Axton would do an awful lot in exchange for just a taste of you. Or at least, I would."
"No!" Kuro Usagi protested, pushing Kyu away. Kyu grinned, but let herself be pushed. She knew not to push too far, and her job was already done.
"Awww, why not?" Kyu asked with a fake pout.
Kuro Usagi's face turned red, and amusingly, her blue hair turned pink. "I-I have maintained my chastity for over 200 years!" she declared, clearly flustered. "I'm not going to give it up just like that!"
"That's so tragic," Kyu mourned. "All the more reason to offer your body to him. He'll show you a whole new world of pleasure."
"No means no!" Usagi denied firmly.
Kyu raised her hands in surrender. "Alright alright, it was just an idea."
Kuro Usagi pouted. "Jeez, you and Leti are both so sex-focused."
Kyu perked up in interest at that. "Oh? Leticia's got a dirty side?"
"She's always flirting with Axton," Usagi complained. "It's weird though. I've known her all my life, but this is the first time I've seen her like this."
Kyu shrugged. "You said you were 200 years old? She's probably hella backed up. I think I'd die if I went that long without sex."
"Uuuuuuuu," Kuro moaned as she covered her face. "Leti has been my mentor and best friend all my life, I really don't want to think of her like that. It was bad enough that I caught-" Kuro Usagi's mouth snapped shut before she could finish the sentence. "Nevermind," she quickly deflected.
"Caught?" Kyu guessed, a grin quickly growing on her face. "Caught her doing what? Something naughty?"
"I-Ihavetogo!" Usagi blurted out before running off down the hall faster than Kyu could track. Kyu snickered. She had learned something juicy today. Axton hadn't mentioned any progress with the vampire loli, but it wasn't like Axton gave her a detailed report on all of his conquests.
Kyu's good mood persisted as she left the mansion and walked into town. She had a few places that she liked to visit, and the first one was always an abandoned house near the edge of town. She made sure no one was around before shrinking and floating around the back of the house. There she found a window that wasn't entirely boarded up and flew in.
"Yua!" Kyu called as she flew through the house. The smell of animals washed over her, but she was used to it by this point. "I'm here to visit!"
"Aunty Kyu!" Yua said cheerfully as she came around the corner, entering what had been a living room at some point. But now it was completely taken over by cats. Over two dozen cats lounged on shelves and furniture that covered the walls and floor. A human would have trouble walking around, but the cats and the handful of dogs didn't seem to mind at all.
Kyu grew to her full size so she could catch Yua, who had jumped at her. Kyu laughed as Yua's furry arms latched on to Kyu and she felt Yua purr.
In Kyu's opinion, making Yua his familiar was the second best thing Axton had done. The first was, of course, having lots of sex with tons of different girls. But Yua was precious as well, and Kyu absolutely adored the way she called her 'Aunty'. Even when one of her many Love Fairy sisters had a kid, they almost never brought them back to Sky Garden, so she rarely got to play the part of an aunt.
"How are you doing today, baby girl?" Kyu asked as she hugged Yua tightly.
"I'm doing good!" Yua replied enthusiastically, her tail vibrating happily. "We got a lot of food today!"
"You just let me know if you need anything, alright?" Kyu insisted.
"I will, but I wanna do this by myself as much as possible," Yua replied with determination.
Kyu sniffled. "You're growing up so fast. I remember when you were a little kitten that could barely squeak."
"Auntyyyyyyy," Yua protested, embarrassed. She wiggled and forced Kyu to let go of her, leaping out of her arms and neatly landing on a nearby table. "I'm big now! Even Mama admits it!"
"You definitely are," Kyu agreed with a nod. "You've done such a good job with this place."
And she had. Yua had turned this shack into a veritable paradise for strays. But there was definitely more than that going on here. Kyu looked around the room, meeting the gazes of many of the cats in there.
They were all far more intelligent than a normal cat. Yua had a skewed frame of reference due to her upbringing, so she wouldn't have noticed anything abnormal. But normal animals without a speck of magic in their bodies should not be as smart and aware as the ones she led were.
Not that Kyu would ever point it out. It might ruin the effect, and it was fine if Yua had no idea she was uplifting these strays more than she intended. But more importantly, Axton hadn't realized the full scope of what Yua was doing. He thought she was just busy relocating strays, not creating a gang of super-smart street animals.
Kyu chuckled to herself, looking forward to his reaction when he found out. But not yet. It was too soon. The longer it was before he found out, the better the payoff would be.
Kyu noticed at least one animal that wasn't from the street. It had the proportions of a kitten but was already the size of a full-grown cat. It had pitch black fur, but its most distinct feature was the pair of large canine teeth that extended from its mouth down to its chin. That was no house cat.
"Where'd you pick up this little guy?" Kyu asked.
"Some bad people had him in a cage!" Yua answered enthusiastically. "He said he didn't want to be with them, so I rescued him!"
"I see," Kyu replied. She wasn't familiar with the local monsters, but it sounded like Yua had found a group that captured them and had taken the monster under her own care. Kyu wasn't concerned. It was behaving as well as the others, and Yua could handle something like that without any problem.
"What happened with the bad guys?" Kyu asked, more concerned about them than the abnormal cat.
"I stole all their stuff!" Yua responded proudly.
"Good girl," Kyu praised her as she put a hand on Yua's head to pet her. "Well, keep up the good work. I've got other things to do, but lemme know if you need anything."
"Okay!" Yua replied happily. "Bye-bye Aunty Kyu! I'll see you later!"
Waving, Kyu shrunk down and made her way back out of the house before continuing into town to her next stop.
"Greetings Master!" A chorus of voices rang out as she pushed the door open to the succubus cafe. It wasn't called that, of course. It had some generic name Kyu didn't bother learning. But it was the cafe that the succubi ran during the day to cover their nighttime business, which was signing the men of the town up for the service, which was giving them the erotic dreams of their choice.
"Oh, it's Kyu-sama!" one of the succubi in disguise said, recognizing her. The succubus in question skipped over to her, giving Kyu a small show. The maid outfits they were wearing were expertly designed. They were tasteful rather than slutty, but they subtly drew out the best features of the girls. The skirt went down almost to her knees, but when she skipped like that it bounced up just enough to show a flash of skin above the tops of her socks, but not getting nearly high enough to show anything inappropriate.
Though Kyu's eyes were on her chest instead. The succubus had just absolutely massive tits, and they bounced a lot as she skipped. On most girls, the neckline of the outfits showed only a relatively tasteful amount of cleavage. But with this one, her boobs were big enough that the 'relatively small' amount was still quite large.
"I'm back, bitches~" Kyu replied in a sing-song voice. "You know I can't resist you for long." In fact, she came here almost every day. The only times she didn't come was when Axton needed her for something, which was a pretty rare occurrence.
The succubus giggled, taking her by the hand. "Come this way Kyu-sama, your usual table is free." Kyu let herself be pulled
The table the busty succubus led Kyu to was a little special. It didn't look special, but with the acoustics of the shop, it was nearly impossible to be overheard while speaking there.
"You want your usual?" the succubus asked as Kyu sat down.
"Absolutely," Kyu answered with a smile. The succubus bowed, showcasing her cleavage, and then made her way into the back of the shop, towards the kitchen.
As Kyu waited she idly glanced around the cafe. It was lunchtime, so things were relatively busy, but 'relatively busy' meant that there were only a handful of others in here.
Even if it was just a cover, the succubi preferred keeping their heads down, so they didn't advertise the cafe part much. Not to mention the entrance was down a narrow path that wasn't at all suited for a cafe. Things were more packed at night, when they advertised their services through word of mouth, from one male adventurer to another. They made most of their profit there.
Still, there were a few customers like her, who enjoyed the maid cafe thing and came here regularly. None of the faces she saw as she looked around were new ones. And all of them avoided making eye contact with her, still not sure how to handle the idea of a girl coming in here.
If she were looking for a client right now, this is exactly the kind of place she would hit up. Well, if she wanted a challenge anyway. But she was more than happy with her current one, and didn't see that changing anytime soon.
It didn't take long for the busty succubus to come back out, carrying a tray. And on that tray was the familiar but still exciting sight of a massive and colorful parfait filled with fruit, yogurt, and whip cream, all topped with chocolate syrup.
"I love you," she told it as the succubus placed the treat in front of her.
The succubus giggled, sliding into the seat next to Kyu. "You say that every time."
"It's true every time," Kyu insisted as she ate a spoonful.
"But then you eat it," the succubus pointed out, pressing herself against Kyu. "How cruel."
"Isn't it normal to swallow the cream of your lover?" Kyu replied with a wink, sensually putting a spoonful of whip cream in her mouth. Her lips wrapped around the handle and she slowly pulled it out, making eye contact with the succubus as the spoon slid from between her lips millimeter by millimeter.
The succubus grinned. "Well, when you put it like that…"
Kyu grinned, and then turned her attention back to consuming the delicious and fruity dessert. "So, any new gossip?"
Getting gossip was the 'official' reason Kyu came by every day. Not that she ever reported any of it back to Axton, he got official reports through his two pet succubi. But the gossip she got was mostly about Axton anyway, or things he wouldn't care about.
"Mistress has been kinda antsy lately," the succubus explained. "Before Axton showed up, she seemed pretty content to let us take care of most things. But since then…"
"She got addicted to his cock?" Kyu finished the other girl's thought.
The succubus smiled. "I'm not sure about addicted, but she definitely wants it. It's been a couple weeks since he dropped by. Though she seemed pretty pleased last time he did."
"His performance in bed has definitely improved since he started fucking her," Kyu noted, mouth full.
"I'm so jealous that you get to have sex with him so often," the succubus said with a sigh. "Those two that he picked always go on and on about how good it feels."
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind satisfying all of you," Kyu replied casually. "I mean, he's kinda busy, so maybe not regularly, but if you wanted to do one big orgy or something, he'd definitely be down."
"Hmm," the succubus mused. "That does sound pretty fun. I don't know if the Mistress would agree to it though. She can be pretty strict about making sure we're not spoiled. Those two only get to be with him because of the deal he made."
Kyu snorted at the idea of getting laid being 'spoiling' for a succubus. Compared to the safe diet they were currently on, she supposed it was spoiling. But they were succubi for fuck's sake.
Kyu grinned as a plan formed in her mind. "You know…that wouldn't be an issue if Axton became your Mistress' Master," she said. "He mentioned that she said something along those lines recently. Apparently, she's very pleased with their relationship and is interested in deepening it."
The succubus' eyes widened. "And if that happens, he'll be able to convince her!"
"Exactly," Kyu said, pointing her spoon at the busty succubus.
"I'll run the idea by the other girls," the succubus said, standing up. "Maybe we'll be able to help encourage the Mistress to accept him faster."
"Now that's the kind of go-getter attitude I love about you girls," Kyu said approvingly. She put down her spoon, the glass empty, and stood up as well. "I guess that means it's time for me to keep making the rounds."
"I suggest visiting the bath in a few hours," the succubus said with a playful grin. "There've been some real cuties there the past few days at around that time."
"I'll never say no to a bath with some cuties," Kyu replied, giving the succubus a hug. "Thanks for the tip. I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Come back anytime Master!" the succubus said as Kyu left, the other succubi echoing her.
Kyu wandered around town for the next few hours. She stopped by Wiz's place, seeing if the lich had anything interesting for sale and appreciating her large tits. They were hidden under her robes, but that had an appeal of its own.
She also visited the marketplace and a clothes shop and bought a few things. Axton didn't mind if she spent his money. He knew who he could thank for having all that money in the first place. Besides, she could buy an entire store's worth of clothes and not even use one percent of what he had. Having such a rich sugar daddy was very nice.
After a few hours passed and Kyu was starting to get bored, she headed for the public bathhouse. There were actually a few scattered around town, but there was one that was a lot bigger than the others and she pretty much only visited that one. Because why be surrounded by a few naked women when you could be surrounded by a lot of them instead?
Kyu entered the bathhouse, paid the small fee, and entered the changing rooms. Kyu liked changing rooms a lot. A room dedicated to taking your clothes off was nothing but good. Well, except for the part where it also served to put them back on. But she ignored that aspect, and just focused on the women stripping, even as she stripped herself.
Once she was in the bath proper, she turned on her "Notice Me Not" mode. It wasn't invisibility, but rather an ability that all Love Fairies had that allowed them to only be noticed by people they wanted to, or those with powerful enough senses to see through it. It wasn't all-powerful, any touching she did would still be noticed, but it did let her ogle all the women in the bath without any of them catching on.
Kyu casually scanned the room as she soaked in the bath, ignoring the kids and the old ladies. Axton's taste was wide, but not that wide. Though he was desperately lacking in MILFs. Her gaze wandered back to some of the older women in the bath, but none of them met her criteria of being hot enough to bring to Axton.
But her eyes did land on one pretty hot woman. She had long black hair, nice curves, and was wearing a pair of glasses. She also looked tired, with bags under her eyes and a slump to her shoulders. Kyu started thinking about ways to approach her, because she was definitely hot enough to gain her interest.
The woman entered the bath with careful steps before sitting down not too far away. Kyu, still in stealth mode, slid over until she was sitting next to the girl. The woman sighed, and Kyu dropped her stealth field.
"Now that's a tired-sounding sigh if I've ever heard one," Kyu said in a friendly tone.
The woman jumped, clearly surprised. "Wh-what?!" she exclaimed, pulling away from Kyu.
"So tired you didn't even notice that you sat right next to me?" Kyu asked with a grin.
The woman froze, and then let out a sigh, settling into a normal sitting position. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I guess I'm more out of it than I thought."
"Sounds like you need to relax, girl," Kyu replied. "What's got you so stressed?"
"Work, mostly," the woman replied. "I'm a royal prosecutor, but the case I've been assigned to is frustrating. It's nothing but dead ends. We had a suspect, but after extensive questioning with a lie detector, we were forced to admit she couldn't have done it. Since then it's been long days of repeatedly going over the information we have, which is next to nothing, desperately trying to find a new lead."
"That sucks," Kyu commiserated. "Sounds like you need a vacation. You should get your boyfriend to take you on one."
"Boyfriend?" the woman asked in a depressed tone. "As if I had someone like that."
"Seriously?" Kyu replied. "But you're so pretty!"
"I- I am?" the woman replied.
"Absolutely," Kyu said earnestly. "Only an idiot would think otherwise."
"Then this town must be filled with idiots," the woman grumbled. "I've tried to get a boyfriend, but they're never interested in a second date."
If Kyu had to guess, she probably came off as too desperate, or too clingy. But those were both things Axton could handle, and a plan was quickly forming in the back of her mind.
"What's your name?" Kyu asked.
"Oh, I'm Sena," she replied. "Sorry for not introducing myself before I vented on you like that."
"Nah, don't worry about it," Kyu dismissed. "My name is Kyu, and I think I've got the perfect solution to your problems."
Sena looked at her with an expression that was equal parts hope and wariness, but Kyu just grinned.
She was the best wing woman ever.
"This is Sena!" Kyu told us, introducing the woman in question. "I invited her to join us on our trip to Arcanletia!"
I was with Momo, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness at the edge of town. We were dressed in casual traveling clothes and had gathered around a large group of wagons, all of them headed for the hot spring town of Arcanletia, our destination.
Earlier in the week, Momo had mentioned that we were getting close to the point where she planned on retiring from being an Adventurer because of her pregnancy. She wasn't showing yet, but we were almost at the halfway point, and she didn't want to risk any strenuous activity after that point.
But she also said there was one place she had heard about that she wanted to visit before then, because she didn't want to travel, not even through teleportation, while pregnant. So we took the week off of adventuring and made plans to visit Arcanletia, where Momo wanted to try the hot springs there.
Kyu had told me that there was someone she had met that she wanted to bring with us, but I wasn't expecting it to be Sena. And from the looks of it, and by her quickly rising panic, I was pretty sure she was caught off guard as well.
She grabbed Kyu by the arm and pulled her away, far enough away that a normal person wouldn't be able to hear them. Of course, [Sound Domain] meant I had no problem eavesdropping.
"You didn't tell me you were going to hook me up with him," Sena hissed. "It's bad enough that you're dragging me to another town, but now you're telling me you want me to take a shot at the playboy of Axel?"
I blinked in surprise. I had earned a moniker like that? I knew I had a reputation, I hadn't made any effort in hiding my hedonism, but it was my first time hearing someone call me that.
"What's the matter?" Kyu asked innocently. "You get to relax from your stressful job at one of the best vacation spots and go on a date with a good-looking guy."
"A good-looking guy who already has a wife and a hundred mistresses!" Sena retorted.
"Nah, he's not up to a hundred yet."
"That is not the point," Sena hissed. "The point is I want a boyfriend. No, a husband! Not a one-night stand! I'm not that desperate!"
"But what you need is to relax," Kyu countered. "Besides, who says Axton can't be your husband eventually? He only has one wife right now, but no way is he gonna stop there."
"I can't say the idea of being wife number thirty-three really appeals to me either," she grumbled.
"Then don't marry him. But do join us, and go on a date with him. Maybe all you do is relieve some stress, or maybe it leads to something more. There's no harm in it, right? Axton's a gentleman, he won't push further than you want. Take this chance, throw yourself out there, and just enjoy the moment."
"I don't know…" Sena replied, but her tone was less angry. Kyu's words had started to sway her.
"Look, at least come with us," Kyu said. "If you don't wanna go on a date with him, that's fine, that's your choice. But there's no reason to turn down a free trip to Arcanletia, right?"
"I guess not," Sena admitted with a sigh. "Fine, alright, I'll come. But I don't promise anything more than that."
"Great!" Kyu replied cheerfully before dragging Sena back to the group. We were all standing there, somewhat awkwardly watching them, but Kyu ignored that. "Sorry about that," she said. "I left a few details out, but we figured it out."
"I-I'm Sena," the other girl introduced herself with a bow and a slight stutter. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
First Impressions Perk Activated
+25 Affection with Sena
"Don't worry about it," I replied casually. "Any friend of Kyu's is a friend of mine. My name is Axton, and this is Momo, Megumin, and Aqua. Oh, and also Darkness."
"Why was I an afterthought?" Darkness protested.
"Because I forgot about you," I lied.
"Hnn," she bit her lip to try to muffle her sharp moan. "You're saying I'm so worthless you have to be reminded of my existence? You're so cruel."
"This girl is way too easy," Megumin muttered.
"Didn't you start sleeping with him in just a few weeks?" Aqua asked innocently.
"Sh-shut up!" Megumin replied, face growing red.
Sena did not look reassured at all, her eyes desperately looking at Kyu for help with a forced smile on her face.
I chuckled, shaking my head at their antics. "Come on, let's get your stuff packed up," I offered her, reaching for her suitcase.
She hesitated but handed it over. "Thank you for having me," she said, her voice a little quiet and nervous. "I'm sorry for the intrusion."
"Nah, don't worry about it," I said as we walked over to the wagon where I loaded her stuff with the rest of our luggage. I could have stored it in my inventory, but Momo seemed to be having fun with the whole traveling experience, so we did it the old fashioned way. "Kyu said she was bringing a friend, so I already made arrangements. And we don't mind, the more the merrier. Fair warning though, we're Adventurers, and we're pretty close. Our banter might get a little raunchy at times."
Sena blushed but nodded in understanding. "I can deal with that," she said. "I've worked with Adventurers before."
"Great!" I replied cheerfully. I finished securing her luggage and turned to her before sticking out my hand. "In that case, I look forward to getting to know you, Sena."
She blushed a little more and avoided my gaze, but she grabbed my hand and gave me a business-like handshake. "I am as well," she said. "That is- I mean, I want to get to know you better too." Her embarrassment spiked as she fumbled over her words.
So I just gave her a reassuring smile and pretended not to notice. "In that case, I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun on this trip," I said with a wink.
Before she could respond, a voice rang out over the crowd. "Everyone headed for Arcanletia, we're leaving in five minutes. Please take your seats now."
I turned to my own group. "You heard him," I said. "We've got this wagon all to ourselves. It'll be a bit of a squeeze, so one of you will have to sit on my lap."
Momo rolled her eyes. "There are enough seats for all of us," she said as she approached the back door of the wagon. "You just want someone in your lap."
I grinned. "Guilty as charged," I admitted. "You want first dibs?"
She smiled at me, her expression sultry. "Of course I do," she replied.
I laughed cheerfully. I really did love Momo. "In that case, everyone load up and we'll be on our way. Next stop, the city of hot springs, Arcanletia!"
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AN: Decided to use the Kyu PoV to address something that comes up often. That is, why is Axton so generous? Well, the ones who bring it up usually do so more derogatorily, but still. The tl;dr of it is "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar". Axton is fairly amoral, but being a good guy comes with some nice perks, so he plays that role.
A note about the succubus cafe: I know this isn't how it worked in canon, that it wasn't ever actually a cafe(except for that one time). But that's dumb. They just relied on none of the female members of Axel coming in? Nah. It makes more sense for it to actually be a cafe until it 'closes' before it then secretly opens up as the succubus sign-up service.
Originally I wasn't going to include Sena as a girl that Axton sleeps with. She's hot, but not hot enough to go much out of my way. But then, when writing the last chapter, I realized that a scene showing what Kyu got up to most days would be really interesting. And, after hashing out some ideas, I realized Kyu acting as a wing woman to pick up Sena worked really well, and I could include her pretty naturally for the Arcanletia trip.
Shorter chapters mean shorter ANs too. Hope you enjoy it! And let me know what you think of the new format!