『Tenders』

Jack didn't always eat with a person seated on his legs, he had always been alone, but now there two people with him and one of them was drunk. His eyes shifted aside, narrowing on Megumin who was now asleep with her head on his leg.

Her tankard of alcohol wasn't even close to empty. It caused him to chuckle lightly as he rested one hand on her head as he turned his head down to look at the other female.

Chris had been in his lap for a while now, her face was red as a beet and it wasn't getting any better as he was feeding her a leg of toad. Looking close enough, one might assume steam was starting to be emitted from the top of her head. It was clear she was overheating from being held in such a manner. Feeling eyes on her, especially of other people were starting to glance at her, wasn't helping matters either.

Though many people generally ignored the scene, but the ones that didn't have generally noticed the girl appear out of nowhere after the hood of the cloak had been pushed back.

People seemed to be growing interested in the fact that she was wearing such an item. Magic items were expensive, especially if they were made correctly. That was completely unlike the ones in which Wiz sold, which were mostly defective in almost an overpowering sense of the word.

"Are you going to be feeding me everything on the plate?" Chris cried as he pressed the drum leg of the fried toad against her lips. "Mmmm..." Biting into the leg, her violet eyes drifted to the side as she chewed slowly.

"You're the one who tried using one of my own creations to spy on me..." Jack couldn't help but snicker at her as she let out a small whine, but at the same time moaned from the tenderness of the food which she was consuming.

"Can you loosen your legs?"

"Uh, Why? Do you want me to spread my legs?"

Just as her face was cooling down, getting used to being in his lap, Chris nearly combusted into steam from the heat. "Th-that's not what I meant~!" The thief blubbered before biting into the meat again, tears forming in the corners of her glossy eyes.

"Then what did you mean?" He was clearly teasing her and she knew it, but being flustered, she was becoming overwhelmed by the foreign attention she was garnering from him.

Letting out another whine, she pressed the back of her head against his sternum and stared up at him, as if pleading for mercy. "Your legs are too tight! I can't move."

"Pretty sure that's the point, Chris." Jack cocked his head sadistically as he gazed right back down at her, moistening the inner walls of his lips with the tip of his tongue. "Plus, I rather enjoy you in my arms."

The young lady squirmed slightly between his legs, hardly able to move as she could feel the warmth of his thighs against her hips. There was no chance he was going to move, nor was he going to release her, not freely. She knew she could escape, but part of her liked this attention, despite how embarrassing and straight forward it was. "You shouldn't be doing this with someone you just met," she whispered placing a hand on his wrist, trying to push the toad flesh away from her face.

With his physical strength being higher than hers, she could hardly move his arm. "You shouldn't be stalking someone you just met either," he pressed the drum of meat against her cheek childishly.

"Fine, fine~! I admit I was wrong, can you let me go now?" Chris pleaded aloud as she dropped her arms onto his lap before feeing his fingers dance over her abdomen. The surprising sensation made her almost jump out of her skin, his bare hand was soft, and his fingernails felt as if they were neatly filed down and ticklish. "Haha-hey!"

"After you are finished eating what's on the plate," Jack closed one eye while matching her gaze, it was clear he wasn't going to let her get away from him, at least not anytime soon.

"Jaaaaack~!" Chris whined mutedly as she felt his chin resting on the top of her head as she looked forward, the hand that had been on Megumin's head was grasping the side of her torso. It was as if he was trying to secure her within his grasp!

"I gave you a choice, you can stay here where you are, or you can finish your punishment." Jack simpered at her suffering. There wasn't much she could do and she probably owed him, considering he donated a powerful magical item for her personal use.

That and without many questions he joined her church! She had to pay her dues somehow, right? Even if it was going to be a short laugh in a world that seemed to be getting darker outside of Axel.

"This is how you repay me for showing you my steal skill?"

"That was only one skill, I was asking for skills as in plural." Jack shrugged lightly studying her as she wasn't bothering to look up at him as she spoke now. She seemed to be slowly picking at the food that he held to her face.

"I can show you a binding skill~," Chris said slyly as she looked up at him, letting his chin rest on her forehead for a few seconds before he looked down at her in return.

Jack pursed his lips, "By tying me up? Didn't know you were into that kinda thing..." He could see her head ready to explode again from the embarrassment and the twisting of her words. "It's almost as if I found a reciprocal spirit."

Her jaw nearly hit the floor hearing his words, this had not been the response she had been wanting nor expecting. It seemed he enjoyed tying his mates up, she had fallen directly into another trap. "That... That's definitely not what I mean--!"

Shoving the toad meat into her mouth as she left it wide open, she was cut off in mid-speech before she began chewing.

"I could kiss you right about now..."

"THAT'S IT!" Throwing her hands in the air, Chris swatted the drumstick out of his hand and to the floor. "BIND!" The moment she recited the skill name, four steps of ropes appeared to sprout from her hand and wrap around his tall frame like snakes.

Jack just blinked several times looking at the ropes which now kept him from moving, at least for the time being. The skill wasn't necessarily strong, especially against other magics that could cut through it. Yet, he quickly noticed that not only had she tied him up, but the rope had confined her to his lap as well, ensnaring her even more so between his legs.

"...How did this happen..." Chris nearly burst out into tears as his arm was caught around her as well. "You can't possibly be this lucky!"

"Uh-huh," Jack clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "Can't believe you wasted a piece of the toad. Squandered good food there..."

"Hey... Megumin..." Chris squirmed within the tight constraints, feeling herself pressed against the taller male. "Megumin wake-up~!" She poked at the girl with her fingers, unable to move the rest of her hand to shake the girl.

"Mmmmm..." Megumin's eyes fluttered open as she felt those gloved fingers poking at her face. "Did I get hit in the head by an ancient dragon...? What kind of feeling is this...? Have I been cursed by the Gods?" She muttered as she held her head with both hands before her red eyes focused forward through the pain and blurred visuals. "Why are you two tied together... Is this a hostage situation!?" The Crimson Demon shouted before wincing and pressing her palms against her temples. "Aaaaaah.... Make the pain go away..."

Both Jack and Chris just stared at her for a few seconds before looking toward one another.

Jack didn't really mind the whole Chuuni routine if anything he thought it was cute. It was rather similar to the people who caught his attention in the previous world. And her outgoingness also seemed to be something he enjoyed too. Though, when it came to Chris, she seemed fun to tease, and she was a bit more useful than a mage that only uses explosion magic.

"Do you want me to cut the rope?" Jack sarcastically offered.

"You can cut the rope while you're still tied up like this? I can't even move my arms!" Chris shifted her shoulders, showing she couldn't lift her arms up against the rope very well.

"I could cut the rope since the very beginning," Jack tittered to himself, "but having an adorable thief on my lap kind of defeats the motivation to do so..."

Megumin who was having a hard time focusing her eyes, as they moved faster than her head, just rested against Jack's side. "Ooooh..."

"Hmm... Have you learned your lesson about drinking Alcohol? If you did, would you like me to cure that poison you drank?"

Letting out a hiccup, which caused her petite frame to buckle upon the bench, Megumin's lips parted. "Y-yesh... I won't drink anymore! Please please, please! The room won't stop spinning, this illusion is far too great! I feel my power draining... I'm dying... Save me..."

"What are you talking about?" Jack rolled his jaw as he snapped his fingers, causing a burst of positive thermal energy to expel from his finger onto the ropes, vaporizing them within a mere instant.

At that very moment, Chris saw her chance to escape and pushed herself to up to pull herself over the table. However just as she swiftly moved above the table, was ready to launch herself away, he grasped her by the cloak and pulled her right back into his lap.

Her legs were sent up into the air and her feet came crashing down onto the table, sending the rest of the plate which had a few more pieces of meat on it, clambering to the ground.

Jack chuckled lightly as everyone was pretty much staring now, due to the commotion. Yet they all quickly dispersed and went back to what they were doing.

It was quite clear shenanigans were normal here, considering the fact there were of men and women intermingling with one another. Some of them were dancing together, singing even, while they were drinking and having a merry ole time.

Chris was flushing in the face, "Why are you doing this~?"

"You know why," Jack simpered as he wrapped his arms around the two girls.

"No fair!" Chris murmured as she flailed her arms about before Jack actually let her go. She then stumbled away from the table, off of the bench and dusted crumbs off of herself. Her face was still beet red, even more so now that some of the people were chuckling.

As she had gotten a few feet away, he went on using his magic in order to cast a restoration spell derived from the buffs of his Yang Magic. A green hue quickly passed over everyone within thirty feet of him.

Megumin slowly lowered her hands from her head, blinking in disbelief that she was relieved of pain and intoxication within such a short time. "Archmage is the best class ever! When I reach that level, I will become the strongest Explosion Magic-user! Defeat the Demon King and--"

"Megumin..." Jack pulled her right into his lap, briefly causing her to pause in her proclamations. Now having filled the vacancy in his lap, he rested his head on top of hers.

"Is this some form of sexual harassment!?" Megumin squirmed in his lap, his arms holding her tighter as her eyes were glowing brightly, showing her excitement rather than just absolute embarrassment. It was as if her face was sharing the same hue as her eyes. "My mind can't take this!"

"No, it's not. Chris has abandoned me and you're the only one I have left..." Jack pouted before hiding his face in her head of brunette hair. "Love me."

"I did not!" Chris huffed aloud as she placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "I'll see you at the church later today!" She grinned seeing him peer up at her with a sly glimmer in his eye, "Don't forget to bring some offerings!"

Clearly it was her way of telling him to bring something in order to ask for forgiveness. With that, Chris pulled the hood of the cloak over her head and left rushing towards the guildhall door.

"Guess it's time for a quest," Jack shuffled down the bench, with Megumin who was essentially melting in his lap. "Ready for a kill quest?" He started nudging her side lightly.

"Yes! An Epic quest to cure our sate for power!" She suddenly spurred, bouncing off of his lap and onto her feet. Without waiting for him to get up, she went running off towards the job board.

Jack took his time however as he stood up from the bench and walked after her, of course after putting down a small sum upon the table to pay for the drinks and meals. Joining at her side, he rested his forearms on her shoulders as his eyes then skimmed the board.

"Find anything interesting?" Cooed as he rested his head on the top of hers, he was clearly trying to play around, but he appeared entirely serious.

"Jack! Jack!"

"I take that as a yes?"

"What about this? A kill quest for a One-Shot bear?" She grinned deviously, his presence of leaning on her hardly stopping her from placing her hands on her hips. "Now is the time to teach it which of us has the stronger one-shot magic!"

"I don't have any resurrection spells," Jack snorted as he looked over the intimidating drawing which seemed to be showing a bear crushing two sturdy walls with its clawed hand-like appendages. "So if you miss, you're dead, so we should probably recruit a High Priest from the Eris Order to come along."

Megumin glared forward for a moment before pointing to another one of the kill quests, "Exterminate a Golbin Nest! It'll test the explosive radius of my strongest magic!"

"Aren't those in small confined places, like caves or ruins? You'll kill us both." Jack pursed his lips slightly causing her to flinch and almost fall to her knees, but he held her in place as his arms wrapped around her shoulders in a loose hug.

"How about the Giant Fruit Extermination!? We can burn them out of the air! Show them that they are no match for Megumin, Archwizard, and user of Explosion Magic!"

"You'll damage the Apple Orchard and we'll owe money." Jack buried his lips into her scalp as he too eyed the various quests on there. Considering her use of explosion magic, there was a limit to what safe quests they could do.

"Do you have something against my magic or something!?"

"Second thought, let's have a look at the Goblin Extermination Job."

"... I thought you said that it was too dangerous to use my magic there... Are you trying to make a fool of me? An Archwizard?"

"If you start boasting about your magic again, I'll postpone our first Job together until tomorrow," Jack warned as he watched her mouth about to open after she started her miniature inquisition.

"Hm..." Plucking a different Ruins Extermination Quest off the job board, she looked over its contents, spotting Jack's shadow as he was reading from over her shoulder. She could feel his breath subtly brushing on her cheek, but she tried her best not to mention or make it apparent that she noticed it.

"That one's an underground ruin... Gremlins? Huh, it would be a bad idea to use explosion magic down there," Jack uttered under his breath with a light chuckle as he was letting his thoughts wander.

Megumin simply slapped the paper back onto the board, before placing her hand on the one-hit bear which she had pointed out earlier. "We must do... This Quest! All others are failable, but this... THIS ONE IS PERFECT FOR MY EXPLOSIONS! It must be done, there are no exceptions."

"Fine, just so you know, this one will cost you cuddle time," Jack spoke in not only a seriously stern voice but a seemingly annoyed one. She wanted to do the super-powerful quest and he was just hoping he wasn't going to find more bodies from idiotic adventurers who took it prior.

"Cuddle... Time...?" Her eyes blared red for a moment, before simmering down before he could see, and she cleared her throat. "We have to pick up my staff and hat from your room," she crossed her arms over her chest.

"That'll take a few seconds, so let's claim the Quest and get going then, shall we?" Jack released her as he placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair.

Blinking at his actions, Megumin looked over the quest for the bear, before removing it from the board and following him towards the Guild Receptionist Counter. They needed to claim the quest so that they could go on it before anyone else can do so.

"What job will you be taking today?" The Blonde Receptionist asked as she looked over Jack before her eyes dropped to Megumin who placed the paper on the counter. "Ah, I see you two are going to be going on a..." Her eyes stared at the One-Shot Bear kill quest which had been placed on the job board a long while ago. "You're... Choosing another high-risk job...?"

Jack felt like letting out a groan, "Is there a problem?"

"Are you some kind of Thrill seeker?" The Blonde giggled to herself.

"No, but she's a one-shot magic specialist, a connoisseur of sorts." Jack held a hand over her head, pointing down to her with his index finger considering how much shorter she was

"I am Megumi--!" Cutting her off was Jack's hand grabbing the top of her head like a brain sucker, and lightly squeezing at her skull, as if he was slowly extracting its innards. "AAAAAAH! My brai-- Huh!? Hey! Stop that!" She grabbed his wrist in both hands, trying to pull it off.

"Are you sure you want to take this quest?"

"Yup, we're taking it," Jack grinned sharply.