The Masked Man

After the Queen leaves, I return to the previous, adjacent chamber. It looks like she really was in a hurry as the doors leading out of it are left wide open and there are no signs of her doing anything else besides storming out of the room.

I walk to the table on the balcony where we sat together and finish my cup of tea. It's way too good to just leave it to waste like that. Perhaps I should ask Cornelia about it. She should have an idea or two about which brands the Queen favours with how close the two are. This calming, floral scent would definitely be loved by the girls.

Staying behind to stuff yourself with the snacks after the host has left could be considered rude, so I decide to return. Our meeting took a moment, but I still have around two or three hours before we open again. I can go for a stroll through the city to check on our tailor and some other things after returning.

But before that, I still have something to do. I go outside of the room and glance around, spotting the maid which led me here standing a bit further. She notices me looking at her and quickly makes her way to me, bowing just slightly.

I tell her there's something I have to deliver to the Queen as I forgot to do it during our conversation and ask if she could provide me with an envelope. And if she could pass it later to Lianne.

She agrees and takes me to the servant's wing where she gets what I asked for. I put the instructions for the latest gift inside and seal it tightly. Although I'm sure the maid wouldn't do something as risky as spying on the contents, I advise her to not do so if she doesn't want to end up in a lot of trouble. The message is meant only for the Queen.

She promises me to fulfil her duty properly as soon as possible. With an awkward smile, I suggest not doing it immediately since the Queen might be a little bit busy at this moment as she left in quite a hurry. Hopefully, that's enough to hold the maid back for a while. Well, I have no idea who is and who isn't aware of the Queen's true nature here. Better safe than sorry.

There's not much else I currently need from the castle so I walk back to the passage. Ross still didn't reply to my letter, which means he might be quite busy. I can't just randomly show up and bother the King whenever I want. Well, technically speaking, I can, but that could lead to some rumours or even misunderstandings. He'll get in touch with me when necessary.

After returning, I check on the new maid girls. They are accustoming themselves to the mansion and doing pretty fine in general. Hopefully, we can get their uniforms without any delays. Till then, they'll stick to working behind the scenes during open nights, or perhaps to accompanying people in the lobby and recreational area while in some nice, party dresses. As long as they are up for it. We don't have that many recreational customers yet, but there are a few ones once in a while.

Just as planned, I prepare to head off to the town for a bit. The tiefling trio approaches me and shows their interest in accompanying me. We already have their uniforms so I agree. Even if we didn't, I need to slowly start letting girls out. Our image is growing bit by bit.

They quickly change clothes and we leave the mansion. For the first few hundred meters, each of them tries whatever they can to maximize the amount of skinship with me as much as possible while walking. It creates a quite comical sight and we do attract more than a bit of attention. How could we not when three, colourful girls in sexy maid outfits fight over one man, trying to hug his arms or waist without inconveniencing his movements.

We somehow reach the tailor without tripping. They agreed on taking turns by my sides instead of desperately clinging to wherever possible in the end.

The tailor sure works fast. We pick up a few more sets already. He explains that they have prepared whatever possible beforehand and he just introduces adjustments when necessary. Guess with how many I order all the time, he started automating the process, hah.

The next stop is the craftsman responsible for our gems. He has already finished two of the new batch and we get our hands on the satyr sisters' crystals. While there, Mafaris, Shawure and Zalia joyfully browse through the jewellery section. Since I don't mind spoiling them a little, I buy them one accessory each.

Mafaris gets a dark gold necklace in a simple pattern, Shawure chooses a silver anklet with dangling bits and Zalia goes for a silver bracelet after I manage to convince her that this shop doesn't deal in pussy piercings. The other girls pick up on that the moment she mentions it and our heated conversation makes the cute clerk who serves us turn so red I'm amazed she doesn't faint.

In the end, they don't assault the owner over not giving nip or pussy piercings and just settle down with what I got them, leaving a long, soft kiss on my cheeks, all at the same time as I pay up for everything. I get the feeling all of that was just to tease me.

We head to the Artisanal District to stock up on some materials and items Sirgia needs and then stop by a cosy restaurant on our way back home. I kinda wished to treat them to a nice meal, but I should have expected it to end up with the three of them being all over me while feeding me playfully. Some jealous stares start getting really intense while they do so.

They don't miss that either and use the chance to advertise our establishment by sneakily talking as if they are just chatting between themselves about how it's fun to spend time with people over a good drink and listen to their stories. They appear to be frivolous and mischievous, but these women are quite the smart and cunning vixens. Well, we'll see if their actions change anything.

After getting our fill, or rather mostly mine, we walk back to the mansion. They all are quite happy about our little date. I didn't intend for our trip to be one, but now that I look at it, we really turned it into one.

Back home, I shoo them away before they rope me into a post-date appreciation time. I noticed how they kept looking at me the closer we were getting to the front gate. Especially Shawure. Seriously. These horny tieflings think only about sex. It's a miracle they survived back at Selina's.

Promising them a good pounding at a different time, I somehow escape their clutches and begin helping others set up things for the night. With these over two weeks of experience, my first helpers wrap everything up in a flash, assisting the new acquisitions whenever needed. Our family's cooperation only grows and it shows. Only the new maids are a little awkward. And well, maybe I should add Astrea to it. She is as elusive as always, nowhere to be seen.

The night comes and it actually gets quite intense already from the start. Looks like the tieflings' behaviour lured in a group of people curious about the establishment. The women in question take care of them alongside my beautiful dark-skinned elves. Five people in total are led to the recreational area.

They spend around two hours there while accompanied by the colourful ladies. In the meanwhile, a few guests visit for another reason, surprised to see the place much livelier than before. Yeah, two of those are already returning quite often.

Time flies and even part of the initial group gets persuaded by Zalia and Shawure into trying out baths and then some more fun services. They all went through screening and were accepted so there is no issue there.

The few enhanced menus Neira prepared are coming in handy now since people keep coming in from time to time. It's not a constant stream of visits and requests as big as to make people wait for their turn, but compared to before, it is an impressive upgrade.

At one point, I sit in the main lobby on one of the sofas with a random dude, chatting with him casually while having Neira on my lap. It's just an unimportant banter, mostly about how he is surprised about the place and how he imagined it to be much worse when he learned it is all about non-human girls. But then, an unexpected Whisper arrives.

~Master… There's a guest… waiting for you… in the dining area… He says… he is important...~

Elea's voice resounds in my head, making me frown in confusion. I don't remember seeing anyone being guided there nor heading that way by themselves, so how could that be? Nevertheless, I have to check it out. She might be able to explain further.

I apologize to my temporary companion and head to the doors by the reception. Instantly after passing through, my eyes fall on two figures. One is a fully cloaked person sitting with their back to me, and another is of course Elea standing in front of them like a professional maid. She notices me and gestures towards my position to the other person.

They stand up and turn around, revealing an oval mask covering their whole face. It's a simple and plain white one with just a single hole for the left eye. All of this starts looking less and less like a visit from some random customer. I keep my mind focused on summoning the hilt if it ends up being necessary.

"With all due respect, but this area is off-limits unless given permission and I do not remember us being acquainted in any way. May I know who you are and what is the reason behind your visit, sir or madam?"

"My apologies. I meant no offence. Due to my circumstances, I had to enter through this room. I, of course, came for your amazing services. I've heard this place started employing Dark Elves recently, right?" the figure answers, clearly with a voice of a man, but weirdly uncomfortable to listen to, as if slightly distorted.

"Did you come through the tunnel?" I ask.

"Yes, I did. I was directed here by a friend. He said there's no better place in the whole capital."

I move my eyes down and ponder for a brief moment if he really might be one of the people the King kept mentioning in the past all the time. But then, my gaze stumbles on the man's feet and something clicks in my mind instantly, making me sigh and rub my forehead.

"Seriously… You could have just said you are coming or something. Is this masquerade really necessary? You've spooked the shit out of me, man."

"Pardon?"

"Elea." I glance at my maid and she snaps her fingers. "It's now soundproof, you can drop this act, Ross."

"I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else—"

"You'll have to get rid of that mask and voice modulator anyway if you want to meet up with any girl. Be a man and don't hide like some pervert."

There's a moment of silence before the man pulls down his hood and takes off the mask. The King shows an awkward smile.

"How did you know?"

I point downwards. "At least change your boots if you are going to sneak around pretending to be someone else."

"Oh, goddammit," he curses after noticing his quite royal-looking shoes.

"Besides, that pretend-play with the nobles never worked in the first place, so let's end it already. I'm also pretty sure you'd let me know someone is coming too, instead of just sending them here without a word. Really, if Cornelia saw all of this, you'd be for an earful."

"Let's… maybe not tell her about this, okay?"

I chuckle and come closer for us to exchange a handshake. "I'll think about that. So, up for your first ride ever? Elves, right?"

"Well… yeah. Don't I need to go through screening first?"

"No need for that. I know you well." I turn to the side. "Elea, can you bring your free friends here?"

"Naturally."

She quickly leaves to do as told and I bring out one of our menu cards from my storage ring. "Here, check this out in the meanwhile. It's an upgraded version."

While he goes through the pages, I observe his reactions. Seeing some of the services mentioned there makes his brows raise and eyes widen a little. Looks like nothing changed since our last, casual meeting. I'm pretty sure he is still as inexperienced as ever and additionally completely oblivious to some possibilities the girls of other races bring to the table.

"Damn… That's quite a range of… stuff. I remember seeing a glimpse of the first iteration and it definitely wasn't as complex."

"Things have grown since then. Bit by bit, we offer more diverse and fun options."

"Definitely looks like it. I'd have never thought of a… Tiefling's Tailjob… by myself. It kinda… makes me curious."

I chuckle and tap his shoulder. "Good. Good. Hopefully, we'll keep finding more and more curious guys."

The door opens and Elea comes back with four other elves behind her. Seems like they weren't busy. I signal at them and they come closer, standing in a line in front of us.

"Welcome to Utopia, traveller," they speak in one voice and bow lightly.

I throw my arm over his shoulder and lean onto Ross from the side. "So? What do you think of my charming elves? From the left, Filue, Cinra, Roseni and Leyne."

I can hear a heavy gulp with how close to him I am. He looks completely stunned and only his eyes move all over the girls. It truly seems like he has a thing for some choco beauties with long ears. I wonder how he would react to a cute catgirl; he mentioned them too. Unfortunately, Astrea is not even a maid yet.

A slight elbow hit is necessary to bring him back from the daze. "So? Made your mind already? Just a tip, by the way, don't pick all. You can't handle them, trust me," I say with a smile and all of the girls giggle.

He looks at them and then back at me. "Uhhh… I don't know. You girls all look… stunning. Ah, they do know Common, right?"

"Enough to appreciate the compliment," I answer and they nod with beautiful smiles.

"Alright. Then… Cinra, was it? If you don't mind."

"I'll be happy to accompany you for tonight," she answers sweetly.

"Thanks… As for the services, I guess—"

"Now, now. Leave that part to me. I promised you something special and I don't plan on going back on my word," I interrupt him and steal the menu from the King's hands before he opens it again.

"Eh? But what does that—"

"Girls, please escort our honoured guest to a free VIP room. Cinra, stay with me for a moment. Elea, you can get back to your duties," I issue commands to all of my employees and push Ross into the hands of three dark-skinned women.

They surround him from all sides and make their way towards the stairs in the back. I chose the VIP room specifically so that they don't have to go through the main hall and they picked up on that without additional explanation. We made one more door leading to the corridor with the staircases just for situations like these, to avoid dragging special guests through storages or kitchen.

After everyone leaves, Cinra walks up to me. "Is that really the Human King?"

"Yeah. Are you uncomfortable with that?"

"No, I'm fine, Master. I just didn't expect him to be this… timid."

I chuckle. "Neither did I at first, but that's just how he is. I'm pretty sure he'll get less awkward with time. He just never was with a woman yet."

"Oh, so I'll have the honour to steal a king's virginity." She giggles mischievously. "What should I do then? You didn't let him pick the services."

"About that, how confident are you in your acting skills?"

"Acting? In what way?"

"Well, assuming a slightly different personality than your usual one. To give you a better idea, I'll explain something first. You see, that guy has a heavy master-servant fetish. I guess it came to be due to him always being in the highest position, so he never felt like anyone ordered him around, besides maybe his parents. I want you to act like a high and mighty noblewoman, looking down on him but in a seductive way."

Cinra ponders for a moment. "I see. That kind of acting. It's not like I did something like that in the past, but I should be more than fine. Could I ask for a bit more guidance, Master?"

"Of course. If you are wondering what to do and how to act, you just have to imagine him being your servant. Tease him a bit while acting all mischievous and tempting. Order him around, keep showing him that you are in control and that he has to serve you. Keep playfully calling him names or getting angry. I'd rather not have you hit him too much, but if you notice that he is actually into it, do as you see fit. Is this enough or do you need some more detailed suggestions?"

She shakes her head with a smile. "It's enough. I would have never thought I'd get to have a real king act as my slave, fufufu~ We'll definitely have lots of fun~"

"Great. Go and pick a nice dress for yourself from the ones we have available before you go to him. It will make it feel even more real."

Cinra nods and sneaks a peck on my cheek as she passes me. I follow her with my eyes and she seems quite excited about the job. I'm glad it's not otherwise. This will be the first case of our roleplaying service. After the new maids get comfortable, I should focus on finding a dedicated and talented tailor for costume-making, as well as talking with the girls about it. I can already guess who will be very much up for our new idea.

I've done what I could. Time to get back to the lobby. I go through the door and look around. It got a bit calmer and that man I've spoken with previously has already left. I can still hear some chatting from above so some guests must still be having fun there. I glance at Teffith and she nods, letting me know that nothing happened while I was out.

Since not much is going on, I come closer to the reception and lean my back into it. Cornelia also rests on the counter from her side.

"So. What was that about?"

"Ross came."

"What?" She sighs. "Why am I not surprised he didn't say a word. What now?"

"You don't have to worry, I took care of it and made sure he enjoys himself to the fullest," I answer with a grin.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" She glances at me. "You know he is an awkward virgin even though he doesn't exactly act like one around others?"

"I know much more than this, my beautiful Ice Queen."

I tilt my head to the side and smile at her. Cornelia stares at me for a moment and begins to close the distance between us. To avoid getting interrupted by a random customer, I lean in more and join our lips for a short kiss. She breaks it off and returns to her previous position while glancing around if anybody saw us. Cute.

Half an hour later, Cinra lets me know that they are done and heading for a quick bath now. I instruct her to bring Ross to another VIP room afterwards so that I can speak with him comfortably. I better check on him before he sneaks out. Just in case.

When she does as asked, I bid farewell to Cornelia for a moment and head to the correct room. I find Ross sprawled on the bed in quite good clothes, definitely one of his casual sets. There's no trace of the mask or cloak so I guess he completely dropped the act. He notices me coming inside and raises himself from the mattress.

"Is my head going to fly or are we good?" I ask with arms crossed over my chest.

"Bastard! You should have let me know!" He chuckles with an awkward smile.

"Right back at you."

"I should have realized you were scheming something like this behind my back. No one else would dare."

"And that's exactly why you have me. So, how was it?"

"Ugh… It was… embarrassing at first. But… as much as I hate to admit it… it was amazing. And I'm not talking just about my first time. Well… thanks."

"Hahahaha, don't be so serious. On a slightly different topic, why haven't you slept with anyone before? It's not like you had to keep it in your pants for a royal reason or you wouldn't have come here anyway."

"I just didn't meet anyone I'd fancy, that's all. Most of the people I came across were either daughters of nobles or princesses of other, subservient kingdoms. It's not like I could have gone for some casual fun with them, as you can imagine. And it's just not in my style to have secret affairs with maids. I only decided to come here because I trust you and the people you chose. And what I've experienced recently only strengthened that feeling."

"Great. We good then. Just, next time, let me know you are coming. I was ready to incapacitate you like some kind of an intruder and I'm not yet in perfect control of my strength."

"Hahaha, don't worry. I may not look like it, but I can actually take care of myself. You know that I have the Divine Templar Class and that I'm at Tier 4. My defence abilities are nothing to scoff at." He waves his hand while chuckling.

"That's exactly why I'm worried."

I move closer to a coffee table between us and place my palm on the edge of it. Making eye contact with Ross, I apply some force into my arm and pull it upwards while stepping on the table's leg with my foot. The wood begins to creak, and a moment later, I yank the top from the single pillar in the middle without much effort.

Ross raises his eyebrows at me but doesn't look that shocked. I guess even he can do this much when boosted by Physical Strengthening or whatever he has in his skills. I bring the round plank in front of my face and literally fold it in half with the next movement, sending splinters through the air, accompanied by a loud crack. The tabletop wasn't an especially thin one.

"Holy Mother of the Goddess… Weren't you weak physically? Don't tell me you got to this level by just having sex? What's your Tier?" Ross barrages me with questions, slowly uncovering his face from guarding it against the flying fragments.

"Well, technically, I did, but that's not all. And I'm at Tier 3 now. Advanced just like a day ago."

"Unbelievable. What you mean is that the Class we all considered useless is actually this powerful at Tier 3? Or did you get some amazing skills at your tier-ups?"

I throw the two pieces of wood to the side and walk closer to sit on the edge of the bed by him. With a hand gesture, I pull up my status window. "This should explain things a bit."

His eyes scan through the pink table until they stop and widen a lot. "What the hell is wrong with these numbers?! Tier 3?! That's a powerful Tier 5 or 6! Are these bonuses that big?!"

"To some extent, yeah. The deeper the feelings of a girl towards me, the more we both get from it, and I was quite fortunate to come across a few very lovely women. But, that's not the only issue. Move up."

He follows my advice and checks other things, stopping at the Titles. "Demigod of Lust? I've never heard of such a prefix…"

"Neither did I and it was different in the past if you remember. It was The Embodiment of—"

I stop instantly when I take a glance at Ross's face. It's pale as a sheet of paper. He seems to be intensively staring at one point with a completely frozen expression. Beads of sweat run down his forehead.

"Ross? You good buddy?" I wave my hand in front of his eyes until he snaps back to reality.

He fervently points at my Race and brings himself way closer to me than before, staring straight into my eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asks in a low and quiet tone. I can't judge if he is angry or utterly scared.

"The past week was quite a chaotic one and some things happened. It includes me literally moulting after waking up due to that thing."

"How much do you know about it?"

"Uhhh… It's an extinct race of supposedly first beings to live in this world? And that they were quite something in their era, being able to utilize their bodies and abilities to the fullest."

"These are just basics. It's said that Primordials are the progenitors of almost all the humanoid races. Their relationships with various monsters and different kinds of ancient and mystical beings were what brought existences like Beastkin, Demons or Elves forth. Also, the very last Primordial founded the very first Human kingdom, as our oldest records state."

"Wait. Don't tell me—"

Ross suddenly summons something from his storage ring and grabs one of my hands at the same time. He cuts my finger with a small knife and presses it against another thing he brings out - a hexagonal plaque out of some white mineral.

I watch as the weird item flashes with a golden glow and my blood gets sucked into many, tiny rows of some formation engraved in it. After all of them get completely filled, it flashes again and literally flies out of our hands.

The artifact hangs in the air and my stolen blood turns gold too, making the whole thing look divine. It suddenly releases a sequence of deep sounds and noises that I completely don't understand. No. That's wrong. I instinctively know it's a language I don't know, perhaps thanks to my maxed Linguist. I get the feeling that it's about something positive rather than negative.

The object stops glowing after it finishes 'speaking' and falls to the ground. I glance questioningly at Ross. "What was that abou—"

I'm interrupted again, this time, by him jumping off the bed and standing in front of me. He then suddenly drops onto one knee and lowers his head.

"I, Rossberg Ruminas, the 152nd King of Evalitia, otherwise known as the Divine Land, greet the Progenitor."

And he stays like that. Unmoving. While I stay taken aback. After finally returning to my senses like half a minute later, I lean forward and tap his shoulder.

"Dude, you are creeping me out a little. What the fuck are you on about?"

"Since ancient times the royal family was tasked with guarding the Mark of the Founder until he would finally return to us. Primordials are immortal, they can't die from old age. The Founder left the kingdom after managing it for a hundred years, promising to return one day. To avoid others from impersonating him, the last Primordial, he created this artifact which verifies one's race, and I used it to confirm that you are not lying. I apologize for not trusting you, but this is a matter in which I had to act according to the instructions passed down by the consecutive rulers of Evalitia," he explains without raising his head.

"Okaaaaaaaaaaaay. But even so, get up. I might have that Primordial blood, but I'm not your Founder; just some random dude turned into a Primordial by the Goddess."

He finally raises his head. "By the Goddess?"

"Yes. Now, sit back on the bed or I'll drag you there myself. Let me fill you in properly."

Ross does as I say and returns to his previous spot. I mentally let my girls know I'll be leaving things to them for a while longer and instruct them to contact me whenever they would need anything. Then, I try to summarize the recent events again, stressing the whole thing about becoming a Primordial. I have no idea what the royal family is passing down, but I'm certainly not the proper person to suddenly inherit a fucking nation.

"I see… I knew you were something since the start, but I would never have thought you'd get to meet the Goddess in person," he comments after I finish.

"Yeah. So, to make things clear, I'm not some great Founder. This whole system is flawed. How could you assume he really was the last one?"

"Because the kingdom was founded over a thousand years after they disappeared, with him being in hiding or something. Also, supposedly, their people were connected to each other and that's how he knew he was the last."

I sigh. "Still. He could have made it so that it only recognizes him. I won't believe it was impossible."

"But, for whatever reason, it was made like that and we had no way to change anything. We were just handed this story down under an oath to follow the commandments and pass them to the people after us."

"So, who else knows?"

"Only me and Mother, of course."

"Let's keep this between us then."

"What? Why?"

"To avoid unnecessary chaos. I'm not the guy you are waiting for. I don't want to suddenly be revered more than the King of Humanity just because I'm a fake Primordial. But well, if you think you can manage to share this news with her while also conveying what I mean right now, you are free to do so," I explain.

He ponders for a moment while rubbing his chin and then looks back at me. "Alright. It's not that I want it either. There is just this whole sacred oath and stuff that's supposed to torment your soul if you ever disrespect the Founder or such, but seeing that I'm not yet in excruciating pain, I guess it doesn't take you into consideration." He smiles awkwardly. "So, a Primordial, huh."

"You are not even questioning the part about the Goddess." I chuckle.

"Why would I? She summoned you guys here, I literally used an ancient blood test on you, which came positive, and to top all of that, I trust you as a friend. We need to meet up for a nice chat one day. I'd love to talk about her. And you. Things are a little bit different now after I saw all of this." He glances at me again.

"I know. You are currently thinking how you don't want to do it since you promised to leave me be, but you feel like you have the responsibility to ask me for active help with the Calamity now that I turned out to be quite strong."

He shows a wry smile. "Right on point."

"Well, I certainly won't suddenly rush straight at any Abyssal spotted while abandoning everything I've built up to this point, but don't forget that I always planned to explore a little bit after setting things up properly. And we are quite close to finishing up. I don't mind taking a small detour while out of the city to check a report or two," I say with a smile.

"You truly are a godsend, Al. Literally and metaphorically. The other Heroes are doing a great job too. We didn't gather much yet, but there's progress. And they headed for another outbreak just recently. It actually happened close to where they were staying."

"Glad to know they are fine. Guess I now have an actual reason to meet up with them sometime soon."

"Definitely. And well… I'm sure you could help them… one way or another… now that you are much stronger…"

I roll my eyes and punch him into the shoulder just strong enough to send him tumbling over the bed.

"Do not think I don't know what you are insinuating, you perverted king. Looks like popping your cherry made you cheekier instead of more mature," I say and chuckle.

"Anyway," he fixes himself up after my punch, "you becoming a Primordial is actually a great thing if we consider travelling around the world, especially to other continents."

"Why is that?"

"You are not a Human anymore, technically speaking. It could help you get out of possible trouble. Not many commonfolk know about Primordials, but those who do will definitely show at least some respect or fear."

"Do you think they would believe me just like that?"

"I haven't ever heard of someone being able to fake their Status. People rarely even show it to others, so the credibility of it is quite high. It doesn't mean that everyone will instantly trust you completely, but the majority should."

"So, I can act like I'm a Human here and try to use my Primordial race to get around non-human territories with my companions. That sure sounds at least a bit helpful."

He stands up from the bed and summons a cloak from his storage artifact. "Let's wrap it up for now. I took way more of your time than I meant to and our conversation went heavily off the tracks. We were supposed to talk about my first time, not about you becoming a demigod." He chuckles and dons the cover. Without the mask this time.

"True. We'll be in contact then."

We shake hands.

"Oh, and Al. Did you arrange a meeting with Mother for tonight?" he suddenly asks.

"Huh? No, why?"

"She looked unusually elated whenever I saw her. She was often going around with a letter in her hands. When asked about it, she only told me she is really looking forward to the end of the day."

I laugh and place my other hand on his shoulder. "If I were you, I'd choose the furthest bedchamber from hers for tonight."

I shake my head and leave it at that, guiding Ross out of the room. He stares at me suspiciously the whole way to the secret staircase where we separate. Poor man. Just when things must have started calming down. Well, he should be used to it.

Cornelia gives me a short report of what I missed and we continue working through the rest of the night. It's a really impressive one. We had many more guests than previously, especially in the recreational zone. I thank the tiefling girls for this properly during our post-work meeting. It was hugely their influence.

Shawure jumps at me and almost mounts me right in the middle of the meeting in front of everyone after receiving her praise and Elea has to pry her off me with Sirgia's help. She might not care, but I'm pretty sure the rest isn't into a watch party.

Anyway, we sum everything up and I mention to them that I would want to talk about a few things after we all rest, mostly with those who tend to more intimate services. Cinra quickly picks up what it's about and winks at me.

I move to my room and sit down to do some work before going to sleep. Just a little bit of finance management, checking on our progress with the ideas and plans I've previously written down, and verifying these meant for the future.

At some point, the door to my room opens. Surprisingly, it's the one connecting it to my neighbour and Cornelia walks inside while still wearing her working dress and the collar. I'm a little bit confused since we've just slept together the last time, but as I said previously, I have no idea how their night system works.

"Just a second. I'll finish in a moment," I tell her and focus on wrapping things up quickly.

Before I manage to do so, Cornelia approaches me from behind and entwines her arms around my chest.

"I'm here… for my reward…" she whispers to my ear.