Chapter One
“She is very drunk,” Kora observed while glancing over toward Reve. The kitsune’s milky pupils were focused on the dancing Dark Lord, with Vester’s passive illusions allowing her to see the bat-winged woman doing her best to dance with Li Ra.
“They both are,” Vester agreed with a chuckle. “Kromm’s reward for bringing news of the Church of Light’s betrayal was a solid addition to our treasury and Krysta used a chunk of it to throw this party.”
The pandali in question was flat on her back on Vester’s lap, a cupcake wrapper covering her fuzzy face.
Her stomach was distended from the amount of pastries she’d put away, and she was hugging her tail like a stuffed animal while she snored into the crumbs.
Vester idly scratched behind her ears and smiled down at her.
Kora shifted, leaning against him and curling her tails against his back while her hand brushed against his chest. “Is Skylar still working on her new golem frame?” she asked. The Elemental Knight looked like she was considering dragging Skylar out of her workshop to make her join in.
“She is,” Vester said with a nod. “She wants to make sure she’s made every improvement she can to her combat golems, but she’s still waffling on whether to take the mining puppets out and replace them with more offensive-focused models.”
It had been a week since his fight with Jack, and the Church of Light had yet to make a move against them.
A courier from the Adventurer’s Guild had come to take all the gear they’d claimed from their attackers, and they’d also brought a note from Kromm stating her intention to ransom it back to Peace’s followers if they came looking for it.
Vester had hired the same courier to bring messages to his contacts among the crafters, and they’d arranged for wagons to come take the various harvested pieces of monsters off his hands.
The Party had put in some supply requisitions, bartered a good portion of their profits, and begun their preparations for their delve.
They still had their journey to the eleventh floor ahead of them, but Krysta had insisted they celebrate first.
The celebration had gone well. The food was good, the drinks were plentiful, and Vester had entertained everyone by playing music from Earth.
He had yet to adjust to the music on Ordinal.
Most of the native songs he’d encountered were performed by instruments that sounded a great deal like flutes, high-pitched guitars, and light drumming—which made his introduction of Linkin Park an eye-opening experience for his Party.
None of that had prepared him for the sight of Reve and Li Ra, two of the more dignified members of his Party, getting wasted and belly dancing to One Step Closer.
It was a life changing moment—especially since Li had stripped down to just her vest and trousers, while Reve still wore nothing but the bikini-like armor they’d gotten at the Trading Post.
He must have been watching a little too long, because Kora pinched his hip while giving him a tiny nip on his jawbone.
“Already thinking of completing your harem?”
she teased. The kitsune waited until he turned to glance at her, then gave him a proper kiss.
Vester looped an arm around her waist and pulled her in closer.
Reve isn’t the only one who’s had a bit too much to drink, he thought. Or maybe Kora doesn’t care that the woman can likely hear everything being said in the house. Reve’s Perception Aura is no joke.
“I can look without being greedy,” he replied. “Besides, she’s dancing with Li, so I get to watch my lover moving with another beautiful woman. I’m pretty sure they’d revoke my man card if I ignored that.”
“ ‘Man card’?” she repeated in confusion.
Her brows furrowed and she flattened her ears back against the top of her head.
“What is a… man card?” Her confusion didn’t fade for the entire time Vester explained the idea of a meme and traditional masculine norms—she finally stopped him by kissing him once more.
“You’re drunk. You are drunk, and your world makes no sense at all,” she decided.
“We’re all drunk,” he countered. “Well, except maybe Skylar. I’m not sure if she stuck around long enough to have anything more than the wine Krysta served with dinner.”
He’d had more than a few glasses, and Kora wasn’t wrong that his head was floating, but he was probably the soberest person in this room.
It was a good night.
The next morning, Vester woke up with a mouth that tasted like the inside of a sweat sock that had been lying in the sun all day.
He yawned, working his tongue around in an attempt to gain some moisture, and then coughed when Krysta’s tail tried to invade his throat.
His desperate attempts to avoid fluff-induced asphyxiation woke the pandali, and she climbed onto his face to wrap her arms and legs around his head with a sleepy—and disgruntled—chirp.
He managed to peel his snoring lover off his face, only to realize Skylar was draped across his body.
The blue-skinned woman was still dressed in her tank top and overalls, and she’d fallen diagonally across the bed.
When he tried to move, she tightened her arms around his hips and buried her face into his thigh with a grumpy noise.
Skylar was a strong woman, so Vester’s legs immediately began to go numb as she cut off circulation to his knees.
It took about three minutes of gently tugging on her braid to get her to loosen up enough for him to replace his thigh with Krysta’s furry form, and then he slipped away to take a shower.
The hot water helped him wake up, and Vester scrubbed his face to get off the last few red-and-black hairs from Krysta’s tail. By the time he’d finished brushing out his own silver locks and dried off, he was feeling alive again.
Thank Non that Krysta’s Sanctuary boosts passive restoration. Not waking up with a hangover is marvelous. If I’d drank like that on Earth, I’d have a migraine from hell all day—not to mention I’d be too nauseous to stomach breakfast.
He picked up his clothes and dressed, making sure his uniform was impeccable before he took up Trickster’s Cane and headed down to the kitchen.
The smell of frying meat led him to Reve and Li; the pair were standing over the stove and flipping some slabs of meat to give them the barest sear possible while still claiming they were cooked.
“Would you like a steak?” Reve asked, glancing back at him. On her left, Li Ra moved away from the stove to pick up a pitcher of blue fruit juice that smelled like pineapple and poured it into a tall glass for him.
“Yes, though I like mine cooked a bit more than yours,” he replied with a smile. He had no real issues with Reve’s love of near-raw meat. She’d been a hematophage before she’d evolved sapience, and her tastes still ran toward rare at best. “About how Li likes hers would be fine.”
He accepted his glass from Li Ra and planted a kiss on the oni’s cheek, then he sat down at the kitchen table.
The Frontier Duelist’s cheeks had flushed pink, and Vester offered her a warm smile when she took a moment to brush her hand across his shoulder.
Their relationship was still new, so he was working on learning what level of public affection she felt comfortable with.
“At least you do not burn the meat to death like Skylar,” Reve murmured, though he swore she sounded disappointed that he enjoyed medium-rare meat.
Skylar’s steaks were only medium, and Reve considered that an abomination.
Vester was fairly certain the Avatar of Life would have cried if he’d ever cooked her one of the steaks his father had liked—charred on the outside and free of juices.
“She’s not that bad,” Li Ra said, unknowingly echoing Vester’s musing, “she simply doesn’t like her food leaking blood. Most of her people are vegetarians. Being raised in the orphanage among humans gave Skylar different tastes.”
This was the first time anyone had mentioned Skylar’s people around Vester, and he was ashamed to admit that he had no idea what she was, or what her people had been called.
It had never seemed like a big deal, because Skylar’s origin in this kingdom was completely disconnected from her society—but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to take the chance to learn more about her.
“What are her people like?” he asked Li, hoping the oni wouldn’t realize he was entirely clueless about Skylar’s race.
“The djinn come from a desert land far to the west across the ocean,” Li Ra said. “They rarely actually travel to this continent. Their empire is based on magic, and they’re considered some of the greatest magitech artisans on Ordinal. But they’re also very insular. It’s rare to see them here.”
She’s a djinn? Vester blinked, resisting the temptation to shake his head. I feel like I should make some kind of joke about how she made every one of my wishes come true, but that’s just too corny, even for me.
“I thought djinn were fire specialists?” Reve said, a confused look flashing over her face. “In the Empire of Beasts, they are considered some of the greatest elemental mages.”
“Those are ifrit,” Li said. “The ifrit are another race who live within the desert, and they have a natural affinity to flames and spellcasting in general. There are some scholars who think the ifrit and djinn began as a unified people,
while others insist the similarities are just a result of life in the desert. The only true difference is the color of the runes on their skin.”
Vester sipped his juice, nodded his thanks to Reve when the woman placed a plate before him, and cocked his head to listen as she asked, “Do the runes serve some purpose? They’re unlike any magical symbols I have seen before. I have never encountered their like on anyone else.”
Li Ra offered a shrug. “I don’t know. The oni tribes trade with djinn merchants sometimes, we have a few gemstone mines in our territory that they need for their machinery. It is my understanding that the djinn don’t discuss their markings with anyone.”
Huh, I wonder why? Vester picked up a knife and began cutting into his steak. I’ve seen Skylar’s runes glow, and they seem to be connected to her mood, but I’ve never sensed mana coming off them. I could ask her, but if it was something significant, I feel like she’d have told me by now.
He had a weird moment when he remembered that no two leopards had the same spot pattern, and part of him wondered if the runes were just…
glowing patterns, rather than anything significant.
The mental image of Skylar as a zebra or spotted cat made him smile, and he quickly popped some steak into his mouth to avoid saying something stupid.
“The number of surface races can be overwhelming,” Reve said while eating her own food. Her plate had upraised sides, and Vester knew better than to watch her eat—at some point she’d tip the plate up over her mouth to drink the blood that had leaked free.
“There are many people on Ordinal,” Li Ra agreed with a nod of her head.
The table fell silent while everyone enjoyed their meal, and once they’d finished Vester took over cleaning the dishes.
He thought it was only fair since they’d made him breakfast.
By the time he’d finished scrubbing off the last plate Kora, Skylar, and Krysta came down the stairs.
Krysta had returned to her humanoid form, though she still looked sleepy.
It’s always her left ear that droops when she’s half asleep, he noted with a fond grin.
That and the way she hugs her tail like she’s worried she’ll leave it behind.
He took the plates he’d just dried and set them on the table, then picked up the skillet.
“Would you ladies enjoy some steaks for breakfast?”
He moved to the ice box and took out several more slabs of meat, laughing when Krysta tried—and failed—to push him aside to cook. He made her sit down, then he began heating the skillet. While it warmed up, Vester selected several fruits he knew his lovers enjoyed and sliced them into sections.
He had to be careful with the weird orange-and-pink-striped plum-thing—Krysta had taught him to avoid its triangular seed.
The damned things were toxic if the seed got cut, but the girls loved the flavor of the fruit itself.
Fortunately, his dexterity was so high there was almost no chance he’d make that mistake… again.
While they nibbled on fruit, Vester spiced and grilled the steaks to preference, then set to brewing tea for Kora.
Skylar and Krysta were more than happy having the same juice he’d enjoyed, but Kora preferred a strong brew that smelled of coconut and jasmine.
Vester didn’t enjoy the floral aftertaste, but he had to admit the tea had enough caffeine to give a diehard e-girl a heart attack.
Tea served, steaks plated, and second breakfast underway, Vester sat down to go over the deliveries they were expecting. Kora had been keeping track of the gear they’d ordered and was certain the last of the supplies should arrive by tomorrow evening at the latest.
Skylar wasn’t thrilled, since she wasn’t going to be able to finish her new frame before they had to leave, but Vester promised to reserve some of his storage space for the raw materials she’d need to work on it on the go.
The simple truth was that Skylar’s golems were becoming so complex she couldn’t simply use Shape Materials to sculpt the parts by hand anymore.
Her upgraded skills required a level of coordination she struggled with because she hadn’t yet boosted her dexterity.
When Vester offered to work on enchanting some gloves for her that might raise that attribute, she looked ready to climb into his lap and ‘thank him’ there at the table.
Krysta grinned, perking up at the display of affection, while Kora just shook her head and flicked some water on the pandali to calm her down. Vester laughed and kissed Skylar back, then promised he’d start researching the enchantments to figure out the best way to put it together.
There were benefits to his profession, but he’d never be as skilled as someone with the full Enchanter class. Still, if she only needed dexterity-boosting gloves, he might be able to manage that.
It’s a shame I can’t assist more. Weaving the muscles for Reve’s artificial limbs was mind numbing, but it was something I could help with. Skylar can’t soften a material for me to shape, and she’s starting to need parts that are too intricate to cast in molds.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud knock at the door.