Tensei Skill Shop Chapter 28

Tensei Skill Shop

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 28:

<What do you think of this couch? It’s big enough to seat all four of us.> 

<Oh, that looks good,> I agreed after reviewing the image. <What’s the price like?>

<Only seven thousand jewels. Irene-chan picked it.> Uzume conveyed to me.

<Nice selection, Irene,> I praised the woman. She adapted to current sensibilities well.

<...thank you.> She replied shyly, a brief jolt of joy sparking through our bond.

<This sucks,> The bespectacled redhead next to me complained in our telepathic chat, <Why does the presentation have to be now of all times? I wanted to go shopping as a group!>

I reached out and patted her hand consolingly. <There can be other shopping trips. You agreed that this was more important, remember,> I reminded her.

<I know,> Matsu replied grumpily, <But I still don’t like it.>

<Fine, we’ll do something to cheer- Oh, one moment.>

<Hm? What happened, Irene?> I asked, directing my question at the one with Uzume.

<Leafeon wanted some attention.> My other redhead Sekirei reported.

<I suppose us talking too much made her feel lonely. Oh, looks like we’re up.>

The reason for that was the frog-like being that came through the door of the waiting room we were in, stopping near us. He consulted the clipboard he carried before looking around at the people present.

“Martsoo? Here to present a new form of magic?” He pronounced her name strangely.

“I believe that’s me.” Matsu stood up, dusting her skirt off, presenting a demure image for all those present.

<Good luck, Rick-dono, Matsu-dono,> Irene sent to us before the mental link ended.

With the messenger guiding us, we were led into a large room where several old men sat in a semicircle. Matsu adjusted her glasses, affecting a professional manner.

“Good morning to all you council members. My name is Matsu, and I have come to present a new form of magic that I believe will be very useful. Presenting… Archive.”

As she talked, and demonstrated the applications of Archive with my assistance, I could see the doubtful expressions of the council members get replaced by interest and anticipation. For one, it would help them maintain better control over the various mage guilds, which was the council’s main responsibility. However, we listed out several more benefits, such as the economical and organizational, and included plans for how to manage Archive’s development and dissemination.

My Speech-related skills might have contributed a little, but Matsu’s planning and preparations carried the most of it.

“And that is the end of my presentation. Now, does the council have any questions?”

A bald old man with a prominent mustache leaned forward. “Yes. How soon can you start?”

Matsu smiled. “As soon as we’ve agreed on a reasonable compensation.”

Later that night, our group of four sat around the dining table, enjoying the dinner cooked by Uzume. Leafeon was napping on the windowsill, enjoying the last bit of sunset.

Our current place of residence was in Era, where the headquarters of Ishgar’s Magic Council was located, and this close proximity would work to our benefit as our data collection plan was carried out.

“So what do you think of this city, Irene?” 

“It’s quite peaceful, with all those rune knights patrolling the place. The magic development culture here is quite interesting as well.”

“Feel free to explore it while we’re here,” I told her with a smile. “We’re going to be here for quite a while.”

The dinner conversation meandered on.

“So what other things do we still need to buy?”

“Well, there’s quite a few things left, but I think we can get some of them secondhand to save money.”

“I doubt we would be bringing back all of these with us when we leave.”

“By the way, how much are you two getting for your work?”

“Not as much as we hoped, but the council could just be playing it safe.”

“By the way, Irene-tan, how about joining us in the bath today?” Matsu suddenly invited.

Irene blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Y’see, me and Uzume-tan think that we should get to know each other better! And one good way of doing that is through bathing skinship!”

Next to her, Uzume was nodding in agreement. When Irene looked at me for help, I smiled at her encouragingly.

“Alright then… I’ll join the two of you.” She was still a little uncertain, but accepted the invitation nonetheless.

The sounds from the bathroom later were quite amusing and stimulating to listen to, as Irene learned just what Matsu’s definition of skinship was. 

And so, our temporary life in Era began.

In terms of daily routine, Matsu and I were working for the magic council, teaching mages how to make use of Archive magic, and working to establish a system for its use. The benefits were almost instantly visible; information was transcribed and stored, and with Matsu’s special organizational system, acted upon with stunning efficiency.

Uzume looked after the mansion we were renting, dabbling in various hobbies, like growing herbs with Leafeon’s help, but mostly working on magical outfits and accessories. Quite like the clothing version of Erza’s armors, though it would take time to develop a reputation.

Meanwhile, Irene was breaking out of her shell. After our first time together, her behavior brightened noticeably, with more smiles and laughter at the other two’s jokes and teasing. As she interacted more with the rest of us, her confidence in her role within our group grew. Most of the time, she fell back to her former queenly persona, though more like a supportive big sister combining the qualities of Miya and Kazehana. When it was just us, she would reveal a side of her that was more… cuddly and needy. 

For someone who previously had a monogamous relationship, Irene adapted quite quickly to being in a polygamous one as a Sekirei. That made for some rather fun times in the bedroom, especially after Matsu persuaded her into accepting threesomes and foursomes, on top of exploring her own kinks. 

Still, we were in Era for a reason, and as the spread of Archive magic grew to the point it became self-sustaining, the benefits came pouring in. Thanks to all the data copying measures Matsu secretly installed beforehand, we soon had access to info on magics of all sorts. Both Caster-type and Holder-type magics, not just in variety, but in rarity as well. 

There were even peeks at the frontline of research into new fields of magics, not to mention notes on magical artifacts ranging from the simple to those dangerous enough to be sealed away. Their attempts to keep such stuff secret were useless, because the foundation they were building upon was on Matsu’s carefully laid web. 

There was literally no end to it, and I happily yoinked whatever I could for future trades with Sano.

With so much available to us, we naturally took advantage of it to round out our magical expertise and training, and we shared some of the discoveries we made. It only took a single demonstration to solidify Matsu’s reputation as a master of Archive magic.

“Did you know that Archive can be used offensively?” Matsu began, then pointed at one of the students who raised his hand. “Yes, cadet.”

“Do you mean Overload?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Of course, it’s not very powerful,” She waved a hand, causing three glowing screens to appear in front of the training dummy, and knocking it away when they exploded, “Because the effect is caused by making the display function fail explosively, which can’t compare to a spell that’s designed to cause damage.”

“Then it’s not really an offensive spell, is it?” Another student scoffed. “I don’t see why I should waste time learning this useless magic.”

“Hmm,” Matsu crossed her arms in a way that triggered my sense of danger, “Then why don’t you demonstrate an attack spell for us?”

“Fine. Just you watch!” The student came out in front, and made a few gestures to call upon his magic. “Behold-!”

BOOM!

His spell suddenly blew up in his face, leaving him smoking and unconscious. The class broke down into confused panic, wondering just what had happened.

“Now,” Matsu spoke up as though nothing had happened, “How many of you noticed what I did?”

Can’t say he didn’t deserve that…  I continued observing as she explained the trick behind the self-immolation.

On top of Archive magic, Matsu also started looking into Sealing magic, since they shared a common factor of storing something away. The normal Archive magic had weak offense and defense, but with Sealing magic, Matsu figured out how to disrupt other magic spells. With a quick transfer of her prepackaged program, she could negate a spell by removing the core essence powering it, or make it blow up explosively by causing its ‘program’ to run erroneously.

Obviously it was her Sekirei ability combined with her tuning experience that allowed her to make such effective counterspells, but there were a few of our students who came close to replicating those tricks, and they quickly rose in the ranks as they proved their effectiveness in apprehending rogue mages.

Our work for the magic council granted us some benefits, which we shared with the other two as well. One of those benefits was the use of the special training areas for rune knights and other mages affiliated with the council, which was usually used for our students, but we were able to obtain additional permission.

“How is this batch of students doing?” 

Right on time. “Oh, Uzume, Irene! And hello to you too, Leafeon.”

“Fee~!” The Pokemon returned my greeting.

“They’re doing pretty well, but I think a battle demonstration might push them along more.”

The two of them caught my meaning instantly.

“Instructor Rick, who are those two women?” One of the students asked.

“They’re precious companions of mine, here today to engage in some magic training,” I answered the question. “You all should observe their spar. I’ll referee.”

Uzume and Irene began walking, putting distance between each other and their audience. As for Leafeon, she stuck next to me, sitting down to observe the battle as well.

“I hope you’ll do better this time, Uzume-dono,” Irene said, brandishing a magic staff.

“Don’t worry, I’ve been preparing for this rematch.” Uzume took a long stream of cloth and spun it around herself, emerging in a bikini and shorts.

Her skimpy outfit drew appreciative cheers and whistles from the male crowd, and I resolved to be harder on them later. That’s MY girl you’re leering at…!

“Trying for speed, I see…” I heard Irene murmur to herself.

“Alright, get ready… FIGHT!”

Uzume made the first move, sending multiple streamers of cloth at her opponent. 

“You started with that before.” Irene tapped her staff on the ground, causing a small shockwave that diverted the cloth.

“No, it’s different. And I knew you would do that.” The cloth-user swept both hands out, tapping the streamers at her sides. “Yellow plus, yellow minus!”

The white color of the cloth suddenly turned to yellow, and took on a sparking aura. The next moment, the two auras concentrated at the point of the lengths nearest to Irene, glowing dangerously. I saw Irene’s eyes widen, before a crackling explosion engulfed her.

“That power…!” “That’s insane…!” My students reacted with shock, as expected.

The cloud of smoke was suddenly blown away, revealing an unharmed Irene. 

“She’s unhurt?!” “Just how did she do that?”

“Deus Corona. I enchanted lightning resistance on myself,” The enchanter mage answered the overheard question, “Good move, but is that all?”

“Nope! It’s just the setup for the next one!” Uzume had pulled back one of the other cloths, rolling it up in her hands. “Gray solid!”

The ream turned into the color she called out, looking very much like a roll of metal instead, and by the looks of Uzume, just as heavy.

“Trying for power this time? But you’ve sacrificed speed for that.” Irene spoke up for the audience’s benefit, so they could at least understand.

Seems like Irene hasn’t realized what the real move is. I readied myself to step in.

“You think so?” Uzume grinned, then released her hold on the grey cloth. “Boom.”

Once again, Irene’s eyes widened in surprise as the still-yellow streamers on either side sparked to life once more. And yet again, dust exploded at the redhead’s position, courtesy of the projectile fired by Uzume’s makeshift railgun.

“How was that?” She called out.

The dust cleared naturally this time, showing a slightly dirty Irene clutching the gray cloth in a trembling hand. 

“That took me… by surprise… I barely managed to… enhance my defenses.” Irene released the cloth, which cracked the ground it fell on. “Now… my turn!”

The glow of an enchantment covered Irene, and she dashed towards Uzume, their clash kicking up even more dust, to the awe of those watching.

Uzume had finally figured out her preferred combination of magics, going for something she called [Color Elements]. By imbuing colors into the cloth she controlled, she could attack with their imbued effect, or activate them to release a more powerful version. The effects could be elemental, but she also mixed in a few others as backup options.

“Fe-on!” 

SKRANG

The silvery cloth that sliced a gouge in the ground was blocked from hitting me by Leafeon’s glowing tail, the Grass Pokemon having leapt up to defend me from the stray attack. I nodded to her in thanks.

“Sorry!” Uzume apologized, still in the middle of her fight.

I knew that she also had a few special color combinations, but it looked like she was holding those back this time. So overall, Uzume’s magic is like a mix of Kamika’s and Cana’s… She’s not using her magic outfits either.

“Diabolus-”

“White purity!”

Whatever debuff spell Irene was about to cast was negated by Uzume. I glimpsed their smiles as they broke apart and repositioned themselves again.

At this point of time, it was three decades before Irene made her canon appearance during the Alvarez Empire’s invasion arc, so her level of ability obviously couldn’t compare, but the potential was unmistakably there. The power, speed, and scale of her casting had improved by leaps and bounds, not to mention the variety of her enchantment spells. Her expertise with debuffs was just as frightening, and I honestly dreaded the thought of fighting her, not just because she’s one of my Sekireis.

Can’t wait to see that talent applied to working with the magic-related skills in Sano’s shop. 

Despite her magical girl-like appearance, Irene wasn’t just a strong mage; she had fought on the battlefield as a queen leading her troops, and her creation of Dragon Slayer Magic meant that had experience using its physical-based Caster-type spells, meaning that she was very familiar with physical fighting. And considering that the enemies she faced were dragons, she developed a very effective battle instinct.

The kick she lashed out would have dealt quite a bit of damage, but it met Uzume’s hasty defence, sending a loud metallic ring as heel met grey magic cloth. With an impressed-sounding hum, the redhead retreated from the large square barrier that was concealing her opponent from view.

From my angle, I could see what was being prepared. Oh, Uzume’s pulling out her ATs. Looks like she really wants to win.

I winced as another kick hit the barrier, this time from the other side and with much more force, sending it flying at Irene. Before it made contact, the square suddenly split into two halves, flying by harmlessly on either side. Irene had enchanted her staff with sharpness, and used it to cut the cloth.

Unfortunately, Uzume was already within range, thanks to the acceleration granted by the ATs. 

“STOP!” 

The two women froze in place, creating a rather memorable view; Uzume had one foot aimed at Irene’s neck, while having the redhead’s staff aimed at her chest, with several lengths of green cloth wrapping around each of their limbs. It looked like a draw.

Since I had called a halt to their spar, they carefully extracted themselves from each other, giving nods of respect. The audience that had gathered to watch clapped appreciatively as well.

“Good fight, you two.”

“It’s my loss,” Irene admitted quietly under the sound of the cheering crowd. “What was that green color that made me unable to move? I enchanted myself with poison resistance, but that wasn’t it.”

“Heh-heh! That’s my secret!” Uzume winked at me, silently telling me not to give it away.

So she’s also working on those seven types too, huh… We really should pay that world a visit sometime soon. I looked at my students. “Alright, form pairs! It’s your turn next!”

Teaching them also helped to improve my [Trainer] skill proficiency, even if it wasn’t to the same degree of progress as it was in Skyrim.

…

It was now more than half a year since we entered Earth Land, and Irene had integrated with us fully. And not just in bedroom matters. By now, it was pretty safe to say that we didn’t have to worry about her regressing back into a dragon, even if the final verdict lay with Sano.

Archive had gone through several rounds of developments, and was very fast becoming the Earth Land’s version of Internet. For those people who lacked the magic to make use of it, there were magic tools, lacrimas as they were referred to here, that replicated the same effect, with companies striving to craft better versions each generation. According to the council’s analysts, Ishgar would soon see a technological boom at the current rate of progress.

Naturally there were those who sought to abuse it, like those who delved into the dark side of magic, or wished to use Archive to support their own criminal activities. Most we ignored or tolerated, with the exception of the truly heinous, who were ‘conveniently’ found out and targeted. But even so, the money-making potential of Archive was evident to anyone who paid attention.

And thus, Matsu’s importance to the whole thing was eventually revealed, painting a target on her. That predictably led to trouble coming after her, and us as well.

“Enough already! Just hand over the- URK!”

Whatever the man was trying to say was cut off, courtesy of my elbow jabbed into his torso. His eyes rolled back until all I could see was white, and I quickly withdrew to focus on the last remaining member.

The bald guy was already fleeing, and I prepared myself to chase after him.

“Allow me.”

There was a blur of movement passing by me, before the man was suddenly slammed into the ground, with a beautiful woman stepping on his head as the center of the crater that just formed. Her long red hair settled down as gravity caught up, and she flashed me a confident smile.

“Alright, that’s all of them. Time to call the knights.” 

“I’ll gather these men together then.”

As Irene brought out a staff and began waving it around, levitating the defeated enemies into a pile in front of her, I pulled out a small tube and aimed it at the sky. A quick press of the button shot a glowing ball of light upwards, where it hovered over our location, casting a dull red glow over everything.

Moments later, there were shouts and the sound of running feet, before a bunch of men in priest-like robes came around the corner, slowing as they caught sight of us mid-approach.

“Halt! Identify yourselves!” The leader ordered.

“Sir, it’s them again!” One of the others spoke up.

The first man frowned, casting a suspicious look around the place as he came closer. “Where is your companion? Was she abducted?”

“She’s right here.” I pulled a card out of my pocket, and channeled my magic into it.

With a poof of smoke, Matsu appeared from it, landing gracefully on her feet. She quickly glanced around, taking in the visible details.

“Good job, Rick-tan, Irene-tan! Thanks for protecting me again!” She praised us, before looking at the man. “Can I trouble you to take these people into custody, commander?”

“Yes, ma’am!” The commander quickly ordered his men to do so. “Will you need any escort back to your home?”

“I think I’ll be fine with my bodyguards. Besides, it’s not that far from here.”

“Understood. We will submit a report as soon as we’ve processed these men. Please stay safe!”

With a quick salute, the group of rune knights, the military division of Ishgar’s magic council, departed with their prisoners in tow. Matsu continued to wave until they were out of sight, before sighing tiredly.

“This is the fourth time this month. It’s becoming more common,” She complained as she started walking, with Irene and I falling in alongside her.

“Suffering from success, as they say.”

“Have the rune knights managed to catch the culprits of the previous ones yet?” Irene asked, using her magic staff as a walking stick.

“One of them is still free, but the net around them is narrowing. The rest are still being interrogated, supposedly.”

I refrained from asking the question in my mind, because we were still out in public. However, knowing Matsu, she had made up her mind already. 

Looks like it’s about time to cash out. I felt the Wisdom Sekirei grab onto my hand, and curled my fingers around hers in a reassuring squeeze.

We soon arrived at a small mansion, with Irene unlocking the gate with a tap of her staff. The final member of our group was waiting within, concern mixed with her smile.

“Welcome back, you three.” Uzume paused as she studied us. “Another attempted kidnapping?”

“That’s right, Uzume-tan! It’s so annoying!” Matsu whined, throwing herself at the brunette in a hug that buried her face in boobs.

“Ahahaha… there, there…” The Veil Sekirei looked at the two of us. “Dinner’s ready, I can serve anytime.”

“Then let’s eat first, and we can talk later,” I decided, with Irene nodding in agreement.

The magic council reacted quickly after the first attempt more than a month ago, implementing security measures to prevent a repeat, even offering special mage bodyguards. Rather than accept that last one, Matsu chose the rest of us to fulfill that role.

And it paid off greatly in terms of practical experience; overpowering them directly, countering their magics with the directly opposing attribute, or even outright sealing them, there was no shortage of methods I got to test. 

Obviously, going the jack of all trades way had some element of risk, considering Matsu’s safety was at stake, but I wasn’t her only defender. And I wasn’t the only one to improve from the live-fire exercises. 

“What are you grinning about, Rick-dono?” Irene asked, snapping me out of my memories.

We had mostly finished the meal, and were just relaxing at the table before going for the bath.

“Thinking about how the first time we took down the bounty hunters, I bet,” Uzume said knowingly.

I ducked my head in embarrassment, drawing amused reactions from the three of them.

“But you have to admit it was pretty funny, the way they acted when confused,” Matsu chuckled.

Even Irene was trying not to laugh, but there was no hiding the smirk she had.

The first attempt was done by a simple bunch of thugs who thought numbers would do the trick, only to suffer a widespread Confusion status. Some knocked themselves out, others mistook their target for each other, and various other quirky outcomes occurred. One memorable one had a guy put his arms around a lamppost and call for his friends to tie ‘her’ up while he had ‘her’ pinned.

Then when another thug put a whip around the lamppost, he screamed at the second guy for the mistake, indicating his own wrists instead.

“But they’re really getting bolder now, even with all the rune knights stationed in this place,” Matsu pointed out, bringing the conversation back on topic.

“The bounty on you is just that attractive,” Uzume pointed out. “Or is it that they’re getting more confident after testing us enough times?”

“Whichever it is,” Irene added her own opinion, “It doesn’t change the fact that they just keep coming.”

“What do you think, Rick-tan?” 

I laced my fingers together and rested my chin on them. “I think… it’s time for us to leave.”

There was a pause, then all three of them nodded in acceptance. 

“So how are we going to do it? I’ve got several ideas ready,” The bespectacled Sekirei flicked a hand, causing screens to appear in front of each of us.

“The council might not want to let you go, considering how much damage you could potentially do in the hands of their enemies,” Her fellow redhead observed, scanning through the proposed ideas.

“To quote a certain penguin… kaboom?” Uzume asked with a grin.

“Penguin?” The one person among our group unfamiliar with the reference asked.

“Remind me to show you some of the entertainment from our world.”

“...okay… Just to be clear, when you say… ‘kaboom’... do you mean an explosion?”

“That’s right.”

“Is that a good idea to do it in the middle of a city?”

“We can adjust the degree of the blast, enough to destroy the building and leave everyone thinking we’re dead, without harming any of the others nearby,” Matsu offered.

“Alright then. What about this one?” Irene asked, seeking more info about another idea.

We’ve corrupted her way of thinking quite a bit, haven’t we? I thought to myself as I watched the two converse. Her loyalty to the group was quite strong already, but she didn’t object that hard to the destructive suggestions. Or is it just this world’s people, accepting mass destruction so easily?

She noticed me looking, and I smiled at her, resulting in her turning back to Matsu with a slight blush and a small smile of her own.

“Oh, Uzume-tan, how about we go and take a bath together tonight? Rick-tan and Irene-tan can go after us.”

“Hmm~ That sounds like a great idea! Alright, let’s go!”

Almost as though it had been practiced, the two of them slipped away quickly, leaving me alone with Irene.

She wasn’t so blind as to miss the implied permission, but after a few minutes passed without any move from her, I decided to handle an issue I had been putting off for a while.

It’ll be an instant to her perception anyway. I activated [Call Divinity].

“It’s been a while, Rick,” Sano greeted me in our meeting space, “Are you going to be returning soon?”

“I was hoping to consult you on that, but first, I’d like your opinion on these.”

Gathering up all the records on the various things we had collected so far, I sent it over to the god for his perusal. It took him several seconds to finish looking through them, and deliver his judgment. 

“I can see you have high hopes for these, but I’m afraid that I must disappoint you.”

“Is that so…” I said, wondering just what was the reason.

Sano nodded, and explained, “The level of versatility is good, but there’s a high reliance on the world’s system to support their functions.”

Dang, so the amount of DP earned won’t be as high as expected. “Okay.”

His explanation did make sense; in the manga, the characters couldn’t use their magic in Edolas because of the lack of ethernano in the air, so without that ambient energy empowering mages in general, such mage-related skills wouldn’t work.

“Still, some of the rarer options are quite interesting. I appreciate your efforts in compiling the data into skill-compatible formats, they’ve saved me some time and effort.” The god gave genuine praise, “Keep up the good work.”

“Thanks. Are there any of those tentative ones you’d like me to try and grab?”

“Well, if it’s not too much effort, could you get me…”

The check-in with Sano ended shortly after that, and I got up and stretched, before entering a note into our group chat containing the relevant details.

“Rick-dono?” 

I looked over my shoulder. “What’s up, Irene?” She’s finally found the courage to act?

“Could I… ask a favor?” 

Guh, that shy manner of requesting always gets me. “Sure, what is it?”

She told me, and I agreed. We ran into Matsu and Uzume coming out of the bathroom, and they wished the two of us a teasing ‘have fun’. They knew what was going to happen in the bathroom.

Managing a relationship with all three of them was easier than I expected, since they agreed on taking turns, with the occasional tradeoff and team up. And tonight was Irene’s turn.

“Mm… ah…” She let out a stifled gasp as I ran the sponge down her back, my fingers tracing over her Sekirei mark.

“Lean back against me,” I murmured into her ear, “I’ll do your front now.”

She didn’t reply, but did as I said, her upper body reclining to rest on my chest. I could see her large breasts very well from here, and with my arms sticking out from under her armpits, I began soaping down her front, starting with her large breasts.

Even when she tried to cover her mouth in embarrassment, the sounds Irene made were pretty sexy, and I could see her nipples hardening as I played with her breasts. They were soft, but still remarkably firm to my squeezing fingers; I doubted I would ever get tired of groping them. My own arousal was poking into her back as well, her slight shifting rubbing against the sensitive tip.

Just as I was about to go lower, Irene finally pulled away the hand she was covering her mouth with. 

“R-Rick… could you… please…?” She didn’t say what she wanted exactly, but I knew.

“Mmm.” I withdrew my hold on her, permitting her to move freely.

She moved over to the bathtub unsteadily, sitting on the edge and spreading her legs to expose her most private area to me. I had seen it many times already, and not only in dimly lit bedrooms. As before, I couldn’t help comparing it to a flower, with the pink interior visible between the slightly darkened labia, and the prominent clitoris poking out of its hood at the top. There was a wetness to it that didn’t come from the showerhead too.

More importantly was the small amount of fuzz around it, and the focus of Irene’s request.

I picked up the shaver nearby, and got to work shaving away her pubic hair. Naturally, I took some liberties to play with the lewd blossom in front of me.

“Ahn!” Irene mewed when a finger slid into her hot tunnel.

[13800 LP]

I had no idea how this started- though I had a suspicion that Matsu was involved- but Irene usually began her turn by asking me to shave her until she was completely smooth down there. That simple act wouldn’t just get her really turned on, but make her even more sensitive, and inevitably we would fuck intensely afterwards. 

When asked, she claimed it was to help me regain my LP, but we all knew it was an excuse.

“There,” I patted her pubic mound, stroking over the smooth skin, “All smooth now.”

“Then…” 

Irene brought her hands down on either side of her crotch, and spread open her pussy in invitation.

I accepted, of course. 

Much later, we emerged to find the other two Sekireis waiting for us with cups of tea, giving us knowing smirks. Despite that, the conversation topic didn’t cross the line into lewd stuff.

“So Sano said that?” Uzume asked, and got an affirmative nod from me, “I see…”

“I think we can try for some of those he asked for, and mix that into the Kaboom plan,” Matsu suggested, “Leave everyone thinking that we were targeted for revenge. What do you think, Irene-tan?”

“Sure, anything you say…” The redhead said dreamily as she cuddled up against my side.

Still in post-sex cuddly mode… I realized when I looked at her.

The look Matsu gave me said that the Wisdom Sekirei also knew it was no use discussing things with her in this state.

“Alright, I think we better turn in. You’ve got an early meeting tomorrow, Matsu,” I reminded my Sekirei.

“Aww… can’t I postpone it?”

Uzume was the one to reject the suggestion. “No, you already postponed it last time.”

“Here, have a goodnight kiss.” 

I gave each of them a quick peck on the lips, and prepared to head for my bed when I felt a tug on my clothes. 

Irene stared up at me with a hopeful gaze. “Can I… get one more?”

That cuteness is just unfair… “Sure.”

The look of joy she wore after the second, more intense, kiss was quite a sight to see. 

…

BOOM! BAMBAMBLAM! BOOOM!

The alarm bells rang loudly shortly after the explosions that rocked the night, and it didn’t take long for people to gather at the origin. 

“Where are the firefighters!? We need to put this blaze out fast!”

“This fire is strange! Wait… magic’s involved!”

“Call any mages who can use water magic here!”

“Captain! This building… it’s the residence of a VIP!”

“What?! Who?!” The man paled on hearing his subordinate’s answer. “Quick! Summon a rescue team! We need to see if there are any survivors!”

“We’ve got a mage who can use water spells here!”

“Alright! Start with that area there!”

It took several hours before the fire was completely put out, and several more before the captain appeared in front of the council to give his report.

“This is a disaster! How could such an attack take place right in the center of Era!?”

“What have you found, captain?” One of the councilors demanded.

“There were signs revealing that the occupants were attacked, and put up a fight. Unfortunately…” He trailed off.

“What is it? Speak!”

“Several bodies were found, and we believe they belong to the four occupants of the residence.” The captain reported grimly. 

The council room was filled with groans and curses, before the chairman slammed a fist on the table in front of him, drawing their attention to him.

“The loss of Lady Matsu is a tragedy to magic, not to exclude her fellow mages who were living with her. We must ensure that this will never happen again!” 

Further investigations were launched, and the culprits were found to be a dark mage guild from several countries away. The council’s revenge move was swift and thorough, capturing and imprisoning the few survivors left after the purge. It would go down in history as a testament of the council’s power when truly angered. A certain bounty in the underworld was quickly withdrawn, both due to its target’s death and the unwillingness to pursue it.

Another historical change caused by this event was the creation of the Matsu Prize, an award to be given to those who made advancements in magic that provided great benefits to society. The impact on magical and cultural progress would be extremely significant, with many of those who contributed using the great mage’s pioneered magic to record their research. None knew that the data was being recorded and transferred to elsewhere.

A young-looking black-haired man in a black robe blinked as a message unfolded in his mind, before smiling as he absorbed its contents. Deciding to pay a visit to the country he visited, he altered his course, leaving a small trail of dead ground in his wake.

And finally, in another world, a group of three, now four in number, threw a welcoming party for their newest member, complete with cake and an animated movie showing the comedic adventure of a quartet of animals in a country called Madagascar.

Afterword: I have to say, my muse sure worked quite fast on this, especially since I actually deleted over two thousand words for a rewrite when I got stuck on trying to show Irene’s character growth, and realized that a timeskip wouldn’t cut it. I hope you all enjoyed the brief action scenes I inserted in this one. And the short lewd scene too.

Part of me worries that I might be moving too fast through some worlds, but I thought that doing so would make for more interesting events by going to new ones and experiencing the fun they have to offer. Do let me know your thoughts on this.