Optimistic Game Chapter 62

Edited by Marethyu, Priapus

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– Sienna –

Her tiger ears twitched as she heard someone approach them in Kali’s living room, prompting her to open one eye to glance at Weiss, wearing a casual outfit—a purple blouse and a black skirt—taking a seat opposite the High Leader and Kali.

“Ah, there you are.” Kali smiled. “My, you look quite good in Blake’s clothes.”

“T-thanks…” She blushed. “And thank you for the bath, Mrs. Belladonna.”

“Of course. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” The faunus leader nodded. “Speaking of my daughter, where did she run off to?”

“Oh, she said she was bringing me something from the city.” At their confused looks, Weiss clarified. “She was being vague. She said it was a surprise.”

It was probably Blake’s way of leaving them alone for their meeting. She had nothing to do with it. However, being ambiguous about it was unnecessary. She could’ve just been honest.

“Oh?” Kali blinked. “That’s uncharacteristically coy of her. Usually, she’d be very straightforward.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed.” She smiled. “For her to act this way, you must’ve made quite the impact.”

“It’s really nothing…”

“Oh, but it is, Ms. Schnee.” The eldest in the room chuckled, then bowed her head slightly. “Thank you for being her friend and taking care of her. I can tell she’s much happier around you.”

This was becoming way too sweet for Sienna, so she simply drowned out their conversation. Couldn’t they do this somewhere else? Why now and here, as they waited for Astera so they could begin the final meeting for his visit? Kali and her immense need to be a mother to everyone around her. Not even Sienna was safe from that.

It was almost impressive how Kali showed restraint in acting that way around the Titan Slayer. She always had to remind herself that Reid was only seventeen years old, even though, besides his idealism, he acted highly mature for his age. He was a good leader.

Speaking of which, where the hell was he?

He said he was going to investigate deeper into the mines, but it had been hours since then. He couldn’t have possibly found anything that interesting, right? Unless he was there to help his golems with the repairs?

But why would he while knowing he still had a meeting with them? Perhaps he had other things to take care of? After all, he’d never explained where he went or what he did with Weiss and Kali’s daughter.

It couldn’t be the mines— they’d returned with their outfits seriously damaged, and there was no way that any significant threat remained in that mine. What were they doing? And where were they? Sienna was a little suspicious about this, admittedly, but she trusted them.

If her intuition was correct, then they probably just fucked or something. The girls weren’t damaged and seemed in a much better mood than before. What else could they have been doing? Sienna certainly felt better when she had sex with him. It had been ages since her last time.

In some ways, she still didn’t know what the hell she was supposed to do with that magic stuff if it was even real. Honestly, she was still processing it. Magic was real; Reid could grant it via insemination, and the Grimm had a leader.

Everything he said felt unreal, like something she would hear in a fever dream.

“Oh? It looks like we’ve run out of tea.” Kali suddenly said, checking the contents of the teapot. “Let me bring some more.”

“That’s alright, Mrs. Belladonna,” Weiss responded. “You don’t have to.”

“Ah, but Sir Astera hasn’t had any of this blend.” She argued. “I made it myself, you know? I’m quite proud of my work.”

“Don’t take too long.” Sienna quipped.

“I won’t.” Kali smiled. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

With that, Kali picked up the tray and exited the living room, leaving Sienna alone with Weiss. There was a long pause afterward, neither of the present women making a sound. For Sienna, it was because she enjoyed the silence. With how hectic her usual work was, moments like these were rare.

She was only twenty-four, but she felt so much older than that. Taking the reins after Ghira’s death at the tender age of eighteen had been far more stressful than she’d expected, even with her different methods. Thinking about it, she wondered how she’d even led the White Fang with how young she was.

But they had no one else to follow. Kali was indeed a candidate— Ghira’s wife and a woman with great experience in leadership, but no one had wanted another peace activist at the helm back then. Her people wanted justice.

That thought almost made her snort. Looking back, she didn’t know when their desire for justice turned into vengeance, but to have the Titan Slayer— a human bring her back to her senses and prove that Ghira’s methods had been right all along…

It was somewhat humiliating, but Sienna felt nothing but gratitude. She couldn’t imagine what kind of person she would’ve become without his help.

She glanced at Weiss, who was just as quiet as she was, though, unlike Sienna, who found this calm atmosphere pleasant, the SDC girl looked nervous. She was good at hiding it; Sienna would give her that.

“Calm yourself, Ms. Schnee,” Sienna said in an amused tone, startling the girl. “Do I truly frighten you more than a Titan?”

“Er- w-well, no…” Weiss stammered, then cleared her throat. “I am merely unsure what to say.”

“‘How’s your day?’ would be a nice way to start a conversation.” She said.

“I-I suppose…” The SDC girl blushed slightly.

Sienna couldn’t believe she was even thinking about it, but Weiss was so adorable—a good businesswoman but terrible at small talk.

“You’re still too stiff,” Sienna sighed. “Alright, fine; I’ll say something first.”

Weiss looked at her curiously, then paused as Sienna bowed her head in gratitude.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for us, Ms. Schnee.” She said seriously, this time without any shame. “Menagerie will forever be in your debt.”

“T-that’s– please raise your head, Ms. Khan.” Weiss panicked. “I’m only doing what my family should’ve been doing long ago.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Sienna looked at her. “Your bravery against the beast that plagued our mines was one of a kind. To put your very life on the line for us… It’s an act of valor we will never forget.”

Weiss said nothing.

“What you and Astera had done for my people… It gave us hope,” Sienna continued. “Hope that Ghira was right. True peace can be achieved without bloodshed.”

Once again, Weiss remained silent.

“You were right, Weiss.” She added. “You are nothing like your father. You are a true Schnee. You make your grandfather proud.”

It wasn’t common for Sienna to utter such heartfelt words, but they had to be said. She was facing someone she could respect and honor as an individual, someone worthy of Nicolas Schnee’s legacy. The girl before her was destined to do good in their world, perhaps as much as Reid.

Living proof that Ghira was right and Sienna was wrong.

And Sienna couldn’t have been happier about it.

Weiss looked moved by her words, almost getting emotional right there and then, but instead, she beamed and nodded, accepting her compliments without a fuss. Sienna smiled softly back at her as all the resentment she used to feel was simply gone. Not a trace of it remained.

“And I am sorry for what Adam tried to do,” Sienna added.

“It’s fine.” Weiss shook her head. “He’s gone now, and dwelling on what he did would be pointless.”

“That is true.” She sighed. “I wish he had seen the good you did and not thrown his life away for pettiness.”

Sienna was certainly not happy with how things had turned out with him. If he had just let go of his hatred…

Her ears twitched as she heard the front gate open from where she was. Took him long enough…

The Titan Slayer made his way to the living room, wearing a large dark gray cloak over his usual outfit.

“Sorry, I’m late.” He said, "I kind of got caught up taking care of personal business.”

“It’s alright. None of us were in a rush.” Sienna waved it off.

Though, she still would’ve appreciated him arriving sooner.

“Right.” He nodded, sitting next to Weiss. “Where’s Kali?”

“Oh my, first names already, Sir Astera?” Kali teased, having just come back with a new tray. “How bold of you~”

“Er, sorry.” He grinned. “You can call me by my first name, too. I don’t mind.”

“Such an honor!” she giggled, putting the tray down on the table between them and sitting right next to Sienna. “Then I’ll do just that, Reid.”

“You two can continue elsewhere. Privately.” Sienna got in between their flirting. Hopefully where the walls are thick. “Now, you’ve said you had a few more offers for us.”

“Oh yeah. Well, to be honest, they’re less offers and more…” Reid paused, trying to formulate his following words. “...a parting gift.”

“A gift?” Kali parroted.

“Yes. Though, admittedly, we’ll need your permission first.” Weiss added.

“Oh?” Sienna raised a brow. Interesting. “And what could it be?”

“Well, for me, it’s simple,” Reid said. “I’d like to build a CCT Tower somewhere in the city.”

She thought she’d been prepared, but apparently not, as this shocked her.

“Pardon?” The High Leader blinked. “You want to build a CCT Tower? Here?”

“Yes.” He confirmed casually. “Don’t look at me like that. This is about the safety of Menagerie. An easy way to communicate with the rest of the world would help us prevent massive Grimm attacks.”

Sienna caught his look. Was it about this Grimm Queen he talked about? That would make sense in hindsight. Now, with this newfound magic – supposedly – it was only a matter of time before she attacked.

But still, this was huge. Not only would they be able to send emergency signals to other kingdoms, but contacting companies and importing supplies to Menagerie would be incredibly easy with a CCT Tower.

This would help them export their own goods to the rest of the world, earning a lot of money to expand their reach and conquer more of the jungle. They might even be able to build walls and position more soldiers in all other villages.

This is massive for them.

“That would be wonderful!” Kali agreed. “But I’m afraid we would not be able to pay you back.”

“This is why it’s a gift.” Reid winked. “I want nothing more than the safety of your people. They showed nothing but respect and kindness to me, so I’m just paying ‘em back.”

This man was something else. Sienna never thought someone as earnest and compassionate as this person could exist.

“But that’s not all.” He said smugly, then looked at Weiss. “Weiss here has a gift of her own.”

“Yes, well, to put it simply, I’ve noticed that Menagerie’s dust refineries were rather… old.” She said. “Fifty years out of date, in fact.”

These fucking people…

“So I’d like to build new, state-of-the-art dust refineries in their place,” Weiss added. “This will be a personal project of mine, purely voluntary. I do not need nor want any payment for it. I only need permission to tear down the old buildings.”

“We don’t know what to say.” Kali starts, equally as grateful and confused as her. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Reid put a hand on Weiss’ shoulder, his grin as bright as ever. “We’re hunters. Making the world a better place is our job.”

‘Benevolent’ didn’t even come close to describing them. Heroes, icons of idealism and hope, are real.

And they were right here in front of her.

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– Reid –

I’ve barely been here for three days, and I think I’ve already cleared every single dungeon in the jungle region of Menagerie besides the Legendary one for obvious reasons. That’s about sixty-ish dungeons, meaning a fuckton of materials that’ll probably last me a few more months. Can’t imagine how many dungeons there are in the deserts, which are about twice as big as the jungles.

Good artifacts, spell tomes, research materials, and even some levels here and there, mostly from super rare and epics. I doubt I’d use everything in particular, but it should be noted that I probably have enough magical weapons that I can start selling them if I want to.

So I have potions, farms for my magical ingredients, and a security business, and now I can launch a weapons branch for my company. This is amazing. I’m so close to surpassing Jacques’ net worth. I think by the Vytal Festival, the MSC will be the most powerful corporation in the world.

I’m so going to bother him about this on Twitter— er, Scribe. It’s not like I use it much, but if it’s for trolling? Well, you can never go wrong with ‘your daughter calls me daddy too’ jokes.

Also, the lack of memes in this world is frightening and depressing. Remnant’s internet needs more brain rot.

However, that can wait. After my fun spree clearing dungeons, I thought I’d go back to the mines to see how much progress the Golems have made. It turns out they have already finished clearing the tunnels and the repairs, so that makes me happy.

So I investigated further, mainly the chasm where the cocoon was to collect my girls’ weapons. I found them in a terrible state— chipped blades, broken handles, etc. Thankfully, they were not outright destroyed. Ruby will probably be able to fix them easily.

Even though I think the weapons I gave them are better.

The bad news is that most of the dust clusters in that chasm apparently detonated, so no reason to go there unless they’re going to dig deeper and look for more caves. I’m surprised that the explosion didn’t completely wreck the mines, though. You’d think, with how much had been there, it could have caused an earthquake. I guess we were lucky.

Can it be that the luck stat is finally doing something? Maybe, maybe not. Luck is nearly impossible to quantify, even with the system telling me how ‘lucky’ I’m supposed to be compared to other people. Personally, I think it’s bullshit.

But that wasn’t the only reason I bothered to check on the mine and this chasm.

“Adam is alive?” Sienna looks at me in shock. “How could you tell?”

“I didn’t find his body anywhere,” I answer, leaning next to the gate of Kali’s villa as I watch the sunset. “Not even his weapon. There wasn’t a trace of him anywhere inside the mines. He must’ve escaped.”

“How could that be?” She frowns. “There’s only one exit—the one we left from. We would’ve seen him leaving if that had been the case.”

That’s the problem, isn’t it? There’s no fucking way that Adam had escaped that cave-in alone. Even Gwyn, who is even faster than I am, barely managed it. It wasn’t possible. Not when he was unconscious last I saw him. He should’ve been buried there.

But I didn’t find his corpse. I even made sure to lift up all the boulders and dig up all the rocks to see if he was pancaked somewhere, but nada. I couldn’t even find a drop of blood. He is most definitely still alive.

“And according to Blake, he was out cold, wasn’t he?” She adds. “How could he have possibly escaped?”

“...The Grimm Queen,” I say what’s on my mind, knowing nobody else is close enough to hear us. “This is her doing.”

It gotta be. She’s the only person who could conceivably do something like that, meaning she was probably observing the battle, wasn’t she? That’s not good. Not one bit. I don’t know what she could ever want from Adam, but that doesn’t concern me much. Adam is a joke and can easily be dealt with.

No, what’s worrying is that now I know she knows me better than I know her. How was she able to do that? Does that mean she’s watched every single battle I’ve been in? Worse yet, does she know every step I have taken since my victory against Fenrir?

Does she know about the girls having magic? Does she know about my secret bases? Am I constantly under watch? I don’t know, and it’s making me very paranoid. How can I stop her if she knows everything I do and would do while I know nothing about her?

The thought makes me feel a pit in my stomach. This is not good. I might not be as safe as I thought I was. Next time, I have to take extra precautions—ensure she doesn’t see me. First, I’ll have to figure out how she was able to do that.

My memories regarding the show aren’t helping. The only thing I can come up with would be her… seers; I believe they’re called? That would make sense. Observation can’t sense most Grimm unless they’re attacking me as they’re non-sentient, thoughtless, will-less constructs, with Titans being the exception.

I have to gather information about her. Anything would do, but how am I going to do that? Unless I specifically target Salem or whoever works for her – who I’m sure would laugh at my face – I’m stuck in the dark.

Two specific individuals come to mind, giving me an idea. I don’t know where they could be— it’s very possible that Salem’s got to them already, but it’s worth a shot. I should ask Titania about them once I’m back home. If the worst comes to pass, I should work on damage control ASAP.

I don’t want Salem to get the jump on me any time soon.

“What? But what could she possibly want from Adam?” Sienna asks.

“From what I know, she has a habit of recruiting people as well, either by intimidating or manipulating them into servitude,” I clarify. “And Adam isn’t mentally sound enough to resist her.”

Sienna’s expression changes into one of unease and regret.

“...Damn it.” She curses. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have brought him into the mission. I thought that, perhaps, by fighting alongside other humans, he’d see the bigger picture. That he’d be able to set his hatred aside for once.”

“I’m not blaming you here, Sienna.” I sigh. “None of us could’ve expected things to turn the way they did. Better put your energy into something else.”

“You do not understand, Astera. I should have expected it. I knew Adam like the back of my hand, yet I felt hopeful that seeing the positive changes you and Ms. Schnee brought along, he’d finally be free from his endless rage and hatred for humans.” She shakes her head. “Instead, he threw away a most important mission for the sake of personal vendetta. He risked the lives of everyone in Menagerie for nothing.”

I say nothing, waiting for her to finish. I don’t need Observation to hear the sadness in her voice, even though she’s trying to sound angry. I don’t know what kind of relationship she had with Adam, but I can tell that she was a bit fond of him. All I know of him is that he really hates humans and was the only person who’s ever bested me in a fight.

I wasn’t as strong as I am now, but that's still something to note. She makes it sound like he wasn’t anywhere near as troublesome before.

“And now, he’d join forces with the devil? How blind with anger must he be?” She says, almost not believing it. ”This could’ve been prevented had I only just—”

“Enough.” I stop her from continuing that sentence. “I won’t sugarcoat it, Sienna. You’re old and experienced enough to know when you’ve fucked up. Sure, you could’ve predicted Adam turning on us. Bringing him with us was a mistake on your part, but nothing more than that.”

She pauses, waiting for me to finish.

“Nobody knows how the Grimm Queen operates, not even me,” I add. “All I know about her is that she’s older than several civilizations, stronger than most if not all Titans, and is wise enough that none of us could predict her next move.”

Not even her ex-husband, who will probably bite his nails if I tell him about this.

“...Then how could we possibly prepare for an attack from her?” Sienna questions me. “If she’s as dangerous as you say she is, then we do not stand a chance.”

How? Heh, I hate to admit it, but Salem’s gotten me stumped. I wouldn’t know how to respond if she decided to come for Vale or Menagerie now. All I can do is make as many Golems as possible and prepare my students for the inevitable invasion.

But I can’t show weakness when people rely on me. Not to her.

Not to anyone.

“Don’t worry about that,” I tell her confidently. “I might not know much about her, but she doesn’t know much about me either. I have a lot of secret weapons prepared, you know? I’ve got it covered.”

Thankfully, Sienna doesn’t catch my bluff.

“Why tell me now?” She asks again. “Why not at our meeting?”

“Well, I didn’t really want to end that on a negative note, to be honest.” I respond sheepishly. “At the same time, I couldn’t really put it off too long.”

Sienna seems understanding and nods.

“I see,” she says. “What do you plan to do with Adam, assuming you see him?”

“I should be asking you that.” I snort. “I don’t think Adam has any ill intentions toward me specifically.”

Unless Salem decides to sic him at me directly for some odd reason.

“I was referring to Weiss.” She clarifies. “As she’s around you most of the time.”

“Weiss should be more than powerful enough to handle him,” I respond. “And just like you said, she’s around me. Adam would die trying to hurt her.”

“I suppose…”

“But that might not be the case for you.” I continue, grabbing her by the shoulders so she can look at me properly. “Listen, no matter what, if you happen to see Adam again, do not trust anything he says. Attack on sight.”

“Uhm…”

“We don’t know what Salem might’ve done to him, physically or mentally,” I add, keeping eye contact. “You probably don’t need to hear it from me, but be on guard. Always. Menagerie needs a leader, Sienna. They need you—more than anyone.”

Somewhat stunned, Sienna stares at me in silence for a few moments before nodding with a serious expression.

“You are right.” She agrees. “Whether he had escaped or not, Adam is dead to us. I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”

“Good. That’s good.” I say, letting go of her. “I’ll be going back now. Thank you for your time.”

“Don’t mention it.” She shakes her head and smiles at me. “I’ll be on patrol. Call me if you need anything else.”

As I watch her walk away, I lean against the gate and sigh. I wonder what Ruby’s doing right now. I hope she’s safe. With her killing a Titan, Salem might also start observing her, and the thought terrifies me.

She’s still responding to my texts, so that’s a good sign. Too busy playing with Titania means she’s in the mansion, the safest place she could be.

…

You: Still in the mansion?

Ruby: Yea

You: Good. Stay there until I come back, okay?

Ruby: kk

Ruby: When are you coming back

You: Tomorrow morning.

Ruby texts back a row of hearts, making me snort in amusement. God, I miss her so much.

“What are you standing there for?”

I look at the approaching Blake, who is holding two plastic cups of boba tea. Huh, they have these things here? You know, I never had one before. Are they any good?

Overrated as fuck.

Dang.

“Weather’s nice,” I answer. “Where were you?”

“Getting these.” She shook the cups lightly. “I remembered Weiss saying she had never had them before, so I thought she might like it.”

“None for me?”

“No.” Blake looks at me blankly.

“Aww.”

Ignoring my whining, Blake pauses as she looks at me closely.

“You never got a chance to change?”

“Not really.” I shrug. “Was out of the mine and straight to the meeting.”

“Huh.” She hums. “Want a bath?”

The question surprises me a little. Not even observation could’ve prepared me for it.

“With you?!”

“No! Why do you sound so excited?!” Blake scowls and blushes deeply. “I already had one, you pervert. I was offering to prepare you a bath.”

Shame.

“Ah…” I do not hide the disappointment in my voice, prompting her face to get even redder. “Sure. A bath sounds nice.”

Blake sighs and enters her house, with me following suit. She puts the two cups on a nearby dresser and leads me to their massive bathhouse, large enough to fit a dozen people. Damn. It’s not anything fancy, but it looks so cozy.

“Wait here; I’ll get the water running for you.” She says.

It doesn’t take long for her to prepare it, only taking a few minutes before returning.

“Put your clothes in that basket over there,” she says, pointing at a beige laundry basket in the corner. “I’ll have them cleaned up in a few hours.”

“Damn, Blake. Five-star room service right here.” I ruffle her hair. “I am honored.”

“I-I’m just paying you back for everything you’ve done for me.” She huffs with red cheeks. “It’s nothing special.”

“Tsundere~”

“What?”

“Nothing.” I start taking off my clothes. “Thanks again.”

“Could you at least wait until I leave before you remove your clothes?!” She groans, quickly running out of the bathhouse. “You dick!”

I laugh at her adorable reaction, putting my clothes and cloak in the basket, then take a towel with me as I go in. I let out a satisfied, drawn-out sigh, feeling my tense muscles relax in the warm water.

I technically don’t need any of this, and any ‘relaxation’ I feel is only illusory since Gamer’s Body keeps me at peak condition all the time. But spending a few minutes here shouldn’t be so bad even though I’m more of a cold shower enjoyer.

A warm bath every once in a while is nice.

I feel like I can actually sleep in here even though I shouldn’t. I’d just get that same fucking dream again. It’s like the sixth time in a row? Or something like that. I’ve even started to recognize the fact that I was dreaming.

Doesn’t help, unfortunately. Always ends the same way, and that’s as much as I can remember from it.

Still, the warm and soothing water makes me want to close my eyes. Even though I know my brain is playing tricks on me, it still feels so good. Maybe I should build one of these in my home. Warm baths hit different.

I should probably make more golems after this. I still don’t like the fact that Salem might know about my magic granting power, so I gotta keep Menagerie safe from her in my absence. Though, you know what would be even better?

Teleportation.

If I make some kind of machine that teleports me where I want to go, then I could be fixing a lot of problems. But teleportation isn’t exactly something easy. I’d need a lot, and I mean A LOT of high-quality materials and probably a year's worth of research/experimentation.

And if my mental calculations are correct, teleporting from Kuo Kuana to Vale would be worth… maybe a twentieth of a small Stardust crystal. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s fucking a lot of mana.

I can feel my eyes slowly closing, feeling like all the stress I accumulated since coming to Menagerie is leaving my body.

Maybe it’s about time I asked Oz to see the relics. They’re divine-made artifacts, meaning massive amounts of power. If I can find a way to transfer their nigh-limitless power to some of my machines, then I won’t ever even need Stardust.

That would be so cool.

…I feel like I’m about to fall asleep. I don’t want to, but for some reason, I feel really tired, even though I can’t feel tired. I try to move my limbs, try to speak, even try to summon my magic, but I can’t. Nothing responds.

This is bad. I only wanted to stay here for a few minutes. I can’t be wasting time now that I’m sure Salem was watching our battle. I have to do something productive: prepare Menagerie for a possible invasion.

Christ, how tired do I have to be to feel this way, even though it’s physically impossible? Heh, I wish Blake joined me. Maybe if I had someone keep me company, I wouldn’t have to deal with that stupid fucking nightmare again.

As I slowly feel consciousness slip, I’m jolted awake after hearing a sudden yelp, prompting me to whip my head at the source of the noise. I freeze entirely as I see Blake’s mother, as shocked as I am, with only a towel that barely covers her naked body.

The silent staring at each other continues for a few seconds before I quickly look away, feeling mortified. How the hell? I didn’t hear or sense her coming. Was I really that out of it? Fuck me, what do I do now?

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Belladonna.” Nevertheless, I remain professional. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“O-oh, it’s quite alright.” She responds, quickly regaining her composure. “I thought you had already left hours ago.”

“Hours?” I parrot, a bit confused. “But we just had our meeting.”

“Pardon?” Kali looks at me in confusion. “It has been three hours, Reid.”

“Oh…” I blink. What the hell? I felt like I only just got here. “...Has it been that long already?”

“Did you not notice?” She says, getting into the water before approaching me. “Goodness, you must’ve been exhausted.”

“Er, no, I’m good now.” I wave off her concerns, getting up. This is shameful. “I’ll take my leave now. Sorry for bothering you.”

As I try to get out, I feel her gentle hand on my shoulder, keeping me in my place. I don’t resist it, still not having recovered from the abruptness of the situation. What’s she doing? I can’t tell what she’s precisely feeling right now.

“I don’t mind.” Kali giggles. “You’re so tense even after hours here. Is there something troubling you, Reid?”

I don’t know what to feel about this. I thought she’d show some embarrassment being this close to me with nothing but a towel, but she’s super casual about it instead. I don’t sense even a trace of discomfort from her.

“Not really, no.” I lie, failing to keep eye contact.

“You can talk to me if you wish,” she insists. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

The warmth in her tone is beyond compelling. It nearly makes me pour my heart out to her, but I can’t do that. I can’t have someone like her share even a fraction of my burden, not when she has her own responsibilities. That’d be callous and selfish of me.

“I’m fine, really,” I respond, smiling. “I was thinking about what I’d do after returning to Vale. That’s all.”

“I see.”

The conversation dies off there, but the atmosphere feels strangely pleasing. Thankfully, I don’t doze off this time, keeping my focus so I don’t embarrass myself again. I don’t know how long she wants me to be here, but I should probably go back if it really had been hours. See what Weiss is up to.

“You’re still tense,” she suddenly says, putting her hand over mine and squeezing it gently. “In fact, you have been tense since I first saw you in Vale. You must know when to relax.”

“Well, we’re relaxing right now, aren’t we?”

“Perhaps physically.” She nods. “But your heart and mind are not calm.”

I don’t say anything.

“I can feel it,” Kali continues. “You seem to be in a constant state of worry, anxious about every decision you make and every word you speak.”

“I-I mean, I have a lot of responsibilities, you know?” I try to wave it off with a weak laugh. “I kind of have to be careful with these kinds of stuff.”

“Hm…” She glances at me. “Are you afraid of failing, Reid?”

The abrupt question catches me by surprise, causing me to inhale sharply. My facade of confidence shatters immediately, and I don’t give her a verbal answer, remaining silent and highly uncomfortable as I look away.

“...I see,” Kali says after a moment, then giggles. “My apologies. You were supposed to unwind, yet here I am, making this difficult.”

“I-it’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“No, no, I must fix this. I can’t let you leave until I’ve cleared your mind.” She insists. “So how about you relax…”

Kali suddenly gets too close to me, sitting on my lap and unwrapping her towel, fully displaying her mature body. I almost reflexively look away, but she puts a hand on my cheek and forces me to look at her as her soft breasts squish against my chest.

“And let me take care of you?” Kali says sultrily. “After all, I haven’t expressed my gratitude properly. Words can only do so much, don’t you think?”

How did this situation turn out this way? Is this my luck stat doing its job, or was this her intention from the start? Should I be happy? Little Reid over here is, but my brain is kind of short-circuiting right now.

“S-should we really be doing this, Mrs. Belladonna?”

“Oh, Reid. I thought we agreed to use our first names.” She giggles, putting a hand on my crotch. “And why not? I might not be as young and beautiful as my daughter, but this old hag knows a few tricks.”

She knows that’s not what I meant.

“And look at you, already so eager.” She whispers into my ear, making me shiver as she slowly strokes my dick. “How adorable~ Do I arouse you, Reid?”

More than she can imagine. My brain is telling me not to do it because Blake would probably destroy me if she knew, but my dick is screaming ‘YES’, and I know which of those is winning. Why am I so susceptible to seduction? I keep folding to the same goddamn trick every time.

Kali giggles again as my cock twitches in her hand.

“How naughty~” She says. “I will take this cute reaction as a yes.”

With that said, she kisses me, and I let it happen because, unsurprisingly, my dick wins the war once again. The difference between the way she and Sienna kiss is very apparent, as Kali is a lot gentler than the High Leader.

It’s a different kind of pleasure, and I love every second of it. The gap in skill and experience between them isn’t that massive, but it’s noticeable enough. I let her take the lead, as it's very unlike Sienna’s challenge for dominance.

It’s just her taking care of me. Exactly as she said. So my leviathan pride is not flaring up at that and demanding I bend her over immediately.

Kali backs off and smiles at me, pausing her strokes as she guides my twitching, hard cock toward her wet slit. She lets out a long, satisfied sigh as she impales herself on it, forcing a grunt out of me as her insides tighten in response.

“That’s right.” She says, moving slowly. “Relax. Let this old lady pay you back for all the good you’ve done for us.”

“I didn’t do all of that for payment.”

“I know, Reid. I know.” Kali nods. “But consider it a… parting gift of my own. It’s the only thing I could offer.”

“If this is really about payment, then please stop,” I respond. “I never wanted you to feel obligated to offer yourself just because I was doing my job.”

Kali pauses, blinks, then laughs at me. I’m still unable to pick up on her real feelings. Everything I can sense from her is really vague, and I’m not sure if it’s because staying here for too long messed with my brain or I’m too nervous around her.

And who can blame me? This came out of nowhere, and I still haven’t recovered.

“Goodness, you’re rather dense, aren’t you?” Her giggles don’t stop. “But I suppose it only makes you more precious.”

She doesn’t elaborate and, instead, starts to ride me properly, bouncing on my dick vigorously without losing her gentle touch somehow. I instinctively put my hands on her soft ass, feeling her vaginal walls start to constrict even more.

But even with how heavenly she feels, I mentally remind myself to not make the same mistake here, and to pull out. I can’t put her in danger like I did with Sienna, because giving Kali magic would be even worse. Her aura is unlocked, but she’s not a combatant.

Her stats aren’t that high and I can tell that she never fought a lot of battles from the way she walks. She’s wise, level-headed, and a fantastic leader, but a leader of a peaceful group. She can’t fight.

Focus, Reid. You can’t let this pleasure make you do something stupid again. You don’t have an excuse this time around.

With discipline derived from fear, I start thrusting back, eliciting some moans and sighs from Kali. She starts to kiss me all over— on my chest, neck, jaw, cheek, and mouth while I massage her body. I can tell that her own orgasm is approaching, which surprises me, but I guess however long this dry spell of hers was must’ve left her wanting.

Though, she’s not the only one feeling it.

I carry her out of the bath and lay her on the floor, quicking my thrusts until I hit my limit. Thankfully, I’m able to pull out just in time, finishing on her stomach as her cry of pleasure echoes in the bathhouse.

I sigh and sit on the ledge of the bath. That was close. Good job, Reid. You didn’t fuck up this time.

“Oh my…” She pants, thankfully satisfied. Good. Disappointing her would’ve been terrible on my rep. “It’s been… so long since I’ve felt the touch of another man.”

My dick twitches as I see her chest rise with every breath she draws, enchanted by her huge tits. God, they’re even bigger than Yang’s and are just as soft.

“Oh?” Kali’s smile widens as she catches my stare, sitting up. “I see you’re still raring to go. So energetic~”

She gets back into the water, lowering herself until her head is on the same level as my crotch, then suddenly sandwiching my still-hard cock with her massive boobs. She squishes her breasts together with her hands, licking the poking tip with enthusiasm.

And she calls me energetic. I barely even had any time to rest. My dick is still really sensitive.

“Fuck…” I mutter, reflexively putting a hand on her head.

“You’ve been looking at them for quite a while now.” She says, kissing the tip. “I’m happy that they’re as good as you imagined.”

“They’re even better.” I sigh.

Kali giggles, massaging my penis with her tits while licking the tip every time it pokes out. This goes on for a minute or two until she wraps her mouth around the head, skillfully twirling her tongue around it. I stop myself from reflexively forcing her to go deeper, not wanting to ruin the gentle vibe.

Because even without my usual preference for a rougher play, this is incredible on its own. By far the best head I’ve ever gotten and it’s not even close. I can barely resist the urge to fill her immediately, wanting this to go on for a little longer.

But with my last orgasm being so recent and Kali’s incredible skill, I don’t last that much longer, blowing half of my load into her throat and the other half all over her face and tits as she pulls my cock out of her mouth.

Holy fuck, that was amazing.

“Mmmhm…” Kali hums, then swallows. Thank fuck that this doesn’t give her magic. “Good boy~”

For some reason, being called ‘boy’ by her doesn’t annoy me or make my stupid pride flare up like I thought it would. Instead, it sends a shiver down my spine and arouses me more than is reasonable.

…Oh. Oh, dear god.

It looks like someone just discovered their mommy fetish~

Shut up. Stop watching and do something else, you creep.

Nothing to be ashamed of, boy. Everyone has it. One just needs to be ‘mommy’ enough to make them realize it.

Stop talking. Please.

“W-we, uh, we should probably stop now.” I clear my throat, trying to keep my composure. “It’s getting late. I need to—”

My blood freezes over as I catch someone watching us from the corner of my eye. Slowly turning over, my heart drops to my stomach once I meet Blake’s furious eyes.

“Is everything alright—”

Kali follows my trail of sight, freezing in shock as well.

…I fucking hate my luck, man.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

– Blake –

After everything Reid had done for her, Blake just wanted to be nice to him. It was the least she could do after he saved her life and her relationship with Weiss. Even reunited her with her mom. Blake owed him far more than he realized.

And beyond that, she loved him as a wonderful man. She trusted him with her life. She still had some trouble being completely honest with her feelings, but Blake made sure he knew how she felt about him.

So she tried to take care of him, especially after that… dungeon thingy they were in since he’d continued working in the mines without resting, unlike her and Weiss, who’d immediately returned to the villa. Reid would probably appreciate it, she thought.

As she let him de-stress, Blake hung out with Weiss, walked around the city, tried out all kinds of snacks and activities, and generally enjoyed their time together. Their relationship had gotten stronger since their adventure in that other world, all thanks to the same man she felt immense gratitude toward.

Hours later, she walked Weiss to her current residence and promptly went home. They ended things early since they needed to leave Menagerie in the morning. Coming back home, Blake heard strange noises coming from the bathhouse.

It was her mother’s voice.

Moaning.

And when she saw this scene, her mind went blank for a few seconds. Of all the things she thought she’d stumble on…

“You scum.” She said coldly.

“W-wait, hold on, Blake—” Reid looked at her mother pleadingly. “I can explain.”

“Dear, please calm down. It was my idea.”

This bastard of a manwhore. She should’ve known not to let him run around unchecked. Of course, he’d stick his dick into the closest woman that was good enough for him. Blake was stupid to have left him alone like this.

“My mother, too?” She responded with gritted teeth, making him flinch. “Was Sienna not enough?”

“H-how do you know about that?!” He questioned in shock. “No, look, I know this looks bad, but–”

This son of a bitch. This buffoon that only ever thought with his dick. To think she admired the man. Blake wanted nothing more than to strangle him for making her feel this way. Truly, he was the lowest of the low.

“How dare you!” She screamed at him, not hearing him at all as she damn near drowned in her own jealousy. “Before your own student?!”

Both her mom and Reid paused.

“What?”

“Pardon?”

How fucking could he? The bastard. All this time, she was reserved, waiting for him to try something with her. To make a move. She even kissed this dumbass, yet he turned around and did something like this with other women first?

She didn’t even care it was her mother, because what about her? Didn’t she deserve this, too? Blake wasn’t some sort of hungry slut, but she wanted to have sex with him as well. Why couldn’t he have known that? Didn’t he have some emotion-sensing superpower?

He should’ve known!

“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to do something?!” She roared, on the verge of tears. “Do you know how hard it was seeing you dick down every single woman you come across before me?! Am I not good enough for you?!”

They were too shocked to say anything.

“You’d take fucking SIENNA before you’d take me?! You barely even know her! I’ve known you far longer!” Blake continued. “And what, is my mom a ‘better version’ of me? Is that why you chose her first?!”

“That is not—”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.” She growled, taking off her shirt. “I’m done waiting. We’re going to fuck. Right here. Right now.”

Blake looked at her mother, then pointed at the exit. Kali understood the gesture and hurriedly left the bathhouse, prompting her to take off the rest of her clothes. Blake’s face was as red as a tomato, but she kept her cool as she approached her soon-to-be lover, getting on top of him.

“Sorry.” He apologized. “I didn’t know you felt—”

She interrupted him by smashing her lips against his, kissing him roughly. Blake was endlessly frustrated and annoyed by his womanizing ways and didn’t want to waste another second, so she grabbed his rigid member and lowered herself onto it.

She could feel it spread her apart, prompting her to gasp in pleasure in the midst of their makeout session. The fact that he was still hard made her happy, but she wouldn’t admit it. Not when she was still pissed off at him for seemingly preferring every woman in this mortal coil over her.

“Not another word.” She told him, backing off. “Just fuck me hard.”

Reid silently obeyed as he started thrusting back in a fierce rhythm, drawing moans and groans from her as she felt his huge cock stretching and reshaping her insides. Blake quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying every second.

Finally… she thought, tightening her hold around him.

After so long of seeing him fool around with Yang, Ruby, and whoever else. After hours of hearing them moan and beg, agonizing while she wondered what it felt like. Finally, it was her turn, and it was as good as she imagined. No, even better.

“F-fuck! Ah~ Reid! Harder!” She shrieked. “Fuck me harder! Make me yours!”

Blake wasn’t going to let him go until he satisfied her. After all he had done to her, she deserved this much. This was more than her love for him— she wanted him to break and ruin her. To treat her like a toy and not a person.

And so far, he was not disappointing.

Reid suddenly pushed her backward, getting on top of her as he continued thrusting and plunging his massive cock into her, forcing several orgasms from her. Her eyes rolled into the back of her skull as the pleasure overwhelmed her senses, nearly turning her stupid.

“I love you!” Blake screamed. “I love your huge cock so much!”

She was lucky that the Villa was a reasonable distance away from the rest of the city; otherwise, everyone would’ve heard her crying her lungs out as Reid rearranged her guts. He mercilessly pounded her into the ground, and before she knew it, she felt him filling her up with his hot seed, making her cum again.

Blake sprayed her juices all over the bathhouse floor the moment he pulled his dick out of her, quivering and trembling from the powerful orgasm that shook her world. A moment of clarity made her realize that this was what she’d been missing out on all this time, which only served to frustrate her further.

Thankfully for Blake, it seemed that her lover was also not one bit satisfied as she felt him suddenly thrusting once again, her moans and cries beginning anew. All her frustration evaporated in an instant, knowing that she wouldn’t have to simply sit there and hear him satisfy the girls without her anymore.

She was going to make him make up for all the times he had her touching herself while thinking about him.

That was a promise.

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You thought you would get drama, but it was me! More seggs!