I hated the smile on Cailu’s face. I felt Keke tense beside me and knew she did, too. Nothing came for free for this guy, everything had a price. The righteous templar thing felt slimy as hell, but at least the Guild Hall was promising.

“Didn’t we just save your ass at the gates?” I murmured.

Cailu chuckled and waved a dismissive hand. “That was a joint effort on our parts, my dear friend. On that we are even.”

Keke bristled and clenched her teeth. “He’s got a point.”

I sighed. “What do you want, Cailu?”

“It will benefit us both, I assure you—”

“What do you want, Cailu?” I crossed my arms.

Cailu cleared his throat. “You see, the presence of the Defiled is growing stronger, and our forces remain disorganized, sundered. There is no cohesiveness to our existence.”

Is that a Royal Our, or? “By ‘our’ you mean…”

“Nyarlea’s men, of course.”

“I see.” I scratched my chin.

“It would be better if we were in contact with one another, to raise our morale, our levels, and the quality of our gear.”

Is he offering a leech? “Do you not know the other guys?”

Cailu shook his head. “The last man I knew on Shi Island was devoured whole by a dragon—”

I turned to Keke. “You said they weren’t real!”

Keke flashed a wry smile and shrugged.

“—And I haven’t found my way in that direction since. My tasks between Nyarlothep and San are excessively busy as it is.”

“And Ichi Island?”

“As I said, I haven’t the time to comb through every grain of sand in that desert hellscape.”

I glanced at Keke, then back at Cailu. “So, what, you want us to go as a group?”

“No, my dear Matt, I humbly request that you take your party and venture forth in my stead.” He bowed, sweeping his velvet cape over his chest. “I know it is a difficult task, but the potential benefits that await us are vast.”

I hummed beneath my breath, equal parts frustration and bewilderment. “Alright. Question one. What benefits, exactly?”

Cailu straightened his back and realigned his shoulders. “Allow me to be frank. Throughout my time in Nyarlea, I have come to understand that should one man fail, it is now upon my shoulders to bear the burden of what remains behind. Be it Defiled, Encroachers, unfinished quests, or business. I have offered my help to many, as I do for you now, and have witnessed each and every one of their untimely demises.”

Sounds like your back hurts from all that carrying. “Okay.”

“Connecting with one another would allow us a more unified front against the Defiled and a wider view of issues of court. For example, population.”

‘Issues of court’? “Wait, like a kingdom?”

Cailu raised his eyebrows. “My, my, you’ve so much to learn.”

“There’s a catgirl queen?”

“Of course there is. And she beckons me now. So I must entrust my vision of Nyarlea to you, Matt. Will you help me?”

He made a lot of good points. There were only four of us. Maybe. Assuming another one of them hadn’t died a miserable death and the island was waiting for its next village idiot. If we worked together, we could at least try to prevent attacks like the one in San, help one another gear up, and overall improve the quality of life for the catgirls.

I looked at Keke. “What do you think?”

“Hmm.” Keke stretched her arms above her head.

I couldn’t help but visually trace the gentle curve of her body. Damn, I can think of a lot of other things I’d rather be doing right now.

She grinned. God, am I that obvious? “Whatever you want to do, Matt. You know I’ll follow you to the end of the world.”

Cailu barked a laugh.

I snapped my gaze back to the snide elf. “Got something to say?”

“No. It is simply...endearing, how you are together.”

Does every word out of your mouth have to sound demeaning? “Alright. Fine. We’ll find the other men. Where should we go when I do?”

Cailu spread his arms wide and smiled. “Wonderful! Return to the Golden Dragon at the Port of Meow and inform Mina that you require my presence. She will be able to hail me and I will return within two days.”

“So go get the other two guys and bring them back here.”

“That is correct. Need I scribe it into your iPaw? Is this too difficult to remember?”

I’m the one doing you a favor. Remember, asshole? “No. Straightforward enough.”

“Excellent! I shall leave on the morrow. You have my thanks, my friend.”

Just don’t make me regret this. “Yeah. Sure.” I glanced at Keke. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

Thankfully, Cailu split away from us at the entrance of the Guild Hall, leaving Keke and I be.

“He is… difficult,” Keke murmured as we watched him go.

“That’s a word for it.”

She laughed, then ran a hand through her hair. “Where to?”

I was exhausted. The fight had taken an immense amount of [Energy] and we had no clue where Cannoli and Ravyn had wandered off to. Really, while the idea of another tumble in the sheets with Keke sounded like a dream, I just wanted a hot meal, a bath, and sleep.

“We should find Cannoli and Ravyn.”

“I have a pretty good idea where they are,” Keke said.

I nodded. “Lead the way.”

We returned to the Lucky Star and stepped inside. The restaurant was packed to the brim with catgirls and every head turned to face us as we entered.

Everyone leapt to their feet and toasted the air with resounding cheers.

“Huzzah!”

“Our heroes!”

“You’ve saved us all!”

I was taken aback, to put it lightly. I’d had a surprise birthday party when I was twelve with a handful of friends, but that was the last time I could remember any kind of celebration in my honor. Catgirls converged around Keke and me, shoving tankards of ale into our hands before ushering us deeper into the restaurant.

“That was amazing!”

“There were so many roaches!”

“Please! Sit!”

We were herded into a booth, where a red-faced Cannoli and a pink-cheeked Ravyn lazily looked up at us from behind their wooden mugs. Half a dozen plates of steaming food littered the tabletop and myriad empty tankards punctuated the spread. I slid in next to Cannoli and Keke next to Ravyn.

Ravyn’s grin split her face at an awkward angle. “Ah, the cavalry’s finally arrived at last.”

“Matt! Hic! Matt, they’re so happy! Hic!” Cannoli squeaked between hiccups. “We saved them!”

“She’s so drunk,” Keke muttered behind a sip of her ale.

Ball Gag lay flat on the table, eyes rolling back into his head. Put him on a plate and he could be an entree.

“Hey, uh, is your bird okay?” I asked, pointing to the seemingly inebriated parrot.

“It’s our day to shine! Ball drinks, too!” Ravyn shouted. “Another round!”

“On the house!” Multiple girls shouted in reply.

“We’ve been—hic!—getting free drinks all—hic!—afternoon!” Cannoli giggled. “This is the best!”

Buttons wobbled across the table, his tongue dragging between his feet and his eyes lopsided. Alright, the blazard drinks, too.

“So this is where you two wandered off to?”

Ravyn nodded. “I thought we’d wait for you here. But they started a party for us!” She pet the half-awake Ball Gag. “No reason to turn them down, right?”

“No, I guess not.” I looked around the room. “Yomi and Naeemah aren’t here?”

Cannoli shook her head. “No. Which is really sad, actually.” Her words slurred and she slid her hands across the table, resting her head between. “I want to get to know them better, you know?”

Not really. But you want to be friends with everyone. I rested a hand on Cannoli’s head. “I’m sure you’ll get the chance later.”

She twisted her neck and smiled up at me, cheek against the wood. “Yeah! Hic! I’m sure you’re right!”

I tousled her hair and laughed. Drunk Cannoli was goddamn adorable.

Cannoli pushed herself back up, cradling her half-full mug to her lips. “You know, Matt. I really like you. Like a lot. Hic! A lot!”

“I like you, too, Cannoli.”

Her eyes widened and she gasped. “Really?”

I stole a drink before I replied. “Yeah. Really.”

“Hooray!” She threw her arms up, spilling some of her drink on me and the table. Slamming the mug back on the table, her arms fretted around my head and shoulders. “Oh! Oh no! Hic! Oh gosh! I’m so sorry!”

“Cannoli, it’s okay. It’ll dry.” I brushed the drops from my face.

She froze, staring at me intently. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Without warning, she leaned forward and licked a drop of ale from the tip of my nose. Catching the glare from Keke, she shrank back into the corner with her drink. “Kehehehe.” Her giggling continued.

I chuckled. “Yeah, I can dig this.” I picked up a kabob packed with meat and vegetables and shoved half of it in my mouth. I moaned in satisfaction and leaned my head back. Sex is great, but have you tried San Island kabobs?

“Mou ii. More food! More food!” Ravyn cried, sounding suspiciously like Ball.

Guess someone has to make up for him when he’s out of commission.

Keke sipped from her drink and picked at the food, chewing her lip in thought. “Should we tell them about Cailu’s assignment?”

“Do you think they’ll remember in the morning?”

Keke looked between Cannoli and Ravyn’s drunken faces, then shook her head. “No, probably not.”

“Tomorrow then. Tonight we can revel in it a bit.” Even if we really only played the distraction.

Buttons sneezed and a puff of flame spouted through his nostrils, engulfing a plate of vegetables and noodles.

Cannoli choked on her drink, then snorted with laughter. “Buttons!”

I lifted a slim, bright red delicacy from the plate, then popped it in my mouth. To be honest, Buttons had only improved on it. “Crunchy.”

Cannoli cackled. Ravyn joined her.

The four of us enjoyed as much food as we could eat and ale as we could muster free of charge into the early hours of the morning.

I drank way more than I should have and stumbled back to my room, bath be damned. The girls continuously bumped into the walls and pushed each other around in giggling fits as they followed behind me. I’m pretty sure all three of them kissed me, but I had way too much booze to remember. I tore my shirt off and tumbled into bed, glad my head at least hit the pillow.

I drifted off to sleep to the distant sound of wind chimes.

The sweet sound of the chimes seemed to slip into my dreams and filled me with a peace I hadn’t experienced since I’d arrived in Nyarlea. Within their melody, I could feel that everything was alright. My girls were safe, I was safe, and I could sleep well knowing both.

Cool fingers caressed my forehead, brushing my hair to the side. Low light flickering from the nearby fireplace outlined a young woman with brown hair curled in tight ringlets at her shoulders, her cat ears twitching forward with her smile and a bushy tail swaying behind her.

She looks familiar. Why couldn’t I place it?

In San Island’s Mandarin fashion, her dark purple dress hugged generous curves, accentuating her chest and hips. A wide keyhole at the throat cut low on her breasts, and the hem of the skirt cut high on the thighs. The daring outfit reminded me of Ravyn.

The girl smiled. “No need to think of her right now, Matt. Or anyone else. Just me.”

Of course. Just you. Just... “Who are you?” I murmured.

She giggled. The sound harmonized the chimes. “Yomi, silly.”

From the fight? She looked so different out of her [Dark Priest] outfit. I didn’t remember her being this curvy. But dreams had a way of adding and emphasizing, and she was goddamn gorgeous.

“Right. Yomi.”

Her smile widened, and she turned down the sheets. “Just relax.”

Memory stored and saved for Catgirls. . .

I shot up in bed, shivering from the night’s chill against my searing skin.

“What the fuck?”

I looked around. No fire. No Yomi. No chimes. But my shorts and the sheets were damp. I sighed and changed, ripping the sheets away and keeping only the top blankets.

“A wet dream? What am I, twelve again?”

I curled up in the dry blankets and fell back asleep.

The next morning, everything was sore. There wasn’t an inch on my body that felt okay. I’d had the strangest dream about Yomi, Cailu’s [Dark Priest]. Not a bad one, really. Okay, not a bad one at all if I was being honest. But of all the girls I’d met and saw every day, an erotic dream about simping for Yomi of all people seemed entirely out of place. The lingering scent of blooming trees and sweet fruit teased my nose, the taste of honey still on my tongue. Damn, all of my dreams here have been crazy vivid.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and shook away the hangover pounding in my ears as best I could before making my way to the bathroom. On the way, I noticed my iPaw blinking on the chair I’d apparently ditched it on.

“I thought I cleared the notifications from the fight,” I grumbled, switching it on and pulling up the newest alerts.

New Notifications!

[A Little of What You Fancy Does You Good] Updated!

1/5 Catgirls Successful!

The iPaw slipped from my grasp and tumbled to the floor. “Fuck.”