We returned to the restaurant to find Keke and Cannoli with empty plates and full mugs. I was still feeling weird about the whole situation, but Ravyn was right. There was nothing for it now. Keke and Cannoli made room for me, and I retook my seat. Both offered me cautious glances and were careful not to touch me.

“Want to talk about it?” Keke asked softly.

“Maybe later. We have more things to worry about right now.” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a massive pouch in Keke’s lap. “What’s that?”

The side of Keke’s lips twitched into a smile, and she heaved the bag onto the table. “While you were gone, one of the girls from the Guild Hall dropped this off for us. Apparently, this is our reward for yesterday.”

I narrowed my eyes. The image of Cailu carrying the Defiled’s head away swarmed in my memory. The bag was about the size of a head. Please don’t let it be a head. “What’s in it?”

“Bells,” Keke replied.

My jaw dropped. “You’re joking.”

Cannoli giggled. “No, she’s serious. They’re Bells.”

Buttons nodded an affirmation.

I looked between them and at the grinning Ravyn. “H-how many Bells?”

“At least a few thousand,” Keke said. “She couldn’t give us an exact number. I guess the town came together and pooled money for us as a thank you.”

“Even after all the free booze and food last night?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“Shulan wouldn’t be standing if it weren’t for us.” Ravyn shrugged. “Honestly, it’s the least they can do.”

“Ungrateful bastards! Squaawk!”

Thousands of Bells? The options were limitless. I could think of a million things to use them on—

I stopped myself. No. This isn’t just about me. It hasn’t been for a long time. “What do you guys think we should do with them?”

All three girls’ eyebrows raised.

“Y-you… want our opinion?” Cannoli asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

Keke took a sip from her mug and exchanged a curious look with Ravyn. I couldn’t tell if it was asking permission or asserting dominance. My ability to read these girls at all so far was nill.

Regardless, Keke spoke first. “We have a lot of tiger skins and parts from yesterday. Is there someone in Shulan that can turn them into Equipment?”

Ravyn nodded. “I can think of a couple of people. One is more expensive than the other, but they’re a lot damn better at their craft. Supplying the materials should make it cheaper in the long run, anyway.”

“Good. Maybe they’ll discount it in exchange for the excess parts we have.” Keke patted her [Cat Pack]. “We have a lot of excess.”

“We could sell the rest, too, right?” Cannoli asked.

“Yes, we can,” Keke continued. “And I think it’s safe to say that Matt could use a new axe.”

“And a shield, hm?” Ravyn added. “If you’re absolutely set on protecting us, that is.”

I nodded. “Yeah, a shield would help.”

“U-um. Maybe some accessories, too?” Cannoli added.

Buttons nodded. I was beginning to believe that Buttons would nod no matter what Cannoli said.

“Those give extra Stats, yeah?” I asked.

“Mmhmm.” Keke took another drink. “Sometimes lesser Skills, too. Passive and Active.”

“Nice.” My mood began to pick up at last—this was a lot easier to focus on. Improving our group was always my first priority; everything else came secondary. “So, armor for all of us first, my axe and a shield second, and then we’ll look at accessories.”

“Sounds like a solid plan,” Ravyn agreed.

Ravyn being nice was going to take some getting used to. “There’s something else we need to talk about,” I said.

“What is it, Matt?” Cannoli leaned into me.

I had to work not to flinch. But, I allowed both her and Keke’s arms to lean next to mine while I explained Cailu’s request to find the other two men in Nyarlea. Keke helped me fill in the gaps where my memory failed me. Whether it was sleep deprivation that affected me or Yomi’s fuckery on my mind, I found it hard to recall some of the finer details.

“Mou ii. That sounds just like him,” Ravyn scoffed.

“I do see where he’s coming from, though,” I admitted. “That Defiled yesterday was something else. Cailu can’t be on every island at once to protect it, and we have no idea how the others are faring. We need to get stronger.”

Cannoli nodded. “I don’t want— Well, I want to be able to protect Ni Island if it ever came to that.”

“Yeah, me too,” Keke agreed.

I sipped my water. “So, then, why don’t we get the gear that we can while we’re here. Since this was supposed to be a short trip for spices, I’m assuming you three didn’t pack for extended travel.”

All three girls solemnly shook their heads.

“Yeah, well. You know what I came with,” I laughed beneath my breath. My chest felt tight, and it hurt. I cleared my throat and continued. “When our gear is done, let’s go get Portia and head back to Ni Island for a bit. I can finish the Quests I have there. Maybe Level a little more? And then we can start our search.”

“That sounds really good, Matt.” Cannoli smiled warmly. “Thank you for letting us help.”

“Well, I can’t do this without you guys. Keke, Ravyn? Should we do anything different?” I rested my hands palm up on the table. “I’m open to suggestions.”

Keke shook her head. Ravyn chewed her lip as if she was going to say something, then thought better of it and shook her head, too.

“Alright. I need to grab a few things from my room. Meet back here in twenty minutes?” I asked, finishing my water.

They agreed, and I headed back up to my room. While Cannoli and Ravyn stayed behind, I hadn’t realized Keke followed me. She knocked softly on my half-open door, and I glanced over my shoulder as I packed my [Cat Pack]. “What’s up?”

“I could ask you the same.” Her tail swayed behind her back as she closed the door behind her. “Did I, um… Did I do something wrong?”

I paused, resting my hands on the [Cat Pack]. It was so sudden—like a bolt of lightning from the ether—realizing how my attitude must have looked to Keke that morning. As far as she knew, we were fine. We were more than fine. And then I show up like a jackass, isolating from her like she’d hurt me.

I ran a hand through my hair, fighting back the earlier tears that had threatened while Ravyn tried to help talk it out. “I… I’m sorry, Keke.”

Keke’s eyes flickered to the sheets in the corner, her face flushed. “For what?”

There was no nice way to put it. No sugar-coating. “I slept with Yomi last night.”

Keke laughed awkwardly. “M-Matt. Heh, it’s okay. I mean, remember what I told you?”

“I know, but… Ugh.” I shook my head and closed my eyes. “Would you believe me if I told you I thought it was a dream?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Ravyn said it was an Enchantment.”

“Like the Defiled?” Keke approached me, gently taking my forearm into her hands. “Oh, Matt…”

I nodded, turning toward her but finding myself unable to meet her gaze. “Yeah. Pretty pathetic, huh?”

“Not pathetic.” Keke’s fingers traced my jawline, then cradled my cheek. It felt so warm and soft. It felt safe.

“God, I wanted it to be you. More than anything, I wanted it to be you,” I murmured. Christ, could I sound needier?

“Hey. Maybe I can’t call you mine, but you will always have me by your side. Always.” She stroked my cheek with her thumb. “So long as you want me here. Alright?”

The tears I’d hidden all morning fell free. “Thank you.”

Her lips met mine, and I melted against her.

“Mattaku, you two took long enough,” Ravyn hissed when Keke and I returned to the restaurant.

Back to normal, eh?

“That’s fine! We’re all ready to go now, right?” Cannoli asked happily, stroking Buttons’s bobbing head on her shoulder.

The weight on my heart felt more than lifted. Keke looked at me with a sly grin. “Yeah, let’s go.”

We spent the day in the town, following Ravyn’s guidance in finding the superior leather-worker available in Shulan. Like Keke had mentioned, we had an assload of tiger skins, so the seasoned, elder catgirl agreed to buy the rest from us for a generous sum. She informed us that it would be another two days before she and her assistants could finish our gear, which wasn’t bad at all considering the amount of work we were piling onto them.

With plenty of Bells still to spend, we continued on.

“I hate to say this, but Espada’s gonna be your best bet at a new axe and a shield,” Ravyn admitted when we left the armory.

“Really?” It wasn’t that Espada wasn’t able enough for the task. That wasn’t what surprised me. It was just that in all of Shulan, the best blacksmith was the one back on the island that Cailu referred to as “backwater.”

“Espada really is amazing,” Cannoli said, shifting from one foot to another. “She’s been around for a long time.”

“Alright.” There wasn’t any reason not to believe them. Espada it would be. “Accessories, then?”

We dropped by a few different shops and managed to find incredibly effective accessories for both Keke and Cannoli.

New Notifications!

Keke has gained: Claw of Force! [Strength +1]

Cannoli has gained: Claw of Wisdom! [Magic +1]

After the third shop, Ravyn took me aside. “I got you something,” she said.

“From our precious Bell reserves?” I asked. I was half-joking.

“No. With my own money.” Ravyn narrowed her eyes. “Kuso, you really are an ungrateful—”

“Ravyn, I was joking. Really.”

Ravyn sucked in her cheeks and bit her lip, looking over me as if wondering if it were better to keep me alive or send me to the slaughterhouse.

“Matt’s a fuck! Squaawk!” Ball announced proudly from her shoulder.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, now that that’s cleared the air. What did you buy?”

Ravyn shook her head, then opened her hand to reveal a tiny, shimmering stud in her palm. It looked like a diamond earring. But, beyond rubies, I didn’t know what other familiar gemstones existed in Nyarlea. “This blocks lower-level Enchantments. It won’t work on any Defiled who pull that shit, but…”

“But it’ll work on catgirls like Yomi.”

Ravyn paused, then nodded. “Yeah. It’ll work on catgirls like Yomi.”

I didn’t know what to say. Unspoken feelings welled up in my throat, and I scratched the back of my neck. This was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me, but I could tell it was as awkward for her to gift it to me as it was for me to receive it. “Thank you, Ravyn—”

“This will not, however, grow you a backbone. Do you understand?” Ravyn snapped.

She was right—the rest would be up to me. “Yeah. I understand.”

“Good. Now, which ear do you want it in?”

I’d never had my ears pierced before. That’d always seemed a little… well, not very alpha male, to be honest. “Oh, right. My left ear, I guess.”

Ravyn stepped around to my left side and yanked on my earlobe, drawing me down so my head was eye-level. She popped the backing free from the earring and positioned it halfway down the cartilage of my left ear. “Take a deep breath.”

I inhaled, not sure what to expect.

“Now exhale.”

“Huuu— Ah!” I yelped as the piercing, pinching pain rocketed from my earlobe to the rest of my body. “Shit! That hurt!”

“It’s done. Jeez, don’t be such a wuss.” Ravyn pulled her hands back and lightly slapped my arm. “C’mon, it’s not so bad.”

She was right. Compared to the Encroacher gnawing into my leg, Keke’s arrow going through my shoulder, or Yomi forcing me to sleep with her, this was nothing. “Mmhmm. I’m good.”

The playful grin on her lips softened. “Hey. It’ll help. Promise.”

I nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks again.”

“Matt. Matt! Come look at what Buttons found!” Cannoli called excitedly from a nearby stand.

Yeah. These were my girls. And I would protect them.

No matter what.