I sink into the bath with Yunia held tightly against me. She makes herself comfortable on my lap and wraps my arms around her chest -.

Hana is getting frisky, and I don't want to leave Yunia right now, so I assume direct control of Alissa. The foxy - slave instantly surrenders to my will and becomes an extension of my - will.

-

"Didn't you say that I was next in the line for a role-play session?" Roxanne asks with a pout.

I temporarily break off my kissing with Yunia to respond, "Uh… sorry. I had to balance out my time with the others."

Alissa finally recovers enough energy to say, "Tomorrow you may have him." And Roxanne claps the tip of her fingers together in excitement.

"I don't get a say in that?" I question her with a raised eyebrow, faking seriousness.

"No. Your body belongs to us," Alissa replies without hesitation.

"True," I say and chuckle -.

"Hey, hey, you'd better share," Roxanne says to me and starts pouting again.

"Tomorrow," Alissa states, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Not Wolfy, I mean Yunia. I also want some of her, too." Roxanne grins.

I roll my eyes -. "Is that alright with you?" I kindly ask Yunia and caress her cheek.

She nods gently and lovingly runs her fingers through my hair, then she gets up and walks over to Roxanne.

"I'll continue kissing you through her," I say to Yunia, and she chuckles softly like a lady.

-

I smirk and assume direct control of Roxanne -.

She smiles and closes her eyes, letting me dominate her through another.

I'm almost certain that she loves me, too. I just need to create a romantic situation so that I can confess to her.

"We need to create a romantic situation," Alissa says through [Bind] and walks up to me.

This time, I'll let her intrusion slide because what she said made me feel pretty happy.

-

Before we start preparing dinner, Ririmu informs us that Hihiriwa has invited us again for a meal.

"Whenever we have the time, I want to have a meal with you and Hukarere again," I reply to his bird.

His beady raccoon eyes gleam for a moment and he smiles. "We'll be eagerly looking forward to it," he responds earnestly.

We land on the Carrier again and make our way through the corridors. We hear a lot of excited chatter echoing through the ship as the crew eats and rests.

We all agreed to be as respectful and amicable as possible with the crew, so we give friendly greetings to a few crew members who Ciel and I healed a few hours ago.

We go to the same dining hall as before, the one with a transparent floor. I comfort Lina again, though this time, she's more confident in herself. Enjoying - my intense love at the bath must've helped at least a little in building up her confidence.

Hihiriwa and Kaiia look a little less enthused than last time. They had a short argument about the leader-type that must have commanded the monster ambush, and the conclusion they reached made them both rather unhappy: they fucked up. At least they're much more cautious than Nohopu, who seems very eager to talk about the battle.

"I heard that you took out a Cloud Snake with just two of your members," he says with an excited grin as he hugs his puffy tail.

We sit in the same arrangement as before, and the servants fill our cups with actual alcohol this time. Kurii, Nohopu's XO (executive officer), and Mahi are still absent, so we'll have to wait for them before the meal can be served.

"You were observing us?" I casually ask.

"Our spotters wanted to take out the Snake, but since one of you was stuck to it, they decided to wait and see," Hihiriwa answers calmly.

"Oh, I see," I reply.

"Hah! Those things can be sneaky, but they're no match for us," Hana says with pride.

"It tried to shake you off like a mad Manta Gull, though," Nohopu says with a cheeky grin.

"Did it succeed? No, so everything's fine," Hana responds with a shrug, and Nohopu breaks into laughter.

"See? This is why I'll never give up melee. It's just too much fun," Oritiki says with a smile and sends a glance at Hihiriwa.

"Just keep in mind that the Trinity Cannons are a much more effective use of your mana," he calmly replies with a business smile.

"But not an effective use of my wings," Oritiki shoots back and shows a hint of smugness.

Kaata is quiet, but Alissa notices her expression flicker into one of tiredness for a moment.

Hihiriwa clears his throat and says, "Onto more serious matters, the monsters clearly have a leader-type that knows basic tactics. We've decided to maintain the same speed, but we'll be much more thorough with our scouting." His words dampen the mood, and everyone's expressions become serious again.

"They can also spot us from afar. We searched the islands they came from but didn't find any monsters that could be a leader-type," Nohopu says, his usual chipper attitude temporarily contained.

Hihiriwa nods. "Yes, which means that there's no reason for us to try to be quiet, so the Floater will remain at max speed all the time to scout the area as fast as possible."

"The Floater seems to be faster than all of my summons, so I'm not sure how they can help with scouting," I say.

"Our priority is speed, so we won't be able to depend on your summons. You'll help us the most by maintaining a perimeter around the fleet," Kaiia responds.

"Why do you want to travel so fast?" Yunia asks, and we relay her question in Reo.

"Bringing the island back will take quite some time. I want to spend the minimum amount of supplies on our trip, at least until we can grow our own on the island," Hihiriwa answers.

"You'll grow your own food while towing it back?" Yunia questions.

Oh, now, I remember. The High Council was arguing about the ratio of supplies to fertilizer or something like that before we left for Tuumau's.

"Indeed. We've become experts at farming with minimal resources, after all," Hihiriwa answers proudly.

Mahi, the tall, horse-headed woman, and Kurii, Nohopu's XO, finally enter the dining hall.

"Oh, Kurii, Mahi, what held you up?" Kaata asks gently.

The two smile wryly, and Kurii answers, "The men were a bit slow in setting up the mana cables to recharge the Winch."

"We thought it was better to observe them, lest they do something wrong and let the mana waste away all night," Mahi continues, and the table chuckles.

"Now that you mentioned it. When can our ship be recharged?" I ask.

"We'll do it tomorrow morning before we resume traveling. It should only take a few minutes since your ship is so small," Kaiia answers.

"After that, you'll take off in the Gull and practice delivering the Light crystal. We'll be using a Wind crystal in case something goes wrong," Hihiriwa continues and shows us a toothy smile.

"While we travel?" Oritiki questions.

Hihiriwa sends her a glance and answers, "It's the most efficient option."

"Who'll pilot our ship? I'm the only one who has the [Piloting] skill," I question.

"Can't your Living Armor servants do that?" He asks and gestures to the floating creepy dolls and the metal stickman behind us.

I press on, "They only know how to keep the ship from crashing. In a battle, I'm the only one who is qualified to pilot it."

"Just keep your ship landed on the Carrier while you practice," Oritiki suggests.

"That'll decrease the Carrier's top speed," the panda man Kaiia says and frowns slightly.

I could use Alissa's [Bind] to help her pilot, but I'm not keen on piloting two things at the same time.

"It'll be a bit dangerous for us to let someone else pilot. We could've crashed into the Carrier today if Wolf was less experienced," Alissa calmly states.

Hihiriwa's gray scales subtly wave a few times, making faint clinking sounds. He thinks for a moment, then answers, "I see. You can land your ship while you practice with the Gull." Then his thin lips curl into a smile for a second.

He's the one who suggested departing so quickly without me practicing in the Gull beforehand.

Now that the more important parts of the conversation are done, we're free to begin eating our meal. It's Dragolite again.

We return to our ship and retire to our tent.

"I initially thought that it wasn't our problem, but I'm starting to really dislike Hihiriwa's rather reckless behavior," I say.

"He's paying for this expedition, and he's doing everything he can to maximize his profits," Yunia comments.

"He also likes to take risks. Reminds me of Dad…" Hana says, and her voice loses a bit of motivation as she goes on.

I pat her head and get up from the bed, then walk over to Yunia, and Alissa casts [Ignorance] on the two of us.

"Now, let's do this," I say, and she nods solemnly in response.

I remove Lina's [Bind], making her pout unhappily, then I cast [Bind] on Yunia.

I immediately feel something coming from her that makes me pause, then she manages to get her feelings under control by the next second.

She really wants me to hug her like I did in the bath today.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that she loves me.

Yunia coughs and looks over to Alissa. "Where are they?" She asks.

"I believe they're about to enter their quarters," Alissa says.

I pull Yunia into a hug and grin as I look up at her.

"Well, then, we're off," I say, Yunia's slightly embarrassed expression instantly hardens.

I open a [Gate] to the infirmary under us, and once we've teleported, we immediately hide behind a bed.

While she prepares [Silence], I dive into her soul and bring back the "communication string."

"Can you hear me?" I ask her through [Bind].

"P-perfectly," she answers, almost fumbling the spell. An echo of her fear seeps through the connection.

"Alissa, is the coast clear?"

"Coast…? Uh… Earthling expression?" She replies, pretty confused.

"Ah, yeah. Is the area ahead clear for us to move out?" I ask again with a wry smile.

"Oh, right! Yes, it seems to be clear."

Yunia taps the floor, and we hear absolutely nothing from that, so we're ready to move.

We dash out of the infirmary and run down the corridor without hesitation. Two "stark-butt-naked" people making a run for it. If we had any clothes on, [Ignorance] would've been much less effective. We also have a few points in [Hide Presence], so it's unlikely that we'll be noticed.

I just remembered something, we have a ghillie suit that we took from Dawn of Fire's spies. It has an interesting spell that works alongside [Ignorance]. It isn't [Invisibility], but I think we should study it sometime.

We easily make our way to the lowest floor of the poorly lit corridors, then we move on towards the front of the ship, and suddenly, the corridors change, becoming wider, carpeted, and much more illuminated.

At this point, we proceed with caution and avoid the more crowded rooms to reduce the chance of us running into someone along the way.

The higher class area of the ship is rather small, so in total, it only takes us a few minutes to get to the Captain's Quarters.

We stop at a corner and look down the target corridor. Two tall and armored winged soldiers stand guard in front of the double door to Hihiriwa's room. Alissa is certain that he's in there.

"I can feel different types of mana emanating from his room," I say to Yunia.

"Same. I think I recognize [Silent Room]. We won't be able to eavesdrop on their conversation from here," she replies.

"How about trying to sneak in from the outside, like, through a window?"

"That's even more likely to be enchanted with defenses. Our best bet is through that door."

"Bet? You're not sure?"

"I can't recognize the other enchantments. One seems to be a protection against spirits sneaking in; possibly a specific counter to a spirit elemental instead of a normal one."

"Aren't they spirits, too?" I ask.

"Kind of, but the enchantment is likely to be confined solely to the walls of the room, not an area where a material person could go through."

Hm… I wonder if I could create an ear in the other room through [Soul Manipulation] if they didn't have that enchantment active.

"I see… would a Shad trigger it?" I question

"I'm not sure since their enchantments feel different from those I know."

"Do you think that I could sneak a Shad through the crack of the door?"

"It'd be a gamble whether it would trigger an enchantment or not." She answers and the other girls echo her feelings. "Ah… if you manage to open the door, then the enchantment should be disabled."

"Hm…"

I bring Alissa here with [Gate], then Yunia and I circle around the area to get to the other end of the corridor. Once we're in position, I summon a Shad and a Holly, then put ten points in [Cursing Magic].

"Alright, try to be as subtle as you can," I say to Alissa.

She casts [Mesmerizing Butterflies] and creates a single, glowing, rainbow-colored butterfly. It lands on her hand, then peeks a small area of its wing around the corner for a second, then pulls it back. She repeats that a few times, slowly increasing how much of the wing is revealed at a time.

One of the guards suddenly turns and looks towards her.

"Huh…" He mumbles.

"What…?" His partner questions.

"There's something over there."

I send the two monsters down the corridor while making them cling to the ceiling. They quickly reach the door, so now we just need to open it.

"Wha-… see! There! Something… something pretty was there," the first guard mumbles, sounding mesmerized.

"Wow…" The second guard coos in awe.

They start to take a few steps towards Alissa, becoming increasingly charmed by her butterfly, but her MP is dropping fast.

I cast [Befuddle], then Yunia and I dash down the corridor, [Silence] still affecting us.

My heart is beating so fast that it's like it wants to punch right out of my rib cage; my hands and legs are trembling with fear; my skin is dripping with sweat; my shoulders are aching from the tension; my eyes are completely focused on the two guards ahead. This is so dangerous.

We have no time to lose, so we get to our target as fast as we can.

I grab the golden handle of the gaudy double doors, then slowly turn it all the way. There's no click because [Silence] is now affecting it, too.

The second guard sighs and shakes his head.

I pull open the door, just wide enough for the Holly, and both summons immediately go through, then I close it.

The second guard turns around and looks at us. "Wh-…" -I open [Gate] at the same time- "-at…?" He remains frozen in place for a moment, almost drooling in confusion. "The fuck was that?"

"What?" The first guard turns around and looks at him.

"I saw… a shadow…?" He grumbles.

"Man… did you smoke something?" The first guard asks in a serious tone.

The second guard turns around and frowns at him. "No, fuck you."

The first guard snorts and grins. "Well, I did."

"Oh…!" The second guard points down the corridor. Alissa releases the butterfly to distract them, then I summon her, and the spell vanishes in a puff of rainbow-colored smoke.

They both shake their heads and groan. "The mages are fucking with us again," the first guard says, and they both scowl, then they return to their posts.

"Infiltration successful," I say and sigh in relief.

Yunia knits her eyebrows in worry. "You know, that was kind of a dumb idea," she says.

"It worked," I point out with a shrug.

"You got lucky. It was still stupid," Ciel says, disapprovingly.

"Hey…" I pout at her. "You two should've stopped me, then."

"I thought it was a good idea at first," Yunia says and lets her head hang, clearly disheartened.

"It. Worked," I repeat, getting a bit annoyed.

Yunia chuckles and Ciel shrugs then smiles. "I'm just teasing you," Yunia calmly says.

"We're putting ourselves in a lot of risk with just Wahinui's word that he's bad," Roxanne says, and that makes us pause.

"But it'd also be stupid to just ignore her," Lina adds.

Yunia's face becomes stern, and she narrows her eyes in discontent. "Huh… If she wanted to undermine Hihiriwa, then we could say that she almost succeeded," she says, a hint of disgust in her tone.

We go silent for a few moments, conflicted about our actions.

I frown and interrupt the silence, "It's like Lina said: it'd be stupid to ignore her, but she succeeded in planting the seed of doubt within our minds."

The other girls reflect for a moment longer, but they all come to a similar conclusion: both Roxanne and Lina are right.

"Either of them could be manipulating us," Hana says, anger seeping into her voice.

"What about our monster spies? Is Hihiriwa talking about us?" Alissa asks.

"They're…- doing it," I answer with a wry smile.

"O~h, lemme see," Roxanne asks with a grin.

Ciel frowns. "That's a bit too much," she says.

Hana snorts and counters, "Heh, I don't think they'd care if they knew that we were watching."

"Alright, who wants to watch?" I ask. Yunia, Roxanne, Hana, and Aoi lift their hands/claw. "Aoi?" I question her and raise an eyebrow.

"I want to see how small - he is," she answers and gives me a toothy grin.

I shrug. "Fair enough."

"I want my [Bind] back after this," Lina says and pouts. I pat her head lovingly and nod.

We may have deliberately derailed the conversation with the topic of peeping, but the unpleasant question is still gnawing at the back of our minds: who's manipulating us? One, both, or neither?