"Thank you, Master." The nurse hugged your arm and pulled herself close, leaning against your shoulder. "May this humble servant inquire what caused Master to get so worked up?" She giggled.

"Rachel," you muttered darkly.

That sobered up the sex-drunk nurse quite fast.

"If it's not too much to ask..."

"She's acting weird," came your response. "She's been watching me closely these past few days and it's slightly unnerving."

"What about today?" She spoke, tensing against your arm. "What happened?"

"Tried to threaten me that she'd give me so much pleasure I'd break, I kinda partially called her bluff and told her to scram." This time a grimace. "Turns out it was a pretty damn close call, good thing I had you on hand."

That made the nurse show some relief, nodding. "Any time, Master." She kissed your cheek. "Anywhere, and anywhen."

"Good to know."

"No, Master, you don't know," she said, smiling wide as she gave you a smouldering look. "I really mean it anywhen, and anywhere. Here, now, in front of everyone, suddenly and without question. I'd really like it."

"Ok, so maybe you're a bigger pervert than I am."

The nurse giggled at that, looking quite happy to continue down the road and towards the ranking building.

It was a tall, singular two-story building that reminded you of an industrial block. Just tall walls all around like some big ugly gray box. The whole thing felt relatively new compared to the rest of the town, the entrance to the building being a singular large set of double doors.

The reception area was rather large.

With Diane walking behind you, you reached the main desk and waited for your turn before a brunette girl greeted you with a slight nod. "How may I be of assistance, sir?"

"I was wondering about doing the rank test," you said with a slight nod. "Do I need to schedule?"

"That would depend, what's your rank, sir?"

"Zero, haven't done this before."

The woman blinked, took a moment, looked up at you and then at Diane, and her smile tightened slightly. "Would sir mind if I confirmed their dex?"

"Go ahead." You handed it over.

Taking it, she plugged it to her station, and then her eyes bugged out before she unplugged and returned it. "Ah, sir, not to worry." She folded her hands on her lap. "You can schedule a trial for whenever you wish."

"What about for right now? I've also got some friends who might want to challenge."

"It would need at least two hours forewarning, sir," she said.

Glancing at the watch on the dex, you figured it'd be best not to have a go at it today.

"I'll keep it in mind," you nodded. "Any advice for a first-timer?"

Her lip twitched. "I am certain that sir would not have much of a challenge."

Diane giggled a little.

"Well... ok then, thanks for the information."

You turned to look at your nurse as she walked next to you back outside.

"What's the joke?"

"The challenge difficulty shifts depending on your current rank, Master. I would prove a viable option for a first challenge, Monica would breeze through." She grinned. "Master owning such a strong monstergirl will surely mean you won't find it hard at all for the near future."

"Good to know I guess," you grumbled, sending out the details to everyone else.

You weren't the only one with news. Tomas said he'd found a possible mission worth looking into, and Kat had already found that the medical center nearer to the southern side of the town had enough vacancies. There was also a message from Felix, the specialist who'd you sent an email before leaving for Grove.

Hello Rick,

I've asked my girls and none of them knows a Succubus that matches the description you've provided. Considering how rare they are, it's likely she's either a recent evolution or she sneaked her way into the country. I'll ask around my contacts to check if any bells ring. Considering Succubi can live hundreds of years, it's always a good idea to confirm if they have a history or if they're "fresh"; older individuals can be incredibly dangerous.

Past that, judging by what you've described, it looks like that succubus either already has someone in mind she wants to be more closely bonded to or is just using that Tomas fellow for her amusement. Personal suggestion is he gets rid of her fast, legal suggestion being that he sells her. Succubi tend to see things in terms of power, and people who're kind do not mesh very well with that.

If he opts to keep her, he would need to make sure to change the relationship paradigm. It doesn't seem like he has control of her, and regaining that is key.

An important note here: Succubi are resistant to taming cycles. Tomas SHOULD NOT use one on her unless he's aiming for a level 5 rewrite. Using anything lower will only complicate things and put him at risk.

Best of luck out there, and hope to hear more about this,

Felix

You read it, once, twice, thrice, and sighed before you passed it on to Diane and showed it to her.

"I'm going to ask this just in case, is this Felix fellow important? Huge mentioned he was an expert on infernals."

"I wouldn't know, but if Major Huge said he is a big deal, then I would take his advice to heart," she replied, returning the dex. "What does Master wish to do?"

"I don't know," you muttered, wondering if you'd be able to find a chance to properly convey what you'd learnt to the young man. "For now let's go see if we can find anything interesting on the way to meet the others."

"I can certainly think of one or two things Master could do." Diane grinned as she took your hand.

"Let me guess, you're familiar with Grove Town?"

"Of course, I know of a few things in the town right next to the one I lived in, nurses like gossiping after all."

She began to walk a little ahead, her smile wide as her fingers squeezed your hand warmly. She kept looking over her shoulder at you and grinning even more broadly. Once or twice the two of you stopped for directions, but eventually, she appeared to find her way about. All the while, you were looking around and taking in the crowd. The town might not have been much larger than Bark town, but there were certainly more people mulling here and there.

There were fewer displays of public sex too, or at least the route you were going through didn't seem to have much of those.

Eventually, you reached an outcrop of sorts. It was a bit of the mountain the town was built on that overlooked the valley below. The location itself looked fairly well hidden, just one of many such spots that made the town's inclination more apparent. The view was quite interesting- in front of you the remainder of the town, then the fields.

"I see why the town was named Grove," you muttered, looking at the splotched field of green and white.

Cherry trees.

"Is it spring? Why are only some of them in bloom?" You wondered out loud, looking at them with some interest.

"To be able to have cherries year-round, the farms use plant types to control when the trees enter bloom," Diane explained with a smirk. "I know things other than medicine, Master."

You pulled her into your arms, hugging her closely. "I can see that."

With a little blush, she leaned into your chest. "Does my wonderful Master like the view?"

"We both know the corny response is that I like you more than I like the view," you chuckled, watching her blush harder. "Doesn't make it any less true. Thank you, Diane." Slowly, you caressed her hair, watching her smiling from ear to ear. "Sorry for having kept you in the ball for so long, it must really be boring in there all day long."

Rather than answer, she raised herself to her tiptoes, leaving a peck on your forehead before you growled and squeezed closer, claiming her lips properly and feeling her melt in your embrace.

"Thank you, Master."

"You do know you can call me Rick, right?" You spoke softly.

That made her pout. "But calling you 'Master' is such a turn on..." Her finger drew circles on your chest. "Maybe would you rather 'Sir'?"

A little chuckle. "It was just a suggestion, you can call me whatever you like."

"Very well My Lord, King of this humble vessel of desire, Master of-"

"Don't overdo it." You flicked a finger against her nose, and made her flinch and giggle.

Quietly, you held her against you as you both took in the sights, and enjoyed the quiet and warmth that seeped into you from her touch. Your mind slowly wandered towards the other monstergirl you owned, and the events from last night. It was probably going to be best to give her a moment of your time that didn't involve sex. Or maybe a bit of it, she'd certainly smell the sex out of Diane the moment she came out.

With a little inward grimace, you had to wonder how someone would be able to handle having many monstergirls about- you'd seen more than one person walking around with at least five.

The idea felt daunting.

"You should stop doing that, Master," Diane mumbled as she turned to look up at you.

"Do what?"

"Think," she replied, poking your chest. "Your blood pressure rose, pulse quickened, and adrenaline twitched, something made you nervous."

That made you blink a moment. "I'd read Raphas were sensitive to these things, but I hadn't quite internalized it."

"Changing the subject, Master?"

"No, no, just a little amazed, is all." You shook your head. "I had just thought of how daunting it'd be to have to handle a horde of monstergirls, it'd definitely run me ragged. I'm not some young teenager anymore."

Diane giggled a little, making you quirk a brow. "Master is far better than a teenager," she said, cooing while she moved to wrap her arms around your neck and pull you closer, kissing your cheek before letting go. "Would Master like to know exactly how much more... virile he is than a teenager? Or how he can make this nurse's legs oh so weak with but a touch and a whisper?"

"Down, down I say," you chuckled, kissing her forehead before pulling back. "I'm still a bit winded."

She pretended to pout before giggling again, rubbing her cheek against your chest before letting go. "Would you like to let Monica out, Master?"

"What brought this on?"

"I had my fair share," she replied. "Can't hog Master all to myself, no matter how much I might want to."

"I'm a resource now," you grumbled, reaching for the belt and releasing Monica. The feline stretched, looked around once, then at you as Diane hugged you.

And she immediately joined in, giving your cheek a lick. "Sex now?"

You had to groan.

You reached the medical center with Diane at your side and Monica in tow happily munching on a piece of cooked meat that was on a stick. The purring was quite loud; she'd munched her way through five of the things by now. The feline looked incredibly pleased with herself about it.

"I see someone's finding out the miracles of cooked meat," Kat spoke up. She was seated on a bench, Liz on top of her.

The lizard girl was face down, her belly on Kat's lap, and her tail was currently being scrubbed by the human. She was using what seemed to be a cloth of some sort, and the lizard monstergirl was all but luxuriating while being pampered in such a way.

That was, until she noticed Monica.

The next instant, she was hissing, seated on Kat's lap, but her tail well away from sight, glaring at Monica and the meat-stick she held.

"Seems she didn't forget," Kat laughed, patting the lizard's head in reassurance.

It didn't calm her much.

"Where are the others?" You asked, ignoring how Monica looked at Liz with hungry eyes.

"Out and about, Tomas sent me the details of the quest." Kat hugged Liz and yawned a little. "Some tamers got rowdy near a ranch, scared off some of the herd into the forest. Only a handful came back, and wounded. There's apparently a feral nearby that's being rather troublesome."

You quirked a brow. "What's the interesting part?"

"The reward includes a Milktit, domesticated all the way through," she replied. "I think she might be a good idea for my harem. Plus they produce a lot of milk, so it should reduce expenses at least to some degree."

You kept your reaction to yourself, only nodding as you glanced at Diane. "Thoughts?"

"Milktits are very smart, they're not good combatants by any stretch, but management jobs or as the harem plaything... those are good positions one could take unless she evolves," Diane replied. "Above all, Milktit milk is nutrient-rich. If untreated, it will also make monstergirls who drink it lactate."

"What."

"Milktit milk, unless boiled, will cause monstergirls who drink it to lactate themselves. A very enjoyable pastime... with the right partner." The nurse looked at you with a slight blush and you suddenly knew she'd already made plans.

"I'm sure Monica will like it," you said, and that deflated her a bit.

"Monica?" Monica asked, finishing off the meat and licking the stick.

Your dex dinged, a message from Tomas. It was rather brief.

South-Edge, 10am.

That was... tomorrow?

"He's saying not to head out today?" Kat wondered as she read the message.

"Seems like..." You paused, blinking as you saw Tomas. "Here he comes."

And as soon as you saw him you realized why he'd put the time to meet up as tomorrow.

He looked absolutely exhausted and drenched, as if he'd just ran a marathon.

"What's wrong with you?" Kat asked, startling him out of the daze. "You look like you ran a marathon."

"I feel like it too," he replied, continuing his way into the building without further explanation.

Kat looked at you and you stared back, slightly concerned. "Maybe he just had a brush-up with some monstergirl," you pointed out.

The young woman frowned slightly. "I think we both know her name."

Without another word, she stood and headed towards the building as well, leaving you alone with your two girls.

Before you could say anything to Diane, Monica sat on your lap.

You looked at her.

She looked back at you. "Rick," she said, raising her tail, and dropping it on your hand.

She then grabbed your hand and made it caress the soft fur on her tail before letting it go.

"Pets Monica."

You had to wonder when she'd learnt that new word.