A handful of hours later, your dex dinged with the reception of several messages. It was the sign that you'd entered signal range with the city of Violet. You hadn't seen the others, but judging by the first message being from Kat, you figured you'd fallen behind. The city was still at least an hour's walk away.

"Sooooooo..." Kiara's words pierced the silence. "What are the plans for the day? I heard you were short on money? Maybe... I could help with that?"

There was the lingering feeling that you ought to start getting a headache right about now, but it had yet to show up. So you urged her to continue. "I'm listening."

"Fights," she replied. "Just gotta hunt a few gullible idiots willing to bet some cash for a fight, send Monica, win, and walk out."

"Right, because I want to make my girls fight for sport." You groaned inwardly.

"The girls you used to hunt?" The infernal pipped up, taking the chance to walk slightly ahead of you. Her eyes shone with mirth. "The same monstergirls you'd rather risk life and limb to catch some feral to sell rather than beat some idiots for easy cash?"

Next to you, Diane was quietly glowering, but you kept from acknowledging it right now. "Yes, let me throw Monica at a monstergirl and see how that goes. I'm sure a tamer having one of his girls killed won't get me into trouble."

The infernal flinched but didn't miss a beat. "It would teach her how to hold back in the heat of the moment. So long as it's not instantaneous death, it should be recoverable. Right, miss nurse?"

All eyes turned to Diane. The pink-haired woman kept narrowed eyes aimed at Kiara, lips thinning. "Right."

"See?" Kiara nodded. "Easy money."

"And what's the catch?" You asked, frowning. "What do you get out of this proposition?"

"I'd be working my tail off, mind you, picking the best targets, getting them all hot-headed..." She twirled her tail. The frown on your face must have been obvious because she quickly chuckled. "I'd certainly expect something juicy in return."

There was a slight hesitation as you walked. "I'll think about it," you said without commitment, trying to chew on the thought, the ramifications. She had a point that hunting ferals was always going to be riskier... Your lips curled while you walked, trying to consider the options. "For now I'm going to recall you all."

Your words were met with a scoff, but the infernal didn't complain further as she was the first to vanish into red light. Monica followed with the pout that had yet to leave her, clenching the white bundle of silk as she vanished alongside it. Raven merely bowed before she too became red light.

"Master." Diane gripped your hand as you'd been about to recall her as well. "Would it be alright if I stayed outside?"

"Sure," you shrugged. "I take it you want to talk?"

Looking at you, she opened her mouth, taking a second before she closed it. It made you frown. "No, Master, I just want to-"

"That's enough of that," you growled, reaching for her body and tugging it closer, fingers brushing into her hair as you looked onto her confused expression. "Talk, or I stop." Your words were accompanied with a caress down her throat.

Diane swallowed, hesitating. "I... it's not my place."

"And I asked a question." The finger kept moving downwards, tracing her collarbone and making her shudder.

"What does Master think of Kiara?"

"I can't lower my guard around her one iota," you replied with little pause; your finger was nudging the strap of her dress off, down her shoulder. "Now stop with the indirect questions and talk about what's bothering you."

"You ate her out," she blurted.

Your finger paused in its tracks. "...and?"

Diane's eyes widened. "It's dangerous! And denigrating! Only a monstergirl does that to another monstergirl."

Dangerous? Oh, no, right, yeah, you nodded a little. You could easily imagine monstergirls thighs being incredibly dangerous, all things considered. You remembered how Kiara had pushed you away at the last second... Restraints would be in order next time. "I agree on the first point, not so much on the second or third." You scratched your chin. "Does it bother you?"

"Yes!" Diane scowled. "Master, you shouldn't be sending that kind of signal. Much less to that Succu-bitch."

"And what kind of 'signal' is it?"

"That she's above you." She was scowling now. "You're the Master!"

The nurse skipped mentioning how you were a human while she was a monstergirl that had already sexually outmatched your whole harem. Kiara didn't need you doing anything to think she was above everyone present. Yourself included. You doubted she was dumb enough to think she could just arm-wrestle her way through though.

You were holding onto her ball after all.

"And?"

The question caught Diane flat-footed. She hesitated. "It's wrong, and it could... you saw what she did to Monica."

"Hm... so she thought she was in a special position because of it."

"Exactly."

"Then I guess I'll have to show that it's a reward I don't mind giving out for those who've earned it," you replied shrugging your shoulders a little. "Want it to be your next reward?"

"No!" She blushed furiously as she said this, pushing you slightly back. "It's... wrong, Master."

"Ok." Stopping the stroking of her shoulder, you turned to continue your way further towards the city.

The monstergirl flinched, quickly following, the blush becoming more intense. "Does... Master want me to?"

"Do you remember what I told you back in your apartment when you said I shouldn't push myself to adjust?" You asked her, offering your hand for her to grab. The nurse didn't hesitate to reach out for it, though her face was turned downwards and blushing. "Eating a girl out isn't really weird, definitely not a bad experience. It's mostly expected back at my place."

Diane tripped a little on her next step, squeezing your hand between her fingers. You didn't sense any strange warmth from her touch so you kept yourself relaxed. "Could you... tell me more, about who you've... tamed?"

The question made you take in a sharp breath. The image of a small black box came to mind, barely larger than your fist, probably gathering dust on your nightstand back at your house. "Unfortunately, no," you said with a shake of your head. "I'd rather keep my love life private." A deep breath; your head hung back for a moment as you took in a deep breath. "But I think the Kiara thing is making it obvious there's still a lot I don't know, so I might as well try to give you something to help me bridge the gap."

Diane nodded emphatically, squeezing your hand a little; there was a little smile. "How may I help, Master?"

"I mean... I literally don't know what I don't know," you replied. "And so much is just not written down because people take it for granted," you added. "So... let's just compare notes. What's human/monstergirl relationship look like in the long run?"

"In the long run?" She hesitated, lowering her gaze a little. "In the long run monstergirls stay with their Masters until they die or... are sold. Sometimes they outlive their Masters, and are inherited by the Master's sons or close friends."

You kept from grimacing; this was mostly a confirmation more than anything. "What about babies? Sons and daughters?"

"It depends," she replied. "monstergirls can have kits, they will always be the same breed as the mother, and... technically are never the father's real daughter. Some families give them away to close relatives or friends, to groom them to become the starter of their sons. Others keep them and... some sell them." Diane was looking carefully at your reaction as she said this- her fingers had tightened a little. "Your heart rate is faster."

"Continue," you said rather than answer.

"Once a monstergirl reaches her second puberty, she can become pregnant like a human, at which point she can have human children or kits," she explained. "The human, either male or female, is always groomed as the potential heir of the Master, especially the boys since they can't threshold, unlike the girls."

"Do you know how many girls threshold?"

Diane shook her head. "We were taught the chances varied depending on ancestry, but since I was sent to a medical center, they deemed the information wasn't worth teaching to me."

That meant the information was important enough they'd keep it a secret from those who didn't need to know. Why was the threshold rate important? Your lips thinned a little as you thought back to Doctor Hale's warning of the risks a 'pure human' could experience in this world. You felt the two might be related.

"Master, would you want children?" Diane wondered.

"Hm?"

"I had initially thought it was a given, humans should have as many human children as they can, the average household has four." She squeezed your fingers. "But I hadn't considered your own customs, Master."

"I mean... I'd normally say that I want children, I did back in the day." You quickly shook your head. "But that feels like a bridge I should consider when I get there, things definitely aren't up for the question even being asked right now." You quickly pushed the thought away. "What about human on human relationships? How do those often go?"

"Families usually arrange marriages between the two humans," Diane replied with a slight shrug.

"Wait." A little frown followed. "What jobs do usual human men and women take?"

"The stereotype is that human men become tamers, and human females manage the businesses. And tamers eventually retire and start their own business using the monstergirls they own." The nurse giggled a little. "Though I know a few people who'd scowl me if I said that out loud."

"Good thing they're not around." You scratched your chin. "And... wait, does that mean that boys are expected to start their own thing? And girls inherit from their parents?"

The nurse nodded. "Usually that's the case, or at least that's what's expected," she replied. "There is plenty of land that's untouched, so families are expected to help the country reclaim it from the ferals." A pause. "Sometimes there are pushes into the wildlands, but fortunately our country doesn't have to worry about that since we are flanked by Capitol and Crescent," her voice intoned with a little smile. "The wildlands are very dangerous, so it's a good thing to not have to worry over that."

"How dangerous?"

"Very." A gim nod. "The ferals within the borders tend to be weaker and milder because tamers and hunters frequently patrol certain areas and bring down the more powerful and dangerous ferals. Wildlands don't have this because they're well outside any nation's effective reach, the ferals there have had a chance to grow and multiply."

You imagined a place where several feral Monicas could grow and reproduce. "Oh." Pausing your thoughts, you glanced at the red rooftop of the center. "Well, we're here."

Diane let go of your hand and quickly moved to stand in front of you, halting your progress towards the building as she looked up into your eyes. "Master, I'd like to ask something before we go inside."

"Shoot."

"Are there are any sorts of relationships that involve... sex... but no relationship in your world?"

That certainly caught you flat-footed. You hesitated, grimacing, and reached up to scratch the back of your head. "I mean... there are, kind of."

"Prostitutes?"

You flinched. "Yeah... that's certainly one type," you muttered with a sigh.

"There are others?"

Another nod. "Stuff like 'friends with benefits' would be one, two people who only fuck for the sake of scratching the itch." The answer felt slightly awkward as you fidgeted under the violet gaze of the over-eager nurse. "Not that I've ever really had anything like that."

Diane reached out to grab your hands. "I'd like to be your slave with benefits, Master."

That earned a little chuckle from you. "And what would that imply?"

"I've been thinking about your words, about a relationship and romance, and how I broke your trust, Master." She squeezed your fingers. "I want to get your trust back."

Nodding at her proclamation, you leaned your head a little to the side. "I already figured you were putting an effort there. What do you mean by slave-with-benefits?"

"I have my... itch," she said, wriggling. "And you have yours."

"Pretty sure 'sex' is not an itch I think I'll have any time soon."

Diane shook her head.

"You have an itch to be alone from time to time." You frowned at her, keeping quiet as you watched her squirm and lower her head. "I'd like to help Master scratch it."

"How?"

"The same way any nurse can handle learning curriculum while working in the center and ensuring she has an efficient taming regimen to ensure avoiding going feral." A nod from her head. "Scheduling."

And just like that, you felt like something heavy had been dropped onto your shoulders.