XIII

Supplies

『Angerona's Floating Island』

Fortuna sat listening to Angerona explaining the events which had unfolded. She was unsurprised hearing an altar ritual had overtaken the magic circle as it was common knowledge amongst the gods that all summoning spells were developed from the usage of 「Altar Stones」. It was one of many reasons summoning spells have been in decline.

“It is better to end his life now lest his oss curse overtake him. I cannot let such a thing taint my bloodline.” Fortuna finally said after some minutes of silence.

“I will bear responsibility over him.” rebutted Angerona.

“Responsibility?” Fortuna, giving her a look of disdain continued, “You gave him access to the Grimoire Magic System, a very dangerous thing, and you plan to use him to defend against the Elysiites and Aesireans. Such a thing would make you a target. Do you honestly believe you can 'bear responsibility'?

“Or is it that you intend to create new vessels with him?”

Angerona was unable to answer causing the room to fall into silence.

“Not everyone has a hundred thousand descendants rutting around, you old whore.” Felicitas rambunctiously blurted out.

Such words had shocked Fortuna into a furious haze, but before she could respond to such insolence a distant voice decided to cut in.

“Hahaha, to say such a thing to an old lady, you haven't changed at all Felicitas. Fortuna, why not let them have the child?” said the mysterious voice.

At those words, the room full of women took notice of two more women walking into the room with baskets full of food. The one who had spoken looked over at the display module sitting on a table.

“Is that the one you're arguing over? He's cute, but his cock is hardly impressive. Well, judging by that girl's face he's able to do something right. Alright, I’ve decided, I’ll have some children with him as well. What about you Abundantia?”

“Hmm, okay Avaritia, that sounds fun.” Abundantia agreed and then offered, “How about a wager then? Who among us will be first to bear a child by him and who will bear the most.”

Fortuna, now calmed, looked over to the display watching as Naoki was resting atop Alicia whilst an anxious Saya sat nearby waiting for her turn.

As soon as Avaritia and Abundantia delivered the food, they turned back to retrieve more baskets of food. When both goddesses had left the villa, well out of earshot, Abundantia turned to Avaritia.

“Do you really intend to have a child with that boy?”

“Pfft no,” sneered Avaritia, “Sericans are so hideous, but I do enjoy a good prank or two. Let's see how this plays out.”

Abundantia agreed and both continued transporting food.

Back within the common area of the villa, Angerona continued pleading her case against Fortuna in keeping Naoki under her charge. Eventually, Fortuna relented.

“So be it, responsibility is yours to bear along with any burdens that may stem from it.” Fortuna turned her attention back to the display, “It's not as if I could use either of those three as vessels anyway.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day +75』

『Minervina's Chambers』

“Do you have any proof of a rebellion?” Minervina asked as I laid my head on her chest.

“No proof, but once something is found at the Umbrii estate use it to interrogate the Praetorian Guards. In my world, the Praetorian Guards assassinated numerous emperors and even sold the throne to the highest bidder before assassinating him as well.” I said while struggling to keep my eyes open. Her breasts were soft pillows on which I may take my rest.

“Naoki? Naoki, are you really sleeping? This is your fault for drinking such strong wine.” I felt her arms holding me tightly.

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day +85』

『Palace – Deep Cellar』

“How fucking deep is this cellar?”

“In order to keep the area cool without the use of magic stones, the cellar needs to be deep underground.”

“Yes I know, however, we have been walking down these stairs for fifteen minutes.” I said, annoyed at how deep these stairs ran down.

“We will be there soon, b-beloved. B-by the way, *ahem*, how did you craft these devices? How did you call them, flesh lights?” Minervina asked as we continued downward.

“Flashlights, flash-lights. I used the idea of the lamps you had and combined it with the flashlights I brought along.”

A small length of wood was cut into a cylinder. It was then cut to fit two magic stones. A 「Bright Stone」 was fitted into the end of the cylinder with a 「Mana Stone」 behind it to provide power. A simple switch mechanism, that I copied from the lamp, moves the 「Mana Stone」 back and forth to create or break contact. It was a crude design, but it was simple to craft. I could further the idea by a reflective surface and adding more magic stones and create a high-intensity floodlight.

As I explained to Minervina how I was able to create such a simple thing we continued walking down the stairs to the cellar. The air became noticeably cooler the further down we walked. Each time the temperature dropped Minervina would shiver and clasp my hand tightly. I could feel her warmth through her soft hand as our fingers were tightly woven together.

“Master… I am cold.” Saya was here with us as well, apparently.

We continued walking into the darkness with our flashlights illuminating our way. After a dozen steps had passed, Minervina broke the silence.

“This could have military applications, even adventurers would have need of it. Most use diviners to carry such stones for light, but those who cannot...” she was lost in her thoughts as she imagined the possibilities of this 'invention'.

“So simple yet no one has bothered to create them until now, yet there are lamps and street lights everywhere you go.”

“But those require enchantments and- ah, we're here.”

Lamps didn't even have any enchantments.

At the end of the stairs was a set of large doors. Though we did not have the keys to access this area, it was a simple task of using electromagnetism to trip the tumblers of this simple spring lock mechanism. Once I managed to open the doors, which absolutely did not take twenty minutes, we were treated to a lovely sight.

Inside the deep cellar was thousands of casks of wine and hundreds of barrels. Minervina explained that the casks were made of various types of wood to experiment on the wine while the larger barrels were made of different oaks and oakoo wood. Dolia, which were located in the upper levels of the palace as it was frequently consumed, were the 'your mom' versions of amphorae and used for short-term fermentation for the sweet wine. The wine down here were aged for years.

Numerous corridors were laid out in a staggered pattern to prevent collapse of the structure and each corridor was filled with many containers. Besides wine, there were many dry barrels of grain. Emergency stores in case of siege. Each barrel was sealed with beeswax to prevent moisture from spoiling the grain. Though it would be nice to loot all the grain, I came here for the wine.

“So,” Minervina began, “now that we are here, how do you intend to carry these upstairs? Using the elevators will alert the servants and you had said you wanted to sneak down here.”

“What I'm about to show you, keep it a secret. Speak of this to no one.” As I said so, I removed the magic chest from my back which was tied with cord.

The magic chest was too large to fit into my rucksack and my hands were busy holding onto Minervina's hand and a flashlight. So having it tied to my back was the easy solution. As I placed the chest onto the ground, I opened it to remove my magic-modified rucksack and three magic bags.

There was an interesting thing I had learned about the storage magic. When an inactive magic stone is placed into the distortion field the field had no problems accepting it. However, when an active magic stone was placed into the field it was rejected. A force was generated the same way a magnet would be repelled by another magnet. The active magic stone was pushed back. This, of course, included the magic storage bags.

“What exactly do you have planned with those?” Minervina eyed me with curiosity.

Before I did anything with the chest, I took a china marker and began labeling the barrels. The shelving which held the barrels were all labeled with the names and types of wines. Transferring that info onto the barrels would make stacking much easier. When this was done for the entire shelf, I unhinged the panel of the magic chest and slid it near the closest barrels.

Unfortunately, this was a mistake as I was unable to lift the barrels up. It was incredibly heavy. I struggled a few times before giving up and moving onto plan two.

Just like when I had raided Dentus's room, I flipped the magic bag inside out. With the distortion field visible, I began to absorb all the labeled barrels. It was incredible how I was able to make a row of barrels vanish into thin air.

“Naoki, how… how did you do that? What happened to the wine? What magic is that?!” Minervina held a shock expression as she watched each barrel disappear.

Though she said nothing, Saya had a look on her face which said that she now understands what had been happening with various items disappearing without knowing how.

After taking the first set of barrels, I walked towards Minervina. I took her hand and, not missing the opportunity to kiss her fingers, placed it into the distortion field and explained how it works, though not in detail. Her surprise further exacerbated as she saw the barrels inside a mysterious space within her mind.

“Use your finger to select an item then act as if you were dragging it out.” I guided her on how to use the magic.

As she did so, a barrel began to slowly appear from the distortion field. The weight of the barrel became more noticeable as more of it appeared. We eased the barrel down toward the ground as its weight had started to be too much to hold. Once it was safely on the ground, I took the chest to store the barrel.

“It's a magic device that doesn't seem to exist outside of my creation. I really don't understand why the people of this world are so… unimaginative. Almost as if they lost creativity by relying too much on magic.” I absentmindedly complained out loud.

“If you were to sell this idea… military… merchants…” she was lost in mind as she thought up the potential for the magic chest.

I ignored her and began working on collecting the remaining barrels as well as the easier to carry casks. Saya immediately understood how the storage magic worked and we managed to form a system of me collecting loot then handing the bag over to Saya who would transfer the contents into the chest.

Minervina, meanwhile, would ask me to spread the storage technology which I would decline. Eventually, she gave up as she saw that I would not relent to her request and began assisting us in the looting.

We were at this all day. Despite the coldness of the underground, we were sweating. We were at risk of hypothermia and I was ill-equipped when I had not realized how cold it was down here. Saya, bless her heart, had managed to find a few bolts of purple cloth. It was thick and intricately embroidered to show off its imperial worth.

Sure, I could have used fire magic to keep us warm. Sure, I could have used air or even water magic to dry us off. However, there was no better opportunity to get both girls completely naked in which I would use the cloth to dry them both and have our bodies connect. It was not long before I was on top of Minervina feverishly thrusting in and out of her in an attempt to get one of us, mostly me, to reach orgasm.

“Come with me, Minervina.”

“Yes, I'm cumming! Oh gods, I love this feeling!”

Not what I meant…

She orgasmed as I filled her. I was still inside her as we caught our breath and Saya busily wiped away our sweat. Each time I kissed her, I tasted the saltiness of her sweat and I savored the taste.

“What I meant was that we will be leaving soon and I want you to come with me. Become my wife.” I explained my misunderstanding and also proposed.

“You are asking me, the imperial princess and only heir to the throne, to become your 'second' wife,” although she laughed, as I was still inside her I felt her heart rate spike. “Even if I were to agree, when I disappear at the same time you depart father will suspect that you were responsible. Thus nullifying every deal you made with him.”

As we talked, Saya continued to dry the both of us off. She started nudging me after she was done. When I turned to face her, she laid down on a piece of cloth and spread her legs.

“Go on, she worked hard today.” Minervina caught on and pushed me off of her.

Thanks to increasing my stamina pool, I have gained a very unique ability in which after I had my first orgasm I was able to maintain an erection. This ability was used to my advantage as I began thrusting, albeit slowly, into Saya.

In-between moans and grunts, Minervina moved closely to my ear, nibbling it slight as she whispered.

“She's a spoiled girl and I couldn't help but encourage her, but she is my only living sister and I want you to take care of her.” she moved to kiss me and slid her tongue to entwine my own.

After a very manly tenish minutes, Saya was now filled with cum and I was devoid of it. I moved between both girls to rest and recover my stamina. Minervina turned my head towards her and as I looked into her purple eyes she whispered to me.

“I'll be your wife, but we must make careful plans if I am to leave.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『Palace – Office of the Emperor』

The emperor was sitting in his chair reading and re-reading every detailed blueprint, every detailed schematic and every detailed instruction that was bartered for with the otherworlder. It was written in simple terms in which even a child could comprehend. The suggestion of using metric measurements to replace their outdated and inaccurate system spoke volumes to him.

Earlier in the day, a council of the palace's master crafters had sat in this room meeting with the emperor. Each one poured over the papers then exchanged with another. Each person was astonished at the sheer simplicity of these instructions that caused some to have their pride wounded at never having thought up such an idea.

“You were able to observe the summoned as he used your forge. What did you see?” the emperor asked the master blacksmith.

“He used various magic types to refine the metals and to heat the furnace at such a temperature that it had even cracked. I have used that furnace for fifteen years and have never caused such a thing to happen. The process is similar to the one described in this parchment and it is similar to how mithril is refined.” the blacksmith replied while still reading the paper on the subject of the bessemer process.

“Do we have enough iron for this 'railway' that was mentioned?” the emperor continued his focus onto the blacksmith.

The blacksmith thought for a moment before replying, “Perhaps there is enough to reach the outer wall at a single point, but not enough to connect cities throughout the empire. We would need to expand the gallian mines.”

The meeting continued into the night before each master was dismissed. Iron would be need in a great number in order for this project to succeed. The senate would need to approve for a large scale expansion of the northern mines as well as stationing a legion to protect it.

Even though night had fallen, the emperor never left his seat. He continued to learn from the various papers and committed as much to memory as he could. While he was lost in his thoughts, a voice called out to him.

“Father, you had summoned me?” Minervina asked.

“You were called on hours ago, where were you?” the emperor demanded, wondering why his daughter was not present for this important meeting.

“Forgiveness father, I was indisposed.”

The emperor tore his eyes away from the papers and looked at his daughter. Her clothing was in disarray, her hair was unkempt, her face showed a looked of contentment which she was unable to suppress. On her side was a plain leather bag, unimpressive and unsuitable for a princess to carry.

“What is that bag beside you?”

“It contains a gift from Naoki, he will be leaving the capital soon.” Minervina replied, satisfied that her ruse was not detected.

“I've warned you not to associate with him and yet you blatantly take him into your bed.” the emperor surprised Minervina as he was able to see through her.

“Father, such a thing...”

“I know the face of a freshly fucked woman. When your mother was alive, I took pride in giving her such an appearance every single day. Are you carrying his child?”

Minervina was stunned at her ruse having been seen through. She knew she was unable to lie to her father now that he knows of her tryst with Naoki.

“I don't know...” was all she could muster.

“Take some sylphium and wash your cunt of his semen. We will speak in the morning.”

“Father… marry me off to Naoki. An alliance with him will prove benefi-”

“Enough! The thought of you being with such an impudent, disrespectful and ill-mannered child infuriates me.” the emperor exploded in rage causing Minervina to recoil from the sudden outburst. When time passed in which he regained his composure, he revealed a problem which has come to light. “However… the first investigators have found evidence tying the Umbrii family to the Remii.”

“So the rumors are true?”

“Perhaps, but that is not the only issue. You may not know this, but Dentus has gone missing. His chambers within the barracks emptied with no trace along with seven guardsmen. If your suspicions about the Praetorian Guard are true then Aventine is no longer safe.” a solemn look appeared on the emperors face as he realized the dangers are much closer to him than he had known.

“Father, does that mean you approve of our-”

“No, I will never approve of him. I will never acknowledge him aside from being an incitable cur. However… I need to keep you safe and it is too dangerous for you to travel freely. A plan needs to be made.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day +86』

『High Servant's Quarters』

I was sitting by the stables behind the insulae that was constructed when the first batch of orders arrived. Twelve wagons filled to the brim with sacks, barrels and chests of various items. Each wagon was pulled by either one or two donkeys and to accommodate them, I built the stables using earth magic and some wood and was filled with straw for bedding.

Troughs were filled with fodder and water and when straw is to be replaced, it would be piled onto the niter bed. The drivers for each wagon are slaves which have experience in taking care of the animals.

One of the donkeys had taken a liking to me and was currently sleeping with its head on my lap. I carefully typed onto my laptop all the things we had stocked and stored with one hand and giving the donkey scratchies with the other.

The servants had worked around the clock producing ration bars and ingredients for ration bars and little by little our orders from the guild were transported in. Veronica's team were busily brewing potions daily and my team had learned, with guidance from Saya, how to make the chickpea sauce. They worked on that when the ovens were full. Alicia's team was doing… something. No idea.

I watched the smoke rise at a distance as workers were busy lighting a bonfire. For the past week, I have had workers bringing in the broken amphorae and setting it on the firewood. My reasoning for this is…

Roman concrete does not exist here. Plaster is used with great frequency, but concrete does not exist. Earth magic allows the strengthening of stone and dirt into something stronger than concrete. When I had heard this I remembered learning that broken pieces of amphorae were used in concrete making and those that are not are piled onto a mound.

So I figured, why not take it?

Any oil which has been soaked into the clay would react with the lime causing it to saponify. But I thought about just lighting that shit on fire and wipe it with the residual ash. That could probably work. The amphorae would then be crushed into a powder and mixed with lime to make a basic cement.

I pay ten gold aureus a day for the servants residing in the servant's quarters and an additional five gold for menial workers who transport materials like the broken amphorae and firewood. Two gold a day were paid to the slaves who tended the donkeys which included paying for fodder. A drop in the bucket for what I had, but five days ago I decided to return to the magic item shop and also visit the magic stone dealer.

What was in the magic item shop was mostly small minor things and a few appliances that cater to Patricians, but that was not all they had. Items that would benefit farmers, travelers and adventurers existed, which surprised me. I spent two hundred thousand gold on things that would aid in our journey.

Following up on that was my visit to the magic stone dealer. I bought everything. Simple as that. Well, however much four hundred thousand gold could buy. Even though I had spent this much, I was able to haggle down to nearly half the cost for each stone. I simply offered the dealer a little insider trading info and advised him to stock up and raise prices on 「Heat Stones」, 「Wind Stones」and 「Charge Stones」.

I know that the emperor will soon attempt construction on steel-refining devices and will most likely use 「Heat Stones」 and 「Wind Stones」. As for 「Charge Stones」, the others will probably figure out how to use it for their electronics the same way I did. That is if they still have any left as I had bought a bag full of their junk from Vince.

I had a little over three hundred thousand gold left and I still needed to buy tools and other supplies that will be useful for farming, building and mining. Veronica had used a good bit of money on apothecary stuff and Alicia said she needed it 'for reasons'. It did not bother me much as I was confident that I would be able to make more money later on. Probably.

As I closed my laptop and waited for the donkey to wake up, Veronica walked up to me holding two cups. She handed me one and I breathed in the heavenly aroma of this beautiful dark liquid of happy-making.

“Thanks for buying us coffee. Also, for making it pre-ground and for buying a french press for it.” she said while sipping on her cup.

“It was worth it, I should have bought this earlier.”

“Why didn't you do so before? You did go kinda crazy about not having any.”

“Hoarders dilemma, 'do I use it now or save it for an emergency, but I won't actually ever use it so it just sits in my storage taking up space'. So yeah, kinda did the same with my skill points.”

The bag of coffee was five thousand mana for however much a pound is and the french press was twelve thousand mana. Surprisingly enough, I also bought toiletries that we needed and it only cost ten thousand mana in total so because of this, I ended up splurging on other items. Purchasing magic stones was out of the question as the cheapest stone cost one million stored mana.

Although I did find the rifle I had wanted to buy back on earth, since the cost was one hundred thousand, not including ammunition and attachments, I was on the fence about just outright buying it, but I refrained. I also check the cost of a fifty round box of 9mm, it costs fifty thousand stored mana for soft points, fifty-five thousand for hollow points and sixty thousand for FMJ.

“How're you doing? You know, with the morning headaches and stuff.” Veronica asked as she sat next to me.

“No changes I suppose. My head and neck still feel like it's getting stabbed by a thousand needles, but nothing I can't handle. I've even managed to cut back enough on my pain medication without the pain being debilitating.”

We sat quietly while drinking the coffee and watching the work happening around us.

“We're really going to leave this place, huh?” she mused as she rested her head on my shoulder.

“Into the great unknown. We have a total of seven magic chests and twelve magic bags. Everything will be packed up soon.”

I already know that bundles of items can be placed into a single tile and bundles of bundles of a franken-container will have no problem going into the chests, provided it could fit through the opening to contact the distortion field. With this, there would not be any issues with our loads. Barrels and regular chests will be filled with grain and other non-perishable foods like the ration bars. The niter bed will be piled onto a wagon along with amphorae of urine into another wagon at the end. This will obfuscate our cargo.

“Ah, that's right, the reason I came out here in the first place,” Veronica took out a small vial of blue liquid and handed it to me, “this is a new mana potion recipe. I tried extracting some 「Mana Stones」 into a solution and managed to get this.”

Since I had put my mana pool at two hundred points, I needed eight mana potions a day to keep it from hitting zero. After I increased it to one thousand points, I needed forty potions. Drinking so many potions a day was exhausting and nauseating. I drank the potion handed to me and tasted an incredibly bitter taste.

“Holy fuck, this is bitter.”

“Yeah… I actually threw up when I sampled it. Super gross. And no, trying to cut the taste with honey or whatever actually made the taste worse and lowered the mana gain.”

When no one was looking, I took out my Grimoire and checked my stats. My mana pool was going up at a much faster rate than the previous potions. It restored nearly six hundred points of mana. I can take this in the morning and be good with a couple of regular potions each day or even just two of these a day.

“Thank you, Veronica. It means a lot that you're with me.” I kissed her cheek and we both continued relaxing outside.

☘ ☘ ☘

『Minervina's Chambers』

“Are you happy he proposed to you?” Alicia asked as she watched a blush appear on Minervina's face.

“Yes, but father is against it. Although I am unable to leave together, father plans on placing me somewhere safe. I will attempt to convince him.” Minervina smiled, unable to look into Alicia's eyes.

“We'll be leaving in a few days as most of our preparations are nearly complete. Which is why I am here. The Servilia house refused to sell me any high servants so I'd like for you to assist me in this. Then we can come up with a plan for when you leave.”

“The Servilia house only produces a small amount of high servants at a time. They were purchased before the summoned appeared. Along with that, a few are rewarded to different families depending on their service to the empire.” Minervina explained then remember a small issue, “That reminds me, what will become with the Animancer?”

“We'll take him along. Can we go visit the Servilia?”

“Of course. They reside within the patrician's district so it will be a simple walk.” Minervina prepared to escort Alicia. However, she stopped and moved closely to Alicia. “Does Naoki wish for a child? We had agreed before that it would be best to not have one, but the night of the trial he had me turn over and took me from behind.”

“That's called doggy-style. It's a typical sex position and feels really good. Don't mind it too much.” Alicia explained.

“I see. Then we should be off then.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『Vaticano』

A group of men sat at a table discussing various issues which had begun to plague them. Despite the tenseness of the atmosphere, not a single person showed a worried appearance. Many were calmly eating a meal or drinking wine. As they continued their discussions, the door was suddenly flung open revealing an out of breath man with a panic-stricken face.

“It's true! The summoned. Their power… All of it… It's all true!” screamed the out of breath man.

“You are twenty days late to deliver this to us. Good work on being an expert information gatherer.” replied one many who spoke like-mindedly among the other men, “Please enlighten us on something we do not know. By the way, we already know Lucius has been executed.”

The man composed himself from his earlier embarrassment before continuing, “Dentus has gone missing, along with seven praetorian guards. The tribute is to be presumed to have been taken by the eight men. The emperor has begun an investigation of the Praetorian Guard for possible treason.”

The man who spoke earlier was able to calm the other men down after hearing this news. He leaned back into his chair comprehending the situation.

“So, he has most likely betrayed our cause. Since the increased guard patrols, we were unable to gain access to the palace. Thanks to Lucius's idiocy, we have lost our foothold into Aventine.” The man looked around the table taking in everyone's gazes, “Then, with this… we should begin work on swaying the summoned to our side.”

☘ ☘ ☘

『S-Day +90』

『High Servant's Quarters』

Alicia, Veronica, our servants and slaves along with a group of adventurers that were hired to act as our escort were gathered in front of me while we were behind the insulae. We had completed all our preparations and were ready to leave. They watched as I turned the dirt on the ground into a sand table which displayed a rough map of the empire. Once I was satisfied at its creation, I turned to speak.

“We are currently here at this position,” I pointed using earth magic to move the dirt, “from here we will travel north to the first-ring city of Tiberialis. Then we will travel through the second-ring bypass between Velian and Vaticano before reaching our destination of Umbria. With the number of carriages we have, the travel time should be at around twoish months.”

I went on to explain the various logistics and duties. Rations would be handed out during the day, but we would only stop during nights and whenever necessary. Bathroom breaks would be timed at every third hour. That would also allow us to stretch our legs. When my orders were completed, everyone dispersed to do final loadings and boardings.

The lead carriage was to carry Alicia and the others while Illyria and I would stay in the third carriage. Alicia had custom ordered four carriages and had me install 「Frost Stones」 and 「Wind Stones」 to keep it cooled and 「Bright Stones」 to keep it lit. I had not thought of such a thing and asked her why she did not suggest it for the bedroom to which she said 'I thought you were using it as an excuse to see us naked. Besides, the heat doesn't really bother me much.'

Aside from the magic stones, there was a bed installed in each carriage along with side seating. The seating allowed for trays to be attached to offer a surface to work on. Despite what was installed, it was only a meter and a half wide and almost three meters long. It is considered to be very extravagant. A group of girls that I did not recognize boarded the fourth carriage at Alicia's instructions. She told me not to worry about them.

Before I was able to board my carriage, a man approached and greeted me. I looked at him in confusion as I had no idea who he was.

Who's this asshole?

“Ave,” greeted the man, “Do you not remember me? We shared a conversation within the Colosseum. I was quite curious as to what you had meant when you said 'guest of honor'. who would have thought it would be a summoned one. Quite clever. My name is Libo Iulius and I have been appointed Praefectus of Umbria.”

He went on to explain that his family has been appointed as caretakers of Umbria in light of the apparently real fact that the Umbrii family were actually traitors. I had no idea my false accusations could actually be truthful. Was it my high luck? Also apparently, he was to accompany us in his own private transport.

“I was also asked to deliver this missive to you.” he said as he handed me a rolled and wax-sealed parchment.

We separated and I boarded my carriage with Illyria. The reason I did not have Alicia or Saya accompany me was that they were 'on the rag' as Alicia had put it. I had no idea what it had meant until she explained it was slang for being on their period.

She could have just said that instead of using slang I've never heard of.

I pulled Illyria onto my lap as I began to read the letter which was from Minervina. As I read the letter, I also had Illyria expose her breast as I fondled her with my free hand and luxuriated in her warmth. The letter basically said that Minervina was working on a plan to leave the empire with her safety as an excuse and wanted me to also figure something out to hide her.

She could not travel with us as we would draw too much attention to her and make her a perfect target for the rebels.

I put the letter away and lead Illyria to the bed. With Minervina, Alicia and Saya indisposed, I was unable to be satisfied with simple oral sex. I needed more. The windows were closed and the carriage was cold. No one would see us. Illyria was now naked and lying on the bed, her skin covered in goosebumps and her nipples hardened from the chill.

Her legs were spread and the light showed a glimmer between her legs. A proof of her arousal. Even with how wet she was, I had trouble penetrating her as she was much tighter than Saya and Alicia, but when I did, a heavenly feeling overwhelmed me. She whimpered as I pushed in as deeply as I could and rested atop her. Her skin was cold, but inside… inside she was warm. I turned my head down to lick her lips and she moved to suckle my tongue. She gripped the bedding tightly as I began to move.

I took care not move rashly as this was her first time. Pulling out then thrusting in was done slowly so as not to hurt her. I slowly built up speed and watched as her breasts bounced each time I pushed in. when my orgasm came, I slid in as deep as I could and filled her with cum. I kissed her as I rested on top of her. When a few minutes passed, I started moving inside her for a second round.

☘ ☘ ☘

“Are you really okay with letting him sleep with other girls? I mean, the other night at the party when he was flirting with the princess… he looked really happy.” Veronica asked Alicia as she was concerned for her best friend's relationship.

“It's fine,” Alicia replied without a hint of worry in her voice, “The more girls he sleeps with the more likely he'll become attached and the more he becomes attached the more he'll want to try to find a cure.”

“I guess, but yeah, the cure has been giving us problems. Nothing in the you-know-what shows any indication of where to start. No leads anywhere. All I can do is keep making mana potions to buy him time.” Veronica became lost in her thoughts.

“It's cute that you're worried about onii-chan. Why don't you spend the night with him?” Alicia asked with a slight smirk waiting for her answer.

“You know I can't. Plus, I’m not in love with him as you are.”

“You don't have to fall in love with him, just fuck him. You need the stress relief as much as he does.”

Veronica refused with a light blush betraying her words.

“By the way… I seem to have lost an SD card that had some 'sensitive' videos on it. Have you seen it?” Alicia prodded Veronica, already knowing what had happened to it.

“N-nope.” Veronica denied knowing anything, her blush intensifying.

“Really? You haven't seen the SD card that I purposely left out for you to find that is filled with videos of onii-chan having sex? Really~?” Alicia's smirking turned into a full smug.

“B-b-b-by the way… why do you keep calling Naoki 'onii-chan'? You never said how you two are related. Are you?” Veronica attempted to deflect.

“Not gonna answer, huh? Well, to answer your question, technically we're…”

☘ ☘ ☘

Illyria was sleeping in my arms, exhausted from our physical activities. I took this opportunity to peek at my Grimoire. Increasing my stamina made sex so much more enjoyable. Too enjoyable in fact as now I crave it even more. The intense pleasure I receive from every orgasm washes away the pain in my neck and head. Even for just a fleeting moment, I feel so… normal. So relieved I am from the pain that I need to feel it more and more.

I've traded one addiction for another.

As I browsed my Grimoire and seeing some very minimal increases, I finally saw something that caught my eye. I finally got some new quests.

「Quest:【Travel to Vaticano】 | Information: Visit the Dungeon City of Vaticano. | Rewards: 1,000 stored Mana, 20 Skill Points」

「Quest:【Underground】 | Information: Enter the Dungeons below Vaticano. | Rewards: 10 Mana Stones (Synthesis Required)」

「Quest:【Subjugation I】 | Information: Kill ten of the same creature. [0/10] | Rewards: 5,000 stored Mana, 100 Skill Points」

A subjugation quest chain in a dungeon? It will be a good place to do some farming.

I despawned the Grimoire and pulled a blanket over our bodies. I kissed Illyria goodnight and followed her into sleep.