Neither choice seems like settling to you. It is a real offer. Kara is ready to give you real affection and attention if you give in. You can tell by reading her. It would be immediate and sudden and you would have close to everything that you wanted with her; a relationship that others simple can't have. The operative word that plays on your mind though is 'close.' It is not exactly what you want and it is not inaccurate to say that you would be giving everything for the chance. This is not a bad deal at all for her. You get the idea that Kara would not be particularly upset to have you under her thumb in the way she described. The kind of cold manipulation she is showing gives you pause, but that is not what brings you to decline. You know roughly what she is offering to give you and it is tempting. You have have intimacy, you may have affection but ultimately what she is offering to create is not a lover but a family member. As you know very well, there is nothing stopping family from simply leaving, or choosing others to give their love to in different ways. Others could not have what you and her would have, but they could share something else. Your mind wanders back to Sam and your mother and sister. Perhaps your mental-state would change and perhaps you would be able to move on in that state, but the current you does not wish to accept that outcome. You do not want a family anymore, you want her. You collect your senses and push the woman off of yourself forcefully. Even though she can supposedly read you like a book she is surprised. While panting you stare her down.

“I like you.” You state assertively.

“I don't want to settle.” Kara tilts her head to one side curiously as you announce your intent.

“I'll get what I want... Eventually.”

“What you want or what you need?” Kara clicks her tongue after a mild huff of annoyance.

“What I want.”

“I see.” She shrugs lightly before offering you a relaxed look.

“Why do heroes always gotta be so difficult?” You note briefly that she speaks as if she's seen or met one ore more before. That mild implication is at the back of your mind, however.

“It's insulting when you don't respect the fact that I want you. I- I don't care if you want to make this thing we have open, but denying that I want what I want isn't fair. At least... It isn't right now.”

Kara offers a blank look. She gets comfortable on the other side of the bed by crossing her legs. Her tail sways back and forth casually.

“You don't, though.” She utters frankly.

“I do.” The stern argument from your end of the bed triggers her to lean forward.

“You don't!”

“How can you know that? Did you read my mind? Is it because you've seen my future?”

Kara rolls her eyes at you. “I don't have to read the future to see what's happening. You've been living in a boring human village all your life. I'm the first strong, pretty girl you've met that has touched your dick. Every hour of every day since we've met was spent together. Even if all that didn't add up to something, you also just saw your family get taken over by another guy and I am all you have now.” Your jaw drops open after that small rant of hers. Kara is unapologetic, staring straight into your eyes with intent to keep going if you try to argue. When no argument leaves your parted lips she adds with exasperation.

“Go have sex with the wolf girl, or the human, or the freaking elf boy! They'll all be way better for you than someone like me and then I can just focus on training you finally!”

You furrow your brow in thought while covering your open mouth. After a few seconds of passing brief thoughts and conclusions around in your head about what exactly is really going on you blurt out.

“Have you never been... Committal before?”

Kara blushes. Her tail sticks straight up behind her, the hairs standing on end. “The hell are you talking about, kid!?” She leans forward and points at you accusingly.

“You read too many stupid books. I literally can't have kids or any real life with you that can be committed to!”

“You're real old, huh?”

“Yes.” She withdraws her accusatory finger and crosses her arms.

“Older and wiser.”

“How many kids have you had with men you're compatible with? Any relationships that don't allow you the convenience of fucking around?”

It is her turn to let her jaw drop. She shakes her head slowly in disbelief. After a long pause where she is trying to find something to say she finally just dodges. “I don't have to answer these silly questions.”

“You've always been pretty open. You've fucked guys in front of me. Why is this a hard question?” You ask confidently.

“More than or less than one?”

“Bye!” Kara hops up to her feet on the bed.

“W-what?”

“Be back in the morning!” She strides off the bed and jumps out the window.

“What!? What about my training!” You follow her to the window to try and track her by sight but she is already gone. When extending your mana out in a web to find her you briefly catch a glimpse of her powerful signature for the purpose of tracking but get a powerful, retaliatory burst of feedback for your efforts.

“Fine!” You shout out into the night, slamming the window.

The picture of Kara in your mind does not diminish too much from that interaction. If anything, like a puzzle, what you know of her is filled out just a little more. That outburst was the most real reaction you think you've gotten out of her. It is also incredibly promising to you, as her flustered state and lack of any answer may mean that the 'elder' is actually as much of a relationship virgin as you are, even if her actual virginity is far gone. You decide that pushing that point with her would be the wrong move, however.

As you are thinking, there is a knock at the door that causes you to jump. “What is it?” You raise your voice just enough to be heard, yet still muffled.

A muffled, yet somewhat raised voice belonging to Vura shoots back through the door. “Hey, uh... My window's open. Heard an argument. Are we still getting paid if that fine piece of ass is gone?”

You make your way over to the door, being careful to stuff your member back into your pants. After opening it you come face to face with Vura. She is in casual clothing that feature's a scarf around her neck. You eye it briefly, then return your eyes to hers to answer.

“Yes. Also, please don't talk about her like that.”

“Sure, sure.” She looks down, spotting the moderate tent you are still sporting.

You maintain eye-contact. “Will that be all?”

She smirks, lifting both hands up. “Oh yeah, yeah. So long as there's nothing to worry about I'm good. Just want to make sure there's no dysfunction. You know how bad that can be for a party.”

You nod, hiding your annoyance by trying to maintain a clam, neutral air. “I know. I don't think it'll be an issue, Vura.” The forced smile you try to give is a bit much, however and she immediately sees through it. You know she is more or less right. Dysfunction within a party can get the whole team killed. When fighting, everyone needs to be on the same page.

“Have a good night.” You leave her no time to respond by closing the door on her.

You sit down and stare at the window. You are not worried for Kara, as you know she can handle herself, however you do have to wonder what she is up to. How much 'fun' she is having to forget what you said. A slight bit of guilt does wash over you, thinking back. She only gave off surprise, but you realize that past relationships could be the sore point for her, and not necessarily the lack of. Regardless of what it is, you decided to give her some time.

Kara did return in the mornings, but left every night right up until the point where your party boarded the chartered ship. At that time there was nowhere she could run to after dark. She still trained you diligently, but simply chose to not engage sexually with you for the few short days you were waiting to leave the port city. She made a point to not talk to you about anything personal and to not accept any personal inquiries from you. It was quite painful and if that was what it would be like to have a purely professional relationship, you wanted no part of it. Thankfully, the first night aboard the ship, with nowhere to go, Kara finally approached you.

“Human boats sure are terrible.” She complains, knocking on the wood you are both leaning on.

You smile. “Is this the part where you tell me the superior way your people cross large bodies of water?”

“Yeah, easy. We don't.” She sticks out her tongue at you, then cringes and draws it back in quickly as she seems to get a pretty good sampling of salty sea air.

“So, uh-”

“I don't wanna talk about it.” She says sternly.

“But... I gotta say, you impressed me when you resisted my charm.” You perk up after hearing that compliment. She immediately nips your confidence in the bud, or at least tries to.

“Don't take that to mean that you have a shot at getting what you want with me. I'm not the type of animal that can be domesticated. If you want that go for the wolf pup.” You for the most part ignore her posturing and stare across the water, humming. All you can hear in what she is saying and has said is that there may be a chance to have something with her that no one else has.

“Are you even listening? Hey!” She snaps her fingers in front of your face.

“Y-yeah?”

Kara groans and hangs her head over the side of the boat. “Gods.. You're hopeless. Can we make a deal?”

“Depends on what it is.”

She nods slowly. “Okay... We're in a thing, right?”

You become immediately excited. “Are we?”

“Yes... But, I'm only going to feel good about it if you start trying to take advantage of the 'open' part of this open thing we got.” Kara explains.

“But-”

“Listen, if this thing doesn't work for me I'm not gonna allow it. That means, as your... W-wom...”

“Woman?” She gulps as you say it and offers a short nod. Kara continues without actually saying it herself.

“Yeah, as that, I'm gonna need you to start fucking other girls. Or at least trying. Get with the program and stop obsessing over me. You gotta start seeing what else is out there because I am really not worth all the attention.” She is able to sense the loophole forming in your mind.

“I do mean try! If I find out you aren't trying I'm cutting you off.”

“I don't care who you try to fuck, either, just get with someone other than me.” You stare at her. The read is confusing. You get the sense that she is actually a bit worried for you. Kara feels anxious and guilty.

“Before you ask, it's cute that you thought you'd stop me from fucking other guys by making a party of girls to travel into the barren north with, but I'll find a way. I know this land better than you or them or anyone.”

That gives you pause. “You-”

She seems to realize what she said and zips her lips after offering. “Don't think too much.” If she weren't already anxious and guilty, you feel like you could have gleaned something more. For now you decide you will have to leave what she said. It is not as if there isn't a logical explanation, if you are being fair. She may simply know quite a bit about the uncharted sections of the world. With that thought pushed to the back of your mind you are left to consider who you are going to actually try to 'get to know' in your group. You would pay lip-service, but unfortunately Kara did specify that you had to try.

Vura, you are fairly certain, is not interested in you. She may be quite nice and quite to talk to, however. It is pretty clear that you could choose her and try as hard as you want and still get nowhere. After all, the only interest Vura seemingly has is in Heilan and Kara. Even Luire has escaped her interest for some reason.

Heilan for you is an interesting girl. She is about your age and about your level of experience in adventuring. You get the impression that she grew up in human and elf lands from the way she speaks and dresses. She shows an odd interest in Kara, but not in the same way Vura does. The main worry in picking Heilan to get to know is that your efforts are quite likely to bear fruit. Without tooting your own horn, you do not lack confidence when it comes to someone like Heilan who is for the most part, your equal.

Luire is the last wild card. You are not sure what to think about him, or what would happen if you actually tried to get to know him, as per Kara's criteria. The impression you get is that he is far smarter than he would ever admit, and quite mature despite his appearance. He is your senior in terms of age and experience and your attempts would probably be seen through right away. It could end good or bad depending on how he takes an advance right after you promised no funny business.