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After trekking through mountains and valleys for half a day—with three noisy girls chattering non-stop—Riku and the gang finally arrived at the beastkin settlement.
Along the way, a group of beastkin warmly welcomed Riku. Sure, some of them were visibly scared of Jibril the Flügel, but seeing Riku calmly pressing down on her noisy head gave everyone a sense of relief.
As for the forest elves, they all hung their heads like defeated roosters, not even daring to look at the surrounding beastkin.
Crimson silently stood behind Riku and Fia, slightly spaced out as she stared at Riku's back, lost in thought.
Eventually, the forest elves were settled in, and Riku's group decided to go soak in the hot springs.
"Riku, let's bathe together," Schwi said quietly, holding his hand at the entrance.
"Wha—?! Schwi, boys and girls are supposed to bathe separately!" Fia immediately snapped, grabbing Schwi's hand with a pout.
She was Riku's wife, and even she felt too shy to bathe with him. And yet Schwi just came right out with it? Was she trying to steal her man in public!?
"Ehehe~ Bathing with Riku. That's such a delightful idea." Jibril giggled with her usual pervy expression.
"You stupid Flügel (Jibril ), knock it off already!" Fia yelled angrily, glaring at Jibril for joining in.
"Hmph! Selfish little beastkin. Don't be so greedy. Be careful or Riku might dump you. Didn't he say he was building a harem? He's not the type to settle for just one tree when there's a whole forest out there," Jibril smirked.
"—!" Fia shot a heartbroken look at Riku, like a puppy about to be abandoned.
Riku got chills. Great, another jealous-girl war zone. Not again!
"Ahem, why don't we all just go in together? The hot spring's big anyway~" Riku coughed and patted both Fia and Schwi's heads, trying to stay calm.
"Hmph! Idiot Riku!" Fia pouted even harder.
Still, despite the angry look on her face, her body was honest—she walked in first without another word.
She didn't even call him "husband" anymore. Yeah… he was gonna have to make this up to her somehow.
Riku scratched his face and shook his head.
"Alright, let's go too," he said, taking Schwi's hand and walking in.
Jibril followed behind with her signature lovestruck grin.
"…Do I have to go too?" Crimson stood frozen behind them, completely conflicted.
"Screw it. I am a maid now, after all." She let out a bitter chuckle and followed them in.
Being a maid came with certain expectations. Soaking in a hot spring with your master? Honestly, that counted as a reward. And even if things got more… "intimate," she didn't exactly have the right to say no.
"Hehehe, wait—mechanoids can bathe? Isn't water bad for your parts?" Crimson's mouth twitched at what she saw as she stepped in. Jibril was staring intensely at Schwi's body like a full-on pervert.
Fia, on the other hand, was pouting off to the side, ignoring Riku like a child throwing a tantrum.
"Why the hell did I end up stuck with this insane bunch…" Crimson thought, on the verge of tears, wrapping herself in a towel and finding a quiet corner to soak.
The moment she slipped in, her body finally relaxed for the first time in a while.
As for "serving" Riku? No way she was gonna bring that up. She wasn't some kind of masochist...
"Schwi has waterproof features. She's fine," Riku explained with a helpless shrug when Jibril asked.
"Ehehe~ So Master, how'd you manage to win over Schwi, a mechanoid? That race is super united and hard to approach, you know." Jibril asked, curious.
"When it's meant to be, it just works out. Must be fate," Riku said with a completely vague, mysterious look.
"I don't get it. But it sounds kinda cool," Jibril smiled.
"But Master… don't you want me to serve you~?" Jibril gave him a seductive look. "Whatever you want, I can give it to you~!"
"…No thanks. I prefer the way you normally are." Riku raised an eyebrow and replied with a straight face.
"Eh~?!" Jibril gasped like she'd just heard something unthinkable.
"What's with that face? Was that so shocking?" Riku asked, annoyed.
"Hehe~ I just thought Master was into little girls. But now you're saying you like me the way I really am? That's… surprising," Jibril giggled.
"You asking for another beating, Jibril? Is that it?" Riku lifted his hand threateningly.
"Uhh… no thanks, I'm good," Jibril immediately backed away with a nervous laugh.
"Ow! Fia, why're you biting me?!" Riku suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm and turned to find Fia chomping on it with fury in her eyes.
"You're a cheater. I'm gonna bite you to death," she mumbled through gritted teeth, refusing to let go.
"Hehehe, beastkin girl~ Looks like you didn't listen to me. Careful, or you'll really get dumped~!" Jibril teased.
Riku shot her a glare, silently telling her to shut up.
"Alright, Fia, don't be like that. I'm not gonna leave you. You're my first wife, after all."Riku gently stroked Hatsuse Fia's head, leaning in close to whisper softly in her ear.
"First wife... So you really do want a harem, huh?"Fia pouted, her voice full of grievance. But thanks to Riku's words, her heart felt a lot better. Still, the thought of having to share the one she cared about most with other women—yeah, that was a hard pill to swallow.
"Yeah, I do. But even if I have more women, your place in my heart isn't gonna change. So relax, alright?"Riku ran his fingers through her hair, whispering again."So stop overthinking. Just take it easy. Tonight, I'll spoil you properly."
"U-uh~!!!"As soon as she heard that—plus the teasing breath against her ear—Fia's face went bright red. She shyly nodded, finally letting go of her pout. Her eyes sparkled as if lost in some daydream.
"So... it's a deal then."She mumbled softly, barely above a whisper. Her bashful look was so adorable, it made you just want to hug her tight and pamper her like crazy.
"....."