In one of the conference rooms of the Solendiel castle, a rather important meeting was taking place. The king, Evelysandra, Rex, Danica and the Zosh family were all present. Barnabus had recently returned with Camelia- Adrian's wife and their third, youngest child, who was named Decebal and was around the age of ten. Still, much as expected, there was little in the manner of childish actions the kid took, his elevated intellect as well as upbringing shone through. The kid was staying by his mother's side, but otherwise kept quiet,allowing for adults to do their thing.

  "And that concludes the information we managed to extract from the duo." Finished Rose as she had just explained in great detail everything that had been learned from the Naramika duo.

  "Do they still draw breath?" asked the king, still worried about a potential blowback from Rex's actions, though by now he was honestly more scared of a war with Rex than any of the nations around. The latter could be reasoned with and defeated with strategy. The former? No such luck, doubly so when he saw just how eager the two sect members had been to invite him to at least visit their main locations, enticing him with plenty of downright incredible offers. Each and every one of which was shot down, with Rex noting that he will visit if he happens to find himself in their neck of woods.

  "For now, but it does not matter. The formation I have created around that wing of the prison would allow you to make anyone disappear with no one being the wiser. As far as the world is concerned, they are both already dead and if there was any life treasures attached to them, they would indicate the last place of life of the duo back in Naramika where I flew off from. If Naramikan's have done their due diligence, by now they are looking for traitors within their own nation- people with enough reason to get rid of that Visnuss brat and the old cunt along with him. I did set it up quite well, if I do say so myself." Rex explained, a light smile on his face. "Thanks for the hard work Rose." he then thanked the Zosh daughter for her hard work, for she had done a lion's share of the information extraction. Turned out the girl not only had a knack for it, but loved every step of the job. The fact she was allowed to break her targets irreversibly had only gotten her blood pumping even faster.

  It brought them all at this point however. The good knews where that they finally knew the nobles of Sol in on the whole slavery ring, and not only was the king and Eve extremely repulsed and disappointed when they learned the names, but also rightfully enraged. The question now was an important one- how did they wish to deal with said nobles? Would they watch them like hawks, waiting to catch them all red handed? Or would an action be taken now, to remove the key players from the board silently, and, with the help of an enthusiastic Rose, every single drop of relevant info once again extracted, leading towards their next set of choices to be made.

  After a while of consideration, the king sighed, well aware that whatever they are dealing with is inly one of the symptoms of the whole problem. "No matter what we decide on, the organization behind the whole operation will still exist, even if we will have rooted them out of our lands for some time at least. The power and money it promises is large enough that many would be easily swayed."

  "Yes, And not only that, they are free to conduct their business in many other nations out in the open, making it impossible to take them on in a proper war of attrition. Does not mean I will just let them to act as they see fit. If anything, a proper monster after their asses should force the mto downscale and chose to limit the regions they act in. I believe that your ancestral lands are not much on slavery and stuff, correct?" Rex spoke, addressing his last question to Danica.

  "If there are any, those are extremely rare cases, like with the Weeping Legion and what not. So yes, if you go on a crusade against their organization for their illegal poaching of our people as an affiliated force, which you are through our union, the nations in which you go wild can only express their slight displeasure of your antics. Though I have a glaring suspicion there will not be many willing to offend a creature of your reputation. There will be plenty of rumors spreading now for sure about a human bloodmage in existence."

  "It will be your families job to discourage others of your kind from trying to find any residence here Adrian, at least for the time being." Rex then spoke as he looked at the Zosh family. "And in return, I believe you already have access to everything that was promised and necessary, yes." Rex then looked towards the king. "And Rose wants you to know that she is always ready to lend her skills if you need some information extracted from prisoners unwilling to speak."

  "Understood." the king replied, already well aware of the young sadistic vampire beauty and her fascination with the art of torture. "We will let you know should the need arise."

  "Of course. Don't be shy." Rose smiled back, her gaze slightly dreamy, no doubt already cooking up some new set for information extraction.

  "Anything else that we still need to discuss, or that about covers the debriefing?" Rex asked and when no one else actually spoke he nodded and added.

  "Well that's it for the time being then, yes? As previously mentioned, Me, Danica and Eve will head out tomorrow. I heard there is an extremely interesting place we could visit, courtesy of Pyra. If there is any sort of emergency, you know how to contact me. And remember- emergency only."

  With that out of the way, the group of people dispersed, each heading towards their own destination. As expected of course, Danica was right behind Rex, the duo spending most of their time together and rarely separate, though they would have different plans for the rest of the day. Due to the fact they were leaving, Rex spent the rest of the day with Ria, once again spoiling the blonde beauty with a specialized date, tailored towards the girls interests and desires.

  The duo visited multiple small, yet rather famous family run establishments, each and every one renowned for their incredible pastries or other kinds of sweets. And, the pair would send at least an hour in each, giving Ria plenty of time to sample everything she desired to. And once done at the first, they would leave the establishment, Rex would pick Ria in a princess cary, and with a smooth yet powerful jump stabilized and empowered by his blood chains, he would lift the duo on the back of an awaiting Sidsel. Then, off they went towards the next target.

  Ordinary people would have long since given up, they stomachs overstuffed with food, but due to the similar rune set Ria was now sporting, she could easily go through all those sweet stores, tasting numerous different treats, noting the ones she loved the most for future reference and just keep going, not the least bit worried about maintaining her figure, something Rex could appreciate as well. Once they were done with the last store on their list, the duo once again found themselves on the back of Sidsel as the falcon slowly flew away from the town itself, revealing to the duo quite the impressive sight- the delicate mingling of human ingenuity with the incomprehensibility of the magical and the beauty of the natural, understood or not, for as much as magical was foreign, it was undeniably natural here.

  "Wow!" Ria could barely speak at the sight, her eyes sparkling with both excitement, appreciation and even a hint of desire. Anyone capable of appreciating such beauty would no doubt have an inkling of greed, to attain some all encompassing glass and capture the sight before them, forever to be within reach to appreciate it all once again. And yet, as much as such desires would cloud one's mind, it was also obvious that such an action was not possible. 'Then again?' Ria suddenly mused as she looked towards Rex, a similar thought passing through her mind as she just outright asked.

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  "Rex? Could you steal this sight from the world? Could you seal it in a small glass sphere to always be within reach? So only you and your loved ones could enjoy it?"

  A slight smile crept on his face as he listened in on the question, his mind already working on the feasibility of such an act. And to his own surprise, he realized he actually could. Thought there was the catch, he supposed.

  "Theoretically? I could, yes, given enough time and the correct preparations. That much is true, but at the same time, you would be the first one to dissuade me from actually doing so, if I were to tell you the price of such an action and was actually considering of doing it."

  "And what price would that be?" Ria asked almost immediately, her curiosity getting the better of her.

  "Lives. Thousands, tens of thousands of humans, sacrificed to fuel the formations to compress it all into a small artifact. And not just their flesh either. All the souls of those sacrificed would be enslaved for as long as the artifact containing the scene itself existed, feeding on their energy."

  "T-that's incredibly cruel. How do you even know of this?" she asked, her hand covering her mouth, the mere thought of such a price causing her to feel quite squeamish.

  "It is all thanks to my understanding of concepts. Blood, space and soul. I know things instinctually, without having ever done similar rituals because of that."

  "Promise you would not use anything like that ever!" she looked at Rex with almost pleading eyes.

  "I promise to never do anything of the sort for entertainment." Rex replied, receiving a confused look, then a question right afterwards as soon as Ria understood what his words implied.

  "Why?"

  "Because if I have to sacrifice a city, hell, a continent or worse even, of strangers, just so my family and friends are safe? I will do it without batting an eye. I will of course try to think of a way to lessen the number of sacrifices made, but there will never come a time when people precious to me will be passed up because of some strangers. That might make me a villain, sure, but I would much rather be villain or devil than a useless lover of friend. And anyone acting otherwise is simply not worthy of the close ones they are willing to sacrifice in a such a manner."

  Rex replied, slightly squeezing Ria's hand he was holding. His worlds were clear. He liked the blonde beauty, and while they were intentionally still only dating, taking it slow as he had wanted from the get go, he was also already far too attached to Ria.

  "Sheesh. What am I to do with you then? I don't plan on leaving my own party, and we both are well aware that both you and Danica are too much for us to handle. So?"

  "So, we just keep going as we have so far?" Rex shrugged, not quite understanding the issue at hand.

  "B-but..." Ria spoke, her cheeks blushing as she was trying to bring up the issue. She bit her lip as she squeezed back his hand.

  "D-Danica says it feels incredible. H- how am I to deal with the issue without you available? It's not like you and Danica who are traveling together all the time. Also, you should give Alurial some of your attention. She's like a lost puppy, chasing after you."

  "Hoooh?" Rex drew his words, almost letting go of their connected hands, pulling her on his lap, sneaking one of his hand around her, just below her sizable chest, while capturing one of her hands with is other, once again gently holding it. "Then why don't I leave her in your capable hands for the time being?" Rex whispered in Ria's ear.

  "Wait, what?" the woman sputtered, her face flushed in embarrassment.

  "Don't be embarrassed. There is no way I would ever allow another man to touch my lovers. I am too greedy and possessive for that. If you Alurial however, you are free to claim her, even if only to satiate your needs while we are apart. And I will join you two whenever I am back."

  "B-but I can't just...." she stuttered, the thought making her blush even more, though at the same time Ria could not deny that it was also incredibly exciting as well.

  "Besides, Did she herself not say she would be willing to share with you some time ago? I am sure I heard of that declaration."

  "D-dumb elf!" Ria half cursed, half praised Alurial with the curse, both impressed and exasperated with the decisiveness the half elven woman could sometimes act.

  "F-fine." she half whispered eventually, her head hung back and nestled against Rex's broad chest. "B-but I want to....." she whispered, even barely audible for Rex "Just the two of us first........"

  and then she whispered once again a short while later "Today....". Rex presence, and in such an intimate pose to boot, had gotten her particularly hot and bothered. The countless times Danica had boasted about just how good it all felt, as well as Rex words about Alurial, had finally pushed her over the edge, her slightly wandering free hand and the gentle gyrating of her hips quite the obvious sign.

  "As you wish princess." Rex whispered in her ear, mentally nudging Sidsal to return home. He had a beautiful buxom blonde to reward and satiate. And, being the proud and greedy bastard that he was, he would ensure Ria would have an unforgettable night.

  -------------------------------

  Rex was well aware that sometime closer to morning, Danica had crawled into the bed he was sharing with Ria right now, so it did not come as a surprise at all when he woke up, a blonde beauty snuggling up to him from either side, the tantalizing and perfect shapes of their bodies almost enough to call for some extra activities early in the morning. And while he was damn well sure Danica would never pass up on the offer, loving their intimate times just as much, if not even more so than him, the sensation as was right now had it's own unique and irresistible charm. As such, he just remained there, enjoying the warmth and light movement of the duo's chests, a slight smile on his face.

  Danica was the first one to wake up, stretching up the hand that had been on his chest, cupping his cheek and pulling him in a deep, yet relatively light kiss.

  "Ngh." she almost purred in happiness as she pulled away from the kiss "Morning love. Had fun?" she lazily asked, her gaze moving towards Ria's still resting form. "I see you have good taste. I have trained you well...." she giggled. It was hard to deny that both beauties were indeed quite similar. both were blonde, with notable busts and magnificent figures.

  "Ha ha ha." Rex could do nothing but chuckle in return, though he deemed it a must to correct the mistake. "I have always had a good eye for beauty. And you are well aware that I started dating Ria even before he had met. Don't worry though. You are still my precious and I will never let you go."

  "Those are my words." Danica grinned back, returning her head to lie on his chest. "So? Will Ria now travel with us?"

  "No. She will remain with Light's Oak. I will have more reasons to come back more often, and, as you can already sense by the connection, She will be much safer now regardless." Rex replied, earning another humm from Danica.

  "Say, how does our links compare? I mean Mine and Ria's? I am sure I feel more than just physical attraction towards you, maybee that is even love what I feel, and I also believe that Ria most definitely loves you. So, if we both feel similar, that would mean I love you too. So. Do I love you?" she asked, a slight worry in her eyes as she once again gazed at Rex, waiting for his answer.

  "I would say yes. As far as I can feel. And with my authority on the matter, that is as definitive of an answer as you will ever get. So congratulation, oh maiden in love. Your heart has been stolen by a greedy and arrogant dragon, forever to be kept within his hoard."

  "And what will you do with the brave adventurers coming to defeat the dragon and steal his hoard?" she asked with light giggles.

  "Devour them all, leaving none to even tell the tale. What's mine, is mine forever. I am the pinnacle of greed. Even for death and time I show no quarter. What mine is mine."

  "Ha ha ha ha. That's the domain of LORDS. I will stay by your side and witness as we both struggle against it all." Danica smiled and giggled again, possessively clawing at his chest.

  "Not just us both. There's three of us now. At the very least." Rex smiled back, his hand caressing Danica's hair. "Oh, morning beautiful? Did we wake you up?" Rex asked, his gaze turning towards Ria who's eyes slowly fluttered open.

  "Morning sister. We are going to have plenty of fun together!" Danica giggled, rolling over Rex's chest, almost pining Ria down and quickly pecking the other blonde beauty, quickly getting up from the bed and pulling both Rex and Ria towards the bath.

  "Come, come. A nice and warm bath is exactly what you both need." she urged, her eyes darting between both bodies. One - almost perfection of female beauty, the other- well trained and sculpted body of a god, even if the face was average. It was her average after all. And the slowly sprouting beard stubble gave him that extra gruffiness. 'Nghhh. That bath will take some time.' Danica thought as she pulled the duo behind her. 'So much to do, so much to explore. Wait for me Eve, he is starting to fall. Soon enough, you will be next!'