The whole training thing with Amethyst and Rana went way better than I expected. Sure, we had a bit of a rough start, but once I got in the zone and really started to pretend that I knew what the fuck I was doing, things went way better. For one, I didn't accidentally knock Amethyst out. Woo.

In all seriousness, it went about as well as I expected. She's got a few major issues that need to be worked on, especially her habit of overthinking things, but they can be worked past. Truth be told, the only thing she needs is enthusiasm and willpower, which is something she has in abundance.

That being said, once we were done actually training, the two of them decided to work on what Amethyst had learned. It seems Rana is still a bit jealous about me teaching the girl. Ah well, at least it'll give Amethyst more time to practice. Rana is both strong and skilled enough to really help hammer in those lessons.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've actually ever beaten Rana in a straight up full power fight. That is something I'm going to need to fox, immediately. At some point. If I could fit it into my ducking schedule.

Being an adult is hard.

Opening the front door to the castle, I blinked as my eyes landed on a group of maids standing near the library door. They were peeking through the keyhole, blushing and fidgeting as they whispered amongst themselves. This was definitely not a part of my usual routine. How curious.

Quietly closing the door, I stalked towards the maids, sneaking towards them with a smirk. Despite my rustiness with stealth, the maids didn't notice me creep up on them. Let's do this. "Hello ladies. What's so interesting about this door, hm?"

They jumped, looking back to me with a mildly frightened look. That's an interesting reaction.

One of them cleared their throat, doing her best to be professional. "W-Well sir Lord Artifice, Lady Artifice is currently entertaining a guest in the library. A Miss Lilith, I believe. And um, they're enjoying themselves immensely."

That's a trigger for something in the back of my head. Something about that statement is off to me. Still, best to get these ladies back to work. "Is that so? Well, I'll go check up on them, and you all go back to work. Really, I can't believe you'd all slack of like this. How uncouth."

It was obvious that I was pulling their legs, but they still scurried off back to work. Ah, the perks of being a supreme leader. Gotta love it. Now, to see what's so interesting with this new guest.

I gripped the door handle and gave it a twist, opening the door and stepping inside. Though my ears were suddenly assaulted by two feminine voices moaning.

Blinking in disbelief, I raised an eyebrow as I stared at the sight in front of me. Emery was on top of some redhead, shoving her tongue down the other girl's throat with incredible ferocity. Her dress was around her waist, revealing her breasts to the open air. The redhead was also topless, as well as bottomless too. The only thing she was wearing was a pair of panties, which were already on their way out as Emery pulled on it.

Hm. I have no idea how to feel about this. On one hand, she's technically cheating on me. On the other, it's with a girl, who looked startlingly familiar, and that might lead to some awesome threesome opportunities. I mean, I'm very secure in my relationship with Emery. Which is probably why I'm not all that upset with this whole thing. At the end of the day, I know for a fact that she loves me and is satisfied with me sexually. This is probably just a bit of exploration anyway.

At least she knows she's bi now.

Clearing my throat, I closed the door behind me and smirked a bit. "Well now, it's a bit early for a birthday present hon."

She froze, her head whipping at me as her eyes went wide. Scrambling off the girl, she struggled with her dress for a moment before finally pulling it up. She ran up to me, clasping her hands together and refusing to look me in the eye. "O-Oh gods, Darius, I'm so sorry! I-I don't know what came over me! Please don't hate me for this!"

Eh? Ah, right. She thinks I'm upset about the whole kissing another person thing. Considering it's a girl, I'm very okay with this. Dammit Manwhore. "Hate you? Why would I do that? Hon, it's fine."

Her eyes stared up at me in disbelief, her mouth gaping like a fish before edge managed to respond. "B-But I kissed another person! Not only that, but a girl too! That's wrong, filthy even! I shouldn't feel this way, I- "

I flexed Natural Dom, pushing some magic into it as I did so.

Natural Dom has mixed with Magic, and evolved!

Sovereign's Will

You're a natural leader, and those around you will see that. Your aura of dominance is unnatural, and those you influence will feel an unearthly desire to listen to you.

That's cool, but I have some shit to worry about right now.

Okay, so apparently Emery thinks liking women is a bad thing. A bit off, but that might be my twenty-first century idealism shining through. Then again, the Plains Kingdom is also fairly liberal. So same sex relationships are more likely than not accepted. That being said, Emery isn't from the Plains. She's from the Dark Forest, which is a whole different beast.

For one, prostitution is way more prevalent there. I mean, just look at Emery's main problem with her job. She was afraid of being forced to sleep with strangers. So you'd think that sex with those of the same gender would be a bit more accepted. The religion there isn't very prevalent, and I'm pretty sure it's a mix of spiritualism and polytheism, but I'm not sure. So, it could be that.

Though if I had to bet on something, it'd be the dangers of the forest. Considering how absolutely lethal the forest is, the death rate is probably fairly high. Not only that, but maintaining population is probably important too. Which would make same sex relationships a problem for them. Though this is just speculation. I've no clue what the attitude on them actually are, or what the general punishment is for it. If there even is one.

Right, let's talk Emery down now. "Em, hon, you're overreacting. It's perfectly okay to be attracted to other girls. There is no issue here, and there never will be. You are who you are, and I love you. So, why be down about it?"

Confusion. That's what danced in her eyes. She couldn't fathom the idea. "Wha-? But it's taboo! It's not normal! I shouldn't- "

I put a finger to her lips, tugging on Sovereign's Will and Otherworldly Charm, I tried melding the two together. Her shoulders relaxed slightly, and her eyes clouded up a bit. Better be careful with this. "Hon, you're being a bit ridiculous. Here, why don't we work on this together? Let your desires run wild."

Was it a bit morally wrong to mind control my fiancé? Probably. However, this is a good cause. I don't want her beating herself up over a part of herself that she can't control. Besides, I doubt this will fix things. At most, it'll make a good starting point. Plus, this was definitely a bonus for me. So, double whammy.

Am I a bad person? Thoughts for later. Threesome for now.

…

Being a mother was the greatest feeling in the world. Anyone who told you otherwise are simply bad mothers. Daria, by contrast, was a great mother. Sure, she's lost a couple thousand kids throughout the years, but that's just how it goes when you're an immortal deity. But that was besides the point. Daria loved being a mother, and the last few days have really exemplified that for her.

She watched as Merritt ran around the backyard with the other children, playing a game of tag. The harsh sunlight made her blood boil, but she would endure the weakness so long as she could keep an eye on the kids. Her normally pale white skin was now a healthy tan color, as the sunlight diminished her power to base human level.

It was infuriating, sure, but it was a negligible annoyance in the grand scheme of things. She was the only one able to watch the kids properly, as even the strongest of her blood children would shrivel up in the light before long. At least she was simply rendered fully human in the light, rather than dust in the wind.

Perhaps Seven could help alleviate this strain one day?

She dashed those thoughts immediately. Her limits were immovable, and unbreakable. Nothing could help dull the pain that came with her powers. Even Seven would be unable to help, even if he somehow managed to wield his power without awakening his influence, which was a completely different can of worms.

"Lady Lovecraft, you have a visitor. She claims that you know her. She calls herself Evanora, if that helps."

Narm stood to her side, blade on his hip and ready to be unsheathed at any opportunity. Readjusting to normal society has been the hardest on him so far. He simply didn't know how to function in normal day to day activities. Sword always in hand, eyes always darting around every room, he was trained to kill. A sad life, but not an uncommon one. "Of course, Narmy. I'll be sure to… entertain her. Do keep an eye on the children, Sweetie."

The frustrated look on the boy's face was more than enough to lift her spirits as she walked into the mansion. As soon as her flesh was freed from the burning light of the sun, her skin began to pale rapidly, and her power rose. This was tolerable since she was now at least on the level of a stronger paragon and could actually access part of her power. Though she was far from her peak.

Daria hummed as she walked through the halls. It was a good thing the backyard was so close to the entrance to the mansion, so that way she wouldn't keep her guest waiting. Speaking of which, who was Evanora? It wasn't a name she was familiar with, which was strange considering this woman specifically asked to see her.

How curious.

Making her way through the entrance hall, she grasped the door handle gently and opened it. There standing before her was a woman of decent enough height, though still small compared to her. Then again, the insane hat the woman wore could have made her seemed a bit taller than she actually is. She wore some type of leather robes, with belts and pouches all throughout it. What caught Daria's eye, however, was the rather advanced prosthetic limb where the woman's left arm would normally be. Curious indeed.

She stared down at the woman, raising an eyebrow. "I heard you wanted to see me. Well, I'm right here Miss Evanora. Please, tell me whatever it is you needed to say. I promise I won't get mad."

This Evanora didn't say anything at first, instead just staring up at her in a mix of disbelief and fear. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth twitched before she finally spoke. "I-It's you. You're actually here. You actually exist! I can't believe it!"

Eh? Daria blinked as the woman in front of her had what appeared to be a mental breakdown. What a strange person. "Well, I'd hope I was real. It'd be very disappointing if I didn't. Though I have to ask, why are you here?"

Evanora paused her frantic ranting, staring up at her as she obediently answered her question. "You don't remember me? Oh, nevermind that. You were too focused on Darius to even care, weren't you? It was back in the Dark Forest, back in that mansion. I lost my arm, and you captured the others. You… You're the Abyss Mother."

That clicked things into place for Daria. "Ah yes, you're that girl I had to send back with the letter! Oh my, you'll have to forgive me for forgetting. Though I have to ask, if you know what I am, why did you come here?"

The woman's limbs went stiff, and she fidgeted where she stood. "Answers. I need answers. What is Darius to you? Why do you look so similar to one another? Are you two actually siblings? How did you come to exist? Why do you stick around Darius so much? What do you want from him?"

Oh? The woman was curious, and in spite of her obvious fear, had come to seek answers. Seven clearly hadn't filled her in on anything, not that Daria blamed him. Their existence was a mystery even to her, with only the barest of bones being known. Though there was something else in the way Evanora spoke that made Daria smirk. Protectiveness, much like a friend. Not a hint of a romantic or lustful nature to it. For now. "Those are all questions that would take quite some time to answer, and I don't think I care to take that time. Besides, who are you to make demands of me? You're lucky I haven't rendered you a smear on my wall yet."

Despite the threat to her wellbeing, Evanora stood firm. "You won't do that. If you did, you'd risk angering Darius and losing whatever it is you want from him. Besides, if the legends are anything to go by, you don't like sunlight very much, do you?"

Her smirk turned sour as she regarded Evanora's words. The woman was right on both points, and it infuriated her to no end. Not that it mattered of course. "Fair enough I suppose. Though I must say, you seem rather interested in my relationship with Darius. Almost suspiciously so. Tell me, what is he to you? Answer me this, and I'll answer the question as well."

That confused her, as Evanora looked up at her and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. She quickly recomposed herself however, looking Daria straight in the eye. "We're friends, nothing more. I'm just worried about your intentions with him. I owe him a lot, so it's the least I can do."

Oh, how precious of her. Daria chuckled, putting a hand to her mouth as she grinned down at the smaller woman. "Ah ah ah, no lying. Please, tell me the truth, tell me how you feel about him."

Evanora clenched her jaw, doing her best to try and resist the command. However, the human mind was never made to comprehend the powers Daria wielded, and she soon bent. "I-I, damn it! I'm jealous of him! He's done a lot for me, and he's just generally fun to be around. But whenever I think about him with Emery, I get angry! I get angry, and I want to be in his place!"

…Eh? This wasn't how she thought it would go at all. To think, the girl actually liked Emery! Oh, this was just too much fun. it was so much more interesting now! Imagine it, poor Evanora struggling with her feelings for Emery, or maybe even simply never noticing them until it was too late. Oh, how fun! Daria put on a sad smile. She could use this. "But you can't, can you? You see how happy she is with Darius, and you can never bring yourself to hurt either of them like that? In fact, you've probably been denying these feelings until now, doing your best to try and act normal in front of them. Isn't that right?"

The woman strained against her command, trying to resist with all her will. Being forced to admit these long buried feelings and emotions must be tearing her up. Believing yourself to be having an emotional breakdown, when really, you're just being manipulated. How delightful. "Y-Yes, fuck! I'm jealous of him, but at the same time he's also one of my best friends! They both are! That's why I can't do anything about it! It's why I don't like sticking around them when they're together, and always leave in the afternoon and come back late at night. And that's why when I found out Emery was pregnant, I ran out as soon as I could!"

Oh my! This was just a ticking time bomb, now wasn't it? Daria hummed, and wondered how much of what Evanora just said was new to her, and how much of it had always been there, lurking beneath the exterior ready to burst. She certainly looked mildly surprised with what she just said. Ah well, time to fulfill her end of the bargain. "Oh? Emery's pregnant? I better go over and congratulate them at some point. But now I suppose it's time to play my part in this. What I want from Seve- from Darius is simple. I want to carry his child, to combine our superior biology and power into a single form. And to… well to be able to raise a child of my own, one that is formed from something other than hate or rape. Simple really."

Evanora's eyes widened, her fists clenching as she almost glared at Daria. "No way! No, I can't let you do that! You sleeping with Darius, that would crush Emery! I don't want to see them, to see her, hurt like that!"

Oh dear, it looks like the woman was staring to grow a spine. How foolish. Not that it mattered. If anything, this was a good thing. It would make being here far more enjoyable. "Poor thing, you're attracted to a woman you can never be with. Dear oh dear, it must eat away at you every day and night."

The mind numbing effect of Daria's presence made manipulating the girl child's play. A bit evil? Probably, but the thing is, she didn't care. Besides, nothing was better than a bit of jealousy sex. But she was getting ahead of herself. First, she needed to see if the girl would be receptive to the idea. "You must be in such… pain over it all. Oh! I know! How about you let me… take some of that pain away in the best way possible?"

For the first time since they started talking, Daria stepped forward into the light. Her flesh tanned instantly, and pain flared up throughout her body. But it was worth it for the look of sheer shock on Evanora's face, as she backpedaled in order to get away from her. Not that it helped, as Daria's longer limbs made reaching out and grabbing the woman a simple matter. Holding Evanora in her grip, Daria towered over the woman with an almost amazonian height, her breasts being shoved into Evanora's face.

"Mm, tell me something Evanora, you can't sleep with Emery, yes? But if you can't sleep with him, surely you wouldn't mind sleeping with me? After all, I'm rather experienced with pleasuring a woman. I'm sure you could close your eyes and pretend it's her. I could even shape-shift into her, if you so wish."

Was she serious? Not really. This was a bit of fun, messing with an emotionally and mentally compromised young woman. The second being her fault. The first too. But if Evanora did accept her advances, well that was just some icing on the cake.

The woman squirmed slightly in her grip, fearful yet aroused from Daria's natural allure. "N-No thank you! You'll have to excuse me if the idea of sleeping with a creature known for slaughtering almost half of all humanity is a bit discomforting!"

Oh my, it seems as if she was already demystified from Daria's power, Evanora's eyes darting around confusedly. To think, that she would be rendered so weak by mere daylight. Not only that, but the fear she usually garnered from her fearsome reputation was already nearly gone from the girl. It was mildly infuriating, but it was most definitely understandable. After all, she had been trying to limit the lethality of her presence and seem more human for the children. It would only make sense that such changes would put even a grown woman at ease.

Though considering the increased fidgeting the woman in her grip displayed, perhaps those changes were starting to diminish. The stronger mental influence she had placed around herself was starting to fade, allowing anyone to comprehend her nature. At least, as well as a human mind could. it'd be best to go inside before Evanora felt instinctually threatened, and her command faded entirely.

"Oh me oh my, to think you could be so cruel? Truly, you have insulted my honor as a woman. I must depart with post haste, as my pride could not take such a beating any longer!"

It was awkward, sure, but it also made Evanora feel uncomfortable. So, as Daria sashayed over to the inside of the mansion, she decided it was an acceptable sacrifice. Just as she entered, she turned her head around one final time and gave the other woman an inhumanly large grin. "You'd best be going dearie. Night's going to fall soon, and you never know what dastardly monsters lurk in the shadows."

Was it a threat? Not really. Daria had no intention of actually following the girl. She had far better things to do, and this was at most a fun little distraction. For Evanora however, it was a threat from a fairly tale monster that could easily kill and dispose of her without much of a fuss. Even with the knowledge that Daria wanted something from Seven, and wouldn't really go out to hurt his friends, there was still enough weight behind her words to make Evanora hurry off of the mansion's front yard.

Ah, that was fun. Maybe now Seven will finally make that harem. After all, no doubt he'd be a softie and talk with Emery about the idea. No doubt she would be receptive. The girl was far less subtle with her glances than she though. Who knows? Maybe she'd be able to slip in their as well. That'd certainly be something grand. Ah well, back to taking care of the children. There was no doubt in her mind that Narm was probably overwhelmed with them all.

As usual.

…

Hindsight has a habit of kicking me in the face. Oh sure, a few hours ago the idea of a threesome was the greatest thing ever to me. But once everything was said and done, a series of very important questions and concerns shot out at me. Why the hell was this girl here? Who is this girl? Wait a minute, is this Clerk Girl? Why was Clerk Girl here? The fuck happened?! Is Emery okay?

That last one was definitely my greatest concern. She seemed pretty freaked out over the realization that she was bi, and I didn't exactly help. Sure, I gave her a few words of encouragement and helped her indulge in those new feelings. However, I didn't really sit her down and stop her from getting worked up. I just, distracted her for a moment and may have even made things worse.

God fucking damn it Manwhore. I'm the moment, I thought everything was fine and that the threesome was a good idea. Looking back on it, it was definitely not a good idea. It was probably one of the worst things I could have done. Fuck. When one of my perks start to overwhelm me like that, I can almost never tell how bad it actually is until after. It's like a mental switch is flipped, and suddenly the perk is manipulating me to do whatever it wants.

Normally this isn't a problem, since I've gotten good at suppressing them. However, being in a situation that clicks with one of the perks on such a fundamental level like I was earlier? Well it doesn't matter how good I am at suppressing them. They'll fight their way to the forefront of my mind and insidiously whisper in my ear.

God, fucking damn it.

Okay, calm down Darius. You made a mistake, that's okay. Right now, you need to make things right and figure out what the hell is going on. First, what's going on right now?

Emery is in the second bathroom. She was feeling a bit sick and ran in not that long ago. Clerk Girl is still resting from our… activities on one of the library chairs. She was partially dressed, and was working to finish that process. Okay, so I have time to interrogate Clerk Girl and figure out what's going down.

Tugging on both Sovereign's Will and Otherworldly Charm, I tried to balance to two effects as I walked over to Clerk Girl. Her eyes, glazed and unfocused, swirled around until they landed on me. They clouded further, but this time by an almost disturbing amount of love and lust. "Oh Darius! It was better than I could ever dream of! You truly are a god among men my darling!"

Yeah, this is more than a bit unsettling. Clearing my throat, I flexed my mind altering perks and stared down at her. "Right. Anyway, Clerk Girl, what are you doing here? Tell me everything."

She stared up at me, her wide grin shrinking and her loving eyes dulling. Her voice was light and airy, almost as if she were hypnotized. "I wanted to see you again. Ever since we met, life just seemed so meaningless and empty. I needed you. I still do. So I came here. Then I saw that you had a fiancé, and I was angry. So I made a plan to kill her and finally be with you. She fought back, and she won. But she broke my ace in the hole, a bottle of airborne aphrodisiac that I had managed to get from a potioneer. And then you came, and then we made love. It was so wonderful."

My first instinct was to tie her up and bury her alive in a shallow grave for daring to try and hurt Emery. However, a part of what she said stuck out in my head. Ever since she met me, life had been meaningless for her. What the hell did that mean? It couldn't be love at first site, since we didn't talk for long. Hell, once I was done with my Otherworldly Charm she just passed out after creaming her pants.

Wait a minute. Oh… shit.

My Otherworldly Charm. It makes women find me incredibly charming and charismatic, to the point where I could seduce anyone so long as I was pushing its power. At lower levels it's harmless, but when pushed to higher intensities and left for a longer time, the subject will really start to feel actual emotions for the user. I figured this one out with Emery a while ago, when she started to act way more lovey dovey than usual, even to the point of nearly sounding crazy.

Thankfully I had managed to help her out of it that night, and she was soon back to her normal affectionate and cuddly self. That being said, that shouldn't have made Clerk Girl like this. She wasn't affected as badly as Emery was, and didn't show any side effects at the time. So, what was different?

I racked my memories, combing through the whole encounter. I don't use my Otherworldly Charm enough for it to have grown strong enough to do that, especially not at that point in time. Maybe it wasn't the skill itself, but the way I was using it? With Emery, I just use it to amplify pleasure and as a magical aphrodisiac. With Clerk Girl however, I had used it to fuck with her head and get free shit.

That might be it. Because I fucked with her head so much, it must've left a lasting impression on her mind. The normally temporary effects granted by the perk sticking with her and becoming permanent, turning her into a yandere. Or was it tsundere? Whatever, not important. What is important, is that this situation is technically my fault. I was too hasty with my powers, using them recklessly for minor gains. And now because of it, Emery had been put in danger.

This is starting to become an unfortunate trend.

Nonetheless, this left me with two options. The first one is that I take the girl in and try to treat her. It would take quite some time, especially since I'd have to be very careful with my mind altering abilities with her considering how susceptible she is to them now. I could still use them, but I'd have to be careful. Very careful. This came with a few downsides, however. For one, I'd need to deal with a budding yandere girl and her hate boner for my fiancé. For another, I'll have to explain this whole situation to everyone, and accept the fault that comes with it.

That brings me to option two. Tossing the girl back into the city and just pretending she doesn't exist. The benefits are easy to guess. My status quo remains largely unchanged, and I don't have to worry about revealing my wrongdoings. However, the negatives were a tough pill to swallow. I'd be leaving a mentally sick girl out in the streets, rejecting her. Considering she thinks I'm basically her god and that her life revolves around me, that would be devastating and could lead to depression and even suicide.

My eyes once again locked with Clerk Girl's. Her's were dazed, not quite able to focus on anything but me. She wore a dopey grin on her face, whispering to herself about how happy she was.

Curse my bleeding fucking heart. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Lilith. My name is Lilith."

Right, well at least I know her name now. "Okay then Lilith. So, you're a bit sick right now, and I'm worried that it might get worse. I'm going to need you to stay here for a while, at least until you're all better. Can you do that for me?"

She blinked, tilting her head in confusion before shrugging. "I'll do whatever you want me to. My life is yours!"

Peachy. "Right, okay then. What I need you to do is go to one of the maids and ask them to take you to a guest room. From there, why don't you relax? Take a nap or something. Night is about to fall, so it's best if you get some sleep. Okay?"

Lilith nodded, smiling widely as she skipped towards the door to the entrance hall. Whistling, she twisted the door handle and left the room, leaving me alone in the library and with my thoughts.

Fucking hell, life is just a wild ride sometimes.

…

The smell of vomit was becoming one Emery was way to comfortable with. It was rancid, putrid, and almost familiar these days. What did make her uncomfortable was the slight tinge of red within the puke. What did she eat that would make that color? There were the meats, but those were cooked fully. None of that pinkish red stuff Darius likes, and even then, she doubted it would be that vibrant once puked up.

Maybe it was some fruit? The nearby forest meant that there was a lot of fruit ready to be picked and eaten, and she had an abundance of that as of late. The forest was just a calming place for her. She felt at home there, and it was nice. Apparently that last bit was a symptom of magical pregnancy, as forestkin would begin to find nature filled places to be homely.

Still, that covered the majority of foods she had eaten other than vegetables, and Emery doubted it was those that were screwing with her. Maybe she should see Evanora again? Or tell Darius that she's not feeling too well and have him use his more advanced stuff. It would be nice to see what he's been doing in there, since the nightly chats were only so cool.

Picking herself off the floor, Emery trudged over to the sink and began to wash her hands. The cold water felt great on her warm skin, and she sighed in contentment. Her eyes stared into the mirror, frowning as her reflection stared back at her. Now, while her skin may have been rather pale from staying in the Dark Forest for almost all of her life, she was never this pale. It was almost sickly, and she could see a slight bit of what looked to be blue lines under her skin. What did Darius call them? Veins? That was it.

Was this another symptom of magical pregnancy? She had always heard that regular pregnancy was something else, so maybe the magic involved with hers made it worse. Then again, the book never said anything about feeling this… sick. Nauseous sure, but not sick. Though maybe the book just didn't have all the information in it. Maybe the author missed something?

Emery doubted it in the back of her mind.

Maybe it was her recent… activities that made her feel like this? The memory of what happened a few minutes ago made her blush slightly, frowning deeper as she did so. She was feeling calmer than she was earlier, either because sex is a great stress relief or because her magically enhanced pregnancy mood swings weren't acting up as badly. At least now she could really try and digest it.

She was… she was attracted to both men and women. It was easy to say, but not so easy to comprehend. It was never something she had ever seen before, since it was so taboo. A girl loving another girl like that wouldn't help with adding to their population, so it was bad. That's how it is. Or at least, how it was.

Back in the Dark Forest, and more specifically Halor, people died every day. Hunters, guards, the occasional brave soul who tried to sell to the other towns. It was just life. You'd feel sad for a moment, before moving on with your day. The only ones who really grieved were the young, and the family of those who died. And even then, it didn't last long unless you were orphaned.

As such, having babies was important. As soon as you found someone to love, you would go at it like rabbits. Gotta keep the population steady after all. If your behavior wasn't conducive to baby making, then you were a bad person. Simple. At first.

Here in The Plains however, things were just so… different. The people were safer, happier, even more accepting of things. Daria lived here, and she was definitely a very… open woman. There was no doubt in Emery's mind that the woman had already slept with more than a few women here. It was probably okay here.

So why did she feel so afraid of her own sexuality?

Shaking her head, Emery dried her hands and left the bathroom. She should probably have a talk with Darius about everything. They didn't really get to talk to much before their… activity began in earnest. It was so unlike him, to be so lustful. He was usually more controlled. Well, he is, unless his switch gets flipped. Then he's one of the most lustful people she has ever known. It's both arousing, and unnerving.

"Oh, heya there Emery. I just got back from uh, potion stuff. What's got you down?"

A voice echoed from beside her, making Emery jump as she spun around to face it. Evanora was looking down at her with a concerned gaze, mixed with… something else she couldn't put her finger on.

Emery hummed to herself. Evanora was always up to talk. Maybe she could help her with her recent self discovery. "Well, um, I don't want to sound crude but, I've got an issue that I want your help with. If that's alright."

The older woman blinked, before grinning and resting a hand on her hip. "Sure thing Em, that's what I'm here for."

Right. Here goes nothing then. "Well, you see, I recently discovered that I'm attracted to both men and women. Darius knows, but we haven't been able to really talk about it yet. So, I was wondering if you could help me with understand why I feel so… uncomfortable with it. Ya know?

Emery wrung her hands, staring up at Evanora as she bit her lip nervously. She knew that it was unlikely that Evanora would be disgusted by her, but at the same time, she was still so worried about it.

Strangely enough however, the other woman's eyes seemed to flash with something almost resembling hope. Not that Emery had a lot of time to think about it, and Evanora soon cleared her throat. "W-Well it's definitely nothing to be ashamed about. I mean, it's pretty accepted here in The Plains. Sure, there are some assholes that might try and start something, but generally you'll be fine. So, you don't need to worry about feeling weird about that."

Evanora stopped talking for a moment, furrowing her eyebrows and splitting off onto a different tangent. "Say, how was the attitude towards the topic back in Halor? Depending on how it is, what you're probably feeling is just years of being told that it's bad working against your feelings. Trust me, I know the feeling."

She did? Emery's curiously got the best of her for a moment, and she asked Evanora a question. "Really? You always say that The Swamps are boring and not a fun place. Were they also struggling with keeping up the population?"

For the first time since they've met, Emery saw Evanora openly flinch. Her eyes looked away for a moment, and her hands clenched. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked forward. "Well, I wasn't totally lying. It's just, the attitude there was also really bad. Probably worse than any other place."

Sighing, Evanora leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "Poison was a pretty big problem. Disease too. In fact, most kids never saw past the age of three before dying. The average lifespan was around twenty to thirty years, forty if you're lucky. There as just so many ways to die there. Monsters, starvation, poison, being eaten alive by a slime and digested. It's pretty bad."

A sigh escaped her lips, and she closed her eyes. "I don't like telling people about The Swamps for a reason, and that's because of how desperate they are. If you're lucky, you'll get to find someone to be with and get pregnant once you're fifteen. If you're not, well… there were these breeding pits. They would take those who either didn't have parents or were volunteered by their parents to enter the pits once they were able to carry a child."

The air around them was heavy, and the gulp Evanora took was almost deafeningly loud in comparison to their surroundings. "Once I was approaching that age, I noticed that I was starting to look at both boys and girls. I never said anything of course, but I think it was obvious. My parents never said anything about it either, and I thought they were okay with it. But then they volunteered me for the breeding pits."

Evanora opened her eyes, not a hint of pain or anger in them. Just… sadness. "It was the scariest time of my life. I mean, I was eleven Emery. I wasn't ready for that. But at the same time, what was I supposed to do? Running away would get me killed, but staying would get me raped. There weren't many options, and I was running out of time. And then a pair of adventurers came to the village to help with a slime problem, and I knew I had a ticket out of there."

She cleared her throat once more, scratching the area around her eye. "It's a good thing Brynjar and Citrine were so understanding, otherwise I probably would've tried my luck on my own. Not a very fun idea to be honest. Anyway, yeah. I understand what you mean by feeing uncomfortable about it. You just have to… accept it I guess."

Emery wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn't. To think, such a terrible thing could happen to someone so young. And that it was probably still going on today. Her hand rested on her stomach subconsciously. She couldn't imagine doing that to her child, and she hasn't even met it yet.

Doing her best to keep the pity out of her voice, Emery spoke up. "That's insane. I mean, who does that? Goodness, are you okay?"

Evanora laughed slightly at that, her quiet chuckling filing the hallway. "I'm fine Emery. It's just not a time I really like to think about. Anyway, I was just trying to say that if I could get passed my own people's beliefs, then you can definitely do it."

She paused, looking off to the side and biting her lip. "A-And well, um, if you ever want to experiment with- "

"Ah, Em! There you are! We've definitely got a few things to talk about and I know for a fact that it's not gonna be quick. Oh, hey Evanora. Fancy seeing you here."

Darius had come into the hallway, his shirt and pants thrown on messily. Emery smiled slightly, waving to him. "You're right about that much. I was just having a… chat with Evanora about girl stuff. Isn't that right Eva?"

A strained smile on her face, Evanora bobbed her head. "Yeah! We were just having some girl talk and stuff. You know, why don't I go and get ready for bed? I'm a bit tired right now. Busy day scouting for good potion ingredients. You two have… you two have fun!"

She almost ran off, making Emery frown. That was… weird. In fact, she's been acting weird ever since she came back from whatever it is she did. Hmm, she was going to have to ask Evanora about it later. Right now, she needed to have a serious talk with Darius about the future of their relationship.

Oh boy.

…

You know the feeling of when your stretching a rubber band and it's ready to snap? That's how I feel right now. Pulling back the band of the story, and waiting until someone walks by so I can snap it. That has nothing to do with the current chapter, mostly.

As for the whole Evanora thing, my reasoning for it is pretty simple. I was tired of having the female characters fall for Darius. I thought "Wouldn't it be more interesting if Evanora actually had a crush on Emery?" and I went through some logic testing to see if it was viable. After going through the logic, I determined that it was indeed viable, and decided to go with it. I'm not gonna get into it here, since it'll probably be delved into by like, the next chapter.

Anyway, the Swamps a pretty fucked place. That is all.

Final note. The Legendary Bossman known as Infonticus has made a Darius X Rana smut omake that was previewed yesterday for the discord pals (join at discord. gg/ CWPSc2G9Wj Sorry Kami) and it should be up by the time this one is.

For you FF degens: It should be in Hoonter's Short Stories and What-Ifs, as chapter 4

For you QQ nerds: It should be the post above this one, and is in the threadmarks as Infont's Omake Smut.

Onto our Review of the Chapter, the segment where I either break the rules or pick a review that strokes my ego. Sometimes, I do both. So here are two reviews in one:

"Not really, a Fan of the Last part Here the whole emery is BI Point seems really forced , especially with the book right before it"

Emery was always bi. It's been noted since at least the preamble to the tournament. And I figured her finding out through a book was a pretty fun way to do it, if only because of the context surrounding it.

"So currently just started this but I had to stop and say that this book so far is a MASTERPIECE. It is so far really interesting and makes me want to keep reading until the end. I found you from The Dark Wolf Shiro's discord and have not been disappointed. Keep up the great work"

Remember what I said about ego stroking? This is it. I just wanted to drop this here and bask in my own awesome for a moment.

This has been A Decent Hoonter, and here's a shout out to the guys who just write "great chapter" in their review. You truly are the unsung heroes of this site.