Hello there, been a while.
You have another chapter to read, so I'll be fast. Apologies for the late chapter, I've just been everywhere the past few days.
Thank you for your patience.
Enjoy.
Joe's eyes perked at the princess's words.
"My...friends?" He asked, an eyebrow raised.
Blazette smiled at this.
"Well, if you're so worried about your friends, then we can just bring them along with." She replied.
"Well, I guess I can go get them real quick…" Joe said. "But, wouldn't that be a bit dangerous?"
The princess then walked towards the young man, and grabbed his hand. "Well, not if they have the best swordsman in the North Kingdom right next to them, right?"
Joe went a tad pink at this compliment.
"Well, I mean...I guess…" He said, scratching his head in embarrassment.
The princess smiled at this.
"Shall we then? I've been wanting to meet those you were fighting so hard to return to."
Joe then gestured his arms towards the door for the young woman.
"After you." He said, the princess nodding, as she walked towards the door, with Joe following suit.
Moments pass, as the young man and woman step into the grand hall of the castle9.
"We'll need an open space for this." Blazette mentioned, as she walked downstairs towards the open area.
Joe followed suit, and stood to the side as he watched the princess hold the metal cylindrical object in front of her.
She grabbed and pulled from the top, as the object revealed to be for storage, as it revealed what looked like a paper scroll.
After removing said scroll, the princess unrolled the scroll.
"Come over here." she said, prompting Joe to walk to her.
"Whats all this about?" He asked.
"It's a secret teleportation spell I found in the basement of this castle. It should work like the portal you came here from, but for a limited time." Blazzette replied.
"How limited?" Joe asked.
"Anywhere between fifteen to twenty minutes. I think."
"You 'think'?"
"Calm down, you'll have plenty of time." the princess giggled. "Now, hold onto my hands."
"Oh, er, alright." Joe replied, as he placed his hands over hers.
After a few moments, a small light emanated from his hands.
The dim light grew in size, fitting perfectly in Joe's hands.
"Whoa…" he said, his eyes fixated on the light.
With that, the princess began to mutter words of a foreign language to the young man's ears.
"Mudra Langdu, Yavuz Lowridi…" she muttered, as the light started to change color.
The light illuminated the whole room, switching from one vibrant color to the next.
"S-So what happens next?" Joe asked, slightly concerned.
The princess remained silent, as the light began to shrink, fitting into her hands.
Joe removed his hands, as Blazette held the light close to her.
"Now...You will need to embrace me." She flatly stated.
Joe's eyes widened at this, and his cheeks turned a light pink.
"W-Well, alright...I guess…" He said, scratching his head in embarrassment. He nervously stepped closer to the princess, and slowly wrapped his arms around her upper torso.
"Yes...Just like that…" She stated, as she nuzzled her head into Joe's chest.
"S-So...what's the significance of this?" Joe asked.
The Princess giggled. "Oh, nothing. I just wanted it."
"W-Wait, Wha-"
WHOOSH!
And in a flash, Joe disappeared, not a trace of him left.
The princess held her hands close to her heart, as she giggled to herself.
"One step at a time…"
Meanwhile, back at Joe's home in the Overworld, the girls were lounging, unsure of what to do, while Yaebi was sleeping on the couch.
"Master has been gone for quite some time…" Snowy said, concern in her tone.
"I'm sure he will be fine. I've seen how he handles himself." Ria replied.
"Yeah, whatever comes at him, he could kick their butt two biomes over!" Lia stated, smiling.
"But it does become somewhat bothersome whenever we have to wait for him. He always goes alone…" Andr said in return.
"He says he doesn't want any of us hurt." Nia softly snapped.
"Yeah, but he gets to do so much cool stuff! He got to see a whole kingdom! With kings and queens and knights!" Cupa excitedly exclaimed.
"He was almost killed three times. No, four times. Because of Yan, remember?" Nia snapped back, her voice raised.
"It's still boring, though!" Lia grumbled, slumping in her seat.
"Well, it's not like he's going to just pop in here, telling us to come with him to that kingdom!"
WHOOSH!
At that moment, Joe appeared out of thin air, making all the girls jump in the air, and causing some to nearly fall off of their seats.
The young man frantically turned his head, confused of his surroundings.
"Oh, uh...Hey, guys…"
"Master!" Snowy yelled in happiness, as she tackled Joe, her arms right around his neck.
He struggled to breathe, as he tapped on her arms.
"Snowy...Can't...Breathe…" he croaked.
Snowy then smiled, as she released Joe, who gasped deeply, regaining his breath.
"Whoa, how did you do that?" Lia excitedly asked.
"It's...a long...story…" Joe said, slightly panting between words.
Meanwhile, Nia picked herself off the ground, glaring at Joe.
"Hey, if you're gonna pop out of nowhere, at least give us a warning!" She yelled, jabbing him in the side with her finger.
"Sorry…" he said as he regained his breath. "I'm only here for a short while, but I'm here to tell you something. The princess asked me to come with her to a ball, and she wants to invite you all as well."
Except for Snowy, all the girls' faces lit up at the word of a ball being thrown, let alone a royal ball.
"Y-You mean...like a ball for royalty?" Andr asked.
"Sure is."
"And she wants to invite us?" Cupa asked.
"Sure does."
"With kings and lords and barons?" Lia asked.
"Sure do-...Actually, I'm not sure." Joe replied. "But, do you all wanna come?"
"Hell yeah, I wanna go!" Lia replied, raising her hand.
"It would be nice to drop by, at least." Ria said, raising her hand as well.
Nia crossed her arms. "Wherever Lia goes, I go with her. She causes less trouble that way." She said, a tad of pink in her cheeks.
"I think it sounds like a lot of fun. I'll come along too." Andr stated, smiling. "What do you think, Cupa-chan?"
"..."
"...Cupa-chan?"
She looked over to Cupa, who seemed joyfully lost in her daydreams again.
"Cupa?" Joe asked, waving his hand in her face.
Cupa quickly snapped back to reality, looking at Joe with a red face.
"A-A royal ball...huh?" She croaked.
"Yeah." He said, walking closer to her. "It would mean a lot if you guys did."
Cupa stared into Joe's eyes, before nodding in return.
"What about you, Snowy?" He asked.
"O-Oh, I think it sounds like a lot of fun...but…"
"But…?" Joe asked.
"...Well...I'm a snowwoman. We don't do really well in the Nether...But I'm okay with staying behind. I'll clean up while you're gone." She said, smiling.
As much as Joe didn't want to admit it, he still nodded his head in confirmation.
"I understand." He said with a slight frown.
"We wish you could come, but maybe we can bring something back for you." Andr said, walking over to Snowy and holding her hands.
Snowy smiled brightly at Andr's words.
"That would be amazing, thank you." She said with a radiant smile.
Joe chuckled to himself at this.
"Yeah, that sounds like a great-" He said.
It was only at that moment that he felt some force in his mind, drawing his attention.
"Joe-kun?" Cupa asked.
"Everyone who's coming, hold onto me."
These words confused the girls.
"Um...what?" Nia asked.
"Ill explain everything later. Everyone's who's coming, hold onto me, one way or another."
"Yeah!" Lia screamed excitedly, as she jumped on and latched herself to Joe's torso.
Both Cupa and Andr grabbed onto Joe's right arm, as Ria and Nia held onto the other.
"Yaebi, wanna come along?" Joe asked the young zombie boy.
"And go back to the Nether? I'm gonna have to say no. Besides, I think Snowy would be much less lonely that way." He replied, looking over at the frowning snow-woman, who immediately beamed into a smile.
"Awww!" Snowy squealed as she ran and bear-hugged the young boy, with the faint sound of a crack in the air.
At that moment, pulses of bright, wispy white lines of energy started to resonate from Joe.
"Looks like it's time to go. Everyone ready?" He asked.
After a small moment of everyone confirming, the resonation of energy emitted from Joe started to intensify, glowing brighter by the second.
Just as the glowing seemed to be peaking, Joe could see a silhouette outside the front window of the house out the corner of his eye.
"What the-"
Slam!
In the middle of his words, The front door of the home was slammed open, revealing the witch Mary, panting her lungs out.
"M-Mary!?" Joe asked, confused.
"Think you can go off without me, do you!?" She yelled, as she sprinted towards Joe.
"Oh no…" Joe said, as Mary fiercely lunged after him, crashing into him and sending him towards the floor with everyone following after.
WHOOSH!
And as that happened, a brief flash of light surged, and before anyone knew, Joe and all those with him vanished, leaving Snowy and Yaebi alone.
The young zombie boy broke the small silene with a chuckle.
"So. What do you wanna do?" He asked.
"Lots!"
Meanwhile, back in the main hall of the Castle, the princess waited patiently for the young hero to return.
And by patiently, she ordered her servants to prepare the main hall for the new company she would have to host.
"Be sure to prepare lots of meat and such. And make sure proper provisions are made for their rooms." She said, ordering multiple servants moving around furniture and setting decorations.
"U-Uhm...My Lady?" One of the servants asked. "With the way you are having us set this up, it seems that it would be nothing but men returning with the Master."
"Well, Of course! I am the only woman in his life, so he must have a group of boys with him!"
"But My Lady...He rejected the wedding offer…" The servant replied.
The princess giggled at this. "Oh, he's just shy. He'll have to come around."
The servant could only sigh to himself, as he carried on with his duties.
At that moment, the exact spot in which the princess and Joe performed the spell started to glow with a dim light.
"Oh, he should be back any time soon! Everyone have everything ready?"
"Decorations set, My Lady!"
"Rooms for our guests are all ready, My Lady!"
The princess smiled to herself. "Perfect. Everyone, Ready!"
The light then started to grow and grow in brightness, almost to the point of blinding.
WHOOSH!
And in an instant, Joe and all those with him materialized, with them all crashing towards the floor.
The sight The princess saw baffled her beyond action.
The man she loved was on the floor with several girls laying upon him, few of them with larger assets to them.
Joe's face was stuck in Mary's chest, to the point of suffocating him.
"Mary...Can't...Breathe...:" Came Joe's muffled voice.
He managed to free his face, as his head hit the floor, directing his view to the shocked princess. Only moments passed when he realized the situation he was in.
"Uhm….I can explain."
A few moments passed later, as the princess was able to come to her senses, and sent the other girls to their own quarters.
She wanted Joe alone with her in her quarters.
The nervous, and slightly terrified Joe stood in the middle of the room.
Meanwhile, the princess closed the door behind her.
"So." She said flatly, almost making Joe jump.
"I-If it makes you feel any better, anything that happened, was a complete accident." Joe said, in a vain attempt to appease the princess.
The princess then turned around, and walked towards Joe, her expression hidden from his sight.
Joe only gulped to himself, expecting the worse to come to him. The princess then raised her head, looking dead into Joe's eyes.
She then grabbed the collar of his sweater, lowering his head to hers.
"I'll allow them to stay here."
"H-Huh?"
"I'm not just going to say no. They're still your friends, and I'm sure you care deeply for them." Blazette stated.
"W-Well, If it weren't for them, I probably would be either dead, or gone insane long ago…" Joe replied.
Blazette only made a soft smile.
"But just remember. I, am your fiance. Got it?"
"Y-Yes ma'am…" Joe squeaked.
"Good. Now go get yourself ready for dinner. The royal bath has been prepared for you." The princess stated, smiling.
"Wait...You mean a hot bath...in hot water?" Joe asked with a very hopeful tone.
Blazette raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that usually how you usually bathe?"
Joe could only grab the princess by the shoulders, looking into her eyes.
"You have no idea how long it's been since I had a hot bath."
He then released the princess, and darted for the door, saying "See you at dinner!" as he left the room, leaving the princess alone.
She crossed her arms, giving a coy smile.
"You could've said that the last time you were here."
Joe was in a dead sprint for wherever the royal bath might be, occasionally asking the nearby servants for directions.
Once he made it to the bathing room, the sight was mesmerizing.
A whole room, filled with steam from the hot bath water.
The sight nearly put a tear in his eyes.
He immediately stripped down to nothing, he couldn't help himself. He dove straight into the open bath, splashing water within a five foot radius of the bath.
He quickly re-surfaced, with only the most satisfying feeling that only a hot bath gave give to someone.
The first hot bath he had since first arriving in this world, and he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"I almost forgot what hot water felt like!" He said to himself, as he stretched himself across the bath.
He was in a perfect state of comfort and relaxation, as he let the water take all his senses from him.
"Ever since I came to this world…" He said to himself.
But those words struck a thought in his mind.
"...Just how long has it been since I came here? Can't be more than a few weeks…" He said to himself. He remembered his life back home in his world, and couldn't help but feel slightly homesick.
"I wonder if anyone's realized I'm gone…"
He thought of his friends and family back in his world, as he slowly sank into the water.
"I don't get it...How can all this happen in something so simple as Minecraft? It's just a computer game…" He said to himself with a somber tone.
He then raised his hand out of the water, feeling every drop run down his arm.
"It can't just be a dream...But what could it be? How am I even in this world in the first place…"
He then shook his head, clearing his mind.
"I shouldn't think about all that. It would probably just confuse me anyway."
Meanwhile, in a whole different room from Joe's, the girls were all enjoying their own large bath. All of the girls in Joe's care were stripped down to nothing, enjoying the relaxing hot water.
"This. Is. AWESOME!" Lia screamed, as she cannonballed into the water, splashing everyone around her.
Nia, feeling the full front of the splashing, quickly steamed in anger.
"Am I just going to have to get a leash for you or something!?" She snapped at the smiling spider-girl.
"Oh, just let it go." Ria said, smiling. "It has been some time since we were able to have a proper bath like this."
"Yeah, the only other way we had to bathe was in that cold, shallow lake back home." Cupa added.
"Speaking of that…" Lia said, before looking across the room, only to see a frightened Andr hiding behind a pillar, still in her towel. "You coming in, or what?"
Andr started to shake nervously.
"B-But you know I don't do well with untreated water! Unless its treated like Joe-kun did with our watering hole back home, it will burn my skin!" She whined.
Cupa giggled to herself. "Relax Andr-chan. The rules of nature don't apply in the Nether. I'm sure you will be able to enjoy it with us." She replied.
"Do...Do you really think that?" The timid Andr asked.
"Trust me, if it did hurt you, I think Joe would be in here to help you in a heartbeat." Ria replied back, giving a slight wind of relief to the Ender-girl.
"Well...If you guys say so…" Andr said, as she slowly stepped towards the bath.
She slowly dipped her toes into the water, and much to her surprise, her foot didn't engulf with pain like water would normally do to and Enderman.
"So. You burning alive?" Lia sarcastically asked, flashing a grin.
"W-Well, no….But…"
"'But' Nothing!" As the hyperactive spider-girl quickly grabbed Andr's towel, in turn pulling her into the water.
She quickly surfaced herself, taking a deep breath.
"L-Lia-chan, please don't do that!" Andr whined, splashing the water in frustration.
"Well, at least you're not hurt, are you?" Cupa asked.
Andr then surveyed herself. She was definitely in the water, yet she felt no pain.
"Well...No…" Andr replied, submerging herself deeper in the water.
"See? Nether makes no sense at all, I know." Lia said, smiling, causing everyone else to laugh. "Speaking of no sense, anyone see where Mary went? Eh, what am I saying. She's probably out doing something weird people like her do."
"Are we all enjoying the bath?" Came a voice from outside the bath.
Everyone turned their attention to the direction of the voice, and could see Blazette standing outside of the bath, with only a towel on as well.
"O-Oh, uh, Hello, Your Majesty…" Andr timidly croaked.
"No need to be so formal. Any friend of Joe is a friend of mine as well." The princess said, smiling rather brightly.
"S-Sorry, it's just I've never met anyone in royalty…" Andr stuttered.
"No need for worry. So, I have a question for all of you. Between us girls, you know?" said the princess, as she slowly entered the bath, discarding her towel. "What do all of you think of Joe?"
At that moment, the room got suddenly more quiet, as three of the five girls went beet red, leaving Lia and Ria unfazed.
"He's awesome! He gave me and Nia here a home after a creeper blew it up! He even saved us from it!" Lia exclaimed excitedly. "Ain't that right, Shortstack?"
"H-Huh? Y-Yeah…" Nia replied, stuttering her words.
"He helped me against a horde of monsters, and even took an arrow in the back for me. He's a very noble and kind person." Ria added, smiling.
Blazette's eyes widened at this. "Really...Well, how about y-?" She tried asking Andr, who was completely submerged in the water to avoid the conversation. This left her to turn her head towards Cupa, whose cheeks were still red, but she had a much softer look on her face.
"How about you?" The curious princess asked the young Creeper-girl.
Cupa turned her head to the princess for a moment, then looked forward, slightly looking into the water.
"He's a wonderful and kind person. I found him only a few weeks ago, and he gave me nothing less than hospitality." She started. "If it weren't for him, I would've either froze or starved to death. He saved my life, and even my free will. And the same could be said for the rest of us."
Blazette cocked her head at this answer.
"She's right." Popped a voice.
Andr had surfaced her face, and had heard everything Cupa said.
"None of us would be here without him. Cupa would have starved, I could've been seriously hurt by all the rain, and Ria, Lia, and Nia would've been out of luck for a home." She said, finishing her statement.
"We all owe our lives to him. Is that a good answer?" Cupa asked in return.
Blazette was dumbfounded by the girls' words. She never expected an answer like that.
"Y-Yeah...It was a very heartfelt one…" She replied, only to smile a bit.
She then looked to the ceiling, thinking about the girls' answer.
You really are as wonderful as I thought…
Meanwhile, across the halls of the castle, a faint sound of a scream can be heard echoing throughout.
If one were to follow that scream, they might hear a few more as well:
"I thought I told you to quit that!"
"Oh please, that won't make me stop~!"
If one were to investigate even closer, one could see a young man dressed only in a towel speeding through the halls in a dead sprint.
If that wouldn't shock you enough, a young woman with the same amount of clothing, would be chasing right after the young man with open arms.
Better yet, Joe sprinted as fast as his legs could take him, running through corner through corner of the halls, wearing nothing but a cotton towel.
And in dead pursuit, Mary relentlessly followed after him, able to see exactly where he was going.
While running, Joe thought up of an idea.
As soon as he turned a hard corner, he immediately entered one of the rooms next to him, paying no attention to what room he was in.
He closed the door behind him, and held his ear to the door.
"Hey, where'd you go?", Followed by the sound of heavy, repeated steps whose sound slowly dwindled away.
The coast was clear, as Joe blew a deep sigh of relief.
He was good to go, all he had to do was open the door.
Click!
"..."
Click!
Click!
"...Wha…"
Click! Click! Click!
No matter how he turned the knob, it would just not turn open.
"Huh? What the hell is-"
"Oh, how embarrassing~."
After hearing this voice, a chill ran up his spine.
He slowly and drearily turned around, only to have what he would consider fuel for a nervous breakdown.
He found he was inside of a bedroom, and that Mary was strewn across the bed, wearing only a very small lingerie.
"Well, go ahead. Do whatever you want~." Mary said, winking.
"Where did you even get that!? And how the hell did you get in here!?"
Mary giggled to herself.
"Oh, you'd be surprised to see what the maids have in these rooms." She replied as the sat up, revealing more of her body. "Now, aren't you going to keep me company?" She playfully asked, arms reached towards Joe.
All the blood flowed into Joe's head, as the first thought ran through his mind.
GET OUT OF THIS ROOM.
Without thinking, Joe took his tightly balled fist, and thrusted it into the door. Luckily, he had enough force to punch a straight hole into the door.
The desire to exit the situation drove him to tear the door right off the frame, without a rational thought running through his mind.
"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He screamed as he tossed the door aside, and made a dead bolt down the hall, leaving Mary alone.
"Aww, hes just shy." Mary said, as she vanished with a snap of her fingers.
11am, and I just get this finished.
Reminds me of the good times.
Thank you so much for still wanting to continue with what I make, even though it's probably been almost a year since my last update.
I thank you for your patience, and hope you can be patient with me again.
Thank you for your time, I'll see you in the next chapter.