Sleep wasn't easy to banish, especially for her. She'd always been a heavy sleeper, to the amazement of her comrades, and nothing, from the ever-present shelling of the western front, to the cramped conditions of a submarine, to even freezing cold nights spent in her homeland, had changed that.
Not that she'd want it to be different, of course – nothing felt better after a hard day of work than crawling into bed and drifting off.
Of course, today was slightly different. She had a very good reason to want to wake up early, after all.
So, instead of relishing in the feeling of a plush bed and soft blankets as awareness of her awakening returned, Viktoriya pushed her eyes opened, determined-
Only to find Tanya was already awake, sitting up, and staring down at her sleeping face, silently. Viktoriya blinked a few times as she processed the… odd smile on Tanya's face.
"Would you… like to kiss?" Tanya asked, and Viktoriya felt a smile flash onto her face at the formality in Tanya's tone, but as he leaned down, Viktoriya held out a hand. Tanya stopped, and Viktoriya cast a suspicious glance around the room. "Are you sure we should do that… here?"
Tanya cast a similar look around at the room – one of Walter's guest rooms, decorated tastefully and not ostentatiously, clearly meant for his friends rather than visiting nobles he might be obligated to house – and he shrugged. "I could lay out how he owes his continued good living after his father's 'demise' to us, or how he hardly seems the type to do something like peeping on us, but…"
He pushed closer to Viktoriya, leaning further down towards her heated face. "Truthfully, Visha, I don't care. Do you?" he whispered with a warm exhale.
Viktoriya closed the gap between their lips.
Undoubtedly, there were things worth losing sleep over. Kissing Tanya was certainly one.
-OxOxO-
Viktoriya and Tanya didn't get out of their room for quite a while after waking, but when they did, Walter sat with them while they had breakfast and stole glances at each other as if he hadn't heard what they had been doing.
"My apologies for not asking yesterday, Governor Degurechaff, but did you enjoy your journey?" he asked Tanya.
He nodded. "Broadly. There were parts that I felt we could have done without, but we achieved everything we set out to do."
Viktoriya nodded. "Especially all those trials Hyoizaburo made you go through."
Walter looked intrigued, and they spent the rest of breakfast – potato pancakes! – telling him about the Crimson Demon Village. Viktoriya found herself smiling as Tanya spoke. There wasn't a lot to like about the war, but listening to Tanya talk and occasionally ramble about tactics and logistics was a surprising bright point.
"I… suppose, with all of that in mind, perhaps the Crimson Demons are not quite all they're cracked up to be…" Walter eventually admitted. Tanya smiled triumphantly, and Viktoriya could only shake her head, wondering how in the world their characterization as being the mysterious and knowledgeable peak of magecraft rather than eclectic and bizarre had come from.
"Now, Walter, I'd like to thank you for everything you've done in leading the town in my absence. Facing not just one threat to the town, but two in a row deserves commendation," Tanya began. Walter smiled and preened, happy for the praise.
"But of course, Governor! My duty is to the people," he replied simply.
It almost made Viktoriya feel bad for what Tanya was going to say next.
"Which is why I feel completely at ease leaving the town in your care for just one more day," Tanya continued. Walter's satisfaction disappeared and was replaced by curiosity. "Err… If I may be so bold, why?"
Tanya nodded, and Viktoriya gave Walter an apologetic smile. "You see, the reason is quite simple: today is Viktoriya's birthday, and I am spending the whole thing with her. One of my gifts is that we're not working. At all."
A hint of desperation entered Walter's eyes. "But- But Governor, the repairs, hunting down the last of Wolbach's army, the refugees, there's-"
Tanya shook his head resolutely. "I am sorry, Walter, but I've already promised."
Walter let out a forlorn sigh… and then nodded his acceptance. "Very well. I will defer what I can until tomorrow, but what if it can't?"
"Then make your best judgment, Walter. If you make a bad call, you won't be punished for it, I guarantee you."
"Alright, I suppose- Ah, and happy birthday, Lady Serebryakov! Do you have any plans for your party?"
Viktoriya nodded and rapidly explained. "Of course, we've got everything planned out! We're going to be visiting our friends and asking them if they'd like to come to the party we're having at the Blonde Pixie this afternoon. After that, we'll have lunch, visit a park, go flying, and maybe visit a gambling house if we have time. Then it'll be time for the party."
She took a few breaths after having explained all of that in just one go, and Walter looked astounded that she'd managed. Tanya just shook his head as Viktoriya recovered. "Well, would you like to come to the party, Walter? It's probably fairly lowbrow for you-"
He scoffed. "As if the culture of a party would stop me from celebrating my friends!" he remarked. "Unfortunately, you have asked that I continue to run Axel. I shall endeavor to procure a gift for you… as soon as I am given time to do so."
"Thank you, Walter," Viktoriya replied. Tanya concurred, and they quickly left Walter's house.
"Hmm… where are we going to live now?" Viktoriya asked. "As polite as Walter is, I don't want to… impose."
The exact reason tonight would be anymore of an imposition on him went unsaid. Tanya licked his lips as they began walking from Walter's doorstep to the edge of his property, headed first for the Blonde Pixie to see if Bill was open to hosting their party. "Well… I know you said no work, but we could always look around and see if there are any houses for sale we like."
"What about the land Alderp's mansion was on?" she replied.
Even when they weren't supposed to be working, it seemed like they just couldn't stop. Viktoriya hoped she hadn't become a workaholic – someone in their relationship needed to ensure they didn't work themselves to death. "Well," Tanya began, "We could always sell that. Running Axel from that place was becoming a bit constricting anyway. Perhaps we should have a proper center of government set up…"
"Sounds like a good idea," Viktoriya said. It wasn't like they had much better to do while they were walking around telling their friends about the party.
Tanya's muttering to himself about 'central state planning' and 'sources of revenue,' something Viktoriya might have let him ramble on about ordinarily, was cut off. "Oh. Uh, sure," he replied, "I suppose, considering our relationship, we pick out a place for… us."
The utterance of 'us' hung in the air for a long moment, and then Viktoriya grinned. She almost stopped, when she saw Tanya staring openly at her, but then he grinned right back and-
Then the moment ended, they realized they were standing in the middle of the entryway into Walter's property for everyone walking by to see, and they quickly began walking down the street, hand in hand, arm in arm, unable to stop smiling.
-OxOxO-
Their first stop had been the Blonde Pixie, and they'd barely been able to tell Bill why they wanted to rent one of the bigger backrooms of his bar before he'd pushed them back out.
"Free means free! You two helped get rid of Wolbach, so you can have it for free! The drinks will be on the house too! And if you try to leave behind money or even give me a kickback, I'll keep giving you free stuff, Degurechaff!"
They had protested good-naturedly, but they eventually accepted and were now on the way to Kazuma's mansion to invite them to the party. They soon passed out of the more densely populated core of the city and into the portion where the moderately wealthy of Axel had their mansions built. Alderp's former mansion, with its gratuitous amount of land, was much further out.
They talked of Bill's generosity, for a time, and then about the party – they'd play a few games of chance, though not for anything if they could help it, because it would be easier to just give Kazuma your cash, listen to the music produced by the record player, catch up with the people they'd left in Axel – which led to them talking about the friends they were inviting and then…
"It feels hard to believe that I haven't talked to Weiss or Neumann or Koenig in almost six months…" Tanya remarked, a brief frown marring his face.
"I know," Viktoriya agreed. It hadn't been quite as long for her, but she shared the sentiment. "It feels like we'll get a report of Teyanen getting another bout of food poisoning any minute now. It's certainly been long enough!"
Tanya smirked at that. "But of course! I'm sure they'd all be jealous of us." He nodded to himself sagely, and Viktoriya tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You sure? Weiss, Walter, and Darkness would get along, and Koenig would adore the lifestyle of an adventurer, but the others?"
Tanya waved a hand. "Maybe not all of them, but I know Neumann would be all over the Succubi, without a doubt."
Viktoriya nodded along – that tracked – and then they lapsed back into happy silence. Viktoriya rubbed a circle into Tanya's hand with her thumb. Viktoriya's face began to heat when Tanya leaned onto Viktoriya's shoulder.
"I… I never thought things would turn out this way," Viktoriya said.
"Oh, really? I knew for a fact that I'd get sent to a faux-Medieval fantasy-land after I died for the second time," he snarked, and Viktoriya rolled her eyes at his response. "Stop that!"
"What?" They both giggled, and Viktoriya marveled at the unfamiliar, nice sound for a second. "I mean, the specifics, sure, but… I didn't think I'd ever have a chance with you after that rejection and…"
Tanya nodded along and moved past the unspoken reference to that communist bastard. "I… who knows? Maybe we would have stumbled into it, even with the war still on."
"Would you want to go back?"
Tanya scoffed. "To how things used to be? Never. Putting aside… us, which immediately disqualifies even thinking about it, Belzerg is so much more… peaceful," he said.
Viktoriya dropped Tanya's hand, but before her partner could protest, she roped an arm around his shoulders. "Tanya, I love you."
Tanya began to blush heavily, and Viktoriya prayed there would never be a time those words wouldn't fill each others hearts with joy-
CRASH! THUMP!
Right as a body was thrown out of one of the windows of Kazuma's mansion.
"Though I could do without the insanity of the people that have somehow come to surround us," Tanya said as Kazuma stumbled to his feet, gripping his arm.
"Aqua, throwing me out a window isn't going to change the fact that I drank your alcohol – you don't appreciate it for how much money you spend!" he shouted towards the open window. She shouted something back that they couldn't hear, though she seemed to notice them standing at the gate to their property before she slammed the window shut.
"Useless Goddess," he groused. Tanya cleared his throat, and Kazuma whirled around, wincing as his wounded arm jostled about.
"Oh, you. We haven't found Chomusuke yet," he reported, complaining. Tanya and Viktoriya shared a concerned look.
"Thank you for the update, but we actually wanted to invite you to my birthday party," Viktoriya said. Kazuma blinked rapidly, his wounded arm forgotten. "Really?"
"Really."
He opened his mouth to reply, but he cast a glance back over his shoulder and rubbed the back of his head. "I- we'd love to, but we need to look for Chomusuke."
Viktoriya couldn't help the surprise creeping onto her face. "Really? You know she's…"
"I know," he snapped, "we were out all night. Megumin and Yunyun…" he trailed off with a sigh. Viktoriya looked down in sympathy – she hadn't had any pets, but losing someone you cared about, especially considering how close Megumin seemed to Chomusuke, always hit hard. More than a few old friends had died during the war, and even the 203rd wasn't invincible.
"What are your current plans?" Tanya asked, his face and voice tellingly unemotional. Kazuma sighed. "They're all sleeping, but we're heading back to the capital as soon as we get a few hours of shuteye."
"And beyond today?"
"I… I'll call it quits in a week. We shouldn't even be going out into the wilds near the capital, considering how strong the monsters are compared to us, but…" he trailed off again and shrugged helplessly.
Tanya nodded again. "If she won't… accept the truth by then, tell me. I'd be willing to talk to her about it," he offered. Kazuma's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yeah, me too," Viktoriya chipped in. "What are friends for, after all?"
Kazuma gave them a genuine smile, and Viktroiya wondered why he didn't smile like that more. "So. Are you coming to the party? It'd be a good way to take your mind off of things," Viktoriya offered.
Kazuma looked troubled for a moment, and then he nodded. "Alright. I'll try to convince them. I'll swing by for a bit, at least."
"Wonderful," Tanya said. "We'll be having the party at the Blonde Pixie. Considering how short term this is, don't feel obligated to bring a gift, if you don't want." They turned and began to leave.
"Isn't that place named after you?" he called to their retreating backs. Viktoriya hid the laugh building up in her chest at the look of defeat present on Tanya's face. "That man named his shop and the drink I made for him after me. Is it just him that's so uncreative?"
Viktoriya shrugged. "Maybe he's just that thankful?" she suggested innocently.
Tanya rolled his eyes, and their easy conversation continued, winding as they did through the placid streets of Axel.
-OxOxO-
Something about the shop seemed… off to Viktoriya.
"Does something seem-"
"Wrong?" Tanya finished. Viktoriya nodded. She wasn't sure what it was about the unassuming store – there weren't any weird smells or sounds coming from within, and the sign about the shop was as clean as ever.
Actually, maybe that was the problem.
"I suppose, after the guild, something was bound to go poorly."
Viktoriya nodded along and readied her rifle. The guild had gone well. Taylor's party was happy to come, though Dust had been warned that any funny business would see him kicked out. Aya, Takashi, and Shizuka were also happy to come, though the conniving look in the normally innocent-looking Shizuka's eyes had spooked them and her partymates. Lorelei had been there as well, helping defeat the last of Wolbach's army, though she already knew the when and where of the party.
The only real snag had been Kyouya – he was too busy to come. He was personally leading the town's efforts to mop up the last stragglers of Wolbach's army and was simultaneously helping Axel's guild set up an arena to rival the one in the capital.
Tanya and Viktoriya had thrown in their two cents, after simultaneously grimacing as they remembered their disagreement that had happened around that time. Viktoriya simply said that it had been fun to watch, while Tanya had gone on about reducing violence in the streets of Axel as well as the time Luna would have to liaise with the police station, hospital, and church for misdemeanors and minor wounds, the revenue that could be generated from the entertainment value, and that while demand for such a thing was low at the moment, it would increase once the service was available.
He'd thanked them for the help in convincing Luna and promised to get her a gift in the future, and they'd been on their way afterwards, bringing them here.
Seeing Viktoriya's rifle, Tanya scowled and drew his pistol. Viktoriya mouthed 'three, two, one,' and they both dove through the slightly open door-
"Hohohoho… Willkommen! Thou must have felt so tacti-cool when storming into the store! Moi must admit, moi would have been convinced of such, if not for the lovey-dovey thoughts oozing out of thine ears, brown-haired hanger-on! Hmm… confusion and rage do not sate moi's hunger, couldst thou please feel shame for having thine sickeningly sweet thoughts broadcasted instead? Perhaps, if moi sings of thine anticipation for thou's 'afterparty'-"
BANG!
Vanir dodged away from Viktoriya's shot, a smirk still plastered to the lower half of his face. "Ha! Thou art rusty, human who prays to Being X despite his actions against the man-again blonde."
Tanya and Viktoriya's twin glares deepened drastically. "How are you still alive? You were vaporized," Tanya snarled.
"And why are you wearing that pink apron?" Viktoriya cut in, having noticed both that and the fact that Wiz seemed more concerned with the bullet hole in her counter than the fact that Vanir was there.
Vanir scoffed. "Man who lived a decade and a half with thoughts such as, 'How is her body that of a supermodel so far before cosmetic surgery,' and, 'I've got to engineer more situations to get close to her. Perhaps enhanced interrogation training would be a good excuse,' circling through thine head for several years and yet did nothing, even moi didn't make it out unscathed after taking such a grand attack. Look closely at this mask," he mocked.
Viktoriya's anger evaporated. "Tanya…" she mumbled. Vanir, gesturing towards the roman numeral for '2' stenciled onto the center of his mask, cackled while furious sputtering fell from Tanya's incoherent visage.
"Wait, please, there's no need to fight!" Wiz interjected.
"Are you sure about that?" Tanya growled, composure slightly regained. Wiz answered Tanya's rhetorical question with a nervous nod. "Yes, really! Vanir has a new lease on life! Isn't it wonderful?"
"What?" Viktoriya and Tanya said at the same time, looking between the two generals of the Demon King. "Do… you two know each other?"
Vanir sniffed imperiously. "Girl who allowed herself to be discouraged from pursuing thine love after one measly rejection, this is the price you pay for not allowing thine enemies to monologue! Wiz is an old friend of moi!"
Wiz nodded emphatically when they looked to her for confirmation. "Yes! We've known each other for quite a while! He was planning on resigning from his post as a General of the Demon King, and since he was 'coincidentally' defeated, he's no longer maintaining the barrier. He's harmless now!"
"Harmless, is he?" Viktoriya heard Tanya ask, both still glaring at him. Vanir's smirk grew. "Indeed, formerly not-height-challenged man."
Viktoriya's grip on her rifle tightened as Tanya's expression grew more clouded by fury, and Vanir chuckled darkly. "Before thou makes a suggestion about attempting to end an existence such as moiself for moi's words, do not forget thine Succubi companions."
Viktoriya tilted her head. "Wha-"
"For negative feelings, there are tons of various emotions of various intensities that Demons may feed on. Some enjoy fear and despair, others prefer lust, while Demons like moi prefer to transform into a great beauty, approach men, and after working hard to make them fall for moi, reveal moi's true self and say, 'Too bad, it's actually moi!' and then taste their feelings as they cry tears of blood!"
Viktoriya scowled as Tanya remained silent, cold fury still etched into his face. "I thought you said you couldn't read her mind during the battle?"
Vanir nodded sadly. "Indeed. After determining that thou and that Goddess would be suitable enemies to fall in battle against without breaking my agreement with the Demon King, moi decided rifling through thine memories for delicious opportunities to shame thou in the future was a better use of moi's time than actually trying to control thee."
"Suitable?" Tanya parroted. Vanir nodded once more. "For all of that self-deluding Demon's faults, moi could not truthfully claim he is not crafty. Moi could not allow moiself to be killed by any 'undeserving' party. Moi had hoped a General would have been killed by now, giving moi the chance to commit assisted suicide! Without anyone Lucky enough to do so, moi decided visiting moi's old friend would be a worthwhile way to spend moi's time while waiting for someone to show promise."
He turned away from them, where they shared a look conveying slight exasperation with how much he was talking. "Wiz, thou were correct. Thine newest business partner is most interesting."
"Business partner?"
Wiz stepped forward. "Yes! It's wonderful, Vanir wants to build a dungeon of his own one day so that he can die the perfect death, so he's working here and helping me make money!"
Before Tanya could even formulate a reply, Vanir continued to speak. "Moi is not sure about thou, tiny adventurer. Thou's bringing of weapons from thine world to this one is bound to result in the death of far more humans than presently, but on the other hand, the industrial revolution will result in much longer lives and more humans! If living food can be mechanically harvested."
He busied himself with fixing the damage they'd done, weaving behind them and wiping away the marks they'd left on the door with a hand, the dents somehow erased. "Aren't Demons supposed to hate humanity?" Viktoriya asked, at the risk of delaying their lunch even more than it already had been.
"Does the farmer raising sheep for wool or cows for milk hate his livestock?" he asked rhetorically as he went to the counter with the register on it and picked the bullet out of the countertop.
He continued before they could respond to his comparing them to animals. "Now, moi shall convey to that Kazuma Satou that he shall be allowed to make products for this store."
"Do… we need a contract?" Tanya asked. Vanir waved a hand through the air flippantly. "If thou or that child requires one, moi can whip one up in a minute, but for thou, thine word is trustworthy enough for this Duke of Hell."
Viktoriya watched as Tanya opened his mouth, only to snap it shut and cast his eyes downwards, grip his chin, and then look back up to Vanir, his expression devoid of any lingering anger or shame. "If I needed help writing up a contract, would you be willing to lend me a hand?"
Vanir scoffed again. "But of course, but moi shall charge thee appropriately for the services of a Duke of Hell. What art thou thinking?"
He just smiled at him. "Oh, I'll tell you in the future, when I've got more concrete ideas."
Vanir scowled at him and stalked towards them. "Foul wretch. Vacate this store posthaste! Wiz shall be at thine party at the appointed time."
With that they were backed out of the store and the door was slammed in their face. Viktoriya blinked at the closed door and the silence of the interior before turning to give Tanya a look.
He did so at the same time "I doubt he's actually harmless, but it doesn't seem like he'll cause trouble…" he trailed off.
Viktoriya rolled her eyes as they began to walk away from the store. "Certainly not any more trouble than anyone else in town."
"Oh, definitely not. If he gets recognized there would be a panic, which limits what he can do, something Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin don't have to fear."
It said a lot about how insane their lives were that the enemy they'd just killed yesterday was unlikely to be the biggest annoyance they regularly encountered.
-OxOxO-
Lunch had been a more quiet affair than their earlier walk through the city, with the unpleasant encounter with Vanir hanging over their heads. By the time they'd made it to the police station to invite Gerrard, their spirits had been raised again.
He'd agreed to come, after which they had relaxed and meandered around the city. Tanya went on about the signs going up on every intersection and how, while it hadn't generated as much money as hoped, it had still managed to earn the town a profit that could be reinvested in infrastructure. They had stopped by a gambling den for a few rounds, most of which Viktoriya won handily, and then walked through one of Axel's parks and enjoyed nature without the need to complete a quest hanging over their heads.
"Ah shoot." Tanya sighed as he looked at her watch, and Viktoriya looked at her own.
3:00. They only had an hour left before the party. "Well, we can always look for a house later-"
"Nope."
Viktorya blinked, tilting her head at Tanya. "Well, it's going to take at least fifteen minutes to get to the Blonde Pixie," she began, a sly smile creeping onto her face, "Tanya, you aren't suggesting we skip the party after all the time we spent getting everyone together, are you?"
"Of course not," he replied, "We'll just fly."
Viktoriya's mouth opened, not able to reply because she hadn't been expecting that answer, and then she shouted in delight as Tanya grabbed her and took them up into the sky. Some small part of her still delighted at the feeling of wind whipping past her face, even after the war.
Being carried by Tanya certainly helped rekindle the feeling.
They slowed, and Viktoriya looked down to see Tanya looking up into her eyes. They hung there, suspended, their problems and troubles far, far away as they basked in the moment.
"I'd leave it all behind for you," Tanya declared unprompted, and Viktoriya's smile grew. "Don't say that. What about our friends?"
He shrugged. " I'd invite them along, if you wanted, if we could. But… I'd still do it. That- I know-"
He laughed and shook her head, breaking eye contact for a moment before looking into her eyes again. "Doing that, saying that and knowing I'm serious about it, part of me wonders how it happened, how I could value someone that much," he admitted, "but the rest of me… doesn't mind. We're partners, for now and forever. I love you, Visha. My… liebchen."
Viktoriya's already burning face grew even hotter. Somehow. "I love you too, Tanya."
They kept hanging there, for a moment, and even when Viktoriya thought he'd break eye contact, he didn't, so Viktoriya rested her chin on top of his head. "As much as I don't want this to end… shouldn't we start looking for a house?"
Tanya nodded, reluctancy obvious on his face, and they separated as Viktoriya spun up her Type 97. The began to fly downwards, with Tanya indicating a preference towards starting near the eastern gate so he could get a quick look at the Mobile Fortress Destroyer.
As they drifted down, side by side, Viktoriya glanced towards Tanya and grinned cheekily. She sped up and shoved Tanya's shoulder as she dove towards the ground. Her observation spells told her he had paused for a moment and was now racing after her.
They flew, chasing each other, playing cat and mouse, grinning the whole time. Tanya sped towards her, and Viktoriya jerked and jived, never able to shake her. Just as they nearly smacked into the ground, they stopped, drifting down the last few feet and then dropping a few inches into the plaza by the eastern gate.
They ignored the talking of the crowd around them and the looming corpse of the Mobile Fortress Destroyer, staring at each other for a long moment.
Then the moment faded, and they simultaneously broke the spell and began to look around. "Alright. What are we looking for in a house, anyway?" asked Viktoriya.
"Is 'a bedroom' too little?" Tanya asked glibly. Viktoriya rolled her eyes at that. "Well, we'll need somewhere to work, right? And considering how much paper we ended up signing, it'll have to be a big office. How about the kitchen?"
"Hmm. Nothing too big, but I'd like somewhere to experiment if I want to make anything for the Foundation."
They walked about, looking for anything resembling signs advertising the sale of property. They discussed whether they even wanted to bring work home, and that since Alderp's mansion had also been their center of government, maybe they should see if a more formal administrative center for the city could be constructed, preferably not inside their house.
They decided it would need to be in the east of town, where property prices were lower so far from the nobility's mansions, and that choosing somewhere specific for the center of government wouldn't matter much considering how many petitions Tanya had received advocating for the expansion of Axel in any number of directions.
They walked from house to house, not quite sure which was right. The hour blurred by Viktoriya.
"Visha…"
They were standing in one prospective property. It was nice and clean, like one might expect, and having three floors would mean plenty of room for them and their work if they did bring it home. Exactly how roomy was hard to tell, as a lot fewer people had options for storing their belongings or the money to begin mortgaging a separate property than in their own times.
"Yes, Tanya?"
"Should… we get married?"
Viktoriya jolted at that. She… well, she'd thought about the question, in the abstract, and pictured them together, but it had been a while since she'd done that, and she didn't really see the point, and-
"Um… really?" she asked before her thoughts could spiral any further, "Could we? Do you want to get married?"
Tanya shrugged at the questions. "There's nothing stopping us. I am a man, after all… but even if I wasn't, the… existence of the Axis Cult means that there are no legal barriers for humans to get married, even if the Eris Cult frowns on… unorthodox unions."
"It would cost plenty of money and time, but… we have plenty. Besides, there won't be a better time unless we want to wait until next year. With Vanir defeated, the Demon King is down a General, and a lot of Wolbach's forces were killed or hurt during the battle," he continued, pacing in the living room on the second floor of the building, already wearing a hole in the carpet.
Viktoriya smiled a little wider at the familiar sight.
"As for other considerations… it wouldn't really change anything, I suppose. It's not like it would reinforce our long term relationship more than everything else we're done and will do."
"On the other hand?" Viktoriya asked.
Tanya shrugged, more uncomfortably. "Well. Tax benefits-"
Viktoriya couldn't help the giggling that slipped out of her mouth as Tanya looked at her pleadingly. "Sorry, sorry."
Tanya pouted. "Other than tax benefits… well, considering I'm a few years over fourteen," he said, spitting the last word, "and I celebrated my age so openly, plenty of nobles probably want to marry their children to me."
Viktoriya's eyes narrowed. It was… immature, to think of Tanya's as her's, but she couldn't help it. Fending off advances from every noble near Axel and the king of Elroad would be exasperating, and the idea that others would doubt and test their commitment to each other until they got married-
"This… is this your proposal?" she asked.
Tanya blinked. "You- you want to-"
He immediately shook her head and cleared his throat. "Of course not. Don't worry. When do you want to do it?"
"Well… like you said, we've got an opening because it's winter. Within the month?"
Tanya nodded rapidly. "Yes, of course. We'll need a dress and a suit, unless we want to wear what we wore to my birthday party…"
He frowned severely. "We'll have to find a Priest willing to officiate the wedding."
Viktoriya opened her mouth to reply that they already knew a Priest, and then she immediately retracted that thought as Tanya rolled her eyes. "I'll invite her to the wedding, if she promises to behave, but to officiate it? She'd probably pull some party trick with the rings when we weren't looking," she grumbled.
Viktoriya chuckled, and they went back downstairs. The man selling the house drove a hard bargain, but the house was nice-
"I'll give you five million Eris as a bonus if you clear out before eight tonight."
The man's eyes flew open and he nodded rapidly. "No problem. Eris Bless you, Governor!"
Tanya ignored the last part of what he said and nodded in understanding as they left the building. "Let's get going, we're nearly out of time."
Viktoriya nodded, and as they both took off, Viktoriya asked, "Do we really have that much money?"
"Well… yes. Obviously. I killed Vanir and Lorelei helped kill Wolbach, so our party should be loaded."
"Should be?"
"It is, it is, I swear!" he shouted as they sped through and above Axel, dancing through the sky.
-OxOxO-
"Now, it is getting late, and we must return to our search for my lost familiar! With the cake gone, it is time for gifts!" Megumin declared. Everyone, having eaten their fill, agreed, and a storm of bright, multi-colored packages made their way onto the table.
No one had been late, besides Kazuma's group, though they did have reasons – Megumin had wanted to head back to the capital, and Yunyun wasn't sure if she was invited even though she wasn't part of Kazuma's party so they might not have known she was also in the mansion and-
Viktoriya had quickly invited her formally, which had almost caused the girl to burst out into tears. They'd invited them into the private room Bill had set aside, and they had all had a great time.
Poker between Kazuma and Viktoriya had been more even than their games of ett, considering the game was less influenced by Luck, and those with middling Luck had even bet on a few of their games to raise the stakes. However, the game between Aqua, Tanya, Dust, and Wiz had been legendary. All of them had absolutely terrible Luck, so no one had drawn anything higher than an eight and no better hand than three-of-a-kind. Aqua still complained about losing – when she did – even if nothing was on the line.
A few rounds of Karaoke – accomplished with some written transcripts of the songs available on the record player off to one side of the small room – had been just as fun, though Aqua had stolen the show by using buffs on herself… until she'd buffed all of them and they'd sang several songs perfectly.
Being in a bar, the alcohol had flowed freely – literally – and Bill allowed them to order whatever they wanted, including experimental drinks. Dust almost passed out in the first hour, Kazuma and Gerrard fared little better, and Megumin… in recognition of her loss, was allowed exactly one beer by Kazuma.
She had spat it out almost immediately, though her complaints about its taste 'massacring her Crimson Demon Palate' had faded when she'd actually gotten a bit drunk.
Of course, as it was a birthday party, they'd come to the triple chocolate cake, provided by Darkness's father, which had been demolished in short order, and then to the presents.
"Here, a gift befitting a fledgling Mage such as yourself," Megumin said, forking over her gift. "M- Megumin, don't be rude! You saw how powerful-"
Yunyun's words were cut off as she set her gift down. "And how much more powerful would they be if-"
"Thank you," Viktoriya said, cutting off the girls as she tore into the gifts. Yunyun's was much bigger, and significantly heavier, but she could guess what both were. Her eyes widened.
Megumin had given her a potions book, while Yunyun's was about advanced magic. She opened her mouth-
Megumin tore her gift back, and flipped open a few pages, pointing to writing in the margins. "Behold, this book even includes annotations on improvements for the listed recipes, inscribed there by its original owner! It was undoubtedly one of the most treasured possessions of an unfathomably skilled Archmage-"
"Um, Megumin, isn't this your-"
"SHUT UP!"
Yunyun flinched and pointed at her own book as Megumin set down her gift. "It- It's a book on Advanced Magic. It's got an in-depth explanation about all kinds of spells that most Archmages learn, so that, if you or Tanya ever see the spell in the future, you can learn it quickly!"
Viktoriya smiled. Very useful gifts, considering all of Alderp's books on magic had been incinerated. "Thank you both."
"I need no thanks from the flunky of my rival-"
"R- Really? You- You like my gift? Then, spending all my money was really worth it? Maybe we're really-"
Viktoriya rolled her eyes at Megumin's declaration and turned to Darkness. "Firstly," she began, handing over a ball of golden chains to Tanya. He tilted her head-
"Ah, the crest for the Degurechaff family! Thank you for its swift delivery, Darkness," Tanya said. It looked uncannily like the Silver Wings Assault Medal, though this one was made of gold – or some other metal gilded with gold. Darkness nodded, satisfied. "No problem. Thank you for officially registering your family with the nobility registry – now you can't deny it when I call you a noble!"
Tanya rolled his eyes as Darkness handed over Viktoriya's gift. It was rather thin, and-
"Oh, a receipt for more dragon steaks!"
Most of their guests cringed, while Megumin explained to Kazuma why that wasn't usually present people wanted.
"Ah, um… You whorish rube. This is sooooo bad. How dare you. Lalatina."
Darkness's expectant expression collapsed into apathy, until her face lit up scarlet as Viktoriya uttered her name. "D- Don't say my name! That isn't the kind of embarrassment I-"
"Lalatina! Lalatina! Lalatina!"
"Lalatina! Lalatina! Lalatina!"
"Lalatina! Lalatina! Lalatina!"
"Lalatina! Lalatina! Lalatina!"
Darkness began to pout as everyone around the table chanted her name. "W- Why do I never get the punishment I deserve as a Crusader!"
"Thank you, Darkness," Viktoriya said. She nodded and sniffled, and Viktoriya moved on, opening Kazuma's small present.
"A… what is this?"
"One of the Game Girls me and Tanya found in the bunker in the Crimson Demon Village! Be thankful, as this is a one of a kind item that you won't find anywhere else."
"…Game Girl?"
Kazuma blinked and then sighed. "It's a video game. Tanya should know the basics of it. The game is a very popular JRPG, so it should be entertaining for a long while."
Viktoriya nodded. "Thank you. Tanya hasn't talked about them much, but I always like trying new things."
Aqua… did not have a gift. "Sorry, we'll force her to get you something later-"
"Hmpf! Who cares about celebrating the day of your birth? Besides, I don't give gifts to people who aren't my followers!"
Everyone shared a collective sigh, but just as they turned to Wiz, Aqua muttered, "I guess, since you helped me purify Alcanretia…"
She perked up as everyone's gaze came back to her. "Ah, Tanya got her 'thing' back, right? Would you like a fertility blessing? Or, Tanya, would you like a virility blessing?"
"'Thing?'"
"No!"
"'Virility?'"
"No!"
"You know that kind of magic?"
"Ew, no," Aqua said, responding to Kazuma's question, "but the new head of the Axis Cult in Axel does!"
That hung in the air for a moment. "Should I-" Dust began.
"No." Tanya ordered. Viktoriya, at the same moment, looked around the room.
Wiz knew, either the same way the Succubi had figured it out or because Vanir had revealed as much.
Kazuma's party and Lorelei already knew.
Aya, Takashi, and Shizuka knew by dint of her memories in Takashi's head.
Which meant only Taylor's party, Gerrard, and Yunyun, if Kazuma's party hadn't said anything, didn't know…
"Tanya? Considering most of the people here already know…"
Tanya blinked and looked around, and then he sighed. "Fine. It isn't likely to stay secret for long with so many people in the know anyway."
So Dust explained to his party, and the other two, while Viktoriya responded more eloquently to Aqua's offer. "Eh, no, Aqua. We're good."
Aqua shrugged. "Fine. I'll just draw you a picture then," she said, pulling out a piece of paper and a colored pencil set that looked startlingly modern out from behind her back, somehow.
"YOU'RE WHAT?!"
Those who now knew were looking at Tanya in surprise, while Gerrard had let out the exclamation.
"Yes. Is that a problem?" he asked. Gerrard cleared his throat at the carefully blank expression on Tanya's face. "Er, no. Of course not, Governor. Honestly, that is nothing compared to some of Axel's nobles."
Tanya's eyes narrowed, for a moment, and then he shrugged. "Ok. Wiz?"
Everyone's gaze moved on to Wiz, who handed over her gift. "Ah, I didn't have time to wrap it. V- I mean, our new associate suggested this gift, and considering how much you guys like to travel, I figured it would come in handy," she said, handing over a handful of premium travel brochures and vouchers that could take to locations all across Belzerg and even into most of Belzerg's neighbors.
"Wiz… thank you so much!" Viktoriya said. "These must have been expensive. Are you sure-"
"Of course!" she said. "You two have helped my shop so much… and, the new associate pitched in to help get it and said that you two would appreciate having it in the near future."
Viktoriya's eyes narrowed. Was that a threat? "Did he, now?"
Wiz blinked, her eyes widening, and she became flustered. "Oh! Um… well, he's usually got a sense for those sorts of things. I'm sure he's only trying to be helpful! Of course, now that I think about it, he also probably benefits somehow-"
Tanya interjected. "Thank you, Wiz, and pass on our thanks to your new associate."
She beamed, and Tanya gave Viktoriya's hand a squeeze. Viktoriya shrugged internally and decided Tanya must know something she didn't know about Vanir. She'd ask later.
Gerrard's gift was very useful – one of he truth-telling bell's, along with a manual. They wouldn't have to come ask the police for one anymore, and the manual gave instructions on verbal interrogation techniques… though he expressed doubt that it said anything they didn't already know, considering how skilled and traveled they seemed to be.
When Bill checked in on them, he gave them several cases of alcohol – lots of wine, plenty of experimental stuff, as well as a few bottles of well-known vintages that were well known and very expensive.
"…And done!" Aqua declared. Everyone turned back to her-
Stunned silence strangled the atmosphere as they looked at the drawing Aqua had made – it was photorealistic, except Viktoriya knew that the cameras from here weren't this detailed. It looked like a photorealistic picture of Viktoriya and Tanya, sleeping and cuddled up next to each other, sitting underneath a vibrant green tree in the middle of a field in spring or summer.
They looked so… peaceful.
"Aqua… thank you."
"Aw, no problem! You guys might be scary sometimes, but you're almost as awesome as my followers most of the time!"
Coming from anyone else at any other time, being called 'lower than an Axis Cultist' would have been seen as a grave insult worth fighting someone over.
"Hey, how come you tell them that, but you insult me all the time?"
"Hmpf! They don't make me clean the toilets."
"They're your chores – and besides, didn't they make us leave Alcanretia the second time without even getting a chance to stop?"
"Oh yeah, I guess they did."
"Goddess of goldfish, that's who you are."
"You NEET! Quit bad mouthing me! I'm not a Goddess of goldfish, not that I know why that's even bad, but you're saying it like an insult, so of course I'm not! You beat off right next to a woman while you thought she was asleep! You pervert!"
Kazuma's party soon bowed out, spurred on by Megumin's insistence that they needed to look for Wolbach. Tanya and Viktoriya told her they'd help them look one of the days they were out that week, and the melancholic malaise that hadn't left Megumin, even when she'd finally been allowed to try alcohol and had given her her gift, lifted for just a second.
Before Aqua left, though, Tanya grabbed her and pulled her down to her level, whispering while gesturing to the cases of alcohol Bill had dropped off. Aqua nodded rapidly and thanked him as she closed the door.
Taylor's party got them less extravagant stuff. Taylor, Keith, and Lynn gave him new fashionable clothes, with Lynn going on about them while the boys just looked on, not having a clue what she was talking about. Dust, on the other hand, gave him two coupons for 'Axel's Dragon Market,' and loudly thanked Tanya for teaching him how to work with dragons so well.
"I didn't know you could be so responsible, Dust," Lynn commented. He grinned back at her, clearly incredibly drunk. "Well, I wanted free booze, so of course I gave her whatever was in my pocket and came up with a good story."
She berated him while the next presents came out. Aya and Takashi had worked together to get her some clothes from her first life – a faithful recreation of an ushanka, and a sized up version of Tanya's little red dress.
Both her partymates had grumbled at seeing the clothes she was getting – Lorelei claimed she could make them better, while Tanya wanted nothing to do with the dress, not even if it wasn't for him.
Then it was Shizuka's turn.
"Um," she began, "I think you two will really like it, but… you shouldn't open it until you get home!" she declared. Her partymates ruffled her hair, and she balked at the treatment, but something in her eyes made Viktoriya think the gift wasn't as innocent as it seemed.
"Open it up," Lorelei said to the unassuming package she'd bought. "I know I helped you get that thing in Alcanretia, but I got you a gift as well."
Viktoriya blinked at that, looking up at her. Right, she still had her gift to Tanya to show her – of course she hadn't shown it off yet – in return for the ring Tanya hadn't given her yet.
The reason she remembered that was that Viktoriya's gift was not, exactly, something she'd want to show other people, and the way Lorelei had stressed 'Alcanretia' gave her a bad feeling she wouldn't want to show this either.
She opened her mouth. "L- Lorelei, is this maybe something I don't want to open until later?"
Lorelei blinked innocently down at Viktoriya. "No. Why?"
Ah. Viktoriya's eyes flicked to Tanya. She could just refuse to open it, but then Tanya would wonder what they'd gotten into, and she really wanted the gift to be a surprise, so-
It… was a book.
Only, unlike the other two, it was not richly decorated with elements of what the book contained, because the title of the book was '5 rules, 50 scenarios, and 500 positions for the most sex-obsessed Axis Cultist.'
The rest of the table chuckled at her expense, and Lorelei smirked. "Got ya! Just a gag gift. Open it."
Viktoriya and Tanya's twin blushes only deepened as Lorelei went on. "With a title like that, of course the Axis Cult just filled a book with hundreds of pages of Axis Cult registration forms promising the reader they could get the real deal if they filled one out and brought it to one of their churches."
The rest of the table ridiculed her for pulling the prank, while she defended herself by saying it hadn't been done to them yet.
Of course, the heavy blushes were not over the pages of recruitment forms, but at the items inside the book, because there were a dozen condoms sitting just inside the cover.
'Thought you might forget these in your rush. Now you never will!'
"I'll make the modern ones later this week," Tanya whispered to her. Viktoriya just nodded slowly as she shut the book with a snap and tried not to glare daggers into Lorelei's smug fucking face. Viktoriya hadn't ever seen a condom before, so she had no idea what Tanya thought they should look like, or why he thought modern ones were better, but-
"Very amusing, Lorelei."
Lorelei nodded her head, smirking, reveling in her shame. "That just leaves-"
Tanya got up from her chair, nervousness displayed on his face. His fists were balled up, and he was staring into Viktoriya's eyes.
Then he collapsed to one knee, and reached into her pocket.
"When I thought of getting these rings, I didn't really consider what… it might look like. Giving you a ring and wearing a matching one. It was just… me looking out for you. We both needed all the Luck, alcohol tolerance, and blood loss prevention we could get."
Viktoriya couldn't believe it. Now? Hours after he'd floated the idea? It was Tanya, so he'd probably been thinking about it for a while, but so soon-
"Visha, we've known each other for most of a decade, and I wished I could tell you how I felt for several of the past few years, not realizing you felt the same way. Now that I know, and we're together…"
His love rambled on. "I want to make up for lost time. I want to show the world. I want to hold you close, no matter what. Viktoriya, I want to marry you."
She breathed as his worried expression was replaced with a nervous smile. He opened his hand to reveal a pair of radiant rings. It was gold, just like the one on Tanya's finger, but unlike the blue, white, and red gems set on the top of the ring in a row, the four were set equidistant from each other, the purple and white gems and the pair of red gems set across from each other. They were beautiful-
"Viktoriya, will you marry me?"
"Yes! Of course!" She didn't even have to think.
Clapping erupted around them, and they both jolted – right, they had an audience – and Dust even whistled loudly, his drunkenness seemingly gone.
Tanya smiled at Viktoriya, bashful, something she never would have thought Tanya von Degurechaff was capable of, as he slipped the ring onto her finger.
The party quickly wound down, with Tanya and Viktoriya picking up her gifts and telling Bill their new address for the cases of alcohol to be delivered to – after giving their friends a chance to take their pick.
Then, they strolled home, practically glowing in the wake of her party. It-
She knew it didn't mean much, getting married. They were already going to be by each other's side for the rest of their lives-
Somehow, though, it still did matter. Their hands locked together, grinning like loons as they trekked back to the house – their house – unwilling to feel the pressures that would come with tomorrow.
Wolbach. The Demon King. Being X. Fixing and running the town.
Viktoriya could take on them all. And win.
As they passed into their house, Viktoriya smelled a mix of water lilies and the sea for just a moment, and then it was gone and they both looked at each other.
The high of Tanya's proposal had transformed into something else: anticipation.
"Your bed is on the right on the second floor. I'm on the left."
Both jolted and spun, staring at Lorelei, who was panting hard at the top of the stairwell. "How-"
"Well, someone had to sign for the beds I wanted delivered so I could sleep on something other than the ground," she replied instantly. Tanya and Viktoriya laughed sheepishly – neither would have minded something like a futon or even a hammock for sleeping, considering the cramped conditions on the wagon they'd rode to the Crimson Demon Village, but-
"Thanks, Lorelei," Tanya said, and Viktoriya nodded. She smiled. "No worries. I'll keep watch for 'that problem' you explained last night."
They both nodded as she sat down in one of the threadbare rooms on the ground floor. They set their gifts and other things down next to her. "Mind if I…?" she said, gesturing towards the Game Girl.
Viktoriya shrugged. "Knock yourself out." They turned towards the stairs-
"Oh, wait, Shizuka's gift!" Viktoriya remembered, and took out the still-wrapped gift. She tore into it, and the trio stared at the objects in the box.
"Freshly harvested strawberries…?"
"And chocolate syrup?"
"Whipped cream? Who gives a tub of that as-"
Lorelei's confusion was cut off as she turned to find Viktoriya and Tanya staring knowingly at each other.
Tanya rushed for the stairs.
"Wait!"
Viktoriya could barely bring herself to tell him to wait, but she did and he stopped, an inquiring eyebrow raised and an insistent look on his face. "I… got you a gift. In Alcanretia."
"Oh yeah. What was-" Tanya started, but then she looked between Lorelei and Viktoriya and the gift their teammate had gotten Viktoriya and what was in the book and-
"What… is it?" He asked.
Viktoriya gave him a small smile. "How about you wait, and I'll go up first?"
Tanya licked his lips and stood aside. "Ok." He nodded, for probably the first time, dumbly as Viktoriya passed, the strawberries and chocolate syrup and the whipped cream and the book with Lorelei's gift in it held in Viktoriya's arms. Viktoriya hoped the way she swayed her hips caught his eye.
She closed the door slowly and rushed into the room, frantically throwing off her clothes. "Elya, I wish you were here to give me advice! I don't want to…"
But she didn't voice her worries and instead went about making herself ready.
-OxOxO-
Literally nothing he had ever done had given him this much anxiety. Full stop. Not the thought of having to fight an increasingly powerful Bloody Valkyrie, not the thought of having to lead the Kampfgruppe. Nothing.
That communist bastard didn't count, because his anxiety had quickly been replaced with dread in that case.
He banished the thought of the bastard and anyone and everything else. He was practically vibrating as he stood stock still, waiting to see the gift. He knew what it was. No, he could guess, but he didn't know. Oh, but he knew-
His mind was running wild at the possibilities.
"Tanya? It's ready."
The voice called to him. He responded.
The Type 97 was pushed to its limit in an instant as he literally flew up the stairs, pivoted around the banister, and rolled into the slightly ajar door on the right. Few mages could have pulled it off in the Empire, but he'd done it in an instant.
He stopped and jumped up, eyes devouring the room in an instant.
His breath hitched. Was… was he still breathing? Had his heart stopped?
Maybe it had. His eyes kept looking over every inch of Viktoriya, sure that it would start again as he did.
Lingerie. Bright red lingerie.
Two strips of sheer cloth arced up her legs, to her waist, before disappearing behind her back, accentuating the length of her legs, the cloth originating from her-
The complicated web of lace and cloth encircling her legs, spider-webbing from point to point, barely covering an inch of her skin and yet leaving bare her-
Her shoulders and arms naked, like the rest of her, the red lace too entrapped her chest, the subtle lines and gaps in the lingerie pointing towards her exposed-
Hardly an inch of her was uncovered, as she reclined on the bed, everything on clear display, just begging-
Inexorably, Tanya's gaze was drawn to Viktoriya's face, to the desire unhidden, inviting him to draw closer, and to her shining eyes.
Never before had Tanya been as sure as he was in that moment that he could see past her poker face. In the beautiful lines on her face, to the muscles beneath her skin, to the depths of her eyes. He saw her brief hesitation, her nervousness, her uncertainty.
"You are beautiful."
The hesitation disappeared.
"Tanya, please!"
His knees bent only slightly, and his clothing flew off of him – not literally, in that his pants flew down and his shirt flew up.
No, his shirt was ripped apart with magic, the front flying into the closed curtains behind the bed, the back flying into the open hallway, and the sleeves rocketing off to the sides of the barren room. His pants ripped themselves apart, his underwear flew to the ground.
"Tanya-"
He leaped into the air, cleared the bedside table, and descended.
"T- Tanya! The- what about the strawberries and the chocolate and-"
"Fuck the gifts! You're the only thing I need right now!"
"Oh-!"
-OxOxO-
"God…" Mitsurugi sighed, tired. He was running out of time.
He had to kill them. He had to.
They'll kill me. Kill everyone like me. Kill anyone who threatens their power. They'll sell us out to the Demon King. She must die.
"Erm… Mitsurugi? Are you-"
"No."
He cut off the armor. He had to do it. Every day he waited was another chance for them to do him in.
"I'm feeling like you don't understand my power. I protect against all skills and magic. What do you have to fear-"
"EVERYTHING! I can't beat them alone – you saw what they did! What she did! Do you think you can take a hit like that?! And who knows what-"
"Well, all magic is all magic. It would probably hurt, but I could survive it."
Kyouya stopped, and nodded to himself. "Yes, I shouldn't doubt you. You're invincible, after all. I can't do this alone, without people like you, like my teammates…"
He trailed off, nodding rapidly to himself. Yes, help. No one in the town would believe them – he knew the future, and nothing he said could convince them. They'd been deluded.
Outside the town. Who would help him kill her? The Demon King-
He winced. Something inside of him rebelled at the idea of trying to beg the enemy he'd been fighting for years for help. That… he couldn't do that.
No, if not the Demon King, then who would want a Governor removed?
It took him a few moments of pacing in the large space the guild had bought for the soon-to-be arena, but he thought of it. He'd seen a quest begging for strong adventurers to travel south, to the eastern delta. Crime had always flourished there, so far from the capital and away from the frontlines, but a new crime organization was flourishing in the northern reaches of the river system, consolidating its gains.
He nodded to himself. He'd tell the girls to train with him gone, Teleport south, and see if he could get in contact with this organization.
Even Degurechaff's seemingly benign actions, like ensuring a lower crime rate and cracking down on corruption, were just a smokescreen. They were a charm offensive to hide just how far her vile tendrils were reaching into Axel. He'd help the criminals, pay them, and enlist their aid.
And then, he would execute her, and her catspaw, and anyone else who she'd spread her ideas to.
He nodded to himself. Yes, the blight against Eris would soon be gone.
-OxOxO-
This was worse than Heaven.
This was literally worse than Heaven.
If she was sent to Heaven, that was fine, as long as this ended.
She banged on the door, even as her hands began to blister. It wasn't possible.
They couldn't feel a thing. Nothing. They'd shadowed the pair, and felt as their desire and lust and passion built and built and built until they'd rushed home, anticipation for finally having sex building, and then they'd entered this building and it was gone.
Finally, someone answered the door. "Ah, my apologies, I couldn't hear you over-"
"Lorelei, why can't we feel anything," Lolisa demanded. A horde of robed figures stood behind her – they'd shut down the entire shop just for this, for tonight. For right fucking now, because she could hear lurid moans and the shaking of the bed upstairs and she still couldn't feel an ounce of fucking LUST!
Lorelei glowered at them. "Yeah. They didn't appreciate you giving Viktoriya dreams while they were at the Crimson Demon Village. Among other things."
Lolisa went white as her compatriots glared at her. No. It was her fault? It couldn't be.
It couldn't be her fault.
"I- It was Kazuma's fault! He said maybe it would get them to do it early!"
She clawed at any excuse. It couldn't be.
The best meal of their lives. They could hear it, but they couldn't eat.
Her fellow Succubi whispered sweet promises of retribution into her ears for a few moments – tantalizing, agonizing moments – and then turned back to Lorelei. "Where the hell did you get a barrier like this? It wasn't here earlier!"
Lorelei shrugged. "Aqua, Kazuma's Archpriest, did it for six bottles of premium bubbly."
Those words hung in the air.
Then they begged.
"Please, get rid of them. Just wipe away the chalk. We have to get in-"
Lorelei shrugged unhappily. "Hey, I'm not any happier here. I have to sit here and listen to that," she said, pointing up to where the sweet scintillating sex was going on, "and make sure you don't get in. And tell people to go away if they've got noise complaints… though, I don't think there'll be any, considering how much soundproofing I put in that room."
Receptionist Succubus stepped forward. "Lorelei. Please. Anything. We'll give you anything-"
"I'm not stupid, and they've got more money than you. Besides, considering how I delivered Tanya's condoms to them, I'm sure this is now revenge on me too."
Lorelei seemingly noticed for the first time just how many of them looked absolutely heartbroken, a sea of glistening tears staring up at her.
Lorelei shrugged, unfazed. "Not that I blame them. They've already got a problem with God paying too much attention to Tanya, I don't think I'd be happy knowing you all were watching too." She began to close the door.
"No, wait, just a description."
The door hung open for a second. "Well, they were incredibly enthusiastic at first – like in the plays where two people sworn to celibacy fall in love – but things got awkward fast, and now they're-"
She was cut off by another moan, and Lorelei's ears flattened against her head as she scowled. "If you want to talk to her about it," she said as the door inched further closed, "we'll probably be around… eventually. Not tonight, though."
The door shut, and the collective cry of dozens of Succubi went up into the night.
-OxOxO-
A/N 1: Sorry for the late upload, I was surprisingly busy this weekend.
A/N 2: And there it is! I tried something new with this chapter and had most of the perspective focus on Viktoriya, considering it's her birthday. I feel like a lot of the time the focus is on Tanya too much in the scenes she's in – despite this being her story.
Also, my apologies for those who were expecting it, but there will not be any explicit sex in this story. Obviously, I haven't experienced a lot of the things I write about, but this is the instance where I will say that I won't write about something without gaining that experience first.
If the buildup was corny, it probably was. I might end up changing things in the eventual edit I'll give the entire story when I finish it, one day.
As always, I'm trying my best, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
A/N 3: I just realized I could've had Lorelei displaying how she feels with her ears this whole time. Bruh.
A/N 4: If you'd like to donate to support me monetarily, search for Sugarcane Soldier on the website of the Patrons.
A/N 5: Thank you to WarmasterOku, Afforess, and UNSC_Kawakaze for supporting this story and everything else I write.
