It was late morning the day after I had told Asuna she was bait, and I was sitting down on top of the bedrolls, my back pressed against the cool stone wall, doing my normal mana exercise. The more I practiced with my magic, the more I realized that it wasn't as simple as just having a pool of mana.

Mages such as my Template produced their magic power from an organ known as a Linker Core. The show never really got deep into how that worked exactly, really only acknowledging it for when it was drained by the Tome of the Night Sky, or when it was injured.

At first I assumed it was more or less a receptacle for magic power. And it might be, considering I could run low on magical power still. But it wasn't just that. In fact, I was starting to view it as more of a muscle than a pool.

Stamina is a common resource in video games, generally being one that regenerates quickly. It's more about limiting what you can do in a very short time span than a long one. But in real life, that's not quite how it works. You can expend all of your energy, but it will take some time to rest to get it back. With a short rest, you get most of it back, but you tire out even faster. You need a long rest, preferably sleep, in order to reach your maximum endurance back.

My magic worked a lot like that. There was a soft cap on how much magic I could channel, just like there was a limit on how much weight I could lift. And it felt very similar in that I had to work to push out more. There wasn't a risk of 'burning out' by drawing too much, like some other magic systems I had heard of, though I was pretty sure I could still injure myself by trying to do more than I could handle.

Still, the point was that my Linker Core didn't just have a magic capacity that I could drain to empty and then wait to refill. I needed to rest, to eat, to fill it back up. But just like with your muscles, the act of using my magic, of tiring out my Linker Core, was sufficient to help train it to be stronger. I could increase both my endurance and my maximum output like that.

So while I spent the time between lunch and dinner doing mental simulations of recorded Ancient Belkan battles to better acquaint myself with my magic, I spent my morning cycling my mana through the Tome.

It wasn't doing anything, in fact it was pretty much going to waste. But in terms of training my Linker Core, it was very efficient. My simulator time was very important due to just how many spells I had access to and the need to ingrain them into my reflexes, but that was a live fire situation.

To once more compare it to muscles, the simulator was like a boxer or an athlete doing a practice match. Their muscles were worked out in a way that matched the actual thing, but it was more about practicing their skills and habits. Running my mana through the Tome was more akin to working out in a gym, with weighted equipment. It was focused purely on improving performance, and it did a much better job in just that regard.

But unlike weight training, it took almost no mental focus, and I could do other things at the same time. My eyes wandered across the room before settling on my loyal succubus.

"Maria?" She looked up from the book she was reading. I beckoned her over, and she stood up and walked over to me.

"Yes, Master?"

I looked up at her with a grin. "Strip."

She shivered and smiled before pulling her dress over her head. She wasn't wearing a bra, so that simple act of disrobing left her in nothing but stockings, not even a pair of panties to protect her modesty. But they weren't the same pair of stockings that I had torn.

"Are those new?" I asked, eyeing them. While she was dressed, they looked like normal stockings. But in reality, they were crotchless, not unlike a pair of chaps, with a frilly hem outlining the opening to her crotch and ass.

"Yes! Unfortunately, stockings don't tend to last very long when you rip them, especially when you do such vigorous things while wearing them," she explained. "They finally fell apart this morning, so I put on one of the new ones I got when we went clothes shopping. I thought you would appreciate it."

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Asuna across the room noticing what was happening. She had a book in hand as well, but she quickly put it down and reached for a handheld game console next to her, which had a pair of headphones plugged into it. She immediately put them in her ears and turned away so she couldn't see us.

I grinned in amusement before turning my attention back to Maria, who was waiting patiently. "It's certainly more convenient I suppose. It lacks the appeal of the torn look, but this has its own charm as well."

"I bought a bunch of normal pantyhose that you can rip if you want."

I grinned. "Good girl. But for now, take them off. I want to see you completely nude."

She didn't hesitate a single moment to grab the hem of her pantyhose and bend down, pulling them down and off her legs. She carefully folded them up and placed them on top of her dress on the ground next to her, which was also folded up neatly. Finally, she stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips, presenting her nude form before me.

While I was hardly an expert of the female form, Maria was beautiful in a way that seemed unique. I mostly just chalked it up to her nature as a succubus, made obvious by her leather tail, the tip of ending in a circle and point that looked very much like the planetary symbol for Mars.

She was fairly small, all things considered, though it was strange to call her that when we were the exact same height. Our proportions were fairly similar too, though Maria was curvy in a way I never would be. Not to say she was very curvy, most would consider her a young girl still developing, but her mother was even smaller than her, so I knew she was just the loli model of succubus.

Her long white hair hung freely to about halfway down her back save for the two small twintails she had on either side, tied off with black ball-shaped accessories. One had the male symbol on it in pink, while the other had the female symbol in the same color, and each had a pink ribbon attached to it. Her bangs were cut flat to cover her forehead, framing her purple eyes.

She was all smooth pale skin and sensual charm, thin with just the barest hint of muscle definition. Her boobs were petite but distinct mounds topped by two already hard rosy pink nipples. There was a definitive feminine curve from her chest to her waist to her hips and her crotch was hairless, letting me clearly see her pussy between her slightly parted legs.

I gestured her closer, and she stepped over my legs, straddling me. I grabbed hold of her ass, which wasn't particularly large but had more than enough mass for me to sink my fingers into, and pulled her crotch closer to me. It was perfectly level with my head, and I wanted a closer look.

She shivered again as I parted her folds, small strands of her arousal clinging to her lower lips, causing them to glisten even in the low light. I could see her holes, which seemed to clench in anticipation. I also spotted her clit, slowly engorging with blood as she grew more aroused.

"I never did reward you for your work in SAO, did I?" I commented, my breath no doubt tickling Maria's pussy.

"Just seeing your work and skill was enough of a reward, Master," Maria said. Her breathing was slowly growing heavier. "I am more than satisfied just staying by your side, witnessing your deeds."

I hummed. "I suppose that's true. Then just consider this a bit of a bonus." I leaned forward ever so slightly and ran my tongue up her length, digging into the slick folds of skin and ending by brushing against her clit. She moaned, placing her hands on the wall to help support herself.

This wasn't the first time I had eaten her out, there wasn't much that we hadn't tried in that first boring week, besides things that needed toys or other equipment. But I had only done it once, and now that I had Asuna's to compare it to, I realized just how strange the taste of her was. Sweet and intoxicating, almost like alcohol but without the burn. I felt my cock, which had been slowly stiffening from my examination of her body, grow to its full arousal in just a few seconds after sampling her essence.

"Succubi are the best," I commented before going down in earnest. I lapped at her folds, tongue exploring every nook and cranny as I encouraged her to secrete more and more of her girl cum. It didn't take much, and soon she was practically gushing. I could feel it trickling down my chin as I feasted on her pussy.

My hands were filled with her soft flesh, her moans bounced off the walls and into my ears, my tongue and nose were overwhelmed by her arousal, and my eyes saw nothing but her delicate pink pussy and the creamy skin of her groin.

She whined. "Please, Master, I want it."

I pulled back slightly, face wet. "Want what?"

"I want your big juicy cock in my pussy!"

I chuckled. "Well, since you asked so nicely." I let go of her and flipped my skirt up completely, though it had done little to hide my erection. "Go ahead."

She practically slammed herself down on my lap, barely taking time to line it up before impaling her cunt on my cock. She instantly orgasmed and let out a cry of pleasure so loud that Asuna couldn't stop herself from looking over at us before turning away again, blushing.

I waited patiently for her to recover, satisfaction bubbling up inside of my chest. I watched the way her chest heaved with every breath, her modest breasts rising and falling. I felt the way her lower half twitched and shuddered, and her hands gripping onto my shoulders. All because of me.

I bent my head forward and took one of her nipples into my mouth, biting on it lightly. She let out a low moan. I used my free hand to pinch her other nipple, playing with them and teasing her.

After a few moments of this, she started gyrating her hips, grinding her crotch against mine and shifting my cock within her folds. I let go of her nipples, leaning back again so I could let out an appreciative groan as she moved.

I let her do most of the work as I leaned back and enjoyed it. She panted as she moved on my lap, starting to move up and down as she rode me, occasionally letting out a moan as she had a series of small orgasms. Her succubus body was extremely sensitive, and that was only pushed further by Sticky Fingers.

It didn't take too long for me to reach my own climax. As I felt the pressure welling up inside of me, I put a hand on the back of her head and pulled her face towards mine, capturing her lips and kissing her. Our tongues intertwined as I came, filling her depths with my seed.

I let go of her and she panted, catching her breath as she pulled back. "So warm," she crooned, glancing down between us. "I love the feeling of you filling me up like this."

"Good, because I want you to sit here like this," I replied in a whisper. "I want to have a quiet word with you, while Asuna is trying her hardest not to pay attention to us."

"Ooh, a secret chat?" She seemed excited about the idea. She shifted her weight, settling more of it onto my lap and leaning forward against me, her chin on my shoulder. "What about her?" she whispered back, her breath tickling my ear.

"I wanted your opinion on how she's doing," I said. "I'm pretty sure I have a good read on her, but I'd like to hear your thoughts as a succubus without metaknowledge."

"Hmm," she hummed as she thought about it. I could feel her inner walls squeezing around my shaft, moving slightly despite her staying still. "That depends on what you want her to be. What do you plan on making her become?"

"My lieutenant," I answered easily. "The second to last boss, the final barrier between the heroes and me, the first among the other floor bosses. She's smart and skilled, and I want that working for me, utterly loyal and devoted."

"In that case, things are going well I think," Maria responded. She shifted her head a bit to glance at Asuna, who was still turned away from us with headphones in her ears, before turning back. "You've broken her resistance. Now you just need to build up her loyalty."

That was my thought as well, but I wanted to be sure. "You think so?" I feigned disagreement. "You don't think I should break her down a bit more?"

"Not if you want to keep her intact," Maria said sternly. "If all you wanted was to turn her into a fucktoy, sure. And I personally think that would be a lot of fun. But if you go any further, she'll start to break in ways that are a lot harder to fix and that will reduce her ability to serve you as you wish. You need to make her love you."

I smiled. It was good to have an underling who would give me their true thoughts, even when it seemed to contradict my own. "I suppose you're right," I 'admitted'. "How do you think I should do that then? I have some ideas but I want your expert opinion."

"Ooh, I have so many ideas," she said. She started shifting her hips again, perhaps subconsciously at first but then clearly getting into it. But she didn't escalate it, just slowly gyrated with a sly smile on her face, slowly and sensually stimulating the both of us. "First, I think you should stop having sex with her."

I raised an eyebrow. I had told the truth, I had multiple ideas on how to manipulate Asuna into liking me, but most of them had to do with ways to abuse the Lures I had purchased, one of which was Sticky Fingers. But her suggestion wasn't one of them, and it was unexpected coming from the literal succubus. "Why?" I asked, confused but trusting.

"Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'? We succubi have a similar saying, 'Abstinence makes the pleasure better'. Right now Asuna thinks of sex as a chore. Oh, she enjoys it, there's no way she couldn't. But she won't admit it. But now that she's used to it… taking it away is going to leave her with a hole, an itch she can't, and won't, scratch."

"And so when I do fuck her again, the experience will feel so much stronger that she can't help but to admit she wanted it," I concluded, seeing where the logic lead. "Or maybe I can even hold out until she begs for it."

"We'll have to play it by ear, see how she reacts," Maria agreed. "But essentially, yes. You've given her a taste, and she's hooked. Now you need to make her realize just how hooked she is by taking it away." Maria grinned, and I felt her inner walls clench around my cock. "And if you need some relief, I'll always be here to provide."

I noticed Asuna, who was I keeping an eye on, glance over at us, clearly wondering if we were done. We had gone quiet after all. She saw us, and made eye contact with me, before blushing again and looking away once more. I grinned, and decided to give Maria a good slap on the ass, the sound of the spank echoing through the small room, followed immediately by a surprised yelp.

Asuna tensed, but didn't look again, so I shifted most of my attention back to Maria. "And that's just a bonus, right? You're not suggesting this just so you get more of my time?"

"I would never put my own goals before yours," Maria replied earnestly, almost hurriedly. She wasn't nervous, but I got the impression that it was important to her that I understood her. "In fact, I think I prefer watching, prefer helping you twist girls into your sexy harem. I've always been more of a supportive type of girl rather than the kind that takes center stage."

"I suppose that's true," I admitted. It fit with what I knew of her, and I hadn't really suspected her of playing those kinds of games. But it was nice to confirm these kinds of things every now and then.

Just then my stomach gurgled, interrupting the moment and reminding me I was hungry. I paused before laughing. "Guess I worked up an appetite," I admitted. "That's good timing though. I have an idea. Go ahead and get up."

Maria nodded and shifted so she could get her feet underself before standing up. My cock slid out of her tight and hot grip, sending a gentle arc of pleasure through me. But not a single drop of my cum followed it out.

"What's the plan?" Maria asked, still whispering.

"Don't worry about it, just make sure you give it your all," I told her as I stood up. I made my way over to the cupboard we had purchased and shoved against a wall and sifted through it until I found the skirt I wanted. It looked a lot like the one I was currently wearing, but it was shorter. Too short to avoid revealing myself, which is why I didn't typically wear it. But that was what I wanted.

I quickly put it on. As I did, I saw that Maria had gotten dressed again as well. I could have ordered both of them to just be naked all of the time, but honestly I didn't want that. Clothes made girls look even cuter, and besides, with the chilly stone surrounding us, you wanted at least a layer on for comfort.

Dressed, I stepped up behind Asuna and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped up like I had shocked her, nearly dropping the game console as she twisted to look at me in surprise.

I smiled at her as if she hadn't over reacted. "We're done now, you can take out the headphones."

A series of emotions flashed over her face, almost too fast to see. Embarrassment, annoyance, and confusion were among them, though she quickly hid it behind a stone mask and simply nodded as she took the earplugs out.

I straightened up and kept talking. "It's getting to lunch time too, and I had a fun idea. I was thinking about your avatars, and how you should have all of your in-game skills, right? And I remembered that you just so happened to max out your Cooking skill in SAO, didn't you?"

Asuna grimaced. "I did…" she admitted hesitantly.

"Maria's been a pretty good cook, but I'm curious about how it compares to that," I said. "So I had a fun idea. Why don't the two of you have a cooking competition? With me as the judge of course."

There was a hint of annoyance in her eyes that she couldn't hide, but she just sighed and stood up. "If that is what you want," she said.

"Sounds fun!" Maria replied cheerfully.

"But I really want both of you to try your best," I continued, causing them both to pause and look at me. "So I think I'll add in a reward for the winner. They can make a single request of me."

Maria grinned, but Asuna perked up and stared at me. "Any request?"

"No, not anything. And if it's something I don't want to do, I'll deny it and you'll lose your chance. But… let's just say I'm feeling a bit more generous than usual." I grinned.

I could see the gears turning in her head, but more importantly, I could see the motivation she had to win now. "What other rules?" she asked.

"None," I said. "You'll have to cook one at a time though, there's not enough equipment for both of you. Maria, you can go first since you were just helping me out."

Asuna's expression showed just a hint of annoyance, but she didn't protest as Maria grabbed the cooking apron and put it on. She turned away instead and sat back down against the wall. It would be something of a wait, especially if Maria was giving it her full effort.

I grabbed a snack and sat down against the wall as well, being careful to choose the one opposite of Asuna. I put my feet flat on the ground as I sat, so my knees were raised and my legs slightly spread. With how short my new skirt was, and my lack of panties, my dick was fully on display at just the perfect angle for Asuna to see it.

She didn't notice immediately. She herself was sitting cross legged against the wall, her skirt and legs doing an adequate job at preserving her modesty, at least until she moved, but her eyes were unfocused as she was lost in thought.

I was patient though. I gestured to the Tome of the Night Sky, which was still sitting on the bedrolls where I left it, and it floated over to me. I grabbed it, opened it, and propped it on my knees. I then pretended not to notice when Asuna happened to focus back on the present and caught sight of my dick.

Just like how I didn't want to make my girls go naked all the time because I liked seeing them in their outfits, I was usually dressed as well, so Asuna hadn't seen much of my dick outside of when I was using it on her or Maria. But I wanted that to change.

Love Spot was a very convenient Lure, turning any one part of my body supernaturally alluring, making anyone who saw it fall for me. The effect strengthened the longer they were exposed to it. Which meant that making it my dick, something I normally kept hidden, did have its downsides. But I didn't regret it, for two reasons. First, because it was still worth it for the reveal, especially when combined with Maria's Succubus Baptism like I had done with Asuna. And second, there was an upgrade I could get to it that would fix that downside entirely.

But for now, I just needed to expose her to it more. Hence the shorter skirt and the angle.

She tried not to look, she really did, but she could never tear her gaze away from my cock for long. The allure of Love Spot was too powerful. She could have moved or turned away, but she didn't. Instead, she kept alternating between staring at it and straining to look at literally anything else.

I didn't let my satisfaction show on my face as I focused on the Tome. There was one spell in particular that I really wanted to learn, preferably before the next portal opened, though I wasn't confident I'd have the magic power to effectively use it by then.

Nanoha magic was more or less a science that involved manipulating magical energy in very specific ways to produce specific results. Those specific ways involved the creation of magic circles, which at first glance seem innocuous enough, but in reality they were dense magical formulas that used complicated syntaxes that seem to be almost arbitrary in how they worked.

And worse, those syntaxes changed between styles of magic. There were similarities, but each had their different rules. Most of the recorded spells were in the Ancient Belkan style, since the Tome was made in Ancient Belka. There were also a fair few in the Modern Belkan style, which was mostly just Ancient Belkan but cleaned up and streamlined. Most of the rest were in the Midchildean style, which had some similarities to the Belkan style but had obviously diverged at some point and modified things.

Science Talent did a lot to help my understanding of it, but it still required hours of studying just to wrap my head around a single spell well enough to use it. Not that I had to memorize it, thank god. My copy of the Tome might not have an AI assistant that could figure things out on the fly, but it was still a perfectly functional Device that could structure the magic I fed into it on its own based on simple commands and programming.

But understanding the spell was still important when it came to using it, if only because most spells had variables that were designed to be adjusted on the fly. These were mostly things like coordinates, power, targeting designation, and the like. The Tome would provide the vast majority of the formula automatically, but I needed to adjust those parts myself, which meant I needed to identify those parts, what they did, and how to adjust them to get what I wanted.

Caught up in my reading as I was, it felt like no time at all had passed before a delicious smell permeated the Stoneblock enough to set my stomach growling again, despite having munched on a snack to tide me over. I put the Tome down again and watched Maria, waiting less than patiently for her to be done.

The minutes ticked by slowly, but eventually she turned off the portable stove and started putting things onto plates.

"Ta da!" she said as she presented a plate to me. "Teriyaki chicken katsu on rice, with curry on the side."

The food steamed as I took the plate, the smell of fried chicken and turmeric filled my nose. Maria's food was always good, but she had gone above and beyond here.

I took the utensils she offered me and tried some of the chicken first. The fried outer layer crunched nicely as I bit into it, and the warm and tender chicken beneath filled my mouth. The salty and sweet teriyaki sauce mixed with both, elevating the flavor. I let out a low moan of appreciation before swallowing. "Excellent chicken katsu," I praised her.

She smiled, and Asuna's eyes narrowed as she stood up. I ignored her though and focused on the curry, getting a spoonful of it and some rice that I quickly shoveled into my mouth. My tongue was assaulted with the powerful spices of the curry, only partially offset by the rice and potatoes that helped spread out the flavor, but the real heroes were bits of beef and the vegetables that enhanced the seasonings, creating something deliciously savory.

"That's very good too," I said, a touch less enthusiastically. "But it's only slightly better than the curry you normally make."

"I always make sure to prepare good quality food for you, Master," Maria explained. "The only difference here is that I decided to try something new that I thought you might like more. The ratio of spices is different, and I cut the ingredients a little smaller.

I took another bite of the curry. "Hmm. Now that you mention it, I see what you mean. Overall, it's pretty good."

"So it's my turn now?" Asuna said from next to us.

"Eat first! I made some for you too." Maria pointed at a plate that had been left on the table.

"I'll eat while I'm cooking," she said, brushing Maria off. She looked at me instead. "Do I have permission to use my SAO Avatar?"

"You do," I said with a smile. I had instructed her before that she needed my explicit permission to use her other forms. It wouldn't do for her to resist using an avatar stronger than either me or Maria. We were largely past the point where that was a concern, but early on, before she submitted, it was important.

She nodded stiffly before turning away and heading for the cooking area. A digital blue light encompassed her body before shattering into little crystals that faded away, revealing a changed Asuna. She was slightly shorter and skinnier and wearing the white and red outfit befitting the vice commander of the Knights of Blood, the guild she was in during her time in SAO.

Her being able to assume the form of her in-game avatars was a nice little perk offered by the Company, making it so SAO characters were actually useful outside of a virtual game. She had three total and I had her go through them and give me a rundown of their abilities soon after capturing her.

And of course, I had taken all of their panties as well.

I frowned in confusion as I saw her walk past where we were keeping our food, little more than a stack of assorted food and a large cooler filled with ice, and headed straight for where the stove and other cooking supplies were set up.

And then she opened her game menu, something she could still do, even if many of the functions were useless, and navigated through them until a series of ingredients appeared on the table, materializing in that same blue light.

I sat up straighter in surprise. "You have your inventory?!"

She looked at me, confused. "Is that strange? You were the one who said I could use my game avatars, and I showed you all of my equipment."

I stared at her, mind whirring as I tried to recall everything I knew about how the inventory worked in SAO, which wasn't much, and what kind of items she might have. Potions, crystals, equipment, and obviously ingredients.

I leaned back. "We'll talk about it later," I said, forcing my voice to be calm. "Go ahead."

She gave me a flat look before turning back away. A simple cutting knife appeared in her hand in a third flash of blue light. But she didn't even use it, not properly. She just tapped them with the tip and they fell into perfectly cut pieces, also glowing blue in the process.

"What?!" Maria exclaimed, her turn to be surprised. "That's… that's… that's cheating!"

"This is just how Cooking works in SAO," she replied with just a hint of smugness in her tone. She dumped all of the cut ingredients into a pot, put a lid on it, and then put it on the stove. She navigated her menu again, though this time nothing appeared when it closed.

Instead she turned back to face us. "It's actually so easy that it takes a lot of the fun out of it. I've been doing some cooking outside of the game lately, and it's much more satisfying. But I do admit, this way is more convenient, and produces better tasting results. I-" she froze, cutting herself off before glaring at both of us and turning away.

I exchanged grins with Maria. Asuna had gotten caught up in happily talking about her hobby, forgetting that she was meant to not like us. But she did like us, she had no choice but to do so between all the mental nudges to do so I was applying to her between the Stamp and my Lures.

She grabbed the plate of food that Maria had prepared for her and silently ate it while her pot of food cooked.

"So… why are we doing this?" Maria whispered as she sat down next to me. "Did you want me to beat her?"

"I told you to try your best, didn't I?" I replied in a less quiet whisper. I looked meaningfully at Asuna and shook my head, indicating that she could hear us. I knew Kirito had various skills that improved his senses, there was a good chance Asuna did too. She didn't react to our words, so I wasn't sure if she heard or not. Maria eyed Asuna suspiciously as well and nodded to show her understanding.

"I actually do want to know which of you is the better cook," I continued in a semi-quiet voice. "Plus, I thought it would be fun. Training all day is boring."

"Well, I did my best, so I hope I win," Maria said. "I know exactly what I want to request."

"You can tell me if you do win," I replied before going back to studying the Tome, making use of the time we were waiting for Asuna's food to cook. We didn't have to wait long before Asuna took the pot off the stove though. But she didn't immediately open it, she simply laid it to the side and pulled out more ingredients.

She poured some spices and what looked like butter onto a few pieces of meat that looked like cuts of steak. I couldn't see it very well from my angle but I could only assume that it somehow applied evenly and correctly instead of just sitting on a pile on top of them.

Then she grabbed a pan, put the meat inside of it, and let it cook. She didn't even touch it, she just stood there for a few minutes as the most delicious smell grew and permeated the small room, overriding the still lingering scent of Maria's dish.

Soon enough the steaks were removed and plated, the pot opened and steamed veggies portioned out, and Maria and I were being handed our plates of food.

"Minotaur steak with steamed wild vegetables," Asuna said, slightly curtly.

I blinked. "Minotaur?" But I didn't hesitate to reach for a knife and fork to cut a piece off.

"It was the best meat I had in my inventory," she explained. "I typically cook the higher quality ingredients immediately."

That wasn't what had surprised me about her choice of ingredients, but I didn't care enough to correct her. And then I put the piece of steak I cut off into my mouth and I stopped caring about the origin of the meat at all.

Maria and I let out simultaneous groans as the flavor hit our tongues. I had wagyu beef once as a child, and the minotaur steak was easily better than that. It was soft and tender, cooked to a perfect medium rare, and topped with butter, garlic, and a few other things I couldn't immediately identify that nonetheless had soaked into the meat and released bursts of flavor as I chewed.

"Holy shit," I breathed after I swallowed. "That's…" I tried and failed to come up with the words to describe it.

Asuna looked smug. "Try the vegetables."

I speared one of the veggies with my fork. I couldn't quite identify it, it didn't look like any vegetable I knew, though it definitely still looked like one. It was like a piece of broccoli, but shaped differently, and more yellow.

I put it in my mouth. My initial reaction was disappointment, as I had expected some burst of flavor like the steak had offered, but that was immediately washed away as I chewed on it. The flavor was subtle and relaxed, soothing my tongue rather than blasting it.

"They're okay, I guess," Maria said, pouting a bit, also eating the veggies.

Asuna's grin widened. "Now have another bite of the steak."

My eyes widened as I realized what she had done, but I was too busy cutting off another chunk of steak to bother saying it out loud. I put it in my mouth and was once more treated to the wave of savory flavor erupting all over my tongue.

I chewed it thoroughly, which didn't take long with how tender it was, and swallowed. "They're a palette cleanser," I said out loud. "So that each bite of the steak tastes as good as the first one."

"That's correct," Asuna confirmed with a proud nod. "I learned that trick from our family chef. I wasn't entirely sure if it would work with these ingredients, but I thought it might."

"It's not fair," Maria pouted in a forlorn voice. "You did it all so quickly, with so little effort. It would take me an hour to make this, and I'd need an actual steamer, not just a saucepan!"

Asuna twirled her cooking knife and grinned. "Sounds like I'm the better cook then," she preened.

"I'd say so," I agreed between bites of food. "Sorry Maria, but I definitely have to give this win to Asuna."

"I can't even be mad because it tastes so good," Maria grumbled while also continuing to eat.

"Congratulations, Asuna," I said to her. "You're won the official position of Stoneblock Cook, at least for now."

She frowned. "I thought you would let me make a request?"

"That too, but that was just to motivate you. The competition was really about determining the cook position between the two of you. And as the cook, you'll be responsible for preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for everyone, storing our food and ingredients, and organizing the grocery shopping."

"Do I have to do the dishes, too?" Asuna said with a bit of snark.

"If you would, yes," I replied with a grin. "But I realize that is a lot more of a workload to put on you, so you don't have to worry about getting your 'dessert' after dinner anymore."

She paused. "You're saying that I don't have to… service you like that any more?"

"I mean, if you really want to-"

"No!" she interrupted me excitedly. Then she cleared her throat and forced herself to calm down. "No, I'm afraid you're right and I'll be too busy to do that. But it makes sense for me to be the cook, so I shall accept it."

She wasn't fooling anyone, but it was cute to see her try. "I'm glad to see you're being so cooperative on this. If you ever desire some 'dessert', just know that I am more than willing to provide you some at any time."

She narrowed her eyes at me, and I could see some of her excitement die as she started to wonder if no longer having to blow me after dinner was somehow a trap. It was, of course. It was necessary for the plan I had discussed with Maria earlier, but I doubted she would ever pick up on it.

"You can make your request now," I said as I finished up the food on my plate, using the last of the veggies to try to soak up the juices left on the plate. "Remember, if I say no, you lose your shot. So choose carefully."

She kept her face blank as she looked at me, arms crossed and brow furrowed in consideration. She had likely had plenty of time to come up with a request, but I had thrown a curveball at her by freeing her from her daily blowjob duties. She couldn't be sure if I was doing her a favor with that, or if it was part of a sinister plan. And even if she did know which was which, she couldn't know if either would make me more generous or less.

So wherever she thought the line was before, I had thrown that into doubt. Which wasn't my intention. In fact, it was more of an unfortunate side effect, because it made it harder to predict what she would ask for. So I didn't rush her and waited patiently as she came to a decision.

When she did decide, she straightened her back, set her shoulders, and gave me a stern look. "I want my panties back," she said.

I didn't reply immediately and I just looked at her with a small smile. It was something I thought she might ask for, but I hadn't deemed it likely. I thought it was more likely for her to ask for some kind of improvement to the living accommodations, or a demand to change some aspect of my behavior.

Returning her panties was a big ask though. Not because I took them for any nefarious or clever plan. No, I took them because I got off on controlling her and I liked the easy access. But it was because it was something I did purely for my own enjoyment that made it difficult to just accept.

Still, I didn't want to deny her request either. Her earning a reward was important in fostering trust.

Thankfully, I quickly came up with a suitable compromise.

"You can have a pair of panties back," I told her. I had taken four from her, one for each of her forms. "But I'll let you choose which one, and I'll give you a chance to earn the other ones."

She narrowed her eyes and considered that, but she knew that she didn't have any real negotiating power. "How?" she asked instead.

"Twice a day you can challenge me to a game of your choice. You don't have to bet anything, but for every game that you win, you can choose another pair of panties to take back. That's fair, no?"

Which had the added bonus of activating Zenryoku Zenkai every time she lost too, even if it was only a little.

She gave me a dirty look for uttering the word 'fair', which I mostly found amusing because I knew precisely how much it annoyed her for me to use that word. "And you won't just force me to use a form that I didn't choose?" she asked.

"I will not change my orders for what form I want you to use based on which ones do or do not have panties," I promised. "Let me lay it out clearly, in fact. I want you to stay in your mundane form by default. When cooking or managing your inventory, you can use your SAO avatar. When training or manning the dungeon, you can use either your SAO or main ALO avatar. I will occasionally ask you to use your alternate ALO avatar. During portals, I will instruct you on which avatar you should use, if any, depending on the world and situation. Any questions?"

She looked at me, expression once more masked. "...no, that's all. I want my normal panties, not one of the game ones."

The obvious choice, really. "Sure thing Asuna," I replied cheerfully. I looked around. "Uhh. Where's the phone?"

A few moments of searching found it underneath my pillow on top of the bedrolls and I navigated the menus so I could pull her panties out of my Pocket Space.

"There you are, one set of schoolgirl panties, as requested," I said as I handed them over to her.

She snatched them from me and shifted back to her mundane form in another flash of blue light. She quickly stepped into her panties, only caring about us watching her enough to make sure she didn't accidentally flash us in the process. Once they were on, she seemed to relax, at least a little.

Which lasted approximately two seconds before she turned to me with a determined look on her face. "I want to challenge you for another pair."

I grinned. "Of course! Name the game, we have a wide selection."

Not that it mattered what she picked, as I was confident I could beat just about anyone at any of the games I had picked up.

Sure enough, she lost handedly when she challenged me to a game of chess. And then again at checkers. And then again the next day at tic-tac-toe and rock-paper-scissors, something that frustrated her to no end and slowly pushed her to like me more.

But the day after that was the day the portal opened, and we didn't have time for games.

Our sleep schedule was fucked, being underground with no sun would do that to you, but we managed to get some sleep and wake up shortly before the portal opening.

Once it did, that strange ovaloid hole in reality opened up in the middle of the Stoneblock once more, and I was able to check the missions that generated to figure out which world we were going to this time.

"Interesting," I said with a grin. "I hope you two are ready to put on your robes and wizard hats."

"...what?" Asuna asked in confusion, but I ignored her, as I was too busy coming up with plans and deciding on targets.

After all, Familiar of Zero was a fantastic setting to steal spells and cute girls alike from.

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AN: The cooking competition was going to be in the previous chapter, but the mood wasn't right for it after their talk, and I had too many things I wanted to cover, so I split it up. I also wanted to give Maria some focus and show her as more of a co-conspirator and support waifu.

Apologies if there are issues with the food parts, I'm very much not a cook and my pallet is unrefined. My standards are hella low and I'll basically eat whatever, regardless of quality. So I have little to no idea on what makes a dish good, but I did my best.

I think I might end up writing this until I get to show off the proper dungeon, with their first real challengers. Then again, I shouldn't try to predict what I'm going to write. The muse is fickle. I do want to at least fully establish the basics of what the idea is though before my attention shifts.

Since I'm not doing the journal format, I can tease the portal destination before that chapter arrives. I went back and forth a lot on good choices for their current situation, but this one has the best potential and most interesting activities for right now. Yes, it's a DR4, but honestly I'm entirely ignoring DR for this fic. If I feel like Morgan and company can handle a world, it's on the list. That's it.