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Year 16 AL, Surplus of Compensation

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Luka felt his entire spine tense up at Mink's bedroom door locking, the metallic click resounding like a gong in his head. With gritted teeth, the purple-haired boy turned on his heels to face her. As he did, Luka was able to take in more of the make-up of the Mermaid's bedroom.

Mink's living quarters were rather plain, her green-sheeted bed jutting out from the middle of the back wall as it stood over a similarly green throw-rug. There was a small bedside table and lamp on one side of the bed, and a small dresser on the other. The young Hero's pale-blue eyes also noticed a large blue bag sitting in a back corner, his eyebrows raising just a bit in mild curiosity as he saw what appeared to be a piece of red coral sticking out of the backpack.

Once finishing his spinning, Luka stopped to find the lightly tanned Mermaid was now facing him, having just finished locking her bedroom door. For an awfully tense couple of moments, Luka and Mink merely stared at each other, the young Hero looking anxious while the Monster girl was straight-faced.

"Umm..." Luka began shakily, "...Wh-Why did you have to l-lock the door?" Luka asked.

Unlike the young Hero who was already becoming anxious, Mink was calm as she cut to the chase. "That's 'cause ya've got two options," The Mermaid shopkeeper began, holding up two fingers as she did. "Ya can be done with it by paying off Lime's debt with money and I'll let ya go out that door on yer merry lil' way, or you take my ultimatum..." Mink started to slide closer to Luka, who took a couple steps backward as the Mermaid reached the middle of the room.

"...That option being that I foot the expense in exchange for you givin' me somethin' that'll make it worth my while." Luka gulped, having to collect himself before opening his mouth to ask, "A-And what all d-does that, um, en-entail?" Mink sighed, realizing that she'd have to be a bit more straightforward. The Mermaid Merchant nodded towards the bed behind the purple-haired boy, "Have a seat, Luka."

The young Hero nervously pulled at his hair, his eyes now darting between Mink and the door. "Eh, O-Okay." Luka answered while anxiously shuffling backward before reaching the bed behind him. He removed his traveling bag and Angel Halo, laying them to the side before planting himself right at the very edge of the mattress. The light-gray-haired Mermaid began shuffling forward before stopping about half a meter in front of Luka.

Mink folded her arms beneath her breasts, "I'm gonna cut straight to the point." The Mermaid began, "Runnin' this shop 'ere is long and hard work, and so I don't get a whole lot of leisure time..." Luka gave a tentative nod, following the Mermaid so far. "...And even when I do get that time, I've had terrible luck finding available men to spend that time with, so I've been getting pretty stir crazy. Catch my drift?"

Unfortunately, Luka did have an idea of what she was talking about.

"S-So, y-y-you're wanting... me t-to..." Luka couldn't continue the question, a terrible and wretched urge for his throat to close up striking him with great strength. "...Sp-Spend time, w-w-with y-you?" The tail-end of the vague question came from Luka's mouth in stutters, much to his frustration.

A couple quiet seconds passed as Mink aimed a pointed look at the purple-haired boy, "Somethin' like that, yeah. My point is, I can always make the money back later, so if ya let me indulge for a lil' you won't havta cough up a single coin." Mink put a hand to her chest, "And that's a Merchant's Promise."

Luka bit down his lip after hearing Mink's proposition. In short, the light-gray-haired Mermaid was offering to clear Lime's debt if Luka would have some sort of sexual interaction with her. The young Hero frowned as the internal battle raged on.

Realistically, paying the Mermaid fifty coins and being done with it would be the swifter and more morally sound route to take. That, and it went without saying that Luka had already been having too many "encounters" with Monsters as it was, and to add another now would be ill-advised. However, having to pay all that money was still something he was hesitant about doing.

It was a hefty risk since, as far as he knew, there weren't a lot of feasible options for making money while he went on his journey.

But to make such an exchange such as this would most certainly weigh heavily on his conscious as Ilias's Prophet. Certainly, Ilias wouldn't be pleased with him continuing to be sexually active with Monsters. Luka's growing frown deepened once his thoughts came to the Goddess of Light. It had been a long time since he had last communed with the Goddess that had pronounced him as her Prophet, and during that meeting, Ilias had been very explicit about her feelings about Human-Monster relations.

Surely, Ilias would be displeased if he were to take Mink's ultimatum.

Luka was brought out of his thoughts as he heard Mink sigh, and when he glanced back up at her, he found that the Mermaid's face was now a bit dismayed. "Look, I understand I ain't really got much goin' for me compared to most gals 'round here. But, if nothin' else, I can make it quick with these." Mink finished, pushing up her breasts to accentuate her point. "It's 'bout the best feature I got goin' for me, but I suppose you already noticed that."

Despite her openly lewd gesture, Luka found himself frowning at her words, completely forgetting his previous thoughts to question the Mermaid, "What do you mean by that?"

Mink squinted at him, placing her hands on her hips as her gaze intensified. "Ya don't gotta patronize me, now. I already figure ya'd probably rather be gettin' this kind of offer from the type of Mermaids workin' in the pubs insteada one lookin' like me."

The purple-haired recoiled at Mink's words, "I-I'm not patronizing you, I'm serious." Luka said, surprising the shopkeeping Mermaid with his reply. Luka narrowed his eyebrows in confusion while he continued, "I don't see why you would say that about yourself." The shorter Mermaid faltered at Luka's genuine confusion, taking her time to digest his words before elaborating.

"Because, in case ya really can't tell," Mink began, gesturing to her body, "I haven't got much to show off, 'side from my chest." Indeed - if not for her impressive bust - Mink would be on the far end of the petite side, something that often led to her being passed over in favor of Mermaids with a more well-rounded body type.

Luka, however, didn't seem to understand the sentiment.

The young Hero tilted his head, "Well, I-I don't see what difference that would make..." He said, looking down to his lap. Luka fumbled with his fingers for a moment, his confidence growing a bit as he continued. "...It's not like there's anything wrong with the rest of your body." Mink went rigid, falling into a bit of a stupor after hearing Luka's confession. The shopkeeping Mermaid hadn't ever found herself on the receiving end of a compliment about anything other than her breasts before, so she almost couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"...Ya really mean that, Luka?" Mink asked quietly, searching for any signs of dishonesty. Luka raised his gaze up to meet the Mermaid's gaze, finding himself struck by the somewhat hopeful air that was coming off of the Monster girl. The purple-haired boy was slow to respond, realizing the nature of what he had just said. "Y-Yeah, of course I do, I think you're..." The young Hero coughed, struggling to get the word out. "...Cute."

As hard as the compliment was to get out, the effect was immense. Mink gave a light gasp, her whole body recoiling alongside her sharp breath. Luka watched with a bit of unease as Mink stood nearly frozen while staring at him. For an anxious few seconds, the young Hero was afraid that he had made a mistake, but that fear went away as a small smile came to the Mermaid's face.

"Luka... I-I..." Mink started, her face growing a shade darker as the usually straight-forward merchant began to find herself at a loss for words. The light-gray-haired Mermaid looked over the boy before she bit her lip, finally deciding to act. "...F-Fuck it." Luka jerked backward, firstly at the Mermaid's curse and secondly at how Mink's hands went up to her chest, specifically to the knot tied up at the bottom of her gray crop top.

Luka raised his hands in surprise as the Mermaid began furiously untying the shirt's knot, "W-W-W-Wait, I-I think I'm just going to p-pay actually!" He exclaimed, but Mink didn't seem to care at this point, shuffling closer to the boy as she started loosening her top. "Too late, that option ain't on the table anymore!" The Mermaid declared, quickly crossing the distance between the two.

Mink cut off the purple-haired boy by grabbing him by the shoulders and all but tackling him to the bed, causing Luka to give a sharp yelp of surprise. Luka grunted as he hit the mattress before feeling Mink's lips smash into his own. The young Hero couldn't help but moan from the combined sensation of the Mermaid's lips combined with her breasts pushing up against his chest. He struggled as the Mermaid squirmed on top of him, seemingly trying to press as much of her body up against his as possible.

Finally, Mink relented, releasing her kiss in order to push herself up and straddle the young Hero. Luka panted furiously, trying to keep his calm as best he could as the Mermaid raised her hands back up to her untied crop top. "R-Really, I-I-I have enough gold to-" He stuttered, but the Mermaid stopped the boy in his tracks as she hooked her fingers beneath the edge of the tight shirt and yanked the garment up and over her head, flinging it to the side of the room without a second thought.

Luka shuddered as Mink's ridiculously large breasts spilled out of her crop top, the huge mounds bouncing almost hypnotically before his very eyes. The purple-haired boy felt his heart start to race as his eyes went from Mink's breasts to her face, which held an exhilarated smile. "Still thinkin' you'd rather pay with gold?" The Mermaid asked, cupping her breasts from beneath with her hands, "Here, let me give ya two big reasons why ya shouldn't~"

Mink dived forward, surprising Luka by unceremoniously smothering his face between her breasts! The young Hero squirmed under the sudden attack, grabbing at Mink's waist as she pressed her bust against his head. However, the Mermaid did not let up, and his resistance started to dwindle bit by bit as her incredibly soft breasts massaged him. Mink pulled back with a lopsided grin, taking immense pleasure at the sight of Luka's shell-shocked face.

"How 'bout now?~" The Mermaid asked, bouncing her breasts as she held them up, her dark nipples now visibly hardened in excitement. Luka's breathing was erratic as he tried to get his nerves under control; however, he was having immense difficulty due to the fact that he actually enjoyed what the Mermaid had just done to him. Luka huffed a few more breaths as he tried to reply, but it was a difficult undertaking. "Haah... I... I-I-"

Mink didn't even give him a chance to finish before smothering Luka again, her growing excitement pushing her to keep assaulting the boy's face with her large breasts. The purple-haired boy grabbed at Mink's hips again, but his efforts to push her off were weak at best. In fact, he eventually began to pull the Mermaid closer as he found himself enjoying the contact of her soft mounds pushing up against his face more and more.

The bed beneath the two started to squeak as Mink redoubled her efforts of her breast massage, the sound resounding through the room alongside Luka's muffled moaning. Finally, Mink relented again, pulling back to reveal the young Hero's wide-eyed and burning red face.

The Mermaid Merchant chuckled at the boy's flustered expression, "Hehehe, had a feelin' you'd 'preciate that..." Mink paused, feeling as something of the boy's began to prod against her waist. "...'Specially since I doubt that's a wallet I'm feelin' down there." She remarked with a sultry smirk.

Mink leaned back, sliding back off the bed and between Luka's legs. The young Hero propped himself up by his elbows, watching with equal parts panic and excitement as the Mermaid dropped down to face-level with the growing bulge in his pants. Luka opened his mouth to speak, but nothing more than a gasp came out as Mink grabbed at his bulge with a hand and gave him an experimental squeeze.

"Hmmm," Mink hummed while rubbing up and down the purple-haired boy's growing erection. "I'ma thinkin' it's time that I take a look at yer stock, if ya don't mind me doin' so." The light-gray-haired Mermaid didn't bother waiting for an answer and started undoing Luka's belt before yanking his pants down. Luka himself frozen as he watched on, any thoughts of stopping Mink from having her way at him now completely and utterly beaten away by the Mermaid's advances.

With one final pull, Luka's pants were pulled down past his waist along with his underwear, his stiff erection standing tall before the Mermaid between his legs. Mink paused, her bright green eyes locked in on Luka's girth. The shopkeeping Mermaid gulped, not quite expecting such a tremendous size from the purple-haired Hero.

"O-Oh..." Mink stuttered out, her hand instinctively reaching out and grabbing Luka's penis. The Mermaid gulped as she felt Luka's erection throb underneath her grip, her heart beating much quicker now.

Luka's breath hitched as Mink angled his stiff member towards herself, trailing kisses down from the head down and causing him to pulse each time her lips met his sensitive skin. Luka gripped the blanketing beneath him as the light-tanned Mermaid ran her tongue from the bottom of his erection right up to the head, ending her path at the top by opening up her mouth wide and greedily taking in as much of his length as she could.

Luka gripped the sheets even tighter as Mink's mouth gulped down his hardened member with great vigor. He gave out a low moan, the feeling of the Mermaid's warm mouth and hot tongue running over his penis sending waves of pleasure through his mind. Mink gripped Luka's thighs as she bobbed her head up and down, her wet slurping now filling the room.

For the next few minutes that's where the pair stayed, Mink relentlessly working on Luka's erection while the purple-haired boy squirmed and groaned. At first glance, one would naturally assume that soon Luka wouldn't be able to hold out any longer, and he'd be effectively brought to his limits by Mink. However, even while the Mermaid's sucking grew more and more intense, Luka was able to resist against Mink's oral skills.

Mink gasped as she finally released Luka's member from her maw, her chest visibly moving up and down with each ragged breath. A red-faced Luka glanced down as the Mermaid Merchant stopped her oral assault, her efforts coming to a halt for a moment. "Ya-Ya've got some good resistance there..." Mink said, pausing to think for a moment. Then, an excited grin came to her face, and she laughed, "...Hehehe, but I think I got just the thing to get ya off reeeal good. Just give me a few seconds."

Luka watched as Mink moved away from his still-throbbing erection, the Mermaid moving from the bed to the blue bag in the corner. "E-Eh, wh-what w-would that be?" He asked to which Mink just laughed again while opening the bag, rifling through the bag eagerly while she replied. "Trust me, yer gonna love this~" Mink said haughtily, the intensity of the comment sending a shiver up his spine.

After a few more seconds, Mink let out a hushed "Ah-Ha!" while pulling out something from the bag. Mink bounced back over giddily, stopping just shy of Luka's lap while holding the item behind her back. The young boy watched on expectantly as the Mermaid pulled out a small clear bottle, giving it a light shake. "I've always wanted to try this, but I was savin' it fer a guy who needed the extra work." Mink said, opening the cap with a quick snap. "Seems like yer gonna be the lucky guy~"

Luka watched with a bit of confusion as the Mermaid raised the bottle up by her face with the cap down, not entirely sure where the Monster girl was going. That was until she squeezed the bottle, causing a clear liquid to pour out directly onto her large breasts. Luka's member pulsed uncontrollably as Mink let more and more of the liquid trail down her chest, the substance causing her skin to shine in the light of the room.

Mink tossed the bottle to the side, bringing her hands up to her chest to start rubbing her own breasts until every last centimeter of his bust was covered in the slick liquid. Luka watched on in a haze as Mink slid near, a wide and lustful smile growing on her face as she ended up in between his legs once again. The shopkeeping Mermaid cupped her massive breasts once again, parting them as she approached his awaiting erection.

"Now, let's see how ya hold up against this!~" Mink exclaimed, wrapping her slicked breasts around Luka's penis.

Luka's reaction was immediate, the young Hero being quick to cover his mouth as the loudest moan he's given thus far came from his mouth, the sensation of the Mermaid's breasts massaging his erection being more than he could've expected. The young Hero fell backwards onto the bed beneath him, unable to keep himself sitting upright while Mink worked on bringing him closer to complete ecstasy.

Mink was spurred on by Luka's reaction, pumping harder as he squirmed under her massaging...

"No, I don't want to buy one of your boomerangs." Kitsu said, much to Lime's dismay. The Blue Slime frowned, "Wh-What!? Why not!?" Lime questioned, causing Kitsu to huff in annoyance. "Why would I?" She exclaimed, her red eyes glancing over the table before her for the umpteenth time as she tried to find one particular item that now seemed to be missing.

The Blue Slime standing beside Kitsu paused as her mind almost visibly worked towards creating a sufficient answer. "Erm, well, because they're cool! That's why." Lime argued. The Two-Tailed Kitsune scoffed at the claim and shook her head, "Yeah, well I don't have any money anyways, so I guess I'll have to miss out on being cool."

"Crap." Lime muttered, her green eyes falling to the ground in dejection. The Blue Slime looked around the room for a moment, before her gaze fell on the door at the back of the room. "I hope Mink isn't being too hard on Luka, I don't want him getting into trouble because of me..." Lime said with a guilty look on her face, having no way of knowing that the only thing hard at the moment was Luka himself.

Kitsu looked up from the table, "You probably shouldn't have broken that doorknob, then." She said with a bit of snark.

Lime scowled at the shorter Monster girl, "Hey, I didn't mean to!" She snapped, giving the floor a wet stomp of anger, "How was I supposed to know it snap off like that!?"

Kitsu raised a questioning eyebrow, "Well, once you figured out it was locked, you should've just called it quits." The silver-furred fox remarked, looking back down to the table in search of the hairpin that had caught her eye earlier. Kitsu rounded over to the other side of the table once more, even though she had already looked at that side a couple times.

Lime sighed as Kitsu reached the other side, "Maybe, but I wanted to help Luka out and this was the only place I could think of!" The red-eyed Kitsune's mouth stretched into a thin line as she looked over the table again, her frustration at not finding the source of her search showing on her face. "How do you know him, anyways?" Kitsu asked, mildly curious to know more about their particular connection.

The Blue Slime perked up, apparently happy to elaborate. "Oh, we go waaay back, I've known him for at least..." Lime paused, raising a hand up to count off on her fingers, "One, two... three? Eh, three days! I think... or maybe it was four?" The Two-Tailed Kitsune gave Lime a dubious look but said nothing more as Lime continued.

"We met in a forest, and he was really nice to me at first..." Lime began, her gaze overly wistful - almost dramatically so - as she recounted the events. "...I tried to have sex with him, then he cut my head off. Kinda made things awkward for a little bit, I'll be honest..."

Kitsu gave a slow, incredulous blink in response, unable to even comment on what the Blue Slime had just said.

"...But after all that, he cooked me an amazing dinner as an apology, and I forgave him!" Lime exclaimed with a big smile but quickly pouted while finishing her story. "Then he wouldn't have sex with me for a second time, so I left. And then shortly after, I decided to focus on my boomerang career!" The Blue Slime paused, looking around the shop as if to make sure nobody was listening even though it was only them in there.

"Though between you and me, I've got a super-secret plan to get him to fall for me." Lime whispered with a giddy smile. Kitsu gave Lime a questioning look, "If he's rejected you twice already, why would a third time be any different?"

The Blue Slime smirked, "Duh, haven't you ever heard of third time's the charm? That means, if I try one more time, he has to give in to me!"

Kitsu gave a slow tilt of her head as she fixed Lime with a pointed look, "That makes no sense. At all!" The Blue Slime huffed, throwing her hands on her hips "W-Well how would you know? I didn't even tell you my plan! Besides, I doubt you've ever had sex before anyways, so who are you to act like an expert!?" The Two-Tailed Kitsune's face grew hot with embarrassment as she hissed out, "Sh-Shut up."

The two Monsters fell into an awkward silence, Kitsu glowering down at the table as she renewed her search for the silver hairpin that had seemingly disappeared. Lime followed the Kitsune's gaze to the table below. Despite their earlier spat, Lime went to question the silver-furred fox. "Whatcha lookin' for?" Lime asked.

Kitsu shook her head, "There was a hairpin here before, I'm sure of it. But I can't find it anywhere now!" The Kitsune growled, lightly slamming a fist onto the table. Lime scanned the wares on the table before her before asking, "What does it look like?"

Kitsu bit her lip in thought before replying, "It was really thin and silver..." The Kitsune began, pantomiming the hairpin's length with her fingers. "...It was probably about this long, and had a red ribbon and flower on it." Lime nodded, moving to help Kitsu with her quest for the lost hairpin.

"I'm sorry for saying you know nothing about sex." Lime said, rummaging around the table for the hairpin as she apologized. Kitsu just shook her head at the Blue Slime's words, "Well, you aren't wrong." Lime glanced back up at the Two-Tailed fox with surprise, "Wow, really?"

Kitsu's right ear twitched in annoyance and she aimed a glare at the Slime across the table, "Hey, don't rub it in!" The Kitsune complained, baring a single - and somewhat adorable - fang at Lime. The Blue Slime just rolled her eyes, "Meh, that isn't something to be embarrassed about. There was a time that even I, as crazy as it may seem, had no experience with that stuff."

Lime paused, aiming a suspicious eye at the fox, "Hey, wait, is that why you're with Luka? You're trying to pull a fast one on him! Well listen here, you better move your furry butt to the end of the line, because I called first dibs!" She finished, holding out an arm over the table to point an accusing finger at the Kitsune.

A look of horror came to Kitsu's face as she sputtered in reply, "Th-That is not wh-what I-I'm trying t-to do!" Lime snorted, not believing the now sheepish Kitsune in the slightest, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say..." The Blue Slime continued as she scanned the table, but not before whispering one last time. "...But I've got my eye on you."

The Two-Tailed Kitsune gave a low growl through her gritted teeth, furiously trying to regain her dignity despite the worsening blush spreading on her face.

Meanwhile, Luka was being brought closer and closer to the edge by Mink's unyielding breast assault, actively gritting his teeth now from the pressure building up inside of him. Mink's face was wet from sweat, the unexpected amount of work Luka evidently needed to bring the boy to orgasm beginning to wear out the Mermaid as well.

"Y-Ya've got some good endurance, L-Luka, I-I'll say that much!" Mink exclaimed while giving his member a particularly tight squeeze, gaining another muffled moan from Luka. The Mermaid chuckled at the boy's noise, pausing to regrip her breasts and hugging them even tighter before continuing to pump up and down. "But it's 'bout time we wrap this up, big boy~"

Luka gasped, feeling as Mink's mouth slipped over the head of his member, the combination of her sucking and pumping bringing him even closer to the edge. The young Hero stared down through the wild strands of hair covering his vision, watching on with hazy eyes as Mink launched her final wave of pleasure against the boy.

The wet sound of Mink's oil-up breasts slipping over and squeezing out Luka's erection grew even louder, and the vibrations of the Mermaid's moans made the young Hero shiver in pleasure. Luka felt himself become tense as Mink bobbed up and down his length, her work eventually causing him to feel the end coming.

"Haa-ahh, haah... A-Ah!" Luka panted out; his moans unconcealed as his hands started to twitch while clutching the green sheets beneath him.

With a wet pop, Mink released the tip of his penis from her mouth with a sharp gasp. "O-Oh, shit..." The Mermaid Merchant huffed, feeling herself grow a little light-headed from her efforts. With a moan of her own, Mink grabbed her own breasts one last time and engulfed Luka's member with them.

With a more deliberate pace, Mink dragged her slicked breasts up and down his member, the unhurried rhythm gaining a small amount of precum from the head of Luka's shaft. Mink watched her handiwork with a glazed look in her green eyes, her mouth slowly opening as she went down on the young Hero once again. Her sucking was renewed with great vigor, and just at the right time...

...As the Mermaid's effort finally bore fruit.

Luka let out one final labored moan as he reached down to Mink's head, grabbing fistfuls of hair and yanking her down as he finally let everything go inside of the surprised Mermaid's awaiting maw, who was more than happy to bob down one last time to take in as much of him as she could swallow. Luka's orgasm finally started to die down, and the purple-haired boy released Mink's head as he realized in horror what he just did.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I don't know why I-" Luka was stopped as the Mermaid gave a sharp suck, the wet slurps filling the air as Mink cleaned off Luka's member. The young Hero had to squeeze his eyes shut again, undeniably enjoying the sensation until Mink's lips finally left his now calmed-down member. Luka opened his eyes and forced himself to sit up some, meeting gazes with Mink, who was still down between his legs.

"Y-You know..." Mink breathed out, having to pause to gulp down the last remnants of Luka still in her throat. "...Ya probably could snatch a good profit sellin' that stuff out. Real good quality seed ya got, if you don't mind me sayin'."

Luka ran a hand over his bright red face before quietly answering, "I-I don't mind, but uh, I don't think I'm interested in doing that."

Mink shrugged, "Eh, justa thought." She said before turning away, "Give me a few seconds to freshen up, if ya will." Luka quickly nodded and Mink turned around, sliding off towards a small door along the side of her bedroom. The Mermaid Merchant paused after opening the door, looking over her shoulder to give Luka a playful smile, "Ya best make sure those pants of yours are back up when I come back, unless you're aiming to test your luck~"

Luka flinched as Mink disappeared through the door, looking down to see that his flaccid member was still outside of his pants. The young Hero yelped, quick to sit up off the bed to pull his pants back up and buckle his belt. Luka sighed after doing so, falling back down onto the bed as he did. He flinched just a tad as he heard the bathroom's faucet turn on from behind the closed door. Slowly, he began to push himself upright yet again, his mind still shaking off the cloudy haze of lust he had just be entrapped in.

Just like that, he had gotten himself sexually involved with a Monster again. With Mink now added to the list, Luka had become intimate five times with four different Monsters. 'I can't keep letting this happen. If I keep slipping up, I might just end up losing my way for good. This needs to be the last time...' The young Hero shook his head, leaning over and propping his elbows on his knees as he stared at the ground.

Luka's eyes roamed the ground, his gaze finding Mink's discarded gray crop top. With a blush, the purple-haired boy stood up to retrieve the garment. He then moved - somewhat hesitantly - towards the bathroom door. Luka lifted a hand to knock on the door but hesitated when he heard Mink...

...Gargling?

'I guess that some mouth-washing would be needed after what we just did.' Luka thought while letting his hand fall, deciding not to rush Mink. Eventually, Luka heard the water being shut off. The door opened, revealing a freshly cleaned Mermaid Merchant. Mink smirked once seeing the boy standing before her, "Ah, just couldn't wait to see me again?~" She asked, to which the boy looked away while presenting her top.

"I-I f-figured that y-you'd need this!" Luka exclaimed, much to the Mermaid's amusement. Mink lifted up her arms above her head, "M'kay, ya mind just slippin' it on for me, since ya already got it ready fer me?" The young Hero perhaps knew better, but politely moved to oblige in order to speed things along. Mink giggled as she shuffled closer, sliding her hands into the small shirt and allowing Luka to pull it down her arms.

Luka tried to keep his eyes averted as he trailed the crop top lower, the garment sliding over the mischievous Mermaid's face. However, the purple-haired boy's hand slowed to a crawl as he drew closer to her chest, hesitant to pull the crop top down further. During his moment of hesitance, Luka didn't notice as Mink's still-raised arms started to lower and wrap behind his head.

A gasp came from Luka's mouth as he felt a pair of small hands grab him by his hair and he was suddenly pulled forward into Mink's awaiting bust once more! For just a second he was smothered furiously by the giggling Mermaid's breasts, but this time he was quick to pull away as the blush he had only just gotten to calm down fired back to life again.

"Hehehe, just figured I'd pay ya back fer pullin' on my own hair earlier~" Mink said, watching the blushing boy as he stumbled over to her bed. The Mermaid frowned as he leaned over to nervously pick up his sword and bag, her earlier happiness waning as Luka quickly began preparations to leave. Mink started pulling her top down while she said, "...It was just a bit of teasin', I wasn't meanin' to bother ya."

Luka quickly shook his head but couldn't meet her worried stare. "N-No, i-it didn't b-b-bother me, I-I'm just not u-used to... f-feeling that..." He lied shakily, unable to admit that what really bothered him was that he had already gotten a bit excited again after getting another face full of Mink's bust.

After getting his gear, Luka stiffly turned back around and kept his pale-blue eyes to the ground while pacing over to the bedroom door. Mink hurriedly followed, her face showing her distress as Luka reached for the doorknob. The Mermaid Merchant bit her lip as he moved to unlock the door and suddenly called out, "Luka!"

Luka looked over his shoulder to give Mink a curious glance, finding himself surprised to see her looking troubled. "What's wrong, Mink?" He asked.

"U-Um, I just..." Mink brought her hands together, nervously twiddling her thumbs together. "...I wanted to thank you really quick before ya leave." Luka gave her an uncertain look, misunderstanding what the Mermaid Merchant meant. "Eh, I didn't really do much back there, th-that was mostly you."

Mink sternly shook her head, "That ain't what I mean." She said, her sudden change of tone causing him to stay quiet. The Mermaid bit on her lip again, looking strangely timid as she approached. "I'm talking about those things ya said about me before all that." Luka's face turned a bit softer as Mink came within arm's length, staring up at him with purpose now.

"The closest time I ever get to feelin' like I look cute, is when I get guys eyeing my chest like they're kids in a candy shop. But that kind of attention ain't really the most endearin' thing in the world." Mink placed a hand over said chest, fiddling a bit with some of the loose cloth, "So, as silly as it probably sounds, you sayin' that I look good for more than just my breasts made me feel..."

The Mermaid paused, dropping her gaze away for a moment to find the right way of putting it. Eventually, she just abandoned the thought. "...Well, I can't thank ya enough fer that."

A small blush grew on Luka's face after hearing the warmth in Mink's voice, "I-I just said what I b-b-believed." He replied while running a nervous hand through his hair. Mink smirked, "Yeah, It's just a shame that, eh..." The Mermaid looked to her door and sighed, her smile fading away some.

"...Nevermind, I've probably held ya up long enough by now." Mink said as she unenthusiastically reached forward and unlocked the door, pushing it open to slide through soon after. The young Hero's face fell as he became acutely aware of the Mermaid's shift in demeanor, following just in time to see Mink climbing the stepstool behind her counter and raising her hands to her mouth.

"LIME!" Mink shouted out, startling Luka some.

"EEP!" Luka heard Lime's frightened cry bounce around the shop, the Blue Slime's head popping into sight as she from beneath a table. Interestingly enough, Kitsu came out from the other side of the same table, looking very on edge herself after Mink's yell.

Lime was quick to raise her hands in alarm, "I-I didn't break anything, I swear!" She exclaimed.

Mink just shook her head, "Just stop while yer ahead." Mink reached over and grabbed the young Hero by the arm, pulling him close to emphasize her point. "Luka here was generous enough to pay off yer debt and then some, so it'd be in yer best interest to not squander that by gettin' me mad again!"

"O-Okay, I won't, I-I promise!" Lime yelled, not wasting even a second to speedily slide out the front door.

Mink rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you'd better." She mumbled to herself before turning back to Luka.

The anger in Mink's face faded as she faced Luka again, but a certain type of disappointment still lingered in her gaze. "Well, thank ya for yer business, Luka..." She said, before mustering up a half-hearted smirk. "...Speakin' of, if ya ever get the urge to make another "deal" with me, don't hesitate to come back. I can afford to leave the store closed for a day or two~"

Luka gave a nervous chuckle, "Ha-Ha, I-I'll m-make sure to k-k-keep that in m-mind." The young Hero answered while shuffling to the other side of the counter as Mink gave him a wink, "Just don't take too long makin' up yer mind, m'kay?~" Luka couldn't even muster a reply, having become too flustered to even speak as he went to go meet up with Kitsu.

"A-Alright, are we all r-ready to go, now?" Luka's voice wavered some as he asked the question as he was still trying to reign in the lingering bashfulness he had.

The silver-furred fox gave a begrudging nod, "Yeah, I guess so." The purple-haired boy became confused at the Kitsune's dour disposition, but before he could ask Kitsu what the problem was, she turned around and trudged out the door to leave the confused Hero behind. With eyes full of concern, Luka walked out the door to follow the fox.

Mink watched Luka leave with a heavy sigh, propping her elbow onto the counter before her while bringing the arm's hand to her chin. The Mermaid Merchant ran her hand down from her chin to her neck, almost still being able to feel how Luka's member had been reshaping her throat...

...Damn, that had felt good.

"How in the Hell could I go and let a prize like that just walk away?" Mink asked out loud before cupping her breasts, "If I had just kept buryin' his face in these, we'd still be back there right now, screwin' from dusk to dawn!" The Mermaid remarked with a smirk. However, the smile quickly fell from her face as she let go of her bust. Mink stood in silence, a strong wave of bittersweetness hitting her as she thought about the purple-haired boy.

After all, it was very unlikely that Mink would be able to find someone that had made her feel that happy again.

Her green-eyed gaze went to look at her shop's front door, seeing how her entranceway was still hanging open some due to the still-broken doorknob. It looked as if the only screwing Mink would be doing now, would be on the literal screws needed to fix her door.

"Damn it..." The Mermaid Merchant muttered, hoping off her stepstool to begin the arduous process of fixing Lime's blunder.

There you have it, a sizeable bit of spice added to this story. I'm sure it could be seen from a mile away, but I hope it was satisfactory, nonetheless. Let's see if we can still avoid getting into trouble for explicitness.

Though with the good comes the bad, as Alice isn't going to take too kindly to it Luka's most recent escapade, and Ilias even more so as her next visit with her Prophet is due to happen once night falls. There, things get even more complicated as the Goddess of Light tries to sway Luka closer to her.

And not only that, but our young Hero will also be having a very surprising family reunion as he will be introduced to the "Last" Great Seraph, Eden. Which will prove to be a very interesting meeting, indeed, as Luka gets to know his other Aunt. And when this happens, it will set in motion a significant change in Eden's behavior, one that is spurred by the sudden realization of what Luka is to her...

Deadinside378: Lime will prevail despite herself; I can assure that.

espioll: Slowly but surely his experiences are starting to prove that not everything Ilias says about Monsters is true, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's ready to doubt his title yet. That, and Ilias will start to intensify her efforts to groom him as her Prophet, as she is not going to let him fall away from her Light without resistance. And in doing so, her methods to sway his heart will start to become more and more questionable...

chronotimeguard: After the "deal" he just made with Mink, Luka won't be having any "dessert", no. Especially not when Alice is around, I assure you that.