Obviously, sex was the highlight of my every morning. As a young adult with honest desires, getting to live them out was most certainly the perfect start to the day. Then that transitioned into me accompanying Esther into the shower and delighting in her body a little more. The absolute honour it was to ‘help’ her clean herself could not be emphasized enough.
A recent development was what happened after I left the shower. Esther tended to her hair, I prepared breakfast, that was the dynamic that had been established over the past three months. In the past week, a new addition to the household had shaken up that configuration.
I stepped into the mixture of living room and open kitchen with a hum in my throat and a smile on my lips. Clean and satisfied, I went from the presence of one gorgeous haremette to that of a prospective one.
Aclysia stood in the kitchen, diligently observing the development of an omelette. She was wearing an apron over her school uniform. Not quite the sexy combination of an apron and her birthday suit. Regardless, her sight was enough to challenge my ‘sexually satisfied’ status. The roundness of her butt filled her pleated skirt. A sight for a pervert’s eyes, she shifted her weight from left to right, wiggling that sizable bottom of her pear-shaped figure. I could see the little jiggles those motions created. Recollections of that very same butt under my palm had me grope the air in an attempt to hold on to those memories.
‘Is that little wiggle a thing girls I am attracted to just do, did she pick it up from Esther, or did I get that lucky twice?’ I thought, hypnotized by the back and forth sway. I must have stood there for a full minute just… watching.
Raising my gaze, I caught her glancing at me over her shoulder. A pleased glint was in her emerald eyes and a maidenly smile on her lips. She was enticing me. She had been enticing me every morning this past week. To give in was natural, perfectly justified even. An offer to the benefit of both parties was only refused by a fool.
I walked up to her. “Morning.” The simple word was my first greeting, the second the fulfilment of my hands’ desire. Even with both hands, I could not cup the entirety of her backside. “Bubble butts like yours are a gift to the sapient races. Nothing, not even the boons of chocolate and coffee combined, could compare.”
Aclysia chuckled, a reserved sound that was exactly as quiet as she wanted it to be. Had she trained herself to make her voice an exclusive treat for the master who was to stand close to her, his chosen maid, perhaps? To monopolize a voice was not among my typical desires, yet I could not dismiss how intrigued I was by the concept. Little whispers and giggles that only belonged to me. What a fantastic treat to consider.
“This is a softer greeting than usual, Karitas,” she said to me, while I carefully found where her plump behind met the mixture of fat and muscles of her thighs. It was such an interesting area of the human physique, that crease of squish. Doubly so for the female 90% of the population.
My typical stance towards fat was that I preferred it absent, with some varying degrees depending on body type. When it came to butts and thighs, a layer of fat was greatly appreciated. The preferred core of any good backside and meaty legs was still muscle. Encapsulating it with a squishy surrounding was a biological synergy of the highest order. The layer of fat gave an ever squishy, plump surrounding to the hard definitions underneath. When smooth skin then further covered that round and sizable combination, glory was achieved.
Glory was at my fingertips. I shamelessly reached under her skirt and grabbed her firm, juicy cheeks directly. “I did not want to reduce your work to scrambled eggs,” I told her, looking at the slowly solidifying omelette.
“Always aware,” Aclysia responded, appreciation swinging in her voice. After one more squeeze, I left her to concentrate on cooking.
Had I been acting on pure desire, I would have sacrificed the quality of the breakfast in favour of smacking her backside and doing whatever else came to mind. My goal was not to merely engage in eroticisms with Aclysia, I wished to be intimate with her. The difference was the emotional component and such a thing had to be carefully cultivated with deliberate action.
Paying attention was generally the greatest tool one had when it came to making a lasting impression. It sounded quite obvious, but anyone who had lived more than a few years knew how difficult it could be to listen to someone talk. Watching what someone was doing could be even harder. It was made a little easier and a little harder if that someone had such a fantastic ass.
Attention often had to be deliberately maintained. Personally, I had trained myself for many years to be aware of what was going on around me. It went hand in hand with my ability to open portals and teleport. Situational awareness was a fantastic tool in courtship, because everyone loved it when they were given what they needed without having to ask. It was also a fantastic tool to avoid the pain of teleporting into a wall.
I gave Aclysia her opportunity to make the perfect breakfast and I got the perfect breakfast. Honestly, I was the winner here. People like her, who derived glee from being of service, were an absolute blessing to everyone who knew them. A downright necessity for a harem as well, I considered. ‘When my Anomalia is full, every breakfast will have to be for eleven people. Someone has to enjoy cooking duty.’
I sat down at the table and pulled out my Ashod. Had I come to the kitchen about twenty minutes earlier, I could have helped with the prep work. Far along as she was, I would have just been in the way.
Browsing the internet, I contemplated the future of my lifestyle. I always knew I wanted a harem and I was certain I was willing to put the work in. Two stunning women, with bodies to match the beauty of their souls, I could already call mine. With those successes under my belt, I kept reconsidering what I had done right and what I had done wrong. Up until recently, I had paid near exclusive attention to the wooing part, not the rest of the life that came after that.
‘Really difficult to make any definite considerations when there’s so much still open.’ I came to the same conclusion as usual. What I had right now worked. My duty was to keep paying attention and do for the women of my love whatever I could. As much as I liked being treated to a home cooked breakfast every morning, I did not want to be pampered. Well, I did not want my existence to be defined by being pampered. Spending the occasional day in bed, surrounded by tits, ass, and compliments, that was definitely on the menu.
Those would be treats for me being a good provider and protector. An anchor in their life that they could hold onto.
Before long, I got my opportunity to be of use. Proactively, I started loading the various finished pieces of food onto a tray I manifested and then carried it up to the top of the mansion’s tower. Esther joined us up there. Food was consumed in a harmonious silence. My Queen was not one for mid-eating conversation and Aclysia was more the responsive type. Rather than strike up a conversation, I let the relaxing quiet dominate.
“I’ll take care of this,” I assured her, when Aclysia made gestures to stack the plates.
“It is-“
“You cooked, I can do this much. Plus, I don’t think you brought a tray.” Smiling, I disarmed any further protests the half-elven maid may have formulated. The plates she held were wrestled from her grip and placed on the semi-translucent construct of Astrality that I manifested. I left them there for the moment. “You should leave some of the chores for us.”
“I like to take care of the household,” Aclysia stated the obvious.
“Yeah, but taking care of my laundry may be a bit much.”
“I was already folding my own, it added no meaningful hassle to my routine.”
I scratched the side of my face and sighed. Such or similar answers were what I had come to expect whenever I tried to tell her that she didn’t have to go quite so hard. Certainly, I believed that the Pareto Principle could be applied to housework. In other words, I believed that 80% of the necessary chores would be taken care of by 20% of the members of it. The numbers wouldn’t quite break down so cleanly, since the dataset of participants was too small (especially at the moment). The spirit, however, I stood by.
Again, I just needed some way to give her recompense for her effort.
“If you ever need me for something, do tell me,” I assured her.
“I echo my Karitas’ statement,” Esther added, sipping on some milk.
Aclysia bowed her head, as if she had just received a gracious reward. “I shall take it into consideration.”
I felt a mild frustration at that answer. It was that typical, somewhat confusing feeling of being next to someone that was just too nice. Had we been at that stage in our relationship, I would have bent her over the table and spanked a little bit of selfishness into her. A hunch told me she would have enjoyed that. Well, considering that she was interested in joining my Anomalia in full knowledge of my inclinations, plus her relationship with the word ‘Master’, a hunch was an understatement. ‘All but confirmed’- that was more fitting.
I wanted to make further small talk, but my attention was captured by Esther. She placed her empty glass on the tray. That was all it took. My eyes were drawn first to her boobs, jiggling while she bowed over the table. A moment later, I beheld her red lips. Assertively, I took her by the back of the head and claimed her mouth.
The taste of the milk on her lips was quickly neutralized, swirled away by our tongues. We indulged ourselves deeply in what we knew would be the final kiss of the morning. That went not only for Esther and I, but also Aclysia. The maidly student boldly grabbed my arm and nuzzled against my side, pressing her breasts and right thigh against me. Of the latter, there was much more to feel. Warmth from both women enveloped my entire being with prickling happiness. It turned into a physical shudder when the half-elf pressed her pillowy pink lips against my neck.
Only having more haremettes there could have made the situation more satisfying. My resolve to find more was hardened all over again.
I let go of Esther on my own terms. “Alright, let’s stop here, before I have to keep one of you here.” The only joke in that sentence was that I, currently, should have asked only Esther to take care of what their presence did to me. Softly, the raven-haired lady flicked my forehead in the softest reprimand.
“You are mine to monopolize – for now,” she added that last bit with an acknowledging nod. Jealousy had been slumbering for a while. It stirred in its sleep sometimes, but Esther had mostly managed to come to terms with the situation. At the very least when it came to Aclysia. Which was all that really mattered at the moment. “I will come seek you later.”
“I’ll have something ready,” I promised quietly. Then I let go of her.
Esther straightened up and re-fixed the ribbon that confined her hair in the low ponytail. Whether I had grabbed her or not, that would have been necessary anyway. Any 30 minute stretch made it necessary. She made a commanding gesture and Aclysia detached from my side.
“Until later, Karitas,” she said her own goodbye, curtsying in a way that revealed a truly scandalous amount of leg. Then she followed her Queen down the stairs.
I sat there smiling for a little bit, stirring in how fantastic I had it. Eventually the lack of distractions reminded me that it was summer. The tower, for all its virtues, was also the highest point in the entire mansion. After the relatively mild morning hours, the sun shining on the roof and through the many windows turned the middle-sized chamber into half a greenhouse.
Both of my women were now on their way to the Anomalia Management Class for Queens. Aclysia still attended despite having opted out of gunning for that position. Understanding the many duties of a Queen should help the social cohesion of the harem. I fully supported that. Truthfully speaking, I should have probably booked a similar course for my position as King. I hadn’t even checked if that existed.
In my defence, I was doing quite well, generally speaking. Psychologically, I had a much easier job. Men had the greater drive to get many partners due to obvious biological reasons and the reality of my current environment was completely tilted in my favour. Because of that I lacked neither reason nor opportunity. Confidence, I had in spades as well.
‘Confidence in spades… heh,’ I chuckled to myself, realizing the accidental pun I had made, since my Queen was of the Spade variety. After my mild amusement settled, I returned back to the topic at hand. ‘I should look at some advice. People have been doing this for generations, they must have formulated some useful advice.’
Were there teachers I could ask about this? Maybe one of the libraries offered books on the matter? Perhaps I should just wait until next semester and scan the catalogue at that time? I cleaned the table while I contemplated those questions. Had I been on my own, I would have stopped the moment I threw everything in the dishwasher. Since I knew I would leave work for Aclysia otherwise, I grabbed a wet rag and a towel and headed right back up to give the table a swipe and, after that, the floor a vacuuming.
I was fine with leaving some dirt around, but this was no longer about me. This was about us and they deserved the best.
I stretched and headed back down to the kitchen to grab a glass of cold water and consider what to do next. The rest of my Saturday would follow a clear pattern. I would be on my own until about 11, at which point Esther and Aclysia (and Arlethia) would come back home. By then, I would have prepared something to eat. Nothing big, just enough to keep Esther’s appetite from souring her mood. Then we’d have about four hours of nothing, during which we ate actual lunch, before we moved into the City to take our bar shift at the Café Served. Aclysia would stay behind and certainly greet us with something opulent after we came back.
All of which meant I had now about two to three hours to myself. I had a couple of options of what I could do. Idea number one was to start carving out the one area of the house that was just for me. Getting a garage or some other area for workshopping had occurred earlier in the week and it was still bouncing around in my head. There, I could be as messy as I wanted and do whatever came to mind. Much as I wanted to do that, I did not feel motivated nor did I want to go through the hassle of calculating what it would cost me. Handling money was still an absolute chore to me. I would ask Esther to do the budgeting sometime.
Idea number two was to sit around in my room and just dilly-dally the time away. Certainly not the worst plan and I was heavily considering it. Only problem I had was that it was hot and would only get hotter. Considering my room was entirely mattress, I would end up lethargically laying around for two hours, listening but not listening to whatever autoplay put on.
Had I been stressed, I would have jumped at that idea, but I had no need to unwind at the moment. Plus, I could do the same Sunday morning, with the important difference being that a naked Esther would be in my arms.
Idea number three, I could work out. Now was as good a time as ever to get my daily body maintenance in. Me being sore now meant I could laze about and concentrate on watching Aclysia and Esther when they did their sport later. Plus, there was someone I could most effortlessly hang out with during these two hours.
I knocked on Willt’s door.
A groan, loud enough to make it through the thick door, made it to my ears. I counted the seconds. When the visage of my friend presented itself to me, I could only smile, “Thirteen, how fitting for someone of your dark persuasions.”
“You say they are my dark persuasions, but I feel like you’re here to torment me more than any daemon, demon or devil I ever met,” Willt groaned.
“What torture would I inflict on you, my longest friend? Certainly, what I demand of you causes aches and pains, but they are only to your benefit not the pain for pain’s sake that the pitchforks of Satan so eagerly inflict on their victims. Indeed, what I demand of you is not a pursuit of devilish lament, but of forthright discipline and…” I stopped myself when Willt let out a long sigh. “Alright, so you want to tag along or not?”
“…Sure, just give me a second,” he said and closed the door.
About twenty seconds later, he opened it again. All that had changed was that he had put on a pair of flexible pants on top of his underpants and a loose black t-shirt. We moved to one of the unoccupied rooms on the base floor, where it was the coolest, and rolled out some mats. It hadn’t exactly become a ritual for the two of us to do this every Saturday, but it happened frequently enough to say it was a habit.
With everything else that was going on in our lives, us two guys spending time together outside of classes was getting rarer and I did not see that changing anytime soon. More likely was that the time together would get rarer. I didn’t lament that, what I got in return was well worth it. Still, one should hold on to good friends when one could.
For the first twenty minutes of the workout, Willt just mimicked my warm-up routine. He was a lanky guy and pretty flexible despite his lack of regular exercise. That being said, his stamina was terrible and so he was gasping on his back once we transitioned to actual sets.
“Come on,” I encouraged him, “one more.”
“That’s… what… you said… the last… three times…”
“And you got three more done. Expectation, my dear friend, raises one’s motivation. I present my expectation, what is your response?” Willt, sweat dripping from his everything, clenched his teeth and curled his upper body up one more time. I wouldn’t exactly call it a proper sit-up, but the thought counted here. “Alright, guess it’s your turn to torment me.”
I managed to execute a whole lot more of the sit-ups than he did. The final result was the same though, him standing over me and repeating the demand, “One more,” until my entire midsection trembled from the exhaustion of every new curl.
At the end of an hour, he could barely move and I was contently sweaty. “You want to die yet?”
“I already have… this is hell… figurative hell…” Willt gasped. His thin arms moved about as if they were made of lead, searching for his water bottle. I nudged it within reach. “Aaaahhhhhh,” he let out a deeply relieved breath after taking several deep swings. “That’s all you get out of me today.”
“You did improve a little bit,” I told him. “Should probably do some cardio though.”
“What I should do and what I will do are two totally different things.” Willt managed to pull himself into an upright position. “Enough about me, what’s bouncing around your head today?”
“I was thinking about building some kind of crafting room,” I confessed. The idea was still sticking around and I had learned a long time ago to at least consider what my brain wouldn’t let go. It drove me to create a number of objects and to create I required space and tools. Well, space more so than tools.
“Like a garage?”
“Exactly like a garage!” I agreed enthusiastically and took a swig of my own water. “With alchemy utensils and a workbench, maybe a pottery disk, and whatever else.”
“Probably a bad idea to do that here.”
“Because of the money?”
Willt amusedly raised an eyebrow. “Esther really made you hyperaware of your spending habits.”
“It’s better than the alternative.”
“True enough, but I was thinking more because we’ll only be in this house for another nine months.”
“Hmm,” I hummed. The point was taken. We would vacate the mansion at the end of our second semester. More accurately, we would vacate it after the tournament at that time placed us in our appropriate segment of the Welldark hierarchy. “Doesn’t seem like that large an issue though. It gets moved for us.”
“Problem is more whether or not where you end up after that has enough space.”
“My destination I have no doubt about, as I know the steps and know who I am. It may be horridly sparkly and bright, but nothing less than the utmost luxury for my partners can I abide.”
“Please don’t start rhyming when you extrapolate.”
“I shall see what I end up doing, just like I do not yet know which women I will be screwing.”
Willt let out a sound between frustration and amusement.
Obviously, sex was the highlight of my every morning. As a young adult with honest desires, getting to live them out was most certainly the perfect start to the day. Then that transitioned into me accompanying Esther into the shower and delighting in her body a little more. The absolute honour it was to ‘help’ her clean herself could not be emphasized enough.
A recent development was what happened after I left the shower. Esther tended to her hair, I prepared breakfast, that was the dynamic that had been established over the past three months. In the past week, a new addition to the household had shaken up that configuration.
I stepped into the mixture of living room and open kitchen with a hum in my throat and a smile on my lips. Clean and satisfied, I went from the presence of one gorgeous haremette to that of a prospective one.
Aclysia stood in the kitchen, diligently observing the development of an omelette. She was wearing an apron over her school uniform. Not quite the sexy combination of an apron and her birthday suit. Regardless, her sight was enough to challenge my ‘sexually satisfied’ status. The roundness of her butt filled her pleated skirt. A sight for a pervert’s eyes, she shifted her weight from left to right, wiggling that sizable bottom of her pear-shaped figure. I could see the little jiggles those motions created. Recollections of that very same butt under my palm had me grope the air in an attempt to hold on to those memories.
‘Is that little wiggle a thing girls I am attracted to just do, did she pick it up from Esther, or did I get that lucky twice?’ I thought, hypnotized by the back and forth sway. I must have stood there for a full minute just… watching.
Raising my gaze, I caught her glancing at me over her shoulder. A pleased glint was in her emerald eyes and a maidenly smile on her lips. She was enticing me. She had been enticing me every morning this past week. To give in was natural, perfectly justified even. An offer to the benefit of both parties was only refused by a fool.
I walked up to her. “Morning.” The simple word was my first greeting, the second the fulfilment of my hands’ desire. Even with both hands, I could not cup the entirety of her backside. “Bubble butts like yours are a gift to the sapient races. Nothing, not even the boons of chocolate and coffee combined, could compare.”
Aclysia chuckled, a reserved sound that was exactly as quiet as she wanted it to be. Had she trained herself to make her voice an exclusive treat for the master who was to stand close to her, his chosen maid, perhaps? To monopolize a voice was not among my typical desires, yet I could not dismiss how intrigued I was by the concept. Little whispers and giggles that only belonged to me. What a fantastic treat to consider.
“This is a softer greeting than usual, Karitas,” she said to me, while I carefully found where her plump behind met the mixture of fat and muscles of her thighs. It was such an interesting area of the human physique, that crease of squish. Doubly so for the female 90% of the population.
My typical stance towards fat was that I preferred it absent, with some varying degrees depending on body type. When it came to butts and thighs, a layer of fat was greatly appreciated. The preferred core of any good backside and meaty legs was still muscle. Encapsulating it with a squishy surrounding was a biological synergy of the highest order. The layer of fat gave an ever squishy, plump surrounding to the hard definitions underneath. When smooth skin then further covered that round and sizable combination, glory was achieved.
Glory was at my fingertips. I shamelessly reached under her skirt and grabbed her firm, juicy cheeks directly. “I did not want to reduce your work to scrambled eggs,” I told her, looking at the slowly solidifying omelette.
“Always aware,” Aclysia responded, appreciation swinging in her voice. After one more squeeze, I left her to concentrate on cooking.
Had I been acting on pure desire, I would have sacrificed the quality of the breakfast in favour of smacking her backside and doing whatever else came to mind. My goal was not to merely engage in eroticisms with Aclysia, I wished to be intimate with her. The difference was the emotional component and such a thing had to be carefully cultivated with deliberate action.
Paying attention was generally the greatest tool one had when it came to making a lasting impression. It sounded quite obvious, but anyone who had lived more than a few years knew how difficult it could be to listen to someone talk. Watching what someone was doing could be even harder. It was made a little easier and a little harder if that someone had such a fantastic ass.
Attention often had to be deliberately maintained. Personally, I had trained myself for many years to be aware of what was going on around me. It went hand in hand with my ability to open portals and teleport. Situational awareness was a fantastic tool in courtship, because everyone loved it when they were given what they needed without having to ask. It was also a fantastic tool to avoid the pain of teleporting into a wall.
I gave Aclysia her opportunity to make the perfect breakfast and I got the perfect breakfast. Honestly, I was the winner here. People like her, who derived glee from being of service, were an absolute blessing to everyone who knew them. A downright necessity for a harem as well, I considered. ‘When my Anomalia is full, every breakfast will have to be for eleven people. Someone has to enjoy cooking duty.’
I sat down at the table and pulled out my Ashod. Had I come to the kitchen about twenty minutes earlier, I could have helped with the prep work. Far along as she was, I would have just been in the way.
Browsing the internet, I contemplated the future of my lifestyle. I always knew I wanted a harem and I was certain I was willing to put the work in. Two stunning women, with bodies to match the beauty of their souls, I could already call mine. With those successes under my belt, I kept reconsidering what I had done right and what I had done wrong. Up until recently, I had paid near exclusive attention to the wooing part, not the rest of the life that came after that.
‘Really difficult to make any definite considerations when there’s so much still open.’ I came to the same conclusion as usual. What I had right now worked. My duty was to keep paying attention and do for the women of my love whatever I could. As much as I liked being treated to a home cooked breakfast every morning, I did not want to be pampered. Well, I did not want my existence to be defined by being pampered. Spending the occasional day in bed, surrounded by tits, ass, and compliments, that was definitely on the menu.
Those would be treats for me being a good provider and protector. An anchor in their life that they could hold onto.
Before long, I got my opportunity to be of use. Proactively, I started loading the various finished pieces of food onto a tray I manifested and then carried it up to the top of the mansion’s tower. Esther joined us up there. Food was consumed in a harmonious silence. My Queen was not one for mid-eating conversation and Aclysia was more the responsive type. Rather than strike up a conversation, I let the relaxing quiet dominate.
“I’ll take care of this,” I assured her, when Aclysia made gestures to stack the plates.
“It is-“
“You cooked, I can do this much. Plus, I don’t think you brought a tray.” Smiling, I disarmed any further protests the half-elven maid may have formulated. The plates she held were wrestled from her grip and placed on the semi-translucent construct of Astrality that I manifested. I left them there for the moment. “You should leave some of the chores for us.”
“I like to take care of the household,” Aclysia stated the obvious.
“Yeah, but taking care of my laundry may be a bit much.”
“I was already folding my own, it added no meaningful hassle to my routine.”
I scratched the side of my face and sighed. Such or similar answers were what I had come to expect whenever I tried to tell her that she didn’t have to go quite so hard. Certainly, I believed that the Pareto Principle could be applied to housework. In other words, I believed that 80% of the necessary chores would be taken care of by 20% of the members of it. The numbers wouldn’t quite break down so cleanly, since the dataset of participants was too small (especially at the moment). The spirit, however, I stood by.
Again, I just needed some way to give her recompense for her effort.
“If you ever need me for something, do tell me,” I assured her.
“I echo my Karitas’ statement,” Esther added, sipping on some milk.
Aclysia bowed her head, as if she had just received a gracious reward. “I shall take it into consideration.”
I felt a mild frustration at that answer. It was that typical, somewhat confusing feeling of being next to someone that was just too nice. Had we been at that stage in our relationship, I would have bent her over the table and spanked a little bit of selfishness into her. A hunch told me she would have enjoyed that. Well, considering that she was interested in joining my Anomalia in full knowledge of my inclinations, plus her relationship with the word ‘Master’, a hunch was an understatement. ‘All but confirmed’- that was more fitting.
I wanted to make further small talk, but my attention was captured by Esther. She placed her empty glass on the tray. That was all it took. My eyes were drawn first to her boobs, jiggling while she bowed over the table. A moment later, I beheld her red lips. Assertively, I took her by the back of the head and claimed her mouth.
The taste of the milk on her lips was quickly neutralized, swirled away by our tongues. We indulged ourselves deeply in what we knew would be the final kiss of the morning. That went not only for Esther and I, but also Aclysia. The maidly student boldly grabbed my arm and nuzzled against my side, pressing her breasts and right thigh against me. Of the latter, there was much more to feel. Warmth from both women enveloped my entire being with prickling happiness. It turned into a physical shudder when the half-elf pressed her pillowy pink lips against my neck.
Only having more haremettes there could have made the situation more satisfying. My resolve to find more was hardened all over again.
I let go of Esther on my own terms. “Alright, let’s stop here, before I have to keep one of you here.” The only joke in that sentence was that I, currently, should have asked only Esther to take care of what their presence did to me. Softly, the raven-haired lady flicked my forehead in the softest reprimand.
“You are mine to monopolize – for now,” she added that last bit with an acknowledging nod. Jealousy had been slumbering for a while. It stirred in its sleep sometimes, but Esther had mostly managed to come to terms with the situation. At the very least when it came to Aclysia. Which was all that really mattered at the moment. “I will come seek you later.”
“I’ll have something ready,” I promised quietly. Then I let go of her.
Esther straightened up and re-fixed the ribbon that confined her hair in the low ponytail. Whether I had grabbed her or not, that would have been necessary anyway. Any 30 minute stretch made it necessary. She made a commanding gesture and Aclysia detached from my side.
“Until later, Karitas,” she said her own goodbye, curtsying in a way that revealed a truly scandalous amount of leg. Then she followed her Queen down the stairs.
I sat there smiling for a little bit, stirring in how fantastic I had it. Eventually the lack of distractions reminded me that it was summer. The tower, for all its virtues, was also the highest point in the entire mansion. After the relatively mild morning hours, the sun shining on the roof and through the many windows turned the middle-sized chamber into half a greenhouse.
Both of my women were now on their way to the Anomalia Management Class for Queens. Aclysia still attended despite having opted out of gunning for that position. Understanding the many duties of a Queen should help the social cohesion of the harem. I fully supported that. Truthfully speaking, I should have probably booked a similar course for my position as King. I hadn’t even checked if that existed.
In my defence, I was doing quite well, generally speaking. Psychologically, I had a much easier job. Men had the greater drive to get many partners due to obvious biological reasons and the reality of my current environment was completely tilted in my favour. Because of that I lacked neither reason nor opportunity. Confidence, I had in spades as well.
‘Confidence in spades… heh,’ I chuckled to myself, realizing the accidental pun I had made, since my Queen was of the Spade variety. After my mild amusement settled, I returned back to the topic at hand. ‘I should look at some advice. People have been doing this for generations, they must have formulated some useful advice.’
Were there teachers I could ask about this? Maybe one of the libraries offered books on the matter? Perhaps I should just wait until next semester and scan the catalogue at that time? I cleaned the table while I contemplated those questions. Had I been on my own, I would have stopped the moment I threw everything in the dishwasher. Since I knew I would leave work for Aclysia otherwise, I grabbed a wet rag and a towel and headed right back up to give the table a swipe and, after that, the floor a vacuuming.
I was fine with leaving some dirt around, but this was no longer about me. This was about us and they deserved the best.
I stretched and headed back down to the kitchen to grab a glass of cold water and consider what to do next. The rest of my Saturday would follow a clear pattern. I would be on my own until about 11, at which point Esther and Aclysia (and Arlethia) would come back home. By then, I would have prepared something to eat. Nothing big, just enough to keep Esther’s appetite from souring her mood. Then we’d have about four hours of nothing, during which we ate actual lunch, before we moved into the City to take our bar shift at the Café Served. Aclysia would stay behind and certainly greet us with something opulent after we came back.
All of which meant I had now about two to three hours to myself. I had a couple of options of what I could do. Idea number one was to start carving out the one area of the house that was just for me. Getting a garage or some other area for workshopping had occurred earlier in the week and it was still bouncing around in my head. There, I could be as messy as I wanted and do whatever came to mind. Much as I wanted to do that, I did not feel motivated nor did I want to go through the hassle of calculating what it would cost me. Handling money was still an absolute chore to me. I would ask Esther to do the budgeting sometime.
Idea number two was to sit around in my room and just dilly-dally the time away. Certainly not the worst plan and I was heavily considering it. Only problem I had was that it was hot and would only get hotter. Considering my room was entirely mattress, I would end up lethargically laying around for two hours, listening but not listening to whatever autoplay put on.
Had I been stressed, I would have jumped at that idea, but I had no need to unwind at the moment. Plus, I could do the same Sunday morning, with the important difference being that a naked Esther would be in my arms.
Idea number three, I could work out. Now was as good a time as ever to get my daily body maintenance in. Me being sore now meant I could laze about and concentrate on watching Aclysia and Esther when they did their sport later. Plus, there was someone I could most effortlessly hang out with during these two hours.
I knocked on Willt’s door.
A groan, loud enough to make it through the thick door, made it to my ears. I counted the seconds. When the visage of my friend presented itself to me, I could only smile, “Thirteen, how fitting for someone of your dark persuasions.”
“You say they are my dark persuasions, but I feel like you’re here to torment me more than any daemon, demon or devil I ever met,” Willt groaned.
“What torture would I inflict on you, my longest friend? Certainly, what I demand of you causes aches and pains, but they are only to your benefit not the pain for pain’s sake that the pitchforks of Satan so eagerly inflict on their victims. Indeed, what I demand of you is not a pursuit of devilish lament, but of forthright discipline and…” I stopped myself when Willt let out a long sigh. “Alright, so you want to tag along or not?”
“…Sure, just give me a second,” he said and closed the door.
About twenty seconds later, he opened it again. All that had changed was that he had put on a pair of flexible pants on top of his underpants and a loose black t-shirt. We moved to one of the unoccupied rooms on the base floor, where it was the coolest, and rolled out some mats. It hadn’t exactly become a ritual for the two of us to do this every Saturday, but it happened frequently enough to say it was a habit.
With everything else that was going on in our lives, us two guys spending time together outside of classes was getting rarer and I did not see that changing anytime soon. More likely was that the time together would get rarer. I didn’t lament that, what I got in return was well worth it. Still, one should hold on to good friends when one could.
For the first twenty minutes of the workout, Willt just mimicked my warm-up routine. He was a lanky guy and pretty flexible despite his lack of regular exercise. That being said, his stamina was terrible and so he was gasping on his back once we transitioned to actual sets.
“Come on,” I encouraged him, “one more.”
“That’s… what… you said… the last… three times…”
“And you got three more done. Expectation, my dear friend, raises one’s motivation. I present my expectation, what is your response?” Willt, sweat dripping from his everything, clenched his teeth and curled his upper body up one more time. I wouldn’t exactly call it a proper sit-up, but the thought counted here. “Alright, guess it’s your turn to torment me.”
I managed to execute a whole lot more of the sit-ups than he did. The final result was the same though, him standing over me and repeating the demand, “One more,” until my entire midsection trembled from the exhaustion of every new curl.
At the end of an hour, he could barely move and I was contently sweaty. “You want to die yet?”
“I already have… this is hell… figurative hell…” Willt gasped. His thin arms moved about as if they were made of lead, searching for his water bottle. I nudged it within reach. “Aaaahhhhhh,” he let out a deeply relieved breath after taking several deep swings. “That’s all you get out of me today.”
“You did improve a little bit,” I told him. “Should probably do some cardio though.”
“What I should do and what I will do are two totally different things.” Willt managed to pull himself into an upright position. “Enough about me, what’s bouncing around your head today?”
“I was thinking about building some kind of crafting room,” I confessed. The idea was still sticking around and I had learned a long time ago to at least consider what my brain wouldn’t let go. It drove me to create a number of objects and to create I required space and tools. Well, space more so than tools.
“Like a garage?”
“Exactly like a garage!” I agreed enthusiastically and took a swig of my own water. “With alchemy utensils and a workbench, maybe a pottery disk, and whatever else.”
“Probably a bad idea to do that here.”
“Because of the money?”
Willt amusedly raised an eyebrow. “Esther really made you hyperaware of your spending habits.”
“It’s better than the alternative.”
“True enough, but I was thinking more because we’ll only be in this house for another nine months.”
“Hmm,” I hummed. The point was taken. We would vacate the mansion at the end of our second semester. More accurately, we would vacate it after the tournament at that time placed us in our appropriate segment of the Welldark hierarchy. “Doesn’t seem like that large an issue though. It gets moved for us.”
“Problem is more whether or not where you end up after that has enough space.”
“My destination I have no doubt about, as I know the steps and know who I am. It may be horridly sparkly and bright, but nothing less than the utmost luxury for my partners can I abide.”
“Please don’t start rhyming when you extrapolate.”
“I shall see what I end up doing, just like I do not yet know which women I will be screwing.”
Willt let out a sound between frustration and amusement.
