Rupegia

Our procession continues across the fantasy-sci-fi metropolis, but things change drastically once we reach the palace grounds. It's now filled with nobility, but we've never met the overwhelming majority of them as they were doing whatever else that wasn't fighting during the attack of the horde.

Sure, they needed to keep their territories under control and might've sent their personal soldiers and airships to help hold the final line, but the Hau-Hou did the heavy lifting. We believe that a small number of them did participate in the battle, but they might've blended in with the rest of the Hau-Hou soldiers.

So their mannerly clapping and cheering aren't as impactful as the crazy shouting and fucking from the crowd. But what can I say? I love the "common man"… wait, no, that sounded gay. I love the commoners, but "common women" are my favorite.

Of course, the "noble" girls love the attention from the nobles, and so do Hihiriwa, Silvano (who seems to have fangirls even here), and Alcander. They're in the carriage behind ours, so they're worshiped like heroes just as we are. Oritiki and Sandoro politely smile and wave back, but both seem rather indifferent to the attention, while I pity Brett, who's stiff as a board as his strikingly cute corgi-like face attracts a lot of attention.

And the carriage continues into the palace until we reach the not-Sistine-Chapel and dismount. Only the most prominent nobles are allowed here, and I recognize a few faces, though I know none of their names. I'm more interested in the Princesses that I finally have full access to.

But there's one last formality we must get through before we're allowed to enjoy ourselves.

A golden carpet is extended to us, and we're instructed to walk it to its other end, where the Queen and King Hau-Hou wait for us at the bottom of their thrones. To not meet us while on a raised platform is a sign of respect, that they consider us their equals, and though this isn't different from the first time we met, the significance here is that they're doing it publicly.

And once we reach the end of the carpet, which puts us a few meters away from the pair, King Temamana raises his huge hand, and the music stops, and then the crowd goes absolutely silent.

He promptly begins his speech, his voice echoing magically but without a hint of static, "Lords, Ladies, noblemen, and noblewomen. We all know that a great shadow loomed over our small nation for the last year and more, and it turned into a real nightmare all of a sudden…" He pauses briefly to let the gravity of that sink in, but then his tone becomes rapidly enthusiastic. "The whole nation was mobilized, and in a magnificent show of coordination, we armed and supplied every single soldier that fought…! I'm proud of our people for bringing this divine Boon to our Realm."

Then Patika follows up his impassioned short speech with a more warm and caring tone, "But let's not forget who created the magnificent weapons that saved us. And we must also honor the warriors that fought in the dungeon's final room and destroyed the core. These two groups were the shield and the sword that brought us victory!"

A servant wearing golden robes comes forward and unrolls a golden parchment, then solemnly reads from it, "Lily Sinngh, the Unbreakable, who bravely took the Titan curse upon herself and survived with her undying soul!"

Lily just raises an eyebrow at that.

Then another servant does the same, "U Thant and his holy light; soothing, healing, and smiting our enemies from afar!"

And another… "Chesa Nagangrap, the Stormmaker. Her clouds repeatedly protected our brave warriors, giving them respite from the relentless attack."

Neither Thant nor Chesa know how to react.

"Samkelo Nkosi, and his invaluable alchemy. May his enemies never sleep well again in fear of what he may bring out into the Realm."

"It's chemistry," Alissa hears him mutter under his breath.

"Imperial Princess Urmeie Doxa and her knights. Daring and selfless for joining us out of her own good will, but let nobody claim that we Hau-Hou don't reward our friends."

And the bear princess snorts, pleased.

"Princess Belind Krunigrihir, the brave lancer pixie that zipped and zapped across the battlefield like a deadly blur!"

"Oh, gosh," Belind cutely mumbles.

"Prince Lookwlind Krunigrihir, the Inventor. Starting from the fearsome creation of the Ryders, he refined it into the greatest weapon of our era!"

"Oh…" is all he can say in surprise at the kind of praise he's receiving.

"Brett, the Wrestler of False Gods." -The corgi man chokes on his spit- "His Gift shows that humanoid divinity is still superior!"

"Silvano Vagante, the Silver Lightning. A relentless warrior with uncountable kills to his name."

The androgynous man barely reacts, only looking pleased with his praise.

"Alcander Avanara, responsible for the defense and distribution of the men. Flawless management that allowed us to focus on the battle."

The imperial man smirks smugly.

"Hihiriwa Tarakonaa, the captain of the Ryder Carrier and the bulwark of our last line of defense. A steady leader in our most difficult time."

And the dragon-headed man shares a nod with Alcander.

"Oritiki, the captain of the Ryders' Celestial Horns. The angels and saviors of pilots. May her glorious soldiers live forever!"

I actually turn to her to give my nod of approval, and now she shows a pleased reaction.

"Sandoro Irme, the Commander of the defenders. His watchful eye and keen mind kept us all together in our darkest time!"

And the old elf seems to relax now that his pride has been properly stroked, almost as if he just came in his pants.

There are a few others that are named, but they're just officers of the Hau-Hou or some random noble.

"But we can't understate the importance of the Ryder Royal Family."

"Yulania Ryder! The Untouchable. With a perfect blade and perfect moves, she won without a single injury."

Yunia just smiles with queenly smugness, her quintessential expression.

"Aoi Ryder! The Solemn! One of the inventors of the factory machines, she's as fearsome and deadly as her own creations."

"What?!" Aoi suddenly exclaims through [Bind]. She's experiencing for the first time the cringe of receiving a Title that you don't really identify with.

"Lina Ryder, the Gunsmith. The other creator of the factory machines, but also responsible for the first rifle… and the beginning of the new era."

Lina is another who doesn't know how to react, so she just squeezes Ciel's hand a bit tighter.

"Ciel Ryder and her angel wings. A shining symbol of hope and safety for all those who fought near her."

And our chocolate angel has butterflies in her stomach from both embarrassment and happiness.

"Hana Ryder and her emerald glint. Charging across the sky and fiercely confronting the most fearsome enemies head-on."

"Fuck yeah," she proudly hums in my soul space.

"Roxanne Ryder, who watched over us and saved numerous soldiers from certain death with her explosive spells!"

"I'm surprised they remembered me since I was inside the fortress most of the time," she casually remarks through [Bind].

Most likely, they recognized her iconic "brain-sploding" spell.

"Alissa Ryder, the markswoman that never misses. Each second, another enemy died to her nimble hands and sharp eyes."

Her fluffy tail wags a little bit as she's trying to look like a proper queen, but she's still my eager little fox at heart.

"And finally! Wolf Ryder, the great summoner chosen by the Gods! Killer of false gods and a father to his soldiers!"

Hm… I like that.

"May all these names be Blessed for their selfless efforts!" Patika immediately continues.

"And we now proclaim them all Saviors of the Sky Lands!" Temamana finishes, and we all feel the Title being written in our "Status."

Then everyone claps, but this time, it isn't a meme, and it feels just as awkward as it sounds. The cheers help, though we're still just standing in place while a bunch of mostly strangers applaud us.

But wait, there's more. Some hot Chimera women wearing semi-transparent bikinis come forth and put golden feather necklaces around our necks.

Are we free now?

"Speech," Alissa nudges me through [Bind].

Oh, my fucking Gods… the one time that I actually want to party…

And it does seem that everyone is expecting me to say something.

Ah, whatever…

I have a few words in mind, so I get Yunia to filter them into something more refined, and then I speak out loud, "The Ryder Royal family was called here by the Gods, but our purpose wasn't to help this nation. We did so because we had to, because it was right. At first, we were simply exploring the dungeon on our own, but then the horde came out, and we couldn't hold it back ourselves.

"You've saved your own lives with your own hands; we've only given you the tools to do so. Let's celebrate together because, tonight, we're all 'Saviors of the Sky Lands'!"

And now this is how you start a party. This tickles the pride of the nobles, even though too many of them didn't really fight because they're just that self-important. Sky Lander nobility isn't known for being very upright and virtuous, so their egos are a bit inflated, and I just blew a bit more gas into them.

But the only ones who know the real truth of everything are the Hau-Hou and our family, and that's just fine with me. We're the dragons in a den of snakes while the Hau-Hou look suspiciously lizard-like, so we may walk confidently, but we're still watching our steps.

I won't forgive nor forget the stolen golem any time soon.

There's Eia extract by a nearby table, so I have Alissa accompany me while I beeline to it, then have the servant pour me a cup.

Have I become an Eia-alcoholic?

"Not really," Yunia reassures me, so I thank her.

And I immediately down it. Its flavor isn't as striking as my Cinco Flores, but I notice chocolate and vanilla within it, and that's enough to earn my seal of approval.

As for the party, while I do want to enjoy myself, it's also an excellent opportunity for us to investigate a bit about the theft while Yunia and I slowly and very delightedly plot the demise of our enemies. Therefore, we start one of our trademarked "Gestalt Operations."

Roxanne, Hana, and Ciel put on a little show of bragging, boasting, teasing, and praising that draws the attention of the more easily charmed; Yunia gets herself embroiled in drama to search for potential targets; Aoi acts intimidatingly solemn to bait a reaction out of anyone who has something to fear from us; Lina observes the crowd in search of suspicious characters; Alissa eavesdrops on them in case they blurt out something damning; and I watch over the girls and help them coordinate as I always do.

This is actually fun.

"Are you not going to join them?" I hear a sweet little voice coming from my left.

"Hm?" I hum and turn towards the source. Then I'm blessed by the sight of the sparkly not-Tinkerbell staring curiously at me.

"You're acting oddly. Aren't you going to join your wives?" she questions and floats a bit closer.

I chuckle softly, my voice coming out more huskily than I expected, thanks to her presence waking up the dragon. "Oh… I got distracted. We're… 'coordinating' through a very special type of magic."

"Coordinating what?" she hums as her pretty blue eyes stare at me intensely.

And I lower my voice with Alissa's help so that I get to a level that not even she can hear. "Bait. We want to find the golem thief."

But that doesn't fully answer her worries. "So that's why you're smiling to yourself like a fool?"

"Ouchie," I whisper with a chuckle.

And now she knits her little blonde eyebrows in annoyance. "If I had waited a second longer, you would've been swamped by self-interested Sky Lander nobles trying desperately to make a connection with 'The Savior.'"

Well, she's actually being nice to me, so I honestly thank her, "I appreciate your consideration for me."

She nods and exhales loudly like a true princess, then basically demands, "Hmph. Appreciate it by participating in the party- with me."

"You want to steal me from my wives?" I ask back, instantly returning to my sensuously husky and playful demeanor.

"Why steal? Don't they share you every day, already?" she follows up without a hint of hesitation. Few women would be able to say such a thing to my face without blushing or stuttering.

"So you do want to have me to yourself," I smugly point out.

And her tone gradually becomes sultry. "Not forever. Just a little bit… a little bite," she replies and flashes a little cheeky smile.

But she's pressing dangerous buttons. "Careful. Having a draconic side means that I don't hold back once the chains are off."

"I've seen plenty of it. I'm sure I can handle it," the little not-Tinkerbell boldly claims, her tone so perfectly innocent that it angers the dragon.

I'm gonna break you.

Meanwhile, Urmeie stares at us from afar, then clicks her tongue and quietly whines, "Tch, I guess I lost to the fucking princess."

"'Lost'? Why is it a competition?" Ciel immediately engages with her, not willing to let anyone brood on this festive day.

"I've known him longer than her, and yet he keeps rejecting me," the bear grunts childishly.

"He hasn't 'rejected' you," the angel retorts matter-of-factly so that she doesn't try to argue.

"He…" -Urmeie turns an angry scowl towards Ciel, but then her face freezes for a second, and she frowns- "Well, he's 'scared' of me, like most men… or rather, his masculinity is scared of me."

"His butt hole is scared of you," Ciel rather candidly states.

And Urmeie snorts. "Yeah, that too. But he still won't fuck me, even if I stop fingering assholes."

"You know what?" Hana suddenly barges in as she's currently letting other people speak.

"What…?" Urmeie reflexively replies as her furry brow furrows.

"I'm gonna convince him to fuck you. Just don't touch his asshole," the daring dragonkin daringly states.

Excuse me?

"I don't need your pity," the Imperial Princess uses her royal tone.

And Hana becomes smug as she crosses her arms, pressing her dress against her tits and showing the outline of her nipples. "Too bad; I'm gonna do it anyway."

"Then I just won't fuck him," Urmeie grunts and snorts as she repeatedly glances at the pointy bits.

Hana isn't trying to seduce her, but she puffs up her chest to look even more smug, which makes her pointy bits even more visible. "Your loss. Double loss since you've already lost once to the princess… and why do you call her 'the princess' when you're also a princess?"

She assumes a princessly tone again as she categorically rebuffs, "I'm not going to fall for such cheap provocations. And I call her 'the princess' because she's a proper one, while I'm not. Well, not really."

But Hana is quite stubborn. "Look, you two have the fucking desire to fuck each other real fucking hard. Just put your pride on hold for a bit while you bump your hips, and it'll be the best fuck of your entire life. I guarantee it."

For once, Urmeie isn't being boneheaded. She breathes in deeply, then lets out a low, annoyed grumble, "Hmmm… I don't want to refuse right away, but-…"

And Hana happily opens her arms wide, then pats the Princess on her furry shoulder. "That 'but' is enough for me. It's really fucking frustrating to watch you two dance around each other like this, and I'd rather not have you mope around like you've lost a fight."

"I'm not moping!" the proud bear growls in a low tone to not frighten those around her.

"Why do you have this rivalry with Princess Belind, anyway?" Ciel interjects to divert her attention before Hana can push her buttons too hard.

Urmeie is annoyed at being so explicitly pushed around like this, but she still answers Ciel directly, "Like I said, she's too much of a princess while I'm not. She wants me to act like one while I'd rather everyone forget my background."

"You don't act like you want people to forget it," Ciel points out, rather confused.

"Yeah, that's the problem. I like the benefits that being an 'Imperial Princess' brings," she unashamedly admits.

I've kind of given up on trying to make her into a better person.

But Ciel hasn't…

And she promptly begins, "Now that's a problematic stance. How about you…"

But I completely forget about them because things are spicing up with Belind.

"How about a dance, then?" I huskily suggest.

But she looks me up and down with a worried frown. "Erm… I… don't think we're 'compatible' in that way."

"Now that's where you're wrong," I cheekily state with a husky chuckle. Then I open my "Status" and start moving my points around. "I just need a minute to activate my 'cheats.'"

She raises her blonde little eyebrows high as she amusedly repeats, "'Cheats'?"

"Another name for my Gift," I offhandedly reply.

Then I put 30 points into [Mana Control] and use my newfound magical ability to activate [Mana Body] and shrink myself. After the stretching I did to my mana organ, this kind of effort still hurts a bit, but it also feels good, like stretching a tired limb.

I'm the poster child for self-harm, so I power through the pain because pussy is on the line. And that's how I achieve the one thing I never thought I'd ever do: become smaller.

Belind is pretty much half my size, so by reducing my height by a third, I'm now just a tad taller than her. Paradoxically, I actually feel tall now because Belind isn't a loli; she's a slightly thick little woman.

"I shouldn't have doubted," she states with a girlish chuckle as she lands and takes my hand.

"Never, not with me," I huskily brag.

Then we wait a few seconds for the current music to finish, and we simply stare at each other as we enjoy this closeness. Even her smell feels "sparkly" and fairy-like, as if she had sprayed herself with a faint amount of Pop Rocks, but she mostly has a fresh, flowery smell.

The song finally ends, and I flash an eager smile, making her smile back. She's such a pretty little thing with such a pretty little face that I feel my blood boil just from the idea of fucking her silly. She has that doll-like perfection that draws out the perverted desire to break her… with my Cock, I mean.

And then we start dancing. It's a waltz, so we spin, and spin, and spin. Left and right, forward and back, she slides across the floor with perfect control as she uses her pretty butterfly wings.

It's actually extremely easy to dance this way as there's little chance of me stepping on her feet, but with level 10 [Dancing], I slide across the ground just as well as she does, without the need for magic.

This isn't a majestic display of coordination through telepathy or extreme dancing skills, as my partner can't hear my thoughts and also doesn't seem to have maxed out the skill, but this dance is still enjoyable and makes me feel… intimate with her. Having excuses to touch all over her body feels like foreplay.

"But that's why dancing was invented?" Roxanne questions confusedly.

"Only your race's dancing style," Ciel points out.

But the other girls aren't 100% in agreement.

"Oh…" Ciel embarrassedly hums.

The girls let me enjoy my little dance in peace, but it ends in the blink of an eye, and now Belind and I are left worked up with no outlet for our energy besides the sexually attractive person before us. So we kiss.

Shy, eager, and experienced. She has an invigorating tongue, and her taste is as refreshing as her smell. The girls all partake in the experience because nobody can deny how great it feels.

But this is just the appetizer for a hungry dragon, so I pull back to leave her wanting for more, and she even reflexively tries to seek me out as I back away before she catches herself. She's sly and proud enough to not show how much she actually wants The Cock, but just this little slip is enough to completely betray her.

"I've had enough of this party. How about we go somewhere private?" I whisper in her ear, making full use of my [Sexual Charm], and I see the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"Like your bedroom?" she whispers back, sounding actually eager.

That wasn't what I was going to say, actually, but I'll take it. "You're the one who suggested it, but I was thinking of the balcony. It's always a pretty view."

"Sure," she whispers back, her tone so full of eagerness to Suck Cock that it's now my turn to have the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Using a spell in the presence of other royalty would be a faux pas, so I take her hand and guide her outside the hall as I slowly make myself tall again. Then I promptly open a [Gate] and cross through it.