Chapter Fifty-Five Fluffy Moments and Not So Fluff (Patreon)

The young woman stepped into the house. Behind her, a young girl wobbled up the steps. Missing one stair, she tumbled forward. Hitting her head in the process.

The young woman glared at her. “Stop fumbling around young lady, we are almost there.”

In response the girl began to cry. She knew it wasn’t entirely the girl’s fault and that she was being a bit harsh. Yet she couldn’t be bothered to care. It wasn’t like the girl was important or anything. It was only her sick three-year-old that her master wanted to see. That part was the only reason she was bothering with this. There better be belly rubs for having to deal with this.

She blinked at that line of thought. Her mind parsing over her thoughts. They didn’t line up with what she used to think about her daughter. Yet they seemed right. Afterall it felt... wrong to love or care for her daughter. Once she gave her to Master, things would feel much better as she would no longer be responsible for the girl.

It took her a moment to sort her thoughts. She had no idea why she had been bothering to care for this little girl. It was such a pain, she was always crying and demanding things. So much coin spent on her that could have gone to other things. All because her past self had these weird feelings about the girl.

Her glare intensified and she yanked the little one up. “Stop throwing a tantrum! We can’t keep the Master waiting.”

“Mommy’s mean!” wailed the girl as she was dragged through the door. Once again she was hoping this would be worth it. As she came through dragging her wailing daughter she looked around. The other pets were nowhere to be seen, nor were any of her other daughters. For a moment she considered asking after them but then she realized that wouldn’t be proper. Besides, it didn’t really matter what the master did with her kids. They were his now.

A door slid open a moment later to admit the Master. She smiled, “I brought her, just like you asked.”

He smiled, “So you have.”

With swift movements, he approached and picked her off the floor. His tentacles glowed as he wrapped a couple around her throat. In an instant, her wails were silenced. Yet she was still clearly trying to cry. “That’s better. Now stand up and apologize to your mother for crying.”

The girl kept throwing her silent tantrum. So he simply stripped off her clothing and stood her up. Then his tentacles slammed against her naked rear, hard. Once, twice, thrice and he kept going. Until she stopped and started crying out, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry.”

He pointed at her and said, “Tell that to your mother and why.”

“I’m sorry for crying mommy, I won’t do it again.”

He smiled, “Good girl. Now let's go get you settled.” Then he rubbed her head and pulled her along. The young woman watched them go. Yes, her daughter was going to be just fine with him. It took her a moment to realize she didn’t get her belly rub. She hoped he would come back soon to give her one.

Phillip adjusted the straps of his trusty enchanted armor. He had already sent his reply. He was planning to go via gate to Sunblossom. Using the Warp Gates was not cheap but they were the fastest way to get anywhere. Even if he was dumping enough gold to buy a lovely plot of land and a mansion to go with it, its cost would be worth it. Instead of spending weeks traveling to reach Sunblossom, he would be there late tomorrow evening. That was a lot of time saved and given the tone of urgency, time saved was important. The sooner he could get there, the more likely he would have his chance to become leader of his very own guild. One he could build from the ground up. The opportunity was so priceless that that gold was money well spent. Even if normally he would have avoided taking warp gates.

Happy with his armor, he grabbed his pack off the desk, and for the hundredth time he rechecked the contents. Making sure he still had his spare armor, spare clothing, and travel supplies. Those supplies included bathing supplies, medicine, bandages, and food. He also had some funds hidden in his pack. Also in there were his cooking supplies, a tent, two sleeping bags, and warding stones. He was quite thankful that he had spent the money on an enchanted pack that could store far more stuff than its size would suggest. The pack was one of his older possessions and while there were packs that could store more, he liked this one. It was rugged and could take a lot of abuse. Even better, it came with a self-repair and a chamaeleon function. That second function was often popular with women’s fashion in the cities but it was good in the field as well. Not only could he adjust the appearance of the pack to better go with his outfit, but he could make it mimic his surroundings. Thereby helping it blend in, and he had a few uses for equipment like that. At the moment he kept the thing at a simple grey.

Satisfied with his supplies, he shouldered his pack and headed for the door. Outside, his Mother Lae, and Lilyn were all there to see him off. Lilyn was pouting with a few tears in her puffy eyes. It seemed she already missed him and he hadn’t left yet.

As soon as she saw him she rushed him. Pressing herself against his armored leg in a fashion he found quite familiar. She did the same thing when they met. “Don’t leave me!”

He reached down and rubbed her head, “I need to do this.”

After a moment as she was starting to relax, he knelt down so that they could see eye to eye. He smiled, “Don’t worry we are going to see each other again before you know it. I’ll show you my new house and my big new guild. It will be fun!”

She was still pouting but the tears had stopped. Lilyn had even relaxed a little. “I don’t want you to go!”

“I know but grandma will be there for you. Don’t you like her?”

She nodded, “...I do.”

“But you still want me. Tell you what, I’ll write you a letter as soon as I get there.”

Mother spoke up, “That sounds fun. We can read it together. How does that sound Lilyn?”

She nodded, as the little one seemed to steel herself a little. He pulled her into a hug and smiled, “There’s my girl. Be strong for me and Grandma. Okay?”

The girl nodded again. As they broke he turned to mother. Who gave a weak smile, “A shame you have to leave so soon. I wish you luck!”

Lae then produced a box, “I agree. It was nice having you back. I made you something for the road.”

He thanked her and checked the box briefly. It was a simple lunch, nothing more but the gesture was appreciated. As he slipped it into his bag and they said their goodbyes again. Before he slipped out into the streets. Once again on his own. As the door closed he smiled, aside from being alone, the future was looking bright. Soon he would have a guild and everything he dreamed of. Now the only thing missing was the right partner for him. He didn’t know who they would be but he knew it would not be long. Timura had recently told him that he would soon meet his love-to-be. Idly he found himself wondering what she would be like.

With those thoughts in mind he made his way through the familiar streets of his hometown. It was not long before he reached a busier area and was forced to slow down. All around him people were bustling about. Going about their own day’s activities. Young kids of all shapes and ages were running around. Playing or sticking close to their mothers. Nearby people were trying to sell their wares while adventurers in armor moved through the crowd. Everyone here had something to do. It brought a certain amount of life to the district and the din was quite familiar.

With the confidence of someone who had been here many times. He turned down the road and into the throngs of people. His path soon took him to a fancier building. Made of dark stone and decorated with inlays of gold. Above its entrance was a sign, a golden symbol of a sun and moon surrounded by a distorted circle. Slashed through with two lines and orbited by bizarre moons. He stepped to the door and slipped inside the building. Where he was soon noticed by a smiling young woman. Her fluffy rounded ears and black fur marked her as Bearkin. She was deceptively petite. Her fur had a lovely sheen and was quite fluffy combined with her rounded face she was incredibly cute. The glasses on her face and the heavy book in her hand contributed to her librarian look. Phillip quickly noted her muscles however, she was deceptively strong and was easily carrying the book in one hand.

The bear girl smiled, “Welcome sir. What may the Moonlit Departures guild do for you today?”

As she stepped around the desk he took in more details about her outfit. She was wearing a simple plain top that hugged her modest breasts and left her belly completely exposed. What wasn’t so obvious earlier was that the only thing covering her lower half was a simple pair of panties. They hugged her front fairly tightly and as a result, the shape of her pussy was quite visible.

He pulled out some gold, “I need to get to Sunblossom town.”

She smiled, “I see, certainly sir. If you would follow me. You are quite lucky, the warp mage is here now recharging the gate. I can get you registered to use it when she is done in about two hours.”

He was in a bit of a rush, but there was no helping it. Moonlit Departures was the only Planar guild in the whole city. As a result, it seemed he suddenly had two hours to kill. “I guess that leaves me with some time to just sit here and wait.”

He followed her into the back and she settled behind a desk. Where he gave her his name and registered his transit. As they were doing that she spoke up, “I see you’re an adventurer. If you are going there on guild business I could register a guild discount.”

“I’m not sure this qualifies.”

She frowned, “oh? Something unusual then. Anything you care to share or is it private?”

“I wouldn’t call it private but perhaps best not to spread the details.”

She nodded, “One moment.”

The young bearkin woman moved around quickly shifting a few things and channeling mana into several well-hidden wards. “Alright, we can speak more freely now.”

He shifted, “I recently received a letter from the Sunblossom guildmaster. She told me of a dungeon recently found in the Borderlands.”

The bearkin’s eyes widened, she quickly reached into the desk and channeled mana into another stone. Activating a second set of wards before pulling out a book. Setting the heavy one she had been carrying the whole time down. “Yes best not to spread that around.”

She scanned through the book, “Hmm and I am not seeing any mention of it here. SO it must be really new. Do you know what the eval team said?”

“Nothing yet, she said the evaluation hasn’t begun. Wants me due to my reputation and would like to move fast to set up a guild and dungeon town.”

She frowned, blinked then her eyes widened and nodded, “Yes I think I see why.” then she turned serious, “The Moonlit Departures guild is very grateful for the information.”

She took the gold that he had given her moments ago transferred a third of it into a smaller bag then gave him the larger bag. While quickly doing something in another book. Then she produced an envelope in a moment. Consulted something and smiled, “Sorry the discount is so small but there is only so much we can do right now.” She handed him the envelope.

He glanced at curiously, “What is this?”

“Something to allow you to contact us quickly. Once your town is established. Please do contact us, so that we can negotiate establishing a branch near your as yet unfounded guild.”

Phillip shifted his stance, “Oh?”

With that she launched into her sales pitch.