MI88: Curiosity and Cats (Patreon)

Demonstrating one of the reasons she was known as Paul's songbird, Barbara made no attempts to hold in her voice as his hips smacked into hers with intensifying force.

Having grown used to her younger sister's shenanigans, Jean enjoyed a momentary reprieve on the opposite side of the bed, quietly conversing with Eula to get up to speed on everything that had occurred while they were gone.

Upon hearing about Paul's and Reida's unplanned children, Jean couldn't help exhaling a sigh as she quietly remarked, "I knew something like this would happen sooner or later..."

Shaking wayward thoughts from her mind, Jean met Eula's gaze as she asked, "I'm assuming you've already heard from Ningguang? What did she have to say on the matter?"

Though she was briefly distracted by the scene of Paul lightly smacking Barbara's bottom as the latter shouted, "Harder~!" Eula eventually nodded her head and explained, "Lady Ningguang recommended that Master Paul journey to the Capital and accept Water God Reida's invitation to train him as her successor. We make for the Milbots Region at the beginning of the Fifth Month."

"I see..."

Suppressing a second sigh, Jean took a moment to organize her thoughts before asking, "Has Master Paul said anything regarding our involvement in the matter? I can't imagine him being comfortable with having us in the Capital..."

To Jean's surprise, Eula nodded her head and explained, "We are to escort and attend him. Master Paul has expressed a willingness to 'play ball' with the Nobility, but his primary concern is securing and protecting his children. If it turns out to be a trap or someone attempts to use their status to coerce us, that's the end of the game. We will buy time and do as much damage as possible while Master Paul attempts to flee with his children. If that proves impossible, we will go to war with the Kingdom of Asura."

Furrowing her brows, Jean couldn't help questioning, "War? Is that truly the best course of action?"

Understanding Jean's concerns, Eula adopted a rare smile as she said, "Don't worry. Master Paul isn't the type of man that would order us to target civilians or raze cities. The peasantry is bound to suffer, but our primary targets will be the Nobles affiliated with the First Prince and his Faction. They will undoubtedly attempt to leverage our Master's children against him, but he has already mentally prepared himself. If we cannot save them outright, we will seek vengeance on their behalf."

Though she knew he would hesitate when the time came, Eula respected Paul's resolution to forgo negotiations if the Asura Kingdom attempted to use his children against him. Attempting to compromise with the corrupt was no different than giving them a license to do as they please. The only time such people even pretended to see reason was when held at the end of a blade.

Seeing the anticipatory light in Eula's amber-gold eyes, Jean couldn't stop herself from becoming somewhat sullen. After observing Paul for several years, she knew he would do what he thought was necessary to preserve both of their worlds. However, no amount of decisiveness could prepare a person to ignore the plight of their children. Paul might not admit it, but he was a caring man at heart. If his children were forced to suffer because of his unwillingness to compromise, he would never be the same...

"Are there no other alternatives...?"

Shaking her head, Eula calmly affirmed, "Not without transposing our will over our Master's. While this situation is less than ideal, it is ultimately the result of our Master living as he pleases. Is that not what we requested of him?"

Furrowing her brows, Jean intended to rebut but was interrupted by an ear-piercing scream. When she looked over her shoulder, she found her younger sister with her back arched; eyes rolled towards the back of her head as she gripped the sheets beneath them with enough force to tear into the fabric.

"..."

Taking advantage of Jean's pause, Eula took a moment to fix her hair as she sat up and confidently appended, "Our duty is to ensure our Master is safe and able to enjoy the life he has chosen for himself. Leave the more complicated affairs to Ningguang and The Seven."

Since Eula hadn't bothered to keep her voice down, Paul adopted a fairly cheeky smile as he looked toward her and remarked, "I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one enjoying myself. Now, bring- me- that- ass..."

"Hmph...!"

Though she loudly harumphed in response to Paul's boorish words, Eula didn't hesitate to crawl over Jean on all-fours. Paul had never been one to slack in the bedroom, but his skills and stamina had improved qualitatively under Lisa's meticulous 'guidance.' She would never admit it, but Eula had fallen in love long ago. Just not with Paul directly...

Ignoring the bodily fluids covering it from top to bottom, Eula placed a lingering kiss on the tip of Paul's penis before taking it into her mouth and cleaning it in preparation for her personal use. The taste made her want to gag, but it also caused the conflagration pervading her usually frigid body to turn into a veritable inferno...

...

..

.

Though she usually stayed in an Inn located a few houses away from Amalie's Bakery, Roxy ended up spending the night after drinking herself unconscious earlier that evening. When she awoke, she found herself in a small, extremely odorous room that smelled heavily of Beast People.

As it wasn't the first time she had awoken in a place she didn't recognize, especially after a night of heavy drinking, Roxy didn't panic. Instead, she sat up and checked the state of her clothes before rubbing her head and groaning, "That's the last time I get drunk..."

Willfully ignoring the fact she had said the same thing nearly every single time she got drunk, Roxy searched the room for something to drink. She quickly noticed a large glass had been set out for her on a nightstand, so she immediately downed its contents without worrying about whether or not it had been laced with something.

Though it was nearing the end of Winter, the temperature inside the room Roxy was staying in was roughly 5 degrees. As a result, the water in the glass still tasted crisp and fresh despite a very prominent aftertaste.

Upon emptying the contents of the glass, Roxy exhaled a contented sigh before setting it on the nightstand and wondering aloud, "Now, where am I? The last thing I remember is..."

Recalling nothing since the time her Water Ball had exploded in her face, a rather prominent shade of red spread through Roxy's cheeks. It didn't persist for very long, but she suddenly felt as though the room was a lot warmer than it had been...

Recovering enough of her faculties to cast a Beginner-Rank Detoxification Magic, memories came flooding from the recesses of Roxy's mind as she groaned, "I remember now...some of Paul's 'friends' had returned from the Sword Sanctum. After that..."

Though she attempted to repress them, Roxy couldn't prevent the memories of her nagging and subsequently trying to flirt with Paul from resurfacing. It wasn't the first time she had badgered a guy she liked while drunk, but tonight was markedly different from the others as she actually managed to achieve some results.

"Oh, gods..."

Covering her face with both hands, a cocktail of emotions assailed Roxy as she fought the paradoxical urge to both squeal excitedly and smother herself with a pillow. She couldn't remember the conversation that had led up to it, but she could vividly recall daring Paul to kiss her. 

Rather than simply giving Roxy a peck on the lips, Paul pulled Roxy across his lap, effectively cradling her in his arms as he bent down to provide her with a less than chaste kiss. Had things ended there, Roxy may have been beside herself with delight. Unfortunately, things ultimately went downhill when Paul slipped his tongue into her mouth.

While she had heard of and even witnessed a few tongue kisses before, Roxy had never experienced one. She did her best to reciprocate but barely managed to open her mouth before the contents of her stomach decided to come up and see what all the fuss was about.

Though Paul had laughed it off and even asked if she was okay, Roxy couldn't help thinking she had blown her chances with him. She was still on the fence about whether or not she wanted to be with him, so this felt like fate itself was telling her to get her act together.

In the midst of trying to gather her thoughts, Roxy became keenly aware of the fact that her surroundings had become quiet. She had been hearing loud creaking noises ever since she woke up, but the relative consistency of the sound had caused her to assume it was just the natural ambiance of wherever she was staying.

"Don't tell me..."

Directing her gaze to the ceiling, Roxy held her breath as she patiently awaited confirmation of her suspicions. It didn't happen immediately, but a rather prominent creaking sound began to permeate the room as Roxy's expression morphed into a deadpan.

Under normal circumstances, Roxy would have simply put a pillow over her head or gone outside to get some fresh air. From past experiences, she knew that such sounds typically only lasted for a few minutes before ultimately petering out.

A stark contrast to the norm, the sounds Roxy kept hearing would only stop for a few minutes before continuing with renewed vigor. She did her best to ignore it, but the sounds only seemed to become louder as time went on.

After nearly an hour of failing to fall asleep, Roxy's insatiable curiosity eventually got the better of her. She knew she should just reimain in bed, but she needed to be certain the sound was coming from the source she imagined. If it turned out to be a tree or something similar, she would feel like a complete idiot.

Sneaking out of the broom-closet-sized room, Roxy found herself in what she assumed to be an underground larder. There were ingredients all over the place, and she could sense the influence of a faint preservation charm in effect.

Ignoring her sudden hunger, Roxy made her way up a nearby set of stairs to find herself in the kitchen of Amalie's Bakery. This all but confirmed her suspicions, but she still made her way to the dining room and up the stairs leading to the second floor.

Just as Roxy reached the top of the stairs and was prepared to venture further, every hair on her body was forced to stand on end as a cold blade pressed to her neck, followed by an emotionless voice demanding, "State your name and intentions."

Though she wanted nothing more than to scream at the top of her voice, Roxy remained frozen in place for several seconds before softly replying, "Roxy Migurdia. I...I heard a sound and came to check it out..."

"Mmm..."

After removing the blade from Roxy's neck, the owner was revealed to be a lithe cat woman wearing a peculiar, form-fitting outfit beneath a hooded cloak. She had a star-shaped pattern on her left cheek, but the thing that caught Roxy's attention was her bright, amethyst eyes.

Liberating Roxy from her terrified reverie, the stone-faced woman said, "Sorry about that, but you really shouldn't be skulking about in the middle of the night. If Ei had been the one to detect you, you would have been a corpse before you could even blink."

Adding emphasis to her words, the ashen-haired woman snapped her fingers a few centimeters away from Roxy's face, appending, "Just like that." in a bone-chilling monotone.

Swallowing the knot in her throat, Roxy was about to ask who the woman was when the door near the end of the hall abruptly opened, light pouring forth and illuminating the previously dark corridor.

"Lynette? Roxy...?"

...

..

.