Beta Testing the Apocalypse 075 (Patreon)

As the Seventh Floor wasn't particularly challenging, as far as they had seen, Leon decided to entrust its conquest to the Crimson Valkyries while he focused on the development and administration of his domain. Most of the day-to-day administration was supervised by talented individuals with greater knowledge and experience, such as Rosanna, but the only person who could approve of new facilities, upgrades, and infrastructure projects was Leon. That meant perusing paperwork, meeting with local businesses and community leaders, and inspecting the location before either building the facility himself or permitting someone else to handle the project. All in all, it was a massive pain in the ass...

...

..

.

"Nnnaaaa...I don't mean to interrupt, but one of your Maids is looking for you..." said Nanachi, following Leon's scent to where a bunch of Pokemon encircled him, and he was, most notably, making out with Luna as she lay atop him with her legs extended in a way that made her butt appear even bubblier than usual, making it perfect for fondling.

"Is it an emergency?" asked Leon, meeting Nanachi's gaze and giving the panting Luna's ass a squeeze as he added, "I'm kind of on my break right now..."

Averting their eyes with a notable flush coloring their face despite being covered in fur, Nanachi scratched their cheek and replied, "She didn't say, only that she wanted to talk to you, naaaaa..."

"No rest for the wicked, I suppose..." mused Leon, giving Luna's butt a light smack and kissing her one final time before freeing himself from the Pokepile and meandering his way toward the entrance of the Menagerie to find Azumi standing patiently with her hands folded neatly over her lap.

Closing her eyes and bowing as Leon approached, Azumi stated, "Please forgive this indiscretion, my Lord. But there is a matter I felt you should be apprised of posthaste..."

"Let's hear it," said Leon, nodding.

Raising her head in response to Leon's words, Azumi's expression didn't change, but it was clear she was hesitant as it took her several seconds to explain, "One of the girls at the local brothel was found in a catatonic state and with severe internal injuries that required emergency treatment at the Church. The person responsible was quickly apprehended, but as there is no precedence, we need to know how our Lord wants to deal with them..."

Though he was tempted to respond by saying they should off the person who had been caught, Leon knew there were two sides to every story and that the public would scrutinize how he handled the situation to ascertain whether or not he was a fair and impartial judge.

Closing his eyes, inhaling, and exhaling through his nose, Leon asked, "Who conducted the arrest? And have statements been taken from the remaining brother personnel and patrons...?"

"It was Captain Nehan who oversaw the investigation and Captain Phia who conducted the arrest," replied Azumi. "Statements were also taken from the brothel employees and patrons, but due to the non-disclosure clause that protects patron privacy, we had to 'officially' strike the names from the latter..."

"Then, first and foremost, I'll hear Captain Nehan's and Captain Phia's reports in person," stated Leon, taking the initiative to move toward the exit as he added, "Have them meet me at my study as soon as possible."

"As you will," replied Azumi, bowing low and respectfully as Leon passed. Before leaving to inform the already waiting Nehan and Phia that he would meet them in his study, however, she raised her head and turned to stare at Nanachi, standing several meters away and smiling nervously as Azumi was one of the many people who liked to hug, rub their faces against their stomach, and sniff them...

...

..

.

*tok* *tok* *tok*

"Enter," said Leon, prompting a relatively tall woman with short red hair, tanned skin, pointed ears, tiger-like markings on her face and thighs, and a bushy red tail to enter alongside a man with cat ears, unkempt ash-grey hair, and a black eyepatch over his left eye. The former wore scant red and gold-patterned armor, as she was also an honorary member of the Crimson Valkyries, while the latter was dressed in a muted grey suit with the top half noticeably missing its back, exposing vicious scars on his ribs as he entered the room with the support of a cane.

"Captain Phia Melle, reporting as ordered!" exclaimed the Phia, snapping to attention and thumping her chest with her clenched right fist, causing her small but well-shaped breast to jiggle slightly. As for the man, Nehan, he just made his way forward silently, his gaze briefly shifting to Naga as she was curled up in front of the hearth, staring at him and Phia with her red eyes and thumping her long, heavy tail.

Witnessing Nehan's disrespectful behavior, Phia furrowed her brows. But, as it wasn't her place to correct him, she waited for Leon to permit her to approach before stepping forward and around Nehan's right side to avoid drawing too near to Naga.

Waiting for Nehan to hobble to his desk and stand alongside Phia, Leon stated, "I've heard the gist of the situation from Azumi. Before I meet the culprit and determine their fate, I wanted to hear what each of you had to say. Captain Phia, if you would..."

"Understood!" responded Phia, performing another curt salute before narrating what she had witnessed at the crime scene, how the culprit reacted to 'her' arrest, and what they had to say after they were rather unceremoniously tossed into the palace's dungeon. Leon was surprised that the culprit was a woman, but he remained silent until Phia concluded her report.

"Thank you, Captain Phia," said Leon, nodding in approval before shifting his gaze to Nehan and asking, "And you, Captain Nehan? As the person who conducted the investigation, what do you have to say on the matter? I'm also interested in hearing if you have any recommendations on how I should resolve this matter..."

"The culprit has yet to confess, but several witnesses reported seeing her enter the victim's chambers as a client..." stated Nehan, his voice dull and seemingly devoid of emotion as he revealed, "It is believed, and we have substantial proof, that she utilized a Drowzee, first to hypnotize and then have it assault the victim. The motive appears to be retaliation against the victim for sleeping with the culprit's lover behind her back."

Raising his right brow, Leon asked, "So she targeted the person simply doing their job instead of resolving the matter with her lover?"

Causing Leon to feel a nauseous chill in his stomach, even though he shouldn't have been able to, Nehan casually revealed, "The culprit's lover had gotten the victim pregnant and intended to leave her so that he could take responsibility and help raise the child..."

"Dear God..."

Leaning forward with his right elbow on his desk, Leon closed his eyes and held his forehead in silence for several seconds. He didn't have to ask to understand that something unspeakably tragic must have happened to the unborn child. At the same time, he couldn't help thinking that the only 'just' punishment for such an egregious act was death...

"Would you still like my recommendation...?" asked Nehan.

Seeing Leon nod but remain silent, Nehan stated, "There will invariably be those who see both sides as liable for this incident. The culprit bears the most guilt for perpetrating the crime, but the victim and the culprit's lover aren't blameless, even if they didn't personally break any laws. As for my recommendation, I believe the brothel's proprietor should have a say in the culprit's fate, as their business and the livelihoods of their employees have been jeopardized by this incident. Furthermore, the use of Pokeballs outside the Tower should be restricted without a license. People shouldn't be secretly walking around with creatures capable of killing or controlling the minds of others..."

"Now that you've brought it up, we'll need to involve Cynthia's Squad in this matter..." sighed Leon, running his hand down his face before opening his eyes to meet the duo's gazes before nodding and adding, "As for your recommendations, I will speak with the relevant parties to hear what they have to say before making a decision. For now, continue investigating and compiling evidence. Also, be sure that the culprit isn't treated poorly. She may have done something irredeemable, but until she has been convicted and found guilty, her innocence should be presumed..."

Raising his gloved left hand to his chin, Nehan caressed it thoughtfully as he muttered, "Innocent until proven guilty..." before offering an approving nod and stating, "I will see to it that she is treated fairly until her sentence has been decided..."

Without waiting for Leon to dismiss him, Nehan turned around and began his slow, hobbling departure. Agility was actually his highest stat, but as his body had been ruined by ingesting countless toxins and stimulants in his past life, his Endurance was abysmal. He could move fast enough to give even Mordred pause in short bursts, but when he wasn't fighting, he moved in a way to conserve as much energy as possible...

Waiting until Nehan had departed, staring at him over her shoulder, Phia turned to Leon and muttered, "Forgive me for speaking out of turn...but should the Captain of a Knight Squad be showing such disregard toward their Lord...?"

"Captain Nehan serves at my request," replied Leon. "It would be one thing if we were in public, but as we're in private, I don't mind trading formality for brevity."

"I see..." muttered Phia, punctuating her words with a curt nod. Then, as she still had other duties to attend, Leon permitted her departure. Under normal circumstances, he would have gazed at her round and toned ass as she departed, fully visible due to her black, bikini-like bottoms, but as the situation had diminished his mood considerably, Leon turned his chair sideways, set it to recline, and closed his eyes.

*sniff* *sniff* *sniff*

Wholly incapable of reading the mood, Naga took advantage of the fact she and Leon were alone to approach stealthily, keeping her body low as she rounded his desk, sniffing around his feet and legs before invariably moving her way up and crawling onto him. Her weight caused the chair to strain considerably, as she was nearly 300kgs, including her tail, but that didn't deter her from climbing onto it and bringing her face and nose up to Leon's mouth, the latter staring at her through cracks in his eyelids before ultimately grabbing and holding her voluminous ass...

...

..

.

"You're way too nice sometimes," said Mordred, shaking her head as she sat a bit away from Leon on her bed, wearing nothing but her panties and a transparent negligee as Puck tied up her hair in preparation for bed. She had just heard about what occurred earlier in the day, so she couldn't help feeling vexed as she stated, "If it were up to me, I would have her drawn and quartered or hung to set an example..."

Lying with his eyes closed, hands behind his head, and ankles crossed, Leon calmly replied, "I would prefer my reign to be built on a foundation of law and order, not fear..."

"Hmmm..."

Though she looked like she had something to say, Mordred eventually shrugged and said, "You've been doing a pretty decent job so far, so I'll leave it be for now. Just don't stress yourself out too much over the stupid and crazy shit other people do, okay? Feeling guilt or compassion towards people who didn't give two shits about the position they would be placing you in when they broke the law is senseless..."

"Oh, don't worry..." replied Leon, parting his eyelids to meet Mordred's gaze as he added, "I don't give a damn about that crazy bitch or her fool of a lover. What I'm upset over is the fact that a child, even if it was just a fetus, had to pay the price for someone else's mistake. If I didn't care for the rule of law, I would abort that bitch personally..."

"Then, should I arrange to have her take her own life...?" asked Mordred. "She used Hypnosis to control someone else against their will, so it would be karmic justice for her to experience having it used on her..."

Shaking his head, Leon reclosed his eyes and asserted, "It's important for the future of our Kingdom that she stand trial and be judged in a court of law. If we took matters into our own hands or something happened to her before then, it would undermine the people's trust in our administration..."

"Look at you..." mused Mordred, crawling over and snuggling up next to Leon as she titillated, "You're behaving more and more like a proper Lord and King each day..."

"Now I just need to find my Queen..." muttered Leon, turning onto his side to kiss Mordred and caress her body as Puck, free from his duties after he fixed her hair, floated over to the top of his cat tree and perched atop it to take a nap...

...

..

.