[DCI] Chapter 58 - Another Chick on the Team (Patreon)

I stretched lightly as Aisha sauntered towards the PC with an alluring step. She just never missed an opportunity to tease me, knowing very well how appetizing her body was. Or, she had already reached the level of doing it subconsciously, which was even worse. Keeping myself sane and clear-minded was a real challenge with the hot Berserker boldly showcasing her shapely behind, and most importantly, her thick, grand tail.

As I finished, I noticed that Levia had been looking at me the entire time with that neutral but also extremely charming in its own way expression. I smiled wryly and followed my drakan mate. There was no doubt that the perceptive Witch had caught me staring at Aisha’s ass for a prolonged time. I really hoped I hadn’t lost even more in her eyes. The day she’d walked on me nailing my draconic girlfriend in a quite sadistic position had already ruined my reputation for sure.

Aisha was proficient enough with the usage of my PC to navigate to the D-Market and check our product page without my assistance. We joined her with Levia as the crimson-haired lady opened the correct menus and brought the results of our blood and tears for all of us to examine.

“It’s slow,” she commented while scrunching her nose adorably.

I chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder. “What did you expect? Another insane boost from some random, well-known user? It’s impossible to be that lucky.”

“I know. I know. But still. There aren’t that many reviews and we aren’t showing up on the front page.” She grunted in dissatisfaction. “We are certainly missing out on so much exposure without it.”

“That’s also not guaranteed. Especially now that our product actually consists of many variations of subproducts. I bet each of them is tracked separately even if they can be purchased through the list on the base page of our arcanas. They are different things, in the end,” I replied, tenderly massaging her muscles.

She sighed, partially in annoyance, partially in physical relief. “It still feels bad after our first attempt. That was something.”

“Show us actual earnings instead of this. It’s money that matters, not how many people have commented on our stuff. Don’t forget that the price is much higher since it’s a premium product. Our commission is a few times greater than before.” I grinned.

With a skillful flick, Aisha moved to the more technical side of the D-Market available for the sellers. I was pretty sure that she had been ready to complain or groan again, but the graphs and numbers effectively shut her up as she paused for a few seconds after everything loaded properly.

“That is an impressive amount of money,” Levia commented calmly. “A few thousand in a day or two is very remarkable. Our labor is not that extensive either after we set everything up.”

“Alright. I admit it. This does feel nice. It’s not at the level of our holy water but we won’t starve.” A small smirk crept up onto Aisha’s luscious lips, no matter how unamused she tried to sound. “We might be able to comfortably add another bedroom with that for Levia so she doesn’t have to cramp up with us.”

“I do not think that is necessary. It would be a waste of Lucas’ funds. I find nothing wrong in sleeping beside the two of you anymore. It is a pleasant and comfortable thing if I had to be honest,” the blue-skinned Witch replied with a gentle shake of her head.

The sly drakan troublemaker smirked at me cunningly and I didn’t have to think twice before deciding that she hadn’t brought up that comment randomly.

Trying not to sigh at her obvious antics, I glanced at our quiet friend. “Not anymore? Was it uncomfortable at the beginning? If so, then I apologize. I thought we weren’t forcing you into anything.”

“You did not force me into anything as I had suggested that arrangement out of my own free will.” Levia met my gaze and held it confidently. “It was an issue on my side as I was not yet able to trust both of you to the extent of the current day. My mind was wary, thus it had issues relaxing properly. But, do not worry. That period passed quickly as I soon learned about your personality and it was much easier to accept your goodwill without second thoughts.”

“Still, you should have said so, really.” I rubbed the back of my head. “We could have at least bought a simple mattress and set it up next to the bed for the first few days. You didn’t have to go through that just because you felt grateful for the workshop.”

“Yes, I know that now. At that time, I did not want to create too many favors right from the start. I was not sure if it was not your way of ensnaring me,” she replied, which was followed by a muted snort from Aisha, definitely cracking up from the Witch’s choice of words. “I understand your kindness today and find it respectable. So, do not feel bad about my own mistakes and doubts. Unless my presence interrupts your usual activities, I shall remain in our current nightly arrangement. If so, I will be happy to give you two some space.”

I could feel my cheeks heating up at her offer. She took me for a total horndog, didn’t she? I couldn’t believe she’d considered herself a cockblock and suggested fixing that.

“No, that’s alright with me. You can stay around if it doesn’t bother you.” I chuckled a little awkwardly. “On the other hand, your presence keeps Aisha’s teasing nature in check and I’m really grateful for that. She can be a handful at times.”

“Please, you do not need to limit your interactions around me. I do not find the way that you two show each other affection uncomfortable.” Levia glanced between us.

I caught Aisha grinning at me devilishly and a deep sense of foreboding overcame me as possibly the last straw holding the mischievous draconic woman from revealing her true colors had just snapped. Now I had no excuse to use Levia as a reason to tame her naughty side.

“Thank you,” was the only thing I could say in that situation. “Don’t hold back either. We are all friends here, right?”

“Yes. We are all friends here,” Aisha parroted me with slightly more emphasis near the end.

“So, anyway, more money will be good. We might get some better equipment or consumables after finishing this Dungeon. Or before we take down the boss. We need to step up. We wasted pretty much half of our assignment chasing after this slimy fucker. There is no room for any mistakes now. Ten days might feel like a lot but we know close to nothing about the depths of this place.” I attempted to divert the topic back to something more appropriate.

“I agree. We should put all our effort into exploring alongside our temporary ally tomorrow.” Levia nodded sagely. “I suggest adding some new arcanas to our shop and heading to rest. The lust imp has most likely already gone to sleep so she will be up early.”

“That’s her problem.” Aisha crossed her arms over her impressive chest. “Lucas doesn’t have to suffer because she is weak. He deserves a good night of rejuvenating sleep.”

“It doesn’t hurt hitting the bed a little early.” I moved my hand to her lush, scarlet hair and brushed through it affectionately. “Come on. Let’s do some work together. Unless you would like to relax while we take care of it.”

She playfully swatted my hand away and stood up. “I’m not that lazy. Gotta earn my keep, right?”

We smiled at each other and walked to Levia’s workshop. To make things faster, we divided the work amongst the three of us. I operated the laser engraver, picking the designs on the interactive panel and overseeing the entire process; Levia applied her magical ink with our makeshift painting device; and Aisha watched over the heat lamps, replacing the cooked cards with new ones. We chatted about random things now and then, often related to our Witch’s interesting craft.

Ending up with a satisfying number of cards, we hauled them to the storage and added those to the market that we hadn’t yet had in our offer. As Aisha had said, the sales weren’t fast but the higher price was making up the difference. We wouldn’t become D-Dollar millionaires anytime soon but the money wasn’t bad. It was definitely worth the small effort and time.

Then, we moved to the bathroom, washed up, and gathered in the kitchen to satiate our hunger. Each of us picked something different and the instant delivery brought us the fragrant goods in a blink. At some point, we somehow got into looking through our statuses and discussing what to do with the new attribute points and skills.

“We should save the points until we find out about the boss, right?” Aisha asked as she chomped on a complex, multi-layered sandwich the size of a beefy burger.

“That would be smart. We have a lot of them right now but we have not been struggling too much against the enemies we encountered. Assigning them when we know a little more about what we are up against can give us an edge,” Levia agreed, nibbling on her experimental burrito.

“Yup. We have enough firepower for now. We also got some new skills and the level boost from killing that bastard is nice too.” I nodded over my meatballs in mushroom sauce.

“Right. You ranked up Armsweaving. What’s going to be your second bond?” the sexy drakan seductively licked off her fingers before reaching for another sandwich.

“I guess the other handaxe,” I answered.

“Not the mace?” She raised a brow at me.

“I use the mace a lot in this Dungeon. I can still empower the hits while holding onto it unbonded. The other handaxe is very useful for blocking attacks as it orbits me. Having two will make it even safer,” I explained.

“Isn’t it a waste of a slot, though?” Aisha continued to doubt my choice. “We don’t know how many there are at the further ranks. I thought you would go for different weapons to be more versatile.”

“You know me well.” I smiled at her warmly. “But, I’m going to switch the bonds in the future so it’s alright.”

“How can you be sure that you will be able to?” Levia joined in with a faint glint of curiosity in her violet eyes.

“Your game,” Aisha guessed.

“To some extent, yes.” I pointed at her. “It would be extremely inefficient if you were stuck with whatever weapons you had in your arsenal if you got this ability early. Those first slots would be wasted forever in the later levels. Just imagine using some trashy club against high-tier monsters.”

“That is certainly true,” Levia agreed.

“As Aisha mentioned, in the simulation I experienced, there were some skills with a similar design. The ability to form bonds, or contract, or summon was available from the start while the ability to cancel those was unlocked a few ranks later,” I continued. “Also, there’s always another way to solve things. There can’t be a bond if there is no bonded.”

“Ah. Obviously.” Aisha smacked herself on the forehead. “We can just destroy the weapon. Disassemble it, burn it, melt it. That will unlock the slot, right?”

“It should. But, considering how alive these bonds feel, I would rather avoid that solution if possible. Call me soft as much as you want, but to me, it’s like slaughtering your loyal dog to make space for another, prettier, more expensive one.”

“You are an honorable person,” Levia complimented me and I swore that the corner of her lips rose a tiny bit.

“Call me stupid, but I haven’t thought about this possibility. I really believed that you are stuck with me after we formed a deeper bond since the option to dismiss me in your Subordinate Management menu disappeared, but now I realized that you can just slit my throat whenever I stop pulling my weight or annoy you too much,” Aisha admitted with a somewhat tense expression. “And yes, I know you would never, but that thought just made me a little anxious the moment it popped up in my head. Fuck. I’m an even luckier son of a bitch than I initially thought.”

“Well, you could also die in battle,” Levia commented.

“I know, but that feels natural, so you don’t really think about it. As I said, I’m stupid. It should have been obvious. Death is death no matter the cause.” My mate chuckled wryly.

I reached out over the table to stroke her hand. “There’s no use thinking about pointless things like that. You said it yourself, I would never even think about hurting you. Both of you. And neither would I use you as meatshields to save myself, as absurd considering my Class it sounds. We are comrades and I would give my life for yours.”

“That certainly is making a very inefficient use of your situation. As long as you live, you should be able to summon more servants to recoup your losses. We should be expendable in your eyes.” The calm Witch stared at me with that impossible-to-read expression of hers.

“Nobody is perfect, I guess. I pride myself in being a perfect tactician yet I grow attached to my units. Quite a hypocrite, right?” I shook my head.

I felt a squeeze and turned my attention to the hand I’d placed on top of Aisha’s earlier.

“And that’s why your subordinates are able to grow so much. You form a connection with them and treat them as equals. That’s why they don’t have to worry about being expendable and can focus on doing their best for you. I don’t have to look over my shoulder each time I get wounded to check if you are going to shove me forward and use as bait to aid your escape. It’s a very soothing feeling knowing that you have my back no matter what,” she said with a beautiful, enchanting smile.

We stared at each other for a while until I nodded. “I guess there’s some truth in that. Still, I’m possibly the worst person to receive this Class. What use is there for it when I’m hesitant in using its abilities?”

“I think you are the ideal person for it. Ignore its foundation. Focus on the expanded part. Without being who you are, it would be hard or nigh impossible to properly form bonds required by its mechanics.” She squinted her eyes at me threateningly. “So, as you said yourself, there’s no use thinking about pointless shit like that. Got it?”

I smirked at her. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” She nodded with satisfaction. “Now, let’s get you that bond and maybe Levia a familiar?”

“That is a good idea. I already have a good entity in mind. It should not require anything expensive to summon.” Our Witch picked up a knife off the table and examined its edge from up close. “This shall do.”

We watched in confusion as she suddenly cut her finger quite deeply and pressed it into the wood. Levia slowly drew a circle with her blood and filled it with magical inscriptions and shapes. For the entire process, she didn’t pull her finger up for even a brief moment, finishing the whole thing in one, long stroke. The last bit trailed past the edge of the formation and stopped below it, where she held her finger steady.

“Summon Familiar,” she cast quietly.

The formation glowed in crimson and began emitting smoke of the same color. The smoke gathered in the middle and formed a small shape. After about thirty seconds, it burst gently and fell onto the table in an enchanting manner, spreading in every direction. It revealed something in its wake and we peered curiously at the summoned entity. Rose circled us with some joyful interest too.

Whatever Levia had called, wasn’t very big. It resembled a tiny chicken with pure white feathers. Except for its wings, which were beautifully golden. Its beak matched them and three much thinner and longer feathers of the same, radiant color stuck out of the top of its head, curling to the back. Honestly, it looked like some cute pet companion from a typical isekai anime with an overpowered MC.

“Greetings. I would like to form a contract for ten days with you. Would you please tell me what you wish to receive for your temporary servitude?” Levia started speaking to it before we could even say anything.

The miniature chicken comically tilted its head at her a bunch of times while clucking some and tapping the table with its beak.

“I see. Yes, I am able to grant your wish. Our situation is perfect for that. Then, let us proceed if you do not have any further requests.” She had seemingly understood everything and carried on with the ritual.

Levia finally raised her finger off the table and hovered it over the little chicken. It had to be quite intelligent or just used to how things were done because it quickly opened its beak and accepted a drop of her blood into its mouth. Swallowing it, the mysterious bird shivered and clucked a bit louder than before.

“It is done. I will be in your hands.” The Witch made a polite bow with her head and the chicken did the same.

What a crazy day.

“So… We can now ask, right?” Aisha raised her brow, speaking up a bit hesitantly.

The chicken trotted closer to Levia and nestled itself in her hands, which could cover it almost whole. Only its neck poked out of her hold. She petted it softly, dragging her finger from the head down.

“This is a Divine Fowl. It might look cute and harmless, but it is the natural enemy of all undead monsters. It will make our assignment much easier. I guarantee that,” Levia replied.

“I trust your judgment.” I nodded at her. “What can it do and what did it ask in return for its help?”

“I promised to let it feast on the nuclei of our enemies. It specifically asks for undead each time so our current predicament is perfect for it. And since we do not know what kind of Dungeon we will get after this one, I saw no reason to make a longer or permanent contract,” she explained. “As for its abilities, you will see. It is quite powerful against the undead type. Not so much against others. It has both offensive and defensive skills.”

“It’s hard to believe that this tiny chick is any strong. I bet I could literally squish it in my palm.” Aisha squinted at the Divine Fowl.

Its eyes snapped open from being closed due to Levia’s delicate caresses and I could swear that it squinted back at my fierce drakan mate.

What the hell was even going on with my life?

“You most likely could. But, you would bring a lethal curse upon yourself if you did. One that I would have no chance of removing at my current level,” Levia replied calmly regardless of the heavy tone of her words.

I shuddered slightly. “Alright. We better watch our step. I don’t want to accidentally smush it and end up dead by the fury of the heavens.”

Another one of those lovable, tiny smiles popped up on Levia’s pouty lips before quickly disappearing. Aisha snorted at my comment, clearly not believing in the chicken’s divinity yet.

Me? I was not going to take chances. No, thanks. That would be a certain flag.

As we stood up to clean our takeouts, the small fowl fluttered its wings and landed atop Levia’s hair. I had to say, it was fucking cute. The kind of cute that made you smile like an idiot for no reason just from looking. Though, I was sure it wouldn’t be that impactful if it was anyone other than our cold, neutral Witch friend.

Afterward, I brought out the other handaxe and bonded with it properly. The girls watched as I tested it out alongside the first one by leading them around and giving them a few simple commands. Aisha brought her greataxe and made a few swings at me. We confirmed that I was able to almost fully stop her weapon by crossing both handaxes in time. It looked damn cool.

Then, we handled our toiletries and hit the bed. Aisha boldly snuggled to me without a hint of restraint, humming blissfully as her curves rubbed against my skin. At least she kept her underwear on so that was something. I glanced once at Levia, who lay peacefully past the tease of a woman, and she truly seemed alright with it, even though my neck was currently being assaulted with quiet but still audible pecks. The tiny fowl hid its head in its puffy feathers and nestled itself under her chin.

Thankfully, Aisha didn’t push it too far and she dozed off a moment later, ceasing her frisky behavior. I placed a gentle peck on her forehead and joined her.

The vibrations of my phone woke me up and I hastily turned off the alarm. Yawning lightly, I opened my eyes and found no Witch by our side. One glance later, I noticed Levia still just in her panties and bra making some coffee with the divine bird atop her hair. I pushed the lazy drakan lady off me and stood up, landing a few slaps on her jiggly butt to let her know that it was time. She whined dejectedly but I knew she would get her ass up right away anyway.

“Morning.” I waved at Levia as I stepped into the kitchen.

“Good morning. I prepared coffee. Would you like some?” she asked as I glanced at two set-up mugs on the counter.

“I guess it would be rude to decline your kind offer.” I smiled warmly and she finished making one for me. “I’m glad you are getting more comfortable with our Earth stuff. This is your home and I would be happy if you felt so.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your goodwill and effort to make me comfortable.” She nodded faintly into her mug. “It has been a learning experience and I am growing more accustomed to Earth standards with each passing day.”

“Say that after we finally get to sleep in the nude…” Aisha grumbled groggily from behind me and I felt her weight press on my back as her chin rested on my shoulder.

I brought my cup to her lips and shared a few sips with her, which quickly perked her up. We stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying the early morning in our own, small company. Then, we washed up, ate a simple but satiating breakfast, and got ready to depart.

For a moment, we wondered with Aisha where our new friend would go, but Levia just grabbed her big, witchy hat and dropped it onto her head right over the Divine Fowl. I snorted quietly at the sight I’d never expected to see in my life. Another one from the bingo list, it looked like.

She trotted to the main entrance as the two of us were still gearing up and opened the door.

“Ah!” A startled squeak reached our ears and we peered into the hallway, spotting the familiar imp girl right in the frame. “You surprised me. I didn’t think you would be up this early.”

“You should have knocked or rang if you were waiting,” I said as we stepped closer.

“I didn’t want to wake you up. Rest is important for us Defenders.” She twirled her thin tail with an embarrassed smile.

“What do you want, then?” Aisha asked sternly. “The hour of our meeting is still far away.”

“I already scouted the entire top floor and confirmed that there are no more Skeletons around. All the crystals have been dealt with. There’s nothing more up here,” Lulu replied, ignoring the drakan beauty’s gaze. “And so, I found the path below. The actual one, not some staircase leading to another chamber. But, I didn’t want to go without you so I came to wait here since it should be safe now.”

I shared a glance with my companions and turned back to the imp girl. “Well, lead the way, then. We don’t have time to waste.”