Wild Dragon of Rome 40 (Patreon)

“Hey, girls. The food delivery is here,” I called from a distance. Lillian just waved smugly, while Astrid flinched. Then, she relaxed, no doubt thinking the distance was enough that I didn’t hear Astrid listening to Lillian’s stories about her mana-draining assistance.

 “Wow, you must be feeling really hungry,” Lillian said as she pointed at the huge deer on my back.

“No, actually. This is a gift for our beautiful priestess,” I said as I put the unconscious deer down.

“It’s alive,” Astrid gasped, surprised as she bounded forward.

I nodded. “Yes. Not only alive, but completely pristine. When I saw him, I thought that it would make a good target to tame. He’s strong enough to give you some defenses, and I’m sure he’ll be more amenable to be treated as a mount than that wolf.”

”Certainly,” Astrid muttered, fascinated. Then, she looked at me. “And, you trust me with a tamed beast,” she added.

“Of course I trust you,” I answered with the softest smile I could manage. Admittedly, she was misreading the situation somewhat. Giving her the deer wasn’t the show of trust she expected. She was under the impression that, during the escape, I had shown the full range of my capabilities.

That wasn’t the case. In truth, even I didn’t know the full range of my capabilities, which were changing and expanding continuously. Still, letting her believe that was harmless.

Astrid looked at me with appreciation even as she put her hand on the head of the deer, her mana slowly turning into a web of strings … well, somewhat. Even with my senses, it was difficult to catch the intricacies of her casting.

However, while I called it mana, it was certainly not the wild, pure mana of the environment. It was changed and transformed in some way, but I didn’t know about the method. I didn’t ask her, not wanting to ruin our nascent trust.

Lillian was watching her just as carefully. We might differ in almost all ways, but there was no denying her passion for magic rivaled mine. Watching Astrid work on her beast-taming magic was a unique talent.

“The first step is done,” Astrid said. “When he woke up, he’ll stay around and not attack, but taming him truly will take some time.”

“Fascinating,” Lillian said. “Now, why don’t you go and thank Marcus.” Astrid opened her mouth, but before she could do so, Lillian continued. “The Roman way, of course.”

“The Roman way?” Astrid asked. I was tempted to ask the same question, as I certainly didn’t know a unique way we thanked each other, at least not a method that required Lillian to have that tone. However, Lillian’s smirk showed that she had a plan, and I didn’t want to ruin it, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Yes, let me show you,” Lillian replied as she grabbed my shirt, and pulled me for a heated kiss. One that I responded immediately, enjoying the kiss. Though, amusing as it was, there was no chance it would work. After all, living in a nomadic tribe didn’t mean Astrid was an idiot.

“T-that’s a way to thank?” Astrid stammered, her blush spectacular.

“Yes. It’s traditional,” Lillian replied.

“Well… Traditions are important,” Astrid muttered, her blush spiking as she took another step, and covered the distance. My eyes widened as Astrid put her hand on my forearm, trying to balance herself. There was no way that she believed that, right?

I looked at Lillian’s smug expression, and then Astrid’s hesitant reach. My eyes widened as the trick finally clicked. Naturally, Astrid didn’t believe it, but she decided to act like she believed it, even at the expense of looking like an idiot.

Under different circumstances, such a move would have made me very suspicious, making me wonder whether Astrid was trying to lower our alertness to pull a trick. Admittedly, even now, without the benefits of my transformation, I might have still thought that. But, one benefit of my improved senses, was that there was no way for Astrid to hide her sudden spike of arousal at the idea of thanking me via this so-called Roman way.

I could have leaned for a kiss, but I didn’t. If she was going to play games, she better take the initiative to finish. However, she just waited, hesitant yet excited, her pouty lips trembling.

I had to admit, Lillian managed to read her well. She was much better than me when it came to understanding motivations and giving gentle nudges. Maybe it was the benefit of a proper noble education, instead of the torture I received from my dear old grandfather.

Was that training useful, certainly. The only reason I even survived the constant trail of disasters that followed me since my escape was his intense training, but it left some weak spots as well. However, the comparative benefits of traditional versus crazy training for noble scions had to take a backseat, because Astrid finally took the initiative.

I couldn’t help but smile as she wrapped her arms around my chest and rose to her toes to cover the distance. Only when her lips pressed against mine, did I put my hands on her, wrapping her waist gently. Astrid stayed there, giving me a chaste, hesitant kiss that showed her lack of experience.

Inexperienced she might be, but she was certainly enthusiastic. Soon, her lips started to move, trying to initiate a beautiful dance. I allowed her to set the pace, no matter how tempting it was to take control and … test her willingness to share Lillian’s mission to help me drain my excess mana immediately.

I knew it was a bad idea. But, actually following that was difficult, particularly when she was kissing me so enthusiastically, our bodies pressing together to tempt me even more.

And, Astrid had a lot of temptation under her clothes.

Letting her go when she pulled back from the kiss was a supreme act of willpower, especially since Astrid was gasping as she had just sprinted a mile while being chased by a tiger. “Thank you,” Astrid muttered as she looked down, avoiding my gaze. I loosened my arms, and she took a step behind me.

Meanwhile, I looked at Lillian, making sure she wasn’t reacting badly. It wouldn’t be the first time someone realized the idea of something was more palatable than the real thing. I was afraid of seeing jealousy — or worse, anger — on her face.

Instead, I just saw desire as her eyes bounced between me and Astrid, her excitement surprising, but not a big one. Britannia might have been treated as a puritanical backwater province, but it was only when compared to the rest of Rome, where orgies were treated as perfectly acceptable social bonding activities.

“It was my pleasure,” I said to Astrid.

Lillian waited expectantly for things to escalate, and sighed when it proved not to be the case. “So, what’s the plan for the rest of the day.”

“That depends,” I said.

“On what?”

“Whether our guest priestess is any good cooking?” I asked as I looked at Astrid, and smiled at her gently. “Do you mind preparing the lunch?” I asked.

She didn’t answer immediately but opened the bundle that had the vegetables I collected, her eyes widening. “That’s a good haul,” she said as she checked the variety.

Lillian looked at me surprised. “Why don’t you cook. I like your cooking.”

“I can, but I need your help. I stumbled into a mana flare while exploring, and I accidentally absorbed too much. I need your help … dealing with it,” I said, whispering the last part while throwing a furtive glance at Astrid, like I was trying to keep it hidden from her.

I might not have Lillian’s interpersonal skills, but I wasn’t exactly a slouch either.

“I see,” Lillian said, her eyes widening. “That’s troubling. We better not let it linger for long.” With that, she grabbed my hand and started dragging me away. After a few steps, she stopped and looked back at Astrid, who was trying to hide the fact that she was watching us disappear with an even bigger blush.

“Anything else?” Astrid managed to whisper shyly under Lillian’s gaze.

“Make sure to keep the seeds. Since we’re going to stay here, a vegetable garden can be useful.”

“That’s it?” Astrid asked.

“Yes,” Lillian said, then smirked. “Unless, of course, you want to watch the ritual for … dealing with his excess mana. It’s very interesting … magically speaking.”

Astrid looked at her in shock, but also with desire. It was an offer she was interested in, considering she had spent a lot of time peeking at us the previous time. Yet, an open invitation seemed to be more than she was ready to accept. “M-maybe later,” Astrid whimpered.

”Sure. Feel free to join if you change your mind,” Lillian said and winked at her. With that, we were off.