John watched his girls slide into their clothes. The way panties slid up smooth legs, shirts were stretched by breasts and pants had to be forced over bouncy asses were all enticing. ‘I wonder how long I could watch them dress and undress until I would get bored,’ he asked himself, then answered his own question, ‘I would probably be fucking one of them long before I could get bored… ah, who am I kidding, I would fuck all of them and never get bored even if I couldn’t.’

“Are ya ready?” Rave asked, strutting towards him. She was wearing yoga shorts and a basic t-shirt. Both were white, contrasting with her tanned skin, and had a number of blue and green lines as decorations. Of the other girls, only Lydia had changed her attire from yesterday, now wearing a yellow summer dress with a remarkably short skirt. It was a tad darker than Gnome’s and was missing the impressive embroidery, but they still looked rather close right now. Which was adorable.

His girlfriend was probably asking because of his erection, plainly visible due to the bulge in the Pants of the Chosen’s black cloth. Doing his best to ignore that, he would never get anywhere otherwise, he stood up. “Almost,” he had to deny regardless, walking over to Eliza. “Hey, I have a gift for you,” he told the blood mage and reached into his inventory.

“Whatever the fuck could I deserve right about now?” she asked, wrinkling her eyebrows and lightly adjusting her choker. It was a thin piece of black cloth, undecorated, secured in place through a thin rope that ran through golden eyelets, bound into a cute little ribbon in front of her throat. It was also the second item she owned that could make her look like a normal girl. Scarves weren’t appropriate for the season.

Plus, she loved wearing the choker, because she was naughty like that. If he bought her a collar, she would have worn that outside too, there was absolutely no doubt about that. Aside from that was just her robe and her leather, metal ring secured bikini top and bottom. Which had led to some problems, because the lack of shoes meant that she carried dirt inside. One recent argument Aclysia and Eliza had due to that fact had convinced John to buy her something nice to take care of things.

His inventory produced two pairs of items. A pair of thin socks and leather boots of the borderline fetishistic variety. They were as black as the rest of her outfit and polished to really fit in nicely. Three leather belts between ankle and upper rim let the thing be adjusted properly to the dimensions of her legs. Additionally, they looked rather nice as decorations and John had been assured that the buckles were more than strong enough to hold the bodyweight of a 1,62-metre-tall girl with above average thighs.

“You deserve every gift I want to give you,” John clarified, “but this one is also practical AND sexy. Come on, try them.” He gently handed all of it over to Eliza, who made a bit of an unwilling face. The reason why she was wearing so little in the first place was because the blood mage disliked tight clothing. Getting her to wear things that hid at least the sexual bits under the robe had been difficult enough. Eliza would have just closed the robe at the front and ran around naked underneath had John and Lydia left her back when they first had to dress her.

The good news were that she had since worn normal people clothes numerous times, not to mention the ample sessions of BDSM or roleplay that she had spent in bindings or maid outfits. It all served to reduce her animosity towards ‘constricting’ clothes. “They don’t look like shit, so that’s good,” Eliza said, inspecting the boots. She wasn’t quite as enthused about this gift than she had been about her scarf or the choker, but she put them on regardless.

Soon she was standing and John had to keep himself from salivating. The flexible leather stretched over her knee, ending at the border where Eliza’s thighs started to properly juice up. Between her thong and the upper rim was a territory of plump seductiveness, framed for everyone to see and only him to touch. He had grabbed the perfect size (not that it mattered, like all Abyssal clothing they had a basic resizing enchantment on them).

“They don’t look shit, but I am sure I look absolutely fucking stupid with those,” Eliza grumbled taking a few steps, adjusting the belts a little bit, then nodding to herself, smiling for a few seconds, then making a sour face. “Just give me some basic bitch shoes, these look too good on my fat legs.”

“Nonsense,” John retorted and, because he wanted to do that anyway, dropped on his knees before her and kissed those nicely framed thighs of hers. “Those are mine, are you insulting what is mine, Eliza?” he asked, giving her the dominant stare, despite his position between her legs.

“N-no?” she asked, suddenly a bit unsure. The lack of consistency in the way she reacted to things was sometimes bothersome, but right now it was adorable, as it made her blush and wiggle a little bit like an excited and embarrassed girl that properly talked to her crush for the first time. John couldn’t help but bite the inside of her thighs.

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“Good,” he said, standing up, after giving her butt a little slap. “Because you’re my beautiful little Eliza. I like those shoes, I think you should wear them often.” He bit his lower lip, her legs were really an unfair weapon. ‘Can’t wait to see her slowly take these off,’ he thought.

“You like these shoes, I should wear them more often,” Eliza repeated, as if he had just given her a hypnotic suggestion. Which he hadn’t, although the Vision of Calamity and his Charisma were both theoretically capable of it. This was just Eliza’s own submissiveness at the work. “Fucking fine, even if they… don’t look that… good on… me…” she trailed off towards the end there, as John gave her a warning glare. “LET ME INSULT MYSELF YOU ABSOLUTE ASS!”

“No.”

“But I am a fat, useless piece of shit!”

“No.”

“Yes, I fucking am, you trashcan of a second rate girl collector!”

“No, and nobody here is second rate.”

“Well, I am. So, fuck if I know about everyone else, but I can deduce from myself and roll that pile of dung down the feces-hill from there! Because I am just the most useless, good for nothing slab of cock-hungry whore...”

“Eliza…” John no longer had to act the part of the annoyed dom, his voice became quieter and deeper.

“…What the fuck do you even see in me?!” she continued to talk, suddenly bursting out into laughter. “What are you doing all of this for, huh? I am not fucking worth it! How often does shit need to happen to convince you otherwi-“

“ELIZA!” he now shouted, and that shut her up. For a moment she just stood there, then it looked like she would collapse, but he hugged and kissed her before that could happen. “Remember how dear you are to me, okay?” he whispered to her. “I love you. You are a big part of my world. You have no need to put yourself down and you definitely shouldn’t insult the rest of my harem. You know how much I love all of them as well.” He stroked her white and azure hair. “You understand?”

“Yes… yes, sorry,” Eliza mumbled, now calm again. She looked past John and towards everyone else. “Sorry… didn’t mean it that way.”

“We know,” Rave giggled and playfully flicked the blood mage’s forehead, “ya have been having less of these episodes, so I am all happy,” giving Eliza a quick smooch herself, Rave then initiated the actual move outside. Once past the Palace walls, the harem splintered off. Scarlett wasn’t interested in sightseeing, the elementals were still hanging around the Elemental Islands (but would join later), while John had something else he wanted to take care of first. That something also excluded Lydia, who would wait for him to get done with that task. Eliza and Rave, on the other hand, just couldn’t be bothered with political engagements (in general or for this specific instance), so they decided to wait with the queen.

______________________________________________________________________________

John was accompanied only by Aclysia and Beatrice, therefore, as he walked to the Harbour. Although this was a diplomatic thing he was about to engage in, he was technically still on vacation. Nobody had any right to blame him for the fact, that he walked with his arms around the maids’ waists. Who he was going to meet already knew everything about him any way.

Awaiting him at the place where pier and land met, Marie only raised an amused eyebrow at his approach. John let her judge, countering whatever negative impressions she might get with a charismatic smile. Fluidly, he stepped out from between the two white-haired maids and took the hand he was offered for a greeting kiss.

“My deepest apologies that you had to stay the night in the yacht,” he stated, initial greetings done. With a wave of his arm, he turned around, and they began walking immediately. To his pleasure, she didn’t protest that he guided her with a hand on her back. He could feel the raven-haired noble’s naked skin, as her azure dress was of the variety that didn’t cover that part of the body.

He could have tried to push that a bit further. Quite obviously, Marie was open to his advances. The slow boil made many meals more delicious, however, so John was content with what he got for the moment.

“I have stayed there during the trip, the compartments satisfy my standards,” the noble answered. “The question remains open whether you’re accepting me as the Illuminati’s ambassador, John.”

“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk about,” he took the easy in. “Of course, the Horned Rat decided to start this procedure, but I don’t think it’s of any importance to discuss the details of this matter with him. Not when you’re the one actually staying here.”

“Tzat is a compelling point,” she answered, her French accent coming through. “May I entrust you with something?”

“Whatever you’re happy to share, I am happy to hear,” John responded, his tone as conspiring and sexy as he could make it. Which was very – and had quite the effect thanks to the natural deepness of his voice.

“Altzhough the Horned Rat may have invited me to come here, I have no obligation to play along with his schemes. I may be persuaded to omit some things he would like to know about you, whenever he asks in zhe future.” There was minor pause, during which she brushed a strand of hair back. “For a few favours, of course.”

“Mhm, whatever could I offer you?” John thought out loud. “My story? You said you would be interested in that.”

“Your story and some… first-hand experiences, shall we say?” she giggled. “Who knows? Perhaps, in time, I will come to join your little clique of women. If Lydia can, zhen I don’t see why I would not be able to. I certainly don’t lack zhe power.”

“Lydia and I have our relationship not because of her power,” John pointed out. “I love her and that has nothing to do with her rank or her magic.”

“It remains true regardless,” insisted Marie with a chuckle, pride glittering in her dark eyes. “Zhe Illuminati have more resources than Rex Germaniae could. I am stronger than her and, as you can see, more beautiful as well. I would be a more than adequate replacement.” She glanced over to John when his hand disconnected from her back and wandered into his pocket instead. “Is something the matter, John?”

“You won’t gain any favours with me by trying to outcompete a woman I love,” he stated outright and saw the smile on the noble’s face quickly fall into a shocked expression. He looked menacing. It seemed that Marie only now realized that he hadn’t been spouting empty lines whenever he confessed his love for his harem.

“You know she will have to turn on you when you and Romulus inevitably clash, yes?” The daughter of the leading Aristocraft of the Illuminati raised a valid question, one that John found himself asking a few times a week himself. With one important difference.

“There is no such inevitability,” he stated and narrowed his eyes. “And what makes you any different? What is to say I won’t one day clash with the Illuminati’s ambitions in the world. You call yourself a historian, you should know how alliances shift over time.”

Marie opened her mouth, then closed it again. “I concede the point,” she simply said, clearly trying to escape the argument that she had unwisely started. Resisting the urge to make a surrender joke, John let this go. He had gotten across what he wanted to, that he wouldn’t tolerate any veiled insults of his loves, no need to sour relations.

‘I do wonder whether that competitive streak is buried deep in her character or she could be convinced to let it go…’ John thought in the ensuing silence. ‘If she will keep trying to work herself to the top of my harem, should she even want to join properly, then that could be a problem. My Charisma should take care of it, it’s done the job with Nathalia. I am not so sure I can just convince Marie by fucking her until she is satisfied to just not care, though.’

It was certainly the case that his interest in her character was lessened by the fact that she had, if tactfully, badmouthed Lydia. Not to the point he didn’t desire her anymore, she was attractive and clearly smart, it just took some of the wind out of his sails. Adding her to the harem proper was never a priority, John barely knew the woman. Currently, he weighed in on them being just friends being fine, potentially with benefits, if things aligned themselves like that.

“Would you say love is a requirement for fun, John?” Marie’s thoughts must have gone in similar directions, as she asked that question with a clear intent on her dark pink lips. Although the answer to that was fairly obvious, judging by John’s past actions, it seemed that she was re-evaluating what she knew about him.

“Not at all,” he responded, smiling again, but keeping his hands in his pockets. “In an age of protective measures, one doesn’t need to risk their life to gain some thrill. A rollercoaster is enough of a ride for most of us.” The analogy there was quite clear to everyone, but he liked this little game of dancing around the real thing they were talking about.

“As you say, but such secure entertainment may become dull with time,” Marie retorted. “Be it due to thrill being lost or the desires for more awakening. What iz it you would do in either case?”

“I don’t think I could ever tire of this, so I can’t answer the former. It simply evades my imagination,” he smoothly returned, then took an artful pause. “For the latter… I am but a man, so I am weak in many ways. I will say truthfully what I can give and what not. There might be disappointment had, but I cannot know unless we go there. While I can imagine and infer on this point, the future is not written,” he looked her clearly in the eyes, “and neither of us knows the other particularly well yet.”

“Zhat is, once more, as you say.” The noble lightly bowed her head. “Tales of your character have been selling you short in many ways. I took you for an intelligent but lustful man. I wasn’t wrong, but zhe picture was… incomplete.”

“Too bad I don’t plan to let you go to correct the ideas people have at your home,” John joked, as they finally reached their destination.

The Embassy was an interesting building. Shaped like a cylinder, with an adequate amount of windows interrupting the white, blue-trimmed walls, it stood just across the street from the Guild Bank. A fluidly thinning antenna broke up the monotony of the building’s shape, although it did make it look a bit like a bowling pin with a low polygon count.

It was big though. Although the original purpose of the Embassy was only to produce Communication Crystals, the fact that it was a Tier 3 Building also added several rooms to it that allowed it to fulfil the usual purpose of an Embassy. At least that’s what the description had told John, this was the first time he actually went inside.

There were 2 entrances to the Embassy, one on the north and one on the south side. Two entrances flowed into a circular hallway, separating the floor into three segments. Two apartments on either side, and the Crystal Chamber in the middle. From the top, the whole layout would have looked like a pokeball. A joke he made towards Marie and she, to his pleasant surprise, actually understood.

Sometimes he forgot that people that grew up in the Abyss could still be normal people and have played the same games as everyone else.

There were three floors like that, each built the same way. Although that made for a total of six apartments, the Crystal Chamber stretched up through all floors, could be reached through a number of staircases that spiralled along the walls. They inspected that room first. It looked quite pretty. The symmetry of the stairs aside, the large, light pink crystal that stretched from the floor all the way to the ceiling sparkled in the light.

John could interface with it just by touching it, as could Aclysia and Beatrice. Marie also got shown some windows, albeit less detailed ones, and it said her permissions were locked. As much as John wanted to make a showing of the fact that he wanted good relations with her and the guild she represented, he didn’t want her to know how everything worked, so that was an appreciated piece of design.

He quickly worked out how Communication Crystals worked. Every Communication Crystal could be contacted from the Embassy, either individually or as part of one of numerous groups they could be set to belong to. While within Fusion owned territory, the Comm Crystals could also freely contact each other. Outside, they needed to recharge one day between exchanges. Same applied to the Comm Crystals making contact to the Embassy.

John made the very first Communication Crystal, only one could be spawned per day. It gave him a number of shape options, earrings, piercings, even a buttplug decoration was among them. He went with the least intrusive shape he could find, which was a nail cover. The thin crystal didn’t even count as a piece of equipment, which was quite useful, as John pressed it on the nail of his thumb and it magically stuck. It was colourless and smooth, so it looked like he had applied a bit of nail polish to that finger. Barely noticeable, all things considered.

Going for a test run, it turned out that only he could hear it when somebody tried to contact him from the Embassy. The description of the item also claimed that only the most thorough kinds of magical communication interference would affect the Comm Crystals. Pretty nifty, all around. Which it had to be, given that these things competed with mobile phones. There were some advantages and disadvantages to both kinds of communication. Luckily, it wasn’t a big ask to maintain both at the same time.

They then moved onto looking at the apartments, which had two very useful attributes to them. That was, aside from being spacious, well located and high on privacy assurance. Number one, there was a terminal in each of the apartments that acted as a way for people that got assigned to the room to contact members of Fusion. Basically, they could use some parts of the Embassy as if they were guild members, without actually being such. The same number of ambassadors could be assigned as there were apartments. Number two was that all of the rooms were customizable through Gamer-powered menus, to design the spacious apartment however the assigned ambassador would prefer it. Even the layout of the walls was changeable.

“If you want to, we can make it official right now,” John offered. Marie was planning to stay for a week and return as an ambassador later, but as far he was concerned, she could spare herself the trip back overseas. She agreed to the role, but said that she would have to return to Paris regardless, to get everything officialised back home. Bureaucracy and court traditions and other such things.