313 Vol. 5 pt. 21 (1/2)
”It's alright, bro. We're all adults. We understand,” Rao tells Fenrir, giving him a friendly smack on the back as the party walks back to the dragon's village.
After Fenrir ended up making a noise much louder than what he expected to make, resulting in everybody getting to hear his girlish moan from the way-too-good massage that Eva was giving him, the group gathered together and left the cave.
Fenrir's ears have been flattened and his tail has been hanging low ever since then.
He might feel the most embarrassed he has felt in – well, the most embarrassed that he can ever remember being, but that isn't stopping his girlfriends from finding him utterly adorable as Rao comforts him. Even Rock and Shogun are trying to comfort him by walking alongside him and occasionally brushing up against his leg with their heads.
”I want to die,” Fenrir says.
”You're not allowed to die. Your girlfriends would be upset,” Rao says.
”I want to commit not-living.”
”Commit not living? What? Not living… commit not living… not living is being dead, so you want to commit being de—oh. I already said you're not allowed to do that.”
”You're not my mom. You can't tell me that I'm not allowed to want to die.”
”I'm your bro. It's my duty as a bro to tell you that you're not allowed to die so that I can look out for you and your girls.”
Fenrir, despite still feeling such embarrassment, can't help but to feel inspired over Rao's utter bro-ness.
Rao was just some perverted bachelor who struggled with respect, common sense, and boundaries when they first met one another. Now, Rao has turned himself around and become a dependable brother to not only him, but his girlfriends, Tabitha, Olly, and Corwin, and he's every bit as important to the group as anybody else is.
Fenrir wants to give Rao some praise for that.
Rao deserves it.
Fenrir opens his lips to say something but gets cut off by Rao.
”If only girls could see how awesome I am. I bet they'd love me if they saw how much of a bro I can be,” Rao says.
”I want to die,” Fenrir says, no longer wanting to praise Rao and instead having returned to giving up on life.
”Worry not, Fenrir,” GG says, now walking alongside Fenrir and Rao. ”I once knew a lady who could make me make those same noises. She was this short, older woman in her seventies with frizzy hair, too much makeup, and nails long enough to belong in a museum. Let me tell you, the moment you felt her hands press against your back, you'd go from a grown man to sounding like one of those frogs in the desert.”
That comparison only furthers Fenrir's desire to commit not-living.
Meanwhile, his girlfriends and Eva are walking together at the back of the group.
”I feel kind of bad… but he's really cute right now,” Cassiel says.
”Super cute,” Serra agrees.
”We need to discover a way to make him make such sounds in reality,” Nell says. ”It is one thing to hear his virtual voice making such noises. It would be far more wonderful to hear his real voice make them!”
”Yeah,” Cassiel says. ”That'd be even better.”
”Azawaza and Eva need to visit us,” Serra says. ”Eva can massage him in real life.”
”Eh? Visit you?” Eva asks. ”But… we barely know each other, and plane tickets are expensive. I might be a thrillseeker in-game, but you could be a bunch of axe murderer cannibals in real life. It's way too soon.”
”Axe murderer cannibals?” Nell asks, bringing a hand up to her face to tap on her chin as she thinks about that.
The things that she thinks are far too appealing, and mostly erotic, for any sane person to be thinking.
”I – I want to visit soon,” Azalabulia says, sounding more like her timid self than her explosion-obsessed maniacal side.
”Whenever you want,” Cassiel says. ”We've got the costs covered. Right?” she asks, looking at Nell.
”Ah, yes, it would be rather wonderful if Fenrir were to improve on his bestial act with an axe and far harder biting,” Nell answers.
”…what?”
”An axe-wielding, cannibalistic Fenrir! What else?”
”That's… not what we were talking about.”
”Oh, it was not? Shame.”
”I think that's too much this time,” Serra says.
”Is it? Then it would appear that we have found your limit!”
Serra nods while Cassiel sighs.
”It takes that for us to find your limit?” Cassiel asks.
”No axes. Biting harder is okay,” Serra answers.
”How about no axes and no biting harder. He bites hard enough.”
”You know you want him to bite harder.”
”I – no I don't.”
”Don't lie.”
”I'm – I'm… fine, it might be nice, but not if he starts drawing blood.”
”Uh-huh.”
”I'm serious. No biting to the point of blood.”
”Uh-huh.”
”Seriously! Only a little bit of blood would be okay!”
”Uh-huh.”
”Why won't you trust me? I'm telling you that if he bites hard enough to take the skin off then that's too much.”
”Okay.”
”Good. Wait…”
”Heh.”
”It would appear that you played right into her trap,” Nell says. ”Serra is not to be underestimated! What she lacks in height she makes up for with her plots.”
Serra gives Nell a thumbs-up and says, ”I'm smart.”
”The smartest!”
While Nell, Serra, and Azalabulia walk ahead, Cassiel notices that Eva has been slowing down and getting father and farther behind.
It's also more than obvious to Cassiel that Eva isn't looking at the other girls and listening to their conversation so much as it is that she's looking past them at their boyfriend.
Knowing that she might as well get this over with to keep Eva out of the awkward phase where she likes Fenrir but feels guilty for it since he already has girlfriends, like usual, she slows her pace until she's next to Eva.
”This is supposed to be Serra's job,” Cassiel says.
”Hm? What?” Eva asks.
”You're extremely obvious and he already knows, too.”
”What are you—”
Cassiel narrows her eyes.
”Oh. Am… I that obvious?”
”Yeah. Extremely.”
”Oh. Don't worry. It's not like I'm going to try and steal him or anything. I know he's already got—”
”Relax. Aza doesn't mind at all, Nell is all for it, Serra would never say no, and I don't really care either. We still have to get to know you better, but don't feel guilty or anything.”
”This feels like an interview.”
”We've basically been interviewing you ever since you made it obvious. While you were doing your obvious information-gathering, we were doing our own.”
”Wait… seriously? I was obvious about that, too?”
”Yeah. Extremely.”
”Oh.”
”You're not good at being subtle. I don't think that anybody who has as many mixed-and-matched body parts as you could be subtle about anything.”
”You're probably right.”
”I am right.”
”You have strong evidence supporting your theory, I'll give you that.”
”I have all the evidence I need to prove it as fact.”
”You're… right.”
”I know. Anyways, don't worry about it.”
”I'm still not sure what I shouldn't be worrying about.”
”You know. Him. Us. I'm probably trying to talk to you about it way too soon, but I saw you looking like Aza used to, so I figured that I'd say something for your sake.”
”Oh. Thanks… I think?”
”It's awkward when you say it like that.”
”Sorry. I just don't really know how to react to something like this. It's only been a day and there's always the chance that I don't feel this way the next time I wake up.”
”Sure. There's a chance.”
”You make it sound like there isn't really a chance.”
”If the rest of us are anything to go by, there's no chance that you wake up next time looking forward to seeing him again and spending more time with him,” Cassiel says, turning her head slightly away to hide the growing blush on her cheeks. ”He… has that effect. The same is probably even true for Rao and Tabs.”
”Tabs?”
”One of our friends. She's not interested in him like the rest of us at all, but he still managed to break through to her. And he managed to help turn Rao around.”
”What was he like before?”
”You're better off not knowing the details. My point is that, even if it is really early for me to be talking to you about this, I figure that it's going to almost definitely happen eventually so I might as well get it out of the way with now instead of later.”
”Hm. I understand, I think. It's still new and strange to me, but thanks., I'll keep in mind what you've said.”
”Just know that, if you do end up wanting more, you're going to have to try to be more forward with him. He misses most attempts at being subtle and you'll get the best responses from him when you're just honest about what you want.”
”I never would have thought somebody's girlfriend would be telling me how to seduce their boyfriend.”
”I never would have thought that I'd be telling somebody else how to seduce my boyfriend, but here I am.”
Cassiel and Eva share a short laugh before looking at each other.
”Just remember that we're a package deal. You have to make sure you get along with all of us instead of only him,” Cassiel says.
”I… don't think that'll be a problem. The only one of you I don't really know if I get along with yet or not is Azalabulia. She's so quiet whenever she's not making explosions.”
”Just talk to her about some explosions and crazy ideas and she'll fall in love with you. Talk about erotic fantasies with Nell and you'll win her. Be lewd and you've got Serra.”
”What about you and Fenrir?”
”Me? I don't know. Just be yourself. As for Fen… just wear a sweater.”
”A… a sweater?”
”Yeah. Trust me on this. The fastest way to his heart, without a doubt, is with a sweater. There's no faster route there. Probably. Oh, and acting like a dog.”
”So he's into that kind of stuff.”
”Yeah, but it's not as bad as it sounds.”
”Oh, you're into it, too?”
”I – I mean… I – I never said that I was into it,” Cassiel stutters, her cheeks beginning to turn red once more. ”I just… said that it's not as bad as it sounds…”
”You're so into it.”
”Teasing me isn't going to work on me.”
”Is that why everybody teases you?”
”Ugh. You pay too much attention.”
”I wouldn't be a scientist if I didn't pay attention to everything around me. You have to constantly observe everything and everybody around you.”
”I guess we've got another stalker now.”
”I'm not a stalker, and… another stalker?”
”Long story. Kind of. Anyways, that's not an issue anymore, so it doesn't really matter.”
”Now I'm curious.”
”Maybe you'll find out sometime. For now, you'll have to deal with being curious.”
”What information do I have to trade with you to find out now?”
”Where one billion dollars are buried for me to go dig up and cash in.”
”That might be a bit impossible even for me.”
”I guess that you won't be learning about our stalker then. Too bad.”
While Eva and Cassiel talk and joke around, Nell looks back at them over her shoulder and says, ”They are getting along wonderfully, are they not?”
”Yeah,” Serra answers. ”I knew they'd get along.”
”They both have the same sense of maturity and independence behind them. Right, Azalabulia?”
”I'm amazed still at how quickly you can all get along with new girls. B-but, I'm grateful for that,” Azalabulia answers.
”It's easy to get along with people you want to lewd,” Serra explains. ”The more you want to lewd them, the more you try to get along.”
”Oh my. That sounds rather manipulative, Serra,” Nell says.
”You know you like it.”
”Of course I do! Feel free to manipulate me to your heart's desire. And your body's desire. In fact, dare I say that the more you manipulate me, the better it will be!”
”You're the best.”
”I suppose that I can be rather pleasant at times. Alas, I cannot allow myself to develop too much of an ego.”
”But you're a princess.”
”Not legally, unfortunately.”
”You basically are. Princesses are supposed to have big egos. That's what makes breaking them fun. You destroy their egos with lewds.”
”Goodness, Serra, now is a most unfortunate time to be exciting me. At least wait until we are back in reality, or in private, to do that!”
”I'm being cruel. Princesses need cruelty.”
”So much sadism packed into such a small and cute body.”
”Bite-sized sadism.”
”I do not know if I would call you bite-sized, but your size does make you fun to bite.”
”Then you should bite me more.”
”Perhaps I shall, but only if you do the same.”
”Deal. Azawaza, we'll both bite you more, too.”
”E-eh?” Azalabulia asks. ”I – I don't know about that.”
”I thought you had interests like Cass Cass.”
”I – I don't know about that…”