Chapter 21

Thankfully, with Veronica's healing, I was back on my feet and un-brain-damaged in no time. The guards, too, showed up in short order; much faster than the half hour they'd warned me of. Most interestingly, however, was someone who came with the guards; a tall, curvy bunnygirl with white hair, dusky medium-brown skin, and a saber at her hip that was elegant in its simplicity. Her clothes were casual bordering on inappropriate, consisting of simple sandals, a pair of shorts, and a nice, stretchy tank top. Of course, she wasn't just curvy; she was stacked and jacked, with her arms and legs both sporting a bodybuilder's muscle definition, and her biceps being as thick as my... admittedly somewhat spindly... thighs.

"M-Miss Ironborn!" Akane said, straightening up. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that Guild apprentices were in danger, and came to deal with the problem," the supposedly-named Miss Ironborn said. "But, well. Looks like someone beat me to the punch."

"If I'd have known I could've passed the buck to you, I would've," I said. "...Well, provided it would've worked. The situation seemed pretty time-sensitive to me."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," she said, extending a hand to me. "My name is Cecilia Ironborn. I'm the fraternal sister of Beatrice Ironborn, current leader of Dorn's Delver's Guild."

"Roxanne Updyke," I said, reaching out to shake her hand. "I'm an extradimensional foreigner who picked an inadvisable fight and went up three levels."

"Three levels?" Akane asked.

"Well, it turns out, when you knock out four Level 4s in combat, that's worth a lot of XP," I said. "So yeah, now I'm Level 4, too. Hopefully that won't skew the results too bad when I apply to join the Guild?"

"You don't have anything to worry about," Cecilia said, shaking her head. "I've got the authority to look at what you just did and say, yeah, you're Guild material. And since you're already Level 4, you get to skip the part where you spend four years sitting in a classroom, having a bunch of facts and figures drilled into your head."

"...Huh," I said. "I... can't help but feel that maaaaybe it'll be important that I do have Guild training, but..."

"You're Level 4," Cecilia said. "You're going to learn faster than any Level 1, 2, or most Level 3s. That's just how Affinity Stats work, after all. And I can help you get some remedial training courses to get you up to speed, if you really need it, but..." She looked around at the warehouse full of barely-conscious bandits currently being rounded up and tied up by the guards. "...Something tells me you're pretty capable as-is."

"You weren't here for the part where I still had a concussion, then."

"Alright, alright, I'll get you some remedial training."

"Thanks."

"So, what next?" she asked.

"Uh... well, I'm guessing the guards still want to talk to us about some stuff," I said. "After that, uh... I'm gonna be honest, I want to go home and take a very, very long nap. I'll consider going down to the Guild tomorrow morning."

"Works for me," Cecilia said with a shrug. "Anyone have any questions?"

"Can I get a picture with you?" Akane asked. "You're kind of my hero."

"Sure thing, kid," Cecilia said, walking over to Akane.

"I've got it," I said, pulling out my phone with one hand and casting a little three-point lighting spell with the other. "I'm just gonna start taking pictures every three seconds, and you tell me when to stop."

Shot one, the two grinning, arms over each other's shoulders. Shot two, Cecilia flexing a meaty bicep while Akane fawned. Shot three, Akane rubbing one of Cecilia's ears while Cecilia made a face like she was getting fucked. Shot four, Akane and Cecilia making out... I stopped taking pictures as the two rolled around on the floor.

"Hey, Veronica?" I asked as I put my phone away.

"No," Veronica said, shaking her head. "Bunnygirls are not, in fact, actually more horny than average. The both of them are just freaks."

"Fair enough," I said.

The two did pull away after a minute or so, helping each other up; I couldn't help but notice that Cecilia was pitching a very prominent tent in her shorts, and the both of them were blushing furiously.

"Sorry for kissing your girlfriend," Cecilia said, her ears twitching as she approached me, head sheepishly low. "Can I, uh... make it up to you, or..."

I lifted her chin with my knuckle and kissed her, gently at first, growing deeper by the second. I started to cup her cheeks in my hand, caressing her face and teasing her human ears (which she had in addition to the bunny ears, yes), then trailed them lower, down her neck, to her shoulders, and then to her boobs.

They were big. Not quite Akane big, but bigger than a woman this toned and muscular should have, and definitely bigger than mine, and I was very eager to get my hands on them. That eagerness was awarded by a beautifully soft texture, so unlike her thickly-muscled frame, and she moaned quietly into my mouth as I explored her breasts, pressing herself against me in a wordless plea for more.

I broke the kiss, trailing my lips along the curve of her jaw to her ear, nibbling gently on an earlobe as I teased her nipples with my fingertips.

"She's not my girlfriend," I whispered in her ear, then pulled away, grinning.

"...Oh, okay, so you just got me all fired up for no reason, then," Cecilia said, still a little dazed.

"Not no reason," I protested. "I did it because you're hot as hell and were offering to make out with me. By the way, you mind if I get a picture with you?"

"You may wish to fix your top, first," Veronica pointed out.

Cecilia looked down at herself, realized I'd freed her breasts from their cloth confines in the process of feeling her up, and then shrugged.

"Wouldn't be the first time the internet saw my tits," Cecilia said. "Go on, Roxy."

I slung one arm over Cecilia's shoulders- letting that hand come down to rest on Cecilia's boob and get another good squeeze in- and used the other to point the camera. After that picture, I let go of Cecilia, and moved to in front of her, to take a picture of just her, with her tits still all the way out.

This was, oddly, worth a hell of a lot of Reified Lust. Was it because I was finally getting intimate with an actual person? Or was it because she was an insanely high level, and that was a factor?

"I don't plan on posting these, mind you," I said, as I printed off paper copies of all the pictures I'd taken. "But, in case you want to post the ones with Akane, or just yourself..." I handed her one stack, with the other going to Akane. "Please don't put the picture with me on the internet, though. I really do not need whoever has a parasocial relationship with you getting mad that I got to touch your boobs and they didn't."

"Fair enough," Cecilia said, stuffing the photos between the aforementioned boobs before slotting them back into her tank top. "Well! This was a hell of a day. My door's always open to you three, if you ever need anything. In fact... Paladin- or, Veronica, right? Do you want any of this before I go?"

"I'm quite alright, thank you," Veronica said blandly.

"You sure?" Cecilia asked. "The guards have cleared out by now, given us some privacy. I could even suck your dick if you wanted."

"I would rather you didn't," Veronica said.

"Suit yourself," Cecilia said with a boob-jiggling shrug. "I'll meet you at the central Guildhall tomorrow morning, Roxy. 8 AM, sharp."

"There is actually one last thing I need," I said. "It's serious, though, and not just me being horny."

"Oh?"

"I don't think we have the space in jail for them all..." a sergeant was muttering as I approached the guards outside. "Hm? Ah, Miss Updyke. Congratulations are in order, but... please don't do that again."

"Don't need to tell me twice," I said. "So, I hear you're at a loss for what you can do with the bandits?"

"A bit," the sergeant said. "Do you... have an idea, or..."

"Miss Ironborn here has agreed to sponsor a community service program," I said. "My thinking is, if we equip these bandits with crafting and gathering classes, and put them to work producing the goods that people in these neighborhoods need, and selling them at more reasonable prices than the market's been producing lately, then we'd be giving the bandits actual jobs that don't involve robbing people, and which benefit the community."

"That's... not a terrible idea, on the face of it," the sergeant admitted. "It... would be a significant expenditure of resources, though."

"Meh," Cecilia said with a shrug. "We did the math already, and it won't cost me more than I make on a single Level 13 Delve. I've spent more money on dumber things than this. For a Level 15, Class Unlocks cost basically nothing, and the materials crafters and gatherers need to get started don't cost all that much more. The most expensive part is me buying this damn warehouse, and even that is just the kind of money I find between my couch cushions."

"Damn, I want to sit on your couch," I said.

"It's not very comfortable, on account of all the coins in it," Cecilia remarked. "Anyway. If you need someone to persuade your boss, or the judge, to allow this, I'll do it, since I'm the one with the most skin in the game, so don't worry about you having to convince them."

"That would be... very much appreciated, Miss Ironborn," the sergeant said.

"Don't sweat it," Cecilia said. "C'mon, let's get moving. These three are dead tired, and deserve some rest."

"Welcome back," Haruna said as Akane and I came through the front door. "How did your errand go?"

"I got accepted into the Delver's Guild," I said. "And fuck am I tired."

"Congratulations," she said, smiling warmly at me. "Get some rest, Roxy; you've earned it."

I trudged over to my bedroom door, throwing it open, and trudging through, making it barely three steps before collapsing onto my bed. And as I rolled over onto my back to shut the door with a spell...

"Oof! Hello, Akane. Why are you in my bed?"

"I want cuddles," Akane said, wrapping her arms around me. She cast her own little spell to shut the door, and I sighed; getting rid of her wasn't going to be trivial.

"Well..."

"And," Akane continued, "at some point, I want to properly thank you for rescuing me."

"You are incorrigible," I said, a little impressed.

"Look," Akane said, propping herself up a bit to look me in the eye. "This time? It's special. It can be a one-time thing. It's just a hero's reward. Just this once, you can fuck me, and it won't mean a commitment, it won't mean a relationship you're at risk of ruining... No strings attached, I promise."

I grimaced, even as my dick hardened.

"Say the word and I'll drop it," she promised. "But, Roxy... don't you deserve something?"

"...Ah fuck it," I muttered, before pulling Akane into a kiss.

I was done edging myself. Akane wanted me to fuck her, and by god was I going to fuck her.