Chapter 92 – Princess Goes Hunting

*** Elora ***

"Your Highness, Lady Isda has sent you a letter," A servant says.

"Oh, thank you. I was starting to get worried she had forgotten about us already. Set it on the desk; I'll get to it once I'm dressed," I say.

"As you wish, your Highness," she says, bowing out of the room once she sets the letter down. My maids continue to work the many straps to put on my full plate armor.

We stopped in a small town just a few days ride from our destination, where I took over the mayor's house for our night here. I never like kicking them out of their own home, but it wouldn't look good for a princess to camp when there are homes nearby. Plus, the mayors always insist, normally to pitch their town's problems for me to solve. And this town's problem is a simple one for my little group to fix.

A small den of goblins and a few orcs have made a cave nearby a home. Annoying things, really. They love the taste of our flesh more than anything; the only chance to walk out of their camp is for you to be caught in a big group and be one of the last chosen to roast over the fire. If they eat their full before getting to you, you instead get passed around a bit. If you're lucky, some adventurers come to save you the next day before the fires start up again. Get even more fortunate, and you'll have a kid in nine months.

A very traumatic way to get a kid, but you get a kid, and you need to look on the bright side of things after seeing a few people get roasted and eaten before you get raped.

So far, the village has lost two people to the group. I had Vanya, my other warrior, scout the cave out yesterday, and she came back saying there were about a dozen goblins and just two orcs. It should be easy enough to let some maids get some levels. Sextia needs the levels the most; I can't believe her family let her still be on her first class at the age of twenty-two. She's going to have a lot of work to do before she's useful on her own. She'll be doing the majority of the killing today. Really she should've been the one to do the scouting, being able to hide in the shadows and all, but her shit power doesn't let her do even that safely.

"All set, your Highness."

"Thank you, tell Inanos I'll be out shortly," I tell the maid. I don't want to forget about the letter so I better read it now. I'll have to write the response latter unfortunately.

'Hello, honey,

Everything is coming along nicely in the manor. The food is stocked, our cellar is filling up, and the furniture is all set now. The food is great, so dinner will be special when you all get back here.

I've had a few more requests, nothing to the level of griffins, but enough to sponsor some adventurers to head out and help. I offered some extra rewards for clearing out some roads along the way as well to help keep some trade routes safe. That continues to be the most desired improvement. The Duchess is also looking to schedule a meeting with us over the marriage deal. I let them know you are out for a while, but you'll need to have the meeting once you are back. Fluvis doesn't want to be too big during the meeting.

And talking about pregnant women, I'm growing in nicely. There is nothing to worry about with me. Alzi is getting very big. A few maids got a massage to let me know how she is. They all came back saying she's full term, pop any day now. So, she may join us a bit sooner than we expected.

With that I have secured the extra spot for her at the young nobility party. I filled her in as a man joining. It was easier to get her in that way.

Oh, and the assassin guild was hit hard. Lost some of their top guards and rumors that the perpetrators got away with what they wanted. Most assume it was Yuki and Nakuma who recently arrived. Guess they wanted revenge for attacking Mai. Queen even got involved, so it's likely resolved now, but still an interesting development and one that pisses off some nobles.

Lastly I finally made it out to the temples. Had to go out to the capital to check with the Goddess of the Hearth. She pointed me to the Goddess of Fertility where I made it to the Goddess of Sex. I really am her angel, and those dreams were a mission to fuck Alzi and get pregnant.

Not sure how to feel about it.

Love,

Your Angel Isda'

She's been busy, already helping me with handling the guild items, taking care of the party, and taking care of the Duchess. She's right that a wife is the best person to manage the home.

I'll be sending back plenty of praise for her. I hope the Goddess doesn't demand too much from her, though it seems Alzi and Isda are destined for each other. The angel might turn into a permanent guest in Alzi's bed if she had a mission to get pregnant on her birthday.

She'll need some comfort for that. Most girls want a few kids if they can get them, but to be pregnant for years on end with no sign of stopping has to be a nightmare. Not sure how Alzi can handle it even with her classes.

"Honey, we need to get going, or we'll be late getting to Lilin tomorrow. So hurry your ass up!"

"I'm coming!" I yell out the window. I'll have to write my response when I get to Lilin instead of tonight.

I'm the last to come out. My wives and some maids standing in a circle waiting for me to come out.

"Sorry for the delay. I got a letter from Isda I wanted to read." I say, taking a look at all of them. "Alright, time to head out. We've got some green bastards to kill."

The rest of the maids have our horses ready just outside the town, letting us quickly ride out to the cave.

I brought all my wives except for Isda on this little adventure, and they're all coming out on this extermination. Not that we'll all fit inside the cave; Elyne won't be able to turn around inside with her horse body, and Geta, with her oversized armor, won't make it through some of the tight corridors. Not that it matters; Sextia is going to be doing all the killing. We're just here to keep her from getting killed.

And talking about that lazy elf, she riding next to me. The short little thing looks calm, but her right hand gives it away. The shaking reigns try to confuse the trained war horse.

"Sextia, you'll be fine. I'll be with you, along with most of my wives. You may walk away with some scratches, but you won't be seriously injured," I call out to her. "I know you've been in some fights before, or you wouldn't have levels. This is some of the safest experiences you can get."

"Yes, your Highness. I have done this kind of thing before, just my body gets a little scared when I think of it."

"Don't worry, it'll stop with practice. We'll be stopping a lot more on the way back. I'll get you plenty of practice and maybe a new class."

"Thank you, your Highness," Sextia says.

I give her a little chuckle and start to focus on preparing myself. The goblins and orcs will be easy, but you never know what else is hiding in the forest. I thought of bringing Annoris, the dryad that will be serving Alzi, but dryads don't travel well, they like to take their time getting used to the new environment and get distracted helping the nearby trees. To get any use out of here, we would've needed to push this attack back a day or two, which I don't have.

The reports from Lilin show the Griffins are getting more active. We'll be killing the goblins and racing off.

Our horses quickly carry us down the road and through the forest. The cave is about a mile into the forest, then south of the road. The few who can't make it into the cave will stay with the horses as the rest travel through the dense underbrush.

"Alright, this should be the closest spot from the road," Vanya calls out, stopping her horse. The rest follow and dismount. Elyne and Geta round up the horses as we all gather at the edge of the forest.

"Ok, most of our jobs will be to watch out for any unexpected enemies. The goblins and orcs will be killed by Sextia, but if you need to attack for safety, do so. No need to have anyone walk out of here hurt just so Sextia gets one more goblin. Let's head out," I say.

Vanya takes the lead, with me in the back. The mages form a small cluster between us, with the more experienced mages towards the sides and Sextia in the middle.

Progress is slow as we cut our way through the forest. We quietly scan for anything that moves with the small amount of light that makes it through the thick canopy above us. This portion of the forest should be relatively safe. The town has some fighters that can clear out the smaller threats, and they haven't found anything that would suggest a beast stronger than the goblins around. But there's no point getting caught off guard.

After a grueling hour of travel we come to the small opening of the cave. The orcs likely barely make it through the gap. Our group won't have much trouble getting in. Most mages just use leather armor, and magic passes through it better than metal, so just me and Vanya will have any worries about passing through. I've got the most muscle of the girls here; Geta beats me out normally, but she isn't here right now. I'll probably scratch it a bit on the way in and out, but nothing the repair enchantments can't fix on the way to Lilin.

We give ourselves a short rest before heading inside, this time with Sextia right behind Vanya. Each passing through sideways, my armor does indeed scrape the sides on the way in, but we all make it in. Shimmer gives us a bit of light, and we start our journey down.

Vanya reported it wasn't a deep cave; it was just a few turns until it widened out into a room of shorts they'd been using.

We can hear the echoes of them moving around, and they likely hear us coming as well. The metal armor echoes through the small cave.

Soon, we hear footsteps running to us. The goblins wish to die a bit faster it seems.

The first screech reached me soon after; they did indeed think they could take us on in the tight caves.

I can't see the action; too many bodies are in the way. But I can hear it: Vanya's short sword and small shield ring out as Sextia casts her magic, bringing out the squeals of dying goblins.

It took about seven minutes for them to all perish.

"Anyone hurt?" I ask.

"No." they all reply, starting with Vanya and working back to Syro, who is right in front of me.

"Good. How many are dead?"

"Fifteen bodies. Should be all of them," Vanya replies.

"Ok, we should check their main cave before heading back."

"Yes, dear," comes back quickly, followed by the sound of Vanya's armor clinking against the stone.

Just around the next bend is the chamber. A small breeze sweeps through the room, likely bringing in fresh air that lets the idiots start a fire in the cave without suffocating themselves. Blood and various body parts cover the floor; just a single section is clean, likely where they would all sleep. Nobody is alive here to rescue. We'll have to report the death of the few villages they took. None of us want to look for a body part of one; I doubt the villagers even want them if they exist in the piles.

"There's Nothing here to grab, so let's head back. We can report this to the village and head out to Lilin. Good job, everyone," I say, taking the lead this time.