Ch 343: Undercover quest.

"Well, they're gone." sighed Noah as they watched the British delegation leave the Shizuoka's Tutelary Fort.

"Yes, they are." nodded Shiori.

"Are you satisfied with their concessions, Princess?"

"Their greatest loss is their prestige, as well as one Legatus. Their influence on the world stage has taken a huge hit. As for Japan, we have lost a few Chevaliers and hundreds of soldiers, but… We are emerging from that conflict stronger overall. I am confident that the other nations that were eyeing our country have shelved their plans for the foreseeable future. All thanks to you, Noah-sama." smiled Shiori.

"Enforcing peace is one of my duties as a Champion. I need to earn all the advantages I got after all. And speaking of my perks, let's get into my room. I need to remove Psyconnect from Hatsune, Rikka and Kisara."

The three girls Noah just mentioned made faces as they started walking back toward the Fort's entrance.

"There's a part of me who doesn’t want to return to normal, Noah-sama." said Rikka with a bitter smile.

"Why?" asked Noah with a smile.

"Because it feels great, to be in love like this. Even if I know it's artificial."

"I understand. But make no mistake, girls. I will release you from that ability because it is distasteful and wrong even by my standards, not because I do not want you. And I will be free of any restraint."

Rikka and Kisara both nodded, their faces red as they imagined themselves starring in various BDSM plays.

Noah knew from the clues Rikka occasionally let slip that she was a natural submissive. Kisara probably wasn't, but she wasn't immune to his charm, and with the various reasons he gave her to feel indebted to him, he didn't see her pulling away from him.

Once they were all within the room that had been assigned to Noah, he focused on his Psyconnect ability and opened the invisible collars and chains around Hatsune's, Rikka's and Kisara's necks.

The difference wasn't immediately visible to the others as their feelings for him truly became their own.

"This is done. How do you feel?" asked Noah.

"…I am not certain." frowned Kisara. "I feel admiration towards you, for everything you did for my country. Respect, for keeping your word when you could have kept me enthralled. And… I'm attracted to you. But I'm not sure how much the memories of the last few days affect that… I also wish you would put me under Psyconnect again, but I know it's not going to happen, and I am fighting this urge."

"Like I said, I intend to for you to be mine, Kisara, the right way this time. Does that make you want to run?"

Kisara slowly smiled. "I don't think so. Rather, I look forward to it, but I want you to go easy with me. I am willing to experiment with, with bondage and the other things I heard about, but don't push me too fast or too far."

"I am very happy with your answer, Kisara." smiled Noah. "I promise you, I will treat you well, as much as my countless other commitments allow me to."

He looked at Rikka next, and she blushed before steeling herself.

"I feel a lot like Kisara, and… and I am considering playing one of your games, if you will have me."

"A game?" asked Kisara.

"Let's talk about this later. Maybe after Bunny's game ends, although I don't intent to wait until then before I do naughty things with you. But I feel very gratified by your feelings, Rikka. You and Kisara and both very attractive women… I'm about to return to Cassell College. Do you wish to stay there, or follow me?"

"I want to follow you, but I will first need to convince the Chief of Staff that I'm more useful to Japan with your enhancements." nodded Kisara. "Hopefully, he won't object with me hanging around Princess Shiori."

"I already spoke to my father." nodded Rikka before she grinned. "He wants me to stay close to you, Noah-sama, so I can influence you for Japan's sake. You are going to let me influence you, right?"

"Within limits." smirked Noah. "You want me to defend Japan if anything else happens, it's fine. You want to use me to pressure another nation into an unfair deal, don't count on me."

"Your father has another reason, I suspect." guessed Shiori, and Rikka nodded.

"He didn't tell me, but I also think so. I suspect that he thinks the current Empress won't remain in power much longer, and he wants to have a good relationship with you, just in case."

"No surprise there." smiled Shiori.

"As for me, I'm happy that I don't have to choose between Shiori-sama and Noah-sama." grinned Hatsune, and Noah smiled warmly at her.

"Yes. Now, everyone should gather their belongings, and we will teleport back to the College."

The girls nodded and left the room. For once, Noah was alone, and he sat on his bed, appreciating the quiet. It wouldn't last.

And it didn't.

[User has received new quests]

Noah blinked at the sudden message and opened his System's quest tab.

"Quest n°4: Enroll into the Japanese branch of the Secret Party, Hyakkaou Private Academy, under a false cover. An Elemental King is hiding there. Do something about them. A house, bank account and identity papers have been provided. Enrollment papers have been processed. Reward: 1 000 000 000 Experience Points"

"Quest n°5: Attract the notice of your future homeroom teacher and assist her without breaking cover. Reward: Race change to Incubus."

Noah frowned. He knew that the Secret Party was the name of the organization Cassell College was another branch of, and their goal was to eradicate the hostile dragons that intended to enslave humanity. To have one dragon hiding in one of their institutions was quite ironic. But since Elemental Kings were actually pairs of twins, the quest was ambiguous. Was his target both twins, or a single one whose gender was not specified?

[Hum, System? What does that race change implies?] mentally asked Noah.

[Nothing you need to dread, my Champion.] replied Lilith with an amused tone. [This reward isn't going to grow horns on your head or make you a true Incubus. Rather, you should see the name as the theme for an upgrade and fusion of some abilities you already possess. Your Hands of Nirvana will become a passive trait, and so are the effects of the Incubus Ring. But the most important thing is that this reward will solve a major issue you have with your harem.]

[Greeting, Lilith-sama. I am very grateful for this reward you're offering, and I look forward to it. What major issue?]

[The fact that it is so large that some of your girls might spend years without an opportunity to feel your embrace, oh-so-greedy Champion of mine. I had to be a little creative to decide what to give you, because I feel a little sorry for them. If you get that reward, and I expect you to because that mission isn't difficult, each and every single one of your girls will get to spend time with a shard of your Soul in their Soul Space every night.]

[That… Am I going to be NTRed by myself?] asked Noah with a strange expression, and Lilith chuckled.

[Those shards will synchronize with your soul during your sleep, so there is not going to be any divergence. Just make sure not to reveal your identity until you get the notification that the quest has been fulfilled. It would spoil the fun.]

[So I will get the memories of what my shards do with them every night?]

[Yes. And I know you secretly dreaded the day where you would suddenly face over a thousand women you never met before. This way, you will already be intimate with them, and they with you, by the time you access the Fate world.]

[I understand. That's a massive benefit. Thank you very much, Lilith-sama.]

[It is mostly for them that I arranged for this to happen. There isn't much more to say. I will only mention that those two quests are completely unrelated and can be completed in any order, and you can find out the rest on your own. Oh, and I might take it upon myself to punish Akeno soon, but do not tell her that. That little masochist will end up enjoying it anyway.]

[Punish Akeno?] asked Noah, startled. [What did she do? Did you lose a bet because of her?]

[I did, but that is not for this that I will punish her… Mostly... She and the girls she trained have been a little too eager and undiscerning lately with their recruiting spree. Jinah enslaving queen Zana when she already had a husband was strike one, and Sakura taking a random civilian off the streets during the last battle was strike two. The fact that said civilian was someone I created from another fiction and that I expected this to happen, even nudged things a little to ensure they met, is no excuse since Sakura wasn't aware of it.]

Noah felt an urge to roll his eyes. He suspected that Lilith was simply peeved after losing that bet and wanted to vent a little, but he chased away the thought as fast as possible.

[If, or rather, when strike three happens, I will bring Akeno here to take responsibility for their actions. And you, as her master, will administer the punishment by following my instructions to the letter. Then she can go back to saving those timelines.]

[Please don't be too strict, Lilith-sama... I may be partly responsible as well, since I am the one who trained her, and even though I know she's very proactive, I never really told her to slow down.]

[You are partially correct, but you didn't actually cross the line and punishing you now would be troublesome. Your little initiative with Chains of Lust came close, but aside from one case we specifically allowed because she is a sadist, your girls only took women who already craved submission and expressed an interest in joining your harem. As a general rule to know where the line is, you can enslave any unmarried notable character without us caring much about their consent, but if you start tapping into the general population or breaking up couples, you will be held to a higher standard of scrutiny.]

[I understand, Lilith-sama.] nodded Noah, remembering what 'notable character' meant. Essentially, any character who had a name in the fictions Lilith has inspired herself from.

[Of course, you won't always know in advance who is a notable character, and who isn't… Keep working hard, my Champion.] said Lilith, and Noah felt her presence leave his mind.

He checked his inventory and found a few things Lilith had given him. A set of keys, a few admission papers, an ID card, a red school uniform, and a text document that described his cover so he would be able to easily answer questions about his background. He memorized it carefully. It actually had many similarities with his real past, before he became a Champion, and Noah supposed Lilith had chosen it to give his own reactions a bit more realism. The most convincing lies were half-truths, after all.

He then took a good look at the ID card. The name on it was "Ren Nagano", and the photo showed the face of a rather handsome Japanese young man with short black hair and black eyes. A typical Japanese protagonist. With his shapeshifting ability, he would have no issue changing his features to that identity.

Noah put the items back in his inventory and thought about the two quests. He would have to deal with one, maybe two Elemental Kings, beings presumably significantly more powerful than the Dragon Servant he killed during the underwater temple incident, and without abandoning his cover? This suggested that a peaceful resolution was possible, and the quest's formulation didn't preclude that.

After a few more seconds, Noah shrugged. It served no purpose to make assumptions before he could gather any information on what was happening in Hyakkaou Private Academy yet.

Someone knocked at the door and Noah rose to open it. It was Rikka.

"Done already?"

"Yes. Those spatial rings you gave us are so convenient." smiled Rikka. "I could pack up everything inside in under a minute."

"Good. Something just came up, but I will wait until we're back in the dorm to talk about it."

"Let me guess, Noah-sama. This will lead to more women joining the harem."

"Hopefully." chuckled Noah. He opened the door again as Kisara was about to knock and gestured for her to come in.

"This matter aside, there is one Spirit that managed to escape everyone's detection and lived among humans for a while. She revealed herself to warn me just before that fight with Luo Hao."

"Oh. That girl with the long black hair and bangs hiding her left eye?" asked Kisara. "I saw you taking a walk with her around the Fort.

"That's her." nodded Noah. "Her name is Kurumi Tokisaki. She cultivated an online relationship with a DEM employee to keep an eye on their activities et learned about the Anti-Spirit prototypes, so she came to warn me."

"That's smart of her. But what does she want from you? She's probably expecting some favor in return." frowned Kisara.

"She's seeking the rogue Spirit that turned both Kurumi and Kotori from humans to Spirits, and killed a lot of civilians."

"Oh. So you will offer her to gain your abilities, and she will be able to teleport to that rogue Spirit." nodded Rikka.

"Exactly." smiled Noah.

Another knock on the door, and Noah opened it, letting Shiori and Hatsune enter.

"Alright. If everyone is ready, we can leave." said Noah.

"We informed the Fort's personnel of our departure, Noah-sama." smiled Hatsune. "We are ready."

Noah nodded, extended his arms, and they all put their hands on him. A second later, they were all in the dorm's living room.

Arianna flinched as they suddenly appeared, and she turned off the vacuum cleaner she had been using.

"Welcome-back, everyone. Please warn us beforehand before you come in like this. My heart tried to jump out of my chest."

"Thank you, Arianna. It's good to see you. Arianna, this is Kisara Tendo, an elite Chevalier from the Japanese Army and Rikka's best friend. Kisara, this is Arianna Hayama Arialdi, Erica's assistant. She's helping take care of us all while we live in the dorm."

"Hello. It is nice to meet you." smiled Kisara with a polite nod.

"The pleasure is shared. Welcome to the dormitory." replied Arianna with an elegant curtsy. "Noah-sama, should I prepare another room?"

"Three rooms, please. Princess Shiori and Hatsune are going to move in as well."

"We are?" asked Shiori with a raised eyebrow, and Hatsune blushed.

"Do you object?" replied Noah with a smile.

"…No. But you should ask first. You are lacking delicacy, Noah-sama." said Shiori with a pouting expression.

"Sure, sure." chuckled Noah. "I'm going to spend some time with Bunny and Ruo Ruo. At lunch, I will have an announcement to make."

The girls nodded, and Noah found Liliana and Shuiruo in the gaming room, connected to Mystic Moon.

A few minutes later, they joined him in his room.

"We were waiting for you, Noah. Some more eagerly than others." chuckled Shuiruo as she hugged him.

"Oh?" asked Noah with a side glance at Liliany, who blushed.

"It is good that you are back, My Lord."

"Thank you, Bunny, Ruo Ruo. I am happy as well that this conflict is solved. I can spend more time in the dorm with you girls."

"I certainly hope so." grinned Shuiruo. "May I remind you that I cannot wash myself or even eat without your permission? I already feel sticky. And hungry."

"That's something we are going to have to remedy. But speaking of the rules…"

Shuiruo nodded and took her die from her pocket.

"Let's see what Yui will sentence me to." said Shuiruo as she threw it on the nearby desk.

"I can assure you, Ruo Ruo, that I have no influence on the die's result." came out Yui's voice from the black bangle on Shuiruo's right wrist. "And it's a 3, so you get one rule today. Roll again, please."

Shuiruo threw her die again.

"1. Lifestyle restriction. You may no longer curse. Roll a punishment for every third time you fail."

"Oh. That's easy. I almost never curse." said Shuiruo, feeling a bit disappointed.

"You should appreciate getting easy ones while it lasts, Ruo Ruo." chuckled Noah as he patted her head.

"Hum, I wonder…" replied Shuiruo, and her expression suddenly turned mischievous. "Bunny is a bitch. She's a bitch. She really is a bitch."

"What?" exclaimed Liliana with wide eyes, completely blindsided by Shuiruo's crude words.

"Tut tut, you have earned yourself a punishment, you bad Bunny." laughed Yui.

"If you want to be punished, you only needed to ask, Bunny." said Noah with a fake sigh, and Shuiruo grinned.

"That would be cheating. Sorry, Bunny. I didn't think a word of what I just said. I'll make it up to you later."

"Yes, I understand." nodded Liliana as she relaxed.

"So, let's see what kind of punishment you will receive." said Noah as he took her dice and threw her.

"3. That is Exposure, tier 1. Ruo Ruo, you must make a post on a social media about your life as a slave, and include at least three pictures. You can crop your face or blur it. If you roll this punishment again in the future, you must use a different social media."

"Oh. I was hoping for something more intimate. Like a spanking." sighed Shuiruo.

"You would have gotten one if Master had rolled a 5, but that's up to luck." replied Yui.

"Since I get to choose what you wear, Ruo Ruo, you will wear a black latex bodysuit, the front half open to show some cleavage, as well as a black leather corset, boots and gloves for those pictures. I will take them for you while you make some sexy poses and make sure you head isn't in the camera's field of view." smiled Noah. "I expect your post to describe the general rules of the game, as well as the rules you already have to follow."

"Yes…" said Shuiruo, her smile returning. "And after I'm done, since I'll already be wearing that outfit…"

"I will likely fall to the temptation and take you to the Sanctuary for a while, yes." grinned Noah.

"My Lord, I… I would like to make a change to my rules." said Liliana, her face red.

"A change?"

"I-I would like to roll every day, instead of every two days. Without changing the total number of rolls."

"We can do that, but your current situation gives you more time to adapt to each new rule before you get the next one. May I know why you request that change?"

"That's because I… I keep getting cold feet… And…" confessed Liliana, lowering her eyes in embarrassment. It looked like she was going to say more, but the embarrassment was overwhelming her.

Shuiruo decided to give her a hand.

"What this adorable Bunny is too shy to say is that she feels left out, and she wants more of Her Lord's attention. But she also secretly wants to be compelled into it so she has no room to procrastinate."

Liliana flinched, but she didn't deny Shuiruo's words.

"Alright. Then roll the dice, Bunny." nodded Noah.

Liliana took a deep breath as she walked to the desk and threw her two dice.

"6 and 2, Bunny." declared Hikari through her bangle. "Double rules, Independence Restriction and either Lifestyle Restriction or Uniform."

"That's three categories?" wondered Shuiruo.

"Yes." replied Hikari. "The Uniform category is unlocked by reaching Lifestyle Restriction Level 2. It is up to Master to decide between those two, but since Bunny currently has no level in Lifestyle Restriction, the Uniform category can't be selected yet. Here are your actual rules, Bunny. Independence Restriction Level 1, your Owner must choose your public outfit and dress you up. Lifestyle Restriction Level 1, curse words are banned. You will get up to two reminders daily before you are penalized by adding three days to the game's duration."

"Oh! We play games with different rules, but we both got the same ban on cursing today." chuckled Shuiruo.

"Indeed." nodded Liliana.

"Let's take a shower, all three of us." smiled Noah, looking at Liliana with a predatory smile. "It has been a long time since I had shower sex with anyone."

"S-Shower sex?" asked Liliana with another flinch.

"No penetration for you, Bunny." smiled Noah. "I will take your virginity soon, in a more romantic context and when it will be just the two of us. But I intend to use my hands and give you a few orgasms. You can decline if you wish, since you do not have any rule compelling you, yet. But you won't. Right, my Sweet Bunny?"

Liliana looked like a deer in headlights for a few seconds, then she gulped, and shook her head slightly.

"Eheh." chuckled Shuiruo as she took Liliana's hand and led her toward the attached bathroom.

…

"Good afternoon, Principal, Professor." smiled Noah as he found Anjou and Guderian playing Chinese chess on a balcony.

"Oh. Good afternoon, Noah." smiled Anjou. "I heard the peace negotiations went well."

"They did."

"Hi, Noah." grinned Guderian. "Do you know that you are now considered as the strongest Spirit?"

"Demi-God, not Spirit. As far as Demi-Gods go, I am actually on the weaker end of the spectrum, but I have been at it for only a few years. I still have plenty of room to grow." shrugged Noah as he moved closer to the ledge and admired the scenery. "This is a really nice spot, with the shade and the view."

"My favorite place when I need to relax." nodded Anjou. "Did you need something?"

"I wanted to inform you that I will spend most of my time away from Cassell College for the foreseeable future. My Goddess gave me another mission, one that involves me going undercover. I will give you my phone number so you can contact me if there is an emergency like Nidhogg showing up, but please do it only for emergencies."

"Thank you for informing us." nodded Anjou. "Is this something we can help you with?"

Noah felt tempted to ask about Hyakkaou Private Academy but decided not to. His own act would be more convincing if he entered that place without prior knowledge.

"Thank you, Principal, but I do not think so. I talked about it with my partners, and Liliana and Shuiruo both decided to follow me. They will still connect to Mystic Moon from there. Oh, and I asked Luo Hao to provide a few hours of martial arts lessons every day to any student who would request it. She reluctantly agreed."

"That's great news!" exclaimed Gudarian as he jumped to his feet, almost dancing with joy. "Her Eminence is the world's greatest martial artists! Our students will benefit tremendously!"

"Yes. However, her training can be quite, strict, let's call it like that." shrugged Noah. "Those who wish to learn from her should be ready to experience some pain."

"We will make sure the infirmary is staffed." nodded Anjou, understanding.

…

On his way back to the dorm, Noah felt a gaze directed at him and turned, spotting Rin some distance away. The blonde-haired girl waved at him, and Noah walked over.

"Hey, Rin. Long time no see. How have you been?"

"Hi, Noah. I'm doing great." nodded Rin. "Did you just visit the Principal?"

"Yes. Just checking in since I have been away for a few days."

"I heard about it. So you're a Chevalier, uh?"

"I am."

"Your power is so strange. Normally, you shouldn't be able to use Yanling as a Chevalier, and then there's that strange power of yours."

"The explanation is quite simple." shrugged Noah. "This world, the Sacred Beasts, the Chevaliers, everything had been created by a single being, an almighty Goddess. And my power directly comes from her, so you could say there's some kind of 'origin' attribute to it that makes me able to easily learn and use just about anything."

"Quiet bragging?" asked Rin with a deadpan expression.

"You asked, I answered." smiled Noah.

"Can you show me one of those abilities?" eagerly asked Rin.

"So you can replicate it like you did with my Light constructs?" teased Noah, and Rin's eyes widened.

"…Did Shiori tell you?"

"No. I was using another of my abilities to watch you just after I left that night. That was quite cunning of her, to ask me for a demonstration without mentioning your ability to copy things. But I am not resenting her for tricking me."

"Okay. So if you're not angry, can you show me another?" asked Rin.

"Maybe later."

"How about a bet? If I defeat you inside Mystic Moon, you let me copy more of your powers?"

"Oh? You think you stand a chance?" grinned Noah.

"Actually, I'm catching up." snorted Rin as she pointed a thumb at herself. "CuteZero. That's me."

Noah raised an eyebrow and considered her with a new eye.

"…Consider me impressed, Rin."

"That's right. Am I not great?" grinned Rin.

"You truly are." nodded Noah.

"That's why you should help me get even stronger. It is always useful to have powerful people owe you favors."

"…I do not disagree with the idea, but I have two issues with sharing my abilities with you. The first is that people seeing you use them would assume that you are part of my faction. The second is that, while I have no reason to think you would abuse them, I still have a responsibility to make sure."

Rin adopted a thoughtful expression, and Noah could guess she was searching for arguments to refute his.

"And this aside, if you want to make a bet with me, you should also offer me something in case you lose it. I won't accept one-sided bets."

"That makes sense. What do you suggest?"

"If I defeat you, you will become part of my faction, and I will be your boss." smiled Noah.

"…my boss, or my master? Shiori told me you plan to make me your slave girl."

"We can start with a boss and subordinate relationship and see how it goes." suggested Noah. "Like I said to Shiori, I do not keep girls as my slaves if they are unhappy to be kept."

"She didn't tell me you said that. I think she was shocked that you were that kind of guy."

"Yes, I am that kind of guy." smiled Noah. "Does that scare you?"

"It takes a lot to scare me." shrugged Rin. "I have never gotten a boyfriend or done self-bondage, but I have seen videos and read stories on internet. As long as you know what you're doing and are willing to respect my limits, I don't mind giving it a try."

"And about me being your first? What do you think about it?" asked Noah, and Rin nodded quietly.

"You wouldn't be surrounded by so many girls if you weren't worth it. You're a catch, so, treat me well from now on, okay?"

"Of course, Rin. I will make sure that you never want to leave."

"Good. Now that we have an agreement, show me something."

Noah chuckled. He found Rin to be quite adorable, with her honest and pragmatic mindset.

"I'll show you an ability I named Augment. It's a physical reinforcement spell increasing my speed, strength and toughness."

"Sounds nice." nodded Rin, taking two steps back to watch him carefully.

Noah activated Augment, the magic array appearing under his feet for an instant before disappearing.

"Do you want me to do it again?"

"No need. I can't replicate this." sighed Rin. "This is too different from Yanling, and too internal for me to see how it works."

"Augment is part of the abilities I share, so you will get it anyway if things go well. Did Princess Shiori tell you that she agreed to be mine?"

"No. I thought she would sit on the fence some more."

"A certain British princess bound her with a curse that made Shiori her slave. I broke the curse before she did anything harmful, but that incident motivated her."

"I see. So, when do I move in?"

"Whenever you feel ready, Rin." smiled Noah. "Everyone would be happy to have you."

"…I'll come in later this week. But remember, nothing happens before we discuss my limits." nodded Rin.

"Of course." said Noah before creating a spatial ring.

"Here, a congratulatory gift for joining Valhalla, and to help you move in."

"Have you fallen for me already, that you are proposing? Shouldn't you be on your knee?" joked Rin.

"That's a spatial ring, you can put stuff inside." smiled Noah. "You only need to focus on it, and you will be able to feel its content. It will respond to your thoughts and let you bring objects in and out as long as you touch them. Now, I'd love to chat more with you, Rin, but I really need to connect to Mystic Moon while I can. I'll be busy in the near future."

"Okay. See you later, then." nodded Rin.

"Later, Rin." replied Noah. He watched her leave for a while before shaking himself and heading toward the dorm. He had a lot of grind to do if he wanted to defeat Eve in a month.