148 – A bit of a surprise, tbh.

The chain hit the ground and, much to my surprise and relief, went lax and didn't break the surface.

I stared at it with a fair amount of confusion.

“What...?” Yolin whispered with wide eyes.

“Is that normal?” I asked her, standing up and wiping my butt with a hand while pointing at the chain with the other.

The Oni slowly nodded, then sighed and rubbed her temples. “What makes you think there are no countermeasures for when that happens?” she inquired. “I told you the chains were full of fun enchantments... but I guess it's my fault for rushing you instead of properly explaining,” she sighed.

A tingle ran under my skin, making me shift my body a little. “That's okay,” I waved it away.

“Nine hundred?” someone nearby muttered in awe.

“And seventy,” another added.

I looked around.

People were looking over to us with surprised faces.

“That's a Halve for you,” a dude whispered with a smirk.

“Wicked,” another dude praised with a nod.

Oh? I smiled, then posed and flexed both arms while tightening my body. “Behold!” I exclaimed facing them. “The might of a Protector!”

Those nearby clapped and cheered.

“Yoooo!”

“Let's goooo!”

“Hail the Eternal!” came the cringe cheer from an Elf.

“I'm so glad I'm a Warrior!” a young-looking Human gushed with a big smile.

“Didn't she fall on her ass, though?” a Dwarf pointed out.

They saw that?!

“True... but isn't that kind of cute?” came an amused retort from a Luzo.

Ehe! Thankies!

“You'd die lifting that much, you insolent shit-eater!” a Goliath angrily scolded the shorter commentator.

“Oh, shut up! You brown nosed fuck!” a Tigea laughed.

The group of people chuckled.

“Alright, you lot,” Yolin spoke up. “Go back to what you were doing.”

I relaxed and observed them in silence for a few seconds. That's it? No racist remarks? No brawl?

My girlfriend patted my shoulder. “Okay, let's go at it again. Don't let the chain go this time,” she snickered.

I nodded at the chain. “How do I prevent it from talking?”

“Just like a sound-proof enchantment,” she replied and stood behind me. “Now. Give me two hundred reps.”

“What?” I whispered in shock. “Two hundred?!”

“Yep,” she confirmed with a deep nod. “Five sets. I doubt your strength will increase, but let's try it anyway.”

I closed into her and whispered even quieter, “Why won't it increase?”

“We don't know how high your toughness is,” she explained back in a whisper as well.

The chance presented itself, so I graciously took it.

“What is toughness?” I inquired with a monumental amount of curiosity.

That word was present in equipment and skills, and because my English isn't the best, I wasn't 100% certain of the meaning of the word. I took English only after entering Art School, after all.

Yolin put a hand on my shoulder and scratched her left eyebrow with the other. “How tough you are,” she replied with a cheeky smirk.

I rolled my eyes and pushed her shoulder. “Come on,” I sighed. “Tell me in simple Common. Please? Like I'm a ten year old.”

She took a deep breath. “Toughness is the body's energy dissipation index. It allows me, a tank, to get hit with enough energy to split the continent without exploding in a mess of blood and guts. Depending on how high your toughness is without any skills active, is how difficult it will be for you to get stronger through exercise because the muscles need to rip and heal to grow stronger. If your toughness is too high, then it will be harder. You Halves are said to have impossibly tough bodies, and as a Warrior...” she gave me a complicated look. “It will be even harder.”

“Hmm.” I nodded. “Gotcha,” I muttered and turned to the chains. “Let's try it.”

“Hng!” I huffed and lifted the chain.

“Aaand... two hundred,” Yolin announced while doing squats with weights. “Hold that position.”

I let out a long breath, feeling my skin hot and tingly.

The Oni stood in front of me and looked me in the eye. “Are you straining yourself?”

I blinked twice.

“Put it down,” she instructed me.

I did as told, bending forward and let out a long breath. “That was fun,” I sighed.

A hand slapped my left butt cheek.

I slowly turned my head to see who was feeling suicidal.

“Sheeeeesh!” Pokora laughed, standing behind me with a playful smile. “What are you doing with all this ass? Double CAKED UP! Giving the people an early breakfast?”

I arched an eyebrow.

“Yoga pants do your ass absolute wonders, girl,” she praised with a thumbs up.

“The slap was a bit much,” I pointed out and smiled. “And yeah, I know my ass is sheeeesh!”

Yolin approached me and ran a hand over my neck. “No sweat,” she commented and rubbed her fingers together. “We should've told Alyssa to come with us.”

I pulled the two into a hug and gave the sexual offender Elf a kiss on the lips. “Don't slap my ass in public again,” I told her.

She nodded, face red like a tomato up to her ears.

Yolin chuckled and hugged us, then lifted us. “Okay, let's go back,” she announced and put us down. She put an arm on Pokora's shoulders and asked, “How was the bow?”

The Elf sighed. “I don't need arrows anymore, but knowing how to make them will help me,” she shared. “It's pretty insane, to be honest. I broke a few targets,” she sighed again. “Luckily the people who work on them came as soon as they heard Natasha was here.”

I nodded. “Smart people,” I commented. “How much are the repairs?”

Both turned to me.

“They're Geomancers so they use skills to fix them,” Yolin educated me.

“Ahh...” I uttered. “Amazing. Pretty convenient.”

Both nodded.

And with our exercise done, we went back to the inn.

We made it back right on time for breakfast. Similarly to the inn we stayed at in Mountroad, the accommodations included meals.

The three of us took a shower and joined the rest.

The party sat around a big table in a large communal room.

Alyssa was staring at me with eyes that thirsted for knowledge. “970 tonnes,” she muttered to herself for the nth time.

For the first time since I was born in Galeia, I took one of the newspapers on the table and gave it a read.

It was quite the interesting thing.

The name was Ladania's Novelties for Sociable People, and it was fifty pages long.

I honestly didn't know what to expect, and the name wasn't a big enough clue.

My eyes widened at reading a block of text on the front page.

'GOLIATH, 250F LOOKING FOR SURROGATE FATHER (GOLIATH AS WELL). PREFERABLY WARRIOR. AROUND LEVEL 655 TOTAL LEVEL. I AM STAYING AT GOLAZI'S ENTRECAMINO. CYCLE WILL BEGIN THE 24TH OF THIS MONTH. MY PARTY HAS A LVL 672 CLERIC. DEPENDING ON SUCCESS OF PREGNANCY, MY PARTNER (GOLIATH, 248F) ALSO WISHES TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE YEARS TO COME. 200 GOLD PIECES A DAY, DETAILS CAN BE DISCUSSED.'

“Huh,” I uttered, mind absolutely shattered. “Surrogate father...”

Hanna perked up at that. “Are they looking for Orks, Your Excellency?” she inquired.

I looked at her and did a double take. “Uh... no, this one is looking for Goliaths,” I explained, a little confused.

The Ork nodded. “I see,” she lamented, then shrugged. “Well, we're not staying for long, anyway.”

My brain worked at full capacity for a few seconds, then my eyes widened to the limit. “You've... done this before?” I whispered in disbelief.

My fellow futanari smiled and nodded. “Several times, Your Excellency,” she told me like she was talking about going to the grocery store to buy fruit. “Some women specifically seek us fulse to have children with,” she further cause my mind to go into apocalyptic confusion.

“...Huh...” I uttered again, not knowing what to say.

Apparently she was comfortable enough with the rest knowing about her being a futa.

Or perhaps it was the fact we all showered together and saw each other naked.

So... I slowly thought. Hanna... is a parent? Or not since it's surrogate... This world is even more amazing than I thought, I concluded and continued reading.