Chapter 506 – Legacy of the Skies

As the morning came, Asterios woke up feeling quite revitalized. Being careful not to disturb anyone who might still be sleeping by his side, he stretched a little and opened his eyes. It turned out that he hadn’t needed to be that wary, as another person’s smiling face greeted him from the beginning. Tina, still remaining snuggled between him and Miria, peered up at him happily.

“Hi there, handsome.” Her smile grew, and in response, he wrapped her in a warm hug, pressing the well-endowed young lady into his chest. “Mmmmm… That is a nice way to start the day…”

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

“I should be the one asking you that,” Tina whispered in reply. “We didn’t tire you out even more last night, did we?”

“I’m full of energy thanks to the two of you.” Asterios brushed his lips against hers, and they shared a few fluffy kisses.

The soft noises of their exchange caused the sheets behind Tina to shift, Miria’s head popping over her shoulder. “I want a good morning kiss too, Masteeeeeeer~”

Chuckling, he fulfilled the sleepy panthergirl’s request while their blue-haired companion watched them amusedly. After a few more pecks between the three of them, they sat up together.

As the pleasant blanket slid off their bodies, a just as delightful sight entered Ast’s field of view. It was hard to decide which side to look at with a pair of supple chests to the west and to the east. Miria preened under his gaze, proudly displaying her well-toned body. But Tina didn’t fall behind this easily. With her new outlook on certain aspects of life, she tried to emphasize her bust even more than her sister-mate.

Asterios could only shake his head. He hadn’t thought he would ever witness two of his most bashful lovers act so boldly around him.

Their little fun was interrupted by the door to the bedroom opening unhurriedly. Already sensing the incoming guests, the trio directed their attention to the ladies who entered the chamber, each carrying various trays and jugs. Selene, Silvia, Grea, and Bryn surrounded their resting spot, setting up a thin board over their thighs.

“You are spoiling me too much.” Asterios couldn’t stop the tender smile from sneaking onto his lips.

A full breakfast in bed was quickly assembled before the trio. The options were plentiful, ranging from simple sandwiches to tasty-looking salads and rather complex hot courses. It really warmed his heart how far the ladies could go for him sometimes.

“It could have been even better if only some killjoys hadn’t shot down the maid outfits.” Grea huffed to the side while crossing her arms under her chest, straining the white shirt quite a bit.

He smirked, making a show of looking her up and down. “I much prefer seeing you in this new getup of yours. Did I already tell you how sexy it looks on you?”

The demon woman glanced aside, her naturally red cheeks darkening deeply.

“We picked some of your favorites.” Silvia lent their friend a hand and steered the conversation back onto the proper tracks. “Would you care for a few delicious buns?”

She held a pair of freshly baked rolls for him.

“Or, you could have a second helping of these buns if you would like.” Tina took hold of his arm, which had been wrapped around her waist, and guided his palm to one of her ample breasts.

The ladies shared a few giggles and laughs at the blushing girl’s silly remark.

Save for one.

“Hey. Don’t you dare cut in line again.” Grea glared at her vehemently. “I’m not letting my dick quota get any lower just because you grew some balls, shortie. It’s already hard to manage with so much pussy around. And now you threw another hole into the equation.”

“Jealous much?” The former student grinned, leaning into Asterios more. “Maybe you should just join me rather than bitch around. I’m fairly sure I remember seeing you enjoying yourself greatly the last time Ast rammed your butt during your summoning attempt. We could line ourselves up neatly, spread our cheeks together, and let him decide whose ass he likes fucking more. Though I have to warn you, I still feel a tiny bit loose back there with how much into it he was last night.”

Her ex-teacher gaped at the shorter girl with her mouth repeatedly opening and closing, stunned to oblivion.

Asterios slid his hand up Tina’s front and cupped her chin, turning her face towards him. “Aren’t you going a bit too far, you little devil?”

Under his mirthful gaze, she flushed a strong scarlet and hid her face behind her fingers.

“Sorry…” Tina groaned cutely. “After being the one on the receiving end all the time, I might have lost myself out there for a moment…”

He pried her digits open and pressed an affectionate kiss to her lips. “All fine. It’s good you found some more courage to speak up. Just don’t let it suddenly overcome you, okay? Even your slutty professor has finally learned that it’s better to have some consideration.”

Snorting at his attempt to cheer her up, she withdrew, took a deep breath, and turned to the crimson-skinned female demon.

“You are right. I selfishly went against our united wishes last night, but I promise I won’t disrupt what we have here any more than it’s proper.” Tina then bowed politely. “I apologize and thank you for your consideration.”

“Do not bow to us.” Bryn pulled her up as the others nodded. “We are a family, and it’s only right that we let one of us indulge a little from time to time. Right, Grea?”

The person in question waved them off. “Yeah, of course. We were just fucking around as usual anyway. No need to get all guilty about a few words. As you said, I’ve been doing this to you and the others forever.”

“Plus, it’s always worth it to see our resident pervert get flabbergasted after getting outclassed.” Selene hid a sly grin behind her slender palm, making Grea scoff.

They all laughed, then finally dove into the breakfast. Although most of them had already eaten, they couldn’t fight off Ast’s demand to join him. Thus, he shared this amiable moment with them, getting joyfully fed while chatting about various recent matters with his precious entourage.

Soon, he was full and slid out of the bed, letting the ladies sneak a few glances here and there before he donned his attire. It was only right that he returned the favor. The other two dressed up in a flash too.

“Ah, now that your buns and buns are not distracting me anymore, where’s Althea? Not that I mind her not showing up alongside you. Just curious.” Asterios raised a brow at them.

The ladies exchanged a peculiar glance before chuckling knowingly.

“Right this way, my Lord.” His vulpine mate took his hand and brought him out of their bedroom.

They didn’t go far, arriving at the entrance to another chamber just a few doors away. Pulling a finger to her dainty lips, she shushed him down and gently created a gap for them to peer through. To say that a wholly unexpected sight greeted Asterios was a gross understatement.

Queen Civienne lay on the bed in the nude, guessing by the amount of fair skin shown off wherever it wasn’t covered by the sheets she had gotten fairly entangled in. Though sprawled over might be a better expression. The regal woman had her face buried in another lady’s bust, who turned out to be the missing Lesser Dragon with emerald hair. Soft snoring filled the air, along with the scent of alcohol, empty bottles adorning the floor, one even still clutched in the female elf’s hand.

Althea lifted one eyelid and smiled apologetically. It looked like she had a busy night looking over her former protegee. The news revolving around Tia and matters connected to the gorgeous Dryad must have hit the elf ruler harder than she had shown it publicly. This was the first time they had seen her let herself go this much.

Tina wasn’t the only person who had a fully honest night, so it seemed.

Not wanting to disturb their rest, Asterios backed off and regrouped with the others. They moved to the roof of their castle and gazed into the city. It was already bustling with activity. And it didn’t come solely from people preparing to depart.

The second day of the festivities included something that Grea insisted on calling an afterparty. A bunch of lighter and less important events and entertainment programs still took place either in the arena or all over the town. Things were calmer and following a much more open schedule so that no one felt the pressure of missing out on something important or unique. Music could be heard all over the Dragon Valley as its local bard took her duties extremely seriously. Not that she didn’t enjoy the fame and recognition, of course.

“How was the tournament, by the way?” Asterios turned to Miria during their observation.

“It was a huge hit both with the audience and the participants!” The panthergirl hopped in place from excitement. “Good thing you asked, Master, because we made a few promises for the winners, like a chance to meet with you, so we are going to have to schedule those before you focus on the dwarves.”

“We could consider a more permanent arena with how popular the games have gotten so quickly,” Selene added with a hum. “Make the competition quarterly or something like that. It might serve as a decent way to scout potential recruits for our forces. This would also make your personal challenge on the annual day receive more focus. Too many things happening at once isn’t always a good thing.”

“Gotta run it through the Committee, but I think I agree.” He fluffed their hair while playing with their ears. “Any matters requiring immediate attention? I bet you girls have been working your butts off the entire evening and morning while I was lazing in bed.”

“If that’s how you laze around, Master, then you should definitely do it more often, right, Tina?” Miria prodded the shorter lady with her elbow.

Tina blushed and dropped her eyes to the ground. She looked to be back to her usual self. With a glint in those azure eyes that made it clear that she clearly agreed.

“Father will want to meet you around the afternoon,” Silvia chimed in. “Until then, you are free to poke your nose in any matter you wish to. We scheduled a wrap-up meeting for tomorrow evening, after everything is finished, and that’s when we’ll cover most of the things.”

“A little birdie—rather scary one—told me the teacher prospects are dying to submit their answers after yesterday, so that’s where you’ll find me if you’d like to help,” Grea said, throwing a look towards the almighty academies.

A moment later, she walked up to Asterios and placed a gingerly peck on his cheek. Winking at him, she dropped into a pool of shadows.

“Miria and I plan to support Suanori today. The influx of requesters will be strongest at this time. We can’t let them drive Truvi and Ellie insane.” The fox lady turned towards the Adventurer’s Guild, took the panthergirl’s hand, and the two waved at him together before plunging into darkness too.

Asterios brought his gaze to his fiery princess. “Same as always?”

“Actually, they told me to take it easy today.” Silvia chuckled charmingly. “I guess I’ll stroll through the streets. It’s good for us to show ourselves amongst our subjects from time to time and interact with people. I don’t want to become a queen who stays cooped up in her throne room.”

“Can I accompany you?” Tina showed up by her side.

“Depends. Are you good to walk, or do we need a carriage?” The former smirked elegantly.

The latter smacked her on the shoulder, cheeks reddening again. “A girl lets go once in her life and they never let her live it down…”

They held hands shortly after and kissed Asterios from the sides together, copying the disappearance of the other three.

With just one person left behind, he moved closer to wrap his arm around the stunning Valkyrie’s waist. “Now that we are alone, perhaps you can share what your little secret is that you’ve been keeping under wraps since we returned from Umbra’s realm?”

Bryn graced him with an endearing smile. “It’s so difficult to distract you, Master, even with many important affairs before you. But, it makes me happy that you remember and care.”

“Everything pales in front of what my beloved needs. You should be well aware of that already.” Asterios squeezed her side dearly.

“Atra stumbled on an interesting discovery.” The winged beauty stared into the sky. “Remember the Twelve Wings of the Sky Queen? It turns out there might be more to them than I initially told you as we were journeying through my world.”

“Oh? I’m listening.” He turned his attention fully to her story.

“She seems to believe that collecting all twelve and assembling them somewhere leads to a secret vault,” Bryn said.

“Let me guess. It belongs to the first Sky Queen?” Asterios snickered.

“Correct.” She laughed with him. “And now she is dedicating all her efforts to chasing that lead. Which brought her to me, as I already possess one of the necessary tokens. Unfortunately, that’s not enough.”

“She needs all of them.” He nodded to himself. “And asked you to get them.”

“More or less that.” Bryn showed a shadow of rosiness over her face. “Just with more talking about how I deserve them anyway and should have gone after them long ago.”

“And you? Do you believe this lead?” Asterios shifted to face her directly.

“I…” His winged lover bit into her lip. “Yes, I do… This is just a feeling, but… When I’m looking at the clues she has dug out of the Spire and Brage’s archives… It’s like… Something calls to me…”

He hugged her from the front. “Then you shouldn’t have hesitated so much about telling me. It could be important to you and your entire race. We’ll get to it a soon as we can.”

“I’m really becoming the next Sky Queen, aren’t I?” She sighed into the crook of his neck. “It’s hard to believe…”

“Not for me.” Asterios pulled her back, let his eyes convey his confidence in her, then kissed his angelic mate passionately. “Start slowly drip-feeding me information if you don’t want to drop the entire thing onto my head at once. Just don’t neglect yourself for my or our sake. You know that never ends well for the person trying to.”

Bryn chuckled openly, then smashed her mouth into his for the second time while a dark red gate arose next to them. Pursuing his tongue for a few long seconds, she withdrew with a brilliant expression and stepped through the mist, heading to heed his words right away.

Left to his own devices, just one ethereal passenger riding along in his core, Asterios reached into his dark Heart and dove into Glimmervale too. He slithered through the streets like a shadow, feeling comfortable slinking between obstructed spots. Being able to watch his people during their daily lives without interrupting them was becoming one of his favorite pastimes. Naturally, with proper respect for their privacy.

The only ones he dared to openly spy on were his girls. They not only didn’t mind but could also easily notice his presence in their close vicinity. Yet, again, there obviously were moments when he tamed the growing draconic urges to watch every bit of their life for his amusement so that they didn’t take him for some weirdo.

Worst-case scenario, they might even encourage him, and he didn’t need that kind of support for his draconic ego.

Anyway, it was entertaining to observe things like the busy interior of the Adventurer’s Guild, where Miria and Selene were organizing the adventurers and the commissioners alongside the staff. Even Darlick and Tishnera had signed up for the deal, eager to gain some credit with his local branch. It felt like they were intending to stay around for a bit longer in the near future, starting to build their reputation in the nation.

Asterios was going to invite them for a chat after they returned from their escort quest.

Time flowed freely, and it quickly reached the point of the meeting with King Welrond. Returning to the castle, Asterios located Silvia’s father in one of the meeting chambers and appeared outside. One more presence filled the room, belonging to a certain fierce Dragon girl. Opening the door, he stepped inside with a smile.

“I hope I didn’t make you wait long.” He took a seat across from the man.

“We just got here, so that’s a no.” Welrond grinned back at him. “Not as fast as it would have been with you as my chauffeur, but I can’t exactly complain.”

A faint growl reached their ears as Noir stood behind him with her back against a wall.

“I have the advantage of home field and one godly helper. Without those, she has me beat with decades of experience and practice.” Asterios smirked, his praise mollifying the tempestuous female a tad. “What news do you bring?”

“I’m mostly done handling the nobles. The uncompromised ones have been dealt with swiftly. They knew what was coming for them. Well, I might have pushed for even stronger repercussions for their audacity to covet an autonomous nation, but not like they can complain when they tried to play us first,” the flame-haired man began. “However, what might interest you the most is that one particular family that let that monstrosity into their midst, and as a result, into your city.”

“They are dead,” Noir stated matter-of-factly.

“All of them?” Asterios raised an intrigued brow at her.

“Most of them,” she clarified. “The main heads who got themselves entangled too deeply with that bastard’s sweet promises turned to ashes, lightly speaking. He must have sensed or witnessed that thing’s defeat, initiating the cleanup of loose ends. They definitely didn’t go off into whatever afterworld they believed in peacefully. Which is good, because if I had gotten my claws on them, they would have deeply regretted attacking you.”

Welrond glanced at the scowling woman behind him, then back at Asterios. The two of them understood that the family had gotten tricked into this, and she certainly knew it too, but that didn’t matter to the real True Dragon in the meeting. Once offended, she would pull no stops in her vengeance.

“And the rest?” Asterios continued his questioning.

“Those not connected to the ploy, like children, servants, and individuals kept in the dark by the main perpetrators, have been thoroughly screened by your associate and banished from the capital,” the king answered. “It’s the best we could do for them. They’ll live in a remote area for a generation or two until public perception of their sin fades away. You should understand that attempting anything else could bring trouble for both sides.”

“Yes, of course.” Asterios nodded, setting his chin atop his joined hands. “So, this is it? He removed his useless pawns and got away again?”

“If the two of you just let me finish, you would have learned that I did not fail my task this time.” Noir growled while releasing a threatening aura.

It washed off Ast’s presence like empty air, but the other man was visibly affected by her draconic intimidation. Meeting her sinister glare, he challenged it without a speck of doubt, pinning her with his own energy. After a moment of contest, hers retreated, and the atmosphere relaxed somewhat.

“I’d like to hear what you managed to find out, then.” Asterios used an authoritative tone to address the wild girl.

“He thought he could sneak two spies under my nose by leaving only traces of his connection within a pair of family servants, audacious wretch.” She snarled to the side. “I isolated them and caught both in my authority. I hit his connection with them hard before he noticed. He thrashed in pain for a good minute. That will make him think twice before trying anything against you again.”

“I assume he didn’t discover who you are?” he pondered out loud.

“He is only aware of an existence strong enough to trace him back and launch an assault through the link,” Noir explained. “He might assume it’s you if he has some ideas about your prowess.”

“That’s fine.” Asterios nodded. “Did that allow you to find his hideout, then?”

Her expression turned more neutral, which was an answer in itself.

“He reacted faster than I expected,” she admitted with a great deal of reluctance. “I managed to fully confirm that he is in our realm and roughly triangulate the region, but it was not enough to pinpoint his lair. I need… more time.”

Watching her hands tighten into fists enough to go white, Asterios knew she was being too hard on herself after the recent failures and mistakes. Unfortunately, his typical way of reassuring and cheering up people close to him would not work in this particular case. Kind words were only going to have the opposite effect of making her even more incensed.

It wasn’t easy to console a pure True Dragon of dark lineage.

But he had an idea.

“Noir.” Asterios kept his voice low, adding a hint of growl into it, which caught her attention immediately. “I’ll give you a month. And a hand. Will that be enough, or am I set up for another disappointment?”

Judging by her suddenly resolute expression, she wanted to respond in the affirmative immediately, but held back from jumping in blindly. Her lips thinning, she searched his face and eyes intensely.

“That… depends.” Noir clenched her teeth, the admission clearly not coming out easily. “What is it?”

“Noctis, the people he turned into his slaves are led by a Matriarch. That Matriarch is selected by his energy and elected into a position of power remotely, most likely through some kind of ritual. She gets the brand and all that.” He pulled out a spatial ring and held it between his fingers. “In here, you’ll find her remains after her last struggle. Including the corpse of a giant serpent she summoned through personal sacrifice. It’s been a while since that happened, but they should still be tainted with his aura.”

Her eyes widening momentarily, Noir appeared in front of Asterios in a blink. Right before snatching the artifact, she hesitated, her fingers a hair’s breadth from the ring.

“A week,” she stated firmly, killing intent flooding the chamber. “I’ll have his whimpering corpse at your feet in a week. I swear on my name.”

Asterios held her gaze for a while, then nodded. Noir swiped the ring from his grasp and examined it briefly. Confirming its contents, she assumed a resolved look, like she had just made an important decision. Offering him the slightest dip of her head, she turned around and marched menacingly into a crimson gate that had just appeared by their side.

As soon as she was gone, Welrond let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t think I would ever be able to handle a woman like her…”

“Unfortunately for me, I’m only going to meet more interesting characters going forward.” Asterios directed a half-grin his way. “Plus, as a few of my mates would say, the more prickly the stem, the more fragrant the rose.”

Hearing Silvia’s father’s incredulous laugh at his comment, he shook his head.

Perhaps the girls were having too much of an influence on him.

Or maybe it was just his draconic side speaking up.

Nevertheless, Asterios was glad he had recalled their expedition into the elf nation thanks to the earlier sights and events.

He had hoped they wouldn’t need to bother their night-skinned refugees any more than necessary, and this might be just enough to achieve that.