Sincir blinks. “Excuse me?”

  Meeting his gaze once more, Eleanor grimaces. “Creator forgive me, but I can’t...”

  Sincir rises an eyebrow. “Can’t?”

  She clenches her teeth. “I like you, if it wasn’t already obvious enough... You’re more than able to keep up with me, and that’s a rarity in and on itself, but you’re also gentle when you have to be, and you know how to own up to your mistakes, which I’m at least mature enough to admit, I do not... I... Are you seriously fucking blushing right now?”

  “...No?”

  Eleanor averts her face from him, her expression making it clear she is asking her belove Creator for patience.

  “...I mean, you’re staring at me with this serious look on your face, while throwing compliments at me... See, now you’re the one who is blushing.”

  Shifting her eyes toward him once more, she stares at him incredulously for a long moment.

  “...What?”

  “You... Creator, I can’t believe it, but you actually like me as well, don’t you?”

  Sincir throws her a weird look. “No. Are you stupid? I like No, Collin, and Adrienne... You, Eleanor? I’m pretty fucking sure I love you. If not as a lover yet, then at least as my stupid, pain-in-the-ass pupil... I thought that was obvious?”

  Eleanor grimaces again.

  “...I’ll confess, not exactly the reaction I expected.”

  Facepalming, she takes a deep breath, seemingly intended on calming herself, then sighs.

  “If I...” she starts, still without looking at him, her words slow and controlled, “If I one day had to kill you... Chances are, I’d take my own life, soon after. Do you understand me?”

  Sincir blinks. “Look, you don’t have to go that far. I’d expect you to grief for a year or two, but sometimes we do what we have to-”

  Eleanor punches the door next to his face, her gaze incensed and her cheeks burning as she stares into his eyes murderously.

  “...Oh,” Sincir murmurs after a slight, awkward pause, then clears his throat, continuing, “Never mind, I got it.”

  “I fucking hate you so much.”

  “...Sorry. You make it hard to tell, you know that?”

  Stepping away from him, Eleanor briefly closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, before meeting his gaze once more. “If your understand, that’s good... Again, what’s the pn?”

  Once more, Sincir blinks. In his defence, he slept for about two hours, and has a slight hangover from all the wine he drunk during his date with Adrienne, and then ter, with Collin...

  “You mean...?”

  Eleanor presses her lips together. “The pn for bringing your kingdom of demons over... You do have one, right?”

  ...Now she wants to help him? Or is this still about making sure he isn’t pnning on murdering entire poputions to accomplish his objective?

  Sincir scratches his head. “So far, my pn has been to get things started on our end... Gather resources, allies, information... Next, I was pnning on finding a location to start things with, somewhere fairly remote, where we could work on building our strength without attracting too much attention, but still accessible to nearby human settlements... I actually have a pce in mind already, but it’ll be a while before I can do anything with it. As for bringing my people over... First, like I said, I have a couple of trustworthy allies I’d start with, and they’ll help me figure where to go from there, once they’re here, and also give me information about what has happened on the other side since I’ve been gone...”

  Eleanor throws him a measuring look. “You’re already working on the vampires as your allies, and working at the guild would do for a decent amount of income eventually, considering how strong you are... They could also do for potential allies in the future. Your job with No could fetch a decent sum, and the support of her House, if you manege to rescue her father alive... No wonder you abstained from sticking your cock in her so far.”

  Sincir smiles at her. “I knew you’d get it, love.”

  Eleanor sighs. “It makes for a decent start, all things considered. What of the sacrifices necessary for summoning these so called friends of yours?”

  Sincir shrugs. “First, I was thinking of gathering a bunch of death row criminals, or something of the sort... Maybe some homeless people, or petty thieves, if we were desperate enough; Or, if we wanted to be nicer about it, some old folks who are about to die, anyway... We could even pay their families some money... Another way would be to find some orcs, trolls, and goblins, but that would require a lot of manpower, considering they fight back just a bit harder than an old farmer’s wife would... Well, you get the point. I’d consider our resources at the time, and make a decision based on them.”

  “...And if you were desperate enough?”

  Sincir smiles sadly. “If I am desperate enough, I’ll take the children and the pregnant, yes, and I’ll wish them better luck next life.”

  She nods. “I don’t like it, but you’ve always been honest with me, and I appreciate that... At the very least, let’s make sure it doesn’t come to the children and the pregnant, then.”

  Sincir shifts his weight, raising an eyebrow at her. “You’re in, then? You’ll actually help?”

  Eleanor sighs. “I did promise I’d help you in exchange for power back then, and I don’t like the idea of going back on my word now, just because I don’t like what you’re doing... So, I supposed I’m going to help, yes.”

  Sincir smiles at her. “And that’s not because of the way I make your chest a bit tight, whenever we talk?”

  Averting his eyes from his, she blushes slightly. “...That, too.”

  He chuckles. “I like you too. Now, we should go back, or we’ll miss breakfast... If Ena hasn’t already thrown our portions in the thrash at this point, that is.”

  “I’ll deal with her... Also, we aren’t done talking about what happened st night.”

  To Sincir’s surprise, Eleanor then offers him her hand.

  “...Okay?” he says while grabbing her hand and allowing her to start dragging him back toward the house, “Though I’m not sure what is there to talk about, still. I already admitted I went too far, and you already admitted you provoked me on purpose...”

  “You tied me up and made me watch your little threesome, after saying you’d take care of me when we were talking with Ena,” Eleanor says as they begin to cross the backyard once more.

  “...You remember the weirdest details, don’t you?”

  Gring at him over her shoulder, she grimaces. “It was a pretty big deal for me, and your little vampire minion was watching me the whole time.”

  Sincir smiles apologetically. “In my defence, I wasn’t exactly thinking straight at the time, and I did take care of you eventually... It was worth the wait, wasn’t it?”

  She looks as though she really wants to deny it, but her blush is already enough of an answer... Still, Sincir does feel a bad for having exposed her to Collin without her permission.

  “...Okay, fine. How do you want me to make it up to you?” he asks as they’re about to reach the kitchen.

  “...You’ll see.”

  The others have already gathered at this point, and both Esme, as well as No, throw them looks once they walk in with their hands tied, while Ena continues to pointedly stare at the pte of food she is setting for a impatient looking Rez, very obviously ignoring them on purpose...

  Too bad for her, Eleanor beelines in her direction.

  “You, half-elf.”

  Ena grimaces, then sighs, dropping Rez’s pte in front of the poor half-goblin and spilling a good deal of food around it as she throws Eleanor a murderous look.

  “Okay; You two want to this right now, in front of everybody? Because I also have some things I want to say.”

  Rez grimaces, then leans in and licks the food from the table, smiling as she does so... Seeing his disapproving look, she at least has the decency of looking ashamed.

  Meanwhile, sustaining Ena’s gaze, Eleanor smiles. “It’s good to see you still have some fight in you... For a moment back there, I thought I might have to go back to our old retionship to make so you woke the fuck up.”

  Ena narrows her eyes, smiling coldly. “I haven’t been afraid of you for a while, Eleanor.”

  Eleanor suddenly steps forward, and Ena immediately steps back, her smile disappearing.

  “You’re lying, pipsqueak, and we both know that,” Eleanor continues, now in a lower, sweeter tone, “I’m stronger, crazier, and pettier than you... It’s not a fight you want to buy, and I think we have walked that road enough times in the past to prove that, haven’t we?”

  “W-why... Why are we even fighting?” Ena murmurs, the hurt in her expression and voice obvious, “You aren’t even the one I’m really mad with...”

  Eleanor snorts. “No, idiot, the fact we aren’t fighting is the problem. It’s killing me, and it’s killing you... Can't you see it?”

  “W-what?”

  Eleanor sighs. “It’s simple, really.”

  Pulling him forward, Eleanor grabs his hair and presses herself against him, meeting Ena’s now widened eyes as she does so.

  “This. You want it?”

  Sincir blinks, but he doesn’t resist. In all honesty, he sees where she is going with this, and he agrees that something should be done about the current state of affairs in the house... Though he’d probably have phrased things in a nicer way.

  Seeing Ena’s ck of an answer, Eleanor smiles again.

  “Looking at those bags under your eyes, I bet you haven’t slept well a day since I stole him from you... Does the bed feel cold now, or is that you can’t feel safe without him around, to keep the insects away?”

  Having paled considerably, Ena’s tightens her jaw. “It... I was very used to it, so it’s obvious I’ll have trouble sleeping for a while... It’ll get better, eventually.”

  Eleanor snorts. “Well, I have been sleeping like a baby tely... Better than ever, actually.”

  Having said as much, she turns toward him, and locks her lips against his, sweet yet intensely... With her hand still holding his hair, and her body pressed against his, Sincir doesn’t have much of choice in the matter, unless he wants to use magic or a punch in the stomach to push her away.

  But, since they’re dating, there’s nothing all that wrong with her kissing him, is there...?

  “...The way you kiss makes me feel like you’re fucking me with your tongue,” Eleanor whispers against his lips a few moments ter, once they’ve stopped shoving their tongues into ther other’s mouth.

  “...Sorry, it’s a habit.”

  “...I never said I wanted you to stop doing it.”

  Sincir throws Ena a sidelong gnce, and sure enough, she is staring at them with reddened cheeks and what is possibly the most furious look he has ever seen on her face.

  Smiling, Eleanor pulls away from him, meeting her gaze once more. “It’s rude to stare, pipsqueak. You’ve got something to say?”

  “...No,” Ena murmurs through clenched teeth, seeming as though she has to force the words out, “No, I don’t.”

  Turning away from her again, Eleanor presses her thigh against his erection and meets his gaze. “You have a date today again, don’t you?”

  “...Yeah, with Mary.”

  “I don’t care what you do to her, but you’re forbidden from cumming until you’re beck home... That goes for the rest of today, and it’s my payback for what we talked about before.”

  Feeling his cheeks heating slightly in virtue of their audience, Sincir grimaces. “Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

  Eleanor throws him an exasperated look. “It’s one day, and I’m not even forbidding you from going... You’ll survive. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll have a surprise waiting when you arrive.”

  Sincir narrows his eyes at her. “A good surprise?”

  She smiles. “Maybe... It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I spoiled it, now would it?”

  He hates that she has a point.

  “Fine... I guess I’ll spend the day with the boner you’ve just given me, you diabolical woman.”

  Finally stepping away from him, Eleanor inspects the room with a cold look, as though daring any of the others to say something.

  Esme, having watched the whole scene with a carefully neutral expression on her face, simply showcases her usual slightly awkward smile, while No avoids Eleanor’s gaze, having focused mostly on her food through most of their drama... Although Sincir didn’t miss her sneaky sidelong gnces.

  Rez has already finished eating (impressively enough), now staring at them with open curiosity; If the gleam in her red eyes is anything to go by, she was excitedly waiting for a fight to start, and is now disappointed.

  “...I don’t really feel like eating, so I’ll wait outside,” Eleanor says at st.

  Except, Sincir points toward the table before she can give a single step. “Just to be clear, I’m not asking.”

  She presses her lips together, but wisely, decides not to fight him on this, after this whole stunt she pulled.

  To put it lightly, it is an awkward breakfast.

  Sincir tries to fill the silence by asking Esme if she is already ready to start working again the next day, to which she responds positively, and No, about how was her night, to which she throws him a cold look, making it clear his fight with Eleanor did indeed wake her up, but that she wisely chose to stay in bed, in spite of it...

  However, unfortunately, trying to disperse the clouds created by the girls’ fight is a mostly fruitless endeavour when they’re both still in the room, and eventually, they all finish their breakfast mostly in silence.

  Sincir is convinced they’ll skip morning training for the day, but surprisingly enough, they both show up outside to train on time... If their expression is anything to go by, they’re determined not to let the other think they won by running away.

  ...Lords have mercy on him.

  “So, are you going to pick up your slutty training clothes anytime soon, or are you getting off to having everybody seeing them, too?”

  “I was about to... I’m sorry you don’t have what it takes to wear anything other than shorts or pants without embarrassing yourself, pipsqueak.”

  Sincir grabs the bridge of his nose. “Laps, now, the both of you.”

  Mercifully, they don’t argue with him, though they do continue to bicker even as they run ps around the backyard...

  And hour and a half ter, Sincir is about ready to spank the both of them in his p... In fact, he might do just that to at least one of them, the next time they find themselves alone with him.

  That being said, they still leave together to head for the guild... Or they’d have, if not for Sincir spotting Adrienne waiting nearby as soon as he opens the door.

  “...You two go ahead. I’ll run to catch up,” he tells the girls.

  Sincir tries not to let his immense relief for having an excuse to escape the two of them appear in his expression, but some of it must still have shown, because Eleanor snorts as he begins to walk toward Adrienne...

  “Sorry for showing up so soon.”

  Looking at the bags under Adrienne’s eyes, and the fact she is wearing the same clothes she used for their date, Sincir realizes she must not have slept yet... Well, considering everything that went on, he is not exactly surprised.

  “You don’t have to apologize,” he says, throwing her a smile, “How were things with Gracelyn, after we left?”

  Adrienne averts her gaze. “It was... I’m not exactly sure how to describe it, really. We cried together, and apologized to each other... She promised she’d treat me better, and I believe she meant it... I insisted for her to feed on me in order to heal faster, and at first she refused, but I think she saw that I needed something to make me feel better... We fucked, and it was good; Much better than ever before, actually.”

  “You don’t look exactly happy,” Sincir points out.

  Adrienne shakes her head. “I’m just a bit out of it, I guess. Thank you for what you did... I know it didn’t end as you had hoped.”

  Sincir smiles sadly. “I honestly didn’t think things were that bad in between the both of you... If Gracelyn doesn’t put her shit together, come to me again, okay? I’ll fuck you in front of her anytime.”

  Adrienne snorts. “I bet you would...”

  However, her smile quickly disappears, and she sighs.

  “Look, Sincir, I enjoyed the time we spent together...”

  Having guessed were things are going, Sincir forces his expression to remain neutral. “Is this because I went too far?”

  Adrienne shakes her head, smiling bitterly as she does so. “In your own way, you did what was necessary to help us understand each other... I can see that now. But we hurt Gracelyn with what we did, and I don’t think it’d be fair to her if I continued to see you, even if she didn’t explicitly forbid me from doing it.”

  Sincir nods. “I understand. Thank you for coming here to tell me.”

  Eyes growing teary, Adrienne averts her gaze from his. “I... I enjoyed our date. Truly.”

  “So did I... Last kiss?”

  Giving her no chance to refuse, Sincir steps forward and pulls her in for kiss... He tastes her tears once their lips meet, but she doesn’t pull away, or resist him.

  It is bittersweet, to say the least.

  “...No hard feelings?” Sincir whispers once their lips are apart.

  “...I’m feeling something hard, right now,” she whispers back, dark eyes gleaming pyfully in spite of the unfallen tears there present.

  Sincir grimaces. “You can bme Eleanor for that... But never mind about me, you must be tired enough to fall asleep standing. Do you want me to walk you home?”

  “No... Your girls are waiting, and I can walk by myself well enough.”

  Sincir chuckles. “Can’t bme you for wanting to avoid the awkward talk. Take care, okay?”

  She nods, then waves her hand over her shoulder as the turns around to leave...

  As he watches Adrienne go, Sincir frowns. He half expected that she’d end things with him because of what happened, so he’s not really upset, but their kiss reminded him of something... Well, Varzath went through enough breakups in the past for it to not be all that surprising this one reminded him of a few of them.

  Now, he should hurry, lest he wishes to lose another day of work...

  Sincir is almost certain he’ll spot the girls in a fist fight by the time he catches up to them, but he finds them almost strangely silent, if walking rather way from each other.

  Falling in pace behind Ena, who is walking a ways behind Eleanor, he wonders if there is something he can say to light things up in between the three of them... But having witnessed enough fights in between those two these over these past five years to lose count, he knows there’s little he can say or do to bridge the gap in between them now, other than waiting for time to heal their wounds.

  And besides, this time Eleanor provoked Ena on purpose, and he is the reason they’re fighting...

  Sincir sighs. If this was Hell, he’d force them both to suck him off at the same time, and be done with it.

  They might’ve hated him for it, but at least they’d would hate each other a bit less as a result... Probably. In any case, he’d be happy, so all good.

  ...Damn it, this erection is not doing his thoughts any favors, is it?

  Sincir is happy to spot the guild’s building; However, once Eleanor heads straight inside, without a single look in their direction, Ena suddenly stops, grabbing his arm, and forces him to do the same as she turns toward him.

  Her expression is dark, and she seems the unhappiest he has seen her, since the night they met Victoria, and she caused a scene in front of the whole tavern.

  “What the fuck did you two talk about in there, Sin?” she murmurs, keeping her voice low.

  Sincir sighs. “We didn’t talk about you, if that’s what you’re implying. Eleanor was curious about about you-know-what summoning, which is the reason we fought in the first pce, so I gave her a rundown on it... Honestly, I didn’t know she was going to pounce you the way she did.”

  Ena grimaces. “You could’ve resisted a little.”

  “I could’ve... But would that have made things better for you?”

  “...I suppose not,” Ena hesitantly admits, before continuing, now in a angry tone, “What the fuck is wrong with her, anyway? I know she lost her mother, but we’re both orphans, and you don’t see me being a huge cunt for no reason...”

  Sincir raises an eyebrow.

  “...Fuck off Sin, I treat her a lot better than she treats me, and we both know that.”

  Sincir sighs again. “You’re right; I’m sorry. You have good reason to be angry... But look, Eleanor is new to all of this... I’m her first boyfriend, and she is convinced you’re also in love with me, which means she is stealing me from you... It might not look like it, but your pain is weighting heavily on her mind.”

  Ena presses her lips together. “Well, she has a weird way of showing her concern.”

  Sincir chuckles. “You saw what I have to put up with, right? Give her some time... She has been through a lot in her short life, just like you. She is learning to trust, and to love...”

  “I don’t want to hear that from the guy who dragged her up a set of stairs by her hair-”

  “You’ll never let me forget that, will you?”

  “-But I get your point. I just wish she’d stop considering me an enemy already, you know?”

  “Don’t worry, she’ll come around about you... It’d help if you could tell her that you’re not interest in me in the way she thinks you are. Ending the misunderstand would relieve the tension in between the both of you.”

  Ena averts her gaze, then nods. “Maybe... But I can’t talk to her right now. I’d end screaming at her within seconds.”

  Sincir frowns. He was trying to prob her for a confirmation of her feelings for him, but she neither denied nor confirmed anything...

  “Anyway, I think we should go, or she might suspect we’re talking behind her back. You coming?”

  Sincir bets Eleanor noticed the moment they stopped, but he doesn’t correct Ena, shaking his head instead.

  “You go in ahead, I have some business with the mage over there.”

  Ena raises an eyebrow. “You mean the one emptying his stomach all over the sidewalk as we speak?”

  Sincir snorts. “Take it easy on him, he fought bravely... Anyway, I’ll see you in a bit. Don’t burn the building down in the meantime, okay?”

  Ena rolls her eyes. “I can’t make any promises... If she pushes me again today, I don’t know what I’d do.”

  Once she is out of his view, having entered the guild as well, Sincir heads toward William.

  The poor guy seems about to pass out on his feet, his face pale as he stares toward the pool of vomit at his feet and grimaces.

  “You know, you might consider heading home for the day, bud. I know you don’t like backing down from a fight, but I’m not sure you’ll be able to cast many spells in this state.”

  Noticing his presence, the young mage smiles weakly. “Mr. Sincir... I’m sorry to have spoiled your morning with such a sorry sight.”

  Sincir raises an eyebrow. “Well, no matter how you look at this, I’m the one to bme for your current predicament. Here, at least let me clean this up for you.”

  Casting a cleaning water spell, Sincir quickly wets, then evaporates the floor, as well as William’s shoes and clothes, causing the mages eyes to widen.

  “Y-you have to teach me that at some point!”

  Sincir chuckles. “I’ll think about it.”

  His excitement having died down slightly, William smiles at him. “No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked... I’ve learned my lesson about shoving my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  Sincir clicks his tongue. “Yesenia gave me some good information, and I had fun, so you don’t need to feel bad about anything. We’ll schedule another double date some other time... One where you’ll actually bring a date to.”

  He sighs, cheeks growing slightly pinker. “How do you do it, if you don’t mind me asking? Adrienne was a beautiful woman, and I’ve never seen Mary giving anyone something other than a look of scorn before...”

  Sincir shrugs. “Most of the battle is having the courage to walk up to them and start a conversation... You’re a charming enough fellow; You’ll be fine.”

  William nods. “Thank you... You’re also probably right about me heading home for today.”

  “Be careful... And try to stay away from alcohol for a while.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not drinking again anytime soon...”

  ...Sincir almost wishes the mage stayed for a while more, but at st, he can no longer stall going after Eleanor and Ena.

  Preparing himself for a long day ahead of him, he heads toward the guild.