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"Hmph, plenty of them I can tell," he nodded, crossing his arms. "This world belongs to all of us, even if weâve fought for territory and resources before... destroying it is simply wrong. It annoys me, but if it has to be done, Iâm willing to ally with you and the other two women with you."
"So you know weâre here?"
"Fufu, and I thought I could stealthily listen to this conversation..."
Suddenly, two spiritual, ghostly presences manifested behind me. One was made of ice dust and azure light, and the other was composed of pink dream clouds, slowly shaping into their humanoid forms, two gorgeous women from ancient times, the Venerable of Ice and the Venerable of Dreams.
"Ice Queen, Fox Bitch, nice to meet you. It has been eons since our last conversation."
"Itâs nice to see you, Onyx Hammer."
"Hah?! Fox bitch?! W-Who the fuck...! Drake! Kill him! Kill that fucking dwarf right now!"
Belle went insane and started shaking my body, asking me to kill him right there and then.
"I canât do that, Belle! Stop it! Heâll be more useful alive too! And even if I were stronger than him, a fight against him... I donât even want to do it," I sighed. "So stop it, he was just joking, right?"
"Yeah, sheâs always so serious all the time," Augustus laughed. "You sure need to loosen up a little, vixen."
"Hmph!" Belle crossed her arms and pouted angrily, glaring at him like a furious child would... she was quite cute.
"Sorry about that, she tends to have a quick temper," I apologized. "And well, I hope you donât call her that again... letâs try to get along."
"Fine," Augustus closed his eyes, nodding. "I am impressed youâve already made an alliance with the new Venerable. You two sure are fast... I guess us old Venerables are always late to the news, huh?"
"It just happened that he stumbled upon our inheritances when he had yet to even become a Venerable," the Ice Queen smiled, patting my shoulders. "He has grown to this point thanks to us, of course. Without our help and resources, he would have never achieved this level of growth so quickly."
"I mean, you did help me a lot, but I wouldnât say youâre the sole cause of my growth..." I said. "But yes, I admit that you were great help, so I owe them as much. I trust them both too, theyâre true friends and allies, no, my family at this point."
"Oh Drake, youâre so adorable," giggled the Ice Queen, patting my head with a motherly smile. "See? Weâre family."
"A-Am I?" Belle was surprised, blushing. "W-Well, if you say so... whatever."
"Hah! By the Ancient Gods, youâre sure good at seducing the poor lad," Augustus laughed.
"Seducing?! I already have my wives..." I facepalmed. "Anyway, letâs get back on topic. You want to join our alliance? What do you think, girls?"
"Hmm..." the Ice Queen rubbed her chin, her sharp eyes glaring at the dwarf. "I mean, heâs fully revived now, so we might as well, right? Belle?"
"Nngh..." Belle groaned at him, showing her sharp fangs. "Fineeee... But he has to let me... bite one of his ears off at least, no, one of his hands off!"
"Ahahaha! Calm your dog, Drake!" Augustus laughed.
"Please ignore what she said, she agrees," I nodded, patting Belleâs head as she ended up biting my hand. "Aaaagh! Hey!"
"Youâre the one thatâll take responsibility on his behalf then!" she roared, tearing off one of my hands and eating it, as her head morphed into the monstrous jaws of a fox creature.
"Well, ouch," I sighed, as I grew a new hand instantly. "Anyway..."
"Youâre really immortal, huh? You grew a hand in just a split second?" Augustus asked. "Yeah, weâre on the winning team here. I better not ruin this. Iâll give you some incentive just in case."
"Incentive?" I wondered.
"I am sure youâre busy right now," he said. "Let us meet once youâre done with the King and the Queen."
"Okay, alright..." I nodded. "Do I call you or you call me or... And heâs gone."
How does he even do that? He just disappears out of thin air?!
Did he teleport?
"Oooho! That hand was pretty good; it increased the speed of my eggâs incubation..." said Belle. "Drake, you destroyed my inheritance, so you better take responsibility! Let me have some more of your flesh and blood!"
"What?!" I gasped, as she roared, rushing toward me. "Wait a second!"
I quickly flew away, as my tail suddenly fell off my body almost by instinct.
Right, I had that ability I sometimes used when I was a kid...
"Just eat my tail, ok?"
"Hahaha! Youâre really like a lizard!"
"And youâre really like a damn rabid dog! Control yourself, woman!"
"What did you say?! Okay, Iâm going to eat your head next! It grows back anyway, right?!"
"Ice Queen, can you help me stop her?"
"Drake, youâre immortal, just give her a doppelganger she can eat or something."
"Right... whatever."
I quickly manifested a doppelganger body without a soul and gave it to her.
"There you go, now eat that and stop it."
"Alright~! With this I can speed it up a lot!"
The rabid vixen disappeared. She had been slowly losing her grace the more desperate she became.
I guess all Venerables are like this in the end. You donât get to the pinnacle while being sane.
And I can say the same for myself...
"Then Iâll leave for now. My new body is also almost done," the Ice Queen smiled. "Iâll be seeing you very soon, in person this time, Drake."
"Ah yeah," I nodded, as I saw her approaching me and kissing my cheek.
"Take care," she winked at me seductively, disappearing.
...
What?
Why is every woman flirting with me nowadays?
She wasnât like that before.
Is it because I look more mature now?
Is it because I look like an old man?!
I donât really reciprocate unless I have genuine feelings for someone, and I donât really have any for her.
Romantically, I mean.
Well, whatever.
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