Ursa kicked the lion's head to make sure the monster was dead. There was no response to her hit, making all three women relax. Claire felt her shoulders relax and her adrenaline start to lessen. She sheathed her knife and switched her shield over to her left hand.
"Surprised it went so well," Jasmine said while studying the monster. She ignored the pings of her statsheet for now. "This thing is massive."
"The ballista really helped." Claire moved closer to her and leaned against her. "That, and Elsie's magic. Just wish we could have saved those five women…"
Jasmine grabbed Claire's hand. She squeezed it tightly, "Don't. Don't think like that. Their noblewoman failed them, that's why those lives were lost."
"I know…" Claire sighed. "It's just pissing me off how much she fails us."
Ursa stood up after inspecting the Chimera. She let out a deep exhale. "I'm feeling the same. The more time I spend with you all, the madder I get at these noblewomen."
"It's even worse when you grow up with them," Jasmine replied. She pulled Claire off her, then guided her by the hand. "Come on, let the villagers handle the corpse. They could use the materials to rebuild."
"Oh! Fuck, Hannah," Claire's eyes widened. She let go of Jasmine's hand and sprinted towards the knight.
Hannah was still in agony. The wounds were healed on the exterior, but the internal nerve damage was taking longer. It was slowly getting better, but her vision was still blurry from the pain. She could vaguely make out Claire rushing towards her.
"Stop!" Hannah held up her hand. "Don't… don't hug me. I'm still in so much pain…" She gave Claire a weak smile.
Claire came to a stop before her. She inspected the now helmetless night. Based on the smell alone, she could tell the burns had been bad. Her hair now had uneven, burnt ends. Her dark brown hair now looked jagged and rough, adding to her tough image.
"Fuuuck," Hannah leaned forward, toward Claire's soothing presence. "Your aura feels so nice…"
Claire gently hugged Hannah, careful not to harm her. She let the knight lean against her while they waited for the other two. "Are you really okay? You had me scared."
"You and me both," Hannah sighed. She remembered the pain of the fire scorching her back. "Never felt fire like that before. Nearly wiped out all of my health."
"Thank the Goddess it didn't," Claire whispered calmly. She shifted Hannah to put the knight's arm around her shoulder, with Ursa quickly picking up her other arm. The two helped her walk back to the guard post, while Jasmine went on ahead.
"Don't tell Toni how bad it was," Hannah sighed. She squeezed the two of them tightly. "I don't want him to worry."
"We won't," Claire reassured her.
"Promise," Ursa nodded. "Wouldn't want him to fret."
They hobbled into the guard post and were met with multiple guards. Three took Hannah to a nearby bed to lie her down, while the others sang praises for Claire and Ursa. It was hard for the two not to squirm with so many praises flying at them, and Claire was just glad to have her shield to cover their waists.
Jasmine returned with Rebecca in tow. She held Claire's sword out and handed it to her. "Here. Don't forget it next time."
Claire grabbed the sword and sheathed it. "Sorry, too worried about Hannah."
Jasmine shrugged. "Yeah, I figured you would."
"Claire," Rebecca cleared her throat. She held out her hand, "Thank you. And your companions… I know my captain can finally rest in peace now that it's dead."
Claire took the woman's hand. She nodded, then shook her hand. "I hope so."
The woman let go of Claire's hand and let out a deep exhale. Her shoulders relaxed, and she sat in a chair nearby. She leaned back and let out another exasperated breath. "That's one load off my shoulders… now we have to rebuild."
"Take the materials from the Chimera," Jasmine added while looking at Claire for any objections. "Give us the reward money, but we'll pass on the materials. We don't exactly have the space for any of it."
Rebecca shook her head. "I'd be in your debt for the rest of my life… but it would fund rebuilding. And hiring new guards…"
"Take it," Claire moved closer. "The reward money is more than worth the effort. Use it and don't rely on our Lady. She's worthless."
Rebecca closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "She's technically my boss, but yeah. I agree."
"Wouldn't be here if she wasn't," Claire smiled. "But enough of that… Rather not talk about her any further."
Rebecca nodded. She motioned for her wife to come over. "Honey, tell your mother to start that feast she promised."
"Okay!" Gina's smile widened, and she looked to the three women. "You'll love my moms' cooking! They run a restaurant together."
Claire's stomach growled loud enough for them all to hear. Her face reddened in embarrassment. "Th-that'd be nice, thank you," Claire mumbled.
Gina giggled, then turned to leave. "See you in an hour or two."
Rebecca watched her wife rush out the door. She let out a deep sigh, then turned back to Claire. "So. You were talking about your Goddess before. I think I'm ready to hear more about Her. I think you more than proved yourselves."
"Thank you," Claire nodded. She took a deep breath and explained their mission and her Goddess's goals. She, as always, left out anything sex related and stuck to the important details. She'd gathered a crowd around them, with Rebecca's entire guard listening in.
"That sounds too good to be true," Jean said from the side. "Freeing all men? I doubt that will happen in our lifetime."
"Maybe," Claire admitted. "But it's better to start now and save as many men as we can, don't you think?"
Jean pursed her lips. "Someone has to start it… I guess you're right. Maybe then, I can show my brother more of the country."
"Not only that, but it'd be easier for us to have kids," Rebecca responded to her archer. "Won't have to shell out so much money any longer."
"Right," Jean smiled. "You two were talking about that recently."
A thought occurred to Elsie as she listened to their conversation. She blinked multiple times, a bit bewildered that they hadn't thought about it yet. 'Hey Ana, what if we started selling our sperm?'
Ana turned to her. 'Um, wouldn't that bring too much attention to us? Or spread the gift?'
Elsie bit her lip and thought about it. 'We haven't actually tried giving our cum to women. And, you might be right about the attention.'
'Um, it may not spread unless they ingest it orally,' Ana tilted her head. 'But we also haven't tried that yet either…'
'Gods, we really need to find time to test these thoughts,' Elsie chuckled. 'It's so hard not to think with our cocks at this point.'
"Alright, ladies," Rebecca spoke over the chorus of women asking Claire questions. "We can ask questions later. Our saviors probably need their rest, and to discuss their level-ups. I want you all to start cleaning up. Kate, take half and start dismantling that Chimera. Rest of you, clean up the mess we made here."
The guard saluted their captain with a fist to their chest. In unison, they replied. "Yes, ma'am."
Kate directed some women out towards the field, while the rest began to pick up the supplies they had in the makeshift base. Rebecca watched them for a moment, before continuing. "Believe it or not, this was someone's house… They were the first to be attacked. We have a lot of clean up to do, and a lot of people to mourn…"
"I know you made your captain proud," Hannah strained to stand. "She'll be able to rest now."
"Miss Hannah, you shouldn't be up," Catherine tried to stop her.
"Yeah, probably not," Hannah chuckled and sat on a nearby chair. "But, I have to."
"Hannah, come on," Jasmine grabbed Ursa and had her help Hannah to her feet. "Let's get you to the carriage."
"But Ton-"
"Your injuries are far less severe now," Jasmine shut her up with her hand. "He won't be as worried."
"You have a lively party," Rebecca said as the two watched all three girls rush towards the carriage. The twins followed after, catching on that Rebecca wanted to talk to Claire more. "Very well organized, too."
Claire chuckled. "Should have seen us a couple weeks ago. Hannah's implementation was very rough."
Rebecca turned to her with a bewildered look. "She's only been with you for a couple weeks? Wait, how old are you?"
"18," Claire responded.
"Holy Mother of the Earth," Rebecca shook her head. "Glad you told me after the fight. I doubt I would have let you out there."
"Sorry," Claire smiled awkwardly. "I thought you knew."
Rebecca shook her head. "My predecessor probably knew, but she never told me…"
Catherine offered her hand to Rebecca to stabilize the woman. "It is impressive for you all to be so cohesive with such a young leader. I have no doubt that we'll be hearing about your tales long after you leave Duvain."
Claire didn't really know what to say. "Um, thank you."
"Now," Catherine helped a still stunned Rebecca into a chair. "It's probably best you join your companions."
Claire nodded and followed her companions to the carriage. Rebecca blinked away her bewilderment. "Fuck me. That's insane…"
Claire:
Level: 14
HP: 31/31
Mana: 6/15
Exp: 86
Shield Throw: Throw your shield and have it return to you. Enemies hit by your shield toss take damage based on your defense.
Stats:
Strength: 23 (+5) (+1) Magic: 1
Dexterity: 17(+5) (+1) Resistance: 22(+5)
Constitution: 11 Wisdom: 17 (+5)(+1)
Charisma: 14(+5) (+1) Divinity: 17 (+3)
Defense: 29 (+5) (+1)
Jasmine:
Level: 19
HP: 25/25
Mana: 17/17
Exp: 10
Cum Drunk: Drinking your lover's essence relaxes your body. Recover skill that shuts off any passive awareness skills. The Bestower chooses when active.
Stats:
Strength: 16 Magic: 1
Dexterity: 23 Resistance: 12
Constitution: 6 Wisdom: 7
Charisma: 14 Divinity: 0
Defense: 15 (+5)
Elsie:
Level: 12
HP: 17/17
Mana: 29/29
Exp: 25
Icebeam: Shoot a beam of subzero magic. Magic freezes the target it hits, while dealing damage based on the wielder's magic stat. Cooldown 5s
Ice Trap: Set a rune that freezes enemies who walk upon it. Leave a rune that freezes on contact with anybody not a part of your party. Damage done based on magic and cooldown 200s
Stats:
Strength: 4 Magic: 22
Dexterity: 5 Resistance: 16
Constitution: 6 Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 15 Divinity: 8
Defense: 15(+5)
Anastasia:
Level: 12
HP: 20/20
Mana: 24/24
Exp: 05
Lesser Totem: Create a taunting totem. Create a totem of pure light that attracts targets. Health of the totem is ½ your defense stat. Cooldown 200s
Lesser Healing Totem: Create a totem of healing light. Totem heals allies in its area periodically. Health of the totem is ⅓ your resistance stat, pulse is every 5 seconds. Cooldown 200s
Stats:
Strength: 4 Magic: 9
Dexterity: 5 Resistance: 22
Constitution: 6 Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 9 Divinity: 21
Defense: 20(+5)
Ursa:
Level: 16
HP: 29/29
Mana: 14/14
Exp: 20
Collared Command: Despite your berserker trance, you recognize the commands of your lovers. Commands from the Bestowed and Bestower override your berserker trance. (Passive)
Stats:
Strength: 25 Magic: 1
Dexterity: 18 Resistance: 5
Constitution: 18 Wisdom: 3
Charisma: 3 Divinity: 0
Defense: 22 (+5)
Hannah:
Level: 16
HP: 19/29
Mana: 15/15
Exp: 00
Master's Will: The power of your master protects you. Dances and skinship with the Second Bestower grant you resistance based on your bond. Currently 5.
Stats:
Strength: 19 Magic: 1
Dexterity: 16 Resistance: 10
Constitution: 13 Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 13 Divinity: 0
Defense: 27 (+3)