“Are you, factually, retarded?” Lydia asked, her elaborate speaking pattern momentarily shaken by the outrageous thing that had just come out of John’s mouth.

Having managed to get this Sunday off completely, Lydia had decided to stretch that one day into a ten day weekend to be spent with her lover across the pond. It was something they had planned in advance and that was easily enabled with the teleporter eliminating travel times almost completely. When Aclysia had fetched her earlier, she had already waited over at Fusion’s embassy in Germany.

A short time later, they all met with Magoi and Mabirl at the I.D. Gate, went in, split for the two houses, adequately far apart from each other, and unpacked their bags. Literally, for once, since Lydia had actually brought a bag full of spare clothes and hygiene articles with her.

Once that had finished up, they had gotten together in the living room and talked a little bit. John wasn’t too bothered to start grinding immediately. It was also the moment he had told her his plans. “No, I feel rather lucid on this decision, actually,” he responded, not offended by her outburst in the slightest. What he had said was quite stupid on the face of it. “I do plan to max out Lover Boy next. I’ve thought about it.”

“And what, in the name of God, Mother Metal and Gaia, could those thoughts possibly have amounted to? How deep were you inside your debauched, nightly haze, if that is the outcome?” Lydia crossed her arms and stared at him with eyes of steel. “Do inform me, beloved, for I am burning red with the urge to know what your rationale is this time around.”

“Alright, let’s start with the process of elimination,” John told her. “My number one priority next should be Elementalist, we agree on this easily, yes?” Just nodding, knowing what he would say next, his queenly lover didn’t interrupt him. “But I can’t level that right now because I just can’t beat the Class Challenge. Synchronizing my mind with three elementals at the same time seems impossible. There’s too much pulling in different directions, when there are four minds involved.”

“Yes, yes.” Impatiently, the heel of Lydia’s boots slammed against the tiled floor over and over again. The queen may have been the only one of his girls that preferred that they both wore something. Only in John’s Palace did she compromise and wore nothing but lingerie instead. At the moment, she wore a variation of her usual outfit, being an 18th century military coat, over a white shirt, with light brown pants covering her legs, only partly visible thanks to the thigh-high leather boots she had on beyond that. “Proceed with your thoughts. I wish to dismantle your hypothesis and drill into your proud, stubborn skull the proper course of action.”

“Look who is calling the kettle black,” he couldn’t help but joke.

Lydia’s fingers danced over her arm. “Your sass is much displaced.”

He laughed and stood up. “Come now, Lydia,” he said, stepped next to her chair and offered his hand. “There is no need for this much agitation. You trust me to not be a complete fool, right?”

“Do I?” she asked, while dropping her upright posture in favour of a long sigh. Then she took his hand and let him pull her into a position they were both comfortable around each other. Two hands joined and raised, his other on her hips, her other on his lower back, both of them standing together. To a melody so well studied they didn’t need to hear it anymore, they followed a basic three step procedure that had them dance in the little space between table and couch. John’s old home offered little, when compared to the lavish mansions they could both afford.

“Let’s continue with the elimination, then.” John only needed to whisper now to reach her. “Metracana Master will likely grant me great boons, but the first level alone is unattainable. Monster Hunter is nothing for my build. Housekeeper is an even greater waste than you think Lover Boy could be. Martial Artist doesn’t fit. Unfound is worth a thought, but not necessary. Disciple is just useless at the moment.”

“And this,” Lydia's quiet voice was still a reprimand, just a less harsh one, “still leaves you with four. Fateweaver, Lover Boy, Arcanist and Gamer. Out of those four, you chose the one that increases your impressiveness during coitus. Something that, we both are aware acutely, you have no need of.”

“I have very little reason to level Fateweaver, since I can already operate a mobile barrier,” the Gamer retorted. “For Arcanist and Gamer, I had to think a while. I think Gamer would accelerate my growth a little bit, so it’s not exactly a bad decision to take it earlier. Arcanist is obviously the other combat Class I can invest in, so that would also be valuable. However, there is a very simple, powerful reason why I am going with Lover Boy first.”

Their eyes reflected in each other’s for several seconds. Whether Lydia got the message immediately or needed a few seconds, John wasn’t sure, only that she did eventually. “You’re an absolute love-struck fool,” she scolded him.

“I know.”

“A cretin of a man, guided by his perverse desires.”

“Now that’s a bit harsh.”

“An enigmatic puzzle of paranoia, desire and power that I just keep falling in love with.”

“That does sound like me.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Guilty as charged,” he whispered and leaned down. Her red lips pulled away from his and she stepped out of the dance.

“It irks me how incapable I have become of being properly mad at you, John Newman, especially when I know it’s to your detriment that you make me so lenient,” she declared, her heavy boots drumming on the floor. In marching steps, she walked up and down in front of the television. Aclysia had installed it earlier. “Allowing myself the weakness of loving you proves to be a weakness indeed. Do you have further reasons?”

“Lover Boy has the paint job of a pure sexual class, but it seems more to be an intimate relationship Class,” the Gamer answered. “It’s not just you, Lydia, I want my life with everyone to be the best it can be.”

“Es besteht kein…” Agitated, Lydia slipped into German for just a few words, before restarting in english. “There is no reason to hurry this. Moments shared with you are already those I desire the most, the remainder of the harem feels the same. Focus on Arcanist, grasp the power to stay safe!”

“And once I’m done with Arcanist, what then?” John asked. “Shouldn’t I be investing in Gamer then, or into whatever follow-up Class surfaces at the time? When will there be time to invest in Lover Boy? If security by personal power is the goal, then the answer can only be: once I am threatened by no one anymore.” He took a pause and walked after her. Although he kept his hands to himself, he wanted to be near Lydia. Nearer, at least. “That’ll take years, Lydia. More than that, I only have so many Max Class Levels at my disposal. I get one for every ten levels. We could reach a state where it takes me months to get the necessary levels, as conditions increase and time is a limited factor.”

“We have that time, beloved,” the queen shook her head and put a hand on the side of his face. “Years are not an issue for us. I may not have your lifespan, but I will not die young.”

John closed his eyes, concentrating on her warm touch on his face. Placing his own hand over hers, he finally let out the deep insecurity that lay at the base of all of this. “Will you not?” he asked. “Lydia, I have the same fear for you that you have for me – for far more reasons. Compared to the average Abyssal, you’re strong; compared to the enemies you make, you are not. What if someone of my current level decides to assassinate you one day? How often can such a thing fail until someone succeeds?”

He opened his eyes to find Lydia’s face still and thoughtful. There was no immediate counterpoint she could deliver. “It’s not just you I worry about. Scarlett and Jane both have less than 30 levels to grow. You three are no gods, no familiars that scale with me, no ancient weapons. Jane is at least a fighter, and at level 200, there is way less to worry about. Scarlett has a high level, but her combat ability is basically null, and you, you said it yourself. You’re a campfire next to a burning house. The Gamer and the Lover Boy Classes are the ones that should help me alleviate this problem. From all I could gather, Gamer would help with the general approach on this. Lover Boy is where I get to help you, my loves, specifically.

“Please, Lydia, if you care for me for as much as I care for you, then you have to understand why I want to focus on this.”

“You are…” Lydia started, taking half a step forward and framing his face with both her hands, “…the greatest mistake I have and will ever make.” Then she leaned forwards to kiss him. She was one of the girls who didn’t have to do more than that, being almost as tall as John himself.

The reward of her red lips was all a man could ever ask for. She tasted sweet, with a note of iron, like always. Citrus smell gently rose from her auburn hair and filled his lungs, while their tongues intertwined. Lydia was the best kisser in his harem. Not for the lack of talent for everyone else. It was just that, when Lydia kissed him, all of those harsh and caring words she lambasted him with culminated into the loving intent behind them. That she had the softest, most gorgeous red lips out of all of his girls only helped the matter.

Then, she pulled back. “Then do what you must, my beloved John,” she whispered. “I accept your reasons. As much as I would want you to prioritize your own safety, if this puts your soul at ease, then be done with it.” Their hands glided down their bodies until they swayed in close embrace to their heartbeats. “We could have less of these issues if you had just agreed to stay in Germany with me. Life would be infinitely more secure in the civilized halls of my country.”

“I suppose so. If I only did the thing that was the safest, I would still be in Springfield and just grinding on the daily, with minimal amounts of human contact, however.” The Gamer was happy that the conversation was taking a turn for the better. “I’m glad you challenged me on this.”

“Being a ruler can be a lonely fate.” The queen kissed his neck. “Having found you was a blessing in the disguise of opportunity. You and our lovers, they are the anchor I didn’t know I needed.” Her lips wandered from his neck to his face and she gave him another peck on the lips. “Now, stop wasting your time with me. You have to make good on your decision and I think even Gnome is getting impatient if you’re letting her wait much longer.”

“Well, I have one Class Level I can spend right now,” he told her. “So, I would do that here.”

“As you wish. Just don’t let those Perks awaken your desires.” She tabbed his collarbone twice, warningly. “I am certain you had plenty of satisfaction before I arrived, so you better put business before pleasure for at least a few hours.”

“No promises are made,” John laughed and found several pieces of metal in the room rising from their resting positions. “Okay, okay, I promise I’ll go take care of things after I pick the Perk,” he conceded, and the threatening articles settled back down. “I thought we had removed that stick in your bum.”

“If said stick is the only thing that allows me to make you the slightest bit serious from time to time, I am happy to have it stay there forever.”

“Also, you enjoy buttplugs.”

“I lack the words to properly describe how much I want to walk back the statements I made over the past minutes.”

“You’re wearing one right now, aren’t you?” He grabbed her butt as if he could actually find that out through the layers of clothes.

“No answer will be given. Do your work and you may find out later.” Lydia’s answer was absolute, although the slight blush told John all he needed to know.

As fun as the banter was, he actually needed to get this show on the road, so he opened the menu and clicked on Lover Boy. He still had two free levels for that Class, so he didn’t have to worry about the Class Challenge in any way. Not that he thought he would have any particular difficulty to beat those ones.

The choice was immediately obvious. It irked him a little bit to give up the ability to put Domination Mark on anyone he wanted, but it wasn’t like he had gotten a lot of mileage out of that. For the most part, he wanted more Lover’s Will marks. Plus having access to a sensitivity increase was just fantastic. Dominating Lover it was.

“Alright, Lydia, you know the mark I put on Jane?” he asked, in order to fulfil the conditions. She nodded, and he quickly explained everything that it did. Which didn’t take too long, since Lydia already knew about both Lover’s Will and Domination Pact. Once conditions were cleared, they sealed the deal with another kiss.

Both of them expected the hot tingle that came along with the spell doing its work. John felt it at the back of his left hand. It quickly coalesced in a single spot, the middle joint of his thumb, and drew magical lines inside his skin.

Where he had known that feeling before, Lydia was still a bit surprised. Surprised may have been not entirely correct, given that she moaned into his mouth while the Lover’s Will took hold of her and left a part of John with her and part of her stuck with him. It was a union beyond the intimacy of their bodies.

When the tingle faded, they parted from one another. Lydia was blushing intensely now, breathing at a quick and heavy pace. Shamelessly pulling at her belt, she took a look at this new mark on her body.

It was the exact same as Rave’s. Located between navel and vagina, a bit closer to the former, it stretched vertically. Dark blue lines ran in straight and slightly wavy fashions. At the centre, right above the womb, they made up the shape of a stylized heart. Perfectly symmetrical to the side, two arms stretched out. John felt like those were representative of her fallopian tubes or something. That may have just been his fetishist mind talking though.

The lower bits of it, some lines stretching down from the tip of the heart, barely touched Lydia’s trimmed pubic hair. “Peculiar,” the metal mage declared, and the mark disappeared. Only to reappear a few moments later. “I assume you would prefer for me to keep it visible?”

“Yes.” John didn’t have the presence of mind to get any sort of quips out. Having his personal mark on his women played into everything his perversion stood for. Marks were a sign of possession and he was a possessive person when it came to his girls. The location was raw intimacy. More than that, the desire that he kept having to suppress to just finally knock up one (or all) of them was only highlighted.

“The amount of scandals I risk for you, my love,” Lydia sighed with a smile and strapped her belt back into place. “I will oblige, be it only because I find it strangely wonderful to wear proof of you so close to my sex. Another sign of your moral corruption, no doubt.”

“Don’t you push off you being a kinky one at me,” the Gamer laughed. “You are the buttslut around here, after all.”

“I don’t fancy you putting it like that,” Lydia said, her face resuming a normal colour as she got her horniness under control. “May I see your hand?”

He raised it, and she inspected his new mark. They were both on his left hand. Rave’s old one, with the centre-heart on the knuckle of his ring finger, and this new one with its core on the middle joint of his thumb. Both had a couple of lines extend upwards, forming a tattooed ring around the finger, and a single line that followed the path of the sinew connected to the wrist. They almost met, but only almost.

“I’m keeping it,” he told her before she could ask. There was no way he would ever hide any proof of his harem on his own body. Well, maybe if it was some grotesque shape on his face. That was an extreme case though.

“I know.” Lydia’s smile grew from slight to clearly visible, she even showed a bit of her white teeth. “I hope for your sake that you clarified this with Aclysia and Eliza beforehand. Otherwise, I fear for your safety.”

“Of course, I did,” the Gamer nodded. Neither of the two had been psyched by the idea, but they knew he had to set his priorities. John’s theory was still that Lover’s Will was the ability through which he could prolong the duration his girls lived. What specific mechanic that manifested as would be seen down the line.

“In that case, I recommend we leave now,” Lydia told him. “You have another girl to attend to and I look forward to what she will become.”