CHAPTER 10: MORNING, A MISSION FROM SILAS, AND NEW PERSONNEL

  I was woken up by the sun shining through the cracks in the shutters, but I had no intention of getting up. I y on my back, and Shnee was completely sprawled out over me – sleeping deeply, entirely naked, her legs intertwined with mine.

  For a moment, I simply admired her beauty. My eyes focused on her breasts, which gently rose and fell against my chest with every breath. I loved their shape and how perfectly they matched the rest of her athletic body. I couldn't resist; I began to stroke them slowly and firmly, feeling the velvety skin beneath my fingers.

  This closeness and the sight of Shnee in the morning light made the blood course faster through my weaves, resulting in a solid "uprising" in my crotch.

  Shnee felt the change beneath her. Her eyeshes fluttered, and her eyes slowly opened. When she felt my hand on her breast, she smiled that sleepy, yet incredibly satisfied smile.

  "Dave..." she murmured, moving closer to my lips and kissing me briefly but possessively. "I want more. What you did st night... was fucking amazing. Care for a repeat?"

  She didn't have to ask twice. For the next fifteen minutes, I operated with the precision of a Creator, focusing on her most sensitive spots and giving her breasts the proper attention. I brought her to four powerful orgasms in a row, until her body began to tremble, and all she could do was quietly moan my name.

  I didn't intend to hold back either – after the night's intimacy, this morning was the perfect completion. In total, counting st night, I came inside her five times, feeling our foundations growing stronger together with each release.

  When we finished, she colpsed onto the mattress next to me, completely fulfilled. She snuggled tightly against my side, her skin now hot and damp.

  "Now I can get up," she whispered with satisfaction.

  Once the emotions settled, Shnee got up. I watched her as she began to dress. She put on her panties. She looked fwless in them – the bck fabric contrasted perfectly with her pale skin.

  I walked up to her and, instead of a harsh gesture, simply hugged her tenderly from behind, inhaling the scent of her skin.

  "Alright, Shnee. Break's over. Time to move," I said calmly.

  "Yes, Dave. I'm ready," she replied, buckling the rest of her gear.

  Scene 2: Breakfast at Elena's (Delicacies and Pns)

  We went down to the dining room of the Golden Griffin. The smell of fresh food already filled the entire room. Elena was bustling around the buffet, but as soon as she saw us, she stopped for a moment and shot us that intelligent smile of hers. She immediately sensed that the weaves between us had tightened that night.

  "I see that A-Rank has become second nature to you," she said, pcing ptes full of delicacies in front of us. "Eat up. Today is on the house, for that troll. You've earned such a treat."

  We sat at the table. The grub was first-css: hot roasted meat, fried eggs, and fresh bread. Shnee ate with a clear appetite. I chewed slowly, analyzing our foundations. We finished the meal in silence, focusing on regenerating our essence.

  When the ptes were empty, I stood up, walked to the counter, and pulled ten silver coins from my pouch. I pced them in front of a surprised Elena.

  "Dave? I told you it was on the house," she began, but I cut her off with a brief look.

  "Such top-tier service and fucking great food deserve these silvers more than anything else," I said impassively. "Remember this, Elena. Good work always pays off with me."

  Elena looked at the coins for a moment, and then at me, with even more respect than before. She nodded, pocketing the silver.

  "We're going to Sis," I tossed to Shnee, who was already standing by the door. "Time to find out who's blocking our business in this city and whose existential structure needs a remodel."

  We walked out onto the streets of Oakhaven. The city was bustling with life, but we paid no attention to the noise. We walked shoulder to shoulder, and my will radiated a calmness that effectively snuffed out the ambitions of any local wise guys.

  We entered Sis's office. It smelled of old paper and expensive tobacco. Sis was sitting behind a massive desk, but at the sight of us, he tore his eyes away from his work, and a genuine, rexed smile appeared on his face.

  "Dave. Shnee," he greeted us. "Always good to see you."

  I sat back comfortably in the armchair opposite him, resting my elbows on the armrests.

  "'Sup, Sis," I replied. "Elena caught an interesting rumor at the bar this morning. Apparently, some guy named Makor is seriously messing with your foundations and ruining your business, and you had to put a bounty on him in the underground. Since we operate in the same system, I figured I'd come and purge this bug from our structure. What exactly is the deal with this guy?"

  Sis sighed heavily and slumped back in his chair. The rexed look vanished from his eyes, repced by hard calcution.

  "Marquis Makor," he muttered with disgust. "Thinks his noble title gives him the right to a monopoly. He set up his own dirty side business. He intimidates smaller merchants and blocks my routes using his private guard. He's holed up in his fortified estate outside the city, thinking he's untouchable. The bounty on his head is fifty gold pieces."

  "Keep the gold towards our future investments," I threw out, rising from the armchair. "Shnee, let's go. We're removing this fw from the board."

  We reached Makor's estate in under an hour. Ordinary mercenaries would see a high wall and guard patrols here, but to me, it was just a fragile structure practically begging for destruction.

  We didn't bother with subtlety. I stood before the main gate and hit it with just a fraction of my strength. The massive iron doors bent with a loud crack and flew off their hinges, crushing two guards. We stepped into the courtyard.

  We were immediately swarmed by armed men – dozens of mercenaries with drawn steel charged towards us.

  I felt my essence kick into a higher gear, and that same predatory smile bloomed on my face, the one that always appeared whenever I sensed a fight.

  "Thirty seconds, Shnee," I said curtly, not taking my eyes off the enemies. "Leave no one alive."

  The sughter began. Shnee shot forward like a bck shadow, severing heads and limbs with surgical precision. I didn't even use a weapon. My will was enough. I crushed necks and broke the bones of anyone who came within my reach.

  The countdown in my head stopped at twenty-eight seconds as the st guardsman hit the ground with a hole in his chest. The courtyard ran with blood.

  We entered the main hall of the estate. Makor was trying to flee up the marble stairs, but I caught him in the blink of an eye. I grabbed the Marquis by the throat and smmed him into the wall with such force that pster rained down onto the floor.

  "Who gave you permission to touch my routes?" I asked coldly, tightening my grip until his eyes practically bugged out of his head.

  "It's... it's just business!" he wheezed, spitting blood onto his expensive robes. "I was going... to monopolize..."

  "Miscalcution," I interrupted him without a shadow of emotion.

  I strengthened my grip, letting a fraction of my destructive essence invade his body. The Marquis's structure colpsed in a split second – his internal organs simply exploded from the inside, and his body went limp in my grasp. I tossed him onto the floor like a piece of worthless trash. Brutal, but necessary.

  Searching his clothes, I felt a hard shape. From an inner pocket, I pulled out a heavy, iron key. My Shin-gan immediately caught a trace that led deeper into the estate.

  We followed the trail, descending into the dark, damp dungeons. At the very end of the corridor stood a solid, iron-bound door. The key grated in the lock, yielding to my will.

  As I pushed the door open, I spotted a rge steel cage in the gloom. Inside, huddled together and trembling with fear, sat three girls. I slid the iron key into the padlock. It clicked loudly, and the massive grate swung open.

  The three girls flinched, cowering in the farthest corner of the cage. They were dirty, terrified, and wearing little more than rags. One of them stood out with her light hair; the other two clung desperately to her arms.

  My Shin-gan quickly analyzed their structure – they were exhausted, but their foundations remained healthy.

  I stepped out of combat mode. I completely extinguished my murderous aura and tucked the coldness of the Creator deep inside me. Right now, they didn't need the butcher who had just wiped out the courtyard; they needed someone who could give them a sense of absolute security.

  "Easy," I spoke in a gentle, stable voice, crouching right in front of the cage. "Makor is dead. No one will ever touch you here again."

  The light-haired girl lifted her teary eyes to me. Her body was shaking from the cold and fear.

  "Master..." she began quietly, almost soundlessly. "Who... are you?"

  "Not a 'Master'," I cut her off immediately, smiling friendlily. "My name is Dave. And this is Shnee. We're getting you out of here. What are your names?"

  The girl swallowed hard, still looking at me in disbelief. "I'm Luthia..." she finally whispered. "And this... this is Mina and Ria."

  Mina and Ria looked at each other, completely thrown off by my reaction and how casually I used my own name.

  "Dave?" repeated Ria, as if the word burned her tongue. "Just like that? Are you... some kind of noble?"

  "I don't py with those kinds of bels. In my reality, there's no room for svery. You are free," I said with total conviction, looking at all three of them. "Shnee, help them out?"

  The bck-haired warrior stepped up to the bars, giving them a reassuring smile.

  "Come on, girls," she said softly, reaching her hand out to them. "Dave cleared out the whole estate. He'll level anyone who tries to hurt you. You're safe with us."

  Slowly, still hesitant, they started to stand up. I directed a fraction of my will towards them – a pure weave of light that discreetly wrapped around them. It instantly soothed their minor wounds, faded their bruises, and warmed their freezing bodies.

  Their eyes widened like saucers as they felt the pain and exhaustion simply vanish from their essence.

  "Alright, let's get out of this shithole," I ordered, standing up and pointing them toward the exit. "First, we'll do some quick shopping in the city so you have something to wear, and then we're heading back to the Griffin for a solid meal and some rest. It's time to build you some new foundations."

  I led them out of the dungeons. They walked close to Shnee, still unsure of their new reality. Luthia, a dark elf, held the hands of Mina – a seventeen-year-old neko whose ears twitched nervously every few seconds – and little Ria, a tiefling barely eleven years old.

  Before we finally left Makor's estate, I stopped by his office. A pile of parchments and trade ledgers y on the massive desk. I swept them up without a word. I knew that the foundations of dirty business are always hidden in papers like these.

  We entered the city. I didn't take them to the most expensive boutique – we weren't at that stage yet. I took them to a solid tailor in the merchant district. I tossed a few silver coins on the counter, cutting off any questions the owner might have had about their current appearance.

  I bought them simple, clean, and comfortable travel clothes. When they stepped out of the fitting rooms fifteen minutes ter, they finally looked like people, not merchandise.

  We picked up the pace and soon crossed the threshold of the "Golden Griffin". The interior of the inn welcomed us with the smell of fresh wood and roasted meat. Elena was standing behind the bar.

  At the sight of us, she immediately wiped her hands on her apron, but when she saw the three new girls, a hint of surprise flickered in her eyes.

  "Dave?" she asked, coming out to meet us. "Who are they?"

  "New housemates," I replied casually, taking off my cloak. "Elena, meet Luthia, Mina, and Ria. We pulled them out of Makor's basement. They'll be staying here with us, and I'm sure they'll be happy to help you run the tavern once they recover a bit. Hook them up with some good food and warm water."

  Elena immediately switched into caretaker mode. She smiled warmly and led them to a side table, instantly bringing them solid portions of food.

  I sat down at the bar. A moment ter, Elena pced a gss of room-temperature water in front of me. She already knew what I preferred. I tossed the stack of Makor's documents onto the empty counter.

  "Luthia," I called out to the dark elf, who was just finishing her meal. "You look like someone who knows how to read between the lines. Take a look at these papers when you're done. See if that piece of trash was holding any other girls somewhere or if he had partners."

  Twenty minutes ter, Luthia walked up to me. Her dark skin contrasted with the pale parchments, and her face bore a cold, adult seriousness.

  "I found this in the shipping manifests," she said, her voice remarkably stable. "Makor was working with a group called the 'Red Trail'. Svers. They're holding the rest of the girls from my transport in a camp in the forest, a few miles north of here. They're waiting for the signal to move out."

  I took a sip of water, analyzing the new data. As the cool dude who had just taken in these three, I couldn't just ignore the fact that the rest of their crew was still sitting in cages.

  "So we know exactly where to strike," I muttered. I looked at the bck-haired warrior next to me. "Shnee, did you hear that? That's our target for tomorrow."