[TWS] Chapter 293 – The First Step Onto the Draconic Path

A few short minutes after his loud roar, Asterios watched the Lizardkin people continue to sit still with their eyes closed. He wasn’t exactly sure if they were experiencing some kind of sensation just as he had been, so he didn’t do anything else that could disturb them. Glancing down at his smiling mates, he shifted back to his humanoid form to stand between them.

Tina was the first one to approach him with a warm, excited smile. “That was so amazing. My heart is still beating so fast. I never thought I would be part of something so ceremonial.”

“Considering how little time we had to arrange everything, this is acceptable,” Silvia commented with a gentle nod.

“I can’t imagine anything grander!” Miria giggled sweetly. “Can we have a big event like this every time you take more subordinates, Master?”

“That’s going to be so annoying and a huge waste of time.” Grea snorted. “But, I guess once in a while for some special people wouldn’t be that bad.”

“What now?” Bryn asked, glancing between all of them.

“Now, our people are going to prepare a celebration.” Presto’s voice reached them from behind and they turned to find the man approaching their spot.

“Are you already finished?” Asterios raised a brow at him, noticing that everyone else was still unmoving.

“I am, Lord Asterios. My people will spend just a little longer to silently thank you for this gift. We can already feel that the connection we now share is somewhat different from the previous one while working on the same principle, more or less. I’m glad to realize that you truly weren’t tricking us.” The man bowed respectfully.

“Of course. My Lord would never.” Selene chuckled softly.

“Are we expected to partake in this celebration?” Tina asked.

“You don’t need to if you don’t wish to,” Presto replied. “We have already received a lot and would not dare to waste any more of your precious time. Shall we move back to my office to discuss the details regarding the Dragonsteel Ore? That was your main objective for coming here, right?”

“Let’s do that. Then we can return to Imadil and Cynthia. They were curious to see if we can create the ore with tin from our world. And they were eager to start working on the designs of our new weapons,” she answered. “What do you think, Ast?”

“I agree. If it won’t be rude towards your people, we’ll briefly sum things up and be on our way.” He nodded.

“They are now your people, Lord Asterios.” The man gestured at the gathering. “It’s our worry not to act rude towards our new master, not the other way. But, let’s first move to a more comfortable place.”

Grea stole Ast’s right arm and glued herself to his side with an impish grin, embracing his limb with her sinful body. From how his hand pushed in the material between her legs and created a very characteristic shape, it appeared that the robed dress was the only thing the mischievous demon lady wore. Selene hugged his other side, completing the dual escort, though she didn’t make it easy to confirm if she had partaken in the other woman’s antics too.

The group followed after the chief while the rest of the girls walked behind Asterios in pairs. Miria chatted happily with Zoe, who stuck out a little bit as the only one still wearing her traveling outfit and gear. Everyone else was dressed for an illustrious evening ball. Asterios still couldn’t believe they had chosen these clothes for this occasion.

Soon, they were back in the audience chamber and the chief served them his best chilled drinks before sitting down across the table.

“What can we do for you, Lord Asterios? Please, share your wishes with me so that I can convey them to everyone and properly see them fulfilled,” the man began.

“Well, first of all, is there anything you need? Anything troubling you? Anything you lack?” Asterios asked.

Presto chuckled lightly. “We shall not trouble you with our insignificant issues, Lord Asterios. We’ve been and we are doing just fine here.”

“Perhaps, but you are technically under my protection, and you are offering to see to my wishes, so it’s of course the right thing to do to reciprocate that goodwill and assure that you are living comfortably,” Asterios replied and the girls nodded along his words, especially Silvia.

“I’m overjoyed to witness your kindness, My Lord.” Presto lowered his head. “There are currently no immediate issues we need taken care of. I swear to let you know about anything that might require your aid. Save for the production of Dragonsteel, but I assume we are going to cover that in just a moment.”

“Correct.” Asterios smirked lightly. “With that option now back on the table for your tribe, I would naturally want you to switch to the best for your tools and weapons, which is Dragonsteel. But, since that requires lots of my blood and energy, and I’m going to expend plenty of it in the near future, I hope you don’t mind me delivering those ingredients at a later date.”

“This is perfect, My Lord. It will give us time to discover and gather more tin. We’ll also need to collect the materials necessary to mask the forged equipment. Unless you wish for us to stop?” The man glanced at him expectantly.

Asterios shook his head. “No. Keep at it. I was going to ask you to remain lowkey anyway. Preferably, for both your and our safety, keep the story about your deceased patron as the actual one if you are unable to avoid answering questions. You can continue to keep this a secret from the outsiders, and the additional out-of-date story will serve as a good cover in case any trouble finds you while I’m gone.”

“That is a wise choice. I will educate everyone on that matter as soon as possible,” Presto agreed.

“Great. Back to the ore. I had an idea regarding your role in my retinue.” Asterios smiled to himself. “Dragonsteel is amazing and you are very proficient with its refinement. I would like your tribe to produce weapons and gear for our future allies. If you agree, this will be your main task moving forward. And we are talking about multiple types of blades, axes, hammers, spears, and so on.”

“That truly is a good idea,” Silvia chimed in, glancing at him with a proud expression. “Quality equipment is one of the most important things a competent army needs. Finding a reliable supplier is an impressive feat which can give the soldiers an edge over the opponent.”

He shook his head at the whole army and king talk. That wasn’t really his intention, but it looked like the girls would spin it their way anyway. And, the princess wasn’t exactly wrong. Just in case, they would have a warehouse of great gear waiting for an emergency.

“Oh! It would be a huge honor!” Presto gasped in amazement. “Let us take care of it for you, Lord Asterios! This could be the purpose in our lives that we’ve been searching for since that ancient, fateful night! Consider it done!”

“No offense, but wouldn’t it be better for Imadil and Cynthia to make weapons for us?” Miria tilted her head.

“They are great, yes, but I don’t feel they appreciate working on mass-production orders,” Grea answered while wrinkling her nose. “They are legendary, respected superweapon makers. It would most likely take too long to craft enough gear for a small squad, not to mention an entire army. And you wouldn’t want every random grunt to wield a world-ending artifact, would you?”

“Ah. Right. That could get dangerous super quick.” The panthergirl giggled shyly.

“Everyday-level weapons with greater durability and sharpness will be a great boon. We could even share some with our men in Glimmervale. I too agree that Ast’s idea is perfect for our situation. You’ve been so opposed to this just a moment earlier and yet you are already thinking about the future.” Tina smirked at Asterios.

He shrugged. “You never know what will happen next. I guess we should start making use of all the connections we’ve made during our adventures. If we ever attract unwanted attention from Dragons or something else, we need some means of protecting our homes and families.”

“Yes. Unfortunately, you can’t be everywhere at the same time.” Silvia nodded sagely. “It’s an important quality for a king to think deeply about the safety of his subjects.”

“Is that all you need of me, Lord Asterios?” Presto asked, recapturing their attention. “If so, I would like to bring this news to the people. Everyone should be already done with their meditation.”

“Sure. I think this is it for now.” Asterio sighed softly. “But don’t force them to get to work immediately. Maybe save it for after you finish your celebrations. We aren’t in a rush or anything. We’ll just take the already converted ore with us, and perhaps a bunch of ingots if you have some to spare.”

“Naturally.” The man bowed, stood up, and headed for the exit, but he paused after opening the door and glanced over his shoulder. “Ah. Would you like me to send the virgins to perform their vassal duties to you now or at a later date?”

“What?” Asterios blinked repeatedly.

“Oh, would you rather me bring those who have already experienced the miracle of life before?” The chief raised a brow at him.

Asterios blinked away his confusion as a few giggles reached his ears and he rubbed his forehead. “I’m not going to sleep with your women. Especially not the married ones. Is that something expected from me to do?”

“My deepest apologies.” Presto lowered his head. “I thought you would like to strengthen our bloodline with your potent seed to ensure that future generations of Dragonkin do not disappoint. Our previous patron asked to prepare a dozen virgins for his recovery, which, unfortunately, didn’t happen.”

“Talk about stereotypes.” Tina giggled.

“I don’t need that.” Asterios waved his hand dismissively. “You’ll do just fine on your own.”

“Very well.” The man bowed to his waist. “Know that it would be the greatest honor for any female to be chosen and blessed with a child from our benevolent patron in case you change your mind, My Lord.”

And with that, he disappeared at the entrance while Asterios let out a loud groan, evoking even more chuckles from the girls.

“I’m starting to have second thoughts about this,” he sighed heavily.

Grea leaned into him with her entire body, tracing a finger over his chest. “Why? Just imagine legions of beautiful girls wet and ready to worship you at any moment. Doesn’t it make your heart race?”

“It’s already a handful with just the seven of us.” He yanked her down so that the teasing demon lady landed on her back on his lap in a fit of squealing giggles. “And especially with you.”

She roamed her hands over her chest and stomach while looking into his eyes and biting hard on her bottom lip. Asterios scoffed and leaned down to share a brief kiss with his tease of a girlfriend. Grea attempted to turn it into a deeper, more passionate exchange, but he nibbled on her tongue as it tried to invade his mouth, evoking a throaty moan from the demon lady.

“That’s enough. Get up,” he ordered with a quiet growl, causing Grea’s crimson cheeks to darken as she followed his wish. “Now, I believe there’s one more thing we have to discuss before Grea somehow worms her way out of this dress and throws all decorum out of the window.”

The frivolous woman pouted, fixing the slightly disheveled state of her robe, clearly dissatisfied to be caught in the act. Then, Asterios turned to the only girl not wearing a formal dress and all eyes moved to Zoe. Noticing that all the attention was now on her, the wolfgirl stood up with her hands joined in front of her hips, her tail wagging lightly.

“So, since you are a close friend of Miria and we’ve known each other for a little while, I would like to ask if you want to join us as my servant rather than slave,” Asterios said calmly.

“Yes, sir,” she answered as her tail swished a little faster.

He chuckled. “There’s no need to be so official. We are all still friends, aren’t we?”

Zoe nodded with a soft smile.

“Why not an aide, Master?” Miria asked.

“You know perfectly well why.” He raised a brow at the panthergirl. “The upper two levels are kind of special in terms of the relationship between the sides, including the perspective on both ends.”

The panthergirl stood up and walked to her friend’s side, wrapping one arm around Zoe’s waist. “But I’m sure Zoe thinks well of you, Master. Don’t you too?”

She stared at him with a pleading expression and he sighed softly. He glanced between the two girls for a moment, focusing on the wolfgirl’s somewhat timid yet expectant eyes. Each time their gazes met, her tail moved faster and her sharp, canine ears perked up a bit more. It was quite an interesting and cute sight.

“What do you think?” he finally asked.

“How would I be of most use to you?” she replied hesitantly.

“You would definitely be useful to us no matter the stage of the connection between me and you, Zoe. Miria praises you quite a lot and we’ve seen for ourselves during our little adventure that those aren’t just empty words. But, are you sure this is alright with you? Or with your friends and family? Maybe this isn’t as serious as the bonds and vows between me and my mates or summons, but you would still technically be under my orders and I could demand your assistance at any time,” Asterios explained.

“That is fine with me.” Zoe nodded with a tense expression. “I also heard a lot of good things from Miria and saw more during this trip. As she might have mentioned before, many beastfolk value strength, and that includes my kind. I would be happy to serve under someone like you. It would definitely make my family proud.”

He held her determined gaze for a few seconds and then nodded. “Alright. Anyone else has anything to say about this?”

“I always wanted a puppy—ow!” Grea whined as Tina hit the demon lady on the shoulder.

“I have nothing against accepting Zoe as your aide,” she then commented with a gentle smile as Grea rubbed her arm with a scoff.

“As an experienced hunter, she could be a good connection between you and her village regardless of Miria’s presence,” Silvia added.

“Of course.” Zoe kneaded her palms eagerly. “I planned to bring the idea to others. I’m sure many would have no qualms with following you.”

“If we ignore her right here, Miria will become insufferable for months.” Selene chuckled.

“Hey!” The person in question huffed and stomped on the ground, causing everyone else to laugh lightly.

Asterios shared a glance with Bryn, reading her answer with ease, and turned to Zoe. “Let’s get this out of the way, then.”

A beautiful smile blossomed on the wolfgirl’s lips and she made a quick bow, causing her long, brown ponytail to flutter in every direction. “Thank you! You will definitely not regret giving me this chance!”

Miria jumped in place with her arms wrapped around her friend for a while as Zoe could only try to keep her balance with rosy cheeks. When she finally got released, Asterios relinquished his spot to her on the sofa and stood in front of the canine girl and his mates. He skillfully transformed one of his fingers into its draconic form and used his sharp nail to cut his palm and use the blood to draw a different sigil on Zoe’s forehead. Her ears kept twitching adorably the entire time.

Before he could take away his hand and bring it over a glass Tina held for him, Miria grabbed his wrist and brought it close to the wolfgirl’s face. A fraction of a second later, Zoe’s lips touched the inside of his palm and she started licking the trickling blood off his skin while observing him attentively to judge his reaction, afraid not to offend him by accident. Meanwhile, the panthergirl shot him a sultry grin for the entire process of sharing his blood with the other woman.

With that part of their little ceremony completed, Asterios sealed his wound on his own since it wasn’t anything extensive and wiped off his hand. Zoe’s cheeks were decorated with a deeper shade of scarlet now but she managed to hold her composure properly, still intently looking up at him. He raised a brow at his scheming feline mate and Miria backed off with a fleeting giggle.

To complete the connection, Asterios leaned down as Zoe raised her face and he planted a soft kiss on the drawn sigil, gently cupping up her rosy cheek. She shivered faintly as he shared his warm energy with her, taking a deep breath through her nose. They both could feel the faint link between them.

As he withdrew himself, they all watched the bloody mark glow intensely before it completely faded away from Zoe’s skin. Then, another flash diverted their attention to the woman’s left hand, and the familiar symbol formed on its back, one Grea would have had a hard time forgetting. It looked like the wolfgirl was properly registered as Ast’s aide. As they had learned from Althea, a slave’s mark remained on their forehead, while a servant’s one manifested over their heart, and obviously, they knew the locations of the other two rather well.

“This feels… a little weird.” Zoe sighed as her eyes fluttered open.

“You’ll quickly get used to it!” Miria beamed at her. “Welcome to the family!”

“I wonder how much will Ast’s draconic heritage affect her and other people,” Grea mused, stroking her chin. “This will be a good test to see the effects of the unbonded connections. I’m honestly not sure if I experienced anything peculiar during the period before I was fucked a level higher into a mate.”

Zoe’s face flushed even more as her tail threatened to lash the girls sitting on her sides and a light smack echoed through the chamber as Tina hit the perverted researcher up the back of her head. It just clearly wasn’t Grea’s day.

After relaxing for a moment together, everyone gathered up and they left Presto’s residence. One of the guards led them to the blacksmith, where the chief had ordered to bring the ore they had already transformed and some of the Lizardkin’s resources. Ast’s group exchanged a few more words with the craftsman and picked the Dragonsteel into their spatial storages.

The streets had slowly been becoming louder and louder with the festivities and celebrations so they chose that moment to sneak out before they would have ended up pulled into the crowds of cheering villagers. Asterios moved with Zoe through the shadows, using his own ability to keep practicing, and the wolfgirl clearly took the transfer much better now that she was part of his retinue.

Resurfacing back in the beastfolk village late evening, the pair was joined by the other girls coming through a summoning gate. They escorted Zoe back home to let their new friend rest properly in her own, comfortable bed after such an eventful journey and went their separate ways.

“So… Now that we are alone… Is it finally time for our own little celebration?” Grea hung herself over Ast’s back, puffing hot breaths into his ear.

“Weren’t we going to bring the ore to the elves?” He raised a brow at her.

“And waste this perfect moment with all of us dolled up like this for you?” She let out an ardent chuckle. “Come on, you are entering a new path in your draconic life. We gotta start it with a bang.”

Asterios snorted as she began kissing his chin, pressing her chest more into his back. He took a glance to gauge the moods of his other mates and didn’t really find anyone bothered by Grea’s suggestion. Quite the opposite, rather.

“I guess you are right.” He yanked Grea’s tail, evoking a lusty moan from the depths of her throat, and smiled at the others, taking in the beautiful, moon-bathed appearances of his amazing lovers. “Where should we head for this celebration?”

“I’m afraid my bed might be a tad too small for all of us.” Miria giggled timidly.

“Thankfully, I replaced mine a while ago.” Selene chuckled with a ladylike smirk.

“Let’s go! Orgy time!” Grea threw her fist in the air as she shouted.

Asterios clamped her mouth shut before the lecherous researcher embarrassed them even more and he stepped through the gate Selene opened to her mansion.