"… I unlocked the Artificer ss illegally. It took me many decades, but I crafted something worthy of receiving the ss after an insane amount of tries. A few yearster the intelligence unit responsible for surveilling not only the enemies of the Alliance but the subjects as well, somehow got word of my activities and came to arrest me. I grabbed my hammer and bashed their skulls in… at least until their numbers overwhelmed me. Somehow I got the Runeforged Sentinel ss by attacking them, which resulted in them forcibly conscripting me instead of executing me."


    I couldn''t help but chuckle. What a raw woman. I liked her, she seemed to be a genuine person. Her ss must''ve had some hidden requirement met, as I''m sure that if it were that easy, every Artificer ssed person would be upgraded to Runeforged Sentinels.


    "Now things are starting to be clear. And what about your wish to be the protectors of my territory?"


    Her features became sunken with dejection, "we are deserters, there''s no ce for us back home. That''s why we tried to be a Phenom and her Heralds, in the Consortium we would be allowed to hide our race and we wouldn''t have to live as runaways hiding in the forests until our final days. We could make money, grow in levels, and most importantly, enjoy their protection."


    I nodded in understanding. That was my biggest reason for wishing to be a Phenom as well. The consortium treated their Phenoms as if they were the prodigious children who would carry the torch in the future. Killing one was a clear deration of war and the Consortium would go all-out to punish the perpetrators.


    Kaelira then continued, "but now that we''ve gotten to know just what a rare, extraordinary person you are, we wish to be of use to you. Your mother is Luminara, and the Geim is beyond happy in your care. Lady Seraphiel is also clearly very well-treated. There''s no person more worthy of being our lord than you are, Lord Quin, not even the elven royalty."


    "I agree!" Seraphiel chirped jovially. The hot mischievous long-eared woman of mine was very overjoyed at getting reunited with her friend/boss, and possibly being on the same side again.


    <Any objections?> I asked each of my girls in the form of a group telepathic speech.


    Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire


    <Do you even have to ask? They are an amazing addition." Ayame decreed.


    <Blossom thinks that Master knows best.> Blossom left the decision-making to me as she always did.


    <They are all so pretty! Miss Kaelira has even more refined abs than Ayame!> Aurora murmured with fascination.


    <Yeah, she must''ve put a ton of effort into her physical training… This is likely the result of decades of extreme hard work.> Ayame agreed.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    <I have no objections. She could make me a badass light armor for my Berserker ss since I know you would spank me to oblivion on the spot due to your possessive nature if I ran around buck naked to maximize the ss'' benefits… And I''m not Ayame, so I wouldn''t enjoy getting destroyed by your big, firm hands…> Lucille was thest to voice her thoughts, and what thoughts they were…


    Her Berserker ss gave benefits or drawbacks depending on the type of armor she wore. Heavy and medium penalized her, light gave a small benefit while going around naked would be the biggest buff, but yes, I refuse to have my woman run around in the nude. Once she became a true beast like Dragnar I would be willing to entertain a discussion perhaps, but until then, she is wearing armor both for her protection and to keep my possessive jealousy at bay.


    <Hey! I''m not into any of that! I''m not an M! It''s all a giant misunderstanding!> Ayame protested instantly.


    <Youngdy… There''s nothing to be ashamed of.> Lucille replied in an extremely understanding, motherly tone. <Blossom loves eating his butt so much so that you have to tear her off of it or she will keep slurping for hours on end, Aurora is a half-decade older than you but acts like a little girl just to be pampered to her heart''s content, and I''ve drunk more semen since getting into a rtionship with him than I did water… It''s time for you to embrace being part of the fetish gang. Quin is clearly into weird girls, so you don''t get to be the sole normal one.>


    <Ugh.> Ayame grunted as if she''d been shot with a 9mm at point-nk range.


    Iughed inwardly before gaining control of my emotions and turning my attention back to the elves. "Great! Kaelira, I would love to have you and the rangerdies in the Ascendants. My home truly could use the five of you as forest sentinels, and caretakers of the Geim in my absence, since that job thus far fell to Iselda, my architect, but she only did it out of duty, while I assume…"


    """""It would be our greatest honor!!!""""" The five long-eared babes squealed at the same time.


    "What of me?" The owner of the glorious six-pack inquired.


    "I will find you a new team of Heralds, since you are in the Phenom candidatepetition, I would like to have more allies on my side when I do get the rank. This new team will be a lot better bnced than the five rangers you''ve been working with thus far."


    "I understand." She nodded serenely, but I wasn''t finished just yet.


    "Furthermore, I would be ted if you could be the lead crafter of my faction. Once you get the Phenom rank, you could spend most of your time here, making your masterpieces, and only go on some missions to not get on their bad side due to extreme inactivity."


    Kaelira had a much stronger reaction to my statement than I ever could''ve expected. Her eyes bulged out of their sockets for a moment as her mouth opened and closed before tears started forming, but they had no chance to drop to the ground, as in the next moment she threw herself at me.