“An arrow with enough force that it just cut THROUGH you?” Reysha was flabbergasted at the idea. “I mean, you aren’t exactly flesh and bone, but I wouldn’t exactly call you gassy. That should have at least slowed down to just… fall.”

“No, went straight through, in a flash,” Apexus assured. “Only know it was arrow because saw hunter… That sentence had a lot of mistakes, didn’t it?”

Aclysia hummed in agreement. “Yes, but regardless of that, this is worrying news.” For a few moments she seemed worried, then she let out a dissatisfied sigh. “I wish I could analyse this more deeply, but I don’t know things outside of the basics for all Classes. Normally, given that I would be an angel of my creator from now on, this would be bestowed upon me, but as things currently stand, I will have to learn for myself.”

“Okay, I get the whole ‘this is how our wish worked out’ angle,” the redhead of the odd group spoke up again. “That’s nice for you, your dad seems like a nice guy, blabla and all that sugary stuff. We should get a full rundown on what you gained and what you lost though, at least the important bits.” Apexus seconded that motion by wiggling his body in a nodding way.

“Very well,” Aclysia agreed and began listing. “As just alluded to, I have lost access to in-depth knowledge about more advanced Classes. I do still have the knowledge of the basics that I possessed before, as I do over the machinations of the Omniverse. This means that I know slightly more than either of you.”

“That is so rude!” Reysha stated.

“I am sorry, but I simply assumed that you aren’t the type that paid attention in class. Am I wrong in my assessment?”

“…Sometimes you can be really sassy.”

“Sometimes, I am sitting only clad in a dirty robe next to a pond and have my wings tucked in at uncomfortable angles,” Aclysia shot right back and crossed her legs. Something that Apexus noticed purely by the fact that her weight was shifting around.

“You could lie down,” the slime suggested. “There is enough room on me.”

“Would this not rob you of feeling my butt on your back?”

“Preferably, you are comfortable,” Apexus insisted and so the metal fairy went on to instead lay on her stomach over his back. “Is better?”

“Much better,” she placed a little kiss between his fox ears. “Thank you, darling.”

Now that was a new word. A wonderful word. Maybe even the absolute best word. Particularly the way she spoke it. Soft, like warm winds through canopies, right into his ear. He was just about ready to remove the need for her to lie anywhere. Just a few tentacles would do the trick, she was still lighter than her size would indicate. Reysha was heavier at the least, and he could still lift her (with enough tentacles).

Repeatedly snapping her fingers, the tiger girl got the attention back to topic. “I need to get fucked as desperately as the next girl, but can we get this through so I don’t have to bring this boring ass topic up again later?”

“Certainly, my apologies,” Aclysia answered with her usual words but a lovey-dovey tone as she looked at the slime’s eyes below her. Now her legs were swaying back and forth in a silent rhythm. “I lost the power to create my own clothes, but you know this already. My body still functions as my own casting medium, however, so I will not need equipment in this regard. As for my magical power itself, I will now have to grow like any regular adventurer. As per estimation, I should be between levels 8 and 10. My Class remains Guardian Angel. Perhaps most importantly, I do not hold any divine authority anymore. This means equally that I hold no sway with the faithful, but also that they won’t be able to recognize my true nature.”

“So, once we leave the area and nobody knows about your quest anymore, you can actually be anonymous. That is going to be helpful,” Reysha noted. “Anything else?”

“For the sake of functioning optimally, I will need to take in some sort of sustenance, direct mana absorption would be best. I won’t die like a malnourished human, but I may collapse and fall unconscious,” the metal fairy answered and hugged her slime lover tightly enough that Apexus felt himself get squished a little. “Food would do it, as would simple mana transfers. However, there is a certain, very effective way to fill me up with mana… one much more fun than simple body contact, darling.”

The sexual advance there flew completely over Apexus’ head. He just realized why she had been draining power from him from the moment they started being in contact. Given that that was how they met in the first place, he hadn’t minded it. More importantly, there was that wonderful word again. “Why ‘darling’?” Apexus was interested anyway. “What happened to ‘awakener’?”

“As I am no longer bound to you by that contract first, I deemed it appropriate to replace your title with something more fitting for our relationship,” Aclysia informed him.

“Should I call you something as well?”

“Depending on the word, I would appreciate it.”

“Clam.”

“No, that is… I am sorry, Apexus, but that is awful.”

“Clams taste good.”

“Perhaps, but… you must understand that clam is a way to describe a woman’s sex rather crudely. That aside, they look somewhat unappetizing, and smell.”

“Why call your vagina something unappetizing…? Ah, whatever, different idea then… dungeon spider?”

“I want to say that is worse, but I am actually not quite sure.”

“It also tastes delicious!”

“I guessed as much, darling, but not everything you like functions as a nickname.” Aclysia’s voice had lost its lovey-dovey tone, so Apexus got that he was doing something wrong. He hadn’t caught onto why or what yet though.

He tried to take the easy way out. “Suggest something then, Aclysia.”

“How about, ‘honey’?”

“I have been told honey is delicious, so how is it different?” the slime was utterly confused now. Himself, he hadn’t had an encounter with that particular food yet.

“It just is.” Aclysia decided.

“Also, isn’t it bee vomit?”

“Apexus, please,” the metal fairy pleaded.

At this point, the slime really wanted to cave to whatever worked. “Okay, honey then…”

“No.” Fantastic, now that way out was also blocked.

“No?”

“You ruined it. I am truly sorry to be this moody about this, but if this is something you will address me with for the coming years, I need to hold it quite dearly.” Although she apologized, Apexus felt a sliver of the irritation from back in the Birchia dungeon.

Cooler cores had to prevail though. Raking whatever part of his nucleus was responsible for memories for something nice he had ever heard in whatever context he… utterly failed to find anything. Then he tried to think about any moment they shared where she had said something nice about him and how to turn that around.

In the process, he inevitably stumbled over one of the most precious moments he had, not far from here. A night where they had shared a full moon and he had done nothing but listen to her sing. “My melody, you are my melody,” he decided suddenly.

“Oh, Apexus… that is…” Aclysia seemed happy with that, again hugging him tightly.

Reysha giggled, her unsteady tone raining in their tranquil parade. “You two are so gay right now.”

“Doesn’t gay mean happy?” Apexus asked with confusion. “In that case, I’m very gay right now.”

Reysha’s giggle grew to a mocking roar and she once more made acquaintance with the floor. To that backdrop, Aclysia calmly explained. “In most context, ‘gay’ has been equalized with homosexual.”

“Homo what now?” Apexus asked.

“Its when two people of the same sex are attracted to one another,” Aclysia explained.

“…I was about to ask what sense that makes, since there is no procreation in that, but I already got that lesson,” Apexus said. “So, it’s just for fun or what?”

“Lots of people take it all the way to the grave,” Reysha stated, “For those its love, not fun and much less logic. So, it’s just the way some people are.”

“Some people just remove themselves from the gene pool?” the slime failed to grasp that idea. “Well… I guess… okay? Seems like not my problem.”

“Good stance to have,” Reysha complimented, then looked at Aclysia with a hungry expression. “Say, while we are on the topic of being a bit very gay,” she prowled over to the two of them. “How about we give Apexus a little demonstration.”

“I am not certain I swing that way,” Aclysia gave her opinion. “Neither did I expect you to, to be honest.” This caused Reysha to purr in amusement.

“In case you forgot, where I come from, there’re ten times more gals than guys,” the tiger girl’s ears flicked, her prowl stopping, breasts right in front of Apexus’ face. “And our creator goddess is a rather lusty lady. Do you expect us to seriously sit on our firm asses all day?” Mere centimetres were between their lips, the answerless Aclysia still laying on her darling’s back. “How about we’ll just try it out, mhm? What’s the worst that could happen?”

There was an undeniable heat swelling in Aclysia’s body at the sultry way the redhead spoke those words, concentrated in her crotch. Green eyes stuck at the seductive swing of the tiger girls brownish pink lips, she thought for a moment. She had looked at Reysha’s sexy body before, of course she had, but ever in an intrigued way? That, she wasn’t quite sure on.

Fact of the matter was that the suggestion didn’t bother her. Excited her even. That her opposite was a woman who her beloved also fucked removed any moral conundrums she might have had. Obviously, it was wrong to just sleep with someone aside from Apexus without his permission and the thought of other men, oddly enough, bothered her more than the idea of him sleeping with other girls. She lacked the wish to monopolize him, just wanted to be honoured as the woman who he looked at first in everything.

“I… Apexus, would you like to see that?” Aclysia asked. “Because I am curious.”

Deeply intrigued himself, Apexus bobbed up and down. “If you are comfortable with it.” There was an almost absolute certainty he would ravish both of them afterwards, but for now he wanted to see how mating would look like between members of the same sex. The images in his core were as odd as they were hot.

“It’s playtime, then.” Reysha smirked widely.