The route would've normally taken three days, but with Mr. Gabriel setting the pace, it'd been a lazy five.

After the first offer to have one of the girls carry him, it was clear he was not happy with the idea. Since the longer journey only meant needing to spend more on food, no one complained too much.

"I can't wait to get to a bed." Mr. Gabriel grumbled as you walked towards Grove town.

The place was marginally larger than Bark- a few more houses, a few larger fields, but you couldn't really see anything too different from way out here. The style and structure of the buildings were mostly the same. Mostly. The antennae near the centre of the town stood out not because of its height but because it had several large dishes- one clearly aimed towards Bark's general direction, but there were four more. Transmitters maybe? They reminded you of cell towers.

Another thing that drew your attention was that right at the base of the metal part of the tower there was a sort of balcony.

Someone had jumped off of it, spread wings that had not been there before, and proceeded to fly.

"Oh shit!" Kat proclaimed, apparently having seen the same scene. "That was definitely cool."

You chuckled for the most part, your thoughts moving towards something that had drawn your attention north-east of the town. A stream of monstergirls were flying in and out of what looked like a cave. Unlike the other flying monstergirls you knew of, these ones appeared closer to bugs; their wings transparent, shining under the bright sunlight, their bodies segmented and yellow.

"Buzzbreasts," you muttered, rubbing your hand under your chin, and trying not to grimace too much at the name.

"I read online that the hive here helps with farming and protection," Tomas muttered under his breath.

What little there was of it, anyway. He was looking utterly exhausted and just about ready to keel over. Understandable considering Rachel had opted to claim her 'reward' for a 'job well done'. The Succubus was currently flying overhead, far enough she looked like a tiny dot in the sky.

"Before we collapse on the first bed we find," you called out to everyone, "let's check on the things we have to do first."

There was a round of nods, some more tired than others.

"The law says we'll have to at least try the ranking challenge before continuing on to Violet." Kat actually sounded a little giddy at the prospect. "We also need to buy food which means we need to find some mission to earn some money." She glanced at you. "Maybe we can fool people into challenging you for money..."

"Fuck that." You rolled your eyes. "Meet up at the center at nightfall?"

"Which one?" As Tomas said this, you quirked a brow. "There's two?"

"Look at the fancy town with two medical centers," Kat giggled.

"We'll figure it out, it might come down to whichever has the availability," you shrugged, pointing at your dex. "Just send a message."

"I'll stick to gramps, then," Kat said, moving next to Mr. Gabriel. "You burly men can go do the dirty work of finding out about the possible missions and the whole rank thing." As she said this, she paused, her nose scrunching up. "Ah, I'm also trying to find if I can maybe get a domestic girl to join my harem, so keep an eye out for those."

"I'll check where they do the test," you spoke out before Tomas could say anything else, glancing at the group, you gave one last wave. "I'll stay in touch."

And with that, you split off, walking ahead a little faster and following the signs that pointed the way towards your new destination; your thoughts moving towards a slight sense of comfort even though Diane and Monica were both currently balled. It gave you a slight sense of privacy even though you were in a crowded place- a week of having either of the monstergirls constantly latched on to your side had been hard to adjust to.

Sure, while on the road they'd been balled as well, but it was different because there were Tomas, Kat, and Gabriel. Now it really felt like you were on your own without needing to worry about what you should say or do to guide things in one direction or another. In a sense, it was comforting, and it made you miss them somewhat.

You'd wait a bit longer though. Right now the sun was somewhat warm and you were ignoring how some of the people looked your way.

That was, until you realized they weren't looking directly at 'you' but slightly behind you. Stopping your steps, you glanced to the side, at the window on the house at the opposite side of the street. And there, clear as day, you could see Rachel was floating right behind you, her wings quietly flapping.

"What do you want," you growled.

"I was merely enjoying the feelings of relieved solitude," she replied. "I was feeling peckish, wanted a snack."

You didn't turn to look at her, sighing instead. "Don't you have to go with Tomas or something?"

"He doesn't own me," she snapped, snorting loudly.

"Will you leave if I ask you to?" You said tentatively.

"I'd think about it."

Another growl- you turned around, looking at her with a flat unamused look. "Ok, please leave."

"I don't want to." Did she chuckle and smile... for real? It made you quirk a brow. "Maybe I'll do it if you answer a question."

"Not going to take a 'maybe' from you," you said.

"Fine." A roll of her eyes. "One honest answer and I'll go back to boy wonder."

A sigh. "But I can decline to answer."

"I doubt you will, but sure." She paused, flapping her wings slightly and drifting down until her feet touched the ground. "Do you want to fuck me?"

"No."

A frown. "But you find me attractive."

"Two loosely related but entirely separate things," you replied. "Not that I find someone pretending to be dumb and bubbly to be very attractive." Another roll of your eyes. "Anyway, you have your answer."

Rachel had gone from looking amused to a deep frown. "I could force you."

"And?"

"And I could break you," she said, leaning forward, her hand reaching out to your chest but not quite touching. The hand glowed. "I could give you pleasure so intense it'd leave you a slobbering addict. A human unable to think of anything or anyone else. An animal bound to his baser instincts and not much else."

With a snarl, you reached out and grabbed the glowing hand pressing it against your chest. Your knees wobbled as you almost moaned, heat running through your body like a fire, lava coursing through your veins. Your jaw tightened as you then stepped towards the shocked succubus, snarling.

"I spent a week at the whims of a near-feral Monica, wondering if the next time we fucked I was going to die or not." Another step, she stumbled slightly as you leaned down, looking into her eyes. "Every monstergirl in this street could kill me with little effort. I'm sure a dedicated mouse could fucking do it too." You were close enough to see the golden flecks of colour within her irises, her wide eyes. "Stop pretending you're hot shit because of it and drop these stupid empty threats."

A heartbeat, your body was burning, your cheeks were hot, your pants were tight. Fuck her, you wanted to fuck her, you wanted to pin her down and fuck her. The thoughts were like lightning running through you. 'Fuck her, fuck her now'. You growled, pushing her hand away from your chest and shoving her back, her skin was so soft...

No, focus.

Your eyes coursed through her body as she looked at you in bewilderment and disbelief. you drank in her curves, and it made it all the harder to resist, stop yourself from going any further.

"You said you'd leave," you said, taking heavy breaths, trying to slow down your raging pulse- but even breathing sent tingles through your whole body.

Numbly, the succubus nodded, turning, flapping, gaining speed and altitude.

Somehow it looked like she was running away.

With your eyes firmly on her, watching her gain more and more distance, you couldn't hold back anymore, you released Diane. The nurse appeared in a flash of red light, looking around, and then yelping as you grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the main street, trying to find somewhere more private and fast.

"Master, your pulse..." She said.

"Something hit me, lust thing," you explained, stopping at the first alley that looked just moderately devoid of traffic and pinning her to the wall.

"Just let me handle it, Master." Diane giggled. "I know what I'm doing."