From Dagger’s End to Ashen Barrel, Moreso’s ship would need around twenty days of travel. Everyone had agreed with how unlucky they had recently been, it would be only wise to take it safe and not use any shortcuts. It honestly felt like a curse with how much was happening around them.

Asterios and the girls returned to their usual daily activities on the ship, spending time together and with the crew while also finally getting a chance to fully relax, free from worries that had been left behind on the land. Both Miria and Selene made good use of this opportunity to visit their homes a little more as time passed slowly and lazily during their voyage.

Just like they had agreed on, Umbra jumped back to Suanori after a few days and helped transfer the adventurers willing to take the quest of exploring the new dungeon in the lands of the Damascu Clan. Naturally, he first checked if they would be able to bear the journey through the ominous void to avoid any accidents.

Five parties in total had registered for the task. They were quite experienced so it was enough. The adventurers rushed excitedly towards the dungeon shortly after arriving in Dagger’s End and checking in at the inns prepared by the patriarch, one of the additional benefits he had added after Ast’s help with the evil organization.

Besides the transfer of adventurers, another event took place while they were enjoying the cruise—the trade talks with Ast's family.

After confirming that Kindra had no issue with Umbra’s Shadow Movement, the shadowy familiar helped Ast’s mom arrive in Dagger’s End and stayed there to watch over her per his master’s request. Welrond used the teleportation array they had left active after the operation.

Even though Kindra attended a high-caliber meeting with two monarchs, technically speaking, she held herself unimaginably well during the whole trade negotiations. She wasn’t intimidated by either of them even in the slightest and acted like an experienced and cunning merchant for whom such occasions were a daily occurrence, showcasing her wide knowledge of the trade and even about the sides involved.

It surprised not only Asterios but also the two men as their plans of using the Hestizo family to put some pressure on the other side were quickly rendered impossible to act on. It was Kindra who skillfully used both of them to achieve the best possible results for her family, showing no mercy to her business partners while, of course, still acting respectfully, politely, and with good intentions to make it beneficial to everyone attending the talks. She was no malicious merchant.

By the end of the meeting, both men were terrified by the woman’s prowess and swore to themselves to never underestimate Hestizos. It wasn’t just Asterios who was a monster by their standards but his mother was nothing less herself, and there was a chance the rest of the family followed suit.

Kindra secured great deals regarding various commodities, including Damascus Ore, which had previously been almost completely monopolized by King Welrond with the quantity he had been receiving and redistributing throughout the kingdom.

Afterward, Umbra helped her return home and she went to work immediately. In a short period of time, the Hestizo Household had managed to form business partnerships with the Nobelle family, the Human King, and now the Damascu Clan’s Patriarch. There was no doubt a change awaited the Human Continent and no one could see where it led. Well, no one but the Hestizos, most likely.

Around two-thirds into the voyage, not that far from their final destination, the Demon Continent, Asterios was spending his time alongside Miria and Selene while carving some sigils with them. Their ship ran into a huge storm and Moreso told them to leave everything to his crew and relax under the deck.

While the panthergirl watched and did some menial work to help the other two, they did the most together. It was extremely fascinating for her to watch Selene and her master masterfully shape various Runic Chips out of the materials they had on hand.

She wasn’t bothered even in the slightest that she seemed not to possess the necessary control and finesse to handle this task with them. Miria had stopped focusing on the areas she was lacking or couldn’t compete in and instead began paying more attention to the things only she could do or help with. Her beloved master always reminded her that each of them was unique.

Finishing a dark blue shape inside a circle, Asterios examined it and threw it into a wooden box full of similar consumables.

“This should be enough for our exploration of the Demon Continent. At least with the materials currently in our possession,” he commented.

“I could do this for days, my Lord. It’s so calming. Almost like meditation,” Selene said after storing her own creation.

“And I could keep watching your hands move forever, Master,” Miria added, leaning into Asterios from behind and hugging him gently.

“Well, it isn’t that far from some meditative techniques. You are focusing on stabilizing your mind and controlling your spiritual energy at a very fine level. And the fact that you have a talent in it certainly helps. You should be able to do this too, Miria, although with a lot of practice first.” He reached to the back and scratched her ears with his fingers.

Miria purred softly. “It’s okay, Master. I much prefer watching you and Selene do it. In the end, I can hug you as much as I want under the pretext of cheering you on while you work, ehehehe~”

Asterios chuckled and turned his head to place a kiss on Miria’s cheek. She blushed a little and started rubbing her face into him with lots of affection. After he and Selene finished packing things up, they all stood up, stretching themselves a little from sitting on the ground.

“I’ll bring the sandwiches I made earlier now that you two are done! Be right back, Master!”

A crimson gate rose from the floor by their side and Miria let go of Asterios to quickly jump through it. But, the moment she pushed herself off the wooden planks, the ship was hit with a powerful wave that tilted the deck considerably.

“Ah!” Miria gasped and fell towards Asterios after taking an uneven step, retaining all her momentum.

He quickly opened his arms to catch her and the panthergirl slammed into his chest with quite some force, pushing him back. Knowing that the portal was just behind him, Asterios hugged Miria tightly to his body and braced himself to be rebound by the interdimensional gate the moment he got in contact with it.

But, a moment much longer than he had expected passed and his back hit something hard, forcing out a groan from Ast’s lips. With Miria still in his arms, he opened his eyes that he had briefly closed when she had slammed into him, and stared into Miria’s pupils just above his as she supported herself on her elbows.

Had the gate disappeared before they crashed into it, making them fall to the floor? No, the wood making the ceiling behind Miria’s head was in a completely different style than the ship’s planks, not even close to anything in their cabin. Yet, it somehow felt familiar.

“Miria, is everything alri—”

A voice Asterios recognized from somewhere reached his ears and they both shot their gazes to the side. A woman with black hair and cat-like ears stood in the half-open entrance to the room they were in with a hand on the knob, frozen, staring at the pair lying on the floor with raised eyebrows.

The surprise was soon overtaken by a quickly growing smile as the woman started slowly closing the door while peeking at them through the gap with a wide grin at the end. The door finally snapped into place with a quiet click and heavy running footsteps echoed on the other side.

Miria and Asterios followed the sounds with their eyes and they both jumped a little when a loud crack reached their ears, coming from a different room, alongside the noise of many little things falling to the floor, most likely wooden splinters.

“Honey?” A man’s shout came, muffled by the walls, from somewhere deeper in the house.

“I’m all fine, dear!” A woman’s voice replied. “Do you remember that creaking door in the old wardrobe in our bedroom?”

“Yeah? Why?”

“I tripped and punched a hole through it!” The woman shouted back.

“Seriously… Guess I have no excuse for not making a new one now. I’ll take care of it in the afternoon.”

“I have a better idea, darling! Let’s buy something from the others for once!”

The rushed footsteps echoed through the corridor on the other side of the wall again, in the other direction this time, and then traveled lower, most likely to the floor below.

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now! Grab your wallet, we are going shopping!”

“But, my coffee—ahhhhhh!”

“We are leaving!” the woman shouted a bit louder than before and all the noise stopped.

Asterios returned his gaze to Miria’s face hanging just above his, now almost fully crimson as the panthergirl stared back at him.

“So…” he began.

“Welcome… to my house?” Miria giggled awkwardly.

Asterios chuckled and shook his head. He had no idea how he had been able to pass through the spatial corridor.

“Ummm…”

“Yes?” He brushed Miria’s rosy cheek with his thumb.

“Since Mom already went ahead to… take Dad away… Do you maybe want to…” She spoke shyly, hardly being able not to avert her eyes from Ast’s.

He smiled and pulled Miria in for a loving kiss, which she quickly reciprocated. They sat up while softly pecking each other’s lips. Asterios knew that doing it in her own bed was one of Miria’s most treasured fantasies that they all had believed wasn’t possible to be fulfilled.

To not ruin the mood, he kept affectionately pursuing Miria’s tongue and roaming his hands all over her slim body while glancing around. The gate was gone. Asterios didn’t want to force Miria to stop but he also had to make sure they could return so he attempted to mentally open a portal to Selene.

A crimson gate appeared behind Miria’s back and the fox lady curiously poked her head through it. She noticed the duo, smiled softly, and winked at Asterios while making a shushing motion with her finger when their gazes met. She withdrew herself and the portal closed. Since he knew that she was still on the ship, Asterios shoved his worries and unending questions aside and refocused completely on Miria.

“Master…” she cooed at him after their lips finally parted. “I never thought I would be able to take you to my world… I’m so happy…”

He rubbed his cheek into hers. “I’m as happy as you are. Let’s leave thinking about the technicalities for later and make good use of the opportunity your mom presented us with, right?”

Miria giggled with a tiny flush and started getting Ast’s clothes off, which dematerialized the moment they left the owner’s body. He did the same and gently removed Miria’s vest and hotpants as they continued making out.

With both of them completely naked, Asterios picked Miria up into princess carry and walked to the bed while she kept kissing and licking his neck. After gently placing her down on the soft mattress and drawing a certain useful sigil on her belly, Miria grinned at him and pulled Asterios down.

In a flash, he was the one under her and she began leaving a trail of affectionate pecks as she traveled with her mouth lower and lower over his chest, abdomen, and navel. She soon arrived in front of his erect member and started caressing it with her tongue while glancing up at him. Miria's gleefully dancing tail completely betrayed how excited she was for this.

“Come here. Don’t let me be the only one enjoying this.” He reached out to her with a smile.

Miria tilted her head while still licking his shaft, a little confused, but quickly sensed what Asterios was thinking about and blushed fiercely. She left his penis alone for a moment and turned around, crossing her legs over his face. A little shyly, she lowered herself until Ast’s hot breath tickled her precious place and resumed her caresses after leaning forward to reach his hard member again.

“Nyah?! Mhhhnnnnn…”

But, she was quickly interrupted when Ast’s tongue lazily lapped over her warm folds. He used his fingers to gently spread her pink slit and began carefully licking the sensitive texture of her pussy. Slowly at first, Asterios put all his affection into the ticklish movements, worshiping Miria's enticing pink entrance with his tongue. Her alluring lower lips emanated increasingly warmer waves of heat the more she yearned for his devoted care.

Not wanting to be left behind, she quickly opened her mouth and gradually slid Ast’s cock inside, using her tongue to pleasure his glans with lively movements. Moving her left hand lower, she softly kneaded his precious orbs, starting to caress his length with the right. She let out a faint moan into his member now and then when Asterios brushed over a good spot during his own efforts.

“Mhhhhnnn… Nhhhnnnnn… Mhhhmmmmm…”

Asterios kept exploring Miria’s leaking honeypot as carefully as he could, trying to bring her as much pleasure as possible while she worked on his penis so dearly. He could tell she got better at it. Miria incorporated little movements and techniques he had never felt from her before.

Both of them wanted nothing more than to make their lover feel even better. But, both of them also knew there were other things they could do to achieve that rather than just slowly and lovingly service each other.

Miria let Ast’s tip out with a quiet pop and carefully sat up, moving a little bit back not to squash her master under her. She looked down, meeting his warm smile and fierce crimson gaze, surprising her a bit. Asterios had changed his appearance in the meanwhile, knowing how much she loved it.

“Sit down. I know you were close,” he spoke in an affectionate tone.

“But…”

“Let me do it for you.”

She nodded bashfully and moved above his face again. Asterios waited for Miria to lower herself onto his mouth while her beautiful pink slit eagerly dripped love nectar straight onto his lips. Beastfolk girls got wet so fast and so much he never knew what to think. To some extent, it was certainly a blessing and their kind often got into the main thing straight away. But, he also felt how much Miria appreciated his loving caresses.

When Miria’s fragrant lily finally descended onto him, Asterios immediately drove his tongue inside and started tickling the spots he remembered Miria reacting to the most. She placed her hands on his chest and arched her back a little.

“Ahhhhhnnn! Master!”

Asterios stroked her insides with strong and precise licks, exploring Miria’s hot and sweet passage as far as his long muscle allowed him to. For some reason, Miria’s lewd scent and very pleasant taste made him even more eager than usual, raising his heart rate a little bit.

He didn’t get to eat her out that many times since she almost always insisted on pleasuring him instead and thus hadn’t noticed it during their previous intimate moments together but there clearly had to be something going on with how he could now feel himself being able to match his beastfolk’s partner libido with no assistance recently. After just a little bit of tame affection, he was really getting turned on by his beautiful mate and her enticing scent.

“Mhhnnnn! Master! It’s so good! Ahhnn! Ahhhh! Nyaaahh! I’m almost there!”

He doubled his efforts and began focusing on one peculiar spot, tickling and pressuring it as much as he could. Miria started gyrating her hips against his mouth a little while releasing a cacophony of musical moans. Asterios moved one hand to play a little with her clit, pressuring that tiny, sensitive nub with his fingers.

“Ahhhhh! I’m coooooming! Masteeeeeeeer! Nyaaaaaaaahnnnn!”

In just a moment, Miria’s body jerked and shivered while her back arched gorgeously. A trickle of love juices spurted onto Ast’s face as she came. He supported her figure to let Miria ride her wave to the fullest. Finished orgasming, she panted a little while gazing down at Asterios over her shoulder.

“Please… I want to feel you inside, Master…”

“Anytime.”

Miria smiled charmingly and moved forward with his help. She arrived in front of Ast’s waist without turning around and raised her butt a little. Asterios aimed his member at Miria’s entrance for her and she gave him another sweet smile over her shoulder.

“Nyaaahhnnnnn!”

In one quick slam, his whole cock disappeared in Miria’s yearning pussy as she began riding him in a reverse cowgirl position. He could admire her beautiful back, ears, and tail while grazing against her slender waist as Miria repeatedly dropped herself onto his rock-hard member. She hadn’t chosen this position for no reason and he knew it from the glances she kept shooting him over her shoulder.

“Ahhhnnn! Nyaahnn! Ahhhh! How is it? Ahhh! Master?”

“Incredible and beautiful. Let me help you a little.”

“Ah? Wait! Ahnnnnnnn!”

Asterios grabbed Miria’s plump butt and started thrusting up to match her own movements. Loud sounds of flesh slapping against flesh filled the bedroom as they both increased the pace. Ast’s cock rushed fervently through her tight embrace, bringing Miria a lot of pleasure and adding a myriad of wet noises to their homemade musical.

“Ahh! Ahhnn! Ahhh! Nyaah! Again! Ahhh! Master! Together!”

He nodded and tried his best to time his release to Miria’s own peak as they made intense love to each other. Sensing his partner getting close, Asterios grabbed Miria’s wrists and pulled her down with one last thrust, releasing the held-back waves of white delicacy straight into her furthest depths.

“Nyaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Miria moaned into the air as Ast’s creamy seed filled her convulsing pussy; her constricting insides squeezing his hard member to the very last drop. She then fell back onto his chest, shivering a little in the post-orgasmic bliss and purring loudly into his ear. He let her nuzzle to his cheek for a few short moments, raining loving pecks onto Miria's pretty neck.

“Masteeeeer…” Miria soon whispered into his ear and kissed his earlobe.

Asterios took a deep breath, surprisingly not that tired and still at full mast. “More?”

He turned his face to match her and Miria nodded with a crimson blush.

“Yes, please… I want my bed… to smell like you… Forever… So… Do me lots, Master… Can you?”

“You are my lovely mate, of course, I can. I’ll make love to you as much as you want.”

She smiled and kissed him deeply. Their tongues danced together slowly at first but quickly turned more and more ferocious and lively.

“So…” Asterios grinned into her lips. “Let’s start with the pillows then.”

“Ah!”

Miria suddenly found herself on her back with a thick pillow under her butt, raising her waist up into the air. Asterios kneeled in front of it and smiled at her before plunging himself into her unsatisfied pussy again.

“Nyaaahnnn!”

She grasped the bedsheets with her hands soon after he started thrusting his hips and piercing her leaking slit over the fluffy pillow. Miria began writhing around, assaulted by a completely new sensation. From this position, she could watch her beloved master make love to her precious place with a clear view as he towered over her and did with her bottom whatever he wanted.

“Ahhh! Ahhnnn! Master! Ahhh! Harder, please! Nyaahnn!”

Asterios dragged her hips into himself each time he pushed his cock forward, responding to Miria’s wishes immediately. Her whole body bounced up and down from his violent pounding and he relished in the sight of her delicious figure lying on the bed in front of him. A myriad of their mixed love juices flowed onto the pillow, splashing his abdomen in the process too.

“Nyaah! Nyaahnn! The other one! Ahnnn! Now! Nyahh!”

Miria extended her shaking hands to him and Asterios pulled her up. She hastily wrapped her legs behind his back and her arms around his neck, diving in straight for his lips. Asterios kept dropping her pussy onto his dick as they made out with him on his knees and kicked the stained pillow aside.

Since the other one was a bit too far, he carefully albeit shakily stood up and stepped closer to the wall by the headboard. He rotated Miria in the air and plunged himself into her from behind again, pushing her into that same wall and guiding his fingers towards her sensitive little pearl with the other hand twirling around the base of her tail.

“Nyaaaah! Like that! Master! Ahhh! Nyaah! I’m coooooooming! Nyaaaaaaaa!”

Asterios tugged the fluffy strand gently and held Miria close while rubbing her clit the whole time. She spasmed and orgasmed so hard her insides coiled around his member like a merciless trap. Countless drops of his seed and her love nectar rained onto the pillow under them.

Squashed to the wooden wall, Miria breathed roughly, held up by Asterios, who also panted a little. They stared each other into the eyes, full of passion and love.

“You didn’t… cum… Master…”

He kissed her flushed cheek. “I saved it for the last one. There’s still a bit of the bed left to mark, isn't there?”

She giggled adorably and purred. “Let’s mate over it then. Hard.”

Asterios nodded and threw the laughing Miria onto the mattress, jumping onto her right afterward. She placed her hands over his cheeks while lying on her back. He grabbed her legs under her knees and pulled them closer to her body. Asterios pierced Miria's alluring slit once more and let himself be pulled in for a deep kiss.

“Mhnnnn! Nhhhnnn! Mhnnnnnn!”

He proceeded to pummel Miria into the bed as they fiercely made out. She loved how he glared at her with his crimson irises, so ferocious yet so passionate. She couldn’t stop herself from moaning loudly into his mouth and biting on his lips each time he thrust into her precious place, staining the last pure spot on her bed with their mixed proof of mutual adoration.

It didn’t take long for them to reach another orgasm as they both were quite sensitive and Miria’s hands shot to Ast’s back. She dug her nails into his skin and pushed her beloved master more into her, as deep as she could, to paint her furthest depths with his vigorous seed.

She came hard when the hot liquid filled her insides, crying in pleasure into Ast’s soft lips. She was already in pure bliss but Miria’s whole body shivered in ecstasy when a weird vibration traveled through it, starting from her mouth, tickling all her organs and even spiritual circuits on the way down, reaching the place where they were connected.

Her eyes widened as she stared right into Ast’s, also opened to the brim from shock. Both of them realized that he had just growled into her lips. They rode their peaks together, slowly calming down afterward.

Their lips parted as Asterios backed away a little, still staying above Miria, close to her face.

“That felt… amazing…” she said in awe. “Would you be able to do that again, Master?”

He smiled wryly. “I have no idea. That was a first and you know it.”

“So cool…” She gazed at him with great adoration.

Asterios shook his head. “One surprise after another.”

Miria giggled and pulled him down for a gentle kiss. “We have time to think about everything. But first… Ummm…”

“Don’t hesitate so much. Just speak.” He smiled at her while staring into Miria’s eyes as their foreheads rested against each other.

“Would you like… to meet my parents?”

He chuckled. “It would be my pleasure.”

She beamed at him with the widest smile ever and pulled Asterios into the tightest hug.