Chapter 80: Machinations and Fate
With weeks turning months, Paul found himself staring up at the ceiling with a listless expression on his face, softly muttering, "I wonder when Jean, Barbara, and Razor are going to return...?"
Lying beneath Paul, or, more specifically, laying on her stomach and allowing Paul to use her butt as a pillow, Eula replied, "There is a good chance they will wait out the Winter. What you should be worrying about is what you're going to do once the mating season begins..."
"Mmm..."
Prompted by Eula's words, Paul recalled the increasing 'enthusiasm' some beast girls had exhibited as of late. He was no longer something as simple as the Big Boss within the beast person community. After everything Paul had done, many regarded him as an honorary member of the Beast Race and, more importantly, their Chief.
Though he was more than content with his current 'harem,' Paul would be lying if he said he wasn't enticed by some of the uninhibited beauties that had been approaching him. He had always had a fondness for mature and shapely women, and that just about described every mature beast person he had ever met.
Giving voice to Paul's thoughts, Ghislaine, who had been lying with her head in his lap, remarked, "You're aroused."
Without missing a beat, Paul casually replied, "The cheeks of a goddess are cushioning my head, and I have a horned-up cat girl nuzzling against my junk. It would be stranger if I weren't aroused..."
Furrowing her brows, Ghislaine matter-of-factly retorted, "I'm not horned up..."
Instead of arguing with the ashen-haired cat girl, Paul just caressed her head. Ghislaine wasn't unduly happy about this, but after a few moments had passed, she resumed sniffing his crotch as if it were perfectly natural.
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In preparation for the forthcoming mating season, Paul coordinated with Count Schmidt to have the Western District made inapproachable to the general public of Sharia. It was common for opportunistic individuals and Slavers to take advantage of the season, and he wasn't going to tolerate such behavior during his stay.
Unfortunately, while Paul's efforts helped to ensure the relative safety of the beast race community, there was little he could do to protect himself. Near the beginning of the ninth month, nearly every male beast person within Sharia began challenging him for the right to challenge Ghislaine to a duel. Inversely, every female began challenging Ghislaine.
Though he was able to best everyone that challenged him, Paul began to regret his decision to stay in the Western District when his clothing began to disappear. Amalie informed him that it would most likely be returned at the end of the season, but it was still annoying to have everything except the clothes on his back stolen. It didn't help that he discovered Esme and her growing group of friends passing around one of his undertunics as if it were some kind of narcotic.
Fortunately, while the mating season continued for three months, only the first few weeks were chaotic. After that, most of Paul's possessions were returned, while others brought him monetary compensation for the items they had inadvertently destroyed. This included Amalie, who, as it turned out, made something of a 'nest' out of Paul's clothes.
After cohabiting with Paul for several months, Amalie had developed more than a passing fondness for him. He had improved her life and the lives of everyone in her community and, more importantly, helped take care of her children. Thus, even though she felt incredibly guilty about it, she was the one that had stolen most of his clothes.
While Paul was initially taken aback by Amalie's confession, he didn't lash out at her as she expected. Instead, the two talked for a while before Paul unfailingly fucked the infatuated cat woman silly. Amalie understood from the beginning that their paths would inevitably diverge. Thus, even if it was only for a single night, she wanted to experience what it was like to be loved by such a 'great' man.
To Amalie's considerable relief and moderate concern, her time with Paul wasn't just a one-off event. Once they crossed the line from cohabitants to provisional lovers, he became considerably more affectionate towards her. It was a little stressful at times, but she enjoyed having her butt and breasts fondled as Paul playfully nibbled the tips of her ears.
Amalie's only regret was that she couldn't keep up with Paul. Even when he invited her to participate in threesomes with Ghislaine, she would be left utterly exhausted long before the event had ended. Paul told her not to worry about it, but Amalie couldn't help feeling a combination of shame and self-loathing.
Since there was very little he could do about other people's self-esteem issues, Paul just did his best to show an interest in Amalie whenever they were together. He didn't prioritize her over other girls, but he did his best to give her pleasant memories of their time together. Fortunately, though he doubted his prayers had anything to do with it, Paul was able to do so without knocking up either her or Ghislaine.
Though he would do his best if push came to shove, Paul wasn't ready to be a father...
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"You've got to be kidding me..."
Reading one of the many letters Rosaria had delivered to him, a dull look was plastered across Paul's face as he asked, "I make it through two mating seasons without incident, and you're telling me I already have a pair of brats running around...?"
After rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, Rosaria coldly retorted, "You spent nearly a thousand hours having sex like wild animals. What did you think was going to happen?"
Cradling his forehead in his left hand, Paul didn't immediately respond to Rosaria's words. Instead, his mind wandered to the memories of his time together with Reida. He would be bullshitting if he said he wasn't fond of the raven-haired woman, but he never expected her to be the mother of his children...
Suppressing a sigh, Paul returned his attention to Reida's poorly penned letter. It informed him that his twins, Aiden and Aria, were living with his parents. She had gotten permission from the King to let them stay there for their safety, but it was only a matter of time before she was forced to relocate them to the capital.
"Hmm..."
After the shock of his sudden fatherhood, very little could surprise Paul. Thus, when he read that Reida wished to nominate him as her successor, he merely hummed before setting the letter aside and picking up the one penned by Ningguang. It provided very little information, undoubtedly as a countermeasure against interception, but encouraged him to prove his loyalty to the King.
Since he had explained his intention to support Ariel rather than starting a war, Paul wasn't too surprised by Ningguang's letter. He also understood the pros and cons of becoming Reida's heir, as they had discussed it more than once during their journey.
"So my options are to be an asshole who abandons his kids, a slave to the Kingdom, or an international criminal...fan-fucking-tastic..."
Though he knew he was to blame, Paul couldn't help feeling that fate had conspired against him. After all, him having children around the same age, or slightly older, as Ariel virtually guaranteed they would be made into her Guardians. If he viewed his children as nothing more than a means to an end, that was arguably a good thing...
Unfortunately, as much of an asshole as he was, Paul wasn't a complete piece of shit. If both of his children had been boys, he might have thought about delaying his return. Since one of them was a girl, he couldn't just let her be shipped off to the Concubine's Palace to protect the Princess. The children of the Royal Family lived in an isolated section of the Palace, but it was only a matter of time before some pretentious piece of shit tried to have his way with her.
Knowing he would never be able to forgive himself if he turned a blind eye to the suffering of his children, Paul didn't have to think about his decision to return. His primary concern was keeping his children and the girls from the Intersection of Fate safe.
Exhaling a sigh, Paul opened the final envelope, a formal summons by the King of the Asura Kingdom, Ansalem Anemo Asura. It gave him until the end of the following year to appear, but Paul knew the sooner he showed up, the better. It didn't exactly scream loyalty to postpone until the very last moment before answering a summons.
Shifting his gaze to Rosaria, Paul questioned, "How did you acquire these letters? I mean, I kind of anticipated you were in contact with Ningguang, but what about these letters from the King and Reida?"
In an almost bored-sounding tone of voice, Rosaria replied, "Though it's still a little sparse, Ningguang's network spans more than just the Milbots Region. When she sent Lisa, Fischl, and Princess Andromeda to the Ranoa Magic Academy, she had several informants follow along."
"Ah..."
Unsurprised by Rosaria's response, Paul returned his attention to the trio of letters, returning them to their respective envelopes as he asked, "How long does it take to send a letter from here to the Strife Zone?"
"Using land routes, around six months. However, if you ask Fischl, she can send over Oz. The odds of him being intercepted while trying to cross the mountains are fairly high, but it's only a sixteen-hour flight."
"Holy shit..."
Though he knew that flight was overpowered, Paul never considered that Oz could cover half of the largest continent in less than a day. If only he had a floating fortress like Perugius...
Amused by Paul's reaction, a rare smile developed across Rosaria's face as she said, "If you think that's impressive, you should see Ganyu. If she transforms into her Qilin form, she can complete the journey in less than an hour. There is a reason she served as the General Secretary and Envoy of the Qixing."
Opening his mouth, Paul wanted to say something but found himself lost for words. He knew Ganyu could transform into a Qilin. When he inquired about it in the past, she had readily shown it to him. At the time, she was only around the size of a small horse, but he recalled that her adult form should be large enough to ferry dozens of people to safety.
Seeing through Paul's thoughts, Rosaria nodded her head and said, "It's said that only the pure of heart can ride a Qilin, but I'm sure Ganyu would make an exception for you."
Scrunching his brows and nose, Paul retorted, "That's not very nice. I may not be pure of heart, but I'm far from evil."
Adopting a faint smile, Rosaria casually countered, "As I see it, you're an irredeemably wicked man. You just balance things out with your relatively caring and compassionate nature..."
Realizing that Rosaria was teasing him, Paul's brows perked up. However, before he could return the favor, she appended, "I'll do it if I have to, but I'd rather not become another one of your victims."
Since it was against his policy to try and force people, Paul just clicked his tongue before shrugging his shoulders and saying, "Your loss."
Rolling her eyes, Rosaria flatly replied, "If you say so." before rising to her feet and adding, "Before I go, there is one last thing I intended to inform you about."
After rising to his feet, intending to see Rosaria off, Paul asked, "What is it?" in a curious tone.
Returning a curt nod, Rosaria explained, "According to reports, a young Migurdian named Roxy Migurdia recently appeared in the Donati Region. They were delayed due to inclement weather, but she should be arriving in the next couple of weeks along with a merchant convoy."
Blinking in surprise, Paul asked, "Are you certain...?"
Rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time, Rosaria retorted, "What reason could I possibly have to lie?" before promptly making her way towards the exit. Paul was about to follow after her, but she left him slackjawed in his original spot when she added, "Try not to knock her up."
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