After saying my farewells to Volkun and Gothel, I left the Palace with Lazuli, catching up with Vanimo, Vanye, and Talis, who were standing just outside the royal grounds.
"So we can leave now?" Asked Vanye with a raised eyebrow as she looked at Alexander, who nodded with a thumbs up.
"Yep. His Majesty has already prepared everything for us; the ship we'll take should leave in six hours. It's called the SS Galenite; apparently, it's a luxury ship." Replied Alexander with a nod as he glanced at Vanye, causing her to nod, before wrapping an arm around her waist.
"SS Galenite? Weird name." Said Talis lightly as she glanced at Alexander, who shrugged his shoulders.
"I didn't come up with the name." Said Alexander with a yawn as he glanced at Talis before gently rubbing the stomachs of Lazuli and Vanye, causing the former to snuggle into his embrace while the latter faintly blushed.
"Anyway, since we've got six hours to ourselves, we should explore the city; maybe meet up at the docks an hour before?" Asked Vanimo with a faint smile as he looked at Alexander, who nodded in agreement.
"I don't see why not. Don't lose track of time; otherwise, we'll leave without you." Stated Alexander as he eyed Vanimo and Talis while they separated from the group before disappearing into the crowd.
Shaking my head as I was confident neither of those fools heard me, I sighed and glanced at the two lovely women in my arms.
"So, what would you two like to do for the next four hours?" Asked Alexander curiously as he glanced between Lazuli and Vanye, only for the latter's stomach to rumble, causing her to blush deeply.
"Breakfast it is." Added Alexander with a faint chuckle as he approached a distant restaurant while Lazuli smirked, causing Vanye to avert her gaze.
Entering the restaurant, we were promptly served and brought to an open table, where someone took our order a few minutes later, though I saw no need as I already had an idea.
"Hey, Mam, do you think I could cook our own food? Of course, I'll pay for the food." Asked Alexander with a faint smile as he slid a gold coin across the table, causing her to gulp while her eyes shone with greed.
"L-Let me speak with the chief." Said the lizard demi-human as she grabbed the gold coin before walking away, causing Vanye to faintly frown at Alexander.
"That's a waste of money, Alex. The most expensive food here is only two silver." Stated Vanye with a frown as she looked at Alexander while sitting beside Lazuli, who remained silent, though otherwise nodded in agreement.
"Maybe so, but I want to cook for you two; besides, as your man, I should be allowed to spoil you two every now and then." Said Alexander with a nod as he grabbed Vanye and Lazuli's hands and flashed a smirk, causing the former to faintly scoff while the latter smiled.
"Hmph, you're not my man." Said Vanye softly as she eyed Alexander with a faint blush, causing him to wink before chuckling.
"All in due time, my dear Vanye. You shall be calling my Daddy soon enough." Stated Alexander confidently as he looked at Vanye, who furrowed her brows in confusion before glancing at Lazuli.
"What does he mean by that?" Asked Vanye, prompting Lazuli to whisper into her ear, only for her to grunt and scoff while blushing.
"I shall submit to no one… Never again." Stated Vanye firmly as she eyed Alexander, only for the lizard demi-human to return.
"The chief has agreed, right this way, Sir." Said the lizard demi-human, causing Alexander to nod with a smirk before following behind her.
"... Do you call him Daddy?" Asked Vanye softly as he looked at Lazuli, who shook her head.
"Alex has few fetishes, and having a woman call him a specific name as a form of submission doesn't seem to be one of them." Replied Lazuli calmly with a shake of her head, causing Vanye to sigh in relief before donning a curious expression.
"What are Alex's fetishes?" Asked Vanye curiously as she looked at Lazuli, who whispered into her ear once again, causing her to blush deeply.
"T-That's it? T-That's honestly a bit tamer than I expected." Muttered Vanye softly as she subconsciously rubbed her butt and jaw while Lazuli nodded.
"Hey, Lazuli. Can you tell me more about Alex? And perhaps yourself as well?" Asked Vanye softly, her words causing Lazuli to faintly smirk before nodding and opening her mouth.
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"So, your entire body, except your head, is one prosthetic?" Asked Vanye in disbelief as she looked at her golden prosthetic arm and legs before glancing at Lazuli, who nodded.
"And part of my spine… However, yes, those were the only body parts that remained salvageable after the incident." Replied Lazuli softly as she chewed food and glanced at Vanye, who looked at her with a pitiful gaze.
"Incident? So you remember?" "Yes… I remember… Everything." Said Alexander and Lazuli, respectively, as the former halted his actions and raised his head, eyeing the latter, who softly nodded.
"I thought Soom said you had no recollection?" Asked Alexander with a slight frown as he looked at Lazuli, who shook her head.
"I had no recollection at that time… When we first met, I had only been alive for a month, so many memories were still jumbled. However, I think I subconsciously trapped the memories of the incident somewhere deep so I could forget about it… To pretend it never happened in the first place." Stated Lazuli softly as she glanced at Alexander, who nodded only to lower her head.
"Wait, you were a month old?" Asked Vanye hesitantly as she looked at Lazuli, her voice breaking the depressing atmosphere.
"Wait, Vanye, let me–" "Yes. I was only a month old when Alex fell in love with me." Remarked Alexander and Lazuli, respectively, as the former attempted to explain, though the latter smirked before interrupting him, causing Vanye to sport a look of disgust.
"To think I was starting to like you." Muttered Vanye in disgust as she looked at Alexander, who blankly looked at Lazuli, who flashed a playful smirk.
After Lazuli's lie, I spent the next ten minutes explaining to Vanye the truth, only to find out she was in on the joke, causing me to blankly look at them both while we left the restaurant.
"That was funny." "Yes, it was." Said Vanye and Lazuli, respectively, as they nodded with a smile while walking beside the latter, who nodded in agreement.
"Hmph, for a pair that initially despised one another, you are getting along characteristically well." Remarked Alexander in annoyance as he followed behind Vanye and Lazuli, causing them to briefly glance at each other.
"We have much in common and agree on several things, mainly regarding you… We both hate how nice and kind you can be." Stated Vanye as she glanced at Alexander, whose expression twitched.
"However, we also love that about you, as we both know we're too selfish to ever do what you do, Alex." Added Lazuli softly with a faint smile as she looked at Alexander, while Vanye nodded with a soft blush.
"Ah, well, I'm glad I could help?" Said Alexander hesitantly while Lazuli and Vanye shook their heads in amusement.
While I'm glad to see these two get along, it wasn't surprising to me; I always knew the two of them were similar; Vanye is just more vocal about it.
Once we reached the docks, we found a nice bench, and with Lazuli sitting on my lap, we spent the rest of our time chatting, mainly about each other, as Vanye was keen on learning about our pasts, and I was the same with her.
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"Did we make it!?" Asked Vanimo quickly as he sprinted toward Vanye, Lazuli, and Alexander while Talis dropped beside them.
Nodding, I narrowed my eyes and glanced at the faint bite marks on Vanimo's neck and collarbone, along with the few strands of feathers in his hair.
"Vanye… Don't tell me you and Talis were having sex that entire time?" Asked Alexander skeptically as he looked at Vanimo, who awkwardly looked away while Talis calmly nodded.
"Yep, Vanimo has improved tremendously from our first time. I'm very proud of him!" Stated Talis with a proud expression as she puffed out her chest while looking at Vanimo, who blushed with a smile.
"Ah, d-don't say it so loud, Talis." Said Vanimo with a sheepish expression while averting his gaze, causing Vanye and Alexander to sigh.
"Alright, come on, let's board the ship. It's the large black one over there." Stated Alexander as he stood up and gestured to the large black ship docked in the distance, while Lazuli subconsciously glanced at his crotch.
Once we arrived near the SS Galenite, we handed our tickets in and were directed to our rooms, which were on the top floor, though here's the thing: there were only two rooms.
"Alex, did you do this?" Asked Vanye with an annoyed expression as she watched Talis and Vanimo enter the room to the right before eyeing Alexander.
"Heh, I don't know, did I?" Replied Alexander with a mischievous smirk as he glanced at Vanye before entering the room with Lazuli.
"Come on in, Vanye; I promise I won't do anything weird." Said Alexander with a grin as he lay on the massive bed and looked at Vanye, who sighed in defeat before entering and closing the door behind him.