Going to bed with both Lucy and Abigail, two beautiful, wonderful women, who, against all odds and logic, had chosen to stay by my side… it was, to put it plainly, a rather amazing experience. A wonderful moment that I would gladly treasure for the rest of eternity.

Waking up between them on the other hand…

“Okay, who’s elbow is that?”

“Mine, maybe? No, wait, my elbow’s over here… Eena?”

“All limbs present and accounted for,” I promised. “I’m fairly sure I’m at the bottom of this pile.”

“How can you not be sure? Don’t you have, like, angel-vision or something?”

“Well, yes, but I can’t actually use it without opening my eyes - eyes that currently have something pressed against them…”

“My bad! I’m pretty sure my boobs are covering her face.”

“Wait, then who’s tits are those against my back?”

“I’m not sure! But, um, Abigail, could you stop moving your tail? It got between my legs somehow, and uh… it’s rubbing a really… sensitive location!”

“Somehow? You practically yanked it there in your sleep… At least I assume you were asleep - I sure as hell wasn’t after that tug.”

“Sorry! Ah! I think I figured out how to move my arm without bumping into anything! Just one more twist and… free!”

“At the cost of nearly putting out my eye with your nipple.”

“Please, like the sight we’re being treated to isn’t worth every bump…”

It was true - Lucy was quite stunning in the nude, with her bright smile and her perky tits. Just looking at her was a temptation to indulge in… less than productive activities.

I was a little surprised to hear Abigail admit it, though.

“What?” she asked, taking notice of my stare. “Look, just because she’s the Heroine doesn’t mean she isn’t also an amazing lay, alright? And she’s… you know… not terrible or anything. As a person. Who I could… maybe see myself spending more time with.”

A squee of joy, and Lucy was back in bed with us, her arms wrapped tight around Abigail. Judging from the way the latter’s tail was wrapping its way around Lucy’s thigh…

“Alright, one more round and then it’s off to the baths. Agreed?”

““Agreed!””

The bath, as it turned out, was hardly more productive than our time in bed. In fact, despite the knowledge that I was sparkling clean, I somehow felt dirtier after leaving it than going in… Not because of what we’d done, mind you. Calling what I did with - and to - them ‘dirty’ would be an insult to the pleasure and affection we had shared. It was more about what I hadn’t done - how I’d been using our mutual lust to avoid thinking about a particular problem…

 Which is why, after drying myself off and dressing myself appropriately, I turned to Lucy. “I think Doll might know the depetrification spell.”

“Really?” Lucy asked, her eyes wide. “So we don’t need to get it from the church?”

“Indeed,” I confirmed. “Though I imagine you have other reasons for wishing to visit the holy city at this point.”

“Definitely. I mean, I really need to know how much the Grand Patriarch knows! If demons have been led astray all this time, then maybe the church has been as well. If we could clear things up we might be able to end the war that way!”

“Let’s hope it’s that easy,” I murmured, glancing at Abigail. For her part, she looked as if she wished to say something, but ultimately just shook her head and sighed.

“I know the church does a lot of messed up things,” Lucy said. “Even apart from the war… I mean, I really hate their stance on sex, and the way they exile problematic clergy members to small villages is pretty bad for both the clergy members and the people they’re serving… There’s a bunch of other stuff I could complain about, too! Yet I know there are people among them just doing their best… I want to believe that the Grand Patriarch is one of them! At least until proven otherwise…”

“Wanting to see the best in people is an admirable quality… but corruption like this rarely comes from the bottom. Be careful not to get your hopes too high, Lucy.”

“I know,” she promised. “If it turns out we can’t trust him, we’ll figure something else out! I’m sure if all three of us work together, we can do anything!”

“All three of us?” Abigail chimed in, arching an eyebrow.

“Right… I guess it’s four if you count Bailey, huh? Or five if you add Feyra… more if you add Grell and Dyona! Not to mention Chloe, Nivera, and everyone else that’s helping out!”

“That’s…” Abigail sighed. “Nevermind… I guess I’ll help however I can. Just… don’t expect much more than stress relief and bedtime fun from me, alright? I’m just the maid.”

“You’re more than the maid,” I declared with a frown. “You’re my paramour. Not to mention the first friend I’ve made in almost fifteen years.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve made more than one friend, Devilla,” Abigail replied.

“Perhaps.”

“Definitely!” Lucy chimed in.

“But all the same - it doesn’t change the fact that you were the first. You were the first to stand by my side, to show a shred of belief in me, and convince me that I could do this. It’s not inaccurate to say that none of this would be possible without your assistance.”

“That’s… I just berated you with a little common sense…”

“Common sense isn’t so common as one would think, I’m afraid. At least not when I’m concerned.”

“Me either!” Lucy volunteered. “At least I don’t think so? It’s sort of hard to think the same way as everyone else does when everyone treats you differently to begin with… Plus, I was basically raised in the woods with just my Mom and the occasional trip to the village, and Mom taught me a lot of things that would have gotten her in trouble if anyone from the church heard…”

“So what?” Abigail asked. “I’m valuable because I’m the only basic bitch commoner in the room?”

“You’re valuable because you’re you, Abigail. Because your perspective is one I value. Even if another commoner had the same ideas as you - which is hardly a guarantee - I doubt most would have dared to share them… and even beyond that, I will repeat once again that it was ultimately you who stood by my side. It matters not if it was fate or coincidence - only that you rose to the occasion.”

“...You guys are making me out to be a bigger deal than I am,” Abigail grumbled, “but fine. I’ll be your common sense. And I’ll start off by saying this plan is utterly ridiculous. You’re not going to get the church to turn around two thousand years of war with a conversation!”

“I know it’s not very likely,” Lucy admitted.

“More like impossible.”

“But I still want to try! I want to know I did everything in my power to resolve things peacefully!”

“Fine…” Abigail sighed. “But only because you’re going to have Devilla by your side. She’s apparently nigh indestructible and all powerful without the geas, so… Yeah. Go for it. Just… don’t come crying to me when things go bad, alright? Devilla can handle that. I’ll just be there to… I don’t know. Make you feel better once you’re done, I guess?”

“Thanks, Abby,” Lucy said, opening her arms for a hug.

“Nope!” Abigail said, crossing her arms in front of her. “No hugs! Not… yet.”

“Noted!” Lucy agreed - though I couldn’t help but notice a hint of sadness upon her features. As well as something else.

“You know, I noticed that you didn’t say anything about the nickname… Abby.”

“That’s…” Abigail looked away from me, though not quite fast enough to keep me from noticing the red on her cheeks. “I just didn’t see a purpose in getting hung up on every little detail, alright?”

“If you wish to leave it at that, then so be it,” I replied, “but I think we both know there’s a little more to it than that.”

“Can we not have this discussion while Lucy’s actually in the room with us?” Abigail demanded.

“I can leave if you want?” Lucy offered. “I mean, I probably shouldn’t wander the halls, but if you give me a moment to grab my clothes and armor I can go back to the inn! Then you can discuss whether you do or don’t like me without me overhearing.”

“That’s… weirdly generous of you… I guess? But I’d rather we talk about something else. Like the fact that Doll knows how to save the slime girls? When were you planning to circle back around to that bombshell?”

“I… suppose it does bear discussing,” I admitted, a little embarrassed now that I’d been called out. “In truth, I’ve been avoiding thoughts of it since last night.”

“Last night?” Lucy asked. “You mean you’ve known since then?”

“I have,” I confessed. “Or at least I’ve suspected… technically Doll hasn’t confirmed her knowledge of the spell, but I see no reason why she wouldn’t have it.”

“Let me guess - you didn’t want to ruin our one night off with more drama?” Abigail asked.

“That… was part of it. But in truth, I think I needed it for myself. I wasn’t up to facing Sylvanna, let alone the potential messes that might follow the mass release of so many petrified slime girls, and so I selfishly pushed it off…”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with needing a break, Eena,” Lucy said. “But I do think you should have told us…”

“She probably figured it would just put a burden on us,” Abigail grumbled. “Like, we’d be complicit in the delay or whatever, and it might ruin our fun.”

“That does sound like her,” Lucy agreed. “But that’s exactly why she should have told us! She shouldn’t have to carry so many burdens all alone!”

“Plus, it was sort of a big decision to make without even consulting us,” Abigail pointed out. “Not that you really needed our permission, or anything, but… we’re in a relationship, aren’t we? Communication is important!”

“And yet you two were talking as if I wasn’t even in the room,” I complained.

“If that annoyed you, then maybe consider how we feel the next time you’re thinking of leaving us out of the loop,” Abigail countered.

“...Fair. I shall endeavor to do better in the future. For the present, however, I feel that it’s about time I set things right… Assuming Doll does, in fact, know the depetrification spell, we have a species to resuscitate.” 

“What do you mean you don’t know the depetrification spell?!” I demanded, only to freeze up from surprise as a smile spread across Doll’s features.

“It was only a joke. My first in approximately… one hundred and six years, six months and five days. Nobody realized I was joking at the time, however, so I received some rather odd looks.”

“Yes, well, if your sense of humor has remained unchanged throughout the years, then I can only feel pity for those who came before me,” I grumbled, crossing my arms. “Do you know the depetrification spell or not?”

“I do.”

“I need you to teach it to me so that I can fulfill my promise to Sylvanna. I assume you’re aware of what I mean?”

“Of course,” Doll confirmed, before glancing at my companions. “I assume you don’t mind the Heroine or demon finding out alongside you?”

“Don’t forget the wolf,” I reminded her. Although Bailey was still in wolf form, she was still a fully functional member of our team. Even if I did suspect she’d mostly tagged along with us out of boredom.

“The wolf is inconsequential,” Doll declared before glancing at Bailey. “Although I will say that she looks adorable, sitting obediently beside her like that. If I didn’t know she was a monster girl, I might think she was a pet.”

“My answer remains unchanged regardless - I trust these three with my life. I can certainly trust them with a spell meant to depetrify. Not to mention the fact that only Lucy and I can cast the spell, to begin with.”

“The spell passwords for petrification and depetrification are rather similar,” Doll warned me. “But if you are sure… Ereff bajoul drateen. Those are the words that can bring back the petrified slimes.”

“...Then I suppose the next step is telling Sylvanna,” I muttered, letting out a sigh. “In truth, I cannot help but dread this. I was rather rude to her when last we spoke, and I’m quite certain she’ll have something to say about it… not to mention the well deserved berating I may receive for putting this off an extra day.”

“It’s okay to need time off, Eena!” Lucy chimed in. “You’re only… well, you’re not really human, I guess…”

“Or mortal,” Abigail added. “But you’ve got the same basic brain as the rest of us from what I understand, so don’t beat yourself up for needing breaks, alright?”

“While I cannot speak to the deservedness of your berating, I am pleased to say that it may not be necessary - the time you spent on frivolities was not entirely wasted.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, blinking at Doll blankly.

“While you were out having fun I was getting things prepared to welcome the slime girls. We’re about to bring back an entire species worth of women who will need housing, food, and help finding work if they want more than basic tower provisions. That’s not something one can simply do without any preparations. Of course, Sylvanna has been waiting for this day, so the infrastructure and funding for all this have been long since prepared, but it still takes a little time to get everyone up to speed and get the ball rolling. Even with Sylvanna pushing everyone to work as fast as possible, I would still hesitate to call us ready to receive the influx of new people… but I doubt Sylvanna will wait much longer, so it might be best that I send someone to alert her now. We can meet her in the storage area and free the slimes together.”

“I… think I may have underestimated the amount of work that would go into this,” I confessed. “I thought it would simply be a matter of chanting a spell…”

“That’s because you lack what it takes to rule, Devilla,” Doll said plainly. “You don’t have the knowledge, training, or temperament for taking control and asserting your authority. Thankfully, you have friends who can help make up for your deficits.”

“I suppose that means I’ll be relying upon you to take care of the tower?” I asked. “You were more or less in charge before I transferred power to Sylvanna.”

“For the time being,” Doll agreed. “Though I honestly think it might be time for me to train a successor. You will also need to fill the 90th floor General position when all this is done, as Sylvanna is likely to resign immediately. Thankfully, I think there’s a single solution to both problems.”

“Go on” I said, gesturing for her to continue. Having an open General position was less than ideal, what with me having recently promised Mellany that her family could run for government jobs again. Allowing them to work again was one thing, but putting one of them in the General seat was a level of trust I wasn’t quite willing to extend to them.

“The 90th floor has long been focused on administration. The staff there are trained for the job, and the facilities are in no way inferior to my setup on the 100th floor. Therefore, I would suggest putting me in charge of the 90th floor, while I train a successor to take over the 100th.”

“Temporarily leaving you in charge of both?” I asked. “Can you even handle that, on top of teaching someone?”

“Don’t underestimate me, Devilla,” Doll said while rolling her eyes. “I have been around for two thousand years. My base abilities are top notch as well, seeing as how I was made by the Goddess to serve, before being further improved upon by Dalleen. I can handle it.”

“If you say so,” I conceded, frowning a little. “I will point out that going to the 90th floor might be seen as something of a demotion, though, considering you’re currently the de facto leader of the Generals.”

“I’ll still have plenty of influence,” Doll promised. “Perhaps more than I did before. The 100th floor General is only the first among equals, and a good deal of her power comes from having the Queen’s ear. Without your backing, any pressure I place on the other Generals would be little more than an idle threat. Thankfully, the replacement I have in mind shouldn’t have that problem.”

“And that replacement would be?” I questioned her, arching an eyebrow.

“Abigail.”

 

~~~

Author's Notes

 

I'm not gonna bother saying sorry for the lateness again - not knowing it's likely to happen again - but I will thank all of you for your patience and support. It means a lot to me.

Many thanks to FallingLeaf for editing. I wanted to release 73.5 before 74, but writer's block says no unless I wanted even bigger delays. It's just the side story with Grell and the others, so I'll probably release it separately at some point. If I ever manage to write it.

I've finished chapter 75 through 77 already, and all three are on Patreon - edited too. Before you jump to sign up, though, you should know that I'll be posting chapter 75 shortly. As in, hopefully tomorrow. Other places already have it, but depression affects not just my ability to my write but even the ability to get out of bed and post... 

Depression has been bad lately, if you couldn't guess. I'm on new meds, though! And they're starting to take effect so, I'll probably be in a better place for a while before my berain inevitably adapts and I find myself sinking into depression again...