The Achievement Junkie 207 No Way Ou

They were soon joined by Rydel and Maynard, who had left to do some weapon shopping. Maynard wanted to find more peakp-tier lv. 35 swords, but nothing he found was better than the two katana that Jack had given him.

Both of the men were surprised to see that all the girls were now closer to Jack, yet he didn't force them away like usual.

"What happened while we were gone?" asked Rydel. "By the look of things, it seems that things are finally heating up between you all and Jack."

"Stop it." Jack waved his hand, not wanting to talk about it.

Eliza grunted. "Well, if someone hadn't been kidnapped, then maybe we wouldn't have been so worried. Why didn't you call for any of us with telepathy."

"It's already in the past, so let's not worry about it."

That entire day, while most of the girls were accepted Jack's many apologies, Eliza had hounded him for details. Rather than spill the beans, Jack had just been avoiding such invading questions, proving that he wasn't willing to talk about it.

"Jack, I'm your wife. If you're not going to explain yourself, you'll have to do something to make up for it."

"And that is?"

"Let me sleep with you tonight."

"Pffew!" Jack choked on his brundy. "Eliza, you know that I--"

"Yes, I know that you don't care about your wives. You won't explain yourself to them and you won't even try to comfort them physically," stated Eliza, not budging at all.

"Eliza, please, forgive me but I'm not in the mood to talk about the kidnapping anymore, okay?"

"Then can I sleep with you tonight, or not?"

"Eli--"

"Or will you sleep with Maura tonight instead?"

"E-excuse me?!" Jack stuttered, startled by the sudden change in the conversation. 

"B-but Eliza, why--"

"Jack will you be sleeping with Maura or with me tonight, which of your wives?" repeated Eliza. "To make sure that you won't get kidnapped again, one of us should share your bed to guarantee your safety. If you say neither, I'll make it my point to join you regardless."

Frowning, Jack looked Eliza in the eye. Then, he looked to Maynard and Rydel for help, but they either looked away or were busy looking to the bottom of their mug.

He sighed, "Can't we--"

"Do I really need to make a scene, Jack?" stated Eliza with a poker face. "I'm your wife, so I'm pretty sure everyone else in the bar will side with me on this one."

Finally, Jack looked to Maura sheepishly. "Maura, can you stay in my room tonight?"

"S-sure, I can do that," Marua blushed as she agreed. 

"Not just in the same room, but in the same bed. If I find that she's not sharing your bed, I'll join you in the middle of the night," said Eliza, not backing down an inch.

"I--"

"Okay!" shouted Maura, not letting Jack use her shyness as an excuse.

This surprised them all. Everyone knew that Maura was slowly getting more daring, but it still startled them to hear her agree to actively agree to share a bed with Jack and not give into shyness.

What Jack first thought would be his only way out had become a simple change of circumstances.

"Good, then me and Keela will be off to bed early. We should probably start heading back to Polt tomorrow, early in the morning," mentioned Eliza.

Jack asked, "And why's that?"

"Don't you remember? We've got the yearly auction coming up," replied Eliza. "We've got a month and I'm sure you want to be there, right?"

"How could I forget!" Jack laughed at himself. He really had forgotten all about it.

"But I thought ya said we should stay here?" asked Maynard.

"Sterfen already told me that we can leave. I'm not sure why, but he said he'd explain it later."

In reality, Sterfen hadn't contacted him. He only knew that Sterfen needed them in Scorch City for that strange kidnapping situation to take place.

"Well, then let's all head to bed. We've got another two weeks till we reach Federal City," stated Rydel. "I hope you two love birds enjoy the night!"

"Hey, that's--"

"You're lucky Maura, but you know you'll have to share him eventually," added Keela.

Eliza also spoke up, "Good luck, Maura! I'll just wait my turn."

Lina was taken up by Daliea, who only blushed and led the innocent girl to their room.

Alone, Jack and Maura smiled awkwardly to each other. "Um… Maura, I--"

"Jack, we don't have to if you don't want to." Maura's statement eased some of the tension in Jack's heart until she added, "But, if you want to, then I'd like for you to be my first."

With a heart pounding so hard all he could hear was his heartbeat, Jack swallowed some saliva and blushed. Just because he hadn't agreed to do anything prior, doesn't mean he was tempted.

Tonight would be a great test for his willpower.

*****

Outside the city on top of Magma Summit, the tallest peak of the Molten Mountains, a middle-aged man was overlooking the city.

That man remained there for most of the day, just watching the city as time passed. Soon, another man appeared behind the middle-aged man.

Dressed extravagantly, the man who just arrived squinted at the middle-aged man who was ignoring him. "Kori, what's the meaning of your little visit?"

"Do I look like Kori to you? Who could ever be so handsome?" whined the middle-aged man, still not bothering to turn and face the newcomer.

"Kori, just stop with the act already. How could I not recognize the god I helped banish?" laughed the well-dressed man.

"So, you finally admit to it, huh?" Finally, Kori turned around, now looking like his true self. "How long had you all been planning it?"

"Ever since you abandoned us during the Holy War, to be honest," replied the man. "If you had joined the final battle, the losses wouldn't have been nearly as bad as they had been. I would've joined Halmut in killing the scourge of the underworld."

"Instead, Halmut was forced to seal him at a great cost. Even after five hundred years, Halmut still hasn't fully recovered. For that, I blame you!"

Kori laughed, "Sure, find the easy way and blame the man who wasn't there. That's definitely your style."

"Now answer the question, what bring's you to my territory? You were banished to that forsaken pit, yet here you are."

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you, so why waste my breath." The Fox God shrugged, toying with his fellow god.

"You know, I have my own eyes all over my territory. So, why did you try and kidnap that young hero from the association? Is this your way of getting back at us?" questioned the man. "That hero may be young, but he shows great promise and will be a valuable asset to the champion in the future."

"Blah, blah, blah… All you guys ever talk about is the champion." Making a puppet with his hand, Kori mocked the man. "When was the last time we ever did anything as holy gods worth mentioning? How come we're not allowed to act in public since the Holy War?"

"That was by order of Halmut, so don't you dare question his orders!"

"It's not that I'm not complying, I'm just curious as to why he gave the order," reasoned Kori. "Was he afraid that one of us lower gods would betray him?"

"Shut up!"

"Why, if anyone has anything to benefit from the situation, then it's you!" Kori chuckled. "Now, thanks to Halmut's absence, you're the acting head of the holy gods."

"I said--"

"Yet, you abuse it and banish me instead? I just don't get why," Kori sighed, scratching his head. "But what would I know, I'm just an idiot who only knows about good looks. You're Naparn, the Molten God, you're far wiser than a silly fox like me."

"Get to the point, Kori," stated Naparn, giving him a little leeway after being praised.

"I just want to know why."

"Why what?"

"Why did you do it? Why did you not only have me banished, but you had my family killed?" asked Kori in a calm, relaxed tone.

"It was the decision of all of us, not just me," reasoned Naparn. "You know that we won't make a move unless either Halmut orders it or we all agree to do so together."

"So that's why both you and Torian sent your fellow dragons after my wife while I was with the council during the decision?" Kori fiercely stared into Naparn's eyes.

"I have no clue what you're talking about. After the decision was made to have you banished, our men did hunt down your wife. I will give her some credit though, she at least took them down with her. She was a warrior through and through," stated Naparn. "If things were different, she would've definitely made a strong god, probably stronger than you."

"Yeah… If things were different…"

"So, are you going to hurry back to the hole you were banished to crawl in for the rest of your life, or will I have to take you there myself?"

"It seems that I've lost my way. Do you mind guiding me?" Kori smiled coldly.

"It will be my pleasure."

Chapter end