My Servant System

Chapter 1074: Chapter 1073: More News



"-ey, I'm talking to you! Anubi! Don't you..! I swear to all that is holy if you're actually laughing right now!"

Lady Kio was baring her fangs as she glared hard at her mate, the 'privilege' of being the one and only lover of someone as powerful as the Sultana making itself known as she hissed at someone who - according to the 'laws' that govern the world of the strong - she had no 'right' to be showing such blatant disrespect too, which showed that they had such a similar relationship to all of the extremely strong people I had come to know over my relatively short lifetime.

No one else was able to do this and get away with it unscathed, and yet here was a Dogkin woman being so 'rude' to someone so much stronger than herself not needing to worry at all about any sort of actual punishment past what might come back around to bite her tonight, and even then... was it really a punishment at all?

I imagine that that would be the one thing that all three of my lovers could agree with this older woman on, and it seemed to be something universal that all of those like myself craved; this momentary display of 'disobedience' and being tested by someone we viewed as ours.

Someone who shouldn't be disrespecting us and testing us was currently doing so, and it always felt so good to have these moments since it reminded us that our relationship was not as two dimensional as we liked to show it off as; in private, it was in need of balancing and admitting that there were just things we couldn't control and demand all the time from this other person.

And it also felt so damn good to put them in their 'place' again, so there was that too, which was certainly why the Sultana's shoulders were trembling as she continued to look away from the Dogkin woman she had taken as her wife.

The bristling fur on Lady Kio's ears, the way she bared her rather long fangs and narrowed her usually hot and feisty eyes into almost slits, and of course the ramrod straight posture as she clenched her muscles made her rather adorably dangerous at the moment, though for me she was just dangerous...

But when Anput did it to me sometimes, I found it to be so damn adorable to look at, even if - again - it was dangerous since playing with a rabid puppy would lead to many, many bites, and just like her Mother, Anput had some sharp fangs and powerful jaws... which I knew firsthand at this point in many different ways.

"I... am merely laughing with you, my love, even if you aren't showing it expressly at this moment. You just said-"

"I know what I just said damnit! That didn't mean you were invited to laugh!"

No one else was able to confidently and easily cut the Sultana off when she was speaking, and no one else dared to do so for fear of losing their tongue, and yet here stood a petite, short woman doing just that and then some as she stabbed her finger at her lover's arm and poked her repeatedly.

"YOU were NOT invited to LAUGH! Just because I alluded to being against the idea of letting this blue skinned brat with no real backing of her own go around galavanting herself as my daughter's wife a moment ago does NOT give you reason to laugh like this!"

Now it was my turn to hold back a chuckle as I ignored her attempt to take a dig at me by saying I had no backing of my own; we both were well aware that no matter what I did - within acceptable reason and as long as I hadn't lost my mind - I would always have the backing of the current Head of House Asmodia and the Lady of House Asmodia, which was... practically enough to let me do whatever I pleased inside of the Empire and the surrounding territories... again, within reason.

That wasn't even counting the fact that I had some of the Empress' own backing thanks to Leone, or the fact that I had access to the Sultana's backing as well thanks to Anput... so there was that, which Lady Kio just conveniently decided to 'forget' as she kept poking her wife.

"And yet just last night I seem to recall that you were musing on whether or not there was a better match for Anput anywhere in the entire world... especially since she has access to not one, not two, but three lovers capable of taking care of her in any which way she desires?" She had stopped laughing at this point, but the smirk the Sultana wore was very clear despite the veil, and it most certainly only widened as Lady Kio growled "Anubi...", the Dogkin's face almost becoming covered in shadow despite the sun beating down right on her, and I think I had gotten back to normal by this point, so that was definitely her raw mana leaking out of her pores, causing her clothing and hair to float around freely...

I just quietly ate as much as I could whilst partaking in this free entertainment, the antics between my own parents preparing me enough for this sort of oppressive atmosphere that had cleared the hall of all servants as they ran from their extremely angry and almost murderous Mistress and the already terrifying Sultana.

All this was missing was that sweet scent of ozone and the occasional crackling of lightning randomly striking something nearby to create an identical scene I had witnessed before with my own parents, which made my heart pang slightly with nostalgia as I felt the brief desire to be back home.

"What? I am only speaking the truth - which I shouldn't need to remind you, you expressly told me never to lie about anything - about this situation, and that is that you yourself admitted last night that-"

"And I don't CARE what I said! Just shut up! Quiet! Hush!"

Right as the Sultana was about to respond to her wife's rather adamant demand for her to stop speaking, a Death Jackal briskly entered the room and presented a scroll to the Sultana, stopping all of the current joking around as both the Jackalkin and the Dogkin straightened up and focused on the black clad warrior, their prior amusement and laxness gone as they returned to being the heads of the country.

"Summarize."

Lady Kio in particular was a complete 180 with how she stared at the Death Jackal with a completely neutral expression and flat voice, and while the Sultana was reading the details, Lady Kio and I got the brief version of what required their attention.

"Both Bascra and Khidan have been attacked by Fiends, and currently the city guard are maintaining the defensive barriers around themselves, but it is only a matter of time before the arrays and the guard are depleted. Thankfully Khidan has received support from the nearby caravans traveling to and from the Empire, but there is still immediate dangers to the city.

A Nua Fiend is targeting the oasis at Khidan, and a Tza Fiend is after the libraries and old ruins at Bascra; additionally, there is an unconfirmed sighting of Fingers at Bascra. There is also a slight worry that the Al-Ramir might make an appearance at Khidan with the old rumors of them being tied to a Nua Cult."

"How recent is all of this? Estimated time before they fall?"

"Only an hour, Lady Kio, and both cities should hold for a day and a half easily. I've already taken the liberty to dispatch a squad of Death Jackals to each for immediate reinforcement, however..."

The veiled warrior turned to glance at me, and the slight turn of their head redirected the attention of both the Sultana and Lady Kio, the two older women appraising me for a few seconds before Lady Kio shrugged and turned to her wife, letting her be the one to decide.

"Are you up to it again, Jahi? Both Bascra and Khidan will remain standing no matter what, so the question becomes 'how badly do you want that training and the loot'? Will you set out now to claim it for yourself, or shall I let my Jackals off their leash?"

My lip twitched slightly as I stood up and replied "We can only take one as a single group, and there's no reason to subject the other to a prolonged siege in the name of 'training' for me, so... we'll head for Bascra within the hour. Even sooner if I get a couple potions to kickstart

everything..."

"Hera, go grab a vial of Scarlet Veil and head over to Anput's room. You'll take over as their guide and guard for the time being; get them to Bascra and watch. Inform them too of anything that needs to be known. I'll set out for Khidan with Kio; I think we both need the

exercise."

A single curt nod was all she got before Hera disappeared, the Jackalkin rushing away as she spared not a single moment at all for this 'emergency', which as I glanced at the still seated Sultana and Lady Kio... it made me chuckle softly as I too put a little pep in my step, comforted by their confidence in the country they had built.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But I wasn't going to be content being idle with the juicy slab of meat known as a Tza Fiend

being placed right on my plate; I wanted to be out there already, and with the food in my belly and my own natural healing bringing me back to normal, I was brimming with energy that I wanted to put to use.