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I am currently lying in Melisa's bed, next to her owner, while she sleeps peacefully beside me with an expression of post-coital bliss still visible on her face.
Taking advantage of my companion's sleeping state, I am updating her status with the latest points she earned thanks to the shared experience she got because of Harem Member.
[Melisa] [Farmer Lvl 41] [Harem member Lvl 31]
[(Exhibitionist Lvl 2)]
HP= 16 || MP=3
Agility=10 || Strength=10
Intelligence=16 || Luck=7
[Resistance]
Physical=2 || Magic=0
Poison=1 || Curse=0
At first glance, Melisa's stats don't seem to have changed much since she met me.
But that's because I've been investing most of the new points she earned to activate the 90% discount on the experience Melisa needs to level up.
25 stat points were used for that purpose.
All of this in preparation for tomorrow, since, when I asked her earlier today, Melisa finally agreed to go with me and Arya to a labyrinth.
Since I started using my Sex Mode Profile with her every time I visited her, the mature farmer always seemed to have a new excuse ready to delay the moment when I would take her to a labyrinth for the first time.
But today, for whatever reason, she was the one who suggested it.
It probably had something to do with the presence of my new companion.
The elf, who, even at this very moment, is staring at me with an expressionless gaze as she sits on the floor at one end of Melisa's room.
A few hours ago, as Melisa and I were heading to bed, Arya followed us silently without saying a word, always keeping a certain distance from me.
At first, this confused Melisa and me.
However, the farmer quickly got used to the elf's gaze.
Melisa even seemed excited and enthusiastic at the prospect of having someone watch us have sex.
However, the elf's constant cold and expressionless gaze was somewhat disturbing to me.
So, in an attempt to change her attitude, I asked her if she was keen to join Melisa and me in bed or go to another room to rest.
But it was useless.
The look of deep revulsion the female elf gave me at that moment, as she asked me if I was giving her an order, sent a slight but unpleasant chill down my spine.
So I let her do whatever she wanted while Melisa and I enjoyed each other's company physically.
At the beginning Arya's presence in the room made me a little uncomfortable, but Melisa's fiery passion quickly made me forget any discomfort.
Now, as I edited Melisa's status, the elf never stopped staring at me blankly and expressionlessly.
Initially, I thought she would fall asleep sooner or later, but then I remembered Gerald's words about elves not needing as much sleep as humans.
However, I don't know how accurate that information is.
For that reason, now that I've finished editing Melisa's status, I ask Arya in a low voice, "I was told that elves don't need as many hours of sleep as humans. Is that true?"
"Yes," says the elf in a sharp voice, imitating the volume of my voice, after a few seconds of silence that made me wonder if she would answer me or not.
Despite my obvious expectation that she would say more about it, the woman looks at me without saying another word.
"How many hours of sleep do you need per day? As your Master, it's information I need to know," I say in a whisper so as not to wake Melisa.
"Two or three hours of rest are enough... But I don't need to 'sleep' like you humans do. Sitting as I am right now is all I need to recover from any fatigue," Arya says, but she seems to respond reluctantly.
That's the longest answer I've gotten from her lips so far.
In fact, I'm surprised for a moment that she answered exactly what I asked her.
"Thank you for the information, even if my question was not an order," I say, although I have a suspicion as to why Arya is being so cooperative.
"I am obligated by my status as a slave to tell you any information that, as my Master, you need to know about me," she says in her usual harsh, cold voice, confirming my suspicions.
"Ohh... Sorry. I'd rather not force you to do anything you don't want to do," I say, trying to sound friendly.
"Then you shouldn't have bought a slave," she says, and for the first time, a hint of a smile appears on her usually expressionless face.
'Well... that's something…
I don't like the idea that she's smiling just to mock me, but at least I've gotten a new reaction from her...
I was getting tired of her cold contempt.'
' - It seems that my Master is much more foolish than I thought... He's handsome and rich, it's true, but his head is completely full of air... That being the case... I can't understand why Mother Nature warned me to be cautious around him... Haa... I suppose the fact that he's a rich, handsome idiot makes him slightly more dangerous than the rest of his kind... Besides... His question earlier already gave me an idea of what kind of danger he might pose to me... I'd rather die than become the sex slave of a human.'
"You're not the only slave I have. I also have a human slave named Alessia. Even so, I can count on my fingers the number of times I've had to order Alessia to do something," I say to give her the perspective that her stance is not the only one possible.
"Well, that girl must be a fool..." Arya says mockingly.
"... But I'm not surprised. After all, she's human."
"Alessia is no fool. She is my romantic partner, as well as my slave, and I would appreciate it if you didn't speak ill of her," I say, struggling to keep my voice down due to the sudden and irrational anger I begin to feel because she insulted Alessia.
'Where is this anger coming from?...
It's not as if she said anything that serious...
Besides, she doesn't even know us...
I shouldn't care about the opinions of strangers.'
"Only a human would come up with such madness..." Arya says, noticeably surprised.
"... having a slave as a romantic partner... If you truly love that person, if you truly trust her to that extent, why is she your slave?"
"Because she prefers it that way," I say, and this time it is my voice that is cold and harsh toward the elf.
I will not allow anyone to belittle the love that my girls and I have for each other.
"Haa... Humans," Arya says contemptuously and falls silent again.
"Well done for pointing out the obvious. Indeed, Alessia and I are humans. And you are an elf, but that doesn't have to be a problem for us to have a cordial relationship..." I say, and after sighing with some exasperation, I continue speaking.
'This elf is really exasperating... I'm becoming more and more certain that it's best to get rid of her as soon as she tells me what I need to know about her culture.'
"... But, speaking of elves and our cultural differences, I heard that in your culture it is normal for a male elf to have several female elves as partners because, despite your longevity, you tend to become sterile around the age of 100. Is that true?"
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" says Arya, who seems to be having a particularly challenging time keeping her expression blank.
"Don't laugh at me..." I mutter under my breath, while internally I begin to seriously question the veracity of everything the old man told me today.
"...So what I heard is a lie?"
"It's true that our fertility declines with age..." says Arya with a fleeting glint of amusement in her eyes.
"... but I don't understand what that has to do with how common polygamy is in our culture."
"Ahh... yes, I guess the connection didn't make any sense from the beginning..." I say, yawning wearily.
'I was right to doubt the things the old man told me...
Did Gerald lie to me, or did he not know that some of his knowledge about elves was wrong?...
If he lied to me intentionally...
Why did he do it?...
Can I really trust him?...
Haa...
It makes no sense for me to distrust the old man just because of this nonsense...
If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have gotten so many new toys today...
Tiredness is clouding my judgment.'
"... I'm going to sleep. Good night."
"Good night, Master," says the elf in her usual cold, sharp voice.
...
"Stab the monster in the throat as I explained, just below the jaw. That should kill it quickly," I say to Melissa as I hold a Level 1 Fierce Hyena immobilized with my bare hands, as if it were a simple puppy instead of a 3-meter-tall monster.
Melisa, Arya, and I are on the first floor of the Altamira Labyrinth, as it is the ideal place for Melisa to acquire new classes and start leveling up.
On the first floor of this labyrinth, only Fierce Hyenas can appear.
Monsters that are now a breeze for me to dominate thanks to the absurd difference between our stats.
But for Melisa, who doesn't have a single combat class, I imagine that the stats and the enormous size of the monsters are truly intimidating.
"L-like this?" Melisa asks timidly as she clumsily stabs the monster's throat with my old sword.
The one-handed sword with the Edge and Chain runes.
Melisa is wielding that weapon because I think it's better for her to try out several types of weapons before deciding on the combat style that suits her best.
That's why I advised her not to buy any weapons, even though that would probably have helped her feel a little more 'prepared' for today.
My main goal for today is for Melisa to get Archer, Swordsman, and Lancer, as those three classes will help her handle a wide variety of weapons.
After that happens, it's just a matter of her deciding which weapon she prefers.
"Yes. That's fine," I say, releasing the monster when I see that it no longer has the strength to move.
As the monster's body dissolves into golden particles, I give Arya a stern look, since she is watching Melisa with an irritatingly mocking attitude.
The elf is using my pulley bow, as it is currently the ideal weapon for her.
At least until I get a second bow for her to use.
I have no intention of giving her my beloved and powerful pulley bow.
At first, Arya laughed openly at the strange appearance of my bow.
But when she saw how easily she could draw the string and the power of the weapon's shots, her attitude changed completely.
'Nice... now that Melisa has acquired the Adventurer class, she'll surely start to feel a little more confident when facing monsters.'
Quickly editing Melisa's status, I activate her new class.
"Do you want to try fighting a little on your own against the next monster we see?" I ask Melisa.
"I don't know if I can do it," she says hesitantly.
Today is the first time in Melisa's life that she has had to kill monsters or wield a weapon, so her doubts are perfectly understandable.
But if someone so cute and pure as Delia could learn to fight, Melisa can too.
"Arya and I will be there if you need help..." I say in an attempt to encourage her.
"... You have nothing to worry about."
'I have to be able to do this if I want to be on par with the other women in Emir's life... It's true that lately I've been able to please him sexually again, and that made me wonder if it was really necessary for me to level up... but I was naive... Pleasing him physically isn't enough... And my levels aren't really important either... The only thing that matters is that Emir wants me to level up... I need to please him in every way I can... As time goes on, he has more and more women around him... I can't risk him getting bored of me and leaving me... That scares me more than any monster... Come on, Melissa, you can do this!'
"F-fine. I'll try," Melissa says as she looks at the weapon she is holding with concern.