"So, the spell is still holding?"
Nier muttered as he made his way downstairs. Halfway down the massive staircase, he heard two girls chatting, but even from here he could clearly see lody's soul — wrapped tightly in black chains, securely locked inside his spell influence.
He continued down and stepped into the living room, where he found lody and Imani sprawled on the rich purple fur mat that covered part of the polished black marble floors. The mat was incredibly soft, warm to the touch, and had an elegant sheen that made the whole space feel luxurious.
lody was completely lost in the mont, cuddling fiercely with her pet tiger, Jinx.
"Who's a good girl? Ahhh, huhuhuiii… You're just so damn cute! Hiii yaaaah!! I swear I could carry you ho right now and lock you up in my room. You'd be all mine."
Surprisingly, the massive white tiger seed to enjoy the attention just as much. Jinx purred deeply, the low rumble vibrating through the room.
PURRRRRRRRR~~
Imani lay beside them, watching with a grin.
"Wow, she really likes you."
lody finally pulled her face out of Jinx's thick fur and glanced at Imani.
"Honestly, even before I beca a Hesta, I've always been a total sucker for cute things — especially cats. That's why I pounced on this giant furball the second I saw her. God, she's so soft… Where the hell did Nier even get her? I'm rich, but this is on another level."
She kept snuggling into Jinx as she spoke, her voice bubbling with excitent.
"Still, it's a tiger."
Imani pointed out.
"Most people would be running for their lives at the sight of her."
lody flashed a bright smile.
"Guess I'm not most people then."
She looked around the vast, opulent room and let out a soft whistle.
“Man, I still can't believe Nier lives sowhere like this. This place is gorgeous."
Her ears suddenly twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps. She turned her head just as Nier reached the bottom of the staircase.
"Ahhhhh… Nier!"
In a blur, lody vanished from the floor and reappeared right behind him. She leaped onto his back, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders in a playful hug.
"Wassup buddy... You have got to let take Jinx ho with !"
Nier chuckled, steadying himself.
"You really need to stop doing that. One of these days you're actually going to give soone a heart attack sneaking up like that.",
lody laughed softly, still clinging to him.
"Sorry… I just get super excited when I'm around people I feel comfortable with."
Nier raised an eyebrow at her words.
"You know this is only the first day we've t, right? And you're already this comfortable with ?"
"Like I said, I've got a pretty good sense of character."
"Hmm."
Nier clasped his hands together and let out a long, dramatic sigh.
"Well… trust at your own risk, I guess."
He said it with a smirk, then added more casually.
"I hope you didn't have any trouble finding my place."
"Even if I did, you literally told your house is the biggest one in the neighborhood. After seeing this place, I'm pretty sure you're much harder to miss than you are to find."
Hearing that, Imani chuckled.
"That's true. Wouldn't you agree, babe?"
"BABE!?"
lody's eyes widened in surprise at the casual nickna.
Nier didn't miss a beat.
"Mhm. My dearest Imani here is one of my concubine candidates."
"Concubine candidate."
lody repeated, blinking.
"Yeah. Is that a problem?"
Nier asked, still smiling.
lody quickly shook her head.
"Ahh, no, no, no — no problem at all! It's just… you don't really see many polyamorous relationships around here, and out in the open like that in Lunaris. At least not outside the elite sectors like One and Two. Those are the cities where so of the richest people in the country—hell, the whole world—live. For them, it's exotic, but it's also just their version of normal. Having more than one wife is basically a show of prestige."
She looked back at Nier, her curiosity clearly getting the better of her.
"So… how many lovers do you actually have right now?"
"Hmmm… Well, there's my wife Kaly, but she's resting right now, sa as a couple of the others. I've got Tanya, who is busy at the mont. Then there's Imani, who you've already had the pleasure of eting. Ah, and Alle and Ella, but right now it's just Alle. I'm also working on Bella, though she is resting too. So as far as lovers go, I'm currently going out with five lovely ladies… and counting."
"And counting!?"
lody echoed.
"And counting, yesh."
Nier repeated with a grin.
"Wow, Nier. You really are a slut.
"Sluttttt!!...
"Hey, don't take it the wrong way."
She said, smiling smugly.
"At least coming from , that's a complint."
Nier let out a short laugh.
"Hah, alright then. Well, do you want sothing to drink? Wine, vodka, tea, coffee...Ru…”
"You got any milk?"
"…Yeah, I do. Warm or cold?"
"If I drink it warm I'll just get sleepy, so I'll take a cup of cold milk please."
"Got it. Let grab that for you while you two catch up then."
Imani said offering to get the drinks in place of Nier, getting up and heading toward the kitchen.
anwhile, Nier stood and walked over to the sofa. lody hopped off his lap and followed right behind him. They settled on opposite ends of the couch.
"Mhmmmm… What a soft couch."
She sighed, stretching out on her belly with her feet kicking lazily in the air.
"It feels even better than my bed. I could lay here all day and sleep."
Nier watched her with quiet curiosity.
'I've never t soone so carefree and friendly.'
He thought.
'What a cute girl… I have to admit. Then again, this cute girl is stronger than I am right now. Level 4, huh? I wonder what makes her so different. With my current power, I could probably pass for a level 4 too… but what exactly is level 4?'
He must have drifted into his thoughts a little too obviously, because lody quickly picked up on the shift of his facial expression.
She turned her head toward him with a curious smile.
"And what's got you so deeply in thought, super rookie?"
"Super rookie?"
Nier repeated, raising an eyebrow.
lody just shrugged as she rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.
"Yeah, that's what the others back at HQ are calling you. Your performance definitely caught the attention of so big shots. So far, you already have three commanders fighting over you."
"Fighting over ? Why would they even do that?"
lody gave him a look as if to say, are you serious, but despite that she answered.
"You're kind of weird, you know that, right?"
"Hmm? In what way am I weird?"
"You're a collector, so it's normal for you to have a bunch of different Flux items in your collection. But what makes you strange is the fact that you're a parasitic corrupt user, and not a normal at that. Usually only one type of Flux stays inside a host—two at the most. They find mutualism basically impossible or counterproductive for survival, but base on your multiple different abilities you have demonstrated. You seem to have a lot of Flux inside your body to the point your basically a humanoid Flux."
"So what you're saying is my level of parasitism is way beyond what's considered normal?"
"In a nutshell, yeah. You demonstrated a wide range of abilities during the examination. A lot of them have serious destructive potential, and even your defensive capabilities are extrely lethal to the touch."
lody's expression darkened slightly as she rembered what had happened to her little brother just a few hours earlier.
Nier chuckled softly at the praise.
"High praise. I'm flattered. But really, I have no desire to play hero. I only did it because I needed a legal license for my work."
"Nini said the sa thing, and just sure to make your intentions reach the top, and her ssage was very clear to the board."
lody said, then continued.
"However, your potential is too valuable for them to just let you walk away. So they ca up with a solution on how to approach you. Although I ca here mostly to hang out and chat, the chairman wanted to give you this though, so I kind of have to.”
lody reached into her red purse and pulled out a sleek black envelope with golden outlines.
A large (HA) was stamped in platinum ink right in the center, sealing it shut and proudly displaying their logo.
She then handed it over to Nier.
He took the envelope from her outstretched hand. The paper felt surprisingly soft yet durable between his fingers. He studied it for a mont before looking back at lody, who was still in her hero attire.
"So the chairman is giving a personal invitation, huh? How direct I must admit."
"I know, but enough work talk. You wanna hang out?"
"Sure, I've got about an hour and twenty minutes before I have to head out sowhere."
"Ohhh, just enough ti for a movie, I guess."
"Yeah, pretty much. So, you wanna watch a movie?"
Nier asked, and lody nodded in agreent just as Imani walked back in with a tray.
"One cup of cold milk for you."
She said, handing it to lody.
"....and a cup of wine for you, babe.
"And by the way, a movie sounds like a good idea."
Imani added.
"Want to grab so snacks for us while we watch?"
"Sure. And co join us when you're done too."
Nier said.
From there, he led lody to the ga room where the biggest television was. They started scrolling through Gli to find sothing to watch.
Minutes passed.
Snacks made their way around the group while Nier chatted with lody about all sorts of things. In the process, he learned a lot about her, and the two of them grew a little closer. Imani also jumped into the conversation, and the three of them ended up having a genuinely good ti.
About an hour and ten minutes later, Nier stood up.
"Anyways as much as I hate end things here, I need to start getting ready to leave soon."
"If you want, you can stay here as long as you like and hang out with Imani."
He told lody.
"I don't mind watching another movie. How about you?"
Imani asked her, but lody already had her answer.
"Thanks, but I was planning on heading out soon anyway."
"And besides, I still have my little brother at ho, and I didn't even tell him I was going out. I don't want him worrying, so I think I'll leave now too."
"Ahhhh, bumr."
Imani said, pouting a little.
"I was just starting to have fun. Well, maybe next ti we can hang out longer."
"Yeah, next ti for sure."
lody said, rubbing the back of her head a bit nervously.
"My visit here was kind of rushed anyway. I'll give you a call when I'm thinking of coming over again. Besides, you have my contact info now, Imani, so we can stay in touch even after I leave."
She said it with a warm, friendly smile.
"Do you need to walk you to the door?"
Nier offered.
"No need. I can get ho faster than it would take us walking to the door even at a quick pace. So I will just help myself out."
"Ah no problem then, if you say so."
Nier replied.
"Well, take care then, boo."
Imani added with a grin.
lody smiled and gave Nier one last look.
"Nier."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for the invite. I really did have a lot of fun, even if my stay was short. Maybe next ti we can do it at my place."
"Sure, I don't mind getting to know you better. Although I don't think your little brother will like the idea of hanging out with his older sister."
"ld can be a little extra sotis, but he is a sweet kid. I'm sure he'll warm up to you soon enough."
"Let's hope so."
"Heh, I'll see you around then Nier. Take care, Imani."
"Love you too, hun."
Imani replied playfully.
Without another word, lody left the house and the property. The mont she took off, loose papers and empty chip bags started blowing around the room from the sudden gust.
As she raced back ho, she moved at an extrely fast speed—faster than either Nier or Imani could even track with their eyes. To them, it looked like she had simply teleported; there wasn't even a blur of her figure.
"Wow… she really is fast."
Imani said, still staring at the empty spot where lody had been standing just a second ago.
"Yeah."
Nier agreed.
"Her ability is incredibly versatile and highly effective in combat. She can manipulate speed—not just her own, but the speed of anything and everything around her. She can drastically speed things up or slow them down at will."
"This power has enormous potential and is surprisingly difficult to fight against. Honestly, I'd rather face Lady Blue again than to ever deal with her. Even though she is nowhere near Alexis in terms of raw skill, technique, or overall power, the ability to control speed is just that annoying and dangerous to contend with."
"Why so, can't you just throw her off balance sohow and go for the killing blow?"
Imani asked.
And Nier reply to this was as followed.
"That's easier said than done to be honest, you have no idea how overpowered lody is, imagine this: one second you're successfully killing your enemies… and the very next mont, you suddenly find yourself falling to your death inside a random volcano on the other side of the planet, because she decides to suddenly grab and move you to that location, essentially leaving you to your demise."
"...Wow, that's actually kind of terrifying."
"That's because it is terrifying."
Said Nier.
"Well, I'm glad she is on our side or at the very least quite friendly, don't you think?"
Asked Imani.
And Nier just nodded.
"She is definitely a nice person, and also a goofball at tis, but overall a very nice person to be around with."
"Her aside though hun, what's your plan for tonight, I heard from Kaly, you're going to be going sowhere rather dangerous tonight, are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah I'm good, I am just doing a trial set by Bella's mom, to make her my next woman."
"Increasing your harem I see."
"The more the rrier indeed, well anyways Imani, I'm about to head out soon, so I will see you tomorrow morning when I hear back ho."
"Ok then, I will just watch another movie before I go to bed, take care babe, and go kick so ass."
With that Nier proceeded to head back upstairs.
There he began to read his mother's journal as per Mnemosyne warning.
He discovered a couple new things, but one thing in particular shocked him.
"Wait, can I... Can I really do sothing like this?"
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