Chapter 62 Never Old.

Chapter 62: 62 Never Old.

I emerged from the steamy shower with a towel wrapped around my waist. My long hair was already mostly dry from a quick towel rub—one of the perks of being a typical guy.

Meanwhile, Elsa and Ayra stood nude in front of the bathroom mirror performing their own little post-bath ritual.

Elsa simply waved her hand in an elegant flourish, whispering something in her native tongue, and both women’s hair instantly dried, all silky and perfect like they’d just walked out of a salon.

"That never gets old," I remarked with a chuckle at the smug little looks on their faces. "You could do that for me too, you know."

Elsa fluffed her golden mane proudly. "Oh yes, let’s burn even more of my daily mana allotment to do the same job your three second towel rub accomplishes just fine already. Don’t be silly, darling. Besides, if I expended my energy on every trivial task, how would I remain ready to save you anytime a battle has gone awry?"

I rolled my eyes behind her, making sure she saw me in the reflection. "Yeah, that happens all the time, doesn’t it?"

"Master could dry my hair if he wanted," Ayra suggested with a coy smile, arching her back so that her butt stuck out provocatively. "Anything to feel his strong hands on me—though I loathe his abuse so much." It was always weird to watch her slip back into the victim fetish mid-sentence.

I sighed as I grabbed my toothbrush. "I’ll give your butt a few swats before you fall asleep, don’t worry."

"Oh, yay! I mean—oh no!"

After brushing our teeth, we moved to the bedroom for our nightly hair-brushing ritual.

It had started with Elsa demanding I brush her golden locks before bed, and soon Ayra had joined in, insisting that she too required intimate attention for the sake of avoiding unfairness.

Elsa sat cross-legged on the bed, wearing silky lavender pajamas as I worked the brush through her impossibly soft tresses.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she nuzzled my other hand as I placed it on her shoulder to keep the sleepy princess upright while I worked.

Ayra waited her turn impatiently, sprawled nearby in one of my t-shirts that hung to her mid-thigh. Her tail thumped and drool trickled a little from her lips as she watched.

The princess yawned. "Mwaaw! I’ve grown weary of my current sleepwear," Elsa announced without preamble as I ran the brush through her hair on repeat. "Though the garments from your local shops are indeed adequate, a princess deserves variety. I wish to peruse options on your computing device until we purchase an acceptable number of outfits for me to cycle through—perhaps a mere hundred or so sets of pajamas. I desire gauzier, silkier, shinier fare than this—something worthy of my soft, sensitive skin."

"Hmm, online shopping?" I asked, continuing the gentle strokes. "A hundred should be fine, but that’s the hard limit for now. We can make a day of it tomorrow if nothing else comes up. I’ll have to store some of them in the basement, though."

That satisfied her, and she started sneaking little kisses as a reward to the hand resting on her shoulder as the other worked through nonexistent knots in her perfect hair.

But now Ayra had perked up after the mention of shopping. "I don’t need new clothes at all. If it were entirely up to me, I’d wear nothing but my collar. My lewd bottom and breasts should be ready for Master’s punishment at all times—though I fear his cruel hand oh-so-immensely."

"Is that right?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "Literally just your collar?"

"Yes! In fact, if Elsa is buying additional attire, perhaps I should get several new collars and matching leashes," she continued, thumping her tail excitedly against the mattress. "And a special tag with your name and address on it, declaring that my heart and body belong only to you, Master—and to please return me unto you should I ever get lost."

"If it makes you happy," I noted dryly.

"Oh, it would make me ever-so-happy!" Ayra nodded solemnly before breaking into happy giggles.

I set the brush aside, subtly signaling that Elsa’s hair was sufficiently groomed. "Well, we can talk about all of this in the morning, ladies. It’s been a long day of excitement, dragon-slaying, and class-unlocking. Time to get some rest."

"But Master hasn’t brushed my hair yet," Ayra whined, her floppy dog ears drooping.

"Your bob barely reaches past your chin," I pointed out. "It’s already perfect. But I could scratch behind your ears a bit until you fall asleep."

She huffed but didn’t argue further, and her tail more or less gave away that the compromise was sufficient.

I moved to the light switch, flicking it off before navigating through the darkness back to the bed.

I slid between the women, who immediately began their nightly battle for dominance over as much of my body as they could claim.

"I claimed his chest first, you opportunistic hound!" Elsa hissed, trying to drape herself across my torso.

"Arf! You had his chest last night," Ayra countered with a bark that jump-scared me as she shoved and elbowed her way into the contested territory. "It’s my turn to feel his heartbeat beneath my cheek!"

"Girls, please," I groaned as they continued to wrestle each other. "There’s enough of me to go around."

"I clearly find fault with that statement," Elsa sniffed, "or this wouldn’t be a recurring issue."

I sighed heavily and stared up at the ceiling. First they were making me entertain them all day, then they were demanding my attention when we showered, next they were asking me to shop for them, and now this.

"Damn, these heroines are so high maintenance™."

As Ayra attempted a different approach, namely climbing directly on top of me with her bare butt and tail right in my face, a purple glow from outside caught my attention in the window.

It was visible through the gap in the curtains, and the light it cast was familiar in a very specific way.

"Hold up," I said, suddenly alert. We’d already killed a monster today, so there was only one thing this could mean.

Without warning, I gathered up Ayra by the back of her neck like a kitten, her limbs dangling as I held them aloft with my enhanced strength.

Wrapping my other arm around Elsa, I turned us all toward the window. "Look."

"Juniper!" Elsa exclaimed with wide blue eyes. Then she immediately frowned. "Her timing is atrocious. I was just about to sit on your face."

I frowned. Damn. That really is bad timing, I thought.

Ayra, however, reacted much more positively. "Arf! Arf! Awoooo!"

She wriggled free of my grip with shocking agility, threw up the window, and literally launched herself through it, landing on all fours in the driveway below. She promptly sprinted toward the field.

"Well, that’s one way to greet a friend," I muttered, setting Elsa down gently. "It’s cold out there. Is she going to be alright?"

Elsa scoffed, but offered me her hand. "She, like me, is not as frail with the elements as a human."

"Shall we use the door like civilized people?"

"I suppose we must maintain some poise," she agreed with a sigh.

We hurried downstairs, putting on robes and slippers, and walked out the back door, finding Ayra already at the edge of the yard where purple portal power was crackling in the air.

The portal was indeed forming, but something seemed different about it this time—the tear was struggling to widen, pulsing and contracting like it was fighting against some resistance.

"Is it supposed to do that?" I asked, keeping a cautious distance.

"No," Elsa said with a concerned expression. "The passage must be difficult. Juniper must be expending considerable energy and focus to force it open and pass through at the same time."

We watched as the portal finally stabilized, expanding just enough for a figure to emerge.

First came those horns I remembered from my dream—ivory ram’s horns capped with gold ornaments at the tips that shone twinkling under the stars.

Then her head appeared, with blood-red hair cascading in spiraling curls down to her lower back, framing her dark-skinned, sharply angular face. Multiple piercings ran up both her ears. It was her, alright.