Adam looked Ronja up and down, daring to meet her gaze unlike the other two. She even had a momentary thought...
This snake is quite warm.
Thane shifted in his seat. "I am Thane, a Black Horse Beastmen originating from the Risen Plateau. I came to the Imperial Beast City to find a Mistress after donating funds to gain a ticket and was chosen by my lady. I can do most household repairs, and am strong enough to work long hours. I have built a small construction company in the main city. It's currently being run by a proxy."
He gave a very text-book answer. "Thank you, Thane, for choosing to follow me."
Adam, being the only one left capable of speech, was forced to fill the silence following Thane's school-boy introduction.
"I'm just wondering why you would choose me, my lady. I am a cold-blooded, venomous creature... most hated by other people. My mother even named me for God's first mistake. So why would you like these cold, hard scales? Even more so, an herbivore with low offensive capabilities and a large scar? And even an incomplete transformation to complete your set. How intriguing."
Ronja thought carefully about her answer for him... "I find myself a little warm in the summer time, so you'll do just fine as any other Beastman. Besides, I am the woman of fertility in the last rank, with a small territory on the outskirts. I could just as easily ask why you chose to follow me home. It's not as if you Beastmen have no choice in the matter."
"Touche."
As they were speaking, Ma Teo had pulled out a notepad and was scribbling in the background.
The note read:
I am Ma Teo!
I am an incomplete sparrow. My family secured tickets for all of my brothers in hopes that we could find a mistress. While possessing unsightly looks, my fertility is still intact.
Thank you Miss Ronja, for choosing me.
-
The group continued their discussion. Anna, Cat, and Damien brought in the meal and utensils, and everyone sat down to eat together - despite some resistance from the sisters.
Ronja was quite happy that her original personality was pretty relaxed. It would be difficult to keep up a persona as someone who had not come from a class-based society herself. However, she was a bit more careful about her table manners.
System, can I see the rewards for successfully arriving at the estate?
"Absolutely! The host has gotten one instant conception pill! Please use this reward tonight to conceive immediately!"
Ronja's face went dark.
Ma Teo immediately noticed and reached out to touch her shoulder.
"I'm fine." Ronja brushed him off and continued cutting into her steak. The last thing she wanted right now was for a man to touch her - at least not until she had built her resolve.
It seemed that the system was dead-set on pushing her into pregnancy. It was also the only way for her to receive any real benefits. The question now was who to choose first?
Thane seemed the healthiest of everyone. So to choose him to nurture through pregnancy was the least logical option. Evolution was not the biggest priority.
And Ma Teo's condition, while problematic, would probably warrant a higher level to solve.
Adam seemed like the right choice as far as urgency, considering his sickly status... but his attitude seemed a bit problematic.
But so what? She wasn't bound to him for his attitude anyway. She just needed a baby.
Thus she immediately ran into a new dilemma. Neither she, nor the original Ronja had any experience with someone else!
It was uncommon for a woman to guard their chastity in the new beast era, considering the fertility rates. Some places even promoted un-wed "practices" as a way to increase conception rates.
It was not uncommon to see a mistress going into marriage having already given birth to an illegitimate pup or two.
If anything, having children going into a marriage was proof of a blessed woman. And many were eager to jump at the chance to be wed with these ladies.
Ronja's mind raced at a million miles per hour in a place no one else could see, unaware of the three pairs of eyes that observed her closely.
One apprehensively, another almost in a state of disbelief, and the last like a true predator...
As the meal wrapped up, Ronja has finally made her decision.
She would choose Adam and come clean before any choices - or actions - were made.
"Everyone is dismissed."
And so, everyone went back to their respective rooms, and Ronja went back to her quarters.
-
When she arrived a fresh bath was waiting for her.
She used the shower next to it to rinse off first before climbing into the warm water.
"Anna!"
Footsteps quickly approached, "Yes, mistress?"
"Could you please ask Adam to come over?"
"Of course my Lady."
Light footsteps faded as she walked away.
As the steam rose and tension seemed to slip from her body, she had dosed off just a bit while relaxing, her body enveloped in water and covered in bubbles.
A pair of soft hands began to knead her shoulders.
Ronja groaned in absolute comfort, "Ahh, thank you Anna."
Anna's hands continued to knead her shoulders, neck, and reached down into the tub to rub her upper back as well. Soliciting another sigh of approval from her.
Ronja felt Anna's hair brush her shoulder, her cheek coming right up to her ear.
"You're welcome My Lady."
Except it wasn't Anna's voice.
The sound seemed to slither up against her ear, soliciting a delayed response - a frantic scramble to the other side of the tub.
And where her head had originally been, there were Adam's hands, glistening with bath oil he had gotten from God knows where.
Ronja's eyes drifted up from his hands, to his forearms... bicep, peck, neck... all glistening with condensation from the steam in the bath.
He hadn't even gotten in yet, but it seemed like he was dripping wet.
His eyes showed a kind of hunger she wasn't used to. He shook the bubbles off of his hands back into the water, and brushed his hair behind him.
A cheeky smile bloomed on his face as Ronja's breath hitched.
He was only wearing a towel.