Chapter 1056 – Christmas Back 6 – And then there was a jolly time
A fuzzy feeling was in the air, stemming from heaters, foodstuffs and Christmas cheer. No more cookies or chocolate covered the table. Instead, there was soup, bread, vegetables, and a Turkheir roast. John had since seen one of those things live. They were, in essence, small, chubby raptors of the dinosaur variety. Once cooked, they had a remarkable resemblance to a turkey, although the skin was crispier, the meat on the bones thicker and much, much tastier. The fragrance it spread through the room was enhanced by the honey-based sauce Aclysia had basted it with. Repeatedly over the several hours the roast had spent in the oven, she had spread a fresh layer of sauce over it, leaving it glazed and juicy. The meat was almost as sexy as the thighs of his women.
They dug in with merriment and laughter, sitting around the table in simple clothes. As much as they enjoyed nudity, they didn’t like the possibility of getting splattered with hot food.
John sat in his chair and found himself saying nothing, only smiling into the gathering. Rave was chatting with Eliana, making sure the pretty little psycho was doing alright. After they had sorted out the initial confusion and the embarrassment she had felt at the birthday song, the almost fully melded woman turned out to behave almost exactly like Eliza would have. Sometimes she got a bit more violent or growled with genuine threat. Sometimes she cussed like a drunken sailor. Sometimes she slapped aside someone touching her. Those incidents grew noticeably rarer over the hour after Eliza’s consciousness came back and would likely continue to do so as both her and Thana grew more comfortable in being parts of Eliana.
The positive development there eased what little worry he still felt today. The two returners of the harem, Momo and Nathalia, were busy exchanging views about the kind of plants found near rivers cutting through a savanna. A random topic, but one they were engaged with regardless. Lydia’s conversation with Lee and Sylph was a bit more expected, the first and the last of that list describing the incredible sensations of anal sex to the middle. Worth mentioning there was that, while Lydia and Nathalia sat next to each other, they spoke fairly little. After several hours of getting to know each other better, the two had shifted their attention to the rest of the harem. Forcing themselves to keep speaking would have been improper and John saw no animosity in their short interactions.
In the absence of her Master needing to be served, Aclysia had turned her caring nature to dote on Salamander. Usually the red-skinned elemental reacted with sarcasm to any attempt to pamper her, but she must have been in the mood and gladly engaged in being fed. Next to them, Siena and Undine talked quietly. Those two were still a particularly tightly knit duo in the harem (and part of a trio with Eliza in the past and Eliana in the future). What had happened exactly a year prior, the incident that had led to Undine’s corruption, spurned on by Siena, they had both long gotten over.
A couple seats further, Beatrice, Scarlett, and Gnome were having a calm discussion about whether a god of procrastination existed and, if yes, if they would ever manage to get out of the house and reveal themselves to the world. Momo and Scarlett spoke more than the other two, as could be expected, but all were engaged.
Lastly, there were Nia and Metra, who were talking to Stirwin. In a subversion of usual talks with the cosmic crocodile, the Celestial Devourer was actually silent, unable to really formulate a proper response to Metra making fun of him. Stirwin was out of his element, so used to being respected as a figure of authority or power. Simultaneously, Metra kept the jabs light-hearted, so the light spirit couldn’t really get mad. Nia tried her best to defend him, but her verbal abilities weren’t great either.
Just a couple metres removed from the table, Velka and Copernicus were having their own pieces of Turkheir. Because her stomach was a bit more delicate in terms of sauces, Velka got hers raw. That did not stop her from occasionally leaning over and trying to peck a piece of the solar feline’s roasted cut. Each time, she only caught the jaguar’s paw. That she kept on going was the only proof John needed that all was in friendly competition.
In all of that chatter and excitement, he was the only person without a conversation partner. He was completely content with that. There was no extreme focus on him in this room. All of the women around, they loved him – they didn’t worship him. They sometimes let him feel that way, particularly in sexual settings, and a few of them were definitely more obsessive in their adoration than others. None of them, however, were incapable of living without him (in the psychological sense). They had each other, friends and dreams beyond him. Aclysia, now a housekeeper by main occupation, was the closest to being dependent purely on him in every aspect of her life. Given what else the weaponized maid achieved in her days, that let John think he was doing pretty well.
He was surrounded by self-actualized people, happy with their own life, leaning on each other but none unable to live for themselves. They were all there because of him, but they didn’t stay only because of him. Watching them live with joy was almost enough of a reward for all the things he had done.
John was not good enough of a person to make that really true. After a while of being quiet on his own, enjoying the salty taste of the soup and the honeyed meat, he attached himself to one of the ongoing conversations. Soon thereafter, he had an already sated Sylph sitting on his lap, his dick up her ass. As much satisfaction as he drew out of the wholesomeness of his harem, he was still a man with clear desires and needs. Ultimately, he had to balance both, that which he ought to do and that which he wanted to indulge in.
He liked to think he was doing rather well on that front.
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The Harem Couch extended while he was sitting down, turning from a simple sofa segment into something approximating a leather-clad bed. Once he put his feet up, the Couch expanded in that direction as well, leaving his entire body supported by the surface and the backrest. When two of his haremettes, Scarlett and Metra, laid down to either side of him, the Couch adjusted a bit further so all of that was optimized.
“It’s an original of the Gilgamesh story,” Momo told him.
John took a long breath in and very carefully put the stone back into the bag, before his fingers could do any damage to that archaeological treasure. “I think that may qualify a bit over the usual birthday budget... for the love of God, girls, please put them away!” His heart was beating with panic, watching the way some of the girls inspected their shards as if they were just another interesting rock with inscriptions. “That belongs in a museum!”
“Relax, I found two other tablets that are complete.” Momo rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t gift you the cultural heritage of mankind. You’re getting a bit too excited though. This is a retelling of the original story between Gilgamesh, or Romulus, whichever you prefer, and Enkidu. Not the mundane second-hand account of those tales.”
“Ah,” John only felt relief at the fact that this gift was less valuable than he had initially thought, “well, that’s still incredibly valuable. Thank you, Momo.”
The fairy support smiled softly and crossed her arms, almost trying not to look too friendly. “I couldn’t bring back nothing – even if you would probably be satisfied if I allowed you to clap my ass once or something.”
“Have ya seen your butt?” Rave asked. “It’s a piece of art.”
“I did spend like an afternoon on it,” Momo stretched sideways to inspect her own backside, “and it’s still not as good as yours. It’s basically just big.”
“I fail to see the problem,” John said.
“Fat asses are nice!” Sylph declared loudly. “Aclysia and Beatrice have the biggest butts and they are really nice! Siena also has a massive butt and she is nice. Nathalia has a huuuuuge butt and she is super nice... Sally also has a big bouncy bubble butt.”
Salamander did her best to ignore the airhead, stretching on the couch. The tank top she wore stretched over her enormous breasts and tugged underneath them when she relaxed again. Her entire body attracted the eyes of men, tall and womanly as she was. “To be fair, with that guy,” she pointed offhandedly at John, “being the selecting factor here, there’s bound to be a bias towards sexually submissive women with big asses.”
“And what man would blame me?” the Gamer posed the question, gesturing around the room. “Look at how well I did for myself.”
“Can’t disagree,” Metra said.
“I could, but that’d take all evening,” Momo stated and looked to the head maid. “Sorry about that, please do go on.”
“Certainly,” Aclysia said and reached for the first gift.