"It appears your curious building is occupied," Black Fang told Blossom with an amused tone.

Ayame stopped in her tracks. Her hand hovered near her storage ring, ready to summon her katana.

Her eyes moved toward Black Fang, who did not pause her leisurely walk, then to the bright glow leaking from the sauna window.

And there they were.

Quinlan, naked, muscles glistening from the heat of the sauna.

Vex, just as thoroughly lacking in apparel, sat in his arms after having jumped up so he could hold her. She was clinging to him as if her life depended on it, with her pale skin pressed tightly against his.

The two were clearly moments away from stepping into the sauna together, and clearly also doing the dirty while at it.

Ayame closed her eyes and sighed, weary resignation washing over her like an old habit. "Of course. Why would he not be outside at night in the cold with a naked woman in his arms? I mean, that would just make too much sense."

But before she could say more, Blossom's tail started wagging so fast it was almost a blur. The dogkin had already sniffed the air even before Black Fang voiced her observation, and her golden eyes lit up in recognition.

"Master!"

"Wait-" Ayame began, but it was too late.

Blossom bolted forward, launching herself off the last step with all the enthusiasm of a loyal hound who'd just found her favorite person. Quinlan only had a split second to react.

Seeing the blur of blonde hair hurtling toward him, he shifted Vex into his right arm, freeing the left just in time to catch Blossom mid-air.

Her momentum carried her right against him, and before he could even speak, she started kissing his face and neck, tail wagging violently behind her.

"Master!! How did Jasmine fare with being introduced to the pleasures of being born a woman?" She quoted what Quinlan had told her a long time ago - about being introduced to the pleasures of being born a woman before he ravaged her - between kisses, completely ignoring that Vex was currently occupying his other arm.

The Hexwitch, for her part, looked like she was about to set someone on fire. A certain blonde-haired someone.

Her brow twitched. Her lips pressed into a pout so sharp it could've cut glass. And Quinlan felt mighty sharp nails bite into his skin. But he bore it with gritted teeth.

It was his duty as a man with such a large and quirky harem, he knew.

Quinlan did not want any trouble between his harem members.

To that end, he met her glare and managed a smile that hid it all. "I'll make it up to you."

Her crimson eyes narrowed. "How?"

He didn't even hesitate. "A date. Just the two of us. No one else."

Vex blinked rapidly. "Really?"

"Yeah."

The pout disappeared so fast it was comical. Her face brightened like a kid being handed her favorite candy.

"Okay!" she chirped, nodding cutely.

Just like that, the storm passed before it even had the chance to form.

Quinlan curiously turned his attention toward the two oriental women, though, truth be told, oriental features were more nuanced on Ayame.

If Quinlan had to make a comparison, Ayame would be of fully Japanese origins, while Black Fang would be more of a mixture of European and Japanese.

"Might I know what the occasion is? Not that I'm complaining, of course. I'm just curious."

The two newcomers finished their approach and stepped fully into the light.

Black Fang's intricate tattoos along her shoulder and neck pulsed with life, slow and weak, akin to her pulse. Quinlan assumed that it meant her heart was relaxed.

She didn't say a word in response to his question.

Her gaze simply lingered on him, on his face, his posture, the way his two lovers clung to him, and there was no telling what she was thinking. Her expression remained unreadable, studious.

Thanks to her evident lack of intention to answer his question, the honors fell to Ayame.

The Skysplitter sighed again. "Lady Black Fang was on her way to take a bath."

That much, at least, made sense.

The mansion had two bathing areas, the smaller one inside the harem suite, which was comfortable enough for his women to share, and the larger one, built for guests and gatherings, complete with a wide marble basin and multiple enchanted showerheads.

Each one shimmered with enchanted light, pumping heated water drawn from underground, purified and filtered through layered water crystals.

Guests who didn't wish to enter the communal pool could simply stand beneath those enchanted fixtures and be bathed in perfect temperature and cleanliness, without lifting a finger.

Ayame continued, folding her arms behind her back. "While there, she ran into Blossom and me. We were conducting our own bath. Long story short," Ayame went on dryly, "Blossom began raving about your sauna, how it was your personal project, which was an invention never before seen, and how the 'heat made her feel all warm and loose inside, as if her muscles were melting in the best way.'…"

She rolled her eyes, "… and before I knew it, she had Lady Black Fang's curiosity piqued."

Her shoulders lifted in a resigned half-shrug. "And here we are."

Quinlan, frankly, wasn't surprised.

He already knew that despite Black Fang's usual poker face and lacking emotional availability, she was not only a very curious woman who spent years of her life reading books in order to absorb as much knowledge as possible - which was how she knew he was a primordial ever since sighting him - but she was also 'slightly' obsessed with learning more about Quinlan in particular.

A new invention by Quinlan? Now that was hitting everything all at once.

And, indeed, her attention was soon changed from Quinlan to the building standing behind him.

Her eyes, bright and sharp even in the low light, traced the lines of the building as though studying it piece by piece.

Without saying a word, she began walking toward it.

Her movements were silent, predatory even, the way only a seasoned murderer could walk. But this time, there was no malice in it. Just curiosity. Pure, quiet curiosity.

Quinlan followed after her, with Vex still nestled against his right arm and Blossom clinging to his left like a content koala. Ayame walked beside him.

"The concept is simple," Quinlan, seeing the immense curiosity in the woman, began explaining. She hadn't asked per se, but he knew Black Fang was a woman of few words.

He gestured to the wooden walls. "Inside, there's a heating chamber fed by a furnace. It's dry heat makes you sweat, flushes out toxins, helps with muscle recovery, and improves blood flow."

Black Fang tilted her head slightly, her eyes darting to the base where the faint orange light pulsed. She didn't comment, so he continued.

"And then," Quinlan gestured toward the nearby cold basin, "after the body has had enough of the heat, you dip in there. Cold water shocks the system, strengthens it. Reinvigorates you."

As he spoke, she circled the building slowly. Her fingertips began grazing the outer wall, stopping briefly near the vent slits to peer inside.

When she moved again, her eyes lingered on the stone furnace beneath the structure. Then, as his explanation went on, she saw the layered rock array through the glass door of the sauna.

It was the first sign of genuine interest for a building he'd seen her display. She did not care about his luxurious mansion, at least not enough to display such evident curiosity.

"These stones…" she noted quietly. Even from outside the sauna, she could tell they were special.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.