Ever had too much of a sweet thing? Ever felt like the taste of said sweet thing keeps getting worse and worse? That`s pretty much how Kurdran was feeling. After his victory in the fishing competition and a story babbling evening, it was followed by couple of days of mediocre busy work. Besides, he was getting tired of seeing all these dang flowers all the time. He was starting to miss the dreary and dark alleys and the menacing castle of oak in the distance. Atleast it felt more adventurous to walk in.

However, there were also two other things in the back of his mind. One much less important thing was returning the kimono he had gotten from the weird cobbler. Now that he thought about it, he had propably not done a very good job, but hey, that`s what he gets for trusting a dwarf with commercialing fashion.

The more important thing was a thing he was a little bit excited about, yet just a teeny tiny bit dreading: The return to his caravan home. He was gonna face his family head on and tell them what he had been doing. If things went well, it would mean he worried about nothing. However, if he was thrown out permanently for not finding anything... As much as it would hurt, he would not be feeling bad about it anymore.

He gave a brief look at the tarot card he had gotten from vivianna. Yup, it wouldn`t matter. Tons of stars around the big one after all.

He wrapped his kimono on a stick like a pouch, and filled it with all his belongings and food, including the leftover salmon he had. If there was one thing he could praise orchidea for, it was its fish. The tarot card of star however, he instead strapped to his rope like belt, almost in a glorified position, for all to see. With the items on hand, he proceeded to leave super early into the morning, with not too many other people around. It was kind of a natural way of doing it. As dwarves said "The earlier you go, the more you save in lamp oil".

As usual, he walked through the town, not really caring about what an eyesore he was with his barefeet and an awfully fancy bag. other than he himself, the only real confusing folk were some rune knights. Thus there was no real reason for him to pay attention to them either.

...When suddenly he heard loud shouting. Naturally being a curious fellow he turned his head and stopped moving for a little while as he stared at the weird situation. Some short lass had seemingly slapped a soldier (always hilarious when it happened back home), and now was pretty much telling them to get the hell away from her. "Hehe, Tell`em!" He mumbled to himself, almost cheering the girl on, as he almost got a bit excited from seeing the knight raise his hand to slap the girl back... But instead his pals proceeded to drag him away. "Pfeh, spoilsports."

However, the girl seemed to fall on her knees. Perhaps she was just recovering from her moment of bravery. May as well go praise her, Kurdran thought. "Yeah, take that wuss away! I bet this gal could have beaten yer metal butt to next tuesday!" he shouted towards the trio, as they went farther.

"Real brave of ye, lassie! Ye got guts! Not many people are brave enough to go and slap the gu-!" He walked towards the girl, as the closer he got, the more familiar she seemed... and as he saw her face, his mouth went into a brickwall of teeth as his eyes widened, and he backed away a bit. "Oh bloody hell it`s ye!"

The demon possessed girl, that he knew was here for a long time, was finally in front of his face... As much as he subconsciously tried to avoid it. His hair had raised from shock, as he shook a teeny tiny bit... However, as he gave her another look, she was grasping her hand, and crying her eyes out. Somehow it actually got him a bit annoyed. So much so, that the initial worry got muddled in the process. "Are ye seriously crying after slapping somebody!?" He reached his hands out to grab the girl by the shoulders and lift her up. "Ye should be laughing at him for being such a wuss, that he falls over from yer teeny tiny hand slap!"

He looked around for a little bit, but he didnt seemingly catch anyone in his eyes. "Atleast ye were manly enough to slap him without that stuffed babysitter of yers around..." He had to give her points for that... Somehow, she also seemed a bit taller. He could have sworn he was the clearly taller one last time they met.

The sudden exclamation that came from nearby made her eyes widen for a moment in disbelief. "It's the dwarf!" The girl answered in return yet as he asked her with a hint of annoyance in his tone why she was crying after slapping someone the girl tried her best to hold back the flow of tears, wiping them with the edge of her kimono's arm sleeve as she exclaimed in annoyance. "I'm not crying! T-There was something in my eyes!" Quite a classic excuse, and with a last sniffle she had finally numbed out the feeling of pain in her hand as she mumbled softly. "I never thought the human body was that hard... Fia is soft and snuggly so I never assumed that a person's face would be as hard as a brick..."

She mumbled softly as she watched Kurdran look around a bit, seemingly slightly curious about something and when he finally voiced the reason behind what he was looking for she huffed lightly. "He might be Asmodeus' servant but that doesn't mean he is at my side all the time! That would make the more exciting moments with Fia a bit awkward..." The girl smiled weakly as she mentally could already visualize the scene of her and her fiance being up to their usual shenanigans in their bed when suddenly the tall demonic butler stood next to their bed... That would be awkward to say the least! "And it's not like I'm entirely alone."

Snap snap

A sudden loud snap came from beside the dwarf, and if he looked to the source a large Aligator stood beside him snapping his jaws as if he was offended at the lack of awareness! "That's Snappy, we won him during the fishing contest and were allowed to keep him. According to Sebas, Snappy is hopelessly in love with Asmodeus..."

Snappy snapped his jaws once more while Esperia lightly swept her hand back to her side, slipping it back into the sleeve of her kimono as she mused softly. "What about you Kurdran? What brings you here?" She raised a hand to her chin and pondered for a moment what type of possible reason a dwarf could have for attending the festival. "Is it booze? Or girls? Wait the latter would be more a reason Asmodeus would have. I think it's likely booze! They say a dwarf's priorities are booze, money and then women! At least that's what the stories say~"

A soft chuckle followed as she scratched the back of her head lightly. "I'm mostly just taking a walk since Fia is still asleep~ but then I heard those guys badmouthing her and I kind of snapped... those tin cans know nothing about Fia and how hard that decision was for her. I hope our upcoming marriage will distract her~"

A light blush emerged on her cheeks as she smiled joyously at the dwarf, waiting to hear his reaction to her earlier question.

Kurdran couldn`t have looked more annoyed, as the girl immediately started spouting excuses. "Bah, yer lucky the guard didn`t get to slap ye, or ye would propably be crying even louder!" He had met this girl in oak before. She had been very cocky and proud, like a princess with all sorts of white powders slapped on her face. He knew she had scary powers behind that innocent facade, so big that they even made him feel queasy... Yet, with all those things, she was still just a wussy and cocky girl who hadn`t changed a bit.

...And as he chastised her for it, she proceeded to babble everything that had happened to her. She was propably one of the only cases where he could get a taste of his own medicine, with the girl not stopping for a moment. "Now listen ye...!" He tried to get his own words in, as she snapped her fingers... and the crocodile next to her proceeded to snap its mouth near him, making him flinch! "GAH!" Apparently, the crocodile was a price from the fishing competition... and had fallen in love, with the dang succubus in her. Once again, Kurdrans head turned a bit redder as he realized something. "Oh, so ye did cheat!" No wonder the midget of a girl had won her portion of the competition! "I pulled me victory with me own bare hands and ye go and try to th...!" The crocodile snapped its teeth again, with kurdran swinging his palm towards it annoyed. "Oh shut up you!"

She proceeded to ask HIM a question, for which Kurdrans thoughts were a bit more neutral towards. After all, she was pretty much right in the usual ideas for dwarves... although implying that he came here for the booze... "Have ye bloody tried the booze here!? It`s like somebody threw soap in tapwater! Thank god this place had a stall from Oak or else I would have died from thirst! I was here for w-" He suddenly realized he was starting to talk to the girl like he was sitting at a tea table with her, as she proceeded to talk about that weird fiancee of hers again!

"Okay, stop fer a minute!" He pushed his arms to the side, like a roadside cop. "Yer wife dropped from the rune knights?!" As much as that made the girls decision of slapping a guard even braver, it almost made her situation seem a bit worse! "Ye go and slap yer haters in the face and just proceed to cry in front of em!? Or were you expecting that dang donglordess in yer brain to save yer buttock at the last second?!" Honestly, it made him wonder if the butler really wasn`t around.

He proceeded to poke her in the chest. "Ye need a better spine to hold that bosom of yer adult side! Ain`t this "Fia" gonna be carrying yer butt forward even after ye`ve tied the knot fer the rest of time!" He was still not exactly sure who this fia was, although again, the name was ringing annoying bells in his head. Almost like something was punched out of it. "Besides, a bit o`muscle would keep yer hands from breaking with yer wimpy slaps." He flexed his bicep to prove his point.

"I might have, but at least I took the first step!" Esperia exclaimed in protest, still feeling the throbbing pain in her hand. Indeed, even if she might have started crying, this was the very first step she took toward becoming strong enough to walk at Fia's side rather than always being protected by her.

Still, the crocodile's presence next to Kurdran seemingly had quickly changed the nature of the conversation, leading Esperia to pout in return as she refuted his accusation of her cheating with a statement of her own. "I didn't cheat! Asmodeus is a really good fisher! Actually, I heard she learned how to fish from a really powerful and ancient demon in the Abyss who catches some ridiculously huge creatures there!" Still, this talk about a bar from Oak made the obsidian-haired girl blink in bewilderment, a hand reaching for her chin as she hummed softly. "A stall from Oak? I wonder if that one belongs to that Lich... That means Lilja is likely at the festival also..."

Musing softly she suddenly stopped and looked in bewilderment at Kurdran as he inquired about the fact her wife dropped from the Rune Knights. Although at some point she had felt an immense amount of guilt about the matter, right now she was quite happy about the fact her fiance had left the Rune Knights behind. "Mhmm~ After the events in Oak we decided it was for the best for Fia to leave them." Yet his statement that followed made her puff her cheeks lightly, correcting him quickly. "I held it in till they left! Even I know there is a right time and place to cry!" The girl exclaimed with a hint of mild annoyance in her voice yet the words that followed made her tilt her head lightly to the side in confusion.

"Donglordess?" Who could he possibly have meant with a nickname like that? Of course, while she was oblivious it seemed the Demon Lord of Lust had caught the signal of who those words were meant for and mused softly. "Quite an original name~" she complimented with a chuckle yet Esperia quickly focused on something she considered more important. "I can use her power without her needing to take over!" Still, at the poke in her chest, she couldn't help but look flabbergasted. A better size to hold Asmodeus' bosom, she'd likely need a spine with the strength of a giant for that to work. "That Fia? Why are you talking about her as if she is a stranger when the two of you shared drinks to the point of being wasted?"

She inquired yet the last bit made her cheeks flush up lightly as she mused with a sheepish grin on her lips. "Knowing Fia I'm sure she would absolutely love carrying my rear forward for the rest of our lives~" No kidding, she liked her backside as much as she liked Fia's pillows!

"But you're right... I need to become strong enough so I can protect Fia also! But I can't get too much muscle... my adorable looks are my selling point to get Fia all excited!"

...It was easy to read from Kurdrans face that he wasn`t exactly convinced of the things the demon had been spewing to Esperia. "Really. Ye sure she ain`t just talking about some succubus friend of hers that prefers bloody giants to men?" It seemed like common sense to him. What kind of a demon would go out of their way to teach a bigger demon how to fish? She was pretty much the perfect bait already, why would she need someone teaching it?

However, subject changed so quickly to something completely different, that Kurdran actually blinked. She brought up Lilja... and Kurdran remembered that apparently she had done something to her. Something moderately bad from what he remembered too...

He kept glaring at her, as she brought up the events in Oak, and proceeded to say, that it was alright for her to cry. "Bah! They might have turned back and laughed at ye if they had heard ye!" The discussion proceeded onto her saying that apparently she could have beaten them easily with the demons magic. However, to Kurdran, the fact still remained... As another came to light, hitting him like a boxing glove on the nose.

"Wait..." He concentrated a bit on that, ignoring a bit of "loveydovey" talk from her, as the pieces connected. "That proper woman with spunk is YER WIFE!?" His voice had raised quite a bit in loudness, as some people outright seemed to flinch and look towards him, not that he himself cared. This pipsqueak had the greatest looking human woman in his dwarven life under her thumb? "Gods damn ye..." It just felt so... WEIRD! If she was the one that actually punched him, It just made the picture even wonkier!

THIS GNOME MUSCLED, PIN FINGERED, WUSS OF A MOUSE BAIT DEMONS PILLOW, WAS THE WIFE OF A BAR BRAWLING BADASS!?

To say he was miffed, was kind of an understatement. He was almost literally gleaming red and steaming, as she proceeded to say how she dreamed about being able to protect her... and wanted to keep herself adorable just cause of her!? Without muscle of all things!?

Kurdran had pretty much had it. "THAT! AIN`T! THE! BLOODY! POINT!" He actually hopped and stomped the ground under him in annoyance. Do I really have to twist this from iron thread for ye!? I`ll tell ye then!" He threw his small bag on to the ground, wriggled his fingers a bit... And proceeded to lunge towards Esperia, grabbing her into dwarf sized bear hug, locking her arms under his. "ALEIYOP!" With the proud shout, she lifted her up into the air, holding her like an oversized teddy bear in a friendly hug... except this tiny bear was squeezing her quite hard to be friendly!

"This is yer situation! Yer all alone! No big ol`butlers, yer mommy in yer heads asleep, and Fias nowhere to be seen!" He tried to shake her a bit to get it in her head. "Yer all alone, ye cant wiggle yer fingers fer magic, and yer bodys so teeny and soft, that they can just hold ye hostage like this!" He would continue shaking her. "WHAT, WOULD, YE, DO!?"

Kurdran might not have realized it in his anger, but this was propably enough of a revenge for what she had done to Lilja. However, Now he was pretty much just shaking her about waiting for her to try atleast something for herself, as he seemed to be growing more hair on his body from all the shaking about!

Esperia was quick to shake her head in denial to the statement that it might have been a succubus friend of Asmodeus who preferred giants over humans. Everyone knew giants didn't live inside lakes! Then again, the fact she had once fished up a giant's boot in a lake made her question that knowledge just a little bit... "That's why I made sure they left!" Esperia exclaimed with a pout yet as the dwarf rudely ignored her passionate lovely-dovely talk about Fia the dwarf suddenly shouted out loud, seemingly surprised at the identity of her wife.

"Mhmm~ Fiammetta Barone is my fiance!" Esperia exclaimed with a proud smile, hands pressed onto her hips as she grinned happily. But then things went down south quite quickly as Kurdran seemingly started getting peeved about something, stomping the ground in annoyance as he decided to express the lesson he wanted to teach with a physical example. A soft gasp of surprise came as she was pulled up in the air by the dwarf who had squeezed her in a bear hug. "Let go of me!" Esperia demanded in annoyance as the dwarf continued onward.

Even if the way he was teaching her his lesson was wrong, she still understood the meaning behind his words. Let say that this was a real fight and she was by herself? There would be no Fia to save her, even if she genuinely believed Fia would always rescue her, no matter what. Let say something prevented Sebastian from reaching for her, then what? Although there was one error the man had made in his assumptions. Squirming and flailing in his grasp "Unhand me!" yet her demand reached deaf ears, and even if the hug wasn't too hard in comparison to what some people could do, the pressure around her body started to hurt slowly but certainly. Her arms were pushing feebly against the man's own as tears started to gather in her eyes once more. "I SAID LET ME GO!"

A sudden shout was accompanied by a collection of sparks of obsidian energy that escaped from her body and by now Kurdran would likely notice it. Even those small arms pushing against his own would be harder to restrain than usually, and then the sparks erupted into a blazing aura around her body! It must have been odd, despite looking immensely hot the aura was actually pleasantly cool to the touch, neither too warm or too cold but at the same time instead of the usual cocoon it was more like a small layer of energy had coated the girl and then started to expand, the shape of her body turning from the small girl into that of the larger buxom temptress, yet as the Demon Lord of Lust appeared the expression on her face was much different from the usual tempting looks Asmodeus gave.

Those scornful eyes and the tears in the corner of her eyes clearly suggested who was in control of that body. With a sudden forceful tug Asmodeus pulled free from the dwarf's attempt to restrain her, and soon lunged with a fist down toward the temple of the dwarf's head.

"You're right! I might be small and soft and weak!" She glared at him as she raised her other hand and now was using both fists to drum onto the dwarf's head, unaware that by leaning over him she was inevitably pushing his face closer to her bosom! "But that's why I became like this! That's why I decided to become Asmodeus! Let me remain the small and gentle girl Fia wants me to be! If I need to fight to protect us I'll become the Demon Lord of Lust herself!"

Of course, Snappy was delighted to see Asmodeus return, yet the sight of the tears in her eyes quickly made the alligator realize that something was wrong, and as a result blamed the dwarf for this. Positioning himself behind Kurdran the alligator opened his jaws and went SNAP SNAP on the dwarf's ass!"

The little girl (atleast by human standards) Tried to wriggle herself free in Kurdrans grasp. "Not until ye get it! Wriggle harder!" Perhaps he was being a bit heavy handed. He himself knew that the girl was very petite. Yet, he was frustrated enough to not care a single bit about her cries to let her go. He was waiting for her to actually try something physical. If she was a dwarf, she would have propably headbutted him by now, in the very least. The only thing she proceeded to do however... Was cry.

Kurdran didn`t know if he had gone a little bit too far... Atleast she was finally starting to take what he was saying seriously? Perhaps he should soften his hold just a wee bit...

And then something finally snapped in her. She shouted loudly into his ears, outright making him flinch. "O-Okay, now yer atleast doing something, that`s good!" The girl was starting to glow eerily, with an aura that resembled flames... although he didn`t actually feel any hotter, his eyes just widening at the sight. She was getting coated in some sort of energy slowly, giving Kurdran a little bit of time to regret, as she started to expand into her "Adult" whatever-she-called-it-again form. Atleast he could handle the little pipsqueek, but this forms owner was on a bit different level... And way harder to hold, as her shape got a bit too wide for her dwarven hands, which pretty much made her able to stand normally with a dwarf just hugging her...

Until she outright just freed herself from his hold. He raised his head, almost repentantly... Only to see the face looking down on him being at the verge of crying and all sorts of miffed. "Oh, bloody hell..." He groaned, before the giant baby of a beauty started bumping his head with moderate force, like a child whining about not getting her candy.

Although, what she was whining towards him for once, finally made sense to the dwarf. Even though he was literally getting it beaten into himself. Honestly, just hearing that she had given herself up to the demon to be strong enough, was an outright scary and sad thought. They couldn`t all be icons of masculinity after all. And taking how she still wanted to be adorable to her girl, even with that demonic power trying to control her day to day, he could feel himself respecting the tiny tyke a little bit more...

...If she currently wasn`t trying to as innocently as possible to beat his face in. It was hard to even say anything during it. "Okay! Okay! I Get ye, I get ye! I wouldn`t wanna DOW! Marry a fricking demon either! That`s even worse than looking like UGH! a wimp!" However, another problem was floating his way, as her "Package" was floating towards his face, He desperately proceeded to try to press his hands against her stomach, to keep her somewhat away! "Now stop it, ye darn kitten wearing a whales mam...!"

*SNAP!*

This sudden feeling of pain and agony spread from his buttocks to his head. Slowly but surely, his knees lowered the dwarf down momentarily... 3... 2... 1...

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGH!"

And liftoff! The dwarves knees straightened themselves from the sheer expression of pain, launching him with decent amount of force upwards, as the sound of his yell echoed on the street. However, luckily, the way he leapt resulted in him having a natural cushion for his landing... "The whales mammaries", as his head plunged into them.

Depending on how well the young demon-wannabe reacted to absurd full body tackles, the next part happened either on top of her, or on the ground in front of her:

Kurdran proceeded to roll about, trying to get rid of whatever had snapped onto his buttocks. He occasionally tried to reach out for it with his hands reaching out to outright pull it off by the tail, as his hair rubbed against whatever was under him, starting to generate tiny sparks of electricity. "Get it off! Get it off!" Embarrassing as heck, but Kurdran was never the sort of fellow that was good at holding his actual thoughts inside of himself.

Poor Kurdran, if only he had anticipated the consequences of his actions. "You're saying Fia wouldn't want to marry me because I got a demon inside me?!" Exclaiming in a mixture of disbelief and annoyance, the latter clearly seemed to intensify as the pace of her fists drumming on her head intensifies. "Stop calling me a wimp! That's even worse than being called a midget!" the transformed Esperia complained in protest as she every word that escaped the dwarf's mouth only kindled the flame of anger within her. "I don't have the pillows of a whale! DO WHALES EVEN HAVE PILLOWS?!" the girl exclaimed in annoyance, yet it was then all of a sudden that things turned from bad to worse.

When the alligator bit Kurdran's buttocks and launched the poor dwarf upwards, the resulting leap would have led to quite an unexpected- okay who were we kidding, this was clearly the most natural conclusion for those who had been involved in this mess. Of course, not exactly expecting the full-body tackle the transformed lass found herself knocked onto her back, with a dwarf on top of her whose buttons had an alligator swinging back and forth like a makeshift tail. It didn't help that the face of the dwarf had landed in quite a soft and pillowy place, to Esperia's horror who flailed underneath him.

"Stop it! I don't want to give up my innocence to a dwarf! That's reserved for Fia!" the poor girl cried out as she felt the dwarf's hair rub against her dress, and considering the length of his beard that meant she was feeling tiny sparks of electricity in places she shouldn't! Her cheeks flushing red she tried to force the hysterical dwarf off her, but it was at that time salvation finally came when the alligator suddenly released his grip and started to spit at the nearby ground, clearly disgusted by the flavor which most likely didn't resemble chicken in the slightest.

If by then Kurdran had not gotten off her, the dwarf would have received a forceful shove as Esperia pouted in annoyance. "B-Because of you I can't be a pure bride anymore... Take responsibility!" Poor girl, she clearly was in a flustered state right now!

The alligator meanwhile seemed to be equally distressed, in fact the poor Snappy was puking at the side of the street! And as if on cue Kurdran would likely notice a familiar tension in the air as a man in a butler suit had just came from a nearby street carrying several bags of groceries! It was clear that it was a certain demonic butler, and judging from the state Esperia found herself in, it might had been in Kurdran's best interests to figure out a way to calm her down quickly, because how would Sebas react to the news his beloved master got... 'jolted' by a certain dwarf?

For a little while, the FORMERLY little girl, very hungry and snappy crocodile, and the just a bit rotund dwarf formed a small screaming pile, with each of them seemingly scared about different things happening upon them. Kurdran himself had a very hard time really seeing anything with his eyes for a little while being blocked by propably the softest pillows his head rested on for a while, as he was concentrating wholly on the beast on his buttocks. "Innocent!?" He proceeded to finally get some kind of a grip... literally as he pushed himself up, while squeezing whatever part he had gripped in minor annoyance. "This is YER BLOODY CROCODILE! Biting down on ME pants!"

For a brief moment of few seconds, he stared straight towards the scared lass, before the gears in his head seemingly told him where he was laying, as he hopped back onto his feet with a red face. "Cows tankers!" this whale definitely had some pillows, that is for sure. However, the pain in his buttocks finally stopped, As he turned around, still standing on the poor girl, and actually, chuckled at the crocodile puking. "I guess yer sugarmommy didn`t tell ye how bad a dwarf tastes! There is a reason the laydeh avoided kissing...! And then he felt a proper push on his rump, as he fell face first on the dirt filled road. "Mrmph!"

After a brief moment of head shaking, he stood back up scraping his hair, as the girl proceeded to whimper something about not being a "pure bride" anymore and told him to take responsiblity for his actions. "...Pure bride? Ye saying that me laying on ye ruined ye being a pure wife?!" He was again quite miffed. "I dunno what yer tittymonster does when she is out and about, but me panicking over YOUR pet biting down on me rump is most definitely not gonna ruin ye more than she has!" Low blows were pretty classic thing in dwarf society. And honestly, she had been the one punching him first.

However, he seemingly smiled a little bit. "But atleast ye put in a proper effort on getting me off from ye! If that Fia is the one I know, she will just be proud that ye actually handled something yer own size!" The Fia he knew was a tough lady who didn`t care about the details. If she really liked this weird and spooky transforming lass, and no hypnotic magic was involved, Its up to her to decide how mad she gets. "Besides, I am the "PURE one" here! Me rump has not been touched before!"

He gave a very nasty gleam towards the still puking crocodile, as he proceeded to go and grab it by its tail, lifting it up. "This thing outright ripped a hole in me pants. I think if there is someone who deserves punishment, its this hungry bastard!" He looked at Esperia, like a child asking if he could smack the thing he had just found. However, his eyes slowly turned towards this menacing figure. A figure who had been stuffed so tightly into his suit, that you would think he came from a meat factory. Small droplet of sweat fell down his forehead.

Even as she was flailing underneath the dwarf Esperia couldn't help but find herself unable to get the dwarf off her. Even as he protested that it was her crocodile biting down on his ass, it didn't help that his statement was followed with an attempt to get some sort of grip to push himself up, which inevitably led to his hands to grasp a hold of her bosom, earning a soft scream and even more intensive flailing. "That's not my crocodile, it's a free creature! AND WATCH WHERE THOSE HANDS ARE SQUEEZING!" Poor Esperia, she clearly had not been prepared for this type of encounter, especially not with the clear amusement of Asmodeus who was giggling herself into a hysterical laughter after seeing this happen.

And of course, things went from bad to worse when he hopped back onto his feet and exclaimed something with a red face, a comment that earned a crimson blush from the transformed lass whose hands flailed lightly in the air in protest. "THERE ISN'T ANY MILK COMING OUT OF THOSE!" And please call them something more adorable, lest she'd die from embarrassment. The crocodile had just finished puking when it heard the dwarf address him, causing the crocodile to threateningly snap its jaws with renewed vigor. while Esperia tried to get back onto her feet now that she was no longer being restricted by an electrically charged dwarf. Yet Asmodeus couldn't help but hum in amusement. "I can't say I kissed a dwarf before~" Not the point Asmodeus, even if that was an interesting detail to learn!

His miffed protest made her puff out her cheeks in frustration "Lay on me?! First you grabbed my-my-my..." She whimpered something under her breath, an arm crossing before her bosom as she glared at him. "And then your beard send sparks somewhere it shouldn't have done that!" Still, the talk about a certain tittymonster doing when she is out and about made her tilt her head lightly to the side in confusion. "Point taken. I still get shivers when I remember she and Lilja had sex while I was forced to watch like some perverted little voyeur..." The girl mumbled as she realized something. "Then again, this is technically Asmodeus' body so I guess I'm still pure!" Yet even as her glare faded a little as she grinned briefly.

"Mhmm it's that Fia, albeit if she ever heard about this you'd likely get punched again, so I think it's best this remains a secret." Still the talk about having a rump touched and purity made her quickly protest, a hand rapidly sliding to her backside as she protested the statement. "Just because Fia has done things to my backside doesn't mean that I'm no longer pure of heart!" A few nods of affirmation followed as the crocodile felt yet another nauseous feeling come up and started to puke once more. "Umm, technically... your rump's virginity just got taken by an alligator..."

Oh gods, she really had to do her best not to start laughing right there and then, the crocodile certainly considered it an unforgettable experience, and one he wasn't going to try twice. Yet as the dwarf grabbed the crocodile by the tail and tried to lift it up the alligator snapped his jaws a few time in protest while Esperia shrugged her shoulders lightly. "Technically he was acting on instinct." Yet as Kurdran noticed the approaching figure the butler spoke with his usual polite tone. "Who was doing what Master Esperia?"

Esperia turned her gaze toward the butler, all too aware of the complications this situation could cause. If she told Sebastian what happened then Kurdran would be lucky if he lived to breathe another day, so instead she mused softly. "It seems Snappy discovered a love we never expected to find." As if on cue the crocodile used the distraction to slip free from Kurdran's grasp and tried to swat his rump with his tail! "Is that so... I didn't know crocodiles were attracted to dwarves like that..." And as if he believed the matter he rubbed his chin lightly with his hand as if to ponder the matter. "Either way, I have just finished purchasing the groceries for today, so if you wish I will return to the inn with them now."

"Look, we all have our own ways of protecting ourselves when we need to get hurting, all right?! And I can`t help that yer meatballs are fer once in the way!" Dang hypocrite, praising how she can control her magic with the big mom keeping watch, whilst he has occasional hickups from scratching a bit too much. Besides, what parts could be so specifically important that they couldn`t take a bit of a shock? And of course, the next thing she was explaining was what she had done to Lilja... "I`ll bloody bite YER behind and squeeze em AGAIN, ye darn pussintoohighheels!" He actually raised his hands and walked towards her, like he was about to do it, before he scoffed and crossed em instead. He was ominously silent, like he was thinking...

Luckily, she went to talk about Fia, which was a much more comfortable topic. "Heck, ye would think she has giants blood or something. Her hand has the aura 10 sizes too big. Just enough fer it to really smart when she punches ye, hehe!" Thank god for being stout and easy to move with blows. Although the discussion point again switched to talking about HIS mishaps. "ARE YE EVEN TRYING TO BE NICE TO MEH!?" A loud shout that would have propably been louder, if he hadn`t seen the butler coming their way.

With the butler around, Kurdran was moderately meeker, not really saying anything loudly. He had seen his true form, and knew that he would propably kick his butt a bit harder than Fia if he found out what the lass thought he had done to her. Though for now, it just went into an annoying jab. "Bloody lizard ain`t gonna ever get..." And snappy slap on his buttocks to boot. "Ugh!" he scratched his behind, and looked with eyes of murder. "If Lilja keeps her promise, ye ain`t gonna see yer cousin again..."

However, with the butlers offer of taking the groceries back home, Kurdran seemed to brighten up a tiny bit. "Should propably be quick. This flowerpot of a place ain`t too good with preserving it. Besides, the only good fresh food they have is fish, so ye should propably get that too." He seemed a bit eager to get him away. As much as he respected his strength, with him around a person he didn`t particularly like too much near him, it was like having a packet of tnt next to dynamite. Also with a quick glance... "Also, take the darn crocodile with ye. Must be peckish fer some proper meat instead of me sweaty pantaloons." Shooing motion was made.

Whether or not the duo would leave, Kurdran leaned in towards Esperia with this somewhat forgiving look... or was it more annoyed? It was hard to say. He proceeded to whisper. "Listen ye. Ye went and fondled me friend while possessed, and I got on ye accidentally and fondled ye. I still say ye would owe me, but I won`t push it more if ye don`t." However, his eyebrows lowered a bit in clear anger this time. "But If ye would kindly show me the mastermind in what ye were forced to do... I would be ready to shut up about it completely."

It was almost comedic. At the prospect of hearing what this darn midget had done to one of his friends, He was seemingly more afraid of the big bosses minion, then the big boss himself. He crossed his arms, and took this determined pose, standing with his legs wide and mohawk held high.

"I have some bloody choice words to say to that boneslobbering mongrel of a seattaker in yer brain."

"They aren't meatballs!" Esperia shouted in protest at the dwarf's descriptive choice of words, yet what followed had come even more unexpectedly. Wait what? Why was he planning to bite her rump and squeeze her pillows again because of what Asmodeus did?! "Calm your pants Dwarfintootinyboots!" Esperia countered him in a manner that seemed quite suitable for this conversation when finally the turned focus back to the previous subject of Fia. "Close enough I guess~" Esperia hummed with a smile as Kurdran mentioned thinking Fia might had a giant's blood in her. While the girl was quite human by any standards, it was actually more complicated if one knew the titanic secret of her fiance's power. Of course Esperia couldn't help but hum at his shout about whether she was trying to be truly nice to him or not. "I'm almost always nice! I'm filled with 35% niceness, 60% pervertedness and 5% of very scary feelings, so I'd say that I'm still being nice~"

Still, she couldn't help but notice the moderately meeker reactions of the dwarf in Sebastian's presence, and she had to do her best not to chuckle about the bloody crocodile's snappy slap on the dwarf's buttocks, the murderous look not going unnoticed.

Sebastian seemingly pondered about the idea for a moment before nodding lightly, turning into the direction of the tavern as Kurdran leaned closer toward the transformed girl. Whispering certain words that soon earned a soft musing. "You seem to be misunderstanding something my dear Kurdran~ There was nothing forced upon dear Lilja~" and by now the sensuality of the one speaking made it quite clear who was in control, especially considering the finger that was reaching for his beard in an idle attempt to trail up toward his chin. "You wish to know what happened between Lilja and I?"

She paused for a moment, waiting to see his reaction before she resumed her explanation, rising onto her full length as she stretched her arms lightly into the air, the motion no doubt pushing her upper-body forwards to press against the confines of her chest. "Surely you heard of the war that raged in Crocus a while back? A violent conflict took place, where I and several others, including Esperia's dearest fiance worked to defend the capital."

She crouched back down to the dwarf's height and hummed softly. "Back then our mutual friend had a rather... interesting choice of alignment, She was part of the invading force. You might not know, since the lass her condition disappeared recently but back then Lilja needed a very, very specific substance to survive. No, I'm not talking about lewd juices~" Asmodeus chuckled for a moment as she raised a finger to her neck, as if a visual cue. "After the battle she was close to dying, so in a showing of goodwill I helped her out, and then we talked a bit and this and that happened. In the wake of those events we met again in Oak, where she seemingly had suffered some sort of encounter which stripped her of her condition and her memories, and out of concern for a friend I offered some beneficial help~ It was nothing too special mind you, I merely allowed her to indulge in certain... desires~ But unfortunately the memories she recovered only called forth more questions."

She clapped her hands together with a smile and mused softly. "Satisfied? Or could it be that you're jealous that it wasn't your 'electrifying' touch that made her cry out in bliss?" Yet in return to those words the tone of the demon lord suddenly softened to a more familiar one. "Asmodeus! That's enough, you were only going to explain to him about Lilja's situation! Don't taunt him!"

Her gaze softened alongside those words as she raised a hand to her forehead and sighed softly. "I'm sorry Kurdran, as crazy as it might sound, it's the truth and multiple people can confirm this: Lilja used to be a vampire, she wielded powers that only they possess. While she has been seeking for answers we haven't found many clues to help her find out who is responsible for the removal of her vampirism and made her lose her memories..."

It was hard for Kurdran to take Esperias suggestion of what she was made of seriously. Partially because the demon inside her was gonna be atleast 90% more of the bad stuff she mentioned. This thought was just encouraged, as Kurdran immediately recognized the tone of voice that came out of her. That annoying honeyfilled tarpit of wordings, ready to suck him in. Proper demon indeed.

Of course, the words she first said were the classic "We didn`t do it" sort of thing. In the stories, it was always uttered by either the innocent main guy, or the sort of evil folk that was now standing in front of him. As her hand slicked through his beard, there was a clear sign of irritation on his face, but he kept his hands crossed, and tried to keep himself stern. "Ye know bloody well I do, ye skunk! Start blabbering!" He had to stay tough. He knew this lady would bully him relentlessly if he let out even a tiny blush.

Kurdrans head dropped a bit to the side, as she brought up the war in Crocus... He had heard about it briefly from passersby... but since the dwarven kingdom had not been very involved in it, so he didn`t know any of the finer details. "I am from the north. Just go for the important things, and stop stalling!" Admittedly, he would really like to hear it in more detail, but this was the one person he didn`t want to hear the story from.

So she proceeded to to tell him her perspective of what had happened. Things which Lilja had shaken his offers to help off, and told only the tiniest snippets. If he wasn`t trying to be stoic, he would have propably sat down and tried to properly ingest it. Apparently, whatever this war was, she was part of the villainous force, and needed something to keep herself arrive. Kurdran being as story knowledgeable as he was, immediately understood what she meant, as his gaze slowly dipped downwards...

And then the situation turned to Oak, where he had met her himself... apparently this duo had met her there again as well. Apparently something there was the reason why her memories were slipping... Memories of being a vampire... Guess her calling herself villainous was not as handwavey as he had thought. His grip on his biceps got clearly tighter, as he bit his lip. And after all was told...

She seemed absolutely content with herself. Clapping and smiling... and her final thought... "Ye dare to bloody imply I would be worried for a friend... JUST FOR DAT!?" made Kurdrans nerves snap once again. As he opened his arms, just to pull his right back, pressing into a fist and hurling it towards her in a fit of anger... Only for him to hit the ground at Esperias feet with a loud thump. "Not everyones minds are that of a bloody gutterworms in a flowerpot, like yers and yer poppets!" He grabbed Esperia by the shoulders, and again shook her, although he seemingly wasn`t talking to her whatsoever. "Ye bloody sockpuppet, Ye darn bottlecap of a nimcompoop, YE DARN DRAINED COVER OF A GHOSTS PERIOD!"

He gasped for air for a little while as he let Esperia go. "I don`t care that she was a messy fella. Ye`ve seen how much wrath I have in meself." he shrugged. "All that matters, is that she ain`t that anymore aye? She ain`t no vampire, aye? Only thing I gotta do, is punch her bloody amnesiacer or whats it called in the face and be done with it, roight?!"

He stood there for a while, trying to calm himself down once again. "Yer bloody demons gonna be more of a death to me than yer babyface ever will be, lass." He groaned momentarily, as he reached out for his stick and bag.

It seemed that it was rather fortunate that it was Esperia who had taken back control rather than Asmodeus, and the fact that the demonic butler had left, else that punch would have stirred quite a reaction from Sebastian who would have considered it a sign of hostility. But it seemed that when one snapped the other had yet to snap. "Stop assuming things!" Esperia shouted in frustration as she raised a hand and attempted to lightly slap the dwarf's cheek as if the gesture would either snap him out of his rage or anger him even more.

"Always thinking that the only thing on my mind is sex! Did you even take a moment to consider that there is more to me than that?" Her eyes narrowed into a glare as Esperia's hand trembled lightly. "Do you think I took joy in the fact I had to fight Lilja? That war was never one for us to fight! All I and Fia wanted was for our loved ones to live peacefully and yet people kept pulling us selfishly into their conflict! So what if Asmodeus had sex with her? We could have just as easily handed her over to the Rune Knights, who would have made her burn at the stake in revenge for the loss of their comrades. Did I do that? No, we even gave her some of our own blood so she could still be standing here today!"

Her hands trembled all the suppressed anger and fury in her small body threatening to be unleashed. "Do you think I wanted to be born as the vessel of a Demon Lord? Even now, after I lost my entire family all I simply desire is to live peacefully alongside Fia, and EVEN THAT I CAN'T BE PERMITTED!"

She stomped her foot onto the ground. "Ruling over the Abyss? Saving former enemies? Being the Demon Lord of Lust? WHEN DID I SIGN UP FOR THE ROLE OF 'THE CHOSEN ONE?!'" Another stomp of frustration happened as she yelled at the dwarf. "I'm not some freaking hero! I'm just a perverted selfish girl who wants to live peacefully alongside her friends and loved ones!"

Huffing in annoyance she shifted her glare away from the dwarf and mumbled in annoyance. "Do you really think I haven't been investigating the one responsible for this? Aside from no eyewitnesses, the magic cast upon her body is of a holy type even Asmodeus isn't that familiar with. Even now some of her followers are investigating ways to help Lilja regain her memories and you still go blabbering as if I'm responsible for her misfortune."

A deep sigh escaped her lips as she finally allowed the magic within her body to fade away, the black aura returning as the cocoon coiled around her and shrunk, the substance wrapping around her smaller frame till it melted away to reveal the familiar girl from before.

"You're a tiresome individual to talk to Kurdran, as entertaining as it can be at times... As if my body slowly turning into that of a demon wasn't enough of a concern for me..."

Kurdran felt it. A slap by Esperia definitely got his attention, making him drop whatever he was doing to just glare at her as she proceeded to, for once, be the ranter of the duo. Like a frustrated child he just stood there without saying a thing, as she brought up more and more facts, piling them on him like bricks. They could have left Lilja for dead, but instead they saved her life. She had been possessed by the demon since she was a baby (which definitely explained her perviness), and multiple other things she was supposed to do.

Kurdran somehow felt small, all things considered. Like he was once again standing in front of his caravans leader Falstad, telling him how wrong he was... He had kept his mouth shut during all those times for a reason. For tens of times had he kept his mouth shut, just to appease some he didn`t like, so he could live with the others... Only to finally go against their wishes.

...He groaned audibly. He really didn`t find any spot where he could have opened his mouth and said something to protect himself. Every word she said hit home. There was only one part where he could say his objection... It was the part where she implied him saying they had done nothing to find the bugger he wanted to punch. "I didn`t say that..." yet she continued. For once, the dwarf felt smaller than the girl. After her demonic form vanished and she was back into this "princess mode of hers", Kurdran really felt the weight on his shoulders.

After she was done, an awkward silence fell in the air. Kurdran briefly blinked, and tried to look a bit more proud, although it was hard.

"...Yer like a walking horror story." He finally said, as he sat down. He emoted with his hands for the girl to sit down. "Ye know, one of em cursed vampire hunters, whose controlled by a demon themselves... Trying to make emselves feel better by making others not feel so bad." He sighed. "Honestly, I was planning to tell me pals back home about "How I outworded a bloody succubus from hell", after our last meeting. Ye didn`t say nothing to me afterwards. Got a good laugh outta that one..." He had a brief chuckle, only to sigh again.

"Meanwhile... I am just a normal dwarf. Nothing too special bout me, cept me hair growth." He turned towards her. "I don`t envy ye for yer powers. I can imagine someone like that..." He briefly stopped, like trying to find nicer words to say. "Missus in yer head, being a ton more trouble than she is worth." He leaned forward, with his palms sinking into his hands. "Yet, even with that, ye have done all this shite."

He bit his lip. The next sentence felt like an attack against his own masculinity and self confidence. "...Yer propably more of a hero than I am fer now. Ye have people who like ye, and people who admire ye. People remember ye! Believe me, I`ve heard many talk about ye casually!" To him, this would be a situation he would love to be in.

"Meanwhile, I have a home filled with people I dunno anymore, and a couple of friendly folks... I am just a dwarf. Drunk, rambly and violent. That doesn`t exactly make a proper story now does it."

He turned to look at Esperia again, this time with a silly grin. "Like, I could just now tell me pals the story of yer magnificent jigglyjogglers or yer love towards yer gorgeous wife! Or about how a dwarven hairstyle is still in fashion!" He laughed as he fixed his mohawk a little bit.

"But in the end, it comes down to ye what ye do with that demon in yer head." He was no exorcist, he couldn`t say anything about how to get rid of it. But! "I would say ye should fight back against her in whatever ye don`t wanna do. Othervise she`ll forever have ye in a painful hug." As long as that demon had the reins, it would only lead in bad things happening to her. His nerves were the prime example of that.

It had been the first time in who knew how long that she had properly shouted at someone, to let out a flurry of complains and voicing her annoyances in what one could easily describe as a rant. Perhaps it was because until now the only time she had allowed her emotions to make such a powerful outburst had been in front of Fia, so to do it in front of Kurdran had been a somewhat odd, but equally refreshing experience.

"That's a somewhat mean way to describe me." Esperia chimed in with a weak smile, clearly not sure if she should had been amused or annoyed if the dwarf might had implied she was as ugly as a horror story. If she was to be entirely honest, she was actually somewhat proud of her looks, considering she was after all the vessel of the demon lord of lust herself and that came with quite a fair share of boons to one's appearance.

"A demon hunting vampires, that certainly is material for a story." Wait a second, wasn't she possessed by a demon and... "Well, I guess I get the metaphor." Yeah, she was pretty confident that Lilja had felt pretty good after Asmodeus was done with her... Not that she voiced that thought out loud. Yet in the wake of that comment, Kurdran turned his focus back toward their first meeting, making her chuckle weakly as she raised a hand to the back of her head, scratching it awkwardly as she hummed softly. "Sorry about that, you could say that my thoughts were elsewhere and my words missing in action."


Yet as she continued talking she tilted her head to the side in confusion, musing softly. "It's not your origins, but the actions you make that make you special." She corrected him, knowing all too well that her origins were quite 'unusual' for that matter also. The only survivor of a family of exorcists that had worked for the church for countless generations, and then were brutally destroyed during a siege of a Lycan pack. Yet as he mentioned her powers Esperia smiled briefly and nodded her head in agreement. "She's indeed quite a handful, in more ways than one."

Yet as he spoke she felt her thoughts pause for a moment. Was she a hero? She doubted it, she didn't even want to be one! She merely wanted to live peacefully alongside her fiance. Although he was right in the fact that she had people who liked her, and in that she took solace, one could say those bonds were the very reason she could endure all those challenges she was forced to endure. And yet, she couldn't help but wonder if it was truly her, or Asmodeus that people would remember in the days to come...

"At least that means you still have a home to return to, a place to tell your stories at once you created them." Fortunately, she had found such a place also with the Barone family, making her remember just how precious Fia was to her.

"Then start working on your own legend Kurdran! Go out into the world and accomplish those things that make people admire and remember you. This world is filled with so much conflict, with so many people that need someone willing to stand up for them, someone who can be a beacon of hope for them, someone who can be their hero."

She smiled briefly as she recalled how that was a role she wouldn't play, she was done being selfless, and would now focus on those dear to her, screw wars, as long as they didn't affect her loved ones she had no reason to fight in them, right?

"Ah... Of course I'm already fighting her back, but simply banishing her is impossible. Either I die and she regains her freedom, or she is passed on to my successor, but since I don't want..." She paused for a moment, her cheeks turning red as she recalled a certain conversation between herself and Fia about a certain magical spell, and after a soft cough continued. "Our child to someday inherit that burden I plan to take a different road. I will become the next Demon Lord of Lust and ensure nobody has to carry that burden anymore."

She looked down at the dwarf for a moment and grinned briefly at him. "Who knows~ if I ever get out of hand you can tell a story of how a powerful dwarfen hero stopped a demon lord from kidnapping all the beautiful women on Earthland~ Not that I think Fia would like that~"

Kurdran sighed a little bit, as Esperia said how mean his comparison of her sounded. He was trying very, VERY hard to be nice to her. After all these scuffles with the demon in her head, and her herself, he was finally trying a different approach, the only other one he knew compared to his usual demeanor of show and tell: Stories. It was the thing he had always resonated well with. And for a moment, as she looked a bit thoughtful, Kurdran couldn`t help but nod. "Exactly, now ye get it!" Although her saying she was just concentrating on something else made him smile in his typical wide fashion. "Heh, that`s what they all say! Ye were just completely slammed by me clever wording!" It was one of his proudest moments because of that: He had beaten something way more dangerous than himself.

"Those actions are what makes those people remember ye. Lilja wouldn`t have told meh to keep me head cool, if ye had done something super bad to her." Although, why was he so angry before then? Was it actual love towards Lilja? Definitely not. His dwarven skull was way too dense for something like that yet...

The things Esperia said started to get more and more pokey... acting like she knew what he was talking about. "Look, That`s why I am going there in the first place now! I am checking if they even allow me to do something like that!" He raised his voice in a minor fashion... which he noticed. He really needed to go home quick, so this stopped being such an annoying and frustrating topic.

...only for the girl to go onto an even worse topic. It was like she was telling him to do things! Go out on his own! Act like a bloody hero! She was saying it like it was so bloody easy. Acting like he had not tried. He clenched his teeth trying to keep this annoyance in... He wanted to say it badly again. Despite genuinely knowing how bad she felt... he just couldn`t help but feel like she was still looking down on him, despite sitting next to him, face to face.

"Bloody demons getting trickier and trickier..." He mumbled, as she went on about her plans to have a child with Fia. "Heh, like yer body could handle..." Wait a minute... "Wait yer a lady, and shes a lady, and yer gonna have a baby..." Now, even Kurdran knew a little bit about biology and "adult secrets"... "...ye humans really confuddle me..."

But, the final thing she said once again, hit a weak spot. "Okay, I will tell ye, I would happily punch the hell out of yer face if that was what ye were planning..." He actually leaned forward towards her, as she looked down on him again. "Because yer plan is at the level of me brainfarts! Yer just gonna leave the best woman fer ya just cause a bloody demon in ye is saying no?!" He knew how great of a woman Fia was, and that Esperia had her already... "Come on, if yer so smart as to tell me what to do, ye should be better `an that!" He was about to poke her again... as he instead put his hand on the ground.

"Pfeeeh..." He groaned as he rubbed his head. "I don`t give a darn if I become known by being a hero, or ye know, beating a damn monster for fun of it. But beating yer friends wife? Ye think I would sink that low just to be known?" He spat on the ground next to him.

"I have already done some things. They ain`t the goodest things in the world, yet I know its things I did meself! Nobody else!" He lifted his hand, as he counted things out. "I beat ye in a discussion. I won a fishing competition with me best salmons. I met another storyteller and had bloody good fun! I got meself a kimono that is actually useful! AND...!" He paused for a moment. "I befriended a former bloody vampire and now wanna help her!" A full hand of things. To be proud of.

"So no thank ye! If yer planning to become a demon of lust, I am gonna punch ye just cause ye lost to that darn demon of yers. Even with the best cheerleader and yer baby at yer side!"

At this point Kurdran realized he had gone wild again. "...Look, atleast make that just a last resort. Neither of us want a crying pal here. There`s gotta be something we can do." Yes. He said we. As harsh as he was, at this point he actually wanted to help her if he could.

The smile on the dwarf's face was much more pleasing than the grumpy or annoyed expressions he had shown her before, yet she couldn't help but chuckle briefly at how Kurdran seemed quite entertained at the prospect that he had verbally beaten her and Asmodeus in a confrontation. Still, she was somewhat surprised to hear that Lilja told the dwarf to keep his head cool, and all in all it was a pleasant concern. Still, she was a bit curious about why he had still been so agitated on that subject earlier... Perhaps? No, surely not... Then again it didn't sound impossible, but she felt that asking the question for affirmation might have been dangerously misplaced right now. Still, it seemed her attempt to encourage him had actually made him feel a bit agitated, the slight raise of his voice evident in the feelings of frustration.

Still, fortunately for the two of them the subject quickly changed to a more entertaining one, at least for an audience it might have been. For Esperia the comment quickly got her flustered as she replied with a quick wave of her hands. "I'm not going to be carrying a child!" Esperia protested quickly, mostly because she wanted to be the one to... to... Her cheeks turning red she quickly dismissed the thought as the reason for that being that she didn't want Asmodeus to obtain another vessel and hummed softly. "Mhmm~ I'm a lady!" Esperia nodded in affirmation, a light tap on her kimono-clad bust following as she continued to respond to the dwarf's statement. "Yes~ Fia is also a lady! And no I'm not letting you confirm." Esperia added with a sheepish grin yet the last bit made her bashfully twirl her thumps against each other.

"Well you see... There is this thing I could use and umm umm umm MAGIC HAPPENS AND BOOM FIA GETS PREGNANT!! that's all there is to it!" Esperia quickly exclaimed, and if she had been in possession of a steam-based magic would no doubt have had steam pouring out of her ears right about now.

Yet when he spoke again Kurdran made it clear there was a rather big misunderstanding in what he had understood from her explanation. "Who is saying anything about leaving Fia?" Now that was a touchy subject for sure, as was evident as her smile wavered for a more serious frown. "The only way we would ever leave each other is if death tears us apart, and even that wouldn't stop me from getting back to her side! We promised each other we would be living our lives together till the end of time! Just like Fia is mine, I am Fia's and that won't ever change."

Esperia answered him with an affirmative nod. "I'm not just going to become the next Asmodeus. I'm going to learn to master her power, make it my own and when I ascend into the role of the Demon Lord of Lust I won't be ruling over the abyss, I'll just be the perverted demon wife of the greatest woman on Earthland!" Esperia declared with a sheepish grin.

Yet at the end of his reaction, she smiled weakly and shook her head lightly. "I was joking on the last bit, even as the next demon lord of lust I been working hard to learn to control more urges and desires enough to redirect them all onto Fia~ good thing that she likes dealing with them~ Not that I need anyone else."


Esperia answered him with a sheepish grin but after a moment leaned back against the wall of the building they sat at. "But truth to be told, those who carry this power usually either lose their struggle and get their soul devoured, or pass it on to a successor, so I'll be carving my own path, a path where this power becomes mine and I can remain at Fia's side."

Of course, that made it sound easier than it actually was, especially with Asmodeus listening in on their conversation.

"My family has researched for generations on how to contain and deal with Asmodeus, even my fellow guild members at Blue Pegasus like Alisa are working to help me master this power. I could easily succumb to its influence and let myself be devoured and be done with it... but screw that, not when I have Fia at my side~ I love her too much to surrender myself to anyone or anything, so instead I become the master rather than the vessel~"

She answered him proudly as if she seemed quite confident of her plan. She knew it would be a hard road, a difficult one even but she knew all too well that either she would master this power and make it her own, or face the consequences, but as long as she had the love of her life at her side she wouldn't, and couldn't fail!

No, Fia ensured that she had the means to endure whatever challenges or hardships Asmodeus would throw her way. "Fia isn't that fond of Asmodeus either~" Esperia answered her with a sheepish smirk but after a moment mused softly. "But Alisa seems to be able to talk with her quite well, I got some assumptions why but if I were to say those out loud I might get tied up and gagged..." the girl confessed with a slight shudder.

"But yes, leaving Fia behind is the one sacrifice I'll never be willing to make, I simply can't imagine a future without her at my side."

Yet for a moment she couldn't help but ponder about something, and soon found herself musing softly. "Is there anyone on your mind that you would want to have such a bond with Kurdran? Someone you would want to spend the rest of your life together with?"

"Not with yer hips ye ain`t... But that ain`t the issue here!" Kurdran couldn`t help but notice Esperia was blushing furiously. His befuddlement however just got worse and worse, as he gave a look of disbelief at the suggestion of him needing to CHECK if Fia was a lady. "Ye calling me stupid? I ain`t blind or deaf!" With boobs and hair like that, it was pretty much guaranteed she was a girl. Or atleast it was to Kurdran.

Then, Esperia proceeded to finally actually explain how they were gonna do it... Kurdran nodded silently, trying to genuinely listen to what she said, As he crossed his arms and proceeded to nod. "I see, I see... That certainly explains ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!" The explanation literally amounted to "a wizard will do it"! He was expecting a little bit more of an explanation! "Okay then, don`t tell me, ye darn baby maker! I wasn`t interested anyway! Ye can grab yer baby from an orphan basket for all I care!" He scoffed. It felt like he wasn`t gonna get anything out from her in that regard.

And now back to something completely different.

Kurdrans rant of his own seemingly once again opened something in Esperia, as she immediately felt the need to point out his mistake. "Eh?" Wasn`t she going to sacrifice herself for the "greater good" of her family? However, She was extremely adamant about sticking around. "Becoming a demon doesn`t really scream a proper family man, if ye catch me drift." It did sound a bit like an excuse for his misunderstanding, but it did ring a point. Demons usually weren`t trained to be babysitters.

For a little while, he shut up and listened. This explanation was way better at getting the thing across to his brain. He scratched his hair occasionally, but he did get it... Although he couldn`t help but feel bad for Fia for whatever reason. Just the thought of some lovestruck "Demonlord of lust" gave him bad thoughts, that he needed to shake off with a loud "Brrrr!" It did sound more like Fia was doing the sacrificing here.

Still, at the end of it all, Kurdran couldn`t help but nod, as he lifted his hand and bumped Esperia on her bicep with his fist. "Atleast ye got guts to try that. Guess I was the one lecturing ye this time..." Man, now he felt like a minor hypocrite. He really didn´t like the feeling either. "Though, if ye ever need a back-up plan of someone to punch yer face in, I am yer dwarf!" Honestly, it was just nice to hear that Esperia and her friends weren`t actually on the side of the demon lord. that would have been so messy and worrisome, that his gut almost grumbled at the thought.

After all that, Kurdran couldn`t help but look at Esperia with seemingly another glare of shame... yet instead of him looking all sorts of mean, he was smirking furiously. "First ye say yer planning to go and harass women as the demonlord of lust, and then ye start asking me fer who I like?" He actually tried to hook the little girls head under his arm, as he would proceed to noogie her. "Ye planning on ruining all me women are ye?! ARE YE!?" He was actually laughing now.

After releasing the poor girl, He crossed his arms again, and looked semi-thoughtful. "Well, I will tell ye the truth. But don`t ye dare tell this to nobody else ye know. I would propably get laughed at by all the dwarves on mount blackrock." He actually looked around for a bit. "I would bloody love to have me own kids. Make em into proud little adventurers like meh by telling em stories of me ventures, whilst they sit in me lap like a dozen eggs!" He slapped his thigh. Guess it was big enough to be a pillow for one of them.

"But, short answer no. I´ve met a lot o´ ladies, but none of em have exactly asked me to become their prince charming. Dwarven charm will only carry ye so far, ye know." He proceeded to lean towards Esperia in a winky fashion. "Besides, yer a bratty and dinky princess, and ye took Fia first, so ye would propably get mad if I told ye about her." He chuckled to himself almost proud of his poke.

"But, there has been really only one lass that I´ve been so into I would like to marry her. And she has suitors outta her bum." He proceeded to dig out a picture from his pants, as he showed it to espy.

Dwarven beauty

"This, is a proper dwarven lass! 50 years older an´me, but adventurous, and fun!" He pointed at her legs. "See dem thighs? Superb training makes em kick yer teeth out in one kick!" He proceeded to point at her bra. "Her body greatly shaped, and perfect for a family!" And then he pointed at her jewels. "And she be moderately rich. No parent would hate ye for liking her!"

He smiled moderately, absolutely charmed. "Absolute image of a dwarven lass. But like I said, steep competition." He shrugged, as he put the picture back into his pants. "I do admit, I like some humans in looks and personality, but ye know, dwarf is a dwarf!" Admittedly, he had not told nearly anything about her personality, or about any other girls he was interested in yet...

"My hips aren't the issue here!" Esperia exclaimed in a flustered state at the befuddled state of the dwarf at the subject, yet his reaction to her joke made the girl snicker briefly before they resumed the conversation to the subject of the, ahem, babymaking.

"It's not that easy to explain!" Esperia stated in an embarrassed response as she averted her gaze and awkwardly scratched her cheek. "Ya see, if I was to... umm..." She paused for a moment, her face flushing up again in a red tin as she continued. "Impregnate Fia, I'm lacking something ya know! It's not like I got a surprise in my pants!" Another flustered explanation followed as she rubbed her hands together, hoping the gesture would distract her enough to push away the embarrassing thoughts that filled her mind, but with little success. "But there are ways to... temporarily... you know for a lady to get 'that'. and then you know, the 'woohoo' happens and the next morning the surprise in the pants is gone, but the present it delivered would still be there..."


Oh gods, this clearly was way more difficult to properly explain to Kurdran without her wanting to curl up and die, than it was when she proposed the idea to Fia. Fortunately, it didn't take long for her to turn the subject back to something completely different.

"There is a first time for everything~ Besides having a pretty demon girl as your wife certainly would come with its perks." Esperia hummed with a smile, knowing all too well that Fia wouldn't mind it that much as long as Esperia remained true to herself and didn't change from the adorable little lewdling she was.

"Don't go Brrr! on me! Fia likes the type of lust I give her!" Esperia exclaimed, quite convinced of her reasoning as she even went to nod her head a few times in affirmation. "Like when I surprise her with some snuggling or lead with an ambush on her pillows!"


Esperia nodded her head a few times in agreement that it was a gusty plan for her to try to accomplish all those things, even if it sounded quite farfetched. Still, the backup plan mentioning made her laugh softly. "Please avoid such plans, if you were to punch me in the face it would hurt me to smooch Fia afterwards to cheer up..."

"Huh?" Esperia exclaimed in disbelief as she watched the dwarf smirk furiously at her, hooking her head under his arm as he gave her a noogle. "Hahaha! Nonono, my loyalty is to Fia~" Esperia exclaimed with a sheepish giggle when she nodded attentively to his explanation. "Blackrock... Yeah gramp Ragnaros and Nefarian might have a field trip with those." the girl mumbled absentmindedly as he started to answer her question.

"Hehe~ so you do want to become a papa someday!"

Yet as he leaned in and winked at her she raised a hand and playfully karate-chopped the dwarf on the head. "Fia is off-limits, and who are you calling a bratty princess?!"

Still, hearing him continue make her blink in surprise as he showed her a picture, but first... "Did you really hide that in your pants? BRRRR!!!!" The girl added, as if she mimicked the dwarf's earlier reaction before leaning in to watch the picture

First thought: She was a a dwarf but didn't have a beard? Yet as he continued she couldn't help but notice how lovestruck he sounded when talking about her. "You didn't mention anything about her personality! and I totally noticed the subtle mentioning of certain humans~ hehe, or are you planning to raid Onyxia's lair and kill a dragon to take her head back to Blackrock and then marry your dwarven princess?"

Seemingly Kurdrans words had hit some buttons for Esperia, since she tried to explain it again... He did offer a couple of nods, since they were the things he had said were the actual problem, yet when she went into the details, the dwarfs head started doing things. First it tipped on its side in befuddlement. Then it contorted into a face, which with his moustache, seemed like a visual representation of the term "Oof". And finally, his eyebrows dropped into this look of disapproval, and regret, as he scratched his beard, coughed minorly, and said the only sentence that came to mind. A sentence that propably had a lot of meaning taking that it came from a dwarf like him.

"Yer magic is sticky and gross, ye know that?"

For a little moment, Esperia continued her lovestruck banter. It was a story in itself in a way that Kurdran had never told em. But getting experiences like that was a bit harder than it seemed with how she did it.

"That`s when she kisses ye to make YE feel better." Atleast she gave him a lot of ammunition this time to shoot back at her.
Guess he was smarter in those kinds of things.

Kurdran raised an eyebrow momentarily again, as Esperia mumbled something about a "Ragnaros". It did ring a bell. They said the mountain outright exploded once when some moron of a dwarf thought out a plan to try and bend the mountain to his will. Although, it ended badly for the dwarf, and the mountain became pretty much inhabitable. Only ones who go there anymore are beer developers because of its weirdly heated and nutritious water. But that was a beer fact of the day.

However, all these thoughts about beer vanished immediately, as Esperia proceeded to feel the need to shout things out loud. "SSSSH, ye darn mongoloid! Not so loud!" It was not exactly manly thing to admit now was it?

"Och, she is an adventurer like me! Doesn`t take shite from anybody. Doesn´t have any magic of her own, but she don`t need it! He can kick a dwarf to the curve any time!" He actually stood up to punch the air, and flex! It was clear there was a bit of a bias. And why wouldn`t there be? she was about 50 years older than him, and had always been listening to his stories with her golden chuckle! "Sylvia the logbreakers her name!" Then he sat back down, and groaned. "Technically, she is very wanted, but seems like she fancies me, since she recommended I come visit home some time!" His image of Sylvia was pretty positive, even with the dark thoughts while drunk. He couldn`t truly hate her.

however, Esperia was seemingly also interested in the girls who were interesting to him. However, her dragon comment just got a minor grunt. "Pfeh, fat chance of me finding a dragon. Those buggers are almost extinct." He shrugged. "If I could prove to em that I am the greatest at age 32, then I would definitely have more than one lass!" He chuckled.

"För ye human lasses well... better or worse. Ye know Lilja, yerself and fia... Lilja enjoys me stories, so naturally we are good pals." He smiled, as he proceeded to speak about some others. "Then there wus this one lady named jude or something. A bit too wonky of a lady for me, and fancily dressed too. She did offer me breakfast thoe." He continued. "Then there was also this one lass with bright blue hair! She looked exactly like this one boyo. A bit too friendly that one. But man, ye should have heard em singing. It was like the waves and winds were carrying me to the ocean. Made me wanna take a nap and cry me eyes out at the same time!" He was in complete story mode.

"But then there was this lady with golden long hair! She seemed a bit tired, but since I beat her proper by fishing up tons of salmon, I though I needed to cheer her up a bit!" He slapped his thigh, as there was actually a small blush and wide grin on his face. "Yet, she proceeded to gimme all sorts of riddles and stories as a payback! We had this lovely evening of just that and talking, and then she even proceeded to give me this card!" He pulled the tarot card from his belt. It was the card of "star", and he seemed to adore it almost as much as the picture. "She was an oracle you see! Could tell you what happens in the future and what not! So she thought this would help me out in me troubles!" He chuckled, as he placed the card back. "She even said we should meet again! Most fun I`ve had this whole darn festival!"

...It might have been a bit jarring how quickly this rough and tumble warrior looking fellow turned into an almost little fanboy! He seemed so excited to talk about the last girl and the dwarven lady in particular a lot, and it was hard to keep him from shaking in excitement.

A short pause followed as she observed Kurdran's expression change over time along with her explanation when all of a sudden he exclaimed something that made her cheeks flush up brightly as she flailed her hands in protest. "It might be sticky but it's not gross! And it actually feels kind of good ya know..." She mumbled the last bit awkwardly as she pointed at the dwarf's crotch. "You don't consider your own gross either right? So why do men to get to have the monopoly on those things?!"

Esperia protested as she coughed softly to try to clear her thoughts a little, the lovestruck banter resuming as she listened to his words, a sheepish grin emerging on her lips as she nodded her head happily in agreement. "It's true! Fia's kisses make me feel really happy~"

Still, to think that for a moment they were talking about angry mountains developing a consciousness of their own and explode into a rage of fury as a moron of a dwarf once tried to claim it as his own, yet now she thought about it, didn't they develop some type of bear they called Blackrock Booze? or was it Raging Ale? Or Thunderfury? Those names always confused her when one considered the fact she rarely drank anything. Sure Asmodeus might had a strong tolerance to it, but she? She was quite a light-weight.

"I'm a lewdling, not a mongoloid." Esperia protested lightly at his loud hushing of her response, yet as they turned the focus to the dwarfen princess of his she nodded her head attentively.

"So she is an adventurous type~ And seems like she has quite some strength to boast about also. Guess it's true when they say that the smallest ones got the nastiest bite." She said somewhat proudly

"Sylvia... the logbreakers?" She raised a hand to her chin as if to ponder about the matter before grinning sheepishly at him. "I hope your rod isn't made out of wood then~" pfft, she really couldn't resist making the joke.

"True, according to Sebastian most Dragons disappeared from Earthland quite a while ago." Yet hearing his words she hummed softly. "So you want to be a Harem King~ The Harem King under the Mountain! I approve of such a desire Kurdran! Lemme know if I can help you find a nice lady someday!"

She smiled sheepishly for a moment as she listened further to the human lasses description. "Mhmm Lilja is really interesting, she's fun to talk to~" The girl nodded in agreement yet as he continued to describe the other ladies she couldn't help but tilt her head slightly sideways in confusion.

"A lady with golden hair and---" She noticed the card and clapped her hands together with a smile! "Vivi! She was reading people's fortunes around here, right?" Esperia inquired with a smile as she continued. "She gave a reading of mine and Fia's future cause I was curious. But for some reason, those cards of her made it sound like she knew about my plans for 'that' magic, and actually encouraged me to use it. Hehe but Fia didn't really believe much of the fortune telling."

Kurdran couldn`t help but gaze awkwardly towards esperia as he proceeded to shiver like he was cold in the autumn weather! "Keep what it feels like to yer dinky self!" And it didn`t help that she proceeded to point at his crotch. Hands off ye stick waggler!" This REALLY was not a discussion that kurdran wanted to be a part of. But once again, esperias words were getting into his head like a powerdrill with annoying noise and pride at whatever she said! "It`s not about bloody monopallies, ITS BLOODY BIOLOGICS!" There was no way anyone could make him think a lady growing a stump was natural. Even with magic it sounded disgusting. "I ain`t bloody talking bout this no more!" He was flush red, and huffing and puffing. Whether because of awkwardness or anger, who knows.

While Esperia was talking about things other than him and herself for a moment, Kurdran took deep breaths trying to calm himself down. Sigh, could he never feel calm around this lady? She always started spouting the stupidest things when he thought that things were finally going alright. He wiggled his toes in annoyance.

And sadly the dick jokes continued. Esperia proceeded to call him "A harem king", and overall felt insulted... and like red beet. as Kurdran once again had to snap towards Esperia, he propably once again used WAY harsher words than he should have. "Ye stop talking about me stick, or else that demon of yers ain`t the only thing forcing itself in yer rectum before yer lass!" He crossed his arms, trying to calm himself down again.

"I don`t want a million lasses. Just one will keep me from going where I want to go! If I had more, me travels would be all about me just walking from one wife to other. That ain`t no adventure, Except maybe if the ladies found out I have more of em..." Somehow that sounded more scary than bunch of dragons trampling you underfoot. But surprisingly, for once, Kurdran was seemingly actually alright with Esperias suggestion. "If ye can, I suppose... But make sure she actually has some muscles and meat on her..." He scratched his head for a moment. If the women she met could handle her ramblings, they could propably handle Kurdran telling a couple of stories...

"Yup, ViviANNA!" He felt the need to correct her. It was not respecful to call an oracle by something else than their full name. "Fer me well... She told me going home would be a horrible idea. Apparently They hate me OR they will hate me secretly for the rest of me life, even if I return with me task done." He sighed. "But that`s enough of that."

Kurdrans ears rose a bit when he heard, that Fia didn`t believe in prophecies. "Well, guess any lass ain`t perfect." Admittedly it didn`t make sense why she wouldn`t enjoy them. It was literally a peek to the future, a story for the ages, a prophecy to come true later. To him the story would have propably been cool if not filled with doom. "I am a bit jealous of ye, to be honest." Meanwhile Esperia had gotten a prediction that pretty much said "keep doing the good work"... Although since it was Esperias magic, he once again shuddered.