Ryuji shared his room with several males separated from his beloved Yumiko.


    ''Damn snake.''


    Without cuddling her, the night felt cold. He realised the soft sensation of her long, fluffy tail kept him warm andforted at night. Inside, a room filled with smelly males only caused disgust.


    ''Whatever, let''s just go.''


    The morning sunlight flooded through the pale windows beside his bed. Before leaving, he saw something enter his bedding.


    Arge bump crawled towards him, her huge bushy tail a dead giveaway.


    "Hehe."


    "Woah!?"


    Yumiko lunged at him from under the quilt, wrapping around his waist and dragging him inside as she sealed his lips with a kiss.


    "Yumiko," He tried to separate their lips to catch some air. "What are you doing here?" But she became relentless, sniffing his neck, kissing and licking his skin with a low vibrating sound from her neck.


    Her body wrapped around him like a boa constrictor. "Hnnnggg... Ryuji..."


    "What''s wrong? H-hey..."


    "Mmmh... don''t y dumb. You''re already getting hard down there."


    He couldn''t bring himself to push her away, instead resting his hands on her soft, pear-shaped rump.


    "Mnh! Do you prefer that I''m here instead of in that room?" She raised her voice. "Do you think I haven''t noticed your smell? Those damn women! They''ve all marked you!"


    Ryuji was clueless.


    Maybe rting to her race and how beastkin handled rtionships. However, he didn''t remember letting them leave their scents on him like that.


    "I won''t let them take you!"


    Yumiko licked his neck, biting him with herrge canines. Not enough to draw blood, but just enough to cause a little pain, as if marking him.


    ''Is she going into heat or something?''


    With a light tap, he pped her buttocks, the sound of her spanked ass echoing through the room.


    "Ahh-?! Ryuji, what was that for!?"


    "Do you think this is some sort of game?"


    Her eyes watered. "Well, no... It''s not like I want to be like this either... I missed you so much. I was lonely!"


    "Ugh... who is beating their meat in the morning!?" Simon''s voice echoed. It seemed he woke up.


    Yumiko''s pupils shrank, and she let go of him, hiding in his bedding as though she were ying hide and seek.


    "Looks like this fox needs an education." Ryuji''s low tone scared her, shaking her tail and causing her fur to stand on end. However, she couldn''t escape. His hand grasped her neck and pulled her into his embrace. "There, there." He patted her head while petting her tail with his other hand. "You want me to y with you?"


    She nodded in silence.


    Ryuji kissed her on the forehead, both of them remaining in a long hug before the warmth of her body aroused him, his erection poking her belly.


    "Ryuji, your thing is touching me!"


    "My fault, sorry." He got out of his bed and stood up, hiding his bulging crotch.


    "Hmph, make it up to me," Yumiko replied with a pout, crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air.


    "After the dungeon, I promise."


    Her eyes lit up, her tail wagging furiously.


    "Then let''s go!"


    "Where are you going, Ryuji?"


    A familiar voice reached his ears.


    "Good morning, Paul." He walked into the corridor. "Just walking this dog before the dungeon. What about you?"


    "Good morning, Ryuji. Is everyone ready?" Paul replied with a smile. "Nothing much. I prepared my spells and runesst night."


    Ryuji scratched his cheek, slightly embarrassed. "Hehe, sorry about that."


    Paulughed at his reply. "What about the others?"


    "Still sleeping. I''ll get Yumiko to wake the women."


    "Then I''ll go buy some breakfast for everyone."


    "Sounds good. You can wake the guys first while I take her out."


    Ryuji felt Paul was more like a dad to everyone, maybe because he was already married and had a child, and his skill at taking care of others was superb.


    "Ready to go out, Yumiko?" Ryuji asked with a smile.


    She didn''t make a fuss like before; instead, hugging his side, the pair of them walked towards the exit. She wanted to enjoy the ''walk'' he mentioned.


    It was quite the sight for the girls, waking up to find therge fox woman clinging to Ryuji, leaving the inn side by side as a couple.


    ''Really, just how did I tame such a beautiful woman?'' He thought, his eyes roaming up and down her figure, his left hand stroking the bushy golden tail.


    "Ah! Ryuji, don''t touch my tail there~ it makes me tingle." She fluttered her eyes at him to seduce him.


    ****


    The pair returned from their ''walk'' just over half an hourter, with Yumiko''s face and skin looking vibrant while smelling like chestnuts.


    Ryuji looked quite refreshed. He had used the well to wash his hair and brush his teeth before the morning meal.


    Alicia turned to She and Erika with a wide smile. "Those two totally just did it."


    "Mm? Did what?" Erika asked with a slightly confused face.


    "They had sex," She added while watching the pair eating her pancakes with a bitter smile.


    Normally, their party banned romantic links between members, but Ryuji, Erika and Yumiko weren''t members but temporarily—thus, they couldn''t stop them. So, for single women like She and Alicia, it was a deadly poison to be around couples like those two.


    "Are you going to keep following us like this? Hurry and eat breakfast," Yumiko interrupted their gossip with a low growl.


    Simon cleared his throat while downing a ss of chilled water.


    "Okay, today we will be heading into the dungeon known to im the lives of many knights and adventurers because of the fire-type lizard men. I want everyone to be ready, with our main vanguard being Ryuji with Erika and Yumiko supporting him."


    Ryuji also found it quite interesting that the ss of Erika served best as an off-tanking damage dealer than a full-on damage dealing ss. Off-tanking was the process where a second tank would take additional enemies or monsters while the main tank held the boss and strongest enemy.


    He also found it amusing how simrly Erika and Yumiko fought. One used dodges and evasion, while the other used skill and her des to divert and parry their attacks.


    ''It seems our team is heavily skewed towards vanguards. I need to recruit a good mage and archer in the future. Though Paul is good, I don''t think he will leave the capital where his wife and child are. Nor would I want to ruin his marriage.''


    Simon then began exining the protocol and tactics that his group would use. To avoid issues, he split both groups.


    Group one was Ryuji, Yumiko and Erika, led by Ryuji.


    Group two were Alicia, Simon, She and Paul, led by She.


    He exined that Group 1 would enter and scout the dungeon as an advance force while Group 2 would support them from behind, thus avoiding being ambushed.


    Because the dungeon takes a longer time, they would slowly progress and aim to clear each floor without damage or fatigue, with only three days given by n toplete it.


    Well, in honesty, the three days were Lord Qwass trying to make it impossible for Ryuji to clear and abstain himself from the sin of killing those knights.


    "I am a bit surprised you split us into two groups instead of one big group," Ryuji remarked after Simon finished his speech. The rest moved towards the dungeon, loading the carriage that would take them there.


    "Well, I know how you fight, and She could heal you from a distance, but you need to take damage to reach your strongest, right?"


    "Haha... a little wed as a vanguard, right?"


    "You are stronger than most damage dealers while taking blows beyond shield knights. I trust your body more than their iron! That said, Ryuji, don''t put yourself in danger. We arerades, and I don''t want to see a fellow member die."


    Ryuji felt a rare joy. Most people would avoid him, so being included helped him rx. Ryuji''s two sides were now bnced by the slimmest of differences, with his mind able to go either way at any moment.


    "I will survive and protect you all," Ryuji said in a low voice before jumping onto the carriage—his body pulled towards Yumiko and Erika before mming down on the wooden bench.