With a slight prompt from Rex, the Light's oak's girls, Samanta to be precise, cleared her throat audibly, silencing her fellow party members and gazed towards the two, unfamiliar girls among their ranks.

  "Sorry girls! This is Rex as you already know." she bowed her head in apology and then turned back to Rex. "Let me introduce them." her hand, with the palm facing up, gestured towards a girl with caramel toned skin, black hair and eyes. A toned and slightly muscular body spoke of a strict training regiment and discipline of the girl in question, indicating her front line duty.

  "This is Tara." Samanta spoke as the girl in question nodded towards Rex, her gaze critical as if evaluating him. Rex had the distinct feeling that back on his original world the girl would be of egyptian blood. And despite her role as a front liner, she was still quite beautiful, not a single scar marring her face.

  "And this is Zana." Samanta pointed towards the other newcomer- a brunette girl with a similar build to that of Tara. And much like her compatriot who was just introduced, she too nodded her head towards the unfamiliar duo, inspecting and evaluating them. With the introductions of their new members out of the way, the core group looked towards Rex with a clear question and Rex did not make them wait any longer.

  "This is Danica." He spoke as his hand sneaked around her waist and drew her in closer, prompting the woman to snake her arms around his torso, forming a rather tight and possessive hug, a knowing grin creeping on her face. "Due to certain circumstances she became my woman, not that I am complaining mind you. Ow, and she is A ranked adventurer by the way." That caused quite the reaction from the girls, the most apparent one coming from Ria. He then looked towards the blonde buxom beauty, whose face was forming a rather complicated expression, and added "We are still going on those dates of ours. A deal is a deal and I am not letting you go that easily."

  "B-but..." she stammered as she glanced towards Danica.

  "Girl please!" Danica sighed, understanding Ria's worry. "There is not a single woman who could hope to handle him so there is no reason for you to be alarmed that I would form some sort of a grudge. On the contrary. If he were not so stubborn, I could have had some help already, so if anything, I hope you two get down and dirty ASAP." Then the wolf girls face changed from griining to one of a predator as she licked her upper lip. "You look especially delicious." She did not get to speak further, as a symbolic chop came down on her head, courtesy of Rex.

  "Behave." he chided the naughty beast kin, his attention returning to Ria. "And don't take her words to heart. The last part that is, she in mischievous but a good person nonetheless. Give her time and she grows on you."

  The group chatted for a while, with Light's Oak retelling their adventures since Rex had left for the capital, including the stories of how they came a cross their two new members and how they joined. While somewhat interesting, Rex could not, in good conscience, classify either story as a great one, though he also did not have the heart to say that to the girls, so, like a wise adult, he simply kept his mouth shut, allowing the girls to switch to the next subject to talk about while their food arrived.

  Of course, once their stories were over, they questioned Rex about his adventures and if he would be willing to share the story of how he met Danica.

  "Well, there is not much to tell, really." Rex started, thinking of the easiest way to make a TLDR. Thus, what he came up with was "Came here, listed the Empowerment crystal for the auction, delved, killed some unknown A ranked monsters, went to Ravenhold Fort, helped out Danica. Got my adventurers rank updated, again. Went to the forest of giants, got my mounts. Killed a crippled vampire and a manticore, then grinded some more A ranked monsters. Ahh, yes. And trained a princess. That's about it."

  There was a dead silence, even a couple of forks falling to the ground as he finished talking, pulling out his adventurers card and placing it on the table, the A rank and a staggering number of A ranked monster kills earning the undivided attention of the entirety of Light's oak. "Danica did quite a lot of the killing though."

  "Who's fault do you think it is?" she joined in, a smile on her face, though not releasing him from her guf at all. "Without that freakishly awesome control that you provide it would be impossible. I would be overwhelmed and munched on in no time at all. I would know, I have had the chance to join my own kind to actual A ranked party delves. If given the choice, I would easily pick you over a few dozen A rankers without even giving it another thought."

  "Riight." Rex smiled, his gaze returning to the Light's Oak's girls. "Say, what were your plans for the coming few weeks?"

  "Hmm? The same as usual? Some delving and what not?" replied Samanta, pulled out of her daze and reaching for her dropped for in the process. "Why? I don't think we have what it takes to get you going. Didn't when you departed for the capital. Even more so now, as much as it pains me to admit."

  "Don't be like that. I do consider you at least friends, Ria a bit more, no offence. I ask because it has come to my attention that some fuckery is on the horizon, likely to take place during the tournament. And since I have a task to perform that will see me join said tournament and I will be crushing my opposition, there is little doubt in my mind that someone might try and start playing dirty. As such, I was wondering if would you like to spend some time relaxing in a residence of a princess during said tournament?"

  A few glances were exchanged, mostly with the two new members, who nodded slightly. Then, Samanta spoke as she shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose we do deserve some rest. Have been pushing quite hard in the dungeon lately." A small smile crept on her face, mirrored by the rest of the original party, a warm feeling creeping in their hearts that Rex considered them important enough for such actions to be taken to ensure their safety.

  With that said, the group returns to their meak, all while Rex explains the general plan he had in mind for the rest of the day, up until they reach the residence designated as their temporary home. And a good thing that was as well, what with mama Beth skipping town for the duration of the tournament. And so, once done with their meal, the group follows Rex once they have collected all their belongings from their rooms.

  The next half a day is spent in the city proper, purchasing quite a few different things, starting from food and snacks, to new clothes and other accessories. Being the man that he was, Rex paid for some of it, his wallet loaded with money nowadays. They also went by the Coachmen guild, as Rex had a short conversation with Regal, receiving praises for the job he had completed for them while at the same time being offered another one that Rex refused, noting that he would be taking part in the coming tournament. And as expected, Regal had quite a few words of warning for him, regarding the same things he was already aware off thanks to Eve and their intelligence. Did not mean Rex failed to appreciate the gesture from Regal, promising to take some other job for them once he was done with the tournament. And with a small stack of papers, all filled with relevant information gathered by Regal's operatives, he left, returning to the things the group was doing so far. Another hour or so later, they arrived at their destination, just mere minutes later being guided inside the walled garden and led towards the main mansion of the 'small' property within said walls.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  There, all smiles and dressed in somewhat casual, yet still exquisite clothes, Eve was already waiting them, warmly greeting Rex's friends and introducing herself as a member of Rex party, even if only temporary for the time being- something Danica waved off, saying that she had done quite well so far, her continues place in their party quite well established and near guaranteed- and then offhandedly mentioning that she was also a princess of the nation, though they should just treat her like an adventurer that she loved to be and that she was an archer of B rank right now, though that too would not stay the same for long. Th things and skills Rex had helped her achieve elevating her above the actual combat power she would have been capable of wielding.

  With that said, the girls then looked towards Rex, hopeful sets of gazes locked on him, forcing him to raise his hands in surrender.

  "Fine. Fine. I will see what I can do to help you improve, though I will have to disappoint you Ria." he looked towards the only woman of Light's Oak who was more than just a friend. "Don't have much to tell you about holy magic and stuff, though I can still help with mana manipulation." Then, a devious smirk rose on his face, asif remembering something "Though I suppose there is something I could do for you specifically. We will discuss that later, ok?" And after receiving a nod of confirmation from the smiling blonde healer, he moved on, along with the rest of the group as they entered the large villa.

  Under the directions of Eve, the girls found rooms they wished to inhabit during their stay, and once their stuff was left in the rooms, they gathered together once again and headed towards the back of the villa, where a well maintained and modern, for the times that is, training field came into their view. There, the group then got to work. First came a spar against Rex, as he used his blood chains to restrain and push the girls, including Danica and Eve who were helping Light's oak out by temporary joining their side, to their limits, while barely forced to move or properly defend himself. It was here that Light's Oak's experienced just how much of a monster he really was, taking the mall on without actually breaking a sweat, all while commenting on their mistakes or incorrect techniques that were wasting way more energy than necessary.

  Such spars and training lasted for hours, until everyone, Rex excluded, was physically exhausted. Then, they would all get a quick bath, followed by a rich and filling meal, followed by skill practice where Rex would focus more on the technical side of things, explaining some techniques he could share to expand their arsenals or assisting in fine-tuning or even enhancing their current techniques. Then, after another few hours of such training, the group would have free time for a few hours to do as they wished, followed by supper and another few free hours before it was suggested to have some rest, preparing for the next day's practice.

  It was on the second that that Ria received Rex's special assistance, as he and Danica visited Ria's room, explaining what he had in mind, and once Ria agreed, more than just a little excited about the prospects, Rex proceeded to engrave her body with similar runes to what he and Danica had. Ria did pout that it was quite a painful process, though after a few days of getting used to it, she almost lunged at Rex from joy, questioning where he managed to acquire such miraculous technique. Only a little later to ask if the rest of the girls could receive the same treatment- they were practically her family after all. Rex did agree somewhat, noting that it would be a slightly weaker version than hers. Ria's class and affinity with holy magic being the reason he could make hers specifically that much stronger.

  And thus, amidst the continuous training that they did, he proceeded to do as promised, engraving a weakened version of this rune set on the rest of the girls as well. He did not forget to emphasize that they should never reveal this techniques existence to anyone, lest they want to be hunted by greedy cunts, hoping to extract the knowledge from their flesh and failing in the process. Whatever he did was something akin to a consumable potion, or like Empowerment crystal, with the caveat that the individual themselves had to put in effort to extract the value from his gift.

  It was in such a manner that the group spent their days, awaiting the start of the tournament, barely leaving the residence. Most of the shopping was done by the few servants that worked in Eve's mansion and what little else was needed was bought by either Rex or Danica, the duo sometimes leaving for a few hours, checking on the changes in the city a and gathering information. Eve too had spent most of this time with them after her father had visited and saw the training the group was engaged in. He could barely recognize Eve herself as she skillfully shot arrow after arrow at Rex, who was attacked by a number of other girls, each and every one of them, Evelysandra including, failing to so much as leave a scratch on Rex, whose chains moved as if alive and possessing their own minds, intercepting every attack or projectile.

  'Monster. Absolute monster.' The king though as he witnessed it with his own eyes, a smile creeping on his face at the realization that Rex is on their side. And cold chills ran down his spine imagining a world where it was the opposite. It was after witnessing this that the king pulled Eve aside and instructed her to spend more time with Rex and his friends,emphasizing the fact the rest of the noble family would easily manage the tournament. And, as he hugged her before leaving, yet another few hopeful requests were whispered in hear ear, some of which left Eve slightly blushing.

  Once the king had left, Rex just shaked his head, as if disappointed in the king for speaking in such hush hush manner. "Don't take his words seriously. There is no need to try and seduce me or get down and dirty in my bed ASAP. We are fine as is currently. Forcing whatever he wants would be inadvisable." The fact that Rex had not only heard her father's words, but was also kind enough to repeat them loudly for the rest of the girls around to hear only caused her to blush even harder. Danica was, as expected, the main culprit in the coming teasing that Eve had to live with, though that was the worst that came of the whole situation.

  Their schedule was slightly interrupted once during the two week period before the tournament officially began. It was by the time that Eve's mother returned from her visit to the neighbouring nations capitals. Obviously, Eve wanted Rex to meet her, and eventually, with a bit of distracting and Danica's help, the two met. There were few words exchanged besides quick and polite greetings before the queen dragged Eve away to question the younger woman about everything she had heard rumors about and was worried of. Before leaving though, she looked at Rex one final time, smiled and asked Rex to take care of her daughter for her. Rex just shrugged in response noting that as a part of his party, she would be safe at the very least, earning a rather suspicious new smile in return.

  -------------------------------

  It was early morning, the sun had just barely appeared above the horizon greeting the people already up and about, promising yet another warm and pleasant day. Rex and the girls were all seated around a rather large dining table, stuffing their cheeks with food, little to no conversations happening as they did so. It was time for the opening ceremony of the tournament, or would be in a couple of hours, but no one, except Rex of course, wanted to be late. If he had a say on the matter, which he kind of did, but decided to just keep quiet this time, he would have just skipped the whole yapping part entirely and joined when actual combat began. He was here for that and nothing else. To hell could go all the nobles, their offspring and whatever else could be watching the tournament. Still, it was customary for all the participants to be present and since Rex was assured he would not have to speak or present himself like some sort of exhibit, he had agreed.

  After they had all filled their bellies with food, the two parties boarded a total of three carriages as Sidsel and Wari were circling high in the sky, their insanely sharp eyes catching most, if not all movement anywhere in their vicinity, at least all that could actually be seen from the sky. In less than another thirty minutes, they had reached the colosseum that was built on the main island, standing proud and inspiring passerby's with a sense of grandeur and might. Statues of fierce warriors stood on the sides of every single entrance, their spears crossed just above the doors, their shields placed by them and their sharp gazes locked on those passing through the gate. As they walked, led by Eve, their gazes moved from wall to wall, each one painted with numerous pictures, as if telling stories of times long since past. Eve spoke at times, explaining the tales certain paintings displayed. Ones that spoke of fighters of past, earning their renown and glory in the arena here. And soon enough, the group exited on a balcony with a few, comfortable looking sofas, placed their for them.