Chapter 296: I Choose Them Both

The house the druid had arranged for them turned out to be modest, but cozy.

It was a single-story home, with wooden walls and a thatched roof that had, miraculously, come through the attack unscathed.

And the inside of the house was just as simple as the outside.

A small common area took up most of the entrance, furnished with only the essentials, while the bedroom sat toward the back.

Two beds occupied the room.

One was big enough for several people, while the other was a bunk bed pushed against one of the walls.

"Not exactly spacious," Alice said, looking around.

"What did you expect?" Aria replied with a small laugh, flopping onto the big bed to test it out. "The attack pretty much leveled the village, so most of the houses ended up destroyed."

She let out a long sigh.

"And this was one of the few that came out intact... So personally, I think it’s more than enough."

Mark, who had stayed by the doorway, frowned slightly at that comment.

"Now that I think about it... aren’t we taking this place from someone who needs it more?" he asked, a bit concerned. "There must be plenty of people who lost their homes, and honestly I wouldn’t feel right sleeping comfortably here while some families have to spend the night out in the open."

"You can relax, Master," Aria replied with a smile. "We already took care of that."

Then Aria told him that she and the survivors had already sorted that problem out a while ago, with help from the skeletons he’d summoned.

She explained how, together, they’d put up a makeshift shelter in the middle of the village, where the families who’d lost their homes could stay.

Mark let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

Though, on second thought, there was something about that explanation that struck him as particularly curious.

"Wait a second... did you say the skeletons helped build the shelter?"

"That’s right."

"Hold on... are you telling me my summons can do normal work?"

"Looks that way," Aria answered with a shrug. "Honestly, I didn’t know either. I just figured I’d try it since we needed more hands to rebuild a few things, and they were just standing around doing nothing, so I decided to give them instructions."

Aria let out a small laugh.

"Honestly I figured they wouldn’t even understand what I was asking, but turns out I was wrong."

"I see..."

"They did everything I told them without complaint," Aria said, still a bit surprised by it herself. "They hauled materials, cleared rubble, and helped put up the shelter. They even managed to coordinate with each other."

Mark fell silent for a moment, sinking into his own thoughts.

’So they can do more than just fight...’

That piece of information had caught him completely off guard.

To him, those creatures had always been simple combat units, something he summoned when he needed extra muscle, like in his two clashes against Rudolf.

But if they could work on their own, follow complex instructions, and cooperate with one another, that made them far more useful than he’d ever imagined.

And one idea after another began forming in his head.

’They don’t eat, they don’t need sleep, they don’t get tired, and they obey any order they can understand... they’re basically the perfect slaves.’

And even though those low-level summons would end up disappearing after a few days, that didn’t make them any less useful.

Mark was so absorbed in his thoughts that he barely noticed how much time had passed.

It wasn’t until Aria spoke again that he snapped out of it and was pulled back into the conversation.

"Well, setting that aside, I think it’s time we discussed what really matters," she said, sitting down on the bed.

"Sounds good to me," Alice replied, crossing her arms with a serious look.

Mark glanced between the two of them, thrown off by the sudden shift in tone.

"What are you two talking about?" he asked.

"Well, it’s obvious, Master," Aria said, as if it were the most self-evident thing in the world. "Who’s going to fuck you tonight, of course."

"Oh..."

"And the answer’s obvious," Alice cut in immediately. "It should be me. No question about it."

"Excuse me?" Aria turned toward her instantly. "And why you, exactly?"

"Because I’ve earned it," Alice declared without a shred of doubt. "I was the one who cut through the bulk of the enemy forces and protected this place, while you just stood back lobbing spells from the rear."

She gave her a proud smile.

"After everything I did today, I think I’ve earned a little special attention from the Master."

"Excuse me, I just ’stood back’ doing what?!" Aria let out an incredulous laugh. "Don’t be so shameless. You know perfectly well you couldn’t have taken down all those half-humans that fast without my buffs."

Her smile turned challenging.

"So quit acting like you won that battle all by yourself."

"I landed the hits."

"Because I made you stronger!"

"Details."

"Those aren’t details!"

The two of them quickly got tangled up in an increasingly heated argument, standing toe to toe, throwing their respective contributions in each other’s faces.

Neither one was willing to give an inch.

Meanwhile, Mark watched the exchange between them with an amused smile, since watching them argue always struck him as thoroughly entertaining.

And even though he knew perfectly well it wasn’t a real fight, after a few minutes he decided that was enough.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough," he said, walking up to both of them with an easy smile. "No need to fight over this."

And without warning, he slid an arm around each of their waists, gently pulling them toward him, one on each side.

That shut them both up instantly.

"And who said you had to choose?" Mark asked, tightening his hold on them. "The bed’s big enough for all three of us."

Alice and Aria exchanged a quick glance, and though neither said a word, whatever protest they’d been about to make died on their lips instantly.

Neither of them seemed to have the slightest objection to that kind of arrangement.

"Well... I suppose that works too," Aria murmured, looking away, a poorly hidden little smile tugging at her lips.

"Agreed," Alice added, just as pleased.

Mark let out a quiet laugh, and without letting go of either of them, began leading the two of them toward the bed.