Thank the Heavens, the civilians were fine.

  It was standard practice to have panis structed when building oskirts of any town or city. In this case, it was a basement.

  The heavy trapdoor leading down was barred oher side. An axe was embedded into the thick wooden sb, splinters c the ground. The goblins had clearly been trying to get in, chopping wildly. She wasn't sure how successful they'd have been, even given time, but Natalie was immensely relieved she aeam had been able to respond quickly. That they'd been positioo e to their help. Though that'd been the Baron's pnning more thaeam's. Natalie and they had just dohe dirty work.

  There were no corpses in the house, anreat relief. Overall, everything had gone swimmingly.

  But Natalie knew she o brace herself for the eventuality that someday a quest of theirs wouldn't be so . They'd gotten lucky.

  "Hello?" a voice called from inside, muted by the trapdoor. They'd beeed when Natalie had walked in and pried out the axe.

  "Stay in there for a bit," Natalie called. "We're gonna go double-check they're all dead. Is there ahat needs help?"

  "No. We're all in here," the man's voice replied, sounding relieved. "Thank you for ing."

  "It's what we do. Give us a few minutes."

  They went and did as she'd said, clearing the premises. The barn was an especially gruesome sight: the goblins inside had gleefully murdered every farm animal they could reach, hehe screaming noises she'd heard upon arrival. It was a gory sight, even for Natalie, who was aced to sughtering monsters for a living. Still, she didn't let herself bee squeamish and scoured the barn thhly for any other living goblins.

  Unlike dungeon monsters, the goblin's corpses didn't evaporate into bck smoke; they stuck around. And were strewn all about the farmer's front yard. -up wasn't going to be fun. She didn't envy the farmer, or perhaps whatever assistance from the city came to help.

  Before encing the farmers to leave the secured basement, Natalie pulled Malice bato the [Capture Core]. The fewer people who saw her, the better. Even if she had fake expnations ready for anyone curious.

  Wheime came, four people piled out of the trap door: the farmer, his wife, and his two children, one a scared-looking toddler and the other a boy in his teen years.

  It was strangely gratifying being thanked by them. Natalie could tell by her teammate's faces they felt the same. They'd been through much harder fights as a matter of routine in the dungeon, but their efforts had always been … well, selfish, she guessed she could call it, down there. For loot and experience. Here, they'd gained no reward except potentially saving a family's life. And saving future lives by putting down the goblin raid. Those filthy creatures wouldn't be able to terrorize anyone iure, either.

  There were still plenty of the monsters left, though, in some hidden base in the 'Duskwood,' the forest to the south. But that was their goal for tomorrow.

  After handling the rest of that brief crisis, the ented wagon ferried them back to the inn, their mission aplished for the night.

  ***

  Ba her room, Natalie called Malice out of the [Capture Core].

  After orienting herself to her surroundings and finding nothing to kill, Malice frowned and faatalie. "No monsters. I take it that means this is one of those summons, then?"

  Natalie rolled her eyes. When she'd enlisted the wolfgirl's help, she had uimated just how insistent the woman would be. Fighting and fug. Natalie was hardly a woman known for refraining from either of those, but she didn't bring it up literally every time she saw someone.

  "We o talk," Natalie said, exasperated.

  "Again? About what?"

  "How you acted back there."

  "Huh?" Malice's long bck wolf tail swished in fusion. "I thought I performed well. You disagree?"

  "Not that." Natalie sidered how to phrase it. "You were amazing in that fight like you always are."

  Malice preened uhe praise. She admired her nails, turning her hand bad forth to look from different angles. "Of course I was."

  Definitely not a woman afraid to take praise. Natalie ughed.

  "But," she said, "I meant how rash you were. It was fine in that situation, but it still worried me. And there are a few other things we have to talk about. I was too tired to hash out our situation properly the ht."

  Malice crossed her arms, a froearing.

  Again, Natalie rolled her eyes. At least Malice wasn't hard to read. "This isn't a scolding, Malice."

  Malice's wolf ears twitched.

  "Expin yourself, human."

  "I will." Natalie flicked her eyes up and down Malice's body. "But first, I want you to take your armor off."

  "O-Oh?" Malice asked, the and catg her off guard.

  Natalie waved impatiently for her to get going, not her an expnatio rose on Malice's dark-gray skin, the blush obvious despite her c. e eyes skittered away from Natalie's—made timid by the uedness of the request—before she huffed and reached behind her back, unclipping her metal bra.

  "I was w when you'd take advantage of your victory," she grumbled. "I still 't believe I lost to you."

  It was hirious of her to py relut, sidering how many times she'd all but demanded Natalie hurry up with taking advantage of their arra.

  Malice slipped out of her upper piece of armor, baring her chest. Natalie drank in the sight, arousal rising as Malice's nipples stiffened under her gaze. The wolfgirl was bustier than anyone else in her party—giving even Natalie a run for her mohough not quite winning.

  "Bottom too," Natalie said, waving impatiently. "Why are you taking so long?"

  Malice's breath started to e faster at the anding tone. Natalie had to fight away her amusement, keeping a serious, bored face. This girl was too easy to py with.

  Malice obeyed, strippiher key piece of gear off, leavianding naked in front of Natalie. She stood with her arms at her side for a sed before, uo help it, she covered herself up, one hand slippiween her legs, the other c her breasts.

  "I'm ly shy," Malice grumbled, gng away. "But with a look like that on your face…"

  Natalie ughed and stood from the bed, where she'd been enjoying the show.

  "Before we have that discussion I mentioned," she murmured, approag the naked wolfgirl—still fully dressed herself. "There's something I want to do to you." She settled her hands on Malice's hips, drawing their faces close. Malice's breathing became even med, chest heaving up and down. " you guess what it is?"

  "I … don't know."

  "I have a suspi you won't like it," Natalie murmured. "But my pup will do what I tell her, right? Because she's mio do with what I please. My wants e first."

  "That's true," Malice breathed.

  Natalie kissed Malice, briefly and teasingly. She lihere for a few seds, their lips barely brushing. "Good. Because now that I have you nid naked, vulnerable for me, submitting to my will, I'm going to …"

  She let the words hang in the air. Malice g to them, her e eyes wide, enraptured and uo look away.

  "I'm going to …" Natalie murmured.

  "Yeah?"

  "Give you …"

  Malice waited, tense, desperate to see how the sentence would end.

  "A bath," Natalie finished.

  The words took time tister. Finally, e eyes blinked rapidly in fusion, the brief spell breaking.

  "H-Huh? What, human? A bath?"

  "You're filthy, Malice," Natalie ughed. "Look how much blood is on you."

  She stepped bad took the sight in again. While the bits of her that her armor had been c were mostly , the rest was covered in the grime and gore associated with fighting monsters.

  Much less ihusiastic, up-close-and-personal martial artist style that Malice preferred.

  Amusingly, the only -ish parts were where her armor covered. She was effectively wearing a bikini made of clear skin. Like tan lines.

  "So e on," Natalie said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed Malice's hand. "It's time to teach my puppy how the shower works."