Running back home by himself is, in one word, boring. It doesn’t help that he has to stop several times to ask for directions until he reaches one of the main roads leading to Elderspire...

  By the time Sincir finally arrives back at the house, the sun is slightly past it’s midpoint, and he is starving.

  “Esme, I’m back!” he greets while opening the door and entering, “Please tell me you’ve cooked something!”

  As he walks down the small corridor leading into the house, Esme’s head pops up from the kitchen’s entrance... Unfortunately, her awkward expression, plus the smell of burnt food coming from behind her, already tell Sincir all that he needs to know.

  He grimaces at her. “Didn’t you tell me earlier you knew how to cook?”

  Esme averts her gaze. “I never said I was good at it...”

  Stopping next to her, Sincir inspects the mess she has made of their kitchen in his absence, groaning as he does so. “Esme...”

  “I’m sorry, okay?! It has been a long time...! I thought I knew how to do it, but then I remembered you said you were coming back for lunch, and I tried doing everything at once so it’d be ready in time, and...!”

  “It’s fine,” Sincir murmurs with a sigh, “I’m actually not that hun-”

  Of course, his stomach chooses this moment to growl, causing Sincir to facepalm.

  Having obvious heard the sound, Esme closes her eyes as she softly hits her head against the kitchen’s entrance. “I hate myself so much,” she murmurs, “Please kick me out... Make me go buy something for you naked...”

  Sincir chuckles. “As fun as that sounds, I’d have to follow you to keep you safe... C’mon, maybe we can salvage something from this, still.”

  At this moment, Rez shows up, running toward them with a bucket of water in hands... Though she stops once she spots the two of them standing at the entrance.

  “...It’s okay, Rez. I managed to put the fire out,” Esme murmurs, “Thank you.”

  Expression carefully neutral, Rez nods, before turning around and heading back with her bucket.

  “...You’re really something, you know?”

  “Yeah...” Esme says, “Mom used to tell me that all the time, now that I think on it...”

  “I feel bad for her...”

  Esme smiles. “Shut up.”

  “C’mon, let’s get to it; I’m starving.”

  She sighs. “Sorry.”

  Together, him, Esme and Rez begin to put the kitchen back in working condition. While he is at it, Sincir takes the chance to give the girls a cooking css, in spite of Esme’s insistence in that she doesn’t need it...

  Having taken several lessons from Ena already, Rez is improving fast... Seeing her running around the kitchen reminds Sincir of this morning, when they cooked breakfast together, and puts a smile on his face.

  Esme, on the other, seems like a cssic case of a daydreamer worker... Though maybe it doesn’t help that he keeps sexually harassing her while they cook.

  “Sin... I could do without your hand on my ass every two seconds,” she tells him around the tenth time he has groped her, cheeks reddened as she turns away from the oven to gre at him.

  Pressing his erection against her as he pulls her in for a kiss, Sincir groans. “...And whose fault do you think it is I’m this horny...? You just had to make that comment about forcing you to go outside naked, didn’t you?” he murmurs against her lips once their kiss is done.

  Esme bites her lip. “Food is almost ready... And Rez is watching us again. Just hang in there for a bit...”

  Squeezing her nipple through her dress, Sincir humps his erection against her ass as he meets her widened gaze, smiling at her. “Don’t think you’re off the hook about what happened earlier just because I didn’t send you outside naked,” he tells her, “You bad, bad girl.”

  “O-okay...! Now please pull away before I burn everything again!”

  Sincir chuckles, throwing Rez a gnce as he finally pulls away from Esme. Winking at half-goblin, he pces a finger before his lips, to which she nods seriously... After what happened this morning, Eleanor had a talk with her about keeping her mouth shut about these things, even if she notices them, and it seems she took it to heart.

  He should remember to tell her ter that it wasn’t that big of a deal...

  “How is No, by the way?” Sincir asks as he grabs a knife and their cutting board, starting to work on the sad, “Did you check up on her at all?”

  “I did,” Esme says, “But she wouldn’t come down...”

  Considering she also didn’t show up for breakfast, Sincir is worried the news he brought her st night are weighting too heavily on her mind... Hopefully she won’t do something stupid again.

  “She needs a distraction, something to do instead of being rolled up in there the whole day,” he comments.

  “I agree, but she doesn’t seem in the mood for reading, and I can’t think of anything else a noble dy might want to spend her time doing...” Esme says, “Maybe we could bring her a sewing kit?”

  “Naw, that’d be the same as reading... She needs to move her body, tire herself out so she won’t have so much energy to spend worrying.”

  “...Wow. I didn’t know you could cut vegetables that fast... You’re not even looking!”

  Following Esme’s gaze, Sincir looks down. Honestly, he was doing it unconsciously...

  Noticing Rez is also watching him, he smiles. “It’s about my only cooking skill that’s above average,” he admits, “Since I had a lot practice with a knife, over the years.”

  Also, he used to help at the orphanage's kitchen quite often, and then ter, in some of the taverns the girls worked at...

  “It looks really impressive... I’m jealous.”

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “Instead of worrying about my knife skills, why don’t you watch that pot behind you? If it burns a-”

  Esme screams, quickly turning toward the pot. “I-it isn’t burned yet, right?!”

  Sincir ughs. “I don’t think so... But pay attention to it so that it doesn’t happen. Since I’m done with the sad, I’ll go up for a talk with No... Try not to burn the pce down in the meantime.”

  Esme sighs. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try my best...”

  Leaving Esme and Rez to handle their lunch (which they hopefully won’t manage to ruin in the five minutes he is away), Sincir climbs the stairs, heading up for his talk with No.

  He doesn’t hesitate before knocking on her door, though he does so gently.

  “No? It’s me.”

  It takes a while for her to answer, as usual. Once she finally opens the door, Sincir is reminded of the previous night... Which is to say, her state is just as sorry.

  “...You look terrible. Again.”

  No averts her gaze. “Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Sincir?”

  “Lunch is almost ready... But I came here for a different reason. Now that we know more about the nature of the job I took from you, we should discuss payment.”

  No blinks; Clearly, she was not expecting the conversation to head in this direction.

  “B-but of course... I supposed we never got to it before you refused me that day,” No says, meeting his gaze as she does so, “The money I offered the others was ten gold on the acquisition of relevant information about my father, plus one thousand in case they were able to actually find him, or at least his body...”

  Sincir whistles softly.

  “My father was all I had left... If someone was able to save him, I wouldn’t mind giving up our family’s fortune,” No finishes in a whispers.

  “I’m sorry.”

  No shakes her head. “No, you have no reason to apologize... With everything you’ve done for me, I already own you much more than what money could buy...”

  Sincir hums. “Well, those prices were before we knew what we were dealing with. But unfortunately, these aren’t simple kidnappers...”

  No nods. “I know you’re risking your life and that of those you love to help me, Mr. Sincir. For now, would this serve as a testament of my sincerity...?”

  Removing her ring, the same one she had him show Daniel, No extends it in his direction.

  However, Sincir shakes his head. “I’m afraid I don’t have much use for a ring containing your family crest, No.”

  She blinks. “T-then-”

  “Promises are nice,” he interrupts, “But they don’t put food on the table.”

  “W-what? No, I swear I’ll pay you with gold when the time comes-”

  “But I might be dead by then.”

  No swallows. “Then you may help yourself to anything of value you may find in my family’s house...”

  Sincir grimaces, then sighs. “No, I’m not raiding your house like some common thief... I don’t think you’re getting what I’m trying to imply here.”

  No lowers her gaze, frowning. “I’m afraid so. Other than my ring and my clothes, I don’t have anything...”

  Sincir sighs, stepping forward as he leans against the door frame and carefully drags a finger against her cheek, causing No to freeze.

  “You have something else... Try again.”

  Cheeks now burning, No licks her lips nervously, then smiles humorlessly. “Of course... Mr. Sincir is a man, after all.”

  “Are you upset I’m taking advantage of you like this?”

  Averting her gaze, No takes a deep, wavering breath. “Yes, I am... But I understand that in my current position, I’m at Mr. Sincir’s mercy... And considering how we first met, I’m not surprised you’d want to enact some sort of sexual revenge...”

  Removing his finger from her skin, Sincir chuckles. “Is that so?”

  Eyes still averted, No bites her lower lip. “If I may ask for something...?”

  “Sure, go for it.”

  “Mr. Sincir may have access to my body while I remain here... But I wish to still retain my purity...”

  Sincir nearly ughs, but he manages to stop himself in time. “Is that all?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “Then, I can tell you to do anything I want?”

  “If that’s what Mr. Sincir desires as his initial payment...”

  Pulling away from the door frame, Sincir beams. “Great! Rez will come up with your food in a minute, and she’ll tell you what to do. She is also a beginner, but she is a fast learner, so I figure she should be ready to start on her own by now...”

  “...Huh?”

  Seeing the look of utter confusion in No’s face, Sincir cocks his head. “What? Did I say something you didn’t understand?”

  No shakes her head. “I... The half-goblin... Must I perform intercourse with her? I don’t understand...”

  Sincir snorts. “No, please; Do you really think I was about to rape you, when my girlfriend is less than a minute away...? Rez is suppose to be working as our maid, and since there’s so much to do around the house, I thought I’d have you assist her while you stay here. She’ll need help to reach higher pces, at least.”

  After a moment of staring at him agape, No finally closes her mouth. “Cleaning? Is that what you were talking about this whole time?”

  “Well, some of our walls need a new hand of paint, but it’ll be a couple of days before I get around buying the materials...”

  Cheeks having now grown crimson, No gres at him. “Mr. Varzath could’ve corrected me!”

  Turning to leave, Sincir waves at her over his shoulder. “I could, but what would’ve been the fun in that? Don’t worry, your purity will remain intact...!”

  “This... This isn’t over!”

  Sincir is still ughing by the time he reaches the kitchen, causing Esme to throw him a curios look.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. I had forgotten how fun it was to py with their heads... A bad habit a friend of mine used to always compin about. Is the food ready?”

  Esme raises an eyebrow toward his ambiguous answer, then nods. “I just turned it off... How was No?”

  “I thought of something that might help her, but we’ll see how well it is working tomorrow... Rez, come here, I need to talk with you for a bit.”

  Rez, who was setting the table, looks at him curiously, before approaching.

  Pcing his hand over her shoulder, Sincir meets her red eyes and smiles. “I have a very important mission for you...”

  Rez perks up. “Rez will do it!”

  Sincir chuckles. “Listen to what I have to say first, idiot. Look, this morning Ena said you were ready to clean on your own, remember?”

  Now hesitating, Rez nods. “Rez was about to start, after lunch...”

  What did she even spend the whole morning doing?

  “No, I’m not rushing you. Actually, I hired you an assistant...”

  Briefly, Sincir expins to her about No, and their deal.

  “...I need you to work her until she feels ready to fall over; Think you can do it?”

  “Rez just needs to order Curly around, yes? Like sves back at tribe... Rez can do it.”

  Curly? Because of No’s hair...? No, more importantly...

  “It’s good that you understand, but don’t overdo it, okay? Once you’re done, ask Esme to prepare the two of you a nice bath... Eleanor or Ena can handle dinner, so don’t worry about it... If No doesn’t listen to you, then remind her Sincir put you in charge.”

  Rez nods, and Sincir has to stop her from immediately running up.

  “Grab food for the both of you before you go...”

  “R-Rez was just about to...”

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “I’m sure you were. Regardless, you didn’t let me finish; I need the both of you to stick to the upper floor for a couple of hours... Unless it’s an emergency, don’t come down, okay?”

  Rez blinks, then nods. “Sincir wants to py in secret with Esme,” she murmurs, “Rez understands. Rez stay out of the way.”

  “Don’t forget to bring cleaning supplies with you when you go up...”

  Rez frowns. “But... The food...?”

  “...Forget it. Esme will deliver it in a bit.”

  “Okay!”

  Sincir scratches his head as he watches her go. Will she be okay?

  “She’ll be fine,” Esme says. Having finished setting the table, she stares at him with a smile while leaning against it, a look of obvious anticipation on her face. “So...?”

  Sincir stares at her for a moment, then shakes his head. “Esme...”

  Blinking, Esme cocks her head. “What? We aren’t pying?”

  He sighs. “Aren’t you rather comfortable these days? I was being nice, since you moved in and everything was new... And then you almost burned the house down with your clumsiness.”

  Seeing the look in his face, Esme swallows, her smile disappearing. “It does sound pretty serious when you put it like that... I d-don’t suppose you’ll let me go with just a panties’ fsh this time, will you...?”

  Sincir grins, his gaze now cold enough to have her shudder. “I do have half a mind to forbid you from wearing clothes for the next week, but I’m afraid Ena would kill me if I went that far, so we’ll have to keep your punishment to a shorter time frame.”

  “O-oh...”

  Seeing the look of relief on her face, Sincir chuckles. “Esme, that’s not a good thing for you.”

  “...Oh.”

  “Yeah. Dress off. Your shoes, too.”

  Hands now shaking slightly, Esme hesitates only briefly before obeying. “Where should I...?”

  “Doesn’t matter. Just throw them in the corner.”

  With only her panties remaining, Esme awkwardly covers her breasts as he approaches her, biting her lower lip...

  “Who the fuck said you could cover them?”

  “S-sorry... Ah!”

  Grabbing her nipples and twisting them, Sincir pulls her down, pressing his lips against hers as she intakes a sharp breath of air... He doesn’t release of her nipples even after their kiss is over, forcing her to remain slightly bent over.

  “What am I ever going to do with you...?” he whispers into her ear, “Do you like pain? Having my cock shoved down your throat by Eleanor?”

  “N-no...!?”

  “No? Well, that’s too bad... There, now they’ll be nice and red for your next punishment.”

  Esme shudders once he finally releases her. “S-Sin...”

  “No Sin; You deserve this much.” Turning her around, Sincir sps her ass, then points her toward the food. “Now make ptes for the girls and take them upstairs.”

  Esme’s eyes widen. “B-but-”

  “No buts. Considers yourself lucky we don’t have guests over, right now.”

  “Then what is No supposed to be?!”

  Sincir smiles. “You’re right; She might lose respect for me if I don’t at least make you take off your panties-”

  “Going! I’m going!”

  Groaning, Esme quickly begins to fill two ptes of food.

  “Careful not to drop them on your way up...”

  “Bastard, you know I won’t be able to cover myself with both my hands being occupied!”

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “That’s the point, isn’t it?”

  As Esme climbs up with hurried steps, Sincir waits by the kitchen’s entrance with his arms crossed... Her and No bathed together the previous night, so this much should be fine.

  It doesn’t take long for Esme to return, her face crimson and her eyes swimming. Covering her breasts, she presses herself against him and whimpers, body shaking slightly.

  “Oh, Gods... Oh, G-Gods...!”

  Returning her hug, Sincir pats her head a couple of times. “It’s fine, you did good...”

  “N-No will think I’m a pervert n-now...”

  “I’m pretty sure she will figure I’m the one who made you do it... And besides, you being a pervert is the truth. Friends should know each other.”

  In spite of her teary eyes, Esme gres at him.

  “C’mon, take a deep breath...”

  After a moment, she does so, albeit shakily.

  “Better now?”

  “I-is it over?”

  Dragging a finger against Esme’s lower back, which causes her to shudder, Sincir chuckles. “Not quite. I’m sorry, but this time, you really did mess up. I’m not going easy on you.”

  Esme cringes. “L-let’s get it over with, then...”

  He sps her ass. “Fill a pte for me,” he orders.

  Esme bites her lip, meeting his gaze. “...Y-yes, Sir...” she murmurs.

  Sincir smiles. “Good girl.”

  Entering the kitchen and sitting at the table, he watches Esme as she sets his pte with shaking hands and an slightly awkward expression. Her visibly standing nipples are still somewhat red from before, and her panties are damp enough to reveal the sex beneath...

  Fuck, is he the one being punished here?

  “Is t-this good enough, Sir...?”

  “Yes. Come sit with me.”

  Once Esme throws him a confused look, Sincir rolls his eyes.

  “On my p, idiot; Now rush, I’m starving.”

  As Esme sits sideways on his p, Sincir drags a hand against her stomach, groping her breast, then one against her inner thigh, rubbing her sex.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” he says once she doesn’t immediately move, staring at him with desire filled eyes and anticipation, “My hands are clearly busy, aren’t they?”

  Esme groans, biting her lower lip once a glow of understanding fshes through her brown eyes. “Y-yes, Sir... I’ll get to it at once...”

  While Esme begins to spoon feed him, Sincir continues to py with her body, careful to keep his teasing to a level where she won’t cum.

  “If you drop any food on my clothes, you’re not getting to cum today.”

  “W-what...!?”

  “This punishment if for treating your clumsiness... From now on, when I tell you to do something, I want it done well, or I’m going to punish you again... Understood?”

  Sincir pinches her sex and nipple for good measure, causing Esme to cry softly.

  “S-Sin...”

  “Shh. Just rex. Take a deep breath. You can do it.”

  “Easy for you to say...!”

  “You can feel my erection, can’t you? I’m not exactly having an easy time, myself.”

  Esme shudders. “Okay... Fine, I-I get it...”

  With every slow, slightly shaky spoon, Esme grows visibly hornier. Her body trembles against his, her sex burning under his hand... Still, Sincir can see the concentration and determination on her face, in spite of the shame and fear to accompany them.

  “We’re almost there, now... Hang in there, okay?”

  Esme moans. “P-please, Sin... I-I c-can’t...”

  “Careful now...”

  Suddenly, Esme pces her free hand under the spoon, stopping its content from spilling all over.

  “I-it’s n-not on your c-clothes!” she says, throwing him a desperate look.

  Sincir smiles. “Indeed... Good job. Only a couple more spoons now.”

  Once the st spoon is finally cleaned of its contents, he releases a satisfied sigh.

  “See? You can do it if you really try...”

  Esme sighs. “I still dropped some. You’re just too nice to tell me I won’t get to cum for it, even if I don’t deserve it...”

  Sincir raises an eyebrow. “Do you really think you don’t deserve to cum, after all of this?”

  Esme averts her gaze. “I know how much of a mess I am, all right? I’m always causing trouble... When it comes to anything other than my job.”

  Sincir sighs. “And why do you think that is?”

  Esme averts her gaze. “If I knew, I’d have already fixed the problem, wouldn’t I...?” she murmurs bitterly.

  “C’mon... Let me help you, Esme. Why do you think you’re able to do your job properly, but not other things?”

  “I... I don’t know?”

  “It’s because you really care about it, much more than anything else... Look, if you can do it when it comes to restoring books, then you’re not a completely hopeless case. With effort, you’ll be able to improve at doing everyday things, including talking to people, and reading the room... Granted you want to, of course.”

  Esme stares at him, brown eyes hopeful. “Do you really think so?”

  “Of course.”

  “Will you... Will you help me?”

  Sincir rolls her eyes. “What do you think I have been doing this whole time?”

  “...Taking advantage of me?”

  Meeting her gaze, he smiles. “Well, that, too. Want me to stop?”

  Leaning forward, Esme softly presses her lips over his, shuddering as she does so. “No... You can make me your toy... Be as rough as you want... Order me around... Sin...”

  “Shh... Rex... I’m not going anywhere. There’s no need to cry.”

  Esme sniffs, chuckling as she wipes her tears. “T-thank you...”

  “So, what do you want me to do? If you really think this wasn’t enough punishment...”

  Esme nods. “I ate your cookies, I almost burned down the house with my carelessness, and I couldn’t even do a proper job of feeding you... I deserve no mercy. Please, hurt me and humiliate me until I’m begging you to stop.”

  Sincir blinks. Well, if she is asking for it this directly...