By the end of the morning, when we ultimately reached our final destination, Anna was by no means surprised to find us ahead of schedule and was waiting for us patiently. Well, there could be more normal since the news of our escape was already known to every living soul within the ruin. Or at least, the ones who weren’t busy tormenting and persecuting helpless girls… or even absorbed in some strange and disturbing reading of a sexual nature.

  Cmon, everything turned out to be closely or loosely related to sex in this damned place. Or was it for the whole planet? Anyway, after a good while of running through the underground corridor, we eventually took off guard a few bandits who were attending a private meeting and were unaware of all the commotion. Those were actually reading the latest hentai based on the way to infamous Stockholm syndrome or How to Make a Miss Fall in Love book.

  Noticing the din of a hundred women’s steps, they lifted their heads just in time to see the mass of girls charging at them, or so I was told. The surprise, mixed with their overflowing imagination and depraved desire, would most likely have made them think everything was a dream since they only yielded. Behaving like total retards in full daydreams, they stood aside so as not to obstruct the passage, disregarding the absurdity of the situation.

  Then, they would pick up their reading, turning a deaf ear to the ruckus around them until I, the rearmost, went by and looked over their shoulders out of pure curiosity.

  It must have seemed quite strange even to their disturbed minds because they finally realized the reality of things after I gave my honest opinion on the difficulty of the position depicted in their book.

  After a short break, when they sweated all the water from their bodies, they suddenly ran away in complete panic without looking back. At that time, the book fell off their hands, and I picked it up on the floor out of pure good conscience and consideration for the local pollution.

  That one was very well drawn and very detailed. Well, the girls were, but that doesn't mean everything and overall quality wasn’t that bad. But man, what a bunch of poorly quilted plots. Other than my own unofficial porn story saga, I had never seen anything with such a display of different tags and sequences staging them one after the other… Bah, I probably needed a larger sample to form an opinion.

  I Would’ve to look into it more after gathering all the 368 first volumes.

  Anyway, other than this small treasure their rightful former owners had lost in their panicked flee, we, or rather, Lily and Alev duo, had another fateful encounter and found another kind of jewel.

  While I was busy guarding the rear and studying my latest fresh find, the two girls stumbled on a lost slave in the middle of molestation.

  From what I understood, Alev uncovered a sub-gallery whose entrance was naturally concealed and barely visible. Fearing an ambush, she checked carefully to see if anything would put us at risk. Then, she faced the lustful aggressors, who were about to dig in and start their meal.

  There were 3 of them besieging and molesting the girl when Alev broke in just in time and cut their fun short. Moreover, seeing that their victim was only a trembling child, and because this story hadn’t fallen enough to let something like that happen, she made cave paintings out of their blood before Lily invited herself to the party and made flesh sculptures from the remains.

  Amidst my reading, I barely had time to notice something was wrong, and it was all over before I could inquire about the situation.

  Luckily for us, this marked for us the end of our trouble. Since the quota of idiots and cliché had been reached, we thus resumed our march without further incident and could finally meet up with Anna not far from our final destination.

  As I said previously, she was waiting for us ahead of the men’s jail and had the intelligence to prevent the few guards around from learning about our escape. Thanks to her foresight and help, we took over the place without effort. Anna once more demonstrated her qualities and sharp decision-making ability.

  Once everyone had entered the big cave, we barricaded the entrance, freed the men from their shackles, and allowed everyone a well-deserved rest. Well, I’d rather say almost everyone. While everybody proceeded to sit down to take a breath or run to meet their dear ones who they had missed, we didn’t take a break and had a small conversation between us.

  Against my expectations and to my greatest regret, Anna didn’t have time to set up the traps at all. I wished half would be ready and had hoped for at least a third, but she had her own predicaments, making her late on schedule.

  It was a pity because they held all our chances of an easy victory. We would now have to rely solely on our endurance in the upcoming battle. Furthermore, we lost all hope of causing chaos through their activation.

  Bah… Never mind, some were still usable as is and could be thrown instead. It would not cause as much confusion, but the damage would be the same, if not greater, as long as none ends up between our lines. Moreover, there would surely be other ways to impact morale.

  If we could no longer reduce that of the enemy, it would still be possible for the girls to boost our own. Who knows, I may even successfully convince some to distract the enemies…

  It was no use worrying about that now; I had a more significant issue to address.

  “Don't mope, Anna, that is not your fault. Even if we weren't the most rigorous and we wasted time on a certain repressed homosexual that deserved hellish punishment, we are still way ahead on schedule.”

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  “But that doesn't change my share of responsibilities! If only I hadn’t spent the early morning looking for something I had lost and could’ve searched for yesterday…

  You know what? I should still have some time left. I’ll set up the nearest ones. At worst, if they’re already besieging the gallery, I’ll tell them I hid myself and escaped, then join hands with Lucas instead.”Anna behaved guilty and argued with us to let her finish what she hadn't even started.

  “No, we need you here. The women are exhausted after this run, far more than anticipated. Apart from us four, nobody else can put up a proper fight. The men are equally diminished; even if most are adventurers, they are mostly low-ranking. They won’t last for long.

  Don’t forget that they won’t hesitate to kill the males, unlike the women. We have too much need for you, and Lucas is presumably not yet there. If you’re caught in the act, or if they didn’t believe your lie, you would be done for.”

  That would put our plan at risk. If she were suspect, so Lucas, her order’s giver, would be.

  “How am I supposed to be useful? I can fight, but I don’t think my presence would be a game-changer. ”

  “I dunno. Help distribute some water and the little stuff we have, manage the men and women and record their physical condition for Lily to help those who need it. It may be interesting to put the youngest ones aside, as far as possible from the fights; they have seen enough, and I don’t want them to be further traumatized than they already are.

  Anyway, I’m not gonna let you put yourself in danger so that you can avoid moping about something so trivial as discussing the ressposabilité of our change of plan.”

  Anna seemed taken aback by the seriousness of my response and the number of things I had effortlessly mentioned and in which his help would be welcome.

  “... You’re right… Sorry, my reaction was inappropriate. I shall do what you said. Still, I apologize for the traps and will be responsible for anything that might happen due to their absence until the end. If there were to be deaths, it would be my fault.”

  “Oh! Come one, and what will you do if something goes astray? Get yourself judged? Get yourself stoned?! Who's gonna act as my maid in the future if you’re hurt or in jail ?”

  “But I can’t just ignore my faults and responsibility!”

  “Nah, I’m saying that as your current master and as the hero, if anything goes wrong, it would be my responsibility, not yours. It would only mean I wasn’t strong enough to overcome the adversity. So don’t take it at heart, do your job, and let me do mine.

  Moreover, Lily has already become attached to you. She's probably seriously considering whether she should let you in as a full member of the harem or not, and I don't think I can prevent her from tricking me into agreeing to it, so you just have to start acting like you were already part of it selfishly.”

  “You mean it??? Did she already acknowledge me and think about accepting my request? Is this serious information, or are you giving me false hope?… … Err, I mean… Doesn't that bother you? Really? ”

  “Gushbpgizjgsdghdsfhg!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!” Have they actually started negotiations already? And my opinion, then? Do I at least have the right to a veto? Could I have one per year, perhaps? I think I’ll need this much if I don’t want to end up marrying an entire asylum worthy of mentally ill women!

  “Ahem, sorry, I’ll make it again. I meant to say something more like ‘Wha– I… but– how… huh? Um… err… wait– You can’t be… I mean… I didn’t? I suppose?’ but it doesn't bother me, I assume?’ "

  Well… At least Anna was kinda normal, I guess? I could have had worse for a 3rd contender to the title. Someone like this princess Lucie, for example…

  I will have to take precautions and discuss it with Lily. I can’t let this scheming princess manipulate her. If she were to trick me afterward, by then, it would be too late.

  “... So you were just spouting nonsense and hit on the mark… Well, at least I suppose that your words about Lily liking me were valid and that I shouldn’t worry too much about it. Sorry, I didn't want you to hear it from me. I thought you knew…

  Well, that's too bad. Regardless, the rest didn’t concern me anymore, and neither did you since you admitted that you couldn't stop her from tricking you. 3 Hehe 3 On that, I'll let you explain yourself to her while I go about my business.”

  “W–Wait!!!”

  “Yes? If you have anything to complain about, Lily said you had to contact your first wife to regain the harem management rights.”

  “Ah!??? Pardon me??... no… this is neither the time nor the place. I'll see about it later. I just wanted to ask about the thing you had lost. Did you find it? Was it important? ”

  What could possibly be important enough for her to search for the whole morning? A trap? Perhaps a bomb? No, she shouldn’t be stupid enough to use one underground. So what could it be…

  I admit that curiosity was itching me, or rather, the need to forget what I had just learned about…

  “Mhhh, Yes, kinda. I didn’t find everything I was looking for, but I guess I've found the most important ones. It wasn't essential, but it was still important, and it concerned several things that should have been together and might come in handy.”

  “Great; I won't need to console you in the end. Well, it's not like I could have done much anyway… Except maybe comfort you in your loss with the porn book I found on my way here… Hey, while I'm at it, do you have any knowledge about that one named Stockholm Syndrome or how to make a miss fall in love? I have heard of it several times, and this name keeps coming up.”

  “Oh? I didn’t think that you had such an interest in literature… Anyway, yes. I can even say I know it too well. It was I who discovered it and published it under an assumed name; why?... Wait, don’t tell me… are you the porn you were referring to…”

  “That’s right. I’ve found a fanmande hentai based on this very book, and I was curious.”

  “I’M GLAD!! Thank you, hero! I thought I had lost him forever! You just took a weight off my shoulders, for sure. It wasn’t that important, but it's from a good friend of mine, and she sent it for review. It's worth a fortune since it’s unpublished content. Moreover, I would’ve hated to have to wait for its official release.”

  God, I’d like to ask why, after so many chapters, I keep opening my mouth and asking for things that should never be revealed to the world.

  THE HECK!

  I hope, nay, I wish, that everything else she was looking for was much more important than that, or I will regret having unconsciously accepted the fact that she would surely soon become my wife.

  Please tell me she wasn't looking for her favorite magazine, her fap material collection, or something like that…