Everyone agrees with Lucien's plan to defend every city in the Mermaid Kingdom, especially Nea. But creating a plan is just the first part of the process, so putting it into practice is really the challenge.
And since time is one of Lucien's main opponents right now, he cannot move slowly. The first step of the plan is to split the group so that Maya can go with some girls towards the nearest city to destroy the portals there; Meanwhile, Lucien will help those Mermaids get ready to fight again.
In order for the girls to follow Maya and Nea into the storm, the Sea Devil is an important tool, but first, Lucien has to give Valencia something, or her impetus to work hard may falter.
So he leaves Maya and his sisters getting ready and flies towards the ship. The cute ladies that make up the crew welcome him with radiant smiles.
"Master!!!" The first to approach Lucien is Rupa, the first Mermaid he met. She almost hugs him but stops when she thinks he might not want it. "I... I was really worried about what would become of us, so... you just came and destroyed those monsters..."
Lucien can't help but find Rupa even more adorable, she clearly doesn't hide her emotions, but she respects him too much to do anything without his explicit consent.
Then he walks over to her and gently hugs her. "You should praise Maya; she was the one who defeated the strongest Kraken."
Rupa allows herself to be even more emotional and hugs Lucien tightly while sniffing his neck. "The Matriarch of the Rising Phoenix Clan is a legendary figure in our world and a very dear ally to our people... yet, my eyes were drawn to you the whole time."
andasnovel.com "You did it, Master." Another Mermaid speaks; she is one of the scouts sisters who joined Lucien's group last. "Your efforts to protect our people have been recognized by everyone on the battlefield, and even our Queen is on your side now."
Lucien smiles at that Mermaid and her sister. "It's also thanks to you for trusting me, and your hard work during the battle must be rewarded. I heard you girls killed six Krakens alone, so you deserve six times the reward."
The Mermaid sisters blush as Rupa already feels like she's getting the best reward ever just for being able to hug Lucien. But Valencia steps forward and smiles confidently at him. "We really deserve a proper reward."
Before Lucien can say anything, Kamala descends from the sky and lands beside him while looking at Valencia with a hostile expression. "Do you think you have the right to ask for any reward after what you tried to do?"
"..." The atmosphere gets tense between the girls, and even though they fought alongside Valencia just ago, none of those girls thinks of defending her. Even Valencia understands that she can't be helped after trying to keep Lucien as her slave.
"Don't be so hard on her..." Lucien speaks in a casual tone and leaves Rupa to walk toward Valencia. His posture seems friendly, but his following words are harshly fair.
"I doubt she can forgive herself for her own mistakes." He comments before looking at Kamala. "You both saw the same thing in me, what I could give you... what you needed. But while you tried to get it politely, she tried to use force."
Kamala smiles as she is happy she made the right decision, but Valencia bows her head in shame and regret. "I'm so sorry..."
Valencia looks really depressed right now, but then she feels Lucien's warm hand touch her face; he caresses her cheek and lifts her head through her chin, making her look into his eyes.
"Don't feel sorry." He speaks in a gentle tone, warming her heart. But again, his next words are not really kind. "I believe you will never be like Kamala, someone I want to give my love to no matter what, but you can get my affection in exchange for hard work by being useful to me."
Valencia feels like complaining to herself for ending up in that situation. But what Lucien offers is far more than anyone else would offer an enemy, so she can't really complain. Also, in her heart, she hopes that one day she can be promoted in his heart based solely on her hard work.
"I understand, Master..." She smiles at him.
Lucien smiles too and then kisses her lips, pushing any negative feelings out of her heart and making her feel loved, at least for a few seconds. "Good girl."
"Master..." Valencia can't help but moan as her hands instinctively go toward his groin. Her body needs his just as most living beings need air, food, and water.
He lets her touch his body as much as she wants, and although she just wants to rip his clothes off and mount on his cock right now, she's smart enough to realize that's not really his intention.
When Valencia hesitates to take what she wants, Lucien smiles. "It's okay; you can have it now; you deserved it..."
She continues to caress his body passionately and then kiss his lips before looking into his eyes. "You have something to say to me, don't you? What am I missing?"
"I was serious about you being able to have it now..." He comments. "You can have a fair reward now or give it up and do something for me."
Abandoning what Valencia wants most seems crazy, and her body quickly refuses to do that; her hands can't stop touching Lucien's body, and her lips don't want to stop kissing him.
But her mind tells her that it can be very beneficial, so she asks. "How good would the next reward be?"
"How much you desire." He comments, still letting her continue touching and kissing his body.
She becomes even more interested in that. "What do I need to do?"
"Help Maya in her mission to destroy the storm over the Mermaid Kingdom." He explains.
Valencia doesn't need to think too much about that, especially since she craves his affection more than anything. Then she hugs him tightly once and takes a deep breath of his scent before kissing his lips and taking a step back. "I accept."
"Great." Lucien was sure she would accept that, but he still wanted to let her make that decision.
With the same intention, he looks to the other new members of the group, who are the Mermaids Sisters, Rupa, and the Naga messenger, Ritika. "You have worked very well as members of the Sea Devil, so I offer you the same opportunity."
"We will do anything to help our people!" The Mermaid Sisters quickly agree, followed by Rupa. "The same goes for me, Master."
So the messenger Naga also nods. "I'll do anything for you, Master."
Lucien is happy for his girls' loyalty and smiles at them. "So, prepare to set sail right now."
"The Sea Devil will be ready in less than two minutes, Master." Valencia talks, and as soon as Lucien nods, she quickly starts preparing the ship with the help of the other girls.
"I'm going to talk to Mom." Kamala kisses Lucien before flying towards Mira.
Everyone is too busy getting ready to leave, so he's alone for a few seconds. He's not really alone as Lust is always by his side, but there are no other girls demanding his attention right now, which gives him the opportunity to enter the main corridor of the ship.
He's not just walking around but heading towards a person he also needs to talk to. And he finds her upon entering the captain's cabin.
"You look comfortable there," Lucien teasingly comments when he sees Daisy lying on his bed.
"I knew you would come to me..." She comments without getting up.
"Oh?" He makes a fake confused expression. "Why are you so sure?"
She finally looks at him, and her expression is both thirsty and sexy; she even licks her own lips seductively, revealing her sharp fangs. "You need this as much as I do, don't you?"
Lucien has come to Daisy to ask her to accompany Maya and the others, but seeing her adorable tongue dance among her fangs, he realizes inside him the need that none of his energies can satisfy.
"Now that you mention it…" He comments as he walks over to the bed.
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