Absolute Beast Dominion

"What happened, Leo?" Lily asked, carefully keeping her bowl of soup steady.

"I feel sleepy," he replied.

"You must be tired. You didn't get enough rest after yesterday's training, especially since we had to arrive here so early," Lily said, watching his face closely.

Leo nodded.

"Might be…"

"You go rest first. I'll come soon," Lily said gently.

Leo set his bow aside and walked toward his shed, his steps slower than usual.

"Strange… this never happened before. Is my age catching up to me?" he muttered jokingly as he went inside—though not before summoning Shyra, with Niri perched atop her. Shyra immediately melted into stealth without anyone noticing, and with Niri's passive trait of rapid mana recovery, she could maintain the skill almost perpetually now.

He wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully with a group of strangers so close by—especially with this sudden wave of drowsiness. Since keeping watch didn't require much effort, Shyra willingly took on the role even though it was her paid holiday. Though not before demanding more meat.

Soon, the girls finished their discussion. After washing the utensils, they each returned to their sheds. The first to keep watch was none other than Miho. Lily had discreetly informed her about Shyra's presence so she wouldn't be scared.

Unfortunately, the effect was the opposite.

Miho actively tried to sense Shyra's location, and when she failed to detect anything at all, a chill ran down her spine. The unease was more than enough to keep her awake the entire night.

When Lily entered the shed, she paused in surprise. Leo had actually taken out a proper bed from his subspace and was lying on it comfortably, his breathing steady. He seemed to be in a light sleep because the moment she slipped in beside him, his arm instinctively wrapped around her waist.

She raised herself to his face and lightly poked the cheek she had struck earlier, her fingers brushing warm skin.

"Did it hurt?" she asked softly.

"Hm? Oh… yeah. Very much," he answered, voice thick with sleep.

"Unn… I just didn't want you to see them like that," she said, puffing her cheeks slightly.

He let out a quiet chuckle.

"Well, then you failed. I caught a small glimpse. Haha."

"I'll hit you again!" she growled.

"No—don't. It hurts pretty bad," he said, lightly tapping his own cheek.

"I think I need some healing. A smooch would be best."

Lily giggled and pressed her soft, red lips against his cheek.

"Smoocch! Happy?" she asked.

"No… I fell face-first earlier. My whole face hurts," he replied, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

"Hmph! Greedy little king. Well, I won't deny you, since I'm such a benevolent queen."

With that, she showered him in kisses—forehead, nose, eyelids, ears, neck, chin—leaving no contour untouched. Finally, her lips found his, lingering until she began to draw him into a deeper kiss.

"Mhmm~" she murmured as she adjusted herself.

Their kiss soon deepened into an intense exchange, tongues intertwining and testing one another. Lily did most of the work, sensing how heavy Leo's body felt beneath her, though his hands never stopped exploring—threading through her soft, silky hair, tracing her toned yet tender back, gliding over her waist and thighs, squeezing where he knew she liked it best.

As she straddled him, her thighs brushed against something thick and firm.

"Hehe… looks like someone else got hurt too, huh?" she teased softly."Since you're too tired to help yourself, I guess it's my responsibility to heal it with kisses."

With that, she slipped beneath the sheets. Soon, the shed filled with soft moans and wet, muffled slurpy sounds. Though they didn't go all the way, after Lily swallowed some, Leo made sure to return the favour—bringing her all the way to cloud nine. Afterwards, they held each other tightly and drifted into sleep.

Leo had anticipated the possibility of noise, so he had deliberately left air gaps within the walls to act as soundproofing. It worked perfectly—Miho didn't hear a single thing outside.

"They really slept…" Miho muttered, staring at the quiet shed in disbelief. Around 4 hours had passed, and there was no noise at all.

She knew they usually wouldn't sleep a wink until their combined "workout" lasted hours into the night. This time, however, they had fallen asleep surprisingly early.

"Master Leo must be really tired then… even Mas—Alric used to run away from the mansion after just one hour…" Miho couldn't help but smile.

"Alric was really a weak man…"

Even she was astonished by how fragile Alric felt now, despite being a beast master. She had seen real battles and understood what true strength looked like. Compared to that, Alric was nothing more than a small fry. Now that she thought about it, Alric really picked only on the weak.

She clenched her fist tightly, as if encouraging herself.

"Hm! I'll grow strong like my big sister and never let anyone bully me again!"

"Hoh? Strong like big sister?" a voice suddenly came from beside her.

"Are you talking about Miss Lily? Just how strong is she, really?"

Miho spun around sharply, her hand darting toward the beast cores in her bag—only to relax when she saw Mira.

"You are awake?"

"Yes, I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep."

"She's strong! Way stronger than me," Miho said cheerfully with a hint of shyness.

"How strong, exactly? What abilities does she use?" Mira asked, stepping closer with a gentle smile.

"You see, I felt really weak today, and I was completely fascinated by Miss Lily's powerful beast. I've become her number one fan girl! She must have some skills, right? What does she use?"

Miho was startled by the sudden interest. Before she could answer properly, a wave of exhaustion washed over her, making her head feel heavy.

She covered her mouth and yawned softly.

"Skills… yes, she does have skills. They're very powerful…" Miho fumbled in her bag and took out a beast core.

"I mean… way stronger than me…"

"Stronger than you? What about Mr?" Mira asked inquisitively.

"Mast..er? I haven't seen him fighting... But he has a big, strong and... scary beast." Miho said, her eyes heavy with drowsiness. Then giggled.

"But it was funny when it didn't listen to him..."

Beast? He must be a beast master then. But his beast doesn't listen to him?

Mira's gaze drifted toward the bag Miho always kept close.

"What's that? Why do you always carry that specific bag around? And you still didn't say which skill your big sister uses—!"

Suddenly, as if a pair of eyes opened and locked onto her, a chilling sensation crawled up Mira's spine, cold sweat breaking out across her body.

"This bag?" Miho asked dully, her eyes half-lidded with sleep.

"My sister gave it to me. It's filled with various beast cores…"

Miho continued speaking in a drowsy tone, but Mira wasn't listening anymore.

W-what is this feeling?

She glanced around frantically, yet found nothing.

W-why does it feel like I'm being targeted... or rather hunted?

Mira panicked internally, though she forced herself to maintain a calm exterior.