CHAPTER 264: 264: HAREM BONDING BOOK!

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He closed his eyes and leaned back against the soft down of Alka’s feathered neck. "Good job, girls. We survived the frogpocalypse."

Naaro beamed and hugged his arm.

Sha crossed hers. "Barely. I never want to hear the word tongue again."

Azhara snapped her fingers. "I want to name our next move the tongue twister. It can be a dual technique where I slap the enemy and you throw noodles at them."

Vel tossed a pebble at her, which was stuck on her chest plate. "No naming anything after tongues. We are banning all tongue related vocabulary until we reach Sir Kai’s mountain."

Akayoroi turned her head slightly. "We are one hour away from leaving the frog territory. There are no signs of aerial pursuit. And the frogs on the ground have not regrouped."

Kai nodded. "Let us enjoy the flight while it lasts."

The girls settled down, more or less.

Naaro curled beside him, still claiming full ownership of the lap zone. Sha leaned on the opposite side, occasionally jabbing him with questions about the fight. Azhara laid on her stomach and began drawing tiny frog caricatures on a flat section of Alka’s feathers. Vel sat with a book open, reading something that looked suspiciously like frog anatomy notes. Akayoroi remained vigilant, the perfect sentry, not even ruffled by the wind.

At one point, a gust caught them hard, and everyone had to duck.

Sha grabbed Kai’s anaconda in panic. "If I die by falling from a bird’s butt, you better bury me in a throne shaped coffin."

Kai grunted. "Stop touching me. You... opportunist girl."

"Noted. With a plaque that reads ’Queen of Complaints.’"

The girls laughed. Even Akayoroi allowed herself a small smirk.

Below them, the terrain changed once more. The land rose in layered slopes of stone and cliff. Waterfalls dotted the sides of forest ranges, and clouds began to form closer and closer, brushing against Alka’s wings as she flew.

Some mountain loomed in the distance now. Its peaks rose like the arrow head, wreathed in thin white mist and moonlight.

The path ahead was long. But they were above it now. And no frog could fly.

As the team relaxed, Alka tilted slightly, adjusting her flight path with ease.

Naaro’s hair whipped into Sha’s face for the third time in less than five minutes.

Sha let out a slow exhale, then leaned back with her usual deadpan. "Can we please choose new seats? I do not like being downwind of Naaro’s hair oil. Again."

"It is not oil," Naaro protested from her spot in front, her back stiff with dignity. "It is aura-infused pollen extract. Handmade. I bought it from an elemental sunflower that lives in a jar. It keeps my skin radiant."

"Then your radiance is stabbing my eyes like a guilt blade," Sha muttered.

"Maybe your face just lacks the aura to appreciate beauty," Naaro replied with a smile too sweet to be legal.

Before Sha could fire back a sarcasm missile, Vel stood up, barefoot, as always and pointed a claw dramatically into the air while balancing a thick book in her other hand.

"According to harem tradition," she declared with full ceremonial seriousness, "we must rotate seats every thirty minutes. Otherwise, our bonds weaken and our harmony suffers. Everyone wants to serve Sir Kai. No exceptions."

"That is not a tradition. You just made that up," Azhara replied from where she was sprawled like a napping cat against one of Alka’s wing ridges.

"No, it is in the book," Vel said confidently.

"What book?" Sha asked warily.

"This one," Vel answered, holding up what appeared to be a thick, dusty manual titled "Frog Biology and Reproduction: A Complete Field Guide."

Everyone groaned.

"That’s a frog dissection manual," Naaro said. "It has nothing to do with harems."

"It has pictures," Vel replied innocently.

"You are banned from interpreting literature ever again," Sha muttered.

But the damage was done. The chaos had only just begun.

Akayoroi did not move.

Kai reached out and grabbed the nearest pillow-like part of Alka’s neck. He exhaled deeply. "We will argue about seat politics later. Right now, just breathe."

And for a moment, they did.

His care for them warmed their faces. The wind played with their hair and antennae. The sky remained clear. The mountain grew closer with each beat of Alka’s wings.

They had left the marsh behind. They had survived the grave. And ahead of them waited their next test. But for now, they were skybound. Together.

A few moments later out of nowhere, summoning a circle of mischief, Azhara pulled out a different book. This one had a pink cover, sparkles, and an incredibly suspicious title: Queen’s Whispered Secrets: The Sacred Art of Serving One’s Lord in Body and Spirit.

Sha raised an eyebrow. "Where did you even get that?"

"Looted it from the frog prince’s body. I think he was studying romance to improve his licking or something."

Kai, pretending to sleep on Naaro’s lap with his leg dangling off Alka’s back like a bored limb, muttered, "Please do not tell me that was the one with gold foil illustrations."

Azhara beamed. "Girls, let’s read it. Want me to read it aloud?"

"No," Akayoroi said sternly from the front.

"Yes," Vel, Sha, Naaro, Xxx and Xxx said at the same time. They started to read the book.

Sha scooted closer, snatching a corner of the book. "What Chapter are we on?"

"Chapter Four: The Twelve Positions of Soul Compression."

Azhara licked her finger and turned the page with exaggerated flair. "It says here, quote: ’The ideal lap pillow begins with body temperature and emotional vulnerability. The queen must cradle the warrior’s head as though it were the sacred egg of the heavens.’"

Vel blinked. "I have... not done that before."

"Of course not. You cradle like a hungry crab," Sha added.

"Does it list examples?" Naaro asked curiously, shifting Kai’s head a little more gently.

"Absolutely. Picture illustrations. This one is called the Gentle Blossom Hold. The second one is the Dominant Entanglement Grip. It involves elbow positioning and thigh angles. And this one—"

Akayoroi raised her hand, her voice cutting through like a queen silencing her choir. "You are reading frog romance propaganda."

Azhara grinned. "But it’s surprisingly applicable. See this one? It’s called the Four-Way Aura Exchange Position."

Vel leaned in. "Can we try that?"

"Not now," Naaro snapped. "He is asleep. Once he is rested we will try these techniques of bed."

"Too bad," Vel muttered, flipping a page. "There are more than four of us. We need to learn from the book and invent our unique things."

The girls huddled together, forming what could only be described as the world’s most chaotic midair book club. Alka, ever the professional, did not respond but her tail twitched once, like a tired babysitter resisting the urge to shake the wagon.

Azhara read dramatically, "Chapter Seven: How to Prepare Herbal Aura Baths for Your Mate Without Triggering a Skin Reversal. Ooh! That sounds useful."

Sha clapped. "I volunteer to scrub his back."

"I volunteer to observe," Vel added.

"You mean you want to stare," Naaro said dryly.

"I observe with passion."

Akayoroi finally turned from her regal seat. "This is not productive. If we make love to him while bathing, that will be satisfying."

"It’s team building!" Azhara chirped. "Besides, we need to be fully trained if Sir Kai ever gets a fever. Or emotional trauma. Or harem fatigue."

Kai mumbled, "Harem fatigue is real. I’ve seen the warning signs."

Vel flipped the page. "Symptoms include sudden urges to escape into tunnels, an irrational fear of eye contact, and pretending to sleep when girls argue over lap duty."

"Sounds familiar," Naaro said with a knowing smirk.

Sha suddenly perked up. "Wait, does it say anything about snack preparation? Sir Kai loves to eat."

Azhara nodded. "Chapter Nine. Cooking aphrodisiac snacks using essence rich herbs. With a note from a frog duchess who seduced three generals."

Akayoroi sighed quietly. But even she leaned over slightly to glance at the recipe page.

Kai, trying to pretend this entire conversation was not happening over his semi-conscious body, whispered, "I fought two six star rank frogs. I deserve a nap. Not... this girl’s horny talk."

Azhara gave him a loving look at Kai’s pants. "Your anaconda is enough for all of us. We can use it."

Naaro pulled out a pen. "I will take notes."

Vel raised a hand. "Meeting agenda item: weekly harem improvement sessions."

"Nope," Kai groaned.

Sha whispered, "We could make it mandatory."

"I will jump off this bird," Kai warned.

As the girls argued over who would lead the next Chapter’s reading, Alka glided smoothly across the horizon. The Mountain grew closer. Its silhouette no longer looked like a fabled ruin.

Akayoroi finally smiled faintly, watching the girls chat and bicker and bond. It was something she had expected. A united harem was a powerful thing.

She reached into her robe and pulled out her own copy of the Ant Queen’s Whispered Secrets. And in her head, she silently reviewed ’Chapter Ten: The Art of Winning more anaconda time from your husband.’

She had already learned it.