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“And the centaurs have three testicles,” Clay said to herself, as she scribbled her findings in her notebook. “Presumably to ensure reproduction in case of injury. Note: find out if male centaurs target each other's gonads during territorial fights.”
“Whatcha doin’?” A voice as clear as a bell tickled Clay’s ears, as Belle spoke while looking over her shoulder. Despite being an almost comically stereotypical mage, Belle still somehow had the ability to sneak up on Clay, whose nose picked up Belle’s pleasant floral scent a heartbeat after she realized that Belle had been hovering over her.
Clay cleared her throat. “I've been making notes about my monster coworkers.” She placed her feather pen down on the desk, then turned in her seat to face Belle. Even though they've been working together for a little while now, having Belle in the same room as her but not in her line of sight still made the hair at the back of her neck stand up straight. “Until now, I've been interested in their vital points, to kill them in the most efficient way possible. But since we'll be working side by side from now on, I think my workplace relationships will be improved if I learn more about the monsters employed by this dungeon.”
“Hmm.” With no regard to privacy, Belle stuck her nose into Clay’s notebook. “Your handwriting is so neat!”
“Yours is just sloppy.” Clay sighed, recalling how much difficulty she had in reading Belle’s handwritten guidebooks detailing each floor. They almost seemed like they were written in an ancient script.
Putting her hands on her hips, Belle stood up straight and looked Clay right in the face. Despite her young appearance, Belle could affect the presence of a terrifying monster who dwelled in the lowest floors. Well, considering that she was the last boss of the dungeon, Clay wondered if she was even human at all. Belle’s eyes almost sparkled with curiosity. “So, what's the most interesting thing you've learned?”
She's just going to brush off my criticism of her handwriting! Clay thought, admiring, not for the first time, how easily Belle could pivot from one topic to another. Although, that might be a polite way of saying that she's scatterbrained. “Well, I thought it was pretty cool how the goblins choose their mate based on strength,” Clay said, forming one hand into a fist. “Although, I haven't seen any female goblins in the living quarters, so I do wonder if the males get up to some extracurricular activities after sparring with each other.”
“That's true, they do choose mates based on who can top them in battle.” Belle tapped a thoughtful finger against her lips. “Although, based on goblin rules…” She placed her warm, soft hand on Clay's cheek. “Since I trounced you in battle, that would make you my mate!” Belle's skin, bereft of any calluses or scars, was as smooth as the body of a young slime.
“Uhh…” Not one to ever be caught flat-footed, Clay found herself entranced, almost paralyzed, by Belle’s beautiful, jewel-like eyes, which always seemed to have a magical gleam to their sparkling irises. Her heart began racing, reaching a thundering pace that it only matched during her most harrowing battles. Belle closed her eyes and leaned in, and Clay found her gaze drawn to Belle’s full, pink lips, which were pursed in a way that clearly telegraphed her intentions. While Clay had never found herself in such a situation before, she had seen enough of the lewd pamphlets for sale in the town marketed towards parties with only male members to know what was going to happen next. She closed her own eyes, tramping down the feeling of anxiety that bubbled up in her belly from losing sight of her opponent. No, that's not right. She's my boss now, not my enemy, Clay thought, silently admonishing herself. Although, maybe this is just a test to get me to lower my guard, and then she'll splatter my guts against the walls with a spell. Still, even if that happens, I'll reincarnate in the crystal room… right? Her thoughts were interrupted by the touch of Belle’s sweet lips on her own. Clay tried to match the movement of Belle's lips with her own, but her prowess lay in battle, but romance. To her relief, Belle was as sloppy with kissing as she was with her paperwork, inventory management, interior decoration, etc. Clay’s lips found the underside of Belle's nose before she used the fine control of the muscles of her body to readjust her aim and find Belle's lips once more. Her finely-tuned senses detected the warmth and taste of Belle's tongue in her own mouth, before cool air rushed in when they separated.
“Whoops!” Belle took a step back, licking her wet lips. “If I go any further, I'll violate the rules on workplace romance!”
Clay ran her tongue around her mouth, picking up the lingering traces of Belle's flavor remaining on her gums. Her head swam in a way that only happened when she hung from the ceiling for too long. “I, uh… must've missed that part of the employee guide.” I didn’t expect her to even have guidelines like that in place. Just who was she expecting to hire…?
“Well, your onboarding was pretty quick.” Belle gestured to a series of ratty-looking books sitting on a neglected corner of the bookshelf, their spines worn through with holes. “You can always refresh your knowledge by reading the employee handbooks over there.” A chiming noise coming from the threefold mirror they used as a control portal caused Belle’s head to turn to look at the maps displayed upon its surface. “Oh, a party entered the dungeon! Alright, time to go to work.”
“If we weren’t already working, then just what were we doing all day…?” Feeling the need to stretch her limbs, Clay closed her notebook and stood up from her seat at the desk, placing her feather pen on the leather surface of her notebook. She looked over at the information screen, seeing a red dot slowly but steadily move its way through the labyrinth. The rest of the stuff displayed on the mirror still looked like gobbledygook to her. “I guess I’ll go possess a monster again,” she said, cracking her knuckles. “By the way, are there any spells that you know of that would allow two women to have a child of their own? Just out of academic curiosity, of course.”
“Hmm.” Belle smiled her usual smile, that was both warm and mischievous. “Maybe if you beat me in battle, I’ll let you know as a reward.” She moved behind Clay and squeezed their bodies together, her belly pressing up against Clay’s rear. “Since you lost to me last time, if there was such a spell, you’d have to be the one to bear our child, you know. Goblin rules.” Wrapping her hands around Clay’s taut stomach, Belle pressed their bodies even closer, their body heat mingling together. Clay could feel the soft touch of Belle’s chest against her ropey back muscles, as well as warm breath on the side of her neck. “Think you could still adventure while pregnant?”
“I-I never said I was talking about us!” Unusual for her, Clay found herself suddenly flustered, her face burning as hot as if she was hit by a fireball trap. She’d been feeling this way quite often since the day she met Belle, whether it was exasperation at the messy state of the control room before they cleaned it up, or when she felt a more primal sensation in her stomach upon waking up naked in Belle’s arms when she did the whole crystal transfer thing. Belle has seen… all of me, Clay thought, remembering Belle’s wandering eyes before she got dressed. “Anyway, we should get to work!”
“Yep, yep.” Belle released Clay from her soft grip and languidly sat in front of the control panel, the cushion on her chair making a soft groaning sound as she lowered herself onto its fluffy surface. “Oh, they’ve reached the third floor already. Clay, what monster do you want to be today?”
Clay looked over the silhouettes of the monsters roaming that floor. I want to be the least human thing out there, to get rid of this warmth traveling up my spine. She pointed at a creature with what looked like a bunch of tentacles sprouting from its head. “That one.”
“The mandragora! A fine choice,” Belle said with a nod, as if Clay had just ordered a gourmet dish at a fancy restaurant. “Alright, here we go!”
“Ah! Wait!” Clay quickly grabbed a pillow and laid down on the floor. Belle’s pleasant scent reached her nostrils from the pillow as she lowered her head. This must be one of the pillows from her room, she thought, as she relaxed her muscles. “Right, go for it.” Closing her eyes, she felt the magical energy begin to rip her consciousness out of her body and into the ether. The last thing she thought about before finding herself in the stubby, smelly body of the mandragora was that Belle would be alone again with her unconscious human body, and she wondered if Belle would get up to any exploratory actions with her body during lulls in the action, and if she did, Clay wasn’t quite sure if she would mind.