Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Twenty-Three

Two things were apparent to Copper Plum when he awoke. The first was that having a traditional bed at home was far better than what he had when he was much younger. The second was that his connection with Artemis was going to be interesting to say the least. She had reconnected during the night, and he soon realized that it was something she was enjoying. A few questions had been asked, and he could remember the answers. She could feel what she was doing. In essence, while they hadn’t technically been together, she was enjoying the prospect of getting there through their link.

He also found that his link allowed for a few other things as well. He was learning that it wasn’t just piloting Avarice that it helped with. The link was allowing him to access the digital records that Armitage had, and it also allowed him to connect to some of the older technology that appeared to still be around. The labyrinths themselves were mostly created by monster cores that were left unchecked. However, there were pockets of areas that had ruins. The ruins themselves were less raided than the labyrinths, but they weren’t left unchecked.

He hadn’t attempted to go into any, but Artemis had explained that there were still pockets of them. She explained that most of them were left over technical areas that were used in the war between the new humans and the old humans. From what she had told him those pockets of technical areas likely were made up of labs and research areas. Much like her own area had been.

It had made sense, and now if they were close to one again he could potentially be able to connect with it. Of course she had explained that connecting to one without any regard for his own safety could be problematic. From what she said the link worked both ways. If the Artificial Intelligence that governed the area was powerful enough it could potentially overwrite his mind. It would gain control of his body, and from there it would begin using him toward its own ends.

So, he would need to be careful, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from wanting to try it. There was a potential limitless amount of information that he could use. Or at least he could gain a deeper understanding of what was going on behind the scenes in this dumpster fire of a world. Everything here was structured in such a way that he couldn’t really see the reasoning for it. The unequal treatment of men was one of the biggest problems.

He breathed out, stretched, and stood up. He gathered some clothes, nothing that would resemble the school’s uniform, but instead he gathered the clothes that he used when working the fields. That was exactly what was on the agenda today. He would be working the field with his father, brothers, sisters, and of course Appelbloom and Diamond Tiara. That was going to be interesting. A duke’s daughter out in the field doing some basic work. He wouldn’t say that it was something that he didn’t think that she would do.

No, he was fairly certain that she would actually want to try it, at least a little bit. Thinking about her he tried to understand the feelings that he was going through. There was certainly a connection between him, Diamond Tiara, and Applebloom. It was similar to being friends, but at the same time the same could, and certainly would, be said about Artemis with them as well. Artemis herself had become less of a crewmember, and more of a friend. She had even became friendly with both girls.

She treated them like peers and not like beings that she saw as inferior. That was certainly a step in the right direction. It was something that he saw as potential for growth, and he hoped that it would continue. He slid on his old slacks, a white work shirt, his socks, and finally his field boots. After sliding them on he realized that the boots were getting a little tight. There was no denying that he would need to get another set before long.

“Guess that I could purchase a new pair at the guild,” he said as he looked at the boots themselves, “I mean I’m sure that the boots made for raiding a labyrinth would work just as well for working in a field. Maybe better for that.” He walked with the boots for a few moments, allowing them to stretch a little, and then he opened his door to see Artemis standing there. Both of her bodies were waiting, and she fell in step with him, “So, was it necessary to come back into my dreams again?”

There was a moment of silence, “Necessary, no,” she said from his left, “But ultimately fun,” she replied from his right, “and besides, I could tell that you enjoyed it, my Captain,” both sides replied as they walked.

He wanted to grumble, but she was right in that he did enjoy it. He enjoyed every moment of it, but he also didn’t want things to go too far. That was when he learned that the link did allow him to limit what happened. That was something that she didn’t volunteer the information for. It was also something that humbled her a little while the entire event was happening.

“My Captain,” she said from his right, “I must ask, are you going to continue to limit the content of our interactions? I believe that allowing me to fulfill my desires would also make you less stressed. It would be mutually beneficial.”

He stopped, and felt her stop as well, “What I said before still stands. Artemis, I don’t want to take advantage of you. I don’t want to do something that you’re not ready for emotionally. Maybe you are, and maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think that you’re still growing and maturing, and I want you to take time to discover more about yourself.”

The moment of reflection was enough for him to know that she was at least considering it. That was a step in the right direction. He knew that. He was glad that she was willing to consider it. Her two bodies looked at one another for a moment, and then the one on the left, the one he spent the most time with, stepped closer, “What happens if another attempts to claim you before we can?” her voice was unusually pitched, and he understood that she was anxious, “What happens if while I’m figuring things out someone else steps in and lays claim to you. I don’t want that.”

Her other body stepped closer as well, “I want to know that you’ll wait. I want a fair chance to be able to claim you. I want to have an equal chance as much as anyone else does,” she said, her voice relaying her flurry of emotions, “Please, promise me that you will give me the same chance that you will give anyone else.”

Seeing her anxious and uncertain behavior he nodded, “You have my word,” he said in a calm and reassuring voice, “I will give you the same exact chance. I won’t do anything, with anyone, before you’re ready to actually attempt as well.”

She nodded, and then the both of them hugged him. The feeling wasn’t the oversexualized way they’d been approaching him. It was calmer, nicer, and sweeter than that. It was the kind of hug that a good friend gave their good friend. He couldn’t deny that he enjoyed the other hugs. The way she had been pressing against him, moving more and more of her body against him, and letting him feel her curves. His former life he’d been a weeb. He had lived and breathed anime, and Artemis hit on two areas that his former self had claimed was his perfect waifu material. She was an android, and she was modeled after a beast person.

Those were two things that he absolutely felt attracted to in his former life. Now that attraction was still there, but he was uncertain of how to move forward in it. As much as he claimed that he wanted Artemis to emotionally mature there was a very real part of him that needed to mature as well. His relationships in the past had been iffy at best. He’d had a couple of girlfriends, but most of the time it’d been something more of relationships by convenience. It happened to be someone that he knew, and they happened to like the same anime. Maybe they met a second hand store looking to see if there was anything worth getting, or maybe they met a comic book convention, but almost all of them were similar in how they played out.

The girl would figure out that he wasn’t really invested. Sure, it’d be some fun, but it wouldn’t be anything that was secure and solid. More or less it would be hanging out, and not much more than that. Hell, he didn’t even really try to hook up much. Part of that had been because he just didn’t want to get hurt again. There’d been a girl, in his former life, that had hurt him. She’d been his first, and at the time, only real relationship.

It’d been a fuckin’ highschool relationship, and that was his first real one. It was the only one that he could have claimed was a real one. The girl had been someone that he was serious about, and they had dated from sophomore until after graduation. It was right after that he got the bombshell. She let him know that she thought he was great, that she saw a future with him, but she was going out of state for college. He offered to do a long distance relationship, and she agreed.

The next couple of weeks they called and talked, and then she face-timed him. He had opened it to see her with some strange dude behind her. She was nude, grunting like an animal, screaming for him to plow her harder, begging for him to hurt her, and then the phone lifted to show him another four guys in the room. Finally it turned toward some other guy he didn’t know, “Sorry bud, thought you should know that your girl is fucking around. We’ve all hit it, like twice, and we’re going back for thirds. So, thanks for the pussy, but hey, better luck with the next one.”

She’d tried to call him the next day. She’d left a long rambling voicemail about how it wasn’t what he thought. She’d sent him a text with more of the same, and then she tried again twice more before she finally left a voicemail telling him that it was what he thought, and she couldn’t believe that he was going to dump her for this. It was college, and this wasn’t supposed to count. After that she stopped calling.

He’d felt something kind of die that day. He didn’t do hookups, and he really couldn’t connect with someone. So, he needed to get past his hurts to really give Artemis the chance she deserved. He saw her step back, “I won’t do that to you,” she said, her voice confident, “I saw, the thoughts, they were surface level,” she admitted, “I saw what happened, what you witnessed, and I am so sorry for that. I will never do that to you. I will never betray you like that. When I give myself to you then I am yours. There will be no other male allowed to touch me.”

He studied her, “Male?”

She breathed out, “I would be foolish to believe that you will not take advantage of my multiple bodies. I’ve sensed those surface level thoughts. While I do not hold you accountable for them I know that you would be okay with the idea of having multiple versions of myself attend to you. I would possibly accept someone that was not part of myself, but I would need to know that they would feel the same.”

The words made him pause. Had he thought about a harem, absolutely, but then that was the kind of thing that caused him heartache before. He shook his head, “That really wouldn’t make me any better than the person I was remembering,” he said as he looked at her, “I’m not saying that I am a better person, but I would like to think that I wouldn’t do the same thing to someone that I care for.”

In that moment both of Artemis’ bodies hugged him, “You’re not, my Captain,” she stated, “You would not be doing something behind my back, and you would not be bringing someone else in without my knowledge. You would instead be doing something that I would be okay with. It would be for the both of us. It does not mean that I specifically am reaching out for another, but rather I am setting my goal on having a lasting relationship with you. If that means having more than one significant other I can accept that.”

He marveled at her for a moment, “That’s being very mature,” he replied as he looked at her, and he noticed the small smile on both of their faces, “Is that really your thoughts, or are you just saying something that you believe I would be fine with?”

She looked at him, a gentle smile crossed her face, “I am not merely speaking,” she stated, “Instead I am speaking how I feel. If I am honest then I would be fine if it were you and all of my available bodies. I am working toward the ability to create a new life, but it is something that may take a long while to achieve. To counteract that, and ensure that you have an heir, I would accept a viable female that cares for you as I do, that does not want to willingly hurt you, and that will remain loyal.”

“Artemis,” he said, his voice almost trembling, “Thank you for being honest. Thank you for expressing yourself, and thank you for letting me see how you’re progressing. I am not ready for anything, yet, but at this point we’re no longer waiting for you. You’ve proven that you’re emotionally stable enough to being the kind of relationship you’re after. But, please understand that it will take a while for me to get to that point.”

She nodded, “After seeing the memories that you brought up I can understand,” she said as she hugged him again, allowing the feeling of both of her bodies pressing against him, “We will take all of the time you need, and I will be waiting for you to make the next step.”

With that he felt her slowly let go, “Although, I would not be adversed to the idea of you following me into the bed provided for me. I can promise that I will do all that I can to help you move on and heal.”

He smiled at her, “Thank you,” he said, his voice calm, “But I think that I shouldn’t. Not yet anyway,” he said as he looked back toward the way he’d come from, “There’s a full day’s worth of work today, and honestly I’m thinking that getting outside and working would be the best thing for me. It would give me the chance to work through a few things while letting my body get used to the labor that I grew up on.”

She nodded, “And I shall ensure that you are assisted my Captain,” she replied, “We will assist in working the fields with you. After all, I have quite a bit of information when it comes to that. Not to mention the drones that I’ve created for your father to use have made the process of collecting the crops far easier.”

He nodded, “Yeah, Dad has mentioned that having them has made his job far easier. He’s also said that there’s little doubt in his mind that with the new found wealth at his disposal he should be able to increase the amount of sellable crops. It means that there’s a far larger chance that he should be able to make the domain a better place for all of our family. Honestly, I’m glad that it’s worked out so well for him.”

She gave a smile, and he watched as she looked at the room that was supplied for her two bodies, “I’ll finish getting ready, and we will be down in a few moments. Please, wait for me to accompany you.”

With that she turned around, and he watched as she stepped back into the room. He also noticed that she didn’t shut her door. Instead she was changing with the door open, specifically for him, and he couldn’t deny that he was a little surprised by it. It wasn’t that it was unexpected. No, he pretty much fully expected her to do something like this, but it was a little odd to be able to see her change into the work clothes that had been supplied. He carefully grabbed the door, and then he closed it.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see her undressed, but it was more respectful to do this. That was something he wanted to have between them. He wanted to have respect, and he wanted to ensure that she would be fine with that. The idea of respect between the two of them was important to him. It was the thing that would help them keep the boundaries that they needed, and it would also make moving forward in any kind of relationship easier.

As he waited another thought came to his mind. He’d been spending time with Applebloom, and with Diamond Tiara, but out of the two the one he’d spent the most time with had been Applebloom. The former protagonist was powerful in her own right, there was not a bit of doubt about that. But she was pretty far removed from the girl he’d seen in the game. She was kind, absolutely, but she was incredibly intelligent and driven. He’d watched as she devoted her time to actually learning all that she could about magic.

Not seeing her with the love interests bothered him, but only because he knew that she deserved to be happy. Still, it didn’t exactly matter. There was a ton of work to be done, and he was going to ensure that he helped his Dad as much as he could.