Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game! Book 2

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

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

Book 2

Chapter Eleven

The soft sounds of snoring hung in the room. For Copper it was another reminder that he was alive, that his brides to be were alive, and that he was already a father. The small crib that was supplied held Athena, and he was glad to see her sleeping so well. Regardless of what others might think he knew that Artemis was a devoted and loving mother. She didn’t just feed and change Athena because it was needed.. She softly talked to her, sung to her, and treated her like a true gem. Still, that wasn’t bothering him. What had him up before all of his brides to be was the fact that he knew that he had a magical object to find.

He’d already explored the mansion that the Ancient Dragon Kingdom, or Empire rather, had allowed them to stay in, and he had found an impressive library inside of it. Monika, unsurprisingly, had taken it upon herself to organize the library to the standards that she believed it needed to be in. Which honestly made far more sense than he wanted to admit. He as still unsure of exactly how she was here, but he was glad to have her. Still, the Library had gone from being matched to color and size and put away to being matched to subject, the sub-subjects after that, and finally by alphabetization of the author’s last names finally.

She’d then assigned each book a number, and thanks to Applebloom’s slight enchantment each book carried a glowing number on the bottom of its spine. In essence, Monika had recreated the dewey decimal system, and she had implemented it here. It certainly had made what he started to do easier. While the library that was in the mansion wasn’t as expansive as the library back at the Academy it did have a quite a few historical books in it. He began looking through those books to find anything over Grogar’s bell.

The first two days had been spent trying to find some mention of it in the books that he had access to, and unfortunately he found that most were lacking. It wasn’t until he finally, finally, found the one book that had something in it. The book was far older than most of the others, and he could tell that it likely had been with the manson for an exceptionally long time. He slowly opened it, afraid that handling too roughly would destroy it, and he began to leaf through it until he came upon a picture of what looked like a terrifying demon.

Its head was a ram’s head, and it stood on two goat legs. Its hands were cradling something, and he realized that it was a bell. The picture wasn’t overly detailed, and it wasn’t stylized, which told him that it wasn’t a picture that someone had actually drawn of something they’d seen. Instead it seemed to be more of a picture of something that had the image already on it. He looked at the words below the picture, “Deep within the most ancient labyrinth is a giant door. This door separates the rest of the Ancient Dragon Empire from whatever is kept beyond it. On the door is this terrifying image of some creature,” he read as he looked at the book, “None know what exists beyond the door, and none know what may even open the doors themselves. It is simply an ancient curiosity that has remained without our Empire since before its foundation. While many scholars have attempted to study the door as thoroughly as possible it has been determined to be too difficult to traverse inside of the labyrinth for too long.”

He looked up, “The most ancient labyrinth?” he asked as he looked at it, “Well, if the labyrinths here follow the same design as the ones back in the Kingdom then it would mean that there are monster cores that have sewn into the soil and created it. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind collecting some of the cores here, and of course I wouldn’t mind to see what’s in the labyrinth,” he said as looked at the book, “Although, I not being able to get through the door might be a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” came the voice of Sunset Shimmer, “And what Labyrinth?”

Her clothes weren’t the normal look of the daughter of an earl, or the soon to be wife of one. Instead she was wearing a simple pair of jeans, a comfortable looking blue sweater, and the look on her face was more along the lines of being tired than anything else. He smiled at her, knowing that she was wanting to be interested. Not that he was against it in the slightest. Instead he was happy to see her, and happy to have her with him. Of course he’d gone ahead and explained part of what they were doing.

He did because he knew that Artemis would tell them if they asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t want them to know, but he really didn’t want them to worry. Which had been exactly why he had considered just avoiding telling them. It would have made the trip a little harder, especially since he would be going off into labyrinths to find the bell, but since they were in the know then he could still search. Although he wasn’t sure about taking any of them with him.

“One of the oldest labyrinths here in the Empire,” he replied, keeping the fact that it was an empire and not a kingdom straight in his head, “It’s about the best lead that I’ve sound so far. I think that it might be the one place where I can find something that might lead me to where to find the bell.”

She nodded, “I see,” she said as she moved toward the book he was looking at it, “Huh, so that must be thing that you were talking about,” she said as she looked at it, “I’ve never seen a demon lord before, but I suppose that would fit the description. So, if you find this bell, what then?”

Again, he had absolutely no reason to not tell her. He’d come clean to all of them, completely, already. They knew about the situation with King Sombra, and there was no reason to hide anything. Still, he knew his brides to be, and he knew what they were like. There was no denying that they would likely want to follow him. More to the point they would want to ensure his safety. That was the conundrum. He wanted to keep them safe as well. He wanted to protect them, and in order to do that meant that they couldn’t be going with him.

And instantly he knew that wouldn’t work. They would follow him. They would go with him, and they would protect him. That was exactly who they were. There was no getting around that, not in the slightest, and there was no denying that they would want to ensure that everything went well. He couldn’ simply leave them behind, and he knew it. In the end, they would come with him.

“From what I learned the bell is supposed to have more than enough power to ensure that King Sombra remains trapped,” he said, his voice relaying his concern, “The only lead I had was that it was here, in the Ancient Dragon Empire,” he said before he paused, “Okay, I get that it’s an empire, but it is really difficult to keep calling it that when everyone back home has been calling it a kingdom most of my life.”

She smiled at him, “Love,” she said before she moved closer and kissed him, “Empire is simply another word for kingdom. An Emperor is basically just a king. It’s simply another word for it. Please, don’t beat yourself up over something like this,” she said before hugging him, “I mean really, I can see chastising yourself when you’ve done so to one of the citizens of the Empire, but doing so while in your own home, away from prying ears, it makes no sense.”

He smiled at her, “You do know how to help calm me anxiety down, huh?”

She grinned at him, the look was almost predatory, “maybe a little,” she admitted, “Although I’ve had the same anxieties. If I was to be completely honest with myself I’ve had the same sort of situations before. Such as when you made sure that Applebloom gave me the antivenom in the labyrinth back when we were exploring the capital’s main labyrinth for school.”

He nodded, “I remember,” he replied as he looked at her, “I am sorry that happened to you. Applebloom did warn us that there was likely to be some side effects depending on how bad the poison was. The problem was that we couldn’t just leave you in that state. In truth, I don’t think that you would have made it out of the labyrinth alive. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I let anyone die in there, and considering how things are now, I would have done myself a huge disservice by not saving you.”

She grinned, and he watched as she began to put her hair into a ponytail. His eyebrows arched slightly as she finished doing so, and then without hesitation she went to her knees. His eyes widened as she unbuttoned his pants, “One does not say such things without expecting to get their dick sucked,” she replied, her voice sounding matter of factly, “and I am more than happy to oblige.”

Without another word he felt her kiss the tip slightly, lick it, and then he felt it disappear into her mouth. There are times that men can experience the sort of pleasures that could make them consider if they are already living in heaven. If this life itself was the reward for all that they’d done in their lives. At that moment he was more than certain that this was indeed heaven. He wasn’t taking anything away from his other brides to be. All of them were skilled in various ways, but not a one of them matched Sunset when it came to this.

Her head bobbed as she continued to work on him. The experience of pleasure was more than enough to make him pretty much consider anything that she would have asked. He had absolutely no doubt in his mind that his Sunset did know what she was doing. Of course there was the potential question of practice, but he wasn’t going there. He wasn’t about to damage this experience, his time with her, by allowing his mind to travel to places that it had no place to travel.

At the moment Sunset was his, and he was hers. Granted, he was also Artemis’, Monika’s, Diamond Tiara’s, and Applebloom’s, but he was undoubtedly hers as well. He felt himself tightening, and the wonders of her expression were causing him to get close to the end. The edge of the please was reaching, and he felt her hands move his own to the back of her head. She wanted him to hold her there. He did as she wanted, and he allowed himself that moment to experience the joy and rapture.

For a few brief moments there was nothing else. There was no other purpose, no other reason, there was just this fantastic moment between them. He released his hands, and she pulled back. A small dab of what had left him was on her lips, and she licked it off. She slowly stood, “Now, the reward is given, and undoubtedly you’re going to allow us to accompany you to the labyrinth, right?”

He wasn’t saying no after that. He wasn’t denying her a damned thing after that. There wasn’t a single thing in existence that would be able to make him deny her, “No, I won’t leave you here. I don’t think that I could if I wanted to, but I do know that there will have to be someone to remain behind to watch Athena. She’s too young to go into a labyrinth, and I’m not sure if Artemis will want to stay behind. I know her, and I know that she’s pretty hard headed about these things.”

Sunset smiled at him, “She is most certainly a very frank, and determined, woman. Honestly, I consider myself lucky to call her my future sister wife,” she replied as she looked at him, “But she isn’t without reason either. Athena needs her mother, more than anything else, and I know that Artemis knows that. Likely, if she gets Monika’s word that you will be watched, and protected, then she likely will remain behind and simply allow Monika to take her place.”

He thought about it, and he shook his head. Knowing Artemis she would order Monika to watch over Athena, and she would go. It was more in line with who she was. That wasn’t saying that she was a bad person, or a horrible life mate. Far from the truth she was wonderful, but at the same time she was someone that was determined to do things the way she wanted to. He didn’t think of her as an artificial intelligence anymore. In truth he hadn’t thought of her as that in an exceptionally long time.

The other avatars of hers were just that. They were avatars. They could be her, if she took direct control of them, but for all rights and purposes she was the one avatar that she had changed. He’d long since connected her to the avatar that she used most of the time. That avatar was the one that birthed Athena, and it was that avatar that was the first to be changed to more organic.

Still, everything at this moment was conjecture. That was all it really was. He was pretty certain of what Artemis would do, but she could potentially surprise him. He had doubts on that, but he had been wrong before. The one thing that made him more certain than doubtful was the fact that ultimately while he thought of Artemis as a person, and not as an Artificial Intelligence, was the fact that she had begun as an Artificial Intelligence. In several ways her thought processes still operated that way.

“Whatever happens,” he said as he looked at her, “I want to make sure that all of you are safe. I get it, I really do, but you are all precious to me. I don’t want to risk a single one of you, and yes I’m going to have the same talk with the others. I really don’t want to risk any of you for any reason. What we’re doing here absolutely is important, but ultimately it’s not more important to me than any of you are.”

She smiled, a soft look to be sure, and she moved forward, Without a single word she kissed him. It was full, passionate, and he completely ignored the fact that moments ago she had his cock in her mouth. It didn’t matter anyway. What had happened, what will happen, all of it was something that happened between people that loved one another. There was no hesitation in that. There was no fear, no worry, no uncertainty, In that moment, he felt complete.

The kiss ended, and he went with her to the next room. There he saw Applebloom and Diamond Tiara both in bed. Monika was near them, her eyes slowly fluttering awake, but Artemis was already up. She was sitting in a chair, Athena gently suckling, and she was looking toward them. There was no anger, no surprise, no hurt, and he realized that was because she truly believed in everything they had talked about. She believed that sharing would be the best option in ensuring that they were a stronger unit.

The one situation where she had been more upset had been the inclusion of Monika. His only guess was that it had been because Monika herself was another Artificial Intelligence. The idea that it had been a form of jealousy certainly seemed likely. It was a human emotion, and he had absolutely no doubt that more often than not Artemis was more human than she had believed herself to originally be. Of course that didn’t stop her from operating like an Artificial Intelligence either.

“I might have found the first place to travel to in order to find something out about the bell,” he said, his voice even, “It’s the oldest labyrinth here, and apparently there’s an ancient door there with the likeness of Grogar on it. I think that it’s our best chance at possibly finding some kind of connection here.”

Artemis seemed to study him for a moment, “I take it that diving into the books contained within the manor was fruitful,” she said after a moment, “That means that assimilating more of the data in this region would also be fruitful. Perhaps we should visit the respiratory at the University and see what information they may have.”

He looked at her, “I thought about visiting the library,” he admitted after a moment, “And I still think that it’s a good idea. That said, I absolutely believe that traveling to the labyrinth is also necessary. If for no other reason than to map it out and figure out the best way to traverse through it,” he stated as he looked at all of them, “And while I know that it’s not ideal I think that this is a situation where some of us should go to the library, gather what information we can, and combine it into a more useful format. The rest of us need to go to the labyrinth and they need to dive into it. It’s not to find the bell, but rather it’s to map out the labyrinth itself, and to prepare to go back with the information in it.”

The plan wasn’t full proof, not by any means. There was every chance that all of them would deny the idea of any of them splitting up. He looked toward Diamond Tiara, hoping against hope that she would have his back. He had a feeling that Sunset Shimmer would. She had already stated that she believed that Artemis would want to watch over Athena. He hoped that she was right on that, but it wasn’t a guarantee.

“I believe that is an acceptable plan,” Artemis said as she looked toward him, “The division of forces isn’t ideal, but considering that it isn’t a mission to simply obtain the artifact itself then it means that both are simply fact finding missions. All that is left is the division of forces. Who will go where.”

He nodded, “I think that you should go to the library,” he said and he could see her furrow her brow, “I’m not trying to say that I don’t think you could handle yourself in the labyrinth. I know better. I am saying that there’s two reasons. One, you are incredibly skilled at obtaining knowledge. You’re damned good at scouting, and you’re invaluable when it comes to researching. I think that you would be fantastic at ensuring the information at the library was researched in the way that was the most beneficial.”

She seemed to nod, “Very well,” she said, “Monika is on par with me, but the fact that you understand that I am simply better at this than her means that you accept that I am her superior. I accept this mission.”

He breathed out, “Then Monika can come with me, and she can help make sure that we map the area. I honestly would ask the rest of you go to the library, but I know that isn’t going to happen.”

Sunset looked at him, “I’m already not great at labyrinths. I know that, but I’m decent at research and at taking notes. I’ll go with Artemis. Diamond Tiara is gifted when it comes to defense, and you could use that. Applebloom is a gift when it comes to defense, but I think that we all know that she’s one of the smartest people at the academy. She really needs to go with us to the library.”

Artemis nodded, “That is an accurate division of labor. It ensures protection for our husband, and it ensures that the best researchers are present at the repository. I accept this.”

He nodded, “Alright, then let’s get ready, and we’ll head out.”