Rise of the Weakest Summoner

When the morning arrived, Asterios realized he wasn’t the first to wake up. What gave it away were the gentle brushes he could feel in his hair. Someone’s fingers were lazily threading through it in a rather affectionate way. Opening his eyes, he didn’t need long to figure out who they belonged to.

Yeah, the sea of crimson that greeted him right in his face made it pretty obvious.

He was being held close by his mischievous demon lover, tightly pressed into her soft chest, with his face snuggled right between the woman’s delicate charms. The rest of Grea was wrapped around him too, her legs entwined with his, locking him down on his side. There was no escape without alerting his captor.

But, Asterios saw no reason to act sneaky and announced his presence of mind by letting his palms graze over Grea’s smooth back until they found their way onto her supple behind. She paused her caresses for a second as he gave her tender rump a loving squeeze.

“Did I wake you up? Sorry about that.” Surprisingly, an honest apology reached his ears instead of some teasing quip.

Raising his face from between the fabled valley, Asterios met Grea’s gaze and she smiled at him warmly, resuming the brushing. He pulled himself up, to her slight disappointment, but knowing his intimate mate well, he brought his hands to cup the delicious swell of her flesh after his face was on an even level with hers.

“I can’t accept an apology for waking up to such a divine sight and feeling,” Asterios replied, leaning forward for a quick peck. “Honestly, I expected something more… intense.”

A faint grin painted Grea’s supple lips. “Oh, trust me, it did go through my mind, and it might still be hanging around somewhere in there, but after last night, I didn’t want you to wake up to a horny slut but your supportive and dependable woman.”

“One does not exclude the other.” He sighed as she peppered his lips with fluffy kisses. “But I’m starting to feel really bad now.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Grea stopped playing with his hair and searched his eyes with a trace of anxiety. “Am I really acting this weird when I’m not my usual thirsty bitch?”

“Gods, Grea, no.” Asterios quickly shook his head and touched her cheek to reassure the demon lady. “It’s partially due to how I acted. You girls showed so much concern for me while I wasn’t being completely honest, making it seem like a bigger deal than it was. I’ve already talked with Miria’s dad and felt much better by that point. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Moron.” She chopped him on the head and kissed the spot. “You might think that were over it, but we could feel that it wasn’t true. The moment you honestly let us know what was troubling you, we knew you were truly worried, and not only coming up with an excuse. No matter what you say, I know from personal experience that if it really wasn’t an issue anymore at that point, you would have never shown it like that. Go on, just ask my emotionally unstable ass how I know.”

“She is right.” Tina’s voice joined in from behind him and Asterios felt a pair of petite hands slide over his chest before embracing him dearly. “Knowing your character, it must feel to you like you wanted to test us or something, but the truth is that, deep down, you were really anxious and subconsciously searched for assurance. Which isn’t anything bad. As you would say if the roles were reversed, it happens to everyone. We are all just humans. Or demons.”

“Or extremely virile True Dragons with a delicious cock,” Grea added with a devious grin, licking her lips, making him snort by acting like her saucy self to break the mood. “In the end, we can’t be perfect.”

“You girls certainly feel like it, though.” He shook his head, bringing Tina’s palm to his lips and placing a soft kiss on her fingers. “I hardly deserve you.”

The demon lady pushed him onto his back and hugged his side while reaching over his torso. Tina mirrored her actions and the duo wrapped their arms around Asterios as they pushed their faces into the crooks of his neck. Once more, he expected Grea to act rather lewdly, just to be met with his demon lover’s gentle and vulnerable side.

“You deserve all that’s come to you,” she whispered tenderly. “Don’t downplay your achievements. Have you forgotten who it was that saved me from going mental? Who it was that kept me stable by offering me a hand in the academy? I’m not even halfway to repaying that. So don’t you ever think I’m not going to support you with everything I have when you feel uncertain and vulnerable.”

“You’ve always put others above you so it’s not surprising you feel guilty showing signs of needing comfort,” Tina continued, nuzzling herself into his skin. “Always. From your familiars, through your mom, to even… me. I still dream of that day when you tried to keep me from quitting school and getting involved in your troubles. Though, I’m not sure if they are good dreams or nightmares. Being separated from you… sucked so much.”

“I have to agree,” Althea said softly, rising next to them, revealing her enchanting figure as the covers slid down the draconic lady’s shapely front. “Just from the fact that you can feel like you don’t deserve this, you really do. How many True Dragons could feel like that do you think? You have something special with your mates and companions due to who you are, and it’s making all of you stronger.”

“That kind of sounded like you didn’t include yourself,” Silvia commented, also rising while adorably rubbing her eye.

Althea smiled beautifully and climbed on top of Asterios, resting on his chest as she took his cheeks into her hands.

“No, I’m lucky to be part of this.” She kissed his forehead. “Let’s just say that I’m not used to addressing things with me being directly involved. A flaw from my time as a teacher and mentor that I need to work on. I’m hoping everyone in our kind family will be willing to help with that.”

“I’m not sure if I want you to change.” Asterios smirked delicately. “I rather enjoy your wise tone and teaching style.”

“More than you enjoy this thick demon ass?” Grea asked while bringing one of his hands to her juicy butt and forcing him to squeeze it hard.

He snickered and smacked her tender booty lightly. “Don’t make me choose because you know I won’t be able to.”

She whined playfully but didn’t protest, staring at him lovingly. Taking the recent change in the mood as a sign that it was time to move out, Asterios sat up with the ladies in his arms. Grea escaped his embrace first, making a deliberate show of all her assets as she sauntered over the mattress and then around the bed, starting to slide her underwear on right in front of him. It ignited Tina’s competitive spirit a little and the Summoner girl tried her best to do the same, albeit with a slightly more timid gait, blushing sweetly.

Not wanting to leave their efforts unrewarded, he too stepped off the bed right between them and proceeded to stretch after the night with some quiet groans. The sight caused Grea to freeze and she lost her balance mid-dressing, falling down with a soft thud and her panties halfway up. Tina giggled in amusement and helped her up, her cheeks finally not being the darkest in the room as the demon woman flushed deep scarlet.

With all five of them dressed up and ready, they headed to the dining hall and met up with the others, who were already stuffing themselves with breakfast. Exchanging a few greetings and good morning pecks, they enjoyed the small feast together. Soon, they were simply relaxing while sipping on their tea, coffee, or other drinks.

“So, what are your impressions after spending more or less a day in our realm?” Asterios asked casually.

“I wish I could stay here forever and study so many races.” Atra sighed dreamily. “But I have responsibilities back at home. At least as long as that home is still out there.”

She gave him a hopeful glance, making it clear what the two Valkyries had talked about during their sleepover.

“It feels a bit weird seeing so many people without ears or tails, but… it’s not bad,” Ronye admitted, directing the faintest smile at him as her tail lazily swayed from side to side.

“It feels just as welcoming as our village, but on a bigger scale,” Zoe said. “People were curious about me, but they seemed kind about it, like they just wanted to get to know me better. To be honest, I always wanted to try living in a big settlement like the one of Spiritual Foxes.”

“Well, I think we could always use more talented hunters around.” Asterios stroked his chin, making the wolfgirl’s cheeks color a little.

The other two looked at her with a hint of jealousy but hid it rather well.

“I think that would be a great idea, Master!” Miria unsurprisingly beamed at him with such a prospect.

“Under normal circumstances, I would agree with Miria, but…” Oria began and he nodded.

“You would prefer to keep all the strong fighters close,” Asterios finished for her. “It’s only natural when faced with an unknown threat.”

“So, you already know.” She hummed to herself.

“I wish you would have let us know right away, but I can understand wanting to deal with your issues on your own first, especially before estimating how troublesome they might prove to be,” he answered. “You are not just Miria’s parents now but part of our whole family. It’s among my top priorities to ensure your safety and comfort. It’s the least I can do in return for everything.”

“That’s right,” Kindra immediately supported him. “Is there anything we can do? Perhaps share resources? Weapons? Enchanted gear?”

“In due time.” Asterios smiled at her tenderly. “Right now, we can simply go there and lend a hand. Who knows? Maybe there’s another dungeon acting up near their home? Sorry, Monster Domain.”

“Another quest in Eabiarhia could be fun.” Selene chuckled with a palm covering her ladylike smirk.

“Oh! Oh! I wonder if Mom could register a request with the guild?” Her Pantherkin sister-mate bounced in her seat excitedly. “We could then make it official!”

Her suggestion surprised many people in the room and Silvia was the first one to respond. “I’m not sure how it would work with different realms. It’s not like there’s a branch out there. And offering services to another world’s residents… is not something I’ve ever heard of.”

“Right?” Grea grinned widely. “We would have no competition! And imagine how famous it would make us! The only guild in the realm that can satisfy requests from other dimensions!”

“Such fame might not exactly be completely without detriments,” Tina pointed out, deep in thought. “We would be announcing that we have a way of moving between those realms. I can’t see us doing this without revealing Ast’s secret. And I’m not sure if we are ready to do that yet.”

Miria’s face scrunched cutely as she wriggled her nose. “You have a point…”

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to ask the expert first,” Asterios tried to bring her spirits back up. “At the very least, it’s a decent thought for the future.”

Everyone agreed with his assessment and they finished their breakfast. The servants started cleaning things up while the group discussed the details. Kindra pecked the cheeks of all his mates before running away to handle her responsibilities. Ast’s group went out and strolled towards the guild headquarters. 

Since it was early morning, the place was almost at its peak of activity. Adventurers either looked for new tasks or submitted the completion of the previous ones after taking a night of regenerative rest. The receptionists were being worked to the bone, but not a single girl looked too annoyed with that. Truvi even managed to signal to them that the guildmaster was in.

Somehow getting through the crowd without sparking a fan outburst, they reached Suanori’s office and Asterios knocked on the door. The invitation came right away and his group spilled inside the fancy chamber. Their elf friend lay down her pen and crossed her hands on top of her desk as she glanced up with a smile.

“My Lord.” She lowered her head politely. “It’s rare for you to bring guests. And what’s more from another realm. I don’t remember you being into guys so I assume they aren’t all your new summons.”

Asterios coughed awkwardly. “You are correct. I bet you’ve already heard, but this is Oria and Rook, Miria’s parents. The other three are Zoe, Ronye, and Atra, friends of Miria, Selene, and Bryn, from their respective worlds.”

“It’s my pleasure.” Suanori smiled at everyone kindly. “So, what brings our interdimensional travelers here?”

There was a twinkle in her eye that made it obvious that she’d connected the dots already, but it wasn’t that surprising as Asterios wasn’t exactly hiding it from the people he trusted.

“Well, it’s the matter related to the interdimensional element, actually,” he replied.

“Oh?” She raised a curious brow at him.

Miria stepped forward with her hands joined behind her back. “We were wondering if it would be possible to submit a request that… takes place outside of Master’s realm.”

The other brow joined the first one as Suanori stared at her with slight surprise. So, they all chimed in to bring the guildmaster up to speed regarding what they had discussed just a moment earlier. Afterward, she remained silent, supporting her chin atop her hands as she pondered deeply over the new information.

“I agree with Tina that this is a double-edged blade,” she finally spoke up. “The prospect of being able to partake in quests in other worlds? I will shave my head if it doesn’t cause most adventurers to swarm our guild. Exploration of the unknown is pretty much the definition of adventuring.”

“Right, that’s kind of part of the reason why I’m even here in the first place, ehehe~” Miria twirled her tail shyly, receiving a few pats from Asterios.

“This might be a great boon in the future, bringing many strong and respected individuals here, but as you have noted, we would need to explain at least partially how we are able to achieve this,” Suanori continued. “Questions wouldn’t be possible to be avoided with something this legendary. In the end, Asterios would become an even bigger target. For attention, curiosity, but also ire and other nefarious movements.”

“Damn. Can’t he like fuck that ability into me somehow by filling me up until I burst?” Grea glanced hopefully at Althea.

“No, I don’t think so.” The draconic lady shook her head with a faint smile of amusement. “Why?”

“Because then I could get my ass focused on trying to figure out how to make it usable without him always coming in to tear through the realms with his draconic cock.” The demon woman groaned while messing with her hair. “I bet we could do something with Imadil, Cynthia, and my old man, given enough time. But I would need to study it in detail, and I don’t want to force Asterios to sit in my lab ten hours a day every day and waste his precious time.”

Asterios stepped closer to wrap his arm around her waist and kiss the side of her forehead. “You know that the most precious of my time is the one I spend with you.”

“That’s sweet of you but you know what I mean.” She glanced away with her cheeks warming up visibly.

“With so many brilliant minds around, I’m sure you will be able to achieve it somehow.” Suanori chuckled quietly. “As for more current matters, I could technically make your request possible. It even aligns with what I need.”

That brought everyone’s attention back to the heart of the matter.

“How so?” Silvia questioned.

“You guys have collected quite a few achievements that weren’t exactly pure guild work during your stay in Glimmervale,” the guildmaster answered. “The murder case, the defense against the mad beasts, the destruction of the portal, the many little things connected to the town’s development, and so on. The only real request was King Welrond’s delegation to the land of elves, even though it was a rather impressive one.”

“And where are you heading with this exactly?” Asterios wondered out loud.

“I need just a little more to bump you to EX-rank, and the girls to S-rank.” She smiled at them. “At least in terms of Silvia and Tina. For Grea, the most I can fight for might be an A-rank since her input in most of those events was rather significant even if her individual strength isn’t on par with the others. No offense.”

“None taken.” The person in question snorted. “I know perfectly well where my place is, and it’s clearly not on the frontlines. I usually prefer to support my man from the backstage. Or the bedroom.”

Asterios rolled his eyes at the sultry gaze she directed at him but smiled back nonetheless.

“As for Althea, the situation is a bit more complex,” Suanori added.

“I don’t think so,” the emerald-haired beauty countered. “I’m technically not from this realm so I can be considered his summon. I do not desire any other positions in your world’s rankings. Being Asterios’ mate and companion is already enough.”

“You sure about that?” Asterios turned to her.

“I don’t have any other influence in this realm than that over the elves, and even that is rather discreet, so yes, I am. Tina, Silvia, and Grea can benefit from such standing and fame, but for me, it won’t change a thing. With me being your familiar, I can at least avoid having to come up with a story about my origins, hometown, and so on,” Althea explained.

“Smart,” the princess agreed.

“Well, this won’t be that much of an issue, then,” Suanori said. “I can keep the location of the request fairly vague. No one really checks the name of the village or the region in the records unless there’s some accident related to it, like with Rhode or such. I’ll just skip the part where it’s in another realm. Investigating an increase in the presence of wild beasts should be enough to give your group the necessary push. It depends on how complex this turns out to be, but I can start with a B-rank request. Does that satisfy you?”

“We would be eternally grateful for the assistance.” Oria bowed respectfully. “Even though we know how to handle ourselves, most of our fighters are skilled hunters. And, we don’t possess magical affinity like many of your people.”

“Yes!” Miria cheered by thrusting her fist into the air. “It’s been so long since we’ve been on a real quest like in the past! And this one is even near my house!”

Suanori chuckled softly. “I take it your group is going to handle it personally?”

“We do have a few more days to spare before a certain important meeting, so yeah, most likely.” Asterios nodded. “Though, I might let the girls manage that as I should train a bit more.”

“You can train in our realm, my Lord,” Selene suggested. “I have to admit, I would love to go on a small, rather insignificant adventure with you again. Just like in the past, as Miria said.”

“Then you should go and have fun in a smaller squad,” Grea suggested, elbowing Asterios in the side. “I’ll go and brainstorm some ideas with our elf friends. Maybe we’ll coax out the mysterious lady too somehow. It will be a good thing to take a break from trying to decode your brain and focus on something else.”

“I should use this opportunity to spend more time with Rusilthea so that we may succeed in convincing the Nest of our good intentions,” Althea chimed in. “We’ll be in my lair if either you or Tina would need our assistance.”

“I shall take my leave too, Master.” Bryn smiled gently. “If Tia’s blessing won’t be enough, I’ll be by your side in a flash.”

“Sure, no problem.” He nodded at the trio. “Before we depart though, there is one more matter I was going to take care of today after escorting our guests home.”

“Ah! Irelia!” Miria bounced joyfully. “I almost forgot!”

The panthergirl’s mother shook her head with a small smile. “We’ll let our people know about your support in the meantime. They will be more willing to cooperate then. Without you having to establish dominance over them.”

“Do we really have to clue them in then?” Selene asked with an impish grin.

Asterios sighed while rubbing his eyes, to which the ladies chuckled mirthfully. “Let’s go. We have a lot to do.”

“And when you have a free moment, pay me a visit, if you would,” Suanori said as he began turning around.

“What for?” he asked, glancing back at her.

“It might be a matter of the future, but we would certainly need a remote branch or two if we were ever going to expand,” she replied with a faint smirk. “Nothing hurts discussing a few things ahead of time.”

He groaned and waved his hand in confirmation.

Being a lord of one’s own territory was not an idle occupation.