Whenever John looked at the Embassy, he couldn’t quite shake off the impression of looking at an oversized bowling pin. The majority of the Building was a simple white cylinder whose windows were decorated with a blue trim. From the roof extended a massive antenna whose broad base steadily narrowed towards the top. To properly resemble a bowling pin, the Embassy would have needed a bulged-out tip and more roundness around the bottom part.

The Gamer let himself be amused by the mental image, before reminding himself of the purpose of his visit. ‘Time to sort things out,’ he thought as he headed for one of the two entrances.

It was Sunday morning. Yesterday’s date had ended well, with John and Sylph spending two more hours together, enjoying a movie in one of the private corners of the Palace, before going back to the main gathering point that was John’s apartment. Normally, he dedicated free days like this one to doing things he actually liked, namely videogames and orgies. Today called for at least one serious conversation to be had before he could get to that.

Once inside, John took firm steps towards his target. There was no use in delaying this. All hesitation would simply lead to more problems down the line. Arriving at the door of the single occupied ambassador apartment, John stopped and raised his hand. Three times, his knuckles knocked on the wood, then he waited.

It only took a few seconds for Marie to open the door. She wore a formal, blue dress today, one with long sleeves and skirt. Had she gone into the artificial summer of the Guild Hall with it, she would have been roasted within minutes, but the air conditioned inside of the Embassy eliminated such issues.

She looked him up and down, obviously searching for something and not finding it. “Greetings, John,” she said in a tone that was a mixture of mildly friendly with hostile undertones. “Do you want to talk inside?”

“I’d much prefer it,” he answered with a slight nod. She stepped to the side and invitingly extended her arm. John stepped inside. The room hadn’t changed much since he last came here. The furniture, carpet and even wallpaper were all of a renaissance style that fit for someone of an old European bloodline.

“Take a seat,” Marie offered once she had closed the door. “Tea?”

“No thank you,” John responded as he sat down, not particularly thirsty at that moment. Under other circumstances, he would have also wanted to spare his host the trouble. For this specific occasion, Marie would have only needed to supply a container. A porcelain pot was standing on the table, with a half full cup of tea and a book right next to it. It appeared the dark-haired French woman had been spending her morning reading a history novel about the fall of Burgundy.

Once the ambassador of the Illuminati was sitting down opposite of him across the round table, she remarked, “I expected at least flowers as an apology gift.”

“I have nothing to apologize for Marie,” John responded, and their casual greeting now transitioned into a long silence. The steady swing of the large grandfather clock in the corner kept informing the Gamer just how long each passing second was. Both of them were composed, sitting proudly. ‘Nothing is going to happen like this,’ he mentally resigned himself and continued speaking. “We need to figure out if this can work,” he stated the intention of his visit.

“Indeed,” Marie nodded and reached for the tea. Rather than drink it, she looked into the reflecting surface. “I should start by thanking you, John. You did show me parts of myself zhat are imperfect and for that I am grateful, regardless of anything else.”

“It is my pleasure. I like talking to you,” John told her, welcoming the change of tone. “You’re intelligent, well-spoken and beautiful. It is just a shame that we seem to differ so much in our expectations of how this can go…” Stopping for several seconds, he asked the question straight out, “Do you love me, Marie?”

“No,” she answered immediately, “but I know I could, in time.”

“Yes, that sums it up pretty well,” John confirmed that those were his feelings on the matter as well. “What you currently demand in courtship, I cannot give you. As I said yesterday, the majority of my time is spent on my loves.”

“Do you say I do not deserve that same time?” Marie asked.

“Deserve? No, you do not deserve my time,” John told her, staring at her warningly as he said it. “You are not entitled to my attention. Neither are you allowed to get away with insulting those that I love. I think you’re a girl worthy to be paid a lot of attention to. As I said, you’re witty and gorgeous, but that only excuses so much.”

“Zhen what is it that you expect me to do?” the French woman wanted to know, now raising her teacup and taking a sip. His stare, she ignored without any issue.

“Lower your expectations,” John’s answer was simple. “You’re not the most important woman in my life, Marie. I have a harem of girls that I all love dearly. Jane is my favourite, but even she doesn’t stand tall above the rest. What you seem to want, the attention, the dedication and the sole focus, I cannot give it to you.”

Emptying her cup, Marie diligently placed it back down on the plate that came with it and slowly slid both off to the side. “I was well aware of the fact that you had a harem when I showed my interest in you,” she stated. Her dark eyes travelled from the table up to meet his gaze. “I figured zhat I would rather have you some of the time than a lesser man all of the time. I still believe that, but I am forced to admit zhat my calculations on this matter were naïve.”

“If you manage to rein in your excesses in conversation, I’m sure you could get along with my girls,” John said. “We could spend a lot more time together then.”

“Oui, but it is not zhe kind of time I want,” Marie shook her head. “I have to work on that part of myself, that is without question, but I do not think that I deserve… that I am worthy of as little as you can offer me.”

The Gamer pressed his lips together. He didn’t agree with the formulation, but he knew what she was getting at. “It is a shame. I think we would make a good couple,” he pointed out.

“I agree, but your harem is simply too large for a woman like me,” Marie responded, visibly disappointed by this fact. “It is not unreasonable of me to ask for my partner to spend time with me. No matter how much you insist zhat the way I think of it is wrong, this want I cannot change.”

“It is absolutely justified to want more time with your lover,” John nodded, “don’t get me wrong there. I only take issue with you demanding things…” There was a pause as Marie poured herself a new cup. “Either way… I take it then that our attempts at romance are best put to an end?”

“I would not mind if you continued to court me,” Marie responded. “As a matter of fact, I hope for it. My heart wants it. Unless you fundamentally change your approach, however, the strength of your character will not suffice. You cannot conquer the world with a sliver of dedication.”

“Then it will stay as it is, I am afraid,” the Gamer sighed and leaned back in his chair. “A shame, a real shame…”

“Can you so barely stand the thought of a woman not being yours?” Marie asked, slightly amused.

“I absolutely loathe the idea that someone I’m interested in isn’t mine,” complained John out loud. “I am a greedy, lustful, prideful sinner. I should be thankful for the fact that I have so many girls around me that are willing to put up with not being ‘the one’. I AM thankful for that. I just want even more.” He looked to Marie. “How does that figure into your interest in me?”

“It changes nothing, I was well aware of zhat,” she returned, and they both smiled.

John wasn’t happy about this outcome, but the relief he felt at the topic being discussed was infinitely preferable to the uncertainty he felt after yesterday’s fight. It appeared that Marie felt similar. Neither of their smiles were broad or even all that happy. They were simply not angry or frustrated anymore. In that vacuum settled a very odd kind of glee. John had never felt anything like it, but he had also never been in this situation before.

“Platonic…” even with that feeling the word had difficulty crossing his lips, “…a platonic relationship it is then.”

“It appears that will be for the best,” Marie nodded.

That little agreement changed something in the room. Something quite drastic. John still desired Marie as a woman. Her beauty was unchanged, the things that made her attractive were all still there. With just those few words, however, the desire to make her his was reduced to barely anything.

‘Thank God I decided to take things slowly with her,’ he thought. There would be a much larger mess to clean up if they ever did more than kiss. He wasn’t one to get immediately attached because of physical intimacy (anymore), but it would still make the transition harder. All that happened between them now was that they agreed that it would never come to that point.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I would appreciate it if you come here every so often. I still want to chronicle your history,” Marie asserted. That was the reason why she had originally desired to be the ambassador, even if it was a bit of a side occupation of hers.

“I don’t mind at all,” John assured her. “Perhaps I will bring some of my girls to add their own perspective.” With Marie no longer being a contender for the harem, he was less hesitant to expose them to each other. Him having friends his harem didn’t quite like was much easier to justify than him having such a lover. As a matter of fact, the former was something that could be simply expected, while the latter, with the way his harem worked, would be an absolute disaster. “Should be good training for you as well.”

Marie blew air out of her nose in a somewhat unladylike gesture and reached for her book. “Perhaps I will appreciate it. For now, I would ask you to leave.” She made an absentminded wave towards the door. “Smoothly as this went, I would like time alone to think.”

“Of course,” John nodded and got up. “If you want to talk, just send me a text,” he said his goodbyes and headed for the door.

“I will drop by your office,” the French ambassador countered with her idea. “It’s the walk of a common stroll, not a bridge that needs legends to cross.”

“…Just remember to knock,” John warned with a much-saying glance and then walked out.

In a sombre mood, he left the Embassy, headed back to the Fusion Administration and used the teleporter inside there to return home. He considered going to Velka for a moment to get some affectionate cuddles. This early in the morning, it was too likely that Nia and Eliza were there and already competing for the Magryph’s attention.

He decided to check on her around noon instead. Since she could now eat on her own and was slowly getting more daring in exploring the updated surroundings, the Gamer reduced the amount of times he saw her every day. As any other cat, independence was ingrained into her DNA. Since she was already used to him and recognized her home as the place to get food and store her valuables, she wasn’t about to become a stray.

‘I wonder when she will become able to move out of barriers on her own,’ the Gamer thought. Abyssal animals had some sort of mechanism that allowed them to migrate between Illusion Barriers. It took considerable effort for weaker ones and hatchlings were absolutely unable to do it. As far as John knew, only gods could do it without issues. Even Tilgun seemed to have difficulty moving around, considering how seldom he did it.

As John pondered these things, he walked into his apartment. Moans immediately flew in his direction. The origin was Gnome, who was lying on the breakfast table, with Undine’s face between her legs. Having turned her tongue into a tendril of considerable length and girth, the abysstide elemental was busy eating the older elemental out – and getting off while doing so. A creative application of her ability to shapeshift and allocate her own sensitive areas.

Gnome yelped a little bit when he entered, a sound equally of surprise and a sudden surge of lust. “W-welcome back, John!” She quickly gathered herself. “Did it go well?”

“Pretty well,” he answered with a smile and broadcasted the results to those with the connection to hear them. No sooner than he finished doing that, he heard quick steps approaching from the bathroom. Complaints from his girlfriend echoed out along with Aclysia bursting into the living room. The weaponized maid was stark naked, wet, and a retreating bump above her pussy indicated that she was using her dick moments earlier.

Generally, John didn’t look at Aclysia’s ability to form male genitalia as more than a glorified strap-on (same was true for the other two Artificial Spirits he created). That was to say that he did not mind them having them around and using them to pleasure the rest of the harem, even in an orgy setting. However, he had absolutely no interest in interacting with them and he much preferred seeing them without. A clean cunt was infinitely more attractive to John than one with a cock attached to it. Especially with the Lover’s Will mark in the mix.

“You’re going to get the floor wet,” John joked when the weaponized maid approached him.

“I will clean it later,” Aclysia announced, as she took his hand. “Are you fine, Master? The scorning of that horribly unwise woman didn’t leave you hurt, did it?”

“It was a really sombre decision.”

“Any decision made to not enter your harem out of pride is categorically incorrect!” Aclysia insisted and earned herself a few head pats.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but something like this was bound to happen at some point,” he told her.

“Ja, no biggie.” Rave, also naked and also wet, entered the room with Beatrice in tow. “Certainly not big enough to stop double teaming me in the shower over!”

“Jane, you can’t just have fun without me!” the Gamer complained in the usual, non-serious fashion. He didn’t even ask how she, who lacked the mental connection, was so sure about the validity of what she had just said. The usual, semi-impossible intuition of his girlfriend applied.

“When did that become a rule?” She crossed her arms. “Well, if ya don’t want your maids to take care of it, ya can do the double pen on your own. I just know that I suddenly got clam jammed!”

“Well, if you ask like that…” the nearby Mandala Sphere started to morph into John’s double, “…who am I to refuse?”