Harem in a Labyrinth

"Lillia, come here. Let me wash your hair," I beckon to the dark red-haired sheepkin girl.

"Th-there's no need to trouble yourself, Master... I-I can do it myself," Lillia says, her voice soft, shy, and clearly unsure of herself, afraid she might displease me.

"But I want to," I respond earnestly. "So, come closer," I encourage her again.

She hesitantly approaches me, trying to hide her jiggling, floating breasts with her hands. I realize why she is being so shy—her eyes keep darting to my semi-erect cock!

It makes the situation a bit awkward, but I don't bother hiding it. After all, sooner or later, she will have to get used to it. She steps close, turning away from me and leaning her back against the edge of the tub.

I take some soap and water, making a lather between my hands before gently running my fingers through her hair. She flinches at my touch but remains still.

"I heard from Roxanne that sheepkin have wool-like hair?" I ask, feeling the texture of her dark red locks. There's something distinctly woolly about it, though it still has the qualities of hair.

"... Yes, Master. Our hair is woollen, like the wool on our backs. B-but mine has always been different. My mother said my grandmother had hair like this too... I-I'm sorry, Master," Lillia says, lowering her head in apology.

"You don't have to apologize, Lillia," I reassure her. "I actually like your hair." I lather more soap into it, carefully massaging her scalp.

"Th-thank you, Master," she whispers happily.

"Keep your eyes closed. If this soap gets in, it will sting," I warn her as I focus on washing the top of her head.

"Hmm," she hums, obediently closing her eyes.

While working the foam into her hair, I brush against her small, twisted horns. "They are really soft," I say, surprised. I had expected them to be firm, but they feel almost squishy, not hard at all.

"... U-us sheepkin have soft horns, Master," she murmurs, her face turning a faint shade of pink.

I squish one of the horns with my hands, they are on top of her head and they seem to be coming out of her scalp. These twisted soft horns are definitely not for protection, I can't see any other use for them though. Meanwhile, Lillia's tense body relaxes as she hums in satisfaction. 

Setting that thought aside, I focus on rinsing her hair. "So, Lillia, tell me about yourself. I would like to know where you come from, your family... and, if it's not too difficult, how you became a slave," I ask, my voice gentle, trying to make the sensitive topic easier for her.

"... My home was in a small village named Woolridge, in the eastern part of the kingdom, Master," Lillia begins, her tone shifting to something softer, almost nostalgic. "It's far from Quratar... The village is mostly of us sheepkin tribe. We farmed and foraged the hills nearby to survive. It was very peaceful." She says in a happy tone. 

I had noticed when I checked her status first that she had Farmer as one of her acquired jobs so I wasn't surprised to hear this. 

"We gave our crops and some clothes we made as taxes to the local lord. But this year, there wasn't much rain... My family—my mom, dad, and older brother—struggled to meet our quota. My brother was about to get married, and that would cost money too. So, I... I took it upon myself to fix everything," Lillia continues, her voice growing braver, despite the sad story.

"Just like me," Sherry adds with a smile from the side, looking at Lillia with understanding.

"You are a good girl, Lillia," I say, patting her foamed-up head gently. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Roxanne watching intently, I make a mental note to give her some extra head pats later too.

"I am happy I made that choice. I got to meet you, Master, and now I can live in such a big house, eat delicious food, and even get to take a bath that only nobles can!" Lillia says, her voice lighting up with excitement.

"This is just the beginning," I chuckle, pouring water over her hair to rinse the soap away.

"Haaa... This feels so good, Master! My hair's so smooth now, too!" Lillia says, running her fingers through it, her light purple eyes sparkling with happiness. "T-thank you for everything, Master!"

I smile back, though my gaze briefly flickers to her unhidden, big wet tits. Soon, I would be able to fully enjoy them!

"Anastasia, your turn," I call over to the purple-haired beauty, whose face is half-buried in the water.

"... Yes," she responds quietly, avoiding eye contact as she approaches. I can tell she's still uneasy after the earlier punishment.

She hides her chest under the water as she leans back against the tub's edge. Although I have done my best to make them feel at home, Anastasia's timidity is understandable—being punished by her Master on her first day, couldn't have been easy. 

Still, I am sure she will move past it in time. I start working foam into her light purple hair, and I can feel her body slowly relaxing under my touch.

Before I can ask her anything, she speaks first in a quiet voice, "... Master, I need to confess something."

"Is it about how you didn't have the Thief Job even when you were accused of stealing from the Merchant group?" I ask, impressed she's bringing up the topic herself. Maybe she has realised the other purpose behind me washing their hair personally.

"...She didn't?" Sherry asks, astonished.

"Haa, yes... It's about my previous merchant group. It must have slipped my mind that Master can see all my jobs. But its better this way as it will make my words more believable! ... Master I-I didn't steal the heirloom of the Alfa group," Anastasia says earnestly, still looking down.

"So, you were framed," Sherry nods, already piecing it together.

"Eh? She was?" Roxanne asks in shock.

"But who did it?" Lillia asks with concern.

"Could you tell me what happened?" I ask gently, massaging Anastasia's scalp with the foam.

"... Have you heard of the Alfa Merchant Group, Master?" Anastasia sighs.

"Sherry mentioned it to me. It's a large Merchant group in the Imperial Capital?," I recall when Sherry had informed me telepathically during our dealings with Harvey, the slave trader from Imperial Capital.

"My grandfather mentioned them once. They used to buy equipment made by him," Sherry adds with a nod.

"Right now, the Alfa Merchant Group is one of the biggest in the Imperial Merchant Guild ... But it wasn't always called the Alfa Group ... S-six years ago, it was the 'Adrian and Alfa Merchant Group,'" Anastasia begins, her tone growing heavier. "... Two friends, Alfa and Adrian, built the group from the ground up. But one day, Adrian and his wife... they were killed in a demon attack while traveling for business. It was a tragedy!" She says with sadness in her voice. 

I do have to keep in mind that in this world they refer to monsters as 'demons', like the monsters from the labyrinths are also called demons. 

"... But not all of Adrian's family member were present in that carriage that day ... their 10 year old daughter was sick so she stayed at home and thus survived this tragedy ... that daughter was me, Master" Anastasia says with a bitter smile. 

"... Your whole family..." Lillia whispers, her face showing genuine sympathy. Sherry and Roxanne look equally saddened by the revelation.

"I am so sorry," I say, feeling her pain deeply. Having had loving parents in my previous life, I can only imagine what she went through. I run my fingers gently through her hair, offering her a bit of comfort.

"... It's alright, Master. It happened a long time ago," she says, taking a deep breath. "Afterward, Alfa adopted me as his daughter, and the group was renamed the Alfa Merchant Group."

"Do you think ... Alfa was involved in your parents' death?" I ask, my tone darkening. After all, it's not uncommon for accidents like this to be orchestrated for a hostile takeover. And Alfa did benefit from their deaths directly.

"I-I don't know, Master," Anastasia says in an unsure tone, " ... Although I had always found it suspicious, why my father didn't have Adventurers with him. Usually, he always traveled with a party of two or three adventurers especially when Mother was with him, but that time, there were only Warriors, Explorers, and Swordsman in his caravan." She says in a pained voice.

"Hmm, that definitely sound suspicious," Sherry nods.

"But why would that matter?" Lillia asks, confused.

"It must be because of Field Walk ... Adventurers have the ability to make a gate to anywhere they have been on a flat surface" I explain, "So if they had Adventurers with them then in the worst case scenario they could have fled from the demon attack" I muse thankful that I have the more advanced Warp Bonus Spell, or else I would have to wait until my Explorer reached Level 50 before unlocking the Adventurer Job for the Field Walk spell. 

"... I had no proof of Alfa's involvement though. So as a 10-year-old girl, I did the only thing I could do, study, learn and do business under Alfa's watchful eye. He had always been very kind to me, only later I found out that he wanted me to marry his eldest son Greg" Anastasia says with a sigh. 

"Oh," I mutter, feeling a surge of dislike for Greg, who clearly had designs on my future woman.

"I didn't like Greg... he was not a good man," Anastasia says with clear disgust. "At first, I just kept avoiding the proposal, but when I started to make a name for myself in the market, I outright rejected the marriage. That was three months ago. Then, suddenly, Alfa died. He was quite old, so no one was really surprised, but almost immediately, all three of his sons began vying for control of the merchant group," she explains, her voice growing heavier.

"Didn't he leave a will or make any kind of preparations, knowing he was so old?" I ask, while my hands work the foam into her light purple hair.

"Even if he did, I wouldn't have known about it." Her reply is tinged with bitterness, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "I was too busy trying to make sure my stores and people weren't swallowed up by the chaos after his death. But then..." She pauses, as if gathering her resolve. "Then Greg barged into my room with the Knights Order and accused me of stealing Alfa's heirloom—his golden stamp, that only the owner of the merchant group should possess."

"And they conveniently found this 'heirloom' in your room, I suppose?" Sherry interjects, her voice carrying the weight of suspicion.

"Yes... I don't know how, but they found it hidden in my cupboard... I-I swear, Master, I didn't steal it! I-I am not a thief!" Anastasia's voice trembles as she tries to hold back her emotions.

"I believe you," I say firmly, my voice softening as I gently pat her head. "You don't need to worry, Anastasia. I know you didn't do it."

"It's obvious," Sherry states, her voice filled with disdain. "Greg must have bribed one of your servants to plant the heirloom, just to get rid of you. Merchants are cunning like that. They are always scheming, always plotting someone else's downfall!"

Uh, Sherry, I think you are forgetting that Anastasia is also a merchant...

"Oh, what a poor girl," Roxanne chimes in sympathetically, making a sad face. "Schemed by her own relative... that's just awful."

Uh... Roxanne, isn't this kind of what happened to you, too? Although in your case, it was an outsider who betrayed you, not family. But still... yeah, Anastasia's situation might be worse. Okay, my mistake please carry on...

"B-but..." Anastasia continues, her voice gaining strength, "I feel like my luck has finally started to turn around. Even though I was made a slave, I ended up in the care of such a kind Master." Her tone is filled with happiness and gratitude.

I can't help but marvel at the events that shaped her life. Her backstory has more twists and drama than the most ridiculous soap operas I remember from Earth. "Don't worry, Anastasia. From now on, your life will only be filled with happiness," I say, pouring water over her head to wash the remaining foam from her hair.

"...Th-thank you, Master," she whispers, her voice filled with relief. "This feels so nice... My head feels so much lighter now." She turns around, a genuine smile lighting up her face as her wet, purple hair clings to her skin.

Then, she hesitates for a moment before looking up at me, her expression turning serious. "Master... If it's not too much to ask, I-I have a request... C-can I come with you to the auction tomorrow?"

Her question catches me off guard, my eyes widening in surprise at this unexpected request!

***

Vanthebeard has used his points to claim an extra chapter for the previous week!

I sincerely thank you for your support!