Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 148. Reward of a Hero

Zephyra turned and walked out of the council chamber, leaving her husband to scramble after her with all the bags.

Rick stared after her, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Well," Liora said in a happy voice. "That went better than I thought it would."

"Better?" Rick looked at her. "She basically said I was stupid and that my death would be bad for her."

"Yes, but she didn’t call you an idiot or a waste of time," Fredrich said. "That’s almost a lot of praise for Zephyra."

"She once told a duke who came to visit that his existence was statistically unlikely and that the universe should fix it."

"She’s scary," Rick said.

"She’s smart," Natasha said in response. "I can understand someone who doesn’t waste time on fake niceness."

"She’s cold," Carmilla said. "But in a professional way...I can understand that as well."

Zara just shrugged. "Seemed normal to me."

Rick wanted to argue, but before he could, someone knocked on the door to the council chamber. Roderick got up.

"That would be for you, Rick." Roderick said, "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise? Oh~! I love surprises!" Rick’s eyes narrowed. "What kind of surprise?"

"A good one that can blow your mind!" Roderick smiled. "Come on, let’s go outside."

"You need to see this with your...uh...one good eye?"

"That fucking thing isn’t necessary." Rick sighed.

The group followed Roderick down the tower and through the streets of Valdris. Most of the people had left, but some still stopped to look and talk as the Demon King and his party walked by.

They walked for about ten minutes until they got to the noble district, which is a part of Valdris where huge estates are behind fancy gates.

Roderick took them to one estate that was bigger than the others. It had beautiful gardens and a mansion that looked like it could comfortably hold fifty people.

Rick asked, "What is this place?"

"It’s yours," Roderick said without any other words. "Thanks to Valdris’s noble council and the Adventurer’s Guild."

"Think of it as a thank-you for saving the city from the dragon attack and, more recently, for making the corruption network weaker across the continent."

"N-No fucking way...! You’re lying!" Rick was shocked hearing that.

"Nope. Now you can have as many women as you like." Roderick winks at him.

Rick’s mouth dropped open. "This whole estate is mine?!"

"Everything, yes! It’s fully furnished, with magical features, defensive wards, and everything else." Roderick gave him a fancy key.

"Your adventurer rank is also a factor because you are now the Demon King and have done great things, the Guild Council has decided to promote you straight to SSS-rank."

"SSS-rank?" Rick’s voice broke. "But I’m only at Level 22!"

"Level doesn’t always equal rank," Roderick said. "You are the highest-level adventurer because you can unite Major Powers, defeat corrupt organizations, and plan big operations."

"Also, having official Guild support at the highest level will make future diplomatic missions easier."

Rick looked at the mansion, then at the key he was holding, and then back at the mansion. His brain was having a challenging time figuring out how to deal with all this new money and power.

He muttered, "This is crazy."

Fredrich said, "This is the real power of politics."

"Valdris wants to stay on good terms with the new Demon King, so with that, giving you a permanent home here means you’ll come here often and see it as a neutral place for diplomatic meetings."

"Also," Sylvia said with a smirk, "it gives you a place to keep all your queens when you’re not in the demon realm."

"You can’t really expect the Dragon Queen to sleep in a tent."

"I was going to sleep in a tent next time," Carmilla said with a straight face. "But I guess a big house will have to do."

"Alright then... thanks, I’ll gladly take it." Rick smiles.

Rick walked through the gates and up to the front door of the mansion. When he pushed the doors open, he stepped into a huge foyer with marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and enough room for a small army.

"Holy motherfucking goodness..." he said.

His bonded partners lined up behind him, each reacting in their own way. Carmilla quickly began to look at defensive positions.

Natasha started listing the mansion’s rooms in a very efficient way. Liora really liked the artistic details.

Zara looked around like someone who had been to better places but could still appreciate quality. Sylvia, who was in her human form, immediately lay down on an expensive-looking couch as if she owned it.

"This will work," Sylvia said. "There’s enough room for everyone, and I assume there’s a bath big enough for a dragon?"

"Several, actually," Roderick said. "One of which is fed by natural hot springs."

"Perfect." Sylvia’s smile was like that of a predator. "Rick, I’m going to take the master bedroom."

"You can’t just take the master bedroom!"

"I’m the Queen of Dragons. I take whatever I want."

"That’s not how this goes!"

Carmilla pulled Rick aside while he and Sylvia were arguing about who should sleep where. "This is a good thing that has happened."

"It will be helpful to have a neutral base in Valdris to help the different Major Powers work together."

"I know, but I didn’t expect something this big." Rick ran his hand through his hair. "A few months ago, I was living in the basement of my parents’ house. I now own a mansion in the capital."

"You’ve earned it," Carmilla said with authority. "Don’t doubt yourself anymore."

"Just accept that you’ve done amazing things."

Rick nodded, trying to understand what she was saying, but she was correct. He had come a long way, so he should feel good about what he’s done.

"Okay," he said, raising his voice so that Sylvia and Natasha could hear him over their argument about the best places to sleep.

"Everyone pick a room you like."

"We’ll be here for a few days while we figure out how to get to the Ocean Empress."

The group split up and went to look around the mansion, leaving Rick alone in the foyer. He walked slowly through the first floor, looking at everything.

There was a full kitchen, a library, a study, a few sitting rooms, and what looked like a small ballroom.

"There’s so much to explore!"

...

And after that whole exploration inside the mansion until the night, he finally made it upstairs and found what was clearly the master bedroom, where Sylvia let him have it for today, just because she has something to do in the Northern Peaks.

It was huge, with a bed that could easily fit six people, windows that went from the floor to the ceiling and looked out over Valdris, and a bathroom with a huge tub and a separate shower.

Rick fell onto the bed with a joyful sigh. He finally let himself relax for the first time in days.

"Ahhhh~! That felt good...!"

The coronation was over. The meeting with the Mage Council member was over, and he had a plan for what to do next.

Things were really going well.

He was just starting to fall asleep when he heard the door open. Rick’s eye opened to see Zara in the doorway, immediately triggering his brain into alert mode.

She had taken off her formal general’s armor and put on something he had never seen her wear before. The black lingerie set left little room for imagination. The fabric hugged her mature, toned body in ways that made Rick’s mouth go dry.

"HOLY FUCK~! SHE’S HUGE AND SEXY...!!!" Rick screamed in his mind.

"Z-Zara?" Rick’s voice came out higher than he wanted it to. "What are you—"

Zara walked into the room and shut the door behind her. "We made the Spirit Bond yesterday," she said.

"But we haven’t really finished it yet."

"Finished?" Rick sat up, his heart racing. "Is that, um, necessary?"

As Zara walked toward the bed, her smile was like a predator’s. "Not needed, but that’s how demons usually act."

"And I believe that after all we’ve been through, we deserve a night off from worrying about politics, corruption, and saving the world."

She climbed onto the bed with ease, and Rick had to back up until his shoulders hit the headboard.

"One night only," Zara said softly, reaching out to touch his face. "Where it’s just the two of us."

"No General...no Demon King..."

"Just Rick and Zara...making love...in bed." Zara whispered right in his ear.

Rick swallowed hard. "I can deal with that."

As Zara leaned in to kiss him, her laugh was low and warm. Rick’s last thought before his brain completely shut down was a simple one.

"Yeah, I really did earn this second chance."

After that, thinking was not as important as other things.