Fated Adventure.

"You bitch, say that again!"

The moment I arrived in the pagoda, the first thing I saw was a completely naked Mila Rose and Apacci rolling around, clawing and biting at each other like wild animals.

"I said, you look more like a boy than a woman, you small-breasted chimp!" Mila shouted, landing a solid punch to Apacci's face.

"You muscle-headed ape! All your brains must've gone to your fat tits!" Apacci shot back, swinging her own punch in retaliation.

Off to the side, Sung-Sun let out a light, amused laugh, covering her mouth with her sleeve. "Ufufu, how uncivilized."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Why are you all still naked?"

The fighting stopped as they turned to look at me, confused.

"What do you mean?" Apacci asked.

I pointed at the pile of neatly folded clothes nearby. "The clothes?"

They glanced at the pile, then back at me. "What about them?"

"You're supposed to wear them."

Silence.

"And just how do we do that?" Apacci finally asked, furrowing her brow.

Right. They've never worn clothes before. It made sense—before this, they were basically in their Hollow forms, which didn't require them to care about things like dressing. Even Harribel, who had already transformed, had her new clothes appear on her automatically.

I looked around. Nel, Stark, and Ulquiorra were also staring at the clothes, tilting their heads in curiosity. Harribel, meanwhile, leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, completely indifferent to the situation.

"One moment," I muttered, activating the world travel function and stepping back into Danmachi.

Not much time had passed here.

Yue immediately perked up, her crimson eyes locking onto me. "How long were you gone?" she asked curiously.

Rachel, standing nearby, folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "And how many new 'sisters' did you bring back this time?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh… maybe thirty minutes? And aside from Harribel, I picked up six more people. Three of them were her companions, and the other three I found wandering the desert."

Rachel's brow twitched slightly, but she just sighed.

"They need some help getting dressed," I continued, "and we might as well get everyone acquainted." Without further delay, I pulled all of them into the pagoda, including Saeko.

As soon as Saeko arrived, she blinked at the scene of the still-naked Arrancars. "...Why are they naked?"

I let out another sigh. "They've never worn clothes before. They were basically animals before this—" I pointed at each of them. "—Lion, Deer, Snake, Centaur, Bat, Shark, Werewolf Coyote."

Before anyone could comment further, I called out, "Winky, can you prepare some food for everyone?"

With a soft pop, Winky appeared. "Yes, Master! Winky will make food right away!" The little elf vanished again just as quickly as she came.

Now, I just needed to teach a bunch of former Hollows how to put on clothes.

This was going to be a long day.

---

After some very awkward lessons on how to dress, everyone was finally clothed and gathered around the dining area as Winky served up a feast. The Hollow girls had never experienced proper food before—only consuming souls in their past lives—so the spread of meats, vegetables, bread, and various dishes was a completely new experience for them.

Apacci bit into a chicken leg and let out a groan of satisfaction. "What the hell is this? This is so much better than eating souls."

Mila Rose was already stuffing her face with roasted meat. "Mmmh, I could get used to this…"

Sun-Sun, ever the composed one, delicately chewed her food, her usual amusement still present in her eyes. Harribel ate quietly but with interest, clearly enjoying the meal. The newcomers—Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose, Cyan Sung-Sun, Nel, Harribel, Ulquiorra and even Stark—were adjusting to this new experience in their own way.

Saeko, sitting next to Yue and Rachel, studied them curiously. "So, this is the kind of life you all lead?"

Yue nodded, sipping her tea. "More or less. It's been… interesting, to say the least."

Rachel leaned back, smirking. "You'll get used to it. Though, fair warning, Ryan has a habit of dragging home strays."

I rolled my eyes at that. "Thanks, Rachel."

Saeko chuckled before turning to me with an assessing gaze. "You said you were strong… I'd like to see that for myself one of these days."

"You'll get your chance," I replied casually. "But for now, let's focus on settling in."

That's when Apacci dropped the bomb.

"So, you're mating with all these chicks? Are we expected to mate with you as well?" she asked bluntly, tearing off another bite of chicken.

The entire table went silent. Every single person turned to look at me.

I sighed, putting down my fork. "It's not just about 'mating,' as you so elegantly put it," I said dryly. "Each peerage member is bound to me until I die. And since I'm basically unkillable, that means we're going to be together for a very, very long time. Having a good relationship, bonding, going on dates, and doing things together to make sure our life is actually enjoyable seems like a smart idea."

I leaned forward slightly, making sure they understood. "You wouldn't want to be stuck with someone you hate or someone ugly until the end of time, would you? That just seems like a cruel way to live."

Mila Rose snorted. "Ugly, huh? You that confident in yourself?"

I smirked. "I'm handsome, and I know it."

She rolled her eyes, but I could see the hint of amusement in her expression.

"Look," I continued, "I'm not going to force anyone into anything. If you want a relationship, that's your choice. But if you do become mine, then you're mine. I don't share. I'm greedy like that."

I glanced around at the group. "That being said, I do expect you all to treat each other like family. I don't care if you argue or fight sometimes, but you will watch each other's backs. We're a pack, a family, a group of allies. Whatever you want to call it. We take care of our own."

There was a moment of silence as the words settled in.

Harribel, who had been quiet this whole time, finally spoke. "Loyalty and unity are important. If we are to follow you, then that must be our foundation."

I nodded. "Exactly."

Sung-Sun chuckled. "Ufufu, I suppose there are worse arrangements."

Apacci huffed, but I could tell she was considering it. Mila Rose smirked, clearly intrigued.

Nel, on the other hand, just grinned. "I like this. Feels like we're part of something bigger."

Stark, ever the excited one, simply smiled. "As long as I can make friends, I don't really care!"

Ulquiorra was silent but her eyes were constantly on me or observing the group. She was completely new to interacting with others and didn't know how to respond. However it was already better than her solitary lifestyle.

Saeko gave me a long, considering look before smiling. "Well, this should be interesting."

I exhaled, leaning back in my chair. "Yeah, that's one way to put it."

[First chappie of day. Just a bit of settling in, anyway someone buy me a soda! Also don't forget to send Powerstones. Cashapp $Ryantheholy ]