Chapter 072

"Okaaaaay! It looks like everyone's here, so let's get this party started~!" shouted a loud, high-pitched voice, drawing the gaze of everyone in the ballroom as a familiar pink fairy appeared alongside twelve others. Leon immediately recognized the fairy as Maribelladonna, but that only applied to himself and nine others.

Either serving as the group's leader or simply having been nominated as the MC, Maribelladonna spun in the air at the center of the ballroom as she explained, "Since this is the first time most of you are meeting me, let me introduce myself! I'm Maribelladonna Liebesfee, the Spirit of Lust and Unrequited Love~! I'll be the one explaining why we've brought you here and the fairy providing commentary for today's Inaugural Grand Banquet! Feel free to clap~!"

Though Leon would have clapped of his own accord, everyone in the ballroom, even Mordred and Latia, were compelled to clap in response to Maribelladonna's words. Leon assumed this was her way of showing who was in charge, but it was pretty discomfiting as they were forced to keep it up until the tiny pink fairy bowed twelve times.

"Okay, that's enough of that," said Maribelladonna, making a swift zipping gesture with her right hand that not only caused everyone's hands to stop but silenced all sound in the hall as she appended, "And since I know you all have people and places you want to get back to, we'll make things nice and straightforward this time around, starting with the current Rankings of everyone here."

Clapping her hands together a few times and then spreading them wide, Maribelladonna caused twelve displays to pop up, forming a circle above her and the other Transdimensional Fairies so everyone could see. There was nothing on them at first, but that changed when she said, "First, we'll show the Rankings of everyone based on the Floor they have managed to reach. Then, once we've reviewed all the ranked criteria, those in the Top 10, particularly Ranks 1~3, will receive something extra special!"

Surprising Leon and just about everyone present, the person Ranked 1st on the list had already managed to reach Floor 23 while the people in 2nd and 3rd were 17 and 15, respectively. As for Leon, he was Ranked 77th, far from the worst but definitely lagging behind the frontrunners...

"Oh, wow!" exclaimed Maribelladonna, covering her mouth and appearing to be genuinely surprised as she remarked, "It's really rare for someone to reach, much less surpass, the 20th Floor in the first year. Shall we all take a look and see who our hardest worker is~?"

Snapping her fingers, Maribelladonna caused everyone near the center of the room to be pushed back, a large circular stage appearing beneath her and the other fairies. Immediately after, what initially appeared to be two ghastly figures appeared: a tall and skeletal figure that was presumably a lich and a headless knight garbed in ebon armor and a tattered red cloak with ghostly orange flames where his head should be. Only upon closer inspection did people notice the shadowy mass with cat-like eyes on the lich's left shoulder.

"Ah..."

Contrasting virtually everyone's expectations, the lich abruptly started to panic, holding up his hands and waving them from side to side as he said, "Please don't do this! I'm not good with crowds or public speeches...!" in a distinctly 'Skeletor-like' voice.

"Suck it up," said Mirabelladonna, prompting a fairy with raven black hair, pale, blue-tinged white skin, green eyes, and a tattered black gothic lolita outfit to float up and state, "Mira...don't bully other fairies' champions..." in a lazy monotone.

Rolling her eyes, Mirabelladonna droned, "Yeah, yeah. Don't get your girdle in a twist, Mort..." before waving her right hand, causing the lich, listed as Alexander Johnson on the Rankings, to disappear along with his companions.

"Anyways, that bone daddy you just saw is our current frontrunner. Be sure to prepare accordingly for future Banquets~" mused Mirbelladonna, all but confirming everyone's suspicions that they would be compelled to compete against one another at some point.

"Now, onto the next Ranking," said Mirabelladonna, clapping her hands and causing the display to update as she explained, "If it's not obvious, we're listing criteria in order of significance. Everyone who has reached the top of their assigned Tower had a high Approval Rating, so don't slack off or be too authoritarian, okay~?"

Seeing his name in the Rank 9 position, Leon raised his brows in surprise while Mordred, grinning, gently elbowed him. She also tried to speak, but no words came out, prompting her to shrug helplessly while Latia hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.

"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Mirabelladonna, evidently upset that Alexander had gotten First Place again as she shouted into her mic, "The rest of you need to get your acts together! How the heck can you permit a Champion of Sloth and Decay to secure First Place in two categories...!?"

"Mira..." said a fairly voluptuous fairy with long white hair, silvery white eyes, and a pure white dress resembling a lily. Mirabelladonna's brows remained creased, and her pointed ears waggled a few times, but with the other fairies staring at her, she eventually settled down, holding the mic up to her mouth as she said, "Moving on...!" in a loud voice. The next Ranking was for population, but while Leon was happy to see himself in 4th place, Mirabelladonna needed to be temporarily restrained when she saw that Alexander was, once again, in First Place...

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Following Floor Progression, Approval Rating, and Population, Rankings for Highest Level, Highest Grade, Summons Performed, Building Tier, and a handful of others were shown. Leon and many of the other Beta Testers were starting to get a little bored near the end, but that changed when Mirabelladonna announced the final category.

"This next category has the least impact on your overall evaluation, but as the Fairy of Lust and Unrequited Love, it happens to be my favorite! Why, you ask? Because it's the Ranking that displays the total number of times you've engaged in lovey-dovey and, most importantly, consensual sex~!"

Spreading her hands wide, causing pink fairy dust to emanate from her body and make a heart shape above her head, Mirabelladonna updated the displays. Leon had been relatively curious to see where he placed on such a list when he first heard Mirabelladonna's words, but when he saw where his name was located, his expression paled as Mordred burst into a silent fit of laughter. After all, while he was neck and neck with the person in Second Place, named Samantha Clarke, his name was at the top of the list with several values shown: the number of times he had sex, with how many different 'entities,' and how many times he had compelled others to climax...

'Have I really had sex with 49 different entities...?' Leon asked himself, genuinely taken aback. As for the total number of times he had sex, that was listed at 1,095, while the total number of climaxes he had 'compelled' was a monstrous 9,583...

Seeing Mirabelladonna looking directly at him, her eyes narrowed and an amused smile on her face, Leon couldn't help returning a wry, somewhat embarrassed smile as he pleaded, 'I don't know if you can hear me, but I have you to thank for everything. That being said...please don't bring me up there or embarrass me...'

Confirming that she could hear his thoughts, Mirabelladonna gave Leon a playful wink before looking away, clapping her hands, and shouting, "Now, onto the final category and the one everyone's been waiting for! Here are the Unified Rankings for every category! Take a good long look at where your names are located because if they're near the bottom, there's a very real possibility you could be erased in future Grand Banquets~!"

Hearing Mirabelladonna's warning, a palpable tension filled the ballroom as everyone searched the list carefully for their names. Absolutely no one was surprised to see Alexander in First Place, as he topped six categories. As for Leon, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed in himself, but he wasn't too ashamed that his personal Rank was 37. It wasn't the best, but now that he knew how they were assessed, he was sure he could improve his Rank considerably before the next banquet...

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Though they didn't receive any major prizes, such as the Violet Crystal given to Alexander for attaining First Place, Leon, Mordred, and especially Latia were satisfied with their rewards for being his 'strongest' and most 'cherished' companions. Mordred received a simple silver bracelet that increased each of her stats by 10%, while Latia received a golden choker, which, when worn, permitted her to take the form of an attractive redhead with amber eyes, a twin-tailed hairstyle with distinctive 'horns,' and a tight yet shapely figure that Leon quickly became well-acquainted with as they spent the evening after their return trying of various outfits and fucking till sunrise...

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"Make sure the two of you take good care of her..." said Leon, sitting naked on his bed and watching as Rem and Ram helped Latia put on a Maid outfit. The latter had wanted to be a Maid for some time, so now that she could wear clothes and had opposable thumbs, Latia was eager to learn and help the other Pokemon who worked in the palace.

"You worry too much..." said Ram, tying a blue ribbon around Latia's neck while Rem, wearing a delighted smile, stated, "Just leave it to us, Lord Leon. With a bit of proper guidance, I'm certain Latia will be an excellent Maid."

"Latia will be the best Maid~!" supplanted Latia, beaming radiantly as she stood with her back straight and arms spread.

"You can do anything you put your mind to," confirmed Leon. Then, as he didn't want to upset Rem, he quickly appended, "But don't get too upset if you're unable to do things as well as your seniors. Rem here is one of the best Maids in the palace, second only to Azumi. Do your best and listen to what she tells you, okay?"

"Okaaaay~!" replied Latia. Meanwhile, though she wasn't too happy being compared to Azumi, Rem relished Leon's praise considerably, closing her eyes and smiling happily as she briefly entertained the idea of poisoning the current Chief Maid's tea. Unfortunately, as a descendent of the Fuuma clan and a veteran assassin, Azumi could detect and was largely resistant to conventional poisons...

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After a day of strategizing and planning for the next Grand Banquet, Leon arrived at the Sixth Floor with Mordred, the two planning to scout the nest of Echidnas and, if possible, reach a compromise with her.

"Rrrrrraaaaaaaaow...!"

Nearly as soon as Leon and Mordred stepped through the entry portal, located at the heart of a large fortress, a quadrupedal figure with blue-tinged black hair, bladed wings for arms, and an exceptionally thick tail lunged toward the former. Leon had anticipated it, but he was still sent sliding back a few meters on his back as the figure, who appeared as a red-eyed, bronze-skinned, incredibly buxom woman from below, rubbed her furry, loincloth-covered crotch against his. If she could stand on her hind legs, she would easily be 230cm tall. On all fours, and including her tail, she was closer to six...

"Yeah, yeah, I missed you too, Naga..." said Leon, smiling wryly as the pleasantly heavy monster girl nuzzled against him and licked his face with glowing red eyes. She got agitated if he didn't blow his load inside her at least once every forty-eight hours, so, as it had been nearly three days, her aggression was approaching its peak. She was also physically stronger than him, so while he would have preferred to move someplace more secluded, Leon showed why he was on the top of Mirabelladonna's favorite leaderboard by unleashing his dick and letting Naga ride him like she was trying to crush his pelvis with her own...

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