Steel and Mana

Chapter 179 – From Priestess to Wife

There was great excitement brewing within Avalon in the past week or so. After the first theater building was completed, the first show was also announced, and it was something other than what anyone had expected. Instead of a traditional play that many had only heard about, there were—for the first time—colored posters printed and hung up around the city, announcing, in multicolored letters, the very first 'talk show' occurring, named Avalon Speaks.

What made people really excited was the fact that it would be hosted by two beloved people, Priestess Mikan, and their own Empress, Sasha. No matter what type of show it was, now everyone wanted to witness it, causing the tickets to sell out in a day.

People who thought they had just missed one of the biggest shows of the century didn't need to grumble about it for long because the newspaper the following day also announced that twenty so-called radios would be set up around the city, where people could gather and listen to it as it was happening. It was clear that it was the demonstration of a new invention from their Sovereign, and after witnessing the loudspeakers around the city, it wasn't doubted, not for a moment.

When the day finally arrived, people, including the ministers, were checking the time almost hourly, waiting for the start, wanting to spin the hands of their pocket watches to eight in the evening. When the doors of the theater opened, letting in the gathering of citizens, all five hundred kept to the rules and managed to find their seats without rushing, shouting, or pushing others, making the soldiers guarding the building watch on with proud, satisfied smiles.

The more expensive seats, up in the balconies, being their own little booths, were occupied by not only the ministers of Avalon but many more successful business owners, be it Dorian, maker of the Avalons armors and the military uniforms or people who managed to create successful ventures for themselves, including Avalon's two, newest success stories.

One of them was Remus, a young man who saved up enough to license two printing machines and set up his own business after taking a few trips with Avalon's merchants. At the moment, he was not interested in printing newspapers but specializing in creating fliers and posters for other ventures and business owners. He developed multiple colorful ink variants and was paid by Avalon to produce the posters for the theater's opening, in addition to acknowledging his contribution.

The second person was Dia, who inspired Remus to create the colored ink in the first place. In the past year, Dia graduated from school, already showing great interest and talent in painting, and it didn't take long for her work to be noticed. It was Luna who saw her out in the open, painting the Lion from sheer memory, turning it into beautiful art on a canvas, standing valiantly before the city, facing the viewer with an otherworldy, added splendor.

It didn't take long for Luna to start paying Dia to make paintings of her favorite scenes in the books she was reading. The moment the knowledge of this patronage spread, Dia found herself swarmed with requests, everyone looking to buy one of her paintings, causing her to not only be flabbergasted by it but become one of the newest celebrities within Avalon.

Her most significant honor was when the Sovereign himself sent for her, asking her to make paintings of his family, something she was going to start working on very soon, constantly feeling her hands shaking the moment she began thinking about it.

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"Nervous?" I asked, leaning back and looking at Mikan and Sasha, who were dressed in the finest blue and red dresses. "We have a lot of people waiting~!"

"I'm fine." Mikan smiled, proving that she really was quirky because she only got confused when her performance was not seen by others.

"I'll live." Sasha answered, smiling, forcing herself to be calm, "It is just another hurdle that I will overcome!"

"That's the spirit!" I giggled, leaning forward and kissing her lips before moving to Mikan, kissing her cheeks, finally making her nervous. "Just keep to the script, and everything will be fine!"

"I wonder if, later on, others will also have radio shows." Sasha mumbled, fixing her dress around her waist.

"Maybe." I shrugged, "It is not like the printing press, so I am not going to license it out that easily. Still, I like that boy Remus's thinking. Instead of creating a competition for our newspaper, he went ahead and used it to cash in on advertisement money. Not to mention his invention, ahaha!"

"It was nice of you to not just take it." Mikan smiled, holding her hands together between her breasts, making me lose focus for a moment. Tsk… I shouldn't have let Luna help pick a dress for her with such a massive cleavage.

"It was his idea." I answered, scratching my throat, "He deserves to be recorded as its inventor and get a percentage for it. Anyway! Let's not talk about it now; let us keep these for the show!"

I watched as they entered the stage, as the people clapped, standing up and going silent the moment my wives sat down, beginning Avalon's very first talk show. What only a few knew was that it was more than just a new entertainment venue. It was also a military operation and a crucial experiment. With multiple walkie-talkie-sized versions of the radio, soldiers were placed at different intervals, going out of the city, right down towards the border between my Uncle's territory and mine.

That was not all. Merlin also installed slim but exceptionally tall, 'boosting' poles, similar to the Morse-code ones, to see if we could extend the range via those, broadcasting all over Avalon. If it worked, we would build it out more extensively to boost our military's response time. Then, we would be able to expand the telegraph lines, opening them to the public, while our soldiers could use the radio to communicate, separating the civilians and military communications.

If it works, that is. I will only know after tonight's show. Merlin was so sure he got it right he delivered prototype walkie-talkies to Pion and Polo, who were back at the borders, continuing to oversee the Black Land's actions.

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"Is… Is that really the Sovereing's voice coming from this box?" Polo asked, shocked, while almost everyone at the crossing point gathered around Pion, listening to the speech coming through the little device in his hand. The voice was distorted, and the noise in the background was like the buzzing of flies, but they all could pick out how Leon was explaining his childhood, how he grew up, and why he decided to change life not just for himself but for everyone in the Frontier.

"It is…" Pion nodded, feeling really proud that they could also hear it, yet being so far away from home. "Imagine what it means that we can hear it from here! How clear would it be while we are on the battlefield, much closer to its source? Sooner or later, we will have to face a real opponent. We will be able to coordinate and strike as one because we can get our orders without delays."

"I don't think any duke or emperor has something like this." Polo grinned, and the other soldiers nodded and expressed their excitement just the same.

"It's not just that. We can adapt to any changes in a battle in a snap; we will be able to rely on information and let the command take notice, give us aid, or give new orders on the fly! Weren't we taught exactly with this in mind? I think the Sovereign was already planning on making these…"

What they didn't know was that it was only a half-truth; the more straightforward reason was that Leon simply implemented his own military training, barely modifying its core tenets. As for the radio's introduction, he did hope it would become a reality but didn't know when it would happen.

"And our new tanks!" Another soldier exclaimed, making his friend next to him quickly correct him.

"Howitzer."

"If the news from General Oleg is right," Pion nodded, "We will get the first batch in two weeks. The prototypes are already finished and are being tested in the Pass by Lord Kalash."

"Hopefully, the noise won't draw monsters down before winter. We never had beasts poke their heads through in the summer!" Others joked, making Pion smile.

"If anything, you would think those bastards learned their lesson and stayed away. But then again… we do need them for resources!"

Many officers would probably scold them for laughing over something like that, but even if Leon heard it, he wouldn't berate his soldiers. Their confidence and will were what he needed, and as long as they followed orders, he wasn't bothered by it. He made sure that every soldier in his army knew that the chain of command was sacred, and breaking it without good reason was akin to a death sentence…

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"Phew! That was… how long was it?" I asked, sitting in the backrooms of the theater, drinking fresh, cold water, feeling my voice going weak at the end.

"Four hours!" Mikan chuckled, wiping her forehead, sitting down next to me while Sasha crashed into my lap, leaning against me, kicking off her shoes. "It was a great success!"

"My legs hurt…" My wife moaned, pulling my hand down to take a big gulp from my bottle. "You also didn't mention you would go into so much detail about us!"

"They loved it." I giggled, holding her by the stomach.

"They sure did!" Mikan agreed, smiling happily, "I was keeping an eye on them, and I think they wouldn't have complained if we chattered for another hour! I never knew that just talking would capture any audience like this."

"I told you!" I chuckled, "People like listening to podcasts. Well, talk shows. You could easily have a debate about one of Merlin's books, host it like this, and people would tune in to listen. Of course, it needs two beauties like you, a little bit of chemistry, and an interesting personality, and you are set!"

"The story still needs to be interesting, and yours were heartwarming!" Mikan added, looking at us with sparkling eyes and a bit of yearning shining through her honest excitement, "I don't think anyone is used to so honest nobles. In other territories, the regular men and women know nothing about the lives of those who rule above them. Letting them into your everyday life like this is… unusual."

"Don't you want to finally be part of it?" Sasha suddenly asked, climbing out of my lap and sitting down behind Mikan's back, hugging her from behind and rubbing her shoulders.

“…”

"Mikki?" She asked again while I kept watching them.

"I never really had close friends… Nor did I ever think about having… someone. That is why I also became a priestess; they had to conserve their purity. But… I can't lie, living with you… Is affecting me."

"Hehe, you're finally becoming honest!" Sasha giggled, suddenly pulling on Mikan's dress, freeing her massive breasts, letting them catch air right before me, jiggling up and down.

"Eeeeh!? S-s-sasha!" She yelped, but my wife was already grabbing onto them, massaging her, and soon enough, I saw milk squirt straight at me.

"What? You were breastfeeding our kids right before our eyes."

“That… that was different…” She protested, squirming, rubbing her thighs together.

"Different? Only in that, there was a hungry one attached to it. Isn't that true, my dear?" She giggled, looking at me, and I knew that look. My dearest had her flip-switched. Was this the influence of Yuri? Or the fact she learned that teasing Luna was fun? Not that I am complaining.

Without answering verbally, I climbed onto them while she held up the soft, milk-filled jugs to me while I took a taste, suckling on them.

"Ahhh… They… They are sensitive!" She moaned while all her defenses were gone, letting Sasha reach down between her thighs.

"Yuri told me she saw you milking them." Sasha whispered, kissing the neck of our priestess, "That's not good. Why not tell us? We would have helped you out!"

“No fair… nyauh… wait! Ah! Nooooh!"

I don't know if it was Sasha's already trained fingers or the sensitivity of Mikan's breasts, but she very quickly reached the top, moaning loudly and making a mess between us, squirting everywhere like a broken dam.

"Woah!" Both of us exclaimed, looking at Mikan, who was out of breath, gasping for air, "You were holding back a lot, huh?" Sasha continued, "That is unhealthy. Haven't you read the books we publish about proper health care? Suppressing it just harms your body!"

"I read it…" Mikan mumbled, eyes glued on me while I was undressing. "I just… never had the courage to… try. Touching myself... was... feeling dangerous... hauh..."

"Tsk! Mikki, that is… unbelievable! We will fix your mind tonight! Come on, dear!" She giggled, spreading Mikan's leg before me, "She is already wet enough."

"That is undeniable." I laughed, licking my lips, cleaning off her nectar, and placing my tip against her unbelievably puffy and soft lips. "Don't worry, the magic tattoo should have hurt more than this will."

"I am only worried…" She gulped, her eyes fixated down on my waist, "That I won't be able to keep a clear mind."

"Just let it go." I whispered, leaning close, kissing her while I pushed on, slipping in without barely any resistance from her body.

As she clumsily returned the kiss, moaning, her freed hands held onto me while Sasha's fingers wandered right onto her breasts, playing with them, soaking all of us with milk in the meanwhile.

"She is like a fountain!" Sasha giggled, enjoying being under both of us as we moved together, sandwiching Mikki between us.

She wasn't wrong; she was a fountain, all the way from the top to the bottom. Her saliva was flowing out between our lips, her nipples squirting milk everywhere, same as down below, flooding the couch with every thrust I made. I can't remember how long we did it, but it was barely a few minutes before her burning, soft insides drew me fully in, welcoming my own milk, drinking it hungrily, like I did from her boobs.

If not for me silencing her with a kiss, I think anyone still lingering in the theater would have heard her. When she managed to settle down, she was barely conscious, trembling, likely decades of holding back exploding out from within her, causing her eyes to dilute and roll backward.

"Is she… okay?" I asked, leaning back and slipping out, watching as Sasha climbed out under her, holding onto me.

"She is…" She whispered, attacking my lips, "My turn…"

Before I could say anything, I was already on my back, my wife mounting me as we decided to spend the rest of the night in the theater.