Plugged In: I got Isekai'd into a Sexbot (Now I Must Save The World)-Chapter 66: Soft Scales and Wild Whispers

Ka’Lula huddles beneath Pip’s arm as the team guides her back to the village inn. She walks barefoot, her tattered dress singed and barely clinging to her. And though her face is stained with soot, and ash clings to her hair, her bright amber eyes sparkle with shy curiosity.

Inside the inn, Penelo quickly spreads a blanket on a bench while Sera brings over a pot of her now-famous stew. Ka’Lula’s nose twitches at the aroma, her stomach growls so loudly it startles Pip, and the moment a bowl is placed in front of her, she digs in with reckless abandon.

"Easy there," Vuvi says with a soft chuckle, watching the girl inhale her second helping. "You’ll burn your tongue."

"Mmrph! Worth it," Ka’Lula manages to squeak between bites.

Penelo sits beside her, wide-eyed. "She’s like a furnace! Look at that appetite!"

Ka’Lula smiles sheepishly, licking her spoon clean. "I haven’t eaten properly in days."

Veena leans on the back of a chair, curious. "So... how does a dragon-kin like you end up... here?"

Ka’Lula pauses mid-chew, her smile faltering. "I... I’m not sure? I don’t really know. I don’t remember anything before I showed up in the forest near the village." She glances down at her food. "The villagers found me twenty years ago. I was just a little girl wandering through the trees, confused and lost. They took me in."

"And no memory before that?" Vuvi asks, her tone analytical.

Ka’Lula shakes her head. "Just flashes. Fire. Wind. A mountain... but nothing clear." She scoops another bite and swallows. "I lived peacefully. I helped out at the forge, hauled heavy things for the old farmers. I loved the village."

She stops, staring into her stew, her voice trembling. "But then this spring... something changed."

Sera crossed her arms, brows drawn. "What do you mean?"

"I started feeling weird," Ka’Lula says quietly. "Hot. Not just temperature-hot but... weird hot. Tingly. Like I needed to rub against trees or roll in grass. Sometimes I wanted to bite things."

"Sounds like you’re going through your first heat," Veena mutters, taking a sip of her drink.

Ka’Lula continues, her voice small. "A few weeks ago, I blacked out... woke up in a smoldering house. I was so scared, I just... ran. But then I kept blacking out. Waking up in the fields, near burnt-down buildings. The villagers said they saw a dragon. A real one. Acting weird—like it wanted to talk."

"And you think it was you?" Sera asks gently.

Ka’Lula nods, eyes brimming. "I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I keep returning to the village, leaving gold and gems I find in the mountains as apologies. But I’m scared. What if next time I hurt someone?"

"Hey, hey..." Penelo says, scooting closer and wiping soot off the girl’s cheek. "You haven’t hurt anyone yet. And now you’ve got us."

"We’ll help you," Vuvi says, unusually soft. "We’re good at that."

"Over two hundred clients helped already," Penelo beams proudly.

Ka’Lula blinks. "Clients?"

Penelo snorts. "Don’t worry about it. You’re safe."

After a few more bowls of stew and a slightly terrifying belch that singes the tablecloth, Ka’Lula begins to doze. Penelo gently rouses her with a sly smile.

"Time for a bath."

Ka’Lula tilts her head. "Bath?"

Penelo grins. "Penelo’s Premium Oil Service. You’ll love it."

Minutes later, Ka’Lula splashes gleefully in the steaming water, bubbles rising as she thrashes about, wings twitching and tail flopping. Penelo sits at the edge of the large wooden tub, her sleeves rolled up and arms slick with sweet-smelling oil.

"This is... amazing!" Ka’Lula giggles. "I love baths!"

"Told you." Penelo grins as she massages her shoulders, working the oil into her supple-soft skin. "Your tension’s all in your wings. You’re stunning, by the way."

Ka’Lula turns bright red. "What? Me?"

"Of course," Penelo says, brushing a curl from her forehead. "You’re beautiful, toned, powerful, and you have these adorable fangy-smiles."

Ka’Lula squeaks and splashes water in Penelo’s face.

"And you!" Ka’Lula said shyly, "You’re soooo cute, and you smell like flowers and honey."

"Yay!" Penelo claps. "Someone noticed!"

Ka’Lula’s eyes sparkle. "So... about Pip."

"Hmm?" Penelo leans forward, lathering her tail with soft foam.

"Can he really help me?"

Penelo nods. "He helped a woman turn back from a half-demon curse just last week. He’s magic. Living, beeping, divine pleasure magic."

Ka’Lula tilts her head. "P-Pleasure? What does that mean?"

"You don’t know?" Penelo asks, raising a brow.

Ka’Lula shakes her head. "Only whispers... they say he brings joy. And makes the women glow. That one lady couldn’t walk straight for two days."

Penelo chuckles mischievously and leans, grinning from ear to ear as she explains the details of Pip’s powers.

Ka’Lula’s eyes widen. Her face turns crimson.

Steam rises from her horns.

Then her eyes glow, flickering with sparks of emotion.

"Uh-oh."

BOOOOOM!~

The inn explodes as a massive dragon bursts from the roof, roaring pitifully before jetting into the skies, smoke and embers trailing from its wings.

Villagers scream and dive for cover. Hay bales catch fire. The weathervane twirls off its hinges.

A surprised Raenly and Mysa, who were still lounging on the roof, are swiftly launched across the village and into a row of trees lining a wheat field.

Inside the rubble, Veena pops up, soot-covered and furious. "PENELO!"

No answer.

Vuvi coughs, brushing dust from her singed curls. "Where’s Pip?!"

Pip beeps frantically, diving into the rubble. Moments later, two fuzzy ears poke out from beneath a plank. He pulls Penelo free, her eyes swirling, hair frizzy, and a dopey grin on her lips.

"Next time..." she murmurs, "don’t whisper erotica to the dragon girl..."

Sera chuckles with a facepalm, her hair covered in debris.

"She’s triggered by naughty thoughts," Penelo slurs. "I... might’ve overloaded her."

That night, the team sets up makeshift tents outside what was once their inn.

"New rule," Vuvi grumbles, dragging charred gear from the debris, "No dirty jokes within fifty feet of Ka’Lula."

"She didn’t mean to," Sera offers.

"She launched herself into orbit," Veena snaps.

Pip beeps apologetically and pats Penelo, who lay curled in a blanket sipping honey tea.

"I told her the truth," Penelo says dreamily. "Just... maybe too vividly."

"We need to help her control this," Vuvi mutters.

Pip looks toward the stars, eyes glowing with soft concern.

From a distant mountaintop, Ka’Lula perched, tail curled and nose pressed to a glowing gem. Her heart still pounds. Her thoughts race.

But even through the confusion and shame, she feels something else.

Something new.

Something powerful.

Hope.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com