Chapter 57: Chapter 96 – Friends Along the Way

I was biking through the city on Ivory when a couple of bells rang out behind me. We pulled over to the side to let a family, also leisurely biking this fine afternoon, pass on ahead first. A child glanced over her shoulder and waved as they breezed by.

The two of us finally reached a small comic book store. When I hopped off, Ivory shapeshifted back into the elven form, freaking out a couple of pedestrians nearby.

"Man…" Ivory rubbed the back of their neck. "You need to put on some weight. Those ass bones were really grinding into me."

I went red up to my ears. "I eat plenty! My bad for having a fast metabolism. Besides, it's hard to find time for myself when I'm working 24/7 for you guys." 

Having as many tenants as I did now was more than just a handful. Not only did I have to cook more often and in bigger servings— with Cresta and Irapesha being pretty big gluttons already— it also meant my chores around the dormitory increased. Ines and Ange pitched in where they could to lighten the load, but both of them could only do so much.

My free time had reduced significantly, but I specifically freed up my schedule for Ivory today.

"Oooh! That's a whole lot of books." Ivory ran into the store and picked up a comic to flip through its pages.

"Careful with those. Crease the pages, and we might incur the wrath of the worker or other comic book readers in here," I warned.

"Did you know, there was a subgroup of living mimics that only transformed into books? It's the best kind of trap because people bring books up to their faces to read. When they unknowingly open up a mimic— CRUNCH! There goes your face!" The living mimic cackled.

A terrifying thought crossed my mind of this whole comic book store being infested with mimics. I brushed the outrageous idea aside and sighed.

"You're doing better lately?" I asked Ivory as we browsed the Japanese manga section.

"Yeah." Ivory paused in front of one section and kneeled down to check out the selection. "After you told me what happened, I was honestly… kinda happy. I mean, I still wish Ivory was around, but learning that she selflessly rescued mimics from the dungeon makes her a hero to me."

After waking up, I asked Professor Markel to put me in contact with Tarcosa. The king was able to help dig up information about who Ivory was. It turned out she was an elf who worked alongside demons and key creator of many monstrous creatures, among them were living mimics. Whatever happened between was unknown, but it seemed she had a change of heart.

The magic key inserted into Ivory, at least from what Tarcosa had told me, was a forced awakening agent created by a demon order of alchemists known as the Workshop. They were a group that was once led by Irenis, another elven alchemist, and the same one who experimented on Remmy as a living ingredient during the war. Most of them had been executed by the Granieda Empire after the war so their foul experiments couldn't continue in secret.

"Found 'em!" Ivory plucked a huge stack of comic books from the shelves and hugged them to their chest.

"Alright, let's go pay for them—"

"Nah. I'll pay. Can't keep relying on you for everything," they said.

As Ivory went ahead, I picked up a few comics for myself then.

We returned to the dorm with Ivory whistling happily. They stopped at the door and turned to me with a request.

"Deliver me to Remmy!" Ivory transformed into a large gift box with a bow on top. "Go forth, my steed!"

"Steed…" I rolled my eyes.

So much for not trying to rely on me for everything. Nothing wrong with making a few exceptions.

I carried Ivory up to Remmy's room and knocked on her door. The slime peeked out, then her eyes fell to the box in my hands.

"Why are you carrying Ivory around?" Remmy asked.

"Well…"

"Surprise!" Ivory sprung out from the box. "I bought you presents! Take a look."

The otherwise innocent scene was somehow ruined for me by Remmy literally looking into Ivory, who was a box right now.

One slime clone split out from Remmy's main body and gasped.

"Whoa! These get sold out in an instant, I couldn't even find any in stock online!" she said.

"Don't come out without my permission!" Remmy forcibly merged with her sighing clone. "Did you both go out to find these just for me?"

Ivory nodded. "Heard you agonizing about reading the next volumes, so I got Akira to help me track 'em down for ya! We're friends, so… I-I wanted to do something for you in return."

"Thank you…" The slime girl hid her blushing face behind the comic book.

"I got you something, too!" Ivory pulled out a succubus doujin for me.

"Oh, thanks!" I exclaimed monotonously. "Just the fetishes I'm into!" 

The two went inside Remmy's room to hang out, while I went back to mine to put the porn comic away. Ange was at the computer, dressed in a white blouse and black skirt, with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses over her eyes, and wearing the stern look of a Christian school teacher.

"Why are you dressed like that?" I asked.

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"Today is punish the naughty children day, and my students have been very bad. Haven't you?" Ange asked into the computer, which I quickly realized she was camming.

So it was that sort of role play.

She then saw the book in my hand and narrowed her already sharpened eyes at me. "It seems someone has also been a bad boy. Bringing something like that to class, you must be begging to be punished."

"Wait… I can explain!"

After managing to talk my way out of it, Ange let me go with a slap on the wrist and wanted to read the doujin together later. Amusingly, donations were coming in like crazy for her when I was being scolded. Not really a fetish I'd like to explore, but to each their own.

I went downstairs in time to see Irapesha coming home with Tamara riding on her shoulder, holding a plastic bag full of cookies.

"How did you two end up coming home together?" I asked as the dragonewt let down her passenger.

"VFD paid Tamara's school a visit because a student got stuck climbing a tree. I was given permission to end my shift early today because the whole department became smitten with the little one." She playfully lifted Tamara up by the horns.

"They thought Pesha was my mom and gave me cookies!" Tamara exclaimed.

It seemed our misunderstanding with the school suddenly extended to the city fire department now. Tamara really lived a spoiled life under the care and affection of everyone in the dorm.

"Alright, but don't eat too much, or you'll ruin your appetite for dinner," I warned.

Irapesha nudged the sheep girl forward. "You heard the caretaker. Go on."

We went into the kitchen where Tamara stowed the cookies away into a cabinet and skipped out to the backyard to play with Rakka..

"If I didn't already know we were living on Earth," Irapesha began. "I would have thought it was still Weyera with all the fire that happens in these lands."

"Yeah… That sounds like California," I said. "You've been spending a lot more time at the station, haven't you? Don't forget you have a home here, too."

"We're always on standby to take care of wildfires and fires in the cities. I can't help but be impressed by the speed at which human firefighters act. Their tenacity would have made good soldiers, like the humans stationed in Weyera." She nodded approvingly.

I cooked something for Irapesha to eat, but her phone rang before even taking a bite. She tipped the whole plate into her mouth and thanked me for the food.

"Aren't you off the clock now?" I asked.

"Off the clock but still on call. Besides, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else." Irapesha flashed a toothy grin.

Tamara returned to the kitchen and frowned upon seeing that Irapesha was missing.

"Aww… I wanted to eat with Pesha… Today felt like the first time in a while we got to hang out," she said.

"What say we all go out together this weekend? Irapesha would probably like that." I knelt down to squeeze her chubby cheeks. 

Someone had just come home, and Cresta walked in still in her Rocket Burger uniform.

"I just saw Pesha hoofin' it back into the city." Cresta took one look at Tamara and recognized right away what happened. She put the small girl onto her shoulder. "You know what this calls for? Time to drop in on Pesha for a surprise visit!"

"Really? Can we?" Tamara asked.

"Don't do that!" I scolded Cresta. "You know damn well she's going to punish you for that."

"I got binoculars. We'll stay far enough away from the fire!" she said, bolting out the door with Rakka following close behind.

I couldn't stop them even if I tried. The word 'safety' didn't register to them when a raging wildfire was like a warm bath to netherfolks.

Ange came rushing downstairs and out the door. "Did I just hear Cresta is taking Tamara out to a fire? That fool of an assassin… Get back here!"

Hours later, the group returned covered in soot and ashes. Irapesha was holding Cresta by the scruff of her neck, and Ange held Tamara by her hand.

"Bringing someone as young as Tamara out there couldn't be more irresponsible. Clearly, living in this world has chipped away at your restraint. I will see to it that you are thoroughly disciplined," Irapesha said.

"I'll… never do it again… I promise…" Cresta croaked apologetically.

Ange guided Tamara down the hall toward the baths. "Come now. Let's get washed up before dinner."

Judging by the beaming look on Tamara's face, everything worked out just fine. 

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