Chapter 6

Delly, who was receiving the royal treatment for being so handy to have around, and nearly hitting mind down, decided to voice her opinion on what I was thinking.

"Amazons are weird." She said, her chin resting on my shoulder while one of her arms flopped over the other.

Mikoto, usually too polite to 'insult' someone behind their back, added a quiet, "It was if she did not care. Attacking and wounding a comrade in arms. Uncaring that she may have fatally wounded them. Not seeing your point of view..."

So, I added my own two cents. "Stone cold killer." I said, "She had a LOT of marks for a sociopath."

"Did you mean psychopath?" Mikoto asked.

Delly, the expert (compared to my distantly remembered Psychology 101) raised her free hand at Mikoto, her index finger pointing upwards, "A psychopath may seem like a normal person, yet have trends of manipulative tendencies. They generally overcompensate for this by being more social. Like Freya."

I had to cover my mouth to keep myself from giggling.

"Hey, I'm trying to be educational. Bad Fox." Delly used the hand over my shoulder to poke my cheek, then went on, extending her middle finger to make a V at Mikoto, "A sociopath tends to be antisocial and less emotional. Neither condition needs to be extreme, and both types can function normally in most cases."

"She was so practical, she put her survival over that of her fellow, to the point of being willing to leave them behind." I added.

"Yeah." Delly was using both hands now to poke my face, trying to pull my lips back a little to make me smile, "Heehee. But I think coming from this Telskyura place is the reason why."

I used a hand to tug Delly's arms around me to give me a proper hug while Mikoto frowned thoughtfully, "Occasionally, back at the orphanage, we would have a newcomer who was very quiet. Kept their distance, did not talk, simply went through the motions of life without seeming to live."

"Oh that's different." Delly said, "I'm sure that wore off after a while, right?" Mikoto nodded, "But say the rest of you didn't help them? Just kept ignoring them, or worse, making fun of them for being 'the quiet one'. That's the kind of thing that makes a sociopath. You start to think that 'looking out for number one' is all that matters, and sure, you might work together with others..."

Mikoto filled in the rest with, "You would leave the others behind at the first sign of trouble."

And I added, "Where as a psychopath would push their 'friends' into the path of that trouble on purpose." I looked at Mikoto, "It's how I knew you were good people when you dumped a bunch of monsters on us way back then. You warned us, and were carrying your wounded with you. You did the best you could with what you had, and didn't leave anyone behind."

"Oh oh!" Delly giggled, "And you brought rice. Kodori is secretly very fond of rice. It's like cookies for her!"

"Hmm, I might have to tickle you." I thought out loud.

Mikoto smiled, "Let her nap, or she may miss Taco Night."

"My hero." Delly giggled.

Dinner was an incredible success.

Well... If you liked super hot spicy food, it was an incredible success. If you didn't, well, you got to eat the 'really tasty but not hot at all' stuff. But since Lilly wanted the children to like her, and more importantly, grow to enjoy spicy food, she had worked hard on a 'mild' version. We didn't say anything about what went on during dinner, and thankfully nothing truly serious had happened since there was none of that... overhanging gloom that tended to linger after a 'situation'.

After dinner though, we all retired (yes, even our guests Finn, Riveria, Tione and Tiona) to the living room for the usual 'after action' reports. Fen-chan and Spot were wonderful distractions for the children, so they didn't have to hear about their little Oni cousins potentially getting abducted.

After telling my side of things, I ended with, "So I sent one home, and the other to bother Shakti, since Ganesha Familia is the one who might be able to help them." I perked up and fished around in one of my little pouches, "Here's what I owe you." I handed a bit of Valis over to Mikoto.

"I'm surprised you were so lenient Fox." Finn teased.

"I'm curious how you managed to make them talk." Riveria said, since I didn't really go into 'how' Delly and I fooled them into thinking they were going to drown.

"Ehh... All I will say is that the fewer people there are, the easier it is to do." Delly said, keeping true to the 'casual secrecy' between Familia and the abilities of its members.

Since Delly was the MVP of that little trick, I was brushing her for her as she sat next to me, "The plan worked at least. What about you?" I looked over to the Amazon sisters, "Not too much trouble?"

They both shrugged, "She was pretty strong, but they haven't really changed how they teach things it seems." Tiona said.

"Seen one surround and capture, seen them all." Tione added.

"Thankfully, her underlings? Room mates? Whatever. Thankfully they backed off once she was captured." Finn smiled, "It wouldn't have made much difference, but the Guild has less paperwork this way."

"Lilly?" I looked to out best supporter.

"Lilly was fast enough to shoot a second time. Sir Skitters makes really good poison." She smiled.

"Be sure to thank him next time you see him." Delly said, wiggling a little to get her tail behind her properly, then gathering up a few of my tails to hug.

"Do I have to rework your crossbow L'il-e?" Welf asked, "Been working with Odds on a few things, and I have ideas."

"Lilly wouldn't mind!"

"Delly, Maki?" I looked over to my adopted sister, "No trouble?"

"Nah, once you pointed, I cast and ran. I had the perfect spot to duck into." Maki grinned.

"Me too." Delly said, "Though, I had to do a little flying to get to my exit. But I've been practising!"

There was a little silence, but then the Okakai spoke up, "If they do give on their quest for our children?"

His tone of voice sent a little chill up my spine, and the rest of the room too by the look of it. "Aim for the nearest city gate and throw." I said after a moment, "The law says that we are allowed to 'remove trespassers'. But says nothing as to how, or how far removed."

The two Oni grinned, showing all their teeth like a fearsome Mempo.

Hestia however gave them both a Karate Chop of Justice, "Make sure to ask them to leave first!"

They both stopped smiling, "Yes, Hestia-sama."

"All in all, I think we did well today." Asuka said, "And I love the new bow, Welf-san."

"I as well." Mikoto added, "And to you Astraea-sama, for growing bamboo in your greenhouse."

"I have to be careful, it grows so fast..." Astraea smiled.

"It makes great arrow shafts for smoke arrows." Welf said, "Saves on metal too, since we have to use that for the deeper floor monsters."

It seemed we were about to devolve into a 'general chit-chat', but before it could, Riveria looked at Finn, who looked at the sisters. "We should return home for now." Finn said, "We have been out most of the day." He looked beside him to Lilly, "Thank you for dinner."

Lilly smiled, "Lilly wonders... are you going to share leftovers with Miss Loki?"

"Of course. But how upset she is at us being gone all day will decide what kind of leftovers she gets."

"Please don't torture her." Riveria sighed, "As much fun as it is to watch her running about looking for water, it isn't worth the trouble."

We all watched them leave, and through my 'other' senses, I could feel their feet as they walked down the path and finally out of the front gate. "Well, suppose I'll ask. How IS the dungeon these days?"

It was 'quiet time' in the Manor, and I had retired to my big science lab. We always needed potions, and I had a dozen different little projects on the go ranging from new potions to trying to figure out how to make a real Air Ship. But, I also had something else to do, and the subjects were almost there...

Maki and Delly both entered the lab dressed in extra fluffy looking battle cloth pyjamas and wearing the same expression of guilt.

"Congratulations?" I asked quietly.

Maki shut the door, "Eh... kinda?" She laughed sheepishly, "Technically it was half a year ago."

My eyes went wide in shock, but Delly quickly added, "We haven't chosen a development skill yet. So we're not 'officially' level two yet... right?"

"By the letter of the law, so to speak, yes." I replied, "But why wait? And keep it secret?"

Again that slightly guilty look, "Well..." Maki started, "We were experimenting a little. Since we haven't chosen yet, we still seem to have a bit of 'level one' on us."

"Yeah, you've played the games before right?" Delly looked at me, her voice nervous since this was knowledge from my 'past life', and something she was sworn to secrecy about.

"Holding off on advancing, to keep the bonuses of being a low level?" I ventured, "This isnt' a game though..." I tried not to sound angry, just... stern.

"We know." They both said.

"So what have you learned then?" Since they had already done it, and survived without harm, I couldn't really yell at them or anything...

"Well... we both learned from your experience. Since the destruction of the Manor, we've been using magic as much as possible. We work in the dungeon properly, but when we're outside of it..." Maki smiled, "All day, every day, just enough to have it ready when ever we need it."

"I know I lived in your head and all, but I didn't realize just how hard it was to consume mana all day long." Delly said, "Thankfully, we both have abilities that we can use without showing it."

Illusion and 'stealth'. Both naturally quiet abilities. "If you don't mind me asking then?"

"We both hit the limit for level one on magic." Maki grinned, "Not so much the other stats, but we were getting along really well there too."

Delly's wings hummed, and she hovered just a tiny bit off the ground, "My endurance is actually higher than hers because I made sure to train until my wings felt like they wanted to fall off every day!"

I nodded, "Well well... And this 'clinging to level one' thing?"

"Our stats seem to be growing almost as fast as before." Maki said, "And she actually added a development skill to her choices for level one."

Another eye widening moment for me, "Really?!"

"Yeah, but I already know what I'm gonna choose." Delly smiled, "I'll bet Miss Eina will be surprised there is a 'flying' skill."

"Considering you actually have wings? Nah." Maki laughed, "I mean, swimming is a skill right? Why not flight too?" She looked at me, then shrugged, "I'll probably take Abnormal resistance, though Mage might be better? Maybe Spirit Healing?"

"Maybe you'll learn to make a magic circle before she does?" Delly teased.

I tried to pout, but shook my head, "If you do, teach me." I said, "I haven't had a chance to ask, but what about Momiji and Kaede?"

The good cheer seemed to vanish in an eye blink, "Well, we don't want you to step in..." Delly started nervously, poking her index fingers together.

I held up a hand, "Let me guess? Soma hasn't updated them in forever and they've been stuck at level one for an unnecessarily long time?"

"Yeah..." They both said, "They've been trying to get his attention, but you know how he is. To be fair, they might be like us now, and still in need of finalizing." Maki finished.

I could almost feel my blood pressure creeping upwards, "I'll talk to him then. Maybe ask if we can just... take them into one of the Familia here. I mean, they're kinda fun to have around, when I'm not up to my nose in projects and dragging poor Momiji around as my Miko."

"She totally doesn't mind that." Delly giggled, "But if you could ask? I mean, they would improve faster for sure, and the children love them too!"

"They love just about everyone." Maki countered, "I mean, with so many different people here, they are not shy at all. Well, except maybe Toshi?"

I nodded, feeling a little tingle of pride about my children being so outgoing. "How's your equipment? Need any changes? I can draw up something if you need it?"

"Nah, you and Welf have done a great job on future proofing my sword." Maki gave me a thumbs up, "And I might have... maybe told him about how I tripled the power of my 'old sword' back home." She held her hand up as if about to fire a handgun, "So now I can use one, or both of the capacitors at the same time, and my own mana if I want too."

Delly also gave me a thumbs up, "I make sure to polish my wand often, to make sure it is just as zappy as it needs to be." She also did a little twirl in place, "And Sir Skitters is just amazing at patching up my outfit."

"Let me know then." I said, standing and wrapping them both up in a hug. It was funny to see/hear their reactions. Delly had a small 'squee' moment, since she was lovable and outgoing and was probably never going to get over the feeling of being 'tall enough' for a proper hug. Maki on the other hand returned my hug, but said, 'yeah yeah, leggo already'. She wasn't one for much affection, but I was determined to change that, one day. "Go on, get some sleep. I have this feeling again, that something is going to bother us again."

"Or something will happen, and you won't be able to help yourself but to get involved?" Maki teased.

I sighed, but nodded, "It's our job to use our strength, so others can go home at the end of the day."

They both left, and once I could no longer hear their footsteps, I got back into my chair by the alchemy table and sighed. "Well, suppose this will be the last batch... Things to do in the morning." I mumbled to myself.

Since we had no news on how things were going with the whole Amazon situation, we decided to take 'out of dungeon' jobs in the city. Orario was a big place, and there was always work to be done. It might not have paid as well, but reputation was just as, or even more important than money in this city.

Of course, once we'd all decided to make a 'light' day of things, I just had to bring up the thing I was planning on doing... you know... instead of just doing it and saying 'sorry' when it was done. Trying to 'trade' Familia members was not a light topic, and Orario was also a city of rumour, and when one of the level sevens in the city went to ask for another Familia to hand over members, the rumours would fly as to why, and how.

Would it be 'a loaded crossbow and a kind word', or just 'the kind word' that was brought to the negotiation table? That kind of thing.

"So..." I started, drawing all eyes to me, "I was thinking of visiting Lord Soma and asking for Momiji and Kaede to join us here."

The initial reaction was basically unanimous. They were good kids, reliable, polite, hard working and showed just as much drive to grow as everyone else in the house. But that wasn't where the problem lied.

"Do you mean to join us under our roof?" Takemikazuchi asked, "Or join one of our Familia?"

"It's not like we are crowded here, even with our rowdy Amazon guests." Astraea laughed quietly.

"You want to bring in more strays?" Hestai sighed with a smile, "First our best supporter, then your wife, and don't get me started on the collection from this Kuoh place."

"To be fair, Bell brought people too!" I countered.

"I'm a people!" Weine giggled, looking at Chime, "Are you a people too?" To which Chime replied with a 'huff' and a face cleaning.

"Well, they are good people." Hestia admitted, "But... who would they join? And..."

"What would it cost?" Takemikazuchi added.

"And why do this at all?" Astraea finished.

I looked to Maki and Delly, who did their best to look away from me. But to my surprise (though it shouldn't have surprised me), Bell replied with, "Mr Soma isn't... really that reliable of a God... right? Wouldn't it be better for them if they came here?"

Bell demoting a God from 'lord' to 'Mr' was surprising enough. But that was almost a negative comment, maybe even close to an insult! From Bell!

"As for who, should we not let them choose?" Mikoto asked.

"Are you sure they even want to convert? I mean..." Welf looked to Lilly, who was looking at her plate sadly, and gave her a well meaning hair ruffle.

"True, his wine is both the most famous, and infamous thing about that Familia." Ouka said, "And to be fair, Momiji-chan is making pretty good Sake these days."

"What really brought this on, Kodori?" Astraea asked, "Surely by now, you'd have asked, considering how close you are to them, and they are to us."

I looked back to Maki and Delly, who both sighed, "We don't want to leave them behind." Maki said, "We're sure that by now, they should be level two. But they haven't said anything, and we can tell they haven't really grown over the last season or so. Skill sure, and that's important, but only half of what falna is for us."

No amount of clever wording could hide a secret at this table, and the first person to break the silence asked, "Leave them behind? So you're both..." Haruhime looked at them with a perfect five degree head tilt, while just about everyone else was surprised.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Bell asked, "This is great news!"

"They asked us not to tell." Astraea said with a little shrug.

"And they were worried that leaving behind the other two might discourage them." Hestia sighed, "Did you want me to come with you Kodori? I'll give that Soma a..."

"No." Takemikazuchi said, "This is a petition from a Child to a God. What comes after is our job."

"But what if he refuses? Or asks more than we can give for them?" Delly pouted, "I mean..." She looked at Lilly.

"Lilly wants to go too." Lilly mumbled into her tea.

"I'll do my best." I said, "And if nothing else, I'll try and get him to update them more often." I looked to the kitchen, a smile spreading over my face, "And maybe a gift..."

"Just don't bankrupt us?" Hestia asked, "I mean, that might actually be difficult now, but still!"

"Blup!" Jiru said happily from his place on my shoulder. At least, I think it was happily.

Delly, hovering beside me with her wings sounding like a computer fan at maximum RPM, was giving the best moss in any world a pat, "You should take him out more." She said to me, "He's been wandering the house all this time."

"Maybe I'll take him to the northern mines?" I replied, "See if he can think of something nice to grow out there. Or Rakia? Though Asfi might want to study him..." I also made sure to give Jiru some good pets.

"Going to ask him to grow a flower for Soma?" Maki asked.

"Why not?" I countered, "Flowers make great gifts."

Lilly, holding one of my tails like a child holding a parent's hand, gave it a little tug to get my attention, "You're really going to ask for them?" She asked when I turned to look at her.

"Of course." I said, "At least, once I ask them if they want to leave." I added quickly.

"They don't sound or look like they're suffering at all." Maki said, putting a hand on Lilly's shoulder, "That Chandra guy takes good care of them, even if Soma is some shut in gardener."

"But they have to choose." Delly said, "But to do that, they need to know they have a choice at all."

Lilly looked up at us, then nodded. A moment later she smiled and made the 'I want up' hands at me.

"Seems only fair that I carry the supporter." I said, using my tails to perch Lilly on my shoulder, then keeping her in place by putting a hand over her lap.

"Chandra." I greeted, "You smell like beer." I made a show of waving the air in front of my nose.

"Means I'm doing something right." He nodded, then frowned, "And what would you know? You never drink the stuff!"

"Yup. Only level seven who still can't hold their booze." I shrugged.

Chandra hadn't changed much since I'd met him. A 'pure' dwarf (meaning almost as wide as he was tall) and scruffy looking. But ever since he'd taken over Familia Captain from Zanis, he, and the Familia, had been doing much better. The buildings around us, all owned by Soma, were fresh and clean looking, and in once case completely replaced. Most notably, the main building, where Soma himself lived, had been almost totally overhauled, the top floor (of three floors total) was now a massive greenhouse. And by massive, I mean... massive. Soma's building was in the middle of two huge brewing warehouses, and across the street from another two. That greenhouse had extended over the rooftops of both warehouses, and it looked like there was a third one being started on the rooftop across the street. They even had a bridge across built already!

"This... wasn't here last season..." I said after a moment of taking in all that glittering glass and metal framing.

"For the record, your Fox-ness." Chandra said, "I don't hate you. But for the love of Hops, could you stop giving Lord Soma excuses to renovate his garden? Please?"

Delly, Maki, and even Lilly started giggling quietly while Chandra continued to rant.

"First, it was strawberries. Sure, seemed harmless enough. But then? Nooooo he wanted all kinds of fruity things. Berries of almost every kind, from where ever we could find them! One or two of them were even poisonous if you mishandled them!" He threw his hands up, "And the SMELL! Fruity is good an all, but they need more fertilizer than grapes by FAR! Fruit and Shite! That's what our life was until we BEGGED him to let us install better ventilation!"

I had to curl a tail around Delly so she didn't hover sideways into the nearest wall.

"Then, while the city is shaking itself apart, she sends back -other- stuff! What ever it was you sent in that letter drove him even further into this madness! He extended his garden up a floor, which was a nightmare to build while the dungeon was vibrating bad enough to spoil what beer we could make with all the pipes leaking and falling apart. We had to put in new supports on the first two floors! And that was while rebuilding the warehouse that collapsed!"

Maki needed rescuing next, but she just clung to my arm. Lilly on the other hand was far more reserved and I could just barely hear her giggling with her still on my shoulder and thus next to my ears.

"And now? We have this glass abomination growing over all our buildings! The Rhibus say we might have to rebuild our warehouse just to support it!" He pointed to the building that was still unattached to Soma's Apartment. "And here you are, standing in front of me, with that patch of impossible moss on your shoulder and looking smug."

Unable to stop myself, I shrugged and said, "I am not a devil, but I am unrepentant." I knelt down, "But I do feel a bit worry for you. Here, since he hasn't given you a flower yet."

"Blup?" Jiru wiggled a little on my shoulder. I still had no idea if he had eyes or not, but I was pretty sure he was looking at Chandra.

"Jiru, this is Chandra. I know you've met, but he needs a bit of cheering up." I gave Chandra a friendly punch in the shoulder, "Give my friend a pat on the back."

Chandra looked at me with 'the raised eyebrow of accusation' then to the Moss, and gave it a pat. "Huh, feels almost like a ball of yarn or something."

A moment later, a small stalk of jagged spade shaped leaves grew out of Jiru's back. It got to about a quarter of a metre tall before a handful of small pine cone shaped green bulbs grew out from the the vine like stem of leaves. "Blup! Blup!"

"Oh! Careful!" Delly interpreted, "Here, like this." Delly took hold of the base of the plant stem and plucked it, "I'm not sure what this is actually, but it will need a good soil and a vine trellis."

Chandra accepted the gift and looked first at Delly, then to me, "This... This is, or rather, these are, hops." He pointed to the little cone shaped bulbs, "I'll take good care of this." He said to Jiru, "But I still wish you'd stop giving Soma more to do."

"Glad we have an understanding." I chuckled, "But at the risk of sounding like I am probably going to give Soma more to do..." And I started to explain why I was there in the first place.

Momiji and Kaede had grown a little since I'd met them. Sure, they were still shorter than me, but for some reason my modest 175cm (5'9") before the ears was over the average height in Orario. I won't complain, since being taller helped me be intimidating without actually trying, and seeing over crowds in combat was a lot more useful than you might think.

Anyhow. Since I'd met them, they'd gone from 150cm (4"11) and 147cm (4'10) including the ears, to a nice modest 160cm (5'3") including the ears. Still short and adorable, but also still growing. They were only fifteen years old after all.

Momiji, another Renard (like Haruhime and I...kinda) was my faithful part time Miko. Averaging once a week, this tiny little black haired, yellow eyed girl would follow me around and be as helpful as she could be. It was no secret she looked up to me (literally and as a big sister), and that the rumour of me 'training a replacement' was taken seriously by most. To be fair, she'd worked hard to keep up with me and the huge variety of projects I watched over throughout the city. Aside from her height however, she hadn't changed much, aside from replacing her sturdy white/red Miko outfit to fit properly.

Kaede however was a 'Bunny-hume'. A rabbit girl. White hair, yellow eyes, and just as energetic as you would expect a bunny to be. This didn't make her irresponsible or careless, but she was far more exuberant in combat and 'life' than her partner. Thankfully, she'd changed her first outfit (half dressed wandering ronin) to something more suitable for the dungeon (half dressed armoured ronin). She also, even at level one, had a reputation. You see, I'd made her a single heavy gauntlet and bracer to go on her left hand/arm, and made it out of really high class materials. Anyone who followed the rumours was still guessing -why- I'd made it, but had to admit she was really good with it.

They were of course happy I'd come to visit, and even for 'why' I'd come. But after my reason sunk in, and Delly and Maki admitting to holding off on level two for them, they started to wonder.

"So, how would you like to go about this?" I asked. It had to be their choice.

The two of them adopted 'thoughtful frowny faces' for a moment, then Kaede looked to Maki and Delly, "Let's ask him together."

The rookie team looked at each other, then up at me, "Yeah." They said together.

"Very well. Lilly and I will keep quiet." I nodded, "Lilly?"

"Lilly agrees."

We all walked up a wide staircase into the centre of the greenhouse. It was honestly even more impressive from inside than out, and I could certainly tell that Chandra wasn't lying when he said 'fruit and shite'. Thankfully though, it wasn't nearly as bad as what it could have been, with those kinds of smells soaking into wood. But aside from all the glass (and proper airflow) there were vine trellis, flowers of every colour, melons, berries, weird fruits I'd never learned the names of, a few actual trees, and of course, grapes of every colour.

Soma himself was absentmindedly walking among the many potted plants and vines of the greenhouse, those little garden sheers occasionally going snap over a bit of greenery. I also noticed that he had no one on guard, and we didn't have to go past any locked doors or what have you.

I did have to correct myself. Soma was not 'absentminded' at all. "Why are you here?" He asked, not looking at us, "Kodori, Momiji, Kaede... Maki and Delly? I remember you."

I stepped back from the four of them, and Momiji and Kaede stepped ahead of Maki and Delly, "Soma-sama, we would like to leave your Familia." They said together.

Still, he didn't look at us, nor did his hands and sheers pause their motions, "I see. I won't ask why. You have shown no interest in my wine after the first sip." His sheers went snap again, and he discarded the pruned branch into a different flowerpot. "But, you have been working hard for me, and your loss will impact my work."

Soma was well aware of his... shortcomings as a God. But he was not ignorant of how the world worked. Less people meant less money to help him grow more things for his wines.

The rookies, ball now in their court, countered with, "We will continue to bring our share of our earnings here." Momiji said.

"And work here as we have been when we aren't in the dungeon." Kaede added.

"What do your compatriots think of that? I am assuming you will be living with them? Won't they be disappointed you aren't paying for your room and board?" Soma asked, shuffling over to another vine, brushing his fingers over the leaves before applying his sheers again.

"We'll work a little harder to cover for them." Maki said, with Delly nodding beside her.

"Very well. You will work for this Familia for as long as you have belonged to it. Do you promise this?" He asked.

"We do, Soma-sama."

"And if you fall before then?" He asked, finally looked at them and standing straight.

"We will cover for them." Maki and Delly said at once.

"Very well. Two years, three seasons. Step forward, and I will update, and release you from my Familia, to let you join who you choose." He said, pointing to the floor in front of him.

They did, and after a moment of wiggling to loosen either an (improperly) worn Miko top (yes, Momiji wore undergarments with hers), and undoing a sarashi (cloth wrapping that Kaede used to bind her breasts), they stood with their backs to Soma. Using his sheers, he poked his finger and drew it down their backs in turn, his eyes widening just a tiny bit at what he saw, but not giving him pause as he continued his work.

A moment, and one gentle blue glow later, he took a half step back and looked past them to Lilly, "It seems my negligence has cost me again, though, not as much as before, thankfully." He waited until Momiji and Kaede had wrapped themselves up again and gave them both a pat on the shoulder (the most affectionate thing I'd ever seen, or heard of, from him). "Congratulations, and please, take care of them."

"Lilly promises."

Soma looked up from Lilly to me, "Was there anything else? You didn't hope to influence this, did you?"

"Just looking out for my friends. They asked me to stay out of it after I offered them a place at the Manor." I replied.

"Then, why are you here still?" It wasn't said to offend, just that I was generally very busy.

"Just in case they did ask for my help. But since you agreed, all I have to do now is walk them home." I looked to Jiru, "But... since you were kind enough to bargain fairly with them, I was wondering, did you want to meet my friend here?"

"Blurp!"

NOTES!

Okay, going to pause here (to the screams of frustration from Chandra). Yes, someone mentioned -forever- ago if the two rookies from Soma would join the Manor. Well, yes. They have a bit of a debt to pay, but meh, it's petty cash for what they are getting in return.

Next episode, we hit the 'big plotline', and hopefully it will be entertaining. :)

Daeore on Ko-fi etc etc KODORI ART!

Daeore on Inkitt (search for 'Were Too?')

Gonna go and sleep off the sudden doubling of workload, since its that time of year again and everyone is ordering (more) things online... Seriously, who orders a couch online? And why do they ship it through FedEx?