Chapter 8-A: After the Nap

RING! RING! RING!

Eryn's eyes shot open. With an impressive reflex, he quickly deactivated his phone alarm with the swipe of his fingers. He was even shocked at himself.

Why did I do that…? He blinked, staring at his hand. I'm usually chill with that…

It was not until he felt someone snuggling against his arms and chest that he realized… ah right, I adopted three monstergirls.

He looked around himself and saw the monstergirls sleeping very peacefully with him. He noticed their calm expressions and heard their faint breaths. As he looked left and right, Melty and Lofie were cuddling against him. Under his chin, he felt a soft, familiar sensation nuzzling him. It was Iris, sleeping on top of him.

Ah, right… memories of a few hours ago flashed through his mind. We decided to sleep together in my room from now on. He was forced into this by the monstergirls, but as long as they were happy, he had no problems listening to them.

He briefly glanced at the clock. A couple of hours after noon… it was a good nap, in his opinion. He wanted to get off the bed, but he didn't want to wake the monstergirls up. Seeing their blissful expressions, he just didn't have it in his heart to interrupt their naps. On the other hand… he didn't want a repeat of last time when his couch was burned to ashes. No way he'd risk burning his entire bed in his room this time. Losing my bed is another problem. But more importantly...

He never wanted the monstergirls to wake up alone and scared anymore.

"Iris. Lofie. Melty…" he whispered their names. He gently stroked Melty's and Lofie's hair.

"Mnnnh…" Iris slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times. She raised her head, looking at him with half-lidded eyes.

"Hey, Iris." He smiled softly. "How's the nap?"

"Eryn…" she buried her head in the crook of his neck, closing her eyes once more. She snuggled against him and went back to sleep.

"Er…" Eryn arched his brows. That did not go as planned. He softly nudged Melty and Lofie, hoping they'd wake up soon.

Melty's eyelids twitched. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times to clear her vision. She raised her body and rubbed her eyes together.

"Hey, Melty…" he smiled at her.

"Eryn…" Melty looked around herself then focused back on him. "Eryn!" She wrapped her little hands around his head and nuzzled her cheek on his own.

"I'm here, Melty…" he whispered. He figured Melty was already feeling anxious when she woke up and thought he wouldn't be there like last time.

"You didn't disappear!" she beamed.

"Haha, of course." Eryn chuckled. It's not like I could if I wanted to… he was squished between the monstergirls. It was impossible to use stealth to get out of this. Not that I'm planning to, anymore.

"Are you already done with your nap, Eryn?" she asked, pulling herself away.

"Yeah…" he motioned his eyes to the two sleeping monstergirls. "I'm, uh… stuck, though. Could you… help me wake them up?"

"Leave it to me, Eryn!" Melty pumped her fist up, her tail waving around. She moved behind Iris, wrapped her arms around her waist, and…

FWOSH!

… yanked her off of Eryn!

"Kyaaah?!" The catgirl's eyes shot open, being picked up so suddenly.

"Wakie, wakie, Iris!" Melty giggled playfully. "Nap time is over!"

"L-Let me go!" Iris huffed and thrashed around in her hug. "I was about to wake up! I didn't fall asleep again!"

Eryn covered his mouth, trying to restrain his laughs. I didn't expect Melty to take… extreme measures. Well, those two were fully awake now. He turned to the sleeping Anubis, who hadn't budged at all.

"Lofie…" he stroked her hair affectionately. "Wake up…"

Rather than waking up, Lofie tightened her grip on his shirt and snuggled closer to him.

"Lofie…" he poked her cheek a couple of times. "It's time to get up."

"She's a heavy sleeper, Eryn!" Melty said, moving to Lofie's side. "Look! She won't even wake up when I do this!"

Melty slid her hands under her shirt and began tickling her all over her stomach. There was zero reaction from the Anubis. She was still sleeping peacefully.

"W-Wow…" he ruffled his hair. "She falls asleep easily and is a heavy sleeper?" That's an interesting combination…

"Lofie's always been like this," Iris replied, staring at her sleeping face. "We don't know how to wake her up. We've tried a lot of things."

"Oh, really?" Eryn stroked his chin, curious. "What have you tried, if I may ask?"

"I tried tickling her everywhere," Melty answered, listing off her fingers. "I also tried slapping her face."

"Y-You slapped her face?"

"Yeah!" Melty nodded. "I also tried dumping a bucket of water on her! And she still didn't wake up!"

"…" Eryn could only stare at her dumbfounded. Should I be surprised Melty would do those things without hesitation or that Lofie wouldn't even wake up at all? These monstergirls continue to surprise him every day…

"We tried putting tasty food near her nose," Iris said. "… she still wouldn't wake up."

"Hmmm…" Eryn scratched the back of his head. To say Lofie was a heavy sleeper is a serious understatement. I wonder if there's a reason for that. Was it an Anubis thing? I should refer to the notes later…

Eryn gently lifted her, cradling her in his arms. He gently stroked her brown hair. "Let's not bother her then. We'll wait until she wakes up."

"Okay!" Both Iris and Melty exclaimed.

"So…" he glanced at the clock, seeing it was a few hours past afternoon. Perfect time for some food! "Are any of you feeling hungry for lunch?"

"Oh, me! Me!" Melty raised both her palms excitedly, her tail wiggling around. "I want to have lunch!"

"Me too, Eryn!" Iris's ears perked up at the word lunch.

"Great." He got off the bed while still carrying Lofie in his arms. "I'm feeling hungry, too. I'll fix us some lunch."

He moved to the kitchen with the monstergirls following behind him shortly. What should I make today… oh! I should try out the meals I bought! He lifted the plastic bag of items and set it on the kitchen counter. One by one, he took out three general meals for each of the monstergirls. They were the same meals, so he could keep things simple for now. It was his first time making meals for them, so he'd take his time and start slow.

Mhmm… it's hard to do this with one hand. He observed the sleeping Lofie in his other arm. Her hands were gripping his shirt tightly. If he had a couch, he'd lay her there to sleep. Let's see what I can do…

"Eryn! Eryn!" Iris tugged the hem of his shirt. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Iris…" He shifted his gaze to her. She's always asking for help, eh? He's come to understand her a bit more. "Sure. Could you set the plates and glasses?"

He took three plates and glasses from the dishwasher and set them on the counter in Iris's reach. Moving back and forth, she eagerly took one plate and glass at a time and set them on the dining table.

"How do I go about this…" He tried opening the packaging of the general meals, but he struggled quite a bit. Not really easy with one hand…

"How about me, Eryn?" Melty asked, looking at him expectantly. "Can I help?"

"Could you open the packaging of these meals?" Eryn handed them to her. "I'm having a hard time opening them."

"Leave it to me!" Melty gingerly took the meals and easily ripped the packaging apart. She put them back on the kitchen counter. "Done!"

"Thanks, Melty." He patted her head to which she let out a giggle. He then inspected the contents of the meals. Opening the lid, the meal was divided into four compartments: fruits and veggies, grains, meat, and dessert. Wow, this seems like a complete set. For the price, this seemed extremely worth it. I could make use of this template, even for myself. He didn't expect to see dessert on the menu. I'm sure they'd love this.