Chapter 10-B: An Old Friend!

"So monstergirls really do exist!" Azusa placed her fist on her palm. "I've always heard about the coexistence of a human-monstergirl society, but I didn't realize it took place."

"Yeah… they're monstergirls all right." Eryn nodded.

"So… you must have found them in a monstergirl shelter." Azusa folded her arms. "And since you don't know how to mind your own business and can't bear to see them sad, you took it upon yourself to make them happy."

"H-Hey…" her words struck his nerve. Because she was stating nothing but the truth. A little too close to home…

"Always so naïve and kind, Eryn." Azusa smiled sweetly. "You've never changed… except now you're taking care of three monstergirls."

"Life is just… unexpected, you know that?" he scratched his cheek. "Anyway, I have to ask: what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Azusa tilted her head at a curious angle. "I was looking for you, Eryn. I missed you. I couldn't contact you for such a long time."

"Azusa…"

"You… disappeared all of a sudden." She bowed her head, a frown appearing on her face. "I couldn't reach you at all. I thought something bad happened to you."

"Mhrmm…" It was true. Eryn had cut off contact with all his friends due to… reasons.

"Can you imagine how worried I was? I was worried sick!" Azusa inched closer towards him. "When I thought I lost the most important–"

"Grrr…!" Lofie swiped her hands at her, not appreciating her closeness to Eryn.

"W-Woah, easy there…!" Azusa backed away, raising her palms. "E-Eryn, uhm… do you mind calming her down? She's scaring me…"

"Lofie…" Eryn rested his hand on her head. She seems to dislike Azusa… I wonder why. He'd never seen this hostility from her before. She may be the quiet one, but she's got a fierce side, huh?

"I don't like you," Lofie growled, baring her fangs which glistened under the light. "Leave Eryn alone."

"H-Hey, don't say that…" Comical tears began streaming down her face. To hear such words from an adorable child hurt her more than she would like to admit.

"Lofie, why did you bite her?" Eryn asked.

"Because she's going to take you away!" she fumed, throwing her fists down.

"I'm not!" Azusa fumed back.

"Mhmm, Lofie…" Eryn attempted to reason with her. "Azusa's… a close friend. I've known her for years."

"A close friend…?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "She didn't come here with any bad intentions."

"Really…?"

"Yep…" he poked her nose. "And… biting her may not have been… a nice thing to do to someone you just met." And neither is breaking into a house and squeezing someone's cheeks. He shot a painful look at Azusa, which she avoided.

"Oh…"

"So, uh… what I'm saying is…" Eryn cradled Lofie in his arms. "You should apologize to her."

"… No." Lofie buried her head into his chest.

"No?" Eryn blinked. Okay, I was not expecting a quick and dry response. "Lofie, we should apologize for things we did wrong."

"… No."

"Lofie…" Eryn ruffled his hair. She clearly has a disdain for Azusa, huh?

"Lofie, come on!" Iris placed her hands on her hips. "Listen to Eryn! Apologize for biting his friend's finger!"

"No!" she wrapped her arms around Eryn. "I don't want to!"

"Get off of him, Lofie!" Melty tried to pull her away.

Eryn sighed with a meek smile. They may be adults in age, but they're still children at heart. In that case, I know just the thing…

"Lofie." Eryn lifted her away from his lap. "Apologize to Azusa."

"No!" Lofie pouted.

"I see, I see…" Looking to the side, Eryn stroked his chin and spoke in a dramatic manner. "Then I suppose you'll have to take baths yourself, then."

"E-Eh?!" Lofie's eyes widened, her ears twitching in disbelief.

"E-Eryn…" Iris and Melty exchanged confused glances. Was he serious about this?

What is he up to? Azusa observed this act he was putting up.

"F-Fine!" Lofie crossed her arms and huffed. "I can take a bath by myself, unlike Melty."

"Hey!" Melty snapped her brows at the Anubis.

"Don't lash out, Melty!" Iris held her sister's arm, concerned.

"Oh, is that so?" Eryn bobbed his head in understanding. She's that stubborn, huh… in that case!

"I guess we can't sleep together anymore." Eryn heaved a heavy sigh. "Don't worry, I'll buy you a super comfortable and fluffy bed. Way better than the bed I sleep in… with Iris and Melty."

"We can't sleep together….?!" Lofie's mouth went agape in shock.

"Yeah, I'm afraid we can't sleep together after this." Eryn continued in a teasing manner, trying his hardest to hold back his laugh.

"B-But…" Lofie's ears trembled, draping over her forehead.

"Oh, that's too bad, Lofie…" Iris walked to her side and patted her shoulder. She then winked at Eryn. "If you don't want to sleep with us, I guess there's nothing we can do about it."

"Lofie's a big girl now!" Melty giggled playfully. "She can take baths and sleep by herself!"

"Mnnnguh…" Lofie cast her gaze down, staring at her feet. Being apart from Eryn, whether it be during bath time or bedtime, made her heart ache. She didn't want that at all.

Eryn raised an eyebrow in amusement. Iris and Melty are playing along? That's neat! It's going to make this act much more believable.

"It seems you've made your choice, Lofie." Eryn got onto his knees. "That means you're going to–"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Lofie gripped the hem of his shirt and tugged him down, tears streaming down her face. "Please don't leave me alone, Eryn!"

Ah, she's crying… I think I pushed it too far. Eryn immediately lifted her into his arms, stroking her back to reassure her.

"I'll… apologize to your friend." Lofie sniffed, rubbing her tears away.

"Mhmm…" Eryn hummed, caressing her tears away from her cheeks. Walking on his knees, he inched closer to Azusa.

You're quite evil, you know that, Eryn? Azusa smirked. What this also told her was that the monstergirls dearly cherished him.

"U-Uhm…" Lofie turned to Azusa, still feeling hesitant to approach her.

Azusa gave a gentle smile and offered her hand. "I'm… sorry for squeezing your face. I shouldn't have done that."

Lofie stared at her hand, then at her face, then turned to Eryn and hugged him. She didn't feel comfortable shaking her hand. "I'm sorry… for… biting your… finger."

"Apology accepted!" Azusa clapped her hands together. She didn't mind at all Lofie seemed distant from her. She figured they'd get to know each other first.

"Well done, Lofie." Eryn stroked her head affectionately. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"Will Eryn… still give me baths?" Lofie asked, looking at him with upturned eyes. "Can I… still sleep with Eryn?"

"Of course, Lofie." He smiled warmly. "I wasn't planning to do any of those things in the first place." I could never bring myself to do it to Lofie or her sisters.

"Oh." Lofie blinked, then nuzzled into his chest. She let out a long sigh of relief.

Eryn and three monstergirl children… it was a sight Azusa never expected to see. He seems much happier this way…

"I know this is pretty late but…" Eryn motioned for Iris and Melty to come to him. "Let's introduce ourselves to each other properly."

"I second that, Eryn. I'll start." Azusa cleared her throat and adjusted her position, sitting on her legs. "My name is Azusa. I'm Eryn's one and only best friend. We've known each for at least 7 years and counting!"

"My name is Iris!" Iris introduced herself first, being the eldest of the group.

"You can call me Melty!" Melty continued with a bright grin. "We've known Eryn for… uhm, two days!

"… Lofie." Lofie whispered. "My name is Lofie."

"Iris, Melty, and Lofie!" Azusa stretched her hand out towards them. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"