Chapter 20-A: The Visit!

"Bath time. Bath time."

"Easy there. Let me first fill the bathtub."

A wonderful new morning. It was bath time for the monstergirls. Eryn turned on the water tap to fill the bathtub. He ran his hand through the running water and adjusted the temperature to a comfortable level.

Iris and Lofie quickly stripped out of their clothes while Melty clung to Eryn's leg, reluctant to take a bath with her sisters.

"Eryn, I don't want to take a bath with them!" Melty pouted.

"Come on, you should try the bathtub for once!" Eryn patted her head.

"But they will splash water on me!"

"I promise they won't." He turned to the two monstergirls. "You two will behave yourself, is that right?"

"Yes!" Iris raised her palm.

"Maybe." Lofie peeked behind Iris's shoulders.

"See?!" Melty puffed her cheeks out. "They're going to splash water on me!"

"It'll be fine." He switched off the tap. "I'll be with you, so I won't let them splash water on you."

"Mnnngh…" Melty tightened her arms around his leg.

"Come on, let me help take your clothes off." He sat on the edge of the bathtub and ruffled her red hair. After some insistence, Melty let him take her clothes off, grumbling as he did.

"Great." Eryn gathered their clothes and tossed them into the washing machine. Ah, I forgot to bring a change of clothes. "Wait here, I'll head to my room real quick to take new clothes."

He walked out of the bathroom, leaving the monstergirls to their company. As soon as he left, a sinister smile adorned Lofie's lips.

"Let's get in the bath!" Iris said. She climbed over the edge, lifting one leg after the other until she safely got into the bathtub. Lofie followed. Melty turned to look at the door. She waited for Eryn to come back. There's no guarantee Lofie and Iris wouldn't do anything if he wasn't supervising them.

"Come on, Melty." Lofie repeatedly patted the water with her little hands, generating small ripples.

"No!" She shook her head and crossed her arms. "I'll wait for Eryn to come back."

"I think Eryn will be proud of you if you can get in the bathtub yourself!" Iris said, stretching her arms out to Melty.

"… Really?" Melty's mouse ears twitched at her words. She wouldn't want to miss a chance to make Eryn proud.

"Yes!" Iris bobbed her head excitedly. "Come on!"

With reluctance in her footsteps, Melty walked to the bathtub and took hold of Iris's hands. Iris gently pulled her into the bathtub. Shivers ricocheted up her spine as soon as her feet came in contact with the surface of the water.

"See? That was easy!" Iris giggled.

"I don't like baths without Eryn…" Melty pouted, adjusting to the temperature.

Unknown to Melty, Lofie's eyes sparkled with sinister intent. She raised her finger and drew it to Melty's cheek.

"Poke."

"Hey!" Melty slapped her hand away.

"Poke, poke!" Lofie used two hands now and poked Melty's cheeks.

"Don't touch me, Lofie!" Melty cried out.

"Splash, splash." Lofie slammed her palms on the water, splashing water in her direction.

"I'm calling Eryn!" Melty jumped out of the bathtub and ran out of the bathroom.

"Melty, wait!" Iris reached out, but she was too late.

"I'm following her." Lofie climbed out of the bathtub and followed Melty, leaving Iris to her lone company.

Iris was at a loss for words. Maybe she should have stopped Lofie from bothering Melty, now that she thought about it.

…

..

.

"All right, I think these are the clothes."

After grabbing three new changes of clothes for the monstergirls, Eryn closed the drawer. Thanks to my little shopping trip and Akiko's help, they've got full sets of clothes! He left his room and walked to the bathroom.

"Get away from me, Lofie!"

"Why are you running?"

"Hmm…?" Eryn stood in place. Two familiar voices echoed throughout the living room.

"Eryn, Eryn!" Melty cried out.

"Melty…?" Eryn raised his brow.

"Stop running," Lofie said, chasing Melty with a devilish grin.

"And Lofie?" He raised both brows now.

"Eryn!" Melty hid behind his legs. "Lofie's being mean to me!"

"No, I wasn't." Lofie pouted.

"What's going on–"

DING DONG!

The doorbell echoed through the hallway, prompting Eryn to draw his attention away from the monstergirls. Is someone here? He couldn't finish processing the current situation!

"Rawr!" With a playful growl, Lofie latched on to Eryn's legs.

"Eeep!" Melty jumped away and started running. Lofie chased after her. The two monstergirls ran in circles around the living room with no clothes on.

"Lofie, Melty!" He huffed. "Don't run around! You need to finish your bath first!"

He scratched his cheek. Well, this is a dilemma. Dealing with multiple tasks was not his forte. First things first, he'd go and answer the door. Can't keep whoever is waiting out there. He walked to the entrance and opened the door. Two familiar faces popped up.

"Hey, Eryn!" Aiden waved with a bright smile.

"Hi!" Amber grinned. "It's good to see you again!"

"Aiden? Amber?" Eryn's gaze switched between them multiple times. Seeing them in front of his house was certainly not in his plans. But something tingled in the back of his mind. Something important… oh! They planned to visit him a week after the monstergirls' adoption! I completely forgot about that! With everything then went on, it must have slipped his mind.

"Waaaah, Eryn!" Melty hugged his legs from behind. "Lofie is a meanie!"

"No, I'm not," Lofie smirked.

"You two should be in the bath right now." Eryn sighed. "Lofie, did you do something to Melty?"

"… Maybe." Lofie averted her eyes.

"It appears you have your hands full with the lovely monstergirls," Aiden commented. "Did we come at the wrong time?"

"No, no, it's fine!" Eryn waved his hand.

"Melty! Lofie!" Amber crouched down to their level. "Hello! It's good to see you again!"

"… Oh!" Melty's eyes lit up in recognition. She pointed at them. "It's the caretaker siblings!"

"Please come in." Eryn motioned for them to enter.

The siblings entered his home. Amber immediately ran to Lofie and picked her up into her arms.

"Lofie!" Tears streamed down her cheeks in a comical fashion. She squeezed the little Anubis in her arms. "I missed you so much!"

"Too tight…" Lofie mumbled in her bear hug.

"Hello, Melty." Aiden patted her head, noticing her lack of clothes. "Are you just about to take a bath?"

"Yeah!" Melty bobbed her head. "Eryn's going to give us a bath!"

"Sorry, uh…" Eryn scratched his cheek. "Do you two mind waiting for a while?"

"No worries." Aiden smiled. "We're not in any hurry."

"The little monstergirls need their bath, that's for sure!" Amber let Lofie down.

Eryn guided his new guests to the table and chairs near the kitchen. The couch was not an option, obviously. He considered asking them to sit on the carpet (it was comfortable, he believed) but that's not how he wanted to treat his guests. That would be disrespectful of me.

"I'll be with you soon." Eryn walked to the bathroom with the two monstergirls. "Come on, Melty. Lofie."