Chapter 29: For your sake.

After a nice bath time, Eryn and the monstergirls spent the morning eating breakfast together. Today's menu was a simple style of white rice, fried eggs, and glasses of chocolate milk.

This has become part of my life now. Eryn laid his head on his hand. Every morning was spent together with the monstergirls. To think there would come a time when he wouldn't have to sit by himself in silence. There were days he'd skip breakfast and sleep the day away. What reason was there to wake up if he had nothing to look forward to?

His eyes glanced at each of the monstergirls happily chowing down their food.

"Is Eryn thinking about something?"

"… Hmmm?" He turned his head to Iris, her eyes full of curiosity. Does it look that way? Perhaps he would agree he was lost in thought.

"I was just thinking about how my life has changed." He tapped his fingers on the table. "Ever since I met you three."

"Oh!" Iris nodded. All the monstergirls' ears perked up.

"Do you know how I used to spend my mornings?" He sighed with a smile. "Oftentimes, I would skip breakfast and sleep the day away. There was nothing for me to do."

"That doesn't sound… good, Eryn." Iris shook her head.

"Yeah!" Melty exclaimed in agreement. "Skipping a tasty breakfast isn't good!"

"Mhmm." Lofie would voice a response, but her cheeks were stuffed with food.

"I know." He rubbed his neck. "I didn't take care of myself that much. I felt it wasn't… important."

"Does Eryn still feel that way?" Iris asked.

"… Not anymore." He chuckled. "And I have you three to thank for that."

"… Us?" Iris pointed at herself.

"Yeah." He nodded. "You three… deserve a good life and home here. And I can't take care of you if I don't take care of myself, can I?"

That's what Eryn always felt ever since he adopted the monstergirls into his care. They deserved a life they could live happily. They deserved a place they could call home. They deserved a family. Have I… been able to provide that for them? He hoped he was doing a good job being their owner.

And in doing so, he had to change himself for the better. For the sake of the monstergirls. And one of those changes was maintaining a consistent morning routine. Waking himself up and the monstergirls, bathing the monstergirls, and preparing their breakfast. It's my responsibility… and I find myself looking forward to them each day.

"Eryn…" a soft smile formed on the catgirl's lips. Iris had felt nothing but love and cared for ever since he adopted her into the family. She also felt extremely fortunate that she could have her sisters by her side.

"That's not good, Eryn!" Melty slammed her glass of milk on the table.

"… It's not?" Eryn blinked, raising a brow. Wait, why isn't that good?

"Eryn should still be taking care of himself!" She exclaimed. "Eryn shouldn't only be doing this for our sakes."

He stared at the little hinezumi. "… Huh?"

"That's right," Lofie added, having swallowed her food. "If we never met Eryn, does that mean Eryn would never take care of himself?"

"Lofie…?" His eyes switched to the little Anubis. How did the conversation turn into this? It's as if his concerned parents were lecturing him.

"I also wonder, Eryn…" Iris gazed into his blue eyes. "Would Eryn still keep living the same life if we never met?"

"You too, Iris…?" He scratched his cheek. If the eldest one joined in, then he couldn't exactly steer the conversation away. But… I suppose that's a fair question. Before he met the monstergirls, he lived his life without any purpose in mind. Every day would fall into a boring, depressing cycle. A cycle he never tried breaking.

"I feel so grateful to Eryn." Iris smiled sweetly, bowing her head. "For… taking care of me. For taking care of my sisters. For letting us live in a wonderful home."

"Iris…"

"But… I want Eryn to take care of himself, too." Iris gazed into his blue eyes. "Not just for our sakes."

"Yeah!" Melty exclaimed. "We want Eryn to be okay, too!"

"Humhum." Lofie bobbed her head, her cheeks once again stuffed with food.

Eryn stared at the monstergirls. I didn't expect the conversation to head in this direction. But were the monstergirls right? If he had never met them, would he have stayed in the same cycle? Would he have possibly spiraled downwards in his life? Where would my life go if I didn't notice the shelter that day? Things could have gone so differently.

"To answer your question, Iris… my life might have stayed the same." He patted her head. "So, I'm also grateful to you three."

"To us…?" Iris tilted her head.

"Yeah." He smiled. "Even for my own sake, I don't think I would have taken care of myself. I wouldn't have any reason to change."

"Eryn…" Iris pouted.

He chuckled, scratching his cheek. "It's not what you wanted me to say. But that's the truth."

"Aw, that's not good, Eryn!" Melty huffed.

"I know, I know." He brought his glass closer to him. "… That's why I'm grateful. My life wouldn't turn out this way if I hadn't met you three. Even if I'm not doing it for myself, my life has improved."

The monstergirls exchanged glances with one another. Eryn was being upfront about his feelings. Though it saddened the children, knowing that their beloved owner could have taken a different, darker path in life. They couldn't imagine someone as kind as Eryn leading such a life. Not their owner.

"But… I guess I could learn from now on." He traced the rim of the glass with his finger. "To… be responsible with myself."

"… Yeah!" Melty grinned. "For Eryn's own sake!"

"It is never too late to learn." Lofie hummed before stuffing her cheeks with food again.

"I would like that." Iris smiled. "Eryn deserves to take care of himself… like Eryn takes care of us."

"… I didn't know you three would be concerned with this." Eryn raised a brow. Not that he minded. It made his chest feel fuzzy inside, knowing the monstergirls expressed concern about his well-being. Still, that's not something they should be thinking about. They were just children, after all.

"Because we're family!" Melty raised her fists. "And a family has to look out for each other!"

"… Haha, right." Eryn poked the hinezumi's little nose. That's who they are to him. Family. In the beginning, the idea that they could be his family struck him as a far-fetched idea. But now? That was his reality. A reality he wouldn't change for anything. A family he wanted to hold dear.

Even if it's not for my sake, I want to hold this family close for your sake.

…

..

.

After breakfast time, Eryn washed the dishes with Iris's assistance. There wasn't anything planned today, so he simply kicked back and relaxed in the bedroom. Of course, the monstergirls were with him. Lofie was drawing some pictures in her sketchbook while Iris and Melty were talking about things that escaped his ears.

I still need to get a new couch. Eryn sighed as he stared at his phone screen. He missed lying down in the living room. Maybe I could search for one online? Online shopping didn't interest him that much, but it couldn't hurt to try.

Eryn opened up a popular shopping app he downloaded a long time ago. Never tried using it before. A lot of announcements bombarded his screen. I should probably update the app first… hmm?

As he scrolled through the various items, a phrase caught his attention. A phrase that reminded him of a matter with the monstergirls.

~Buy out these featured items in our Back-2-School event week!~

"Back to school, huh…?" Eryn whispered to himself. School… that's right. Wasn't I pondering that in the morning? It slipped his mind while he was focusing his attention on the monstergirls. Well, I have all the time in the world now…

He stared at the ceiling, his mind in deep thought. Where do I even start with this? If he truly wanted to take the monstergirls to school, what would be the first step? Little Flower already left him with great impressions, so that school was of his utmost consideration. How would I go about getting them registered? What supplies would I need to buy for them?

Eryn raised himself and rubbed his lips. Gee, this wasn't as simple as I thought. On his first day of school, all he remembered was bawling his eyes out and wanting to go back home. My parents must have had to sort out a lot of matters first before I could attend school.

Through his pondering, a certain person popped into his mind. Someone who told him that she could assist with registering the monstergirls to Little Flower. I feel a little hesitant about contacting her, but if the offer is still up, then…

Eryn switched to a chatting app and opened up her chat. Bringing his other hand to type on his phone, he sent a few messages.

- Hey, Azusa.

- I hope you've been doing well.

- I'd like to ask for your help if you don't mind…?

- It's related to Little Flower and the monstergirls.

This should be fine. Eryn nodded to himself and set his phone down. I hope I'm not bothering her—…

VRMMM! VRMMM! VRMMM!

"Woah." Eryn looked back at his phone again, vibrating in his hand. Who's calling so suddenly? He looked at the caller's name. Azusa? She sure responds quickly! He swiped the screen to answer her call.

"Morning, Eryn!" a cheerful voice greeted him. "What a pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting messages from you!"

"H-Hey, Azusa…" Eryn replied awkwardly. All the monstergirls' ears twitched the moment her name left his lips. Lofie's gaze snapped to the phone.

"I thought you already forgot about me!"

"We've known each other for how many years now…?" He got off the bed. "I couldn't forget you even if I tried."

"Right, right." She giggled. "So, what can I help you with? Are you interested in taking the monstergirls to school?"

"You could say that…"

Eryn began pacing around the bedroom as he conversed with Azusa. The monstergirls stared at him with curious eyes. Though disdain colored Lofie's eyes more than curiosity.

"Is Eryn talking on the phone with Azusa?" Melty asked.

"Yes, I think so." Iris nodded. "Eryn said Azusa is his best friend."

"Hum." Lofie closed her sketchbook and crossed her arms, her ears twitching. "What is Eryn talking about with her?"

"Maybe we can ask him!" Melty clapped her hands, her tail curling around.

"I think Eryn wouldn't mind telling us." Iris smiled.

"Hum." Lofie's ears bobbed up and down. Out of the three sisters, Lofie expressed the most hostility towards Azusa. Azusa did leave a bad impression on the little Anubis, considering she bit her finger in their first meeting. Although Lofie disliked her, Eryn said she was a dear friend. She also made tasty food. And she also helped Eryn to register the monstergirls. So maybe Azusa wasn't as bad as she wanted to believe.

After several minutes, Eryn uttered a few words of goodbyes and disconnected the call. The monstergirls scooted closer to him as he turned to the bed.

"Eryn, Eryn." Lofie raised her hand. "Were you talking to Azusa?"

"That's right." He nodded.

"What was Eryn talking about?" Melty asked, her tail waving from side to side. "Can Eryn tell us about it?"

"Haha, I don't mind at all." Eryn smiled and waved his hand at them. "It actually concerns you three."

"Oh?" Iris pointed at herself. "It's about us?"

"Right." He nodded once more. "I was asking if she could help me with something…"

The monstergirls exchanged glances with one another, then looked back at Eryn. He was asking for her help? And it was about them? What could it be?

"So… Iris, Lofie, Melty." Eryn crossed his arms, gazing at each of the monsters. "There's something I'd like to ask you three."

"What is that, Eryn?" Iris asked.

"What do you say to going on a little school-shopping adventure?"