Waking up my body feels heavy. It’s not a feeling of sluggishness, but instead it feels like there is a weight pressing down on me. Though, it isn’t an oppressive weight, instead it’s warm, and comforting.
Opening my eyes I find that I am in the room I woke up in yesterday. Since I was shocked about my body’s sudden reaction to my first bit of solid food yesterday, I didn’t realize where I was being led to at all. Thinking about it now, it makes sense that I was brought back here to rest.
Looking at the blankets covering me I find that they look strangely lumpy. Reaching out I pull the blankets to the side and underneath them I find Rin. She is sleeping half on top of me with her arms wrapped around me, her face is buried in my chest and her legs are semi tangled in mine.
Examining her more closely, Rin is currently wearing something that reminds me of a negligee from my other life. What she is wearing is not nearly as short or transparent as any negligee I remember, but it still gives off a light feeling of indecency. I’m guessing she changed after bringing me back here and then for some reason she decided to sleep in the bed with me.
With some effort, Since Rin still won’t let go, I manage to slide her down to my waist and sit myself up. As I silently watch Rin sleep since I feel bad about the idea of waking her up, I reach over and lightly stroke her hair, which prompts her to snuggle into me even more.
While engrossed with petting Rin’s hair, I am startled by the sound of knocking from the door and I turn in time to see my new mother walking into the room.
Seeing me and Rin my new mother lightly shakes her head while talking to herself, “This girl, I knew she was happy about getting a new little sister, but to think this is where she was rushing off to.” while giving me a slightly sympathetic look, my new mother keeps talking, “I am sorry about Rin, she has never had anyone even close to her age around and thanks to that, she seems to have already gotten very attached to you.”
Looking down at Rin sleeping peacefully I shake my head and softly say, “Feels warm, It’s comfortable.”
My new mother looks thoughtful for a moment, but she seems to decide herself before walking over and leaning down to whisper into Rin’s ear, “Your sister might be fine with this situation, but you should be awake by now. If you don’t wake up I might have to tell your tutor to double the amount covered in your lessons.”
I am not sure if that counts as a threat or not, but it seems to work since Rin quickly tries to lift herself while talking slightly nonsensically, “No, no mommy, too much already. I don’t need more book reading, look I’m awake mommy.”
Eventually, Rin manages to sit up and after looking around bleary eyed for a bit she mutters, “Where am I?”
“By the looks of it, you seem to have snuck into your sister's bed, care to explain?” my new mother talks while giving a short laugh and Rin makes a face like she just remembered something as she says, “Oh, last night I got changed and then I decided to check on sis. But, sis looked really cold sleeping like that, then I remembered the stories you used to tell me about your adventures with daddy. In a lot of those stories, you said that you and daddy would sleep together to keep warm, so I decided to sleep with sis to keep her warm.”
As she finishes with her explanation Rin looks really proud of herself and so shaking her head slightly, my new mother changes the subject, “Right well we can talk about this later, for now, Kitten let’s get you dressed and then we make our way to the kitchen to find something you can eat.”
“Wait, what about me!?” Rin crawls to the edge of the bed while talking as she realizes that she’s been left out and my new mother answers her in a matter of fact tone, “You need to change out of your nightwear. Afterward, you can come find us in the kitchen, and we can all relocate to the dining hall to eat with your father.”
“Okay, I’m going to go change right now!” shouting as she bounds off the bed, Rin dashes out of the room.
Since my new mother is distracted watching Rin I decide to get off the bed, and create the same outfit as I had yesterday. Turning back to me my new mothers seems to realize the true nature of my outfit after seeing it again and starts walking out of the room while motioning for me to follow.
Following behind my new mother, we quickly reach the kitchens. As we enter one of the men cooking stops and walks over to give a bow before he crouches down eye level with me to talk, “You must be Lady Kitten, I am truly sorry that your first meal here was received so adversely. We take great pride in our food, though, yesterday's meal may have been too heavy for someone overwhelmed by a new environment. Hopefully what we have planned for today's breakfast will be suitably light enough.”
The cooks seem to think that it is completely their fault that I wasn’t able to eat, but it was probably due to the fact that yesterday was the first time I ever tried to ingest solid food. Thinking on it now, while I was in the labs the only things I was ever fed were liquid nutrient blends and blood. So it makes a lot of sense that my body would reject the sudden introduction of solid food.
Since it’s not their fault at all, I quickly shake my head and respond to the cook, “First time solid food.”
The cook in front of me looks rather confused with my response, but my new mother puts her hands on my shoulders, turning me towards her, before asking, “Kitten, are you saying, that yesterday was the first time you had ever been given solid food to eat?”
I answer with a nod and my new mother looks thoughtful for a bit before turning to the cook, “Well that would explain her reaction yesterday. Can you make anything that her body won’t reject, but will still satiate her nutritional needs?”
“While I could come up with a special menu for Lady Kitten to slowly ease her body into eating solid foods, it would be much easier to find a starting point if I knew what she used to eat before arriving here,” as the cook voices his opinion, both him and my new mother to look back at me prompting me to speak.
I don’t see a problem with telling them what I was fed all my life, so I slowly open my mouth and say, “I was fed blood.”
Hearing my response my new mother's eyes open wide in surprise and she tries to stifle a gasp with her hand. Slightly worried about my new mother’s reaction I ask her, “Is that bad?”
My new mother quickly shakes her head and seems to calm down as she answers, “No I was just slightly surprised, a large majority of vampires, myself included, are taught since we are young that blood is something reserved for special occasions. Some families even go so far as to ban its consumption completely and even for vampires, the benefits of blood have thinned to near nonexistence. So that fact that you were raised on it, well it leaves me to wonder at the integrity of those who took care of you before.”
Shaking her head my new mother lets out a small sigh before continuing, “That damn goddess, excluding the important details. Alright, until our cooks can come up with something we will have to make due, how much were you given at every meal?”
“Small capsule, once daily” I talk while demonstrating the size by holding up my thumb and forefinger.
Hearing my response my new mother looks stunned, but before she can say anything else Rin runs in talking excitedly, “Mommy can I show sis around the house after we eat? I want her to see all my favorite places, I know I am supposed to have lessons today, but since sis finally woke up it would be better if I took the time to show her around right?”
My new mother seems to compose herself thanks to Rin’s sudden entry and turns to order the cook, “Please obtain a spoonful of blood from one the animals meant for butchering today and bring it back here as swiftly as possible. Also, I would like you and the others to create a menu to slowly habilitate Kitten’s digestive system, though, it would probably be best if the dishes incorporated blood in some form.”
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The cook gives a swift bow before leaving to do as he was told and my new mother turns to talk to Rin, “I have already asked your tutor to excuse you from today's lessons, but I want you to go to the dining room to tell your father I will be there with Kitten soon.”
“Yay, I get to spend all day with sis!” Rin shouts as she runs off enthusiastically.
Once I can’t see Rin anymore I turn to my new mother and ask about something that has been bothering me since earlier, “You don’t like deities?”
Receiving my question a thoughtful look passes over my new mother's face before she answers flatly, “No, I do not. What they do may debatably be for the greater good, but I do not approve of their methods. Even this time, while the result is wonderful…”
My new mother stops talking while making a face like she just ate something sour, but before she can continue her thoughts, the cook returns with a bowl in hand, “Madam, the requested item. I did, however, take the liberty of transferring it to a more portable medium, I hope that course of action was permissible.”
“Yes that is perfect, I shall take it from here and you may inform the servants that we shall be ready to receive our meal in the dining hall,” my new mother dismisses the cook while taking the spoon and bowl from him.
While it’s too high for me to see inside the bowl, I can already smell the familiar scent of blood. Silently my new mother slowly stirs the contents of the bowl while staring at them. Eventually, she seems to solve her inner turmoil and she fills the spoon up before handing it to me.
Receiving the spoon, the smell of blood is even stronger and it helps me realize just how hungry I actually am. My new mother watches intently as I slowly put the spoon in my mouth, but the difference is staggering. If the meat I tried yesterday was akin to a cheap instant meal in my other life, then blood is comparable to a four star restaurant.
As I swallow my hunger almost immediately abates and I guess my relief is apparent because my new mother says, “It’s slightly hard to believe, but you really do look like you’re doing better simply after one spoonful. Alright, Rin and your father are most likely waiting for us, hopefully, the cooks will be able to think of something for your meals.”
Setting down the bowl and spoon as she talks, my new mother holds out her hand as if inviting me when she is done. I take hold of her hand and she leads me to the dining room, though, compared to yesterday the house seems much less confusing.
Reaching the dining room me and my new mother sit with Rin, and my new father, shortly after servants enter with my new family’s breakfast. Rin questions the fact that I am not eating and my new mother finally manages to placate her by telling her that I was only going to eat my meal alone for this breakfast.
After finishing her meal off way too quickly Rin bounds off her chair and grabs my hand while talking energetically, “C'mon sis, I am going to show you around the house today.”
As Rin pulls me behind her I can hear my new mother issue us a warning, “Please be careful you two, try not to get in the way of the servants, and Rin be gentle with your sister.”
Heeding my new mother's warning Rin slows down, and has me walk beside her. As we walk through the home Rin excitedly introduces me to servants she knows, and tells me lots of different stories about her life here. Though, with what I have gathered from her stories Rin has been extremely sheltered all her life, only leaving the premises of her home on very special occasions.
As Rin continues to show me around I can tell that the mansion is huge, but not nearly as confusing as it seemed yesterday. The mansion has three floors, the first floor has all kinds of facilities like the kitchen, dining room, and the bath, among others. The first floor also has a huge banquet hall and extra rooms for guests, the room I woke up in is also one of those guest rooms.
The second floor seems to mostly be rooms for the servants, though it also has quite a few storage rooms that Rin introduced to me as, “excellent places to escape to.”
The third floor is all rooms for the family and special guests. When we get to Rin’s room I am somewhat surprised by her extensive collection of stuffed toys, but I am more surprised by her even larger collection of bows.
Being told by Rin that she had a bow collection I thought she meant the kind you wear in your hair or on your clothes, not the bow and arrow variety. But there are an impressive amount of different types of bows. Back with the demon ogre, I trained with crossbows, but other than those I never tried any other kind of ranged weaponry.
After she is done showing me her collections, Rin decides to drag me onto the bed and sits me down in front of her while she hugs me from the back. As she cuddles me Rin tells me stories she knows about my new mother and father's adventuring days.
After telling stories for a while Rin pulls me closer to her chest and asks me a question, “Hmm, hey sis, what do you want to do in the future? I want to become an explorer like mommy and daddy. Then I can travel the world and find lots of new things. After that, I can come back to share my adventures with mommy and daddy, so I was wondering what sis wants to do in the future.”
What do I want to do in the future? Just yesterday I finally woke up somewhere outside of that lab and then I got adopted into a family. Just those two things are already more than I could have ever asked for. In my other life, I had no ambition, I lived for the sake of being alive because death was simply the end. By the end of it I had gone through my life never wanting for more, but I also never really found happiness did I?
Then again am I any different right now? Even with the way I was treated in that lab, I simply accepted it. I never strived for more, I did and learned as I was told. I guess wanting to escape was a goal, but I only ever tried to achieve it passively. Does that mean I am no different from my other life, am I destined to live life following the whims of others forever?
Suddenly Rin disturbs my thoughts by squeezing me tighter while she says, “Sorry I asked something weird. If you don’t know what you want yet you shouldn’t think about it so hard, but instead just experience new things until you do find something, at least that’s what mommy used to tell me when I was younger.
Oh, I know! You can become an explorer with me, I am sure we will find something you want somewhere right? So let’s start by exploring the house more! Is there anything you are curious about?”
For some reason even though it’s not a decision I would have ever come to on my own, Rin saying I should become an explorer with her makes me feel warmer. But I am not sure what else there is to see in the mansion.
After thinking for a bit I start thinking that with a home this big, I can imagine they have some kind of library. I learned a lot while in the lab, but I barely know anything about the history of this world and a library would probably help with filling in those gaps.
Tilting my head back to look at Rin, who I am currently leaning on I ask, “House have a library?”
After I ask my question Rin’s eyes start to swim around and she quickly helps me off the bed while talking in a slightly strained voice, “Ah, we have only seen the inside of the house so far right? How about we go outside, I can show you the garden it’s really pretty. Oh and we can also go visit the soldiers at the barracks training field, mommy is probably training with them right now.”
Following behind Rin I can’t help but think that even though she just avoided the question, it’s probably not due to any negative intentions. If I had to say, based on her reaction I think the reason Rin avoided the library is probably because she dislikes studying, which is rather expected of someone her age.
I am rather okay with forgoing the library visit for now, though, because we get to go outside.The only time I have ever gone outside in this life is when the ogre led me out of that dreadful lab and even then it was trees, trees, and more trees. From what I have seen out of the windows, this home seems to be centered on a gigantic hill overlooking a large city.
Following behind Rin she leads us to a door on the first floor and exiting through the door we enter an enormous flower garden. All around us, there is all kinds of trees, plants, and flowers I have never seen before. While the sunlight is a little too bright at first, once my eyes adjust I start to run around and satiate my curiosity.
I explore the flower garden for a while before Rin guides us across the front of the mansion towards another large building. Looking at the mansion from outside it really is huge and, like the inside, the outside of the mansion is built in a gothic style.
After a bit of walking, we finally reach the other large building but compared to the mansion it is really unassuming. It’s a rectangular building built with a flat roof and it really has no defining features.
As we reach the building, I can hear the sounds of wood hitting against wood, and as Rin guides us toward the back of the build the sounds get louder and louder. Rounding the corner of the building we are greeted by the sight of a huge training ground filled with many men and women performing all kinds of different exercises.
Looking around there are even people training by attacking wooden dummies and firing bows at archery targets. As we walk by, most of the people stop, and offer some sort of greeting before resuming what they were doing.
While I am looking around Rin suddenly accelerates while pulling me behind her while shouting, “Mommy! We came to say hi!”
When Rin stops we are standing in front of my new mother, and looking her over she is covered in a film of sweat. As my new mother wipes her body off with a towel one of the women brings her, she asks me and Rin a question, “I thought you two were exploring the house today? Well, it doesn’t matter, but Rin, would you mind explaining why you brought your sister to the training grounds?”
“Well, mommy has been training me to be an explorer since I was little and so I thought, if one day sis is going to adventure with me then you should train her too,” with a large smile on her face Rin innocently reveals her motive.