Chapter 52: Realization
[Edited by Deathbricks, ArchmageNaoki, Arthur300000]
"Agh! Bother and befuddle! Stuck here! Stuck! Poor Cicero is stuck! My mother, my poor mother-" With knitted eyebrows, I woke up after dreaming about Skyrim. Someone said that a dream is how your subconscious tries to tell you something. For this reason, it made me doubt my sanity.
Last night is quite a shock for me. Luckily the old saying: "Don't drop the soap in the shower." is just a myth. Cocoa is a real gentle... maid. She didn't attack me when I bent down to pick it up. However, she shooed Skynet and me out from the shower instead.
I was so startled that I was standing in front of the shower curtain, naked with an extra foamy soap bar in my hand for a long while. If not because of Cocoa reaching out and taking the soap from my hand I would've continued standing there like an idiot. Thinking back, if I wasn’t so shocked in the first place I wouldn't have bent down to pick up the soap.
[What the heck was that?] I asked Skynet, though I should've known full well what the answer is. Still, I just wished that my eyes were playing some trick. However, Skynet ruthlessly answered me with. [It's a phallus, mistress. It's a nine-tail-fox kin phallus.]... After that, I deleted the video and cried myself to sleep.
Thinking about yesterday, I must be exhausted. Falling from an airship, fighting with scary monsters, and walking in an unknown land without any directions. It's a miracle that an ex-shut-in guy like me can do all these things and survive to tell the tale. Uwaa, that was scary I almost died right then and there. My entire body is still sore from yesterday's activity. The shocking revelation at the end seems to be the last straw.
I flop to the other side of the bed and saw the cause of my nightmare. Cocoa is sleeping peacefully, her back to me in another bed. I watched her while listening to the symphony of cicadas and let the cool morning air soothe my body and mind.
She is cute I admitted. Wait, since she has all the girl parts, can I consider her as a girl with a strap-on? Hmm... hmm... I still don't want her to use that strap-on on me though. After all, a scary thing is still scary.
I move my hand under my blanket and test something out. Nope, I don't think it will fit there. Especially those knots at its base. Hmm, still...
[Skynet can you recover the deleted video?] I realized what I just lost.
[Sorry mistress, all military grade devices are always equipped with a secure delete function. It's impossible to recover the deleted file.] Gah! Curse you, secure delete function!
I rolled over the small gap between our beds and tried to heal my broken heart with the puffier-than-before Cocoa's tails. Fluffy is justice, I concluded.
[Skynet, did you really forget to tell me about her... condition?] I doubt that AI can conveniently forget something like this.
[To be honest mistress, I only heard rumors about it. So I was curious.] From this moment I have decided. I won't let a weapon of mass destruction fall into Skynet’s hand. I also ordered her that from now on she must tell me everything I might need to know.
"WHA-!? " Whoops, I squeezed one of Cocoa's tails too tight. She jumped up from the bed and looked left and right in panic. "Oh... Sorry, I was dreaming about yesterday morning." Why did she apologize to me? The event yesterday was surely traumatizing for her. Well, she almost died under the collapsed building.
"It's alright, I will protect you from now on." I reassured her while flopping around. My sanity points didn't recover enough yet. However, Cocoa giggled at me out of the blue.
"Sorry, sorry, Kuro is still young, huh? I tend to forget that you're a lot younger than me." It seems I just ruined my image. I wish that I had a private room that I can hide in anytime I want. Even though she's a half foot shorter than me, my official age is not an adult yet unlike her. With a heavy sigh, I get up and walk to the restroom to brush my teeth.
"Uhm, about yesterday, in the shower, did I scare you?" Cocoa shyly asked me as I finished washing my face and moved on to brush my hair. It seems my shock is too apparent for her to worry about it.
"Uhm, a bit, but I'm fine now. I'm sorry for acting up like that."
"No, no, it's my fault for not telling you. I was afraid that you might not want to hire me. Should I sleep in another room from now on?" Nooo, don't take those super puffy tails from me! I haven't cuddled them enough yet. She looks down, her tails and ears were visibly drooping. It seems that she also doesn't want to sleep alone for some reason.
"I-it’s okay. You can still sleep with me." Actually, please sleep with me. I answered flustered. Whaa~ Cocoa's tails are wagging cutely.
...
Cocoa's is very slow at getting ready. She occupied the shower for about an hour already and had yet to come out. I finished my preparation long before her. Right now I'm counting all the gems I got. In the pouch that Cocoa gave me there is a note.
Date
Description
Income
Expense
Balance
94754.15
Received from Kuro
200
200
94754.15
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
10-minutes registration station rental
15
185
94754.15
Money pouch
2
183
94754.15
Stationery set
4
179
94754.15
Sale: Four stripes-salamander corpses to Grayjaws butchery
550
729
94754.15
Second hand working clothes
45
684
94754.15
One-night double bed, Harbinger of Snooze inn
60
624
94754.15
Two meat porridge sets
18
606
Wow, she is good at money handling. The money I got from monster corpse seems to be on lower side. Maybe it's because monsters are abundant here. I should wait for the next town to sell the rest, I think.
*Click* Cocoa came out from the rest room. She seems to be good to go, but for some reason under her tactical vest are very bulky clothes.
"It's called gambeson, multiple layers of cloth can also protect your body from harm. If thick enough it's very effective against cuts, piercing, and blunt attacks." Cocoa proudly explained as I stared at her getup.
"Won't you get very hot in that?" I asked. Here isn't as cold as my hometown. Wearing that much cloth over her body a whole lot of sweating is ensured.
"Well, it's the price to pay for safety." Hmm, she's kind of right. Even with fire attack, she could still roll on the ground before the heat gets to her. Oh wait, I think I have just an item for her. I handed Cocoa a Personal climate control device. It's the commercial product, so she doesn't have to register it before use. Also, if she can tolerate that kind of get up, she shouldn't have much of the problem with this.
As Cocoa happily wore the temperature control wristband, I did one last check of the room to ensure that we don't forget anything, especially inside the restroom. Then I locked the room and walked down the small staircase.
The first floor of the inn is buzzing less than yesterday night, but there are still some people having their breakfast and loitering around. I sat at our usual table and picking up the menu while Cocoa returns the key for me. The menu was full of wrinkles, suggested that it has been used for quite a long while. The pictures on it have faded a lot, but I can still understand the rough idea of what I'm going to get.
Hmm, I began to see why this is difficult. As I flipped to the last page of the menu, I found that the majority of the meals here mostly consisted of meat. Actually, it felt like a steak house without salad. There are also vegetable dishes, but they are just fresh without any dressing or cooking.
"I want to have a hamburger steak with Demi-glace sauce ... carrot sticks and a glass of water." My order was causing the rabbit waitress to raise her eyebrows, but she didn't say anything. Cocoa who just come back from the innkeeper said she also wants the same but without the carrots.
"You don't have to keep ordering the same things as me. You should choose whatever and as much as you like. It's already in the contract." I told Cocoa as she does a second time. Without arguing, she nodded, smirked, and calls for the finest wine the inn can provide... She is also a mischievous person, huh? However, it turns out really funny when the waitress asks to see her ID.
"Can't you see that I have two tails?" The corner of Cocoa's lips twitched. Then she pointed at her tails angrily.
"Sorry, miss. It's the rules." I agree with waitress here. All I see is a cute child in a tantrum. Cocoa flicked her ID at the waitress angrily. It looks like a new one. Since she had lost all her belongings in that village, she must’ve had another one issued yesterday. The waitress bows politely and moved back to the kitchen leaving the red-face-Cocoa behind. Note to self, don't tease her about her age.
I spent the entire breakfast listening to Cocoa complain about people these days are lacking in judgment and detail descriptions about how exquisite her wine is. Damn, that wine is expensive. It cost me two panties!
After we had finished the meal, I handed Cocoa the pouch she gave me yesterday and told her to manage my everyday expenses. Seeing her accounting notes, I believe that my money is in good hands.
It was exactly 8:00 AM when we arrived at the appointed location, the town square. The merchant already set up their caravan nearby. As I was walking past them, I peeked into their cargo. They are mostly empty, save for some exotic looking livestock and wiggling vines.
"We can move as soon as you are ready, my ladyship." The leader of the caravan who looks like a sexy aunt with too much makeup told me with an over the top smile. I think she's a black cat kin... No, she looks more like a panther than a cat. I nodded back awkwardly and quickly walked away. For some reason, I'm scared of socializing with people like her.
The soldiers who lined up on the opposite side mostly consisted of young adults. Half of them are Wolf-kin. The shortest girl in the group is ten centimeters taller than me, but I don't know which clan she comes from. On her head, there are two... horns? Knobs? bumps? I honestly don't know what she is.
[She's a Giraffe-kin, mistress. Not all Beastkin have their ears on top of their head. Deer-kin, and Sheep-kin, for example, have horns instead.] ... Giraffe, who would have thought.
Anyways, their equipment seems to be a mess like I feared and there is no way I can afford proper equipment for all of them. Even the student grade one costs about a thousand credits, 2,000 gems here. To buy them for twenty people... However, my line of thought was distracted when they started whispering.
"Our platoon is doomed, a spoiled aristocrat brat is leading us." A rebellious-looking-wolf-girl in the back muttered.
"Quiet! She might hear you." A sheep girl beside her shushed.
"Better get killed by her than those monsters or bandits. If you're afraid of pain, go ahead, antagonize her." A man with tabby cat tail whispered back quietly.
Even though I could legally execute them with my rank, I don’t think I would kill anyone. It's understandable that these people would gossip about their new leader, there are also some people whispering like this.
"Wow, look at those boobs. Are they real?" A wolf guy whispered.
"I don't know, she is petite, so it's hard to tell." His friend answered... How can you tell even if big boobs girls are not petite?
"Maybe it's hyaluronic acid, fat injection or maybe boobs size enhancement cybernetic implant." Another one supplemented. That kind of implant existed!?
"You guys know nothing! Flat chest is justice!" A pig-kin from behind interjected.
"Non, non, I don't like it too small or too big, I like just right the most. Look at that fox girl following her. Isn't she dreamy?" Their whispering began to heat up.
"Calm down guys." I greeted them. Then I turn to the whispering group. "I think all boobs are beautiful. Right, I heard you all." I smiled at them.