Volume 15 - Back to Business, Chapter 110 - The Price of Fame
Yuisu had planned to keep a close eye on Aluru, to make sure she didn't cause any more trouble, but things didn't work out that way. Business at the inn was suddenly booming and Yuisu could barely handle the constant incoming phone calls, let alone the guests and homestays.
Within a day, the inn was fully booked, including all twelve rooms in the cabins and the last guest room in the main house. It wasn't just a temporary surge either: the inn was at capacity every weekend for the next two months.
On top of all of that, the guests weren't simple solitary business travelers. There were couples on honeymoon, groups of hosts and their homestays on vacation, and even full families with children. The only common aspect the guests shared was their extra-species nature; every single new reservation included at least one liminal.
During a rare gap between phone calls, Yuisu snuggled against Haru on the couch. She tried to relax as Haru's soft, warm wing shielded her from the stresses of the outside world.
"I just don't understand where all these guests came from," Yuisu said with a sigh. "I'm not one to turn down business, but I have to do something about the phone calls. I think I'll have to put up an automated message telling callers that we're out of vacancy."
Haru gave her girlfriend a reassuring squeeze and said, "It's probably just a temporary surge. It'll calm down soon, and it will definitely fall off when the Ski Lodge Kobold hotel opens up."
"Yeah, I gu—"
Yuisu was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. She instinctively tensed up until she realized that the ringing wasn't the simple RING, RING, RING of the inn's business line. Instead, the ringtone was the chorus of a pop song called Kemonomimi Everyday. She extracted herself from Haru's embrace and grabbed her cell phone from the coffee table.
"Hello?" she asked.
A cheerful voice came through the phone loud and clear. "Hey, Yuisu! It's Agent Will!"
"You sound happy. What's up?"
"Not much. Just wanted to say that I'm back in town after a very productive business trip that included a stop in the Harpy Nation. Oh, and I remembered something I wanted to tell you," Agent Will said.
Yuisu chose to ignore his bragging and its implications involving Haru's mother. As she leaned back into the couch again, she asked, "Oh? What's that?"
"You know in my letter, how I said there was a thing that I couldn't remember? Well, I just remembered it!"
"Go on," Yuisu said unenthusiastically. In her current state, she didn't have the patience for pulling news out of Agent Will, and she was pretty sure the thing he forgot was Aluru.
He continued, "I put Mountain Lily Inn on a list of government-recommended places for visiting liminals. I figured you'd like the free publicity."
Yuisu blinked slowly. Well, that would explain where all this business came from… Then she said, "Uh, thank you, Agent Will. It definitely resulted in a lot of business already. I'm booked full for months now, even most of the weekdays."
Agent Will cheerfully added, "Oh, that makes sense. You're the only inn on the list right now, and the Exchange Program just sent the list out to a ton of tourist websites."
As Yuisu was busy figuring out how soon she could get that automated message set up on the business phone line, Agent Will said, "Oh, and I wanted to check in on Aluru. I sent her to you since she's so, uh, unabashedly lesbian, which caused some trouble with her last host, who was male."
Yuisu put her planning aside and answered, "Aluru's doing alright, but she's a handful. We had a bit of drama between her and an inn guest who was consulting with the Ski Lodge, but Korbin was able to smooth things over. I'll try to keep an eye on her."
Then Yuisu tilted her head and asked, "Wait, why would her being lesbian cause trouble with a male host? It's not like she'd be interested in him."
The awkwardness in Agent Will's voice was clear as he said, "I'll just say that he used to have a girlfriend who is now exploring newfound interests. You can imagine why he wouldn't be happy about that."
Wow, Aluru converted his girlfriend? Maybe she was bi all along? Yuisu thought.
Agent Will cleared his throat and said, "In any case, I'm sure you're busy so I'll let you go. Just call if you need anything."
"Will do. Thanks again, Agent Will. Seeya."
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The travelers started arriving that Friday, which kept Yuisu even busier than the phone calls had. She quickly learned that a family of five meant more than five times the work of a solo traveler. Children, particularly liminal children, were the worst: they made messes of the kitchens and bathrooms and even the hot spring's changing room.
Yuisu was so overwhelmed that she didn't even notice a familiar name on the guest list: Lyca, the young werewolf maid from the Zoic Inn. She arrived on Friday night with her new boyfriend in tow, and she looked happier than Yuisu had ever seen her. The constant smiling was actually rather unnerving, thanks to Lyca's terrifying maw of sharp teeth.
Lyca stopped by the main house to say hello to the girls she'd met last summer. They were all eating dinner, so it was easy to catch up with everyone all at once.
She wore tiny jean shorts and a midriff-baring button up shirt that showed a lot of cleavage too. It seemed her confidence in her body was much higher than it had been the previous summer. A feathered necklace gave the whole look a bit of a punk or tribal vibe.
[https://i.imgur.com/lj4bR8e.png]
"So you finally got a boyfriend? I guess your dieting paid off?" Mara asked rather bluntly.
Lyca grinned, but it looked more like a snarl, with her prominent incisors dripping menacingly. "Yep. Akahito's great. He's a singer in a band, and he actually likes my teeth! He says they're 'totally metal'."
Tsuen averted her eyes from Lyca's teeth, which were far scarier than Mara's short-yet-sharp ones, and said, "That's wonderful to hear, Lyca. How's everything else going, like work?"
"Oh, I'm still a maid at the Zoic, but I'm thinking of touring full time with Akahito. I think I've found my calling writing lyrics for him. Check it out!" Lyca whipped a folded piece of paper out of her shorts' back pocket and read aloud in an exaggerated growl, "We wade into the dark, with our backs to the light. Though there's no hope, forever we'll fight!"
She looked around expectantly, but no one present was into death metal music in the least. Mara had fringe exposure to it through the internet, but she was more into gothic rock and visual kei. Yuisu and Tsuen were both fans of light pop music, particularly the liminal group ANM48. For Haru and Chione, music wasn't really a major factor in their lives: they'd listen to the radio sometimes, but didn't own any albums.
Yuisu was the first to finally speak. "Uh, it seems good. I like the choice of words."
Lyca's good mood was unfazed by the weak reaction. She shrugged and said, "It's okay, I know death metal's a bit of an acquired taste, and I'm not very good yet." Then she turned away and said, "I'll get back to Akahito and let you guys finish your meal. We'll be here for a few days, so I'm sure I'll see you around."
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Then she waved goodbye and padded off, her bushy tail wagging happily above her revealing jean shorts.
After Lyca had closed the back door, Yuisu said, "It's nice to see her so happy, despite the teeth…"
Mara nodded and said, "I guess there's someone for everyone out there." Then she gave Tsuen's hand a loving squeeze under the table.
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Another guest arrived that night, but this one was booked in the main house's guest room. After one look at the arrival, Yuisu knew that wasn't going to work out.
"Uh, miss Kriia?" Yuisu said, unsure of her pronunciation of the name. "I'm afraid there's a problem with your room. I booked you in a small room, not realizing your, uh, size. I'll get you swapped into a large-liminal room immediately."
The massive new arrival blinked her six dark purple eyes, high above Yuisu's head. Including her dark grey biker cap, she was nearly eight feet tall. While she'd been able to get her second abdomen and eight large, furry, and claw-tipped legs through the inn's front door, the narrow doorway to the guest room would be trouble.
And her spider-like lower body wasn't the only thing about the large-breed arachne that was huge: the white t-shirt she wore under her black jacket was straining to contain a truly massive pair of breasts. Below that, an arachne-style loincloth kept her technically decent while showing off a lot of bare hips and thighs.
[http://img04.deviantart.net/5291/i/2017/023/b/6/commission__kriia_tarantella__oc__by_jay87k-dawe0fi.png]
"Hmm, alright. When will it be ready?" Kriia said flatly. It was hard to tell if she was upset, but Yuisu really hoped she wasn't.
About a thousand thoughts flew through Yuisu's mind as she tried to find the answer to that question. Well, I think the satyr couple in the west room would be fine with a smaller room, though they likely won't be as keen about the reduced privacy, given all their flirting… I could offer them a free night as compensation for the inconvenience, I suppose. I hope they travel light, and aren't in the middle of any sexy times right now…
"Hey, host lady. You alright, mate?" Kriia said in her rough, baritone voice as she leaned in closer.
Yuisu blinked as she was pulled from her thoughts by the distractingly sexy arachne before her. Damn, she's so intense, in a hot way… "Uh, yeah. One second," Yuisu said, then quickly finished her calculations.
"Okay, I think I can have you in a room in about 45 minutes. You can wait in our living room and watch TV, or visit the hot spring if you'd like."
Kriia clasped her fur-covered claws together and stretched her arms upward, lightly grazing the high ceiling. The motion highlighted her impressive musculature and her massive breasts which were brandished right at Yuisu's eye level.
Wow, she's so busty, and strong, and fluffy… just like Haru, Yuisu thought. No wonder I find her so hot.
As she stretched, Kriia said, "Yeah, I'm pretty stiff from the cramped ride up here. I'll take you up on that hot spring offer. Just as long as no one ogles me in there like you're doing right now…" As her sentence trailed off, Kriia brought her hands down and cracked her knuckles menacingly.
Yuisu locked up, thinking, Oh shit, I pissed her off. I'm dead! Her face went pale, broadcasting her worry as plain as day.
The massive arachne chuckled lightly and said, "No worries, mate. Just show me to the spring already."
Blushing, Yuisu quickly led the way through the house and to the hot spring's changing room. It was built with large species in mind, so Kriia had no trouble undressing and stowing her clothes in a cubby.
Yuisu averted her eyes and said, "I'll go get your room squared away and I'll be back shortly. Enjoy the spring." Right before she exited the changing room, Yuisu turned back and added, "Oh, and it's female-only bathing for the next hour, in case you were worried."
A hint of a smile appeared on Kriia's face and she said, "Nah, I'm fine either way." Her deadpan delivery implied a very suggestive 'if you know what I mean' without needing to say it.
"Oh, uh, alright," Yuisu said, unsure how else to reply to the intimidating, beautiful, and currently totally nude arachne. Her 'Yuri-su' side wanted to come out to play, but she was a little too unnerved. It was probably for the best anyway, as Yuisu had work to do.
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Kriia stepped into the hot spring area to find it already occupied by two other liminals. With one arm holding a much-too-small towel over her front, she waved with the other. "G'day," she said simply.
A small pink something quickly paddled to the edge of the pool and clambered out. It appeared to be a very petite small-breed arachne with equally pink hair and six black eyes. A massive grin crept across her face as she babbled a greeting of her own, "Hi, I'm Mara and I live here and I'm an arachne obviously, but a smaller one than you, not to say you're fat in fact I think you're really pretty and curvy in all the right ways and—"
Mara was suddenly silenced by a hand over her mouth. From behind her, a meek voice said, "Sorry for the noise. Um, please uh, make yourself at home." It was a magenta-haired centaur of a lightweight variety and as she spoke, her her hand started to quiver more and more. The poor centaur seemed terrified of Kriia and was trying to hide it.
Mara gently pulled Tsuen's hand off her mouth and said, "Are you alright, Tsuen?"
Tsuen pushed backward off the bottom of the pool, pulling Mara with her. She whispered, "I-I'm j-just fine. I would just like to be further away from the big, uh, predator…"
Kriia had of course seen reactions like this before, from humans and liminals alike. It came with the territory of being one of the larger and more intimidating species. She didn't mind it, though. In fact, she liked being the dominant one, at least in bed.
"My bad, mate. Didn't mean to spook ya," Kriia said as she maneuvered one massive black and grey leg at a time into the water. "I'll just be over here while the inn lady gets my room ready."
When the hot water hit the delicate skin above her pedipalps, Kriia let out a faint gasp of surprise. It was hotter than she was expecting, but it felt wonderful. She pivoted in place, then lowered her upper body until her elbows were resting on the stony edge of the pool. She really wanted to get her back and shoulders in the soothing water, but her anatomy wouldn't allow that, at least not without flipping her entire body on its back, leaving her far too vulnerable.
"Hey, you've got some crazy scars on your back, lady. What's your name, anyway? I can't just keep calling you lady."
Kriia slowly turned her head which pulled more of her wild gunmetal grey hair aside and revealed even more scars. They criss-crossed her entire back, and looked like they may have come from a whip.
"Wow, I bet you have some cool stories about all those scars," Mara added. She'd paddled right up to Kriia's side, looking like a tiny fishing boat next to an oil tanker. She was staring in awe at the larger arachne, and didn't seem even a little intimidated.
"The name's Kriia, and I'm not going to talk about the scars." Her voice was heavy and dead serious. Any normal person would have gotten the hint and kept their distance, but Mara was not such a person.
"No problem! I bet you're sooo strong, but don't let your my looks deceive you: I'm strong too. We should compete to prove who the best arachne is," Mara said confidently. She either wanted to show off to Tsuen, or try to bond with the other arachne, or both.
Kriia narrowed her six dark purple eyes at the little pest that wouldn't stop talking. Then she reached out with a single hand and grabbed onto a loose boulder from the fenceline. Her claw-like fingers tightened and she lifted the rock, which easily weighed twice what Mara did. She could have crushed it if she wanted, but she set it back down instead. There were deep gouges in the stone where her claws had gripped it.
"I'm stronger," she said flatly.
Mara's eyes were wide and excited. "Okay, I'll admit that, but maybe we could race? Ooh, or a jumping contest! That's my specialty!"
Kriia turned away and rested her chin on her folded arms. "I don't want to talk. Leave me be."
That time, the intent and force behind her words had been clear enough for even Mara to understand. Mara rowed herself away with a series of splashes and said, "Alright. Maybe later then, Kriia!"
As the little arachne returned to Tsuen's side, she let out a huge sigh of relief that Mara had made it back without being squished. She swept her girlfriend into a tight embrace and whispered, "Please leave her alone. I get a really scary feeling from her, okay?"
Mara shrugged and said, "Whatever you say, Tsuen."
After a few uncomfortably silent minutes, Mara grew bored and said, "Let's head back inside."
Tsuen nodded and quickly climbed out of the hot spring. As they dried off and changed, she whispered, "I wasn't able to relax like that anyway…"
Kriia heard that, but she was used to it. No worries. Now I can stretch out better anyway, she thought as she spread her massive legs wide. Fully spread like that, she took up most of the pool, even though it was over twenty feet across.
For the next 30 minutes, she let the stress and stiffness melt away. She'd nearly fallen asleep when the changing room door banged open and Yuisu burst through.
"Sorry, for, the, delay," Yuisu panted with her hands on her knees. After she caught her breath, she said, "You're in the big cabin just right there"—Yuisu pointed up the hill at the bit of roof visible through the trees—"Yours is the western room, nearest the front door."
Kriia climbed out of the pool, giving Yuisu a surprising yet welcome view of bare J-cups. "Thanks, uh, miss."
"Oh, I never properly introduced myself. I'm Yuisu, and I'm the owner of the inn and the Exchange Program host of some liminals that live here," Yuisu said as she watched Kriia painstakingly wring water from her furry legs.
After the fourth leg, Kriia looked Yuisu dead in the eye and said, "You're doing it again. How do you keep customers around after perving on them like that?"
Yuisu's face flushed red and she stammered, "Uh, sorry, I'll be waiting outside the gate when you're ready!"
As Yuisu took off through the changing room, a small smile crept onto Kriia's lips. Other than a certain pink annoyance, she was actually enjoying her little vacation so far.