[17] WE NEED TO TALK
Horns. I didn’t think she’d have them.
I’m not too sure if those were demon horns or dragon horns. I’ve seen a number of illustrations involving characters with this sort of feature but this is the first time I’m seeing it with my own two eyes. The pair on the side curled to the front, the two other short stubs sat on top.
Four black horns pulsing in red.
Pushing past the crowd, I brought Liliath outside the school compound. Damn fuck you Gruan.
By the way, you should’ve seen the faces of those imbeciles at the sight of Liliath’s magic crushing Gruan at a lift of her finger— he’s not dead.. I think? Either way, get rekt.
Calm down Noel, calm down.
Now isn’t the time for this.
I need to figure out what’s wrong with Liliath.
Something happened to her that caused her to reveal her horns..? She’s been in a trance-like state ever since she knocked down that dick head. I tried waving my hand in front of her, but she was unresponsive, for the most part, relatively.
Whatever. I need to remove ourselves from the public eye.
I pulled her over to the gazebo in the garden, nobody in the vicinity— I hope.
I sat Liliath down on the bench and nudged her water bottle up to her hand.
“Liliath.”
“Hm?” her gaze was empty.
“Drink some water to calm down.”
She gazed down at the bottle for a few seconds, grasped it and brought it to her mouth. Shaking, the water spilt from the bottle as she drank.
She held the bottle with both hands, her gaze cast downwards towards the floor.
“We’ll take a break here first, tell me once you’re ready,” I was worried, her horns were still present— I wouldn’t want people to see her in this condition. Like four horns. FOUR FREAKING HORNS. She’d go viral on the internet if someone found out.
The sultry wind accompanied the silence that ensued.
Seriously, this was my fault. I should’ve taken the side exit not the main gate. Fucking Gruan and those imbeciles.
“Noel.”
Liliath’s voice broke my train of thoughts.
“What is it?”
“Why..?”
“Why?”
“Why did you apologize?”
I don’t know actually...
I mean Liliath, who’s kinda my responsibility, hurt someone right? Be it a friend or foe, so long as anyone did anything to harm someone, it’s normal to apologize right? Maybe it was on a whim?
“Why didn’t you fight back?”
“Well..”
Oh shit. I can’t tell Liliath how weak I am right?
“I can’t. It’s impossible. Gruan has twice the strength of a normal person. I’d rather get beaten up once obediently than to be beaten up twice by retaliating.”
I think— this is a wise answer?
“And violence doesn’t solve anything either,” I added.
Liliath’s gaze never left the floor.
Her horns seemed to crumble into dust. Feet leaving her sandals, she raised her knees up to her head and pressed her head into it.
“Liliath?”
She started weeping.
What kind of past did she have? I’ve asked this a million times but it’s not like I’m going to get any answers unless I ask her about it.
Sigh..
This habit of her’s.. crawling into a ball.. I can only think of it as something an ex-slave would do? Huddled at one corner, knees brought together at the stomach... in a dark corner of a cage..
I’m sorry Liliath.
I’m sorry I forgot.
I should’ve taken the other exit.
We would’ve avoided Gruan.
Then this wouldn’t have happened..
“I’m sorry Liliath.”
===
Liliath stopped crying after half an hour. She wasn’t really herself, yet, but was ‘alright’ enough where she was able to start walking again. I didn’t have a watch on me so I could only estimate time. Her horns had disappeared which was a relief— I chose to avoid that topic for now despite dying to know what kind of existence she is— a demon lord? Dragon princess?
Anyhow. We returned home late— my mom, fortunately, didn’t seem to mind.
Liliath barely ate anything during lunch, and the mood was somewhat sombre. Novelle was curious but wasn’t insensitive as to prod about the matter. Rather, she just stared at Liliath.
Cut it out..
While I was washing the plates after the meal, my mom asked.
“What happened?”
“Gruan. That’s what happened. At the same time, I think it’s to do with her past?”
Yup. I won’t mention the horns just yet?
“Not again,” my mom sighed, her fingers pressing again the point between her eyes.
“She should be alright.”
I think..
I hope..
I’m unfortunately not someone who knows how to sympathize with others. Moreover, I think it would make it more uncomfortable for Liliath if I tried. She’s not that close to me yet.
Finishing the chores, I saw Liliath sitting on the couch, Novelle playing with her— the television running an advertisement about the latest super glue.
Huh. Looks like my sister found out Liliath was the kind who’d find the ads more entertaining than the cartoon. They were discussing the use of super glue. Now that’s just weird.
Relieved that Novelle took the chance to accompany her, and kinda sad that I couldn’t do anything to help, I went upstairs to my own room.
I still have an art project I need to work on— that collaborative piece. I’ll leave Liliath to the little devil since I bet they make a good demon-devil pair. After all— I’m sure my sister was the one who helped Liliath acquire volumes 2 to 7 of that manga.
Speaking of manga— I should properly educate Liliath about the dos and don'ts of society. If she really wanted to, she should read those works in secret.
No, what the hell. She shouldn’t even be reading those at all! Wait, no, I'm guilty of this too so what right do I have to call her off? ...
An hour passed, two hours passed— and now I’m stuck. Adding the base colour to the sketch and then polishing the rest— it only made the illustration worse. Ughhh...
That’s the weird phenomenon I found out when doing illustrations. There will always be this one point in time where everything falls apart before coming back together in one piece.
Fucking frustrating... I hate it.
Why does drawing a half-naked anime girl be so hard?
I think I should take a break. Yeah. Me brain is water.
Oh right. The quest board. I have a feeling that Liliath and I had completed one or two by accident.
Hm?
A notification— a message from Prune? Wow. What a coincidence.. I wasn't expecting that— or not.
‘Noel, congratulations on getting first place. Hahaha, looks like I lost to you yet again...’
Alright. An introductory message praising me for my academics... seriously? Come on, you don’t need to try to cover up your main point with a bunch of flourishings right?
‘I wanted to know who’s that person you brought together with you this morning?’
Yup. Knew it.
I have a slight premonition that she was jealous— fuck. I’m sure it’s just my self-delusion. To start. I doubt Prune even likes me. Anyhow, why would she ask about Liliath?
And Liliath said something about ‘it being the same here’— which I assume ‘here’ is this world. So beastkins fear her?
Demon lord.. could Liliath actually be a demon lord? Oh damn.. that would mean... I guess that would explain why she would be considered a five-star summon? Doesn’t that mean she could possibly destroy the world?
I shuddered at the thought. Imagine such a small girl ruling Earth. Shit.. just what kind of existence did I bring to our world!?
And I don’t have anything to control her with, do I? It wasn’t like she’s tied to a contract or anything. She could very well be your everyday, typical, free, unrestrained, demon lord.
Fuck. Do I need to talk to her about this? Liliath doesn’t seem like she’s going to cause any harm to the world though... She's cute, obedient, tactful and cares about the people around her a lot.
That said— I think it’s better to draw a line. If she’s the person I think she is, I don’t think there would be any problem for a cataclysmic existence to stay together with us.
‘Her name is Liliath, though I don’t think it’s appropriate to call her my familiar, I did accidentally summon her. My talent is summoning or something along those lines.’
And send.
Wheewh.
Ding.
What— so quick.
‘You summoned that girl!?’
Prune’s reaction was to be expected.
‘Yes.’
‘If that’s the case then.. all I can say is congratulations? But be careful.. my instincts are telling me that there's something about her.. just be careful.’
‘Yeah, yeah. I think she’s a dangerous existence too.’
I’m just gonna hint.
Hm.. Something about Liliath. So assuming Liliath is a demon lord, it’s a surprise that Prune’s instinct was able to pick up something.
Eh... wait. Does that mean the magic she demonstrated was a fraction to the full extent of her magic abilities? I wonder what she could actually do if she were serious.
That said, I didn’t think Prune would warn me about something like that.
Yup, she’s totally jealous seeing me with a beauty like Liliath. Else why would she still try to message me even though we’re probably never going to meet each other again—
Fucking stop it with me and my own delusions already.
‘I’m serious about this Noel. Can you return her to her summoning plane? Or something? She’s really dangerous. Really.’
What. Prune’s that scared? Why?
‘She’s not the kind of summon that I can return. Are you really that scared of her?’
‘It’s not about me. It’s about you. Is there any way you can remove her from the summoning contract?’
Summoning contact. To be honest, almost all summoning TALENTS I’ve heard talk about something like a contract between the summoner and summoned during their first encounter. Unlike Liliath— who’s free to bring destruction to the world.
‘I don’t know how?’
And the conversation ended there.
[18]
The little devil was lying on the couch, sleeping. My mom was watching television, a cooking channel or something. While Liliath was reading that book.
“Liliath.”
Sitting on the couch with the manga in hand, she raised her head to look at me before going, “Hikkh?!”. Flustered, she hid volume 5 away from my line of sight.
You.. seriously? You think that trick will work on me? Well.. at least she had proper awareness this time. That’s an improvement. At least..
You know, I should probably just let her read it without paying any mind. I kind of pity her. That’s for the best, isn't it?
“Sorry, Um. Liliath, I want you to read this,” I showed her the cover of a different manga.
She regained composure, slipping the porn into the crevice of the sofa— hey that isn’t a place to put stuff you know? It’s all dusty and dark inside.
I noticed her lips quiver at the title of the book.
The manga I was holding in my hands— the title had two keywords on it: Demon Lord. I thought about the best way to ask Liliath about it. And the conclusion I came to was to show it to her. Not about how Demon Lords destroy an entire kingdom— but the reverse of that.
I wasn’t too sure what kind of impression she had on herself— as the demon lord. I was hoping that by reading a story about a good-natured Demon Lord, it could help her deal with the prejudices she held surrounding her own existence.
“H-how did you know?” She squeaked, ripples of fear swimming in her eyes.
Ah? She doesn’t remember?
“At school. I saw them. But don’t get me wrong, this world isn’t the same as yours. If anything, I think an existence like you would be welcomed by society.”
She was on guard.
“What are you talking about?” My mom, whose focus left the television asked us.
“Well.. I’m just recommending a book.”
Liliath shook her up and down hastily.
My mom narrowed her eyes
“Something to do with a demon lord?” She raised her brow— yeah, she’s hard to convince.
Welp. Dumb luck. Looks like the cover was blown.
“Sorry. Until I get consent from Liliath I can’t say too much,” I dropped the act.
Liliath shuddered, craning her head to look at me.
“It’s impossible to hide it. My mom heard it already. Anyways, you don’t have to force yourself to talk about it,” I passed her the book, “Read it when you have time.”
She nodded, biting her lips.
I wonder— in her world, were demon lords really considered such a bad existence? A girl like her, a calamity-like existence?
I grew up in a peaceful world, unlike Liliath who could’ve grown in a world of war— heck, even slavery was legal where she lived. I feel that it’s impossible to understand her using my personal perspective as the base.
“Oh, there’s pudding in the fridge if any of you want some,” my mom remarked.
“Alright, thanks. Liliath, do you want pudding?”
“Huh?” Her dumbfounded look was so cute.
I walked over to the fridge— two left. Wait.. I thought we had like 10 of them two days ago?
Well. At least there are two left. One I think is passion fruit-flavoured, the other is strawberry.
I returned with the puddings and passed the strawberry one to Liliath.
She stared at the pink gelatin in a plastic ramekin.
“The era of war is over in this world. Though I’m not sure what kind of past you had, you don’t need to face something like war and bloodshed anymore in the future. Take your time and just chill.”
I stuffed a spoonful of pudding in my mouth. A sweet tangy flavour accompanied by the hint of sweetness of passion fruit.
Well.. I kinda lied about the bloodshed part. I mean.. fights between people with offensive TALENTS were a ridiculous sight to behold. I guess to Liliath, this would be considered a small trifle while in our world, it was a crime.
Liliath ate the pudding silently. She shook her head every so often as if trying to rid of her thoughts. Tears spilled from her eyes.
She wiped it off.
“Thank you, I’ll consider it.”
Huh?
It’s probably because I’m dumb to not understand why she was crying.
“Pudding?!”
The devil awoke to the sugary smell of dessert crawled over to my side. She squashed my head with both hands, begging for some, I could tell.
“Here,” I fed her a spoon, she ate it with glee.
Seeing such a development, Liliath gave a sympathetic smile.
Look. I know my sister is cute but she’s a devil. A DEVIL I SAY! Don’t be fooled by her cuteness!
“Gimme!”
“No. This is mine.”
“Hmph. Fine! I’ll go get my own,” the devil quipped, dissatisfied that I stopped feeding her. She went to the kitchen and came back as soon as she went, “Mom, where did you keep the rest of the pudding? Wasn’t there 8 in the fridge yesterday?”
My mom who shifted her attention from the television to Novelle spoke with a smile.
“Hm? Oh. About that, I kept the rest in my stomach. Sorry~”
The devil paled.
Too bad.
I lifted the spoon to my mouth and finished the last bite of pudding.
===
I couldn’t hear anything in the living room. My laptop was in front of me, my drawing pen pressed on the drawing pad, ears covered by headphones, light music played in the background.
Scribble. Scribble.
In a mere two strokes— I destroyed my masterpiece.
Ctrl Z.
Undo.
I decided to take a break from rendering the illustration, it’s literally going nowhere. I’m currently colour-sketching a bunch of portraits. Art studies, as artists call it.
If anything, I should really be checking Arthub and expanding my networks with other artists. But I’ll leave that till later— once I complete this last bit..
Tomorrow’s the start of the school holiday so I thought I should stay up a little later.. it’s almost 10.
Hm?
Liliath in the living room who I noticed kept opening and closing her mouth. Is she talking to me?
I paused the music and pulled my headphones down.
“Sorry, yes?”
Liliath gave me a look.
Wow. So she has that kind of side too—
“Sorry?”
I seriously didn’t notice her.
“I finished the book you requested,” she placed the book down on the table and then sat beside me. Oh, that’s fast.
The smell of the shampoo on her hair tickled my nose.
“And your point? Do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head, “I prefer not to bring up the past— however.. I understand keeping secrets wouldn’t do anything but incite problems. Hence, I’ll try my best to answer the questions you have within my abilities.”
Talk about tact. Though.. as the kind of person Liliath was, I find it plightful. I think I shouldn’t dig too much into the past that she wants to forget. Rather, was it really a good idea to just forget the past? The past will always appear again, like a wreckage from the sea drifting onto shore. Could Liliath really tolerate that? Suppressing those bitter memories for the rest of her life?
To ask or not to ask.
I’m at a stalemate. Hm..
Perhaps I should just wait and see..
It’s decided then. I’ll ask, but not too much. She’ll reveal her past in time, I’m sure of it. I doubt she’ll be able to keep everything to herself, and if anything does go wrong, well.. I can only think of a solution to deal with it by then. It’s pointless to think too far ahead.
“Alright. First of all, are you a demon lord?”
“No. I’m an existence known as a demon lord candidate. I am fated to become the demon queen. As of yet, I have yet to awaken as one. I am but a candidate.”
A queen? Demon lord candidate? What?
“So there’s a DEMON LORD and DEMON QUEEN is what you’re implying?”
“Yes.”
Alright.. Liliath is supposed to marry off to some big shot known as the demon lord— bring destruction to the world together with him or die by the hands of a hero.. that’s her fate? Fate?!
Not that I don’t believe in fate but to those people who keep blaming it on fate— oh, it’s impossible because it’s my fate. Oh that’s just how it is no matter how hard you try you can’t possibly achieve this and that..
I detest it. An excuse to run away from responsibilities.
But thinking about it... to not be able to live your own life.. to be constrained by one’s own ‘fate’.
I don’t know why— this should be about Liliath, but I’m the one being all emotional here.
“About you being a candidate, is that a random thing? How does that relate to becoming a queen?”
“The demon lord candidates were believed to be chosen by the Demon God. Both the lord and the queen must come to an agreement in matrimony before being bestowed the titles Demon Queen and Demon Lord,” Liliath said, her emotionless eyes fixed on me.
Cold.. too cold..
To see such a gaze from her eyes, a pitch-black vortex that is her past..
What the hell.
“With this position, it was decided with my consent we would utilize a different method to bring peace without the aid of a hero. I became a political tool to quell the conflict between us humans and demons.. just to be betrayed,” she quivered.
Right. Liliath was a Princess. A very unlucky Princess at that. So there’s a lord and queen demon, and somehow Liliath was the queen.
“As a Princess. That was my responsibility. I had no choice— it was for the sake of the country. I don’t blame the kingdom for what I have done. There was nothing I could have done to begin with.”
There was nothing she could do to begin with? Wait, how does she being enslaved fit into the whole picture? Betrayed? By the demon lord or the kingdom? She said political tool— for the sake of the nation. She probably rejected the Demon Lord’s proposal for marriage I presume?
Crap. I told myself not to go too deep and yet..
“Hey Liliath. I know I’m not in any position to say this but.. I’m sorry. I-I’m sorry you had such a past.”
The worst experiences in my life can’t even lift a finger to what she had experienced.
And before I knew it— my arms were around her.
“Thank you,” She whispered, “Thank you for saving me.”
Did I save her? It was a whim though?
Pulling back, she showed a warm smile. There wasn’t a tear anywhere in sight.
That’s when it hit me. To her— this was the beginning of her new life.
“Noel?”
“Ah sorry. I was thinking about something.. um. You can stop if you feel uncomfortable saying anymore um.. I’m sorry for asking so much about your past.”
“It’s alright.. it’s enlightening to have someone hear me.”
Liliath’s mental fortitude surpasses my own. There’s no doubt about it..
“Noel, then can I ask a question of my own?”
A question?
“Sure. Just ask if you have any questions anytime.”
“Could I possibly be a hero? A summoning ritual revolves around the summoned possessing a purpose— in typical cases, subjugating the demon lord and bringing peace to the world for a temporary period of time.”
Oh? Peace is temporary? So demon lord candidates would appear again and again? Weird. Then why do all demon lords decided to go the genocide route? Wouldn’t there be at least one of them that decided to go the pacifist route? Or did such a peaceful demon lord die before the plan could be enacted?
“What would be my purpose?” Liliath asked in all seriousness.
[19]
“Purpose..”
What purpose did Liliath have? I’m not too sure..
If anything she should ask my phone. Was there a purpose to why she was summoned? It happened on a whim, right? If anything, the purpose in life is one we create ourselves.
“To enjoy yourself I guess? I mean, there’s no big boss or anything you need to kill. You’re free to do anything you want.”
Yeah. So the kind of ‘isekai’ life Liliath would live from here onwards is the ‘lighthearted’, ‘slice-of-life’ kind. I’m not the protagonist— she is. Hey, isn’t that interesting? To lead a life full of beauty without needing to remember the bloodshed of the past.
“I-Is that so?” She sounded dismayed, like a weight had just been lifted from her shoulders.
“Could you be thinking too hard? I’m lucky to live the life I am now. Though I say that this world is in the era of peace. Things like poverty and politics are still present. Just that those things aren’t involved in my life— your life, here. So just chill. To most people, the biggest worry in this world is finding a way to earn money and live life.”
“Like a commoner's life..”
“I guess you could say so— though, with humanitarian rights and a ban on slavery in place.”
Liliath looked up.
A moment went by without a word.
“Noel. I’m free to do whatever I want with this life of mine— correct?”
“Yup. But don’t go overboard. The purpose of life is to live, not just to survive. And don’t kill.. seriously,” was she implying something? No.. please no..
“I understand,” she chuckled, with a light smile on her face. “I’m relieved.”
“Um, Liliath. So this conversation, I’ll keep it between us alright? I don’t think telling my mom or Novelle about it is a good idea— what do you think?”
“I’ll talk to them when the time comes, I can manage it.” Liliath faced me, knees on the floor and bowed, “I’ll be in your care from now on, Noel. I’ll work hard on living.”
I looked at her dumbfounded.
So she’s going to look towards the future. The wreckages of her past may float up from time to time— but I believe she’ll definitely be able to handle it. Well.. even if she can’t handle it alone, there’s still us that can help. I’m sure the little devil wouldn’t mind introducing her to a few more doujinshis every now and then..
Ding.
“Hm?”
Liliath and I turned to my phone on the table. I finally remembered to unmute.
===
Quests: Gaining affection:
(52% completion) Embrace Liliath for half a minute. 20P
...
===
Fuck.
I don't remember such a quest.. it wasn’t on purpose! I swear it was an accident! I only hugged Liliath because I thought well.. she needed my comfort— THAT’S ALL!
UGHH..
Half-way completion.. 20 points.. 20 POINTS. 20 FREAKING POINTS. NOW THAT’S SOME JUICY POINTS!
Should I just..
No.. my conscience doesn’t allow it..
I turned to Liliath and noticed her hands spread out, an invitation to a hug.
“S-seriously?”
NO WHY?! WHY?! THIS IS WRONG!
“A-Are you sure?” Against my better judgment, I asked again to confirm.
“To attain the necessary points..” Liliath said, averting my gaze.
Fuck me.. I should..
You know. It makes it a whole nother level harder when the girl is the one that invites you to embrace her.. it's a fact you know? Liliath isn’t my girlfriend or anything… and to do this to her.. what if that was the gacha system’s aim all along? For the summoner to build a relationship with the familiar—
Ah... this is seriously confusing!!
I swallowed back my words of apology and embraced her.
The feeling of her small body, the tantalising scent of her skin, the texture of the nightgown she wore, the smoothness of her velvet hair, her warm breath that chipped away at my sanity.
I was shaking..
5 seconds.. 10 seconds.. 15 seconds..
Fuck.. doesn’t it add to the previous record?! Do I have to do it all over again?!
20 seconds.. 30 seconds..
Ding!
I pulled away at once. I didn’t dare to look at her.. seriously.. what have I done...
My heart was in a knot. If she allowed me to embrace her like that.. could it mean that she likes me too? No.. I can’t just jump to conclusions.. that.. still though. It’s not common sense to allow someone to hug you all of a sudden, what’s more, someone of the opposite gender..
Sigh.
I took a peek at Liliath, seeing her gaze cast downwards, hands placed between her thighs.
I had a hunch..
“Um.. Liliath. As compensation.. Uh, do you have anything you want from the store?”
I tried to keep my voice as composed as possible. I almost let out a fake cough there—
She nodded, avoiding my gaze, sliding over to my side to look at the shop category.
She scrolled the main page— not the Liliath specific one. Then she noticed something.
Ah right. I totally forgot about that too— the levelling potion.
She suddenly muttered, “Status.”
Ding.
‘You got mail!’
Eh.. what?!
Liliath looked confused for a moment before narrowing her eyes. “Do we tap on this?”
“Go for it.”
I wonder..
[20]
Dear user,
As the developer, I apologize for the inconvenience caused as the status system has yet to be completely implemented. We are currently undergoing the final phase of beta testing, the option will soon be released in the near future so please be patient.
Thank you.
Regards,
[UNKNOWN]
===
The hell? Wait.. is this an actual system people use??
I don’t get it.. there’s a developer behind this?? This...
If there is actually a developer then, who the hell is [UNKNOWN]? Is there anyone else besides me that knows about this app? No.. there’s no way a normal human could develop something like this..
Let’s think about it in a non-logical sequence. The developer could be some kind of God, like in certain light novels. Systems created by the Gods to help the people.
Then why me? And if me then.. am I TALENTLESS after all?
This brings up so many questions..
“I suppose it’s not the same here,” Liliath remarked, bringing me back to reality, “This message could be from the God of Comfort. I might be wrong, it’s merely a guess. What do we do from here?”
“Yeah. Um, right, tap the X.”
“Ex? This one?”
“Yeah. That.”
After which she continued to scroll the main page until it reached the end. I wonder what she was trying to do? She had seen the list once before.
“Noel. What do you suppose your idea is if what I recommend is outside the boundaries of what we can afford?”
“Hm? Then we save up the points until we have enough.”
She stopped and stared at a peculiar item.
“The money people in this world use— could it be this paper?” Liliath pointed at one of the options—
100 dollar bills.
Huh?
I rubbed my eyes.
My eyes weren’t playing tricks with me. There were even 50 dollar bills and 1 dollar bills. Not to mention the ‘crate of bills package’.
DA FUAQ?
Ain’t this counterfeit money?!
There’s a description below the item:
This is legitimate money that can be used. Not a counterfeit. The amount can be converted into cash or transferred into the bank depending on your preference. Measures have been implemented so that nobody will suspect anything besides the buyer. So where does this money come from? Don’t ask.
T-this is from Liliath’s shop right? Why would there be bills? Wasn’t it only limited to things that came from her world?
I don’t get it..
“Is there anything wrong?”
“Uh.. just checking.. you know.. our money is made so that you can’t counterfeit it so easily. There are serial numbers on the bills so.. this looks suspicious..”
Really suspicious..
“Serial numbers? Is it a type of magic to prevent counterfeit?”
“Um. No.”
Nevermind.. I’ll explain it someday.
100 dollar bill 10 points.
Hm.. We acquire points by completing quests. And difficult quests that involve intimate moments provide a good amount. Technically speaking, I can live off cuddling Liliath all day..
THAT’S JUST WRONG!
But that doesn’t sound too bad right..? Points to be converted into money just by flirting?
“Anything besides that? At the moment we don’t need to worry about money.”
Well. That’s something I’ll have to think about in the future though.
“I need time to properly access what I need,” Liliath said in a contemplative voice.
“If you’d say so— We’ll save up the points until then.”
Hm.. how about the skill book: Common Sense I? I don’t mean it in a harsh way but.. Liliath clearly lacked common sense. The image of Liliath wearing her clothing inside-out suddenly appeared in my mind— and let’s not talk about how her hair almost caught on fire due to the hairdryer.
Common sense could help clear the first hurdle for her...
“If there’s nothing else, I suppose I’ll return,” Liliath got up from her sitting position.
“Alright. Good night then.”
“Good night Noel,” She walked towards the stairs.
When she left, I felt a sense of numbness in my heart— just what kind of past did Liliath experience? Compared to me.. I’m incredibly fortunate to be living my current life. Not everyone was as lucky as I was— to have caring and loving parents that were perverts— in a good way.
I shook my head to rid of the queasiness in my heart. Grabbing my drawing pad and putting on my earphones, I resumed sketching.
Round face, pointed chin, curly velvet hair, crimson coloured eyes, rosy cheeks. This would be the last portrait study for today.
I planned to put this up on Arthub, hopefully it would garner a good number of views and likes. Hopefully, I’d be able to gain a good enough following to start doing commissions.
Then I felt a slight poke on my shoulder, I slowly turned around, I caught a whiff of her velvet hair that literally brushed against my nose. I reflexively staggered backwards.
LILIATH?! I thought she went upstairs?! Was she about to place her head on my shoulders? That kind of development? No. That can’t be. Clam down stupid delusion.
I pulled down my headphones.
“Haven’t you gone to sleep yet?” I asked, her gaze fixated on the screen of my drawing pad.
“I could ask the same. What work do you have that requires you to stay up late?”
“It isn’t really work— but it could be called work— I’m drawing.”
“I see— this work you are currently doing piqued my interest so I thought to ask you about such before I went? Could you perhaps be an artisan? The picture is rather cute.”
My heart skipped a beat. Her face remained fixated at that simple portrait study of the velvet haired girl— how did I not notice? It happened so naturally.. I never realized that this portrait had been referenced off Liliath. The difference was her eyes, which had a duller red shade.
As an artist— this habit of drawing things that I deemed appealing.. my brain would process what I see subconsciously and then filter that visual information into chunks, storing only the good parts and then recreate it on paper.
“Maybe?” I squeaked. If anything.. I didn’t know I was drawing Liliath. But the semblance of what I drew to Liliath was undeniable.
“Could I try? I’ve always wanted to paint— this machine is connected to another machine? How does it work?” Liliath shifted her gaze between me, my drawing pad, and the laptop.
So she was curious about what I was doing. That was the bottom line. And she wanted to try.
“Well, here, have a go,” I passed her the digital drawing pen.
She looked at it confused, “Does it not contain ink?”
“No. it’s for drawing on this screen specifically. You can’t draw on paper using that,”
I skipped the whole ‘how does it work’ explanation because I bet Liliath wouldn’t understand half of what I would have to say— and it wasn’t like I knew a lot about the technology behind how the pen and drawing pen could correlate to provide 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity.
“Could I?” She sat down close to me.
Seriously.. what is she trying to do.. I have a bad feeling for some reason. I can’t quite put the tip of my finger on it..
I passed the drawing pad to Liliath, creating a separate layer to have her try.
“It’s bright..” she squinted her eyes.
Pushing the pen down on the screen, a blue dot was created. She tried a stroke, a tapered line was created. She tilted her head in surprise.
Well.. no shit. Drawing digitally has a different tactile feel compared to paper.
After contemplating, she drew a circle, two dots and a curved arc. The basics, old school— smiley face.
Liliath hung her head.
“My skills aren’t even worth mentioning,” she lamented.
“You just started, so..”
I couldn’t really say that her drawing was bad— because it was the typical smiley face the majority of the populace would draw. And it wasn't like she had prior experience. She was, after all, still a beginner. If she’s serious about it, I could guide her but— most of it would depend on her determination and ability.
Even though my father is an artist, he told me once that it’s impossible to really teach art— the best he could do was guide me. You could imagine how that went.. since he had a TALENT that cheated the system.
Liliath passed the drawing tablet back to me, “Thank you for allowing me to try, I suppose art just wasn’t right for me.”
“Maybe.. art is more practice than talent though.”
“I understand. I had only wanted to try.”
Liliath showed a disappointed look.
Click.
Hm?
I looked towards the stairs— more precisely, the small gap at the upper corner.
I saw someone’s feet, and a phone, the camera pointed towards us.
Huh?
Click.
Wait.
“Oops, looks like I was found,” my mom chuckled, “You haven’t told your father anything about Liliath have you now?”
I wanted to retort, but I couldn’t form any words.
My mom was right. My father didn’t know about Liliath’s existence.
“I had to do my duty as the wife,” her voice was barely audible due to the distance between us. “I have a number of good photos, would you like to pick out the better ones?”
Liliath looked at my mom then at me, aloof to everything.
Fuck. Seriously?! Since when did my mom start stalking me and Liliath?! A number of photos? Wait, does that mean that Liliath had been set up??
Appalled, I asked.
“Liliath, did my mom tell you to come down by chance?”
“She didn’t, I came by my own volition.”
Is that so..
Still.. that doesn’t solve the issue.
Ding.
I picked up my phone, to see that my mom had sent a number of pictures into the group chat.
Shit.
Not just one.. there were plenty of them. Me sitting together with Liliath, me hugging Liliath, me having tea with Liliath..
THE FUCK HOW?! HOW?!
My mom came down the stairs, her chuckle beside me as I shivered— the image of her triumph expression she had on her face.
So to summarize, my mom had been stalking me?
‘Here’s the picture of them together dear.’
That was the comment my mom sent, preceded by the numerous embarrassing photos.
NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!
HOWHGEFOBOEIFVHUONIEBFLKNOUNEB
My soul died.
Liliath came up behind me, with the little sanity that remained, I shifted the phone away from her.
“Hm? What could it be?” She asked.
“Here Liliath, you can take a look from my phone,” mom quipped, turning her phone to Liliath.
“NOOOOO! DON’T LILIATH DON’T!” I jumped, grabbed my mom’s arm and tried to push the screen away.
“Can I not be a part of the banter?” Liliath pouted saying that.
Oh. Fuck. Sorry Liliath, but once you look at this, it will become the bane of your life forever, you can never turn back. I understand you’re sad to feel left out but trust me, it’s better than feasting your eyes on the worst possible image of..
“WWWAAHHHHH BIG SISTER LILIATH LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL!” The little devil’s yell shook the house as she ran down the stairs— waving her phone in the air.
FUCK.
But it was too late. My hands were occupied dealing with my mom’s side.
And so.. Liliath saw it.
CCRRAAAPPPPP.
Ding.
‘He summoned such a beautiful lady. So this is Noel’s future spouse? Congratulations my son!’
My eyes rolled back into its socket.
Out of all times... my father just had to reply now.. why..
I’m sorry you had to witness such a thing.. it’s too late now..
Liliath stared at the screen, her hands that were raised in anticipation dropped limply to the side.
The little devil beheld a shrewd smug. Likewise, my mom showed the purest, most innocent smile ever— not.
They planned this on purpose.. what the hell..
With both Liliath and I officially brain dead for the remainder of the night, we greeted a new dawn.
