NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35
<~> Chapter 35
"Mori!" Bella ran over to her and I took my place next to Torien.
My large sword is still a little cumbersome in this hallway, especially against an enemy that appeared to be so thin. It didn't leave a lot of room for precise piercing attacks. I decided I would instead try to aim for the base of the candelabra, hopefully getting it in the equivalent of a foot. Torien wasn't in much better shape considering she mainly used a bow. Most of our combined shots missed but they kept the thing at bay at least.
I risked a look over my shoulder and saw Bella using healing magic on Morrigan's arm, it was covered in deep gashes. Fortunately the cuts looked like they were sliced cleanly with many knives rather than torn up by jagged teeth. We kept the mimic at a standstill for long enough that it decided we weren't worth the trouble and ran away. It was a pretty bizarre sight to see the candelabra legs grow in length and scurry away. When I turned away from the retreating monster the reason why became clear to me, Bella had finished healing Morrigan and she was pissed.
I actually felt the magic around us swirl before I thought to actually use [Mana Sense] to look. Unexpectedly there was a lot of fire attributed mana that she had been able to collect from the area. We might need to be careful about fires in the close future...
[Mana Sense has increased from level 1 to level 2]
Well, small blessings and all that.
"Are you alright Morrigan?"
"Yeah, it seems Bella's magic is even better than I thought." She held out her wrist to show off her forearm. It was still a bit red but what had been deep gashes looked more like barely visible scratches along the surface of her skin. They'll likely fade before we even get back to town. Torien looked upset and was tracing her fingers over each line but she didn't say anything.
"I'm glad, good job Bella."
Bella beamed at me. "Of course."
"So what happened?"
Morrigan turned a bit red but proceeded through it without skipping a beat. "I was going to ask you two a question but when I noticed you two were uh, busy, I just ran back instead. We wanted to know if you wanted us to try and collect valuables in the area but since you couldn't reply, we decided to just pick up anything that looked worth anything." She points to a desk along the wall. "When I went to open that desk drawer the candelabra next to it came to life and bit me."
I sighed. "We are going to have to be a lot more careful in this area now that we know there are mimics around. I probably got a little complacent after the last stretch of the labyrinth where nothing came out. Not seeing any monsters walking around probably made me think we wouldn't have to deal with them in this area either."
"Mimic?" Torien asked.
"Ah, I've heard stories of monsters that disguise themselves as inanimate objects. The most famous examples are ones that look like treasure chests that like to bite off the heads and hands of adventurers that try and riffle through them."
I followed Torien's gaze as she scanned the surroundings. There were lots of random objects decorating the mansion's hallway. Mismatched pieces of furniture like chairs and cabinets, knickknacks, rugs, paintings, and more candelabras. If anything here could be a mimic then we were in for a lot of paranoia.
She eventually met my eyes again. "Lets get back to that saferoom." I nodded to the suggestion.
It was a short walk back, they hadn't gone too far while poking around looking for treasure. By the time we saw the door to the saferoom we could also see the four mattresses we had brought with us.
"While we were out we found a few mattresses so we were dragging them back to make sleeping in the dungeon a bit more comfortable. I doubt there's anything wrong with them since we dragged them all the way over here but we should probably check."
I walked over to them and stabbed one near the foot of the mattress with my sword. No issue, I continued poking them until I got to the third. Just as I was stabbing it through the fourth mattress I hadn't gotten to yet bizarrely grew legs and began to run away. It looked so weird I just stared at it shocked until it turned the corner.
"Um... it's a good thing I checked..."
"That was easily the weirdest thing I have ever seen." Torien remarked.
Morrigan absentmindedly rubbed her arm and grumbled out, "Lets blow it up next time."
I just sighed and pulled the three safe mattresses over to them.
"Looks like Bella and I are going to have to share a single somehow."
Morrigan's face flushed a bit and peeked over to Bella, Bella stared back silently until she realized something and her ears flushed red too.
Torien saw the interaction and just looked confused. "What? Why is everyone blushing?" All this did was intensify everyone's reaction, and finally made my ears blush too.
"What? Why is everyone acting weird?" Rather than any kind of answer all of us just started moving the mattresses instead.
Once we got all of the mattresses in the safe room, it became clear that trying to share a single wasn't going to be easy.
"Maybe we should push together all three of them and asleep together. It'll be a bit cramped but at least no one will have to sleep on the floor." Torien suggested.
Morrigan bit her lip then turned to Bella. "Would that be okay you think?"
"Uhh..." Bella looked to me then back to her. "That sounds okay but why are you asking me?"
"Oh! I uh, I just thought that maybe you wouldn't want that since you two are uh, you know..."
Bella seemed a little confused. "It's fine, we're just going to be laying together in bed. Nothing to worry about." She turned to me. "Lilith, do you mind being in the middle? I'd rather lie on the edge."
"Sure." I laid down kinda in the middle towards one side. The crease between the two mattresses was a little uncomfortable but a lot nicer than laying on the hard stone floor. I would have considered looking for another but with mimics around it didn't seem worth it and I was tired mentally from everything we've done today. Not exactly sleepy though, sleep still seems optional for me, even through this stressful situation.
While also trying to avoid laying on the crease the twins played some sort of game I guessed was an equivalent to rock paper scissors. Afterwards Torien smiled smugly and decided she would get to sleep on the outside of the bed. I laid on my back and closed my eyes with Bella on one side and Morrigan on the other. Bella was out immediately, as soon as she rested her head on my shoulder and cuddled up to my right side she was out like a light. It seems a bit arbitrary what commonalities we share and which we don't after her transformation. I suppose she could have just chosen to sleep like I usually do at night but I haven't asked her if she still needs it or not.
Passing right out wasn't in the cards for me though because I have a tossing and turning catgirl next to me. Morrigan seemed like a bundle of nerves ever since she caught me and Bella fooling around. I leaned up a bit and peeked over her to see Torien passed out half off the bed. Since everyone seemed to be sleeping I figured I should say something.
I rested my hand on the fidgeting cat girl's arm, "Hey Morrigan, are you okay?"
She went stock still before nodding. "Y-yeah, I'm alright why do you ask?"
"You've been a little odd since I caught you peeking on us," I said with some humor.
"...So you did see me."
"Yeah. I personally don't mind much but Bella is kind of vulnerable right now. She was freaking out a little when I told her you were peeking."
She covered her eyes. "Oh no, she knows I was peeping too? Oh gods, I'm so embarrassed."
"Is that why you were acting so awkward around her?"
"...Not exactly." There was a long pause and I noticed Morrigan poke her sister in the side a bit before continuing. "T-truth is, I kinda like girls too. And... and seeing the two of you go at it has been driving me crazy. I'm not jealous! I'm not! It's just, you two seem so okay with it, so relaxed, so... open, normal. But I'm afraid of telling anyone, even my sister. It's not like I'd really get the chance to be with anyone by choice anyway since I'm a slave but knowing that my best hope for my future is being the sex slave of a man is crushing..."
She paused only long enough to catch her breath before continuing, "I don't, hate being around men but I just can't really get close to them. The strong, manly, muscular men that all of the other girls like just gross me out. The only people I've ever had crushes on were other girls but not only do I not get to choose for myself, there's a good chance I'd be skinned alive by the Tamin church if anyone found out! I hate feeling like this, I wish I liked boys like everyone else, then this might not be so hard... Y-You're the only person I've ever been able to talk to about this because you're so open about everything! And probably because you'd be in just as much trouble with them as I would... maybe more actually."
I grabbed Morrigan's hand and squeezed it gently to calm her down a little. "The things you're going through, they're rough. Sorting through feelings like those can be really hard. But you shouldn't feel bad about who you are. Who you're attracted to and who you aren't. These things are out of our hands, you can't control who you like any more than you can control what color your eyes are."
I paused to collect my thoughts for a moment. "I'm attracted to both girls and boys, in some ways it could be easier to pass myself off as being straight. But even still, you don't get to choose who you fall in love with. I know it's hard, especially since your situation is so much harder than normal, but you need to accept yourself as you are, that's the first step towards figuring things out. You're a really great person and I like you a lot. You're fun to be around and you're really smart. Liking men or liking women won't change that. It won't make you a better person if you do things that might make you more accepted to others who wouldn't already accept you as you are. You're already great, who you're attracted to won't change that."
"Thank y-you," Morrigan half sobbed. She turned towards me and buried her face into my side as she quietly wept into my fur. I gently pulled her against me into a hug since she seemed like she needed it right now.
"I don't know how long we'll have together but I'll be here for you whenever you need it. I do think you should talk to your sister about this though. I'm sure it wouldn't change how she feels about you. It's obvious that she's very protective of you, she would do anything to make sure you're safe and happy. At least as much as possible under the circumstances."
After a moment of quiet weeping she replied, "S-She won't think I'm gross and a-abandon me right?" she managed to say through her tears.
"Of course not, I'm sure she'd love you just as much. I'm positive about that." I gently rubbed her back and rather than reply she fell asleep right there, hugging against me. I sighed. I still wasn't sleepy in the traditional way but mentally I was wiped out and now I was a bit emotionally drained too. I turned and kissed Bella on the head before I closed my eyes and let myself drift off as well.
