Chapter 28 Mysterious Monster and Warm Fuzzies

Amisi loved her new harness. She wiggled her butt around a lot and pretty much buzzed around showing it off. Illia and Crue seemed pretty relaxed around her. Crue even let her land on his hand so she could wiggle her butt at him. Lotte and Sturgis weren't as open and welcoming.

They weren't hostile, but they weren't comfortable with her either.

“Sorry, lady,” Sturgis spoke to Amisi as she did a buzz passed him. “I'm...I... I just.. You are a creature that we've been told to fear. I think I need time to get to know you.” Well, at least he was trying to be polite about it. I'd told them she understood human speech so they were going out of their way to talk to her.

Lotte on the other hand just sort of froze whenever Amisi got too close.

I had to tell my new pet to give her some space. That's when I found out how Amisi communicated.

I got a sudden mental image of a sunny field in autumn. Golden grains waving in the grass and plenty of mice to eat. It was an image of confirmation and happiness, I think.

How she knew about autumn fields and mice when she was a newborn was something too complex for her to communicate. I decided to think of it as some sort of weird hive knowledge all Death Bees were born with. Who knew if I was right or not. That stuff was straight out of a sci-fi novel.

Amisi took a liking to Illia. I think she was curious about her ears. She buzzed to Illia's head then to mine, then back to her. She was sending me all sorts of mixed up images. Maybe she was confused?

“Illia is a rabbit person. Some people have different appearances,” I tried explaining.

I got images of bees with different striped patterns. I think she understood.

I thought Illia would panic when Amisi landed on her head to get a closer look at her ears, but she just stood there and actually moved her ears a bit to show Amisi that she could control them. Amisi seemed delighted at this new thing and did a happy butt dance on Illia's head.

“Amisi, we are hunting a monster, we need to find it. So we are going to have to be very quiet. We don't want it noticing us. So I want you to stick by me, ok?” Amisi buzzed from on top of Illia.

“You ok with her up there?” I asked Illia.

“Yes, she doesn't bother me, it actually tickles a little.” It was remarkable how my friends were adapting to this new addition to our party. I couldn't honestly say that I'd be so accepting if the circumstances were reversed. They really were great people and I was immensely lucky to have found them.

“We should get going. We've been here longer than I anticipated. I'd like to find out what the mystery monster is, then get some distance from it before it gets dark,” Sturgis said.

I checked the location of the monster. It had wandered a bit further west but was still in the general area it had been in.

We left at a brisk walk, that turned into a light jog once Amisi wasn't disturbed by the running. Illia ran smoother than me, so Amisi's choice of a ride was probably a good one.

The area we were approaching was wooded with an outcropping of rock formations and caves. There was a really steep hill we had to climb in order to get the vantage point Sturgis wanted of the monster. We mostly climbed it on our hands and knees grabbing on to tree branches and other things to help pull us up.

The top of the hill did provide us with the view Sturgis had been hoping for, but what we found wasn't what we were expecting. There was a small pond. It wasn't supposed to be there. Was it caused by flooding with the rain we had a few days ago?

The answer to that became clear when a jet stream of water came spraying out of the trees towards the pond. A big splash was made as the jet of water hit the pond's surface. Someone was using this place as target practice for water magic. No, not someone.

I checked the dot on the map.

“Guys,” I whispered, “I think that came from our monster.”

“A monster that can use level 3 water magic? How on Elrich have we missed it?” Crue muttered.

“It's coming,” hissed Illia. She had the best hearing of us all and could probably hear the movements of the creature even from this distance.

It was hard to miss as it worked its way out of the woods toward the pond. The bright purple fur was very noticeable. It was a large bear, a large purple bear. I could only assume it was a Cave Bear, but why was it coming up unknown on my map?

“I don't understand,” I muttered. “I was thinking it would be some new rare monster. It's just a Cave Bear. Why would that come up unknown?”

“It's not just a Cave Bear, that is at least a King Cave Bear to be using water magic at level 3,” Sturgis hissed. “We should go.” He started to work his way back down the hill. We all gave a glance at each other and followed. I felt like I was the only one left out in the dark about the significance of this monster.

At the base of the hill, Sturgis nodded and pointed in the direction of the honey hive. “Let's go back there before we talk.”

Well, the hive location was easily defensible. So that had some logic to it, but if we were going for help we'd need to get further away before we made camp for the night.

“So we've got ourselves a King Cave Bear, shit,” Sturgis swore as we rounded the corner of the rock outcropping protecting the hive. He ran his hand through his hair and paced.

“I still don't understand why he wouldn't show up on my map,” I said to the group.

“My guess is because it's developed magic to the point that it's not really in a class with normal Cave Bears. It's a King Cave Bear, you saw how different it was,” Crue said.

“I've never seen a Cave Bear so I don't know the difference,” I told him.

“It was twice as big for starters,” Lotte muttered. She rubbed at her temples as if she was developing a headache.

“There is that, but there is a theory about how magic alters monsters. There's a book on it in the library,” Illia added.

“What do you mean?” Crue asked.

“Well, it sort of goes along with what you were saying. It's not in the same class. The theory is that the magic actually changes the monster to the point where they can no longer be considered the same species. It gets technical, but the muscle and bone structure change as a monster develops magic,” Illia tried to explain.

“So it's not a 'Cave Bear',” I made finger quotes, “but some sort of evolutionary cousin of the Cave Bear?”

“Evolutionary?” she asked.

“The way a creature adapts to better survive within its environment. If you took a Green Ape adapted to live in the woods and put it somewhere with purple trees. Eventually, over time the Green Apes would begin to have purple fur. They are considered cousins of the original Green Apes, but are no longer Green Apes.”

“A cousin of the...” Illia muttered. Then she nodded. “I think I get it.”

“Well, I'm glad someone did,” Lotte grumbled.

“It's sort of like humans and Zyanthorpes. We both have human forms, but one of us is slightly altered,” Illia tried explaining.

“That's not quite evolution since you were created directly from a god. You're not an adapted form of human,” I told her.

“No, but I think the idea is similar. We are the same yet different. The same goes for the Cave Bear. It's the same yet different.”

“That makes more sense than Purple Apes,” Lotte commented. I tried alright.

“I think what we are going to do about it is a more pressing question,” said Sturgis. “We can't take that thing on. The base level for a normal Cave Bear would be about 22. For a King Cave Bear, we are probably looking at something around level 70.”

“Level 70? But we don't get anything higher than 50 around here,” Lotte protested.

“Normally, we don't. We have a decent Guild presence that keeps the high-level monsters from appearing, but somehow we all missed this guy out here leveling up.”

“Perhaps it's been in the cave systems and that's how we missed it?” Illia commented.

“That's probably likely. I really can't see any of us missing a Cave Bear with magic for so long, unless it's been in the cave system leveling up down there,” Sturgis agreed.

“It also explains why the Red Wolves ran,” Crue added. “Red Wolves and Cave Bears fight over territory. With a Cave Bear this strong they would flee to a new territory rather than fight for it.” He continued for my benefit. “It means that if the bear had been here before the wolves would have fought with it before it got this strong. That they ran means it showed up here already this strong.”

“We need to go to the Guild for help,” Lotte said.

“Yes, but they are going to be a little overwhelmed with the Red Wolves. Getting a party together that is strong enough to take down something level 70 will take a bit of time. We will have to have everyone in the town working on this. Guards, adventurers, and citizens that are above level 30 and have fighting skills.”

“Level 30?” Illia asked.

“A party of at least D and above adventurers,” Sturgis explained.

“Well that counts me out, I'm only at E,” I said.

“No, you will have to come because of your scouting,” Sturgis said.

“Hey, we can't let others know about it,” Crue whispered to him nudging him in the ribs.

“This is...” Sturgis began.

“Not so important that what happened to our family should happen to Eri,” Crue interrupted.

“Well, there is a way around that,” Lotte said. “I don't think either of you has realized that he just became a tamer of a Death Bee. His stats probably have risen a lot since he first was checked.”

“He was only just checked the beginning of the week how much could they rise in that time?” Sturgis scoffed.

“No, she might be right,” Illia thought out loud. Where was she going with this? I knew Lotte was right, but we were trying to keep my Blessing a secret. I thought I should also stay quiet about my initial D rank grade at the Guild.

“A Queen Death Bee as a companion, one Blessed by Amoris, it should be enough to push him into D class. The skills of a tamed monster are usually accounted for in the testing,” Illia nodded confirming her own thoughts.

Well, by now who knew how high my ranking might be. If I had to take the exam again I should add some Exp into Hidden Among the Masses the skill that allowed me to hide my skills. I should probably do it anyway for Crue's benefit. I allocated Exp to it before I forgot, or a meteor fell from the sky. At the rate this week was going, it wouldn't surprise me.

I took it up to level 40. I wasn't sure if that was enough to do any good. I didn't get a notification, but when I tried to move one of Crue's skill levels it let me. Only one though and by only one level lower. I would have to up the level of Hidden Among the Masses in order to change all of his skills to be lower.

“I'd forgotten about that. We don't have many tamers in town so it never really comes up,” Sturgis nodded breaking into my glum thoughts and distracting me from my Exp allocation.

“You will not under any circumstance put Eri in a position that will bring unwanted attention. Do you understand, brother?” Crue's voice got a bit lower and was just a tad threatening.

“I don't think it will become an issue if he can test high enough for level D. We should be able to work around it,” Sturgis smiled.

“Should isn't good enough. You pushed your way onto this mission. Since you are more experienced I let you take the lead.” Oh, so that was why, good to know. “You promised to keep his skill a secret. You will NOT break that promise under any circumstance. Do you understand?” Crue was...angry. He jabbed a finger into his brother's chest.

What had Sturgis done that made Crue mad at his brother? It's not like he was planning on telling the entire Guard about it. He just wanted to use me for my scouting, I was a Guild Surveyor. They were sort of known for their tracking abilities. Once again I felt like I was missing a key piece of information. Illia looked just as confused, so I wasn't alone.

“Both of you can it. Now is not the time,” Lotte rubbed the sides of her temples again.

Was she always like this? When I first met her she seemed a lot friendlier, but on this trip, she wasn't so friendly. It seemed like she was forcing herself to even tolerate us at times. Maybe she was just stressed and this is how she dealt with it.

“It's not like...”Sturgis began arguing with Crue.

“I. SAID. STOP!” Lotte suddenly stood up and glared at both of them. “Stop dragging us into your issues. Just stop it already.” Lotte slammed her hand flat against the side of the rock. Then she turned and stormed off around the corner. Well, that had escalated quickly.

I gave a silent look to Illia. I felt like we had an entire conversation in that one look.

Do you know what that was about?

No, Clue.

Weird right?

Yes.

Should one of us go after her?

I don't know.

As far as silent conversations went we managed to cover a lot.

Go with me over there? Leave them alone? I nodded in the opposite direction Lotte had stormed off.

Alright.

Illia and I both stood and left the brothers to their brooding and in Sturgis' case, pouting. Seeing a man as big as a tree pout was something you didn't see every day. It was the only term I could think of to adequately describe his overly sulky and pissed off expression.

We made our way around the rocks and found a nice spot with a flat boulder we could sit on.

“Well, that escalated quickly,” Illia said.

“Ya, I was thinking the same thing.”

“I don't really know Lotte or Sturgis, but I get the feeling the three of them have history,” Illia sighed.

“Do you know what the issues they have are? They keep bringing up their family?”

“Only hearsay and I don't really think it's my place to tell you. Just that some crazy stuff happened to their grandfather and later their father. They have every reason to be paranoid about the government and the kingdom.

“So when he says don't stand out, he means it. Do everything you can not to come to the attention of the political forces. Though for Crue, I think he finds it difficult to think of the temple as a political force. Just be careful.”

“I see. To be honest, I'm glad the both of you are here to caution me. I never would have thought about all this on my own. It never would have occurred to me that people would try and use me. I was just focused on starting my new life.”

“Well, if worse comes to worst, you can always run. You can leave the Kingdom. They can't technically follow you into another territory.”

“What do you mean by technically?”

“Most territories have some sort of spy network. If they think that someone is a threat they will do everything they can to take out that threat. Even if that threat is working with someone other than themselves.

“The good thing about Yellow Springs is that there is a lot of tourism, people come in and out all the time. There is a sense of anonymity. At the same time, because you don't know the people around you, you can't pinpoint the people most likely to be a threat.”

“So it both works for me and against me,” I nodded. “Perhaps my plan for traveling should be moved up? If I move around a lot then I won't be scrutinized as much, right?” I was just thinking out loud I didn't really think moving up my plans for travel was necessary, yet.

Illia stayed silent for a while, “right.” Then her shoulders slumped a bit and she sighed.

“You really might be right about moving around. If you stay in one place for too long people are bound to find you.”

“Well, no one is looking for me, yet,” I said. I patted her on the back. Something in my gut told me that we weren't just talking about me anymore.

“When you go, I'll go with you,” she whispered. I barely heard her. What?

“Um, Illia, I don't want to pry, and don't get me wrong I'd love to have company, but why would you want to go with me? Not that I'm leaving anytime soon or anything.” I waved my hand in the air a bit to show I had no real plans.

“Crue isn't the only one with family drama. Sooner or later mine is going to come searching for me. I've been in Yellow Springs far longer than I thought I'd be. I don't want to go back home no matter what. Yellow Springs has been a safe haven for me and I've come to love it, but it's probably not the best idea to stay.”

“Is your family that bad?” I couldn't imagine having a family so bad you'd run away to escape them.

“Yes and no. Individually they are fine, but as a group, they've come to place expectations on me that I am not willing to live up too. I refuse to go back. I won't go back.” She placed her head in her hands displacing Amisi a bit.

“I'm guessing that you can't talk them out of these expectations?” I rubbed her back for comfort. I hoped she didn't think I was being creepy. Not that I had creepy intentions.

“No, I'm the only girl in a family with fifteen brothers. For some reason, not many girls are born into our clan. So when one is born they are expected to marry and begin producing children as soon as possible. I don't want that. I don't want to live a life like my mother. Her first child at sixteen and pregnant every year since. That's not a life I want.”

“Every year? You mean she's hardly ever not pregnant? That doesn't seem safe.” I didn't know a lot about pregnant ladies, but I knew enough that the doctors suggested waiting a while after one birth before getting pregnant again. If only to give the mother time to recover. Damn, though, 16 kids, I couldn't even imagine. Her mother could star in her own reality show on Earth.

“It's killing her. Slowly, but it is killing her. When I left she was about to give birth again and she was completely bedridden.” She shook her shoulders up and down, her palms out, in a defeated shrug.

“I'm sorry,” I didn't know what to say. I felt bad for even thinking of it in a glib way earlier. For Illia to be this upset, it must have been very harsh.

“They think it's fine to treat her like she's not her own person. She's a wife, a mother, but never her own person. She doesn't have time to be. Growing up, we could all see she wasn't happy, but she never did anything about it. Having children was her duty.”

“They want to take you back so that you can continue having babies like your mother,” I stated.

“Yes, but it's worse than that for me,” she sighed. “Because of my special skill, they wanted me to have multiple partners. They had plans to diversify the clan using me as a broodmare. They wouldn't even let me choose my own partners.

“I was sixteen and I was told I had to breed with my own cousin. When I refused, they locked me up in my room, even barred the window. They were arguing about it downstairs. My own father said that once I got over my maidenly shyness I'd be fine with the plan. My mother wanted them to wait until I became used to the idea. The clan was impatient, they needed more females to be born. I was their best bet in getting more girls in the clan. They weren't going to wait for me to come to terms with my born duty.

“They sent my cousin in,” she paused and for a long time, I didn't think she was going to finish.

“I had been able to hear their discussion. I knew that I'd never have a chance at living my own life if I stayed with the clan, with my family. The family that I loved was downstairs discussing whether or not it was a good idea to rape me into submission, because that's what it would have been, rape.”

“God, Illia, I don't know what to say,” I whispered. I felt like I should say something, but how horrifying would that have been to a young girl? I couldn't even imagine, and I felt like there was nothing I could say to help with that level of pain.

“I grabbed a pillowcase and packed some clothes, my jewelry, all the money I had. I broke the leg off my desk chair and I waited. I guess I was lucky they sent him up alone. I bashed him over the head with the chair leg, stole his utility knife, then grabbed my bow and quiver. With the door unlocked I snuck down the hall and entered one of the rooms my youngest brothers shared. They were supposed to be asleep.

“They started to make noise when I entered the room. I opened the window and began to crawl out. My father arrived just in time to see me jump out.

“Knowing I didn't have much time. I was up and running before I could even register that I'd landed stupid and hurt my hip in the fall. I kept running for over a week.

“No food, hardly any sleep, and the constant fear of being found, it was a nightmare. I knew they were tracking me. There were times I could hear them in the forest. When they made camp I could smell their fires.”

“But they didn't find you,” I commented. Thank the gods.

“Oh, they found me. One of my other cousins did. He was always the best tracker, but he also had the meanest temperament. He was not happy when he found out his younger brother would have me first. He found me, cornered me, tried to 'teach me my duty',” she made finger quotes. “I used his own brother's knife to stab him. I robbed him of his gear and left him for dead.

“I don't know if I actually killed him. He was still alive when I left him. I think the search party found him and took him back home for medical attention. I think that's the only reason they stopped searching. By the time they would have gotten back on the trail rainy season had begun. In a way, I was lucky and unlucky about that.”

“What do you mean?” Shit, she had, maybe, killed a person. Her own cousin. Was I ok with that? I thought about it briefly. Hell yes, I was fine with it. Bastard deserved it.

“I was alone in the forest, no food but some early spring berries and what I could manage to catch and electrocute enough to eat, and it was raining. I got sick, very sick. Something in my lungs.”

“What did you do?” I was feeling a sense of relief and pride that my friend was able to survive so much. I was also angry. I felt an anger brewing in the back of my mind if I ever came across any of her family...I didn't know what I'd do. Was I capable of killing someone? If I'd have been there at that moment, yes. A sense of resolve crested over me. I'd keep her safe. I wouldn't let anyone hurt her, but it looked like she was able to keep herself safe just fine.

“I was found, half dead, by a Priestess of Amoris. She was traveling with a group of other new priests from other temples. They were just fresh from the capital and were on their way to their temple posts. They took me into their group and healed me, let me travel with them, and eventually got me well enough that I could set out on my own again.”

“Then you made it to Yellow Springs?”

“Not in the beginning. I did a little bit of work with the Guild to make some money. I was told that Yellow Springs is good for beginners because of the Green Apes. So I made my way up here planning on becoming a full-time adventurer. Turns out that at my level even Green Apes were too dangerous for me to solo and no one really wanted me in their party.

“I was running out of money and didn't have enough for a place to stay. Mary found me sleeping in the corner of the library one afternoon and offered me the job. I've been there ever since.”

“Mary seems like a great person,” I know they were just general comments, but I honestly didn't know what to say to her after a story like that.

“Mary is amazing. She's very flexible. That's why I'm not worried about taking time off, or even leaving if it should come to that. Mary will be fine.”

“Well, even though I think I will eventually have to leave, perhaps sooner than I anticipated, I can't leave just yet,” I sighed. She'd shared so much with me. That meant she trusted me to some extent. Was it fair that I was keeping important information from her? No, I'd be an asshat if I continued to keep it from her at this point.

“I think before you decide to follow me that you should probably know that I have a few more secrets. Important ones that will likely affect your decision.” Hell, was I really going to do this? Yes, I was. It wasn't right that she would decide to just travel with me in the future without her knowing.

“What is it?” she asked. She had a look of apprehension on her face. Well, that was to be expected.

“I'm not from Elrich. I did a good deed for the gods where I'm from and got killed for it. They decided to reincarnate me here. That's why I have all these Blessings. They were incentives for me to reincarnate.” I glanced at her face for a reaction. Nothing, her face had gone pretty expressionless.

“Um, there is more,” I hesitated. “When Amoris reincarnated me she sort of messed it up. Edomael had to finish the job. This means that I was reincarnated with both their powers. It also means that I'm not... human...” I trailed off on the last words, almost choking on them because I was so reluctant to say them. Only, part of it was that I didn't want anyone to know, the rest was most likely my sense of denial about the entire situation. At least I could acknowledge to myself that I was in a state of denial.

“You're not joking,” she shook her head then held up a finger. “Give me a second.” Was that good or bad? We were sort of having a sharing moment, I could only hope it was good.

“You're not from Elrich and you're not human. Does Crue know about this?”

“Yes, Amoris thought it best that I have someone to guide me along. She sort of picked Crue. He's been trying to teach me how to manage in this world.”

“I see,” she paused. “Crue is ok with it?”

“I think so, but you'd actually have to ask him. I mean we haven't even gotten to the part where I have to transition. I'm hoping he'll stick around even after that.”

“What?”

“Um, well, when I was reincarnated I sort of became a baby Succuba. I haven't transformed yet. I've been told the transition is...not easy. Crue has skills that are supposed to help me.” I felt like I was pulling out my own teeth. An uneasy acidic feeling began to grow in my gut.

“Wait,” she lifted her hand, “So you're an Incubus? Aren't they incredibly rare? The books hardly ever have any mention of them except for the stories of Samil and Esau and theories based on witness accounts.” Leave it to Illia to take the researcher's perspective rather than freaking out.

“I guess so, I mean I still feel human and for the most part, I am human. Since I haven't changed yet I don't know how to be anything other than human. I wouldn't know about rarity or anything like that. I just know what Amoris and Edomael told me. That's it. There is a part of me that still thinks it can't be real, to be perfectly honest.” Boy, was I swimming in a river in Egypt.

“Why are you telling me now? Why not when you added me to your party and told me about your Blessings? Don't you trust me?” The acid feeling in my gut began to feel like fire.

“It's not that. I think it's mostly I'm afraid of how you'd react. On top of that, the fewer people know about it the safer everyone is. Crue's paranoia isn't so far fetched when you think about my particular circumstances. What government group wouldn't want to kidnap me and find out everything I know about my old world?

“I just don't know how safe it is to be letting people know about it. Amoris told Crue, you are technically the first person I've told.” I looked up at her. I placed a hand over my stomach. My guts would remain in place. They weren't going anywhere.

Amisi, who was still on Illia's head, started to do a dance. It distracted both of us for a bit.

Amisi sent me images of her with honey.

“I think she's hungry,” I commented to Illia. She was trying to look up at the bee, but that was pretty much impossible considering where Amisi was perched.

“You should see if she'll eat strawberries. That honey is worth a small fortune and if she can supplement her food with strawberries she'll eat less honey. I even wonder if she could sustain herself on regular bee honey?”

“I don't know, but I don't want to risk her development by denying her honey just because it's worth something.”

“That's not what I mean. I wouldn't want that either, but maybe for 'treats' in between real meals?”

“We can try it,” I nodded and brought out a handful of strawberries. “Here Amisi, when you eat your honey you can have these for dessert.” I waved the strawberries at her. She flew down from Illia and buzzed around the strawberries I'd placed on the ground. She crawled around them and nibbled a bit with her mandibles and her Cthulhu tongue. She did a happy bee dance and started to really dig in.

“Hey, wait, you have to eat your honey first. You're a growing bee.” I held out my hand with a palm full of honey. She seemed reluctant to abandon her new treat, but in the end, came up to me like a sulky bee and ate her honey. “Good girl. When you're done you can have the berries.”

“I'm glad Sturgis had us keep track of how much we each collected,” she muttered rubbing Amisi's butt as she ate.

“What? I wasn't told that.”

“Well, you were collecting it faster than the rest of us. It was just logical for the rest of us to keep track rather than you. I'm not saying that you would cheat us or anything,” she waved her hands in a panic.” We just didn't know how else to figure out how to split the money from the sales. If we did it equally, then that wouldn't be fair since without you we never would have been able to gather it in the first place. On top of that, you were collecting it faster than the rest of us since you didn't have to take time to scrape it into a bucket or jar. You could just swish your hand around and voila!” She moved her hands around like a magic trick. It hadn't been like that, but I understood her point.

“We just wanted to be fair, and that's why we kept track. This was before Amisi though. I'm not certain just how much honey everyone else gathered and how much you've got. Will you have enough to keep her fed over the winter? That's partly why I was wondering if you could supplement her. If not, I'd be willing to donate some of the honey I collected. Just a small jar of it would be enough to pay six months rent. Besides, Amisi will begin to produce her own honey in the spring and Queen Bee honey is worth at least ten times that of normal Death Bee honey. If I let you have some now, and you pay me back in the spring, I'd be making a profit!” Leave it to Illia to be compassionate yet five steps ahead of everyone else when it came to thinking about possibilities.

“I think we will have to wait until we get back to town. I can subtract the amount you guys collected and determine how much I have left. Amoris said I would need about a third of the honey in my inventory.”

“Well, I'm not certain how much we collected total, but I know you were working your way through the hive four times as fast as the rest of us. My guess is that about half the honey you have will be what you collected.”

“You don't think it will cause hard feelings, do you? The way we split it? I was thinking of just doing everything five ways.”

“We could do that, but you won't have enough to feed Amisi if you do. You could promise them some of Amisi's honey. Or you could offer to buy the honey from them outright. I'm not sure if you have that sort of money right now. You could owe them the money, and pay them back when you sell Amisi's honey. I don't think they would be opposed to either option.”

“I don't think I have that sort of money.”

“Not yet you don't, but come spring you will. Still, we are putting the cart before the horse. They agreed to keep track and that's probably what we will stick with. Crue will stick with that plan and so will I, but I don't know about Lotte or Sturgis.”

“Well, we can split it five ways and if you and Crue agree to it we can take what Amisi needs out of our three shares. I'd only need five percent of each of your honey. I could pay you both back later.”

“It still doesn't seem right that you would be the only one not making any money from this.”

“Well, I'm the only one who was dumb enough to make a Death Bee my pet. That's on me. You shouldn't have to have consequences for my rash decisions.”

“Well, the point is moot since we don't know how the other's will vote on the issue.” She pet Amisi's butt again as the bee finished up her honey and preceded to decimate the pile of strawberries.

“This little distraction right here,” she scratched Amisi's butt again, “let me process some of the stuff you just told me. I have some questions. Is that alright?”

Oh well, I guess I hadn't expected her to forget the entire previous conversation. My stomach had just begun to calm itself too.

“I might not have answers to everything, but I can try.”

“Just how dangerous will this transition of yours be?”

“Well, I don't really know. Crue is supposed to help with that. I think that for about a week I will be pretty much a sex maniac. I don't know how much control of the situation I will have, but it's pretty much given that I will need to have a few partners to...Um...help out...” I trailed off embarrassed.

“Prostitutes?” Geeze, right to the point.

“Not, ideally, but most likely.” Poker Face was failing me, I could feel my face flushing bright red. Even my ears felt like they were on fire. Dig a hole and bury me.

“Does he want to teach you the Sexual Healing special skill?”

“Um, he thinks it might help. I'm not sure how though.”

“Does the act have to be completed? Do you actually have to have intercourse?” Why was she so damn calm talking about this? I felt like I was going to melt from how hot my face was.

“Um, well Amoris said that I'll go into a state of heat and...”

“Heat?” Illia interrupted.

“Um, yes, I'll be focused on trying to absorb enough spiritual and emotional energy that I won't be able to think.”

“Spirit and emotions?”

“She said there are three things Succuba feed off of sex, love, and lust. Any combination of the three work, but I'll be mostly focused on, well, actual sex.”

“So you might be able to get away with not having sex?”

“That is the theory Crue is working with. Amoris said that kissing and touch can generate energy, but the amounts are small. She did say that I technically didn't have to be physical with someone as long as one of us reaches a climax.” Forget burying me, shoot me now and put me out of my misery. I couldn't even look at her. Please have mercy on me and stop with these questions.

“Crue should be able to teach you a way around it without actually finishing the deed, so to speak.”

“It's still embarrassing.” There, I said it.

“Well, yes, it would be. In a way, prostitutes might be less embarrassing than having to find multiple people to be intimate with. I just can't imagine you having a dozen girlfriends.”

“Neither can I,” I sighed. Casanova I was not.

“It might all be worth it though,” she commented. I peeked up at her from the corner of my eye.

“How so?”

“You'll have wings. To be able to fly...” she tilted her head down at me so she could make eye contact and smile. “That would be amazing.”

“Not if you're afraid of heights.” Well, now I was just being contrary.

“Are you afraid of heights?” She asked.

“Don't know, I've never flown before. I've been on really high bridges and a few roller-coasters, but being strapped in or having your feet firmly planted on the ground is vastly different than flying.”

“Roller-coaster?”

“Um, I don't know how to explain it. It's like a mine-cart that is on a track. The track goes really high up in the air, then free-falls into a drop going really fast.” I mimicked the movement of an imaginary mine-cart moving around a track.

“Your world seems...alarming. You transport yourselves this way? Wouldn't a horse be far safer?”

“They aren't for transport. We have other types of transportation for that. People ride these because it's fun.”

“Fun? This?” She imitated my movements with her own hand.

“It causes an adrenaline rush. So people really like it.”

“Seems dangerous,” she said.

“Well, it's probably a lot safer than flying with wings.” Amisi finished with her berries, buzzed loudly at me. I got a bunch of images of happiness and flying in warm breezes.

“Oh!” Illia exclaimed looking at Amisi. “She really can communicate!”

“Huh? I thought I was the only one she could send images too. Did you get the warm summer breezes too?”

“Yes! What a remarkable little bee you are!” Illia picked up Amisi and careful of her wings and stinger snuggled her soft fluffy head. Amisi buzzed a bit, and it was obvious that she was proud of herself. She was quite expressive for something that didn't have any facial features. I didn't think a bee could look smug, but she managed it.

“For a baby, she's rather smart,” I commented. Amoris said she wouldn't be able to communicate anything very complex, but here she was telling us she liked flying.

“I wonder if all Death Bees are this intelligent, if it's just Queen Bees, or if Amisi is special.” Illia agreed.

I got an image of a bunch of bees, all different patterns, all different, but then I got an image of fluffy Amisi standing out above the rest. Then an image of Amoris.

“So, Amoris made you extra special?” I asked. Well, she had given Amisi her Blessing.

“Perhaps when Amoris was talking to her, some of her intelligence rubbed off on Amisi?” Illia guessed.

“I hope not, I don't need a scatterbrained Death Bee!” I laughed. Illia chuckled along. Even Amisi gave little bursts of buzzes. I think she was laughing.

Amisi sent a picture of Amoris, then an image of a bee buzzing around in circles in confusion.

“She really is smart!” Illia fell into a fit of giggles. I think we all needed a bit of a giggle fit after all the sharing we'd done.

Illia was a wonderful person, smart, savvy, resourceful, not to mention cute. I already had a tiny crush on her, but this...what happened today. I had a feeling that my Gran would call her a 'keeper.' There were still some hurdles to cross, but I felt like at this moment I could cross them. At this moment with Illia, I felt a sense of calm and peace fill me. Warm fuzzies. She was my friend, but maybe in the future, we'd become more. I could only hope.

Name- Eri Veritas

HP 3234/3234

MP 95/95

Level- 14

Age- 18

Race/Species- (Human) Unknown

Gender- (Male) Unknown

Occupation- Surveyor of Adventurers' Guild

Companion- Amisi (Baby Queen Death Bee)

Exp- 4756

Physical Power- 289

Stamina- 312

Defense- 393

Agility- 574

Intelligence- 105

Magic Power- 8

Metal Rain Lv 1

Lightning Magic Lv 1

Healing Hands Lv 2

Telekinesis Lv 3

Restraint Lv 3

Paralysis Resistance Lv 3

Mind Magic Resistance Lv 1

Skills

Staff Fighting Lv 2

Basic Sword Lv 4

Skull Bashing Lv 3

Slicing Lv 1

Piercing Lv 1

Martial Arts Lv 3

Stance Lv 2

Smooth Movement Lv 2

Archery Lv 3

Spear Lv 1

Stalking Lv 1

Scouting Lv 1

Jumping Lv 1

Running Lv 3

Monster Taming Lv 7

- Death Bee

Pain Tolerance Lv 3

Deception Lv 2

Intimidation Lv 1

Poker Face Lv 1

Etiquette Lv 3

Public Speaking Lv 1

Dismantling Lv 1

Appraisal Lv 1

Cooking Lv 1

Leather Work Lv 1

Metal Work Lv 1

Replication Lv 1 (Lv 10 for Succuba Star only)

Rock Throwing

Dancing

Singing

Harvesting

Empathy

Small Talk

Discretion

Party Tricks

Alcohol Tolerance

Monster Biology

Entomology

Zoology

Botany

Special Skills

Abyss Walker

Racial Ability-

Hidden Among the Masses- 40

Stealth- 95

Party- 10

Items Equip

Inventory Bracelet

Succuba Star

Gold- 1g 4s 09c (1409c) (6570c yet to be divided.)

Blessing 1- All Map Exploration

Blessing 2- Exp Points Required by Level Up / Current Level

Blessing 3-Exp Increase X Current Level

Blessing 4- Item- Gamer Glasses

Titles- Emissary of Amoris

Devotee of Amoris

Devotee of Edomael

Oracle of Amoris

Oracle of Edomael

Prince of Dreams

Grateful Petitioner

Lover of Leaves

Enemy of Apes