Irisa was strangely excited to see what I could do as a chimera. Ichiha couldn’t hide her curiosity, either, and I had their applause when I transfigured little spider setules on my fingers to climb up their wall and onto the ceiling. Then by shooting out some web from my wrists, I slowly descended until my feet touched the ground. That got the most reaction other than changing my hand into a boar’s head with its undercoat, and Ichiha remarked on how soft it felt. 

The spider leg on my forehead received applause—Irisa even remarked that if I grew a second one and made it slightly smaller and blacker, I could be an oni like her—but the araneae’s head coming from my wrist was unsettling. The topic of different senses when transfigured came up, and I explained it as ‘seeing’ from my wrist, but I could focus and align the sight from the spider’s head and my eyes to get the best of both worlds at the cost of a headache. With the boar’s nose, I could take full advantage of their incredible sense of smell. 

After displaying my chimeric side, I tried to pull my 9mm from [Storage], but it wasn’t there. 

Yeah, it was probably knocked out of my hands. With Reina’s gun, I showed off [Chimeric Armatization] and said it was better than [Mystic Gunner]. I channeled fire and water magic through it so they could see the different forms, then did the same for [Piercing Thrust] and [String Shot]. 

And since it had been a while, I figured I could look at my Status Menu. 

Lyudmila Springfield 

High Elf 

Lv. 5 

SP: 15 

Title: [Goblin Slayer (I)] 

Sub-Title: [Araneae Slayer (I)] 

Skill Menu [+] 

Mastery Menu [+] 

Lv. 5? There were a lot of monsters, and they were alphas. I had 9 SP before, so Sekh must’ve gotten 12 SP when she leveled up. It’s still slow, though. We need to pick up the pace... 

[Piercing Thrust], [Web Bomb], and [String Shot] were at Lv. 10, while [Fireball] was Lv.4. All were mastered. 

I spoke to Irisa about [Hermes Trismegistus], and she found it absolutely incredible, even more so after I told her of [Map]'s satellite mode. To prove it to her, I returned to my room, turned it on, and watched a live feed of her holding up four fingers. I called that out, then she touched her mom’s arm and asked what she was doing. I obviously answered right, and this continued for a few more minutes until the headaches came. Before I returned to the kitchen, I changed clothes. What I had on before was destroyed in the dungeon, but I'd received three outfits when I first moved in.

I can keep the gloves off, though. At least while I'm here... The shirt and shorts were comfortable, but I love this long skirt.

Irisa skipped to her room and came out with something that made my jaw drop. “Mila, we went hunting for those hides to make this for Sekh. I’m not done with it, but I’m close,” she said, standing beside a complete set of brown boiled leather armor. 

Boiled Leather Armor (0/1)  

It weighed about 12lbs. My storage was full of cores, so I didn’t have the space. I’d have to wait for it to naturally expand, but it wasn’t like I was going to store the armor.  

“Thank you,” said Sekh. It seemed she was struggling a bit to appreciate the gift. She experienced the same strain as I did when Ichiha hugged and talked to me, but it was nice to see her stiff expression melt into a lovely smile. 

It's growth for both of us... That’s good, right? 

“You said you had something like a workshop, right, right? Can I see it? It sounds cool. And I still need to make a mace and shield for you, Sekh. I promise it’ll be done soon.” 

“Well, it’s kinda like that, but it’s called [Artificer’s Arsenal]. If I make a knife or something, I can register it. If it breaks or dulls, I can summon another copy. The only restriction is that once something is registered, it cannot be used to cause any harm. But it isn’t just knives. If I made a furnace or anvil, it could be registered and stored as well. Even coal, oddly enough, can be infinite if I somehow make it by hand. See?” I took out the first stone knife I had made and crushed it against Yaekira’s dagger. It vanished from my hand, but I summoned two more copies and handed one to Irisa. 

“That’s so cool!!!!” Irisa exclaimed. She asked me questions about how experienced I was in crafting, but I only just had the stone spider mace I had made for Sekh. Now that I had [Weapon Creation], I was sure whatever I made would be hardly better—but better, nonetheless. 

“Do...do you think you can teach me?” I asked. 

“You wanna learn?” she said, helping Sekh put on her new armor. It had no effects because Irisa hadn’t applied any cores to it. I asked what determined the number of slots, and the answer was  [Enchanting]. Irisa had the skill at Lv. 1, but the armor she wore had 3 slots because she took it to an enchanter with [Enchanting (Lv. 3] in Ria to bless. That took resources, which varied depending on the material the equipment was made from. For Sekh’s armor, Irisa needed hide and cores from boar-type enemies. Obviously, if she had [Enchanting] at Lv. 10, then the number of materials needed would be drastically higher. 

“I do. Actually, I wanted to make Sekh’s mace and shield.” 

“Master? Really?” It sounded like Sekh was shocked. Her pretty silver eyes went soft, and a smile curled on her lovely lips. “Thank you,” she said.  

“That’s great! Oh, and how about this? I’ll make you a set of armor. I was thinking something with holes in the back for spider legs to come through.” Irisa stood back and admired Sekh. The boiled leather was mostly brown, with a few black threads here and there to keep it all securely attached.  

“Holes in the back? Hey, is there something that can grow and shrink without ripping or tearing?” I asked.  

“There is. Some Beastfolk can take their bestial forms, which can involve drastic changes in size,” Irisa answered. “Without {Auto-Size} enchanted on their equipment, it would rip. But that’s an expensive enchantment, I don’t know it, and I’m not qualified. Oh, do you wanna head out to the mines? We need to get some iron for the mace. The shield requires boar hides, so we can pick some up along the way.” 

Ichiha held a worried look on her face. “Mila, do you think you can fight? You almost died.” 

I looked at my hands. “Even if I’ve been gored by a boar, suffocated from a spider’s poison, and had my intestines gush out from my stomach... I’m scared, but it’s a different fear. Once you’ve experienced what I’ve been through, death isn’t something that frightens you in a stereotypical way.  No, the way those goblins lusted after me... That’s what scares me... I won’t know how I’d react until I see one, but I must get stronger... Wait, we?” I turned to a smiling Irisa.   

“Yep! I wanna come with you. Not just to protect you, but I wanna mine some ore.  It’ll be fun, right?”  

I contemplated it longer than needed, but she sped off to her room to get changed when I nodded. 

Meanwhile, I sat and conversed with Ichiha, Sekh, and Tilde. I mentioned I was surprised she hadn’t asked that many questions, and the motherly Oni replied that she had my privacy in mind. “It’s up to you to determine how much you want to share, but because of your circumstances, it is hard to not think about it since most regard chimera as nothing more than evil to be eradicated. But I trust you, Mila, and I hope you can trust my little Irisa and I. Now, is there anything I can do?” Ichiha crossed her arms and leaned onto the table, tilting her head slightly and giving me a comforting smile. 

She knows a language I don’t. Maybe I can learn it? 

“[Scholar’s Tongue]?” she questionably repeated after I explained the skill to her “We’re speaking Arezzian right now, but…” After taking a breath, Ichiha spoke Oni, the language she inherently knew because of her race. A few seconds later, her previously unknown words started to make more and more sense. “… and if you can understand this, give me a smile.” 

New Skill: [Oni Language] 

“I do understand it, Ichiha,” I replied in perfect Oni, giving her what she requested. 

“Oh! Incredible!” She clapped her hands once and almost jumped out of her seat.  

“It’s crazy. It feels like I’ve known how to speak it all along…”  

“Mila, sweetie, have you noticed anything about my darling Irisa?” Ichiha suddenly asked in Arezzian. Her voice grew heavy and her tone serious. I shook my head, and she continued. “’Mom, I think I messed up?’ Remember that?” 

“I do. Why?” 

“Well… Irisa’s always been a cheerful little girl. Always adventurous and wanting to get into everything since she was still in diapers. And she’s grown into a very beautiful woman, but it’s her mind… She’s oblivious to what we might call social courtesy. It is hard for her to notice social cues. She often does or asks something that might be inappropriate. It isn’t something she’s doing out of malice.” 

“That explains a little bit, but... I like Irisa. You both accepted me for what I am,” I said, slightly jumping when my heart started to feel warm and fuzzy. “It’s only right I’m accepting of her.” 

“Aww…” Ichiha hugged me, pressing my head into her chiseled stomach while gently stroking my hair.  

It’s that same feeling… Ichiha... Mom... 

The next few minutes passed with some lively chatter. Then Irisa popped out with her porkypine chainmail over her casual outfit, a bat-like object with a thick nail hammered through it, and a pickaxe.  

“Mom? Can we borrow some backpacks? And a mace for Sekh until Mila’s made one for her?” 

“Of course.” Ichiha’s kindness was off the charts. I tried to throw in another article of clothing, but she refused. “Sweetie, that is worth more than a thousand people make in a lifetime. More so because Lord Amos specifically created it for a Soul Warrior.” 

We all went downstairs. Sekh found a suitable mace and thanked Ichiha a second time, then she slipped it through a loop on her belt. 

 I was the only one without protection because my wooden chainmail broke, but Irisa was going to change that. After we took the backpacks and canteens the motherly figure so graciously offered us, Sekh, Tilde, Irisa, and I were out the door.  

We were just walking towards the northern entrance when Irisa said something that caught me off guard.  

“You know, after mom and I cleaned you up, I saw the reason why Sekh moans so much when you two have sex. That thing between your legs is huge, even when it’s flaccid. Like, I almost thought it was going to attack me. It’s hard to believe it gets even bigger when you’re hard.” 

“Eh?!” I exclaimed. 

“You were stark naked when she brought you to us. Mom stitched the wounds, and I rubbed you clean with a dozen wet towels and rags.” After inquiring some more, it appeared Sekh’s [Fleshcrafting] on my crotch vanished when I nearly died. Tilde said it had to do with my body automatically morphing back into its base form and canceling any alterations, including Sekh’s handiwork to my penis, out of necessity and safety. 

So yeah... Irisa saw the gray tower between my legs... 

I uttered a soft apology in a quiet voice. Irisa soon slapped me on the back with a hearty laugh.  

“It’s no big deal. I’ve seen one before.” 

“You’re not a virgin?” I asked. 

“I’m not. Mom’s probably told you about my lack of a filter when I speak, so I haven’t had a potential mate in a while. And then there’s that situation with dad. I dunno. It’s kinda hard to explain, but I couldn’t focus on finding a husband because my mom and I gotta take care of each other and the store.” 

“I see…” 

“Mila? We’re friends, right? And friends take baths together. Is that something you might want to do?” 

“A bath together?”  

The tub is big enough, but... 

“I...don’t know about that.” If Irisa was disappointed, she didn’t show it. Maybe I’d want to do it in the future, but right now was much too soon. 

But I was open to the idea... I really was. 

“Don’t look so sorry, Mila. It’s fine. Really. I won’t pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do. Life’s been hard on you, and I don’t want to add to that,” Irisa said. She gave me a smile and started talking about all the things she needed to teach me as it pertained to crafting. She had experience making clothes, armor, weapons, brewing potions, and building things like tables and chairs, and she was ecstatic that she had a student to pass her knowledge down to. She lacked experience in enchanting, so I would have to find someone else to teach me about that. 

Ignoring the stuff about second chances and having an opportunity to do it all over again the right way, I felt genuine joy flow through my heart. If this was what it felt like to truly look forward to something that would only enrich my life, then why did my ‘parents’ try so hard to take that away from me? To them, I wasn’t worth the added effort when they already had a prodigy to nurture. 

If they had tried to give a little bit of effort... 

Shit, I can’t keep thinking about them. They were parents in name only, not action and motivation. The possibility of me meeting them here is nearly nil, but should that day come, I will end their lives without a moment of hesitation. 

They gave up on me, so I’ll give up on them. 

It’s only fair, right?