After Alex and Dean returned from the town of Gunnison, where they had dealt with the destruction of the creatures that were cicada spirits, a very eventful week passed in the bunker. Waking up the day after returning from Gunnison, Alex's first order of business was to prepare breakfast for the girls.
Alex even made breakfast for Rowena, who preferred to spend her lazy life in her little room. Rowena herself rarely left except to get a new book. No one asked what Rowena was doing, because nobody really cared as long as she didn't cause any problems in the bunker.
After breakfast, Alex briefly returned to Gunnison to speak with Sheriff Tyson and explain a fairly plausible story about what had been happening in the town. Sheriff Tyson was skeptical about what Alex told her, considering all the madness that had been occurring in her town over the past few days. But Sheriff Tyson didn't have much choice: either continue believing that something supernatural was happening in her town, or accept the version Alex presented to her.
Not wanting to be seen as a crazy woman talking about spirits living in the forest, Sheriff Tyson accepted the version that some psychopath had settled in the old mine in the woods and had been drugging people, causing the missing individuals to go insane. In the end, Sheriff Tyson personally closed the case in front of Alex, writing that the suspect had died in a shootout during the investigation.
Seeing what Sheriff Tyson had done, Alex simply smiled and left with a simple reminder that monsters don't exist. All Sheriff Tyson could do was watch as Alex left the police station. And after he left, she still had to deal with the remaining problems and tell Cory that her friend Libby wasn't coming back, as well as calm the other locals by telling them the story about the psychopath who had been drugging people.
Returning to the bunker, Alex explained where he had gone and what he had done. Dean, who was slowly drinking coffee, snorted under his breath upon hearing the nonsense Alex had told the sheriff to close the case. Sam nodded, agreeing with what Alex had done. In the past, they would simply leave after killing a monster without explaining anything to the local police, which meant the case remained open and unresolved.
Wednesday, as usual, couldn't resist commenting that Alex should have come up with a more believable lie instead of blaming everything on a nonexistent dead psychopath. Alex just shrugged. The other girls didn't comment on his actions.
Lucina, on the contrary, nodded understandingly, as she had lived long enough in Night City in the past, where all murders were usually blamed on gang shootouts or a cyberpsycho attack. After finishing his story, Alex decided to be lazy for one day, and that one day turned into a whole week.
On the first day of his rest, Alex spent time with the girls, watching what they were doing. Dean also took a short break to catch up on sleep after a very stressful week of searching and a sleepless hunt in another state. Meanwhile, Sam was busy cleaning up all the documents and sorting the diaries and books that he planned to keep in the bunker.
Closer to evening, after being persuaded by Enid and Alice, Alex went on a small date with the two girls. Enid and Alice wanted to visit Santa Monica Beach to walk along the shore and visit Pacific Park amusement park. Alex wasn't going to refuse Enid and Alice such a date. But he forgot the most obvious thing before this date.
Alice and Enid were not the kind of girls who enjoyed a simple walk along the beach and a visit to an amusement park. At that moment, Alex didn't pay attention to the fact that Enid and Alice were far too excited about the upcoming date. He simply thought they just wanted to unwind after a boring week of searching, and therefore even planned the route for their date.
Only after Alex teleported with Alice and Enid to Los Angeles did he realize that this would be a very long walk with two hyperactive girls who wanted to visit every possible place. Before Alex could come to his senses, Enid and Alice dragged him to the beach. In the end, Alex was dragged around to different places that Enid and Alice wanted to visit.
One of those places was the amusement park, where Alex had to win prizes for the two girls who wanted to get two big teddy bears. Even though he was a being who in principle couldn't get tired from such activities, Alex looked exhausted after the entire walk. And looking at the joyful faces of Enid and Alice, who had fully enjoyed this walk while holding huge teddy bears that were bigger than themselves, Alex could only sigh and smile.
By the end of the date, Alice and Enid also looked tired but very satisfied. Upon returning to the bunker, Enid and Alice shared with the other girls how their date had gone. Dean and Sam looked at the two huge teddy bears that had become decorations in the library, then shifted their gaze to Alex.
"Did you clean out all the prize booths?" Sam asked with amusement, looking at Alex.
"I didn't have a choice. Enid and Alice wanted big bears," Alex said with a sigh, rubbing his forehead.
"That sounds like a joke… One day Death went to a shooting gallery and won all the prizes," Dean said with a chuckle, throwing his legs up on the table and pointing his beer bottle at the two big teddy bears.
"If you want a stuffed animal, just say so. I have plenty," Alex said, starting to pull stuffed toys out of his inventory.
Dean and Sam stared at the mountain of stuffed animals of various sizes that Alex had pulled from his inventory. Dean laughed and began digging through the pile of stuffed animals to take a few for himself. Sam looked at his brother with a strange expression, not understanding why Dean needed stuffed animals. But Dean just shrugged and said that these stuffed animals would become decorations in his Dean Cave.
Sam raised an eyebrow skeptically and, unable to resist, commented that Dean would sleep hugging these stuffed animals. Dean froze and turned his gaze to Sam, who didn't hide his smile. At that moment, Dean threw a stuffed animal straight into Sam's face.
After getting hit in the face by a stuffed animal, Sam froze for a second and immediately grabbed a stuffed animal from the table and threw it at Dean. From the impact of the stuffed animal to the face, Dean nearly fell off his chair. Dean and Sam stared at each other and then began throwing stuffed animals at each other while continuing to insult one another.
Alex stood off to the side with a bottle of beer in his hands, laughing nonstop as he watched two grown men behaving like children. But Alex's laughter quickly died down when he got hit in the face by a stuffed animal. The stuffed animal thrown at Alex's face fell to the floor. Alex calmly set his beer on the table and bent down, picking up the stuffed animal from the floor.
Squeezing the stuffed rabbit in his hand, Alex threw it at Dean. A moment later, all three men were throwing stuffed animals at each other while continuing to insult one another. The noise brought the girls out, who had heard the loud swearing coming from the library. Seeing what was happening in the library, Enid and Alice quickly reacted and grabbed their big teddy bears so they wouldn't become part of this war.
The next day, Alex went on a date with Lucina and Samantha, as both of them preferred quiet and scenic places. And there were plenty of such places around the world that they could visit. Samantha even wanted to visit the summit of Everest to admire the views.
Lucina had no reason to refuse visiting such a place. And thanks to the rings that Lucina and Samantha wore, they didn't even need to wear warm clothes while on the summit of Everest. After playing a little snowball fight on the very top of Everest, Alex arranged for the two girls the most extreme descent from the summit, sitting on a sled. From the very beginning, Lucina resisted such a descent, even knowing it would be safe, repeatedly saying that she wasn't participating.
While Lucina refused under various pretexts so as not to slide down from the summit of Everest on a sled, Alex simply walked up to her and picked her up. Holding Lucina in his arms while she tried to free herself, Alex sat her on the sled in front of him. Samantha immediately sat on the sled behind Alex, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
"Maybe we shouldn't do this? I understand that the rings will protect us. But I somehow don't want to do this," Lucina said with a strained smile, trying to pry Alex's arms off her waist.
"Having a picnic on the Moon is normal. But sliding down from Everest on something that doesn't even look safe — that's extreme," Alex said, rolling his eyes as he carefully approached the edge to begin the descent.
"That was different. On the Moon I didn't have to slide down a snowy mountain on something that doesn't look safe at all," Lucina quickly replied, bracing her feet against the snow and preventing Alex from moving toward the edge.
"It'll be fun, don't worry," Samantha said with a smile, poking her head out from behind Alex's shoulder.
"It's not you sitting in front… Maybe you want to switch places?" Lucina snapped, sharply turning her head and looking Samantha in the eyes.
"I'm afraid it's too late to switch places," Samantha said with a smile, looking past Lucina.
Hearing Samantha's words, Lucina slowly turned her head and realized that the sled had approached the edge. Seeing only the snowy slope in front of her, Lucina sighed heavily, understanding that she shouldn't have agreed to visit Everest. And at that same moment, Alex lightly pushed forward with his feet.
Lucina felt Alex wrap his legs around her, and a long breath escaped from her mouth as the sled slowly tilted forward. At that moment, the sled on which Alex, Lucina, and Samantha were sitting began to rush downward at high speed. Clinging tightly to Alex, Samantha screamed loudly with delight as they slid down from the summit of Everest at great speed on the sled.
Lucina, on the other hand, prayed that they wouldn't flip over during this extreme descent. The last thing she wanted was to turn into one big snowball. At the same time, Lucina began to enjoy this extreme descent, which was better than any roller coaster. And the only downside during this descent was the snow flying into her face.
Alex skillfully steered the sled to avoid bumps. But seeing a small ledge ahead that looked like a ramp, Alex directed the sled toward the ramp. Alex thought that this speed wasn't enough and accelerated the sled even more. Lucina's eyes immediately widened when she saw this. Before Lucina could scream for Alex not to do it, the sled flew into the air at high speed.
Alex, Lucina, and Samantha flew off the sled, finding themselves in free fall. Samantha immediately clung to Alex's back, not wanting to fall alone from the mountain, while Lucina turned around and clung to Alex, wrapping her legs around his waist over Samantha's legs. And before they hit the ground, Alex teleported them to another place. Lucina and Samantha didn't immediately realize they were already somewhere else and continued clinging to Alex.
"Alright, that's enough clinging to me. We're not falling anywhere," Alex said, patting Lucina and Samantha on the back.
Both girls opened their eyes and blinked, looking around. Looking around, Lucina and Samantha realized they were no longer on Everest and definitely not in free fall from a very high mountain. Stopping clinging to Alex, both girls slowly climbed down and stood on the ground. Looking around, they saw high mountains nearby and beautiful green trees below.
Everything around looked so amazingly scenic that the girls began to admire the views, instantly forgetting about the recent extreme sled descent from the summit of Everest. While the girls admired the views, Alex lit a thin cigar and sat down on a rock.
He had deliberately teleported them to such a mountainous area with wonderful views of green forests and mountains. And during sunset, the views in this place were simply wonderful. But this was not yet the entire surprise Alex was planning to show the girls.
"Where are we?" Samantha asked with a smile, taking a selfie against the beautiful scenery.
"This is a place Amara found when she was traveling across the Earth. And there's something else nearby," Alex said with a smile, resting his cheek on his palm.
"I hope you're not going to say we have to slide down a waterfall on a log next?" Lucina asked, giving Alex a blank look.
"I think that's for next time. I've had enough of the sled descent from Everest for now… Now let's go. We need to hurry before the sun sets," Alex said, standing up from the rock and beckoning the girls to follow him.
Lucina and Samantha exchanged glances with interest in their eyes and followed Alex. Alex led the girls, descending from the mountain ledge where they had appeared. Helping the girls climb down, Alex led them further through the forest. Lucina and Samantha nimbly jumped over obstacles, not falling behind Alex even a step.
Even while walking through the forest, the girls couldn't help but enjoy the views of the pristine forest untouched by human hands. Alex continued walking, giving the same answer to the girls' questions about where he was taking them. Walking deeper into the forest, Alex and the girls reached a small rocky clearing. But what caught the girls' attention was a small lake in the middle of the rocky clearing, from which light white steam was rising.
"Is this what I think it is?" Lucina said with a sparkle in her eyes.
"Yes, it's an open-air hot spring," Alex said, taking out a lamp from his inventory to illuminate the area.
"So that's why you said we needed to hurry… But we didn't bring swimsuits," Samantha said with a smile, looking at Alex.
"I brought everything. And while you change, I'll prepare everything," Alex said, taking out Lucina's and Samantha's swimsuits from his inventory.
"You planned this from the very beginning?" Lucina asked, taking her swimsuit from Alex's hands.
Hearing Lucina's question, Alex simply leaned forward and quickly kissed her on the lips. Feeling the touch on her lips, Lucina smiled and pushed Alex's face away from her. Lucina left with Samantha to change into their swimsuits so they could relax in the open hot spring and admire the starry sky. While the girls were changing, Alex did everything to make the atmosphere more romantic.
Using magic to create floating spheres of light around them, Alex began taking out food and drinks from his inventory that he had prepared before the date. Lucina and Samantha returned a couple of minutes later, having changed into their swimsuits. And seeing what Alex had done, smiles appeared on both girls' faces. When the girls returned, Alex took off his T-shirt, remaining in shorts, and beckoned the girls with his hand.
Lucina and Samantha approached the hot spring and began carefully descending. Lucina descended first and let out a long sigh of relief, stretching her legs and closing her eyes. Samantha descended next, first touching the water with her foot to check the temperature, then lowering herself in. Once in the hot spring, Lucina and Samantha felt all the tension leaving their bodies.
"Now this is what I call relaxation… Of course, it's not the hot spring at home, but it's still good," Lucina said, stretching with a relaxed smile on her face.
"Is there a hot spring at home in Orario too?" Samantha asked in surprise, opening her eyes.
"Yeah… When your husband is very powerful and loves to spoil you… You can get anything you want. Especially for goddesses who are tired of going to the public bath for gods," Lucina said, opening her eyes and turning her head toward Samantha.
"So the hot spring at home appeared just for that reason?" Samantha asked in surprise, looking at Alex, who was sitting on the edge of the spring smoking a thin cigar.
"The gods in Orario are quite curious about other people's lives. And visiting the bath for gods is basically like going to a gossip meeting," Alex said with a smile, pouring sake into a cup.
"I would never have thought that gods would be such gossips… And are the rumors interesting?" Samantha said in surprise, and then interest awakened in her eyes.
"It depends. Mostly about which goddess started using this or that cosmetic… The last thing I remember… was how Sekhmet rejected another admirer," Lucina said, sipping sake from her cup.
Hearing this, Samantha raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked at Alex. A crooked smile appeared on Alex's face, and he nodded, not denying it. Descending into the hot spring, Alex poured sake for the girls. And then he began telling Samantha the funniest rumors he remembered from Orario in the past.
Quietly from Alex's shadow appeared Zhang Ya in a bright red blood-colored swimsuit. Seeing Zhang Ya appear, Samantha and Lucina smiled at her. Zhang Ya said nothing and simply nodded in response, leaning against Alex's shoulder while holding a cup of sake in her hands. Both girls had no objections to Zhang Ya not speaking.
After all, they knew that the ghost girl was very quiet and spoke so rarely that it could be considered a miracle if she uttered even a single word. Kissing Zhang Ya on the head, Alex continued telling Samantha the funny rumors he had heard in Orario in the past.
Listening to such rumors, Samantha couldn't believe that gods loved meddling in other people's lives so much. Chuckling, Samantha took a sip of sake while not forgetting to take several photos to share with her friends.
A couple of hours later, when the stars in the sky became more distinct, Alex, along with Lucina, Samantha, and Zhang Ya, began enjoying the starry sky and the surrounding silence while sitting in the hot spring. Taking a sip of sake, Lucina couldn't help but comment on the fact that they should have come to this place for the date from the very beginning instead of sledding down from the summit of Everest.
Hearing Lucina's words, Alex pursed his lips and gave her a blank look. Lucina simply smiled tenderly and poked him in the nose with her finger. Samantha calmly sat between Alex's legs, resting her head on his chest while holding a cup of sake. She hadn't expected that relaxing in a hot spring with sake could be so soothing.
At that moment, all her thoughts receded into the background, leaving only peace and relaxation. After admiring the starry sky for an hour, Alex and the girls prepared to return to the bunker. Zhang Ya returned to Alex's shadow, but first gently kissed him on the lips before disappearing into the shadow. After cleaning up all traces, Alex, Lucina, and Samantha returned to the bunker with satisfied smiles.
The next day came the time for a date with Wednesday and Doll. And before Alex could voice any suggestion about where they could go, Wednesday placed a sheet of paper in front of him with the name of the place she wanted to visit. Reading the name, Alex looked up at Wednesday.
And in Wednesday's calm, cold eyes, it was clear that she would not agree to any other place except this one. Alex shifted his gaze to Doll, and she had nothing against visiting such a place, thinking only about visiting as many interesting places as possible. Agreeing with Wednesday's suggestion, Alex changed into clothing that matched Wednesday's style so that the date would be in the style she desired.
Dean, upon hearing where Wednesday wanted to go on a date, could only mutter under his breath, calling Alex and Wednesday weirdos for going on a date to such a place. By the time Alex had changed, Wednesday was already ready to go, taking her cello case with her. Even Doll had put on her Victorian-style dress, but in dark and gloomy tones.
"Are you going on a date or to a funeral?" Dean asked, watching them get ready for the date.
"I would prefer both. But unfortunately, they no longer bury people in that place. And it's a shame," Wednesday said, looking at Dean with her usual gaze.
Dean just sighed and left the library, pretending he hadn't heard anything. Alex only watched Dean leave and shrugged. Turning to Wednesday and Doll, Alex asked if they were ready to go. Both girls nodded and approached closer to Alex. The next moment, Alex, Doll, and Wednesday appeared in Czechia, near the Sedlec Ossuary.
From the outside, the place looked like a modest medieval chapel. But the entire interior, including the huge chandelier, the altar, and the Schwarzenberg family crest, was made from real human bones. And to free up the place for the date, Alex had to use magic to make all the visitors leave.
Alex knew that Wednesday didn't like having a lot of noisy people around, so he chased away all the tourists. And when the last tourist left the walls of the creepy chapel, a smile of relief appeared on Wednesday's face. She had wanted to have a date in a place like this, and if there were tour groups around, it would ruin the whole mood.
"A wonderful place… I like it," Wednesday said, examining the interior made of human bones.
"I'm glad you like it. Then maybe we should go down to the crypt?" Alex said with a smile, holding the black cello case in his hands.
Wednesday turned her head to Alex and slowly nodded. Without waiting for Alex and Doll, Wednesday walked forward. Approaching the old barred gate, Wednesday began descending the stairs. Alex held Doll's hand and began descending after Wednesday. Slowly descending the stone steps into the semi-basement crypt, Alex and Doll felt the air change sharply.
The air began to fill with the smell of old damp limestone, centuries-old dust, and a slight sweetish-chalky aroma left by old bones. And when they descended, the air temperature changed: despite it being summer outside, it was quite cool in the crypt.
Sunlight barely penetrated through the narrow lancet windows, so there was a slight twilight inside. But for Wednesday, this was exactly the kind of place that matched all her tastes. Due to the porous structure of thousands of human bones covering the walls, every sound of footsteps seemed muffled, creating a feeling of complete isolation from the outside world.
Moving through the twilight of the crypt, Wednesday began telling the history of this place in her usual cold tone. In particular, Wednesday told them why all the bones in this place had a pale, yellowish-white shade. After all, the master who created this place had manually cleaned and soaked every detail in bleach. Doll, walking next to Alex, listened attentively to every detail, asking Wednesday questions about the history of this place. At that moment, Wednesday herself turned into a tour guide.
Walking through the corridor of the crypt, Alex, Doll, and Wednesday reached a spacious creepy hall where the walls were covered with bones and skulls that decorated every wall, and a creepy chandelier made of bones hung from the ceiling on a chain. In the corners of the hall were piles of bones that created a rather creepy and oppressive atmosphere.
Showing interest in the piles of bones, Alex approached closer to see how it was done. Alex couldn't help but notice that whoever had created these piles of bones hadn't used cement or glue. Finding the perfect balance, he had simply laid the bones on top of each other with filigree precision, creating his masterpiece.
While Alex and Doll examined the bone hall, Wednesday took out her cello from the case and a music stand. Using a chair made of bones, Wednesday began playing a melody that perfectly suited this place.
"What a wonderful song," Doll said, clapping her hands softly.
"This is Camille Saint-Saëns: 'Danse Macabre.' Quite fitting, considering who I have to work as in this world," Alex said with a smile, listening to the melody.
"Dear Hunter, would you like to join? Enid said you can play the violin," Doll asked with a tender smile, leaning against Alex's shoulder.
Alex looked thoughtfully at Wednesday, and she nodded in her usual manner, showing that she would be glad if he joined. Alex smiled and took out a black violin from his inventory. Standing next to Wednesday, Alex began playing the violin, slowly circling around Wednesday in time with the melody. A tender smile appeared on Doll's face as she attentively watched Alex elegantly move around Wednesday, as if dancing to the song.
The girls, who occasionally watched Alex through the fairy drone Navi that flew after him everywhere, preferred not to watch the dates of the other girls. But someone couldn't resist, and eventually a message appeared in the family chat that Alex and Wednesday were playing music in a creepy place. Even Integra was briefly distracted from her work to turn on the stream and enjoy the music.
Alucard sat on her throne in the basement, resting her cheek on her fist while holding her phone, watching this. She also found it quite amusing that Alex was dancing and playing such a melody on the violin. Maria and Seras were spending time together and also enjoying the performance. Even though Seras considered such a place not the most suitable for this.
Maria simply enjoyed the melody itself, seeing no problem with where it was happening. The other girls, although they thought the place Alex and Wednesday had chosen to play a duet was not the most suitable, it didn't stop all the girls from enjoying such a performance, which evoked quite unique feelings in them.
Alex didn't know about this and continued playing the violin with Wednesday. When the song came to an end, Alex bowed to Wednesday as was proper, and she responded with the same bow. This reminded them of the day they had played together during the opening of the monument in the town of Jericho.
When the melody ended and Alex and Wednesday bowed to each other, Doll began applauding with a tender smile on her face. She saw no difference in the place where Alex and Wednesday had played a duet; for her, only the music mattered. And this melody evoked many emotions in Doll, which she was only glad about. Hearing Doll's applause, Alex smiled and bowed in her direction.
"Shall we play some more?" Alex asked, looking at Wednesday.
"We can… But this time Vivaldi, 'The Four Seasons – Winter,'" Wednesday said, nodding and sitting back down on the bone chair.
"The first time we played a duet, this was the exact melody we played," Alex said with a smile, placing the violin on his shoulder.
Wednesday raised her gaze to Alex, and a rare tender smile appeared on her face. Alex smiled back and nodded, showing he was ready. Wednesday began slowly, and a moment later Alex joined in when the melody reached his part. Alex and Wednesday continued playing together inside the creepy crypt.
And the only living witness to their concert in this place was Doll, who enjoyed every melody that Alex and Wednesday played. Alex and Wednesday continued playing for hours, performing one piece after another, giving a concert for the dead, as Wednesday herself put it.
After finishing playing the violin, Alex reached into his pocket for his phone and saw dozens of messages in the family chat from the girls, who expressed their thoughts about the performance in different ways. Chuckling at the messages, Alex couldn't hide the smile on his face. Doll stood next to Alex, leaning on his shoulder and reading the messages in the family chat. Meanwhile, Wednesday was putting her black cello back in its case.
"Shall we head back or go somewhere else?" Alex asked, addressing Doll and Wednesday.
"I think we can end it here. I only wanted to visit this place. And I don't see any reason to go anywhere else," Wednesday said, lifting the cello case.
"And you, Doll? Do you want to go somewhere else?" Alex asked, turning his head toward Doll.
"I don't know… Right now there are no places I would like to visit," Doll said thoughtfully, slightly tilting her head to the side.
"Well, alright. Then we can go home and cuddle. That's also an option," Alex said with a cheerful smile on his face.
"Without me," Wednesday said, raising her hand in refusal.
"But what about our love?" Alex said in an offended tone, looking at Wednesday like a hurt child.
"I don't see the connection between loving you and hugging. If you want hugs, you can do it as usual. But don't expect me to do it in return. I don't need physical contact to show my love for you," Wednesday said, placing her hand on Alex's face, finding this offended expression unpleasant.
Alex removed Wednesday's hand from his face and looked at her, pursing his lips. Wednesday responded to Alex's gaze with her usual cold look, making it clear that he could act like a child as much as he wanted — it wouldn't work on her. Exaggeratedly rolling his eyes, Alex smiled and leaned in to kiss Wednesday on the lips.
Wednesday returned the kiss but still made it clear that she wasn't going to become a pillow for hugs. Alex just laughed and teleported back to the bunker with Doll and Wednesday. And thus another day in the bunker came to an end.
To be continued...
(When I started writing this chapter, I thought I could fit everything into one chapter. But I couldn't just write, Alex and the girls went on a date and a week passed. Ugh, so creepy. But when I finished the segment with Wednesday and Doll, I realized I'd reached my word limit for that day. And I so wanted to move on to the next part of the story right away. But then I thought, this is the Demon King's everyday life, not a story about a hero who saves everyone. Okay, I'll try to move on to the rest of the story. But the everyday life has to remain. Yeah. Now it's time to eat. Peace, love, and love music.)
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