"Hmmm~hmm~hmmm..."
Slady was at La Taberna, tasting a new wine Raizer Fainer had made for sale.
"This is quite sweet, I like it."
He put the wine glass back on the counter. Raizer chuckled, pouring more for Slady.
"Of course you like it, Slady. This wine was made especially for you."
He gave Slady a friendly pat on the head, and she simply remained impassive, scanning the tavern.
Because it was late at night, the place was crowded with both men and women. But mostly men.
Elisa Fainer was helping her father, serving drinks and food to people, dressed as a waitress.
But suddenly, as she moved on to the next customer, a drunk man slapped the young woman hard on the buttocks. She blushed and turned to question him.
"W-what did you do?!"
She didn't like that one bit. The man gave a hoarse laugh, trying to touch Elisa's thighs.
"Come on, girl. Your father isn't seeing this..."
That was a fact; Raizer hadn't noticed the advances, but Slady noticed right away. So when the man tried to touch Elisa, Slady stood up and firmly grabbed his hand with her bionic arm.
"Let her go, now," Slady said coldly.
Elisa sat up in relief, stepping away to tell Raizer. The drunk man became irritated and stood up. He was taller than Slady (like most people).
"Say it again, but only if you're too much of a man for it!!"
The man's raised voice caught the attention of the people at La Taberna, who looked at the scene.
Some men had laughed, supporting the drunk man. Others were irritated, but didn't want to interfere.
The women completely disapproved of the drunk man's actions, but they didn't seem to trust Slady to handle the situation, finding him physically small and delicate compared to the other man.
Hearing Elisa's words, Raizer rebelled, but when he saw Slady handling the man... he let him handle it.
"What's a weakling like you going to do to me?" The drunk man smiled evilly.
He tried to put his hand in Slady's long hair to pull, as if he were treating a woman.
"Or rather, such a delicate young lady—"
But suddenly, Slady punched the man in the chest with his mechanical arm, breaking every bone in the area, causing the drunk man to fall to the ground, unconscious.
"..."
The men, who had been laughing, lost their smiles in an instant. The others were surprised, but silently approved. The women were shocked, but when they recovered, they clapped for Slady.
"That's it!"
"That's how you treat a guy like that!"
Slady ignored the attention, turning toward Raizer and Elisa, approaching them and speaking neutrally.
"Can you clean up this mess, Raizer?"
"Hehe, sure."
The old man laughed approvingly, giving Slady a friendly slap on the back and going to lead the man away. Elisa looked at Slady, nervous but grateful.
"Thank you, Uncle Slady."
She picked up the trays to return to work. Even though she was afraid of the men there, she knew Slady and Raizer would protect her.
**a while later**
A few hours later, Slady had said goodbye to Raizer and Elisa, leaving La Taberna and starting to walk through Libretanhya at night. Seemingly enjoying this peaceful moment.
But suddenly, a snore was heard, as if someone were sleeping nearby. Like a curious child, Slady went to the sound and came across a rather... unexpected sight.
It was Rin Yuang, who was sleeping on a bench, still wearing her investment suit. She'd probably worked so hard that she didn't have the energy to make it back to the department or home.
"..."
Slady sat beside her, watching her innocently. Perhaps to avoid letting anyone take advantage of that vulnerability.
But he couldn't help it, placing his hand on her temple and applying pressure, trying to wake her.
As a reflex, the woman pulled out her pistol and pointed it at Slady, who didn't react, just stared at her with a neutral, innocent look.
"Ah... it's you."
She sat up, putting the pistol away, looking curious.
"Sorry about this, but... what are you doing these hours, Slady?"
"I should ask you the same. But to answer you, I was visiting a friend, what about you?"
Rin Yuang sighed, followed by a yawn.
"I was working all day, I couldn't handle the fatigue..."
She stopped talking, just rocking her body, in a failed attempt to stay awake.
"...Let me help you."
Slady stood up, extending her hand to Rin Yuang.
"Hmmm?"
She was hesitant, but Slady seemed trustworthy. She held Slady's hand and leaned on him. She didn't want to trust someone potentially dangerous and whom she hadn't known for so long, but she had no choice but to trust Slady. Rin Yuang fell asleep in his arms.
**the next day...**
Rin woke up, realizing she was in her dorm. Somehow, Slady had figured out where her dorm was and carefully placed her on the bed.
She got up, seeming to have much more energy to work. But maybe... just maybe, it wouldn't hurt to have a day off, would it?
That actually worked! She asked for a day off, and she got what she wanted. So she takes a long shower to celebrate.
After her shower, she put on some comfortable clothes (shorts and a tank top), going to get a snack from her food cupboard...
"Son of a bitch..."
Two snacks she had disappeared, indicating that of all the opportunities Slady had to take advantage of Rin's vulnerability and trust, he took advantage of it to steal two snacks from her.
**Meanwhile**
In the forest, Shaphira was in the library room, eating a snack Slady had given her while he was making lunch.
"Hmmm! This is very good. Where did you get it, Dad?" Shaphira asked.
"I just got it from a friend, that's all."
Slady finished making the food, setting it on the table.
"Go eat lunch, girl."
Shaphira dropped the snack and ran to the table, eager for lunch.
"Thank you, dad."
Slady just nodded, getting ready to leave.
"I'll get you more clothes because of this change in your body. Take care of the house."
Slady patted Shaphira on the head in a fatherly manner, and she nodded, returning to her meal.
***
In the city of Libretanhya, Slady had already bought the clothes. So she was walking through the streets and neighborhoods again... but as she turned onto another street, she accidentally bumped into a man's chest.
"Hmph!"
Slady fell on her butt as she lifted her head...
"Watch where you're going!"
It was Roger, who thought he'd run into a drunk or drug addict. But when he realized it was Slady, he fell silent, not wanting to anger the man.
"Sorry... I didn't see you."
Roger's younger sister, dressed in a schoolgirl outfit, looks at her brother, confused.
"Who is he?" she asks innocently.
"He's just an acquaintance, nothing important."
Roger keeps his hands intertwined with his younger sister's while Slady stands and straightens her clothes.
"Hmmm..."
He picks up the shopping bag, not irritated.
"Just don't curse at me without seeing who I am," Slady says, emotionless.
He straightens to leave, but suddenly, he feels his coat being tugged lightly. Turning around, he sees it's Roger's little sister, looking at Slady innocently.
"Are you my brother's friend?"
Roger tries to stop his sister from butting in, but Slady says calmly.
"Yes."
Roger is confused at first, but accepts Slady's words.
"That's right, he's my soul brother!"
Roger walks over to Slady, putting his arm around his shoulder, ruffling Slady's hair, but Slady remains impassive.
"That's so cool!"
The girl walks over to Slady, clinging to his legs.
"Can you pick me up?" She lifts her small arms.
Roger was surprised; he hadn't realized his younger sister was so naive. So he tried to stop her and teach her that she couldn't trust strangers.
"Hold on! You can't—"
"Okay."
Slady bent down, wrapping her mechanical arm around the little girl, lifting her up and holding her in her arms.
Roger was a little taken aback by this; he didn't know Slady well, didn't even know her name.
"You're not going to hurt her, are you?"
Roger asked, feeling insecure around Slady, who just shook her head, looking at the little girl in her arms.
"I have limits."
The little girl, on the other hand, was quite content to be in Slady's arms, beginning to guide him to take her to school.
"We have to go this way, then to the left..."
During this time, Roger glanced at Slady from time to time, suspicious of himself. But Slady didn't seem to mind at all, following the girl's instructions to take her to school.
Upon arriving at the elementary school, Slady carefully released the little girl, who grabbed her backpack and smiled at Slady.
"Thank you!"
Roger took advantage of that moment to take the little girl in his arms and shower her face with kisses, making her giggle sweetly. Roger was definitely a wonderful brother to the little girl.
After leaving the girl in the teacher's care, Roger turned to look at and perhaps question Slady... but he was no longer there.
***
In the dormitory, Rin Yuang was sitting on the sofa, watching the news on TV.
Journalists said there was a Forest Inferius in one of the neighborhoods of Libretanhya. Many Demon Hunters entered the Inferius to do their work, and some Criminal Investors from Libretanhya stood around the portal to prevent anyone unqualified from entering the dimension.
Suddenly, Rin Yuang's eyes widened, seeing that someone very familiar had entered the dimension without being seen by the Investors.
It was Slady...
***
Entering the dimension, Slady observed several Demon Hunters exploring the Inferius, searching for Renkatas and, of course, hunting Renkai Creatures.
The dimension was similar to a forest, but much more frightening and dangerous. The trees had sinister smiles, and the plants were carnivorous, some small, some large.
As she walked through the dimension, Slady heard a creaking sound. As he turned around, a giant Dionaea tried to consume Slady while firing acid from its glands.
Slady pulled a pistol from his pocket and fired at the carnivorous plant, causing electrifying damage and burning the plant, which, despite its toughness, ended up falling in front of Slady.
"..."
But before he could think, one of the Demon Trees tried to hit Slady with a wooden hand, but Slady dodged and began firing at the tree, which began to let out a sort of scream.
Then some of the tree's roots tried to hit Slady underground, but he jumped toward the tree's hand, causing the roots to sting the Demon Tree itself, causing it to let out the scream again, while its hand began to go into necrosis. (Like a brown recluse spider bite, but much worse.)
Then the tree ended up rotting and dying from its own poison. Meanwhile, Slady was leaning against one of the tree's trunks.
"That was close."
Slady jumped, walking through the Forested Inferius again, but now with his objective in mind...
There were still many Demon Hunters nearby, but Slady didn't care. He eventually spotted the Inferius Core, where Renkai Creatures, similar to the creatures Slady had faced previously, were emerging.
Slady pulled a sphere from his pocket; it looked like a grenade, but modified.
"I hope this works..."
With his mechanical arm, Slady threw the sphere toward the core, and the grenade exploded...
The explosion was insane, destroying all the nearby Renkai Creatures. The surrounding landscape was reduced to ashes, leaving only the Renkai Creatures, reduced to a few medium-sized fragments.
Slady watched the scene as if it were a light show. The nearby Demon Hunters were terrified, fleeing the scene immediately, thinking there was a *Destroyer* in the dimension.
***
On TV, Rin Yuang was shocked by the scene, seeing a part of Libretanhya covered in a brief, quick smoke of earth and Renkai Energy, which, fortunately, didn't infect anyone.
"Oh my god..."
She went to her dorm's windows and closed them all, not wanting any mess in the place.
***
After the smoke cleared, Slady had already emerged from the Inferius, carrying a shopping bag with the clothes he had bought for Shaphira. Well hidden, there were plenty of Renkata obtained from that explosion.
"Ending a dimension in a single explosion... that was interesting," he muttered to himself.
**hours later**
Shaphira was testing the clothes Slady had bought. He was in a room in the library, melting the Renkata and separating some to sell.
Suddenly, Shaphira's voice echoed nearby.
"Father, can you come here?"
Slady sighed, stopping what she was doing to walk into the living room.
Shaphira was wearing a beautiful black and gold kinomo.
"What do you think, Father?"
She twirled around.
Slady looked Shaphira up and down, giving a nod of approval.
"It looks nice, I think it's pretty."
Slady noticed a unease in Shaphira's eyes. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that her tail was tucked inside the kinomo.
"You want to release it, right?"
"...Yes! I didn't know how to make that hole you taught me; I was afraid it would look ugly!"
She whimpers. It must be really uncomfortable for Shaphira to have her tail tied up.
**minutes later...**
After altering Shaphira's clothes, Slady hands her clothes to her. She put them on and let out a sigh of relief.
"Wow! It's so much better this way."
She bounced around, as if enjoying watching the fluid movements of the skirt.
"That's cool! I'll always wear this outfit."
"I noticed."
Slady crossed her arms, watching Shaphira sway her waist to see the movements her skirt accompanied.
Slady stood up to return to the room he was in, but was stopped when Shaphira hugged him from behind, spinning him around so he was facing her.
"Do I look pretty?"
She pulled away, putting her arms around her waist with a confident smile.
"..."
Slady then took a deeper look at Shaphira's appearance, coming to a final conclusion...
The girl's ears swung slightly, like her tail. Her kinomo had a slight neckline, not too revealing.
Her skirt was long, but it wouldn't get in her way. Her smile with its sharp teeth was a slightly savage image, but still beautiful.
Shaphira was definitely perfect...
"I like it."
Slady simply gave a thumbs-up; despite the simple words, it was a sign he found quite beautiful.
"Thank you..."
Shaphira was a little disappointed, but she knew this was Slady's way of showing his approval, so she went over to Slady and hugged him again.
"I like the outfit, thank you, Dad."
Slady noticed the disappointment in Shaphira's eyes. He didn't mean to make her feel that way, but he ended up doing it... something Slady never wanted to do.
So, as a way of trying to reciprocate, Slady wrapped his arms around Shaphira's waist, both an apology and a way of showing love to the one he sees as a daughter.
Shaphira wasn't expecting much from the hug, but she was surprised by Slady's gesture. She gave a more genuine smile, wrapping her tail around Slady, as a way of deepening that hug, that moment.
It was a good feeling for Shaphira, but for Slady, it was like a new experience. It was a way to understand the feelings of those who loved him and to understand his own feelings toward others.
Slady definitely wouldn't forget that hug for a long time.
**hours later**
Night had fallen, Shaphira was asleep in her room, Slady was in his workshop in the library. He had already managed to sell the Renkatas and made a good living.
So Slady took advantage of that night, which was raining heavily, to watch the water falling from the sky and the wind rattling his windows. Many might be afraid of that moment, but for Slady, it was absolute peace.
But suddenly, there was one, two, three knocks on the library door. That wasn't common; no one visited the library at night, so why would it be today?
Going to the living room and opening the door, Slady found herself face to face with a woman with blue hair and yellow eyes, wearing a dress that gave her an aura of power, elegance, and femininity.
But there was one detail: she was badly injured, her heroic dress was almost torn. The woman seemed quite powerful, but she needed help, a lot of help.
"Please... help me."