Solitar had taken Ette out with her.
After a few days of living here, Ette had made a list of what they lacked and left with Solitar to replenish supplies after discussing it with her.
At first, Kiyomi had been a bit worried, suspicious of their "shopping" methods, until she saw Ette actually using money. That's when she relaxed.
The old storeroom had piles of coins, jewelry, and other valuables.
True, zero-dollar shopping wasn't sustainable, and it risked exposing them over time.
Solitar wasn't the type to attack humans without reason, at least not unless they were exposed or particularly curious.
They watched the two disappear into the clear blue sky.
Even though they knew the house was filled with surveillance spells, both Kiyomi and Shoko relaxed significantly once Solitar was gone.
Ette hadn't brought her daughter with her, having a child along only made her stand out more. Alone, a woman already drew eyes. With a child, it signaled weakness.
And everyone knows, when parents are away, kids become toys for older kids.
Shoko beamed as she cuddled the baby.
Who would've thought she'd enjoy caring for a child?
But the kid quickly gave her a hard lesson, bursting into tears out of nowhere. No matter how much Shoko tried to soothe her, smiled sweetly, or played the fool, the baby wailed and screamed.
It was hard to tell if she was crying over being separated from her mom, or if she'd simply been holding it in for too long and now that the scary people were gone, she could finally let it all out.
"Oh no, please don't cry… I'll do anything I can for you, really, okay, baby?"
"WAAAHHH!!"
"If you keep crying like this, I'll, "
"UWAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
Super loud.
Kiyomi, having just finished tidying up the house, came over and offered a suggestion.
"Maybe she's uncomfortable in your arms? Let me try."
"Hey now, Kiyomi, I'm still a woman, okay? Babies are supposed to prefer big sisters."
"Not always."
Shoko looked down at herself.
Sure, she didn't have the same figure as the kid's mom, but she had to be more comfortable than a guy, right?
While she hesitated, Kiyomi gently took the baby.
The crying stopped.
"…Why?"
Shoko couldn't accept it.
Kiyomi cradled the baby, adjusting his posture, supporting the legs and gently rocking her against his chest.
"Shoko, you were too loud. Also, why do you keep using honorific speech?"
He wasn't fond of overly formal language. It didn't feel like something friends would use.
"…Got it, desu-sir."
"Forget it. Do as you like. No need to force it."
Kiyomi thought about the kind of environment she'd grown up in and realized that honorifics were probably ingrained in her, marinated in them, even (sadly).
For most people, formal language is a tool. For her, it probably covered 80% of daily life.
He respected that. He could live with it. Even if it felt a bit awkward, and made her sound snarky at times.
Shoko was grateful for the understanding. She leaned closer, observing the baby with sleepy eyes and a happy little smile.
Her blue hair mixed with the scent of soap as she came near, very close.
"Please, teach me how to make this child happy!"
She admired Ette's overflowing motherly aura. Not because she saw her as a mom, but because she saw strength in Ette, raising a child alone.
Shoko wanted to become friends with her. To share encouragement. And kids were an important common topic.
Plus, she'd never really had the chance to interact with babies before. This was all new.
"I don't really know. I've never raised a kid either. Maybe it's how you're holding her? Try hugging tighter, babies need to feel safe. Give it another shot."
He carefully passed the baby back to her. Shoko adjusted her grip and tried to mimic his movements.
The baby's face scrunched up again.
Just before she could shift into full-blown crying mode, Kiyomi silently took her back.
"Maybe she's hungry?"
Shoko looked up and around, pretending to admire the scenery to restore some dignity.
Kiyomi shook his head. "We just fed her, barely half an hour ago. Let me handle her for now… Oh, Ette left the food in her room. Could you cover it with something to keep dust out?"
"Mm… oh! Okay!"
It took her a moment to process what "food" meant, but once she figured it out, she nodded and went.
In the room, still scented with milk and something indescribably mature and feminine, the bowl of milk was still warm.
It would need to be reheated in hot water before feeding again, but for now, it was fine.
Shoko picked it up, absentmindedly staring into the bowl.
She had drunk this kind of milk too, when she was small.
What does it taste like?
The question struck her unexpectedly, and she immediately shook her head to chase it away, blushing with shame.
Come on now. You're not a kid anymore, what are you, trying to get babied again?
She walked out carrying the milk. Kiyomi was rocking the baby while staring at yesterday's fish haul.
Some were still swimming in Solitar's specimen tank. The rest, which couldn't survive, had been frozen for preservation.
The new sights and smells had the baby babbling in excitement.
Hearing her footsteps, Kiyomi didn't turn around, he just quipped, "Took you a while. Sneaking a taste?"
"Of c-course not, desu-sir!"
"…Something's off."
Kiyomi decided not to dig into it.
"I need to prep the kitchen, but my hands are full. Mind giving me a hand?"
As he spoke, they were already exchanging info via their cards, smoothly and silently.
Demon-related intel. Magic that could be learned.
Shoko hadn't unlocked any skills yet, even though her comprehension was clearly superior.
Or maybe…
Was it his Adaptation Evolution trait that let him receive demon magic?
Ette had reached another human settlement, but felt zero warmth from it.
Because the devil in human skin was walking right beside her.
Solitar strolled casually through the streets. The horns atop her head were gone.
"No need to worry. Suppressing our magic is easy for us demons, at least for a short while. I've also hidden my horns with a bit of illusion."
The demon "girl", a.k.a. a demoness, waved her hand lightly.
Even to demon eyes, her magical aura was compressed tightly around her body. The amount leaking out was no more than a typical human mage's.
Too much leakage would give away her race. Too little might attract nosy pests.
She really was doing her best to avoid trouble.
Now that she had two very interesting humans back home, other people just didn't matter as much.
Even for research subjects, now wasn't the time to touch them.
She was a researcher who valued efficiency.
A little "inconvenience" was fine, if it meant maintaining control.
Towns without a demon barrier couldn't possibly see through her disguise.
No demon aura, no horns, was she even a demon?
Only highly skilled mages might notice her magical abnormality. But they wouldn't show up in backwater places like this.
And if they did…
Well, that would be bad luck. For the mage. And the town.
Unless that mage was named Celia or Minus.
Solitar strolled at ease beside Ette, making small talk.
"As a human, do you have any guesses about their origins?"
Ette shook her head. "Sorry, I don't know. I can confirm they're not nobles from any southern nation, nor from the Empire. Their language doesn't have any traits of the Unified Imperial Tongue. It's like… they're wild. Or like they fell from the sky."
"…Fell from the sky, huh?"
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200 P.S / 1 Extra Chapter