Pov: Angelica
" A babysitter?" Zoro asked me, with a bit of an edge in his voice.
" Yes, because from what I can understand, it seems that we aren't really aware of our surroundings when...*Cough*... 'exercising'." I explained, blushing near the end of the sentence.
" Baahhh! Parsley doesn't need a babysitter, she seems to be able to take care of herself. So what if we're gone a few hours to 'exercise', she should be just fine on her own. No need for extra expenses just for a babysitter." Zoro protested, showing quite a bit of confidence in our daughter.
" *Sigh* It's not that I don't trust her, it's just insurance that she's safe while we're gone," I replied, giving my own argument in turn.
" Do you mean for us to use such a large amount of money, for insurance! I don't know if you've realized Angy, but the shop hasn't been bringing in as much money as it usually does! *Bam!!*" He yelled out in frustration, hitting his hand on the table. Calming down, he sighs and rubs in between his eyes.
' The stress is really getting to him.' I thought, second-guessing my choice in the matter. All I can do is look at him with a pleading expression.
After a moment of silence, he looks up, peering straight into my eyes. Locking eyes for a few seconds, he looks away grumbling in defeat.
" Fine! Have it your way. *Sigh* Why do I even bother." Looking at him with a warm smile on my face, I caressed his hand that was still on the table.
" Oh, Zoro, you worry too much. I already have the perfect person in mind, it's also the cheapest so you don't have to worry too much about the monetary problem." I soothed, trying to reassure him of this decision.
Talking for a few more minutes, I separate from Zoro and head over to the 'Line' room.
Reaching the door, I slowly open it. What greeted me was a slightly dark room, with various different colored flames attached to the walls of the room in spherical glass containers. All of the flames connected by different colored lines heading to the pedestal in the middle of the room, on top of which a large chalice laid.
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Moving over to the pedestal, glancing at the flames for a specific color. Standing in front of the pedestal, looking down at a plate of numbers engraved into the stone pedestal, I slowly start tapping in a sequence of numbers.
' I hope this works.' I pleaded, wishing for the best possible outcome.
After a bit of waiting, the chalice on top of the pedestal started glowing in a dark purple light, blinding me for a bit. Covering my eyes with my hands I wait for the light to die down.
Seeing it subside, I look over at the chalice, now with a purple flame burning in the middle.
Looking at the flame in both excitement and nervousness, I slowly take a letter out of my pocket, before gently placing it above the fire.
" I hope this reaches you Icariin." I murmured quietly to myself. Watching the letter slowly burn in the flames, a purple string attached to the pedestal glowing slightly, stopping as soon as the letter is completely burned.
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Pov: Parsley
It's been roughly half a month since I got my own room, and I've gotta say, best decision I've made in the last 4 and a half years.
Not only do I have more privacy, but I also significantly decreased the chances of having like, what, 100 brothers or some sh*t? Yeah, I'm not dealing with that, so sorry, not sorry.
Other than indirectly killing R.O.B. knows how many dwarf babies, I'm standing in front of the entrance to our house along with my parents, waiting for a guest to arrive.
" Are you sure they're still coming mom? We've been standing here for almost an hour, and have been cleaning the house hours before that." I asked in an exasperated tone, feeling like I'm wasting time, the time I could be using to re-watch jojo- I mean practices magic....
" Oh, have a little patience dear, they should be here any second now." Mom replied with the same answer as the last four times I asked. " Actually, I think I see them right now." She continued. Ponting at a fast-approaching carriage.
' Finally!! This guest better be worth it, Fr*ckin prick interrupted Jojo Friday!' I complained internally, slightly pissed of, but keeping a small smile on my face to at least be polite.
Slowing down, the carriage comes to a stop in front of our house. After a few seconds, the carriage door opens, surprising me by the people that walked out.
The first was a tall and slender pale-skinned woman with long elf ears, wearing a white sunflower dress. The second, and probably the cutest thing I've ever seen, walks out behind her, hiding behind the door of the carriage.
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He was a small dark-skinned demi-human with fluffy dog ears resting on his head, looking roughly 10 years old, having black hair with caramel brown streaks visible no and then.
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' It's a trap!' I realized, because even though all Signs point to him being a girl, hell he's even wearing pretty girly clothes. But my skill is never wrong.
[ Skills ]
Gender recognition: Lvl MAX
- Gender recognition is an active skill, that allows the Player to recognize the gender of any living creature. Illusions and transformations cannot hide the true gender of the person being inspected.
Note: This skill is able to recognize the gender of individuals far stronger than the Player.
...
Keeping my small smile, trying not to display my growing excitement not knowing that my mile seemed brighter from everyone else's perspective.
When the woman was close enough and noticed that the boy wasn't stepping out of the carriage, she turned her head and smiled at the child before saying.
" Come Coco. we don't want to keep our hosts waiting now, do we?" She said, seemingly in a reassuring voice. But what my parents didn't seem to notice was the slight twitch the boy responded with..... almost like he's-
' Afraid, why do I feel fear from him?' I asked myself, feeling his emotions through 'Emotion recognition' observing his body language and facial expression passively. ' And it's specifically of her' I realized, noting to keep my guard up against the elf.
" Ephedra! It's good to see you again, how have you been?" Mom Greets the woman warmly, giving her a hug. Which looks really weird mind you, considering she barely reaches her waist.
" I'm doing as well as I can be Angelica, without Icarrin here, it has been quite the struggle, especially for little Coco here." She responded back with a smile, presenting the kid named Coco to my parents.
" *Sigh* still quite the shame what happened to the lad, he was a good man, sorry for your loss," Dad said, showing his condolences.
" Thank you Zoro." Was her response, in a downcast tone.
Trying to change the subject from the depressing topic it's on, mom commented on Coco's cuteness.
" Oh, what a cute little thing!! Not as cute as my Parpar though." Mom said, bragging about me while pushing me forward. " How about you introduce yourself Parpar." She whispered to me.
" Hello!! I'm Parsley! What's your name?" I greeted them with a smile, my acting skill really pulling through.
And if your wondering 'What happened about being an introvert?' Hmpf please! All my shame has been destroyed during the past 4 years of embarrassment.
" What a cutie! My name is Ephedra little one. And this is Coco." She greeted me, before presenting the Dogboy to me." Say hello Coco" pushing him forward.
" H-Hello, I-I'm Coco, It's nice to meet you." He said meekly, growing quieter and quieter and bowing deeply at the end.
' Jezus christ! how is he so cute!! I knew I was always more of a dog person.' I thought with a growing smile on my face. Moving over, I reach out my hand for a handshake. " Feel like we're gonna be great friends, Coco!" After getting closer to him, I realize the hight defrance. Him being around 4 foot 5 and me being 3 and a half feet.
' Damn, I hadn't realized how short I was, dammit dwarf genes!' I internally cursed, shaking the hand of the shy boy in front of me.
" How about you come inside! We have much to talk about! Haha!" Dad said, leading us back into the house.
Moving beside the boy, I ignore the chatter of the adults and try and start a conversation with Coco, with minimal success.
Let's just say he was really shy.
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" A babysitter!! I don't need a babysitter! I can take care of myself." I yelled out in annoyance, knowing how much this is going to limit my movements.
After moving inside, we all sit by the dining-room table having our own separate conversations.... At least me trying to have a conversation. Coco doesn't talk much, all I managed to get from him, was that before moving here they used to live at Branch, a medium-sized city mostly consisting of wood-related professions. He also said that, as I thought, he was 10, and that he doesn't have any friends due to his feminine appearance and from what I can tell, his low self-esteem.
After talking for a while, my parents called for my attention, apparently needing to tell me something. And just like that, they dropped the bomb that the guests are actually going to be living with us for a few years in exchange for babysitting. And that brings us to where we are now.
"*Sigh* I knew you would react like this Parse, but you have to understand, no matter how mature you are yours still only four years old. and We can't leave you alone when I and your father go 'out'." She explained carefully, blushing a bit at the last comment.
" Don't worry Little one, I'm sure we'll get along just fine." The elf lady said in with a warm smile, trying to mitigate the situation.
' UGH!!! Out of the pot and into the f*cking fire, I should have just kept my mouth shut' I groaned internally. Wanting to continue the argument before feeling a slight pull on my shirt, Looking to my side at Coco who looks on the verge of crying.
" Y-You don't want me anymore?" He asked, making him look like a kicked puppy.
'That- How- This isn't fair!!! Don't look at me with those eyes!! No! Parsley you must resist!!...." And so my internal conflict went for a solid 10 seconds, an agonizingly long ten seconds.
' *Tchet* You know what? Screw it, Mom looks like she's already made up her mind, and I'm not gonna waste my breath on a woman who already made up her mind.' I clicked my tongue in resignation.'
" Kuk!! Ugh!! Fine! Do whatever you want!" I bellowed out in annoyance, crossing my arms and looking in the opposite direction from everyone else.
Chuckling at my behavior, mom continues telling me about the details of the deal. Which is apparently that the two will stay over as guests for as long as the elf babysits me, this is apparently due to the breadwinner of the family passing away, so yeah the dad's dead.
After that, my parents decided to give Ephedra a tour around the house while instructing me to go play with Coco. Moving over to my room, giving him a tour of the places we pass along the way. Finally making it to my room, I drag him inside and start showing him the plethora of toys and trinkets my parents bought for me throughout the years.
Seeing his eyes sparkle when he saw the toys was a great reward.
One thing that did stick out to me though, was how unusually excited he was to play with a simple toy carriage. As if it was the first time he got the chance to play with one, which is really suspicious considering he's ten years old.
When I confronted him indirectly about it, asking what his first toy was by showing him mine, he stammered for a bit before dodging the question entirely.
' Suspicious.....' I thought after a few more similar encounters. As the days passed my suspicions just kept growing, the thing that was most suspicious was Ephedra. She was just..... too perfect. And I've seen enough anime to know that when something is too good to be true, it's most likely fake.
So I started stalk- investigating the two, keeping track of their interactions and their behavior, going even as far as to stand in front of their door at night using old magic to enhance my hearing. which surprisingly didn't work as I couldn't hear anything coming from the room.
' Must be an anti sound field or some sh*t' i thought, disgruntled at the fact i didn't know what she did to her room that made it soundproof. Laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling in contemplation, I heard a familiar dinging sound.
*Ding*
[ Quest!! ]
- Discover the hidden intentions of the poisonous plant! -
Description: The elf known as Ephedra has hidden intentions with your family!! figure it out, and get rid of her.
Rewards: -150 exp
-1 random high-grade skill
-3 random skills
-Knowledge of the racial skill of a dwarf
-A happy puppy!
[Side Quest!! ]
- Help the hurt puppy! -
Description: There's something up with Coco! Find out what's troubling him and help him out of his conundrum!
Rewards: -50 exp
-A companion for life!
-'Affection meter' tab in the Main menu!!
*Ding*
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" I knew it!!" I yelled out loud, genuinely glad I hadn't wasted my time stalkin- observing them.
After calming down, I check the details of the quests. After reading the descriptions, a serious expression falls on my face, narrowing my eyes at the name of the first quest.
' Why specifically 'Poisonous plant'? Though' I Mulled over all the options before I thought of something.
' Wait I remember someone saying that a lot of characters were named after herbs.... is it possible that her name is a poisonous her or something? Does that mean she has a poison-related personality?' Deciding that that was most likely the case, I closed the system window, jump out of my bed and walk to the door with a determined expression.
' No one messes with my family and gets away with it' i thought with a clenched fist, a slight frown on my face.
' No one....'
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(2442 words)