"Lala."
Seeing the sudden flash of pink, Shichen smiled and opened his arms.
"Heehee~ I missed you so much~"
Lala beamed and dove straight into Shichen's embrace, hugging him tight.
"I missed you too." Shichen hugged her back, feeling the springy youthfulness of her body.
Lala was still wearing Peke's skintight suit. It looked rubbery, but to the touch it was incredibly soft, almost like wearing nothing at all. Which meant Shichen's chest felt the full impact directly. Though Lala's figure was slim and tall, she was by no means small.
"Shichen-sama," Peke greeted as well.
"Peke, long time no see."
Hearing Peke's voice again made Shichen feel a bit odd—after all, it sounded exactly like Beatrice's.
"Shichen, I missed you so hard," Lala whispered pitifully in his ear.
"Yeah? How hard?"
"I can't eat or sleep properly." Lala pouted.
"Really?"
"Of course it's true."
"You've had it tough. From now on, we'll just stay together all the time, okay?" Shichen rubbed her back, coaxing her.
"Really?" Lala leaned back, eyes shining as she looked into his.
"Really." He nodded with a smile.
"Yay!" Lala, thrilled, planted a quick kiss on his lips, her tail swishing excitedly behind her.
That movement caught Frieren's eye; her gaze fell to Lala's black, skin-like, heart-shaped tail. She'd seen people with tails before, but not aliens—especially now that she understood what "alien" meant. Curious, Frieren edged closer for a better look.
"By the way, Lala, you don't miss your home at all?" Noticing Frieren approaching, Shichen let it go and asked Lala, curious.
Lala seemed a little too into him—completely love-brained, really. Not that Shichen minded.
"Deviluke is so boring—nothing like this planet! I want to stay with Shichen~"
A girl in love had her head full of her sweetheart. And, to be fair, this planet was more fun than most; Lala was at the age of boundless curiosity.
"I see. What about your two little sisters? Don't you want to hang out with them?"
"Momo and Nana just fight all the time—we never play well together. I get bored at home." Lala replied pitifully.
"Okay, okay—since you say so, I won't let you go back there anymore."
"You promise?"
"If I lie I'm a puppy, okay?"
"Heehee~ that's more like—uh… m-my tail…" Lala suddenly let out a little whimper, shrinking into Shichen's arms like her strength had melted away; even her cheeks flushed.
"Oh wow—this tail feels amazing… so this is an alien's tail?" Frieren was rubbing Lala's tail, marveling with delight. At some point she'd catfooted behind Lala and, with no warning, grabbed it.
Lala's tail was extremely sensitive; with someone holding and stroking it, of course she'd react like that.
"Frieren, what are you doing?" Shichen tightened his hold on Lala and shot Frieren a look.
"I'm curious."
"Curious doesn't mean you can just grab her. Ever heard of personal space? You two aren't even familiar yet."
"She's your woman—what's the problem?"
"…"
"M-my tail… n-no… let go… Who even are you?" Lala finally noticed Frieren, turned to look at her, and spoke in confusion.
"Don't mind me. I'm just curious."
"That still doesn't—mm…" Lala trailed off, too weak to keep talking. Frieren's… technique seemed a little too practiced.
"All right, enough. Keep going and Lala's going to—uh—need a mop." Shichen swatted Frieren's hand away and rescued the tail. He had to admit, though, it felt great—hard to let go.
"Shichen…" Lala's eyes were misty as she tried to warn him.
"Haven't touched it in ages—kind of missed it," Shichen said, chuckling as he finally released the tail.
"Phew—" Lala exhaled in relief. She stayed tucked in Shichen's arms for a while longer before recovering, then looked seriously at Frieren. "Who exactly are you?"
"I'm Frieren. I'm his… what am I, exactly?" Frieren glanced at Shichen.
"You're asking me?"
"Who else?"
"Don't you know?"
"…Fine." Frieren sighed as if put upon, then answered Lala, "I'm the same as you."
"Oh~ the same? Then we're sisters?" Lala blinked, excited.
"You don't mind? Are aliens really that open?" Frieren asked.
"What's to mind?" Lala shot back.
"Seems like a straightforward alien… Fine. As long as you don't mind." Frieren shrugged.
"Um… can I ask you something?" Lala stared intently at Frieren.
"What?"
"Why are your ears pointy? It's so strange~ I don't think I've met anyone like you. Are you an alien from some other planet?"
"You've got a tail—why can't I have pointy ears?"
"Well, yeah, but I've never seen anyone like you." Lala tilted her head, staring curiously at Frieren's ears.
"Don't worry about it—just think of me as from the Elf Planet."
"Elf Planet? Like in comics? Is that a real place? I've never seen it."
"And now you have."
"That's true." Lala accepted it instantly.
"Heh~ You two get acquainted. I'm going to make dinner," Shichen said, amused, setting Lala down.
"Yay~ It's been so long since I had Shichen's cooking—I can't wait!"
"I'll make a feast tonight."
"Awesome!"
Shichen wasn't worried about leaving the two alone and headed to the kitchen.
Lala looked at Frieren, blinking fast, curiosity bubbling up.
"So, Frieren, right? What's your planet like?"
"Nothing special," Frieren replied flatly.
"Really? Is it far from here?"
"Very far."
"I see… Then how did you meet Shichen?"
"He came to my world."
"Oh~"
"My turn to ask—why's your outfit so weird? Do aliens all dress like that?"
"Nope! This is a Peke-suit. It helps me fight."
"Hello," Peke chimed in.
"Is that… a robot?"
"Yup! I invented it—impressive, right?"
"You invented it? That is impressive."
"I've got loads of inventions. Want to see?"
"Okay."
"Let me find… this." Lala pulled out her phone.
"This is a D-Dial. It can make calls and transport objects and living beings."
"That powerful?" Frieren blinked, not yet sensing danger.
Lala started pulling inventions from the D-Dial, the first a frog-like little toy.
"This is Pyon-Pyon Warp-Kun. It can teleport things randomly."
"Random teleportation? Seriously?"
"Yup! It used to be unstable and couldn't teleport clothes—but Shichen fixed it."
"Couldn't teleport clothes?" Frieren frowned.
A flaw, sure—though not the end of the world. After all, teleportation was teleportation.
"And this—Go Go Vacuum-kun. It can suck up anything." Lala produced an octopus-shaped gadget.
"Anything?"
"Want a demo?"
"Sure."
"Go Go Vacuum-kun, activate!"
The moment it fired up, a massive suction filled the room—electronics rattled and jumped, furniture slid, and Frieren's white dress fluttered wildly.
"Strong wind," Frieren observed with a nod. But that was all—her magic wind was stronger.
"Huh? That's odd. This much suction after so long? Vacuum-kun?" Lala tapped the gadget twice.
Vrrr—!
Suddenly the pull intensified, as if it meant to swallow everything in the room. Frieren couldn't keep her eyes open.
Riiiip—!
While her eyes were shut, her clothes were yanked away—dress and the only white undergarment both gone.
Frieren: "…"
She was left with not a stitch on.
At that moment, she understood why it was called "Vacuum-kun."
"Ah—sorry, Frieren. Looks like Go Go Vacuum-kun malfunctioned," Lala apologized, embarrassed.
"It's fine…"
Frieren shook her head, then headed downstairs to find Shichen.
She'd only brought the one outfit. She would have to ask him for something to wear.