Chapter 24: Feeling

Chapter 24: Feeling

Please close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you are living with three other women. One of them is your girlfriend with whom you have only recently started dating; one is a relatively new coworker/friend, and the last one is a demon who tried to kill you when you first met.

I can understand that it's hard to grasp, so I'll tell you how it felt for me. It's important to note that I still rented my apartment and could have fled anytime. Still, a mixture of curiosity and empathy for Miko made me never really consider it.

Let's start with how the situation between me and Miko has changed over the last week since the other two moved in with us. During the day, she treats me like someone she has to spend time with, but at night, when we are alone in the bedroom, she is very needy of love. I've known her for over six months now, and it's been rare that she's asked me for any kind of affection.

And she talks! She talks so much like she's holding everything back in her head when the others are around. I know she's suffering a bit, but I love it when she's so vulnerable and demanding towards me.

Now, to Luna, she has taken over the household, so to speak. She cooks, she cleans, she does the laundry. I think she feels responsible for us since she's the oldest, and I get the feeling she's bored. After her daily routine of waking up at sunrise to go jogging and hitting the gym every afternoon, she had absolutely nothing to do. The uproar on social media was also unbearable. Many of her followers were unhappy about her announcement that she would be leaving her guild and would most likely never be seen in a stage show again, let alone posting pictures in her Magical Girl outfit.

To my surprise, Kajsa was good to handle for a former princess from another world. She repeatedly emphasized her new role and was obliged to express her gratitude to us. As we got used to her and warmed more and more, she insisted that we should perhaps treat her more like a pet since she didn’t deserve that we treated her like equals. We rejected this unanimously, although Miko probably only did so because she already had a pet to look after...

Apart from that, Kajsa really had just a few problems adapting. As I expected, life in her world was a little more old-fashioned, but apart from the lack of technology, the demons were probably more reasonable and cultivated than most of our present-day humanity.

I would love to visit the place where she came from. The way she described it was way too close to the ones from our world's fantasy stories. But Luna killed my dream when she saw the sparkle in my eyes. Visiting a world unknown to us was not only insanely dangerous but also prohibited by the Ministry of Magic. Of course, I already knew that anything they couldn't understand or control was forbidden.

Ding-Dong

Besides the times we ordered takeout, it was rare that anybody rang our doorbell.

"Shall I open it?" Kajsa asked as we all sat together in the living room.

I waved her off. "Better not." She knew I didn't mean any ill will. After all, I just wanted to protect her from other people's reactions, so I went to the door.

It was Lilith, who was waiting outside the apartment, standing next to a large cardboard box. Before I could ask her what we had done to deserve her visit, Kajsa came to the door, got down on one knee, and bowed her head.

"Nice to see you. Shall I carry that?"

“You should take her as an example. I could get used to people kneeling in front of me.” Lilith chuckled, but somehow, her tone seemed a little too serious.

"We'll see what we can do." I laughed awkwardly and followed her into the living room while Kajsa trailed after me with the box in her hands.

"I've had uniforms made for us. For the first time since this guild was founded, we will present ourselves as a unit in front of different people. I want everyone to know immediately when they look at one of our members that we are different and better. I've decided we'll all have the same uniform - I don't care who's the strongest or how long they've been in the guild. Everyone is important."

She really knew how to talk. A few minutes ago, we were still slouching on the couch. Now, we were standing in a half circle before Lilith and listened to her every word with full attention.

When she mentioned that we all get the same uniform, we couldn't help but smile and look at Kajsa, only to see tears welling up in her eyes. She had to hold back a lot of emotions. I don't want to compare her situation with mine, but somehow, she was also drawn into a situation that changed her whole world.

I'm just too emphatic because I was way too happy that she was treated like a real guild member, even though I've only known her for a week.

"And I considered getting you a behavior trainer, but since we only have a week before we leave for the raid's opening event, I decided against it. Just be yourselves. You're all lovely the way you are. And now try on the uniforms."

Luna disappeared into her room, Kajsa started stripping straight away in the living room, and Miko went into our bedroom with me. After we had received our share of the clothes, I understood why the box was so big. We hadn't just received a uniform but two whole sets with different pieces to mix and match. Shorts, skirts, pants, shirts, coats, shoes, boots, socks, and even matching tights. The only thing we could really choose for ourselves was our underwear.

Now, I had to decide which version I wanted to try first. The pleated skirt looked great, but I wasn't sure about the length, so I wanted to start with that one. Somehow, I completely forgot about Miko's existence, who was also in the room. But I was sure we were both too busy to pay too much attention to the other.

However, I was wrong. I had just put on my tights and skirt when I suddenly felt a hug from behind.

"I don't know what suits me, so I've decided to watch you instead of getting dressed." She said in a quiet voice.

Did she want to kill me? My heart was racing already, and one door away, the others were trying on the uniforms, and she randomly decided to make a move like that?

Well, objectively speaking, she just hugged me, but it was definitely more exciting for me than it should have been.

"We could try a partner look," I finally suggested, and Miko thankfully let go of me. I finished getting dressed and tried to look at myself in the small mirror next to the sideboard.

"How did you tie this corsage yourself?" Miko looked at me helplessly.

"Put it on so that the lacing is in front of you, tie it loosely, and turn it around before you tighten it."

“Sounds totally reasonable, but I would prefer you just help me.”

“But for sure.” What kind of monster would I be if I denied her request?

I went behind Miko and adjusted the corsage. It was actually the first time I had put one on today myself, so it was also new to bind it on another person. But Miko would make me understand if I tied it too tightly. Besides, it wasn't comparable to the typical figure-shaping corsages. This one seemed more like an accessory.

“Is that all right?” I asked, ready to make a cute bow out of the ribbon.

"Perfect. Now, let me take a good look at you." She turned around before I could finish my job, but at least the knot was finished.

"I never thought one of these outfits would look so good on you," Miko said, grinning.

"Isn't this the first time Lilith has brought something like this?"

"No, she really likes to play dress up with herself and, of course, with me."

This uniform was definitely something special. It consisted of a long-sleeved shirt that buttoned up on the left side instead of in the middle, a relatively small leather corsage, and a knee-length pleated skirt. Everything was pitch black, and only minor details, such as the buttons, were silver.

I opted for tights for the areas where I could decide for myself, such as what I would wear on my legs, while Miko covered her calves with knee-length socks.

"Don't forget to wear the neck ribbon. It's cute."

"You're right," I said, removing it from the box and putting it under the shirt collar.

"I wonder if anyone has decided to wear pants?" Miko asked curiously. I doubted it because we all liked skirts in some way. Kajsa almost only wore skirts; Luna usually wore them when she wasn't running around in sweatpants, and we didn't need to talk about Lilith. I've never seen her wearing anything else.

"What are you doing in there? I'm afraid I'll see something unholy if I open this door, so please come out yourself." It was Eliza who started shouting from the living room. I didn’t know she was coming too.

As we didn't want to feed the lewd fantasies of the others, we left the room and presented ourselves.

My eyes darted around, skirt, skirt, skirt, just as I expected. Ah, barefoot, just as I expected from Kajsa. We would never get her to wear socks or shoes. Lilith and Luna also chose to wear tights on their legs, making Miko the only one with socks. I know these details aren’t that important, but I need an excuse to look at them from bottom to top.

Oh yes, the top part. I wish I hadn't looked. Even though the corsage wasn't that tight, it was still eye-catching, and my gaze spotted some body parts on my lovely colleagues that were a little more prominent than on myself.

"You girls are so adorable!" Luna cried, pressing both hands to her cheeks.

"Thank you," I said, awfully bashful. Getting genuine compliments was like direct damage to my brain. I blushed a little and turned my face away.

"I have to take a photo of you, get together." Eliza pulled out her smartphone and giggled creepily. As the only one not in uniform, she enjoyed the whole thing a little too much.

So, we gathered and stood shoulder to shoulder, starting with me, followed by Miko, Lilith, Luna, and Kajsa. Eliza took tons of photos in a span of ten seconds and happily sat down on the couch to review all of them.

"If you want small changes to the outfits, let me know. I want you to feel relatively comfortable in them. And don't worry. You can take the corsage off if you enter a dungeon." Lilith explained, smiling and looking directly at Miko and me.

Of course, she directed her words at us. Luna was used to dressing up in weird outfits, and Kajsa wore a white dress and corsage while beating me up outside the dungeon a few weeks ago.

Luckily, I didn't have to think about fighting for the next few months. Healing would be my only job; honestly, I missed helping strangers with my magic. Taking care of people close to me was somehow scary and unsettling, especially when you had to look at your girlfriend's strangely broken wrists.

MIKO

Once we had changed back into more comfy clothes, I followed Lilith downstairs to the office. I'd known her too long to believe she'd just bought us uniforms so we'd look better together.

“Can you just accept something without being paranoid?”

“I would say it’s your fault that I ask every single decision you make.”

"The uniforms are to show us as a unit, and yes, if you want to read more into it, they are also to protect you. Kajsa and Kayla are no-names in our world, and one is a demon. If I could, I'd write my name on their faces so everyone knows who they're messing with if they decide to mistreat one of you."

Lilith could be really scary, and even though she was overprotective in some ways, I loved her for it. Not only because I felt safe but also because I knew she would take care of Kayla the same way she took care of me.

Ever since I started thinking about the Dungeon Raid, I've felt anxious because, for the first time since I'd met Kayla, I might not be able to see her for a few days. Still, I knew that the others would protect her if anything happened.

It annoyed me so much that I worried that something might happen to Kayla. The likelihood of any complications at the healing centers where she would be working was almost non-existent, but I was so used to things going wrong that I couldn't get rid of these thoughts.

"Relax, Miko. I'm so happy you've found someone special for you. But I speak from experience that when your mind becomes obsessed with these thoughts, it can destroy you."

“I told you that you cannot read my mind.”

“I don’t need magic to know what is worrying you.”

A few lonely tears flowed down my cheeks. I didn't even know why I was crying. I guess love is just a treacherous emotion.

Lilith walked over and hugged me tightly. Even though I knew that she wanted to calm me down, her touch was like breaking away my restraints.

I started to bawl my eyes out.

This feeling finally stopped after what seemed like an eternity, and I could take a deep breath again.

“It really tightens your chest, doesn't it?” Lilith chuckled.

"As if you know what it feels like to cry."

“We will not deal with this topic now.”

"Thank you for being there for me." With these words, I took a small step back and wiped my face with my forearm.

“Now, back to your darling. Otherwise, she'll end up getting worried.”

"Yes, Mom." I didn’t know why I said it, and she usually would give me a soft punch or make an annoyed comment about me using this word, but today, she just smiled at me. Did she want me to start crying again? I sniffled a little and ran into the stairwell to return to my apartment.

When Kayla looked into my face, she naturally knew that I had been crying, but she didn't ask me why. She trusted me to talk about it if I felt it was necessary. I believed that with all my heart.

Oh man, my thoughts have gotten pretty sentimental since meeting her. In my memory, I was always a lot more detached when it came to my feelings. I'm still not sure which of the two versions of me I prefer, but if that's the price of being with Kayla, then I guess it's worth