The Caretaker of Tenants From Another World - Chapter 112 (Patreon)

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Chapter 112

The day came at last for Isla and Val to leave. They would be gone for an entire month which, seeing as some of the tenants were having a hard time letting either of them go, might be an agonizing wait.

"I'm gonna miss you, kid!" Ivory exclaimed while group hugging with Isla and Tamara.

Val was just now emerging from the dormitory with Irapesha, who was pulling luggage in one hand and another by the tail.

"It's like you're packed for vacation or something. Just what the hell do you have in those suitcases?" I asked.

"My personal effects among other things. I intend to come back with two more filled with clothing I long to wear again." Val smiled, drifting into lala land about new outfits from Weyera.

All I could think of was how much more closet space Val would need after claiming two rooms' worth of square footage.

Ange flew down to embrace her friend, and Val returned the sweet gesture by doing the same.

"I would wish you well, but I think High-King Tarcosa will need those well wishes for entertaining your month-long stay." Ange grinned.

"I will take full advantage of his hospitality. In the meantime, make sure our dear caretaker takes care of my garden." Val narrowed her eyes on me.

"You gave me a whole goddamn encyclopedia! I got this!" I assured the uppity monarch.

"And make sure Cresta doesn't sleep on the garden beds. It compacts the dirt and hinders proper root growth." She flicked that burning glare to Cresta, who started whistling off to the side.

A black SUV rolled into the parking lot and pulled up to the edge of the walkway. The passenger side window rolled down to a grouchy Professor Markel, quickly sipping on what must be coffee from his thermos before stepping out.

"Long work night, Professor?" I teased him, expecting to be brushed off, but instead got a laborious sigh expelled through the nose.

"Interns," the professor snarled. "I can't do this job forever, so I need to train my inevitable replacements. Until then, have you all said your goodbyes?"

Ivory carried Isla up to me, letting the plant girl wrap her roots and vines over my body like a cocoon of webs. They tightened, but not so much that it hurt. She rested her head over my chest and seemed almost unwilling to go.

"I know it's going to be scary. Unlike the others, you weren't born in Weyera. It's a whole foreign world to you. It was like that for me, too, when I moved countries. But Val will be with you, and there are a lot of nice people over there. When you come back, we'll throw another party like the barbecue last week. You're a brave sapling, aren't you?"

Isla raised her head, put on a brave face, and nodded. The entanglement loosened and  retracted back into the tiny body. I gave her one more squeezing hug, then handed her over to Val.

As they headed for the car, I nudged Remmy, who had been quiet this whole time, forward.

"Isla, Val…" Remmy began, hiding her face behind two handmade cards. "One month is a long time… so, I… had everyone write something… for each of you… in case you get… lonely."

The past week, Remmy had been designing the cards and worked up the courage to talk to everyone about writing words of encouragement.

However, still too shy about it, Remmy stretched her slime arms to hand the cards over. Isla wouldn't let that be and grabbed ahold of both her hands to shake. Val had to be the one to take the cards, smiling softly at the first thing she read inside it.

They entered the vehicle and immediately rolled down the windows.

"Isla, be brave! Bye, papa! Byyeeeee!" Isla waved out the window as the car drove away.

I took a few steps ahead so that the others didn't see me tear up. Although I knew they were going to come back, seeing my tenants leave like that was a harsh reminder that they one day would leave for good. The dormitory was temporary. Over time, everyone here would drift apart to chase their own dreams and find their own place in the world.

A hand lightly grasped my arm and another stroked my back.

Ange leaned her head against mine, gazing in the same direction that Val and Isla had gone.

"Worried?"

"Not worried. Just realizing that losing even a day with you guys would suck," I said,

"Oh? I wouldn't mind a little bit more attention. Come. They will be gone for a time, but the rest of us are still here." Ange hooked an arm around mine to guide me back into the dorm.

We returned inside to Cresta and Irapesha in the living room, eyes glued to the television. It was a breaking news segment. Apparently a netherfolk in Canada had run away from their dormitory a week ago and sparked a nation-wide search. Anti-netherfolk sentiments had consequently grown worse because of it.

The missing netherfolk in question was Jeriah, a male elf and mage formerly a soldier in the Granieda army. He looked relatively young, whatever young was to an elf. The photo was obviously taken from his dossier, the same ones I receive from Professor Markel about a tenant.

Something about those wide, bright blue eyes and big smile in that mugshot seem so off to me..

"Do you two recognize him?" I asked the veterans.

"Nope." Cresta shook her head. "There were a little over a hundred thousand in Granieda's army. Maybe he used to be part of the Royal Black Guards. You know him, Pesha?"

"I feel like I should recognize him, but my memory is failing me. Elves are naturally predisposed to magic, so an elven mage does not narrow things down at all." In spite of not recognizing him, Irapesha continued to stare hard at the image of Jeriah until the channel went to commercials which snapped her back to her senses. "And Cresta, you aren't supposed to mention the Royal Black Guards."

"Is that something I should know?" I chimed back in.

Both of them turned to me, then to each other. Cresta made an oopsie-face and shrugged.

"No, it isn't. Royal Black Guards are just another relic of the past from the bygone war," Irapesha said, shutting the TV off and heading upstairs.

Curiosity got the better of me.

After everyone had gone to sleep, and Ange was snoozing soundly behind me, I decided to do a little digging. Switching the browser to incognito mode provided the privacy I needed so that the others wouldn't accidentally stumble onto my history. The first thing I searched for was 'Royal Black Guards'.

Other than LARP groups and fictional stories claiming the name, little about what I was looking for came up. I should have expected this. Irapesha made it sound like a tight-lipped secret, so of course there wouldn't be anything found about it.

I wracked my head over why something so obscure was bothering me so much. Half of me wanted to ask Professor Markel, but the other half was afraid of getting scolded. If I couldn't find anything, then that was that. No sense in trying to dig any further.

Ange, Tamara, and I drove out to an arts and crafts store to help our little sheep purchase supplies for her final school project. The outdoor shopping center was packed full, so I had to park at a lot across the street.

"Why are there so many metal carriages? I've never seen so many before. Not even at school!" Tamara marveled at the ungodly number of cars parked across several lots in front of retail buildings.

It was what happens after decades of bowing to our automotive overlords.

"Today's a Saturday, so I'm sure a lot of people are coming out with their families. Kind of like us," I said of our parents and daughter-like trio.

Then there was our 'dog'.

"Baa!" Rakka bleated.

"Yes, yes. I haven't forgotten about you, Rakka." I rolled my eyes, taking full stock at how many people were staring at our odd combination.

The pedestrian light turned red, and I stuck out a hand to stop Ange and Tamara from walking into traffic.

"Why have we stopped?" Ange asked.

"What do you mean, why? This is normal unless you want to get hit by a car. Unlike carriages back in Weyera, these don't teleport. Not to mention, there are a lot of braindead drivers in this world," I added.

"We'll go on ahead. Come, dear. Hold on to me," she said, picking up Tamara and taking flight across the street.

"Meet you inside!" Tamara shouted from above.

"Hey, wait a minute! What about me?!"

They were already gone, but at least Rakka waited patiently for the pedestrian light by my side.

"You might not be a tenant, but you're my favorite for how well-behaved you always are." I knelt down to pat the mana beast.

"Baa~"

Once the pedestrian light came up, we raced across to catch up with Ange and Tamara. The two were inside, pushing a shopping cart filled to half capacity with paint brushes, super glue, and boards of balsa wood.

"Hmm… I'm not sure what else I need…" Tamara knitted her brows together and thought hard.

"What are you making for your school project anyway?" I asked.

"A replica of my farm back in Weyera! We don't really have cameras like in this world, and Ms. Elaine told us to make something important to us. I want to build my first home to the best of my memory before I forget," she explained.

"In that case…" Ange picked up the last ball of white yarn from the shelf. "You will need this to make Rakka and all the sheep you used to raise at the farm."

"Oh, that's a good—"

"E-Excuse me… is that the last one?" a little girl dressed in blue skittishly asked from behind.

Although she was the same height as Tamara, she looked much younger. In her hand held a crochet kit.

Tamara unburdened the yarn ball from Ange to give it to the kid.

"Is it really okay?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Tamara nodded. "I was going to make sheeps out of it, but don't worry. I can always use my own wool! What do you plan on making with it?"

"A scarf for my grandma, who gets cold easily. She likes the color white. Is… Is that your sheep? Can I pet it?" the girl asked.

"Of course, you can. Rakka won't bite—"

Rakka backed away, but not from the hand. Her eyes were fixed on someone at the end of the aisle. They were dressed in a heavy jacket for such mild morning weather with the hood pulled over their head.

"Sorry. Are you this child's guardian? We were just giving her a ball of yarn from the shelf," I called out.

They didn't answer. Something about them seemed really off-putting.

"Dear, where are your parents? You should go and find them," Ange urged, pulling both the girl and Tamara behind herself.

"I never thought I'd see demons here," the person suddenly said.

All around us, crochet hooks, scissors, and wooden needles shuddered as they came alive to slip off the shelves. Without warning, the projectiles fired at Ange. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and unfurled her wings wide.

"Ange!" I shouted worriedly.

A pair of scissors punctured the leathery webbing of the right wing, just inches away from my face.

"Get… Tamara out of here," Ange said through gritted teeth.

And leave you?

"Tamara, take the girl and run!" I urged her.

"But Ange!" Tamara cried.

"We'll handle it. Go!"

Tamara took the girl's hand and ran down the other end of the aisle. As soon as they were gone, Ange dropped to one knee and clutched her left shoulder. I went around front to check on her, and she had been cut all over her body.

"Rakka, freeze them!" I ordered.

"Baa!" Rakka opened her mouth to unleash a bolt of ice, but the mysterious figure flicked their wrist to redirect the spell into the ceiling.

"A mana beast, is it? And I'm guessing you're the caretaker?" the stranger asked.

I got up and stood between them at Ange.

"Who are you? Another demon assassin after Ange's life?" I fired back.

"Demon? Please. The only demon here is the one you're protecting. You must be under her control, but don't worry. You'll be free once I deal with her," a voice full of vengeful malice said.

If not a demon, then… a runaway netherfolk?

"Are you Jeriah?" I asked, startling our assailant.

They pulled off the hood to reveal the same face that was on the news. The pointed ears and light complexion were a dead giveaway. However, instead of bright blue eyes and a big smile in the picture, the Jeriah in front of me was scowling. His dagger-sharpened gaze were fixated on Ange for a singular purpose— her life.