[TWS] Chapter 18 - Return (Patreon)

Miria was the first one to wake up when the morning came. She found herself in the same position she last remembered, which was in Ast’s embrace, with them both lying on their sides. She glanced upwards to see if he was still sleeping and it seemed so. Asterios’s sleeping face caused her to smile. It looked so serene and to some extent really handsome. His breath tickled her ears with each movement of his lungs, making them twitch in response.

She dropped her gaze back to his chest and stroked it over the material. She recalled the warm feeling from before she fell asleep and it lured her to snuggle to Ast’s body again. Miria started rubbing her face into it more and more, taking a few good whiffs of him. His natural scent was very pleasant and relaxing, inviting her to press her cheeks and forehead against Ast even more.

After a few moments, she realized what she was doing and froze while blushing fervently. She hadn’t done such things to a man since the day she turned twelve. Before that, she always loved to jump at her father to snuggle to his chest and rub her face into it just like she did just now. She already forgot how good it felt, but it was too embarrassing for a grown-up girl to get all snuggly with her parents.

A sudden scratching behind her ear made Miria shiver in surprise. She glanced up and her eyes met with Ast’s. Her actions must have woken him up. Her eyes quivered in embarrassment when he smiled knowingly. She knew he saw and felt her do it.

“Having fun?” he spoke.

Miria quickly hid her face back into his chest, making Asterios chuckle. He patted her head for a little longer and raised them both to a sitting position. She didn’t want to show him her completely red cheeks so she stayed in a hug, not knowing what to do.

“You literally walked naked in front of me yesterday and now you are getting all shy from this?” He laughed again.

“It’s different… I wasn’t rubbing my face into you like some weirdo yesterday…”

“Well, rather than weird, it looked kinda cute to me. And you seemed quite happy. If something makes you happy, then you should do it more.” He kept stroking her head as he talked.

Miria’s ears twitched. She mustered all her courage and slowly backed away so that they could properly face each other. She still had to avert her gaze from time to time.

“But… isn’t that childish? I’m not a little girl anymore…”

“So, you are saying that if I turn old enough then I can’t keep doing things I enjoy? Don’t let thoughts like that limit who you really are and what you like doing. Do I have to stop giving my mother a kiss on the cheek just because I’ve reached a certain age? Why? Because the majority of people view that as embarrassing? So I should be exactly like them and stop showing my mom how much I love her? Do not let strangers dictate you what is fun and what is not. It’s your life. Your own path to happiness. It can be rough at times, but there’s nothing better than following your dreams even if you have to walk upstream.”

He brushed through her hair while speaking and moved his hand to Miria’s cheek, just to pinch it gently and pull a bit as he spoke the last part. Another worry slowly disappeared from her heart. She felt that those words were true to what he really believed in and she could confirm it from the short time they spent together.

Asterios stood up and stretched. “If we go by that logic, I guess that as a grown-up man I should never admit that it felt rather nice and pleasant to me, making me want to not stop you so that I could experience more of it, right?”

He chuckled and left the wide-eyed Miria with her quickly swishing tail alone in the tent. She smiled to herself and calmed down with a few deep breaths. She decided to start trying to be more open and less shy about her actions. Besides, she was his contracted familiar, it was only natural for her to be close with her master. Yes, it was normal. They already hugged a few times and even kissed once in the past. What are some snuggles compared to that?

After eating a light breakfast together and tidying up the camp, they began heading the same direction as yesterday. Miria turned into her panther form and they somehow managed to find their way to their old encampment, thanks to her keen sense of smell.

It was utterly destroyed. The group must have tried to make it look like it was attacked by wolves since the tent was shredded with cuts similar to their claws. Ast and Miria didn’t leave any important valuables here as most of the things were stored in her house, being brought out when they needed them, so the losses weren’t that great. The fact that they destroyed their property persisted though.

Before returning, the duo finished picking up the few Moontail Grass pieces they were lacking. It took them an hour to find all. They stumbled on a few wolves, but Miria didn’t give them even a chance to think about attacking them, lunging at one on sight and tearing its throat into bits with her impressive jaws. The rest ran away after seeing the show of a predator much more powerful than them.

With both of the tasks finished, they prepared to leave. Miria did a check around the area but didn’t find the adventurer’s group in their close proximity. The scent she noticed led back the way they came from on the first day so they concluded that those people already went back.

Asterios stroked Miria’s fur as they were going to depart.

“How do you feel? It’s pretty much the third day you are spending in my realm,” he asked.

~No different than usual, Master. Is that not normal?~

He pondered and checked his spiritual circuits. They also were barely strained. It was utterly weird, like there was almost no effect on them from Miria spending so much time by his side.

“It wasn’t in the past. Now, I’m not sure what to think. Too many illogical things are happening around us recently. In any case, let me know if anything changes.”

Ast decided to keep checking on them both from time to time and leave the weird issue for later. They covered the distance in the same time as they did before, taking only a few hours. Asterios instructed Miria to not hide into her realm during their return. The guards naturally stopped them, but after confirming Ast’s connection with the Guild, they let them in.

He jumped off her and they walked through the streets, side by side. It would create too much chaos if an unseen yet beast of this size was dashing around. Naturally, some curious gazes followed, but they would need to start getting used to them if Ast wanted to not hide Miria, and perhaps his other future summons, completely from the world. And the fact that she could stay this long without putting a strain on him did support that idea.

They arrived in front of the guild and Asterios pushed the door open. It was as lively as usual. Some people turned around to check on him when they noticed the huge black panther, but it wasn’t like the whole hall suddenly turned silent, which was good.

Asterios walked closer to the counters with Miria by his side and began heading towards Ellie’s spot. When they came closer, they saw a familiar figure leaning over the wooden structure and acting all flirty with the receptionist. Miria released a quiet growl, but Ast quickly patted her head to calm her down.

~Not yet. We’ll get him in time,~ he sent her a message while brushing his fingers through her fur.

The man was so focused on courting the visibly annoyed girl that he hadn’t noticed him approaching. Ast also leaned on the counter and spoke to the adventurer.

“So, Ellie is your girl. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The man jerked to the side, shocked by Ast’s voice, but managed to not act too suspiciously, at least to all the bystanders. Ellie frowned at Asterios, not understanding why he would say that. She decided to ask about that later.

“Welcome back, Ast! That was quite fast. Did you perhaps complete one of the tasks?” she asked with a smile.

“Actually, we are done with both.”

“Really? That’s amazing! You must have been quite lucky back there then!” Ellie enthusiastically started preparing some documents.

“I guess so. But, I wouldn’t be able to get so many wolves this fast if not for your boyfriend’s help,” he smiled and made a side glance at the examiner.

Ellie crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “What’s with you? When did I ever say that we are together? And what do you mean by that? Rhode didn’t join that quest, right?” She moved her gaze onto the adventurer, who was slowly starting sweating more and more.

“Oh? I remember pretty clearly how he told me that I shouldn’t have embarrassed him in front of his girl as he was detonating the entrance to the wolves den behind my back.” Asterios chuckled, acting as if that was a funny thing.

Her eyes instantly went wide. “What?! Rhode?”

“That’s slander! As you have said yourself, I haven’t picked up that quest so why would I be there? I have no idea what he is talking about!”

The guy switched into the victim role.

“Oh, really?” Ast glanced at him.

“Yes, really! You can ask my guys, I was with them the whole time!”

While Ellie didn’t know what to say, Ast turned to her.

“Say, if I were to kill a guild employee, would that thing I have with me be able to earn me a pardon?”

He conveyed his question with a calm and collected tone, but Ellie got goosebumps from the coldness and seriousness in Ast’s eyes.

“What?! You can’t kill someone just like—”

Asterios snapped his fingers and Miria jumped at Rhode with a loud growl, pinning him to the ground. She positioned her face just in front of his and kept growling ferociously while exposing her sharp teeth. Some people started noticing that something was happening by the counter and began gathering around.

“I wasn’t asking you, but the pretty lady right here.” Ast glared at him and turned back to Ellie. “So, the answer?”

“Ummm…” She moved her eyes between Ast and Rhode, trying to figure out words that wouldn’t escalate the situation more. “That would depend… normally, it wouldn’t, but if there was a sound reason behind the action, then… maybe… the Guildmaster might listen...”

“Hey, hey! What the hell are you talking about there?! I’m being attacked here!”

Miria opened her jaws in order to silence the man a bit, but Ast sent her a mental message to not wound him. Contradictory to what he was saying, he wasn’t planning on murdering someone in the middle of the guildhall.

“What is going on here?” A female voice arrived from behind the crowd and the people soon created a path for its owner.

Suanori, who noticed Ast coming to the guild through her window and walked to the main hall to observe him from the side, now stepped closer and stopped in front of the unusual scene. She frowned at the man pinned to the ground by the huge cat and then glanced at Ast, who seemed to be nonchalantly leaning over the counter.

“Guildmaster! Save me! This kid has gone mad! He met some bandits and thinks that I tried to kill him!” The man quickly turned to the Elf woman and begged for help.

She raised one of her brows at the boy.

“I don’t think. I’ve seen it. Do I have to swear on that thing to make people believe me?” He looked back at the Guildmaster confidently.

She glanced at Ellie but that only shook her head, signalling that she didn’t know anything for sure yet. To avoid causing even more chaos, she decided to get to the bottom of this in a less busy area.

“I would like to listen to both of the sides first. Ellie, Rhode, Asterios, follow me to my conference room. Everyone else, disperse. End of the show.”

Asterios asked Miria to release the man and they all walked behind the Guildmaster to the mentioned chamber. They sat around a coffee table and Suanori listened to the respective versions of the events. Ast waited calmly while Rhode was speaking, but the latter couldn’t stop himself from accusing the former of lying when he was talking.

“He is definitely trying to frame me! He is targeting me from the moment he stepped his foot in our guild and Ellie can confirm that!” The man was shouting while gesturing angrily.

“That’s enough Rhode, I’ve heard both of you. I don’t think he has any reason to go after you. Ellie?” Suanori silenced the man and glanced at the receptionist.

“I think so too.”

“What? Are you going to believe some low rank instead of a veteran guild employee? I have people who can vouch for me! I didn’t leave the city in the last week! He has no one to confirm his lies!”

Asterios was just sitting on the opposite side and scratching Miria’s head, who was lying on the whole sofa and resting it on his lap while purring affectionately. The sight of that calmness was beginning to tick Rhode off.

Suanori rubbed her temples. “Certainly, that does work in your favour, but it doesn’t mean that we can invalidate his points just because you have someone to back you up and he is alone.”

“I’m not alone.” Ast gave her a lazy glance.

“What? Do you perhaps think that your fucking, overgrown cat counts?” Miria released a low growl in response to the man's hostility but stopped under Ast’s caresses. “Nice joke, idiot. It can’t even speak, hahaha!”

A black mist started enveloping Miria’s body and she began morphing into the humanoid form while obstructed by the swirling smoke. Everyone in the room stared wide-eyed at the sudden spectacle. A moment later, in the place of a huge, black panther lying on Ast’s lap, a beautiful, black-haired girl in dark crimson leather armour appeared, taking everyone completely off-guard.

Asterios stopped brushing his fingers through her now Human-like hair and let Miria raise herself to a sitting position. She didn’t display even a hint of embarrassment, glaring intently at the man who tried to murder her master. Ellie covered her mouth which had opened involuntarily from shock and Sunaori’s eyes widened to the brim after witnessing the unbelievable change. They all stared confusedly at the twitching ears on top of Miria’s head and the slowly moving tail behind her back.

Ast leaned back on the sofa and spread his arms wide behind the backrest.

“Now she can.”