[DCI] Chapter 52 - Rising Suspicions (Patreon)

I woke up first out of us all. As usual, the sexy bundle of muscles weighed down on my chest while releasing calm, blissful breaths. The only difference was the presence of thin, comfy material between my skin and the skin of the beautiful drakan lady napping on top of me. As wanton and mischievous as Aisha was, she still respected our new companion’s boundaries and willingly made use of proper underwear while in bed.

Though, I guess I was starting to miss that casual intimacy a little bit.

Even so, I still loved just being near this perfect woman.

But, as I was going to attempt to slide my beautiful mate off my chest somewhere to the left, something blocked the movement of my right arm. Glancing toward it revealed the culprit, and it certainly wasn’t what I’d expected.

Levia must have crawled closer to us overnight. The mesmerizing, petite lady was currently lying on her left side, resting her head against my shoulder. Her delicate hands were holding my arm with surprising strength. I barely felt her gentle grip, yet it was more than just tough to pry my arm away from the iron grasp of this adorable, little Witch.

Nevertheless, I was still planning to get out of bed without waking up the sleeping princesses. With some trouble, I managed to slip out of Levia’s hold, causing her smooth forehead to wrinkle a little as she lost her object of support. Aisha was a much easier case. As long as I kept brushing my fingers over the enchanting scales covering her mighty tail, she wouldn’t even notice that I was throwing her off myself.

I felt like I had figured out one of those cheats on how to temporarily freeze your cat with just this one simple trick.

But, considering how much she enjoyed lying on top of my chest, I guess she wasn’t that far off from those fluffy felines.

With both obstructions gone, I strolled to the bathroom to splash some water onto my face and jumped in some simple sweatpants and a t-shirt before heading into the kitchen complex. I prepared their favorite cups and set the kettle on. Aisha would definitely appreciate a fragrant tea while Levia was starting to lose herself in coffee more and more.

The amount of sugar she put in it was stunning, though. But, I guess her brain needed it after constantly working in overdrive.

Since they would both certainly complain that I didn’t wake them up for too long while we had so many interesting things to do, I threw our breakfast into the shopping cart and hit the purchase button. The doorbell rang through the apartment and I picked the steaming package up from the stone floor, checking for any visiting skellies.

Levia was rubbing her eyes while already in a sitting position, sending me hazy glances from just waking up. I smiled at her warmly and set the box down on the kitchen table. The water had already boiled so I poured it into the cup full of coffee, and grabbing both it and the confectioner, I headed to the bed.

Sitting down on the left edge, I extended both items to Levia, and the slightly sleepy Witch silently transferred about eight spoons of sugar into her morning drink. She then received the cup from me and took a tiny sip, followed by a slightly more confident gulp.

“Thank you.” She nodded at me gently, handing her coffee mug back to me.

“You are welcome.” I nodded back and extended a hand to her to help her step off the bed.

As she trotted to the toilet to take care of her business, I delivered the cup to the dining table and returned to the bed, finding my beautiful drakan mate snuggled to the sheets which she had rolled into a tube and wrapped her legs and arms around it. Chuckling quietly, I sat down on the other side of the bed and gave her alluring ass a few light taps.

A suppressed purr vibrated through the pillow she’d buried her face in. Since there was no other answer, I gave her tender behind a slightly stronger slap, though still very gentle. A quite pleasant smack traveled through the air, alongside a slightly louder hum.

Even so, Aisha still didn’t move.

I could clearly see the tip of her crimson tail wag faintly and I snorted. She was already fully awake, just fucking with me as usual. So, I did the only right thing in that situation and spanked that booty the way it deserved, evoking both a sharp smack and a prolonged moan which was caught by the pillow. It was instantly followed by a snicker and Aisha finally opened one eye, peeking right at me.

“Get up. I won’t do any more. Lest it turns you on right from the morning.” I smirked at her, brushing my palm over her shapely butt.

“You see, there’s no time when I’m not turned on. Especially when you are around,” she purred seductively.

I shook my head with a smile and leaned down to place a kiss on the available part of her temple. Escaping before she could pull me in and trap me between those powerful arms and thighs of hers, I walked to the kitchen and began setting the table for breakfast, unpacking the order.

Both ladies arrived at the table pretty much at the same time. Aisha nonchalantly dropped herself onto the chair as I helped push Levia’s in for her after the Witch plopped down at her spot. I would have done it for both of them, but it wasn’t like my hasty mate would wait.

“What’s this?” Aisha asked after taking a glance at the plate in front of her.

“French toast. I thought you two might enjoy it.” I sat down on my side of the table. “Tradition dictates that I should prepare it myself for my other half but I’m afraid I would fuck it up since I never had done this, so I chose the easy way out with a much better taste.”

“It is the thought that matters,” Levia said quietly before taking a bite of her meal.

Aisha grinned at me and I rolled my eyes at her. She knew very well that I was talking about her and still acted as usual. But, she didn’t tease me for long and dug into her portion too, humming in satisfaction. We unhurriedly ate our fill and tidied up after ourselves. Everyone got into their comfy work clothes and we were ready to get things done.

They headed to Levia’s workshop while I checked in with Zeke and learned that he had already found someone who was interested in working on our artistic projects. As long as the pay was good, of course.

So, I let him know that money wasn’t really an issue if his guy was good and suggested that he should start with my little sketch first since it was needed the most. I was promised to hear from the person very soon and our brief conversation ended since Zeke had to do at least some work at his job.

I joined the girls and we resumed our experiments on various materials and ingredients. So far, Levia had found two solutions that could potentially work decently well but they were still far off from perfect. Thus, she was planning on mixing a bunch more stuff and then moving onto the cracked crystal we had retrieved from the Dungeon.

After about four hours, we covered all the possible combinations with the things available at our disposal. I learned a lot about many species of glowing moss and other plants in our collection during that time. It looked like even Aisha was going to remember a thing or two, judging by how invested she was in the entire thing.

With just the crystal left to check, Levia announced that we would be taking care of it in a more professional manner. That kind of surprised me since, in my eyes, everything she had done so far was like at a pro level. It felt like we were true scientists from those lab movies.

But, she proved me wrong real quick.

We moved to a different section of the workshop and she set up those glass instruments with multiple coiling tubes, vials, flasks, containers, burners, and so on. She fit segments of those alchemical tools together like puzzles, creating a long path of science reaching four distinct blocks.

Now it felt like we were going to make meth like those guys in a quite popular TV show. We just lacked proper safety suits for it.

Levia ordered us to take a small, alchemical hammer each and crush the crystal into bits. As we were doing that, she scooped the fragments into a mortar and ground the tiny pieces into even tinier pieces and then into dust. It looked like an arduous task but she was dealing with it like a pro. A few droplets of sweat did surface on her pretty forehead, though.

With enough powder prepared, she poured it into the first glass container at the starting edge of the entire contraption and lit a small flame underneath it. We watched her stir the crystal dust without anything happening for like ten minutes before it began melting. It was increasing in volume like in those videos where a cup of some substance suddenly produced an entire swimming pool of foam, just on a smaller scale.

After creating about half a cup of the gluey, translucent goo, she poured it into a different container, this time a conical vial, and corked the top. A single, thin pipe ran out of it and into a small collector. She activated some kind of an amber magical circle underneath the conical vial and the glue started bubbling as if it was boiling. It was obvious that the fumes were being pushed into the coiling tube.

The spiral ran through multiple vertical formations of various colors too before it finally reached its final destination. It was extremely fascinating watching the gas flow at different speeds while passing through each of the specialized segments. We had no idea what they were doing to it but that didn’t matter as long as Levia wasn’t lost either.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t continue assisting them as the person Zeke had mentioned sent me a text, explaining that he had prepared a few cards and the sketch I’d shared with him as a quality test on his side. I took a peek at the files on my PC and confirmed that they seemed to look the way they should. I was happy with the sketch too.

Ordering a block of plastic and uploading the schematics onto a thumb drive, I returned to the workshop and put both in the engraver. The girls didn’t even notice me working on it and the laser cut my little project in a flash. Granted, it wasn’t anything super complex.

What I had sketched was just a two-piece gadget to help with the ink situation. The first part was just an empty container in the form of a rectangular block with a smaller rectangular opening at the top. The second part was a plastic plate with an indent perfectly fitting our stainless steel cards, making it so that placing the arcana in the niche, set its surface exactly even with the holder’s edges.

After putting the plate on top of the container, it would leave thin trenches all around it. There were a few holes at the bottom part of the upper surface too, both meant to catch the excessive liquid. The edges around that upper surface were slightly raised so that nothing escaped through unintended ways.

With that, we could just put the card in the niche at the plate, pour the ink all over it, and then use a slightly customized window wiper to remove the unnecessary portion by just dragging it down the arcana’s surface. With some experience, only the ink that fell into the circuits would remain in the exact amount that we needed.

Since the girls were still busy with the liquid, I decided to test one of the arcana files we had received and create one card with the remaining bits of stainless steel. The program was supposed to cut the shape of the card after finishing engraving the circuits so I positioned the base material on the work area and checked if it was properly recognized. Everything seemed fine after I put the thumb drive in so I tapped the start button and closed the lid.

After a few minutes, the engraving was ready. I waited a little longer for the ventilation to deal with the fumes and raised the lid. The circuits of a Firebolt had been perfectly burned into the card. I picked the thin metal plate up and examined it from up close but I couldn’t really spot any issues with it. Naturally, our expert would be the final judge.

I returned to the alchemical corner and rejoined the scientist ladies. My draconic mate was attentively following Levia’s small, precise movements. I hadn’t expected to see her so engrossed in something like that. I had no doubts that she wouldn’t notice it even if I grabbed her horns and started dragging her away, subconsciously fighting me back just strong enough to remain in front of the flashing lights.

Since it felt like they were reaching the conclusion of their experiment, I stood by the end of the entire contraption and watched the liquefied now crystal travel through a set of coiling tubes. After it made a bunch of loops, Levia pulled a tiny crank somewhere in the middle and the substance flowed into a glass measuring cup. That also seemed to be the moment when Aisha returned to the world of the conscious and I smirked at her as she noticed my presence.

“And? How is it?” I asked the two ladies with a curiously raised brow.

Levia stirred the mesmerizing crystal juice and nodded to herself. “I do not think we ran into any serious issues along the way. This should work well for a spiritual ink. But, because it was my first time working with this exact ingredient, I could not prevent about thirty percent of the base material from being wasted in the production process. I apologize.”

“It’s alright. I’m sure you will quickly figure out the proper way to handle it. We can bring more of the crystal too, so feel free to experiment with it as much as you need,” I replied.

“Granted, the pylons others might have destroyed until now haven’t disappeared or something.” Aisha scrunched her nose. “What about you?”

I raised the empty arcana between us. “I think the mass production is secured, alongside the person preparing the patterns. Will this suffice?”

Extending my hand to Levia, I passed the thin metal card to the calm Witch and Levia examined it from up close. She brushed her fingers over the symbols and arrays engraved into its surface, nodding to herself approvingly. She inhaled sharply at one point and we noticed a tiny bit of blood gathering on the tip of her pointer finger.

“Ah. So sorry about that,” I apologized, taking the card back. “Looks like the edges are a bit too sharp for someone with more delicate skin due to how thin this metal sheet is. I’ll deal with that somehow.”

“It is not that big of a deal. I shall apply some ointment on my finger that will not take long to close up the minuscule cut.” She trotted to one of the hanging cupboards, did as she said, and returned to us. “As for the arcana, the patterns do not seem to have any issues and are engraved perfectly into the metal. This quality is more than just satisfactory. Depending on the ink, the final effect should be worthy of our effort.”

“Nice. Let’s try it out, shall we?” Aisha grinned at us.

I brought them to the counter on the side and presented my little gadget meant to make the process of applying the ink much faster and easier. The girls listened to my explanation and observed the tutorial for the proper use of it. After we were done with that part, I checked if the two pieces of our ink catcher fit together without any problems and put the engraved arcana on the plate, which then went into the niche in the middle.

The card evened out with the catcher’s surface and Levia carefully poured one of the other solutions onto it from above. The slightly slimy liquid of a brown color spilled over the entire arcana and began dripping down into the container through the thin trenches around the indent. I picked up the customized window wiper and slowly dragged the rubber part over the gadget. Just as planned, the excess was pushed into the gaps, leaving just enough liquid over the formation on the card.

I repeated the motion a few times just to be sure and picked up the plate. Then, taking out the card was easy and I just slid it out of the holder, being careful enough not to fuck up the filled circuits. Holding the card over the edges, I walked up to the heat lamps and turned one of them on, placing the arcana under its warm, orange light.

As the ink was drying off, we tidied up the workshop a little bit. I transferred the excess ink from the painting gadget back into the glass vial it had originated from while the girls cleaned up the alchemical contraption. In about half an hour, we gathered by the lamps again and Levia took the arcana into her hands.

“What’s the verdict?” Aisha asked, peering at it over her shoulder.

“It looks solid. I can feel the circuits working properly after probing them with mana. There should be no issues with this arrangement. The ink has integrated with the patterns without a single issue,” Levia replied with the tiniest, faintest hint of a smile over her pouty lips.

“That’s great to hear. I guess now we have to test it out in the fiel—”

We all jumped a little as unexpected, loud thudding interrupted me mid-sentence.

“Help! Lucas! Guys! Are you there?!” A muffled voice reached our ears from outside of the workshop.

“Is that Lulu?” Aisha frowned. “How the hell did she figure out where we live?”

“I am more concerned by the fact that she bypassed the illusion this easily. It is not a perfect cast, but unless one knows what to look for, it should be almost impossible to distinguish the door perfectly disguised as part of the wall,” Levia added.

I rubbed my chin while the thudding continued. “I think it would be more than just stupid to try and attack us right at our doorstep so let’s go and see what this is about. Don’t lower your guards, though.”

The girls nodded and we jogged out of the workshop, grabbing our respective weapons just in case. Aisha moved to the door first and opened it just a little, holding her feet behind it to prevent the knocker from pushing it inside and throwing her onto the floor.

“Oh, thank gods! I thought you weren’t home!” Lulu sighed in heavy relief after seeing us through the gap.

“What’s going on?” Aisha asked with a frown.

The petite imp looked very distressed. The fresh streaks on Lulu’s pink face were clear evidence that she had been crying just recently. Some tears still gathered in the corners of her eyes. She was breathing roughly as if she’d run a marathon and her head was constantly turning around to glance behind her.

“The Rogue guy is dead!” she announced.

“What? Ashmel? How?” I stepped more into the sight.

“I don’t know! I was just scouting around in search of another pylon and I saw him on the ground! I thought he was knocked out or something but he didn’t respond no matter what I did and there was lots of blood!” Lulu explained in a panicked voice.

“Well, it’s not anything new in this profession. Anyone can get done by monsters at any time.” Aisha shrugged.

“It wasn’t monsters! Definitely not!” Lulu shook her head.

“How can you be sure about that?” I asked.

“There was enough blood for it to come from two people who might have been fighting! And I found a dagger in his body! It was too clean and well-maintained to belong to this Dungeon! Someone clearly stabbed him!” She gestured a lot while speaking about what she’d seen.

“And the first thing you did after realizing that was running straight to one of the two possible places where the killer might be living?” Levia wondered out loud from behind me.

Lulu’s eyes widened greatly the moment she understood what our Witch friend meant and she took an awkward step back.

“It’s alright. If it was us, we would have long made use of all the chances you have given us to get rid of you. We outnumber you quite a bit,” I said, signaling to Aisha to open the door fully. “Do you remember where he is? Can you lead us there? We would like to see the crime scene for ourselves before we wrongly accuse the Priest of doing it while it could still have been the monsters.”

“Yeah… I can…” she replied warily.

“Good. Let us suit up quickly and we’ll join you in a moment.” I nodded and we withdrew behind the entrance door.

The three of us shared a knowing look.

~Her story is sloppy. This could be a ruse,~ Aisha commented telepathically.

~We can’t cross out that possibility. After failing to eliminate the Priest, she might have picked a different target since he would obviously be on guard from now on. Coming to us after the deed could be a move to make allies with us since we are definitely the worst obstacle in the killer’s way due to our numbers. The perpetrator acting as a victim isn’t that rare.~ I scratched my head.

~This is tough. No one said that there can’t be two killers. Maybe she and that guy identified each other and a fight broke out. The two of them match the current image of the murderer that we have after considering both attempts and their peculiarities.~ Aisha stroked her chin.

~Let’s check Ashmel’s body and then sum everything up. There are now only two suspects left since we are out of the equation, obviously,~ I suggested.

~I agree. Let us depart to avoid raising suspicion from the female imp.~ Levia nodded and we hastily geared up before rejoining Lulu outside of our apartment.

★━━━━━━━━━━━━Author's Notes━━━━━━━━━━━━★

Another chappy coming out in a few hours :)