Chapter 575 - A deal (Patreon)

"Are… are you ok?" Lodi asked after a very long pause. She kept holding the pose that entire time, but now she was getting worried.

"Yeah… yeah, I am. Sorry, it was just… unexpected. Your entrance, I mean," Hera blinked a few times, trying to get her head in the game.

"Oh. Was it bad? I thought it was a good magical girl transformation," Lodi looked down, feeling a bit silly.

"No, no. It was great. I think… Honestly, it's been a long time since I saw a magical girl show, and that doesn't actually translate all that well in manga form," Hera tried to explain but felt like it wasn't enough, "I think I was expecting something else. After last night.. I don't know. My mind was in horror territory."

"Horror? I scared you?" Lodi tilted her head with a confused expression, her hair bouncing as it jiggled to the side.

"No. I don't mean it like that. Your silhouette just played some tricks in my mind. For some reason, when I saw it, I thought your hair was a pair of extra arms and that your skirt was part of your body. I had no idea you would show up wearing clothes," Hera said.

"Why wouldn't I? As far as I'm aware most guides you've met wear clothes."

Hera nodded, "That's fair, but like, Ruma didn't, neither did Peaches or Capri, and Kelpi is like… I don't know if he counts."

Lodi opened her mouth, then stopped and nodded after thinking for a moment, "I mean, that's fair. Each guide is unique, so it wouldn't be impossible. Maybe I can fix that somehow."

"What if you made the skirt flutter while it was still glowing? Or is that too hard to do?" Hera suggested.

"Like this?" Lodi touched her skirt, and it started glowing just as it did during her transformation, but this time it was moving. It still felt off, and it could potentially be worse, but at the same time, it gave a less alien look now that Hera knew who the guide was.

"I don't think that's a fix, but it's a step in the right direction," Hera smiled.

"Ok, thanks! I'll keep that in mind… Is there a reason why you didn't introduce yourself? Don't get me wrong, I already know your name, and it's fine if you don't want to tell me. I just want to know if this is still protocol. Like introducing yourself? Should I not have done that?" Lodi was fidgeting with her gloves, clearly feeling embarrassed for some reason.

"No, no. Sorry I just got distracted. I'm Hera. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lodi," Hera put out a hand instinctively. This was the most human-like guide she ever saw. Even if she thought Lodi was a slime, she looked like a regular person. A pink person but still an ordinary person.

Lodi stopped for a moment looking at Hera's hand before sheepishly reaching out and shaking it, "This is it, right? This is what I'm supposed to do? I'm sorry. It's just been a very long time since I talked with anyone here."

"Yeah, that's it. Sorry if it's weird for you," Hera smiled and felt Lodi start to shake her hand excitedly.

"No! It's not weird at all! I've seen it in movies, but I try not to base my knowledge on those things. I know they can be unreliable depictions of the world," Lodi kept shaking Hera's hand while nodding vigorously.

"Don't worry. That part is real. People do greet each other like that. Well, in the western world, at least. I think in the east, there are a few cultures that have other greetings, but I'm not the best person to talk about that," Hera smiled and looked at her hand, trying to signal, gently, that it was time to stop.

Lodi managed to catch the signal and let Hera's hand go, "Ok, so. About your questions. I have an offer for you. I know some of the things you are going to ask. Ruma talked to me about what you asked in the Seven Islands, and I can give you a full explanation about the doorways in this room. They are weird, and even if you ask all the right questions, you will waste at least four minutes and a half just to know everyone. But I'll do it by taking two and a half minutes away. Since it's been a freaking long time since I talked with anyone in this room, I have some leeway to share what I want. In return…" Lodi looked down and started to twist her foot back and forth, "I kind of want a favor."

Hera chuckled, "It's hardly a favor if you are offering something in exchange for it. But I do like the idea. What is the favor?"

"So… There is a guide that you know, that I know you know, and he is… really cool, and fun, and serious, and smart, and talented. And I kind of wanted to get closer to him, so I hope you could help me with that."

"Oh? You are asking me to be your wing woman?" Hera couldn't help but open a large smile. She never expected a guide of all people to ask that.

"No, well… Yes, but not like in a romantic way," Lodi made a negative gesture with both her hands quickly as if she was a character in a cartoon which oddly fit her.

"Ok… then what are you asking me?"

"There is a guide that is really cool, and I always wanted him to be my mentor, you know, like a father figure. He does that to a couple of other guides, but I never convinced him to do that to me," Lodi explained.

"Are you talking about Peaches?" Hera asked.

"Yeah! He is amazing! I asked him to be my dad some time ago, but he shot me down."

"Well… that is kind of a big thing. At least for us, and I don't know how I can help. Besides, this is not the kind of thing that you can force. It has to happen naturally."

"I've tried that for the past thousand years! It's not happening."

"I mean… maybe you are going the wrong way about it. Do you two hang out a lot?"

Lodi shook her head, "Not really. Only at parties, but I try to be close by."

"That's…. A bit creepy. Are you stalking him?"

"NO! Well… what would you call stalking?"

"Following him around. Going to places where he is at just to force an interaction. Watching him from the shadows. Having a shrine for him at home," Hera replied.

"Ok, that last one I absolutely don't do. I have a single picture that we took together, and that's it! And I don't watch him from the shadows. Like if I see him around, I look, but I don't go out of my way to hide. Also, I don't follow him…. Unless he is acting weird or going somewhere new, that could be dangerous, and if I want to get closer to him, I have to talk to him, so what is the problem with going to places where he should be?"

Hera frowned, "I mean… it's not… directly bad, but did he ever ask you to stop?"

"No, never."

"Ok then. I can try to help, but I'll make sure he is ok with you being around first. I'm not going to put him in an uncomfortable position."

"Really?" Lodi opened a smile that was only possible for a slime. It was as if half her head was split in half by a half-moon.

Hera nodded, "Really? I can't promise it will work, but I can at least try."

Lodi jumped and gave Hera a big hug while continuing to jump, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Ok, ok, calm down. You are going to tear your dress like that."

"I won't. It's very sturdy," despite her words, Lodi stopped and let Hera go. She took a few steps back and cleared her throat, "So. Do you accept the deal? I need to hear that."

"I do. Can I ask questions about the explanation if I'm confused?"

"Perfect, and sure, ask away. Now, I'm going to explain to you how three doorways work here."

"There are only three doorways here?" Hera asked.

"Here is the thing. That is a question that almost no guide can answer. It doesn't matter what I say. It will give too much information. So I can't say if there are only three or more doorways here, but I'm going to talk about the three that are the most likely for you to encounter. That doesn't mean those are the only three or that there are any others. Only that I'm talking about those three specifically.

"Ok," Hera nodded.

"Back to the meat of it. The doorways are weird. First, there is one that only opens once a month. That one is very dangerous and very hard to get to. It's at the bottom of the ocean, and there is a huge monster guarding it."

"Is that the giant snake that was swimming last night?" Hera shivered, remembering that creature.

"No, that one is smaller," Lodi's words sent a chill down the Empress' spine, "But you don't have to worry. That monster doesn't come out of the water. And it's far away."

"Is the monster that much stronger?" Hera gasped.

"Not really. It's just level 40. But the problem is that it's made to live underwater. I know that there are some species around the MAZE, like the triton, but they are still bipedal. That one is a deep sea creature, and if it's on its home turf, it's almost impossible to beat it. Not to mention they are worse than any of the slimes outside. Tricking your mind is easy for that monster, and they can even pretend to be the system."

"What? Is that even possible? I thought the system had protections to stop anyone from pretending to be it." Hera's eyes went wide. That went against everything she believed to be true.

"Yeah, because it's not the system. Like, the monster won't make you see a notification from the system. It will create a realistic illusion and then hide it from anyone who is not its target. The illusion can be dispelled, and it's different from a regular notification, but it's still close enough to trick you. It's like just at the limit, and I even had to step in to change some stuff to make sure it would always be up to code," Lodi created a clipboard in her hand and a pair of glasses and started to check some nonexistent boxes.

"Ok… I don't know if I feel better or worse about that," Hera scratched her head.

"Honestly. Me neither. I just got the information that I should do some stuff, and it sucks that we don't get much information beyond that," Lodi sighed and tossed the clipboard back, making it vanish before it even hit anything, "Now. Moving along, the next two doorways are similar. They keep going in and out of the room. There are a few conditions to bring them back here. I can't say what they are, but if nothing troublesome is going on with the room, they won't be close by. Also, there is one that is on the surface, the one you came from. The other one is underwater, but it's in a dry place. And… I think that's about it. I can't actually say anything else. Man, this sucks," Lodi kicked the ground.

"I mean, this is already a lot of information. I have no complaints. I still have some time, right?"

Lodi nodded, "Yeah, but my issue is that It's been soooo freaking long since I've talked with anyone, and now I can't even tell you everything I want. Besides…. Ok, ok. I'll start the timer, jeez."

"Is it that bad? The warnings about having to continue the time."

"Yeah, sometimes they are really annoying!"

"Can't you just ignore it?"

"Nope. I have to do it. Not doing would be like… you having to cut open your stomach and play jump rope with your own intestines. Like, it's something that is not even considered."

"It would hurt?" Hera asked.

"No, no. It won't hurt, but it's like a ridiculous thought for us. Like if you suddenly decide that you are a bird or a rock. Anyway, are you ready to start? You still have half your time," Lodi pointed up where a digital clock appeared, showing 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Hera nodded, "I'm ready."