Shopping Mall Excursion (1)

Welp. That goes to show what kind of family I have. In any case, though it may be shitty annoying at times, I'm grateful for the shit memories that would forever become etched in my mind. It's hella annoying but fun at the same time.

I have no idea how Liliath feels about it though..

I could only wonder.

I mean.. isn't it justifiable? I had been hiding the fact about Liliath from my father.. and I don't think I've properly discussed it with my mom. Liliath just became a part of the family so suddenly. And I wasn't the one paying for her expenses.

Though my mom was kind enough to not dive too deep into this matter— I realized that I would eventually have to confront her about Liliath. We needed a family meeting. But my father was absent, it would be another week before he came back from work.

So.. I guess I could forgive my mother for plotting revenge? Could it be called revenge? I was inclined to think that my mom had alway wanted to tease me together with my wife someday..

The hell am I thinking?

Liliath as my wife?

Nonononono.. we aren't even a couple yet. And I'm thinking about marriage? Oh, what did Liliath say about becoming a demon queen again? Matrimony?

Does that mean Liliath would be promoted as a queen once she marries? Or does it need to be a specific person, the demon lord?

One more thing, about Liliath's identity. She's my familiar right? But the truth is that there isn't any sort of connection between us. Back the It was a lie she made to convince the principal. Liliath doesn't have a birth certificate and wasn't listed as a citizen of Gilgamesh. An immigrant from another world, basically speaking. She needs an identity certificate. The question was how to get one. Through the summoning department?

The summoning department was made for people who acquired the summoning TALENT. Summoned creatures had to be registered for documentation purposes-- by law. Could Liliath be counted as my summoned creature?

There's a lot I need to figure out.

Hm.. maybe that's why Principal Rachel was so skeptical.. wait. I should probably ask her about this matter. It's the school's duty to help the student manage their TALENTS.

"Noel, would you mind explaining why chrolpl is required to make food? How does chrolpl make food? It doesn't sound too right."

"Ah? Um.. about that, the process of making food— I'm not too sure myself. All I know is that chlorophyll is like a factory that changes chemicals with the aid of sunlight to create food. And it's chloro-phyll, not chrolpl."

"I still don't understand," Liliath dropped her head on the table. Her hair overlapping each other, covering the books.

"It's alright. You'll eventually understand it someday.."

Fortunately Liliath acted as normal after yesterday night's incident. The difference was that she had been keeping a distance between us. And she would glare at a specific direction every now and then. She told me that she had a perception skill that allowed her to sense the vague location of a target without the need of eyesight.

Wow. Now that's fantasy-like.

If anything.. I feel that Liliath had opened up somewhat. I was surprised to learn that it was my mom who she'd glare at. Of course, my mom laughed it off.

I wonder if Liliath had any sort of bloodlust skill? That was a possibility though.. my mom didn't seem too deterred.

"Noel.. if I told you that magic requires that understanding of rune hexes, what would be your remark?" Liliath raised her head a little to look at me.

"Come again?"

"See?! Like me, you lack foundational understanding of my world!"

"Uh.."

Seeing Liliath lament in this sort of way.. very unlike her calm demeanor.. Did she become drunk or something?

"No.. I shan't give up. I will pursue this world's knowledge at its highest," she straightened her posture.

"I think you should take a break Liliath.. sometimes a break is all you need for the dots to connect."

"Noel. It's necessary that I learn as much of this world as I can as soon as possible— for the sake of survival."

Survival? What the hell is Liliath saying. I know she came from a world where life and death was determined by a fine line but.. the point is.. when did she become this talkative? Or was this her usual personality?

"Liliath.. do you have a fever?" I noticed that her face was slightly redder than usual.

A complex expression surfaced to my question.

I raised my hands to touch her forehead, she was hesitant but still leaned forward, closing her eyes..

Huh? She's not resisting.. seriously what the hell.. no. It can't be right. She's alright with me touching her?? No.. heck, why am I even trying to test her for a fever. This kind of development.. no, it's odd..

My hand was about to come into contact with her delicate skin when she suddenly turned her head towards the kitchen and glared at the entrance.

I saw a glimpse of the little devil retreating.

"Oh my.. Liliath is amazing," my mom who was working on her laptop in the living room chuckled and sighed.

My mom was a real estate buyer— or something like that. She invests in property and stuff— I'm too sure what she does but it's for the sake of building assets.

"Can you stop already?"

I seriously wanted my mom and little devil duo to stop taking photos of us together. Father has already gotten plenty of our photos. It's straight up embarrassing.. I pleaded with them to delete those photos.. but it's impossible after all..

"Ah, how about we go to the shopping mall today? I need to get some household items."

Great job.. she dodged the question.

Liliath, who gave up pleading a long time ago asked, "What is a shopping mall?"

"Um.. how to put it, it's a place where a large number of differ stores congregate in a building."

What.. since when have I started using such complex language? Must be influenced by Liliath.

"Thank you for the explanation. Um. Noel, regarding the quests.."

I swallowed.

"Ah.. right.."

Quests. I knew how important and interesting it was to see the quest board update but I seriously tried avoiding it.. I haven't checked it this morning, scared to find anything inappropriate listed inside. I know it's an irrational fear but my conscience was telling me that engaging these quests together with Liliath was a no go.

Ah fuck. I can't make up my mind. Didn't I tell Liliath that I needed her cooperation to complete the quests? She agreed, didn't she?! Why did I need to be such a wimp?

I checked the quest board for today.

Huh..

Allow Liliath to speak with another guy.

The fuck.. oh wait. That would make sense wouldn't it now? Most of the time, I'm surrounded by females. My mom, my sister, Liliath, even some of the more closely related classmates in school. Not to mention the nurse and the school principal.

But seriously? That quest just had to be part of the gaining trust category? It's like saying I'm afraid of Liliath falling for another guy, or cheating on me or something..

That's wrong.. wrong..

Ugh..

But the quests were for the most part.. quite simple. I think I have an idea on how I could complete two quests in one go.

Liliath wasn't surprised by the new tasks. If anything.. she looked excited?

Her reaction was an electric shock to my heart.

100 DMG points— ouch.

Then a knot was formed in my mind.

There was a barrier. I was still denying something. Something was wrong.

"Noel? Is there something wrong?" Liliath turned to me, her face barely inches away from mine.

"No. nothing," I averted her gaze.

Really now. What should I do?