A Casual Collection: Season 2

Ep3: Professor Melisa

Lao locked up the Tavern, putting the owner's keys in his pocket as he left the place. The patrons lasted until late into the night this time, more than the owner bothered to stay for. Thus, he gave the keys to Lao, told him not to destroy the place, and left him to manage the tavern. As he exited, he took a look at the wall of bounties. Melisa's bounty was gone now that she was presumed dead, but his had gone up, along with an orderite price on his head for his arrest. Luckily, the regulars of the Tavern seemed pretty understanding of his situation. Some were figuring out a way to loophole the reward, but for now, no one in the tavern laid a hand on him. Plus it was an orderite bounty. Apparently, orderite bounties rarely paid enough to be worth it, or don't pay at all and promise "a foot into the Chief God's arms".

It was weird, but not as weird as seeing humans and mamono co-existing without any hostility. It was another thing he noticed now that he had the time and clarity to think about it. Occasionally, a monster girl will come in, and Lao would have to repress the urge to stab her on sight. The first time it happened, his strongman of a boss held him back while he swung a butcher's knife at a lizardman. No one got hurt, but Lao still gets that feeling whenever he sees mamono. It had been instilled in him by the Chief God's teachers, that the only way of purity was through death and repent. All of a sudden, he had everyone telling him that it was backward to think like that...

Lost in his thoughts, Lao ran into a little succubus girl that had wandered off. She dropped her ball, rubbing her feet as she watched it roll at where he stood. "Charlie!" Yelled another succubus, still ways off. "You scrap, what if you run into someone dangerous?"

"I'm fine!" she yelled back, going up to Lao to pick up her ball. "Sorry mister, hey, mister do you wanna play with me?" She asked with all the innocence in the world. Lao looked away, folding his hands behind his back. "Mister?" she asked again, poking his thigh. So corrupted... he thought, the touch making his thigh tingle. He felt his hand near his satchel, wanting to clutch a weapon so badly....

No, the boss said to repeat a mantra....

"She is...not dangerous." The words rolled off his tongue like sandpaper. It physically hurt his body to say, every conditioned fiber of his being screaming out in rebellion. Nevertheless, it was working. His hand was relaxing, going back to his side as he kept repeating it under his breath. To the child, it looked like he was just standing there, menacingly. "There you are Charlie! Oh, you're are that man that attacked the lizardman." The elder sister said, picking up her little sister. "I understand, it's hard to resist right?"

Lao couldn't hear her, still lost in reciting his mantra like it was the only prayer he knew. There were two of him now, but his self-control was going to be the victor here, not his thirst for exorcising! "I see...come on Charlie, this man is just going through a tough fight..."

"Is he going to do a spell?" She said, curious about what Lao was doing. "Yes, but he will only show you if you're inside..."

They continued talking to each other, the succubus leaving Lao until they were far enough not to bother him. He gasped and fell to the floor, feeling like he had been holding in his breath for the entire time. He caught himself on the ground, watching the moonlight rise over him. It wasn't perfect, but at least he kept himself from attacking this time.

"Come on faster!" Melisa yelled from her place on the steps. Lao nodded, drawing his new blade and swiping it in a quicker arc. "Haaa!"

"No no no, that is all wrong!" She cried, coming over and forcing the blade back down. "If you swing it like that you have too much room to be hit!"

"You said faster!"

"Yes, but not wider." She drew her own rapier, slashing quickly but in a thin arc. "Like this. I spent money on that iron sword for you. Even made sure that it wasn't tainted, just so I didn't have to hear an Orderite throw a fit. But now you're making me regret it!"