Chapter 136: Lurking Behind Me, Too Soon For Cannibal Jokes?

I turned back to the girl and motioned for the corridor, and we headed back through and out of the village with absolutely no fighting. That was nice, but the girls weren't talking at all, and it was kind of getting awkward.

<Everyone is tired, just focus on getting back and what you are going to do about the Manticore.>

That was right, and I hadn't really given it much thought other than kicking the shit out of him. The guy seemed like trash the way he talked about his daughter, according to Mex, but he also did save his daughter.

<There might be more to the story than Mex first let on. Talk to him when you get back and see if he will tell you the reason why he is acting this way. Manticores are intense creatures, and having one on your side wouldn't be such a bad thing.>

I would do that then, and I would also talk to him about the other Demon Lord, Neft. I needed to know what I would be up against, and I had to decide what class I would switch into.

I had planned just to take fighter for the physical boosts, but now I thought a ranger might be better. If I was going to have two classes, they should complement each other, and I was missing things like traps and diversion.

The problem was that I could make traps and diversions, but what I couldn't do was use the elemental power freely. If I became a mage like Nushi, I could learn to control all the elements and freely use my powers.

<I think being a Mage is a much better idea; the classes together will make you an Elementalist of sorts.>

I blinked and realized that I could see the walls of the Keep coming up and the bridge. I hadn't even felt the turn or paid attention to anything on the way back; time had slipped away.

I must be getting tired, but I still had things to do. The girls split off and headed back to the house after I let Keri down to go with them, but Veronica stayed with me.

"Do you mind if I stay with you for a bit? This is still really new for me, and I kind of feel awkward with the other girls," Veronica told me, and I nodded.

"Sure, but we are going to talk to Mex, and then Nixi," I said, and after she nodded, I linked my arm in hers and headed inside.

The door was open, and I was surprised that the place still looked like a mess.

After some brief door knocking, I realized that there was no one here. Not even after pounding on Nixi's door five times did I get a response.

"Do you think something happened?" Veronica asked me as we headed back outside.

"No, I think there would be more of a fuss if there was. I think that the place probably got a lot bigger on the inside," I said as we walked around to the apartment that had somehow not gotten taller, but it had two more floors.

I was curious to see what kind of changes had gone on and where Lidy was. I hadn't forgotten about her, and I wanted to see her as well, but I should get to the kitchen first.

Mex and Nixi could come to find me there, and maybe I could make some good eggs to wake Lidy up.

Veronica and I walked into the apartment, but it had somehow not changed, and there was an elevator. I think I had read something about Basic Mechanisms in Jilly's stats, but the thing was wild, and it was big enough to fit her in it!

No one was on this floor, so I led Veronica to the kitchen and then to the table in the corner.

"Do you mind sitting here? I will get food ready for you and everyone else. Then, once I have the meat on, I will cut you up some veggies and take a dip for it, okay?" I asked her, and she smiled broadly and sat down.

I had to catch her because she almost missed the chair, only catching it with one of her cheeks. After she was properly seated, I turned from a blushing Veronica and headed over to the stoves to turn them on.

I wasn't sure how they worked, but they were similar to a typical gas stove. The only difference was when you turned the nobs, and flames appeared, no need to light them.

I got the stoves on and started to warm up a cast iron pan with some oil from a glass bottle that looked like olive oil. It had no label and a slight fragrance like thyme, but it seemed to do the job.

I turned around, looking for the walk-in freezer to get the meat, but there was no door. Then I noticed a mini-fridge, opened it, and there was my meat.

I took the meat out on a platter, closed the door, and just out of curiosity, I opened the door again.

It was full of meat again!

I closed the door, ignored my sense of what the fuck, and organized the trays. I found some bacon slices in the pile that I cut up small and put off to the side for Lidy's meal as well.

Once the meat was in the oven, and the skillet was hot, I tossed in the bacon to cook first. While the chunks were cooking, I cracked ten eggs into a bowl and mixed them, throwing in random spices without labels.

I was making it, so the food would be great, and I had found some cloth-wrapped cheese and a grater! After the cheese was found, I cracked another ten eggs in for myself and tossed the meat in the oven.

Suddenly, I could feel two people lurking behind me, and I groaned inwardly.

"What are you making there? I can only smell the bits of meat you are cooking, but getting this close, even those uncooked and abused eggs smell wonderful!" Mex told me, and then Nixi piped up.

"You are going to have to make at least that many for me! Since we have a lot to talk about, I am getting hungry again!" Nixi said as she walked over to join Veronica, who was almost drooling.

I wonder if it was too soon for cannibal jokes? And had me adding Veronica as one of my girls turned her into an omnivore?