Chapter 142

Chapter 142<~> Chapter 142

Theo had been waiting in the lobby by the time all of us finally came down. If he had been impatient waiting, I couldn't tell. He had a group of girls around him playfully chatting and joking. I was a bit impressed that he was keeping the girls entertained rather than just flirting with them the entire time. He had already found some replacement clothes and was dressed normally now. Nothing fancy, just brown work pants and a simple tunic.

When he spotted me he waved. "Ah, Lilith! I'm glad you're here. I was a bit afraid that the brothel was covering for you and you were trekking out of town to get away from me. You sleep in pretty late you know."

I shrugged. "Long night, even longer day yesterday. We've been keeping ourselves busy but that doesn't mean a little bit of rest is out of the question."

"True enough." He nodded in agreement. "Now, do you mind if we could go have that private chat you promised me? Oh, not discluding your party of course."

"Sure, I did promise. Let me go talk to Eira over there first and then we can head up to my room."

Theo grinned. "Are you sure your room isn't trashed? I saw those two lookers come down from your room this morning. Not surprised that you're a fan of women based on what your party looks like."

"I don't have a problem with men, just haven't found one I like yet," I said.

"Hmm, I may still have a chance then?"

"Depends on what my girlfriends say. Not today though, too much to do and I've already spent a bit too much time in bed lately."

"Hmm, you have so many girls in your party it'll be fun to guess which ones are with you and which ones aren't," he said with a laugh.

"Regardless, give me a moment and then we can get to business." I stepped away from the bull demi and headed over to the front desk.

"Good morning Lilith!" The chipper cheetah girl beamed at me. Her new features had been toned down, the only difference at a glance was that she somehow got much more attractive overnight.

"Good morning Eira, can you tell me where Raya and Sibyl went?"

"Oh, I don't know actually. The two of them told me they were headed out into the city together. Ah! But don't worry, Sibyl is quite strong... despite her new looks," Eira whispered out the last part before giving me a wink.

I nodded. "Great. If you see them, can you tell Raya that Morrigan agreed to give her some pointers but we might not be able to get to it today? A lot's going on."

"Sure! And uhm... Do you mind if I join you guys tonight too? I wasn't sure if you would want to play with me after my... changes..."

I gently put my hand on her shoulder. "Sure, no need to worry about that."

The cheetah demi-beastfolk perked up with a big smile. "Great! Uh, see you tonight then!"

When I walked away I noticed a few of the girls that had listened in gave Eira suggestive winks and smiles that made me a little embarrassed.

"Alright Theo, let's head up and talk."

The large man followed me up the stairs and into my room. All of us took places around the coffee table and I dug through my backpack for the book that had been pushed to the very bottom of my things all this time. I pulled it out and handed it over to him. As he began to examine it I cast [Zone of Silence] around the room, already anticipating the direction of our conversation. Theo glanced up at me for a moment but quickly returned to examining the book, he didn't seem surprised by the spell or my desire to cast it.

I cradled my head in my hands. You can't be serious.

"Do you at least know what language this is written in?" I asked

He shook his head. "Nope, this was in that traveler's language and he never wrote anything else in his original tongue. This book has always been restricted because his friends at the time immediately gave it to the Great Library and no one has ever attempted to translate it. It was merely kept around as a mild curiosity, an example of a dead language that went to the grave with the book's creator."

"So... I was summoned here completely by accident as the consequence of a joke?"

"Now I didn't say that..."

I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"As we both know, demon summoners have been gaining in strength over the last two years. There have been more demon sightings in the last two years than the previous twenty before it. Maybe the book's creation was a joke but whatever led to you getting summoned wasn't an accident. Something is causing demons and demon summoners to grow in power, it's possible demonic magic twisted things to make the summoning work."

Bella shifted in her spot on the couch. "If no one can read this how were they able to do the summoning?"

Theo shrugged and pointed at the drawing in the book. "Perhaps he just followed this picture and hoped for the best."

I closed my eyes. Did it bother me that I was summoned here, even if the reason was stupid? I suppose not. I enjoy my life here with my friends and lovers. Even some of the people in this brothel have become quite close to me. If I never learned about my old life would it really matter?

"What about my memories?" I asked. "Is there a way to regain some of them? I was... advised that it shouldn't be a problem if I recovered them, that I shouldn't be afraid."

Theo raised an eyebrow. "That's a weird way to put that but I won't pry. I'm not sure what to say. There are plenty of magics and potions that could help you regain lost memories but what you're implying may be a bit more difficult. Based on this picture I'm guessing your current body is probably not your original one, which means you don't have those memories up there," he said tapping his temple.

"But I remember other stuff from my old world, movies, music, places," I said.

"Sure but think about it. You're an origin, how would you know anything about your race if you didn't know about the world your myths originate from? What memories you have could have been specifically chosen for you when you were brought over. Or, you may not have been brought over at all. For all we know, your soul originates from this plane, you were just given the memories you would need to contextualize your origin." Theo didn't look like he was lying, he didn't look like he was just trying to fuck with me... But the idea that those memories might not be my own shook me a little. He continued, "There might not be any memories to recover and if there are, they may not be accessible through normal means because you're talking about memories that exist within your soul, not the new body you're inhabiting."

Bella put her hand on my shoulder. "Lilith, it's okay. I love you no matter where you come from or who you were. I'll be yours always. Body, heart, and soul."

I put my hand on hers and took a breath. Maybe she's right. Maybe it doesn't matter. ...But Charon.

I shook my head. "No, I think they can be recovered. I was told I shouldn't be afraid of regaining them." I looked up at my friends. "And even if I can't, I can live without them. I have all of you, my friends. My family."

All of them smiled and nodded to me. Even Silva.

I took a deep breath. "I suppose it hasn't mattered to me all that much in the first place. This book has been at the bottom of my backpack this entire time. I haven't been serious about regaining my memories in the first place. It doesn't really matter. What matters more is what's in front of me now. ...Maybe this is sappy but I love all of you. We haven't been together long but I feel closer to all of you than I would have thought possible.

Bella hugged me from the side. "I love you too Lilith."

I smiled and leaned against Bella. Her small frame felt more supportive than a mountain right now.

"...so I can keep the book right?" Theo asked.