Yasuo’s predicament. A Covet Corner Hotel Gaiden Chapter.

Section 1
Tradition’s End.

Growing up, I was always fascinated by watching my father work his magic in woodworking. Toys, trinkets, furniture, houses! He could turn it into something spectacular no matter what he worked on. My father’s smile while crafting them and the smile on the people’s faces when he showed them his work motivated me to follow in his footsteps.

Naturally, it was hard. But I made do. By the time I was in my twenties, I had mastered the craft and made a living as a woodworker, or as a ‘Sashimono’ as it’s referred to here in Zipangu.

Doing what I love and getting paid for it was the dream of many. And not all got to do it. Once I got to experience the same smiles my father received from his works on my own, I knew it couldn’t get any better than this.

Which is why what happened next turned my life upside down more than I could ever know.

“Ah…wh-what happened…” Recently, Yasuo was contracted to build a small cottage for a couple wanting to live out in a forest nearby. He had made dozens of houses before, so he felt confident he could build his client’s dream cottage.

But, for reasons unknown to him then, the cottage’s foundations failed as it collapsed only a few months after he had built it. Authorities who assessed the damage found wood rot to be the leading cause. How Yasuo missed such a thing, he never knew.

He thanked the heavens that no one was in the cottage when it collapsed. Regardless, Yasuo had to rebuild a cottage for them.

Or so he thought.

“Wh-what?! I can’t build another house in that short of time! It took me months to build that cottage alone!” Understandably frustrated at having their cottage break so quickly, the couple demanded a form of repentance.

Yasuo couldn’t build them another cottage in the timeframe they demanded. They also wanted the new cottage to be bigger to compensate for the inconvenience of having theirs collapse due to his mistake. Coupled with the clients’ expenses staying at a local inn, they took Yasuo to court, where he was forced to surrender his home to compensate his clients.

“Y-you can’t do this! That house is all I have!” The home I spent my entire life in. Gone. A house Father built and passed onto me after he and Mother passed away.

“I’m sorry, but given the current state of affairs, you don’t have enough money or time to compensate them. Therefore, your home is forfeited to make up for your mistake.” Just like that, Yasuo lost his home and most of his savings.

The clients weren’t completely heartless and let him keep items in his home that held sentimental value, which wasn’t much. A couple of old clothes, some wooden toys from his childhood his father made, pictures of him and his family, and that was it.

Rumors of Yasuo spread like wildfire in his village, causing those who once relied on him to shun him.

“Did you hear about Yasou? How could he make such an easy mistake like that? He almost got those poor people killed.”

“You’d think being born into a family of woodworkers would make such a thing impossible. I guess he didn’t inherit Seijiro-san’s skills.” Seijiro was the name of Yasuo’s father. Hearing himself compared to his father this way hurt him more than he thought. Hardly any shopkeep would give him the time of day. And those who do make their scorn known.

A day after he lost his home, Yasuo takes his suitcase and tools and returns to the cottage he worked on for his clients. By returning, he hopes to find evidence of foul play.

That was the plan.

“What, oh come on! Not now!” Just as Yasuo got halfway there, rain started pouring down. Worst yet, the downpour seems to have come from the direction of where the cottage is. If the wood gets too wet, he won’t be able to investigate it for damages.

When Yasuo finally arrived, the rain completely soaked the wrecked cottage. With the wood soaked as it was, investigating it was a moot point.

“D-dammit. My one chance to prove my innocence. Gone.” Staring up above, the increasing volume of rain was quite representative of his current predicament. Things only got worse from there. He is barely able to hear himself think as the downpour intensifies.

‘I should go to an inn. But I’m not sure if the people here want me around anymore. In their eyes, I’m a criminal. I should be happy I’m not jailed, but still.’

If Yasuo stood there any longer, he’s bound to get sick.

“I…wish there was somewhere else I could stay. Somewhere far away from all of this.” Soaked from head to toe, Yasuo wipes some of the water that got into his eyes. When he opened them again, the door in front of the cottage changed

“Eh…wait. What?” The door had changed styles. What was once an eastern sliding door changed into a western hinged door.

“I wasn’t out here for too long, was I?” Yasuo had to scrub his eyes again to verify what he had just seen. Sure enough, the door in front of him had changed.

From the intricate design carved on the door’s surface to the wood, Yasuo couldn’t make heads or tails of how the door changed when he closed his eyes. And there was something else on the door he hadn’t noticed until now. A metal plaque was on the door with the following etched onto it…

“If it’s somewhere far you wish to go, you need only go through this door.”

“Eh?”

How could a door answer my question?! How did it take the place of the old door like that? Is all of this just one big nightmare?

Yasuo was no stranger to odd happenings. Was he being pranked? But no one would be stupid enough to be out here. Could this be a dream? A quick reality check via skin-pinching followed by a pained wince proved otherwise.

“…” Staring up at the sky, the dark clouds showed no signs of ebbing anytime soon. Looking back one last time in the direction of the village, Yasuo shook his head and opened the door.

What he should’ve seen on the other side of the door should’ve been the collapsed cottage wreckage. Instead, he saw a vast hall with a velvet red carpet stretching to what looked like a middle island receptionist desk. Shining above were glass chandeliers, among the best ones Yasuo had ever seen. Intricate paintings lined the walls with Western-style furniture hugging said walls with two metal elevator doors on each side.

‘Those golden metal doors. I’ve only ever seen them from one of the houses I worked on during my apprenticeship. Those are elevator doors. They’re a more efficient way to get between different building floors, which begs the question. Just how big is this place?’

He stared so long at the scene before him that he had neglected being pelted by heavy rain. Yasuo snapped out of his stupor only after they got into his eyes.

‘Whatever this place is, it’s better than staying out here.’ With his mind made up, Yasuo steps inside and closes the door behind him.

Looking at the time from one of the wall clocks, one can see that it was three hours ahead of Zipangu’s time zone at midnight. The lack of people certainly reflects that, as the only other people he could make out was a lone, older man sitting at the receptionist’s desk.

“What’s the matter, young man? Are you just going to stand there gawking? You’ve done enough of that, keeping the door open and letting the rain in.” The old gentleman’s voice encouraged Yasuo to step forward. “Yes, you. Come over here, lad.” Yasuo wanted to gawk at the furniture a little longer to admire the craftsmanship, but he knew better than to keep others waiting, let alone elders.

A faint, musky scent tickled Yasuo’s nose from behind as he approached the desk. Turning around, he saw a lone Bubble Slime carrying a mop bucket.

“Oh, don’t mind Nettie. She’s just one of our janitors.” The only slime species Yasuo had seen until now were Nureonago’s. Compared to them, the Bubble Slime named Nettie seemed almost naked, lacking morphed clothes on her body. She looked as if she could barely maintain her form. Bumps constantly rose from her body, growing larger until they broke into floating bubbles. The noxious gas inside the bubbles left an effervescent scent that tickled his senses, giving him the impression she was rotting away.

“…Hello…just…cleaning up…after…wet carpet.” Having just noticed the trail of wet footprints he left behind, Yasuo turned red in embarrassment.

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Without warning, the older man, who grew impatient, threw a dry towel to Yasuo’s head while heading toward him.

“You should dry yourself first, young man. You wouldn’t want to check in a Covet Corner Hotel with a cold, would you?”

“H-hotel? This place?” Yasuo took this chance to dry himself off while waiting for a response.

“Uh-huh. You must’ve wished to stay somewhere earlier. Otherwise, the door would’ve never appeared before you. Judging from your clothing, I want to guess you came from Zipangu. We don’t get visitors from there often.”

“Yes, I’m from Zipangu. Uh…” With a smile, the old gentleman pointed at a metal tag on his dull red jacket. It read ‘Gramps.’

“The name’s Gramps, kiddo. What’s yours?”

“Yasuo. Yasuo Nishida.”

“Alright. I’ll have you follow me if you don’t mind, Yasuo. I’ll catch you on while we walk to the reception desk.” It was strange for someone to have ‘Gramps’ as their name, but Yasuo had no intention of prying out of politeness and followed Gramps. “So, like I told you earlier. This place is a unique hotel that opens up to people seeking refuge. Whether human or monster, we accept all. It’s a bit complicated to explain in full detail. All you need to know is you wished for a place to stay, and we provide that place.”

“I see.”

“Heh.” As soon as they reach the front desk, a ding echoes throughout the hall as one of the elevators on the right side of the reception desk opens. “Hmm?”

“Ugh…*Yawn* G-gramps…” Walking out of the elevator, a petite little demon wearing a blue dress greets Gramps.

“Lilly. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

‘Whoa. I’ve never seen a succubus like her before. She’s so tiny. Gramps called her Lilly just now, right? She must be one of those Wonderland natives I’ve heard so much about.’

“I was, but last night’s guests were so rowdy that I fell asleep during the day. So I’m wide awake right now.” Lilly was still waking up, so it took her a second to notice Yasuo standing beside Gramps. “Hmm? Who’s the guy next to you, Gramps?”

“Hello, young lady. My name’s Yasuo Nishida, and I-”

“Nishida? Oh! So you’re from Zipangu?!” Taking Yasuo by surprise, the once groggy Lilly perks up as her eyes sparkle with excitement before immediately invading his personal space. “We rarely get people from Zipangu here!”

‘Wh-what’s with this little girl?! She was yawning a second ago, unaware I was even here. And now she’s staring right at me.’ Lilly was eager to know more about Yasuo, excitedly flapping her wings and swishing her tail.

“Hey, mister, what brought you here? What do you think of the CC Hotel? Why are you soaking wet? How long are you planning to stay?” Throwing questions one after another, Yasuo couldn’t decide which question to answer first.

“Lilly, give the young man some space. Yasuo hasn’t even checked in yet.” A quick scolding from Gramps had Lilly pouting but complying before backing off. “Sorry about that. Lilly excites easily when new guests arrive.”

“I-it’s okay.” Reassured by Yasuo, Gramps goes behind the receptionist’s desk.

“So, do you plan on checking in, young man?”

“Sure.”

“Alright. Give me just a sec here.” Rummaging through something underneath the reception desk, Gramps mumbled to himself until he found what he was looking for. “Ah, here we go.” Pulling out what looked like a glass card, Gramps hands it to Yasuo.

“Uh…this is just a piece of glass, isn’t it?”

“Nope. That’s your room key. With a befuddled look, Yasuo analyzes and looks at the transparent glass card from every angle.

‘This? My room key? How is this thing supposed to act as a key?’ Lilly and Gramps always enjoy seeing a newbie guess how the key works.

“Just give it a second.” Suddenly, the glass card starts flashing different colors.

“Whoa! What?” Yasuo nearly drops the card from shock. He held onto the card with bated breath, looking at it from all angles again in a vain attempt to figure out how it worked. “What is it doing?”

“The card changes color rapidly when deciding which room to book you in.”

“If you say so.” Staring intently at the card, the speed at which it changes color starts to slow. As it does, strange dots form at the top section of the card. These dots gradually became numbers while the color shifting slowed even more until it stopped altogether. “The color’s grey. And the number above. 810?” Aside from how it changed form in the first place, Yasuo was even more confused with what the color and numbers indicate.

Just when he thought he could ask Gramps or Lilly about it, they looked just as confused as he was.

“Huh?! Wait a minute…” Gramps and Lilly glanced at one another before looking at Yasuo’s roomy key again.

“Well…heh. It’s been a while.”

Section 2
Bewilderment Abound.

Replaced with amusement on his face, Gramps chuckles to himself. Lilly, for some reason, looked back and forth between the card and the janitor, who was still cleaning up.

“So…if I’m interpreting this right. The number on top of this card is my room number. Are you telling me there are really eight hundred some rooms in this hotel?”

“Hmm…closer to a thousand, with more coming soon.” Lost for words would’ve been an understatement. Without batting an eye, Gramps casually mentions a thousand rooms in a hotel. Yasuo’s shock was only surpassed by his desire to know the layout of the hotel itself. After all, one would need a property akin to a castle to house many people.

“Room 810, that’s on B3, isn’t it, Gramps?”

“Yup. It’ll take a bit, so can you look after the front desk while I have you here, Lilly?

“Sure, leave it to me, Gramps.” With a curtsy accompanied by a cute wiggle of her wings and tail, Lilly bids Yasuo farewell for now. “Take care, Mister Yasuo. I hope you enjoy your stay here.”

“Ah…sure. Thank you.” Returning her gesture with a light bow, Yasuo waves Lilly goodbye before Gramps taps on his right shoulder to follow him.

“Alright. Off to B3.” Following Gramps to one of the elevators on the right, Yasuo noticed Nettie staring at them. Being polite, he waves to her.

“Enjoy…your…stay…” Nettie was slow to respond, but her smile shortly after was appreciated.

*Ding*

Once the elevator doors opened, Yasuo followed Gramps inside, where Gramps pressed a button labeled ‘B3.’

“Alright. I outta explain the hotel’s rules while we’re waiting. As explained earlier, the Covet Corner Hotel is a place for people seeking refuge. It doesn’t matter what circumstance you find yourself in. As long as you desire it, the doors to the hotel appear before all.”

“Right. Given this is a hotel, shouldn’t I pay you for my stay? I don’t have much but enough to stay for at least a night or two.”

“Heh. Don’t worry about it. Every person’s first night here is free.”

“F-free?! This place?”

“Uh-huh.”

*Ding*

When the elevator doors opened, Yasuo got hit with a case of whiplash and was caught off guard by the sudden change of aesthetics.

He expected the same red carpet floored hall with chandelier lighting across the hall. Instead, Yasuo was met with a dimly lit, dreary hall.

He could hardly make out most of it given how little lighting was around, but the concrete walls, the sounds of rushing water, and the infallible stench of sewage. Yasuo had only been somewhere similar a few times when working with plumbers while building houses.

“Ah…what…”

“Right. Another thing I should’ve told you. Each hotel floor is themed after an environment with illusion magic to help residents feel at home. This floor is the sewer area, if it wasn’t obvious. Neat, huh?” Just as Gramps said, the aesthetics of floor B3 looked just like the underground canals you’d see under major kingdoms over at the west. Several doors made out of rusted steel line the walls. The only part of the doors that looked clean was the gold-plated plaque indicating their room number.

“Neat isn’t exactly the word I’d use to describe this place. Are we actually under the hotel where the sewers would be?” If the scenery was an illusion, it was by far the best Yasuo had seen. The water canals sitting a few inches in front of both walls carried dirty water further down the hall.

“Well, we are under the main floor of the hotel. Nearly every floor in this hotel caters to the environments in which our clients are comfortable using illusion magic. It’s complicated to explain. All you need to know is we have people who work here that supply the magic required to sustain this illusionary scenery.” Walking past Yasuo, Gramps got on his right knee and dipped his right finger in the canal.

“H-hey! Don’t do that! That’s disgus-” Cutting his sentence short, Yasuo was stunned when the ‘dirty water’ Gramps was about to dip his finger into fizzled like a static image, revealing a silhouette of the actual flat, concrete floor hidden by said illusion.

“See? Hehehe. You should see the look on your face, Yasuo.” One of the many joys Gramps gets out of escorting new tenants comes from the look of shock on their faces whenever he shows off the hotel. “Come along now. We’ve got a bit of walking to do before we get to your room.”

“R-right.” Following Gramps, Yasuo stares at the numbers on the doors. They were numbered 875 to 899. So his room wasn’t in this hall. It’ll be a bit before they reach their destination.

As they passed by room numbers in descending order, Yasuo felt a chill run down his spine as a pink tentacles suddenly came into view in front of him from behind. Oozing with a thick, viscous liquid, Gramps had just noticed it before turning around to find the source of the tentacle.

“Hmm? Ah, that you, Carmine?” Calling out her name, the person named Carmine comes into view. She seemed normal until one got a look at her from the waist down. Her lower body looked like it was melting, with pink tentacles wriggling all over it. Yasuo had never seen a Roper before, so he was understandably scared upon looking at her.

“Gramps. It’s late at night. Why’re you here?”

“Well, you’ve probably guessed it’s because I’m escorting this young lad to his room.” Speaking to Gramps more or less to distract him, Carmine had drawn the distance between her and Yasuo.

“Wah?!” Seemingly empty, Carmine’s eyes bore holes right into Yasuo’s. Up close, Carmine was quite beautiful, but her eerie gaze made it hard to read what was going through her mind.

“Hey, easy, Carmine. I know you’re eager for a roommate, but you should look at the number on his room key first.” Moving only her pupils, Carmine looked at the room number on Yasuo’s key card. Disappointed that it didn’t match hers, she surprised Yasuo as she clicked her tongue and frowned.

“…damn.” Cussing under her breath, Carmine breaks her emotionless gaze and smiles at Yasuo. “Say…if you’re lonely and looking for some company…you can come with me to my room…” Carmine had no intention of hiding her lust for Yasuo. Her tentacles wriggle with excitement as they creep toward him.

“Ahem!” Stepping between Yasuo and Carmine, Gramp’s expression turned serious. His gaze wasn’t anything unnerving, yet it made Carmine recoil her tentacles. “Carmine. You should at least let Yasuo rest in his room before making your move. If he willingly goes with you, then that’s fine.” She didn’t want to, but Carmine backed away before turning around to head back to her room.

“I know, Gramps.” Carmine turns her head one last time to Yasuo with a smile. “If you end up not liking your roommate, feel free to stay with me. My room’s 847.” Getting her say, Carmine finally moves on, leaving Gramps and Yasuo alone.

“Ah…I should look into getting more patrollers out during this time. Sorry about that, Yasuo. There are many residents here who are eager for roommates. So they’ll often try to sway newcomers to their rooms.”

“I-it’s alright…” Admittedly shaken, Yasuo’s first encounter with a Roper could’ve been more unpleasant if Gramps hadn’t been there.

“Good. Your room’s not too far now. Come on.” As he follows Gramps, Yasuo suddenly realizes something after his encounter with Carmine

‘Roommate…what did Gramps mean when he said Carmine was eager for a roommate? Is she another worker at this hotel? Or is she a tenant? Wait, more importantly…’

“Um, Gramps?”

“Yes?”

“Earlier, you said something about roommates. Are you suggesting the rooms in this hotel are shared?”

“Ah! That’s right. I never explained that part to you, did I? I don’t envy getting old. Anyway, yes. More often than not, people who check in at Covet Corner Hotel are paired with roommates to save space. We get so many people checking in that we often pair them with a roommate. If we gave every guest in the hotel their own room, we’d run out of vacancy.”

“Huh?! Does that mean I’ll have a roommate too?!”

“How should I know? You can’t expect an old man to remember every tenant. Besides, I never said you wouldn’t have a roommate.” Gramps found it amusing seeing the panic on Yasuo’s face. Adding to his amusement, they had reached Yasuo’s door room before Yasuo could pry more information out of him. “Anyway. Here’s your room, Yasuo.” The door they stopped at, which was to their right, looked like a solid slab of grey steel with a door handle, a slot under the door handle, and a golden plaque with the number 810 engraved on its surface.

“You just need to insert the bottom of your card key into this slot to unlock the door.”

“I…hold on…” Gramps could’ve stayed behind to answer more of his questions, but he always found it better for tenants to figure things out themselves.

“I’ll be seeing you, Yasuo. As I said, your first-night stay here is free. We can discuss payment tomorrow.”

“B-but!” Walking away, Gramps disappeared into the darkness before Yasuo could even say another word. “Ah…h-he disappeared…” Standing in the middle of the hall, even the sounds of Gramps footsteps disappeared as he was left all alone. “Great…” Yasuo pondered whether he should chase after Gramps or do as he was told and go to his room. “If I chase after Gramps now, there’s a chance I’d run into that Carmine lady again. Who knows what’ll happen if she sees me by myself.” Weighing his options, Yasuo inserts his room key into the door’s slot.

*Click*

Hearing a click, Yasuo turns the door handle and heads inside his room.

“Well…I can’t say I’m surprised…” Matching the hall’s theme just behind him, the walls in Yasuo’s room were pure concrete. The coffee table in the living room. Concrete. The kitchen counter. Concrete. The only parts of the room that weren’t concrete were metal. The kitchen cupboards, sink, trash can, fridge, doors. There were copper pipes on the roof to ventilate cold and hot air. The musty scent and humidity of the room weren’t any better than it was in the hallway.

In contrast, there were some pillows on the metal chairs in the dining room and on the steel-framed couch. However, the pillows were wrapped in a plastic cover for some reason.

Closing the door behind him, Yasuo puts his suitcase down and looks around some more. The walls had decorative pieces, like two paintings and a circular clock. The two paintings were that of a swamp and, for some reason, a sewer passage that you’d see under major kingdoms. The kitchen area wasn’t anything special. It had the necessities like a stove, oven, sink, and fridge. The bathroom, as expected, was primarily concrete, except for the toilet and bathtub, which were made of porcelain. There were other doors leading to a storage room and living room closet, but there was nothing significant in either room.

The last room Yasuo had yet to check was the bedroom. But before opening it, what Gramps told him earlier comes to mind.

‘Okay. Gramps said I might have a roommate. If that’s the case…’ Slowly, Yasuo opens the door to the bedroom. Once he peeks inside, he sees that no one is there. ‘No one’s here?’ Opening the door fully, Yasuo got to see the whole bedroom. Like the living room, hardly anything was there aside from a metal bed frame with a queen-sized bed, a metal bedside drawer, and a metal vanity table.

“So…no one’s here? Maybe I don’t have a roommate?” The bed was nice and kept like it would be for an open room in an inn. The bed did catch him off-guard since it had no bedsheets and was a vinyl mattress filled with water, which he’d never seen before. “Okay…this is a first…” Curious, Yasuo lays on the bed. The cold surface made him shiver as the bed shifted and moved around with every movement he made. “This bed might take some getting used to.”

As eventful and long as the day was, Yasuo’s eyes felt heavy and sleepy even in this type of bed. But before he could, his stomach growled loudly after having not eaten all day.

“Right. I hadn’t eaten at all today. I wonder if there’s anything in that fridge…” Returning to the living room, Yasuo was pleasantly surprised to find fresh meats and veggies in the fridge. “…okay, maybe I do have a roommate. Otherwise, why would there be fresh food in here?” Yasuo looks inside the kitchen cupboards and finds plastic containers filled with spices, herbs, flour, and even white rice. The other cupboards had dusty porcelain plates, pots and pans, and kitchen utensils.

‘Wait? How could this room have a fully stocked fridge but unused kitchen utensils used to cook meals?’ Everything about Yasuo’s assigned room confused him. The aesthetics, the plastic-covered pillows and strange bed? Was he or was he not the only occupant in this room?’

*Growl*

“Agh…dammit. I’m too hungry to think about that now. I need to eat.” With readily available ingredients in the fridge and cupboards, Yasuo washes the dusty pots and pans to make a staple dish in Zipangu, Okayodon.

A simple dish comprised of a rice bowl topped with grilled or fried chicken and scrambled eggs, it was something Yasuo could make easily with little prep and under an hour.

It was a snap for Yasuo to make. He filled one pot with rice and water and set it to boil. He then filled a skillet with cooking oil to heat up while he worked on chopping two chicken breasts into bite-size pieces before seasoning and frying them. After they were cooked, he put them on a plate to rest before working on the eggs, which took no time at all. The rice finished shortly after.

Scooping two cups of rice into two bowls, Yasuo tops it with the fried chicken and scrambled eggs. Seasoning with a pinch of salt, chopped-up green onions, and soy sauce, Yasuo had made Okayadon for two.

“…why did I make two bowls? I don’t even know if I have a roommate.” Yasuo had subconsciously made two bowls to thank his potential roommate for his unexpected visit. After all, if he has a roommate, it’d be rude to make food for himself after using the ingredients already in the fridge. “If I have a roommate, I hope they’ll like what I made.”

Taking his bowl to the kitchen table, Yasuo claps his hands together and thanks himself for the meal. His cooking skills were nothing to write home about, but he couldn’t help but smile, proud of how good it ended up tasting. He chalked it up to better ingredients rather than his cooking skills and was left full and satisfied when he finished.

“Phew. That was good…” Since his roommate had yet to arrive, Yasuo covered the other bowl of Okayadon with a small plate to keep it from drying out. He took his empty bowl to the sink, where he spent ten minutes washing it and the pot, skillet, and other kitchen utensils he used to make his meal.

“There. Now that that’s finished and I’m full, I should take a quick bath. Then head straight for bed.” Yasuo had dried up by the time he finished cooking earlier, but the scent of wet grass and mud stuck to him from getting rained on in Zipangu’s forest earlier. “I hope my change of clothes in my suitcase is still dry.” Grabbing a spare change of dry clothes, Yasuo heads for the bathroom to draw himself a warm bath.

Unbeknownst to him, the answer to Yasuo’s earlier query was about to be answered.

*Click*

40 Minutes prior…

*DING*

“Hmm? Ah, Gramps!” While Gramps was gone, Lilly dutifully watched the front desk lobby. Hardly anyone had come since Gramps left, so Lilly got excited when Gramps returned. However, she quickly jumps back, remembering he had just returned from B3.

“Eugh…”

“Yes yes, I know. The stench in B3 tends to stick, so you’ll have to forgive me for the smell. Did anything happen while I was gone?”

“No. Not really. Just two tenants asking for the usual repairs.”

“Ah, the beds?”

“Yup.” Unsurprised, it was common for tenants to request bed repairs. After all, many tend to go overboard mid-coitus. “Hmm?” Looking around the lobby, Nettie was nowhere to be seen. “Lilly, did Nettie finish the lobby?”

“Nettie? Yeah. She finished ten minutes ago. She returned to the supply closet to put the mop bucket and other cleaning supplies back.”

“I see.” Hearing a door click open, Gramps and Lilly see Nettie after coming back from the supply closet.

“Gramps…Lilly…clocking…out…”

“Ah, you’re done for the day, hmm?” With a slow nod, Nettie slowly made her way to the elevator so she could rest for the night. And as Nettie did, Lilly remembered the number on Yasuo’s card key and was about to say something about it.

“Ah, by the way, Nettie, you-” Nettie was about to turn to face Lilly before Gramps interrupted Lilly.

“Lilly. Did you write down Yasuo’s name in the registry yet?”

“Oh, uh…no. Not yet.” From the looks of it, Nettie concluded what Lilly was about to say wasn’t important and took the elevator back to her room.

“Ah! Nettie’s gone.”

“Oh, never mind. I forgot I had already written Yasuo’s name in the registry earlier. Ah, getting old sucks.” Doing little to hide the sarcasm in his voice, Lilly realized what Gramps had done and pouts with her hands on her hips.

“Gramps…you did that on purpose, didn’t you?!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” With a chuckle, Gramps pats Lilly on the head to calm her down. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Yasuo’s figured out he has a roommate.”

“So you didn’t tell him who his roommate is exactly, did you?” Again, Gramps chuckled in amusement before taking Lilly’s spot at the front desk.

“It’ll be a more genuine encounter if the two meet that way. Besides, they had already technically met earlier…”

“They did?”

“Uh-huh. It was before you got here.” Somewhat annoyed she missed it, Lilly crosses her arms and grunts. “Enough about that. Lilly, are any staff awake to fix the two broken bed requests?”

“I’ve been calling those who normally do it around this time, but two of them are…busy…”

“Ah…well, let’s get through the rest of the list then.” Finding themselves with something to do for the night, Gramps and Lilly work on filling the work orders.

Meanwhile, Nettie had just reached floor B3. Given her amorphous form, it took her a bit to reach her room, 810.

“…Home…” From within the depths of her slime body, Nettie squeezes out her room key between her chest before putting it into the door’s key slot.

*Click*

Once inside, Nettie spots Yasuo’s suitcase at the corner of her eye to her left, which she recognized from her earlier encounter with him.

“The guy…from earlier…” Though she wanted to look closer at Yasuo’s suitcase, a smell unfamiliar to Nettie hits her nose. That’s when she noticed the bowl of Okayadon sitting at her kitchen counter. “That…food?” Approaching the bowl, Nettie never cooked her meals since as a slime, she could just absorb raw meats and veggies. Curiosity took the better of her before taking the small plate off the bowl, revealing a carefully plated bowl of rice topped with scrambled eggs and fried chicken cutlets.

“…wow…” Okayadon wasn’t that impressive of a dish, but Nettie was easy to impress. As hungry as she was, Nettie could’ve just eaten the whole bowl in one sitting. Instead, she took a spoon to take bites from the bowl. “Hmm!” Surprisingly, that spoonful alone was the best she’s ever tasted. The more she ate, the more she wanted to ration the bowl to savor every bite.

“Ah…that was a nice bath.” Meanwhile, Yasuo had just finished taking a bath. Thankfully, there was liquid body wash and shampoo, so he got himself nice and clean before drying himself off with the unused towel in the bathroom. “Now, off to bed.” When Yasuo opened the bathroom door, his nose was assaulted by a potent mix of cleaning products and sewage. “!” There was something familiar about this stench. That’s when he heard someone in the kitchen moaning in glee. Slowly, he turned to a corner to peek at who his roommate was.

‘Hey…I recognize that slime. It’s Nettie. Is she here on duty to clean the room?’ Unaware of his presence, Nettie continues to indulge in her meal. ‘She’s eating the Okayadon I made. She seems to really like it. Wait…’

“Uh…hey.” Finally speaking up, Nettie jolts from Yasuo’s voice before turning around to face him.

“…Oh…h-hello. You…guy from earlier…right?”

“Yeah. That’s me. Are you by chance my roommate?”

“Yes…I’m…Nettie…”

“Ah, right. My name’s Yasuo. Yasuo Nishida. I’m glad you enjoyed the Okayadon I made for you.”

“Yup…delicious…” Neither one knew what to say next. So they stood there staring at one another for a few seconds.

“So…Nettie. I’m sorry for the mess I made back at the front lobby. And I’m sorry for cooking a meal without waiting for you. I didn’t know if I had a roommate or not.”

“It’s…fine. I’m glad…you…cooked.” Putting her empty plate on the sink, Nettie slowly crawls toward Yasuo. Stopping two feet away from him, she slowly bows, thanking him. “Thank you…for…meal.”

“Don’t mention it. It was the least I could do for showing up here abruptly.” Hearing the living room clock tick, Yasuo saw it was two thirty in the morning. He was planning on sleeping in the bedroom. But with Nettie here, he didn’t want to take her bed, let alone sleep on the same bed with someone he had just met… who also smelled…foul. “So…about sleeping arrangements. I’ll take the couch.” Nettie’s dopey expression hardened as she frowned and shook her head.

“No…couch…hard. You…sleep in…my bed…with me.”

“Ah…no, I really don’t-“

“No. Sleep…bed…”

‘Wh-why is she so insistent?! Don’t tell me. She plans to seduce me while we’re in the same bed.’ Nettie’s unwillingness to cooperate wasn’t as nefarious as Yasuo thought. She simply didn’t want him to sleep on the couch knowing how uncomfortable it’d be to sleep on a rock-hard surface.

Seeing how this conversation wouldn’t go anywhere, Yasuo nods.

“Fine. I’ll sleep in the bedroom.”

“Good. Guests…should be…comfortable…as…Gramps says…” Moving around him, Nettie made her way to the bathroom door. “Going to…bathe. You…sleep.”

“Oh. Uh…alright.” Closing the bathroom door, Yasuo crossed his arms in thought.

‘Do slimes even need to bathe? The bathroom did look like it’s used often…’

*Yawn*

“Uwaah…never mind. I should get some sleep…” Yasuo turns in for the night. The water bed was going to take time to get used to. The surface was cold, and it jiggled with every movement he made. Even so, exhausted as Yasuo was, it took no time before he found his eyelids too heavy to keep open. A few seconds later, he was sound asleep.

While Yasuo slept, Nettie filled the bathtub with her slime, warm water, and body wash. Though she often reeked of muk due to her job as a midnight janitor, she hated smelling bad because of how others reacted to her. Aside from Gramps, who didn’t care and was used to her scent, and Lilly, who was too nice to say anything, Nettie hated being around others since they complained about her smell. Still, she worked regardless to keep the hotel clean and its residents happy.

“I…hope…this is…enough…” Nettie already uses a lot of liquid body wash to smell as nice as possible. Having a roommate made her more anxious as she used the whole bottle.

When Nettie thinks she’s clean enough, she gets out of her bathtub, drains it, and goes to her bedroom where Yasuo sleeps.

“…maybe…I should…sleep…on the…couch?” Having second thoughts, Nettie closes the door in her bedroom to sleep on her couch for the night. She figured if she slept in the same room as him, her smell would bother him. Clutching one of the couch pillows for comfort, Nettie closed her eyes and slept for the night.

Section 3
An opportunity presents itself.

…

Waking from his rest, Yasuo stretched his arms out.

“Aaahh…that was a good night’s sleep. Ah, that’s right. Nettie’s…wait…where is she?” Tuckered out as he was, Yasuo hadn’t once woken up after falling asleep. He expected Nettie to be sleeping next to him. To his surprise, she wasn’t on the bed with him. “Don’t tell me.” Getting out of the bedroom, Yasuo found Nettie sound asleep on the living room couch.

“I thought she was going to sleep in the bedroom with me…” It took him a second to notice since he had just woken up, but the living room smelled really good compared to last night. “Hold on. Did it always smell this good in here?” Recognizing the scent, it smelled of the body wash he used to bathe in last night. And the scent was strongest around Nettie.

“Wow…she smells so different from last night.”

“Hnngg…” Feeling someone close to her, Nettie opens her eyes and sees Yasuo standing a few inches from her. “Ah…”

“O-oh!” Jumping back after realizing she had woken up, Yasuo was engrossed in smelling Nettie, so he hadn’t noticed how close he was until she woke up.

“M-morning…”

“Ahaha…yeah. Good…morning.”

“…”

An awkward silence fills the room. Yasuo was still on his butt on the floor after Nettie spooked him, and Nettie wasn’t sure how to react after seeing him jump the way he did.

“Did…my smell…wake you?”

“Huh? N-no. A-about earlier, I didn’t mean to get so close…ahaha. I’m sorry, I don’t know much about other slimes besides Nureonagos.”

“Don’t…worry about…it. I know…I smell…bad…”

“What? No. You don’t smell bad at all. You smell really nice.” It was hard to see, but the color on Nettie’s cheeks turned slightly dark hearing Yasuo’s unexpected response.

“I do?” Nettie seemed reluctant to believe Yasuo. And he could see it in her eyes. She always washes herself thoroughly after each shift. Because she never goes anywhere after work, no one has ever been around her when she smells clean.

“Yeah. I mean it.” Succeeding in convincing her, Yasuo kept his eyes on Netties, causing her cheeks to turn an even darker shade of green. She didn’t want to be seen blushing as hard as she did, so she turned her face to the right. That’s when she spots Yasuo’s suitcase. She was curious about it last night, so asking about it now is a perfect way to change the subject.

“Suitcase…what’s in…it?”

“Oh, my suitcase? Well, there’s not much in there. A spare change of clothes, a couple of pictures, and some toys I made from wood.”

“Toys?!” Taken aback by Nettie’s sudden outburst, Yasuo couldn’t help but chuckle at the sparkle in her eyes.

“Uh…yup. Want to see?” With a nod, Yasuo happily shows the childhood toys he grew up with. “Okay, this first one here’s a set of Kokeshi dolls.” The first toys he showed Nettie were three wooden dolls with slim bodies and big heads. Two of the dolls were tall, one with long hair and the other with short curly hair. The short doll had short, curly hair as well.

One detail Nettie noticed about the dolls was that each one seemed to have been made differently. The one with the long hair was meticulously painted to look like a beautiful geisha. The tall, curly-haired one didn’t have as extravagant painted clothing, but the doll’s curves were incredibly smooth, something only a master artisan could achieve.

“…” Oddly, the short one caught Nettie’s attention the most. The edges of the doll were crude, with minor imperfections throughout. Curious to look closer, Nettie reached out for the small one. Just before touching it, she stopped after remembering she could damage the dolls.

“Hmm? What’s the matter? You wanted to hold this one, right? It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but this little one’s me.”

“You…that?”

“Yup. It looks like crap compared to the other two since my mom and dad made them. It was a family thing, and we made Kokeshi dolls of ourselves. Mom was good with delicate work and tailoring, so hers turned out really pretty. My dad was a woodworker, so while his doll wasn’t anything special, how he crafted it was superb. Then there’s mine…” With resignation in his voice, Yasuo’s cheeks turn red from embarrassment before giving Nettie a closer look.

“I wasn’t as good with woodworking back then, so my doll looks like crap compared to my parents. Even so, my mom and dad were so proud of me since it was my first time making one.” His bubbly tone, the redness in his cheeks, and the smile on his face. All were strangely infectious. The joy he felt reminiscing made Nettie smile too. She didn’t understand why. Maybe she was just happy for him.

“That’s…nice…”

“Hehe. Thanks. I have some other toys I made by the time I got better to show you.” The first of the toys he showed off was a Kendama. It was a wooden hammer with a sharp tip on the top of the handle. Sitting on the tip was a wooden ball attached to a string on the hammer.

“Strange…hammer…”

“Ah, you don’t use this hammer for striking. There are divots on both ends of the hammer where you try to put the ball. Like this.” After Yasuo finished showing her how to play, he tried handing it over to Nettie, but she shook her head. “What’s wrong?”

“My body…wet…could damage…your toys…”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. All of the wooden toys have a varnished coating on them.”

“Varnished?”

“They’re coated in resin that prevents water damage. So you don’t want to worry about damaging it. Here.” Again, Yasuo tries to hand the Kendama over to Nettie. Reassured by his smile, Nettie smiled back and took it.

“This…hard…” Try as she might, Nettie’s reflexes were too slow to play with the Kendama properly.

“It’s alright. Everyone starts out having a hard time at first. You’ll get used to it with some practice.”

“Practice…does that…mean you’ll…stay here…awhile?”

“Ah…you know. I didn’t even think about that. I came to this hotel so abruptly that I don’t know whether I’ll stay here or not.” Nettie felt a pain in her chest just now. She didn’t think she’d like a roommate since she feared how they’d react to her smell. But Yasuo didn’t mind her smell. He complimented her and played with her. Feeling happy having him around, it hurt her to think he’d be leaving so soon.

“Yasuo…leaving…already?”

“Ah…I’m not sure.” Yasuo crosses his arms, wondering if he has anywhere to go. The thought of going back to Zipangu already made his spine shiver. Everyone in the village hates or doesn’t trust him anymore. He doesn’t have any relatives he could stay with. And the few friends and coworkers he knows also scorn him. “I guess…it depends on how much it’ll cost me to stay here. Speaking of, I should go find Gramps and ask about that.”

“You’re…leaving?”

“Ah, no. I’ll be back. I feel guilty if I stay here without paying, you know?” Digging through his suitcase, Yasuo pulls out his coin purse before walking to the front door. “Alright, I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay…” Leaving Nettie alone, she puts the Kendama she was playing with down and stares intently at the Kokeshi doll of Yasuo. Nettie found the imperfections on his doll somewhat familiar. Symbolically, his imperfect sculpt of himself reminds Nettie of how she’s an ‘imperfect’ slime.

“Huh? You have a broken bed too?” Back in the main lobby, a line of tenants had formed in front of the receptionist’s desk. Since Gramps was up all night, it was Lilly’s turn to watch over the front desk.

“Look, it’s not my fault the beds are made so…flimsy. I just got…”

“Overzealous…” The couple currently at the front came back asking about the broken bed work order they had submitted last night. The Hellhound and her husband were engaged in coitus when their bed broke halfway through.

“Don’t blame me for this! You’re the one who said you could take it!”

“Ehh…don’t worry. We’ll send someone over there to get it fixed right away.” Lilly had just finished tending to a previous tenant with the same problem, and this wouldn’t be the last. To make the workload more manageable, she presses a button on a mic next to her.

“Uh…hey. Can you girls send one of the Golems to help me at the front desk?” Shortly after, a Golem walks out from the employee’s only door. Lilly calls out to the Golem and points at a vacant spot next to her at the desk. “Can you open up from this side of the desk and tend to complaints or queries?”

“I can take the next person in line…” With a bit of help from one of the Golems, the line starts to shrink. That’s around the time Yasuo arrived from one of the elevators.

“Phew. I made it. I’m glad I didn’t run into that Carmine gal again.” Unlike last time, there were a few people in the lobby. Some were socializing. Some were moving from elevator to elevator. At the front desk, there were two lines where other tenants waited for a work order or miscellaneous queries.

‘I should probably get in line.’ Yasuo didn’t recognize the Golem on the line to the right, so he went to the one on the left where Lilly was. ‘There are at least some monsters from Zipangu here that I know of…’ Referring to the Nekomata socializing with other cat monster girls in one of the lobby tables, most of the monsters he saw were ones he’d never seen. One that caught his eye in particular was a Living Armor.

Was it even a monster? It had to be since it was moving on its own.

“Hey, you gonna move or what, pal?”

“Eh?!” Yasuo stared too long at the floating armor and failed to realize the line had moved. Behind him was a patient Salamander. “I-I’m sorry.” Bowing in apology, Yasuo returned to the line, waiting until it was his turn. While serving one tenant after another, Lilly was caught up with the flow and greeted Yasuo as if he were a regular.

“Hello…what’s yo-oh! Yasuo, right?!” Excited to break out of the monotony, Lilly slams her hands on the desk before bringing her face inches away from Yasuo’s.

“Ah! Y-yeah.”

“What brings you here?” Backing away to give him space, Yasuo looks around again, looking for Gramps.

“Where’s Gramps?”

“Gramps? He usually works the late afternoon to graveyard shifts, so he’s probably sleeping right now.”

“Oh…he said my first night here was free. So I wanted to talk to him about payment to stay another night here. Or several.” Sensing a pattern, Lilly raised her right eyebrow in suspicion.

‘That Gramps. He’s doing this on purpose, isn’t he?’ Lilly kept her thoughts to herself before shaking her head.

“I see. Well, I’ll explain then. So. Like Gramps told you, every person’s first-night stay here at Covet Corner Hotel is free. Most people get here accidentally, so we placed that rule in case the person who comes through doesn’t have enough money to stay for the night.”

“I see.”

“You can pay if you want. We accept payment daily or offer tenants a lease for six months or one year.” Looking through his coin purse, Yasuo doubts he could afford a lease. If he were to pay day by day, he’d go through his savings fast.

Lilly sees Yasuo’s face scrunch as he looks through his coin purse, giving her the perfect chance to tell him his last payment option.

“If you don’t have the cash for either instance, we can find a job for you to do at the hotel. We’ll cover your room expenses if you work for us.”

“What?! Really?!” Yasuo was stunned he had such a convenient option.

“Yup. If you can give me an idea of what you can do, I can find something for you to do here. With so many tenants in the hotel, we’re always looking for people to hire.” While it was a relief knowing he could work for the hotel to cover his room expenses, a part of him wondered if his woodwork skills would be handy at the hotel.

“Back in Zipangu, I worked as a Woodworker.”

“Woodworker? Like a carpenter?”

“Sort of. I can do things that carpenters can, but I can also make things like toys, trinkets, and furniture.” Accompanied by a wide grin, Lilly’s tail sprung up at the mention of furniture.

“Furniture? That means you can fix stuff, right?”

“Uh…yeah.”

“How convenient! I have just the job for you! I’ll set you up with one of our Giant Ant Staff to familiarize you with your new job!”

“Wait…so…you already found something for me to do?”

“Uh-huh. We’re always looking for more handymen to work for us. The person showing you around and what we expect from you, her name’s Karlaiah. She’s currently finishing up a work order from one of our tenants. She should be back here in 30 minutes. I’ll have her take you with her from there.”

“Alright. Great. That’ll give me time to return to my room and let Nettie know that I’ll be staying here..”

“Speaking of Nettie, Gramps never told you she’d be your roommate, did he?”

“No, he didn’t.” The side-eye Lilly gave told Yasuo all he needed to know.

“What do you think of Nettie?” He had just met Nettie, so Yasuo doesn’t know much about her. His impression of her is that of a shy, slow girl whose genuine curiosity and kindness warmed his heart. He hadn’t received that warmth in a while after the scorn he felt from the villagers of his hometown.

“Nettie…was odd at first. I don’t know much about other monster girls outside of ones in Zipangu, so I didn’t know if she’d jump at me.”

“I dunno about that. Nettie’s not the type that’d attack people. She avoids being around people as often as possible because she knows people are bothered by her smell.”

“I did get that impression from her.”

“I don’t see Nettie often since she’s out when I’m asleep. But when I do see her, she always seems so lonely. I’m sure she’s happy now that she has a roommate.” Having flashbacks of their interactions just thirty minutes ago, Nettie was smiling. And Yasuo found it cute.

“She is. Anyway, I’ll be heading off now. I’ll be back in 30.”

“Gotcha.” Heading to the elevator, Yasuo returns to his room, where Nettie awaits. The Salamander behind finally got her turn. But not before overhearing his conversation with Lilly.

“So, another wanderer came in, huh?”

“Yup. What can I do for you, Krissy?”

“Oh, well…I tried to bake a cake for my hubby to surprise him. He’s coming back from a merc mission, you see. And uh…I may have turned the heat a little too high and…”

“S-say no more. I’ll get a work order done to get your oven fixed…and your room cleaned up.”

Having hurried back to his room, Yasuo took a few seconds to catch his breath after standing in front of his room door. Opening it with his card key, he finds Nettie on the living room floor, trying to play with one of the other toys Yasuo has.

“Yasuo…you’re back.”

“Ah, you’re trying to play with my Koma.”

“Koma?”

“It’s the name of the wooden top you’re playing with.” Nettie didn’t quite understand how to play with the top. She deduced that the toy spins, but she was hand spinning it, which didn’t go very well.

“I’m not…very good…am I?”

“It’d help if you knew what to do. Here.” Digging through his suitcase, Yasuo found a critical piece to spin the top rapidly. “You see this string, Nettie? You wrap it around the bottom of the top and make your way up. Once it’s nice and wrapped…” With a swift flick of his wrist, Yasuo pulls the rope, launching the Koma at top spinning speed.

“Whoa…it’s moving…so fast…”

“Right? It’s even better when there are two of them in a dome-shaped arena. You can have them bump into each other and battle.” Fascinated by the fast-spinning top, Nettie’s eyes were glued to it as she followed it around the living room. “Oh. I should tell you that I got a job here. So I’ll be staying here awhile.” Stopping in her tracks, Nettie looked over at Yasuo with the broadest smile he’d seen on her face since he’d met her.

“Really?!”

“Yeah. I’ll be working as a handyman.” With his arms crossed and his eyes closed in pride, Yasuo couldn’t see Nettie approaching him until she jumped on top of him. “Woah!” As close as she was, Nettie’s overpowering scent made it feel like he was submerged in a sticky bathtub filled with green apple body wash.

“I’m glad…you’re staying…longer…”

“Not like I have anywhere else to go.” Inching closer and closer to his face, Yasuo was too distracted by how happy Nettie looked to care. Their lips were tantalizingly close before Yasuo saw the time from the wall clock in his periphery. “Ah. Sorry, Nettie. I gotta go. I have to start work in ten minutes.” Pulling himself away from her, Yasuo wipes the excess slime off his body. Grabbing his keycard, he stops just after turning the door handle and turns around to face Nettie. “I don’t know when I’ll finish my new job. So you might already be working when I get back.”

“Alright. Good luck.” With a nod, Yasuo leaves his room.”…” Touching her lips, Nettie wondered what would’ve happened if she leaned closer to him.

“Okay. I’m still a bit early, but there’s nothing wrong with being a little punctual.” Standing in front of the elevator, Yasuo stepped back when the elevator door opened with Carmine inside.

“Hmm? Ah, you’re the human Gramps walked the other night.” Carmine, the Roper Yasuo met the other night. She was less than subtle with her approach and tried to seduce him into going to her room.

“Uh. Yeah. Anyway, I need to get to the main lobby, so…” Rather than move out of Yasuo’s way, Carmine saw an opportunity and moved toward him. She spreads her tentacles outward in a wide area to purposefully cut off any escape attempts.

“What’s the rush…I’m sure whatever it is you’re doing can wait…”

“No. This really can’t wait…” Backed into a wall, Carmine pressed herself against him. Moving her lips closer to his, she stops abruptly. A scent distinct to Bubble Slimes wafts in Carmine’s nose.

“Tch!” Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Carmine backs away. “I guess you do have a roommate. Damn.” Without another word, Carmine disappears within his sight as she heads back to her room.

“Th-that was close…” With Carmine gone, Yasuo took a deep sigh of relief before heading into the elevator. As the elevator went up, Yasuo recalled when Carmine sniffed him. Taking a whiff from his right arm, the distinct green apple scent from Nettie’s slime clung to his body. “I got lucky there. If Nettie hadn’t hugged me earlier, Carmine would’ve dragged me back to her room by now.”

When he reached the lobby floor, he found Karlaiah talking with Lilly at the front counter. Karlaiah turned her head to the elevator after hearing it ding as she saw who she was training today.

“Ah, you must be Yasuo.” In contrast to her bug body, Karlaiah’s upper figure would leave most women envious. Lean and muscular, the only part of her body with an abundance of fat was in her chest.

“Yes. Nice to meet you.” Yasuo had worked with a few Giant Ants before. Efficient and hardworking, their diligence and work ethic earn them praise and respect from Zipangu workers with ordinarily high standards.

“Hmm…you certainly seem like a woodworker.” Karlaiah pats Yasuo on his shoulders, arms, waist, and thighs.

“Um…what’re you…”

“Heh, sorry about that. I’m just getting a feel for what you can and can’t handle. Lilly told me about what you can do. There’s no time like the present, so come with me. We got a good number of work orders to fill today.”

“Right.“ Taking the lead, Karlaiah led Yasuo past the employee’s only door. Inside, they pass by a few more doors until they head into one labeled ‘Supplies.’

“Alright. A lot of our work orders today involve broken bed frames and furniture, so that should give you plenty of chances to show me what you can do.” Grabbing what they needed for today’s repairs, Karlaiah had Yasuo carry the tool bag while she carried the lumber.

“Broken beds and furniture. I can make quick work of them. I also have some experience with steel or iron-made structures.” On a few occasions, Yasuo worked with blacksmiths to make nails, hinges, locks, and other tools needed to construct houses.

“That right? So nice to have someone with diverse skill sets.” After getting what they needed, they returned to the lobby and into one of the elevators for their first stop.

“Alright. We’re off to floor 7. You probably won’t like it up there…”

“Why’s that?”

“You’ll see…” When they arrive at floor 7, he first sees a rocky wall with a lantern-style mana crystal. Below the crystal light is a sign pointing to rooms 700-749 to the left and rooms 750-799 to the right.

“The walls…and this humidity. It’s like we’re in a cave.”

“Yup. This floor is the cave section. The room we’re heading to is at a small section of the hall to the left made to accommodate guests who live in volcanic regions.”

“V-volcanic?” As described, the small section they arrived in had walls oozing with lava. Though the lava itself was an illusion, what wasn’t fake was the heat surrounding him. The humidity that clung to his skin moments ago evaporated as sweat quickly took place. “It’s so hot here…”

“Isn’t it? The folks living in this section of the hall typically have their rooms between 28 to 32 degrees Celsius.” Reaching their destination, Karlaiah knocks at room door 712.

*Knock knock*

“Hello! We’re here for a bed frame repair?” Their first stop was in a room with a Hellhound and her male partner.

“Hey. Glad you’re here, Karlaiah.” Karlaiah was no stranger to the Hellhound who greeted her. This was Karlaiah’s third time coming to this room for repairs.

“Nice to see you again, Angeline. You haven’t broken Dirk’s spine yet, have you?”

“Hah, no such luck. Thank fuck…” Barely standing on his two legs, the person in question, Dirk, had Angelina help him stay up after recovering from their romp session.

“Oh, by the way. Lilly asked me to train a new guy who is working here starting today.”

“Hello. My name’s Yasuo.” Introducing himself, Dirk offered his right hand before Yasuo shook it.

“Yasuo, huh? You must be a Zipangu native. Nice to meet you. I’m Dirk.” Dirk seemed happy enough, but Angelina’s right brow rose in suspicion, wondering if Yasuo was the right man for the job.

“A new hire? I guess this’ll take longer than expected. Alright, come on in, you two.” As Angelina invited them in, the room’s interior matched the hall to a tee. The walls were char black with an uneven surface. The ‘lava’ acts as an alternate light source, giving off no heat no matter how close Yasuo gets to it. “The bedroom’s over here.”

Angelina leads Yasuo and Karlaiah to her bedroom. As mentioned in their work order, the bottom rails and front legs of the bed’s wooden frame were snapped in two.

“Well, what do you think, Yasuo? Think you can handle that?” Yasuo walks around the bed to assess the damage.

“Nothing I haven’t seen before. We have the wood, so finishing should take me less than an hour.” Getting to work, Yasuo removed the broken rails before replacing them with new ones. Replacing all of them took less than 30 minutes before moving onto the front legs.

“Hmm…not bad.” Karlaiah sat most of the repairs out, letting Yasuo do his work and observing how good he was at his job.

“There, that should do it.” After finishing the repairs, Karlaiah had Angelina and Dirk test the bed frame. “How is it?”

“Feels pretty rigid. Just like when we first got it.” Dirk had recovered, so he put the bed back together for Angelina after testing the bed frame’s rigidity.

“Probably won’t last long. Still, that was quick. Repairs usually take an hour or longer.”

“Heh, it was nothing.” Yasuo was rather modest, but he felt pride in seeing Angelina and Dirk’s satisfaction.

“Okay, we’re off to our next stop. Let’s go, Yasuo.”

“Alright.” With Dirk and Angelina giving their thanks, Angelina and Yasuo leave for their next assignment.

Moving from floor to floor, Yasuo was constantly hit with whiplash after whiplash by the constant change of scenery. From the mineshaft hall three floors below to the verdant green fields hall three floors above, the spectacle of it all made Yasuo gasp in amazement each time, prompting an amused smile from Karlaiah. By the time they finished and returned to the main lobby, it had already been eight at night.

“Ah, Gramps.” With Lilly’s shift over two hours ago, it was Gramp’s turn in the lobby. There, Gramps greets Yasuo and Karlaiah with a smile.

“So, how did Yasuo do, Karlaiah?” Saying nothing, a wide grin spreads across Karlaiah’s face before giving two thumbs up.

“Gramps, Yasuo’s fantastic! I barely had to lift a finger with how good and fast he was. It was practically a day off for me.”

“Glad to hear it. From what Lilly told me, you two had work orders all over the place.”

“We did. I’m still wondering if I’m just dreaming all of this. Every floor in this hotel is so unique. And that’s not to mention the subsection some of those floors have.” Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude hits Yasuo. Just yesterday, he was standing on the outskirts of his home village. Ostracised by its denizens, he stared at the remains of a cottage he made. Whether it was his fault or not, the clients who hired him demanded restitution for the cottage’s collapse. Taking nearly everything of value, including the home he was born in, the only mercy afforded to him was that he could keep belongings of sentimental value.

Now, he can start over in a Hotel that defies logic. With Gramp’s kindness, Lilly’s uplifting cheer, and Karlaiah’s approval, Yasuo can move on with his head held high.

There’s also his roommate Nettie to consider. She might’ve struck him as odd at first, but Yasuo felt a compulsion to see her smile after seeing her do so just once. Was it her genuine interest in his craft? Her gentle nature? His desire to wipe away her self-deprecating sense of self? He doesn’t know which. It could be all for all he knows.

“You’re really telling me I can stay at a place like this for free as long as I work here?” Blurring his vision were tears that began to form in his eyes. Try as he might, they flow out as he struggles between showing gratitude and keeping himself from crying.

“No need for that, kiddo. Everyone’s got a story. I won’t pry. As long as you don’t cause trouble, you’ll always be welcome here.” Gramps doesn’t see this happen often, but it never fails to warm his heart and fill it with pride.

“*Sniff* Dammit man. Did you really have to start with the waterworks?! You still have one more day of training. So you better come same time tomorrow!” Happy for him, Karlaiah pats Yasuo on the back.

“Right.” Yasuo had some paperwork to complete his employment at CC Hotel. Afterward, he heads back to his room for the day. “Hmm…not here.” As suspected, Nettie wasn’t around by the time he got back. He found the toys he and Nettie played with neatly arranged on the coffee table. Inspecting them, they all felt slightly damp. But more than that…

“*Sniff* Huh…they smell nice.” Sniffing each one, they all smelled faintly of Nettie. All except for one that smelled so strongly of Nettie that he could smell it a few feet away. “This…is my Kokeshi doll.” Yasuo wasn’t sure why his doll smelled more strongly of Nettie than the others, but he didn’t hate it. He took one more whiff before realizing what he was doing was somewhat pervy.

“O-okay. That’s enough of that…” Setting the doll down, Yasuo goes to the bathroom first for a much-needed bath. Going from floor to floor fixing furniture and the like made him sweaty. Then, after a thorough shower, he checks the fridge to see what he can cook for himself and Nettie.

“Nettie really liked the Okayadon I made last night. Should I make it again? Nah. If that’s how she reacted to something as simple as Okayadon, then broadening her horizons with other foods would be better.” With his mind made up, Yasuo takes two salmon fillets and vegetables in preparation for tonight’s dinner.

Section 4
A sleepless night.

…

*Ding*

An hour before midnight, Nettie makes it to the lobby floor after cleaning the hotel’s upper floors. There, she spots Gramps writing something down on a planner at the front desk.

“Ah, hello, Nettie.”

“Hi…Gramps…” Moving closer to the front desk, Nettie wanted to ask Gramps how well Yasuo did on the job. She spotted Yasuo and Karlaiah two hours before his shift ended. So she could’ve stopped by to say hi and ask Yasuo himself, but she didn’t want to bother him on his first day. “Gramps…how did…Yasuo do?”

“How did Yasuo do? Oh, you mean his first day of work here. He did great. Most of what Karlaiah did was show him around the hotel and where to go for supplies. He did most of the work orders on his own.”

“I…see…” Old as he was, Gramps knew nearly every employee working at CC Hotel. Seeing Nettie crack a smile when she usually has a neutral or somber expression had him cracking a smile too.

“Do you like having Yasuo as a roommate?”

“I…do.”

“Glad to hear it. Oh, also. There are already other janitors working on the bottom floor. You can clock out and turn in for the night when you’re done in the lobby.” Excited at being able to clock out early, Nettie’s smile widened before nodding at Gramps.

“Okay!”

Thirty minutes later, Nettie rushed to her room after finishing her shift. Yasuo had just finished cooking by the time she got there.

“Nettie? Don’t you have work for another two hours?”

“Gramps…let me…clock out…early.” Getting a whiff of what Yasuo had cooked, Nettie moved to the dining room table and saw a plate with a baked salmon slathered in butter with a lemon slice on each one. Yasuo also grilled asparagus to go with the salmon. “Ah…” Leaving her mouth agape, Nettie stared at the dish with laser focus.

“Uh…do you want to eat?”

“Y-yes!” Once the two got seated, Yasuo watched closely as Nettie, taking pride in seeing how much she enjoyed the meal with a smile in every bite. When she noticed him staring, Nettie’s cheeks darkened from embarrassment.

“Wh-what is it?”

“Nothing. I’m just glad you like the food.”

“Of course…I do. It’s…delicious.”

“Heh. I just had to be sure.” The two spent a few minutes eating silently, mostly since Yasuo found Nettie humming in delight adorable.

“I’m…grateful…for having…you as…a roommate.”

“Me too. I didn’t think I’d have a place to go after what happened at my previous job.”

“Previous…job?”

“That’s right! Did I never tell you about my job before coming here? Well…” Yasuo spent the remainder of their dinner explaining his job and what led him here before meeting her. By the time he nearly finished telling Nettie his story, she was already cleaning the dishes as thanks for cooking their dinner.

“I…see. I know…you did…your best.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t enough. Honestly, I’m lucky the couple who hired me to make the cottage weren’t there when it collapsed. I wondered if the cottage collapsing was some elaborate plan aimed at me. Maybe someone out there had a grudge against me and wanted to take me down a peg. I tried to check the collapsed cottage to see if there were signs of foul play, but by the time I got there, it had been raining.”

“Unfortunate…as it was…I’m glad…you ended up…here. Before…I was alone…and lonely. Having you here…made me realize…what I’ve…been missing.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” With a smile, Nettie looks over at Yasuo. Her cheeks darkened from embarrassment.

“Someone…to like…” Yasuo wasn’t completely dense. He knew what she meant by that. And if he’s being honest with himself, he feels the same way. His blushing face didn’t go unnoticed before he chuckled nervously.

“I-I see.” Neither had experience with relationships before, so they didn’t know what to do after confessing how they felt for one another. “Uh…I’m gonna go hit the sack. It’s getting late, so I’m heading off to bed first.”

“Okay…goodnight…” Yasuo needed time to think of how he’d move forward from there, so he told Nettie he’d go to bed as an excuse to think alone.

‘Is…is it alright for us to move on this quickly? We just met yesterday. But…’ Muddling through his feelings, Yasuo looks at the bedroom door as he hears the shower in the bathroom. Following tradition, Yasuo hadn’t even considered marrying a monster girl. He always envisioned himself marrying a human woman and passing on his woodworking techniques to his kids, just as his parents did for him. Then, that thought invoked an image of him and Nettie with a child of their own, causing his face to turn red.

“Maybe…we should talk seriously about it when we have free time?” Feeling the exhaustion from work hit him, Yasuo closed his eyes before drifting off to sleep shortly after.

“…” While asleep, Nettie was sitting in the bathtub. Her body was spread out, and only her head remained in shape. Like Yasuo, she sat in the tub thinking about how to move forward. They both feel the same way for one another, but unlike Yasuo, Nettie doubts he thinks of him the same way she does. It didn’t help he left abruptly after she confessed how she felt. As a Bubble Slime, she could always kiss him to make him hers, but the thought of using her abilities made her shudder in disgust.

“No…I can’t…do something…like that.” Mortified as she was, the intrusive thoughts gnawed at Nettie. How good would it feel, she wondered? What would his saliva taste like? His sweat? His semen? “!” With instinct driving her forward, she shook her head to get those thoughts out of her mind. The heat from the bathtub must’ve gotten to her, so she cleaned up before heading back to the living room.

“…why…am I here?” At least, that was the plan. As she left the bathroom, she was going to bed on the couch like yesterday, only to find her instincts momentarily take over after glancing at the bedroom door. Now, she’s on the bed, looking down on Yasuo.

“…” Sound asleep, Yasuo was unaware of how close Nettie was. Nervously, Nettie puckers her lips inch by inch. She lowered her head to his until they were a mere inch away.

“Yasuo…” Softly whispering his name, Nettie nearly caved into her desires, barely managing to regain control, realizing how underhanded this would’ve been. Still, she wanted to admire his face a little more.

“hmm…” As close as Nettie was to him, Yasuo picked up her scent and woke up. “Ah…Nettie?” He blinked a few times to verify if what he was seeing was real. That’s when Nettie’s cheeks darkened as she pulled away from him.

“Y-Yasuo!” While doing so, a piece of her slime broke off her face, landing on Yasuo’s lips.

“?” Without thinking, Yasuo opens his lips and drinks the slime. Its sour flavor left him puckering his lips at first, but a refreshing sweetness took its place as it subsided. “What is this? It tastes good.” After seeing a bit of her slime on his bottom lip, Nettie had just realized that Yasuo had ingested her slime.

“Ah, did you…my slime?”

“Your slime?” Wiping his bottom lip, he looks at the slime clinging to his right hand. “Oh? It tastes really good.”

“No! Sp-spit it out!” Nettie never had anyone ingest her slime before, so she wasn’t sure how Yasuo would react.

Instead of spitting it out, Yasuo took what little he got and swallowed. Sour yet sweet, the effects of Nettie’s fizzy slime were near instantaneous as its aphrodisiac effects spread through his body.

“Nettie…” Watching his face flush red as if drunk, Yasuo crawls toward Nettie, prompting her to move away. Driven to taste more, he corners Nettie to the bed’s headboard. Moving his lips closer and closer, he was tantalizingly close to touching her lips with his own.

“Yasuo…wait…you only…do this to…someone…you like.”

“I do like you…”

“Wha-” Cutting Nettie short, Yasuo plants a kiss after catching her off-guard. “Hnng…” Despite her reluctance a few seconds ago, she quickly gives in to desire and lets his probing tongue slip through her lips. Tasting his saliva, Nettie’s instincts as a monster pushed her onward, bravely slipping her tongue over his to lick every nook and cranny in his mouth.

“NNaaahh…Nettie…” Lost in his stupor, Yasuo gulps down more of Nettie’s slime. Her slime proved dangerously addicting, just as Gramps told him. He could barely keep himself from pulling away after feeling his mind go blank.

“Nngg…aww…” Nettie, on the other hand, wasn’t satisfied. Thankfully, she spots another part of Yasuo where she can taste him more. “Dick…your dick’s…poking through…your pants…” Looking down at where Nettie’s pointing, Yasuo chuckles in embarrassment.

“Can you blame me? Between my first kiss and your slime, it’d be impossible not to get hard.”

“Show me…” Watching his dick twitch inside his pants made Yasuo taking it off that much more enticing. Etching the scene at hand in her mind, the base of Yasuo’s dick didn’t bend at all as he pulled his pants down. As soon as it was freed, it flung upward. The tip dripping with precum.

“So this…is what…a dick…looks like…” Staring at his member twitch, Nettie couldn’t help but smile, drooling in anticipation.

“Um…it’s a bit embarrassing having you stare at it that closely.”

“Here…lay down…on the beds…headboard.” Referring to their positions on the bed, they switched places, with Yasuo resting his back against the bed’s headboard.

“Like this?”

“Mmhhmm…” Bringing her lips close to the tip, Nettie sticks her tongue out and laps the precum off his dick.

“Ah!” Warm and sticky, that single lick had Yasuo jolt in pleasure as a piece of her slime clung to the tip. As a Bubble slime, the adhesiveness of Nettie’s slime was among the weakest of her species, yet the subtle pull Yasuo felt as she pulled her tongue away had Yasuo wanting more. “Nettie…” It delighted Nettie to hear Yasuo call her out with such a lewd moan. Wanting to see more, she kisses him all over his crotch. “Aaaahhh!” From tip to scrotum, she left no part of his dick untouched, unintentionally edging him as more precum started oozing out. That’s when her patience ran out before swallowing his cock whole. “Hnnngg!!” Gritting his teeth, the surge of sticky warmth that enveloped his dick had Yasuo moan aloud, gripping the bedsheets beneath him as his convulsion from pleasure had the water bed rocking.

“Mppff…sho…good…” Bobbing her head up and down, Nettie grew more confident the more Yasuo reacted. With every pull, she’d drag her lips across the length of his shaft as her slime’s stickiness added to the pulling tension. With every push, her slime would cover his groin. By the time half of his waist was immersed in it, Yasuo had reached his limit and cums into her mouth. “HNNNGGG!!!” As Nettie’s first experience having tasted cum, she was beyond elated, finding the taste irresistible as she kept sucking his cock until he stopped cumming.

“Ah…hah…ah…” Panting in ecstasy, Yasuo never had an orgasm that intense before. His legs felt like jelly, and not just because his waist was partially covered in slime. Despite that, his dick remained tall and rigid. “N-Nettie?” Taking her time tasting his cum, Yasuo watched as it fizzled into nothing as it went down where her stomach would be. Afterward, she stares at him. Her eyes narrow in a trance-like state.

“Here…I want it…here…” Growing taller as more of her slime amasses around her, Nettie’s body changes into a more curvaceous, hourglass shape. Her breasts got bigger, and her tummy more defined. On her waist, she forms a slit on her crotch, spreading it open with her fingers to give Yasuo a look at the slimy walls within. Strands of her slime stretched and dripped from her pussy.

“Oh…wow…” Contorting into what one could simply describe as carnal desire, Yasuo admires Nettie’s new form. Before, she was slouched over, barely showing any human features aside from her shoulders, arms, chest, and head. Thanks to absorbing Yasuo’s semen, she gained more magical power that allowed her to control her body’s shape more precisely.

Like a woman clad in stuffy clothing to hide their voluptuous bodies, Nettie’s body changed in such a way that not even a man of modesty like Yasuo couldn’t ignore.

The amazement in his eyes made Nettie feel more confident than before. Desiring to taste him more, she positions her slit above his rigid cock. Slowly, she drops her waist until the tip slips inside.

“Ah!” Both moaned and shuddered in unison as they connected. Nettie froze momentarily from the pleasure while Yasuo jerked his hip upward, seeking the sticky warmth of her pussy.

“Aaahh…Yasuo…”

“Nettie…” Because Nettie’s body became more solid, Yasuo could grab hold of Nettie’s waist. He pulls her the rest of the way down with a firm hold.

“…” Lost in each other’s eyes, Nettie bounces her hips on his. “Yasuo…Yasuo!” Rapture fills Nettie’s whole being with every bounce. Spreading her sticky vaginal walls apart, they lovingly suck Yasuo’s dick with each bounce.

“Nettie…Nettie!” In the same vein, Yasuo metaphorically melts in her slimy embrace. With everything but his chest and above covered in Nettie’s slime, the sticky immersion left him putty in her body. That was until his eyes bounced in rhythm with Nettie’s chest. He had stolen a few glances at her chest before, but they were smaller and relatively smooth. After changing her body, not only did her breasts get larger, she had formed nipples on them, inverted ones at that.

“Ah…your breasts…” Moving his right hand off her waist, Yasuo grabs Nettie’s left breast.

“Kyah! Y-Yasuo?!” Giving her breast a firm squeeze, the tips of his fingers sunk into it. But he wasn’t done yet. His throat cried out in thirst before puckering his lips, bringing his face to Nettie’s left nipple before sucking it into his mouth. “AAHHH!!!”

“Delicious…your breasts…so good…” Growing more and more addicted to her slime, Yasuo rolls his tongue around her nipple, sucking hard to drink more of her sour and sweet slime milk. Perhaps in conjunction with her enhanced shapeshifting abilities, her body’s sensitivity to all stimuli increased, causing her to moan more loudly.

“AAAHHH!!! S-So good! Suck on them more…Fuck me more…more and more.” Even Nettie’s speech seemed more cohesive. Their movements eventually synced with one another as they neared their climax. “Yasuo…” Calling out his name, Yasuo pulled his mouth off her breast.

“Puwah…yeah?”

“Before I cum…I want to kiss you…”

“Sure. I’m nearing my limit too. Come here.” Leaning into Yasuo, Nettie puts her hands on his shoulder to kiss him. In turn, Yasuo wraps his arms around her, pulling her deeper into his arms. While deeply kissing, they match one another’s rhythm before cumming together.

“Fuwaahh!” Pulling away from their kiss, Nettie convulses with each shot of cum pumped into her, causing her to lose partial control of her shape as she returns to her slouched, melty appearance before going limp on top of Yasuo.

Exhausted, the two lay motionless for a few minutes to catch their breath.

“Hey Yasuo, I was wondering…what do you like about me?”

“Hah…well…” Waiting for Yasuo, he found her staring in anticipation adorable. “At first, I did find you strange. I don’t know much about monster girls outside of Zipangu, so I was cautious when I found out you were my roommate.”

“My smell…probably bothered you too…didn’t it?”

“I won’t lie, it did. I learned from Gramps that Bubble Slimes only smell bad due to their environment. It’s only natural you’d smell bad since you’re a janitor who constantly cleans up messes.” Nettie seemed depressed hearing Yasuo call her smelly, but he patted her head with a smile to reassure her.

“Even so, you smelled really good the following day. You know, I realized something just now. When you woke me up inches from my face earlier, I did the same thing to you yesterday morning when I was smelling you.” The coincidence of it all made Yasuo chuckle. “That morning, when you showed interest in the stuff I made and did, it made me happy. After having everyone in my village calling me a failure and admonishing me, having someone appreciate what I could do, well…how couldn’t I fall for someone who cheered me up like that?” The sentiment had Nettie too embarrassed to look Yasuo’s way.

“It’s not that big of a deal…”

“Sure it is. Plus, whenever you’re lonely, I want to do something about it until you’re happy. I can’t just leave you like that, and it makes me happy seeing you happy. That’s why I like you.” With a heartfelt confession like that, all Nettie could do was giggle in joy. “What about you? What is it about me that you like?” When it was her turn to confess, Nettie brought her face close to Yasuo before smiling.

“I like you because you were nice to me. And your food was delicious, and the toys and other stuff you make is cool…and…” Leaning even closer, she gave him a light peck on the lips, leaving a trail of her slime on it. “You’re the first person to compliment my smell. I like…no. I love you, Yasuo.” Licking his lips clean, Yasuo felt his second wind kick in as his dick got hard again.

“I love you too, Nettie.” Even though it was three hours past midnight, Yasuo and Nettie had sex again and again until they were both satisfied.

…

“Good morning, Lilly.”

“Morning, Yasuo. I have some more work orders for you. This time, no broken beds.” A month had passed since then. Yasuo had gotten used to living in CC Hotel with its colorful denizens.

“No kidding? That’s a miracle. It’s been a whole week since the last one.” Rumors of his excellent repairs spread quickly, giving Yasuo continuous work throughout the Hotel. After looking through today’s work orders Lilly handed him, he smiled and prepped for work.

Later that night…

“Nettie, how’ve you been?”

“Gramps. I’m doing…well. Thank you.” Nettie had changed considerably in only a month. She learned to control her shape, surprising many with her curvaceous body. She also learned to speak more clearly. Both changes are a byproduct of hers and Yasuo’s nightly coitus.

“I heard Yasuo’s opening a shop stand on the 8th floor.”

“That’s right. It’ll be open during…the weekend. He’ll sell toys, accessories, trinkets, and furniture there.”

“Heh. No doubt he’ll be popular. I’m sure Lilly would find something there she’d like. What’s the store called?”

“Great. As for the store’s name, it’s ‘Sashimono’s Crafts.’ I’ll be there with Yasuo to…help him out.” The following weekend, Yasuo and Nettie opened shop for the first day.

“Welcome, one and all! Today marks the opening of Sashimono Crafts! I make toys, trinkets, accessories, and furniture.” At first, people hesitated to come with Nettie standing next to him. But after getting a whiff of her, they found her scent pleasant as customers came individually.

“Huh? These wooden blocks smell great.” A customer noticed a can filled with wooden blocks. They didn’t look anything special, but the scent from them was pleasant to the nose.

“Ah, those are natural air freshener wooden blocks. We have standard ones that smell strongly of different kinds of wood. But the ones you’re smelling are made to imitate the scent of Cherry blossom trees only found in Zipangu.” With Nettie’s help, he also managed to sell all sorts of scented incense, blocks, and even prayer beads by having her absorb flowers and soaking them in Nettie’s slime. “I also take requests if you want something more personal. The price for requests varies on the item plus labor cost.”

“Oh! In that case, I’d like to have a wooden vase!” A Titania amongst the crowd of customers forming around their stand already has a request for Yasuo, a sign of an excellent start on their first day. Ultimately, he sold nearly everything in his stand on that day alone.

However, two of his finest works were never for sale. On the coffee table in Yasuo and Nettie’s room, he made Kokeshi dolls of himself as an adult and an unorthodox Kokeshi doll of Nettie with an uneven sculpt. He sculpted them so the two would hold hands when close together.

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