Mystery about animal pelts

Vincent nodded and rested at the edge of the bed. He didn't want to get teased by the respectful Kazumi if he slept in the middle.

Lupa spent a few hours training her shapeshifting combat ability. She climbed a few trees with her nimble body. Later, she cleaned herself from the sweat and turned her gaze at the bed and Vincent.

Vincent was sleeping on one edge while Ester slept on the other. Lupa approached with a sly grin. She rolled Vincent to the middle, grabbed his arm, and used it as a pillow.

Kazumi held her giggle as she saw this transpire. She wanted to raise a thumbs up, but unfortunately, she nether had hands or could be seen without Soul Visit.

As the three slept, Kazumi stayed guard like a guardian angel.

*Day 14

A new day dawned, basking them with sunlight. They weren't under the shade of any tree, making the sun act as a hot alarm clock.

Lupa woke first, but she kept snuggling her head against Vincent's numb arm. A few minutes later, Vincent woke up as the heat started to become unbearable.

His eyes opened, but a familiar scene welcomed him. Lupa rested on his wet arm with a smile. Shortly, their eyes met.

"Morning, my mate. It's hot in here." Lupa said with an alluring smile.

'Hot? I feel like I have a sunburn and lost an arm. But... why am I in the middle again?' He thought while gulping for being too close.

"Did you do this? "Vincent asked a question he knew the answer for.

Lupa gently nodded. Then she slowly pulled herself up. She took a few steps back while her tail wagged in delight.

[Thats all? No steamy morning under the sun? I feel disappointed.]

-This isn't an erotic story like the ones in my... -

Vincent realized he played himself into a trap. He abruptly stopped while turning to the other side. However, Ester welcomed him next.

Ester opened her eyes, and their eyes met. She gasped in surprise and didn't know what to think. The sense of embarrassment took over her.

Ester crawled backward as fast as she could. Soon, a foot accidentally approached Vincent's face without any hint of stopping. The kick he received sounded with a loud thud.

Lupa stared at the two in silence with her tail lowered down from fright. She didn't know what to say. It was her fault for rolling Vincent next to Ester, but she was too scared to receive a punishment for not being a good girl.

Ester, on the other hand, was in disbelief of what happened. She kicked Vincent in the face. It wasn't a gentile tap as a hint of blood trickled from his nose.

Vincent quickly stood up. He held his injured nose, feeling a rush of pain while his right arm swayed like a dead limb. Any person would think the two women had badly beat him.

[Haha. I have a feeling it will only take two retainers to kill you. Sadly, it seems the death by snu snu will not happen in this life.]

Vincent wanted to curse at Kazumi, but with one glance at Ester, he stopped. She was trembling at what she did. Her face became red, and her eyes welled tears ready to cry from embarrassment.

"Don't worry. It was a mistake. Please don't feel guilty." Vincent tried to calm Ester. However, she quickly turned around and ran behind a tree in utter shame.

"Lupa is a bad girl. Lupa will fix things." Lupa said with her tail and ears down. Then she went to Ester to fix things in her own way. However, she might cause more trouble instead.

[Haha. This is going to be a priceless memory to keep.]

In the meantime, Vincent stayed beside the cart while holding his nose with a cloth. He had already inspected himself. But his condition was still healthy. Also, he has forty Soul Power now.

[I wonder what will happen tomorrow, haha.]

Vincent couldn't concentrate enough to transform his thoughts into a telepathic voice. He had to whisper instead.

"How about you stop laughing and think of a way to learn Dimensional Storage faster. " Vincent whispered in a grumpy mood. Not only was he kicked. But Kazumi was laughing her wisp ass off without any hint of stopping anytime soon.

[Grumpy are we? You slept with a girl on each side, but you are unhappy. I wonder why, pff... haha.]

"I would have stored a mattress if I had the Dimensional Storage ability. " Vincent said while he poked his painful nose. The bleeding stopped, but his nose remained red and in pain.

Ester overheard Vincent say Dimensional Storage while she was approaching to apologize. She walked in front of him while nervously fiddling with her fingers.

"My father had once told me something about dimensional containers. " Ester said in a nervous voice.

[Really?]

"Really?" Vincent repeated the same question.

Ester shyly nodded. She felt her heart flutter at the thought of helping Vincent. She knew he could use Minor Heal, a spell only a few could use. He could even use a basic version of Inspection ability.

After putting two to two together, she thought, 'Vincent might learn what he was talking about, a Dimensional Storage ability.'

"There is an item called Bag Of Holding. It's made from the skin of a certain rare monster found not on these lands. Their price is exceptional." Ester blushed when Vincent attentively stared with intrigue.

Ester raised her hand and fiddled with her hair while continuing, "My father told me the smallest Bag Of Holding is valued around the same price as a house. He also said that there are many variants of these bags."

Vincent started praising Kazumi in his mind. If she succeeds, it will make him on par with wealthy nobles. Probably even better since his Dimensional Storage might be an ability instead of a stealable item.

"The smallest can hold one meter in tallness, longness, and wideness. But because it's from imported from a rare magical beast hide, its price is too much too commoners to purchase." Ester regrettably said.

Her father once had a bag that he took with great care, although it looked quite common. But she didn't see it again after noticing a few costly scribe supplies the next day. She thought it might've been a Bag Of Holding.

[This information can help me think better. But... it seems we need to teach Ester about Earth's measurements. A small Bag Of Holding can hold a minimum of one cubic meter, interesting, interesting.]

Kazumi started talking with herself. New ideas about this ability sparked like a bunch of fireworks in her mind. With the size of a functioning dimensional space, she could broaden her imagination. The programmer Kazumi could begin round two with the inspiration Ester gave her.

"Thank you for this valuable information. I might be able to create a similar ability because of your help." Vincent said with a bright smile.

Vincent lifted his hand and gently caressed her head. He momentarily forgot that it was Ester and not Lupa. Caressing her head as a reward might be pushing his luck.

Ester stood rooted to the ground, stunned by his action of praise. Her face blushed, yet her face also raised a faint smile. However, it didn't last long. She swiftly turned around and ran to hide behind the same tree.

[Now that's what I call a success.]

-What do you mean? I made a mistake since I lived with Lupa more than her.-

[You didn't receive a slap or a kick to the face. I call it progress. Hiding behind the tree is probably her only way to cope with embarrassment.]

-Huh? So she liked it?-

[Let me break it down for you, ok? If a retainer gets found, it's game over. That means they need to live with you. This is a god-given chance to start a harem, hehe.]

-Want to start the Dimensional Storage process again?-

[Hmm... You're a slave driver, aren't you? Ok, you can begin the progress. I want to see if we can succeed in the next few days.]

Vincent closed his eyes and imagined the ability to form something from experience and knowledge. Momentarily, a window appeared.

.

[Will you spend 20sp to learn an ability from the host memories?]

[Host has one hour to think, imagine, and understand for an ability to form.]

[No refund. No discount.]

.

[Accept -20sp] [Decline]

.

"Accept. " Vincent said with curiosity. He wondered how much the progress would be this time.

.

[-20sp used to form an ability or spell. 20sp remaining.]

[59:59 time remaining.]

.

Once again, Kazumi was AFK for one hour. One hour of freely living without hearing any teasing. A life he almost forgot he had.

With this all done, Vincent stretched his arms and tried to smell with his hurting nose. A faint bad smell entered his nostrils. He turned his gaze at the cart. He then picked the pelt and took a whiff.

"Ughh... it's starting to stink. The temperature is becoming warmer, and Ester isn't using her Frost Sigils anymore." Vincent said while deciding it needs to be cleaned and tanned.

Vincent grabbed the short sword and sliced the pelt into three parts. One pelt for each person. Then he started cleaning the pelt with water and make it flexible to continue with the next process.

Ester and Lupa finished talking behind the tree. The two didn't hear Vincent say anything, so they wanted to see what he was up to.

"What are you doing?" Lupa asked with interest as she approached.

"I'm not sure. I never saw a commoner with an animal pelt in my life." Ester said while rubbing her chin with curiosity.

"Never saw? Aren't there hunters in this world? The Guard Lord had the animal heads hanging on the wall." Vincent asked in surprise.

"Yes, but I never saw a hunter wear the pelt of an animal." Ester shook her head. Suddenly, a memory flashed in her mind and said, "Ohh... I've seen one or two high geared adventurer with an animal pelt."

"So, some people use animal pelts. But these people are rich. The hunters don't wear them either. Now this feels like an unsolved puzzle." Vincent said with a puzzled frown.

"I'm sorry for not being much help." Ester felt apologetic for her lack of knowledge.

Vincent searched the cart for something useful. He wanted to make three stick frames for the pelts to dry on. In his hands were a few of the ribbons Ester wore and a few small one meter or less long thin ropes.

Vincent had Ester and Lupa to help him stretch the pelts. Then he approached with a few long sticks and branches to frame the pelts at the right size.

Ester and Lupa followed his instructions, filled with curiosity. Both wondered what he was trying to do. Soon, they stared with a puzzled frown at a framed stretched pelt.

"Why are you making this? Aren't we going to use this anymore?" Lupa asked while her tail wagged with great curiosity and excitement. She liked the idea of making something together.

"I don't know. Are we going to make a frame to sell?" Ester asked with curiosity.

"It's to make the pelts more flexible and to stop them from stinking. Then we can use them to sleep under or for clothes. But it takes days to finish from start to end." Vincent explained.