Chapter 5: A Stranger In Her Place

Click!

Alistair flicked on the lights of his dark apartment; the two-bedroom complex was rather large and cheap due to it overlooking the slums; his large body took several steps forward before dropping onto the leather sofa, a loud sigh coming from his lips.

"Ahh...! Today was so annoying..."

The sound of canvas bags being dragged and banged sounded as the dirty slum girl entered after him, her face red as if she had been running at full sprint for a while.

"Hah..... hah.... oi..... I asked you to slow down..... You just left me at the store with money.....I didn't know what you wanted!" Lilith's voice was strangely excited as she slammed the door with a loud bang, feeling irritated as she entered various rooms trying to find the kitchen.

"The kitchen is the first door to the right as you came in.... are you stupid? Can you not see through the glass?"

"Who is stupid!? It was dark!"

"Tsk.... don't cook when you're so dirty. Go take a bath; you stink..." Alistair leaned back, his feet resting on the table as he closed his eyes.

When someone else entered his apartment, he began to feel strange; it wasn't her steps or voice...

A sense of dissonance in his harmony.

Alistair's chest slowly moved, taking deep breaths, worried that she might come through the door, and he's got some beautiful dark-skinned girl naked in the shower; how would he react?

But those thoughts were stupid; Philis was gone, still clinging to those faint hopes; Alistair opened his eyes only to find the slum girl staring at him with daggers, her body half naked as she pointed at him with shaking fingers.

"You....you... Why are there no towels!? Was it all to see me naked, right? I go in, get wet, clean, then you pretend to be 'helpful' and see my naked body, use your powerful figure and push me down!"

Lilith's breath became a little shorter as her cheeks turned red the more she spoke, like this girl imagined her own words.

Alistair looked at her body, the dark pink nipples and a full view of her silvery white hair that curled into cute fluff.

"Are you a fucking moron? Why didn't you shout for a towel? Now I've seen your naked body without moving from the sofa... Thanks for the meal, but go finish your shower; you're still filthy, idiot...."

His face turned away after admiring her naked body for a few moments, the young woman dropping the face towel that could not cover her considerable curves in the first place as she began to shake, wanting to beat this bastard up visibly.

'At least stare a little longer!? Is my body that disgusting!? Hmph!'

Lilith was annoyed; this man was so annoying! God, if she didn't kill him, there sure as hell were countless people that might want to do so!

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Her wet feet slapped on the wooden flooring, almost slipping onto her ass as she struggled to remain to stand, feeling a slight pain in her groin as she almost did the splits without proper stretching, so her muscles were tight and sore.

"Oh yeah...." Alistair's deep voice sounded as he grasped the remote and flicked on the Television.

"Your pelvis marking...."

'Oh, here we go... he will ask about my race or mention the 'cost' for me staying! I knew men couldn't be trusted! Even the nice tasting ones....'

"W...what about it?" She answered, her body halfway into the bathroom, wondering whether she needed to lock the door.

"It's gorgeous; it seems to be one of devotion rather than debauchery; I wonder why people don't seem to realise you're not a succubus."

Bang!

The bathroom door instantly slammed as Lilith shot inside, leaning against the door with her slightly wet, naked back, her eyes tightly closed as she squatted down, her heart thrashing around in her chest as she felt a mixture of delight and terror.

Terror because there was only ONE race with a marking that resembled 'devotion', and they were a race that gave a danger rating of A.

'What does he mean? I cannot be that kind of race..... It doesn't mean anything that since I fed on him, the only food I desired was his... nope... I am not that kind of monster... What if he reports me!?'

Lilith's body began to feel a sense of terror before she quickly locked the door shut with a loud clack and jumped into the hot bath; a mixture of luxury bubbles and aromatic flavours began to fill the room; she used the shampoo, bath lotion and bubbles left behind by Philis because they were all the favourites of Alistair and she didn't want to be reminded of him every day.

"Will he report me... but he didn't call me a succubus.... a little happy..."

Meanwhile, the man in question was walking towards the kitchen, his large body wrapped in a black apron with the world's Most Handsome Chef in white, bold letters on the front, was flicking a pan of seasoned beef mince with onions and various herbs that Philis used to love, pressed into small and large patties on a slow burn.

The expensive oil used an elven plant, with a light taste and healthy alternative to regular cooking oil.

Sssss!

His muscular forearms tightened as he flipped the burgers without a spatula; his eyes narrowed and focused as the neon-blue eyes almost shone with magical colour.

'Four minutes!' Alistair thought, no longer concerned with the girl's naked body, only wanting to make her something delicious to eat, that lonely look when he saw her the first time playing in his mind as a distant memory with his mother began to play as his body entered autopilot to avoid the burgers and buns burning.

"Alice~ my cute Alice~ why are you so stupid!" Mol'Grana said with her soft but powerful voice, her muscular body holding a young Alistair on her lap as she showed him a strange, tribal-looking book.

"Listen well, Alice; this marking is not a succubus~ as the marks are usually based on the image that resembles 'debauchery' or 'pleasure', okay?"

His mother then began to show him another book; the marking was similar to the young mother in the photograph. Still, as Mol'Grana began to show him the differences, he realised his mistake and wondered what the marking was for the other.

"Mommy, then what does this one mean?" He asked, pointing to the one he first mistook for a succubus.

"Oh... That's a special one, but if you ever see it. Never tell anyone else, okay? Promise Mommy, or she will dress you up like a girl again, okay?" The stern but gentle voice soothed Alistair, who leaned back against his mother's colossal chest, almost sinking into them fully.

"Mmm... I promise!"

Like a bright sun, his mother's eyes lit up as she couldn't resist how cute he was; for several minutes, her arms hugged and smothered Alistair in kisses, smooches and tight loving hugs that almost suffocated him on several occasions.

"This is the mark for a Manticore, although people say they are scary. For you, it would be the perfect woman."

"Mmmm? Manticore? Perfect woman?"

Mol'Grana leaned back, a nervous laugh as the 8-year-old Alistair seemed a little confused as she patted his head, then began to slowly tell him about the birds and the bees as orc children started puberty earlier than humans, so she saw no problem.

It WAS a problem, as his dad came home and scolded her, telling Alistair to remain his cute little Alice for a few more years, with tears in his eyes, bribing the cute Alice with ice creams.

Alistair's mind came out from the dream-like state; since he stopped dating Philis, the memories of his parents became clearer, as if he was using them to deal with the loneliness of her being gone, although his face seemed angry, with veins popping from his forehead.

'Damn old man, calling me 'Alice' all the time! Mother was fine... Mother.... would beat me....'

In his hand was a black slate plate, with a sizzling burger, with bubbling cheese that leaked down the sides, two brioché buns that were lightly toasted, with slightly salted butter in the last moments, the scent of perfectly cooked pork and beef filling the room.

'I didn't know if she liked beef or pork.... so I made a hamburger and beefburger....'

Normally it was a habit because elves didn't eat beef. Thus he would have to do this for Philis, causing a slight thud in his chest; these memories were annoying, the sounds of her voice, the scent of her body and the high-pitched moans she made, hundreds, almost thousands of times piled up and became some curse in his mind.

He returned to sanity with a shake of his head, adding a few finishing touches, before taking the homemade fries from the mana frier that fried things using the planet's atmosphere and a magic mixture of fire and wind.

"It's almost finished; let's make a healthy smoothie for her; she seemed dehydrated and probably didn't take good care of herself."

Brrr! Brrr!

Alistar began to put various herbs and juices into the blender; once again, he was guilty of stealing the trade of elves, adding several berries that would make the drink sweet but lacking actual sugar and fats.

When mixed with water and fruit, a strange grain that tastes like milk creates a berry-flavoured milkshake with less than 150 calories per litre.

A moment later, he heard the bath water draining and began to dish the food and drinks up, placing them on the table in the living room, his apron now half loosened as the bathroom door's handle began to open.

'Just in time... Good.... but it feels so nostalgic...'