D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

— Kat —

Once the idiots were all gone, Mint’s body let out a series of cracks and groans like a tree being battered by the wind before her eyes seemed to soften into something almost organic and the rest of her body started to move smoothly, it even looked like she was breathing. “Hey Mint! Hopefully those guys weren’t bothering you too much,” said Kat.

“Oh, no it’s… well it was my fault really,” sighed Mint.

“Hey, I really appreciate the help you gave Lily and it’s not just your fault,” said Kat assuming that it was Mint’s assistance during the night that got her caught…

But Mint was shaking her head at the statement. “I don’t regret that and I wouldn’t have blamed you guys if that DID cause me issues… but it was actually just me being an idiot. I heard someone ‘knocking’ on the tree and stepped out thinking it was Lily again but it was just some kids playing with a ball. They were taking terms kicking it against the tree and my appearance scared them…” Mint paused to let out a sigh.

“Look that wouldn’t have been too bad. I apologise and then we move on but I was too shocked at the time and they ran of screaming which caused a big scene and then the guards showed up and then one of them went and told some people and suddenly I’m being accosted by several merchants and more than one person claiming to be nobility.

“I tried to just leave but then someone took out a match and went to burn the tree I’m meant to be guarding. He was smacked for it but it seemed like too much of a risk to just… only half pay attention to the area after that so I just sort of… watched from the tree while this body pretended to listen. It worked quite well, I just needed to adjust positions occasionally because most people don’t know just how… I don’t quite know the words. ‘Fluid’ or ‘natural looking’ perhaps? Anyway, they thought the jerky movements were normal…

“Until the idiot showed up and couldn’t take a hint. So… yeah thanks for helping out but really this was a hell of my own making and I don’t blame you in the slightest for that,” finished Mint with a slightly self-deprecating smile.

“Well… we got you some snacks! I wasn’t sure if you can taste anything yet, but Eleanora said you can just enjoy the texture?” said Kat as Eleanora took the hint and stepped forward producing the first box of donuts.

“Ooh, thank you. Um… technically this body is capable of tasting things because it was meant to be the main one that Thyme was using while doing stuff here, just cosmetically remodelled for me… but I’m not that used to the sensation yet and I’ve got them turned off at the moment. Still, thank you for thinking of me and I’m sure I can enjoy it at least somewhat,” said Mint with a smile as she picked out a donut for herself.

Kat raised an eyebrow as Mint… sort of felt around the donut with her mouth. It was odd watching the dryad chew. She was clearly trying to bite into it with different parts of her mouth, move it around with her tongue and even use her lips at time. Kat wasn’t sure quite how different each of those body sections actually were when it came to analysing the texture but she’d heard that babies liked to stick things in their mouth because of all the nerve endings so perhaps this was normal.

While Mint was enjoying the first donut Eleanora first set up a table and chairs and then started to cordon off the area. Not when anything fancy and modern but with metal spikes driven into the dirt and then running a thick rope through the holes in the top of the metal spikes. It was definitely a way to go about things, and would hopefully stop Mint from being bothered too much.

Eventually Mint finished with her donut and asked, “So… where is everyone else? Are they all ok?”

“Yup, they’re camping out in a hidden bunker for the moment. I… was waiting to go pick them up but Lily is still asleep so I’ve got no way to warn them I’m coming or organise a way for them to leave. It’s been a while so I’m a touch worried about the fact Lily is STILL asleep but she’s not stirred and in the same place so I’m pretty sure she’s safe,” explained Kat. “Nixilei is… probably still destroying her sleep schedule Green is just sleeping as usual… and I’m not sure what Gareth or Kress are doing. It’s hard to guess,”

“Well…” Mint grabbed another donut and ‘chewed’ it a bit. “I can’t really give any suggestions. Like, it’s against the rules to do so. Helping before was… probably fine because it was fixing an issue but I really can’t say much now. I do know you’ve still got the rest of today, all of tomorrow, and most of the morning before Thyme will start the last round of the tournament… but that’s just officially. You may have more rest time before things really kick off or you may not,”

“But you can’t tell us?” said Kat.

Mint nodded, “Couldn’t even if I wanted to. Not only is it against the rules but I wasn’t actually told. It’s one of the reasons I was called for this over the others. I know at least a few of them helped out with it and… well they can’t force me to give them assistance if I don’t even know what the tasks are in the slightest,”

Kat nodded, “Fair enough. I’d assumed you wouldn’t be able to say anything but I guess it’s nice to have it confirmed. I might have felt silly for not asking if I just didn’t say anything you know?”

“Not really,” said Mint as she picked up one of the cookies and popped that into her mouth. She froze as it broke in half against her teeth, sort of swirled it around a bit before frowning and looking at it. “I don’t think I like this one as much,”

“It’ll probably get better once you have sense of taste,” pointed out Eleanora.

Mint sighed, “Yeah I guess but I just don’t have the time to get used to it. I’m going to be busy and Thyme was quite clear that if you don’t get used to it and instead just stop trying it causes a bunch of problems for us later on and makes it nearly impossible to pick up a second time,”

“Really?” asked Kat. “Why is that?” “I don’t actually know,” said Mint with a frown. “Thyme did explain it before but it didn’t make much sense to me and I’ve sort of lost the answer now. I couldn’t repeat it back to you… and I definitely didn’t understand it so…” Mint shrugged. “Yeah no idea,”

Kat nodded, “Right… well… anything else you want to cover? Like… how has running the inn been going?”

“It’s alright,” said Mint with a shrug. “I’ve had a few customers but they mostly treat me like furniture. I know why, and I was warned a lot of nobles would do as much because to them I’m just a maid in charge of the place… which is technically right even if Thyme doesn’t see it that way and encourages all of us working in the inns to see it as OURS. Especially when it can be if we put the effort in.

“I don’t really know if I’m doing a good job or not. Thyme still provides most if not all of the food. Not sure if it’s personally made and stored in some big time freezer or if Thyme has other people making it and just teleports it around but I don’t really have to cook. A lot of the rooms and stuff are enchanted to keep themselves clean with the cleaning supplies working alongside the enchantments to really keep it all nice…

“I sit around for the most part and it’s honestly a little boring. It’ll… get better? Worse? Busier for sure once I have more customers but I’m not sure how it will change things or if it’s something I really want. It was a cool idea at first and I’m happy to keep doing it as… like an extension to my education but I don’t think it’s what I want to stick with anymore,”

“That’s…” Good? Bad? “something I suppose,” finished Kat lamely. “Do you know what else you might like to do instead?”

Mint nodded, “I’m thinking of looking into enchantments. They seem fascinating with quite a bit of depth but I’m really not sure if I’ll have the talent for them. I mean, as a dryad I technically don’t need the talent just the passion but I’m sure if it’s too hard I’ll find myself just as bored as I am now. Still… I do have some hope that it will be interesting long term,”

Kat nodded, “I can imagine. I know Lily wanted to look into it as well but has been putting it off for a bit…”