I didn’t take offense at Gloria’s hesitation, considering the fact that we’d only known each other intermittently for the last few years. I mean, it wasn’t like I really had close friends that I hung out with regularly.

  Well, besides my girls.

  Even my buddy Jameson was someone that I’d catch up with every few weeks and spend a few hours chatting with. Otherwise, all our conversations were via text. Gloria had gotten my number specifically because I liked to buy tamales in bulk when her grandmother made them because they were cheap and froze well. So other than her occasionally checking up on me as she had weeks ago when I’d been no-contact for a while with the girls, I didn’t talk to her much.

  That’s not to say I didn’t think of her as a friend, it was just that I could understand the randomness of offering her a job like this in a parking lot. Or how suspicious it must have looked from the outside.

  When I mentioned that I’d pay her ten percent of the sales price to come on as a contractor, she asked me flat out how much I was selling as that seemed rather low. That tune changed when I revealed that all the boxes, envelopes, and packing material I’d bought would be used to pack what had sold in the last week.

  Gloria had the rest of the afternoon off, so I suggested she finish her shopping and then meet me back at my apartment to help get started. That got another suspicious look from the attractive Latina, but she agreed after I offered to buy us pizza for dinner and pay her the same commission as if she’d handled the listing and sales of these pieces.

  “Why are you being so generous about this, Liam?” Gloria asked at last, the confusion writ large on her face. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but how can you afford to hire someone to do this already? You just quit your job a few months ago…”

  “I came into some money that helped me get started,” I said with a shrug, remembering the bounty payment that I’d gotten for eliminating the entropic hunter that Kassandra, Rieka, and I had found still lurking inside the Shadow Mountain Research Facility.

  No way I can explain that one, I thought with an internal grin. I got paid out by an interdimensional repair company for killing something that was capable of eating at the walls of reality, so I used it to start a jewelry business. That’s the kind of word salad that you’d normally see in an isekai manga title.

  “And now you are well enough off that you can afford to hire people?” Gloria asked in disbelief, her arms crossing over her fit stomach and shelving her pert bust. “Liam, I’ve done enough of my business classes to know that most businesses don’t turn a profit for the first two years, if not three or more.”

  “What can I say, I do good work,” I said with a shrug, gesturing to her own earrings that I’d made. “Don’t you agree?”

  Gloria just blew out an exasperated breath before checking her phone for the time.

  “Okay fine, I’ll take you at your word then. We can discuss details while you show me how you pack stuff,” Gloria said a moment later before stuffing the phone back into the rear pocket of her pants.

  “I gotta go pick up the pieces from my workshop,” I said sheepishly. “Can you give me like… two hours?”

  “Sure. While you are at it, you can show me the logins to use for listing stuff and accessing the site,” Gloria said with a shrug and I nodded along.

  I sent Gloria my address in a text to make sure she had it, and we parted ways to let me jet up to my new digs where I had my stuff stashed.

  Honestly, it might not be a bad idea to keep that apartment, I thought while driving away. It’d give Gloria a place to work that wasn’t her share-house with the roommates… but it’s also a shithole, not secure, and a pretty woman like her going in and out with packages would definitely attract attention.

  Deciding that, since I’d started this ball rolling finally, I should call in the cavalry and get it handled, I used my phone's hands-free option to dial Jameson up.

  “What’s up, chicken-butt?” Jameson drawled as the line connected. I noted that his normal boisterous attitude and wicked tongue was more restrained at the moment, and I could hear the bustle and rumble of people talking behind him.

  “Not much, just needed to ask you a favor,” I responded while merging over to get onto the on-ramp for the highway heading north.

  “I don’t own shovels, but I can go buy one. Or do you need me to get two?” Jameson answered distractedly. “I get off in like… three hours so if it can wait till then—”

  “No, I don’t need you to help me hide a body, Jameson,” I laughed. “What I need is a recommendation for a building that lets out private offices and has good security.”

  “Oh?” This time, Jameson’s dry tone was filled with more interest. “You know those can get kinda pricey, right? Like, to the point that I know a few folks who just rent a second apartment for it rather than pay for office space.”

  “Shit, really?” I asked with a grimace. The whole point of my move out of the apartment and into the hills was to reduce my costs.

  “What brought this about anyway, dude?” Jameson asked, a shuffle of paper being moved about came next.

  “I just hired Gloria to help me with my business, and I was thinking she’d need a secure place to work.”

  “Really now?” I could imagine Jameson’s eyebrows rising at that statement as the short Irishman worked at his drafting desk. “That’s a bold move.”

  “She’s going to school for business management right now,” I answered by way of explanation. “She’s gonna handle the listing, advertising, packing, and shipping of the products for a share in the sale price.”

  “And you aren’t gutting your profits to help a pretty girl out, are you, Liam?” Jameson asked sharply. “I know what sort of bad habits you’ve got.”

  “No,” I reassured him as I finished merging up onto the highway and following it north. Thankfully, it looked like I had managed to avoid the rush hour traffic for now, so I should be able to get up to my property and retrieve the pieces I’d made in good time. “Just looking at ways I can increase my production. Happened to bump into Gloria at the stationary store and thought it might be worth it.”

  “Well then, my recommendation is you buy her a really nice safe to store the pieces in. Might cost a bit to start out with, but you can get some good ones that are fireproof for a few hundred bucks. Gloria is subtle enough to be able to sneak it past her roomies.”

  “How did you know she’s got roommates?” I asked curiously as I considered Jamesons’ suggestion.

  “She’s talked about them a few times when I’ve swung by her abuelo’s bar after work. I don’t only go there with you, dude,” Jameson replied before his voice became muffled. I heard him saying something for several seconds before coming back on the line. “Sorry about that, working on getting some drafts finalized.”

  “All good, dude,” I replied. “I was the one calling you during normal work hours after all.”

  “Yeah, not all of us are fortunate enough to be able to set our own work hours and race off into the mountains chasing college coeds,” Jameson shot back, longing clear in his voice.

  I smothered a laugh at that, not wanting to rub my fortune into his face.

  “Okay, so renting an office is out. I was hesitant about it since she’d only be using it to list stuff and store things… what about a safety-deposit box at the bank?”

  “No way,” Jameson replied without hesitation. “That kind of thing is dumb. Look, my boss at the firm uses one and he’s always complaining about how it's a pain in the ass to get access to the box when he needs his legal documents and how he had to sit on a waiting list for years before one opened up. Plus, I remember reading that the bank doesn’t insure the contents of the boxes either. At that point, why bother? Sure, they can work for stuff you are storing for a long ass time that you likely won’t need access to on a whim, but not for this.”

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  “Got it,” I said with a sigh. “Safe it is. I’ll have to ask Gloria about it later, I’m going to be showing her the ropes on how I want stuff packed and the logins for the site.”

  “You might wanna pick up a laptop too,” Jameson interjected. “Something professional that she can work with. I know you said before you were using your phone, but the laptop will give her the opportunity to fiddle with the photos and listings easier.”

  “Another cost,” I pretended to gripe, getting a laugh from my friend.

  “You were the one who decided to hire the pretty lady to sell jewelry for you,” Jameson countered. “Might as well do it right, don’t you think?”

  “True enough,” I sighed, glancing up at the blue sky where it hung over the highway in front of me, the color reminding me of Rieka’s eyes and I wondered what my girls were up to. “True enough.”

  <><><>

  Getting Gloria set up with a laptop and a fireproof safe was actually surprisingly easy to do. She’d done her own research on computers since she was saving for one to use in school, and I found that I could arrange to have a safe delivered to her place when I ordered one online.

  The same legal adviser that I’d been using was able to whip up a basic contractor agreement that same afternoon as well, which we both signed to cover our butts.

  So within a day’s time, she had a work laptop with the necessary passwords on it, a signed contract, the trunk of her car full of the parcels to take to the post office to ship, as well as a cardboard box with the next batch of items I’d made to get listed on the Bitsy storefront.

  The fact that I moved so quickly to get her set up had the Latina lost in a whirl of confusion and excitement, but I needed to move quickly to get it all taken care of before my girls summoned me back to Cortha. The double life was going to be a little harder to manage, but with Gloria to act as the face of the little jewelry business, I could rest easier and focus more on shaping my new home. Specifically ensuring that there was somewhere I could tuck my truck out of sight for now.

  I kept in touch with my girls through the Contact Contracted Companion power the whole time, and they were having quite a time of it.

  All four of my girls continued to express that they missed having me around, but were having fun. Kassandra teased me without hesitation by recounting her favorite parts of our interlude before I’d gone back to Earth. Rieka alternated between fretting about the upcoming combat exercises and confidence that it wasn’t an issue, since we could take our time. Jane pestered me with ideas and architectural suggestions for my new cave-home. And Shayla checked up on me to make sure I was taking care of myself and not overworking.

  This all combined to make me a bit homesick for my girls, despite it being only a day and a half since I’d left. So when I got the warning that they’d be summoning me for the trip to view the grounds of Kassandra’s estate and spend some time, I dropped what I was doing and got changed immediately to be ready for the summons.

  The fact that the girls went from the more budget-conscious summons of only summoning me for large events and longer since it was cheaper to maintain, to this where they can send me back when I need to work on something back home but call me for a visit is just a showing of how well they are doing, I thought with a smile as the universe whirled around me.

  The familiar maelstrom of colors that surrounded me in the seconds my summoning took to deliver me to my destination shredded for a moment. I saw for a brief moment the side of a mountain cliff with a great crack cloven in it. A swarm of people fought to contain gangling monsters inside that crack as a small handful of people armed with bows rained flaming arrows down on the far side of the cliff face. A tall man with long black hair fought viciously with a snarling woman with bizarre proportions, but I was swept onwards before I could see the result.

  Before I could question it, I felt my feet settle onto stone and the warmth of the sun wash over my face before my squealing dwarf lamia again tried to tackle me to the ground.

  After I greeted Kassandra with a kiss and a tight hug that squeezed the air out of her, I was able to greet my other girls amidst the sweet smelling breeze that bore the scent of both flowers and fruit on it.

  “How are my ladies doing?” I asked with a smile, pulling Rieka into my left hip and holding her there while the wolfish princess beat the backs of my legs with her tail.

  “We are doing good, Liam,” Shayla answered with a gentle smile and a colorful flutter of her wings. “It’s been so nice to just relax for the last few days. Though I know we all wish you could spend more time with us…”

  Shayla blushed faintly, her fluffy antennae wiggling above her brown-haired head. I immediately knew that my moth was thinking of something lewd, and gave her a wink that only made her blush deepen.

  Shayla is still so innocent, I love it, I thought with a grin.

  Turning, I nuzzled into the side of Rieka’s head, kissing the back of one pointed wolf ear and making the appendage flick and wiggle in response.

  “Liam,” Rieka protested weakly. “We need to be discreet… Kassandra’s parents might come along at any moment.”

  “So?” I asked with a smirk, using the hand that wasn’t holding her hip to stroke Rieka’s tummy gently through her shirt teasing. The wolfish princess groaned quietly and I could feel her knees weakening.

  “Liam,” Kassandra said, calling my attention to her. “While I appreciate wanting to tease our princess until she just decides to rip your clothes off here in the garden, it would be better to wait until later, yes? You did want to see the orchards and the rest of the village, right?”

  “You do have a point there,” I said with a theatrical sigh, continuing the tummy rubs for a few more seconds before relenting. “Maybe another time, Rieka,” I said to the princess, nipping the tip of one ear playfully.

  I had to support the princess for another ten or so seconds before she had her balance back enough to stand in the wake of my teasing attack.

  “You are mine tonight, Liam,” Rieka growled in a husky tone, sky-blue eyes fixed on mine. “I was going to be nice before, but now I’m getting even.”

  “You can try,” I replied with a wiggle of my eyebrows. “But I’m always happy to spend time with my favorite princess.”

  “I thought I was your only princess!” Rieka protested in mock outrage, her eyes dancing in amusement even as the lusty blush rode high on both her cheeks and the exposed section of her bust.

  Pretending to dodge a swing, I ducked away from Rieka towards the other girls and scooped Jane up in my arms.

  The mousy scholar squealed in surprise as she was suddenly snatched up and set on my shoulder, her long tail whipping frantically about before wrapping around my throat several times until the fluffy tip slapped me right in the face.

  “Ack!” I protested, spitting out the fuzzy tuft as giggles descended from the observers.

  “You deserved that!” Jane snapped even as she steadied herself against my head with one arm. “Warn me before you pick me up!”

  “I can’t help it,” I answered with a grin, turning to smile up at her. “I just like having you on top of me so much.”

  That lewd statement made the mouse kin woman blush furiously and Jane wacked me on the top of the head by way of reprisal. However, she did not ask to be put down and clung tighter to me as I steadied her.

  “Shall we get moving?” I asked once she was settled in.

  Grinning, Kassandra led the charge out along the patio that we were standing on while showing me the sections of the grounds that the girls were already familiar with.

  “This is the back garden, with the magical practice range along the back wall. That section can also be used as a sparring or practice ring by any of the staff that practice with weapons and is often used by the manor guards to keep their skills in practice,” Kassandra explained as she wiggled ahead of us on the path. “The gardens back here are mostly for show, though the cook was telling me that she has been experimenting with candying some of the edible flowers for decorations!”

  The gardens honestly reminded me of those palatial British estates you would see in the old spy movies, with well maintained beds of flowers, bushes, and either flagstone or crushed gravel paths winding through them. Several spots had benches to rest and relax amongst the blooms, while there were two gazebos that gave shade and a more private meeting place.

  One of the gazebos overlooked the practice range that Kassandra had mentioned, and I could just imagine a younger Kassandra working on her spellwork back here while her parents looked on.

  The whole area was pleasantly warmed by the sun right now, and it reminded me that I needed to look into getting some basic solar panels for my new hideaway once it cleared escrow and I wouldn’t get into trouble for living there. Something that hadn’t stopped me so far, but it would be nice to not have to hide it so much.

  “Where are your parents?” I asked Kassandra as she guided us around to a section of the garden that had several marble statues decorating it of different kin like Rieka. “Are they going to be joining us?”

  “Mother and Father said they didn’t want to impede our time training,” Kassandra replied with a grin. “That and since this is my manor and land, they didn’t want to be seen as hovering over me while I’m out and about. I think they just wanted to spend some private time together, but I’m not going to complain.”

  “So… Tour first? Or did you ladies want to practice with your magic?” I asked, wondering if I was about to end up being used as a space-heater once more by my dwarf lamia while she continued to work towards mastering her ice magic. She’d been getting better about it, but Kassandra still struggled to keep the magic from also chilling her at times.

  “Tour,” Rieka said with confidence. “You don’t have to be here for our practice, and I’d rather spend time touring the village with you than standing around throwing spells about.”

  “Seconded!” Jane chirped from her spot on my shoulder. The little mouse kin having switched over from clinging to me to gently finger-combing my hair from her perch.

  “And that has nothing to do with you not wanting to get down, does it, Jane?” Shayla teased with a flutter of her moth wings while she smiled gently at the smaller woman.

  “Nope!” Jane replied without hesitation and I could hear the cheeky smile in her voice.

  “Okay, so off we go then, to see the village and the grounds before coming back to train!” I suggested, striking a valiant pose and pointing ahead.

  Kassandra writhed about in front of me, smirking as she used her coiled tail to push herself higher to grab my pointing finger and gently adjusting it a good twenty degrees.

  “The gates are that way, Liam,” she said with a straight face while the other three girls burst into laughter.

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