Chapter 21: Noela’s Affection

Chapter 21:
Noela’s Affection

 

PEEKING INTO THE DRUGSTORE, I saw Ejil coaching Vivi. He was good at it, which wasn’t surprising, considering that he ruled all demons.

“Make sure to tell Noela who taught you all this,” he reminded Vivi quietly.

“Oh, yeah. Okay.”

Hunh. I doubt this strategy will work on Noela, but good luck.

I approached the drugstore counter. “How’re things going, Vivi?”

Vivi smiled and nodded. “Great! Ejil taught me all about prescriptions and stuff.”

“If you have any problems, let me know, okay?”

“Yup! Thanks, Reiji!”

Relieved, I headed back to the lab, only to hear a familiar voice from the drugstore.

“What’re you kids doin’ here? Where’s the pharmacist?”

“Heh heh heh…you’ve done well to visit Kirio Drugs!” I heard Ejil cry. “As a reward, I shall tend to your needs, redhead! Consider that an order! Bwa ha ha ha!”

As usual, the demon king had zero customer-service skill. “Redhead…” That sounded like Annabelle.

“Er…no need for a reward or whatever,” I heard Annabelle say. “Hey, you—is the pharmacist around? Reiji?”

“Um…Luigi was here earlier, but…” Vivi had blurted out the younger brother’s name again.

Vivi was fairly shy, probably due to her distrust of humans. There wasn’t much I could do about that beyond giving her a chance to get used to customers.

I heard Vivi grab a potion and ask Ejil to hand it to Annabelle. Then, Annabelle went home.

The lab door swung open, and Ejil entered with a serious expression. “There’s a problem.”

“What’s up?”

“I told Vivi to ask me if she had any trouble, but she hasn’t tripped up on a single damn thing!”

“You’re the demon king, aren’t you? Stop being so whiny.”

Ejil looked as though I’d jabbed him in the gut. He knelt before me. “I want to be you!”

“Go on.” I tilted my head, curious to hear more.

“During the wrestling tournament, Noela said that only her master could touch her tail!”

“Ah, I see. If you became Noela’s master, you could touch her tail as much as you wanted, right?” Ejil didn’t want to emulate me; he wanted to become my doppelganger.

“Precisely.”

“You’ve got a nosebleed, Ejil. You okay?”

He rubbed his nose with his hand.

It’s a sleazy goal, but his logic is so pure, in a way. If I turned Ejil into my doppelganger, could Noela tell the difference?

I was kind of curious, frankly, and my medicine-making skill indicated that I could create a product like that.

“All right, I’ll make you something,” I told Ejil. “But you know the drill.”

“I’ll acquire all the ingredients!”

His eyes were as serious as they’d ever been. I was male, too; I understood his lechery. Okay, let’s do this. I’ll make the kid’s dream come true.

I told Ejil what I required, and he teleported into thin air. Then, since Mina and Noela were on drugstore duty, I called Vivi into the lab to help me prep while I waited for the demon king.

“Where did Ejil head off to, Reiji?” Vivi asked. “We still had some training left.”

“He went to gather some stuff in the name of his manhood. He should be back soon.”

Vivi and I chatted until, suddenly, a light appeared in the air. Ejil descended. Kneeling again, he offered me the ingredients.

“I used my entire army to find everything, Doctor! There were multiple casualties.”

“F-for this?!”

“That’s why you must make this count! For all the lives lost today!”

There was no turning back now. I nodded. “I can’t let their deaths be for nothing. Leave the rest to me.”

“You have my gratitude,” Ejil replied, exiting the lab.

Giving Vivi directions, I began the treatment Ejil had requested. Vivi was surprisingly good at detailed jobs, and she picked up on things much faster than Noela. What a helpful lake spirit!

The treatment in the bottle glowed—it was done. “All right. Now I can make Ejil’s dream come true!”

 

Face On: Consume while envisioning another person. Your face will become theirs.

 

I hadn’t called Ejil, but he came in. “Is it done, Doctor?!”

The punk must’ve been eavesdropping.

Hurrying over, he stared at the bottle in my hand. “With this, Noela will be mine!”

“That’s not what this does,” I warned him. “But if you picture me while you drink it, you’ll become me.”

“Don’t mind if I do!”

“Good luck, kid.”

Ejil closed his eyes and sipped the potion. His face glowed, becoming identical to mine. “What do you think, Doctor?”

“Yup. That sure is me.”

Vivi looked back and forth. “But, er…Reiji…”

Ejil held his right hand to “my” face, cackling. “Bwa ha ha ha! My dearest Noela—”

“I don’t laugh like that, and I definitely don’t call her my ‘dearest.’” I couldn’t help straightening out Ejil’s bizarre Reiji. “I haven’t told Noela and Mina about this treatment, so they shouldn’t figure things out too soon. Be careful, though. Noela’s a smart cookie.”

“R-right. A smart, delicious cookie. I’m going to rub her soft tail…” Wiping away his nosebleed, the demon king left the lab.

Is that kid gonna be okay? I mean, the potion only changes your face. Ejil’s still talking like he usually does, and he’s dressed the same to boot.

“Ejil’s shorter than you, Reiji,” Vivi said. “Is that gonna be a problem?”

“Ah.” Crap. It totally is. Nobody’s going to fall for this. “Why didn’t you point that out sooner? I just realized!”

“W-well, you were both so excited!”

Vivi and I peeked into the storefront.

“My dear…er…Noela,” Short Reiji called. “Would you allow me to pet your tail?”

“Groo? What wrong, Master?” Noela tilted her head inquisitively. “Very sudden.”

Mina, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. “Is it just me, Mr. Reiji, or are you…less tall?”

I’d totally forgotten about Mina. An unexpected obstacle to Operation Libido.

“How dare you imply something is wrong with me, woman?!” Short Reiji roared.

Call her Mina, you idiot! And you’re still acting like a pompous ass!

“Master smell different.” Noela walked up to Short Reiji, sniffing.

He grinned like a fool. “Y-you’ve noticed that I changed my scent!”

“Garoo! No kidding.”

Phew. Crisis averted.

Mina continued to gaze suspiciously at Short Reiji. “Changed your scent? You don’t usually wear cologne, Mr. Reiji.”

We were on the brink of disaster. I sent Vivi to explain the situation quietly to Mina, calling them both back to the house.

“So, that’s what’s going on,” Mina said. “You shouldn’t make odd treatments like that, Mr. Reiji.”

“Look, Ejil’s struggling lately. I wanted to give him a break.”

Mina let out an exasperated sigh. “Do you have any left?”

“Wha…? Uh, yeah. Ejil only took a sip.”

Short Reiji put his hands on Noela’s shoulders, puckering up as blatantly as possible.

“What wrong with mouth, Master?” Noela asked.

“I-I thought I’d start with a kiss. Then, let me touch your tail!”

Touching her tail is steamier than kissing?

“Fine,” said Noela. “Noela want fresh potion first. No drink potion today.”

“Uh, f-fresh?”

Right. I hadn’t given Noela a potion, and she always said that freshly made potions tasted best.

“Wh-what’s wrong with the potions on the shelf?” Short Reiji protested. “They’re no different.”

“Master always make for Noela.”

“Geh!” Ejil couldn’t make potions; he was desperately seeking an out. Unfortunately, that was proving to be his downfall.

“Master weird today!” Noela snarled. With a deadly serious expression, she backed away from Short Reiji. “Same tall as Noela! Smell different! Like Ejil!”

“Gah! Wait!”

This isn’t good. She’s basically figured him out!

“Heh heh heh! As I expected, beloved, you have done well and seen through my facade! No, I am not the good doctor. It is I, Demon King Ejil!”

“Garroooo! You?!”

Wait, Noela didn’t actually figure it out?! That moron screwed himself over! Ugh…everyone participating in this charade is an idiot.

“But with this face, you won’t be able to smack me! I shall have my way with that fluffy tail of yours!” Ejil cackled. “Bwa ha ha ha ha!”

Noela clenched her fists. “Hate Ejil!”

Ka-blam!

“Blaaagh!”

Noela’s sucker punch sank deep into Short Reiji’s face, and he flew into a shelf, unconscious.

Ejil’s face was back to normal; it seemed as though the treatment had run its course. Unfortunately, a bunch of potion bottles were on the floor, smashed.

“Noela…r-remember important thing to do!” The werewolf girl zipped from the drugstore like she’d been catapulted.

Well, I egged Ejil on, so I share the blame this time. I’m not gonna get on her case.

As I cleaned up the bottles, Vivi popped in. “Do you have a second, Reiji?”

“What’s u—actually, where’ve you been?” I demanded. “You were here till a while ago! Eh, whatever. Can you help me?”

“Oh, of course! Um…where I’ve been isn’t important. Noela’s waiting for you in the lab!”

“What? She is?” Is she going to apologize for damaging stuff?

Leaving Vivi with the cleaning, I made my way to the lab. When I opened the door, Noela leapt at me.

“Master!”

“Hey now, what’s the deal?” I petted Noela’s head gently. She clung to me, happily howling a tune.

When I went to sit down, Noela announced, “Borrow lap, Master.” She put her head there as soon as I crossed my legs. Then, seemingly tired of her position, she sat on my lap, facing me. “Master! Master!”

“What’s the matter?” I asked. Noela really wants to be doted on.

“Noela love Master! Meow!” She hugged me tightly.

“Oh, um, thanks.” I stroked her head some more. When was this going to end?

“What think of Mina, Master?”

“Well, that came out of nowhere. Let’s see…she’s a huge help. Awesome at chores and cooking, and pretty much perfect when it comes to housework. I’m endlessly grateful. Thanks a bunch.”

“Wh-why thank Noela, meow? Noela not Mina. Meow.”

“Hey, Mina, can we maybe wrap this up?”

“Wha—?! I-I’m—er, I mean, Noela isn’t Mina! Meow!”

“Noela doesn’t meow!”

After opening the door, it had taken me approximately three seconds to realize who “Noela” was. I’d noticed her height when she embraced me—Noela was petite, but Mina was actually tall.

“Your hair’s totally different,” I told Mina. “You’re blonde. Noela’s hair is silver. Have you looked in a mirror?”

“Th-that’s just coincidence, meow…!”

I told you, Noela doesn’t meow. And please don’t say that with such a sheepish expression. It’s extra embarrassing if you don’t copy her completely!

“Noela’s wolf ears are on top of her head, but your ears are on the side,” I added. “Plus, you have no tail. You’re clearly a fake.”

“Wh-when did you realize it was me?”

“Finally throwing in the towel?” I chuckled. “I figured you out at the start.”

Mina instantly turned bright red. “Eek! You big jerk!” She hit my chest. “Why did you play along?!”

“I mean, you were trying so hard.”

“No! Don’t say any more, please!”

“Oh, I get it,” I assured her. “You figured that, by stealing Noela’s identity, you could make me dote on you as much as you wanted.”

“Stop!”

“Noela not Mina! Meow!” I mimicked.

“Quiet!” Mina shrieked. When I just looked at her face, she did resemble Noela. “You’re such a jerk, Mr. Reiji!”

Tears running, Tall Noela stormed out of the lab.

Needless to say, I didn’t sell the face-on treatment. My employees were idiots, so things had turned out fine, but who knew what messes that stuff would cause if I mass-produced it?

Still, at the end of the day, I’d heard things I didn’t normally hear, and the staff got to say what was on their minds. So, I suppose it all worked out!