Epilogue: After a Hard Day’s Work

“GREAT JOB, Darling-kun! ♪” It was a few days after the work experience program concluded. Kimihito was at a Tokyo area café with Ms. Smith—the same café, in fact, where he’d met Polt. Smith drank hot coffee and skimmed the paperwork in front of her. Bar, theater, maid café, hospital…it was the reports sent by each location. “So, are you all right? Says here you fainted at the hospital.”

“I’m still not sure what happened there. My best guess is that I stayed in the bath too long,” Kimihito said.

“Would a healthy young man like yourself really pass out from something so minor?” She looked up from her paperwork, expression serious beneath her sunglasses. Once she’d held his gaze for a moment, she swapped in a reassuring smile. “What I mean is, maybe I worked you too hard. Be sure to take a break.”

She was usually overworked and agitated by the volume of work her office took on, but meeting her apart from her team, she seemed a lot calmer. “You really came through on these work experiences. The paperwork’s filled out, and we’ve got the info

we need. When we came by your house, we thought we were doomed—it’s a huge relief it came together so easily. Thank goodness!”

“Despite how many issues we had?” he asked.

“That’s normal. Nothing’s perfect on the first try,” she said dismissively and then took a sip of her coffee. “Thanks to your help, every situation resolved itself with minimal fuss. We’ve got a lot of evidence that liminals can succeed in the workforce, provided they have some support. It’s an incredible step forward.”

“I-is that so?”

“Nobody else could’ve handled it like you. Thank you so much, Darling-kun.” She lifted her sunglasses and beamed at him. “For helping MON, too.”

“No, you’ve got it backwards. It was Zombina and the others who helped me.”

“If you say so. Anyway, there’s nothing else I need from you for the moment. Take the money you earned and live it up with the rest of the Kurusu household!”

“Sure…”

“By the way, we could’ve met there. Why’d you pick this café?”

“Oh!” He took a sip from his own cup. “The coffee’s really good.” He’d had the chance to sample it when he came by with Polt. “Also, Miia kicked me out this morning.”

“What, did you cheat on her?” Smith chuckled.

“It’s not like that!” he scrambled to deny it. “She’s shedding, and Papi’s laying an egg, then Centorea needed her shoes changed—y’know, they’re all just busy, and I was getting in the way.”

“Haven’t you helped with shedding and egg laying before, though?”

“That’s true, but they wanted privacy today.”

“Darling, go out for a while.” Miia was strangely cold as she said it. Normally he spent his time either dealing with the girls at home or running errands, so shut out on his own, he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Oh ho, I see.”

“And Rachnee had work, and Mero had to call her mother, and Suu said she wanted to clean. I don’t know what Lala is doing, but she pushed me out of the house.” Lala had led him to the door, but he couldn’t ask her why because her head was missing.

“Which is why you invited me out,” Smith said. Of course, they both wanted to discuss the work experiences anyway, but she’d usually be the one to call him unexpectedly, not the other way around. But once he’d been kicked out of the house, it seemed like a good use of his time. “Here I thought I was being asked on a date—but I’m just a replacement for those other girls. You’re too cruel!” She faked a sob.

“Come on! I didn’t think you’d see it like that!”

“Heh heh, I know. It’s just a joke,” she said, waving her hand and wiping away her crocodile tears. “I think they can take care of themselves for today. Don’t worry too much.” She rested her chin on her hands and gave him a wry smile.

“I get that, but did they have to kick me out?”

“Girls have their reasons.”

“Ah, a woman’s heart is a complicated thing.” He tried to make it sound sarcastic, but it came out sincere.

“True,” Smith agreed. “Human or liminal, women are complex. Let them finish what they’re doing, head home after dark, and it’ll all be fine.”

“Yeah. I’ll just, uh, read a book. Or something,” he said, completely dispirited.

Smith regarded him with a fond expression, like she was looking at her annoying little brother. “Maybe there’s a decent movie on? I miss having time for movies.”

“Do you ever get a break?”

“Nope~! And guess what? I’ve got another meeting right now,” she said, checking her watch. “Sorry to ditch you. Thanks for answering my questions. It was fun to hear.”

“It might’ve been rushed, but thanks for organizing the program. We had a great experience,” he said. That was the truth, and he was sure the girls felt the same.

“Glad to hear it, ♪” Smith said. “We’ve deposited the bonus in your bank account. Miia-chan and the others had their money delivered by hand.”

“That was fast,” he remarked.

“Well, have a good time!” She downed the rest of her coffee and rushed out of the coffee shop before he could take a breath.

What did she mean by “have a good time”? Maybe this was about his free time today. Trouble was, he was so used to being around the girls, he didn’t know how to spend time alone anymore.

“Something strange is going on,” he grumbled to himself.

Everyone was a bit off today. Miia, Papi, Centorea, and all of them. Even Smith. With how often she dropped unexpected work on him, he knew her tells, and she was definitely holding something back. The question was, what?

“And what am I gonna do until nightfall…?”

A barista came and gently placed the receipt for two coffees in front of him. As unusual as their meeting had been, it was frustratingly normal that Smith skipped the bill.

 

***

 

“Welcome home, Darling!” Miia shouted. A delicious smell greeted Kimihito as he arrived. Miia wore a broad smile and, for some reason, an apron. “I’m so sorry we kicked you out! But we couldn’t get things ready if you were still here! I didn’t mean to be cold. Are you mad?” She kept talking as she snaked her arms around him and cuddled him close.

He wasn’t sure what was going on, but before he could ask, Rachnera appeared to pry Miia away. “Calm down already.”

“Uh, did something happen, Rachnee?” Kimihito asked.

“Everyone’s been getting ready. We needed a ruse to get you out of the house. Or seven ruses, as it turned out.” She turned to Miia. “You have to tell him what’s happening first, don’t you know that?”

“Buuuuut! I was so mean to him before he left, if I didn’t give him a warm greeting, he’d think we were over!” Miia cried.

“But nothing,” Rachnera replied.

“What were you preparing for?” Kimihito asked, still confused.

“You really don’t know? Heh. It’s a party to celebrate your surviving the work experience.”

“Every step of the way, you were there to help, Darling! Since you always do the cooking and the cleaning, we thought that this time, we’d do them ourselves!”

“The shedding and egg-laying were just excuses to get you out. Were you worried?” Rachnera asked.

Kimihito nodded. That explained the delicious smell—they’d been working hard to make him dinner.

“I tried so hard to get the food right!” Miia said. She had been sickeningly bad at cooking, but recently, she’d started to improve.

“I kept an eye on her. At the very least, it’s edible,” Rachnera added. The two of them smiled in guarantee. He felt embarrassed that he’d complained to Smith about this, but he smiled too, determined not to show it.

 

***

 

“All right!” Miia declared, bursting into the fully-decorated living room. There were plates of food set out like a buffet, and the girls stood around with drinks in their hands. “Tonight, we’re celebrating our successful entry into the work force! Awesome work, everybody! Special thanks to Darling, of course! Cheers!”

Everyone clinked their glasses together with an echoing “cheers!” and tipped back a mouthful of non-alcoholic champagne.

“Milord, I could not have weathered that trial alone. You have my gratitude,” Centorea said.

“I got fish from home, Beloved!” Mero bragged.

“Yes, and the meat and eggs are from the farm we visited a while ago. As fresh as possible.”

On top of making the dinner, Miia had taken pains with how she plated and arranged the food—though Rachnera had probably helped. Kimihito felt bad as he took a piece of roast beef from the display, but his guilt disappeared as he bit in. The texture and the flavor were both exceptional. “This is incredible, Miia,” he said, finishing his mouthful.

“Hee hee heeeee. Darling likes my cooking! ♪” Miia’s whole body began to wiggle with joy.

“Hey, Miia, didn’t you have something else to say to him?” Rachnera asked.

“I’m not an idiot!” Miia clapped back. “Uh, um…sooo, Darling…” She squirmed bashfully. “Nooo, I’m too embarrassed!”

“If you won’t do it, I will.”

“Huh?” Kimihito said.

Rachnera reached below the table to pick something up. It was a wine bottle with a ribbon around the neck. “Here, Honey, it’s a present from me to you.”

“A present? Wait, did you use your money for—”

“Bingo. We each picked our own gift and then organized this party together. It’s a token of thanks for your hard work every day.”

“Really?” Kimihito exclaimed. Finally, he knew their secret. They’d been so dutiful at their placements, and this must’ve been the reason.

“There’s not much for us to buy for ourselves, anyway. It made more sense to do something nice for you,” Rachnera said and handed the bottle over. “Save it for a special occasion. You’ll have to include me, of course.”

“Ahhh! I was going to give him my present first!” Miia started to sniffle.

“Should’ve slithered in faster.”

Kimihito accepted the wine. “Thanks, Rachnee. I look forward to drinking it.”

“Of course, everyone else has a gift, too.” She gestured around to the rest of them. Centorea and Mero both took out presents of their own.

“Milord! Given your practicality, I felt it best to gift you something useful. These are sneakers. May you wear them on your journeys,” Centorea said.

Mero went next. “I bought a glassware set! If you’re ever game, I’d love to share a drink in the—”

“Come ooon! Everyone’s jumping the line!” Miia shouted, finding herself at the back of the group as they crowded around to give him their presents.

He didn’t even have time to thank everyone as they bombarded him with gifts.

“Papi bought a new game system!” She’d opened it, too, and taken a controller out. She waved it over her head in excitement.

“Suu bought…a raincoat.” Suu snuck an appendage into Papi’s box and took the other controller. It seemed dinner was over.

“Behold! An ominous death’s head charm, as befits yer cursed soul. Like a psychopomp forever at your side, memento mori,” Lala said, offering him a silver skull accessory.

Present after present was stacked in his arms. Each of them had thought about what he would want. Between that and the surprise party…he felt himself tearing up in appreciation. “E-everyone, thank you so much,” he sniffed.

“Oh my. Honey, are you crying?” Rachnera teased.

“No way!” He was definitely crying. He tried to wipe away the evidence.

“Oh, no, Darling,” Miia said, hugging him around the neck with her arms while her tail coiled around his legs.

“Guh!” Before he could process his feelings, she’d enveloped him in her love.

She dragged him across the floor. “Finally! Here it is!” She grabbed something and waved it around.

“W-what’s this?”

“It’s a wallet!” She moved the sealed box in front of him. “It’s your perfect match! Please use it! Maybe even put a photo of me inside, huh?”

“Cut it out.” Rachnera tugged Miia away before she could crush him.

He caught the package and removed the tape. Inside was a wallet, as promised—exceptionally well made from vibrant red snakeskin. Of course.

“Heh heh,” Miia laughed, “since I’m a lamia, I can say for sure that’s top-quality leather.”

“Does it not make you feel as though you were made into a wallet yourself?” asked Centorea.

“Huh? But I’m not really a snake. We just look alike.”

Overwhelmed by their generosity—almost literally, given how many gifts he was balancing—Kimihito smiled. “Thank you so much, everyone.”

The girls smiled as well. Just as he was always thinking of them, they were thinking of him, too. That was what made him happiest. He thought back to when Smith had asked him to pick a bride from the group. You know, he thought, I couldn’t possibly choose between them. Each one of them was endlessly charming, and they all had hidden charms still to be found. He felt bad for Smith, but he couldn’t be forced into a decision yet.

“Well, don’t stop the party! Papi, Suu, no video games until after dinner!”

“Okaaay!” they sang in unison.

“Miia, are you absolutely certain this food is edible? I have a sensitive stomach which won’t tolerate anything…dubious,” Centorea said.

“I told you, it’s perfect! Darling said it was delicious! Weren’t you listening?” Miia replied.

“You’ve had more than your share of failures in the past.”

“What do you mean, ‘failures’?”

“Calm down, I made sure to test it—” Rachnera interjected.

“I arranged everything, Boss!” Papi crowed.

“Suu helped!” Suu asserted.

“Heh heh. These decorations were handcrafted tae bring comfort tae your weary soul… Look on me works and rejoice,” Lala said.

It was a bustling party. How could it not be, with seven liminal girls hosting? But these days were precious to Kimihito, and he refused to take them for granted.

I’ve got to pay them back somehow… he thought, though he did worry it’d create an infinite payback cycle; constantly paying each other back for being paid back. What’s the best way to do this? Each of their gifts had been so thoughtful and personal. Wait.

Come to think of it, he had those resort passes from Polt! It was an experience that could handle all seven of them, and since it was run by the Kobold Company, it would definitely cater to liminals. “Hey, everybody?”

“What is it, Darling?” Miia replied.

“As a thank-you, I’ve got these.” He fanned the tickets out in front of them.

The girls’ eyes sparkled, and within minutes, the trip was planned.

 

***

 

Not long after that, Smith and the MON members came by for dinner, too—as soon as they had the night off work.

But that’s a different story.

This has been a story of Kurusu Kimihito’s everyday life…with monster girls.