Pretty Pubescent Vampir (1)
Cheonsol and I watched Lan-lan-i in a state of extreme tension.
"Umm...?"
Still not fully free from the drowsiness of sleep, Lan-lan-i blankly checked her own hands and feet.
She had been cute as a child, and she was still cute even after becoming a quasi-adult. I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. The formula of Lan-lan-i equals cuteness hadn't been broken.
"Lan-lan-i got bigger?"
Her way of speaking hadn't changed either. Just as referring to herself as 'this lady' was Cheonsol's identity, calling herself Lan-lan-i was Lan-lan-i's identity.
"Wow! Lan-lan-i got bigger!"
Excited, Lan-lan-i rose from the bed. The blanket slipped down, revealing her naked body.
It felt a bit wrong to say this about my daughter's naked body, but she really had a well-proportioned figure. The pale complexion unique to Vampirs mixed with human blood color, making her skin look healthy.
"My chest is as big as Mom's!"
Lan-lan-i excitedly fondled her breasts. Her moderately large breasts had nipples attached slightly above the center. The lower part of the breasts was fuller than the upper, so they faced upward, and even the nipples pointed upward, giving a strangely arousing look.
"Down below..."
"Lan-lan-i!"
As Lan-lan-i tried to check her smooth white mound, Cheonsol freaked out and threw a coat at her. True to being mother and daughter, Lan-lan-i and Cheonsol were similar in height and build. The long coat that reached Cheonsol's ankles completely covered Lan-lan-i's naked body.
"What is a woman doing! Conduct yourself more demurely! Mad Demon is here too!"
"Mad Demon...?"
Lan-lan-i's head slowly, very slowly turned toward me. All sorts of emotions swirled in the eyes that met mine.
"Yeah. Lan-lan-i. Congratulations on becoming an adult."
"I..."
"I'm happy too?"
"Get out!!!"
Blood droplets surged up around Lan-lan-i. A few drops hardened like iron balls and pelted my skin.
"Get out! I said get out! Get out, get out..."
"Okay, okay. Got it."
"Hurry up and get out, Mad Demon..."
Lan-lan-i clutched the coat and sank down. Afraid she might cry, I quickly went outside.
"Haa..."
Not long ago we bathed together and I even scrubbed her back. To think she became an adult overnight. Bathing together is out of the question now. As I leaned against the door and sat down, I felt a hand patting my leg.
"Dad..."
"Evni."
Unlike her sister, I tightly hugged the still-small Evni. Her familiar weight and build reassured me.
"Hard...? Pat pat..."
"Thanks. But it's not hard. I was just surprised that your sister suddenly grew up."
Roll roll roll.
Lulu, we should go together. Huh? You're awake?
Lulu rolled over from the garden. Krista, who had buried her body in the ground like a mole and only poked her face out, followed as well. Seeing Krista still with only her face sticking out even after reaching me brought to mind a beautiful Earth custom.
"Live burial?"
It's an earth spirit's mud bath. Want to try it too?
"Not really drawn to it."
It's good for calming a restless heart. Don't refuse—give it a try.
"Fine, whatever."
Hey! Slave!
Why am I the only one stuck with the chores...
The slave spirit Lirota grumbled while digging a hole in a corner of the garden. Not only a hole for me, but also a small one for Evni.
Wiggle! Wiggle!
This one's still an egg, so why is it so assertive... Is it some new egg-form species?
"Her mom's a Death Knight. How could she be an egg species?"
How did a Death Knight lay an egg?
Lirota asked a reasonable question.
"My sperm's pretty amazing."
Truly... magnificent and amazing virility.
It seemed like Lirota had been about to curse and hastily changed the words, but I let it slide. Compared to the Lan-lan-i growth incident, Lirota's petty rebellion was nothing.
Flap flap.
I buried myself in the hole and enjoyed the mud bath. With only my neck sticking out, it felt strangely novel. My lowered field of view made me look up at all things in the world, and the earth's embrace seemed to accept my body. Because of the distance, I couldn't see under the skirt of Sophia's statue. I'd put so much effort into recreating the panties—kind of a shame. Unfortunately the statue stood right in the center of the fountain, so mud bathing there was impossible. If a water spirit ever showed up, I'd have to request a water bath.
How is it?
"Comfortable."
"Mud bath with Dad... nice..."
Poke poke.
"Is it okay for Lulu to be buried like that?"
Ah.
Brrrrrrr!!
Completely buried and barely managing to climb out, Lulu vibrated her shell. The gem-like things embedded on the surface brightened and dimmed repeatedly. It was a sight she hadn't shown until now. Lulu was gradually getting ready to hatch too.
What am I going to do about Lan-lan-i's puberty? Just because she showed her naked body, she drove her dad out.
Worried about Lan-lan-i?
The high-ranking earth spirit Krista looked like a great sage. If we hadn't both been in the same head-only-out predicament, I might have called her a sage without thinking.
"How'd you know?"
When Lan-lan-i grew, she hit Evni who was sleeping next to her. Everyone was asleep, so I brought Lulu out to play in the garden.
"Aigoo. My Evni. Is that so? You were playing with big sis Krista?"
"Yeah..."
Evni tried to nod and got dirt on her chin. How could she be this cute.
"Evni, don't grow up—stay like this forever."
"Don't wanna..."
Evni puffed out her cheeks and sharply turned her head away.
"Evni? Evni!"
"Hmph..."
After Lan-lan-i, now even Evni was getting prickly. Puberty really was terrifying.
Among the mortals I've contracted with, there were plenty of married ones, so I picked up child-rearing over their shoulders. Not Vampir, but there were vampires.
"Ohh."
During the blood-thirst phase, vampires get stronger blood-sucking urges and turn prickly. Feed them delicious blood then and their mood improves right away. The higher the being, the tastier the blood supposedly gets, so...
Krista looked at Lirota.
"A slave spirit is a high-ranking being too, right?"
I also looked at Lirota.
Today's quota...
Lirota teared up as she held out a bottle filled with blood. Anger surged in me.
"How am I supposed to take that?"
Ah. You were in the middle of a mud bath.
"I..."
Evni clamped her mouth shut and formed an arm out of dirt. The dirt arm grabbed the blood bottle and planted it in front of me.
"Praise..."
"Our Evni's gotten skilled enough to make an arm out of dirt! Truly impressive. Evni's a genius!"
"Hehe..."
Looks like her sulk was resolved. If only Lan-lan-i were this easy.
Speak of the tiger and it appears. Lan-lan-i showed up.
Wearing borrowed clothes from Cheonsol, Lan-lan-i looked like a female master from a martial arts novel. She had tied up the hair that had become a mess from growing so rapidly and fixed it with a hairpin—and it was so pretty it was almost unfair. Cheonsol following right behind had a face full of satisfaction. She seemed proud of her beautifully grown daughter.
"Lan-lan-i. Mad Demon is over there."
"Mad... Demon?"
Since I was mid mud bath and couldn't wave, I just bobbed my head. Lan-lan-i's crimson eyes sparkled.
"What're you doing?"
"Mud bath."
"Lan-lan-i also..."
Lan-lan-i went "Ah" and cleared her throat. She kept glancing at Cheonsol, matched her posture, and even imitated her speech.
"Lan-lan-i also wishes to take a mud bath."
"Hup!"
"Hehehe..."
Keh keh.
She tried hard to copy it, but it was so awkward that laughter came naturally. I barely held it in, but the others couldn't and rolled around laughing. The only one who didn't laugh was Lirota. With slumped shoulders, she dug one more hole.
"Why are you laughing! Is Lan-lan-i funny?"
"No. It was because you're cute. Lan-lan-i's just that cute."
"Really?"
"So you can stop the mom speech. Just because your body's adult doesn't mean you have to change how you talk. Lan-lan-i has Lan-lan-i's own way of speaking, right?"
A skill learned from a high-ranking spirit who picked up child-rearing over shoulders. Pretending to speak kindly while mindlessly praising!
The effect was tremendous! Lan-lan-i jumped for joy! Her chest bounced along with her!
"Mad Demon! Lan-lan-i wants a mud bath too!"
"Lirota already dug one. Cheonsol, you want in?"
"This lady is reminded of unpleasant memories. I shall decline."
She won't even do this great mud bath. Lan-lan-i slipped into the hole near me and fidgeted while looking at me.
"Um... Mad Demon... so..."
"Yeah."
"Sorry for getting mad earlier..."
Tears welled up as she lifted her head. Apologizing first. Even with puberty arriving, Lan-lan-i was still Lan-lan-i.
I caught Cheonsol, sitting on the bench, giving Lan-lan-i a thumbs-up. Looks like Cheonsol had influenced the apology. Cheonsol truly had the qualifications of a mom.
"No. It's fine. Dad did something to make Lan-lan-i mad too."
The second skill learned from Krista. Empathizing. I was about to move to the next step of gift-giving by putting the blood bottle in my mouth when Lan-lan-i opened her mouth again.
"But you know. Lan-lan-i wants to have a separate room from Mom and Mad Demon now."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"Lan-lan-i wants Lan-lan-i's own room too!"
The calmly answering Lan-lan-i suddenly accelerated.
Indeed. They say adolescent girls are willful. Without panicking, I calmly listened.
"Lan-lan-i's an adult now! I don't want to share a room with Mad Demon!"
Lan-lan-i's last words echoed like a refrain. Don't want. Don't want. Don't want. Don't want...
"Why... why don't you want to? Won't you calmly tell us?"
"You and Mom are always sucking and licking in the workshop! Lan-lan-i also..."
The psychological shock was huge, but Lan-lan-i's words cut sharply. We'd been caught having sex in the workshop? It was as shocking as 'I don't want to live with Dad.'
"...I'm going in."
Suddenly turning serious, Lan-lan-i went into her room, but the shock didn't fade easily. Puberty... truly terrifying.