After grocery shopping, Sher Aka and John are invited over to Rayla’s house. The inside is quite cozy and full of memorabilia of Rayla and her brothers. There are a lot of wood carvings of different skill levels, drawings and framed hairs labeled as ‘first hair cut’ with the names of Gino, Marcelle and Rayla under them. It feels like a very warm household.
John and Sher Aka then help Rayla’s mom with cooking and as the sun goes down, both Gino and Rayla’s father appear. Rayla’s father looks like a short rugged man with two tails, covered in fur clothing. He looks quite similar to Rayla’s uncle but with a meaner look on his face.
“Daddy!” Rayla yells as she sees him come in and gives him a hug.
“Kekeke, I knew I was popular but you didn’t have to announce it like that,” he then brushes some hairs out of Rayla’s face and says, “You have grown up to be a beautiful woman, you’re even prettier than your mom was at your age. But please don’t tell her I said that I don’t want any trouble, haha.”
Rubbing cheeks with him, she answers, “Pfft, don’t worry I won’t tell on you.”
“Now, where is that new little brother of yours? From the descriptions I’ve read of him I doubt it’s the pretty boy next to the Elf.”
“Ah…He’s at the Inn, mom didn’t allow him to come.”
“Did they have a fight?”
Getting annoyed, Rayla answers, “No, she just was super hostile from the beginning and Marcelle and Gino also constantly talk about him being a creep and that I shouldn’t be near him even though they’ve never met him!”
“Sigh These idiots…I’ll talk to them.”
“Thanks Dad!”
Rayla’s mom then fills the table with lots of food, consisting mostly of fatty meat dishes and wild game and shortly after, Rayla’s uncle appears, “Sorry, I’m late. I tried to come with my idiot brother but he was already gone when I got there, haha.”
Rayla’s dad sighs again, “Don’t call me an idiot in front of my kids, idiot.”
“Eh? Don’t tell me your family doesn’t know that they’re the descendants of an idiot!?”
“Oh, shut up Caleb and sit down. Also, you’re still barely on time.”
“Hahaha, sure, sure. Where’s my new nephew? Is he taking a shit or something, haha.”
“Apparently, Kenzie didn’t allow him to attend.”
“Why not?”
He grumbles, “I’m not sure, yet. Why did you not invite him, love?”
“Because he’s a creep and I don’t want someone who lusts over my daughter in my house.”
He lets out a sigh, “Damn it Kenzie, don’t you trust your daughter at all? She’s an adult, if this guy had any weird intentions she would know about it. Also Nekara made it clear he has a great personality.”
Pointing a ladle at him, she answers, “Great personality my ass, that man went straight for my tails when we met, like some pervert.”
“So he…Tried to say hello to you? That’s what you’re mad about?”
“Oh come on Terry, he obviously just did that as an excuse to touch my tails in a sexual way!”
Rayla’s uncle starts laughing, “Well, if he did, then that kid swings both ways because he hugged my tails too when we met at the bridge. I don’t know about you but I think he’s just trying to be polite.”
“Even so, this relationship they have is completely inappropriate!”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Marcelle speaks up, “I agree with mom on this. He’s obviously a creep. They literally sleep in the same bed together, how much more disgusting can you get!?”
Rayla’s dad answers, “So? Her dream is to have a harem and you guys are freaking out about a guy that doesn’t even want to date her. What are you gonna do when she brings home a bunch of husbands? Are they going to stay in the Inn for the entire visit too or will you not even let them into town?”
Gino then seemingly gets really flustered, “Th-That is obviously never going to happen! Rayla just said the whole harem thing as a joke, obviously!”
“No I wasn’t,” Rayla answers bluntly.
“Oh please, you wouldn’t even be able to kiss a guy!”
“Sure I can. I’m not even a virgin anymore, Gino.”
He gets extremely flustered, “Wh-Wh- You’re lying!”
“Nope.”
“Then who!? Who did it?" Fletching his teeth, he asks, "Was it the pervert!?”
Giving him a smug smile, Rayla answers in a nonchalant way, “Nope, random Human guy at a bar, never saw him again afterwards.”
“What!? You left the village for a year and you suddenly became a…a…a dirty slut!?”
“Excuse me!? I wasn’t aware that I need to get permission first, maybe next time I’ll write you a letter before I blow a guy.”
“Sh-shut up!”
Rayla’s dad then slams his hand on the table, “Everyone, shut up! Gino, your sister can have relations with whoever she wants, she is an adult. Rayla, there is no need to get so graphic.”
“Yes, dad…”
“Yes, daddy…”
“Good, as for the matter of Thoma, you three should be ashamed. Both for treating Rayla like she’s a kid and for treating the boy like shit without good reason. You haven’t even met him yet!”
Marcelle speaks up, “I don’t need to meet him to know he’s a pervert!”
Rayla’s dad massages his forehead and Rayla’s uncle adds, “How about we ask the Elf and her companion? They’re a mostly neutral party here, right? What do you think about Rayla and Thoma’s relationship?”
Sher Aka answers with a gentle smile, “I am of the opinion that they act very much like close siblings. I don’t doubt either of their feelings nor do I think that either of them have any romantic feelings or attractions for the other. They seem to have developed a strong familiar bond and they certainly love each other like family.”
John adds, “I have to agree with my big sister here. We’re both not blood related either and still we’re very much siblings and I believe I can say the same about Rayla and Thoma Ahad. Those two have a nauseatingly loving sibling relationship and I sense no romantic attraction from either of them. I know it can be hard to understand from the outside how two people of different families can create such a bond with each other but it does happen and I believe it has happened for them as well.”
“Alright, that sounds pretty good right? And how about his character? What would you say about that?”
John thinks for a bit and answers, “I believe he is a genuinely warm person. He is extremely kind and open but also very reliable and trustworthy. He is a bit naive and doesn’t care much about what others think of him but he cares deeply about those close to him. Is there anything you’d like to add, Sherry?”
“Hmm perhaps it would also be good to add that he is quite childlike. He might appear as a grown man but we also know he’s cursed and his current memories only begin about two and a half years ago. As such it is fair to assume that he is not even capable of the level of malice I have heard being prescribed to him today.”
Rayla's uncle Caleb claps his hands together in response and looks at his family, “Now, those sound like quite the stellar reviews of my new nephew, don’t you think? So, how about you all gnaw it over tonight and tomorrow we all go visit him, apologize and get to know him a little. But I also want to hear about how Rayla has been doing so let’s just leave the topic at that for now and listen to her adventures and what brought her here today.”
Rayla, together with John and Sher Aka, then start to recount their adventures. Most of the major things were already told to them by Nekara but they still show interest in their stories.
“...So yeah, that’s why we’re here and why Nekara sent you a fake letter about us going to Talon. Our plan is to go east now, get a few jobs in Skar then go over the Skar mountains and once we get to Tartarus travel south.”
Gino slams his hand on the table, “So, not only is he being inappropriate with you he also caused you to be targeted by assassins!?”
“What? Have you even been listening to what I’ve been saying?”
“Oh, I have heard enough! I’m leaving! I need to cool my head.”
He then stomps out the door and Marcelle follows him out.
Rayla’s father lets out a deep sigh, “These idiots…So, we’re not gonna see you for a while once you leave, huh?”
She gives him a somber smile, “Yeah…This might even be the last time.”
Rayla's dad is both saddened and frustrated when he mumbles, “And we spent all this time arguing over stupid shit when this might be the last time we’ll see each other…How pathetic. What’s up with you Kenzie? You’re awfully quiet.”
“That’s because I don’t know whether to cry or be angry, so I’d rather just stay still for now…”
“Oh don’t be so stubborn, come on, let’s give our daughter a good old family hug.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile at the Inn there is a knock on my door.
When I open it, two Beastkin men are standing in the frame. They look furious.
The older, fitter looking one then fletches his teeth at me, “Are you the creep that pretends to be a brother to our sister? I thought we’d give you a house visit while we’re in the area.”
