Walking Disasters and Me-Serenity and Error – Ch 39

Walking Disasters and Me-Serenity and Error – Ch 39

I take a few minutes to clean up my face and try to calm myself down from Ios being wildly more flirty than usual. Maybe this is her trying to make amends for our argument the other day, or her attempt to pay me back like she had mentioned previously. It's obvious that its pretty
fucking
effective, if nothing else. I just wish she'd wait till we were alone so that she wouldn't embarrass me in front of folks. The thought of Ios playing dress up, or dressing down, alone in my room comes to my mind and all my hard work at calming down is
instantly
overridden by the sudden squeeze I can feel between my legs that the thought brings.
Ugh, get a grip Amelia! Why am I so damn
horny
all the time here? Like yes, Akiko, Ios, and the girls are all amazingly pretty. Almost otherworldly in some cases! But it's crazy how I'm always one step away from rubbing my thighs together to stop me leaking when they tease me or do something charming or sexy. Is... is this how people feel all the time and I just have never really had that experience before because my brain was so borked? Or am I an outlier here too, just on the other end of the spectrum now?
I sigh as I look over my heart shaped face in the mirror above the sink. My wavy long crimson hair flowing behind me in elegant ripples, the cute button nose that I now sport resting smartly above my slightly pouting full red lips. Well, for everything that is different about me here, at least some things stay the same. Besides, if I didn't have a few mental hiccups then I would worry about getting too full of myself, and
no one
would want a high on their own supply Amelia strutting about like she owns the place.
I figure I've hidden away for long enough now and do one more inspection to make sure that the traces of blood and the dampening of my panties have stopped before I turn and open the door back up into the room proper. I'm greeted by Jun Li who is sitting calmly at the table with her back to the bed so that she is facing me while she and Ios discuss something, probably relating to my studies. Ios is hovering in the air while "laying" on her stomach, still in her ridiculously attractive cheerleader getup for her part, and both of them turn to give me a smile as I breathe out and close the door behind me.
"Sorry, Jun Li. I didn't mean to up and bolt on you like that, but
someone
here decided to give me a nosebleed at her antics, and I didn't want to drip blood everywhere." I glare accusingly at Ios who just has a knowing smirk and glint of mischief still in her eyes, even going so far as to wink at me too! The cheeky woman, monster, being! And although I left for some... other reasons, I at least am telling the truth that I wasn't trying to get blood all over the floor or on the table either.
Jun Li simply waves away my apology with one hand while stifling a giggle with her other, "Fret not, Miss Amelia. I was also surprised by spirit Ios' sudden display and your reaction to it, but she has explained the situation to me while you were indisposed. Truthfully, it makes much more sense now, and I do find it to be yet another endearing and similar quality between yourself and I." She ends with her classic gentle smile, but the words make a cold stone of dread form in my stomach.
I turn back to Ios and give her the deepest glare I have yet, a scowl forming on my face in my attempt to seem threatening, "Ios, you massive fucking troll,
what did you say to Jun Li??"
Ios has the gall to look offended, like she is totally innocent and not the biggest shit stirrer that I have ever met. Without standing up from her floating prone position, she adopts a feigned look of surprise on her face, raising one of her many hands to her mouth in aghast shock she replies, "Why Amelia! I don't know what you mean! I simply informed miss Jun Li here that you and I simply enjoy a little bit of teasing here and there, and that I sometimes dress up in your previous fantasies to help with homesickness and to ease the mood sometimes. Also, that you have a little bit of a crush on me, but that's not really a secret now
is it~
?" She says as she idly kicks her feet behind her, fully admitting her crimes.
I groan out into both hands at the lion, the witch, and the audacity of this bitch. Peeking my azure orbs through my fingers, I refix the troll of the century with a hard stare as my muffled voice echos out past my palms, "Ios. You and I
both
know we are going to have a conversation about this after Jun Li leaves. With the privacy field up this time." I sigh out and move to take a seat next to the black furred fox in question, turning my attention back to her after scooting the chair into place with the small sound of wood scraping on wood breaking the silence.
"Sorry again, Jun Li. She is the biggest troll I have ever met, and she can do some pretty wild shit sometimes, but her heart's in the right place. Most of the time." I say with a sidelong glance back to Ios before continuing, "Let's just... move past this for now and get back to spending time together. I really want to see if I can pick up enough of the language and script here to understand some of the inscriptions on Akiko's jade scroll thingy."
Like the angel that she is, Jun Li simply nods her head in response, making a curtain of her raven hair once more cover the right side of her face in a cute display before turning to the language book and opening it up. "Very well, Miss Amelia. Now, let's see where you left off... Ah! You indeed made it quite far in your first day of studying! I am quite jealous, if I had your aptitude or skill from that handy system of yours, studying for my apprenticeship in alchemy and poisons would have been
much
simpler!"
I cringe a little bit at that. I hadn't really considered how other people may view me essentially having cheat powers when it seems like they all have to devote such an insane amount of hard work and effort to produce the same results. With a slightly timid voice, I look back up to her, "That doesn't bother you right? That I'm getting the easy road essentially?"
Jun Li fixes me with an absolutely
adorable
tilt to her head, seemingly lost in confusion at my questions. "Why would that bother me, my dear? To be frank with you, if I were in your position I would be using every single edge possible to ensure my safety and the safety of those I cherish. And it is not as though certain rare individuals don't also have your level of growth, we call them geniuses. Even without aid of a system like your own, they comprehend, adapt, and cultivate at a breakneck pace. In truth, the Sect Leader was one such individual, however as I'm sure the Madam has told you by now she was severely weakened by her 6th Realm tribulation.
Regardless, I would actually offer my advice to you to further seek out skills or techniques from your system that will accelerate your learning even further, if able. If not, I would heavily suggest you lean as much into those abilities as you can, especially when you are still relatively weak and healing your sister. There is no shame in taking advantage of the tools available to you, and while there will always be those who are jealous of your abilities or power, so long as the people you love and cherish support you, that is all that matters. You may simply kill or eradicate any who wish to judge you or bring you harm for your circumstances." She ends that curveball of a statement with a happy smile and gentle pat of my head with a tail.
Right, I kinda forgot she is basically a torture specialist around these parts. Kind of insane given her personality so far, but it seems she is a bit more hardcore to those she deems enemies. I know a day or so ago that information kind of made me unsettled, but after spending a decent amount of time with this big ball of sunshine I find that I am getting less and less concerned about it. So long as she doesn't use me as an experiment or something...
Noticing my lack of response, Jun Li takes it as a sign to start up the language lesson. True to her word, Ios does indeed perform some cheer routines as we progress, and nearly all of them are borderline lap dances. If she was corporeal, that is. After a particularly spicy one, I finally have enough of her teasing as I turn to her with a somewhat harsh expression, "Ios, I get it. You win whatever little game you're trying to play; you're making me horny, are you happy? Please, can you chill the fuck out for a bit and help me with some of this? Jun Li has been trying to explain this word to me for
3 minutes
while you've been goofing off."
Ios' form pauses mid motion, looking like she was about to do the splits as she landed from a jump, before her form winks out and back with her having a much more tasteful choice of apparel. A nice, long sleeved button up shirt with a collar and 4 sleeves for her arms, as well as a long black office skirt with similarly black heels. Her hair goes back to the much more mature singular high ponytail as she looks a bit embarrassed herself at being called out, "Right, sorry Aims. I was just having a lot of fun messing with you. I'll be good from now on, let's see where you two are at and I can help you out."
Our tall foxy guest looked a little surprised by my outburst at first, but then wisely chose not to say anything further about it. As soon as Ios walks her form between us and begins helping out directly, progress rapidly picks back up. All three of us share the day together, laughing at jokes or idioms that we share, taking breaks to go back to the kitchen to get a snack, or just to stretch our legs, all the while furthering my knowledge of the language here. During the day, Advanced Learning also ticks up to level 9!
On one particular break, Jun Li offers to take me to the central gardens that are housed behind the estate. Excited to get some fresh air after spending a couple days cooped up inside my admittedly nice room, I jump at the chance, eagerly taking her hand in mine and rushing toward the door. I know she is letting me pull her along, and when I look back with elation I can see she has that same look on her face anytime I've done something she deems cute, which makes my turbulent zeal even more chaotic.
Fortunately, she doesn't bring it up as she keeps our hands clasped and leads me through the labyrinth that is the estate until we find ourselves out on a wooden patio overlooking a field of colorful flowers. I let out a soft breath as I take it in, the warmth of the now late evening sunlight on my face bathes me with energy as the fresh mountain air fills my lungs. I can hear the sound of gently flowing water and look off to my right to notice that there is an ornamental waterfall set into the grounds here that has a couple benches sat underneath a cherry blossom tree for shade.
Noticing my lingering gaze at the picturesque scene, Jun Li leads us over to one of the benches and sits us down. Having a better view of the whole space now, I look out amongst the multicolored field of flowers in various shapes and sizes, the gentle hum of insects filling the air now that we are closer to the little ecosystem. Every color of the rainbow seems to live here in this space, petals of red and yellow, purple and surprisingly green, dot and cross the landscape in what originally seems a haphazard fashion until you look closer and see the organized chaos within.
All of the flowers are spaced and placed to make the symbol for the word "Peace", which is one of the words I had been struggling with earlier. Feeling confident in myself for knowing I have for sure overcome that hurdle, as well as actually feeling at peace the longer I stay sitting here in the shade with Jun Li, I lay back and give a contended sigh.  I feel something soft land against my nose and open my eyes to see a rose-colored petal had fallen from the tree above us to rest upon my face.
Jun Li giggles and then reaches over to gently pluck the wayward visitor off of me, before she looks back over the field with a soft, serene look, "This is one of my most cherished places in the Village. The grounds near the Sect Hall are magnificent as well, but this quiet, cozy corner of the world always brings me the most peace. The Madam and I worked for onwards of about a year getting all of this setup, making sure that the placement and arrangement of the scene was as perfect as we could make it. The results speak for themselves, I would wager~."
I turn to her as she talks and see her own look of contentment and satisfaction setting onto her face. With a happy nod, I reach over and give her hand a gentle squeeze, "I think you guys knocked it out of the park! This place is so tranquil and relaxing, I honestly am dreading having to go back and study again!" We both laugh at the end of my statement, even if I whole heartedly meant it. This place just oozes serenity, and I will definitely have to memorize the route here for the future.
Jun Li seems just as unenthused to go back to the room, so we end up staying on the bench for a good bit of time. Eventually, the whole Zen aspect of the place gets to me, and I can feel my eyelids start to get heavy. I look up briefly and notice that the sun has dipped well past its previous mark, now coming to only poke partially over a far-off mountain peak casing the long shadow of the rocky formation to darken across the valley. "Well, if we stay here any longer, I will have to use your shoulder as a pillow. Let's go make some food for dinner and then try and get through the last bit of the book. I think if we really power through for another hour or so we can be done with it, especially with how amazing you are at teaching!"
I see the faint bit of blush again pass across Jun Li's cheeks at the compliment, which is so
cute
, as she nods to me, "Very well, Miss Amelia. Although I wouldn't mind such an arrangement myself, I'm happy to see you have such a drive. It will serve you well in the future, as cultivation and crafting will no doubt be taxing affairs, even with the aid of your system. Being self-motivated is a necessity if you want to achieve success here on Mara." She stands as she finishes, giving a little stretch of her long body, before turning back to me and offering her hand. I take it with a smile, and we both leave the comforting atmosphere of the garden as we make our way to the familiar kitchen space.
We decide to just keep it simple again since its only the two of us, only roasting some beef steak equivalent while I help out and make some mashed potato analog. Grabbing a bit of wine again for dinner, as well as another pitcher water with some cups and a few more slices of bread - which seems to never go stale which
fucking rocks
- we make our way back to my bedroom / impromptu study hall. Ios thankfully still seems contained from her previous antics and welcomes us back warmly as we make our way to the table and move the various books and notes that I've accumulated over the past couple days of study.
Before any time at all, I have once again cleaned my plate and am enjoying the warm, heavenly feeling of a well-cooked meal settling in my tummy. Jun Li gives off a couple stuttering giggles like she is wont to do before turning slightly in her chair to address me, "It is always
fascinating
to watch you partake of a meal, Miss Amelia~! Gerra is certainly going to love cooking for you; nothing makes her happier than knowing she has satisfied someone she cares about with her craft."
I muster as much energy as I can to open my eyes and regard Jun Li in my response, "I think Akiko mentioned that before, to some degree. Well, I'm not the type of person to hide my emotions when it comes to good food! I know how much time and energy goes into cooking, especially big meals for multiple people, so I always make sure to express how amazing it was to the chef. Besides, it seems like you, Samantha, and Gerra are already head over heels for me as it is~." I make sure not to wink at the end this time, as much as my own chaotic nature wants me to. I'm too full of good food to be scooped up and tossed about again!
It still looks to be a critical hit, as Jun Li has to turn away once her face color almost matches her ruby red eyes. After she hides her face from my view with a curtain of her hair, she says back, "W-Well I already told you my feelings on the matter, but I suppose you would be correct in that statement for the other two as well. Truthfully, I think Gerra liked you from the beginning, as she is much more... free spirited about her desires and wants. The oddity was Samantha becoming so keen on you so quickly. She was the only person to stay in the Madam's harem after the events of 100 years ago and has been fiercely vocal about any new additions. It took Gerra and I quite some time to finally win her over too, even if Madam Akiko had already welcomed us into her home and group."
I drop my two-pronged metal fork at the sudden revelation, causing Jun Li to look over to me with concern. Before she can ask about it, I say quietly to her, "100 years ago? When she had to purge the Village's government apparently even harder than she did this last time? Why do I get the feeling that you meant that she had to... do that to people that were in her harem?"
The look of sudden realization at revealing that fact flashes across Jun Li's soft and round face, her eyes becoming saucer wide as her brows elevate on her forehead. "Oh my... I-I thought that the Madam had already explained that to you by now, Miss Amelia. She had said she already mentioned what happened at that time when we were all being informed about your condition here on Mara. Oh dear..." I see that look of surprise quickly give way to actual, tangible fear and regret on her features and the way she now holds her arms across her chest. I quickly stand up from the table and give her a soft hug, taking the chance to get a little payback for her smushing my head in her breasts at the door the other day as I now do the same to her.
"Hey, hey its okay! I was just a little shook at learning that, I'm not mad at you or anything." I feel her nod into my own voluptuous chest a couple times and then pull back to see how she's feeling. I can tell there's still a decent amount of worry etched onto her, but it looks like my attempts at comfort helped to calm her down some.
As I'm about to reassure her a bit more, she beats me to the punch, "I thank you for your consideration, my dear, but I'm more concerned that I may have let slip something that the Madam wished to discuss with you privately. It is... not a pleasant tale. I know she won't be cross with me when she returns, but I still feel
terrible
about oversharing such a topic about her past without her consent..."
I decide to take a little bit of a risk, because the true, genuine sadness rolling off of what I have only seen so far to be a happy, fluffy ball of joy is
breaking
my heart. I scoot my chair over so that I'm not looming over her, and then plop down and reach my hands out to cup the sides of her face. "Hey, its okay. I promise I won't say anything about it if you're really that upset. And I won't press you for further details on it. Like you said just now, that is Akiko's story to tell and if she hasn't told me about it yet then she isn't ready to. I can't sit here and see I'm not
interested
to hear about it, but the last thing I want to do is cause tension between any of you. Let's just leave this here for now, take a few minutes to calm down, maybe enjoy some of that delicious wine, and then see if we can't use studying to distract ourselves, eh?"
The whole time I'm trying to run damage control for Jun Li, I stroke the side of her face that has her onyx hair hiding her face away, finally tucking it once more behind her ear as I wrap up. She bites her lower lip a bit in thought as her ruby red eyes turn slightly to the side, the blush now returning in force on her face. After a few moments of consideration, she comes to a decision and returns her gaze to mine, nodding once, which instantly makes her hair fall back down to cover her eye again. I laugh a bit at the absolutely
charming
display and then scoot my chair back after giving her a couple gentle pats on the head like she would for me.
As we get settled once more and Jun Li pours us another round, I pull out the nearly completed tome that we have been burning through. I hear Jun Li speak up again in a quiet, thoughtful tone, "You are truly amazing, Miss Amelia. I can easily see why the Madam is so smitten with you, to say nothing of the rest of us. If the others had spent as much time as we already have and seen how kind and caring you are at nearly every turn, I have no doubt that you would struggle to ever leave the safety of this estate without some fanfare. I can imagine it now, Samantha donning her full suit of enchanted plate mail, sword and shield at the ready, Gerra equipping her massive maul and armored gauntlets, while I hide in the shadows and cover your route as they walk with you, just to go out to get groceries or some other menial task!" She laughs full bodily at the end of her little thought experiment, with it still having that frankly enchanting stutter to its cadence.
I feel the blood slightly rush to my face at the compliment but also join in on the laughter at the thought of being flanked by three bad ass bitches just to go check the mail or pop down to the corner store! Apparently, my cuteness and charm must be protected at all costs~!
We enjoy the lighthearted environment for a bit, simply basking in the freer tone after Jun Li's accidental admission, before she turns to me and smiles as she opens the book once more. Ios hasn't really said anything during the little exchange, but she happily comes back up between us once the lesson begins again in earnest. Like I had thought, after nearly another hour or two we reach the end of the book, my notes sat to the side, and I can feel something click in the system.
[Advanced Learning lvl 9] has upgraded to [Advanced Learning lvl 10 (MAX)]........ Co!gr@tul$tions, h1d&en co&d1
ti0ns m%t!
This skill can now be evolved into the passive skills [Master Retention lvl 1], [Master Learning lvl 1], or [Universal Understanding lvl 1].
You have learned the language [Zerian]. Progress toward gaining the title [Polyglot]: 2/4 languages. Known Languages: Common, Zerian.
Huh, well
that's
fucking terrifying. I quickly voice out to Ios and Jun Li, who are having a small conversation to the side now that study time has officially been wrapped for the night, "Hey, I just got a prompt about my learning skill upgrading and somehow becoming an evolvable skill, but the message was all garbled at the end and honestly pretty fucking creepy. Do you know what's going on Ios?"
I see the being take a moment to think as my anxiety starts to bubble up, her eyes briefly diving into the system's matrix again, before giving me a slightly confusing and not very comforting answer, "Hmm yes and no. I see the skill you're talking about, Advanced Learning. Congrats by the way hun~! But you're right, that skill shouldn't have been evolvable. The hidden condition it mentions is... Well... Don't freak out, okay Aims? Word for word on the back end, it looks like a new conditional clause was instated as soon as you leveled it up, and it says, 'Because the Empress requires it.' Hey, I said don't freak out!" She blurts out as I start to break out into a cold sweat.
What the fuck does
that
even mean?!
Because the Empress requires it?!
Does it.. Does it mean my soul? Or at least the soul manual or something? I start to spiral a little bit, my breath coming in and out a bit heavy at the absurdity of it all. Not even the system is safe from some... corruption of my personality or soul?! Even if its beneficial now, what does that mean going forward? Oh
god
... I hear some more words being thrown to me, or the room, but it's all I can do to try and keep my breaths even and flex my hands against my opulent battle attire.
Before I sink further down into the spiral, I feel myself being bodily picked up, the warm earthy scent of Jun Li invading my mind and helping me find peace. I lean into her soft flesh, not really knowing where exactly I am on her body in my hazy mind, as I wrap my arms around her and work through the breathing exercises that
sometimes
work. I can feel her dainty, nimble hand stroking down my hair as she softly hums some unknown tune which I can hear reverberate inside her. After a few minutes of helping me calm down, I try and pull away before I feel one of her tails smush me back into her embrace.
"Uh... Jun Li, I'm... I'm okay now, thank you. You really helped right there, but I can sit down again if this is bothering you." I try to voice out, realizing now that I am once again smushed into her large, pillowy chest. Damn, my payback was all for naught...
I feel her gentle, flowing voice echo into the room and sound inside of her chest in response, "Are you sure, Miss Amelia? I do not mind holding you here until you are steady again, as spirit Ios describes. I... I am sorry you had to go through that. If you are well, perhaps I should place you in bed and let you and your spirit talk? It sounds like there may be some things you two need to discuss, and I do not want to intrude on personal matters such as that."
She finally lets me pull back enough for us to make eye contact again, and the amount of concern and worry in her eyes almost makes me feel guilty on the spot. With a small smile, I hold her attention as I say, "Maybe that would be best for now, at least Ios and I talking over some stuff. But... Could you stay while we do that? If you want, that is. I would feel a lot better if I had your calm presence nearby while we talk." I end a little sheepishly, looking back down to the ground. Or well, I attempt to, but her fleshy mountains block my view which also kind of throws another emotional wrench into my mental state as I feel the heat flash to my face once more.
"Of course, Miss Amelia. I would be most amenable to being nearby and giving you support while you and spirit Ios discuss things if you are accepting of that. Here, let's at least get you comfortable first." She says as she scoops me up, making a small note of surprise escape my lips. Thankfully, she doesn't bring that up and simply carries me over to bed before tucking me in and pulling a chair close, holding out her hand for me to take.
I give her another small smile, this one feeling a bit more genuine, as I take her offered comfort and turn back to Ios, "Okay, Ios. Run all of that by me again. I had some ideas about it too, before my brain went haywire, but let's start from the top."

Serenity and Error – Ch 39