Chapter 62: Chapter 62 Callisto’s secret hideout
Kat found herself returned to earth in her bedroom. Looking around in surprise everything seemed to be in place but that wasn't the issue. *Didn't I get summoned from the dining room? Why am I back here?*
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User Kat has assigned this room as Destination Home. You will default to being returned to this room.
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*Wait, why didn't I end up at the orphanage then? If this is a matter of settings didn't you say I couldn't change those until rank 1?*
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User Kat's place of residence was automatically updated when entering into a contract with Individual Vivian.
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*Well, that's something I wish I'd known earlier. What would I have done if I'd ended up in my old room*
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User Kat would have walked to Vivian's house.
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Kat just glared at the unhelpful text for a moment. Dismissing and resummoning her attire to fix anything that was out of place she carefully opened her bedroom door and looked around. She sensed no movement in the hallway and paused for a moment with slight indecision. Eventually with a shrug Kat headed downstairs.
Just as Kat reached the bottom of the stairs she was met with a pair of angry glares from Vivian and Sylvie and a sympathetic one from Lily who had all taken up residence in the lounge room.
"Well Kat, what do you have to say for yourself" said Vivian glaring at Kat with her hands on her hips.
The intimidation this provided was undermined by her tongue sticking out and her cheeks puffing out, so Kat responded in kind. "I went on a grand adventure to a world known as the accountant's offices"
Taking up a seat on the free armchair Kat lamented that it just wasn't as comfortable as the ones in the accounting offices.
"We were seriously worried Kat" said Lily whose point was undercut slightly by the book still open on her lap
"I've been going on summonings every week for a month now, why is it just becoming a concern" said Kat.
"I wasn't worried. I knew you'd be fine" said Sylvie puffing her cheeks out to match Vivian from her lap.
"See Lily, Sylvie wasn't worried" said Kat smiling at her friend.
Lily decided the best response to this was to hide her face behind her book and not comment.
"Well anyway, the real reason I wanted to talk to you Kat is about Callisto, I'm sure she's seen your note so perhaps it's too late. You probably need to talk about this hole thing with her soon" said Vivian hugging Sylvie tighter who responded by snuggling into her arms.
"Yeah…" said Kat trailing off.
Finding the ceiling to be fascinating Kat took the chance to observe it closely while Vivian and Sylvie grinned in response. *Should I just go for it like with Gramps? Probably. I'll double check with Vivian first though just in case.*
"So, Vivian, is there anything I should be aware of. I'll go talk to Callisto now if there is no problem" said Kat
"Nah, well, nah. You need not concern yourself with the whims of my roommate it will work out" said Vivian with a cheeky grin and a glint behind her eyes.
*That sounds so much like trouble. I doubt Vivian would lie, it's just, clearly she isn't telling me something.* Sighing Kat stood up and made for the stairs.
"I take it Callisto will be in her room?" asked Kat
"Of course" Vivian replied with a shooing motion before returning to hug Sylvie.
"Can't I go with Kat?" asked Sylvie turning around to face Vivian and pouting.
"Nah, they should probably sort this out amongst themselves. Don't you think Sylvie" said Vivian.
At this point Kat was already making her way upstairs so she missed the nod Sylvie had in response and the concerned glance Lily shot her way. Climbing the stairs Kat strode towards Callisto's door that stood alone at the end of the upstairs hallway. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Kat knocked twice on the door.
After a moment the door cracked open and a single blue eye appeared. "Ah, you must be Katarina" a sharp intake of breath and a short pause later Callisto continued "I see, that name offends you. Kat then, please come in"
The door swung open to reveal a room completely filled with different projects. The room was surprisingly large, twice the size of Kats but somehow Callisto had managed to make it feel small. Scraps of paper littered the floor, crumpled and discarding clustering around one of the three desks within the room. The first desk surrounded by paper contained rows of pens that lined the sides of it, while the top was filled with a surprisingly neat stack of paper in the corner and two sheets outlined in front of the chair. The desk had quills patterned on the legs but other than that was quite plain.
On the opposite side of the wall to that Callisto had a desk with a computer, this one however while suffering less from paper cluttered had neat orderly rows of wires that snaked and coiled around the desk, weaving patterns through the wood. The computer itself seemed to make up parts of the desk as well, Kat could identify at least two separate towers containing parts, but it looked like some others were part of the desks design of circuitry and wires someone, presumably Chekov, had carved into the sides.
The third and final that lined the back room commanded the most space by far. It wasn't pressed against the wall like the other two, instead it surrounded the chair assigned to it on both sides covering over half the room by itself. All sorts of drawers and shelves of various sizes lined the tops and underside of the desk and it had a series of faint carvings depicting everything from cogs and gears to fairies and elves.
It was only after taking everything in that Kat truly became aware of the fact that the room was hardly lit. The bulbs in the ceiling giving off the barest necessary light for a human to operate by… perhaps even a bit less, and while this didn't affect Kat's vision it was a bizarre sight. The second strange thing that struck Kat about the room was the distinct lack of additional furniture. The was no closet or bed in sight, and the room despite its increased size compared to her own did not seem to have the space for either of these fixtures even if they were hidden from her at the moment.
As Kat stepped into the room and Callisto let the door softly close behind her Kat felt herself pulling in. Her wings were folded against her back and her tail had coiled itself into a loop and flattened itself enough to phase completely through her kimono. Kat slowly turned to face Callisto, now more unsure than ever as to what she would see and yet she was still surprised at what she found
Callisto stood taller than even Kat by about a head, Kat found this strange as the eye that had peered back at her seemed to have matched her eyeline before perhaps indicating someone of smaller statue or hunched back but derailing these thoughts Callisto stood with perfect posture even looking down at Kat slightly. Her eyes were blue like Kat's own but they seemed to have a crazed light to them that made them glow despite their dark shade.
Callisto's outfit was even stranger, at first glance you could be mistaken for thinking it was an elaborate maid outfit, and yet so many things failed to line up with this idea. Firstly it extended so far as to brush against the floor, hiding her feet from view, with the sleaves ending in large drooping sleaves that would have been completely impractical for any sort of house work Kat knew Callisto regularly participated in from the meals and cleaned rooms Vivian insisted was never of her own doing. And the colour scheme seemed to further emphasise its impracticality. The main body of the dress was a pristine white with the frills outlining the neck and sleave edges a deep blood red.
Callisto's hair as well stood out to Kat, it was easily as long as her own after her transformation. Kat couldn't tell quite how far it fell from the front especially with the full-length dress in the way but from the brief glimpse of it as she moved Kat was sure that extensive.
"I would guess that you have been suggested by Vivian to pay to me a visit" said Callisto "It seems she truly has gone through with this adoption business she has so ill conceived"
Pausing to place a sleave in front of her mouth Callisto continued "Of course, I suppose that isn't really why you're here. The question of whether or not to adopt to young ladies was already made before I was consulted so I could only agree. It does however seeeem. That. You. Both. Are. Interesting"
Chapter 63: Chapter 63 20 Questions
"Right…" said Kat drawing out the word as long as possible to allow her brain to catch up to what was going on. Originally Vivian seemed like quite the personality but despite Callisto's reclusive nature she seemed to trump Vivian in a number of ways.
"Can I ask what's with the room?" asked Kat after giving up on trying to just make sense of everything herself
"Yes, you can. We should even do a bit of back and forth then so that I can learn a bit more about my best friend's new daughter. I'll take that as your first question" said Callisto.
Kat was intending to wait for more information but when Callisto said nothing else Kat nodded in response. However at the moment of confirmation chains of purple fire surrounded the two linking them together. Layers upon layers of chains blazed into existence and rapidly cocooned the pair before dispersing.
"Shit" said Kat looking unimpressed towards Callisto
"My my, now that is certainly entertaining. I'd seen the note you left on the table and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. But this? This is fascinating, I could see those chains appear before me. I've never entered into a contract with a demon before, how novel" said Callisto as she wafted her hand around the area the chains had connected them moments before. "Well then, for my first question, I suppose I'll ask what you are, in full please"
"Weren't you going to answer my question first?" asked Kat
"Why I did, I said that you could ask me about my room did I not?" replied Callisto with a grin "I had intended it as a slight joke, but now it seems to have escalated. I'll give you that answer for free though, no worries"
*Why did Callisto trick me like that? Especially with a contract on the line? Wait it can't have been, she didn't know I was a real demon or even if she suspected I doubt she would know how the contracts work.*
"I'm a Succubus, apparently a rare subtype but I wasn't told exactly what that is" said Kat returning Callisto's glare. Callisto just made an open-handed gesture implying for Kat to ask her own question.
"Can you explain how your room is set up and why the lights are dimmed and the bed is missing" said Kat
"My, getting ahead of ourselves aren't we. I'd say that's more than one question no? You should just pick one" said Callisto
"Fine, I'll go with the missing bed and cupboard. Why are they missing from your room?" asked Kat
"Well, as to the closet. Vivian has a rather large house here and when I first moved in, and even still now the amount of spare space in the cupboards astounds me. I simply make use of them and keep my outfits throughout the house. It can be quite fun to go on a hunt for a specific set of clothing" said Callisto
"Though of course, the matter of the bed is a bit different. I have something known as triple S, or Short Sleeper Syndrome. I simply don't need a full nights rest so I spend my time working instead. Those few hours of sleep I do get I simply flatten out that chair" Callisto motioned for the chair in front of her writing station "And grab a blanket from somewhere under that pile of paper"
After Callisto finished her answer she stared straight into Kat's eyes, for ten seconds as if waiting for some invisible cue. Whatever Callisto was waiting for she found because she followed it up with this question.
"Can I touch your wings?"
"Um?" Kat looked strangely at Callisto unsure if she had heard correctly even slower her perception of time slightly to get longer to consider the question. After confirming multiple times the question that had been asked she replied "Sure?" still very confused.
In the moment Kat blinked she found Callisto had disappeared. Wondering where she had gone Kat was about to start looking for her when she felt a tug on her left wing. Turning to face the side she found Callisto stretching out her wing with a tape measure in her mouth mumbling to herself.
"Doesn't seem large enough for prolonged flight, gliding perhaps? That doesn't make sense though, I'm not sure it's long enough for that either? Are her bones hollow? No that can't make sense, these weigh too much in my arms for even the wing bones to be hollow" stretching the measuring tape this way and that measuring various angles and areas of Kat's wing she bit the bullet and asked Callisto a question. "What are you doing exactly"
Callisto's head immediately snapped towards Kat. "Well, your wings are fascinating, they simply shouldn't function at all, but I doubt they are purely for looks. Then again you're a succubus so maybe looks are extremely important to your species. It brings up other questions about your tail and horns but I don't really see how either of those would benefit you either" pausing for just a moment to breathe in Callisto continued "It's actually quite curious, tell me, can you actually fly with these wings?"
Kat opened her mouth to respond. Closed it. Then opened it again "Honestly Callisto I wish I knew. I know for a fact I can glide with them, but the only time I've had the chance to actually try flying with them I had to carry a girl with me and they are certainly not strong enough to lift us both. I could feel my muscles having trouble though, I think that was only when I was stopping a bank turn"
"Hmm" mumbled Callisto turning back to examine Kat's wings "Well, in my professional opinion your wings shouldn't even allow you to glide yourself let alone while carrying someone. I suspect that for whatever reason you can actually fly if it's just you, but I could be wrong"
"Actually wait back up a moment, how is it your professional opinion about if I can fly or not? What do you do for a job?" asked Kat
"Now, that's two questions right there. Take your pick" said Callisto
*Of course, why couldn't she answer without being like this. At least the system is clear enough in it's answers. Hey wait, can I fly system?*
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User Kat will need to test that. Many demon types with wings are unable to fly but around 65% of Succubi with wings have flight capacity, with a further 10% who have lost their ability to fly that they once had.
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*Well, nice to know the odds are in my favour.* "Tell me what your job is then" said Kat
"Well, if I wanted to make this difficult for you, I could say that I don't have a job. Though I would suppose this is only true in so far as I have no permanent employment arrangements. Initially my pride prevented me from working at something I considered unworthy of my time but living in Vivian's house for free humbled me quite a lot. I'd decided to find a job to pay her back but she kept eating my resume's I tried to mail out" said Callisto.
"Wait what? You didn't really answer the question and you can't just say Vivian ate your resume's without elaborating on that" said Kat shocked
"Of course I can, I answered the question, though I suppose it might not have been in full. To disclose properly then I make my money off of various side projects I work on in my spare time. A lot of that is helping Vivian's clients with smaller things, while I also build, art pieces. I suppose most would call them. I'd love to say I detest making the damned things but if given time and funding the challenge of building something is thrilling indeed" said Callisto with a glint in her eye that was actually a little off-putting considering she was still staring at Kat's wing in her hand as if it was responsible for all that is wrong with the world
"Hmm, yes, so much to explore. Oooh can I investigate your horns next?" asked Callisto standing up with a rubber mallet in hand.
"Um Callisto where did you get that mallet?" asked Kat
"Do you want that to be your question?"
"No…"
"So can I investigate your horns sometimes with this rubber mallet?"
"Fine.."
And so Kat resigned herself to the poking and prodding of Callisto. Thankfully she was actually quite careful in her investigations much like she was with her wings. Tapping lightly here and there, humming slightly to herself in a questioning tone she searched for something.
"Your horns are fascinating, whatever they are it isn't bone. Or maybe it is? It isn't human bone that's for sure" said Callisto after some time tapping away
"What do you mean?"
"It just doesn't sound right to me, listen" said Callisto giving her horns a significant wack. Kat strained her ears for any sort of sound but heard barely anything noteworthy, hardly even a thump.
"I don't really hear much of anything Callisto" said Kat
"That's exactly my point. Bone doesn't sound like nothing when you strike it. Oh the possibilities are endless" said Callisto as she cackled
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Vongrak
Vongrak
Vongrak's I hope this is a Fun Fact: Chapter 71, that is now the planned date for premium. Should be on the 24th (Webnovel time).
I also plan to do a mass release shortly afterwards as a celebration and as part of another event, should be around the same time but I need confirmation about that. It will be 5 extra chapters so if you need to start saving those fast passess.
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received Weekly Power Status
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