The Legendary Monster Layer!

Claire and Renna returned from their daily expedition soon enough—before sunset—and Opal’s introduction went well. They had been ready to meet her, knowing that Ari had set off to find their fifth team member, plus, Opal was a friendly person—slime?—so she slotted in easily.

Ari noted a few interested looks of a less appropriate sort, though everyone tried to keep their attentions focused on Opal’s face to be polite. Ari understood the struggle. Opal couldn’t wear clothes as easily as everyone else. Her slime-skin dampened the fabric. They’d have to find something custom for her, but for now, Opal went around naked.

As Ari had already noted, Opal was less ‘human’ than everyone else by a significant amount. Not quite as much so as Cece, whose lower body had been a giant plant, but still, Opal was the least conspicuous member by a long shot.

Opal’s introduction went well enough. Ari hadn’t expected any friction, but still, it was always a concern. She wanted everyone to get along. Felt responsible for that happening, even.

Once that had been settled, Ari gathered her friends and started a functional discussion. She discussed the things she’d contemplated on the trip back, and during her shower—the ‘Monstergirl Guild’, and the officer roles she wanted to assign each of them. As seemed to be the consistent trend, they nodded along with Ari’s suggestions, accepting their roles without complaint, or even commentary.

For the hundredth time, Ari was worried that was because of her implicit power over them. But what could she do about that? They listened to her no matter how she phrased it. She hadn’t given up on trying to encourage them to take control of their own lives, but for the short term, maybe even it was a good thing.

Just, she hated how it stemmed from the idea that Ari could ‘release them’—something she didn’t know she could do, but would definitely never, either way. How horrible was that? That they obeyed because Ari might be able to ‘kill them’, effectively enough? Releasing any of her Menagerie from her [Charm] ability would revert them to their more primitive state, which wasn’t different from killing. Ergh. She hated even thinking about it.

At least Ari could be confident they weren’t bothered by the roles she assigned them. Her paranoia over this whole situation had forced Ari to develop a strong ability to read her Menagerie’s expressions, behaviors, and masked reactions. She felt she had a good grasp on each of them.

Opal seemed put out that she hadn’t been given an ‘officer role’. Ari assured her that when something cropped up, she’d give it to her. Honestly, Ari found it mildly amusing that Opal wanted extra responsibilities. Laziness wasn’t a trait that ran in any of her Menagerie, it seemed. Opal perked up at the promise.

Undoubtedly, Ari would make good on it. Something would appear that Ari would need to assign an overseer to. She probably ought to do some research on how guilds functioned.

For that matter, she should disband from the Goldshield Guild. She had dues coming up, soon enough, and what did they even offer her, now?

Well. Advice. She still had that meeting with a confidential representative to attend to. Had it really only been a handful of days since she talked to Sigrid, the mid-rank adventurer who’d given her advice? It felt like much longer.

But still. Not worth the dues she was paying. She had her own place to live, a way to earn equipment, and most of their guidance didn’t apply—Ari’s class was totally unique. She might as well disband.

Which would draw curious looks, for sure.

Ugh. Couldn’t Ari collect a monstergirl harem in peace? Why did everything have to be so complicated, big-picture wise?

After officer-role discussions, the topic turned naturally to Ari’s level six skill—the Menagerie’s expansion from five to ten. With five more slots to fill, and with Ari wanting her Menagerie’s input, the obvious discussion was who they should be aiming to include.

“We can’t pick their classes, specifically,” Silvana mused. She had demonstrated herself as the most logical of her Menagerie, focused on practical and logistical matters, and was consistently one of the people who liked to speak up during talks like these. “But we can talk about it in general terms. A few more adventurers, maybe, and a few more craftsmen.”

“What kind?” Ari asked. “Craftsmen, I mean.”

Silvana chewed her lip. “Seems pointless to say. We get what we get, right?”

Ari had emphasized that when accepted into her Menagerie, nobody would be dispelled, regardless of what class they received. So yeah, she guessed it was up to luck. Even if Ari got a member who was useless to their overall efforts, they wouldn’t be kicked out. Because, again, that would be effectively killing them.

“But if you could pick,” Ari said. “Then what? I’m just curious.”

Silvana considered it. “Well,” she said. “I guess, someone who can make equipment. Or cook.”

“Cook?”

“Both for buffs, and …” she shrugged. “Rations are fine, but, you know.”

“They’re not great,” Ari agreed, amused. One of the things she’d missed moving out to the burrow was the lack of quality food. Adventurer rations weren’t horrible, but compared to a hot meal prepared by the Guild, they were … unpleasant. “That’s fair.” Ari pursed her lips as she surveyed her team. “If we had to have a cloth worker, leather, or metal, what’s best?”

She had a spread of classes under her Menagerie, even with only five individuals—four who were adventurers. Claire and Renna used metal armor, Lori leather, and Opal, presumably, cloth. Eventually, Ari would have crafters who dealt with each of those armor types.

“A weapon maker would be better,” Lori pointed out. “Since we all use weapons, but each of us use different armor types.”

“Yeah. Makes sense. So, a blacksmith.” Because a smith could make metal armor and metal weapons. It would handle the largest swathe, in the short term. Never mind the whole, ‘providing a forge and smithing equipment’ which would be required to facilitate their class … problems for later. They were talking in theoreticals. “And adventuring classes?” Ari asked.

Lori shrugged. “Whatever we get, I suppose. But another magic user. Preferably, some sort of healer.”

Healer. That was the last major role they were missing. Some further adventures in the Bewitching Swamp might yield results there. Healers were just another sort of mage.

Ari nodded in agreement. “Okay. Well, that’s what we’ll go for, then.”