The girls wake up, and I am free to move around. I slept a little when I switched guard duties with the rat squad. Quite a reliable bunch. I was not a rabbit person when I was on Earth, but I am getting to like those rodents better than the lagomorphs. The long-eared ones taste better and rats don't have heart attacks on each scare. I also did some crafting during the night.

"Ook! Boss!" Some monkeys found us. We are very close to the winter base camp anyway.

"Shh. Go away you bunch! You'll scare the human girls. They are not food. Tell everyone that and nobody can touch them." I tell the monkeys in monster-talk.

"Morning Grendel, why were you grunting?"

"Morning, Helen. Some of my monkey scouts found us. They came to say hello. Morning, Marcy. Did you sleep well?"

"Sure! Grendel is a nice B-rank pillow." She gives me a thumbs up.

"Pffff..." And while I am made laughing stock for the girls' morning amusement, we break camp.

I call for Emory: "Emory, come over here." The rat familiar climbs down from his pocket, shaking Helen in the process. "Hey big buddy, you are too big for staying inside Helen's robes. I made these for you." I produce a set of toy leather boots and a rat harness-armor. These were made from some scrap leather I carry around, but it is a high-quality leather scrap. I don Emory in his C-rank Orc Prince leather armor and matching shoes. Complete with a boiled leather helmet. It is greenish, but I think I made a good camouflage pattern on it so the rat can better hide in the vegetation. Unfortunately, I can't do rat gloves. The front paws will have to stay uncovered or he won't be able to manipulate things.

"Squeee!" Emory seems happy.

"Grendel, thanks! This armor looks cute!" Helen is happy. My effort is already paid off.

"Hey, G! what leather did you use for this armor? Is it orc leather? but it is not deep green..."

"It is Orc Prince Leather, Marcy. C-rank. But before you make that pained face, those were scraps I had lying around in my crafts bag."

"What did you make with the rest of the hide?"

"Toothpicks... Goblin Spears. Troll hallux toenail goblin spear." I made some spears using the red-haired orc prince leather straps, my big toenail as a point, steelwood core from newer trees and covered in death willow amber. Smaller siblings to the horn spear. The goblins taught me some tricks for making their spears, and my [Weaponcraft (crude)] went up to level 6. "They are at my base though. That Cedric guy would go nuts if I had them with me back in town."

"Are you fielding an army?"

"Here is a deal, Marcy. Once we hunt something nice of rank B or higher, I'll make you some armor. And I already have something really nice waiting for you back at base." My [Leatherworking] is at level 5 now.

We break camp and resume hiking through the forest. The terrain is now very uneven, going up and down on small mounds. After a while, the chalice stone can be seen and soon we begin to see the black-brown dots on the treetops. There are around a dozen monkeys there.

"Monsters!" Marcy shouts and begins to ready herself.

"Marcy, hold it, please. Those are on our side." I wave at the monkeys.

They climb down and surround us. They seem to be very happy to see me, but they are wary of the girls.

"Ook. Boss! Why Humans!" One of the burly monkeys, probably the captain of this small band addresses me.

"These girls are my friends. Did the other come here and give my message? Nobody can harm these girls. Nobody can touch these girls. Or I will be very angry."

"Ooook. Yes, boss!"

"Now send your monkeys to warn the other bands. You go and tell Shraaizar I have arrived with friends."

"Ook!" "Grook!" The monkeys all go on their errands.

I turn to the girls: "Now let's go in." It is the moment I dread the most. Shraaizar is bound to make some kind of scene.

We move deeper into our area. After some trees, I can see Shraaizar there, coiled and sunbathing.

"Shraaizar, I have returned." She lifts her 'torso' and looks our way.

She is very slow and lethargic. I walk to her and pick her up. She instinctively coils her chilly tail around me, as usual.

"Grendel! You took too long away thisss time! I am almossst freezing."

"I can feel it. You are robbing all my heat, you know?"

"So you brought the human girlsss along..."

"Yes. Please be nice to them."

"I am too cold to care..."

I turn around, Helen is with her eyes wide open and holding her probably open mouth with her hands.

"Helen! What is the matter."

She stutters. "Thi-this, what is the me-meaning of this? She is wrapped all around you. D-do you two have this kind of relationship?"

Marcy is beginning to say something, but I hold a hand out and she stops.

"No. Shraaizar only does like this because she is cold. Snakes and nagas have no body warmth, so they really suffer in the cold weather. Can I ask you a favor?"

"What?"

"You have a warming spell, don't you? Could you please use it on Shraaizar?"

"I have to touch her... will it be fine?"

"Let me check." I turn to the Naga resting on my shoulder. "Shraaizar, Helen has a magic that can make you warm. It won't hurt you. Is it fine for her to touch you."

"Cold! It isss cold! Make cold go away, yess!"

"I'll take that as a yes. Don't move." I face my girlfriend. "Helen, it is fine to touch anywhere? Touch her back, the dark blue part here around her middle. It is the least sensitive part."

Helen touches the Naga. "Oh, her scales are nice to touch. Soft. [Warmth]!!" And Shraaizar recovers her usual liveliness.

She uncoils herself a bit, and stands face-to-face with Helen... danger?

"Grendel...?" Helen is scared. I would be scared too.

I put a hand on Shraaizar's crest slowly, and talk to her. "Shraaizar, please get back on my shoulder... The human girl is afraid you will hurt her."

She turns around in a way any human contortionist could never dream of twisting about and faces me. "Isss thisss little yellow one 'Helen'???" Oh, some of Helen's hair is showing. She didn't tie the bandanna she usually wears in town to hide her hair color.

"Yes. This is Helen. And the red one is Marcy."

"I sssee..." She returns to my shoulder with a mysterious look and turns to the girls. "Helen. Marssssy" Marcy nods, Helen waves a timid hand. It seems they can understand each other's names. It is a beginning.

Suddenly, squeaking sounds abound, and the rats abandon Helen's robes en masse. They run to where the caged rats are, and demand we release their brethren. I wave at a monkey that is near it. "Release the rats. Also, they are friends. Nobody can hurt these rats." They are making a celebration on their own.

Some monkeys come closer. "Ook! Boss, we cold too." They are looking at Helen with the same eyes they look at me. And shivering. We have to go south soon or everyone here will freeze.

I turn to the girl and play the translator again. "Helen, the monkeys here are cold too. If you are fine with MP, can you please warm them up too?"

"Sure, Grendel. I think this will be a good bonding."

I address the troop of monkeys "Ok every monkey that is feeling cold, line up to receive the blessing of warmth from Helen." And chaos ensues. "REMEMBER OUR LAWS. The weak and wounded first!!" At once they stop and look at each other. They get the weakest monkeys and carry them to the front. Good. These guys already have more empathy than the average human nobleman.

"These children are wounded. [Healing]! [Warmth]!" And so she begins to heal and warm the monkeys.

After 10 or so monkeys treated, Helen's breath becomes ragged. I open party window, she overdid it again. "Helen, don't push yourself."

"Huff... I am fine, Grendel. This much is nothing... You should see me when I was fighting an MP draining poisonous herb in that cursed stockade."

I made a blunder. I can't think of Helen as a frail girl forever. She is strong. Strong enough to get out of that jail on her own. Strong enough to animate that tree, wreck a wall and make it here on her own two feet.

"I am sorry. Please focus on your training as I told you a few days ago, to get more skill ups."

"Thank you!!!" She sits and begins to... breathe with her eyes closed. Is it meditation?

I leave Helen to her own devices and call Marcy. "Hey, Marcy, follow me here, I have those things I promised you here." I take her to a triangular hovel we made. The bottom was excavated, and the soil mixed with water and clay was pressed between the layers of plant matter. Everything is covered in leaves. It can keep some warmth trapped, and is rain-proof. Inside there are some bags and boxes where I carry my stuff. I haven't had the time to set up my workshop, but it is fine.

Leaf Hovel

I take a small crudely done wood box, and hand to her. "This is my 'thank you' present for both bringing that care package, and for warning me of Helen's woes."

She takes the box but doesn't open it. "Say, G, if I had not shouted that Helen was about to be murdered, you would never have... eaten Helmholtz and his party, right?" This seems to be weighing on her. I was wondering why Marcy was silent the whole time. I know that beneath that 'in-your-face' facade of hers she is kind and caring.

"M, let me tell you..." She smirks when I call her M. It goes both ways, sis. I give my best mentor voice: "What happened, happened and couldn't have happened any other way."

"How can you be so sure?" Close!

"We are still alive!"

Marcy bursts into laughter so hard she has to hold her belly. "Ha ha! Who are you imitating! It is terrible!" The box falls down and breaks. More than a hundred of small black triangles skitter and scatter on the dirt floor. "Ha ha Huuu... Sorry!"

Don't worry. I bend down and begin to pick up each one of them. Marcy soon joins me. She almost bruises herself on one of my horns, and I stand up...

"I am rather too big this way. I'll bother you with collecting your gift from the ground if you don't mind, M." She is wide open. Her heart, I

mean. The usually collected and calculating Marcy took a vacation during that laugh attack.

"Okie, G! Hey! What are these arrowheads made of? This dark enamel... What is this?" Skeptic.

"Oh. I had some B-rank monster parts lying around." I join my hands and wave my fingers across the gaps on each hand.

"B-rank? What the heck! Are these are your nails too?" Angry and curious.

"Are you grossed out? They grow back in minutes these days. Want to see?" I make a motion of biting off my finger.

"No. I'll pass. You are insane. Yesterday I was joking about farming materials from you, but you are really harvesting materials from your own body!!" Disbelief.

"Yeah. But I had a really bad result with troll hide armor, you know? With the acid vulnerability, it really didn't resist the lye and melted." And FYI, 'acid' in this world means 'corrosion'. So alkaloids are also a vulnerability.

"You flayed yourself... " Now she is truly disgusted.

"I'm a monster. Also, my [Pain Resistance] is level 7. These nails, they are very tough. They can make deep scratches in iron, and the spears made with my toenail can puncture metal shields."

"Guess I have no choice but to accept them, right?" Bashful

"I'd be delighted."

"You are a softie, G!" Playful.

We finish playing fifty shades of Marcy and get out of the hut. Helen has already finished warming the monkeys. She even warmed up the goblins too.

"What were you two doing inside that hut for this long?"

"Oh, Helen, you see, there might be more than one bride in G's life...."

"Cut the crap, M." When I realize what I've done, it was already late. Jealousy takes over Helen.

"You! You two even have pet names for each other now!!!! Gaa!"

"Helen, don't bite into Marcy's trap. She is just teasing you."

I get out of the hut and Shraaizar, completely unaware of the conundrum flying around in the human language, comes to me, wraps herself around my waist and rests on my shoulder. I pick up Helen and cradle her on my arm.

"What!" She is angry but did not resist being carried.

"Helen. You know better than to give in to Marcy's teasing. And you also know that I only love you."

She grabs my tusks with both hands and shakes my head. "Then say so, you big idiot! You have to be more honest..."

Shraaizar hisses loudly and looks at Helen as if to say "stop this racket I'm resting here". Helen waves at her timidly.

Crisis averted, I schedule the day for a big feast. We will talk and share stories the whole day. With me as the interpreter. I really want the whole crew to bond together.

Some monkeys acquired the [Lumbering] skill, and are apt to cut down trees. At least they don't break as many stone axes as the others. I commanded them to cut down some trees, and we are making a bonfire. I also sent out hunting parties, to bring us some meat.

While everything is being prepared, I have the girls teach Shraaizar some human words. From the shape of her mouth, she can make most sounds, except the ones that rely too much on the tongue. Hers is a thin strip and not muscular like us humanoids.

After we have our feast and the bonfire has been reduced to a big campfire, I call everyone.

I make a speech, that I repeat twice, in both the human and the monster languages.

"As everyone knows, I gained the ability to change into a human. I actually was a human in my previous life, in another world. But this skill comes at a huge price. I have to use a lot of pemadras to activate it, and for now, it only lasts for four days. Also, ever since this skill was unlocked, a problem has occurred.

I am sure you noticed the episodes when I have severe migraines. There are two new trackers in my status page. One is for 'Seal Strength' and the other for 'Soul Vessel Integrity'. Every time I turn into a human or some intense episode happens, these two trackers may go down.

I believe that the seal one is about my memories of my former world. I can't remember them, and every time I try this seal wanes. I will probably recover my memories when the seal breaks completely.

But the problem is the other one."

I make a long pause to see if everyone is on the same page as me. I don't expect the monkeys, goblins or rats to really grasp what I am saying, but this is for the trio of females in the front row.

"I think I will die when the Soul Vessel reaches zero."