Chapter 9: The Sleepover (Part 2)

"It was only a joke," Damara said.

"Sorry. I lost my grip," I said as I picked my burger back up. "So you like my cooking then?"

"Absolutely. This is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. The flavor is a bit strange though," she replied as a stray line of grease dripped off her chin.

With a short laugh, I gestured for her to wipe her chin. She blushed a bit as she wiped it away. Her dusky skin glistened in the light.

"So... tomorrow would you help me look for new housing? If you aren’t busy, I would really appreciate the company," she asked quietly, her voice dropping to a soft timbre as she asked. "If you’re too busy... I understand."

"Honestly, it sounds like a fun day. While we’re in town, do you mind maybe showing me around a bit? Not knowing where anything is gets old really fast," I asked, taking another bite of my burger afterward.

Her ears perked up. "I’d love that." She paused a moment before continuing. "What places would you like to see? We’ve got about anything you could think of here in Yagrisil."

"Nothing specifically. I’m just looking to familiarize myself with my new home," I said as I shoved a few fries in my mouth. "These need ketchup..." I muttered.

"That’s right! I almost forgot about that," she replied quickly. "We don’t get many folks from other worlds. Outside of the gods occasionally showing up, but most of that’s only in history books."

"Why is that?" I asked, hoping to get more information on a certain goddess. "You guys have two separate history books too. It’s pretty strange."

"If strange is what we’re talking about... You, Sam, are the strange one. But I like that about you."

I bowed my head slightly as I felt my cheeks run hot. "I... like you too, Damara," I managed. "Quite a lot, to be honest."

When I raised my head, Damara sat with a stunned look for a moment before ducking behind her hands. I could still see the tips of her ears turn a dark crimson red, however.

"Smooth talker..." she teased, lowering her arms. "So tell me about your life... before."

"First big difference: no magic, like at all. Everybody is angry for some reason and capitalism is the great evil," I explained, grabbing my plate as I stood up. "And they definitely didn’t have anyone as pretty as you."

This time, her entire face flushed crimson, the color spreading vividly across her dark skin. "What else?" she said, followed by a little tee-hee from behind the grey hoodie I had given her.

"Let’s see... we have this neat thing called TV and video games," I explained. "I think those would be a hit here if you ask me. Get some of those people off the street." I changed focus, a question of my own popping up. "What’s the deal with all the traffic? They’re in the sky, on foot, and some I’ve seen riding some kind of contraption through the aqueducts."

She mulled the question over for a few seconds before responding. "So you know about the Goddess of Purity and Pleasure, right?" she asked, continuing after I had nodded. "Well, Yagrisil is heavily overpopulated as a kingdom. Where we are, in the lesser district, it’s even worse." She leaned forward, letting a stray lock of hair fall. "My turn. What the hell are TV and video games?"

I spent the rest of our dinner explaining how a television worked. And on multiple occasions, complained about never being able to play GTA VI.

Once I saw I had hit her mental limit for the moment, I began clearing the table. Once the kitchen was cleaned up and the dishes set in the sink, we made for the living room.

Ignis sat near the fireplace, tending to the smoldering logs. The temperature was perfect, making getting used to the wood-smoke smell easier.

The thought kept nagging me until I was forced to look. Opening the Celestial Market app on my phone, I typed ’television’ into the search bar and hit enter. The results appeared instantaneously, showing multiple variations of TV.

[ 32’’ Plasma TV: 10,000 Favor ]

My jaw dropped when I read the bottom listing.

[ 100" OLED TV: 1,000,000 Favor ]

My current balance was nowhere near those prices. I began to put my phone away, feeling slightly defeated.

"Hey! You haven’t gotten my number yet," she said, grabbing my cellphone. "Here, I’ll save it for you." She then turned the camera on, took a selfie, and set it as her caller ID before handing me back my phone. "There. Now you can get a hold of me anytime."

"Thanks. I’d been meaning to ask but just never remembered at the right time," I explained, putting my phone back in my pocket. "So, are there any places you know of that have open housing?"

She placed her hand on her chin and made a pretty cute puzzled face. "Not that I can think of right away. I know there are some apartments above the tailor shop in town. We could check there first."

"That sounds like a plan."

The evening continued on as we conversed about the world and magic. I found out that I may be able to use magic eventually. Damara said she’d teach me.

After that conversation was over, it was well into the late evening. Ignis had retreated to whatever room he stayed in, and Damara, sitting next to me, had begun to doze off, eventually leaning over and falling asleep on my shoulder.

Carefully, I got up, making sure to not wake her. I picked her up and carried her to one of the open rooms. Once inside, I gingerly placed her down on a bed and covered her with a comforter.

As quietly as possible, I tiptoed out of the room, closing the door behind me. I kept the handle turned until the door was fully seated, just in case it was overly loud when it clicked into place. A trait I’d always had on Earth.

After a long, steamy shower, I laid down in my bed, excited to spend another day in this world with Damara. The thoughts quickly allowed me to fall asleep.

***

I awoke to my bed sinking in as a warm hand ran down my spine.