NOVPUBAlex had no desire to participate in the morning women's conversations over breakfast, so he decided to slip back into the workshop and finish the work he hadn't gotten around to yesterday. After kissing the girls goodbye, he reminded them he'd be in the workshop if anyone needed him. They merely waved him off cheerfully, as if shooing him out of the dining room so he wouldn't get in the way of discussing the details of his night with Alcina.
As he walked away, Alex paused for a moment—how would Alcina handle such a barrage of questions? In his opinion, her character was refined, maybe even a bit conservative. A woman with her manners was unlikely to want to share intimate details. However, Alex knew the girls in their "family"—for many of them, shame was just a word, not an emotion. And if Alcina could hold her ground with the first few, Yuriko, Kiriko, and Namiyo—her closer friends—would certainly manage to get her talking.
Back in the workshop, Alex headed to his workbench, where he had left the partially assembled portable mini-lab for Rebecca Chambers the day before. Sitting down, he tried to recall where he had left off, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. After massaging his face and gathering his thoughts, he got to work. Thankfully, the medical assistance capsule for Mari had already been assembled the day before, so there weren't many tasks left for today.
After spending a couple of hours assembling the mini-lab, Alex loaded the finished device into his inventory, not forgetting the capsule as well. Once finished, he stretched and cracked his back—a habit he'd picked up, even though he didn't feel pain thanks to his body. Still, stretching after long sitting sessions felt natural.
Wondering what else he could do, Alex remembered his three little students, whom he intended to raise into future kunoichi. He decided it was finally time to give Honoka, Malka, and Alice their own sets of shuriken and kunai, so they'd stop sneaking weapons from Shigure, thinking he didn't notice.
He pulled everything he needed from his inventory and quickly crafted three sets. The job only took a few minutes. Now all that remained was to hand the kits over. Alex knew that under Shigure's guidance, the girls were progressing rapidly, and he was genuinely glad that she was doing so well as their mentor.
Remaining seated at the table, Alex paused, wondering if he had forgotten anything. Running through his thoughts, he realized all tasks in the workshop were complete. He packed up the excess and returned everything to his inventory, then stood and headed for the exit.
Upon entering the living room, he spotted Shigure fussing with a dollhouse. She was carefully arranging its interior, and Alex immediately realized—it was for Tachimaru, her little mouse. Lately, he'd been spending a lot of time with GIR, MIMI, and Stitch whenever that trio was loafing around looking for their next adventure.
Walking up behind her, Alex leaned over her shoulder to watch her work. He was genuinely surprised—Shigure was hand-carving each detail, whittling tiny furniture from wood.
"Need some help?" he asked, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and smiling.
"Yes... Too much work," Shigure nodded, turning slightly toward him.
Alex smiled, hopped over the back of the couch, and sat beside her. From his inventory, he pulled out a fine carving knife. Shigure, without saying a word, leaned against his shoulder and continued carving furniture. They worked in silence, each focused on their task. For Alex, this was a first—he had never done anything like this before, and for a moment, he even considered installing turrets on the house… but quickly dismissed the idea as overkill.
Instead, he remembered he had some things in his inventory prepared especially for Tachimaru. After all, GIR, MIMI, and Stitch each had their own cosplay outfit collections—and he figured the mouse deserved a wardrobe too.
Carving a small wardrobe out of wood, Alex used magic to create tiny hangers and hung up a few new outfits. Shigure, momentarily distracted from carving another miniature chair, turned her head to see what he was doing.
"What's that for?" she asked flatly.
"GIR, MIMI, and Stitch have tons of cosplay outfits," Alex said with a smile. "So I figured, since Tachimaru hangs out with them now, he could use a wardrobe too." 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
Shigure looked Alex in the eyes and slowly nodded, as if grasping some unspoken truth floating in the air. Alex gave a faint smile and returned to his work. He could have crafted all the furniture for Tachimaru's house with magic—it would've taken just a few minutes. But watching how carefully and intently Shigure was carving everything by hand, he decided to match her pace. Just to spend time with her. Thankfully, there was no rush—things were relatively calm right now.
He knew he couldn't move forward with his plans until Chris Redfield contacted him directly to offer help and check in on how the unification of the remaining survivors for the Raccoon City assault was progressing. Alex wasn't fully informed about the situation in the U.S. All he knew was that one part of the country was overrun by demons, another by necromorphs fiercely guarding the Red Markers. And people? Caught in the middle, just trying to survive the chaos.
While Alex and Shigure quietly worked on their slow, meticulous tasks, two lazy onlookers peeked around the corner with curiosity. Zero Two and Lucy squinted, trying to figure out what the two were doing in complete silence. Unable to resist, they began to sneak closer.
Alex had sensed them approaching long ago but made no move to stop them, allowing them to do as they pleased.
"What are you doing here?" Zero Two asked with curiosity, climbing over the back of the couch and hanging off Alex's shoulders.
"A house for Tachimaru," Shigure answered flatly, not looking up from the wood.
"Tachimaru… That mouse who's always on your head?" Lucy clarified, sitting down beside Alex and lazily leaning on his shoulder.
"Yeah," Shigure nodded in confirmation.
"Need a hand?" Lucy asked, glancing at Alex.
"If you want, you can help. But fair warning—the work is boring and takes patience. Especially you, Zero Two. I get the feeling you struggle with that," he said with a smirk.
Zero Two scoffed but didn't argue—she knew he was right. Lucy, on the other hand, seemed interested. Alex watched with mild surprise as she used her vectors to gently lift a block of wood and tried to carve a miniature armchair. He was curious about how precise her control over the vectors was—after all, she used them mainly for killing back in the lab where she was experimented on. Now? They were mostly for not having to get up or for stealing food off his plate.
But in practice, it was harder than it looked. Her first motion caused the block to crack.
"Heh, guess that didn't work. Not as talented as you claimed, huh?" Zero Two smirked, resting her chin on Alex's shoulder.
Lucy didn't reply or even look her way. Instead, she silently picked up another piece of wood and started working more slowly, more carefully. Watching her efforts, Alex decided to offer a few tips. Gently patting Lucy on the shoulder to get her attention, he began mimicking the motions of her vectors, showing her the better way to approach such delicate work.
Shigure even set her tools down—curious to see how Alex would do it.
He calmly and clearly explained what to focus on, how to distribute force so the material wouldn't break, and which motions were most effective. Lucy watched him with such intense focus that she didn't even blink—trying to catch every detail.
However, Zero Two, as always, decided to play. With a mischievous grin, she bit Alex on the earlobe and did everything she could to distract him, trying to make him mess up his work. But Alex merely shook his head, refusing to give in to her provocations. He calmly finished the demonstration and set the completed miniature furniture aside.
Now it was time to give some attention to the pink-haired "gremlin."
"Alright, come here, you pink-haired gremlin. Had fun, didn't you?" Alex said as he pulled Zero Two off his back and sat her down on his lap.
"Oh, I had lots of fun, darling. It's your fault — you're ignoring me," she whispered playfully, snuggling into his lap.
Alex only laughed in response and began tickling Zero Two, deciding it was time for her to receive her share of payback. After all, just yesterday she and Lucy had tied him up and delivered him to the other girls to be teased mercilessly — he'd had to postpone all his plans until today because of that.
Zero Two laughed loudly and squirmed, trying to escape Alex's grasp, but it was useless. After a few minutes of relentless tickling, she lay sprawled on the couch, gasping for breath between fits of laughter.
"You deserved that," Lucy noted, squinting at her friend.
"And now it's your turn, my dear Lucy," Alex said, his eyes gleaming mischievously as he turned his gaze to her.
Lucy immediately realized what was coming and bolted for the door, hoping to escape. But no one escaped the grasp of the Demon King. Within seconds, she was in his hands, receiving her share of tickling. A minute later, she was in the same state as Zero Two — breathless, laughing through tears, unable to resist Alex's nimble hands.
Meanwhile, Shigure watched the entire scene with a stone-cold expression. But the moment her gaze met Alex's, she realized she might be next. Unlike the others, Shigure was more agile and resourceful. With the grace of a ninja, she leapt over the back of the couch in an attempt to escape… but Alex was faster. He caught her and pulled her into a tight embrace, immediately starting to tickle her.
However, unlike the others, Shigure didn't laugh. She only breathed heavily, staring at him with a strange expression. Alex was taken aback by her reaction and wasn't sure what to do with his hands. Shigure hung limply in his arms, still breathing heavily.
"…I may have overdone it," he muttered, clearing his throat awkwardly, thinking he probably looked like a total pervert.
Gently laying Shigure down on the couch, Alex did what any sensible man would do in his situation — he retreated from the scene. Leaving the three exhausted girls to recover from their fun little ordeal, he quickly left the room.
At the exit, he ran into Alcina, who was coming down from the second floor. Their eyes met. The woman stared at him with a stone-cold, utterly blank expression, prompting Alex to quicken his pace and bolt out of the house as fast as he could.
Alcina watched him go and, unable to contain herself, let out a quiet laugh. His panicked escape had clearly amused her.
Once outside, Alex leaned against his motorcycle and took a moment to think about where to go first. He needed to deliver the finished medical capsules to Mari and Rebecca Chambers, and then hand out ninja kits to his three young students.
Lighting a cigarette, he thought it over and decided to start with the clinic — he'd visit Shizuka and spend a bit of time with her too. Having settled on the first destination, Alex got on his motorcycle and soon arrived at the right place. After putting out his cigarette, he stepped inside.
As before, the registration desk by the entrance surprised him — a completely unnecessary thing, yet installed by someone's whim. Ignoring it, Alex went deeper into the building, searching for Shizuka and Mari. Rebecca Chambers, as he knew, was most likely on the second floor in the lab with the other scientists.
He decided to look for Mari and Shizuka first. Hearing their voices mixed with two male ones, Alex followed the sound and entered the ward. What he saw made him burst out laughing.
On one of the beds lay Jake with a black eye and bruises all over his face. Nearby stood Kenichi, who was clearly beaten up as well. Mari was lecturing them sternly, wagging her finger threateningly.
"You two need to stop getting yourselves into trouble! Especially you, Kenichi! You're practically a regular here!" Mari said indignantly.
Shizuka sat in a chair nearby, trying to suppress a smile. Kenichi stood with his head down, saying nothing. And even if he tried to speak, he probably couldn't justify himself — after all, it was his teachers' fault, as always, for overloading him with training.
Jake, lying on the neighboring bed, watched all this with a mischievous grin.
But then laughter near the door drew everyone's attention — it was Alex, unable to hold back when he saw the scene.
"Alex, you're here!" Shizuka exclaimed happily and immediately threw her arms around his neck.
"Yo. You got pretty messed up there, Jake. Who did you decide to pick a fight with?" Alex asked, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes as he looked at Jake's face.
"That was Reina... Who would've thought this girl has such a steel fist," Jake grumbled, rubbing his face with annoyance.
"Your brain's not the brightest, that's for sure. And you, Kenichi… what happened this time? Fell down the stairs? Rockslide? Forced to carry a boulder to the mountain peak? Or wild beasts again?"
"No... It was Ken. He challenged me to spar, and the teachers said I need more experience fighting professionals," Kenichi replied dryly, trying to hide his disappointment.
"Believe your teachers less, maybe then you'll stop being a punching bag," Alex sighed, shaking his head sympathetically.
Kenichi just gave a dry laugh, fully aware that he would still have to suffer while his teachers kept training him. Or — less likely — that he would beat them anytime soon.
Once again, he sank into despair, realizing he couldn't run away, and even less likely could defeat his mentors. Looking at Kenichi's gloomy face, Alex could only feel sorry for the guy in his mind. After all, Kenichi had jumped into the pit called the Ryōzanpaku dojo himself and was now paying for his desire to become stronger. Even Jake felt a little sorry for Kenichi... although just a little. Mostly, like the others, he simply enjoyed his suffering.
"What did you come here for, Alex?" Mari asked, looking at him. Shizuka was still clinging to his neck.
"I've got gifts. And, at the same time — for a cup of coffee," Alex replied with a slight smile, stroking Shizuka's hair while she hugged him.
"Then wait a minute. I'll finish with these two quickly and catch up. You can wait in the break room," Mari said with a smile.
Alex nodded and, taking Shizuka by the hand, headed to the break room where the clinic staff usually grabbed snacks or coffee during breaks. Entering together with Shizuka, Alex immediately took out a portable medical capsule he had prepared in advance especially for Mari.
Shizuka, meanwhile, turned on the coffee machine to brew some coffee.
Mari quickly finished with Kenichi and Jake, kicked them out of the ward so they wouldn't occupy the beds, and also headed to the break room. Seeing the familiar capsule on the table, she immediately understood that Alex had assembled a personal portable version for her too.
"So, what do you want in return for such a wonderful gift?" Mari asked, taking the device in her hands.
"Hugs will do. It wasn't hard for me to put it together," Alex replied calmly, waving it off.
Mari smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her face as close as possible. Shizuka, hearing the coffee was ready, turned around and immediately saw Mari clutching Alex. She coughed loudly. Mari startled, quickly released her embrace, stepped back, embarrassed and blushing.
Alex glanced at Shizuka, who was pouting with jealousy, and couldn't help but chuckle lightly.
Mari also quickly recovered, coughed for real this time, and awkwardly averted her gaze.
To lighten the mood, Alex took some pastries out of his inventory — a treat for the coffee. After a short coffee break with Shizuka and Mari, he said goodbye to the girls and headed to the second floor of the clinic to find Rebecca Chambers and give her the portable mini-lab he'd prepared for her.
Reaching the right office, Alex opened the door with a wide smile:
"Yo, Rebecca! I'm here visiting you — with gifts!"
But as he entered, he immediately froze. His smile faltered when he saw Rebecca changing clothes. She was standing in just pants and a green bra. Their eyes met, and Rebecca's cheeks instantly flushed.
"How much longer are you going to stare?" she muttered, covering herself with a blouse.
"Nice green bra," Alex remarked without missing a beat.
"Thanks. Now get out and let me change," she said sharply, still blushing.
Alex, smiling slightly, watched as she hid her chest under the clothes. Her angry look seemed more cute than threatening. He smirked and, without arguing, carefully closed the door behind him.
He hadn't expected to end up in such a situation again. Standing in the hallway, he mentally both thanked and cursed the goddess of luck — she was clearly still playing her tricks on him.
As if on cue, Hlökk and Alvitr immediately dubbed him a pervert for barging in again without knocking. Alex ignored them, habitually blaming it all on the capricious goddess of luck.
"Come in," Rebecca Chambers's voice finally called from inside.
Alex opened the door and stepped back into the office. His gaze immediately fell on Rebecca Chambers, whose face was still flushed — not surprising, considering he had caught her in just a bra. Alex lowered himself onto the chair opposite her, and she deliberately looked away, trying to focus on some paperwork. But even without looking at him, she could feel his intense gaze burning right through her, only deepening her embarrassment.
"So, what exactly did you come for?" Rebecca asked, coughing slightly to try and mask her nervousness.
"I finished your portable mini-lab and came to deliver it. Who knew you'd be changing right now? By the way, the green bra suits you," Alex said with a slight smile.
"I spilled reagent on myself…" she muttered, turning away. "And enough about the bra already."
"Ha-ha, sorry, couldn't resist. Here, take it. You can check everything yourself later. I ran some tests through my system, but it's better if you make sure everything works as it should. If you need anything changed or added — just tell me beforehand so we don't drag it out," Alex said, pulling the mini-lab out of his inventory and carefully placing it on the table in front of her.
"You made it that fast? I thought it would take you a couple of days…" Rebecca said in surprise, staring at the device in amazement.
"I could have finished it yesterday, but… plans suddenly changed, and I got tied up all evening and night," Alex explained with a shrug.
Rebecca threw him a suspicious look. Her imagination immediately ran wild, and spicy scenes from adult films flashed through her mind. Her cheeks blazed again. Trying to shake off the thoughts, she picked up the mini-lab and began examining it closely.
Meanwhile, Alex moved closer and started a brief tutorial on how to operate it. He patiently explained what did what, answering her questions and illustrating everything with demonstrations. Rebecca listened attentively, occasionally asking for clarifications. After about half an hour, Alex finally finished.
"Maybe I should start making written instructions," he smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Explaining everything every time takes too long."
"Maybe," she agreed with a slight smile. "Although I doubt anyone would figure out a device like this just from a manual."
"Well, now that that's done, I'll go visit my little students. I've got something for them too," Alex said kindly, standing up.
"You forgot something," Rebecca suddenly said, rising to follow him.
"Mm? What's that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, turning around.
"This," she said softly, wrapping her arms around Alex's neck and standing on her tiptoes to kiss him.
Alex was a little surprised by such a bold move but certainly wasn't about to refuse. He hugged her waist and returned the kiss. Their lips met in a soft, warm kiss that lasted until Rebecca had to pull away — she simply ran out of air.
She blushed even harder and looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"And why are you embarrassed? You were the one who just kissed me. If anyone should be blushing, it's me," Alex said, cupping her cheeks and smiling.
Rebecca Chambers' cheeks flamed even brighter as Alex gently held her face, softly massaging it with his fingers. Her embarrassment had reached its peak, and to suppress it somehow, she started pushing Alex out of the office. Still not quite believing she had kissed him herself, she tried not to look him in the eyes. Yet somewhere deep inside, joy was overflowing — after all, he had returned her kiss. But now she needed to be alone to collect herself.
"Go already to your students… you fool," she muttered, continuing to push him toward the door.
"And what about the blazing love that erupted between us like a fierce fire? Are you really going to chase me away at such a touching moment?" Alex said dramatically, retreating in an exaggerated theatrical manner.
"Yes, I am. Or did you not know that girls need their personal space too? Besides, I still have a ton of work. The anti-demon virus won't make itself," Rebecca Chambers declared, finally pushing him out the door.
"Then give me one last kiss… and I'll leave on my own," Alex said with a slight smile, turning to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Alright. Just one… and then go right away," Rebecca muttered, pressing her face against his chest.
Looking up, she quickly stood on tiptoes and kissed him briefly on the lips. Then, without giving him a chance to say a word, she shoved him out the door and quickly closed it. One more second, and he probably would have thought of something else.
Alex smirked, looked at the closed door, threw his hands behind his head, and whistling a light melody, headed toward the clinic's exit.
It was time to find his young students. The first place they could be was the greenhouses — where they often tended the plants. On the way, Alex thought that sooner or later he would have to tell Rebecca everything: who he really was, what he did, and why he had come to this world. After all, their relationship was beginning to take a more serious turn.
On the way to the greenhouses, he decided to visit Brunhilda, Koko, Yuriko, and Saya — the girls who essentially held the whole settlement on their shoulders. Entering their room, he briefly distracted them, causing light smiles and some disgruntled grumbles. After a couple of minutes and a reprimand for interrupting their work, Alex gave up and was "solemnly" expelled.
Leaving the girls to their tasks, he headed straight to the greenhouses. But, to his surprise, they were empty. That could only mean one thing — Alice, Honoka, and Malka were most likely on the training field. There was always something going on there, and the students never missed an opportunity to practice.
Wasting no time, Alex turned toward the training field but first stopped by the armory to visit Revy and Rebecca, who, along with Moira, managed all the weapons in the settlement. Seeing the girls busy, he didn't want to disturb them, only nodded briefly and quietly slipped away.
As he approached the field, he could already hear the sounds of fighting. No questions—someone was sparring again. Since the field had become a training zone, there was always someone practicing or just figuring out who was stronger. Getting closer, Alex saw Anya sitting on Chun-Li's shoulders, watching with interest another match between Ryu and Ken.
He was about to sneak up, but it seemed like Anya had a built-in radar for her father—she immediately turned her head.
"Daddy!" she called out happily as she spotted Alex.
Chun-Li heard Anya's voice and turned around as well, noticing Alex. Realizing his attempt to sneak up had failed, Alex just smiled and headed over to Chun-Li and Cammy. Before he could get closer, Anya jumped off Chun-Li's shoulders with a joyful smile and leapt straight into his arms. Alex laughed and caught her confidently, holding her close.
"These two, as usual, are trying to figure out who's stronger," Alex said, gently stroking Anya's hair.
"Something like that. Ryu said he learned a new move, so he challenged Ken to a fight. Again," Chun-Li replied with a tired smile, shaking her head.
"Don't tell me it was something like: 'Wait, don't hit me, I want to try something first,'" Alex added, suppressing a laugh.
"This isn't a video game. They just locked onto each other again," Cammy smirked, appreciating his joke.
"That behavior is definitely from Rebecca. She's always cheating in games," Chun-Li noted, lazily leaning on Alex's shoulder.
"Arguing here is pointless. Rebecca really does like to cheat," Alex confirmed with a grin.
"So, why did you come here anyway?" Cammy asked, leaning against him from the other side and taking his hand.
"I was looking for Alice, Honoka, and Malka. I made special ninja kits for them—I want to give them personally," Alex answered, glancing around for his young students.
"They're over there, among that group of girls," Chun-Li said, pointing.
Alex followed her gesture and spotted a group of teenage girls. In the crowd, he recognized Miu, Renka, Kisara, Jinié, Seol, Kaname, and others. Among them stood his students—Alice, Honoka, and Malka. Alex raised an eyebrow with interest as he watched them training together with the rest, fitting into the group like they belonged. It was not surprising since the girls quickly found common ground with those a bit older.
He also noticed that Miu was trying to coach the trio, but judging by her expression, she wasn't very convincing. Apparently, explaining things wasn't her strong suit—especially since she was used to acting more than talking.
Deciding not to interfere for now, Alex stayed close to Chun-Li and Cammy, holding Anya in his arms and serving as a kind of support for the two women. His gaze drifted back to Ryu and Ken, once again engrossed in a fierce battle. Alex even wondered with curiosity what new move Ryu wanted to test that made him immediately challenge his longtime friend to a fight.
To be continued…
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