Store in Danmachi- Side Story: 6

Title: The Coward’s Night

*Ting-a-ling*

Sounds of bells and similar chimes usually perk a chienthrope. Their furry ears would stand in attention, their tails would twitch, and their eyes would regain vigor. Bar the few hardened adventurers, chienthrope is one of the easiest species of demi-humans to get along with—such stereotypes don’t hold Naaza back any longer.

Or so she claims to herself when getting ready in front of a mirror. Such is life, and changes happen. And Naaza’s trained nose picked a transition.

It was subtle before. The ‘coward’ use cheap tricks on her, suggesting his intentions with goblinoid items of debauchery! She didn’t falter. But he didn’t stop and continued! He used a lure of warm, heart-filling food. Her stomach, you may ask? She is left hungry for him- his food. But she didn’t give up. No, she set her heart on someone special—someone who lost his everything for her!

But the ‘coward’ strolled into her room as he did into her heart after threatening her with his life-death scenarios inside the Dungeon—shattering through all her Defenses—all her doors.

A ‘coward’—

“You’re awfully quiet,” she looks at him seated beside his entourage of employees and pets—a pinkette, a half-elf, a werewolf with a similar disposition as her own, and a pallum who takes no chance to cling to her coward.

“It’s nothing,” Naaza narrows her eyes, stowing away the tower of six bentos he left to lure her into his vile clutches. As the two parties conduct their business, the pink-furred kitten keeps a trained gaze on the chienthrope.

Naaza doesn’t know why.

How could a coward- ‘Is he really a coward?’ Naaza scoffs at her delusions. She isn’t an ale-addled fool to keep pushing responsibilities on someone else. Maybe it was seeing him beat a God into the ground or hearing his most recent exploits—she feels drawn. And it feels wrong. What will Miach think?

Unfortunately, Naaza knows the answer to that question, too.

‘Great, he would say,’ she internally sighs as she pays for the items.

‘It isn’t his exploits, right? It’s not the ferocity of an adventurer. If anything, I would want to rip it all away to feel its core,’ Naaza chews her lips. ‘A kind soul.’

‘Fighting for others, going against Familia after Familia, facing the Guild and ‘Heretic’ merchants alike! And… helping anyone he can.’

Oh, she understands Jackal’s philosophy of doing things right. That’s why he doesn’t go out searching for others to help—but he helps those he chooses until the VERY end!

‘Like us.’ She thinks quietly.

‘The discounts, the products, the preference—all helped us. And the food.’ Her lips try curling into a smile, and her tail twitches and her ears shuffle ever so slightly under the round green eyes of the kitten.

“Ah, about your side mission,” his voice rouses her out of thoughts as she sees him smile. “I’m really sorry for making you wait so long!”

‘Any other would say something like—you can look elsewhere if you are in a hurry.’ Naaza notes as she seems to know this ‘new’ Jackal better. His grin widens as he speaks selfishly despite his paradoxically selfless nature.

“But wait for me! I’m going to drive that scumbag out or kill him! I promise I’ll take you out for your collection mission soon!”

Lili rolls her eyes for some reason as Naaza nods calmly, “I’ll wait. My recipe should work, but the materials will help me complete the final touches.”

‘And then I can help Miach with the debt,’ she internally affirms as she feels conflicted yet light. ‘Just the debt.’

“Great!” He grins back, a fond sight. She likes him smiling. She may not be present in the Entertainment District, but she saw Jackal’s heartbroken expression against Soma. And it did things to her—terrible things.

“Oh, and great news! I’m hoarding every employee of mine under one roof—mine!”

Naaza’s thoughts still, the corner of her eyes twitch as words practically leave her mouth before her brain can register her thoughts. She must act now. She must—

“I’d like six more boxes of bento!”

—demand reparations!

---

“He-he~! Thanks, Naaza-chi!” An older, wrinkled chienthrope neighborhood auntie smiles as she holds the package between her arm and leaves Blue Pharmacy.

“Huff, another day has gone by,” Naaza exhales softly before locking the store’s entrance. She dusts and cleans the counter before closing the lights of the front space and retreating inside the building.

“Miach,” Naaza addresses her patron deity when she sees him sitting in the living room where they conduct business with Jackal and his peers. “You aren’t asleep?”

As Miach puts it—Early to bed, early to rise. It makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise.

He had all three if only her accident didn’t happen! Naaza still blames herself. She will continue to do so until she pays off the debt of Miach Familia!

“Ah, I wanted to chat with you for a while,” Miach smiles, gesturing for her to sit anywhere. She chooses the empty seat beside him, naturally! Her relationship isn’t any worse with him despite her recent revelations!

“Yes?” Naaza cocks her head sideways. “Is it about my new recipe? Would you like to review it again?”

“No,” Miach chuckles. “And I’m sure this recipe will benefit your excelia once you’re ready to update your falna again. It may even raise your Mixing’s level.”

Naaza lowers her head as Miach continues, “What do you think? Can you do it?”

“Updating my status? Is that what you wanted to talk about?” Her shoulders drop. “Am I worthy of it?” she questions—not Miach, but herself. “I haven’t dared near a monster since that day.” Her left arm hugs her right, ‘unfeeling’ arm. Oh! She feels everything on her right arm, the white-haired ‘witch’ is THAT good in her creation! But it’s a fake.

“No, it was an idle musing,” Miach sighs gently. “And nobody knows how ready you are except you.”

Naaza shakes her head, chuckling. She doesn’t even know why she speaks—“Jackal would say something similar to—Yeah, you are! Let’s ‘bang’ some monsters right now!—I’ll leave his colorful language to your imagination.”

Miach’s smile widens. She notices it.

Jackal doesn’t only have a way of digging into a woman’s heart and renting the space for his selfish existence! He has a way of making friends.

‘And enemies, I suppose. Like moths to a flame.’ She sighs.

“Speaking of Jackal,” Miach clears his throat, smiling at Naaza, “I will try to find if his patron deity has any issue with me. Most inter-familia relationships fail because of some grudge between the corresponding patron Deities.”

“Hm, ok,” Naaza idly nods before she flinches. Her floppy brown ears perk like a wolf’s, and the fur of her tail stands at its end! Her head snaps in Miach’s direction before she gasps at his smiling expression, “Miach, why would I care?!”

“Maybe you do, maybe you don’t,” Miach shrugs with apparent mischief in his gaze. He should look more attractive than ever, but Naaza only finds him annoying as she snaps again, “I don’t!” Her resting bitch face is nowhere to be seen!

“I hear you,” Miach nods. “But it doesn’t hurt to confirm, right? Although, we shouldn’t worry about a thing since he is already helping us out loads!”

Naaza thins her lips as she scoffs, “Don’t bunch yourself with me!”

Miach chuckles as he continues, “Well, I just wanted to talk about that. Your recipe should ease our financial worries, and we could start recruiting again.”

Silence surrounds the duo before Naaza sighs softly, “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, child. Jackal isn’t the only selfish one in this realm.”

“I don’t mean my arm—”

“I know,” Miach smiles. His hand reaches out to pat her head warmly as he ruffles her soft brown hair. “You’re a kind child, Naaza. You always put up with me and tolerate my antics.”

Naaza looks up slightly, noting the radiant smile on his face that fails to dazzle her like before, “You made my life fascinating, Naaza. You always did.”

“Don’t say that. I’m a nasty woman,” Naaza’s purple eyes glaze as tears glisten her orbs. “But, thank you, Miach.” She pulls herself from his patting before pouncing into his embrace and hugging him tightly. “Thank you so much!”

“Heh,” Miach chuckles, hugging her back. “I have something to make Jackal jealous with and look forward to at the same time.”

Naaza pulls back with a huff, stepping out from the couch before narrowing her teary eyes, “I’m confiscating your bento tomorrow.”

“What will I eat?” Miach’s expression freezes.

Naaza turns around, snorting, “Your words, what else?”

---

Naaza closes her door quickly before locking it shut. Her room’s current door is of better quality this time, but Naaza has no delusion—HE will break into her room when he wants to. She just hopes he doesn’t do so tonight. No. She likely wouldn’t care aside from a surprised yelp.

The final, paper-thin source of her conflict vaporized tonight as she finds her room’s dim surrounding the best thing for what she has planned.

A fervent urgency courses through her veins as she fails to acknowledge when she slipped out of her clothes. Her body snuggles into the bed as she pulls open her nightstand’s drawer, retrieving a familiar goblinoid flask—the Coward’s Suggestion.

She will never consume such an item!

But—

*Sniff*

She takes a long sniff of the potent ‘potion.’ Yes, she will never drink this potion that happened to be in her drawer—God knows how! But she can sniff it. It’s her fundamental right as a Chienthrope.

Lust doesn’t fill her veins as effortlessly as it would had she downed the potion. Instead, a soft-pitched whine escapes her lips as she hurries to close the tonic before curling on her sides. Her naked body heats quickly since the barest sniff is all it takes for Naaza to realize her body’s pent-up desires. Her mind rushes to recollect everything about the ‘growing’ butcher as she wonders if his implied Unique Skill also emboldens other assets of his. She remembers Jackal to be a thin and silent man when he advised her a few times about various issues of the Dungeon.

But he is different now.

He is bold, reckless, broad-shouldered, and big.

Hazy lust glazes her pupils as she cups her breasts in a fetal position. Lying on her back is comfortable due to her tail, so beastkins like her usually lie on their stomachs or sides. Her floofy, well-groomed brown tail slides betwixt her thighs, brushing against her damp pussy lips as Naaza mewls softly. She isn’t quick to remove her right hand yet. She has a good use for it.

“And now he is living with all of them,” Naaza mutters into her pillow, squeezing her tail with her thighs as she pinches her erect nipples over her small yet shapely breasts. The thought annoys her for a lot of reasons. ‘It’s not like he will ever see someone like me good enough, right? I’m one arm short of being a proper woman.’

She curls in further, her synthetic hand sliding down her toned stomach before pushing her ‘cold’ fingers between her soft tail and glistening wet pussy lips needing some grooming around the edges, given she hasn’t paid much attention down there for a while—nothing a brew of simple hair removal oil cannot deal with.

“Hnaah~!” a cute moan escapes her usually stoic face as she pouts. “No, that’s not the truth.”

She would worry if it was someone else. But Jackal?

He eyes her covered synthetic arm more than her body, often asking to see it with a curious expression. Doesn’t he understand how offensive his requests are?! Spirits—she is happy he isn’t repulsed by her arm!

So happy!

Her wet folds beg Naaza to slide her cold fingers past her lips, and she does, gasping at the cold touch.

‘He would be warm,’ she muses, drooling at the thought. ‘Warmer than his food and thicker by a wide margin!’ And that’s just his trained, rough fingers. They would trace her body roughly, the butcher he is! He will cop a firm squeeze of her breasts.

“Hnng!” Naaza pinches and twists her dark-pink nipple, imagining his rough pant beside her ear and his sculpted body spooning her abandoned one. He will grasp her synthetic wrist tighter than her real one, not fearing the damage he could do to a fake arm while pressing his thick fingers deep inside, rubbing her weak spots and making her—

Naaza’s heated, sweaty body shivers and her hips jolt in surprise, bucking against her finger and dogging her tail into a wet mess as she creams in a few short seconds, panting like a rightful bitch in heat.

She came so quickly.

‘He won’t stop after one time, right?’ She gulps, justifying her lust by pinning the blame on the ‘coward’ like the true coward she is. ‘He will keep on going. I know. He will ruthlessly pin me down and—’

Needless to say, Naaza doesn’t need any more sniffs of potions to get her motor running as she steps into the wet territories her body long forgot—not knowing the consequential aching need her body will demand from her… and Jackal.

***

Alternate Title: The Sinful Hedonistic Partner With The Hand of God Cooking!; Naaza Shan’t Fall *Narrator Voice: She Accidentally Falls on Jackal’s Invasive Rizz*; Jackal Breaking And Butchering All Her Defenses; The Silent Bitch’s Heat; Demanding Reparations!; The Weird Pink Cat Sees It All!; Damn, Every Woman Around Jackal Traumatizing Poor Anya; The Talk With Miach; A Nasty Woman; Jackal LowKey Likes Mecha; A Hungry Naaza; The Treat That Leaves Naaza Wanting More; It’s All Jackal’s Fault!; Jackal If He Learns Of Their Fantasies: Damn, Nobody Likes Handholding Sex?; The Price Of Feeding a Dog—You Must Adopt Her! Naaza’s Imagination Slowly Rekindling; From Imagining Pants of Breaths to Pussy Blasting Soon Enough; Naaza *Heart-1 Event*—Masturbation.