Lelly scrolled through the [Forums], looking for something interesting, but somehow ended up looking at an argument about one of her favorite MunFi series, I’m an [Office Core] but after a brief personal leave I came back to find the bratty [Intern] girl in charge of my company?!. This particular server was supposed to be about a different series called Otherside [Dungeon], but they talked about all kinds of MunFi stories, especially those with girls’ love components like Reborn in a Mundane World, My Boundless-Bag Makes Me Rich, and even My Harpy Girlfriend.

  Of course, My Harpy Girlfriend was more of a ‘Soft MunFi’ story which still had magic although it was less well defined than in reality. But Lelly wasn’t a genre purist or anything.

  Otherside [Dungeon] was one of her favorites. It was about these two girls who find a [Dungeon] that is totally mundane. No magic or [System] or anything. It’s sort of like an [Office] setting from other MunFi novels but they keep running into strange things reported or invented in Mundane [Forum] Threads. Like at one point they get this status effect called [Chicken Pox] and in another they meet a Mundane Human named Gary who won’t stop asking what they’re doing trespassing in the building. It’s hard to explain and the romance is slow-burn but really well done.

  Lelly couldn't help but agree with [NumberOneSamanthaFan121292]. She began to write a response:

  Lelly stared at her ranting comment for a minute, but hesitated to send it. Before deciding whether or not she should join the fray, she needed a snack.

  The KangarooHawk, which was resting with its wings folded in its artificial nest near the ceiling, lifted its head as Lelly stood from her desk. From the next room, the CowDog clambered with canine excitement. Was it time to play???

  “Honest, you two are so silly,” Lelly said, shaking her head. “Let me eat a snack before I take you outside. No, Moomi! Sit down–siiit. Good Moomi!” For short, Lelly had taken to calling the CowDog ‘Moomi’ and the KangarooHawk ‘Rooroo’.

  Lelly took a decorated phiale from the cupboard and laid it on the counter. She opened a fresh bag of salt-and-vinegar-flavored krill and placed some atop the dish. From a pitcher she poured a few drops of pond water on the offering. Then leaning her head back, she listened to the ambient sound of her room and pressed her tail to the back of each of her ankles.

  After that, she ate some of the remaining krill in the bag. I probably should have chosen something more substantial, but this is what today is, I guess.

  The KangarooHawk and CowDog took their ‘walk’ with frantic excitement. The CowDog tried to chase a CicadaRat. The KangarooHawk kept stopping for no observable reason. Managing the two could be a handful, but she could probably use some extra time in the fresh air.

  The truth was, Lelly was worried. Deeply worried. With the convent in a frenzy, ItherBeau Mage College and the regional government were in a frenzy of their own. Her advisor had questioned her about her experiences in Blinny [Dungeon] and Lelly did her best to deflect in a way that wouldn't cause suspicion. She definitely didn't see anything interesting. She definitely didn't know anything about some Knight named Thesa or the demoness Merijest.

  “That all sounds pretty scary,” she had said. She hoped that her anxiety about being questioned could be interpreted as a fear of Merijest or something.

  Still, her new animal friends posed an unforeseen problem. At first she hadn’t mentioned them, but someone reported her or something, so tomorrow she would need to speak with the head of Student Housing. Merijest once told Lelly that some of the Knights had the ability to identify Merijest's [Familiars]. Could someone at IBMC have the same kind of power?

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  On her way back to the dorms, Lelly was unusually alert to her surroundings. The spring sky was cloudy and the air was uncharacteristically moist. She passed the big fountain near the center of campus. Her first year at IBMC she would sit in that fountain on sunny days with some of the other naiad students while they worked on homework or talked.

  In those early days it was easy to make friends, but Lelly hadn’t realized how much life would change from year to year. Occasionally, she still talked to some of them, but everyone had different things to worry about. Today, the only things in the fountain were coins (many being of the ‘blessed Beautuk’ variety) and a flock of Cherugulls.

  Those blessed coins… Lelly had always recognized the practice as similar to the special shells her family decorated with icons of the Twin Stars. She wasn’t sure who had gotten the practice from who. Of course, Lelly’s own parents observed some devotion to Beautuk, but she could never pierce through to see how much was out of fear and how much was genuine. The true shape of devotion was invisible, after all.

  When she got back to her dorm, Lelly deleted the typed up message. She was glad she typed it out to clarify her own thoughts but she didn't need to engage in some argument. She was just stressed and looking for an outlet. Instead, she took out a pad of paper and began scribbling ideas for a new piece of fanfiction about Choryto and Worahso.

  ***

  Lelly sat in a comfortable chair with a mug of Grackle Lily tea in front of her. She hadn't even sipped at it, anxious for the meeting at hand.

  “And that's how you got two animal companions? Why didn't you mention it to anyone?” asked Villdah, a kobold who was the head of Student Housing.

  Lelly’s claim was that the two creatures had wandered, exhausted, onto her [Floor] and her intervention saved them from drowning.

  “Um, well, the Twin Stars helped me to bond with them as [Lanterns]...” Lelly explained with her head down.

  The head nodded. Having a religious affinity for the Twin Stars was not exactly against the rules of ItherBeau Mage College, but in many ways it was stigmatized both institutionally and interpersonally. Reporting a [Lantern] in official documents could be a long process and there was always a chance she would be told they couldn't stay with her or that she needed to break off the connection or something. Really, Lelly didn't know what a rejection might look like, but it was true that part of the reason she hadn't mentioned them was because of the risk.

  “I wasn't trying to hide them exactly,” Lelly continued. “But I knew that if I told you about them it would get complicated. I didn't want to make your job more difficult than it is…”

  “Lelly, make my job difficult,” Villdah replied. They were leaning forward with a sympathetic smile. “That's what I'm here for,”

  Lelly nodded meekly. She appreciated the implication that Villdah was invested in supporting Lelly in these kinds of situations, but there was more at stake here.

  Lelly knew that sometimes honesty could put her at risk. Honesty requires trust. And that requires both trust in the person and in their relationship to the institutions they are responsible to. Lelly did trust Villdah to a degree, but because they had more trust in the winning power of righteousness in the face of institutional powers and interests, they couldn't be trusted to make tactical decisions about who needs to know any given thing. At least that was Lelly’s assessment.

  “Listen, I can give you a week,” Villdah said, “Most likely, you’re going to have to find another place for your companions to stay, but I will see what I can do.”

  Lelly nodded and scheduled a follow up meeting the next week.

  ***

  Moomi and Rooroo behaved strangely when Lelly entered the dorm.

  Moomi would normally come barreling toward her and even try to jump up on her at times (despite Lelly’s attempts to discourage the behavior). Rooroo’s response was more dependent on the time of day but it would usually at least look up and chirp.

  “Moomi? Rooroo?” Lelly called into the dorm.

  In an instant the two came out from hiding and ambushed Lelly with tearful yowling. The CowDog’s tail was between its legs and the KangarooHawk had pulled itself so far into its nest that Lelly hadn’t seen it until then.

  Maybe she was just paranoid because of everything going on.

  “What’s gotten into you two?” She asked. “Did you eat something you weren’t supposed to?”

  But when she went to pet Moomi, it recoiled for just a moment before resuming a more standard, affection-seeking behavior.

  Lelly cast [Detect Status] and found to her astonishment that Moomi had been hit with the [Petrify] effect. The effect had mostly worn off, but something was clearly wrong.

  Although she couldn’t exactly speak to animals, her training as a [Druid] and her connection to Moomi and Rooroo as fellow [Lanterns] of the Twin Stars did allow her a limited degree of communication.

  “Did you two get out somehow while I was gone?”

  Mruff. Moomi let out a noise between a ‘moo’ and a ‘ruff’.

  Lelly took that as a no. She’d suspected as much. It wasn’t like they could just waltz in-and-out as they pleased. Still, she had hoped it was somehow the truth, rather than the more likely scenario.

  “Did someone come in here?”

  Mwoof. This sound was more of a ‘woof’, and Lelly understood the devastating affirmation behind the sound.

  “Are they still here?”

  Mruff. (No.)

  “Did they take something?”

  Mruff. (No.)

  “Did they leave something?”

  Mwoof. (Yes.)

  “Can you show it to me?”

  Mruff. (No.)

  Moomi and Rooroo must have been cowering from the [Petrify] status and therefore unable to identify what exactly had been left behind.

  “Do you know what room it was in?”

  Mwoof. (Yes.)

  Moomi approached Lelly’s bedroom door, but was reluctant to enter.

  In the MunFi novels she read, sometimes corporate spies left bugs in rival headquarters to uncover secrets or dig up dirt on a target for blackmail. Was something like that happening to her?

  As much as she feared the thought, it would probably be for the best to get out of IBMC sooner than later.

  Which MunFi novel would you most like to read?

  I have been SO excited to put this chapter out. Initially I just wanted to add a few cut away scenes from Lelly's perspective to give a larger view of the world and some idea of what was going on elsewhere, but it spiraled out of control and now we will be returning to Lelly every few chapters. No spoilers, but I think you all are really really going to like where these go...

  ***

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