Chapter 431: The Little Things
"So… with that out of the way…" said Kamiko, shifting in place somewhat uncomfortably. "What's with the room layout? Why'd you change it?"
"Actually can I jump in?" when Kat said that everyone's gaze snapped to Kat in a slightly unerring way. It was as if she'd kicked a dog or done something unthinkably cruel… but they just stared for a while and eventually Kat continued, assuming she must have had permission. "How did you change it as well?"
The strange glares broke, and Kat wasn't sure exactly why they had, but the triplets resumed their normal countenance and Kamiko smiled and nodded as if she'd confirmed something to herself. Merra was the one who spoke up, she still had the paper around it, but she seemed rather content. "So… I'm guessing with higher energy… wait Kamiko first. We did it because we could. It was easier for the gag for us all to be on the couch so we took the time to swap things over.
"For Kat though… see that cupboard over there" Merra pointed over at one of the many cupboards in the kitchen. It didn't stand out, and from Kat's position it wasn't super clear which of two cupboards it actually was. She was tempted to move around and check but it didn't seem important so she nodded along instead. "Well, we keep a bunch of spare furniture in it"
Kat tried to prevent the confusion showing to badly on her face. She failed miserably. Her lips curled into a frown and her eyebrows creased with her nose twisting up just slightly. Merra's cheeks puffed out, and Kat realised it was to prevent laughter spilling out. That failed about five seconds into the attempt and Kat's confusion only grew. "I'm sorry. No really I am…
"It's just. Oh you're face. I mean, it so perfectly captures the 'I know you can't lie to me but… are you lying to me?' face some demons get. Glad I could manage it with such little effort. Sorry though. To explain, all the furniture has shrinking charms on it, so we can make it smaller or larger if we need to. This is the base size, and we shrink it for storage."
Kat's confusion cleared up somewhat, but she still had a few questions. "Is that sort of thing expensive?"
It was Erra who answered this time. Her eyes seemed brighter when she did, and Kat wondered what the exact reason was. "Well that really depends on what you're comparing it to. It's much less expensive then the land and the house, but we have a large block for the garden and Mum and Dad bought it a long time ago when it wasn't so expensive to live here.
"Comparing it more to… furniture like things? Well, it's astronomically cheaper then the bathtub, which is probably the most expensive piece of furniture in the house. Though ours is sort of more like a room. Still it probably costs more than all the furniture sets combined plus everything in mine and Merra's room. Not sure if I could add Kerra's room to that figure because of her art.
"Anyway, with all that being stressed… for a more normal piece of furniture it's VERY expensive. Making things shrink and grow is not an easy enchantment, and because we also need it to have all the normal ones for people with demonic fixtures on our back it gets pretty bad. That's because stacking enchantments exponentially increases the cost. Granted, the ones for wings and tails and the like are very cheap all things considered that it isn't too bad but it's not great.
"On the other hand though. Considering how much everyone in the family bar Kamiko makes. It's not a lot of work to buy them, especially for Mum and Dad, even Elmony can afford something like that. The demon economy is… a little strange at time" explained Erra.
*I guess that all makes sense. So many demons need things to make seating comfortable so I can see how that drives the price down. I'm a little surprised at the cost, but I'm not quite sure if she's talking about the whole set of furniture or each piece individually. The real question is though…* "Well, I HAVE to ask now. Why's the bath so expensive?" asked Kat
To Kat's surprise the triplets all looked to Kamiko to answer. "Oh wait… um I'm taking this one? Well… urm… it's pretty simple I guess? Unlike enchantments for the furniture the bathroom's main cost is materials and enchantments. Both together is what makes it bad but materials especially.
"The big kicker is… well, our bath can get really hot and really cold and most of the time you can do one or the other and not both without the price getting really bad. The fact that we not only need a bath and a room that can withstand those temperatures but an enchantment to make a liquid… or well it's not quite making…" Kamiko stumbled a bit, not quite proficient in enchantments for demons.
"Erra how did the liquid work again?" asked Kamiko after giving up on searching the answer herself.
"Ok, so, what it looks for is a certain liquid that is stored elsewhere in the hub. Changes depending on if we want hot or cold, but we pick that, it gets transported to the bath and then the enchantment chills it for us and keeps it at that temperature the best it can." Replied Erra.
"Wait what?" asked Kat "You use teleportation for it? Is it expensive?"
Kerra took this question, with a shake of her head and a slight wave of her hand to gather Kat's attention. "No it isn't. The specialised liquid drains out and gets sent back to the facility. It's the expensive part, and as long as you return most of it when it goes down the drain there isn't a problem. It's cleansed before reuse of course though because of the extreme temperature it's not that often needed."
"Cool cool" said Kat. *It's honestly so strange to think about. We just use water. Always water, and always heated from a water tank on the property. Or well not always but mostly. It's weird to think that the taps actually send different stuff through the taps. It LOOKED like water that's for sure even if I know that it can't have been considering the temperatures.*
"Before we break up… anything else you want to know Kat?" asked Merra
"Well… I would like to know about the Sins we still have to visit. Pride, Sloth, Gluttony and Lust" said Kat.
The triplets grinned at each other before speaking in tandem for the first time in a while. "Well, the first thing to know is you probably won't go to Pride. They won't all have the same reason for why, but we doubt they'd let you in. Pride just sort of does it's own thing and we forget about them most of them time unless they really want something. They'll run the gamut from 'We don't need help from convicts' to 'They are not worthy to serve us' and even 'Those being punished should not be allowed to enter our halls' very stuff those Pride guys.
"Lust, well they'll probably go the other way. They probably have a file on you, and because you're a Succubus with quite a few rare abilities they'll just give you a tour or something. Probably make a sales pitch instead of punishing you. They know that you just failed the debt for awakening which is tiny and basically nothing so they'd rather use the time productively to draw you to their side.
"Public Relations is one of their strongest aspects, so it'll seem great, and honestly, it kind of is, if that's your thing. They are shockingly honest and open about everything, though that does make the few secrets they hide all the darker. None the less, it will either seem like a great idea or a horrible one, and you can go from there.
"For Sloth… we actually have no idea what they'll want you for. They have actual employees for most of the work there and what can be optimised by enchantments has been. Despite it being called Sloth, the whole operation is very efficient, and they just sort of… go about their day. Very… Zen, I guess? We're not sure how they'll slot you in. They keep thing efficient so they can do the most work in the simplest way.
"Finally Gluttony. Could be a few things we suppose but it's probably going to be making food. They do more things then just eat but… well, one of the biggest parts of that faction just eat and make things when the… we hesitate to call some of the stuff they eat food, but they do, so I guess food it is. Like… some can take meats and make rare metals from it. Not a perfect conversion of energy but Gluttony demons like to eat for the most part, so it's the perfect job."
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