Tara's grandmother was delighted to see Dim-Dim in the house. At first, she thought Dim-Dim was her granddaughter's boyfriend. But when Tara said they were just classmates at university, her grandmother's attention to Dim-Dim didn't diminish at all."I'm glad to have a new person in this table," Tara's grandmother said excitedly, while moving the perfectly served lasagna in front of Dim-Dim."Thank you, Ma'am," Dim-Dim replied. "I feel honored to taste your cooking. Tara said you were a chef.""Absolutely correct," Tara's grandmother replied, joyfully. "People used to line up for hours and had to book a table weeks in advance just to try my cooking. Ah, those were the days."Dim-Dim then tasted a spoonful of the lasagna, and immediately he felt like he was in heaven. It was the most perfect lasagna he had ever tasted. Tara's grandmother used fermented soybean cake as a substitute for meat, and it was truly delicious."You know, true vegetarians don't eat cheese, right?" Tara asked. Di
Breaking up with a girlfriend is a strange feeling. Just a while ago, he was deeply hurt by Amma, but now he felt numb.Usually, everything related to Amma occupied a special place in his mind, an important place. Amma and everything about her were very important. But today, he forcibly emptied that place, and it turned out to be very difficult to put something else in that place.Dim-Dim clearly needed something to occupy himself.So, that evening he approached Ella, Tara's grandmother, and accompanied her in chatting while cooking dinner. Ella forbid him from doing anything, even helping to chop onions, so Dim-Dim could only watch her bustling around.Although Ella was a pleasant person to have a conversation with, Dim-Dim found himself not enjoying the activity much. Especially because a part of his brain demanded him to meet Amma, or Dim-Dim would lose Amma forever.Dim-Dim had to shout at himself in his mind several times, "Who cares
The next day, Dim-Dim got the permission he needed to use the Illicitor uniform and equipment. So he asked Justin to deliver everything for him, and Justin agreed in exchange for a delicious meal cooked by the chef. Meanwhile, Ella was thrilled to hear there would be an extra person at the dining table who was enthusiastic about her cooking. "You seem very happy to get your Illicitor equipment back," Tara said as they cleaned the dusty living room. Tara's house was so large that it felt like all she did here was endless cleaning, and there would always be dusty rooms."Of course, I'm thrilled," Dim-Dim replied, shifting the sofa so Tara could vacuum underneath. "I have a very good knife designed to fit my hand size, light, and efficient for killing monsters. Plus, I like the uniform. It's the kind of uniform you can wear all day without feeling uncomfortable, waterproof, hot, and cold resistant."Tara nodded, sweat dripping from her forehead. "Well, you must suffer a lot if monsters
Dim-Dim's heart sank at the sight of those monsters."That's awful. I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I were you," said Justin, grabbing one of Dim-Dim's Illicitor tools useful for efficiently crushing monsters."We have to exterminate them," Dim-Dim said. "But Ella forbids me from using anti-monster poison in her garden. So we have to kill these monsters the traditional way.""It's going to take a while," Justin muttered.For the next ten minutes, they spent their time killing the ant-sized but stone-hard monsters."Oh no," Tara muttered as she walked into Dim-Dim's room and saw what they were doing.Justin nearly jabbed the closet door out of surprise. He quickly got up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Nice to meet you, I'm Justin, Dim-Dim's friend since middle school. And you?""Tara," Tara said. She had just finished showering, her hair wrapped in a towel, and now the scent of soap emanated from her body.
Valir Campbell. When was the last time Dim-Dim met that guy? Dim-Dim doesn't remember. But one thing for sure, he needs to contact Valir soon. So that's what Dim-Dim did."Hey," he said, once the call was answered."I'm on my way, currently passing through the Holland Tunnel. Is everything safe over there?" Valir's voice sounded firm yet serious over the phone, a voice Dim-Dim hadn't heard in a long time."It is still safe for now. But those monsters have started invading the untouched corners of the house," Dim-Dim said seriously, trying not to think about Edel as he spoke. Because Valir is Edel's boyfriend, and perhaps he knows about the issues between Dim-Dim and Edel."Have you used the anti-monster poison?" Valir asked."We have. But it's a big house, with about seven bedrooms, three kitchens, and several other rooms. If I fumigate the entire house with anti-monster poison, the monsters will just flee to the garden and hide underground, but the old lady owner of the house doesn't
"Tara, open the door!" Dim-Dim yelled while trying to open Tara's bedroom door. No luck, it was locked from the inside.He attempted to bump his shoulder to the door to open it but failed. A moment later, which felt like forever, Ella and Justin arrived."I have the spare key to her room. Wait, I'll take it!" Ella said nervously, then the panicked Tara's grandmother immediately ran as fast as she could to the other end of the house."Too long, we have to go in through the window," Justin said, freezing everything around them. Ella and everything except them both immediately stopped moving. It was then that Dim-Dim realized how foolish he had been. Somehow people indeed need time to think straight."Shit, I should've transformed into an insect," he cursed. And then he quickly turned into an ant, slipped through the crack under the door, and transformed back into himself. What he saw at the next moment horrified him.He saw Tara lying on the floor, her hand swatting at ant-sized Type A
Valir arrived ten minutes later, and Dim-Dim felt relieved when he saw the man carrying a bag of blood that he requested. "Sorry, Dim-Dim," Valir said, slightly out of breath as he climbed the steps of the house. "There was a monster case at the hospital when I was getting the bag of blood for you... Hey, Justin." "Hey," Justin replied. "Good to see you here. The monster attacked the granddaughter who owns the house earlier." Valir looked guilty. "Is she okay?" he asked. Dim-Dim nodded. "We saved her just in time, and she's currently with her parent and grandparent in the living room. Let's go in." "We should quickly set up bait for them," Valir suggested. After that, Justin, Valir, and Dim-Dim went inside the house. They prepared the bait for the monster in the kitchen. The ingredients were simple, just human blood and sugar.
At night, Dim-Dim packed some warm clothes, his laptop, and wallet into his bag, preparing for his return to Safe City New Jersey. Justin, who had finished packing his things at some point, was playing a game on the bed, waiting for Dim-Dim to finish."Do you think I need to bring more clothes?" Dim-Dim asked Justin, who took almost a minute and a half to answer because he was too focused on the game."No, you're just planning to come back shortly and then return here. And it's your apartment; there are plenty of clothes there," Justin replied before diving back into the online game he was playing."You're right," Dim-Dim said, then he began to take out the clothes from his bag and laid them on the bed. He was about to return the clothes to the wardrobe when suddenly Tara stepped into the room. She looked at Justin, Dim-Dim standing in front of the wardrobe with a stack of clothes, and then at the open bag on the bed with a laptop and other items visible.<