[DCI] Chapter 84 - Always a Bigger Fish (Patreon)

We made our way back through the park at a slower pace. I didn’t want Shuri to suffer again. She assured us that it wouldn’t happen so fast, but we told her that this didn’t change much and that she should not worry about our time or even about walking a little funny if specific angles allowed her feet to scrape less against the material. Aisha somehow managed to keep herself from throwing any snippy comments towards the short girl during the trip back to the car, thankfully.

I thought everyone would take their usual place, but my draconic mate offered her front seat to our new friend, saying that she should at least experience it for once in her life since the drakan was very intent on hogging it for herself afterward. Rolling my eyes, I slipped into my seat, knowing that this was Aisha’s way of making some amends for being a bit too sharp towards the princess at times. Shuri accepted, letting her curiosity win, so I had a different co-pilot this time, who sent me a little uncertain but still adorable smile.

As we drove, I explained some of the stuff visible on the dashboard to our newly recruited armorsmith as she displayed lots of interest in the local technology. She was a fast learner, getting the hang of operating the middle console in a flash. Unsurprisingly, the radio fascinated her the most and we jumped so many channels while on the road I quickly lost the count.

But, no one minded that. Both ladies in the back were observing everything that transpired with rapt attention. The car was still quite fresh to them too since we had just got it earlier today.

This was a damn long day.

The mall wasn’t far so we got there in decent time. We didn’t have much of it since it was getting quite dark now. Not that it mattered, but I bet my incredible mates would appreciate a moment of rest. After everything that had happened, it felt like we were going to sleep for a week once we ended up in bed. Utilizing its actual purpose.

I found a spot in the open-air parking lot and we strolled towards the flat, wide building. Shuri marveled over the number of vehicles and people coming in and out. She mentioned that even the main market back in their city wasn’t so crowded. I wasn’t surprised, honestly. The difference in population between there and here must be rather substantial.

We entered the air-conditioned hall and the princess’ eyes widened at the sheer diversity of visible shopping cubicles and store booths set up in multiple lanes through which a sea of people flowed both ways.

“It’s so bright here thanks to the indoor illumination.” Shuri gazed at the industrial lamps running along the ceiling. “The time of the day doesn’t even matter for this place. It’s like you can conduct business to no end on this eternal day.”

I chuckled lightly. “That might be true, but there are still rules. The mall closes at a certain hour and so do all the shops. People need to rest and there aren’t that many customers during the night hours anyway so it’s rarely worth it for the owners to stay or leave a hire in the place for another shift. There are enough twenty-four-on-seven places all around the city already.”

“Stop dawdling and let’s get to the fun part!” Aisha grinned at us as she spun around. “Can we check if that weapon prop shop has some new products?”

“First, let’s hit one with shoes.” I gestured at our scarlet-skinned companion. “Then, we’ll see about it.”

No one argued about my suggestion and I led the girls to one of the better places. In the past, I had usually juggled some cheaper brands, but right now, money was not much more than a number in my stat sheet. The ladies deserved the best and the best they would get.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to shove pricy designer products at the girls and tell them those are the best for them. Their likes were the most important factor. We just didn’t have to limit ourselves to a certain shelf, and that was all. I wasn’t going to drop all my favorite cheap brands just because I was suddenly able to spend more on myself. Some of them were super comfortable.

We garnered some attention while looking around the store. The way Aisha kept snatching different models of the displays and turning to me to ask if I would like them on her, paired with Levia’s seemingly timid way of inquiring for my opinion in a more subdued manner, painted a fairly clear picture. Especially since there was one more woman following me.

I definitely looked like a total player or perhaps a sugar daddy picking up girls with my fat wallet.

Hopefully, the dirty and displeased looks would all land on me and not on the girls. I couldn’t give a lesser fuck about my image, but they’d done nothing to be viewed as easy or even gold diggers.

After explaining a few basic rules and social norms to Shuri, we let our new friend browse the wares without the pressure of our presence. We split up to look at what fancied each of us, agreeing to meet up at the central point to showcase our findings and decide what to take with us to the counter.

Naturally, if the answer to that question was everything, that was more than fine.

I noticed a female clerk recognizing the signs of indecision and lack of experience in the field on Shuri’s face, and I put myself in her path, capturing her attention.

“Listen, we are going to spend quite a lot here today, so cut the sales crap and give my friend some actual guidance. If you get a bonus based on performance, we’ll let you tick all of us off as your customers. Deal?” I raised a brow at her.

The girl looked a tad panicked at getting called out on what she clearly had been going to do, no matter if by her own will or forced by the cutthroat environment of the personal sales field, but she proved to be one of the decent ones and nodded faintly with a hint of a grateful smile tugging at her lips as she passed me with a quiet thanks.

I was all for helping the difficult lives of first-contact employees if they weren’t malicious. A lot of times, many were simply in no position to stick their heads out of the mold without risking their livelihood. I knew how much that could destroy people internally over time.

Deciding to trust the clerk, for now, I dove into my own browsing. I had plenty of shoes at home, well okay maybe not that many actually, but getting yourself something new was always fun. I should get something comfortable for running perhaps in case we would need to rush back during our walk or something. Plus, something more neat and classy could be of use for our visits to the Community Hub. I had a silly craving to match J’s business look when we met again.

And yeah, I said when not if because I had no doubt this clever goddess had more tricks in store for us.

In the end, I selected four boxes in total. Quite a difference from the past, where I had usually left with one under my armpit. Stumbling into Levia, I saw her with three, and she graced me with a dainty smile as I glanced at her with approval. I offered to take the burden off her hands but she declined politely, wanting to carry her possessions since I would be kindly paying for them.

We strolled towards our meeting spot in the center before I caught an unusual sight in one of the alleys within the corner of my perception. Stopping us, I turned my head and frowned deeply.

Shuri was sitting on one of the small sofas to try the products on comfortably while two people hovered over her. None of them were the clerk, though one was a female. What surprised me the most was the fact that both weren’t human. Perhaps I wasn’t paying much attention to the outside world after the change, but I hadn’t stumbled into someone from another race directly, spotting only flashes of irregular details here and there.

It was about to change, though.

The woman was a lean elf with light skin that seemed to glisten under the light, wearing a fancy emerald dress with slits on both sides to reveal her smooth long legs. She had blond hair and eyes of similar color. In my honest opinion, she had a gorgeous face already, but she threw lots of makeup onto it for some reason. She adorned herself with a fair dose of jewelry too.

As for the guy, he had to be an orc. Decently buff, characteristic green skin, bald in this case, and wearing full leather, from pants to the jacket. He was handsome in that certain roguish way, emanating bad-boy vibes while confident in his strength and looks. The eye candy hanging off his arm certainly didn’t help to diminish the ego boost.

They were talking amongst themselves, glancing Shuri’s way now and then, exchanging a few laughs too. She didn’t laugh, though, and didn't really participate in the conversation. From my perspective, she wanted nothing to do with the pair and ignored them without a reaction, even as the buff guy picked up one of the shoes she was trying on from the box lying by her side.

That was enough watching.

Turning into the alley, I marched towards them with purpose in my step. Shuri spotted me, and her eyes widened a little, perhaps noticing something in my expression. She then escaped with her gaze to the side hesitantly as if ashamed, which made me warm up from inside even more.

And not in a good way.

Reaching the trio, I tried my best not to glare at the arrogant-looking couple. “Is there a problem?”

They turned to me with slight surprise and confusion.

“A bit, but not for long. We’ve simply been directing the little girl here to the children's section over there as she seems a tad lost in this big shop,” the haughty elf replied with a smirk. “What’s it to you, though?”

The orc made a show of examining the sporty shoe in front of his face. “The poor kid seems to think her tiny feet will fit in adult boots.”

I heard a slight crunch as my fingers penetrated one of the cardboard boxes I was holding onto.

“It’s okay…” Shuri whispered, peeking up at me. “For an oni, I’m—”

“No, it’s not okay,” I cut her off, stepping between her and the racist duo, glaring at the thug of a man. “And how did you come to that conclusion, huh? Did you measure them with your dick?”

A familiar snort reached my ears and I noticed the tips of quite sharp horns poking past the nearby shelf’s top. It looked like I had beaten Aisha here by just a second or two. Though, she didn’t seem intent on joining in now.

“What did you say?” He threw the shoe to the ground, his face turning a darker shade of green.

“If you didn’t hear then perhaps you should pull that teensy dick out of your ear canal first.” I scoffed at him.

If he hadn’t gotten the insinuation the first time, now he just had to.

“You want to go, punk?” The orc snarled, letting go of his female.

“No, I don’t.” My response threw him off the tracks and he blinked at me blankly. “I’m on a date and can’t pay attention to every insignificant thing that stumbles into my sight. If you want to get fucked, take a ticket and get in the queue. Now scram.”

Even Shuri couldn’t hold in the tiniest giggle this time, which didn’t escape the big guy.

“You are dead!” he shouted, squaring his shoulders.

Was inciting a hulking orc a mistake? Maybe.

Would I do it a second time? Definitely.

I wasn’t going to let some racist fuck think he could bully my friends for fun. Even if he was going to fold me in half, I would make him bleed at least.

My enraged opponent threw a mean hook at me, hitting the boxes in my hands and making them fall to the ground in pieces. I let go of the remaining parts and raised my arms for the next one, tensing my muscles in anticipation of getting launched backward.

Yet, that never happened.

His fist connected with my guard… and I barely felt it.

Sure, it hurt a little, but weren’t orcs supposed to be a physically strong race like drakan?

Somehow, this confused my attacker too as he frowned deeply. Trying again, he launched a jab with his whole body, which I took onto my linked forearms again without an issue. He was quick and his punches seemed normal, so why…

Ah.

He was a normal person.

I was a Defender.

And it looked like my abilities didn’t stop working outside of the Dungeon and my apartment. On their own, my stats wouldn’t be a match for his, but with two of my bonded mates by my side, especially Aisha and her high Strength, he was not a match for me.

Grinning, I decided to test that theory out.

Flicking my wrist, I focused on a box on the nearby shelf and it launched itself into the side of his head with the help of my Telekinesis. The orc groaned, staring at it with disbelief, while the elf’s eyes bulged out in shock. As he was distracted, I threw in my own punch, which landed square on his face, followed by a satisfying crunch as the man was pushed away, stumbling onto his ass.

Towering over him holding his bloody nose, I glared at the fucker with the full power of my Intimidate. Even the woman shivered, backing into a shelf so fast she actually disturbed its balance and toppled the entire thing with a yelp, burying herself under a mountain of boxes. I winced as a few more rows collapsed behind her, hopefully not hurting anyone in the process.

I could apologize and fix that in a moment, first things came first.

Leaning forward, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and cocked my other arm back for additional effect, opening my mouth to give this guy most likely the first lecture in his life.

“What’s going on here?” A voice belonging to a man reached my ears from the side.

Glancing towards its source, I saw the clerk I had stopped earlier coming in with a person by her side, arriving from the direction of the fallen shelves. Perhaps she had noticed the tension between the trio ahead of time and went to fetch the mall guard to defuse the conflict before it escalated.

Well, tough luck, I had been faster.

The person she had guided here looked a bit too casual to be a guard, walking forward in sweatpants and a hoodie with the hood pulled fully up, hiding most of his face in the shadows. But, he reached into his neckline and pulled out one of those hanging badges, letting it dangle off his neck. It was kind of weird, glimmering in all the colors of the rainbow and of a very unfamiliar design I hadn’t seen in the city before, but I let go of the thug nonetheless, not willing to take my chances against a possible undercover officer.

“That prick assaulted me and my girlfriend!” the orc shouted, pointing at me from the ground.

Looking at the blood flowing from his broken nose and the stain on my right fist, this part would be tough to argue about. Maybe I would be able to ask the store for the video recordings since it was him who had thrown the first punch. But, I needed to get into the cop’s good graces first.

“I’m afraid I’m going to complicate your day a bit, officer, but that or—I mean man is lying. I was simply acting in self-defense. The monitoring system is my witness,” I spoke politely, barely catching myself not calling the guy for what he was, an orc.

I bet that wouldn’t fly too well, received as a demeaning verbal attack with the cop being under the satellite spell.

“And we are too.” Aisha finally stepped out of hiding, Levia joining her side. “We watched the entire thing unfold, from start to finish. That pair bothered the lady here and became aggressive when asked to stop.”

“Alright. I’ll need to see your Mirage IDs first,” the officer demanded.

A crease appeared on my forehead as I watched the elf help her man up to his feet and pull two cards from her purse, giving them to the cop. Turning to my girls, I looked at them with some uncertainty. I had never heard about such a document, and they didn’t appear to hold any information on it either.

“Your ID, sir?” The undercover agent walked up to me.

“Uhhh… Will this one do?” I pulled up my normal ID.

“I’m sorry, but I can only work with Mirage-issued ID’s. You are obliged to carry it on you at all times, no matter what. Not doing so is a basis for a fairly high fine. Have you left yours at home?” The man sighed as if things had become even more troublesome than before.

“No, I… I don’t think I have one? Where do you get those?” I asked, scratching my head.

“See! He is an Unregistered!” the orc shouted. “I bet he is one of those human supremacists looking to take it out on our minorities! I saw with how much disgust he looked at my tusks!”

I blinked dumbly at both of them.

What?

The officer clicked his tongue and his stance tensed visibly. “Sir, I apologize, but I’ll need you to come with me. Please, don’t resist or I might be forced to use a stunning spell. I would rather not make it any messier than it already is.”

I was pretty sure he was reaching for handcuffs when Levia appeared next to me.

“Maybe the System interface can vouch for Lucas’ credibility?” she asked, also just figuring out that we might not be dealing with normal police.

The cop paused and I decided to try. Moving slowly so he could follow all my movements, I brought my smartwatch up and navigated through the menus, finding my personal details. Not wanting to reveal everything, I made it show only my Name, Race, Age, Affiliation, and Position. With another tap, the illusory projection shared the information with everyone present.

The female elf gasped in utter shock, turning deathly pale. The male orc didn’t seem to understand why, staring at the floating screen without any hints of recognition.

But, it was the officer whose reaction surprised me the most.

The undercover agent flinched as if physically struck and straightened up. He hastily grabbed his hood and pulled it down, revealing himself as a young man with short black hair and similarly colored wolf ears extending out of it. A lush tail unfurled from underneath his upper garments too.

He dropped into a deep bow immediately afterward. “Thank you for your service, sir. Please, leave this situation to me and continue enjoying your day. I’ll take care of everything. Have a good time at the mall.”

Not waiting for a reply, he marched up to the orc and slapped his green cheek with full force when the thug was starting to question this circus.

“Shut up! You have no idea how close to dying you have come! If I was a few seconds later, you would have been minced meat!” The officer spat to the side. “Idiots! Which one of you thought it a good idea to antagonize a Defender?!”

The wolfman dragged the couple aside, this time definitely pulling out handcuffs. I just stood there frozen, unable to get a coherent thought of what we had just witnessed. Aisha walked up to join her sister-mate by my side and snickered openly.

“It’s honestly a breath of fresh air seeing Defenders treated like this.” She patted my back. “I envy you even more now.”

I simply shook my head.

Who would have thought Defenders were treated like war heroes on Earth?