No, I cannot.

You and Arabella lay in bed for a few moments, dozing in and out of consciousness between after-sex banter. You’re discussing breakfast, favorite positions the next, and then what you should do once the others are awake. Arabella eventually yawns and stretches over you, proclaiming that it would be wise if you both got out of bed and cleaned up. However, you both lay in bed, bathing in each other’s naked warmth for another dozen minutes before finally dragging yourselves out of bed.

By the time Mikko and Gwendolion wake up, there’s hardly any evidence of your intercourse with Arabella. There is also hardly any evidence of your late-night visitor. Of course, the first suspect to come to mind was Scarlet, but you had no reason to honestly pin any true suspicion on her other than she was the only one in the area who knew you for sure.

You can’t precisely derail yourself from what’s on your mind, even as Arabella and the other girls start to go over more. What you realize, however, is that you are low on food and that there is a trip to the general store for food, maybe even some ammo for your guns. Perhaps you should…

“Gwen, can you check the ammo situation?” You say, making Gwen look back at you suddenly. You snap your fingers, waving her away. Then, you address Arabella. “Check the food and patrol gear. And, uh, clean all of it, too.”

Arabella nods slightly and goes as she’s told. Mikko, the girl you’re unsure about, is left alone. “Mikko,” you say, getting up. “Get dressed up. We’re heading out to town.”

She smiles. “Where are we going?”

“General store,” you say. “I just need help getting some stuff that I know we need.”

“Sweet!” She cheers with a slight pump. “I’ve been going out with Arabella and Gwen so much. It’ll be nice to get some new company to go with!”

Arabella scoffs, but before she can say something, your eyes meet, and whatever comment she had for Mikko is kept in store. She fished out a notepad and a pen for herself and then Gwendolion, standing just a few feet beside her.

…

…

Mikko is standing very close to you inside the general store as you eyeball some ammo types being sold for your Mauser rifle and MPL submachine gun. A lot of the boxed ammo was Japanese. Still, a variety of 9mm was considerably cheaper, so you stocked up on that inside– the brands provided didn’t have a reputation for being unreliable anyway.

Mikko makes a strange noise, however. And she fidgets as she watches you grab about 200 rounds of miss-matching bullets. You tilt your head in her direction. “What?”

“You shouldn’t mix your ammo type like that,” she whines slightly. “Then you aren’t consistent with your shots.”

“It’s for an automatic hip shooter,” you funnel in another 200 rounds. “I’m not hunting for a gnome.”

She makes the same noise again. “Still, it’s bad practice. And what if you start using another gun that you want to be more consistent with?”

“Then I’ll buy a different type off ammo, Mikko. What do you want me to do?”

You follow her gaze and find her eyes on the Japanese brands, which are practically untouched. “Really?”

“It’s honestly the best on the market right now,” she smiles. “Plus, if you’re going to be making a name for yourself in these parts, it would be good for your future employers to know you’re not just…being cheap.”

Mikko’s eyes go to the basket, and you follow it, too. Was this unprofessional for cardboard, blue boxes, and black boxes with wolves on them? Did a contractor like yourself even care about such things?

“Alright then,” you put all the boxes away and start grabbing armfuls of the new Japanese production. “Let’s see what this does for business.”

“I like the boxes, too,” Mikko says idly. “It’s going to look so satisfying to stock.”

“Are you comfortable shooting?” You ask, and she shrugs.

“Yes! I love it when you have zeroed your iron sights and scopes, master. It’s very relaxing. And seeing the grouping close is very satisfying. Gwendolion and Arabella aren’t nearly as proficient in it as I am,” Mikko praises herself, obviously having a strong pride in her abilities with your firearms.

“Think you could… shoot another person?”

“Absolutely!” She says a little too quickly but then catches herself. “Only if you told me to.”

Considering the traffic, Scarlet, and now your visitor, you wondered if you should take Arabella and Gwendolion out to get more situated with your firearms. There was nothing wrong with making these girls more independent from you. “Maybe you and I should take the others out and make them a little better, then?”

Mikko looks enthusiastic about the idea and nods frantically. “Yes! You’re a great teacher, and I am a great listener! Together, we could teach the others really, really quickly!”

When you get done buying everything, you step out and start making some plans for the weekend, but before you can get far, you get to a place where the town opens up, and there’s a large group of people crowding a specific area in a loose circle.

Mikko’s ears twitch, and she grabs your hand. “Something wrong,” she warns.

“What is?”

A gunshot cracks and someone screams. The loose circle of people thins out as someone else starts yelling. “Where the fuck are your contractors, huh? I want a list of those fuckers working for you.”

As the crowd disperses, you see three men in the center with a body in the center. You can’t tell who it is, but you figure out what the gunshot was about. It likely involved whoever was on the ground.

Mikko flinches at the second shot, but there’s no screaming this time, just a pitched sob from the first person who screamed. “Contractors! Where the fuck are you?”

“Master,” Mikko pulls on you. “We should get out of here before someone sees us and gets us involved.”