Chapter 18 – Good and bad news

I wake up in the morning without the usual jolt to my brain, and even so I feel more refreshed than ever. It's just so much better to wake up in the morning and have more time to spend in this body instead of wasting time in bed, either asleep or awake. Though I am kinda surprised I'm not the least bit sleepy.

Anyway, I rise up from my bed, it's a nice wooden thing with matress and covers more comfortable and of higher quality than I expected from something closer in appearance to sack of feathers and a rug than modern quilt. It was a good night's rest all in all. I was thinking about Levia and I was honestly a bit turned on because of that, but the walls are thin. So, uh, you know. I'm trying not to ashame myself more than I already do by getting turned on by myself.

The sky I see through the window is still dark and just brightening up, so it's early morning, around sunrise most likely. I stand up, stretch a bit, adjust my dress, since I didn't take it off for the night, save for the metal plates I now pick up and strap on.

I took a bath yesterday for one silver, and it was a nice experience. It was good, comparable in quality to some baths we have normally on Gaia, merely without all the technology. Just a stone tub and a tap, or actually a container with hot water and a pipe to the tub, and that's all. I didn't expect this place to have anything close to shower and it didn't. Also, everything past water and tub is for you to manage, and it took me an embarrassing moment to realize you need to bring your own shampoo or anything of the sort. I didn't, so I had only water to clean myself up.

But past that it was enjoyable, and definitely a good thing after spending two days without washing myself. I never thought I would ever be glad to wash myself after two days. I've usually taken a quick shower each morning, but more out of habit than anything.

I look at the chat windows to see if anyone wrote something and my heart almost leaps out of my chest as I see a message from five minutes ago from Levia. I excitedly discard all other windows and look intently at the message written, reading it with so much zeal and nervousness I would be zooming around the room if the message wasn't keeping me in place.

Levia: Hello, Helia. I managed to finish everything a bit faster than expected and I'll be logging in in around ten minutes. Where should I look for you?

Holy shit. Five minutes remaining. I quickly open the door and go downstairs significantly quicker than I would on any other day, though I still make sure to appear like a normal person to everyone sitting in the main room and eating breafast, drinking or gathering for daily activities. I go out of the building and start jogging towards the eastern gate happily, passing the townspeople beginning their daily things.

I consider trying to use my wings for a while, but decide it would not be a safe idea because I don't think I would be able to avoid all the people on the street before gaining enough attitude. Speaking of it, I don't even know if I would be able to gain enough attitude. I know that just like with other instincts I seem to have gained I should be able to fly, but I'd rather test it in better and safer environment.

Damn, I really should have tested it earlier when we were walking to Riverside. No medicine for regret though.

I arrive at the gate three minutes later, less than half of the time it took me to get there at first, and pass the guards quickly before they are able to stop me. Already out of the town I look around in search for Levia's Spirit Mark and spot it just where she left it, to the side of the road a hundred or so meters away from the gate. I manage to spot it only thanks to my eyesight being better than in real life, but for ordinary humans it's far enough to be almost unnoticeable.

I jog to the mark with a silly grin and remember the position in which she logged out yesterday, then stand where I believe her back will be when she logs in.

I don't need to wait long and just half a minute later the mark emits a pulse and starts morphing into Levia's body in this fantastic way, bone by bone, muscle by muscle and organ by organ assembling itself into complete, beautiful body.

When it forms properly and gets covered by the cloth I step forward, standing straight on my toes to have more height, wrap my arms around Levia's shoulders and place them on her belly lightly. I feel her tense up and prepare to throw me off, but don't let it dicourage me.

"Hello, Levia." I whisper to her ear in sultry voice and wrap my wings around us, covering her from the outside, and her initial reaction melts as she slumps down in my arms with a shiver.

"H-hello." She squeaks out and I notice even her earlobes getting redder.

"You were pretty eager to come here, weren't you? " I say and she starts squirming around, covering her face and not even trying to turn her head in my direction.

"I... wasn't..." She replies in weak voice that sounds as convincing as a kid with two hands in a jar of cookies.

I grin at her reaction and pull away slightly. "Oh, you were. Why else would you finish faster than expected, hm?" She stays silent at that for a longer while, and is just about to say something when I interrupt her.

"I remember saying you'll need to repay me for yesterday. Weren't you scared what would it be? Or were you so eager to feel it?"

I feel her tense instantly and her face freezes halfway in my in my direction as she asks in uncertain voice. "W-what?"

"Don't worry, I'll tell you later." I say and lean forward to her neck, blowing some air on her collarbone and eliticing another shiver. "We've some catching up to do."

...

After Levia regained her composure and we separated, the Mechanical girl seemingly not noticing she was completely leaning on me for a long while, we left for the inn, she taking in all the sights curiously and I in fantastic mood stemming for various reasons. First being obviously Levia, the second being Levia's behavior, and third simply walking and spending time with her. And probably some more, but I'm not in the mood to analyze it. I'm very much in the mood to enjoy it.

By the way, I would need more samples to make sure, but there's a good chance that my confession will go very well today. Yep, I'm planning to do it today.  The reason why I think it will ho well is that she let me hug me all this time we were talking there, she leaned on me and relaxed in my arms. All that suggests that she, at the very least, doesn't mind direct and somewhat intimate contact with me.  Good sign, not like the anxiety in my heart will just go away.

Anyway, we are right now walking side by side through the streets of Riverside, this time much slower than when I was going the other way just ten minutes ago.

"Say, Levia, you don't have any other clothes, do you?" I ask.

"Um, no." She glances at me and looks at the cloth, taking it her hand. "Is this bad?"

"No, I wouldn't say it's bad, it's just very peculiar." I shake my head. "I heard there's a good shop in Riverside, so we could go and buy some more casual clothes later. I'd also like to see you in something different, not so covering." I smirk, looking at her profile as her cheeks puff out.

"Um, okay... Later though, if only because I have almost no money." She replies.

"Oh, you can sell the mana stones you collected last week at the Guild or somewhere else. You'll get good money for that, especially that one from Stone Aberration. Because I assume you took them?"

"Yeah, I did." She nods and looks into her inventory. "I have eleven various. How much are they worth?"

"I'm not sure." I shrug. "But I got fifty copper for one mana stone of a wolf. For all of them you'll probably get a few silver. For comparison, a night in an inn is two silver or so in a better room."

"Oh, okay." She smiles and nods in my direction, making my heart flip with just that. God damn.

We continue to the inn and soon walk through the door to a crowded room with barely third of the tables empty.

"Go get a table, I'll be right back." I tell Levia and see her nod with a small smile, and walk up to the counter, coincidentally manned by the same person as yesterday.

There are also two people sitting on the high chairs there and the bartender, who is preparing a drink for one of them when I approach, nods in my direction. I guess I'm so memorable he already remembers me after two visits.

I wait a while till he finishes and places the drink on the counter before the guy, then turns to me with question written on his face. "The speciality, like yesterday, for two." I fish out a silver coin from my inventory and place it on the counter.

"Sure." He grabs two mugs and starts filling them at the same time, glancing at me with raised eyebrows. "It must be a nice one for you to offer a drink."

I pause for a moment, surprised, and then giggle with amusement, kinda giddily with a hint of blush on my cheeks. "Guess."

He smiles wryly in response. "Going by rumors flying around, you're one of the strongest in town, even Blue Ogre admitted that. Not many have even the courage to approach you." He places the two mugs on the counter and takes the coin. Blue Ogre is Geru, I guess?

"Oh, she didn't need to." I grin in response, taking them with a nod and sweeping the coins to my inventory, then turn around from his raised eyebrows and look around. I spot Levia sitting alone by a small table closer to the corner on far left and quickly walk in her direction.

I slide by a guy attempting to sit by Levia who is eyeing him with a small scowl, pushing him lightly and giving him a small glare, and plop down on the bench next to the girl with a bright, reassuring smile, placing one mug before her and one in front of me.

"Um, what's that?" She asks after eyeing the drink suspiciously for a few seconds.

I blink, thinking about a possiblity I didn't even take into account. "You can't drink?"

"N-no! I just...! Uh..." She stammers and slams her face down into her hands in embarrassment. "I just... you know I can't get drunk or anything? And I don't need to drink?" She squeaks out.

I blink once again, then giggle in amusement. "It's for the taste and atmosphere, not getting drunk. I also can't get drunk from what I know. Not like I would mind seeing you like that." I take a sip as she raises her head. "Don't get worked up over the details and enjoy."

"Um, okay..." She gingerly takes the mug in her hand, disproportially large comparing to her small hands, and takes a sip. "Nice." She comments in small voice and looks at me with raised eyebrows. "I assume you dragged me here for a reason?"

"Actually, yeah." I nod. "I wanted to talk with you in general. There was also this girl that wanted to do a request with me. Would you like her going with us today? Or actually, what do you want to do today?"

"Hm." Levia frowns. "I wanted to look around the town and go to the forest later to hunt. Maybe register in the Guild. What is she like?"

"Half-Fae, a wizard, I think. Short and cute, though in different way than you are. More like a small animal." I say, smirking by the end and looking at her in the corner of my eye. "Before you answer, know that I'm not really keen on going with her. It's just that I can't tell her I'm not taking her because I don't wanna. I mean, I can, but that would be rude. And maybe you'd like some more company than just me."

"Oh. Um..." Levia averts her eyes and thinks for a while. "I'd rather go alone. I mean with you, I mean with you." She says and corrects herself immediately.

"Sure, I'll tell her I'm busy then." I nod and lean back on the bench with a smile. We sit in silence for a while till I ask a question that has been bugging me for a while. "By the way, whatever you were doing, was it a one time thing?"

"It was..." She pauses for a moment with a frown, glancing at me nervously. "It was, as long as I did it well. If something fails, then I'll need to log out, I but I hope everything will be alright."

"Oh, good." I smile. "I was worried you'd be abandoning me again." I say with a grin to show it's more of a joke than accusation.

"Um, nope. I won't be logging out at least till Sunday evening." She shakes her head, smiling sheepishly, and takes a sip, then looks at me curiously. "What about you? I mean, what were you doing in this time?"

"Various things. I met up with my friends and did a request with them. They are an elemental spirit, a Blood Elf and and a Wolfkin with dark blue fur, maybe you've seen them somewhere. I also got to know some things. Oh, and an important thing."  I look at her seriously. "I don't know exactly, but going by my strength, you should be at least among the strongest people in Riverside. Be careful with that, especially with your energy."

Levia looks at me and blinks a few times, then asks uncertainly. "One of the strongest? How? I'm not even rank one?"

"The types of energy mean much more than I initially thought." I say simply, still looking her seriously into her eyes to indicate I'm not joking. "I'm pretty sure that if I wanted, I could kill everyone here apart from you with ease."

Levia opens her eyes wide in shock. "Are... you sure? I mean..."

"Yep, I'm not joking. You should also be pretty powerful yourself." I smirk. "But let's save this topic to when we're alone."

She gulps nervously and nods vigorously. "Okay."

"On that note, I was thinking about intoducing you today to my friends as long as you don't mind. They are in the town right now, I wouldn't be surprised if they were sleeping here." I look at her with raised eyebrows. "Alternatively we can go quietly and do things on our own, I wouldn't mind."

"Um..."

"Actually, lemme rephrase that. You're in the lead today, so you'll be telling me what we're doing. I'll be accompanying you today, okay?" I say with a small smile, looking at her from above my mug.

"Huh?" She looks at me with surprise and suddenly averts her eyes, turning to her mug and hiding behind it. "Okay..."

How cute~. I wonder what she just thought about to elicit such reaction.

I am abruptly shaken out of my thoughts as the side door to the Guild bursts open and a man comes in with urgent and alarmed expression on his face. "All hunters, attention! There is a horde of monsters attacking the town, they are already inside! Everyone who can fight, go help the people! The rest relay the news and prepare to escape! There are many silver monsters in the horde!"

Well, I guess our plans just went out of the window rather quickly and irrevocably.

People start standing up and scrabling around, but everyone freezes at the last sentence.

Silver monsters. It means monsters appropriate for silver hunters to fight one on one. And in Riverside, where no stronger monsters attack due to placement on the edge of the island, there is no need for any stronger hunters. There are just a few of silver hunters that permanently stay in the town, and the majority has gone to the west for tougher challenges and better money.

Even the Stone Aberration we have killed before was barely on the top of low silver monsters and it would already be bad if it appeared inside the town.

I look at Levia, who sits in place and looks at me with alarmed expression.

"Bad news, the town is screwed." I say in flat tone and the next second grin, most likely with stars shining in my eyes. "Good news, we've got things to punch."