Chapitre 36: Retaliation (2)

Henry walked the halls of the Hadron mansion until he was at the door to Triss' room. He raised his hand and he knocked.

The voice that came from behind the door had a bit of strain as it asked,

"Who is it?"

"Henry?"

"Oh," the voice said brightly with a bit of breathlessness, "Come in."

Henry turned the doorknob and pushed the door open inward before taking a few steps in.

Triss' room looked similar to his own which meant it looked just like almost every other room in the mansion. Rundown and with very little upkeep. The thought that the state of the Mansion had a direct relation to Yelena's life surfaced in Henry's mind along with the Quest he had received but with a small shake of his head, he brushed that off and continued to explore the room with his eyes.

Although Triss hadn't done anything drastic, the room still had the look of being touched and made into her personal space. There was a pole to the side that she had many vests hanging on and there was an open chest with other pieces of clothing all neatly arranged.

As for Triss herself, Henry found her soon enough in a downward dog pose to the very side of her room only a foot or two from her bed. She had her back arched with such grace and lethality that Henry just stared. Her ass was raised high and its shape seemed especially emphasized by the leggings she had on.

Henry contemplated looking away. To not be caught staring like some leech but he could hardly bear to turn his face away.

'She has to have heard me come in,' Henry thought. After all, she had invited him in and he had not been all that gentle in closing her door.

"Hey, Triss," he called gently, "Whatcha doing?"

'A dumb question,' Henry thought while stopping himself from smacking his forehead, 'I know what she's doing. It's an exercise and I'm a pervert for staring.'

Triss chuckled as she straightened up but when Henry thought she was about to stop, she just put her hands on her hips and rocked them a bit before bending forward again to touch her fingertips to her toes.

"I don't really have a name for it. But it helps stretch my muscles. It's also relaxing and improves flexibility. You should try it."

"Maybe— maybe some other time," Henry said while still unable to look away from her backside.

"So, Henry," Triss eventually said, "Why have you come to see me?"

"I assumed you were feeling better and thought I'd check in," Henry answered.

Only now did Triss relax from her poses and turn around to smile at him,

"How thoughtful," she said.

"Oh," Henry said like he had just remembered something, "And also, I wanted to ask about that wound. You know, the one caused by the Acid on the Train."

Triss shrugged,

"It still stings. Yelena has tried her best but it's not healing just quite yet. But it's bearable."

"Would you like it healed?" He asked.

'Dumb question,' Henry thought to himself, 'Of course, she wants it healed.'

"Of course, I want it healed,' Triss said, "Why, can you help?"

Henry paused but there was no reason to hesitate. He had asked Elminster for it on a whim and had acquired it to his deficit for this very purpose.

"Actually, I think I can," Henry said while raising the tub of salve so she could see it.

"What's that?" Triss asked.

"It can help," Henry said simply.

"Where did you get it?" Triss asked.

"Does it matter?" Henry retorted gently.

Triss had every right to reject the use of it and for a second, Henry expected that but then she just smiled,

"Well, I suppose it doesn't. If you say it can help, I trust you."

'You do?' Henry asked in his head.

"Good," was what he actually said.

Triss said nothing more and just walked over to her bed to sit at the edge with her back to him. She moved her hair out of the way so Henry had an unobstructed view of the injury. It looked like a circular scar with deep veins stretching away from it and digging into her skin.

"You'll apply it for me, won't you?" Triss asked, "It'll be a bother trying to reach back and do it myself, you see."

"Sure," Henry said and he walked forward to sit on the bed right behind her.

He pulled off the cork of the tub of salve and a sweet, almost minty scent wafted out of the container.

Henry dabbed about half of the salve on his finger and applied it to the wound.

"Tss!" Triss let out with her teeth gritted.

"I'm sorry. Did it hurt?" Henry asked as he paused his rubbing motion.

"Don't worry about it," Triss said, "Please, continue."

Henry continued and as he rubbed, it was hard for him not to notice that what Triss was wearing over the top half of her body, barely reached down to her midsection.

Henry only needed half the tub of salve he had already applied and he watched as the veins that stretched from Triss' wound began to retract into the wound.

He watched as the slightly raised area of the wound lowered until it was level with the rest of Triss's skin and finally, he watched as the scarred look corrected itself and became as normal as the rest of the skin around it as the salve vanished into her skin. Its job was done.

'Wow,' Henry thought. He had not expected the salve to work so well.

His finger continued to rotate around the spot the wound used to be at and then he began to wander. Triss' skin wasn't perfect by any means. It was marked with hardships she had gone through to reach where she was.

None of the scars were recent because Yelena's healing never left scars so Henry knew everything he could see on Triss' body was from before she joined the gang. Almost absentmindedly, his finger trailed over some of them gently and then, Triss shivered and he came back to his senses and took his hand away.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"No, it's fine," Triss said as she turned around to face him. Her cheeks were bright red,

"Thanks for the salve."

Henry gave her a bright smile,

"You're welcome."

Triss leaned in. It was so smooth, it was almost innocent.

"So, will you tell me where you got the salve?" She asked with her lips only a few inches from Henry's.

"No," Henry said and with a small smile, he replaced the cork onto the tub and pulled away until he was off the bed,

"I'll be leaving now. Let you get back to your exercises."

Triss pouted and then chuckled,

"Okay then. When you're ready, tell me the price of the salve so I can pay you back."

"There's no need for that but if you insist, I'll keep it in mind," Henry said and with a final wave, he walked out of her room and closed the door.

***

The next morning, a new week had begun and Henry started another series of Daily Quest;

[Daily Quest: (Category: Physical) Perform 200 pushups

Reward: 10 Exp]

'The reward got better but it's still very little in the grand scheme of things,' Henry thought. His current Level-Up requirement was 1000 Exp.

His complaint aside, Henry still completed the Daily Quests while also dedicating an hour every day to meditation.

And then, Two days later…

Every combative member of the gang was summoned into the meeting hall where Tony and Charles had news to deliver. They had found three bases scattered all about the countryside belonging to the Langlot Gang and with Angus' agreement, they hoped to storm the bases and eliminate them all to the very last member.

[Grand Quest Updated!

Main Quest: Retaliation (Hunting Quest)

Quest Conditions: Storm the Langlot bases and Hunt down the Langlot Gang members. You will receive a bonus of 50 Exp for every Langlot Gang member you kill.

Reward: Will Vary depending on how efficient you are at Hunting.

*Nyx will receive 50% of every bonus you receive for every kill you make.

Happy Hunting!]

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