บท 38: Chapter 38. News about 'acquaintances'
Rays of light woke Michael up, groggily taking in his surroundings.
He had the pretty minx still in his arms, which meant she didn't decide to disappear in the night like in most novels he read.
Since he was still alive and kicking, it meant that there shouldn't be any daggers in his back or front, though, with her perky but nestling his nether regions, something was poking for sure.
He sneakily grabbed a fresh mint marble and gobbled it, after which he proceeded to kiss Helen's neck while gently caressing her back.
Seconds later, she lazily stirred awake.
[Morning...](Helen)
"Morning."
A deep kiss ensued, and another round of 'practice' followed. Satisfied with the twitching, Helen blissfully lay sprawled on the bed; Michael scooped her up in his arms, prompting a shivering moan to escape from her lips.
[No... more! I have things to do today!](Helen)
"*Sigh* That's truly unfortunate. I was planning to keep you here for the entire week."
[Scram! Shameless thug! I have a meeting with my father today and need to visit my sisters later. I've been on guard duty for the entire past month.](Helen)
"Hmm... In that case, I can probably take some interest before letting you leave. Who knows if I will manage to trick you into my bed again?"
[Hahaha! Truly shameless. You can come to meet my dad if you want. Or my sisters...](Helen)
Pondering for a moment, Michael shook his head.
"It's a bit early to meet your dad, and I don't want to get smacked into oblivion by him after tricking his daughter. As for your sisters, I don't want to get smacked into oblivion by you if they are as pretty as you describe them, and I can't help myself."
[Hmpf! At least you're somewhat clever.](Helen)
Laughing and messing around in bed for another hour, the duo dressed and returned to the floor to grab some food.
Some eyes landed on them as soon as they appeared on the stairs, but except for some jeers and whistles aimed at Michael for hooking up with such a beauty, most people minded their own business.
Raskya brought them two trays filled to the brim with nutritious food but avoided teasing the already red captain. Instead, she looked curiously at Michael.
[Brat, you seem to be pretty lucky with girls.](Raskya)
"Ehm... I guess? In my defense, Helen was pretty easy to trick."
His bluster was rewarded with a weak punch to the chest from the lady in question. Raskya laughed at their antics but looked strangely at Michael.
[Well, I got news about two of your acquaintances. The first one is from Aylin...](Raskya)
The hostess took a slight pause, gauging Helen's reaction. Fortunately for Michael, she only saw curiosity and surprise but no jealousy and anger.
[...she sent word to my husband through their communication beads. Apparently, she was very impressed by your recipes and sent over five of them to him to try out. She wants him to use his connections to secure a steady supply of ingredients and some retired cooks. Any idea what she's up to?](Raskya)
Leaving aside the befuddled hostess, even Helen was looking curiously at Michael. He did mention that he cooked for Aylin and exchanged recipes, but she wasn't expecting that prideful sister of hers to be this impressed.
Michael, on the other hand, cocked his head to the side and remembered the contract the four people signed. Seeing how the Sorceress was worrying about ingredients meant that their journey so far was safe enough.
"Mhm. She, alongside Hoduin, Martel, and I, were planning to open up some restaurants. Establishments that focus only on food of great quality. When she showed me her inventory, I was honestly amazed by the ingredients she had. Now, I seem to understand where they are coming from. No wonder the food here is great."
[An eatery? Why would you four do that? Also, Hoduin and Martel agreed to chip in as well.](Raskya)
"Yup. They seemed to like the idea of retirement funds filling their pockets from this venture. Though, most of the work needs to be done by them since they have better connections than I do."
[I see. I'll go talk to my husband. I'll have him prepare some dishes based on the recipes Aylin sent. I want to see what the fuss is about.](Raskya)
Seeing the hostess leave without mentioning the second 'acquaintance,' Michael shrugged and turned to Helen, who was calmly eating her food while eying him suspiciously.
"What now?"
[Did you drug Aylin's food?](Helen)
"...what sort of mental acrobatics did you do to reach that conclusion?"
[To have her praise someone else's food, a man nonetheless, is weird. You have no idea how long it took her to recognize Uncle Mallek's cooking skills.](Helen)
"Uncle Mallek?"
[Aunty Raskya's husband. Allen Mallek. He's the top cook in the city.](Helen)
"I see. Well, I didn't drug your sister, you bratty lass! I impressed her with my skills and creativity. As you've seen yourself, I can sometimes be very 'creative.'"
Seeing the blush creeping on her face while looking around sneakily to see if anyone else heard that, Helen used her foot to stomp on Michael's, prompting a yelp from the latter.
Amused, Helen was about to continue talking when 'Aunty' Raskya's head popped from behind the door next to the counter, waving at the duo.
[Right, Michael. I forgot to mention that...](Raskya)
[Michael! You made it here!](?)
A deep voice echoed through the Inn, making his plates vibrate as if there was an earthquake. He sighed, recognizing the voice.
[...Gonk returned. Gonk, you IDIOT! How many times did I tell you to stop shouting!?](Raskya)
[Uhm... sorry, aunty...](Gonk)
Seeing the embarrassed mass of muscles, the entire crowd in the Inn started laughing uproariously. Judging by their entertained expressions and Raskya's 'had just about enough of you' one, it was safe to assume this was a common occurrence.
Michael waved at the giant, and after getting permission from Helen, he asked him to join.
[Miss Helen. A pleasure to see you again.](Gonk)
[Mhm. How did your raid go?](Helen)
[Very successful. Hahaha! We launched a surprise attack when they sent out a large force to scout a nearby village and wiped them out in a fell swoop. The Cathedral is probably still purifying the Stronghold as we speak.](Gonk)
[Casualities?](Helen)
[Only injuries on the party I went with, but there were no survivors found in the Stronghold or the nearby three villages...](Gonk)
Michael was slightly surprised and turned on by Helen's boss-lady attitude. Obviously, the slight stare alerted the woman, who proceeded to pinch his waist with force high enough to make him gasp.
Gonk didn't miss the interaction and directed a thumbs up to Michael in a very not-discrete manner.
The action annoyed the tigress even more, making her put even more force in the twist. Michael's wry smile was quite amusing to the gigantic Barbarian, though, prompting a glare from Helen his way as well.
[*Cough* W-Well. It's good that you made it here, Michael. I see you leveled up a bit also.](Gonk)
Snorting at the awkward change of subject, Helen ignored the two smelly men and focused on her plate. Even if she acted out, she wasn't actually annoyed or embarrassed.
It was fun to tease Michael, though.
"Well, it wasn't exactly a smooth ride..."
He proceeded to tell the Barbarian about Nevesk, prompting a wide-eye reaction from the man.
[Damn! I knew something was wrong with that place. My client was a good friend of the town priest in Nevesk, but the villagers said he left for Kyovashad to pay the tithes. No wonder we couldn't find him here either... *Sigh* My client will be sad when he finds out he's dead.](Gonk)
"Mhm... How are you holding up? I heard from Lady Raskya that you joined an expedition to attack a Stronghold taken over by demons. From what you said before, it was a good hunt, it seems."
[Not easy, but very rewarding! I even managed to open my Paragon Page!](Gonk)
Even Helen raised an eyebrow at the declaration, and the surrounding people listening to the conversation also looked weirdly at the man.
He didn't blame the others for listening in; Gonk's volume was high enough to hear even if you didn't want to.
[Congratulations, Gonk! It seems that we gained another powerhouse.](Helen)
Cheers followed, and people came over to toast to the Barbarian in a congratulatory manner.
Michael was slightly stumped seeing such a strong reaction, prompting him to turn to Hellen for answers.
[It's not easy to open the Paragon Page. Reaching Level 50 is not hard as long as you kill enough demons in the Dungeons, but the Paragon Page requires a Quest to be completed. Usually, it asks one to single-handedly kill an Elite at least ten levels above your own or a Boss at least five.](Helen)
Hearing the condition, Michael's face paled and looked at the Barbarian with awe. Soon after, he directed the same type of gaze to Helen.
This lady also had her Paragon Page open.
[You also fought a Boss that was Baron Demon in your first Dungeon, so you should know how difficult it is to deal with them.](Helen)
"Let's not compare. I appreciate the kind intention, but there's no need to indulge my ego. The one I fought was strong, but... I can't imagine beating it if I was at a higher level. You both are amazing. You especially, since you're younger than Gonk."
[Mhm! Miss Helen opened her Paragon Page three years ago and saved an entire town in the process. She's an amazing woman!](Gonk)
Hearing the awe in Gonk's voice made Michael direct a very lust-filled gaze at the pretty captain. He wondered if he should kidnap this 'amazing woman' and bring her back to his bedroom.
She noticed his smirk and blushed while stomping his foot again.
Food and drinks continued, and even the hostess moved closer to congratulate the bashful gigant. Halfway through the 'celebration,' Helen pulled Michael aside.
[I need to go. I have to meet up with my dad and those bratty girls. I didn't get the chance to send a message yesterday because of a certain someone, so they might be worried.](Helen)
"Mhm. I understand."
[That's it?](Helen)
"Uhm... take care?"
[Asshole!](Helen)
She punched him while laughing, and Michael followed suit. Seeing that most eyes were focused on the Barbarian, he closed in and kissed the pretty tigress, making her eyes widen in disbelief.
Luckily for her, Michael quickly parted his lips from her, but not fast enough for others not to notice. A few sniggers followed, prompting a rosy color to appear again on Helen's cheeks.
"I'll move around in the city for today and probably tomorrow I'll visit the Church since I have an appointment with them. I'm in no rush to jump into Dungeons for now, so you know where to find me."
Hearing his shameless suggestion, Helen chuckled at the man and shook her head. He really had thick skin.
Though, based on her previous interactions with other men, he was a refreshing personality. Fun to be around, knows when to talk and when to listen, and is shameless enough to get her out of her comfort zone without making her feel bad.
She kissed him back, prompting more whistles from the Inn's customers and a raised eyebrow from Michael.
[What? Did you think I was a kid to be embarrassed this easily?](Helen)
Seeing her leave in such a 'triumphant' manner made Michael laugh aloud. He promised himself to teach her another lesson the next time he could.
He returned to the table where Gonk was finally left alone by the others, but his face flushed by alcohol said that he didn't get away without some damage.
[Damn! You're awesome to get your hands on Captain Helen! I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes.](Gonk)
"She's that hard to reach, huh?"
[You have no idea. Her father owns the Occultist shop in Kyovashad. He is indispensable for every Wanderer over Level 10, especially at the higher levels. There's nobody stupid enough to offend him. Leaving her father aside, Captain Helen herself is a well-known genius. Nobody knows for sure, but we think her level has long passed 70. Adding her beauty on top of that, do you think she's hard to reach?](Gonk)
Michael chuckled and shook his head at Gonk. No matter how successful and strong, there were only regular men and women in matters of the heart. Leaving him and Helen aside, Lilith and Inarius are similar examples.
'Still, her father is a bigshot, it seems. It's good that I didn't offend the tigress in any way. As blackhearted as it sounds, it is good to gain some perks through her.'
The conversation continued at the table, with both men exchanging their most recent adventures.
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