Free Web NovelChapter 28: Siren Stronghold [ 24 - Final]
Nacho blinked. That was not the reaction he’d been expecting.
"You’re... surprisingly chill about this."
"I’m a soldier. I’ve seen worse things taken from others than a mere Talent I didn’t even know I could share." She uncrossed her arms and moved closer to the massage table. "Besides, my father seemed impressed by you. And my father is never impressed by anyone."
"He mentioned you’d been talking about me."
"Did he?" A faint blush crept up her cheeks. "I may have... mentioned the massage. Once or twice."
"He said you called it miraculous."
The blush deepened. "I was exaggerating."
"Were you?"
She met his eyes, and for a moment, the tough captain facade cracked just a little.
"No. I wasn’t."
Nacho stood up from the table. They were close now, close enough that he could smell the faint floral scent she tried to hide under soap and leather.
"I’m leaving tomorrow night for the Mortal World. Don’t know when I’ll be back."
"I know. That’s why I’m here." She took a breath. "I want another session. A real one this time. Not the abbreviated version you gave me last week."
"The abbreviated version had you screaming into the table."
"Exactly." Her voice dropped lower. "I want to see what the full version does."
Nacho considered her for a moment. She was beautiful in a fierce, dangerous way. All hard edges and suppressed intensity. The kind of woman who could kill you in a heartbeat and look good doing it.
And she’s Elder Voss’s daughter. Which means anything I do with her could have political consequences.
But I’m leaving tomorrow anyway. And when has that ever stopped me?
"Alright," he said. "Get on the table."
She smiled. It was a rare expression on her face, and it transformed her completely.
"I was hoping you’d say that."
She pulled off her shirt and climbed onto the table face down. Her back was a roadmap of scars, some old and faded, others more recent. The marks of a soldier who’d spent her whole life in combat.
Nacho summoned his tentacle and let it hover above her skin.
"Same rules as last time?"
"No." She turned her head to look at him, her pale green eyes dark with something he recognized. "No rules this time. Do whatever you want."
Well then.
His tentacle descended.
(Two hours later...)
Rhea was lying on her back, completely undone. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were unfocused, and she hadn’t said a coherent word in the last twenty minutes.
Nacho checked his status screen.
[Talent Absorbed: Mana Enhancement (Epic)]
[Charm: 41 → 47]
Nice. An Epic Talent and a solid Charm boost. Not bad for a goodbye present.
Rhea finally found her voice.
"What..." She swallowed. "What the fuck was that?"
"The full version."
She let out a sound that might have been a laugh or a sob. Maybe both.
"I can’t feel my legs."
"That’s normal. It’ll pass."
"I don’t want it to pass." She rolled onto her side and looked at him. Her eyes were wet. "I don’t want this to pass. I want to feel like this forever."
"That’s the Charm effect talking. It’ll fade in a few hours."
"It’s not just the Charm." She reached out and grabbed his hand. Her grip was surprisingly strong for someone who claimed she couldn’t feel her legs.
"I’ve spent my whole life being strong. Being the captain. Being my father’s daughter. And for two hours, I didn’t have to be any of that. I was just... me."
Nacho looked down at her hand in his.
This is getting complicated.
"Rhea..." frёewebnoѵēl.com
"I know." She released his hand and sat up slowly. "I know you’re leaving. I know this isn’t going to become anything more than what it already is. I’m not stupid."
"I never said you were."
"But I wanted you to know. Before you left." She stood up and started gathering her clothes. "That what you do here, in this room, it matters. To me, at least. And probably to a lot of other women who won’t ever say it out loud."
She pulled on her shirt and turned to face him.
"So thank you. For the massages. For the... other stuff. And for not treating me like I’m made of glass just because I’m a woman."
Nacho nodded. "You’re welcome."
She walked to the door, then paused with her hand on the handle.
"One more thing."
"Yeah?"
"If you die up there in the Mortal World..." She looked back at him over her shoulder. "I’ll be very disappointed."
With that, she was gone.
Nacho stared at the closed door for a long moment.
This place is getting way too complicated. Good thing I’m leaving.
He spent the rest of the night packing. Not that he had much to pack. Everything he owned fit into his inventory, which had infinite capacity. But it felt right to go through the motions. To pretend he was a normal person doing normal leaving-preparations.
When morning came, he found Lizbeth waiting for him in the main hall.
"So this is it," she said.
"This is it."
She handed him a small bundle wrapped in cloth.
"What’s this?"
"Food for the road. It’s not much, but..." She shrugged. "I figured you might get hungry."
Nacho took the bundle and tucked it into his inventory.
"Thanks, Lizbeth."
"Don’t mention it." She paused. "Seriously, don’t mention it. To anyone. I have a reputation to maintain."
"What reputation?"
"The one where I’m a cold, unfeeling innkeeper who doesn’t care about anyone."
Has she ever been like that? Huh... What kind of bullshit is she spouting?
Nacho snorted. "I think that ship sailed a while ago."
"Shut up."
They stood there in awkward silence for a moment. Then Lizbeth stepped forward and hugged him. It was brief and a little stiff, but it was definitely a hug.
"Don’t die," she said into his shoulder.
"I’ll try not to."
She stepped back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Now get out of here before I change my mind and lock you in the basement."
"You don’t have a basement."
"I’ll build one."
Nacho laughed and headed for the door. He paused at the threshold and looked back at her one last time.
"Keep the massage room. I might need it when I come back."
"If you come back."
"When."
She almost smiled.
"When."
Then he walked out, leaving the Old Willow Inn behind. freewёbnoνel.com
Phew... I didn’t know saying goodbye was this hard. Still. It’s time for a new beginning up in a place where I can actually get significantly stronger, explore places, and not need to deal with politics.
He could finally be free.
