Free Web NovelChapter 22: Rieka’s past
{Well, you’re right, but this device works differently, It uses mana crystals for long-distance transmission, which are extremely expensive. Only nobles and wealthy people can normally afford personal communication devices like these.}
{And to contact someone, you also need the coordinates of the receiving transmission device. So... for you right now, this thing is basically useless since your parents don’t own one.}
Nova sighed softly after hearing Liya’s explanation, though he didn’t seem too disappointed. "It’s alright," he muttered calmly. "It’s not like I’ve been gone for many actual days outside... even if it feels that way for me after spending nearly two weeks inside that damn dungeon."
He thought quietly for a moment before reassuring himself. "It’ll be fine. Father probably assumed something unexpected came up when I didn’t return before dinner."
"And after checking the library tomorrow morning, I’ll head back toward Coldrock immediately, with my current speed, a two-hour carriage journey should only take me around ten minutes now."
After understanding the situation, Nova walked back toward Rieka and explained everything to her briefly. Soon after, the two of them headed upstairs toward their rented room.
The room itself was surprisingly cozy.
It wasn’t luxurious or particularly large, but after everything they endured inside the dungeon, even a simple clean room felt unbelievably comfortable.
Still...there was one slightly awkward problem ,There was only one bed.
And it wasn’t even a proper double bed—just a slightly larger single bed that barely looked enough for one person to sleep comfortably.
For a moment, both Nova and Rieka stood there silently in awkwardness.
Honestly, Nova had absolutely no experience dealing with situations like this. Even in his previous life, he had remained completely inexperienced when it came to women.
So naturally he felt a little nervous. Still, as the man here, he felt like he had to say something first. "Ahem..." Nova awkwardly coughed before speaking. "Why don’t you take a bath first?"
"Okay," Rieka replied softly without arguing before quietly walking toward the bathroom.
Nova silently watched her figure disappear behind the bathroom door before scratching his cheek awkwardly.
"...Well, this is awkward." freёwebnoѵel.com
{Heh~ anyone could tell you’re a virgin from how badly you handled that situation, Host.}
{You should’ve gone for the goal~}
Liya teased shamelessly inside his head.
"You know, Liya..." Nova sighed tiredly. "I kinda miss the old version of you. You were way better when you didn’t talk this obnoxiously."
{Too bad~}
{You don’t have a choice anymore since I’ll be staying with you until the very end. Hahaha~}
Liya’s playful laughter echoed inside his mind while Nova helplessly rubbed his forehead.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door slowly opened and Rieka walked back into the room. Nova subconsciously looked toward her and froze slightly.
Her curvy voluptuous body was now wrapped in a simple bathrobe while droplets of water still clung to her fair skin. Her long silver-white hair remained slightly damp, falling softly over her shoulders and down her back.
The cute wolf ears resting atop her head twitched faintly while her fluffy tail swayed slowly behind her, almost as though it reflected her relaxed and refreshed mood after finally taking a proper bath.
Even without using any special perfume or shampoo, a faint sweet scent naturally drifted from her body, filling the room with a strangely calming fragrance.
Combined with her innocent yet beautiful face the scene was honestly mesmerizing. For a moment, Nova unknowingly stared at her quietly, And Rieka noticed it immediately. But strangely she didn’t dislike his gaze at all.
If anything, seeing him stare at her like that made her feel oddly happy inside. After a brief silence, she softly spoke.
"You should take a bath too."
"Ah... yeah, I’m going."
Nova quickly scratched the back of his head awkwardly before heading toward the bathroom himself.
After washing away all the blood, dirt, and exhaustion covering his body, he eventually came back outside wearing a bathrobe as well. Only then did another realization suddenly hit him.
Neither of them actually had any spare clothes right now. Which meant they were both going to sleep wearing only bathrobes.
Nova glanced toward Rieka and noticed her sitting quietly on the bed while staring out through the window at the moonlit night sky.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke.
"You can sleep on the bed."
"I’ll just sleep on the floor."
The moment he said that, Rieka immediately shook her head lightly.
"No... it’s alright."
"You can sleep here too."
"It’s big enough for both of us."
And honestly Nova had secretly been waiting for her to say exactly that. After all, he wasn’t one of those pussy isekai protagonists who acted terrified of women even when they openly invited them.
"Oh... okay then," Nova replied almost instantly before moving toward the bed without hesitation , Soon, both of them quietly laid down beside each other.
The bed was slightly small, so naturally their bodies and hands occasionally brushed lightly against one another beneath the dim moonlight filling the room.
"You probably have a lot of questions about how I survived..." Nova spoke softly while staring quietly at the ceiling above.
Rieka slowly turned her body toward him on the small bed, causing her soft chest to lightly brush against Nova’s arm in the cramped space. Nova flinched slightly from the sudden contact, but quickly controlled himself before reacting awkwardly.
"Yes..." Rieka replied calmly while looking directly into his eyes. Nova stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking honestly.
"I’ll tell you the truth, Rieka..."
"I possess a unique innate skill."
"One that allows me to grow stronger extremely fast through battle. The harder the fight, the faster I become stronger... as long as I don’t die or become crippled in the process."
As he explained, Nova slowly turned toward her as well until both of them faced each other directly beneath the dim moonlight filling the room.
Rieka’s beautiful face immediately showed visible shock after hearing his words.
That kind of ability sounded almost unreal.
Nova gently raised his hand before softly caressing her cheek. Rieka’s body shuddered but she didn’t stop him at all. Instead, she leaned slightly into his touch instinctively, feeling strangely comfortable and safe with him.
If it was Nova then it was okay. At least that was what her heart kept telling her.
"It was because of that skill..." Nova continued quietly while brushing his fingers gently across her soft cheek, "that I somehow managed to survive almost fifteen days inside that dungeon."
The moment Rieka heard that number again, her chest tightened painfully.
Fifteen days.
She herself had only experienced a tiny fraction of that nightmare, yet even those few hours were enough to make her feel despair and terror unlike anything before. So she couldn’t even begin imagining what Nova had gone through alone inside that hellish dungeon for two weeks.
Even if his strength grew rapidly he still must have suffered countless injuries.
He still must have felt fear.
Hopelessness.
Pain.
Loneliness.
And before she even realized it herself warm tears slowly began falling from her eyes again. She honestly didn’t even fully understand why hearing about his suffering hurt her heart this much .
But it did , Nova immediately noticed the tears forming again and gently wiped them away before slowly pulling her closer toward himself.
Then he hugged her warmly.
His taller and broader body completely enveloped hers while Rieka quietly relaxed into his embrace without resisting even slightly. Instead, she unconsciously snuggled even closer against his wide bare chest, listening silently to his heartbeat.
"Still..." Nova spoke softly while gently stroking her silver hair, "I don’t regret any of it." A small smile appeared on his face. "The only thing I would’ve regretted... was if something had happened to you."
Rieka’s body tensed slightly after hearing those words. "And honestly..." Nova continued while softly caressing her hair, "seeing you make it out alive..."
"And being here together with you like this right now..."
"I couldn’t be happier."
"And yeah... I also possess a few other unique skills, so don’t get too surprised in the future," Nova said with a warm smile while gently caressing her silver hair. His fingers moved softly through the damp strands as both of them remained close beneath the dim moonlight filling the room.
Then his expression became slightly curious.
"Now that I’ve talked about myself... tell me something, Rieka."
"I saw through my appraisal skill that you’re already twenty years old and an A-rank, but you’re still only Level 28. Why is that?"
Rieka slowly lifted her eyes toward him after hearing the question. Because she had already snuggled so close against his chest, their faces were only a short distance apart now. As she shifted slightly nearer toward his neck, the faint sweet scent from her damp silver-white hair drifted into Nova’s nose, strangely calming his mind.
For a few moments, she remained completely silent as though organizing her thoughts and memories before finally speaking softly.
"As I told you earlier... I was raised inside a small Wolfkin tribe near Frostholme City. I don’t know who my real parents were. The village chief or rather, the person I called grandfather was the one who raised me ever since I was little."
A faint complicated expression slowly appeared in her eyes as old memories resurfaced within her mind.
"Until I turned fifteen, our tribe remained hidden far away from humans. We lived quietly deep within the forests and rarely interacted with the outside world. Everything was peaceful back then..."
"But eventually... our people started disappearing one after another." Her wolf ears lowered slightly while sadness and hatred mixed within her expression.
"At first, nobody understood what was happening. Most of the people who disappeared were those who went near the outer boundaries of our tribe alone. Some never returned after hunting. Some vanished while gathering resources."
"Then grandfather realized the truth..."
Rieka’s voice grew slightly colder.
"Humans had discovered our location." freёwebnovel.com
"They were most likely capturing our people for illegal slave trading." A trace of hatred flashed through her beautiful eyes for a brief moment before fading again.
"beast-folk like us... especially women... are considered valuable slaves in many places because of our appearance and bloodlines. That’s why our tribe always stayed hidden from humans."
Thanks for reading....
