Chapter 14: Chapter 11: The Lilies are blooming

Reilanis regained consciousness, slowly opening her eyes as if her lids weighed several tons. She stared at the ceiling, with nothing else in her head but the memories of his ordeal. For some reason didn't feel so terrified anymore, in fact, she felt like an old injury had suddenly gotten better. Not everything was cured, but she undoubtedly felt better than she had before.

She sighed, relaxing her entire body, feeling how much of the weight that she had carried for so many years lightened considerably. A small smile formed on her lips. How long had it been since she could fully relax and smile like she was doing right now?

“[How are you feeling?] Reilan? Hehe, I feel… good. Much better than I have been in a long time. [I'm glad. It seems like you can finally relax without worries.] Yes, I think so... Reilan? [?] Thanks. Really. [You don't have to give them. This also benefits me.]”

Reilanis tilted her head in confusion, but before she could ask what her partner meant, he spoke again.

“[Even though you feel better now, you have to remember that you are not completely over everything. This first step is important, but you must keep working on it or all progress will end up being for nothing.] I-I…understand. I'll try. [Don't just try. Do it. For you, to prove to yourself that you can. Or at least, that's what my psychologists used to tell me.] Saiko… Sikologis? [Ah, well, the doctors who were helping me with my um…problem. I told you before, they were pretty good at what they did, I just… never managed to take that first step myself.] I… [You don't have to say anything, it's okay.]

There was a silence between the two of them, a bit awkward from Reilanis's side, who didn't know what to say to him, although she knew she should say at least a few words of encouragement. The girl tried to get up, thinking that if she shifted it might think of something to say, but she couldn't. She tried to move her arms and legs, but neither responded properly. It was as if she was using her body for the first time and it was too heavy for her.

"What the hell?"

Her body was rigid, and now that she was paying attention to it, she was actually in pain. Every muscle in her body was on fire and she was completely drenched in sweat. Her clothes were wet, even… there was a smell in the air. She didn't want to think about what she believed so she just put it out of her mind and decided to ignore it for now. Even so, she continued to try to move, at least try to sit up. Luckily, she was near one of the walls, a little behind the table in the middle of the room. She gathered all of her strength and very slowly crawled up the wall, and with one last great effort, she managed to sit up, with her back resting against the wall.

Reilanis was breathing heavily, having done so little made her feel as if she had spent all her energy, and not an ounce of strength was left in her body. But she now at least was in a somewhat more comfortable position.

Now that she was like this, she realized that she really couldn't think of anything to say, and even she felt foolish when realize that Reilan wouldn't care about such things.

“[Looks like you ran out of energy. That trip exhausted you completely.] Seriously it did. But the truth is I'm glad you pushed me to do it. I don't think I would have ever gotten to this point without your help. […come on stop for once, it feels strange to be… an object of gratitude. I don't feel like I deserve it. Especially since right now I'm a parasite in your body.] No! You're not a… [I am and you know it. You even said it at the beginning. This makes me feel uncomfortable, I feel like I might try to steal your body, and it gives me the creeps, I don't even want to think about it.] I don't think you would. [I appreciate the trust you place in me. But what is frightening is not the fact of doing it, it is the fact that there is a possibility that I can. I already died once, and for someone dead, the temptation of having a living body, the possibility of living once again at the expense of someone else's is…]

Silence invaded the place again. Neither of them wanted to continue the subject. Trying to distract herself, or find something to talk about while she regained her strength, Reilanis let her gaze wander the room. Her eyes went directly to the shelf where her companions’ “special” objects were.

"Now that I look at it again, it looks like... trophies."

Reilanis sighed somewhat sadly, realizing that the comment Reilan had made was quite accurate. At first, she only wanted to keep the objects that held important memories for her, but in the end, it took on the opposite meaning of what she intended.

“[Don't worry so much about it. You can always do it differently.] Yeah… I guess you're right.”

Her gaze immediately zeroed in on the fuller portrait of the group. One was made a few years ago before the dungeon's construction began.

Reilanis was in the center, but this time she was sitting cross-legged on the floor. The big smile of hers, which she used to have in all the illustrations, had become smaller and emptier. Sitting on her lap was Neminah, now with a bright smile. Her little hands were holding a red ball. To her left, as always, was Elisa, still wearing her half smile, but this time, she had her hand on Reilanis's shoulder. "Those past few years had brought them that close?" Reilan wondered. Reilanis didn’t reply.

Miriam was on Reilanis's right side. She now had a combat stance and a fierce smile, as if she was ready to fight, knowing that she was assured of victory. Her tail was no longer wrapped around some part of Reilanis's body. Now it rested limply on the ground, something really strange for Reilanis who was used to feeling her girl tail around her.

The last member, behind the red woman, was an elf with gray skin, green hair, and red eyes. A dark blue cloak covered most of her body, except for her face and ears, which stuck out through her hood. The girl had a sweet smile on her face with her eyes half open.

Reilan got confused as he knew that kind of expression well. Reilanis even more. The gaze that was as if glued to her back was the glance of a woman in love, madly in love. They did not know if that was because Miriam knew it and she decided to express it consciously in her drawing or if it was a coincidence. After all, Reilanis never told them the real reason why she had decided to accept the elf into the group.

Again, Reilanis kept her silence. She was still exhausted from the events of that day and she felt embarrassed for not doing anything about it until now. She thought that… No, no matter what she thought herself, she had left Vistelia waiting for too long.

“[What's the story?] Story? [How did you find her?] Shouldn't you know by now? [A little, but it's not the same to see parts of memories than to understand what happened.]”

That was a bit of a lie, after all, Reilan remembered when he wrote that part about Vistelia. But he had noticed that many of the things he had written seemed to be different in this world.

“…It was shortly after arriving in a big city in the east. We were just passing through, stocking up to continue the journey further south. Since we passed the city gate, I started to feel that someone was following us from the shadows, so I took the girls directly to the inn so they could be safe. The strange thing was, the moment we walked in, the presence was completely gone. [It disappeared?] At first, I thought it was just a coincidence, but as soon as I went back out to buy some things, that presence returned and followed me all the way. I got fed up, so I went down an alley and waited for them to reveal themself…and they did.”

At that moment Reilanis was simply standing with her arms crossed, and waiting for the person foolish enough to have provoked her. But, who appeared, was completely out of her expectation.

“When I first saw her… well, I froze. Out of the shadows came the most beautiful and sexy girl I had seen up to that moment. A perfect face, deep red eyes that looked like polished rubies, and those lips, I almost wished I could... *Cough* well, it was surprising since it was the first time I saw a woman of the elven race with that skin tone and eye color."

Reilanis's cheeks were on fire, and her skin was a deeper shade than usual. Reilan was quite amused by his partner’s blush, and a desire to mess with her intensified. It seemed like fun, and might even be a good thing to help her mood improve a little more.

“[So, a beautiful elf was following you, right?] An elf, yes. – She answered with a pout.

The elf approached slowly, pulling back her hood and revealing her face completely. Reilanis, although on the outside she seemed calm and serious, in her mind was a turbulence of thoughts related to the great beauty that this girl possessed, the curves of her body, and the refined aura that she emanated from her.

"I'm sorry about the way I'm doing this, but, by any means, I needed to have a conversation."

The elf approached, keeping both hands raised, and not taking her eyes from Reilanis, hoping to look less threatening.

"...and what is the reason for that?"

“I would like to talk about it somewhere else. Could you please follow me?"

"And why should I? We could solve it here, right now.”

“N-no. I didn't come to fight. As I said, I just want to have a conversation with you.”

You are reading story Rise of the Dungeon Master at novel35.com

Reilanis was reluctant, but the elf girl was passive and calm, making her doubt. She went silent for a long time, considering what to do. The girl was just there, patiently waiting for an answer, keeping her gaze fixed on the Oni.

*sigh* "Okay, I'll go with you, but if you do something that annoys me…"

"I-I understand. T-then, this way."

The girl responded with some nervousness, but she quickly turned, leading Reilanis out of the alley and down a long path to a small bar tucked between two large buildings. Inside, the place was almost empty. There were several tables and chairs around it, with only 3 customers on them. At the back of the place was the bar table, with your typical bartender cleaning one of his cups with a small cloth. This time, a tall, stocky woman. The hard muscles of hers as marked as if they had been carved with a chisel. The elf waved her hands and the woman responded, nodding to a door to her left. Both girls entered this new room, where there was only a table with a couple of chairs.

The elf sat down on one of the chairs and offered the other to Reilanis who hesitated a bit, before sitting down with her gaze fixed on the girl across from her.

"Then what do you want?"

“Uh, yeah, well, let me introduce myself first. My name is Vistelia Trionestinia, I'm 35 years old, and I'm a mercenary and a B-rank adventurer. And, uh, as I said before, my only motive is to have a conversation with you.”

"Are you serious?"

"Completely. I can take off all my gear and weapons if it makes you feel less alert. I can be naked if you want!"

“Uh… ok? I don't think that's necessary..."

"O-of course... I'm sorry..."

Contrary to what anyone else would think about the elf's sudden offer. Reilanis relaxed a bit more, feeling that if she went that far, then there was no reason to be so vigilant, besides, she didn't think she could be beaten by her, or by the woman at the bar.

“Could…could I at least know your name?”

“Re…-The Oni was going to immediately give her real name, but she stopped for an instant. Was it a good idea to do it? She didn't know much about that region, and even though there was no one looking for them, she still wanted to keep a certain low profile. But was it really necessary? Reilanis cleared her mind with a sigh. It didn't care if she gave her real name or not. She was already an accomplished adventurer, and it was possible that this elf already knew who she was. If she was that good at following her from the shadows without her girls noticing, then she should be just as good at gathering information. There was no reason to hide it at this point. – Reilanis. Just Reilanis.”

“Reilanis. I see. Hmm. – The elf nodded, and a soft smile played on her lips. She looked down at the table and began muttering things that Reilanis couldn't quite catch. – And uh… I don't know if it's polite to ask.”

"We've already reached this point, so it doesn't matter, right?"

“Y-you're right. Eh… can I ask your age? What brings you to this city? Umm, are you an adventurer too? I mean, you look really strong so…”

"*sigh* As far as I can remember, I'm 36, we just came by, and yes, I'm currently an A-rank adventurer. Although the guild wants me to take the test for S-rank.

“Wow! are you that strong? W-well, when I first saw you, I could tell that you were amazing, but to be that much…”

Reilanis felt a slight warmth on her cheeks, her heart sped up, though she wouldn't admit it. She crossed her arms more strongly and responded with a sigh, which might sound like she was upset.

"I guess."

At that moment a knock on the door echoed in the room, and after the elf answered, a girl, the waitress, came in to take the orders.

After that, both of them talked a little more, although it could be said that it was more of the gray-skinned girl, telling many things about her day-to-day life. She said that she had been living in that city for a couple of years and that she mainly dedicated herself to fulfilling very specific missions, using that bar as her base. When the Oni asked why specifically that place, the girl replied that the owner of the bar was an acquaintance of a friend in the dwarf kingdom, about 2 weeks east of there, and that when she arrived, the owner welcomed her without much opportunity to reject.

Shortly after, the waitress returned with the drinks, beers and 2 bottles of fruit wine, and a huge plate of different types of meat and fruits. With the food served, the elf resumed the conversation, which surprisingly, Reilanis joined more easily now that she had good food and drink.

A couple of hours passed in this strange moment for the Oni. This elf that came out of nowhere, for some reason managed to easily penetrate her hard and rigid exterior and made her have fun with this time with her.

Soon, there was almost no trace of the banquet they'd just had, and Reilanis was almost slumped in her chair, relaxed as she hadn't been in a while. The elf looked at her, and cleared her throat, drawing her attention. Perhaps due to the drink or the atmosphere that had formed, the girl seemed to want to talk about something, perhaps the real reason why she started this conversation in the first place. Reilanis felt the change in the environment and settled into her place. She looked at the girl in front of her seriously, seeming to want to say something important.

“Look… this may be a bit sudden, but… I would like to tell you something.”

"And what could it be? - Reilanis answered, curious about the sudden change in the girl. – I hope nothing bad.”

"No, no. It just… - The elf closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, before dropping a huge bomb on Reilanis. – The truth is that I fell in love with you at first sight. So… can I join your group?”

Silence

"Huh!?"

 

 

You can find story with these keywords: Rise of the Dungeon Master, Read Rise of the Dungeon Master, Rise of the Dungeon Master novel, Rise of the Dungeon Master book, Rise of the Dungeon Master story, Rise of the Dungeon Master full, Rise of the Dungeon Master Latest Chapter