Chapter 230: One Feisty Doctor

Now alone in my office with only Opalina and Nikita for company, I find that the witch holds nothing back. “You smell like you’ve been having sex all morning,” Opalina asserts her dominance by strutting ahead of me and sitting on my desk. She adjusts her glasses and crosses her long legs, an amused smile on her face.

“That’s because I’ve been having sex all morning,” I confirm cheekily and approach the desk, Nikita making herself at home on the sofa behind me. “I wanted to make sure everyone got their fill before you whisked me off for our lovely vacation.”

“Do you normally fuck six girls when someone’s waiting on you, Chief, or am I just lucky?” Nikita laughs, throwing her arms out behind the couch and leaning back.

I feel my cheeks blush. After clearing my throat, I tell the Grekkan, “I was told you were napping. Otherwise, I would have gotten to you much quicker...”

“Oh, I was napping alright...” Nikita laughs, “At least until you started pounding Snow.”

A knowing smile flashes across Opalina’s luscious lips. “Speaking of Snow, I had a feeling that that curious cat of yours would come back...”

“No thanks to you. Said cat told me you almost scared her off.”

Opalina seems taken aback at the thought, “Really? I didn’t think I was coming off as too pushy... hmm. Well, no matter. You got what you wanted in the end, and that’s all that’s important.” The old witch shakes her head, dismissing all the irrelevant details.

From out of her coat sleeve, Opalina removes her wand and extends it towards me. “Come closer,” She beckons me. Having grown up around Opalinaina’s hygiene standards, I’m well used to where this is going. I step towards her, which earns me a ‘Good boy’ from the witch. She wiggles the magic tool in front of my face and chants, “Freshenow.”

A warm, light breeze surrounds my body, cleaning me up and scenting my clothes with an earthy, pine scent coupled with just a dash of mint. No doubt Opalina’s making me smell according to her particular tastes, but what can you expect? In retrospect, I definitely should have taken a bath instead of having sex all morning, but I’m sure Opalina was expecting this to happen. Honestly, I might have to have her teach Zutiria this spell if it’s not already the little lady’s encyclopedic spell list...

“Impressive, but can you make him smell like a real man?” Nikita laughs loudly at her own joke, prompting Opalina to fire back.

“Of course, Niki. I could certainly make him smell like you if I wished, but frankly, one of you is already more than my nose can take.”

“HAH! Can’t say I didn’t earn that one.” Nikita, ever the friendly sport, almost busts a gut from her own rampant laughter. “Thanks for taking some time for me before you two head out, Chief.”

“Think nothing of it. You know I’d bend over backward for you if you needed anything. Are you alright with Opalina sticking around, though, or do you need her to wait in the entrance hall so we can talk one-on-one?”

Full of snark despite her kind, gentle expression, Opalina says, “Yes, by all means, Dear. I’d love to watch the kitties clean up your little mess back in the public sex room.”

I raise an eyebrow and stifle a chuckle down. “You’re feeling rather savage today, aren’t you?”

Opalina sighs and cradles her forehead. “Visiting Dawnstead brings out both the best and the worst of me, I’m afraid...” She says with a deep, dread-filled sigh that rattles out of her throat.

“Don’t worry about it. Opalina can stay.” Nikita laughs out loud as if the thought of Opalina needing to leave the room was ludicrous. “It’s not like I have any secrets that she doesn’t already know about. I just wanted to run over why I’ve been distant lately and give a few warnings while I’m at it.”

“Warnings?”

Nikita’s expression tenses and her voice trails off as she says, “Yes, warnings. I just want to know that you can’t rely on me to always keep you safe.”

“I’m well aware that you’ll only participate when it comes to guarding the Guild and myself... even if someone gets hurt over your lack of involvement. Why remind me now? Is this about what happened with Fleetfoot?”

“Yes and no. It was barely a fight. That Halfling fled faster than Hermes himself, I swear. Nah, what I’m trying to get at is... well...” The mercenary’s face scrunches up as she tries to adequately express herself. For someone so outspoken, loud, and boisterous as Nikita to have trouble saying what’s on her mind only emphasizes how badly it weighs on her. “I’m getting weaker.” She finally admits through the skin of her teeth. Nikita grasps the small cut inflicted during her recent battle.

Seeing her like this, I feel great empathy towards the bronze-skinned, battle-hardened warrior. Strength must mean everything to her, and it must be a very long time since she’s had to grapple with feeling powerless. “Nikita, you took a small scratch from a stealthy opponent. You can’t expect me to believe you’re getting weaker just because you got yourself a wound, especially since you’re covered in battle scars as it is. Right, Opalina?” I look towards the Doctor in the hopes that she would back up my claim, but Opalina’s expression has darkened and grown distant.

“There’s more to it than just that,” The mature brunette shakes her head with pity. “Listen to her when she’s trying to tell you something, Dear.”

I try to apologize, but Nikita cuts me off. “Nah, you’re good, Chief. The bulk of my powers came from the pact I made with my God- the same as any other Grekkan Divine Champion. It’s getting close to a year now since I broke that pact, and the last bits of godly power I had left are leaving me bit by bit. Soon, I’ll be as helpless as a satyr before the beauty of a nymph...”

“Probably not the best metaphor,” I cough, and Opalina chuckles.

“Probably not,” Nikita brings herself to smile, letting out a small laugh of her own. “I’ve said before I’m no poet.”

“True enough,” Opalina smirks. "Back to the subject at hand, I don’t think that my Dear quite understands the scale of your powers, Niki. Perhaps you should explain it in terms he’d be able to understand?”

“Yes, please. I’ve only ever seen you training the girls, so it’s hard for me to gauge the full extent of your strength.”

Nikita cups her chin in her hand, thinking of a way to put it. “At my absolute peak when I was frequently in contact with Lor...” She catches herself, coughs, and clenches her fist. “With Ares, I was roughly on the same level as a Platinum-ranked adventurer.”

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My mind struggles to comprehend such a claim. “There’s hardly even a hundred Platinum-ranks, last time I checked...”

She shrugs, “Well, I’ve fought a few of the strongest Gold-ranks before, and they could barely touch me, so... I dunno.”

“Surely your strength doesn’t entirely come from Ares, does it?”

“No, but without access to the divine energy that powers my Divine Arts, then I’m relegated to using your typical physical Arts. Pretty sure you Association-types would classify me as a ‘Fighter’ if I registered for a hero license.”

“I know it’s a hard question to answer, but how much weaker do you think losing your Divine Arts is going to make you?”

“Somewhere between high Silver-rank and low Gold,” Reading my mind, Nikita shakes her head before I can voice anything in response. “I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but as a bodyguard, it just makes protecting you and the Guild that much harder- especially since the Duke and his cronies aren’t likely to take Pimpington’s arrest lying down.”

“That’s certainly troubling, I’ll admit...” I mutter as unpleasant thoughts begin stirring in my overactive imagination. Then, as if to distract me, Opalina stands from the desk and whips her long, flowing curls out of her face.

“Don’t let it trouble you,” She looks me in the eyes, adjusting her glasses. “Duke Gloomcrest isn’t the only person we’ll be meeting while we’re in Dawnstead. I’ve strongarmed an acquaintance into agreeing to prepare a strong magic seal for the Guild. It should make the building harder to invade if the intruder has ill intentions.”

“Is it who I’m thinking of?” Nikita asks, tilting her head. “I thought you hated that guy.”

“Yes on both accounts. To be fair, I hate a great many people,” Opalina grumbles to herself.

“Whoever you’re working with on this, I’ll need to be sure to thank them first hand. Magic like that is costly, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, but such seals are not widely used because they can be undone by Mages stronger than the creator of the seal.”

“I see... the person creating it for me, are they strong, then?”

“Hmm, ‘strong’ would be a compliment, and I’m not very keen on giving Xothan any of those.” Once again, Opalina cradles her forehead as unpleasant thoughts about this acquaintance of hers surface. “You could say I find it highly doubtful that the Duke of Dewhurst has someone in his employ who would be able to break this seal and leave it at that.”

“Sounds better than nothing, right?” Nikita adds.

“Indeed. I’ll take whatever help I can get... Speaking of, the Goddess left a small treasure chest for me in the Pimpfort. She’s trying to help in her own way, too.” I show off my new defensive pendant as well as the arcane tech pistol ring, both of which impress my audience.

“The quality and detailing are impeccable...” Opalina states. “While I don’t keep up with magical machinery, it looks like a Galloise original to me...”

“It’s impressive, sure, but I’d rather take a good bow and arrow any day!” Nikita dismisses the weaponry as I put it away. “Just be careful with it, just like any other ‘gift’ your Goddess gives you...” Her own experiences with the divine color her skepticism. Even if I find it misguided, I would never argue against her advice knowing what I know of Nikita’s past.

“Magic weapons and defensive charms are nice but don’t forget, Dear... As I’ve said before, you’re likely going to leave Dawnstead with much more funds than when you came. Depending on your negotiating, I’d imagine it’ll be plenty enough for us to get additional defensive measures if need be. What happens in the next two days should give you the momentum you need to go on the offensive. If all goes well, Nikita, your declining strength won’t have to factor into the equation at all.”

Both Nikita and I perk up as we listen to Opalina’s resounding declaration of confidence. I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve seen her become this determined, and if it wasn’t clear already, I’m reminded now of just how deeply this woman loves me and how far she’d go to ensure my safety and happiness. If this business meeting results in as good an outcome as Opalina insists is possible, this really could be the beginning of a new era for the Dewhurst Adventurer’s Guild. Once there Duke of Dewhurst is defeated, then there will be nothing stopping us from actually developing my business.

I need to make Opalina knows how much I appreciate this opportunity, one way or another...

We’ve been talking business for a while now, so Opalina steers the conversation back toward Nikita to give her a chance to vent whatever else is on her chest before we take off. “We should really be on our way as soon as possible, Dear. Is there anything else you need to discuss, Nikita? Last chance.” Opalina turns to her friend, who hesitates and looks away.

“Kind of,” Admits the Grekkan. “But it’s not as important as what you two got going on. You should really be on your way.”

“Nonsense. You’ve been holding something back for a while now, haven’t you?” Opalina adopts a motherly tone as she looks down at the seated warrior.

“I’ve noticed it too. Ever since we had that one team meeting, right?”

“Indeed. Speak up, Niki. You’ve got some explaining to do.” The witch leans down, narrowing her eyes.

“Okay, okay!” Niki puts her hands up to show her lack of resistance. “You don’t gotta corner me, I’ll talk... it’s just... a mouthful of thoughts and feelings, alright? Don’t blame me if none of this makes sense...”

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