The stranger had an amused smile on his face when he looked at Keith. The unseen eyes of the stranger felt burning on Keith's skin.
"What is it? Do you no longer want this flash of silver now that you have seen how annoying it could get"
Keith asked this in a calm voice but he was sweating bullets inside his mind. He did not know what he had done to get such curious looks from the stranger.
Should the stranger not be focused on the goddess behind him? Why was Keith being looked at with such a curious look by a stranger? It was a little embarrassing and a lot more annoying than he had first realized.
"Oh, does my stare make you uncomfortable? I am sorry that I did not realize it before. I will look away from you if that is what you want me to do. Once again, my apologies."
The stranger bowed down in front of Keith. Even Keith had to admit that this stranger had the perfect posture he had seen in a person up until now.
"Uncomfortable? Me? Please keep your assumptions to yourself and do not label me with such useless information. Take the flash of silver before I change my mind."
Keith felt his insides twist with worry when he heard the stranger speak in such a carefree manner. For the first time since he had been thrown into this world, someone had looked at him and been able to tell how he felt.
It was a humbling but terrifying feeling at the same time.
'No, do not show any more of your emotions. You cannot let it be known that you are uncomfortable. It will not be good for your reputation.
Keith repeated these words inside his mind a few times before he straightened his back and walked away from the ally.
The stranger looked at the retreating back of the grandmaster with a calm and amused expression before turning toward the goddess with serious eyes.
"I am sorry my lady, but I need your help. I am sure you will find my offer amusing as well. Here, give me your hand and I will help you up."
The goddess looked at the stranger with a surprised but suspicious expression. So far, no one except her chosen hero and that strange grandmaster had been able to see her.
And even then, touching her was a big deal. This man should not have any power to do so.
But the goddess was still inclined to believe this man when he asked for the goddess to touch him.
She reached out toward that outstretched hand with hesitating hands and grasped it tightly. Surprisingly, she did not phase away and she was able to grip that human hand. She was even able to feel the warmth of the hand below her own.
"You! Who are you and what do you want? Why are you able to touch me in my current state? It should not be possible."
The goddess asked without hesitation. Her curiosity got the best of her and the man pulled his hand back.
"I know you have questions, my lady. But for now, why don't you come with me? I am sure everything would be answered in time and you will have an easier time processing my words if you are in a more comfortable position."
The stranger offered the goddess. The goddess did not want to take this offer, but it was tempting.
In the end, she decided to just take that offered hand and allow the stranger to pull her up.
If he turned out to be a danger to the goddess, she would run away.
......….
'I am free, right? I am not still being followed, right?'
Keith looked behind him, only to notice no one following him. It brought a sigh of relief out of Keith's mouth and his body relaxed.
"Finally, some peace. I just want to relax for a little bit, not get into trouble."
Keith complained about the empty streets he had ended up roaming into. It was just one thing after another with him.
He knew that a protagonist's life was filled with adventure but even those people got to rest between events. A villain like Keith seemed to have no freedom to do anything. It was just one thing after another.
'No, let us not go down that road yet. I still have a few days before the next part of the tournament. I should find ways to relax in that time.'
Keith needed a vacation desperately. But he did not have a destination in mind for now.
"Hmm, what was this game infamous for? What extra features did they put in that caused players to stand up in surprise? I know there were a few things. Ah yes, the hot springs."
Once Keith specifically tried to remember something, it became easier for him to focus. It was also then that Keith's brain remembered a useless but additional feature of this place - the relaxation bar.
Or in simpler words - hot springs.
These places had been added all over the map and they allowed players to relax their bodies and increase their stats.
The scandalous thing about this feature was - the hot springs were mixed-character-based regions. So there had been a lot of R-18 scenes hinted at in those places.
Thankfully, the base game had not shown any of it and it had remained PG-13 for the audience.
'PG-13? As if. Most of these people are pent-up and horny at the same time. There is no way this place is PG-13.'
Keith's mind laughed tiredly at this fact but all his hesitation and aches melted away once he checked the location of a nearby hot spring on his phone.
It was close by and Keith would be able to reach it in a few hours.
But Keith also could not go in there as the grandmaster. He needed to change into his disguise and ensure no one found out about his small trip to the hot springs.
........
"Excuse me. Is this place open for business? I would like to book a room for a few days."
Keith entered the front door of the Hot-spring place. It was a well-established but small building with a cozy atmosphere.
There were not a lot of people inside/ But those who were inside stopped doing what they were doing and looked at Keith with surprised eyes.
It was not every day an 'eye-candy' walked into their establishment and asked for a room. Even the other customers were charmed but the mysterious charm of this stranger.
"Of course, you are welcome. A customer is always a delight to see. What kind of room would you like to book with us?"
The owner asked this while rubbing his hands together in a greedy manner. He was happy to see such an amazing customer enter his shop.
Not only was this man rich-looking, but he was good-looking as well. A lot more people would come to his establishment just to see this stranger. And the owner had a feeling his business was about to bloom now.
"Book me a room. The best one you have. I will pay in advance for two days. If you perform well, then I will tip your establishment extra as well."
The owner had money signs in his eyes as he looked at the 'golden' customer in front of him.
Usually, customers like to haggle and get better prices for their efforts. They tried to bring down the staying price and other accommodations.
For the first time, someone was willing to pay the owner extra for good service and the owner decided.
He would do whatever it took to keep this customer happy and coming back. He wanted to have more money and power in his hands.
'I will need to send people to check up on this customer regularly. Now let us see. Who are our most beautiful servants? I will send them up to the customer to keep him 'happy.''
The owner had impure intentions to try and grab this man's attention.
It was rather easy to charm rich people to spend money on his establishment.
His employees were talented in making people fall for them. That kept the rich coming back to spend more money on a person he had fallen for.
And if the servant got pregnant? Even better. It would take a hefty fee to let a hand go. And the rich usually had a reputation to keep so they ended up paying that fee as well.
Their establishment had been doing such business for a long time and this time would be no different.
The owner was ready to cause a lot of trouble.
"Owner, the room key, and the price. You better hurry up before I get impatient and leave."
The money bag threatened the owner and he flinched.
"There is no need to threaten me, young sir. I am here to serve you. Here, is your room key and your advance payment bill. You can pay it all here."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel