Chapter 411: Chapter 411 - Encouraging to Hear
"Hey, Larrk, you busy? Mind if I come in?" Came Lumena’s voice, as my door swung open and she poked her head in.
"Oh, hey, Lumena. Sure, come on in, I’m not doing anything," I replied with a nod, before she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her, before approaching my bed and flopping face-first onto the mattress with a sigh, as I added in bemusement, "Uh, everything okay?"
"Yeah...I just completed the Magic Item to counter the moonlight barrier, and as soon as I finished it, all the fatigue just piled on all at once," She replied wearily, her voice muffled as she buried her face into the bedding.
Today’s the 18th of Quintilis, 2021, just two days before we intended to make our counterattack against the Vampires. We’d finished all our planning and strategizing a couple of days ago, and figured we should use the remaining time to rest up and mentally refresh ourselves.
"I thought you said you’d only need a couple of days to make it, did something go wrong?" I asked her, as I patted her shoulder.
"No, not really...I just wanted to be as thorough as possible, so I took my time with it. What was most time-consuming was figuring out how they might improve the moonlight barrier by the time we make our attack, anticipating those potential changes was the only tough part. But thanks to that, I can pretty much guarantee that it’ll work," She replied with a thumbs up as she rolled over and shuffled up, planting her head on my lap.
"Hey, nice, that’s pretty damn encouraging to hear, great job. Rest up now, you’ve more than earned it," I smiled, as I stroked her hair.
"Mm, that feels nice...oh, I know! As I reward for my hard work, could you spoil and pamper me today? I’m kinda sore after sitting in one place for most of the last few days, so maybe a massage to start off with, if that’s not too much to ask for?" She requested with a wry smile.
"Sure, it’s the least I can do after how hard you’ve been working," I nodded, before taking hold of her shoulders and rubbing them firmly, pressing my fingers in and moving them around in a circular motion.
Huh, now I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever given someone a massage before, either in this world or my previous one. Hope I’m doing it okay...
"Ahh, that feels nice...you’re really good at this, it’s like all the soreness is just fading away. Well, I suppose I already knew that you were good with your hands, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised," She replied slyly.
Alright, I think it’s safe to say I’m not doing a bad job at this. Not too shabby for something I’m doing for the first time.
"Let me know if I mess it up at all, I haven’t done this before, so I’m kinda just going off on instinct," I admitted sheepishly.
"Wait, you’ve really never massaged someone before? Could’ve fooled me," She responded in surprise.
"Mhm, this is a first for me. What about you?" I asked her.
"Well...I mean, I have, but...it wasn’t consensually," She replied quietly.
Crap...
"I’m sorry...I didn’t mean to-..."
"Nah, it’s fine, I know you didn’t mean any harm. Plus, you’re the one who saved me from that hell, so I’d forgive you for anything, no matter how awful," She grinned jokingly.
"I know you’re kidding, but please don’t do that...honestly, I don’t think I have the strongest moral compass, so it’d be for the best if the people around me, like you, held me accountable if I ever mess up."
I mean, in my previous life, when my family was brutally murdered, all I felt was pleasure and satisfaction. Granted, they were pretty awful to me, but in hindsight, my reaction to their deaths was more than a little psychotic.
"Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. If you ever do anything bad, I’ll give you a nice, firm spank...or wait, would that be a reward?" She wondered uncertainly.
"Definitely not, that’s not something I’m into...at least, I don’t think I am," I replied with a laugh.
"Huh, then we’ll have to test it out one of these days," She smirked with a gleam in her eyes, before adding sheepishly, "Well, provided we win and survive the upcoming battle, of course."
"Come on, don’t say something that might jinx us...on that note, would you prefer to stay in Arcadia when we go to attack the Vampires? I can’t imagine you’re particularly keen on returning to the Light Continent," I remarked in concern.
"Hey, don’t worry, I’ll be just fine. If anything, I think it’ll be cathartic...yeah, a nice opportunity to kick my trauma in the face! Well, sort of...the Vampires had nothing to do with my enslavement, after all. Regarding that, I’ve been wondering...what do you plan to do about the people of the Light Continent?
Most of the were turned into Vampires and Lesser Vampires, but a good number of them are being held captive in the Vampires’ so-called livestock farms, right? Because I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, they won’t show any gratitude even if you do save them...their prejudices are far more deeply instilled than those of the people here in the Dark Continent. There may be some exceptions, but I can guarantee that the vast majority won’t be any less hostile towards the Dark Continent and non-humans than they were before," She informed me with a grimace.
"Honestly, I’m still not sure what to do about them...well, if we defeat the Vampires, we’ll have all the time in the world to figure it out. So, for now, we should probably focus on the more immediate matter at hand, we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves..."
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