Chapter 368: Bonus Chapter 36: A Day or Two with my Stalker: Do Not Stare at it
Shelly had the countenance of those popular high school girls that loved to party hard — confident curves, full lips, and an aura that screamed hidden wildness.
Yet right now she was acting very cute in her nervousness, and in real life she came across as shy and timid around most people.
Unlike the majority of Amazons who populated the village — those toned, muscular, visits-the-gym-a-lot women who spent hours every day training, fighting and building their bodies into weapons — Shelly was very close to the girly and feminine side of things;
Softer and more delicate in her features and frame, standing out among her warrior sisters like a flower growing in a field of swords.
She was wearing a brown, peculiar tribal dress wrapped at the waist with a sash-thingy that cinched it tight.
But the dress was cut in such a way that it exposed much of her thighs, so much that if she bent her body even a little bit forward or to the side, I would be able to see her panties clearly.
If she wore any underneath, that is.
Shelly immediately gripped my arm with both of her hands, her fingers digging into my sleeve, instinctively fearing the land we had just entered as if some primal part of her knew that this place was different from the safe and familiar forests of Verdant Spire.
"Why are you getting scared only now?" I teased the cutie who was trembling against my side like a cold lamb caught in a winter storm, her body shaking with each small sound that echoed through the strange landscape. "Were you not planning on stalking me all the way to wherever I was going, no matter how far or how dangerous? I only helped you along by teleporting us here. You were the one who wanted to follow me in the first place."
"N-N-No, that is not... this place feels different! It feels like a terrible monster is watching me from somewhere I cannot see..." Shelly tightened her eyes shut, her eyelids squeezing together hard, a single tear forming at the corner of her eye and threatening to roll down her cheek. "I am sorry for trailing you without permission, Sir Benjamin!"
"Uh, no one ever gives permission for something like that in the first place..."
"I know I should not have done it, but I have not been seeing you for a while, so I wanted to allow my eyes to see you enough times to last until you returned."
What a weird thing to want for your eyes, I thought to myself.
To see someone enough times to last until they came back.
So she was trying to burn my image into her head, to memorize my face and presence so deeply that she could recall them at will during my absence?
I gently held her chin with my free hand and raised her head up so that her tearful eyes met mine.
Then I leaned down and placed a warm, gentle kiss on her plush lips, soft and slow, letting her feel the pressure and the warmth. And also my intention behind it.
Then I retracted my face and looked at her blushing face for a few seconds, watching the color spread across her cheeks and down her neck.
"How is that?" I winked at her, a playful smile on my lips. "Is it stuck in your memory now? A kiss in such a dangerous and memorable situation would make you remember it for sure, would it not? You definitely won’t forget this moment easily."
She nodded her head slowly, her eyes still wide and her cheeks still flushed.
Her shaking reduced significantly after the kiss, as if the simple act of affection had calmed some of her primal fears.
And so the journey into the strange and hostile land began in earnest.
As we walked together across the alien terrain, Shelly made sure to never leave my arm, her small hands gripping my sleeve or my elbow or my forearm at all times.
Also, her head twisted left and right with every single sound she heard from the surrounding environment, jumping at shadows, gusts of wind, and distant echoes that could be barely perceive.
And occasionally, some hot and aggressive wind blew towards us from across the barren landscape, a blast of warm air that felt almost intentional in its direction and its timing.
And each time it blew, it flashed me a view of Shelly’s sexy yellow panties as her dress lifted and fluttered.
I found myself grateful to the wind for its unexpected generosity.
Her big breasts were pressing hard against my arm with every step we took, soft, warm, and impossible to ignore.
And her small stature compared to my own made it seem, from a distance, as if I was taking a beloved pet for a walk rather than accompanying a grown woman through dangerous territory.
Most of the journey we spent walking.
I made a conscious decision not to use any of my powers beyond basic physical endurance and stamina, because I did not want to attract attention or draw the wrong kind of interest.
Using my powers might attract some battle junkies and power seekers, and dealing with them would just be a pain in the ass.
Especially since I had Shelly with me, and I needed to keep her safe.
The first time I had come to this place, some weeks ago, someone had actually managed to seal me.
To this very day, I still do not know who did it or how they did it, and why they chose to target me specifically.
But it appears that [Reality Jump] really is a cheat ability, a power that operates on rules that most sealing techniques cannot account for.
When I had been sealed back then, I had simply teleported seriously back out of the seal as if it were made of paper.
Then I quickly did my duty and left before anyone could try again.
Eerkal-la is dangerous, even for demigods like myself.
There are forces and beings here that I do not fully understand and would prefer not to exactly test.
But nothing bad will actually happen if you just follow the local rules and customs.
And do not do anything flashy or disrespectful. Keep your head down, your mouth shut, and your powers hidden, and you will be fine.
We had covered quite enough distance towards the "Door to Hell" location far to the north.
But one could not normally tell if it was day or night in this region of Eerkal-la: over here, the sky is permanently orange and crimson, a sunset frozen in time.
"Eep!"
When I noticed what had made Shelly let out that small scream of terror, I immediately used my hand to press her head firmly against my ribs, blocking her view of what she had seen, shielding her eyes with my body.
"Don’t stare at it. It’s rude," I rubbed her head gently to calm her down, my fingers running through her hair in slow and soothing strokes. "Some things in this place don’t like being looked at directly."
With this lesson learned the hard way, I trusted that Shelly would never stalk a person again.
Undoubtedly, I would later come to know how completely wrong I was about that assumption, and how little Shelly had actually learned from this terrifying experience.
But that is another matter entirely, a story for another day.
