Date

As Nou left I made my way over to the table myself. Pants already back on as I buttoned up my shirt and slipped the vest back in place. Though the irony of redressing only to undress later dawned on me, I paid far too much for this fit to not show it off to a pretty girl.

The chair was pleasantly comfortable as I sat down. The soft padding on the bottom gave a nice sense of support. Oddly enough, but not so surprising, it was the most comfortable seat I’d found since my awakening. Only downside was that it threatened to ruin other seats for me. How can a man plant his ass down on anything lesser? My mental adventure regarding my ass and where to plant it came to a sudden end as a sharp rasp came through the door.

A set of keys jangled on the other side before it slowly opened revealing my next guest, or at least her entrance. In an almost perfectly practiced routine a long tone leg slipped through first. Sharp black heels perfectly fit upon feet barely hidden behind a set of thin lace stockings. The creamy skin gave a darker hue due to the black lace that kissed her skin so perfectly. The leg continued to rise higher and higher before a small hand came next. It reached around the door and held onto it gently. Pressing the door slowly. The hand and arm attached were covered by a matching lace glove. Delicate fingers that glided along the wood in a teasing display. With only a leg and hand showing so far it was almost tortuous to think what the rest of her looked like.

I watched in eager anticipation before finally the door opened fully. Finally putting Cecilia into full view. Those toned legs led to a set of hips with gentle curves that turned inward to give her a soft hourglass figure. Her hips leading to a thinner torso which rose back to her shoulders. A truly perfect thin hourglass. Her hard work to remain fit on full display. She held her head high as she ran her finger tips along her neck. Trailing her touch down the front of her chest which was barely hidden. Her chest and torso covered by a lacy bodysuit that barely hid the most tantalizing parts. Her breasts, easily nestled between C cups and Ds. Going over the actual bodysuit it was a black lace with red a red triangle made of velvet or silk. The black was mostly made of flowers and simple wavy shapes while the red that encapsulated the middle portion starting just below her supple breasts was smooth. A stark and perfect contrast to the black lace. The red itself seemed to offer support to her covered chest. I could see the teasing edges of her areolas and stiff peaks. Trailing down along with her fingertips her crotch was covered by the red silk that wrapped under her.

After dragging her fingers down her body she turned around to shut the door. Giving a strategic display of her back and curved ass. She popped her butt back to show it off in a painful tease. Perfectly shaped for a wonderful curve and bounce that she eagerly out on display. A damn peach if I'd ever seen it. The suit covered her ass and lifted it up to spill out teasingly on each side. Said fit wrapped around her back with that same lace and silk. The silk came to stop about mid back leaving her shoulders completely bare in the back.

Whoever designed the torturous outfit was either going to get a deep french kiss from me or a kick in the crotch. Either way it was beautifully teasing. As she showed herself I could practically feel my mouth drag along the floor. My eyes became cartoonish, no doubt. For all intents and purposes, she left me speechless with the incredible display of her raunchy sex appeal. My heart beat so loudly I could hear it in my ears. Just seeing her show off was enough to bring a man to his knees.

Then she turned around and finally looked at me directly.

The raw sex appeal faded away in an instant as she jumped back against the door. A loud thud echoed down the hall. She stared at me in utter shock. Her own voice at just as much at a loss as my was. My own raging lust died the moment her shocked expression came to form. I meant for it to be a surprise but to see her so… scared? Shocked? Confused? Whatever her expression was, it wasn't pleasant. While I had been eager to see her, it appeared that desire was more one sided than I had heard.

She moved to speak before a sudden loud voice tore through the doorway. “Cecilia! Are you okay!?” A man's voice, obviously concerned. Whoever was behind the door cared for her safety. A guard, maybe.

She stared at me for a moment longer before kneeling down. She slipped one foot out of its heel, then the next, before grabbing onto the heel itself and snapping it off. She held them in one hand while the broken piece sat in the other. She opened the door and held them out sheepishly. “It's okay, Warren, my heel just broke. Ummm… could you pass this to Hana for me?”

Despite her attempt the man pressed his hand against the door and pushed it open gently. Careful not to hurt her in any way. Sticking his head through her glanced around before settling on me still in my chair. He had deep blue skin and a mostly bald head. Starting above his ears it practically shown in the light. He looked me up and down before turning his eyes to her. Ensuring she was okay. “Alright, I'll handle these. Have a good night, CC.”

“Not my night I'm supposed to make good Wary. Thank you.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek as he stepped back from the door which she shut gently. Careful to not appear suspicious or too quick with it. However as it shut she spun quickly on her toes and stared at me once more with that sharp expression.

“You! What are you doing here!? Do you have any idea what trouble we could get in!” She stormed over to the table and stood in front of me by a few feet. One hand on her hip while the other attempted to rip her fiery hair out. “Fuck! This isn't some kind of game. Do you have any idea what could happen if we're caught!? If you're caught? Me… I'm just a worker. They might tear into me but I'd still have a job at least. But you!”

“Threatened, beaten, assaulted in the bath, have a bounty on me, and told I'd be executed for trying. Sounds about right?” I sat back in my chair as she stared at me in shock some more. Obviously trying to understand what I was saying compared to what she was warning me about.

“Something like that. Look… you've got to go. Tell them I wasn't satisfactory or you're feeling ill. Something!”

“Can’t do that. On the first account that I've already went through all of that, save for the execution, and here I am. I knew the risk going in, and I'm not giving up just cause some jackass wants to flex his ego.” I sighed deeply before sitting back up. We both stood/sat in silence, staring at each other. “Look… I know this is risky, but I needed to see you again. I don't fully understand everything but… I needed to see you. Hear your voice. Just something. I was told that it was a mutual feeling.”

“Well, it's…” Her shoulders dropped in what could have been defeat but felt more like she just dropped the tension in them. Given the situation, I couldn’t blame her. She dropped into the chair across from me as she found the right words. “Complicated. It's complicated. I wanted to see you. To figure out if… if it was just a fluke or… something. I wanted to see you and find out but I'm… this can go wrong in so many ways. Not to mention literally our executions.”

“So you're saying you're interested?” Is it stupid? Yes. Is it cheesy? Absolutely. Is it the best I could come up with because I couldn't come up with a proper response to her valid fears? Unfortunately. Thankfully rather than get reasonably angry or scoffing at my bad attempt at humor, she laughed. Actually laughed. I made a mental note that she liked bad jokes.

“Look… I knew the risks from the start. They've been hounding me for days now, and I was warned they would be weeks ago. I took on a whole ass quest just to get the funds to pay for one night. I…” I was trying to find the right words. Any way to explain that I knew the risks from the get go, but knew it would be worth them all. In the end all I realized was that I was more desperately rambling. Very attractive. Very reassuring.

“So, you took on a quest?” This time it was my turn to laugh a bit. She even matched the tone I had previously.

“Yeah, was supposed to help find a kid who had fallen into a cave. Turned out to be… a lot more. He hadn't just fallen in, he was attacked. These big ass lizard… things. Massive, bigger than you and me combined. Nasty bite too, venomous. Job went from finding the kid to clearing out the nest. Then… then another kid got adventurous. Some girl, decided she was brave enough to see it for herself. The father of the first boy went after her too. Managed to save them both before anyone died. Killed or trapped most of the things. Went a bit… sideways, but saved the kids and got a satisfying payment.”

She stared at me in curious astonishment. Not like I was the first adventurer she'd met. Barely even that considering my resume has a single entry. “Who are you?”

That caught me off guard. More questions about the job or what I was talking about, sure. But for some reason or another I wasn't expecting that. Thankfully she continued before I could answer.

“You're… not the only one who did a bit of searching. Asking questions. You only just got here. Apparently it was your first night, and then you decided to pledge yourself to finding a single woman? Do you realize how crazy that is?”

“Next to everything else I've dealt with the last while… yeah. Still sounds insane, doesn't it?” She laughed a bit more and nodded her head in confirmation. That laugh quickly became intoxicating.

“It's certainly a choice. Was I that memorable or was it just thinking with the wrong side of your brain?” She wiped her stockings down as she spoke. As if they had a single speck of dust on them to remove. Not that I checked…

“Little bit of this, little bit of that.” I turned to face her more directly as I tried to find an answer that was more satisfactory and less coy. “You weren't there only one wanting to know what that spark meant. Hell, you've already got a head start on me. I had to have the idea of it explained to me by a… friend.”

“I see that. Maybe… maybe we can see. But you still haven't answered my question. Who are you?” Her expression shifted once more. This time from cute curiosity and astonishment to something closer to determined. Like an inspector knowing there had to be more to a mystery. Guess she wasn't wrong on that front.

I didn't know how to answer her again. Do I tell the truth? Keep the false name and lie about why I came to the village? Do I tell the full truth, nothing but the truth, so help me Eros? I didn't have a Bible to swear on so nothing to keep me honest, your honor… but if I lied…

I held out my hand and offered it to her. The same exact way I had done the first time. This time however she seemed much much more hesitant. Her eyes bounced between my own and my hand for a while as I finally answered her unknowingly loaded question. Welp, fuck it.

“My name is Leo Kross. I'm biologically in my mid twenties. I'm a swordsman, artificer, and mage. Oh, and I'm a Forerunner for the god Eros. You're only the sixth person to know that tidbit. I'm technically too old to guess and I have no clue how to finish this sentence.” Then came the silence. That awkward silence that seems to always seep in when someone tells a difficult or painful truth came to light.

Her eye brow raised in something akin to disbelief before a mild amusement came over. She sat back in her chair and ignored my hand for the time being. “And I'm the queen of the Skaot mountains. Look, if you're not gonna tell the truth don't be so outlandish. Maybe try something more believable.”

“Told you I've been dealing with some crazy shit. Just so happens I might be counted among that.” I pulled my hand back for the time being. If she's not gonna believe me, no reason to argue the matter. Instead I just sat back and turned my head to her. Noticing a little late the grin that sat on my face. Only after she called it out teasingly.

“Got a little something on there. Might be a liar but at least that smile seems genuine. If a little awkward.”

“Oh? Oh! Sorry… try as I might can't really help it. Hard not to be a bit of an idiot when a girl like you is next to me like this. Hell, I could even move past the outfit if it weren't for your…” I managed to catch myself before saying something even more stupid.

“My?” She turned to face me more as she decided to tease. She ran her hands over her thighs. Spreading them apart as she did so. She showed off her toned legs once more. Just the right amount of give at each touch. “My legs? Can you do your best to keep your eyes off my long sexy legs?”

Her hands rose higher as she picked at her bodysuit. Plucking at the fabric teasingly before her fingers climbed up further to cup each of her supple breasts. “Or is it my chest? Do you just want to feel it? Hold them? Lick them?” She eyed me up and down. Waiting for some kind of reaction. Then I caught her expression itself. The way her lips curled into a teasing grin. Fuck that little smirk only made it so much worse.

“It's your eyes! Your lips! Fuck…” I had tried to hold it back a bit. Least try not to yell it out like I was mildly deranged. Nothing like some little lunatic yelling at a girl about how nice her hazel eyes were in mine, or how her lips felt like an invitation. How her eyes lit up in the candle light and felt as though I were swimming through warm honey.

“Warm honey? That's a new one.” My train of thought was instantly derailed as I raised my head a bit to see her grinning at me. She eyed me up and down like she expected to find something. “Do you often think out loud?”

I wanted to die. Just burn up in my seat. Fade away into nothingness. Completely disappear. Fuck…

“So… my eyes and lips? Those are… new. I've heard my body and hair before but no ones been so specific?” I looked up to see her facing away from me, towards the door. Her fingertips grazed her tender lips as she smiled brightly. If not for the utter embarrassment, the sight would have been even more of an aphrodisiac than her smile alone. She felt… warm.

“I guess… I'm sorry. That's just… embarrassing, I…”

She jerked her gaze towards me once more before cutting me off. “No! No, it's sweet. It feels more real. Honest. If… I would have accepted if you chose something else, but I guess it's better. Much better. Thank you, Leo.”

Not a moment after she finished a sharp knock on the door came through. She smiled softly before rising out of her seat. Once more I was gifted with the pants tightening view of her voluptuous ass in tight clothes. Each cheek spilling out in defiance. Cecilia opened the door for a moment before returning once more. The door was shut by an arm who I couldn't see the owner of. She faced me once more with a wide tray. A set of plates and kettle.

“They told me there would be food and drink. Forgot somewhere along the way. What did you get?” She sat the tray down in her chair. The arms of the seat perfectly spaced to take it as she set the table. A plate in front of me, a small bowl in front of her, the kettle found its place on the tea tray along with some sugar sugar and a jar of honey. Finally a small pitcher was set down between us with a small metal cup.

“We pride ourselves on our meals and teas. You should enjoy.” As she spoke she lifted the cloche from my plate. The elk steak and veggies looked spectacular. They had a wonderful char on them and smelled of garlic and rosemary. The steak was beautifully seared and cut into thin strips. There was a two pronged fork for me to use but no knife. Likely a safety precaution. She poured the juice first before preparing the tea to steep.

“The ladies and men aren't permitted to have full meals before an evening with a client. Instead we're given bowls of broth.” She set a few dried leaves and berries into a small funnel shaped strainer that fit right on top of the tea cups. Next she poured the piping hot water on top of it. The water sat on top and dripped slowly. “It's not as filling as a steak, but it's tasty and rude to not eat with a guest.”

“Broth? Really?” I stared down at the steak in front of me. Shaking my head in disbelief that they'd make the girls go hungry like that. Sure, they likely had their reasons, but still. I lifted some of my steak and veggies onto the tea tray before spinning it around to face her. “Please, I'll accept you gotta have the broth, but I'd feel like a dick if I ate properly in front of you like that.”

In her defense, she tried to argue. She spun the tray back around before I did the same. Back and forth for a short while before she broke out in a small laugh. “Fine, fine. If it'll make you happy. This better not be a pervert thing though, Lip Man.”

“What? Me? Having a thing for your lips? No! Never! Just eat it slowly…” That got another laugh out of her. Seeing her so casual, even in the light that I was, warmed my chest. Seeing her smile, break into laughs, how she acted so comfortably. I could only hope it wasn't just an act for a new customer. Had to hope so.

“Uh huh, and should I lick my lips too?” She made an exaggerated show of licking her top lip as she spoke. In response I did the same as if I were hiding something below the waist. It felt right to laugh and be easy. Especially after so long dealing with all this bullshit. Only Yura had gotten that level of comfort. It was nice.

As we ate and drank we talked casually. Mostly about my time in the area before she cut to the meat of the topic. “Leo… how much of your little story is real?”

“All of it.”

“All of it? Even the…” She watched me, looking for some kind of slip up. For a piece of the truth to dig at. I couldn't blame her, my story is insane.

“All of it. Go ahead, ask away.” I set the fork down as I challenged her to ask me about my life. If it helped her to believe me at all, maybe it could help our awkward relationship.

She thought for a moment, she popped a roasted veggie in her mouth as she did so. Taking a sip of her broth before speaking. “Alright. ‘Forerunner’, where did you grow up?”

“Sacramento California. The suburbs, specifically. Spent a few years in the city but we moved back to the burbs by the time I was eleven.” Cecilia stared at me seemingly confused before moving past. Not surprising considering the chances she heard of Sacramento or even California… or even The US were astronomically slim.

“Okay… fine. Next, you said you're an arti- something? What is that?” Guess that's not too shocking. The guild had the same reaction. I spent a minute thinking about it before answering.

“An inventor. Someone who can create new or different technology, usually weapons or gear.” Thank Eros for nerdy games and media. Least I could answer that much, even if I had no idea what it actually meant in practice. “I don't really know how it applies to me. I'm not a genius or an engineer or anything, but… I did recently get a hold of an item. As I messed with it the pieces just… clicked. Should have it in hand soon.”

“Alright…” I couldn't tell if she was believing me or just moving past the topic to the next. Instead of asking another she checked on the tea before she lifted the funnel off of each. “Enjoy, please.” She sat back and stared at me. Pursing her lips as she seemed lost in thought. This continued for some time. I simply sat and drank my tea as she gathered herself.

“So you're from… before. A long time ago. Do you know how long?” I thought for a bit before answering. I remember that Eros had said something like that but couldn't remember for the life of me.

“No, not an exact number or anything. I know basically everything I know… knew, is gone. Every building, every highway, everything, it's all gone. I've only found one thing from my past and it was a shock, to say the least.” I sat my fork down as I finished my meal. Only the juice and tea left.

“I know the feeling.” I wanted to dig on that but held my tongue. If she wanted to share, she would. Till then, just let the woman ask her questions. “Next, where were you for so long?”

I finished my juice as she asked the next one. This was a lot easier, even if it made no sense. “Buried under a tree. Literally in the roots of it. Somewhere outside the village, down the river.”

“A tree? That's insane. Could have believed being in a cave or something, but buried under a tree is the best you've got?”

“Unfortunately, but it's the truth. Found my way out of the area. Followed some directions and it led me here.” I turned to the tea next as I sipped it slowly. It was wonderfully warm. Thinking on it, it reminded me of blueberries in a way. Sweet with just the right amount of tang to it. The tea also gave me a reason to stop talking for a moment. To think. “Took me a few scrapes but I made it here eventually. Got some clothes, got some food, met a girl. Got sent on a weird quest, did some stuff, fought a kraken. Did some more stuff and now I'm here. Pockets a little heavier and a little lighter.”

“You met a girl? Was she cute and sweet? Funny?” In an instant I thought of both Cecilia and Yura. Not as individual thoughts, but they both filled the definition. I took a moment to answer which brought a small pout to her.

“Well… met two. One who set me on a weird story line, and another who helped me out. Someone who's been a good friend. We… aren't speaking right now.” I took a moment to finish my tea, a few seconds that Cecilia took to speak.

“A good friend? I hope that's all. If my chosen is going to claim someone I better be the first. Don't mind more, but I'm greedy.”

“Chosen?” It took me a moment but the ‘claim’ comment finally hit me. “So you're saying I have a chance?”

“Maybe hero boy. Maybe. We can't really let you finish inside. That would cause far, far too many problems for each of us. But… but…” She trailed off, lost in thought before she turned away. A warm blush clearly visible on her cheeks. If she weren't downright sexy and beautiful, I'd simply say she was cute. Rather than speak further she simply held out her hand. Soft and delicate, the gloves did much to add to her allure. After a moment she noticed that they were there too and quickly removed them. Something that brought a small chuckle out of me.

“Okay…” I said softly, taking her hand in mine.