Chapter Twenty #4
“Well, I’ll get to 200, so don’t worry.”
“I won’t let you be the only one. The adventuring spirit of this world has been stagnant for far too long.
Rarely do adventurers risk entering uncleared dungeons when they are content with the profits of cleared dungeons.
But.” Aurelia looked me up and down. “I think I know a good way to encourage some girls to push for higher levels.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“How terrible for you, boy. Not knowing what’s on my mind. I guess you don’t know everything about me after all.”
“I’d say it’s exciting rather than terrible. Besides, the more I don’t know and the more people act in ways I don’t expect, the more I want to get to know everything about them all over again.”
“You really are like him.” Aurelia’s lips curled into a soft smile. “You’ll go far in this world, boy, but don’t think I’ll let you get too much of a lead. I’ll show you that there’s a fire waiting to be ignited.”
“You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to that. And if there’s anything I can do to help ignite it, let me know.”
“Oh, you’ll be a crucial part of my plan.” I couldn’t tell if it was a wink or a blink since she only had one eye, but I was pretty sure she winked at me. “Hope you don’t mind an old woman selfishly using you for her schemes.”
“If I can help out the world I love, you can use me however you want.”
“I’ll hold you to that. Now, get writing down those world-ending threats. I’m sure those girls are waiting for you.”
“Will do.”
“By the way—Grimzok. Did you make his death painful?”
“You asked in the game to make it as painful as possible. So, of course I made sure to drag it out as much as I could.”
“Good. Someday, when you’re stronger, I’m looking forward to his death.”
“You know, you could go with me for it.”
“I am too old for the dungeons now. I—”
“You’re never too old for dungeons! Besides, I said I’m going to get the Priest class, right? If you’ve got bad knees or a bad back, I’ll heal you up so you feel like you’re in your twenties again.”
“Was that an option in that game of yours?”
“Nope, but are you telling me that you won’t at least try to fight with me if I can get you in fighting shape?”
“… hah. Look at you, boy. Maybe you’ll ignite that fire without me needing to do anything.” Aurelia looked out the window of her office. “I thought I would never step foot in a dungeon… but perhaps there is still a chance for me to keep my promise to that fool.”
I didn’t know what promise she was talking about since I couldn’t recall anything like that in the game, but that was alright.
Maybe I’d find out someday. Maybe I wouldn’t.
Leaving some things to mystery sounded fine to me.
After reuniting with the girls, we decided to go out to none other than Fredericka’s for dinner.
Lupa deserved a fix of her mozzarella stick addiction after staying with me over the last couple of days.
And after Fredericka brought us our food, she stayed around to say, “Should I expect more wives each time you visit?”
“I—I’m not trying, alright?” I replied.
“Goodness me, attracting so many beautiful wives without even trying. Don’t tell me.” Fredericka feigned a gasp as she held her hands over her chest. “Do… you plan on making me one of yours as well?”
“It’s not like that!”
Fredericka giggled to herself before heading off. “Let me know if any of you need anything! And I’ll get started on the next batch of mozzarella sticks for you, Lupa!”
Lupa nodded to Fredericka with a mouth already stuffed full of mozzarella sticks.
Stella took one of the sticks out to put it back on Lupa’s place. “They’ll last longer if you take your time, okay?”
Lupa’s ears flattened against her head, her mouth still too full to say anything.
“There’s no helping her,” Rosie said. “She’s been an uncontrollable addict since her first one.”
Stella smiled and wiped a napkin against Lupa’s cheek where she got some marinara sauce on her. “We just have to teach her good manners.”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try. Oh, and how’s the burger? I was thinking of getting it sometime, but… pasta.”
“It’s great! Wanna trade? I totes don’t mind sharing. Then we both get to try new things, yeah?”
Rosie looked pretty happy with that idea, so she and Stella traded plates.
Jeanne, who was sitting between me and the wall, looked down at her bowl of beef stew without touching it.
“What’s up?” I asked her, trying to be quiet so that she felt a bit of privacy even.
I also figured being quiet would let the other girls know that I wanted to talk to her alone despite…
well, us not being alone. Or rather, it was a signal for them to continue their own conversations instead of worrying about us.
Things might have felt awkward if everyone went quiet to hear what I was talking about with Jeanne.
“I am… nervous,” Jeanne answered. “As you know… vampires—we, do not need to eat food.” Was that why her chest was so flat? Did blood not have enough calories to give vampire girls big chests? … it wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.
“But?” I asked since I felt like she clearly wasn’t done speaking.
“I… my mother used to make this. It is the only dish I remember from my childhood. It has been over two centuries since I last tasted this dish, and the last food I ate at all was… a piece of old bread nearly seventy years ago.”
“Are you worried about how your stomach might react to actually having food inside it?”