Chapter 11 11 – A Place to Hide

“Not yet…” Anja answered quietly. “I only heard about things in that place….”

“Really?” I started walking around the woman. “How old are you?”

It took a while before Anja finally answered. “Probably about 300 years in human calendar? I don’t know. We never count ages here.”

“Three hundred years, you worked for a Levidna’s god, but you never saw what Levidna looked like. Hell, maybe you don’t know what Levidna’s human form is like.” I chuckled when I saw Anja’s eyes widen. “Aren’t you curious?”

“That….” Anja was at a loss for words.

“How about I say you can peek at Levidna from my place?” I’ll just invite her to sit beside me while I watch my protagonist. It doesn’t hurt to be accompanied by a beautiful woman, right? This is a win-win for me. “There is only one condition. You pay for my custom armor order. Well, of course, I’ll pay it back to you in the future. Think of it as debt.”

“A-are you teasing me, sir?”

“Of course not!” I put on a meaningful smile.

Anja gulped. “Isn’t that against the rules, sir? Not about debt but inviting servants to watch Levidna.”.

“What do you think?” I asked back. “Is it really against the rules?

Hell, I don’t know if something like this is against the rules or not. I’m just gambling. It would be to my advantage if it turned out that I managed to find a loophole. Even if it turns out that my plan violates the rules, I just have to find another way to persuade Anja.

“Hold on, Sir. I’ll call my friend who works for the Goddess of Law!” Anja moves away from me and hides behind a pillar.

“I’ll be waiting, Anja.” I widen my smile.

In just a few minutes, Anja came back to me with a happy face. “Apparently, it’s not forbidden, Sir. Other gods and goddesses never show Levidna to their servants for a reason. They don’t want their servants affected by Levidna’s human behavior. This tradition has been around for a long time.”

Tch. I hate the gods who are pretentious.

“Before we get back to the topic, I want to ask, did you just use a device to communicate over long distances?”

“Sorry, but such a tool is personal. It can only be used by the owner. I can’t lend you to contact other gods.” Anja answered so quickly. “As far as I know, every god can communicate over long distances. However, you can’t just use it arbitrarily. You must meet and get permission from the party in question.”

So, it’s like asking for their contact? As expected, it won’t be that easy.

“I see…”

“So, if you fulfill your request, I can watch Levidna from here, right?” Anja clenched her fists with a sincere expression, but she spoke in an uncertain tone a second later. “But, paying for your order is hard for me…”

“I am not a cruel god.” I cut her off, smiling again. “I will pay you every time I have money, and you can keep my promise.”

Anja didn’t answer and still looked doubtful. I wrapped my arms around her neck, speaking so close to the servant’s ear, “Come on, Anja. This is a rare opportunity. Is there another god who would offer you something like this?”

Anja rubbed her face and took a deep breath. She finally answered a few seconds later, “All right, sir. I’ll pay for your order… But, I only have enough money to pay for a mediocre armor, maybe only has medium stat.”

“No problem at all. That armor can be upgraded later, right?”

Anja nodded. A set of armor with the medium stat or C rank was a significant improvement for Elise. So, I will not protest.

“Before that…” Anja took out some things from her bag. She sat on the floor, wearing old-style glasses, a book in her hand, and holding a feather for writing. “What kind of armor do you want, sir?”

“Let’s see.” I sat in front of the woman. “I wanted something a bit flashy and sexier for my servant. Something that excites me.”

Anja turned her head to Elise, who was still lying down. “Well, you should explain it in more detail, sir.”

“Okay.” I feel so enthusiastic about doing this. “Does the goddess of clothing have a stretchy material?”

***

The fast-forward feature stops automatically when Elise finally wakes up. The woman had not fully recovered. The scars and bruises on her body were still there, although they had faded.

“Ouch…” The young lady groaned as she was about to stand up, then her eyes fell on a set of clothes that I had prepared nearby.

“Change your clothes.” I gave an order. “The one you’re wearing now is too damaged.”

Having been silent for a moment, the woman finally took the tunic, pants, and underwear. She looked around for a while and finally decided to change clothes behind one of the pillars.

“How are you?” I asked her.

“Err…. It’s been much better.” Elise answered in a hoarse voice.

“If you are fully healed, you will practice the next skill.”

Elise was silent again for a few seconds before finally speaking in a low voice. “That means I can’t learn my family’s condition yet, sir?”

I sighed, closed my eyes, and leaned my back against the pillar where Elise was changing. “You have to run a few more missions before that happens.”

There comes a time when Elise will realize that I’m just giving her bullshit, and I don’t know what to do next. I don’t know how to find out about Elise’s family condition, let alone resurrect that woman….

Huh? Why am I thinking too deep like this? If Elise knew about it, so what? It’s just a game.

“If I may know, what mission will I get after this? Will it be like the previous mission?” Elise asked in a cautious tone.

I shrugged. “Even I don’t know what your next mission will be.”

Quest tabs have already appeared above the pond, but I choose to say this because I don’t know which one to choose.

“I see.” Elise came out from behind the pillar, just looked down, and didn’t want to look at me. “Err…. I want to be alone…. Can I?”

“Go ahead. No one will stop you.”

The woman left, then sat near another pillar farthest from me. She huddled there, burying her head in her knees. I don’t know whether she was crying or not, I don’t know, and it’s none of my business. If I think too much about that woman, I can be too attached to her.

And it’s dangerous for my own mind.