novelLeaving Reinol
| ← Ch.177 | Ch.179 → |
Jack's party left Zarris' tent and started heading back to the association building. It was already late evening after choosing beast companions and going through the central square.
On the way back, Eliza and Keela convinced Jack to buy them all food from the street vendors. It wasn't the jewels or gifts that Jack hadn't let them buy in the central square, but they were still happy they convinced him to buy them something.
"So, Jack, when's our wedding?" asked Keela, while she ate some grilled beef skewers.
"Don't even joke about that!"
"Who said I was joking? Since you've already gotten two beautiful wives, what's wrong with a third?"
Giving her a death stare, Jack firmly stated, "We are not having this conversation." Then, Jack started walking again, not caring if the girls followed him or not.
"Wait! I'm sorry!" Keela ran after him, as well as the other girls.
Daliea was the only one who remained unfazed by it all. In her mind, all she had to do was be patient and the time would come where she could be with Jack.
Eventually, they all reached the association building by sunset. It was lively and filled with music, unlike most nights. When they entered, they were surprised to see the insides decorates with lights and paper lanterns. A big sign was written on the wall, saying, "Good luck on your journey!"
"Hey, you're finally back!"
Jack recognized that voice and laughed."Brunar, how have you been? It's been a while."
"I'm doing great! Now that I'm lv. 24, I can go deeper into the south woods and the mountains. Soon, I'll be lv. 30 and can travel all on my own." With some pink in his cheeks, Brunar lifted his half-empty mug."It's all thanks to you, so let's celebrate! You're leaving soon, so enjoy the night!"
Laughing as he grabbed a mug of his own, Jack joined in on the fun."If you say so, then I'll join in!"
The ladies all smiled and found their own things to do. Some were at the bar, like Eliza and Keela who were started to become good friends. Maura followed Jack, joining his occasional toasts and cheers. Daliea did the same as Maura, but she went unnoticed for the most part.
Maynard and Rydel were sitting together with Tomas and Trevor. The samurai finished his drink and turned to the others."Men, it's been an honor to fight alongside you."
"Same! I can't wait to see who's stronger by the time you get back, " replied Tomas."Are you sure you don't want to take Trevor with you? He could use the experience."
"That's not up to us, but Jack. And if I'm not mistaken, he's already accepted more people than he had originally planned, " Rydel answered, pointing at the four girls in various parts of the bar.
With a hearty laugh, Tomas lifted his mug."What a lucky boy! Here's to Jack, the young heartbreaker that will soon pass us all!"
"Aye!"
They all clinked their mugs together, joining the cheer and hastily downing their drinks. The first to finish was Rydel, followed by Maynard and Tomas. The last was Trevor, who couldn't compete with the other men's drinking habits.
"So, where are you all headed off to now?" asked Tomas, who had now calmed down.
"Aazoon, " replied Maynard.
"Oh... Any reason why?"
"It's a secret, but I'll be sure to share it in the future. For now, everything we'll be doing is a secret to everyone, including the association."
"Even to the association..." Trevor was taken aback by Rydel's seriousness and his willingness to hide information from their superiors in the Adventurers Association.
Tomas chuckled, "Understood, we'll both keep our mouths shut, won't we Trevor?"
"Um... Yes, father, " replied Trevor, now even more surprised that his strict father supported such behavior.
"Listen carefully, son, there are times in a man's life which don't need to be shared, even if a superior officer asks for it. Sometimes, it's best to keep it to yourself and grow at your own pace, " explained Tomas."If you can someday understand that, son, then I'm sure you'll surpass me in both strength and character."
"Yes, sir!" Trevor shouted, enthused by his father's touching words.
He took the words to heart and made sure to become more of his own man. Rather than only follow orders blindly like before, Trevor understood that he could do so and still be himself. If he had been like that from the get-go and never let people walk all over him with orders, he started to realize how much a difference it would have made during his prior assignments as a city guard captain.
"Good for you, kid!" Rydel lifted his mug up, toasting to Trevor along with the others."Oh, and remember to fill in the new branch chief when he arrives."
"And when's that?" asked Tomas.
"In the next few days. We left Federal City early so that we could leave without any eyes on us. It's better for us, at least that what Jack was saying."
"I'll let him know what he needs to know. The rest he can learn from the past reports."
Rydel smiled and added, "According to rumors from Jack, the new branch chief should be a lot stronger than Zariff, at least over lv. 40. Apparently, the association doesn't want to give the Chaos Syndicate such an easy time if they return to Reinolt."
"That's wonderful, I'll cheer to that!" yelled Tomas as the others joined in.
The night was filled with chit chat and booze, so everyone was enjoying themselves.
Eliza and Keela were getting closer with every drink they shared. They were eyeing Jack, waiting for him to start getting drunk. If they caught him too far under the influence, they planned to work together and take advantage of him.
Jack, on the other hand, was only pretending to drink but had only filled his mug once the entire night. He didn't dare to leave himself so vulnerable when Eliza had almost succeeded in sneaking into his bed a few nights ago. If she almost succeeded when he was tired and barely awake, there's no telling what he would agree to after an entire night of drinking.
Both Maura and Daliea could tell what Jack was doing, but neither of them planned to try and take advantage of him. They both wanted to genuinely earn his heart and they were willing to wait till that would finally happen.
Though it took a while, morning still followed night and woke up the drowsy adventurers.
The first one awake was Jack, who didn't dare to let Rydel of Maynard sleep in. He also knocked on the girl's door too. Since each dorm had two bunk beds, all four girls had decided to share a room for the night.
Without pause, the door swung wide open, revealing the changing girls.
Eliza, the one who opened the door, was still in her underwear and smiling seductively at Jack. Keela was leaning over her bed, showing off her breasts while in her underwear. Daliea was already fully changed and ready to go, probably because she was up even before Jack and just waited. Maura, on the other hand, didn't realize the door was open and continued to undress, showing off her fit figure in all its glory.
Jack reached for the doorknob, and shouted, "Be outside in five minutes!"
"What's wrong? You know that you can look at your wives however you want, right?" Still holding the door open, Eliza joked with Jack as she played with her bra strap.
"Huh? AAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
When Maura heard Jack's voice, she wasn't too concerned. But when she heard Eliza's statement, she instantly looked toward the door and locked eyes with Jack. In a panic, she screamed and tried to cover her naked body with her hands, which almost made it even more attractive to Jack.
"I'll be waiting outside!" Since Eliza wasn't letting him shut the door and he had already seen what he felt he shouldn't have, Jack looked away and ran.
"Okay, dear, but don't forget about us!" yelled Eliza.
She was feeling proud that she finally got a reaction out of Jack. It was obvious to her that Jack's biggest reaction came from watching the nude Maura changing and acting shy, but Eliza caught Jack's eyes roaming over her body all the same.
Maura saw Eliza looking out the front door proudly in her underwear."Eliza shut the door!"
With a laugh, Eliza closed the door and joined the others in getting ready. In the five minutes given to them, they were dressed and ready to go.
When they came to the bar, they found a spread of eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and bread waiting for them. Jack and the men were already eating, waiting for the girls to join in.
"Hey, dear, do enjoy the show?" laughed Eliza as she sat beside Jack.
"Let's not talk about that." Jack proceeded to stuff his mouth so that he was unable to reply.
Maura and Daliea sat down nearby, joining in the quick breakfast. Her shyness wouldn't let Maura stop blushing, even if Jack was really her husband that was the first time she had ever shown herself to him. But it was unfair because it wasn't up to her and she was the only one to do so.
Sensing that the tension still there, Eliza poked more fun at Jack while she filled a plate with food in front of her."You know, if you would just ask, you'd be able to see her again. And if you ask nicely, maybe you'd get to see us all at the same time."
"COUGH!! COUGH!!"
Choking on his bread, Jack pounded hard on his chest hard. His face was tomato red as he stood up and started for the door."Let's get going already, there's no time to waste."
Though Jack avoided the subject, it was clear to all the girls that he had liked what he saw, whether it was intentional or not. If anything, Jack proved that he found them beautiful by avoiding the topic.
It cleared some of the doubts that Eliza had had. She didn't think it was true, but there were moments that she thought Jack swung the other way. Seeing Jack so shy made her happy. Now that they were on the road, the chances to get close to Jack would only increase.
Rydel and Maynard laughed loudly, understanding exactly what happened. They were the first to follow Jack, quickly followed by the women. I n a few minutes, they gathered outside the association building one last time. In an hour, they were already outside the city walls.
| ← Ch. 177 | Ch. 179 → |