Chapter 54: Look, Nightshade!
“Home? My home’s outside this dungeon,” Nith said.
Medusa’s cheeks lit up as she expressed her intent in the worst possible way! It would have caused so many misunderstandings had this man not been such a cynical bastard! She shook her head and insisted on him going back to her house.
“Your duty is to protect my people. I’ll bring you into the fold and share what I know about their plan for the war. We need to prepare as much as possible… that’s what I should do,” Medusa bit her lower lip, making her look seductive against her wish to be as earnest as possible, and stared deeply into his eyes. “But I hope to wipe the slate clean.”
Nith stared back at her.
Their meeting would have been much different had it not been for Nith’s past. She probably would have become his ally, and both of them would have exploited each other until leaving this dungeon.
While this scenario seemed similar to their current circumstances, the details of their cooperation would have been much different.
Because of all that had happened between them, Nith had Medusa acting so seductively that he couldn’t help but recall the kisses he’d received from other Medusas.
Those women knew their way with their tongues. It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced from any other race, a peculiar taste of a woman from a different species.
Despite Nith not being in the mood for any of that, it gave him the idea that he could drown his sadness in a conversation with Medusa about the upcoming war or perhaps even about her future.
Any talk would serve him well right now, and she was the only one to whom he could open up the most right now. Not like Kyouka would descend to the prison, would she?
“Let’s start with that,” he said, accepting her invitation.
Back in Medusa’s house, Nith glanced curtly at the wall he’d crashed into before sprawling on the comfortable sofa, which was definitely better than the bed back in his apartment block.
Medusa told him she’d take a shower first and change into casual clothes. She also offered her shower to him, to which Nith nodded.
As she bathed, Nith looked at the ceiling and thought about his one-sided conversation with Medusa.
“What the fuck did I expect?” he thought aloud.
The answer was that he didn’t expect anything. All he wanted was to apologize to her. That single thought drove him to her throne.
Of course, this came to him upon noticing her, so one couldn’t blame Nith for… not thinking enough about it.
In the first place, he never expected to be able to meet the Medusa he knew after two thousand years.
As he thought deeper about it, he couldn’t tell what hurt him so much. It would have been better if she had ignored him and said she no longer cared about him.
Instead, she confessed her genuine feelings, which hurt him more the more he thought about it.
It all boiled down to a single thought—why had he never returned to fix his mess? What was so different this time that he hadn’t dared to face Medusa again? Why had he given up on researching her eyes and unique venom?
He dwelled on it while unconsciously listening to the shower pouring water down on Medusa. At some point, Nith twisted his face so much that he looked like he’d eaten something too sour.
He sighed, as if spitting it out, and sat on the sofa in his usual style.
With his head hanging low, he whispered, “Ego.”
The blunder back in Medusa’s throne hall had been because Nith made a mistake regarding her venom and petrification. This case revolved around poisons, in which Nith took great pride.
It was an element that saved him in his world and gave him purpose in the game world.
He put his nose to the grindstone to resolve that matter, but the fact that he lacked the courage to return to Medusa prevented him from creating a skill. When he felt like he could do it despite not having samples, it was already too late.
At least Nith convinced himself of that.
“Maybe that’s why I never had anyone related to poisons around me… because I would never do them justice,” Nith thought aloud as he recalled his NPCs and friends like Rainbow Enchantress. A few players with poison classes had befriended him, but not as much as Rainbow Enchantress and others, probably because Nith saw competitors in them and feared they would betray him to steal his skills.
“What the fuck did you see in me?” he asked those who genuinely liked him. No one was here to answer him, though.
Finally, Medusa left the bathroom and entered the living room in her casual clothes, which was a single shirt dress that was more than enough to catch the eye.
She sat down across from him.
“You look better despite still coming across as someone victimized by the world,” Medusa said as she reclined on a chair.
“Yeah, all I needed was a comfortable seat, a warm room, and the noise from the bathroom to collect my thoughts,” Nith replied.
“The bath’s ready, if you’re hinting at that,” Medusa said.
Nodding, Nith stood up and headed straight to the shower. He could sense the awkward mood between them, but he didn’t care much about it.
She wanted to start fresh.
It was her turn to put in the effort.
In reality, Nith simply wasn’t in the mood.
As their positions became reversed, Medusa closed her eyes and thought about her future. The answer to it had been within her all this time.
Everything began and ended with Nightshade, and it was in her and her tribe’s interest to maintain a relationship with that man.
She’d have to create opportunities for him to be invested in her… and her tribe.
She’d do it her way.
When Nith left the bathroom in nothing but his pants, Medusa turned around and showed him a bottle of liquor.
“Nightshade! Did you know that people in the past voluntarily poisoned themselves? For the taste, for stress relief, relaxation, or just to enhance their mood!” Medusa raised the bottle of liquor and smiled. “I put a lot of research into that! Alcohol was much different in the past than it is now! If I can reproduce it and keep the secret for my tribe, I’d be able to elevate its status!”
“Yeah, I know alcohol. Ethanol, right? I mean, I lived two thousand years ago.”
Medusa bit her lip and thought, ‘You could have played along with me, you hunched bastard! Read the mood!’
Nith twisted his face at her, ‘Stop biting your lip like that, bitch! Stop fucking provoking me!’
