Leon’s POV
I was headed back to Grace’s place. I’d already told Morthea that much. But first, I needed to tie up this woman—I wasn’t about to let her slip away.
“You really took them all down,” Erick said, still in shock. He couldn’t believe I hadn’t even broken a sweat while slicing through the heads of the Eclipse members.
“Well, I’ve got some experience dealing with their kind,” I shrugged. Then I noticed his daughter standing next to him. As soon as our eyes met, she ducked behind Erick. She was around my age, maybe a year or two older. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and while she wasn’t exactly fit, she had the kind of body that came naturally to someone her age—fleshy, but not quite chubby. The type that never seems to gain weight no matter how much she eats, yet would flat-out deny it if someone pointed out she looked different.
“Oh… are you gonna get your reward now?” Erick grinned. “You know, I’m real protective of Anna. I’ve always kept her safe from the bad guys who try to sweet-talk her. I don’t let just anyone near her unless they’re a man of their word. But you? You’re brave, strong, and you stick to your word, so I’ve got no problem giving her to you.”
This guy was seriously set on giving his daughter to me. We barely met, just earlier today, and here he was offering her up as a “reward”—and it didn’t exactly seem like a reward that was appropriate for the situation.
“Are you really sure about this?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “For all you know, I could actually be a bad guy, you know?”
“If you were a bad guy, you’d have let this village burn at the hands of the Eclipse,” Erick said with a grin, giving my shoulder a hard smack. “And if you were some piece of work, I’d admit I was wrong. There wouldn’t be much I could do about it, but trust me—I’d do everything in my power to get Anna back. But hey, I’ve never been wrong before. I trust my gut, and my gut says you’re the one, so I’m giving her to you.”
“But is that really what she wants?” I asked, glancing over at Anna.
Erick let out a deep laugh, his voice booming. “Hahaha! I know Anna better than anyone! I’ve never seen her look at someone the way she’s looking at you right now!”
“D-Dad…!” Anna protested, her face turning crimson.
“Look at her! She’s blushing from ear to ear!” Erick grinned, clearly enjoying himself.
Anna lowered her head, shyly glancing up at me. “Um, I might not have much experience, but… please take care of me from now on,” she said with a small bow.
It was clear she wanted this too. I couldn’t exactly turn the offer down, not when it was laid out like this.
“You want to stay at our place tonight?” Erick asked, a grin on his face. “I can set up my daughter’s bed for the two of you.”
“D-Dad?!” Anna blurted out, her face turning red.
“Well, it’s already late, so I might as well take you up on your offer,” I replied. I could always head back to Grace’s place tomorrow morning. The trip wouldn’t take long.
Erick grinned wider, glancing at Anna, who could only blush deeper. I wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want, but if she didn’t say no, I wasn’t planning on holding back. Honestly, I’d been planning to relieve myself with one of the Dryad sisters since I was already pent-up. But if Anna was down for it, I could easily go for her instead.
***
Their house was small, as expected for a village home. It was all wooden, the kind of place that would go up in flames if someone sneezed too close to it. That’s probably why their kitchen was set up outside, with a sign posted that read, “Fire Magic is prohibited in this village.”
“I’m sorry my dad forced you into that situation,” Anna said. She was keeping quite a bit of distance between us, clearly a bit nervous.
“It’s fine, really. I actually appreciate it. I’m exhausted after that fight,” I told her, offering a smile. She blushed even harder at that.
“D-Do you want me to wash you up?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
I looked at her, a bit surprised. She actually said that pretty boldly, not gonna lie—I wasn’t expecting it.
“You don’t have to force yourself into this, you know?” I said, giving her an out. “You could just laugh it off as some kind of joke your old man made. No need to take it seriously.”
She lowered herself slightly, pressing her thighs together nervously. “W-Well, that’s the thing… I want to…”
Oh. So this wasn’t because of some order or pressure from her dad. This was something she wanted on her own. If that’s how it was, then I sure as hell wasn’t gonna hold back. I’d be more than happy to take her up on that offer.
“Alright then. How about you wash my back?” I asked her.
“S-Sure…” she mumbled, clearly flustered.
“Oh, by the way,” I added, remembering something important. “There’s something I need to ask first. What’s your skill?”
“S-Skill? Um, my father doesn’t have one, but I do. Mine’s Electroreception. I can detect any life within my skill’s radius, or anything that releases electric energy.”
Hmm, that was interesting. Kind of like how certain aquatic animals use it to detect prey, similar to bats using echolocation to “see” through sound. That would be pretty damn useful to add to my repertoire.
“Alright then. I’m heading to the bath now. You coming?”
“I’ll just get ready real quick,” she replied, her voice still a bit shaky.
I stepped into their bathroom. It was small, cramped even—definitely not the kind of place built for two people. I wasn’t sure if we’d even fit in there together, but I figured we’d make it work. After a bit, Anna finally came in.
