A.N-alright real quick sorry for the late update. I had actually finished it but it got deleted (yeah) so I pretty much had to write it over from scratch. I hope you guys enjoy and I'll try to publish chapter three as soon as possible.
Something indescribably soft, that's the first thing I noticed as I awoke from slumber. Willing the sleep away from my eyes, I stifled a gasp as my eyes landed upon a simply gorgeous sleeping Albedo laying soundly...on my chest. She shifted slightly underneath the red covers but she showed no signs of waking up, an alluring smile on her face all the while.
I sighed to myself silently. I should have woke her up considering how much needed to be done, but she just looked do dam cute, so I could do nothing but lay there silently and enjoy her company.
Yes I did like Albedo. She was literally everything that I could have wanted in a woman but could never have until now. It was ironic how close she was me now yet I hadn't tried anything with her. From her perspective we had been together since she remembered, but for me I only just met her yesterday. I wasn't sure if she liked me because I was her master, or because she did genuinely like me.
I almost laughed at the idea.
There was no way she liked me for who I was. She liked me because of who I portrayed, a powerful warlock that was feared and respected by his peers. All things considered at this point wasn't the current me a powerful warlock now? My highly unlikely guess that yesterday was some sort of twisted dream was incorrect, and the person I was portraying myself as was in fact 'me' now. I guess my days as an average-
"Master..."
My eyes widened at the sound of my- at the sound of Albedo whispering. How cute, she must've been dreaming about me. Who was I to-
"Master...please be gentle…"
Oh god. All too quickly and clearly I could feel Albedo rub her leg against me, an innocent smile still evident on her face. I wanted to wake her up but when I opened my mouth no words were spoken. Was this really so bad though? What was I thinking, of course this was bad! I'd rather not be teased by her in such a manner, at least not when she's asleep.
"Mmm..."
I was pulled from my thoughts as I felt albedo shift underneath the covers , rubbing the sleep away from her eyes as in a cute fashion as she…sat up right on top of me in a way that was nothing but kinky-at least in my eyes.
"Good morning Albedo," I said as calmly as I could, which wasn't very much considering our awkward position and the fact I was probably blushing like a mad man.
"Good morning Mas-"
Albedo stopped mid- speech as everything finally dawned on her. All too quickly her face shifted from sleepiness to confusion to finally embarrassment, turning a deep shade of red.
"Forgive me master!" She blurted before jumping-or rather flying- out of the bed, causing the blanket to go flying on the floor. In one swift motion she grabbed said blanket and covered herself up in a corner, or tried to as one of her wings were protruding out rather silly-like.
"Albedo, calm down," I tried to say in a serious tone but it came out in between chuckles. Albedo was just too precious.
"I can't calm down I'm so embarrassed!" Albedo whined, still hiding herself underneath the covers.
"Albedo, would it help if I said you weren't the only one embarrassed?" I said nicely though I was mentally slapping myself in the face.
I smiled a little when I saw Albedo pop her head from underneath the blanket, her eyes looking at me with something that I couldn't quite place. I knew that I couldn't turn back now after that small comment.
"Master was nervous...of me?" She asked timidly, golden eyes now focused on me completely with something that I could now place: glee.
It was such a simple question, but one that ultimately decide something that I felt was very important. I wasn't exactly new to the concept of messing with people's emotions, and I wasn't about to carelessly mess with the only person I had in this worlds emotions. In light of all this, I really did value Albedo as something more, and right then and there I decided I would commit to her so to speak.
"Yes Albedo, I was very nervous sleeping with you," I answered honestly, ignoring the scream of protest in the back of my mind. Now it was definitely too late to turn back, but the ghost of a smile on my lips told me I wouldn't regret it anytime soon.
Albedo seemed to process my response for only a moment before a wide smile appeared on her face. I only call the feeling I had at the moment something akin to love because as soon as I saw her smile I couldn't help the warmth that spread throughout me. I silently promised myself I would try to make her show off that beautiful smile of hers as much as possible.
"Master was nervous because of me," she chanted quietly to herself, her eyes glazing over.
I quirked a brow before stepping towards Albedo slowly, not sure if she was going to flip out or anything of the likes. I had just placed my hands on the blanket when Albedo jumped up suddenly, causing me to stumble back a bit only for Albedo to tug my hand and keep me balanced.
Please forgive me master Ravanna, I-I was lost in my own thoughts," she mumbled lowly, placing her hands on either side of her cheeks. I could definitely see the small ghost of a smile on her lips as she looked up at me expectantly, golden eyes looking upon me with glee-albeit somewhat creepy glee.
"You are forgiven Albedo. Let's prepare shall we? I hope you don't mind walking around for a little because I wanna take a look around the city. If you-
"Like a date?!" She yelled enthusiastically, her face practically beaming with crazed joy.
"Sure if you want to consider..."my voice trailed off as Albedo's eyes wandered off into god knows where again. Boy she really does lose herself a lot. So lost in her thoughts she didn't even notice me tap her on the head, lightly of course. "You alright Albedo?"
She blinked twice before looking up at me with a confused look for only a moment before a blush spread like wildfire across her face.
"My apologies master Ravanna," she began as looked away from me with embarrassment. God this woman...
"Ohhh my, master look at this!"
"Oh wow, haven't seen one of those in a while."
Me and Albedo had successfully entered the city known as E-Rantel without much trouble and began our 'date' as Albedo had called it. It was alright for her to have her fun I suppose, I wasn't in a rush so to speak. Indeed I did want as much information of the world as possible but I didn't want to rush it, where would the fun be in that? I would find anyone else that was lucky enough to come to this world eventually, but for right now I didn't mind being pulled around by Albedo.
Currently we were in what I considered the trade district or 'market area'. Before I let Albedo lead us I had to see what kind of currency they used. I wasn't surprised in the least when I discovered that they had used a different type of gold than that of YGGDRASIL though I was able to trade some of what I had. Luckily enough I could understand their language as well as speak it so communicating with the locals wasn't an issue.
In this world I was almost positive that I still retained the majority of my abilities, but I wasn't sure how potent it was against the local inhabitants. It wasn't one of my main concerns, but I was surprised to say the least when I used the spell 'Hidden' on Albedo. I had only planned to hide her horns and wings while having her wear a hood for the majority of our visit, but the spell did more than I could have expected. The spell not only hid her curved horns and black wings but also her abnormal eyes, leaving a simple beautiful human woman. To top her disguise as well as mind I had conjured simple brown hooded robes for us.
"Mas-Sir Ravanna, would it be alright if I had one?" Albedo asked as she held up a candy apple of some sort, a small smile on her face. Like I could say no to her...
"I don't see why not," I replied with a smile before I handed the vendor a couple coins, only for the old woman to push my hand back gently. My mind instantly raced with different reasons why she wouldn't accept my coins, about to voice my curiosity until she spoke first.
"It's free. Just consider it a gift from the city newcomers," she said gently causing me to arc a brow curiously. "We don't get many strangers around here, especially ones with looks like yourselves."
I could only hum in reply as Albedo happily started unwrapping her sealed o candy apple. Did we really look so out of place? Now that I thought of it I probably the one causing us to look so out of place though Albedo's beauty probably amplified that somewhat. Maybe I would have to tweak the spell, maybe making it more potent in terms of making us look simply plain.
"Don't mind the little comment dearie, no one's going to give you any trouble," she said smoothly before handing me what I could only assume was another candy apple wrapped in cloth. I couldn't help but think the old woman was simply pleasant, but I simply couldn't accept taking the candy apples for free. The whole ordeal made me feel as if I was stealing from the nice old woman. I tried to pay for the two candy apples as well as give her a little extra for her kindness but once again she shoved my hand away gently yet again.
"Come back anytime sweethearts, "she chimed before giving her attention to another customer.
"Dam that was good!"
I glanced towards Albedo, a look of bewilderment on my face as she was smiling happily. Now that it finally dawned upon me I noticed that I hadn't eaten in quite some time, yet I was only mildly hungry. Did Albedo need to eat as much as I did, or more? Was she starving up until she ate that apple?! No, if she was hungry I'm sure she would have showed it and told me that she was. I don't believe she would be afraid to tell me if she was hungry, embarrassed maybe but definitely no afraid.
"Hey Albedo, if you're ever hungry just let me know alright?" I said awkwardly with a just as awkward smile.
"Of course sir Ravanna, but you know I don't need to eat that often," she explained with small smile. I was about to reply when she added with a small blush, "Though I appreciate you being worried for a measly one such as myself." I knew that she simply met measly servant, which she is anything but.
"Albedo you might be my servant but you are anything but measly. Without you I wouldn't have been able to do half the things I could in our homeland. If you weren't here with me then I wouldn't be nearly as excited to explore this new land," I said softly, making sure that only Albedo could hear me. Despite me wanting to find other players like myself that were teleported to this world didn't mean that all of them could be trusted, I didn't want to chance us being overheard or the likes of someone less than savory from YGGDRASIL.
"M-m-sir Ravanna, you value me too highly," se muttered, but the blush on her cheeks told me all I need to know. She must've noticed me simply gaze at her because she added nervously, "Sir Ravanna, what might you be doing?"
"I'm just waiting on you to lead us to our next little stop," I replied nicely, gesturing with her to lead playfully. It was only half the truth, I was admiring her of course as well. I'm not going to lie, it was rather fun to tease Albedo.
"But Mas-sir Ravanna, shouldn't we be trying to...you know," she whispered cautiously though the whole act was thrown out the Window when I simply started to chuckle.
"I'm sorry albedo, you are quite right. "I apologized as she seemed somewhat irritable. "I was just under the impression you were enjoying yourself merely taking in the sights," I added lightly. I wasn't exactly lying, Albedo seemed to be rather enjoying our little tour around the city. She must've stared in awe at random sights at least ten times in the past hour, her curiosity of the fortress-like city only growing as time passed.
"Well...regardless if I'm enjoying myself we really do need to start taking this whole thing more seriously," she said sternly, holding a look of commendable determination. I couldn't help but simply nod before she added, "good, so how about we start-umph!"
I quickly pulled Albedo to my side as a carriage passed by where she was just standing. My eyes narrowed as my mind began to quickly formulate a reason why I only saw just now noticed the carriage as it was only a few feet from us. Was Albedo simply distracting me so much for me to not notice such a thing?
"That was close..." I said awkwardly, honestly not knowing what else to say. It was one thing for me not to notice the dam thing but Albedo didn't seem to notice it either. How strange…
"Master...your hand."
I looked down with curiosity, quirking a brow once I saw Albedo blushing. Was she really embarrassed just from me holding her hand? By the gods this woman became cuter as well as seemingly innocent by the minute.
"I'm sorry Albedo," I say as I let go of her hand, my thoughts at odds with each other as I watch a small smile appear on her lips.
"You have nothing to apologize for sir Ravanna. I should have been paying more attention," she replied awkwardly but cute nonetheless.
"My apologies, my driver almost flattened the beautiful lady."
Rich. Spoiled stupid rich, that's the first thing that came to mind when I laid eyes on a soldier of some sort that made his way before us. Dressed in nicely trimmed silver and gold armor, it looked as if the armor hadn't seen battle since the day it was made. He must have held some importance because the crowd seemed to make way for him without word.
"Master-" Albedo began in a whisper but I quickly shushed her as the knight finally arrived upon us. Now that he was relatively closer I could make out clean kept blonde hair, and a small brown bag of some sort on his person that I could only assume was money.
"An exotic one we have here..." The knight began as his grey eyes gazed upon Albedo for longer then I cared to accept before finally turning towards me. "I believe you both are a rarity," he finished smoothly, a smile on his face that didn't sit quite right with me.
"My apologies ...sir. I'm embarrassed to say that my companion and I were almost taken surprise by your carriage," I began respectful, going as far as to bow slight towards him. "Nonetheless I thank you for your apology."
I still didn't know how things went around here, so it was only reasonable to play it safe. The thought still didn't help me from accepting the fact that I had to bow to such a seemingly joke of a knight. I could only hope that Albedo didn't think any less of me at the moment.
"You two can call me Manurl's," he said before gesturing to his carriage." If you both would, I would love to apologize to you both with lunch."
"Well..." I began until he took my hand in both of his rather uncomfortably. I had to resist the strong urge to outright whack him in the head as he spoke in a queer tone. I had only known this guy for but only 2 minutes and I already want to simply go away.
"I simply won't take no for an answer..." the way he spoke, and the way his eyes looked upon me with perfect certainty left me with no choice but to simply sigh and gesture for Albedo to follow me. It wouldn't do well for me to piss off a soldier of high status, and a seemingly rich one at that without having built myself a standing yet. It didn't hurt that I could gather information from the strange man as well.
"Be ready for anything Albedo," I whispered to her, watching as she nodded silently in conformation.
"I am always ready sir Ravanna," she replied in serious tone.
"Like with that carriage?" I chuckled quietly though I quickly stopped once I noticed that Albedo wasn't chuckling or embarrassed in the slightest. I spared a glance towards her and was surprised to say the least when she carried a look of pure determination on her face, as if I just told her we were going to war.
"Watch your steps," Manurl called to us out the carriage.
I was about to step in, that is until I felt a hand press firmly into my shoulder
"Please sir Ravanna, ladies first," Albedo said smoothly before preparing to step in.
"Albedo I'd rather not have you sit beside him," I whispered with obvious disdain, but Albedo either didn't seem to hear me or simply outright ignored me as she used the shoulder she placed her hand on to leverage herself up. I couldn't help but sigh, making sure Albedo was in the carriage without a problem before hopping in as well.
It was obvious the carriage itself was custom made with one or two people in mind as I was already pressed to the door somewhat. Instead of being another set of seats opposite from us like most carriages I remembered, the space across from us was littered with all sorts of expansive wine along with several odd looking pictures. Despite the lack of roam, fortunately the seats were really comfortable.
"Sorry for the tight space, thank the gods you both are rather slim," he chuckled before gesturing to the wine before us. "Please help yourselves." It was painfully obvious he was trying to make the mood less awkward but it didn't really help neither of our moods, at least I'm pretty sure it didn't. Albedo didn't look to be in discomfort but that was probably because her eyes were closed as if she was sleep-no more like meditating.
"Not going to lie the tight space is a little bothersome, but I'll think we'll manage. Are we close to where your home is?" I didn't have a problem sitting next to Albedo, but I didn't feel comfortable having Albedo sit next to that creepy. The sooner we arrived at his place the better, I could only imagine what kind of thoughts the man had about Albedo at the moment.
"We should be arriving shortly…" he trailed, obviously indirectly asking for my name. I of course obliged as to not be rude.
"My names Ravanna and this my traveling companion Albedo," I answered politely while gesturing to Albedo, who only responded with a small hum.
"It's nice to meet you both. If you don't mind I'd like to ask you two where you hail from, it's quite obvious that two aren't from around here," he asked, his tone light and cheerful despite everything. "You don't talk much do you miss?"
"…"
"She's just shy around new people, especially someone of your caliber," I chuckled nervously while scratching my head as well. "Were pretty far from here, traveling nomads so to speak if you will."
"I see…that is quite interesting. If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to E-Rantel?"
"Well believe it or not were actually tracking down nomads like ourselves." It wasn't exactly the truth but it wasn't a lie either. I needed to find others like myself, but it wasn't exactly on the top of my list. Quite close though.
"Well I'll-oh looks like we've arrived."
I turned my gaze towards the window, withholding my awe as I looked upon Manurl's massive house-no, mansion. It wasn't hard to believe he owned such a seemingly large section of land, being somewhere high on the social ladder around here. Upon focusing a little I made out what I could only assume was his servants tending to the place, scattered here and there doing work of all sorts.
"We should be passing the gate any moment. I hope your legs aren't as stiff as mine…"
I could only chuckle half-heartedly as I spared a glance towards albedo once more, surprised and slightly worried that she still seemed in her meditative state. Just what exactly came over her? I wished that she at least give me some of signal. I sighed inwardly before the carriage came to a halt, readying myself for whatever would occur in the next few minutes. I didn't know why, but I had a gut feeling this wouldn't be a pleasant lunch for us.
"Pretty um… nice dining room you have here."
We had finally arrived at the curious soldier's home and to say his home was anything less than what I had expected would be a lie. Rich culture lined every inch of the place, from its smooth brown and white walls to the interesting paintings that lined said walls. When we had entered I spotted a couple of servants here and there…and as awkward as it is to admit I felt nothing but welcomed from them all. There was definitely something strange with not only my host but his servants as well that I just couldn't place. Menurl had wanted to give us a tour but I replied that it could wait until after we were served lunch. It wasn't that I was truly hungry, but I felt it would give me an easier chance to get straight to the point instead of being interrupted with the constant sightseeing.
So here we were, all sitting around not a particularly small table but not a particularly large one either. Menurl sat at one end while I sat at the opposite, Albedo being closely to my left. I was trying to be polite but it was somewhat hard to do so because of Albedo, her meditative look had degraded to the look of obvious disdain. It was clear something was bothering her, but she wouldn't even tell me. I tried many times during our brief transition to the dining room to ask her what exactly was going on , but she wouldn't budge. It had gotten to the point of borderline annoying but I simply let her be. I'm sure that whatever was bothering Albedo would come to light at some point, I just hoped that whatever Albedo's issue was it wasn't anything major or the likes.
"Isn't it? I'm actually pretty excited to use it, I don't get guest like yourselves very often," he replied happily before sipping on a glass of water that one of his many servants provided. "So if you don't mind me asking, what fuels you're desire to find nomads like yourselves?"
"Well I can't really reveal that besides the fact that they're really important to me," I answered half-truthfully once more, not trying to let my caution be known. "Tell me, have you seen nomads like ourselves around here, I would really like to be reunited with them."
"Well that entirely depends up to you-
Manurl stopped mid-speech as a noticeable slam echoed through the table. I cast my eyes towards Albedo, eyes widening as she looked upon Manurl with restrained hostility.
"Stop playing games deceiver!" Albedo growled, her usual beautiful yellow eyes now windows of her anger.
I was about to ask Albedo to calm down, that is until I heard Manurl chuckle heartily.
"Your words hurt me lady albedo, the first words you spoke to me filled with such hostility," he replied in a silly fashion, completely ignoring Albedo's little outburst as he took another sip of his drink. "You call me a deceiver, yet you both are hiding you're true forms as well?" he added casually, eyebrow raised as if he was silently challenge us to dissuade his comment otherwise.
It all made sense now. Albedo probably sensed something from him but she might've been trying to accurately decipher what he was, hence why she was so focused up until now. I could only conclude that the man before me was a demon of some sort. How ironic that I couldn't sense a demon though I was half one. The answer came to me quickly for the reason why I couldn't: In YGGDRASIL I simply had not picked the trait throughout my journey to level one-hundred, it was a worthless talent and Albedo could sense demons so there was no point.
"Now wait a minute Albedo," I said quickly as I placed a hand on her shoulder before looking towards Manurl. "Manurl, might you be a demon of some sort?" I was pretty sure he was a demon, but I wasn't exactly sure if he was hostile or not. Up until this point he seemed rather nice, but if I had to I wouldn't hesitate to test exactly how effective my abilities were in this world.
"Why yes I am sir Ravanna though what transpires next is completely up to you. Do you wish to find your fellow nomads with hostile intent in mind?" he asked in a completely serious tone, his voice devoid of the playfulness it carried moments ago.
"I have no intent on harming anyone, I genuinely wish to simply meet them," I said in the most sincere voice I could muster as I looked him straight in his grey eyes. It was simply the truth and nothing else.
Much to my surprise Manurl sighed a heavy breath of relief before falling back in his chair, a tired look on his face. "Man that's a relief..."
I watched as Manurl body started to shift, eyes wide at the figure before me. It was exactly what I thought but... I wasn't expecting it to this extent. I'm not going to lie, the demonic figure before me certainly piqued my interest among other things I'd rather not say.