After that incredibly embarrassing situation, Vanimo and I silently walked beside each other; she still seemed a little embarrassed about everything, and I was definitely ashamed of myself. I couldn't even explain why I got erect from a simple hug; it's not like I've never felt the touch of a woman before. I've spent many hours making love throughout my life, and I'm not new to it in the slightest.
In the end, all I could do was chalk it up to an unfortunate circumstance since I was not even feeling horny or anything of the sort; Lazuli and I had spent all of last night making love like crazy, so there was no way I'd still be horny. Anyway, the more I thought about it, the more it annoyed me, so I opened my mouth, hoping a change in topic would make me forget about what had occurred… Unlikely though.
"S-So, what do you do for a living, Vanimo?" Asked Alexander lightly as he glanced at Vanimo, who seemed slightly startled before quickly regaining her bearings.
"Oh, I-I don't have any job; my little sister does all the work; I'm more like a wife if anything. I keep the house clean, shop, and tend to her when she returns home." Replied Vanimo as she glanced at Alexander with a thoughtful expression while tapping her chin, causing him to inwardly click his tongue.
'Little sister? Dammit, I was hoping she was related to Vanye.' Thought Alexander with a sigh, only for him to shake his head before shifting his focus back to Vanimo.
"That's quite nice; having a sibling is quite the luxury." Remarked Alexander with a nod while softly smiling, thinking back to his brother from his past life.
"Do you not have a sibling, Alex?" "Nope. I'm an only child; my mother might've had another child, but things happened." Said Vanimo and Alexander, respectively, as she glanced at him, prompting him to shake his head.
"Ah, I'm so sorry to hear that, Alex. I know exactly what it feels like to be abandoned by your own parents; because of our deformities, I was merely 9 when my parents abandoned me and my newborn sister. I'm just glad she has no recollection of them; I prefer it that." Remarked Vanimo apologetically as she gave Alexander a look of pity while horrible memories flashed through her mind.
"Eh, no, that's not what happened, Vanimo. My mother died almost immediately after I was born." Said Alexander in slight surprise as he gave Vanimo a confused expression, causing her to be taken aback.
"Oh, i-it seems I jumped to conclusions, hehe." Muttered Vanimo with a beautiful laugh, her words causing Alexander to lightly shake his head.
"Still, I'm very sorry for your loss, Alex; for no one to care for you, it must've been a miracle you managed to survive, though I'm glad you did." Stated Vanimo softly as she looked at Alexander with a smile, causing him to awkwardly scratch his head.
"I was actually raised by my Master, and speaking of her, she's the reason I'm even here in Asckbon. I wanted to return some things to her family." Replied Alexander lightly as he glanced at Vanimo, whose expression twitched once more before she lowered her head and sighed.
"I should finish listening before jumping to conclusions." Said Vanimos softly with a sigh, her words causing Alexander to chuckle in amusement before shaking his head.
"It's fine, Vanimo, you're worrying too much. Besides, it is kind of funny to laugh at your supposed misfortune." Remarked Alexander with a smile as he patted Vanimos' shoulder, his words causing her expression to twitch once more, only for her to sigh.
"Haa, I'm glad at least one of us is enjoying this." Muttered Vanimo softly with an annoyed look as she eyed Alexander, who sported a large smile.
Laughing at Vanimo, we continued walking through the streets of the city, garnering various looks from several elves, but neither of us really seemed to care, so we just ignored them and kept to ourselves. However, when we tried to exit the city, that's when we received the most trouble since it seemed the guard from before remembered me.
"Hey! Human, where are you going!?" Exclaimed the guard in slight anger as he pointed at Alexander, quickly approaching him while his fellow guards followed in his footsteps.
"Eh, w-what's the problem?" Asked Vanimo in confusion as she glanced between the guards and Alexander, who was slowly approaching her.
"Everything will be fine; just stay calm; we'll deal with this Human." Said one of the guards softly with a smile as he glanced at Vanimo while grasping his hilt.
"What happened with the woman you entered with?" Questioned the guard sternly as he glared at Alexander, who grasped Vanimo's hand.
"You know, I've got a strong feeling you're not going to let me go no matter what I say, so go fuck yourselves." Remarked Alexander with a wicked smirk as he stuck his tongue out at the several guards, his words only serving to anger them.
"Tch, get him!" "Don't let him escape!" Yelled the guards as they unsheathed their swords and dashed toward Alexander and Vanimo.
"W-Why did you say that!?" Exclaimed Vanimo in slight anger as she looked at Alexander, who suddenly grinned, only for her eyes to widen while she observed her surroundings.
"W-Where are we? What happened?" Added Vanimo in pure confusion as she observed the forest they were now standing in.
"I just used [Mass Teleport] to teleport far away; however, we should get moving; we're not that far away. Which way is your home?" Replied Alexander proudly with a grin as he puffed his chest out while glancing at Vanimo, who raised an eyebrow before nodding.
"O-Okay, give me a moment." Said Vanimo with a nod as she approached a tree before closing her eyes and placing her hand on it, taking Alexander aback.
"Eh, you can also speak to trees?" Asked Alexander with a raised eyebrow as he glanced at Vanimo, who gave him a confused expression before shaking his head.
"Speak to trees? No, I can't do that; I'm just searching through the network of trees to find where my home is. Can you talk to trees?" Replied Vanimo with a slightly surprised expression as he glanced at Alexander, who nodded while placing his hands on the tree.
"Well, talking to them is a bit of an overstatement as they don't communicate through words like you and I; they transfer raw emotions to convey whatever they're trying to say. It's very handy, and I've used it a lot, but speaking with words is much superior. Oh, this tree also likes you." Remarked Alexander lightly as he glanced at Vanimo, who stared between the tree and Alexander with a raised eyebrow, only to softly smile.
"Anyways, which way are we heading in?" Asked Alexander as he removed his hand from the tree and glanced at Vanimo, who turned and pointed to the left behind her, prompting him to nod.
Storing the basket into my space pouch, which barely fit, I turned around and squatted while pointing at my back.
"C'mon, get on my back; I'll carry you; it'll be much quicker." Said Alexander, his words causing Vanimo to nod as she hesitantly climbed onto his back.
"Woah, your back is so big and muscular." Said Vanimo softly as she rubbed her hands across Alexander's back, only for her to slightly squeal when she felt his hands grasp her butt.
'Hmm, soft and plump.' Mused Alexander with a slight smirk as he stood up and held Vanimo in place from her butt.
"T-This reminds me, but Alexander, I'm not actually a w–" Said Vanimo softly as she quickly tried to get her point across, yet she couldn't finish speaking as Alexander had suddenly shot into the distance like a bullet.
"Hold onto my neck, or you'll get whiplash." Said Alexander lightly as he slowed down just enough for Vanimo to pull herself closer to his back, only for him to speed up again.
"I-I'm going to die!" Yelled Vanimo loudly in fear as she tightly clung onto Alexander's neck, causing him to laugh while he maneuvered through the forest at breakneck speeds
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Spotting a home in the distance with the help of my [Heroes Gaze], I began to slow down while approaching it, and a few moments later, I entered a small clearing in the middle of the forest where a sizeable log cabin stood in the center.
"Alright, we've arriv-" Said Alexander with a faint smile as he came to a stop, only for him to quickly summon Trina as he raised his sword, blocking a powerful slash from above.
"Don't move!" Stated Alexander sternly as he forcefully pushed the attacker backward before summoning Zartha while distancing himself, only for him to raise an eyebrow.
"Vanye?" "Alex?" Said Vanye and Alexander, respectively, as they silently stared at each other while the latter lowered his weapons.
I was about to approach her, but then she gazed at Vanimo before looking back at me, and she no longer seemed as friendly as before, not like she had ever looked that friendly in the first place.
"Release Vanimo." Ordered Vanye sternly as she glared daggers at Alexander, whose expression twitched at her words.
Before I could even say anything, Vanimo leaped off my back and approached Vanye, stumbling toward her since it seemed like she wasn't used to moving at such intense speeds, but once she arrived before her, she snatched the blade right out of her hands.
"Go inside the house." Said Vanimo as he held Vanye's blade and pointed at the log cabin to their right.
"B-But, Vanimo–" Said Vanye, though Vanimo promptly interrupted her.
"GO!" Stated Vanimo sternly as he narrowed his eyes, causing Vanye to sigh as she sluggishly walked towards the cabin before slamming the door.
"Haa, sorry about that, Alex." Said Vanimo apologetically as she glanced at Alexander, who sported a wry smile.