Chapter 48: George’s Selfishness
George buried the man on a nearby hilltop, sticking a wooden pole with his name written on it: Aqi. Jima placed a beautiful flower on the small grave.
The brown-skinned girl said she hoped to accompany him at his grave. They both agreed, and they weren’t in a hurry to leave, walking down the hill to wait for her below.
On the hill, the girl’s slender figure in front of the grave looked particularly fragile, a white flower swaying at the top of the grave in front of her.
Jima felt bored and noticed that George had been staring at the girl’s back, lost in thought.
He was probably tangled up in his emotions; people in the profession of paladins tended to reflect on how they could contribute more. Sigh, wasn’t this the best time to exploit the feelings of a dead virgin?
Jima asked, “George, what are you thinking about?”
“I’m reflecting on myself; perhaps I should have bought her freedom the day before yesterday.”
Indeed, no surprise for someone in such a profession.
“What’s there to reflect on? Helping is an obligation, not helping is a responsibility,” Jima said. “From my perspective, George, for her freedom, tearing your face today is already quite valuable.”
“Jima, what do you think?” George countered.
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“I think we don’t necessarily have to fall out.” Jima said, “You can try to offer compensation since it’s the bad demon king’s gold anyway.”
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t I be acknowledging the slave laws of Shalin City? Acknowledging that she’s a slave?” George said, “The important thing is that you would be very sad, right?”
“Me?”
“When we went to the market district that day, you were in a bad mood. After we went back, I kept thinking that you must have seen the girl being auctioned in the market and reflected on your own fate. Once a slave, always a slave; no matter how good the master is, you are still a slave.”
“Uh…” Actually, it was because you were spending my hard-earned money.
“I should have realized it sooner.” George was trying hard to articulate his thoughts. “You’ve already empathized with that brown-skinned girl.”
“This…”
Jima was momentarily unable to keep up with George’s line of thought.
“I realized this when I saved her, so I’m trying to make up for my mistake. My teacher often says I’m foolish; sigh.” George sighed, “Since you fear the darkness of Shalin City, I should strive to drive away the darkness.”
At that moment, Jima barely understood what George meant.
It meant that George felt that since he sensed she was upset, it was compassion for her kind. So, he felt he must free the brown-skinned girl, fully remove her slave status, even if it meant risking failure in his mission… Strange, it really is strange.
Strange as it was, Jima had not forgotten her own purpose.
She softly said, “Thank you, indeed I fear completely losing my freedom and becoming a slave.”
George nodded seriously and said, “You can believe in me forever.”
At this moment, Jima, who usually had bad thoughts running through her head, unusually did not have any.
She lifted her head, gazing at the grave on the hill and the flower on the grave, and gently hummed a song,
“Whenever people pass by here, they always say what a beautiful flower♪.”
“This melody is quite refreshing; is it a folk song from somewhere?”
“It’s a song sung by a group of guerrillas resisting invaders; does it sound good?”
George shook his head and said, “It’s seriously out of tune; not pleasant.”
Jima: “…..”
I finally know the secret of why you’ve been a virgin for so long.
At that moment, a neighing sound came from not far away.
Jima turned to look only to see a divine warhorse clad in white steel armor galloping towards George.
“My friend, what brings you here?” George patted the horse’s mane.
The divine warhorse whinnied several times.
George frowned, “What? A red-haired fool tried to slash you with a sword? Are you hurt?”
The divine warhorse shook its head.
“Good luck, George.” Jima said.
“Good luck, it wasn’t hurt,” George said. “They are so petty to vent their anger on an innocent warhorse; we must leave quickly or Liz might call the army to surround us.”
The divine warhorse nodded.
Jima felt that things weren’t so simple. She wondered whether Liz’s mounts were male or female; if they were female, the divine warhorse might not hold back.
At that moment, the brown-skinned girl walked down from the hill.
George mounted the horse, taking the two women with him and retreated immediately. He bought clothes for the brown-skinned girl and personally sent her off on a ship leaving Shalin City. By the time they returned to the inn, night had fallen.
Jima was surprised by how much they managed to accomplish that day.
Once back in the room, although Jima was very tired, she persisted in studying until George told her to sleep, at which point she extinguished the oil lamp.
The next morning.
The sky outside the inn’s window had turned white.
On the red-feathered bed, Jima got up and stretched before George. The thin blanket slid off her shoulders, revealing a smooth back where a pair of small wings lazily spread out.
“Good morning, George.” Jima turned her head and said sweetly to George behind her.
“Jima, you didn’t sleep in clothes again.”
“Well, I’m wearing panties, right?”
Jima had gotten used to showing off large patches of her bare skin in front of George.
She had come to terms with it.
There was still a bit of a thrill, but as long as she could absorb “energy,” she was okay with anything. I’m not a shy girl; I’m just a big guy, so why be shy?
“But you lack modesty; there’s a risk of exposure.”
“Why? Isn’t my back to you?”
“Ahem, but it’s best to wear something.”
“Wearing clothes with wings isn’t comfortable.” Jima said, pouting, “It’s already uncomfortable being pressed with wings outside all day; it’s nice to finally be able to let go of the bondage in the room.”
The girl’s smooth back and her slight smile turned up at the corners of her mouth stirred something in George’s heart.
George suppressed his bad thoughts and said in a slightly stern tone, “Hurry and put your clothes on.”
“I’m doing it.” Jima complained as she skillfully put on her undergarments.
She sat on a big, soft pillow, lifted her leg, and slowly put on stockings. Exposing the beautiful lines of her thighs, though it was a simple action, mixed with the allure of a succubus and her bed, it started making one’s heart itch.
George told himself that this was Jima’s unintentional action. She was a succubus, and these little movements were subconscious. He turned his head away, avoiding eye contact.
Hmph, you virgin. It’s easy to deal with you anyway.
Jima took a deep breath, the peach blossom scent filling her nostrils. It was indeed the best breakfast; George being hard in the morning gave her an excuse to dress.
She had expended quite a bit yesterday and needed to replenish her energy.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
“Sir, a messenger is looking for you.”
“I’m coming.”
Jima quickly finished putting on her skirt and put on a sun hat.
“Did Jima get ready? Wow, that was fast.”
“You asked me to hurry.” Jima said as she rushed to the window to glance outside. Good, no ambush was spotted, only a large ship docking in the river, and passersby speculated as to which noble it belonged to.
The door opened, and outside stood not a fully armed, fearsome soldier.
Instead, it was a man with gray hair, dressed in colorful clothing. His serious expression contrasted absurdly with his comical attire. He slightly bowed to George, holding a silver platter, and said,
“My master is honored to invite you to her banquet; here is your invitation.”
As he spoke, he handed the silver platter to George with both hands.
Jima rushed over and found that the silver platter was even inlaid with gold threads; it could be used to carry a crown.
“You have the wrong person?”
George asked.
“May I ask if you are George?”
“Yes.”
“Correct.”
George picked up the exquisitely packaged invitation, which had his name written on it, sent by Liz.
“Since the letter has arrived, I won’t disturb you further.”
The messenger gave a slight bow, gently closed the door, and left.
George opened the invitation and took out the pure white letter inside. Jima leaned in to take a look, and aside from a bunch of useless flowery language, the useful information indicated that three days later, at noon.
It invited George to a mansion in the noble district and sincerely expressed hope that he would like one of their flower ships.
George fell into thought and said, “Jima, what do you think?”
“She wants to take revenge on you.” Jima said, “An almost ostentatious invitation raises your expectations, and then she will give you the cold shoulder at the banquet, so maybe you should study ‘A Hundred Ways to Be Humiliated at a Banquet.’”
“Stop saying weird things.” George said, pointing to the address of the mansion on the letter, “The mansion belongs to a great benefactor, and she might be his granddaughter.”
This confirmed previous suspicions.
Jima became serious.
She felt that things were progressing too quickly, as if she was still wandering in the novice village and was suddenly pushed in front of the big boss.
She was still just a mere apostle of desire; according to the ranks of extraordinary abilities, she was merely black iron level one.
At this banquet, there was an opportunity to confront the great benefactor who coveted her “inheritance,” which was a good opportunity, but she had no ability to seize that chance.
Yesterday’s adventure made Jima deeply feel her powerlessness.
She had to get stronger, and quickly.
“You just handle it; I’m just a child. I’ll go study now.”
Jima said, rushing to her desk.
“Strange, Jima has been studying hard these days.”
Thick books were spread out on the table. Jima had worked extensively to turn a page, but each page turned brought her closer to becoming stronger.
Conduct points, conduct points, damn conduct points. She needed to accumulate conduct points quickly to exchange for a free day to explore and to buy potion materials to level up to Nightmares before attending the banquet.
The banquet was only a day away.
In the morning, Jima was dozing off, rubbing her increasingly dark under-eye bags.
In front of her, George was holding a notebook, crossing out a line with a pencil, saying, “Do you want to exchange for a day of freedom?”
“Yes.”
“Be careful; if you encounter any danger, immediately use the magic item I gave you to notify me.” George said, “I will use the contract to find you.”
“I understand.”
“May I ask why you’ve been in such a hurry these days?” George asked.
Jima said, “I’m worried that if someone recognizes you, I’ll never have the chance to explore Shalin City again.”
This was her long-planned “half-truth.”
“Really? You just want to explore Shalin City?”
George’s gaze fell on Jima, who felt a bit guilty under his penetrating look; it was quite intimidating.
“Shalin City is beautiful.”
“Just answer; is it true or not?” George wasn’t falling for Jima’s attempted trickery.
In an instant, Jima’s tail became tense.
George doubted her; what should she do? She didn’t even know whether the next statement counted as a truth… but if she gave up on becoming stronger…
Jima immediately made a decision to prevent her hesitation from raising greater suspicion in George.
She looked straight into George’s eyes, while trying hard to hypnotize herself into thinking that she was merely sightseeing in Shalin City and paying a small fee, and said:
“Really.”
