Chapter 213: Chapter 213 - The Last Resort
"Here we are. The Last Resort. Despite the ominous name, I’m sure you’ll like it."
Lovelace’s voice kinda startles me, as I was almost sleeping in the carriage as it strolled past the outskirts of the city of Altenfeld.
"The Last Resort... yeah, it’s a weird name for a resort. I mean, it’s witty and funny, but I don’t think that anyone wants to be seen as the last resort for anything. I wonder if the owner is just a person with very low self-esteem."
"It doesn’t matter for us, does it? Let’s go. I reserved it for the whole weekend, just for the two of us. So let’s get in."
Lovelace is weirdly into some very human romantic stuff for someone who was originally a scorpion/elemental creature.
Not that I mind, of course. It just makes me love her more.
"What is that smile on your face, Aurea?"
"It’s nothing. I was just thinking about how awesome you are and how much I love you."
She blushes immediately at my words and looks the other way.
"The things you say sometimes... seriously..."
Hehehe...
:::
"Whoaaaa! Swimming pools!!!"
Now I understand why we went to shop for swimsuits yesterday... Well played, Lovelace. Well played.
The place is completely empty except for the workers. The room is more on the cozy rustic side than the luxurious side, but what drew my attention at first sight were the swimming pools.
"I never even knew that there were swimming pools in this world. How and when did this become a thing?"
"It is quite new. I don’t know who created it, but when I heard about the place, I remembered when you once told me about how you loved swimming pools in your old life. That’s why I had the idea of bringing you here."
"Did I tell you about that? When?"
"Oh, it was when we lived in the Barrens. We were in an oasis, and you were telling me about how you loved swimming."
"I see. Yeah, swimming is a big part of Brazilian culture. It used to be more, though, before the super urbanization. But from rivers to beaches and swimming pools, we do love to get into the water."
I remember the hikes up the mountains in search for waterfalls... To be honest, the very concept of hiking in Brazil is tied to the idea of reaching a waterfall for swimming.
There are no waterfalls like that in Wesgoth, which always made me sad. But now...
I start undressing myself in our room to put on the swimsuit. Time to jump on the water.
:::
"It’s weird that there aren’t any other customers here in the resort..."
"It’s because I booked it just for us."
"Wait. You mean the whole resort?"
I’m languidly floating on the pool, while Lovelace at my side is firmly with her feet on the floor.
"Of course. It’s our time alone. First real actual time alone together. I didn’t want anything or anyone interrupting us."
"Now that you put it like that... you’re right. So let’s make the best out of our time together."
I pull myself to reach her, kissing her with passion.
I waited for so long... but it will be worth the wait.
:::
A few days later, we’re back at the manor. It’s already the evening, so we’re expecting to find both Ingela and Yaci at home.
Ingela has been working, and Yaci is taking some days off, like me and Lovelace. So they should both be at home at this hour.
Maria, the head maid, is making a funny face as she opens the front door and sees us arriving.
"Your Highness. Welcome home. I thought that you would arrive tomorrow, because it was already late today and you hadn’t arrived."
"We’re home, Maria. I’m sorry for arriving so late. We got distracted in some shops downtown, so it took us a while to arrive. Is there any problem?"
"N-no. Not at all."
"Maria..."
I’ve never seen him flustered like that before. She’s usually so calm and contained.
"Oh. No, there’s no problem. It’s just that... you might hear some noises inside."
Is she blushing? She is... how cute, she’s embarrassed.
Oh, I think I know what’s happening.
"Lovelace, let’s sit in the garden for a bit. Maria, can you bring us dinner there? And when they finish their... activities... you can tell them that we have arrived. But there’s no need to disturb them before that, okay?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Do you want me to take your bags inside?"
The things we took to the resort were safely stored in the storage space, but we were holding bags with the stuff we bought on the way home.
"Oh, yes, please."
She takes our bags and walks home, while we go around the house to the garden, holding hands.
Obviously, we went by the side opposite to where Ingela and Yaci’s rooms are.
"I’m glad that they are such nice partners to each other. It makes things easier for me as well to deal with both of you."
"I imagine, my love. And I agree. They are a nice couple and complement each other pretty well."
"Indeed. Except for the fact that they are both hotheaded. The day they fight, we’ll be better off out of the house."
We both laugh as we reach the garden in the backyard. The three moons are out today, illuminating the small orchard and the table in the middle of the place.
"I love this little corner of our home. We should use it more. To dine here with the moons above, it’s quite a nice moment."
I’m a bit more talkative than normal, and Lovelace is her usual self, not talking much. But what strikes me most is the fact that she is truly smiling, through her mouth and her eyes.
Smiling like in those depictions in that cursed temple.
It makes me so happy to see her like that. To know that I’m part of the reason that such a smile is on her face.
When we reach the table, I stop and pull her to me.
"Let me kiss that smile so I can keep eliciting that smile again and again, forever."
"Aurea... You have such a silver tongue. How could I ever deny you?"
:::
"I’ve missed you, you know?"
As I’ve spent the whole weekend alone with Lovelace, Yaci claimed dibs on sleeping in my bedroom tonight. Fair enough.
"I missed you too. Also, you weren’t alone. You had Ingela with you."
Her face suddenly reddened as she remembered what she was doing when I arrived.
"Th-that’s not related to the case. Ingela is Ingela, and Aurea is Aurea. Different persons, different ways of missing the ones I love."
"I love you too, dummy. But didn’t we agree that next weekend is your time? I wonder where you plan on taking me..."
"Hihihi... Just you wait..."
She giggled as she literally threw me on my bed and jumped on me.
"But the weekend is the weekend, and today is today. Don’t worry about anything but the now."
I must have done something very right to earn such wonderful girlfriends.
:::
"Huh? This is... Yrasema Oasis?"
Yaci had conjured a portal and we stepped through it... only to find ourselves in the place where we started our life together.
"I knew it. I knew that you would recognize it with just a glance. And do you notice anything else?"
I look around. The oasis is exactly as I remember, with just one big and glaring difference.
"There’s no one here."
"Exactly. Most of the tribes have already migrated to Altenfeld, so we have this place just to ourselves. I brought a tent, and we can live like the old times for a weekend."
With that said, she simply took her clothes off and started setting up the tent.
The smell of the oasis and the land, and also the feeling of the mana, bring me back memories. Though the mana is a bit different than it used to be... it isn’t as sharp and cut anymore. Instead, it’s starting to flow more naturally.
Also, seeing her body like this... yeah, it definitely brings me memories. Even though she has grown up a lot since that time, she’s as stunning as the first time I saw her.
I take my clothes off as well and walk to the small lake in the center of the oasis. There don’t seem to be any monsters around. And even if it were, I could simply blast it for a meal.
I’ve also grown up a lot since that time. I’m not a scared little girl anymore. There’s no monster in these Wilds that could be a match for me.
I enter the water of the oasis, feeling it cleanse and refresh my body as the sun above continues blasting down its scorching rays.
I remember my dad calling this kind of cleansing bath ’washing away the vulture’s shit.’ As in, getting rid of the bad energy that brings bad luck.
The last time he did it, though, he almost fainted, and in the hospital it was discovered that he had a tumor on the knee. Gladly, it was early enough that it was possible to surgically extract it.
As I giggle, remembering the scene, I hear some noise behind me and turn back.
"Aurea, the tent is ready!"
"I’m in the water! Come, it’s delicious!"