CHAPTER 75: IN THE MEANTIME
As the days went by, the New Saviors had no other option but to become accustomed to Rysemery. After the Sunrise Festival, they all searched for something to keep themselves busy or entertained around the city. To make up for the lack of action they were getting, some found jobs or helped working citizens, and the rest resorted to touring and enjoying everything the city had to offer, which thankfully was plenty, especially in the entertainment business. Either way, the only thing to do for days was kill time in some way or another, with the only difference being how much joy they got out of it.
Most of EchoForce only got out of the house to explore the city as if they were on vacation. Since Bones and Groovy were ordered to serve as the princess’ guards after the festival incident, they didn’t get to enjoy themselves as much as the rookies, who spent all their time visiting every shop in the commercial district. At night, they got lost in the streets, trying everything they could to meet plenty of girls to spend time with. Cookie joined Shade, Chappy, and Ace on most occasions, although he didn’t share their taste and often isolated himself in one specific brothel, only to be seen for a few hours late the next morning.
Most of the team left the house in the morning and returned either in the afternoon, late at night, or the next morning, with Indie being the exception. Despite not leaving the house too often, she technically kept herself busy with work as she bought all the food and supplies for the team, choosing to adopt the role of the housekeeper while everyone else tried to entertain themselves. She cleaned every morning after everyone left, tidying up every single room to maintain order around the house, even when the team wasn’t very messy for the most part. The room assigned to the male rookies was by far the easiest, yet Indie was able to clean it in a couple of minutes.
She cleaned the entire house in a little over an hour, but instead of finding something else to do, she went overboard with the cleaning and kept polishing everything to perfection until her energy ran out. At first, the enemy noticed her strange behavior, but they couldn’t be bothered to object since she did all the cleaning for them. It actually helped them forget about their duties as they didn’t receive any orders from her since she stayed at the house all week, though they also stopped thanking her for her service and dedication. Even her teammates seemed to forget about her as they quickly got used to her role and just accepted her new routine, only with a few suspicions being raised as they were the ones helping other people instead of being stuck at home and obsessing over the cleanliness of the safe house.
Both Panda and Tricky found official jobs, working separately in two different areas of the city. Panda helped some of the workers and farmers in the fields, taking care of most of the lifting of heavy weights as he delivered food at the market, where he got to meet a lot of people. Tricky also started working in the commercial area, located on the first street, right in front of the safe house, where she helped Charlotte tend to her flower shop. But apart from that small gig, she worked in two other shops, all located in the same large building since they were owned by Charlotte. One was a candle shop, and the other was a hardware store, though the latter saw little traffic on most days.
The two other shops were definitely more active, but they didn’t require much effort or attention, only a bit of patience as she had to show up at the counter and help the customers pick their favorite colors of flowers or candles. She was accompanied by Charlotte half the time, but when she wasn’t around, Tricky used some of her free time to work on some of her projects in the backroom of the hardware store. Since people, including Charlotte, rarely ever stepped into the shop, let alone check the backroom, Tricky rearranged the hidden spot to turn it into her personal mini workshop, where she didn’t have much freedom or resources to work, but at least she continued developing and refining her inventions.
While Nitro started working as well, it was only after being banned from most brothels for inappropriate behavior. After finding nothing better to do, he started helping Panda at the market, but he still tried to sneak out at night to get into any brothels when no one noticed. His persistence drove him to try different ways to infiltrate the clubs, even asking the rookies for help in hopes of blending in, yet he saw no success in any of his attempts. So, after failing repeatedly, he just hung out with Panda, Groovy, Bones, and sometimes, Scott when they had free time, much like the latter did with his new girlfriend.
Scott and Zoey’s relationship developed significantly after their passionate encounter behind the stairs at the park. That night defined the routine they would adopt for the following days, as they spent every hour together, although it was mostly at night. They first started touring the city, visiting every building and attraction they could, not including the brothels. But instead of meeting new people and sleeping with strangers like their rookie friends, they dedicated all their time to themselves, making the most of the freedom they had to get to know each other as much as possible, all while keeping it entertaining and refreshing every night.
Their dates took place in many places, such as clubs, restaurants, or even at the park, but only when there weren’t any drunk men around to spoil their fun. They both explored more of themselves than the city, although the beauty and colorful atmosphere of the streets did help set the mood for their romantic evenings. At first, they tried keeping their relationship hidden from the rest of the team, but the more time they spent hanging out, the idea of them being together became obvious.
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It became clear they were fixated on each other when they distanced themselves from the team for hours, going missing a couple of times to spend the night at a motel next to the park. The team didn’t seem to worry since everyone disappeared at night, but they quickly picked up on the hints that they were just two lovebirds obsessed with each other. But while Crisis showed little concern for one of his teammates dedicating himself to a partner, the rookies found the new couple a bit strange as they seemed to prefer short flings or one-night stands with elven girls.
However, Candy was delighted to see them every time they displayed their relationship in public, being the most supportive towards Scott, even though they didn’t get to talk much since Zoey always stole him and refused to leave his side at any time. It was this appreciation of a close relationship that sparked some interest in Candy, although she left Scott and Zoey alone to focus on her own relationship with someone else. It was right after their emotional conversation at the brothel that she and Frost returned to the house, ignored everyone, and went straight to bed, which began a new phase for the two.
To Candy’s pleasure, Frost slept for the first time since he arrived in the city, and it just so happened that they were sharing a bed. She not only got to finally sleep with him but was allowed to cuddle, even though he didn’t reciprocate the affection and was seemingly too tired to even talk. But still, Candy’s wishes were granted, and she enjoyed every second of holding Frost in her arms while sharing a nice sleep, especially when he accidentally held her back. But she was even happier to get this opportunity several times and didn’t waste it as she grew more comfortable and affectionate every time.
However, while Frost joined her in bed every night, Candy never got to experience waking up lying next to him, as he began waking up very early, before everyone else at the house, even Indie. So, every time they went to bed, Candy’s smile disappeared as soon as she saw him missing in their bed, and since he left frequently for hours without being found, she could only hold on to his empty spot in the sheets and cherish the joy of the previous night.
During his absence in the morning and afternoon, Candy found herself walking around the city on her own. She often visited her friends and teammates, chatting with them in their free time, both with Panda and Nitro in the market or her sister at the shops, but never with Indie since she always kicked her out to be able to mop the floor. But the person she visited the most became Priscilla, as they started hanging out regularly after searching around the castle to find Frost.
After sharing tea one afternoon, the two girls began bonding over their shared interests. Candy amused the princess with all the war stories, omitting most of the gruesome moments and replacing them with funny anecdotes that she shared with Crisis. In return, Priscilla enthralled her with her daily royal tales, though she didn’t have much experience on the throne, so she mostly taught her how to be a princess. Despite simply narrating her day-to-day routine in extensive detail, Candy was delighted to hear everything about her lifestyle, mainly because Priscilla always found something to gripe about.
They spent so much time together that Candy almost forgot about Frost during the day, or at least she didn’t worry much about his whereabouts. But as she always offered her full attention every time they met at night, she tried chatting with him and couldn’t help but inquire about what he had been up to. However, Frost did not once open up to her quite like that night ever again. He entertained her by listening to her ramblings for a few minutes before going to sleep, and while he kept a pretty positive attitude compared to the state he was in, he always remained quiet.
It wasn’t too big of an issue for Candy to question him, but even when she did have worries, they faded away as soon as she got in bed with him. The mere action of resting her head on his arm as he took her under his wing, giving her the chance to snuggle in the most comfortable positions, was enough to ease her mind and find enough peace and joy to keep her pleased for days. And even though he didn’t seem to care, Frost always had a certain look on his face every time he went to sleep. He remained pensive, a bit conflicted since he kept his thoughts to himself, but that attitude also disappeared in the morning when he left the house.
The rest of the team grew a bit skeptical of him, but with Candy always spending time with him at night, keeping him calm and positive, they didn’t have anything to worry about, or at least they didn’t get to see anything that would prompt anyone to get into his business. So despite his mysterious disappearances and keeping a hidden routine that no one got to discover in the week and a half after the Sunrise Festival, they all reluctantly believed his optimism and change of demeanor.
His teammates were happy to have one less thing to worry about, as they saw him grow comfortable and coming to terms with his position in the city. It was a drastic change for all of them, especially for him, though it seemed like the lack of combat and bloodshed didn’t faze him. And as unusual as it was to see him docile and not fighting people or arguing every day, it seemed like he was in his element and enjoying his stay in the city despite not doing much, and without any complaints from him in days, he had let go of his frustrations to embrace a peaceful and fairly normal life.
| I FOLLOWED YOUR PRINCIPLE
DO YOU REALLY THINK I’D LEAVE YOU? |