{I wanted to let everyone know that I have a p-a-t-r-e-o-n with two new exclusive stories on it. One is The Aeternus Universe, and the other is a new story with a basketball system. I hope you guys will give it a chance. The link is https://www.p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/easyread. Remove the dashes. Webnovel censors the word.}

We stand outside the Inn and notice the setting sun. I know that Amelia wouldn't mind at all that I show up this late, but I'm sure the guards and staff would mind a lot. A stranger to them showing up so late in the evening wouldn't be nice.

Add that to me demanding I see her, and I've got a nice shit storm brewing. "We'll stay at a nicer Inn tonight, and once sunrises, we'll head to her property outside the city. I saw some pretty good places back in the commercial district." We start our trek back the way we came and slowly make our way through the city as night falls. Street lights begin to turn on, definitely using magic to do so. The roads and paths are slowly filling with people looking to go and have a night on the town.

Capital cities like Zenith are never quiet, and that's why the richest and, more important, nobles have properties outside the city. I'm glad I don't have to worry about pickpockets since everything is in my inventory. I'd love to see someone try and steal The Witness. That'd be a funny sight, in my opinion.

After about 20 minutes of walking, we make it to the Inn, and it's definitely high quality. I hold the door open for Sally, and I follow her in. I look around the Inn, and it's lively, but not like the one in the poor district. "Stay close to me. The better the establishment, the better the criminals." She nods her head, and we walk up to the counter. The bartender looks me up and down and scoff, probably thinking we can't afford anything here.

I take out 3 gold pieces, and I see him raise his eyebrow ever so slightly. "I want a room." He looks over my shoulder and sees Sally. Both our faces are covered, but that doesn't stop the creepy grin on his face from showing. He tosses me a key and gives me directions to the room. I take Sally's hand, and we head for the room.

I use the key to open the door, and once inside, I lock it behind us. I unequip my hood and release a sigh. "I'm so sick of these twisted people... The next time it happens, I'm just going to kill them all." I say that in a slow chuckle. Sally removes her hood as well and relaxes on the bed. I make my way towards the bed and lay beside her. It's a little small for my size, but I can make it work.

Sally slings an arm over and across my chest as she lays on her stomach and looks at me. "I've been thinking about the first thing we need to do once we are done here in Zenith..." That grabs my full attention as I quickly turn towards her. "We'll need to head to the Barony of James in the kingdom of Pleer. It was the first place I was held once I was made into an illegal slave." Once she says that, I get a notification from the system.

It's definitely for the quest, but I won't look right now. Sally just shared something very personal with me, and it'd be incredibly rude if I didn't give her my full attention. I nod my head for her to continue talking about her life. I want to know everything about her. The worst and best times in her life are included in that.

She makes circles with her finger on my chest, and I can see the echoes of pain in her eyes. "I was so little then... I had just barely learned how to walk... In the illegal slave market, the younger, the better... That way, brainwashing is more effective... I got lucky since I was brighter than the rest my age..." I place my hand on top of hers in a show of support. I'd hug her if I didn't think that would make her really uncomfortable while remembering those times, but I'm not 100 percent sure about this.

I could be hurting her by not hugging her. I decide to make it easy for both of us. I open my arms and tilt my head in a manner asking if she wants a hug. She scoots closer and curls up in my chest. I wrap my arms around her and give her a gentle squeeze. I don't think she will talk anymore, so now is the perfect time to look at the quest.

[Sally's Past]

[Description: Help Sally in her quest for vengeance against all the men that tortured and sexually assaulted her growing up. Help her punish the Elven Kingdom for their ways.]

[Objective 1: When the time comes, Sally will ask you for your direct help in this matter.][Completed]

[Objective 2: Once everything is done with your quest involving the Dryads, ask Sally what the first step in her revenge is.][Completed]

[Objective 3: Head to the Barony of James in the kingdom of Pleer][In progress]

[Rewards: Unknown]

[Difficulty: Legendary]

[Note: The great difficulty of this quest is the goals that Sally has set in revenge. If they weren't so great, then the difficulty wouldn't be so high.]

A new objective has been added now that number two has been completed. I send it away with a thought and focus back on the situation. Nothing has transpired in my quick look. "I've never been to the kingdom of Pleer. It's one of the more infamous places for nobles to meet and discuss things over wine. The Barony of James is unfamiliar to me, though. I'll be following your lead, Sally. Remember, if you need to lean on me for anything. You go right ahead." As I've gone over this before, this is going to be a difficult quest for Sally.

She is basically returning to her torturers to exact revenge. It's hard seeing the face of someone who caused so much pain. I know that once she gets the bloodlust going, she'll slaughter them.

She is a good person and has found it hard to kill people. Once she gets a taste of hurting and killing the ones that made her life worse than hell, I don't think she'll have a hard time killing people who aren't good. "I appreciate the gesture, Zern. Never in my life did I ever think I was going back there... Destiny has a funny way of playing tricks on you, doesn't it..." Tell me about it. My whole being here and the way I am now. It's like a perfectly orchestrated plan.

A puppet that is in a tangle of strings from another's commands. I don't like being someone's or something's puppet. If I don't like what I'm going through right now. I couldn't imagine what Sally has gone through. All I can do is be here when she needs me for any of the horrible memories that might resurface from this.

I yawn in genuine tiredness, and my yawn infects Sally. Causing her to yawn. "Let's get some sleep okay, we'll have a big day tomorrow. I want to get more than 6 hours of sleep tonight." She snuggles her head into my chest, and I stop hugging her and let her use me as a pillow. I think about all the things that's happened so far in this journey.

Ever since the day I met Sally, everything has been so much better. I would claim and promise to always remain a solo player. One that only does things alone, but now I can't imagine my adventures without Sally. I wonder if this is what I missed out on, a real relationship. The ones I had in my old future were based on lies and deceit. This one isn't. It's based on trust and care.

I slowly drift into sleep and have nice dreams of my childhood. Long before the life I have now. I miss my family. I can't lie about that. Knowing that they are safe and have the means to protect themselves really puts my mind at ease. After a while of the dreams, I feel a warm heat on my face. I open my eyes and notice the room filling with sunshine. I decide to sleep in a bit. Everyone needs a morning to sleep in once in a while.

I feel Sally shift and get more comfortable next to me. She must have shifted off me during the night. She scoots back into my chest and grabs my arm. She brings it around and I'm now spooning her. I've never done this before, it's a really nice feeling. A closeness I've never shared with another, and I can see myself growing to like it. If we do it often enough.