Book 4, Chapter 72 (1/2)

A Gentle Lie

A faint light shot out of Richard’s eyes as he looked over Lina’s body. Her robes were made of ordinary material that was as good as transparent to his examination, so he could see the blast lines of the scar running down what was once exquisite skin in many places. Thankfully, he was growing more and more confident that a level 18 priest could heal this completely. At the very least he could convince Noelene to do it.

As his gaze shifted down in the midst of thought, he suddenly saw something he shouldn’t have. It had to be said that Lina’s breasts were breathtakingly beautiful, firm and perky despite their enormous size. Furthermore, they hadn’t been harmed by the draconic flames, although it was unclear whether this was her subconsciously protecting them or her robes having some sort of enchantment for it. If none of those, the contract rune could have aided in the defence as well.

Although Richard could control his outward reactions to the sight, his heart started beating faster no matter how hard he tried to calm himself. He cursed silently, unsure whether Lina had discovered something was amiss. Her face was tilted a little, the side with the scar turned away, so at least it didn’t seem like she had noticed.

He worked up the courage to survey her entire body once more, realising that a bulk of her scars and internal injuries could be completely healed by Noelene. The only thing that wouldn’t get a full recovery right away was her face, but it would only be left with tiny scars that could be covered up with a half-mask just like Phaser. Almost everyone within Emerald City had already seen the assassin, and there was widespread agreement that the half-mask only added to her attractiveness.

However, he would only tell her these things once Noelene agreed to help. Besides, he couldn’t exactly tell her how he could deduce the severity of her injuries. He passed her an envelope, “Right, I prepared a little something for you. Use it however you like.”

Lina opened it up and a silent gasp immediately escaped her mouth, “100,000?!”

Richard nodded, “It isn’t much, but use it as you want. Take the cheque to the steward and he’ll give you the crystals. I’m approving a holiday in Norland for you, go get some rest and shop for a bit. It can’t be too long, but four days should be enough no?”

Lina stuck out her tongue like a little girl and laughed heartily, a rare sight ever since she was injured, “How did you know I like shopping?”

“All women do,” he said with a smile before taking out a small jewellery box, “Here, a small gift.”

“A gift?” Lina’s eyes lit up as she snatched the box from his grasp, opening it immediately. She was immediately stunned into silence, looking at it a few more times before raising her head in disbelief, “Did you make this?”

“Yes,” he said with a smile and nod, his heart pounding.

“I… I love it!” Lina looked down once more, but this time it was unclear whether she was admiring the intricate design or avoiding his gaze. However, for just a moment, she seemed to forget the mask.

Richard stood up, “I have to go now. Remember to tell me when you’re taking that holiday!”

Lina sent him off, closing the door before turning around and leaning against it. This time, deep breaths didn’t help fix up the mess in her heart.

As for Richard himself, he was walking down the spiral staircase while wondering whether the day would come when he spat out such lies so eloquently anyone would believe them to be real. Lina’s reaction had made him feel strange, as though he had been conned by Rosie.

……

Over the following days, Richard, Nyris, and Agamemnon worked together to formulate the next phases of their development. They decided to start with consolidating their current position, carving out a safe path to the Tree of Life and thus assimilate it into the base. The woodcutting in all other directions would only be as much as was required to keep the city safe.

Ten of the ballistae were placed to defend the Tree of Life, the five-kilometre-range enchanted bolts giving it a defence even against children of the forest. Having confirmed that there weren’t any other trees of life within a 200-kilometre range, they couldn’t continue to expand until they took care of the trees. The laboratories left behind by the Schumpeters were coming of use in that as well, but it would take time.