Edited by: tommyjl7 and flubbykin

I woke up in a surprisingly good condition. It wasn’t my first time getting knocked unconscious by Giselle, so I was expecting some dull-pulsating pain on the sides of my skull, yet there was nothing. I quickly inspected the notification log. A few notes appeared informing that someone used on me “healing touch” and “recovery massage” as well as that I was treated with some balms and oils which supposedly reduced swelling.

- “How much longer are you going to lie there, young man?” A somewhat amused tone of an older woman rang in my ears “… my-my, in my times' youth would just handle a punch or two from a devil, not to mention his lady.”

- “My lady is far worse than any devil, Madame, once with a friendly pat she knocked over a war veteran. Poor fella was wearing a ceremonial armor and had troubles getting up by himself.”

I opened my eyes and got up to a sitting position. Madame Agnes and her two “adjutants” maids were standing close to the window observing with great interest scenery behind it. Eventually, she would turn around and walk a few steps in my direction approaching a wide, long oak table-desk. Once again I observed how her “second in commands” moved like a trained warrior without breaking a “formation”. Who knows, maybe even those gentle looking girls were actually deadly bodyguards.

- “So… my dear guest, do you mind telling me what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” she said with a kind smile.

- “To be honest? I was pretty much dragged here by my desperate companion.”

For a split of second a grimace of shock and disbelief appeared on her face.

- “So… you are not her for an audit?” she checked once again. “I thought that…”

- “Madame Godamn sent me here as a secret client?” I quickly joined threads and guessed that owner of most brothels on the continent was Agnes’s superior.

- “Madame Godamn and Sir Igor.” Older, yet still stunning lady, admitted after a moment “… this resort was made decades ago by combining branches of whores and spies. We were made as a Syndicate outpost and hideout. No one will look for a dirty assassin in an exclusive resort… When the Syndicate fell our connection with the main branch… suffered a lot, though we still served as much as we could. Now, as you raised Syndicate from its ashes we are fully operational again…”

Incredible, she can even say “whores” without sounding vulgar.

- “… and Igor and Godamn decided to check if, perhaps, during the years of your independence you weren’t a bit too lazy?”

- “Pretty much.” She nodded with a serious face.

- “But why did you think they sent me?” I titled my head to the side “.. you know, in Syndicate there is a rule that one Shadow does not interfere into another one’s business.”

- “Yes… but then again, you could always combine pleasure with business…”

I see. Well, that’s not a bad assumption, bah, even quite logical, but…

- “Madame, I believe that years of scheming made you a bit too suspicious. You are suspicious that someone unsuspicious by performing unsuspicious actions can actually mean to do something suspicious?” I smiled, almost twisting my tongue in several places.

- “There is only one thing I learned doing this job – people that suspect nothing sleep better, but people always suspicious rarely wake up with their throat sliced open.” She looked at me “… I thought that you would be the same in this matter.”

- “I am an adventurer. We are sleeping in shifts, so always someone is watching our backs.”

She nodded once, twice, then with one final nod she smiled.

- “So only pleasure?” she checked once again.

- “Pleasure for me, doom for Gisele.”

- “Oh, fear not. After she… knocked you down, I took her for one more session. My girls should be slowly getting finished with her and…”

At that moment a howl of the dying beast could be heard from other building, I needed a moment or two to realize that it was no beast howling, but a dragon. Half-dragoness to be precise.

- “O-ho, sound like it is finished.” Lady said with approval “… anyway, if you would need anything else, feel free to tell my workers. In thirty minutes you will be served a late supper, I hope you will be pleased with sophisticated seafood dishes.”

- “My only concern in quantity, not quality.”

For a moment she raised her brow, yet quickly guessed.

- “Let me guess, your lady eats so much that she alone could strip a volcanic gairaran from flesh in a single night?”

- “I don’t know, have never seen her hunting gairaran before, but better prepare supper for six. Six adults. Six adult warriors. Which were starving for a month.”

I quickly kept adding. I could have made Gisele angry, and there is only one thing worse than angry Gis – Angry AND hungry Gis.

It’s something I realized after a few more moments, but this whole resort was extremely similar to traditional Japanese resorts. Bah, even the after-bathing robes they gave us looked strangely similar to kimonos.

Right now I was sitting by a very long table waiting for my party members to come. And I didn’t wait long before the door open and elfish beauty entered the room.

- “This time clothed, Lana?” I started the conversation in as pleasant of a tone as only I could muster.

She blushed, in both embarrassment and anger throwing an angry gaze at me, unintentionally she covered herself a little with her hands, even though there was no need for it.

- “Now I know why Gisele keeps calling you an annoying asshole and punches you so much!”

I only grinned even wider.

- “Come on! Don’t be like that! You saw me naked too! Let’s say that we are even!”

- “Pff? Saw you naked? When?”

- “On the mountain, after the ritual, when I was together with Gis doing… things. You think I didn’t notice you peeping? How naughty of you…”

Her already red face became now as a ripe tomato.

- “T-t-t-that was an accident! I didn’t do it on purpose! I was looking for… for… for…”

- “A bathroom?” I decided to tease her even more. She clenched her fists

- “Maybe! It was extremely hard to find a place for myself with the whole mountain covered in copulating like animals druids! Gosh.”

- “And that’s why you stayed there and watched for 10 more minutes?”

I bluffed. Back then, I was far too focused on other matters to even notice a leviathan walking past me, not to mention a sneaking elf, yet she betrayed herself with the way she talked and acted right after the ritual. And because of this, I knew I would be able to tease her, just like I was doing it right now.

- “I definitely didn’t stand there tha…”

- “That long?” I raised my brow “… care to tell me h…”

Furiously she sat by the same table as me.

- “I will not say anything else without my lawyer.” She said crossing her arm on her chest and puffing her cheeks.

Maybe I teased her a bit too much? Should I play someone charming now? Turn all my previous actions into justified by concern way of dealing with my emotions? Yeah, there is no reason to have an elvish princess angry at you.

- “Lana…”

- “What now?!” she almost growled at me

- “I am sorry and… thank you.”

I said with a saddened smile.

- “… for what now?”

- “For being there for Gisele. Sometimes I am worried that I… no. never mind. Forget what I just said.”

There is no way she will let me stop just like that…

- “If you think I will let you start a topic, make me all excited and curious and then drop it just like that, you are gravely mistaken! What is it.”

Here it is. Only three things are certain – death, taxes, and curiosity of a woman. Though I am not sure about death.

- “I have told you, it would be better if I…”

- “What. Is. It.”

- “Gisele is the only thing that keeps me… normal. Or at least she is the only thing that stops me from turning into a blood-obsessed beast…” partly true “…very often I am afraid that I may cross the line…” true “… or that by acting one way or another I could earn Gisele’s hate…” again, partly true “… this is why I am grateful for your presence. You are one of the very few people Gisele can call a true friend. I know that if something would happen, you would be there to cheer her up…” and here - total bullshit.

All this time I was talking looking somewhere else, avoiding her gaze in order to make her think this was a serious issue for me I had troubles talking about it, and not some made up crap which is supposed to make her forget that I am a complete asshole.

- “I am sorry, for all the troubles I cause. But, I am an owner of a huge company which is saving people’s lives, there is a whole country trying to hunt me down though I gave them no reason for it, another country tries to make me it's puppet and since a few days ago I was also made into an oracle. I… it’s too much, Lana. I am tired…” I forced an exhausted smile on my face “… you see, even though I know it, I (un)intentionally relieve my stress on the closest person to my heart. After the damage is done I do realize what I said or done… but then again, I am too proud to admit that. So…” I stopped as if I forgot where my whole speech was heading to “.. ah, that’s right. Thank you. And sorry.”

I can’t believe I was able to make up such a pile of bullshit out of nothing. The only question that remained was – did she buy it?

Once again I looked toward priestess. Her eyes watered as she struggled to not let the tears start falling, her lower lip was trembling and her hands were clasped as if she was praying.

- “You poor creature, you!” she almost cried. If not the table I was sure that she would jump on me.

Elves honored and cherished pure romantic love, especially those which will be forced into having arranged marriage, so a little monologue regarding difficult love was more than enough to completely earn their favor.

- “Just don’t you dare repeating it to Gis!” I threatened her with my finger.

… because she heard the same story waaay too many times.

- “I won’t! Rest assured! This feeling of yours it is far too beautiful for me to interfere with your relationship! Take your time, Zariel, and when you will be ready… just say exactly the same things to her!”

Over one-hundred-year-old elf – with a mind of twelve-year-old waiting for her prince charming. So… untainted…

Almost like little El.

I was contemplating the ways of pulling some more jokes on Lanele, when the door was opened once again and Gis entered the room. I wanted to start mentioning her naked-assaults, yet words froze in my throat.

- “These damn bitches…” she complained “… do you have any ideas what fearsome things they can do with a single pair of scissors?! They were torturing me for the past hour!”

At that moment her gaze fell on me. A grimace of irritation crossed her face.

- “And you! Don’t you dare to mention what ha…” she noticed I was frozen “… what now?”

Her usually messy hair which she rarely put into a single ponytail was now wonderfully pinned with a few wooden pins, letting only few strands fell on her shoulders in an almost teasing way. Her skin, usually dried and often harsh was now smooth like silk and thanks to oils gently rubbed into it was now reflecting the light of the setting sun. Her lips, even though they were always naturally red, right now looked as if covered in blood, and the kimo-like robe that was given to her only strengthened the aura of pure beauty and mystery.

I think that for a moment there I stopped breathing.

- “WHAT!?”

Even furious she looked… words could not describe it.

- “Gis, I think Zariel tried to say that you look pretty, am I right?” Lanele tried to help me.

But… “pretty”? Such a common word cannot even describe… there is no word that can… which could…

Few more times I opened and closed my mouth, in the end, I only nodded.

- “You little asshole! I am sure that you are acting this way only because you don’t want me to punch you some more! These clothes are horrible! Unpractical! Too tight! There is no way I can fight dressed like that!... Tell me – but be honest – what do you think!”

She looked at me.

- “You are even more beautiful than in my dreams…”

And for the first time today, I said a whole, single sentence which contained not even a single lie.