Chapter 26 – The Show Must Go On
[Author-Notes]
I’ll keep repeat map shows rarer in the future, just want to show they are constantly being updated as Sera explores the world.
After an adventure involving slime, a dungeon and a group of bandits, the both of us find ourselves back in the hilltop town of Riverdale. A purposely slow journey over here and a wolf or two killed, we’ve got to start taking things more gradually or people will become suspicious. Heck, it’s not like there’s a pink bandit alive who knows about the dragon thing… whoops.
It's currently midday and we find ourselves inside a pawn shop of all places, trying to sell off some of the loot we found ourselves with yesterday.
“Hmm… nope. Cleaning them makes no difference, hope you aren’t expecting much. Both items are of poor quality, visibly scratched and… *sniff sniff* stink of blood as well. One-fifty for the pair.”
'Are we just going to pretend his glasses aren't broken? Whatever.'
“Willing to go higher?”
“Can’t I’m afraid, price is fixed considering I don’t want to know where or how you obtained these items. I have to make a profit as well.”
The first plan on our day off in Riverdale is to pawn the jewelled amulet and amethyst ring we obtained from the bandits. The thing is, even though the both of us know the quality isn’t exactly great, Lena’s eyes have been glued to the jewellery ever since I put it down.
“If you want one, Lena, just say. Both would look beautiful on you.”
“Aww, thanks Sera, I don’t really want any. I’m just thinking how pretty your hands will be overflowing with coin!”
‘Heh, is that a flirt or an intrusive thought about shiny objects? Who knows.’
Shoddy items sold and leaving the pawn shop behind, we’ve now got the daunting task of finding something to else to do. Gratefully, it does appear someone is always there to take up my full undivided attention.
“Seraaa… come here one second. I wanna check something!”
Lena’s soft hands slide round my neck, heading upwards where they find and grip onto a big chunk of my hair. I thought she was going to give me a massage but instead, she’s just tying it in a ponytail.
“Freaking adorable! You really should play with your hair more, Sera.”
“Heh, does twiddling it when I sleep count?”
“Shh! You know what I m-mean.”
A finger finds its way to my lips that I have to immediately numb at. Lena’s fluster grows exponentially, but so does mine.
Instead of going anywhere further, Lena’s removes her finger from my mouth and we hug, our breasts squishing against each other as the both of us wrap our arms tightly around each other. A small squeeze, a little tickle, she’s getting her kick out of playing with my bottom and I’m for it… that doesn’t sound sus at all.
The both of us continue to gaze into each other’s eyes, this time not kissing and instead looking to just simply enjoy the moment.
“Heh, what’s got into you, my love? Public displays of affection!? You didn’t drink an aphrodisiac or something, right!?”
“W-Well… sometimes it’s okay in p-public. Seeing that we’re in a s-safe town and that inn isn’t that f-far away… hint h-hint?”
I can’t help but give her an eyeroll which in turn causes her to pout at me. We’ve been in this town for not even an hour and her thoughts are of say gex.
Yep, mine wonders too that place as well, just we’ve got to wait until it’s night at least, right? It’s like that drinking rule, if it’s before five o’clock, then you’ve a got a problem!
“Later Lena. I’m sure we can find something entertaining enough to do first.”
“Aww… f-fine! You sure y-you were once a dude, Sera? Would’ve thought that libido would be higher.”
“Don’t look at me like that! There’s always too much going on, I’d love to live the life of a sex obsessed social media moderator, never had the chance to do it unfortunately.”
“Erm… what does that mean?”
“Heh, don’t worry about it. Just think of it some person who chooses to live inside a basement and wants everyone to know their opinion. We call that species Redditors.”
“Okay dokey, Sera!”
As if my pleas for a healthy love life are answered, the both of us catch the sound of clapping and a loud cheer blowing in the wind.
Moving to investigate, we follow the sound of chattering and cheering down the main road, quickly to come across what looks like a packed-out venue or an amphitheatre.
The host appears to be a woman wearing a monocle, a top hat and an oversized purse. The way she looks, moves and entertains, for example a dove just flew out from her sleeve, I think it’s safe to say she’s a magician.
‘Please don’t notice us… too late.’
“Ah, some more people, lovely! You’ll be able to witness the amazing Roxanne in person as well!”
The both of us take a seat right at the edge, trying not to be noticed yet that fails spectacularly. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear to have spoiled or ruined the pacing of the show.
“Now for my next act, I’ll need a volunteer to play a little game called… reveal the true power of magic by picking the right cup! Just follow the ball along and you might win a prize!”
The magician quickly picks someone out with their arm raised inside the crowd, then sets up a little display on a fold up table by her side.
‘Ye olde ball in a cup trick… simplistic and unoriginal as magic itself.’
The classic trick of finding a ball under three cups. The magician places a ball under the cup on the left side, then moves all three cups around at a reasonable pacing, making sure each one can still be tracked. If this wasn’t a trick, you’d think it should be the middle one.
“Erm… is it the middle one?”
“Check your coat pocket!”
“Hey, it’s replaced my wallet! Where’s it gone?”
“Ho ho ho… check the other pocket!”
The crowd give a brief applause while Lena nudges into me, speaking softly but also seeming a little concerned.
“Erm… what kind of bullshit is this, Sera? I smell nothing like lingering magic anywhere around here.”
“Heh, it’s called sleight of hand, Lena. Always watch her hands rather than the cups. She’s always moving, even brushing against him even now.”
The woman performs the trick on the man again and the same exact result follows, only this time his wallet and the ball end up reversed. Look, I’m far too cynical to enjoy tricks made for children… I do find it a little odd how there isn’t any here though. It’s probably a school day.
“Amazing! Spectacular! How does she do it!?”
“Nice break before we return back to work, those trees wont chop themselves!”
“It’s going to get even better, just wait! These shows always end up odd!”
The crowd do seem be enjoying the occasion though, happiness and words of praise come from all around. Even though I’m not enjoying it, Lena seems interested so might as well stay until it’s finished.
“Ho ho ho, those mages never understood the true purpose for magic is for entertainment! We need another volunteer up here to pick a card next!”
Another unlucky soul is plucked from the crowd and unfortunately, the next trick is as simple as the first. Pick a card from a deck and no matter what happens, the magician will always know what card it is.
“Think this one comes down to memory and ordering the cards in a certain way.”
A few different attempts on different crowd members, every time ends with her getting the right card. The Queen of Hearts (Q♥️), 7 of Diamonds (7♦️) and the Ace of Spades (A♠️), surprised we don't have the dead man's hand as well, she correctly predicts what card is taken from the deck every time.
“How does she do this!? Roxanne isn’t a real mage, is she?”
“Of course she isn’t, there has to be some trick.”
“Bless my husband, Roxanne! Maybe he’ll finally be able to conjure the power to last longer than five minutes!”
Again, the crowd sings their praises, just in different ways this time.
“Ho ho ho… it’s time for the last act! For all you non-believers who are still sceptical of the power of entertainment, I present to you this!
Unravelling something from her purse, a rolled-up scroll comes into the magician’s possession, quickly unravelling and revealing the secrets of the elders. It’s an old looking scroll, alright? Sometimes these references can’t all be that witty.
“Tis a scroll that removes all sense of self, essentially turning the person using it invisible!”
‘Okay… this is starting to sound up my alley.’
“But fear not, my intrepid friends! Those pesky mages would use this for evil and would try to steal something from you! Look to my face, see my piercings and my monocle, and know I’m here!”
The woman stretches out her arm to read upon the scroll, does a little spin, then places two fingers across her monocle all while giggling.
‘I believe the term here is chuunibyou?’
“Hehehe… I recite this forgotten chant. Peeping toms know little of my plight, everything but metal must succumb to delight!”
Poof! Fire explodes from the scroll and within seconds, the entire stage is turned into a cloud of smoke. Similar to how Lena switches form, it fades relatively quickly, revealing a stage without a host.
‘Great, the smoke means this is another trick… hang on. Ha!’
“Ho ho ho… I’m still here everyone! Behold the true power of entertainment! And forgotten magical symbols imbedded on ancient scrolls…”
…
Mumbling that list bit under her breath, all of us remain silent even as the trick is successful. Where her face would’ve been, the frame of the monocle and a pair of earrings hop above the ground. However, none of us are looking that far up…
“You’re on display, woman! Every week you do something stupid like this!”
“Roxanne… maybe you should spend more time practicing and less time visiting that shop.”
“Hahahaha! I knew this show would end funny! Why is no one else laughing?”
The two lumberjacks that once tried to flirt with us have the guts and decency to speak for us all. You see, slightly below the middle section of the invisible woman is a sight that would put a cringe on most faces.
In the front, it’s thankfully clear. It’s the back however where a problem resides. You see, there’s a suspicious metallic object sitting neatly stuffed, roughly resembling an egg or a pear, attached to a handle. She clearly must’ve fell down in the shower and landed on something, right?
Confused and unsure what’s going on, the floating monocle appears to look around frantically, until it finally takes one final look below and stops. Then, an ungodly scream rings across the venue.
“EEAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK! He assured me it was made from one hundred percent rubber…”
‘Heh, a show for the ages. I’m not going to forget this anytime soon.’
And so, the floating monocle and earrings run away at a lightning pace, all the while being chased by a foreign object that has no business being where it is. You know what they say, best to keep the work you do and personal life separate.
“Sera, I get why someone would put something in the front, why the back though? What purpose does that serve?”
As the crowd starts to disperse and tries it’s hardest to keep the facepalming to a minimum, Lena’s curiosity really picks its moments and today is no different.
“You’ve lived long enough, Lena. The basics must sometimes get a little boring.”
“I guess… hey! Three hundred is young in dragon years, Sera! Something back there just seems a little… weird.”
“Heh, you shouldn’t kink shame, my scaly friend. If I recall, you suggested being locked inside a pillory once.”
Our first visit to the kingdom and that succubus we encountered, as if I’m going to forgot what my loveable partner said.
“I d-didn’t mean it in that way! D-Damn it, Sera! You’re trying to t-tease me again, I know it!”
Lena’s face full of fluster and pouting is more than enough to make me smile, she’s just too easy to tease.
“J-Just for that, you can buy me four d-dinners tonight! No skimping either, I’m having lots of steak.”
‘A small price to pay for a happy partner… did she say four? I may have to starve myself to save on costs...’
'Thanks for that, Guide. You of all people should know when I'm being sarcastic...'
__________
As Lena dives into her portions of meat, I relax across from her with a watered-down rum, roughly about point one-percent and an informative book. The only problem is… this book isn’t what I thought it would be about.
| Slavery in Tuscany/Foray into the Desert Spoiler
[collapse]
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| [Intelligence improvement +2] | [Beginners Odyssey] [x2] |
“What the actual fuck was that!? I don’t even care about the added gains, this book isn’t what I thought it would be!”
“Hehe, what’s wrong, Sera?”
Giggling with a mouthful of steak, Lena asks that while I just stare at this literature mortified.
“This book is disgusting and needs burning. I know you shouldn’t burn books… this is the exception.”
I still can’t get past what I read; this is only the first page! We’ve got fifty more pages just like this, the next page alone describes how to make the collar tight enough where every gulp causes slight pain. Tuscany can burn for all I care.
Only purchased this back at that library because it was put in the history section, thought it would provide more lore on the kingdom’s activities. I guess technically it does… I don’t want to finish this but I’m going to have to, purely for status reasons.
“Oi, need a word with you two lasses.”
Thankfully, I can now put that devilish thing away as the innkeeper Willy comes up to greet us just as Lena gets to steak number four.
“Willy, right? Is there a problem with our room?”
“Nah, not with the room itself. It’s with the two people who will occupying it later on.”
Instead of continuing with her steak massacre, even Lena stops halfway through confused at the innkeeper.
“I’ll say this in the nicest way I can… when you go to bed later on, keep the bloody noise down! Monsters in the Abyss, fish in the bloody ocean, goblins on the moons, the Goddess Seraphim herself could hear you from up in the clouds!”
…
And of course, the both of us immediately die from embarrassment. We’ve visited this town twice, stayed at the same inn twice… think we even left the window open last time. Hey, I’m pretty quiet… I think. It’s Lena who likes a good moan.
Thankfully, good ol Willy is less serious than his words imply. Think he’s just a bit of a grump really.
“Truth be told, I’m only busting your balls… or whatever it is you gals have. Look, I like to keep things nice and boring round here or the wife will start getting ideas.”
I can’t help but chuckle and hide away under my hand. Those lumberjacks I unsuccessfully scared away, Willy must’ve heard my response and now think we really are packing additional extras.
“Hehe, we’ll keep it down… why is your wife a problem though?”
“When you stay married for a long time, youngster, some people lose that drive. My wife never did… she’ll bring out that damned toy again…”
And just like that, Willy starts mumbling under his breath and heads back into the kitchen. Presumably, he’ll never to be seen again until we finally come here for our next round of amorous adventures. Might have to start calling this inn our love nest or something.
Finally finished with her steak, eyes screaming with passion yet also a face of cheekiness, Lena’s going to ask something silly again, isn’t she?
“Hehe… what do you think that toy is, Sera? Think it’s similar to what that magician was wielding?”
“Is that Lena’s voice I hear? I can’t see her though… must’ve been the wind.”
“Aww… Sera really is no fun.”
Looking around a room to find a purple dragon, I seem to have lost my partner. She was just here a moment ago, where could she have gone!?
“You know, Sera, keep ignoring me now and I may happen to ignore you later. Hint… hint?”
“Heh, you won’t win this game, dragon. Try me.”
Both of us possessing stupidly happy auras try our best at supressing them by staring intensely at each other across the table, crossing our arms and even trying to look grumpy. It might time for our first real fight… not.
Then, trying her hardest to speak in a mature yet almost seductive manner, comparable to how an ASMR artist might sound, Lena begins to talk dirty with me following her lead.
“Just think about it… my face… your loins… all that wasted energy going nowhere.”
“Body heat against each other, my breath warming that cute neck… our breasts pressing. You’d really want to restrict both of us of that?”
Thankfully as our faces get redder and our voices get dirtier, the inn was cleared long ago so there’s no need for embarrassment. Still though… maybe we should take this elsewhere.
“To teach a lesson, y-yeah. Uncontrollably shaking until your m-mind thinks of nothing but pleasure… you’d have none of it, Sera.”
‘Heh, she’s starting to crack. The stutter is here.’
“But Lena… you’d miss my slow yet tender touch, slowly working upwards to everywhere sensitive. Only would it end with my lips up against an ear…”
“A-Always with the freaking e-ears! Do y-you enjoy my s-suffering that much!?”
Breaking her composure with a fit of sulking and pouting, I’m not sure how much further I could’ve made this dirty talk last so had to bring out the big guns again. I can’t be letting her win a battle of teasing, no matter the cost.
“Heh, yes, what else do you expect? I’m an elf, Lena. Ears make up like fifty-percent of my body… we doing this or what?”
“Y-Yeah… just give me a second. Knees g-gone a little weak…”