Chapter 579 - Watch your back

Sofia took a well-deserved break from her painstaking leveling process to prepare for her ‘date’ with Speed. She was at a bit of a loss at first, not really knowing how she should even prepare, but thankfully Saria was there to help get her Sister dressed up properly and not like a bone-maniac, picking the best-looking robe and accessories out of the bunch that Sofia had accumulated in her storage until now and basically never worn. She was thus wearing a long frilly dark robe in the trendy vampire style that Astelia usually wore, along with the golden pieces of the saint set as accessories.

“No, no, I’m categorical, you can’t wear the crown and the gauntlet and the cape, just keep that stuff in your storage!”

Sofia sighed, “Do you know how much of a pain it is to stuff a magic-resistant dragon scale plate in a storage ring? This would take hours…” 

“Then leave it here with me!” Saria refused to budge from her position. “Better yet, let Pareth hold it, if you need it he’ll teleport to you.”

“W- wait, Pareth isn’t coming?”

“Hell no! And Bookie stays here with me too!”

“B- but,” Sofia stuttered, being cut off by Saria.

“No buts! Do you want to stay single all your life? You don’t get a date with an actual god every other day, take this seriously!” Saria lectured while adjusting the frills of Sofia’s robe.

“... Also, Saria, don’t you think this shows too much cleavage? I feel a bit…”

“Oh sister, you pure soul, if I were you I would be wearing even more of a low cut, men love that, show a bit of chest and they can’t take their eyes off.”

“You think I don’t know that?! But we are already going on a date, I would rather appear more modest, this is a bit embarrassing is what I am saying…” Sofia explained.

“I hate to break it to you, Sofia, but there is nothing you can wear that will make your body-shape appear modest. Unless you want to go on a date in full armor. And even then… I’m surprised that you even care anyway, when you have no issue walking around in the nude in your demon form,” Saria commented with a shrug.

“It’s different!”

“Is it now? In any case, you worry too much, this is fine, I assure you. I’d even add a necklace to guide the eyes to the right place but you’ve already got that pearl growing in the middle there so that would be too much. Simpler is better for you anyway, you’ve already got a lot going on with the glowing hair and the horns and the runes.”

In the end Sofia gave up and let Saria do exactly as she wanted, even letting her apply some light makeup on her face, which was something that Sofia had actually never done. 

Speed arrived about twenty minutes later, exactly at the appointed time, dressed like a nobleman in a fancy white and red tight-fitting suit, but still wearing his mask. He looked relaxed, at first, but seeing that Sofia wasn’t alone, he immediately corrected his posture, clearing his throat, “G- Good evening, ladies,” he greeted them.

“Hey. Speed, right? It looks like you’re taking this seriously also, good. Why the mask, though?” Saria asked outright.

“H- ah, yes, pardon me,” Speed apologized, before grabbing his mask by the red-glowing holes in the front, and taking it off, which produced a weird sound like steam escaping a pressured valve.

Oh woah!

Speed’s golden hair tied in a low ponytail framed his finely sculpted face. His glowing red eyes were his most striking feature, like two perfect rubies that gave his look a cold intensity, a sort of princely aura that couldn’t be felt with the mask on. Sofia had expected nothing and was shocked that she actually found Speed’s face to her liking, it was easily number two in her ranking, right after the long deceased Armand Skyreach from her first trial.

“Much better,” Saria approved, nodding, “well, I’m leaving my precious sister in your care for the evening. Have fun,” she finished with a giggle, walking away to join Pareth and Bookie who were waiting for her to play cards in the future bone city’s first bone-house prototype.

“W- well… Where are we going?” Sofia asked, now that she was alone with Speed who looked honestly uncomfortable without his mask.

“Ah, yes, since you’re appropriately dressed, I, uhm… Do you know about the hellsgate lodge?” Speed asked semi-nervously, his eyes strangely fixated on Sofia’s as if he was scared to look anywhere else.

“Never heard of it, no.”

“Oh… Well, it should be a nice discovery then. It’s better that way, actually, yeah. Let’s go. I’m paying so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Wait. What do you mean you’re paying?” Sofia protested.

“Huh? The man should pay, isn’t that how humans do it? I was sure…”

“N- no, I mean, yes, but the date was meant to be for me paying you in the first place so…”

“That…” Speed answered, blinking a few times, “I want to pay, is that fine?”

Sofia couldn’t really argue with that so she just nodded. She was not one to refuse a free meal anyway.

“Can you fly?” Speed asked, as Sofia had currently her wings clipped, which made the answer not obvious, although he had seen her with wings previously.

Sofia made a difficult face, “Not with this robe…”

“Ah… Then… Will you let me carry you? It’ll only take a second.”

“Sure?” Sofia agreed after some hesitation.

The robe did not help make the process any less awkward, but after struggling a bit, Speed solidly got a hold of Sofia in a princess carry and departed from the bone city’s foundation platform.

It was like the world warped around Sofia and Speed, it did not even feel like moving, everything vanished into darkness except for a bright point light appearing in front. Then it stopped, it had lasted less than a second, but they were no longer in the swamp, but in a dimly-lit corridor with art on the walls, there was a fancy and colorful long carpet that led straight to a door guarded by two avian men in black suits with black masks.

They look like Eternam, Sofia thought, focusing on a random detail of the otherwise completely strange place.

Speed delicately let her down, “There we are. I hope this wasn’t too disorienting?”

“I- It was a bit strange, but I'm fine, thank you. Where is this, though?”

“Hellsgate lodge,” Speed said again, “quite deep underground below an active volcano, some ways east of the beastmen continent, I have no idea how this place came about, but I’ve had a business meeting with a client here last year. It’s… Fancy? Last time I was here there were quite a few demons around so I thought you might like it…”

“It looks expensive. Are you sure this is fine?”

Speed shrugged, “I’d rather my first date ever not be ruined because I was a cheapskate.”

“Your first date?” Sofia asked.

“W- what? I’ve been busy… Is that a problem?”

“I just didn’t think… Anyway, no, it’s my first real date also…” Sofia admitted, looking away.

“Really?!” Speed reacted, sounding much livelier all of a sudden, he then tried to relieve the tension a bit, “Let’s go inside, we are going to need to wait a bit for the food to arrive anyway,” he explained, starting to walk toward the door.

Sofia watched him take a few steps alone, before he turned back.

“Is something the matter?” he asked, seeing that Sofia wasn’t following.

“Nothing,” Sofia denied, joining him, unwilling to admit that she had been kind of just admiring his back.

Does his skeleton also look that good? She wondered in amazement.

Thankfully for Speed, he was not able to hear her thoughts.

After Speed had a quick discussion with the guards that Sofia entirely zoned-out as she was too focused on analyzing his bone structure, the door to the hellsgate lodge opened, instantly mesmerizing Sofia with the smell of delicious food and wine. Speed had made a good choice.

As Speed let Sofia enter first, she was surprised, her eyes meeting an unknown but familiar gaze.

An unremarkable-looking human was sitting alone in a corner near the entrance, a fork halfway in his mouth.

RICHARD?!