The conversation paused afterwards as we silently stared down at the busy streets.

Alita stood up with a sudden motion, stepping over to my side. She grabbed onto my arm and started to pull me up.

I glanced at her, surprised, and felt her hold under my arm. By then, instinctively following her lead, I hesitantly stood up, allowing her to drag me along. ─ "Now... what's gotten into you?" ─ I questioned.

Alita offered me a knowing smirk, which didn't reassure me at all. After all that danger I went through recently, I really didn't want to get into another bout of trouble, so I started to drag my feet, ears twitching reluctantly. ─ "Umm... A-Alita, now that I think about it... I seem to have forgotten something... isn't it time we got back to the noble district? I really should have told Emrum where I was going..."

I started making up excuses that felt weak, even to my own ears.

Alita rolled her eyes in my general direction, poking me on the side of my ribs. ─ "There is no way I will let you get off the hook so soon, elfy. Not after you kept turning me down." ─ She looked over her shoulder, giving me an ominous smirk as she added. ─ "Besides, I am hardly forcing you to stay around... You can leave whenever you feel like it." ─ She let go of my arm and theatrically took a few steps away from me, leaving me fidgeting at the side of a random corridor.

My ears twitched hesitantly as I took a few reluctant glances around the mostly abandoned guild corridor. I didn't recognize anything here; the realization filled me with a sense of anxiety. My eyes quickly refocused on the walking away form of Alita, who was heading towards a nearby staircase.

I cursed under my breath before I started to chase after her. ─ "Wait...!"

~oOo~

A few minutes later, we were back in the main hall of the guild. Alita was still chuckling at my annoyed expression.

"Come now... I was merely teasing you. I wouldn't leave you here, elfy, so stop pouting already, you might scare off all the handsome men otherwise." ─ She said, clearly enjoying the situation far more than she should.

"I shouldn't have let you drink that second jar of beer..." ─ I started complaining when my brain clogged up, as I digested her reasoning. ─ "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

It was Alita's time to look baffled, as she turned towards me with a flabbergasted expression. ─ "Alright, elfy, I get it that men love your innocent act, but now you are starting to annoy me." ─ She waved towards herself, then towards me, making a frustrated expression. As if trying to point out the obvious.

I kept staring at her, all too well understanding what she meant, but not wanting to acknowledge it.

"Two young women sitting at a bar, in a place like this? We are bound to be approached, eventually. Not that I want anything serious right now, but a bit of flirting is always appreciated. You know how it is..." ─ She said while leaning against the counter and reading some of the mission requests placed on a nearby board.

I gaped at her, but before I could answer, a smooth and somewhat familiar voice sounded somewhere behind my back.

I turned around halfway, noticing a tall human man standing behind me with a lecherous smile that couldn't have been less obvious. ─ "Hello, ladies, would you like to spend some time with a big, strong man tonight?"

I blinked, completely taken out by the wording and the images they unwillingly created in my head... Besides that, did he actually ask both of us at the same time?

Alita, noticing my stupefied expression, simply shook her head then glanced at the man, a glimpse of a smirk passing over her expression, something I couldn't notice at the time.

"Why not?" ─ She purred. ─ "You seem to have caught the eye of my friend here." ─ My face whipped towards Alita, paling rapidly before it was replaced by impotent rage. ─ "Why don't you join us and tell some tales about the adventures of a big, strong man like you?"

"Gladly!" ─ The man spoke up and stepped towards the chair right next to me.

A shiver went over me, then I stood up from the chair and rushed away, mumbling some excuse about having to go to the bathroom. I could hear Alita's barely withheld snort behind me, which soon turned into a chuckle. ─ "Don't worry, she is just shy." ─ She told the confused man who joined her side after a quick nod.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

It was at that time, I started to realize how much I had messed up. ─ "Alita didn't seem drunk; she was a dwarf, and she reassured me that she could hold her drink." ─ I shook my head. Now that I think about it, Alita has reassured me about a lot of things, and half of them turned out to be a straight-out lie.

It was too early to be certain about it, but I was starting to suspect, based on her strange actions, that the girl was a lot more drunk than she seemed to be.

My feet stopped, as the idea came to me.

I shouldn't leave her alone, then am I right? I turned around and went straight back to the counter, where she was already leaning against a certain big, strong man who was practically salivating over her.

I couldn't believe it... Do I really have to do this? How am I going to take her back to the noble's quarters anyway...

I watched as the man's large hand slipped downwards until it settled on the butt of my friend. The girl's reaction was nothing more than a knowing smile.

Her eyes wandered over to me, a moment of surprise passing through her expression. ─ "Oh, you are done already? Why don't you join us then? Dorian here was telling me about some of his adventures... not exactly the type of adventure I initially asked, but I digress."

The man's eyes, currently lingering on Alita's cleavage, now turned towards me as he added. ─ "What do you say, the three of us? Having some innocent fun, nothing serious, of course." ─ He chuckled, before adding. ─ "I have to say, I am curious how it feels to do it with an elf."

My expression must have been a sight to see, as Alita, after taking a short glance at me, suddenly leaned towards the man, which action gained his attention, as she told him. ─ "It is a tempting offer, alas, I have to turn you down. My friend seems to be uncomfortable, maybe another time."

"Is that so?" ─ The man questioned, eyeing us reluctantly, but he didn't push it, which surprised me a bit. Especially seeing how disappointed he was. ─ "Well then, it was a pleasure. Hope to see you next time." ─ With that said, he walked off with an air of forced indifference, and I could feel half the guild's male patrons eying us.

Alita waved me over, and I sat down reluctantly, feeling the piercing gazes of the men on my... I would like to say, back, but they were focused much more on my butt.

The moment I sat down, I turned to Alita and demanded in an angry whisper. ─ "What is wrong with you, playing that guy like that?"

She simply chuckled, noting my outburst. ─ "Calm your tits, elfy, I was only having some fun teasing him. Well, that... and he was quite big based on that bulge in his pants... the guy wasn't all talk after all."

I felt like I popped a vein in my head. ─ "You shouldn't act so thoughtlessly." ─ I insisted. ─ "What if he pushed you down, or something..."

She didn't seem to be bothered by that, turning towards me with a questioning look. ─ "Why are you so tense? It was nothing serious, and we are in the middle of an adventuring guild. He would be kicked out and thrown in prison before he could do anything."

I blinked, once again speechless. Then I hissed at her in a scolding tone. ─ "Nothing serious? That man was pinching your butt, just now... You should take this a lot more seriously, not even talking about doing that... the three of us... Are you completely wasted, or were you always this crazy?"

Alita rolled her eyes. ─ "Sweet god, you sound like my ma." ─ She turned towards me, looking me straight in the eyes. Don't tell me you've never done it before... wait..."

My face flushed beet red from the embarrassing question, even as it was already quite red from all the emotions. I looked aside, well, technically, that was true from the perspective of this body.

Alita's expression actually froze for a second before pulling me closer and whispering into my ear. ─ "Seriously? You are like what, a century old, and you have never done it? This is ridiculous... stay here, I will get Dorian..." ─ She was about to stand up when I grabbed her arm like a lifeline and forced her back into the seat.

"Don't you dare! Sit down before I decide to strangle you!"

She whistled at that. ─ "I would have never expected you to be that type. Wouldn't mind you strangling me for a bit, elfy. So Dorian wasn't your type, it was on a whim anyway, if you want someone familiar, I can always lend a few fingers..." ─ She winked.

I hit her on the shoulder. Then I hissed, realizing that she was wearing leather armor while my hand was bare. ─ "Stop it, you are drunk and speaking out of your mind."

Alita laughed at that. ─ "I might be drunk a bit, but I am perfectly aware of what I am saying. Try me if you don't believe it, elfy."

"Stop calling me that." ─ I hissed.

"Or what, elfy?" ─ She smirked at me.

"You are being unreasonable." ─ I told her, then decided to ignore her.

Which seemed to suit her fine, as she continued to drink her beer. Something that made my eye twitch.

"Stop drinking, you fool!" ─ I snapped and tried to take the jar from her. Something that she clearly anticipated, as she pulled it away in the opposite direction, making me slip out of my chair and accidentally leaning against her side, my face stopping a few centimeters from hers. I could feel her hot breath filled with the scent of alcohol against my own.

Alita's free hand instinctively circled my waist, holding me with a challenging expression that was stuck somewhere between a smirk and glee.

She put down the jar and pulled me into her lap with both hands. Locking me between her and the counter behind me. She leaned closer to my face as my ears kept twitching, almost like the wings of a trapped songbird.

Then, with a sudden, unexpected push, I felt her lips graze against my own. My mind went blank for a second, then Alita leaned away, laughing at my expression. ─ "Now, now... it couldn't be that bad."

I could feel the warmth on my lips and the familiar fragrance of Alita lingering in my nose.

Then I felt a burst of anger about the entire situation, but before I could slap her, I noticed the unusual silence filling the hall. When I looked up, to my horror, I found most of the guild patrons watching us intensely.

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