Elliris and Nino, having completed their respective tasks, were returning to Marcus’s temporary knight camp.
Thinking that today’s refugee relief must have triggered her side quest rewards, gaining both the Power of Faith from the refugees and a level up, who wouldn’t be happy with such a win-win situation?
Her personal level had now reached Level 59, just one step away from Level 60.
Elliris began to recall the game’s closed beta test 6 years ago. She seemed to remember the developers saying that Level 60 was a significant hurdle for players.
Back then, she and Sophia hadn’t paid much attention to such things. During the few months of the beta, the highest-level players only reached the Level 20s. Who would think about something so far off?
Whatever, she would just let nature take its course.
After all, the most pressing matter for Elliris right now was the trials of the Sela Temple.
Her mother’s whispers had come again in her dreams, urging her to complete the trials as soon as possible.
Furthermore, in her recent dreams, she kept hearing the vague voices of two different mysterious women.
“Found you… found you…”
“Omnia’s… good child… don’t be afraid… come here…”
…
Because she kept hearing those few repeating phrases, Elliris hadn’t been sleeping well lately.
‘It couldn’t be some female ghost trying to possess me, could it? Hearing “found you” over and over is seriously creepy!’
At that thought, Elliris couldn’t help but gently rub her temples. This was the result of poor rest and overthinking.
Beside her, Nino noticed Elliris’s unusual behavior and asked with concern, “What is it, Sister Elliris? Are you feeling unwell? Are you exhausted from being busy healing the refugees?”
“No… my sleep quality just hasn’t been very good lately,” Elliris said with a light smile, but Nino could already see the fatigue and displeasure in her eyes.
“Sister Elliris, later on, I’ll massage your meridians to soothe your fatigue~” Nino’s eyebrows arched playfully, appearing very confident in her massage techniques.
“Maybe it’s because you’re participating in the trials tomorrow, which has caused your stress to spike. Relax your body and mind; if you’re always wound tight, you naturally won’t rest well.”
‘Would this be too much trouble for Nino? It might… lead to some unnecessary contact…’ Elliris thought.
“Don’t worry, Sister Elliris! Mother Rachel was full of praise for my massage skills~ I specifically went to learn it,” Nino said as she led the way. Her light voice was full of anticipation for the two of them being together tonight.
Elliris wasn’t afraid of the trouble, of course; she was resisting the physical contact with Nino. Although she was no longer a boy and wouldn’t do anything to her, she wondered if it was better for girls to have less of this kind of contact and maintain a distance.
At that thought, Elliris stopped in her tracks.
‘No, after the argument I had with Nino before, I can’t be so distant from her anymore…’
Realizing this, Elliris immediately adjusted her state of mind and jogged to catch up with Nino, not letting her notice anything unusual.
At Marcus’s temporary camp, since tent resources were tight, Marcus naturally arranged for the two of them to stay in a double tent.
In the early summer weather, the two girls finished washing up in the small river and had dinner before entering the tent together.
Marcus was truly looking after them; this was actually a four-person tent. Elliris and Nino could only accept Marcus’s kindness, making reasonable use of the space in this girls’ dormitory. Besides the double bed for sleeping, they had also set up a nightstand, a small wooden table, and a tea set.
“Sit down, I’ll brew some tea.”
Nino took off her short witch boots and put on bunny slippers of the same style as Elliris’s. Her feet, clad in dark chocolate-colored over-knee socks, slipped into the white bunny slippers. She walked briskly to the nightstand and took out the prepared tea leaves.
Sitting in her seat, Elliris lightly swung her small feet, clad in cream-colored white silk stockings, up and down. She then took a novel given to her by Rachel from her bag and began reading it on the table.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Sister Elliris! Have a cup of tea first. Don’t worry, today’s tea is very safe~”
Nino placed the tea tray on the table and poured a cup of hot tea for both Elliris and herself.
Elliris blew on the steaming tea in her cup. The tea’s fragrance hit her with a subtle, reserved aroma.
It didn’t look like ordinary black tea; it even seemed a bit high-end. Since Nino said so, she felt safe drinking it.
The two sat opposite each other, sipping tea in silence. After a while, neither had spoken.
“Sister Elliris.” After an unknown amount of time, the silent play seemed to end as Nino spoke first.
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Let’s start our business, shall we?” Nino finished the rest of her tea and said calmly.
“Um… alright, I understand. Start by massaging my shoulders and neck; they’ve been quite sore lately.” Elliris was a bit reluctant at first, but remembering she had promised Nino, she humored her.
Nino’s skillful finger movements were like those of a seasoned massage therapist from modern society, leaving Elliris completely relaxed.
It started with a shoulder and neck massage. Nino’s pressure was just right. Then, she began to gently knead Elliris’s scalp and the acupuncture points around her temples.
Nino wasn’t just blindly pushing and pulling; she constantly adjusted her strength by gauging the tension in Elliris’s muscles and asking about her comfort level, finally finding the perfect pressure.
“Ooh.” Elliris felt a slight pain in her head that was also comfortable, as if her recent insomnia was being relieved.
“How is the pressure, Sister Elliris? Hehe, I’ve been learning from several senior clergy sisters for several years.” Nino’s eyes were bright and full of smiles.
“Mm… it’s not bad~” Elliris had already given up on her previous wandering thoughts; she could only say that Nino’s massage technique was truly wonderful.
After a while, Nino prepared to start the next stage.
For this stage, Nino suggested a foot massage. Although Elliris was embarrassed about the intimate contact involving her bare feet, she accepted everything to avoid making Nino upset.
“Lie flat on the bed, Sister Elliris. Yes, just like that. Strengthening the sensation here can help you relax better~ Take them off, it’s fine~”
At Nino’s request, Elliris slowly stood up, her hands gently grasping the edges of her white silk pantyhose at her waist. She peeled them down inch by inch, slowly pulling them lower. The silky fabric was pushed from her thighs to her calves, and finally, being careful not to snag the threads, she cautiously pulled them off her toes.
Elliris folded her white pantyhose and placed them on the nightstand, then took off her slippers and lay flat on the bed. Nino then moved a chair in front of her, ready to begin the foot massage.
Nino immediately started testing Elliris’s foot tolerance with a strong press.
“Ah!!”
She couldn’t hold it in. Elliris, who had been traveling long distances recently, let out a cry of pain after a foot acupuncture point was pressed hard.
“Hahaha~ Sister Elliris, I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m just finding out where you’re uncomfortable.” Nino gave a mischievous grin, clearly mixing in some personal bias.
“Hey! I-I don’t want you to massage me anymore!” After saying that, Elliris tried to get up to put her pantyhose back on.
“Alright, Sister Elliris, I was wrong~ Don’t be in such a hurry. I promise you’ll be comfortable and sleep well later~” Nino stuck out her tongue playfully and said with a giggle.
Once Nino became serious, her ten fingers danced across the soles of Elliris’s feet, massaging with a rhythm that matched Elliris’s level of tolerance.
“Ah… mmm… it hurts a bit… but it doesn’t feel bad…” After being massaged for nearly 15 minutes, Elliris felt the stress in her entire body vanishing. The sensation throughout her limbs had improved significantly.
“Mmm… good job, Nino… thank you…” Drowsiness washed over Elliris, and her eyelids finally gave out. Since she hadn’t slept well in days, she fell directly into a deep sleep.
Seeing that Elliris was fast asleep, Nino stopped the massage.
She carefully put a pair of white socks on Elliris’s feet, then spread out a large quilt and snuggled up beside her.
With a flick of two fingers, she turned off the magic lamp inside the tent.
“Goodnight, Sister Elliris. Nino will always be by your side.”
She looked at Elliris’s cute sleeping face, her eyes full of adoration, and then gradually drifted off to sleep on the soft pillow.