The appearance of the first Adventurer (I)

Stuck to the wall, unable to move, I felt his warm breath against my cheeks. He was too close. Way too close. My heart was thumping so hard that I thought for a second that it would pop.

What's going on? Why is he half-naked? I looked down, and my eyes became wide. Wow, what amazing pecs. Wait, no, crap.

This is not something that I need to be thinking about. I quickly looked away, the eye candy that was before me was too much for me. I could feel the rush of blood going up to my head. Any moment now, I swear I would start a nosebleed from looking at such an exquisite body. He would fit perfectly with the naked greek statues outside.

Such thoughts made my face burn even further, how could I think such thoughts now? Damn it, Berry! Come back to Earth! No, wait, it's Torren?

Phil's breath tickled my ears, making it that much difficult to even attempt to move. I'm at my wit's end. Should I attack first or run away? I can't. I don't know why, but there was something in the back of my mind that made me feel like I was doing something wrong.

"You need a shower."

"E-e-excuse me?"

"You reek of goblin's blood."

I stared at him with gaping jaws. He pulled back and gave me a mischievous smile. "Isn't that obvious? We just fought them not too long ago."

"I know. Were you expecting something else?"

"No!" I bluntly stated in a hurry. "I-I-I was thinking about taking a shower r-right now." My eyes once again trailed down his body and glanced at his amazing muscles. Oh wow, do all half-elves have such well-defined muscles, or is it just him? Lean but muscular. Just the way I like it. No, wait, Berry come back to reality!

Out of the corner of my eyes, Don came out from the bathhouse with shorts and flip flops partially wet. Sol and Sam followed behind Don, each one of them was wearing the same thing as Don and Phil.

My eyes were once again blinded by another half-naked specimens. What is this? Half naked men day? Is today the day to test the virtues of myself?

"Hey Berry, where are the towels? There wasn't any in there." Don came up beside Phil and rested his arms on his shoulders.

I stared. When did they become so close?

"Berry?" Don waved his hand in front of me. He snapped his fingers a couple of times.

"Umm. Yea. Well. I-" I was stumbling over my words. Thank you, god, for showing me this blissful picture in front of me. One was a perfect figure of an elven human mix, while the other was an Asian-European mix that brought out the best of two races. I can die happy today. My mind was numb temporarily.

"Young mistress!" Tart squealed in delight.

The adorable creature with his brimming smile face was coming at me with full speed. Then, he just suddenly halted right in front of me. His nose crinkled up, and he brought his hands up to close his nose. "Young mistress, you stink."

Thanks. All the tension that was there was gone in an instant. "I know. Thanks for reminding me."

"You're welcome." Tart replied happily as if he did a massive service for me.

I pushed past Phil and Don and went in to take a bath. I didn't stay long this time, there was so much to do. Leaving quickly, I quickly changed and headed back towards the entrance where the villages were.

Phil, Don, Sol, Sam, and Phil's grandmother were busily talking among themselves. In front of the entrance, as if they were ready to leave.

"Your grandfather is back safely," said Grandmother Mary.

"Really? When did he arrive? No, the real question is, how did he make it through the gate, and how did he find us?" Berry asked as she remembered that Duke Hon's didn't know that they did a change of plan at the last minute.

"He stated that the gates opened up for them. So far, only two-thirds of the soldiers were able to survive. When they fled North and found our trail, they followed a couple days behind us."

"I'm glad he's okay." Phil sighed with relief. "What about Uncle?"

"He's injured, but he won't die from a simple injury."

"That's a relief."

I walked over to them, wondering what the heavy atmosphere was about. "Hi guys."

"Hey, Berry. You finished washing up pretty quickly," said Phil. Looking at me with a coy smile.

"Oh, if it isn't Berry. Glad to see you are all cleaned up. I heard you have hot water here." Grandma Mary chirpily replied, her eyes twinkling at the thought of taking a hot bath.

"Yes, I do. This mountain has natural hotspots that can heat water quite nicely."

"That's wonderful to hear. I'm definitely looking forward to taking one if you don't mind."

"Please do."

"As I was saying, the people are tired. We weren't able to bring everything with us, and the longest that we could survive on what we have is three months. I'm not sure how long this goblin army will pass by." Grandma Mary focused back on her subject with Phil. Thinking about what they could do for their people at this trying time.

"I hope it will pass by soon," Phil spoke, a grimace appeared on his lips.

"We need to move soon to the nearest city to restock up on supplies." Grandmother Mary worriedly stated.

"Actually, why don't you make a town on the base of this mountain? The gated walls will protect the people from intruding monsters. This is my home and the reason why I have been safe until now. I'll share two-thirds of my food with you guys as well. I think there should be enough till next year if I'm not mistaken. By then, you should be able to begin farming." I spoke up, hoping that I could help in some way. It would be awful just to send them away as soon as they got here.

"Are you sure?" Grandma Mary asked worriedly. "I do not want to impose on your hospitality."

"No. It's fine. You are also part of my family now. The land around here is open for people to use. I figured it would be better to settle down. We don't know if there would be other goblin armies that will be terrorizing the land anytime soon." I hastily replied. I liked Grandma Mary, and I didn't want her to leave so soon.

"That's true. If you lived here in safety, then that means this place is like a haven from monsters."

"You could say that."

"Thanks," Phil replied.

"No problem. I really meant what I said. Your family was kind enough to let me stay in your mansion. I'm just returning the favor."

Phil gently smiled and patted me on the head.

I guess that was his way of showing thanks. "Well, we have lots to do in building up a town from scratch."

"You don't say."

"I was thinking..." My voice trailed off.

"You have something in mind, don't you."

"Well, yes." I twiddled my fingers.

"What is it?"

"We should build the town a little differently."

Phil glanced at me, wondering what I had meant.

"It's just the sewer system back at your place was horrendous and bad for your health. I wanted to ask if we could create an eco-friendly filtration system. The magic stones that I have on hand could help with the process."

"I'm quite good at building things." Don raised his hands. He was enthusiastically listening in on the conversation. When he heard about construction and architecture, he glistened. "I could help with the blueprint of the town itself. I majored in architecture."

"Really? What did you graduate from?" I unconsciously asked.

"Yes, first in my school." Don puffed up his chest, a confident smile erupted on his lips, telling everyone how good he was. "Three years ago. I have been working with a firm in the past few years, so I do have hands-on experience in it."

"That's great!" I excitedly replied. This would help speed up the process of their village, I was glad that we had someone who was skilled at this sort of thing. Mostly because I knew nothing and finding someone right now who knew how to do it was going to be tough without bringing someone in from the outside.

"This actually might be interesting to invest in. I'll call the people right now and see what we could do," said Grandma Mary. She left back to her people.

"I leave the design to you." I smiled cheerfully at Don. One problem out of the way, I felt a bit more relaxed.

Don sparkled with excitement at the task that was given to him. "You got any paper, rulers, and some pencils?"

"Yes, I'll take you to the library. I saw a couple of architecture books that could help you as well."

Every little thing was necessary to get the job done, and she wanted to make sure whatever tools I had could be used for this project. The thought of a city growing at the base of her mountain excited her.

"Let's get this started." Don was almost jumping up and down. He was like a child that was given a new toy to play with.

I couldn't help but chuckle at Don.

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