Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

Chapter 41 - 41: The Prodigious Nim, Part Ten

{Melisa}

Melisa grinned.

"Well, I think we've got a pretty solid start here. Why don't we go present this to the professor and see what he thinks?"

Armia hesitated, a thoughtful frown tugging at her lips.

She placed a hand on Melisa's wrist, stopping her from getting up. Melisa froze.

[... Her hands are kinda big.]

"Actually... I think we should aim higher. This spell is nice, but imagine what we could create if we really put our minds to it. Something more powerful, more innovative."

Melisa tilted her head, considering Armia's words.

"I mean, I could probably come up with something more advanced fairly quickly. It wouldn't take too long to-"

"No," Armia interrupted. "I think we should take our time with this. Really delve into the intricacies of spell crafting, explore all the possibilities... What do you think?"

Suddenly, Melisa understood.

[Oh, she wants to work together on this,] Melisa held back a smirk.

Melisa smiled softly.

"You're right. We shouldn't rush this."

Armia visibly relaxed, the tension easing from her shoulders.

"Exactly. I'm glad you agree."

With that, Armia stood abruptly, gesturing for Melisa to follow.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

Melisa blinked, surprised by the sudden change of topic.

"Oh, um... Can't we just keep working here? Your room is very comfortable, and we have all our materials..."

Armia shook her head, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

"Trust me, if we stay cooped up in here much longer, my parents might start getting the wrong idea."

Melisa blinked.

"R-Right. Right, okay. Right."

Armia was already heading for the door.

Melisa hurried to keep up.

"We could go to the library," she suggested as they stepped out into the hallway. "It's quiet, and there are plenty of resources we could use for re

They arrived at a nondescript door, set into the side of a weathered brick building.

Rax knocked three times, paused, and then knocked twice more. A small slot opened at eye level, and a pair of red eyes peered out.

"Password?" a gruff voice demanded.

"Embrace," Rax replied without hesitation.

The slot slid shut, and a moment later, the door swung open. Melistair stepped inside, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

The bar was dimly lit, with a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Nim of all shapes and sizes mingled together, laughing and chatting over frosty mugs of ale. The air hummed with the strongest sense of actual camaraderie Melistair had experienced in a while.

Rax led Melistair to the bar, where a burly nim with an impressive set of horns greeted them warmly.

"Rax, my man!" he boomed. "Good to see you. And who's this you've brought with you?"

"This is Melistair," Rax introduced, clapping Melistair on the back. "Hard worker. Loyal friend. You'd sooner get a noble to suck your cock than you would squeeze a joke out of this stoic fool, but yeah, he's cool."

Krom eyed Melistair appraisingly, then broke into a wide grin.

"Well, any friend of Rax is a friend of mine. Welcome to the Red Horn, Melistair. First round's on the house!"

Krom slid two frothy mugs across the bar.

Melistair tried to lower his guard, something he usually only ever did at the end of the day, at Javir's house.

Here, among his fellow nim, he wasn't an outsider, he told himself.

He was just Melistair, a man trying to make his way in the world.

But as he took a sip of his ale, Melistair's eyes caught a flicker of movement in one of the back rooms.

The door was slightly ajar, and he could have sworn he saw something odd-looking inside.

It looked...

[Was that a human?]

Curiosity tugged at him, but Melistair pushed it aside.

[Probably one of those abolitionists. One of the, like, 5 in the whole city.]

He was here to relax and enjoy himself, not go poking his nose where it didn't belong.

For now, he turned back to Rax and Krom, losing himself in the flow of conversation and the warmth of the ale in his belly. For the first time in a long while, Melistair felt truly at ease.

And as the night wore on, he wondered if maybe he should come back every now and then.