— "Before you go, I have to take you to a place. I would have called you sooner, but, you know, things got a bit out of control."
Vincente stood up from his chair, tossing a few bottle caps into his hand. — "I'll wait for you outside. Go give your girl a kiss; they don't like it when we disappear without a word."
Gantz waved his hand and went to the other side of the counter, starting to prepare another snack. Should I include the sausage? I don't know what she likes. Come to think of it, she said she likes firearms. I reckon a girl like that definitely eats a hearty breakfast. He also added a glass of chocolate milk and took it to his room. She was still lying in bed exactly as he had left her.
Stopping in front of her, he thought about what Vincente had said. He leaned his body over her and gently tucked some stray locks behind her forehead. His eyes shifted to her reddish, moist lips. He hesitated, then turned his face to kiss her cheek.
— "My God! How slow can you be?" Cecilia grabbed his collar, and their lips met halfway. Their tongues entwined uncontrollably as the heat of their mouths mingled with the sweet nectar.
Gantz had kissed many times, mostly Melinda, who had taken his virginity and taught him how to kiss. But this mouth, these lips, her intoxicating flavor—he had never experienced anything like this before. His heart hammered nonstop. Gantz climbed on top of her, starting to remove her clothes, but she pushed him away, placing a hand on his chest.
— "I've been waiting for you to kiss me this whole time! I was already all stiff here!"
— "Sorry, I just thought it would be impolite."
— "It would be. What do you think you're doing?"
— "I thought that... I don't know, we were going to date?"
— "Do you think I'm that easy? Is it because I'm an escort?"
— "No, easy? What do you mean?"
Cecilia laughed. — "I'm not from around here; I'm from across the border. We wait a little while before doing that."
— "But... hmm."
— "I know what you're thinking!" Her smile was as bright as pearls. She leaned her lips toward his ear and whispered, — "I only let them use the dirt road. The other path is yours—only yours!"
Gantz pulled back for a moment. Dirt road? Ah! Dirt road! He looked at her, pondering her words. Technically, she's still a virgin then?
— "But why?"
— "I told you! Where I come from, the other path is only for someone important."
He found it quite strange, but for some reason, being the only one to take that path made him even more excited.
— "But I have to travel."
— "I know, it's a shame, isn't it? You'll have to wait a good long while! And have to settle for whoever else is around."
I won't forbid him from sleeping with other women; he wouldn't even understand the reason. People on this side of the border don't take sex seriously at all.
After saying goodbye, he finally met Vincente at the door.
— "What? A quickie for the road?" Vincente laughed, clutching his stomach.
— "Let's just get to where you want to take me!"
— "Okay, come on. This little thing is my new toy!" Vincente pointed to the luxurious vehicle parked nearby. It was a black vehicle with beautiful, graceful curves, six wide chrome wheels, a square hood, sides shaped like waves, and a rounded rear with two beautiful chrome bumpers in the front and back.
— "That is one hell of a car!" Gantz exclaimed, running his hand over the beautiful curves.
— "Isn't it? This beauty was stashed away at the old boss's house. Turns out he was richer than we could have imagined! Usually, only nobility or high-ranking members of the church own these."
— "This is worth at least four top-of-the-line carriages! That's at least a hundred thousand mana stones!"
— "More. We're in a remote city; transport value is even higher because this vehicle doesn't run on dirt roads. Anyway, that's not what this is about. Let's go, I'll take you."
Gantz was enchanted by how smooth it was; he felt as if he were flying rather than sitting in a vehicle. The scenery shifted from old wooden houses to grand stone mansions surrounded by large green fields with tall, beautiful trees. Vincente turned and pulled into one of the driveways. The gravel floor made a pleasant crack sound as the vehicle came to a stop.
The house wasn't as large as Olete's, but it was undoubtedly gigantic: a rectangular structure with dozens of white windows on each floor, yellowish walls, and a red roof with a large wooden door in front, plus dozens of well-tended planters and shrubs on the sides.
— "Was this Jevan's house?"
— "For sure."
— "Vincente, what did you do with his family?"
— "I killed them, duh."
Gantz widened his eyes, placing a hand on the dashboard and turning his torso toward him, while his friend tapped his fingers on the black steering wheel.
— "I'm kidding. I have kids too; I'm not that kind of guy. I gave them a good sum of money to leave; they left the city last night. It wasn't that hard, considering I wasn't the one responsible for their loss. I think they went back to the Diamond Lands."
— "The dwarf country? You were really generous!"
— "Even though I like the compliment, I believe they had a lot more money hidden away somewhere. What I gave them would only be enough for them to live in the middle class until they die, nothing more."
— "It's still a good amount."
— "Yeah, yeah, let's go. Enough about the past."
They stepped out of the car and walked over the gravel until they reached the white stairs. Gantz noticed the door featured carvings of pickaxes, hammers, and other tools he didn't recognize. They entered the hall, and Vincente was suddenly struck in the neck by something heavy, while another object hit his leg.
Gantz caught a glimpse of his siblings for a moment, which tightened his chest. He looked at the children and realized both boys were the spitting image of Vincente: blond hair with black streaks and blue eyes, looking at him with curiosity.
He puffed out his cheeks and made a funny face. The children began to laugh.
— "Dad, who's this?" one of them asked, pointing to his face.
— "This is Uncle Gantz. He's more than a friend; he's my brother!" Vincente put a hand on his shoulder.
— "Gantz, these are Galadriel and Mazaniel."
— "What's up, boys! Getting into a lot of trouble in this big house?"
— "You bet," said a female voice from the background. A dark-green-skinned girl with blonde hair tied in a ponytail descended the stairs, smiling with her white teeth.
— "This is my daughter, Esmeralda. I thought the name matched her color. I'm not very creative."
Gantz was left speechless for a moment; the girl was his height and didn't look like a child at all.
Vincente smiled. — "I know, it's scary, isn't it? Since she's half-orc, her growth is quite accelerated."
Esmeralda was slender but not excessively so, with defined muscles but lacking any feminine traits one would find in a woman of her height.
He shook her hand and noticed how strong it was. His lips widened. — "Your handshake is stronger than your father's."
— "Isn't it? He shakes hands like a little girl," Esmeralda said, laughing.
Both were laughing while Vincente held the children in his arms.
— "Funny, both of you! I just limit my strength so I don't hurt anyone."
— "Sure thing," they both said, looking at him with tears in their eyes.
— "But you're pretty young to be my father's friend."
— "I know. I'm twenty-one, and this old man is turning thirty this year. It's a long story how we became friends."
Vincente showed Gantz the house before they gathered in the backyard, where the kids were playing. Galadriel and Mazaniel were running back and forth chasing a large, caramel-colored dog. The refreshing wind shook the branches of the grove trees.
Esmeralda was working out, throwing kicks and punches into the air, then dropping to the ground for push-ups, then jumping up to do squats, and returning to throwing kicks and punches.
— "Is she already training?"
— "She's an orc; it's in the DNA. Unlike human children who are born premature, orcs are born much more developed. You can't imagine the shock I had when this little thing started growing like... like... I don't know what to compare it to, but it was very fast."
Gantz smiled as he put his hands behind his back, elbows up, leaning against the house wall and enjoying the scent of the grass.
Vincente had his elbows on his knees while watching Esmeralda. — "Do you think you can change what's coming?" He turned his face to look at Gantz's.
— "Honestly? I have no idea, and I probably have no chance of succeeding. I don't know how many more people know about this and how many are willing to fight."
— "Don't worry about that. I guarantee you I'll use every resource I have to make those..." He looked at the children. — "Those fools regret it."
Gantz broke into a wide smile. — "I can imagine. You have a great incentive right here."