Salome looked at the slightly suffering Vale and asked:
"Are you sure you're okay, or should we turn back?"
Vale, still blocking the sun out of his eyes with his hands, some rays peeking through the gaps of his fingers, assaulting his face, smiled and replied:
"No, I'm okay."
The succubus just nodded in turn, showing her trust in Vale's judgement. Or at least in Vale's will.
It seemed that one sentence Vale had said in the heat of a tumultuous situation had actually had quite the effect on Salome. Or maybe it was his actions that had finally proved himself.
Vale had no way of knowing if Salome was done testing him or if she'd finally stopped holding back. She'd at least taken a more involved, proactive role rather than reflexively working with whatever Vale said — Instead of waiting for a cue, Salome actually suggested a few operations and focuses before Vale. She also refuted or provided counterarguments for Vale's potentially risky or bad decisions.
