[Thank you Mooh Van Den Bosch, Dakota Scheeler, Joel Vincent, John David, Jacob Plahtinsky, Feng Zhao, kutetsu Kutetsu, Klaus Skandov, Nitorxs, Jeff_Maxilom, Bram Mols, zeref, Su freaks, Kynx, Jay Moore, blackwar789, faintmeteor, Gill, Yvros, Fuad Mammadov, Temnizziv, John David, Arfel Santos, Artheryia, Blizzard, Irakli Jishkariani, Fr0sTyy4192, and more for Joining the Patreon!
Joining the Patreon, even at the lowest $3 membership, gives you access to over 70+ Advanced Chapters! Join now and read Continuously!]
~~~
Night fell and the lights came on, dotting Axel with clusters of warm orange glow until the whole town was lit up.
"I'm sooo hungry~"
"Me too."
"Let's stop reading and go find Shichen for dinner."
"It's this late—he's not still with Megumin, is he?"
"I can smell something cooking. He's probably making dinner."
"Go, go, go!"
Frieren, Aqua, and the others tossed their manga aside, jumped out of bed, and dashed out of the room.
When they reached the kitchen—sure enough—Shichen was at the stove. Several finished dishes were already lined up, steaming hot.
"Smells amazing! Shichen, why'd you start cooking without us?" Yunyun asked.
"I figured reading manga would make you hungry, so I wanted to surprise you by having dinner ready."
"Shichen really is the best! My tummy's totally caved in from hunger—look."
Aqua lifted the hem of her sleep shirt, revealing a flat, spotless, almost reflective belly.
Her skin was so fair it seemed to glow—pure and bright—with a tiny belly button, dainty and perfect, every line in harmony.
She was beauty beyond perfection—enough to put even a flawless artificial life-form to shame.
"Aqua, what are you doing?!" Yunyun yelped.
"What do you mean, what? I'm showing Shichen how serious my hunger is," Aqua replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"E-even so, you can't just flash your stomach like that!"
"It's fine. It's only Shichen."
"Aqua… so you really do like Shichen, huh?"
"Of course! He treats me so well, gives me that delicious wine, and he has that lovely water aura I like. Obviously I like him."
"So direct…" Yunyun gaped.
"Don't you like Shichen too?" Aqua shot back.
"I… I do…" Yunyun admitted, blushing.
"Then aren't you going to show him?"
"Um… Shichen, do you want to see?" Yunyun asked, face red as she glanced at him.
"Heh~ What's there to see? I get that you're all starving, okay? Take these dishes out first. I've got two more to finish—just a minute."
"Oh…" Yunyun sounded a little disappointed.
"Hurry up, Shichen!" Aqua didn't care in the slightest; she grabbed a platter and headed out.
"No sneaking bites, or no wine for you."
"Hey! No fair!"
"Your choice—sneak a taste now, or wait a minute and enjoy good wine with good food."
"Fiiine, I got it."
"Frieren, why are you spacing out? Help."
"…Okay."
Silent the whole time, Frieren finally pitched in. Using magic, she floated several dishes at once, leaving one for Yunyun to carry.
"Yunyun, wait a sec," Shichen called just as she picked up the last dish to leave.
"What is it?"
"Why the long face?" he asked, pretending not to know.
"D-do I have one?" Yunyun hurried to smooth her expression.
"Heh~ Is it because I said I didn't want to look at your tummy?" He leaned closer, smiling.
"N-no…"
"Dummy." He tapped her lightly on the head.
"Eh?" She stared at him.
"What's fun about looking? Touching is the fun part. If I get the chance, I'd much rather feel it, you know?"
"Mm…" Yunyun's fair cheeks flushed pink in an instant.
So he didn't dislike her tummy—he just wanted a hands-on approach!
She'd thought he didn't like it because it was soft, not board-flat like Aqua's.
"Still upset?" he asked with a grin.
"I—I'm going now…" Yunyun scurried off with the plate.
Watching her flee, Shichen couldn't help shaking his head.
Worried about that, of all things? She had no idea how tempting a soft belly could be—no normal man could resist.
And above that soft belly were two very generous… well.
"Soft and sweet girl" really was the perfect description for her.
Maybe she'd been too lonely growing up—simple-hearted, but prone to overthinking.
Looked like he'd need to help her build some confidence in other ways too.
Shichen finished the last two dishes and carried them to the hall. The others were already seated and waiting.
"Shichen, you're so slow~ I've been waiting forever—my stomach's been growling for ages," Aqua pouted.
"You've done nothing and still have the nerve to complain?" he shot back.
"Oh, come on~ It's not like I won't reward you."
"What reward?"
"I'll keep letting you hold me while you sleep~"
"That's it?"
"Don't you love cuddling me to sleep? You used to do it every night—and you even groped my chest."
"Things are different now. Times have changed, got it?"
"What else do you want?"
"Take a guess~"
"Wait! Shichen, you used to cuddle Aqua to sleep?" Yunyun cut in.
"Uh… yeah. That happened," he admitted.
He almost forgot Yunyun didn't know about his past with Aqua.
"Always?"
"She said I had a water aura and just showed up in my room. I tried to kick her out, but she wouldn't go, so I let her sleep there," he explained.
"Is that it? You have a water aura, so Aqua—being the water goddess—likes it?" Yunyun asked.
"Mm-hmm. With that aura, I sleep better," Aqua nodded.
"And when you said he… hugged you… and, um, touched…" Yunyun trailed off, too embarrassed to finish.
"I don't remember when it started. One morning I woke up and his hand was on my chest. It just… stayed there."
"Shichen is a guy, after all…" Yunyun couldn't help making excuses for him.
"Exactly. Men like that sort of thing," Aqua said, glancing down at herself, then at Yunyun—frowning.
She suddenly realized the difference between them was… substantial.
What if Shichen preferred bigger? What if he stopped cuddling her at night?
Those two months he'd been gone, she hadn't slept nearly as comfortably without his arms around her.
"Well, that can't be helped then," Yunyun said earnestly.
"But Shichen could—like—wait for Aqua to fall asleep and then go to her room," Frieren chimed in.
The mood went awkwardly quiet.
Shichen shot Frieren a look—Yunyun had just managed to talk herself past it, and here Frieren was poking holes.
Had she forgotten she still had a spanking coming?
"Um… pretend I didn't say that. If Aqua woke up and went to find Shichen again, none of us would sleep well," Frieren hurried to add, meeting his eyes.
"Mm-hmm. Adventurers need proper rest anyway. We're a team, so it's fine if Shichen sleeps with Aqua—even if he, um, t-touches—"
"Ahem. Fine, that one's on me. I didn't keep my hands to myself," Shichen cut in, seeing Yunyun couldn't go on.
"No, no—Shichen, you're a guy. It's… normal…" Yunyun mumbled.
"Yunyun, you really are a good girl," he said, a bit ashamed.
"It's… it's nothing…"
"Alright, it's not a big deal. Can we eat now?" Aqua asked.
"Hold up—I'll go get Megumin," Shichen said.
"Hurry, hurry~"
A minute later, he returned with Megumin in tow. She yawned and took her seat; he sat as well.
"Shichen, where's Darkness?" Yunyun asked.
"She's sleeping. Skipping dinner," he said evenly.
"Already?"
"She trained all afternoon. She's wiped and doesn't want to get up."
He hadn't called her—just took one look at her sleeping soundly and went to fetch Megumin instead.
He had worn her out all afternoon.
Darkness's first time wasn't going to break her—she's a Crusader, sturdy as they come. "Deflowering pain" is nothing to her.
And she's a textbook masochist. The more he pushed her, the more excited she got.
There were still big dried patches on the sheets—mostly hers.
He hadn't exactly kept things mild; just having her turn away while he spanked her had practically dehydrated her.
Maybe she was more suited to being the real water goddess than Aqua.
"No wonder—such a hardcore M, and she still puts herself through that," Megumin said, shaking her head.
"Are you sure we shouldn't wake her to eat?" Yunyun asked.
"It's fine. Don't worry—she'll get up when she's hungry. We'll save her some."
"Alright then."
"Okay, let's dig in."
"Finally! I'm starving! I want wine!"
"I want cola!"
For the first time in a while, the villa was lively again.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 220+ Chapters Ahead of Others!