The conversion happened so fast that it actually scared me. Besides the frightening speed, the pleasant feeling I always get when I do this grew even stronger—especially while being in Ryuu's arms.
When the conversion was finished, we stayed there, sitting and holding each other for a while.
We only stood up when someone finally tried to open the door.
"What's going on? Queen?" It was Serie. She sounded alarmed and was about to break down the door, but I stopped her.
"Don't do anything stupid, Serie!" I removed the magic that was sealing the entrance. But I had forgotten that we still hadn't put our clothes back on. When Serie came in and saw both me and Ryuu completely naked, she was left speechless.
She just stood there, staring at us on top of the stairs with wide eyes.
Ryuu finally realized the situation she was in, and her face turned bright red.
"I-I'm sorry! I'll get dressed right now!" she said, hurriedly putting her clothes back on.
Unlike her, I remained naked, glancing between Ryuu and Serie. Serie then looked directly at me.
Our eyes met. Without saying a word, her gaze asked, "What's going on here?"
But I stayed silent until Ryuu finished dressing.
Once she put on her cloak, she jumped from the top of the stairs to the ground floor, preparing to run away. However, Serie blocked her path. She stood right in front of Ryuu, and since Ryuu knew Serie was much stronger than her, she didn't try anything.
I sighed and said,
"Serie, let her go. She needs to go home."
"I'm not letting her leave until I find out what was going on here. What were you two doing?"
"What's wrong? Are you jealous?" I asked mockingly as I started putting my clothes back on.
"I'm serious. I want to know what happened." Serie looked at Ryuu, and Ryuu took a step back. After glancing at me, she turned to Serie and started to speak.
"The Queen asked for my help with her training, that's all."
"Training?" Serie raised an eyebrow. "What kind of training requires both of you to be naked?"
"Hmm…"
"Serie, I've already told you, haven't I? Let her go." I gave her a cold look as I slowly descended the stairs, now fully dressed.
"But…"
"Let her go," I repeated.
Serie clicked her tongue and stepped aside.
"I'm sorry," Ryuu said before disappearing in an instant.
"Stop acting like that. It's uncomfortable," I told Serie.
"What?"
"You're angry. You're jealous. What's gotten into you?" Serie had never behaved like this before. She had always been kind and respectful toward me, but this was the first time she acted in such a possessive way.
Maybe it's because she took care of my body for so long while I was asleep?
"I just want to know what happened, that's all. I'm not jealous."
"I did the same thing with her that I did with you before. That's it."
"What? But I didn't have to be naked for that!"
"The more direct contact our bodies have, the stronger the effect of the training. I just wanted to test it, so I asked Ryuu to help me."
"Why didn't you ask me? I would've helped you for sure!"
"Well… Ryuu just happened to be nearby." I shrugged.
It was only partially true. Ryuu was nearby.
"That's…"
"If you want, we can do it later. What do you think? Don't tell me you're feeling shy." The corner of my lips lifted into a smile.
"N-no! Not today!" Serie said, her face blushing bright red.
It was the first time I had ever seen her act like that.
"Well, just talk to me when you're ready to do it."
"…"
I walked past Serie and left the tree.
Outside, all the elves were waiting for me — even Lyuu, who had already recovered.
Ryuu was gone.
"I hope you're feeling better now." I approached Lyuu and placed my hand on her head. She was almost my height now… Isn't that a little humiliating? In fact, most of the elves were nearly as tall as I was.
They'll probably all end up taller than me.
Unfortunately, I can't grow anymore.
"I'm feeling great. I'm sorry for overdoing it earlier. I shouldn't have used up all my mana like that."
"You gave it your best, and that's what matters. But next time, control yourself. If you're in a real battle and run out of mana, you'll die."
"Yes, I understand." Lyuu lowered her head.
"I'm going home now. I want to eat something and rest."
"You're not having dinner with everyone tonight?" Serie asked.
"You can eat without me."
When I got home, I took a bath and ate the first thing I found on the way before heading to my room and lying down. As soon as I fell onto the bed, I remembered what had happened between me and Ryuu.
"So that's why humans like physical contact so much?" It was such a pleasant feeling.
I had never experienced anything like that before.
"I wonder if Ryuu has ever felt that before… She's lived in Orario for many years, after all."
My eyes slowly closed.
But as soon as I fell asleep—
"Huh? Where am I?" I looked at my hands. "I'm Isaac… I'm Isaac…" I kept repeating those words as I walked through the endless darkness.
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