At that moment, Lala descended from the sky, her feet producing soft sounds as she approached them, stopping near Rafael. "Rafael?" she called to him, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him.
"What?" Rafael averted his gaze from his swelling hand, his purple eyes with spirals meeting Lala's.
She didn't say anything for a moment, just looking at him as if studying him before finally smiling. "It's nothing~."
Rafael looked at her strangely before shaking his head. "Right, whatever, hey man, what were you saying again?" He turned his gaze back to Zastin while waving his hand.
The corner of Zastin's mouth twitched slightly before he sighed, then adopting a serious look again, he spoke. "I admit my defeat, Earthling—no, Rafael, you have earned the right to be Lala-sama's fiancé as far as I'm concerned, but don't think this is settled."
"Hm." Humming, Rafael flexed his reddened hand before glancing toward the corner of his vision, where a small timer was still counting down.
[1:05]
[1:04]
[1:03]
The seconds still passed slowly, that was the time left of his assimilation, a little over a minute, but since the fight was already over there was no more need for him to keep the card active, so, albeit reluctantly, he deactivated it.
The change was immediate. Externally, his eyes returned to their natural light brown while his temperament seemed to shift, a calmer and less chaotic air surrounding him.
Internally, to him the change was clearer—his body seemed to lose strength, becoming heavier as his senses and perception slowed down. Kaleb's attributes weren't superhuman, but they were definitely far above his own.
Holding his jaw and moving it as he felt the absence of sharp teeth, he soon crossed his arms while calmly looking at Zastin. "Continue."
"You still need to receive the approval of His Majesty, Lala-sama's father, and you'll also have to deal with the other suitors once the news spreads. None of them will accept that an Earthling has beaten them." Zastin continued seriously.
"I understand, but if Lala's father accepts me as Lala's fiancé, wouldn't that make the other suitors stop?" Rafael nodded before asking curiously.
Zastin shook his head. "Unfortunately, it won't be that simple. As I said, most will not accept that an Earthling has defeated them. Even if His Majesty names you the official fiancé, they will still try to prove you're unworthy and may potentially try to kill you."
"Huh, that's exciting to hear, and Lala's father would just let that happen?" Rafael raised an eyebrow doubtfully.
"His Majesty may have the power and control over an entire galaxy… but he is not omnipotent. Certain things are beyond his control, and he may potentially choose not to interfere, leaving it as trials for you—a preparation for your eventual coronation as the leader of a galactic empire."
"Right..." Rafael frowned slightly. He could understand the point of view; his future father-in-law could indeed leave those assassination attempts as a way to temper him for future governance. After all, ruling a galaxy wasn't easy.
"Don't worry~!" Abruptly breaking his thoughts and the tense atmosphere, Lala threw herself at him, hugging him. "Daddy will definitely approve of you! Besides, I'll be here to help you, so you won't need to worry about the other suitors."
Looking at her smiling face, Rafael could only smile as well at her words. "Alright, I'll count on you then." He smiled calmly as he spoke, a contrast to his thoughts. ['Okay brain, now is not the time to focus on the feel of her breasts or the nice smell, stay focused, man.']
Lala laughed playfully upon hearing those thoughts. "Hahaha~ yes, you can count on me."
Zastin watched their interaction in silence until a faint smile appeared on his face. "I see that Lala-sama really likes you, that truly makes me happy."
His words caught both their attention as they saw his smile, but his expression soon changed when his smile trembled, his hand going to his nose as he closed his eyes and shed some tears.
"Sob… I'm so happy for you, Lala-sama, sob… please, Rafael! Take good care of her, she's under your care now!" Zastin bowed as tears streamed down his face, his expression a mix of crying and pleading.
"...Alright." Rafael replied, looking at him strangely, with Lala clinging to his side just smiling.
Zastin then straightened, nodding one last time. "With your permission, I take my leave." Turning, he began to walk back the way he came, the tears on his face glistening like crystals as they were carried away by the wind.
"What a dramatic guy." Looking at the retreating back, Rafael muttered to himself before turning his gaze to Lala, the girl meeting his eyes with a smile while he gave a faint smile in return. "So, shall we head back home, my fiancée?"
"Yes~!" Lala shouted enthusiastically, raising her arm.
Chuckling and shaking his head, Rafael returned home with Lala clinging to his arm.
...
The morning sunlight slipped through the cracks in the curtain, faintly illuminating Rafael's room.
Soon, he opened his eyes, waking from his sleep.
And when he did, the first thing that came to mind was the sight of Lala's head and bare shoulder in front of him, moving slightly with her breathing.
Then came the sensation in his right hand—a warm, soft, and damp feeling from being between her legs.
And then came the sensation against his hardened shaft—the soft, supple mounds of her butt pressed firmly against him.
He blinked, recalling how he ended up like this.
First of all, he remembered Mikan's strange reaction when he came back with Lala. The girl had just looked at him in silence as he explained who the unknown girl he had brought back from the street was.
"…So to sum it up, I'm now the fiancé of an alien princess." He had explained himself as calmly and collectedly as possible, keeping an impassive face as he said all the absurdity that was his situation.
But while he expected some sort of reaction, however minimal, he got nothing. Mikan just stared at him with an expressionless face for an oddly long time before simply pointing upstairs and saying, "She can stay in the spare room."
That was it—no questioning, no looking at him like he was crazy, not even insulting him. She just accepted it before turning away and going back to whatever she had been doing at the time.
At least Rito's reaction was more realistic—he made that open-mouthed, wide-eyed expression with his hands behind his head like that meme before starting a barrage of questions.
Rafael explained everything to him from beginning to end. In the end, the boy seemed to short-circuit, eventually giving up on trying to understand and returning to his room looking like he had a headache.
After that, there was dinner, which they ate in a strange atmosphere, with Mikan silent and Rito seemingly having chosen to pretend nothing had happened.
After that, Rafael prepared the other room for Lala before they spent the rest of the night playing in the living room until it was time to sleep.
And that's where the current situation comes in, because while Rafael was sleeping peacefully, he woke up in the middle of the night to find Lala sneaking into his bed.
Not only that—she was completely naked.
Now, while he didn't intend to do anything more intimate with her, thinking it was too soon, as well as not wanting to be obliterated by her father if he took her virginity…
That didn't mean he was just going to waste the opportunity that had presented itself. I mean, she had literally lain down naked with him voluntarily—she should at least expect something.
So, taking action, he moved closer to her, placing a hand against her bare vagina while pressing his shaft against her butt.
She shivered slightly at that moment from the sudden touch, but since she didn't try to push him away—not even after he waited more than a minute for any negative reaction—he ended up staying like that.
Hugging her and pulling her against him, without masturbating her or anything like that, just using her as a hugging pillow, with her vagina being the "cushion" for his hand and her butt being the "cushion" for his shaft.
Blinking a few times, he kept staring at the back of her neck covered by her pink hair, the pleasant scent of who-knows-what reaching his nose as he recalled.
He then slowly pulled his hand away from her intimate parts, also noticing how her shoulder stopped moving momentarily, which made him realize she had probably woken up too.
Bringing his hand to his face, he saw the thin string of lubricant between his index and middle fingers, the gel-like liquid stretching as he moved them slightly.
Lowering his hand, he slowly pulled away from her, sitting up on the bed and also noticing the redness on her face at that moment—she had probably seen his fingers.
Certain that she was embarrassed, Rafael smiled playfully as he greeted her. "Good morning, Lala, sleep well~?"
Hearing his voice, she opened her eyes, her bright green eyes full of embarrassment meeting his. "G-good morning." She greeted him with a smile, but the huge blush on her face and the tremor in her lips gave her away.