The maids arrived in an orderly fashion, each carrying a finely crafted tray adorned with decorated goblets. As soon as the ladies got close to us with our drinks, an intense heat enveloped the surroundings, as though a furnace had been unleashed. The rich, intoxicating scent of molten honey and seared oak filled the air, carrying with it the unmistakable sting of pure alcohol.
Seraphiel eagerly took a goblet and after raising the glass high, she declared, "You only live once!" and took a bold swig.
The results of her careless actions showed instantly, hitting this YOLO girl with a mighty sucker punch in the guts. Her eyes widened in horror and her entire body trembled violently before she let out a strangled gasp. She then immediately turned and lunged at my storage ring, tapping on it demandingly.
Seraphiel didn't need to say which item she was looking for—I gave her a high-tier healing potion. She yanked the vial right out of my hand and greedily gulped its contents. The color returned to her face immediately, but the relief was short-lived.
"It's not enough!" she yelped frantically before leaping out of the bath in a panic. I watched her sensually swaying buttocks as she rushed down the stone steps, most certainly looking for her staff to cast healing spells. However, her wet feet slipped on the smooth steps, sending her tumbling forward. I reached out with wind magic, catching her midair before she could crash face-first into the ground.
My cheeky elf dangled there for a moment, wide-eyed, before I gently set her down. "That… never happened!" she decreed with a tinge of embarrassment. I imagine elves don't tend to slip just because their feet are wet. Then, this eccentric woman hurried away in search of her staff.
The entire bath fell silent for a moment before a chorus of laughter erupted from my panions. Vex then turned her gaze toward me. She didn't say anything, but the challenge in her eyes was clear as day.
I refused to back out—I sure as hell wasn't about to let a drink get the better of me. I took a goblet and brought it to my lips.
The moment the liquid touched my tongue, it was as if a blazing inferno erupted in my throat, giving me instant PTSD about the moment I drank the primordial fire elixir.
The issue was that my primordial body had built-in resistance against that substance, but not against this insane concoction. My entire body tensed, and despite my best efforts, my eyes welled up with tears. Nonetheless, I swallowed. Each second seemed to stretch into eternity as the burn intensified with every heartbeat.
I refused to let out a sound, refused to give Vex the satisfaction. I had higher Vitality than Seraphiel, but even more importantly, I had high pain tolerance thanks to the Iris simulation and the multiple painful experiences I lived through since then.
But as the Molten Anvil Mead coursed through me, my vision blurred, and I could feel my own pulse in my skull.
A single tear escaped, streaming down my cheeks.
And then another.
Despite my expecting Vex to look at me with a smug, condescending look while she observed my misery, she instead watched my face with an odd expression—part admiration, part guilt.
She shifted closer, then, without a word, settled herself onto my naked lap, letting me sense her delicate body weigh down on me. Next, both of her hands came up to my face before her fingers gently began brushing away the evidence of my suffering.
"My stubborn man…" Vex mused emotionally while gently stroking my face, her tone was softer than I had ever heard it before. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have put you in this ugly situation."
She reached into her storage ring and retrieved a healing potion. Unlike Seraphiel, I hadn't moved to take one myself, but she didn't seem to care. She brought the vial to my lips, silently urging me to drink.
I considered resisting, but as our eyes met and I stared deeply into her existence, I could only sense warmth oozing from her soul. There was not a single shred of mockery present. Begrudgingly, I parted my lips, letting her pour the liquid down my throat. It quickly began extinguishing the fire that had taken root there.
Vex smiled beautifully while stroking my cheek one last time before leaning back against my chest. "..." For a person who always had something to yap about, her silence spoke volumes. She felt guilty.
"You are an absolute menace, woman..."
Instead of replying, she lifted her goblet to her lips and began taking hearty swigs of it while realizing she probably shouldn't be sitting right on top of my naked shaft with only her thin bath garment separating her most precious place from the slumbering dragon. To that end, she began slipping off to the side to sit next to me, but I grabbed onto her sensual belly with both hands. R̃â𝐍óβĚś
Her body's firmness was moderate—not soft like Aurora's, Jasmine's, and Seraphiel's, but neither as chiseled as Kaelira's or Raika's. She was in the middle ground, athletic yet alluringly feminine, just like most of my warrior women: Ayame, Blossom, Lucille, and Iris.
"… Future hubby?" Vex asked in a low tone. Her voice was no longer uncharacteristically passionate—I could feel a thinly veiled threat in her tone. She did tell me not to get ideas before accepting my invitation to join us in the bath, and I also knew she was an old-fashioned warrioress who wanted me to defeat her in a fair duel before moving forward with our relationship.
As such, I had to dance a dangerous game. With a dejected voice, I revealed, "Your man is still feeling a bit sick, the potion didn't heal me pletely."
"Windlift your healer back here then. She should be just about done rejuvenating herself."
"It's not my body that's wailing with pain, but my soul. And there's only one way to heal injuries to one's very core."
Vex's intensity lessened as she relaxed into my body once again. With an amused tone, she asked, "You want me to call the Consortium's highly regarded mind doctor? I'd been begging Orianna to give her a visit for centuries, to no avail."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… You're cruel, future wife. Oh so cruel… Not only did you challenge me to something you knew would hurt me, but to think you would even refuse to help me recover…" I whimpered with great hurt.
Merry giggling weled my words. "As a longstanding member of a ruthless criminal organization, I've gotten to know a lot of shameless opportunists… Yet you make those people seem charitable. But it appears I'm too much of a gentle soul. You win," she said before shifting her butt on my lap a bit, nestling back in fortably.
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