The atmosphere was… delicate. Silence stretched for a while. Anya’s cheeks burned red as she stepped into the bathroom to freshen up.

“What is happening…” Lirina muttered under her breath, covering her flushed face with her hands.

She should’ve anticipated this awkward situation. She should’ve firmly refused Anya last night! But instead… she ended up sleeping beside her…

Ugh… Anya was just so adorable at that time… she couldn’t think straight.

Lirina suddenly realized something.

No, no… how could Anya have said those things? That expression, that tone… it wasn’t her usual Anya.

Could it be…?

Lirina’s mind flashed back to Anya’s eyes last night, the faint pink glimmer as she stared at her.

Pink…

No way, no way…

Could it be that I… accidentally enchanted Anya?!

The thought brought both exhilaration and worry at the same time.

Exhilaration because she had apparently managed to use a dream spell with a charm effect! That meant she’d stepped slightly out of being a useless succubus!

Worry because… if her dream spell now had a charm effect, then any future hug—or using the spell on Anya—might unintentionally affect her negatively.

But if she didn’t use the spell on Anya, Anya would have nightmares again, and all the happiness they’d built would…

In the end, it was still her fault. If only she could control the layers of her dream magic… then she could cast normal spells that just made someone sleep comfortably.

Lirina grabbed her tiny horns, shaking her tail in frustration.

…That feeling wasn’t vague at all.

Anya brushed her teeth while thinking.

Last night, as drowsiness crept in, she felt Lirina wanted to leave…

After all, Lirina smelled so soft and comfortable… being held or holding each other felt so nice… so naturally, just a tiny, tiny bit of “I don’t want Lirina to leave my side” thought crept in.

Then, in that moment, she realized she’d already spoken and acted on it.

Normally, she’d feel too embarrassed to cling to Lirina like that, but last night… she expressed her desires completely.

Could it be? Could it really be…?

Anya’s right hand froze mid-brush.

Could it be that she… had been enchanted?!

No, that can’t be. Lirina had no intention of that, and she couldn’t even use such magic… right?

Anya rinsed her mouth with water.

No, she needed to ask carefully later.

~~~~~~~~

At the breakfast table.

Both of them had nearly finished their meals when they stopped simultaneously.

“Uhh.” “Eh…”

Their eyes met, then quickly looked away.

“Ah, well, I’ll go first.” Anya blushed, staring at the corner of the wall. “Even though I said not to mention it… but, cough cough, you know, I’m not that kind of person…”

Shame rose, almost choking her. She cleared her throat and continued. “So… there must be a reason… I think I might have been enchanted by you.”

“…” Lirina was silent.

Anya glanced at Lirina, who kept her head down.

Had she said something wrong? Anya wondered. Just as she was about to speak, Lirina suddenly stood up.

“Anya, I’m sorry! It's my fault!” Lirina exclaimed, bowing deeply.

“Huh… huh?” Anya froze. “Why… why suddenly?”

“Because I was too weak… didn’t know how to control the layers of my dream magic…” Lirina maintained the bow. “That’s why you… turned out like that…”

“What… uhh, you, sit down first!” Anya waved her hands urgently.

Lirina sat, her eyes glistening with tears.

“…It didn’t happen like that the previous night.” Anya touched her chin in thought. “Back then, you hadn’t even fully controlled the mana consumption of your dream magic.”

“…I don’t know why either.” Lirina bit her lip. “I didn’t mean to do that to you…”

“I know, I know…” Hearing Lirina’s slightly crying voice, Anya felt a tingle in her heart. “So you just released your dream magic according to your feelings, right?”

Lirina nodded.

“Then… hmm…” Anya frowned. “Last night’s sleep was fine, no problems, dream magic worked… So, could it be that you…”

“Hm?” Lirina looked up.

“You… matured… or something?” Anya asked. “I remember Mr. Ivak calling you the succubus little princess… Lirina, can I ask about your parents?”

“My mother… is the current queen of the succubus clan. I… don’t have a father. I was born using… a special method.” Lirina said.

“…I see.” Anya sighed. “Lirina, your bloodline is extremely strong.”

“Huh? R-really?” Lirina’s eyes widened.

“Yeah. Anyone who becomes the head of a clan must have advantages in their bloodline,” Anya explained. “So even if you never used your succubus power due to your personality, your growth now would be very fast.”

“Uhh…” Lirina touched her little horns.

“…So, without realizing your growth, you used your mana on dream magic as before… which means the hidden power in your bloodline, previously dormant, was partially awakened and used unknowingly… which caused what happened.” Anya thought through it with her top scores from angel school. “That’s roughly the reason.”

“Wow… Anya, you know so much.” Lirina was speechless. She couldn’t have guessed it, but now everything made sense.

“Well… it’s just my guess. But it’s probably about right.” Anya scratched her head.

“Uhh, so… in the future… at night… what do we do?” Lirina asked, worried about the same issue.

“What to do… ah, I see…” Anya blushed. “It… it should just be how it is… it’ll be fine.”

“Eh? So… you, uhh…” Lirina remembered last night’s cat-like Anya.

Just thinking about that made her heart nearly explode.

“So, the dream magic’s effect isn’t affected… You can use this as practice to control your mana. At most, I just… said some embarrassing things.” Anya looked away.

“Anya…” Lirina gazed at the flustered Anya. “So you… used this to help me train my succubus powers? Th-thank you!”

“Hey, I… usually just freeload… so this is one thing I can finally help you with…” Anya felt her face grow even hotter. “…Ugh, anyway, you also have to try harder, or else I’ll be… like that every day… uhh…”

She couldn’t continue.

“Hehe, I understand!” Lirina laughed, lifting her half-full glass of milk. “I’ll do my best so your happiness returns faster!”

“…Uhh.”

That night… there were still complications. Anya restrained herself fully, but even as she almost let go of Lirina, her succubus ability amplified the desire to keep Lirina close…

It felt like, eventually, one blanket would be enough for the bed.

So in the morning, they decided… sleeping while hugging wasn’t so bad?! So if Lirina mismanaged her dream magic again, they could just sleep that way—fighting with willpower was exhausting…

Of course, that didn’t mean giving up on controlling magic—they’d still be shy.

Thursday morning, Lirina packed her things, said goodbye to Anya, and went to school.

She was still processing her feelings—whether to follow her instincts and hug the soft, fragrant Lirina… or respect “personal boundaries” and sleep separately…

Ever since sleeping together, every morning we have been waking up in each other’s embrace…

…Ah, whatever. Shy as it is, it’s still… happy. It won’t change.

Then… it was time.

Anya looked up. “Come out… Mr. Ivak.”

“Normally you shouldn’t sense my presence.” A two-meter-high tear opened in space, and Ivak emerged carrying a package.

━━━━ ❖ ━━━

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