Liana’s eyes widened slightly, though only for a brief moment. The blush in her cheeks looked like it was glowing. Her eyes glittered and watered. They flickered as they pierced into my eyes, and I felt like I could feel it, Liana’s emotion. There was this strong sense of connection between us.

 

“Ayuna…,” she called out again. This time her voice was brimmed with a very intense emotion. It sounded beautiful to my ears. I liked her voice. I like everything about her.

 

Damn, I’d fallen hard, hadn’t I? Had I been a capture target and Liana a player, I would have been captured already. No doubt about that…

 

Looking straight into her eyes with a smile on my face, once again, I felt my heart start beating rapidly. The sense of ease and supreme confidence from earlier started to waver, though the warmth in my heart intensified. I wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t scared.

 

I was… excited. Very much so.

 

I leaned closer and embraced her body, pressing the side of my face on her ample breasts. I could feel her warmth and the smoothness of her skin. I could also feel the rapid movements of her soft breasts—it moved up and down. Her warm breath brushed my head. It felt comfortable. This warmth. I loved it. 

 

I took a breath and could smell a nice fragrance of her body. Seriously, although both of us were very sweaty, there was no bad smell or body odor coming from Liana’s at all. She smelled really good. Like food ready to be eaten…

 

Wait, wait. That sounded wrong. What? A food ready to be eaten?

 

I couldn’t help but giggle at the thought. 

 

“Ayuna..?” Liana suddenly asked, her voice still sounded emotional, as if she had just finished crying. It sounded a bit nasally. I appreciated that. It still sounded wonderful.

 

I pulled back and looked into her eyes again, smiling happily. “Nothing. I was just feeling happy. Very happy that I could finally say what I wanted to say.”

 

That seemed to remind her of reality. This wasn’t a dream. What I’d said to her, that I liked her, wasn’t a mere dream. Liana seemed to realize that just now and her eyes flickered again. But this time, two strands of liquid ran down her rosy cheeks. Her droopy eyes looked at me with intense emotion. I could almost feel this tangible feeling of warmth and love coming from them. I felt truly connected to her at this moment.

 

That allowed a deeper smile on my face. But before I could say anything, this time it was Liana who pulled me into her embrace. It was strong but wasn’t suffocating. It was just a nice, warm embrace.

 

Liana sniffled. “Ayuna… oh… Ayuana…”

 

Deep emotion seemed to rush through her. I wanted to open a screen system and see her affection points but decided against it. That would be the logical thing to do, but it would totally ruin the moment.

 

This wasn’t a game. Maybe it was if there was a system, but I wouldn’t allow it to ruin this moment.

 

We embraced each other for a while. I just let myself relish in this warmth and love. Liana’s sniffling sounded like music to my ears. It felt nice to be in love. I could say it with certainty.

 

I knew we’d just met for only a short while; it didn’t change the fact that I loved her. Maybe it was just an admiration, but that didn’t matter right now. Live in the moment. Enjoy it. That philosophy had gotten me to be true to myself, to my feelings. And this was how I felt. No matter how illogical it might seem, I didn’t care anymore.

 

After a while, we finally separated. Liana looked into my eyes again, her eyes still a bit red from crying. But that didn’t ruin her beauty one bit. She just looked so beautiful.

 

And… so erotic…

 

“Ayuna…” Liana wiped her tears and sniffled. She then looked straight into my eyes, her droopy eyes narrowed warmly, a faint and warm smile on her face. “Me too. I like you too. Very, very much.”

 

My heart skipped a beat. I could feel it thumping in my chest. 

 

Why? I’d already known this. This answer was so obvious. Even if I were to be a very dense idiot protagonist in those novels, what’s written in the system was beyond obvious. But why was my heart still beating so fast upon hearing it coming from Liana’s mouth…?

 

I didn’t think too much about it. There really was no need to. Didn’t I already tell myself that this wasn’t a mere game? This was a reality, and this feeling, this confession, this sense of strong connection, this intense emotion welling up within me, they were all real. All of them.

 

So I’d just let myself drown in it. Relishing this pleasure.

 

So I smiled. A very wide and happy smile filled with emotion.

 

[+ 50 AP]

 

I ignored the system notification and looked straight at Liana. “Let’s get into the bath, shall we?”

 

Liana nodded with a smile. Although her face was still red, she didn’t appear as nervous as before.

 

“You go in first, Liana.” I gestured.

 

“No, you go.” 

 

This woman… I smiled. “No, I insist.” I pushed Liana toward the bathtub. Liana finally gave in and stepped inside. The hot water spilled out of the rim and wet the floor. Liana leaned on one end of the tub. 

 

I nodded with a smile and stepped inside myself. I turned my back toward Liana once again and seated my ass on her thighs once more, leaning my head on her ample breasts.

 

Her body jolted slightly, her hands went toward my shoulders. “A-Ayuna…”

 

I smiled and craned my neck, looking at her. “What can I say, Liana. Sitting on your laps is so comfortable. I think I’m already addicted to it. No, I’m obsessed~”

 

Liana’s eyes widened. She looked completely surprised, and that made me giggle. After a while, she finally snapped out of it and giggled with me. We both just sat there, soaking in hot water, giggling like a pair of idiots.

 

I caught Liana’s hands on my shoulders and guided them to wrap around my body. She gladly did so, and I could feel more warmth enveloping my body, both from the water and from Liana.

 

I leaned my head on her ample breasts and let out a contented sigh, closing my eyes,

 

This was pure bliss. It was wonderful.

 

It didn’t take long for Liana to feel relaxed as well as I could hear a contented sigh coming from behind me, her arms around my body felt more relaxed.

 

For a while, we both just soaked in this blissful moment, drowning ourself in a peaceful pleasure. 

 

After a while, I whispered, “Liana. You know I’m truly thankful to you, right?” 

 

It was like sleep-talking. I didn’t think about anything, just closing my eyes, being in a daze, and just letting the words out.

 

“Yeah. You already told me that…” Liana’s voice sounded the same. Whispery and breathy, as if she was sleep-talking.

 

“You really are… amazing, you know that…?” I felt like being drunk, but I didn’t care. This feeling was nice, very nice, so I let myself drown in it.

 

“You already told me that as well…”

 

“I mean it, you know. You live alone, all by yourself in this dangerous world. Do everything by yourself. Build things. Training. Fighting. You really are… amazing…”

 

“I need to. It’s just what I have to do to stay alive. Though, I’m really glad to have someone appreciate it.”

 

I let out a soft sight. “Liana. This feels so wonderful. Too wonderful, in fact, I feel like I can sleep at any moment now…”

 

Liana giggled. “If you don’t mind me wiping you off and carrying you into bed once we’re done…”

 

I giggled weakly. “Why would I mind? You’re the one who would feel embarrassed…”

 

“Perhaps… but we never know~”

 

I felt a faint smirk on my face, my mind getting clearer. I opened my eyes and shifted my body, turning around and facing Liana. The water swayed and wet the floor once more.

 

“Ayuna…?” Liana also opened her eyes and looked at me.

 

I crept closer, wrapping my legs around her waist and my arms around her neck, looking into her eyes, smirking. “Did you just say we never know?”

 

Liana’s eyes widened as it locked with mine, her mouth agape. “W-Well… that…”

 

I suppressed the giggle and leaned closer, whispering into her ear. “Then why don’t we find out~?”

 

“F-Find out about what?” I could feel her body trembling slightly.

 

My smirk deepened. “Whether you’d be embarrassed wiping my naked body once we’re done~”

 

Liana didn’t say anything. I could feel her warm and ragged breath on my neck.

 

I couldn’t suppress it anymore and let out a giggle. “Geez, you’re acting so cute, Liana~”

 

I kept giggling, and after a while I could hear Liana sighing. “Geez, you really are like a succubus. Maybe you are one~” She giggled.

 

Wait, a succubus? So there was that busty, sexy creature in this world as well? 

 

Hold on, why was I surprised? It wasn’t that strange for such a fantastical world to have that kind of creature as well. It was only natural.

 

I smirked and whispered. “Maybe I am. We never know~”

 

“So you do know what that is,” Liana said. “Honestly, I really want to check these fragments of memory of yours to see to what extent you have lost your memory.”

 

“I remember you told me that before back in the forest. But can you really do that?”

 

“Yes, I can.”

 

“Like using magic or something?”

 

Liana didn’t say anything. 

 

Seriously, I could have sworn everytime I mentioned the word “magic” Liana always went silent like she didn’t want to talk about this topic. But why? I didn’t understand. Was magic a bad thing after all? But Liana was able to use it, right? And she’d said it herself that it wasn’t a bad thing. So what’s with her reaction?

 

I ought to ask her about this, but not right now. I didn’t want to ruin this blissful moment…

 

Silence shrouded the bathroom for a while before Liana continued again.

 

“No. It’s not magic,” she said at last. “I’m just only gonna ask you questions and then you answer truthfully. That way, we can find out what you know and what you don’t. There’s no need to use magic with this kind of thing.”

 

“Why not? Isn’t it easier to use magic to check my mind. Wait, is there magic like that in this world?”

 

Liana paused. “I don’t really know. Though, I did hear or maybe read from somewhere that such magic exists, but it is a very dark magic. Most people won’t appreciate such power.”

 

I nodded against her neck. “I see. That makes sense. Having such a mind-reading ability can be very helpful, but if such power falls into the wrong hands, it can be very dangerous.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Finishing this topic, I didn’t know what to say next, or maybe I didn’t need to say anything. I just allowed myself to enjoy this blissful moment to the fullest. The silence in the air wasn’t really that oppressive; rather, it felt wonderful. I was sure Liana felt the same way as well.

 

It was strange, really. Before this, I expected to feel horny when seeing Liana naked, but when it really came down to it, I didn’t feel such a thing at all. Why? I didn’t know, and I didn’t care to know. This feeling I felt at the moment—this bliss—was so wonderful that I didn’t care about anything else anymore.

 

But still… I wondered—would I still feel the same if we were in the other locations? Like… in bed, perhaps?