I was in front of the door of Yukiria's shop which was closed, so I knocked on the door. Even though dawn has occurred a while ago, I was not expecting Yukiria to be up at this time, that is why I originally wanted to come here at a later time, therefore, I was going to force her awake with the constant sound of knocking. There is also the possibility of her not being inside at the moment, however, considering what I knew about Yukiria's personality, that was highly unlikely.

"What!?" It took about only one minute before she violently opened the door as I planned. Yet, there was a bit of a miscalculation on my part, the door opened outwards, thus my face was met with it. Thankfully, I always keep my [Shield] up, thus I received no physical injuries but I still rubbed my nose.

"Good morning." I shamelessly greeted her ignoring the fact that I cut into her sleep

"What do you want Perv?" angrily asked Yukiria 'Perv? Welp, I guess that is the result of my actions'

"I came here as requested to finish the robot project." I noticed that her appearance looked… rough and that is incredible considering the bodies we inhabit. "Did you even sleep?" was a question I could not utter after what I had done to her, thus I just waited for her to say something.

"Ah… right… right..." She leaned against- correction: she was using the door for support, else it seemed that she would just fall over "Everything is done… except for the…" I kept waiting for her to continue yet no other word was spoken.

"Yukiria?" I received no reply therefore I put my finger under her nose and noticed that her breath was soft and stable signifying that she had passed out while leaning against the door which was pretty impressive. I tried to lightly shake her body to wake her up while calling her name but it did not seem to work as all I received was her nonsensical mumbles.

I was pretty impatient because I wanted to start planning my trip with Nova and there a lot of things to do. Thus, I tried everything gentle enough to not receive repercussion from shaking her body more strongly, snapping my fingers near her ears yet she somehow powered through.

I decided to change my tactics for more brute ones such as pinching her nose 'This isn't working'. The nose isn't the only way one could breathe hence, Yukiria was now breathing through her mouth with not so cute snores.

I couldn't really cover her mouth with my other hand since I was already using it to support her body in case she falls over.

"Yukiria, if you don't wake up right now, I am going to seal your lips with mine." At this point my patience was wearing thin thus my brain was not working properly. I knew it was just me getting worked up but I did not care either way. Either way, my relation with her couldn't get any worse than it already did so I wasn't losing anything.

"I am going to give five seconds. Five… Four… Three… Two… One and a half… One and a quarter 'and of course I would get cold feet right before the real thing even though it was my decision'…… One……...… Three quarters…………Half………………" I got way too embarrassed to the point that I wouldn't have enough courage to do it, thus, I chose to forgo all civility.

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently "Wake up!"

"Wh- Sto-!" it seemed to have worked as she finally said something coherent, although it was cut short because of me

"We were talking about the robot. What else is needed to be done?" I knew that I was being unreasonable but I really wanted to be done with this

"…Let's do it tomorrow." She whined "I want to sleep…" and she started to close her eyes

"I won't allow it until you tell me!"

"Do your worst…" she mumbled and I was not even sure understood what she was talking about

"… Then I'll do it as you wish." I wrapped my right hand around her head to bring it closer to me and used my left one to tilt it so that it faced mine and lastly, I kissed her.

It was a simple kiss with only my lips touching hers. I had no experience in this kind of stuff so this was the best I could do and I believed if I tried something more complex, I might have hurt her. Furthermore, my objective was to wake her up and considering how she reacted to my awful joke last time, this would rile her up. 'But, honestly, I am also taking full advantage of the situation'

As expected, Yukiria's flew open with shock and her retaliation would be imminent, although I couldn't be certain how it will happen, it was best to be prepared. Thus, I increased the strength of my [Shield] which would come at the price of my speed which I really didn't care for since I was resolved to take whatever Yukiria threw at me for the sake of appeasing her anger. Yet, I was proven that my imagination was worthless compared to what was coming…

At first, there was no reaction from her yet, perhaps from shock, and I did not know what to do next so I kept my position. Then she suddenly narrowed her eyes and reciprocated, no worse…

She hugged me real close to her with her arms while her hands were exploring my back, caressing where they could reach while leaving traces of heat as they passed. Her tongue parted my mouth open and attacked my tongue violently leaving me out of breath.

My [Shield] was useless in this situation as her "attacks" were too gentle for it to properly activate and my brain had long turned to mush rendering my focus into dust. Not to mention that my usual strength in which I take pride in was failing me. In other words: I was checkmated in front of this sweet yet foreign sensation.

Finally, she calmed down and our lips separated. I took this opportunity to take regulate my breathing and I noticed that my breath was hot and seemed to fog at the contact of ambient temperature. Although my lips were released, our bodies were still glued together.

"It's your fault." I heard her say

However, hearing and understanding were two different things. In my condition all I could do was raise my head to look at her and question her but all that got out of my mouth was "Huh…?" Even gazing at her was difficult as my eyes were so teary that she was all blurry to me and I could not clear them away with hands since her hug was preventing me, therefore, I tried to blink the tears away.

For some reason, I felt her body stiffen "Come with me." and then, before I even took notice, I was already inside her bedroom with Yukiria devouring me on top of the bed while taking off my clothes, her own being already gone. Them being similar to modern casual clothes on Earth gave Yukiria no problem and slowly but steadily, they were being tossed away. However, she did not forget to keep attention to my body and to my shame, moans escaped my mouth in front of her technique.

Our bodies intermingled each other for what seemed an eternity yet at the same time an instant. Yukiria proved herself to be more ravenous than I could ever be and possessed the lead. She guided me through a wild ride with many lows and highs by kissing, licking, nibbling, biting, touching, caressing, groping, pinching and rubbing. Not necessarily in that order and often times synchronized. I lost myself in it that, halfway through, my stance was no longer passive and I also aided into providing the fuel for the fire we created until the beast finally fell from sheer exhaustion.

However, unlike her, I was more awake than ever but I would have no right to bother her as her rest is well deserved 'after all, in a way, she defeated me. I also need so time to think.'.

'Well, I was taken for a ride. Really did not expect this.' I looked at Yukiria peaceful face and could not understand how she and the person a few moments ago were the same. 'She did say that she had a boyfriend, but she had sex with… then that must mean that is bisexual. Weird… But I guess I am also weird since I was man before………

I guess it is time to face it… I always brushed the topic off for a long time, but this event just put the last nail in the coffin and poured molten metal over it to make sure it never opens…… I am a woman…' I was basically stating the obvious at this point since I've lived for almost a month with this body, but knowing wasn't the same as accepting. The change that happened to me wasn't a simple swap of the body, it was a fundamental transformation of myself, both in mind and body. However, what I couldn't accept the most was my lack of care. I should be furious and filled with despair for being imposed onto such fate, yet there was nothing. If anything, there was resignation over my attitude. Although, that is a reason for why I could not accept it, the main one was all the losses I've had 'I lost my family, friends, my home, my job… Basically, I have lost years of my life… It is not wrong to say that the me from before died that day.'

I looked over to Yukiria and checked if I had disturbed her during that whole thing but she seemed to be out cold. It was a bit comical that she still did not let me go even after passing out. I moved my body to be facing her and hugged her closer to my chest which she took very well as she the strength of hers increased. 'It seems that she also likes chests' I jokingly thought to myself. 'But just as I lost, I also gained something: I got a strong and healthy body that is much better than my old gamer body, not that I regret it; for some reason I am starting my own family with Nova as my daughter which I always believed to be something impossible because of my own personality; The plans for the house are proceeding along; This town is starting to feel like home; And perhaps-' I glanced at Yukiria 'but that is still not yet set in stone... I feel that I can finally move on, knowing that the future holds hope for me. I can finally accept who I have become, that I am Craven Ethereum.' I waited for a few moments to let my last thoughts get ingrained in my spirit.

With that, my reflection of this topic was over. I would never be hung up on this topic ever again and I would focus on creating a better future for me and for my loved ones.

'Now what should I do?' I could just up and leave but I didn't really want to leave Yukiria like this and I wasn't in the mood to do anything else. Therefore, the answer was to wait for her to naturally wake up. I had no will to sleep, rather, I was wide awake, therefore, I chose to just close my eyes and immerse myself in the feeling of caressing her hair.

.

.

I felt her stir so I opened my eyes to see Yukiria opening hers just close them back again and snuggling against me 'false alarm'. Actually, I would love her to stop doing that since it brings me needless anxiety as I am expecting a very serious talk once she's up. Just as I was about to return to my previous state, Yukiria opened her eyes wide open as shock surfaced on her face then she looked up into my eyes.

"Good-" I glanced at the window "afternoon."

"…" she did not say anything back and just sat up on top of the bed seemingly crestfallen. She grabbed her head with her hands and let out a deep sigh. Then she started getting up and finally addressed me.

"…This…" she stared awkwardly before clearing her throat "This was a mistake… Just think of it as a one-time deal and forget about it." Unlike the normal bubbly Yukiria, her voice sounded distant and cold as she relayed that declaration.

I sat up on the bed and tilted my head at her words. It was my first time being in this kind of situation and I did not know what was best course of action so I decided to remain true to my emotions "That is fine with me, but on one condition."

Yukiria frowned "What kind of condition?"

"It's nothing too hard. Rather you can do it right now."

"Out with it." She barked with hostility 'Girl, what did I do?'

I smiled "I am not yet satisfied."

Now it was her turn to be taken back "What?"

"No, you heard me. Our session was good." I paused for a moment "However, it ended way too fast." I said disappointed

"What?" it seemed that her thought process entered a loop which caused me to shake my head

Before her brain could finally understand, I activated the [Puppetry] spell to grab Yukiria who released a scream and tossed her on top of me not forgetting to cushion her fall for the sake of us both. I changed my position with her so that I was on top and also to not allow her any chance of escaping.

"What am I saying is simple." I gently kissed her lips before she even reacted and started talking in a sultry voice 'or what I think it is' "Finish the job that you started, our one-time deal is not yet over until you satisfy me~." Now, I awaited her answer

A minute or so later, she gulped and finally declared "Fine." With a resolute expression on her face which would be many times more believable if her focus was on my eyes and not down. Then she revealed a ferocious smile "I'll make sure to quench your appetite until you can no longer stand. With that you will keep your promise." She appeared that would not take a "No" for an answer.

I laughed heartily. I couldn't contain it.

"Wha- Why are you laughing?" Of course, Yukiria would be confused by my reaction but it was so hilarious. Although I wouldn't let her go easily, she could at least have tried to walk away after she got me like this 'If she was against it, I would definitely let her go. I am against rape, after all'. However, she walked right in with no questions asked. 'Does she even realize that she is a massive pervert?'

I regained control of myself and decided to divert her attention "That is quite impossible."

"What?"

"You see Yukiria, I don't tire."

"What?" she repeated the same question once again

"There is no more need for more words, is there?" I licked my lips, her eyes following my tongue "You satisfy me and I will forget. I promise."

"Indeed. Let's get this over with."

I leaned my head close to her but did nothing more. I believed that if I moved, she would remain passive. Therefore, I waited for her to kindle the flame.

Time seemed to have frozen as neither party moved but with the coxing of my micro-movements rubbing against her body and my breath near her face, Yukiria hesitatingly wrapped her arms around my neck which caused me to involuntary moan from the expectation alone. Her whole body seemed to stiffen at my voice but, unlike the beast from earlier as I was expecting to come out, she made no further movement which caused me to tilt my head confusion.

I looked into her eyes and saw uncontrollable lust yet, it seemed to be mixed with a deep-rooted trepidation. In my eyes, she looked as if she was trying to chain something that she wanted free.

It could all have been my imagination since I was the dense type in relation to emotions yet I felt so sure. I did not really understand for why I could decipher her but if she needed a push…

I kissed her once more. It was more a peck than a kiss with the purpose of redirecting her attention on me then moved back a little so that she could see my gentle smile "There is no need to be afraid. Go ahead." I said as I caressed her hair

Yukiria was like a child probing water at first but once she dipped her feet in, she was like a fish freely swimming with no barriers detaining her.

The flames burned bright but it was different from the first time. Before, they were violent raging blaze as if someone who was starved for an entire week finally had the long-awaited feast. Now it was a warm fire that sways with the wind.

.

.

After a long battle, as expected, I emerged victorious and gladly took my prize of stretching my stiff body. To begin with, it wasn't a fair fight for Yukiria. It was like a battle of mortals against immortals, no matter how skilled or strong you they are, if the immortals do not die, it is basically pointless. Although, thinking like that is also wrong because she definitely did satisfy me, but I could go for much longer. However, it is better not to do so since, as the saying goes, in small quantities, it is medicine, in large, it is the poison 'or something along those lines'. Therefore, I will not go too far with it. 'Not to mention, it seemed that I get most of my pleasure from witnessing my partner's own pleasure because of my actions'

Nevertheless, Yukiria also seemed to have won something from that battle from the peaceful expression she wore on her face 'I probably surprised her for a moment there during the performance'

Unlike the first act, I had some experience and knowledge and I felt that I could improve on it because of one basis: We are not human anymore. I bathed Yukiria in soul energy but not just wrapping her body in it, I moved the energy as if gently massage her with it, both inside as the outside, and her reaction was a prize in on itself. Obviously, Yukiria herself quickly retaliated by doing the same inciting a great wave of euphoria from me. 'To be wrapped in each other souls… Hmm, how romantic yet at the same time hot that sounds'

I carefully got up from the bed since I did not want to wake Yukiria up 'although I think she's out cold once again' not forgetting to snatch another kiss 'I really enjoy kisses'. First of all, I started grabbing my clothes, the ones that Yukiria gladly took off. I sniffed them and decided that I should probably wash them despite not smelling too bad, then I put them in the inventory.

'Now what should I do?' I really had the urge to clean up the room and also to prepare breakfast for Yukiria, it felt like good manners. However, I didn't have any food left in the inventory, except for white bread for some reason and lots of juice of different fruits thanks to my sweet tooth. I usually bought food in bulks so that it could last for months and it seemed that that the last batch was finished last week. Thus, I could only get food from the daily cooking at the inn or buy it from some store once it is available or procure it myself.

I also wanted to take a bath. However, I did not know if there was running water or a bath at all hence, that was the first thing to check as it was of most importance.

Walking around naked did not really suited me so I compromised and decided to reluctantly wear the clothes I wore before. Since I was bare, I had to coat the exterior of my body in energy, then switch it with the clothes and boom, I was done dressing up. Afterwards, I started looking for a bathroom on the first floor since there was a higher chance of being there than at the ground floor where the shop section was located.

.

.

In the end, my assumptions were wrong and found out that the bathroom was on the ground floor. Apparently, the same floor was divided in two sections, one for the shop and the other one was for kitchen, bathroom and dining room, and I completely missed it.

Anyways, I did not find a bath but a shower which was totally okay with me since I prefer showers over baths 'baths are totally overrated'. I checked if there was running water and was pleasantly surprised that the answer was positive. On another note, I did not see anything resembling a washing machine so if I wanted the clothes cleaned, I had to do it the old-fashioned way 'aka my way'.

The shower, which I enjoyed every bit of it, went with no problems and other than give me an odd craving for shampoo and body soap. While I was at it, the clothes were cleaned beside me inside a spinning [Water ball].

I dried them myself and the clothes with fire energy and decided to use different, more hunter/stealth like clothes as it was impossible to get any food at this time of the day, hence I was going to secure it myself by hunting some animal. I also brought out a rapier for the sake of striking my prey's vital points and quickly killing it. I could use a bow but knowing that my aim with it was not up to the standards of hunting, I decided best not and just go close and personal.

I exited the store, since I had no key for it, I left the door unlocked hoping that nothing would happen during my adventure outside and started making my way to the forest by jumping from roof to roof which is technically illegal since nobody likes having people stepping over their houses. However, I 'and many others' don't really care about that and just do it anyway stealthily by mainly using air spells like [Hush] and [Gale] to assist my jumps and muffle my falls while making sure to not create an air current from my speed, hence I am not really committing a crime since nobody has any evidence of me doing it.

As I neared the boundary between the town and the forest, I noticed multiple parties of Vanguards staying a few ways away from each other surrounding the town sat by a campfire each so they were very obvious. Meaning that there was a high chance that they were replacing the wall that should be protecting the town from all the outer dangers as it didn't exist yet since the town has not stopped growing to house everyone thus it couldn't be built. Probably because I was the early to bed and rise type, I never really noticed them. However, I did not understand why they were only doing it during the night. 'Not enough people, perhaps? So, they can't do day and night shifts'

I reached the final building before the forest where I stopped for a moment and crouched down to charge my strength for a big jump. How big? Big enough that I won't be found by them for no other purpose than so that they don't find me. It's a habit that I possess: Every time I exit a non-hostile zone, I try to mask my whereabouts as best as possible to prevent hunting parties with me in mind as the prey.

Thus, I charged air energy inside and around me and jumped while using [Ascending gale] with [Feather fall] while being careful to create gusts of wind and energy fluctuations that would alert my presence to anybody. Once I reached the highest point of my jump, I switched the angle of [Ascending glade] to start gliding towards the forest.

As I was passing by, I scanned the nearby Vanguards but they seemed to not have any change in their behavior. 'Seriously guys. I may know that your job is to stand guard in that position during long hours with no entertainment to pass time other than small talk but you need to up your game or else…' I thought that to myself ignoring the fact that I was using it to my advantage and that I had trained myself extensively in stealth for various reasons.

It was nighttime and although my eyes allowed me to see with some clarity on this moonless night, it was not perfect and there was no night vision spell 'at least that I know of'. Meaning that sight could not be reliably used during this time. Therefore, I had to rely more on other senses to have environmental cognition of my surroundings which includes energy. [Soul pulse] and [life pulse] where out of the equation since they are akin to flares that light up the night sky and inform everyone who cares and even somewhat intelligent beasts of the user's position when casted. Since I intended to this quick and quiet, I opted by using one of most basic spells of the air system: [Breeze].

That spell, all it does is creating a breeze in an area. However, the same spell will contain an almost undetectable small amounts of my energy thus making me aware of where it is spreading and if I feel something move within the spell irregularly, then I would have detected my target. There are, of course, a few downsides to this spell: First, all I can feel is the air which means that anything other than the air, like the earth, I would be ignorant of and if something moved within the spell, I would assume that it is a living being without any real proof 'it could be a some kind of decoy for all I know'; Second, the spell contains little energy, thus it will quickly dissipate and if I wanted to cover the most ground with it, I would have to create a great gust of wind with me in the center. There are a few other downsides but those were the main ones.

Although, I believed that I wouldn't find one near town. Therefore, first I would need to be some ways far from town, thus, I kept moving with the wind following me and once I felt that I was at sufficient distance from town, I started moving at an adequate speed on the top of the trees for the [Breeze] spell work just fine without alerting the prey of its doom.

It wasn't long until I found something and according to the hunting rules, I believed that I could kill it. The hunting rules exist not to protect these creatures but to protect the natural power balance and to not bring the attention of unwanted beings out there for nearby settlements. The worst type being those that are strong and with high birth rate.

Anyways, the creature that I found was an armored boar 'that is the best way to describe it'. Although its armor is not metal but chitin or some kind of material akin to it which was protecting its vital points and even though that also included its head, it was more weaponizing it than protecting. However, it seemed that the armor also had some gaps that I could exploit.

All that information came from the [Breeze] spell caressing its body and thankfully, it appeared to not have alerted it while it was eating whatever it was eating. The problem though, is that according to my experience this creature was earth elemental meaning that my plan of bleeding it to death was not going to really work since they can make makeshifts bandages that cover the wound. 'Then again, maybe it won't since this is another world it may not even do the same things as back in Obsidian…'

The reason for why I wanted to bleed it to death was because meat will start to smell bad if the blood wasn't properly drained after the beast being killed and one of the best ways to do it was by attacking its main arteries or, if possible, the heart.

My rapier could reach its heart if it would stay still while I was stabbing it which is highly unlikely and since aiming for the arteries may not be effective, the only way left was to go for the kill then bleed the corpse out.

Thus, to enact my plan, I wielded my rapier and charged it with soul energy. If I wanted to kill it in a clean manner, I would have to do it in a single strike if possible. Therefore, without making a sound I went to a position on the ground level where I could quickly rush at the beast.

'Now, should I bring its attention somewhere else with a distraction or just go at it?'

I decided to go with the latter since the distraction would just raise its level of vigilance so, I charged air energy at my feet and changed my posture in preparedness of a rushing start. With all the preparations ready, I charged at the boar using [Air dash], a spell that propelled me forward by expelling air from my feet while having a wind current pushing my back.

The beast, as expected from a being living in a violent environment such as this forest, noticed my charge, even though I did it to be as silent as possible, and quickly positioned itself facing me with its head tilted down, ready to face me head on. I was not undermined by the confidence it oozed and kept rushing it until I was in attack range and with [Soul hold], I stopped immediately and I watched the boar attempting to bash me with its head right at the moment when it believed I would strike. On the contrary to what it foresaw, such movement sealed its fate as its posture was broken with no way of preventing my real attack.

I moved my body to a position with a better angle and thrusted the rapier at one of its most important weak points, its eye socket. True to its appearance, it was a type of beast focused on defense, I could feel the resistance even as I thrusted the rapier into one of its softest parts meaning that it was using an earth-based body enhancement spell. However, such spell could not protect it from me as I was much stronger thus my weapon went unhindered deeper into its skull until I felt that I did enough damage and quickly dashed away from the boar with the rapier ready for more combat. However, that was unneeded as the beast fell over, signaling its death.

Seeing no further movement from it 'just being careful', I released my breath as the tension fell down. "Phew… Now that it is done, let's get started." I shook off the biological matter from the rapier and put it back in my inventory

I try to berate myself constantly to not get myself conceited even if I am strong to not bring my own downfall. Therefore, I take every battle seriously even if the opponent is clearly bellow me as appearances are deceitful 'something I learned from experience'. However, that is also a double-edged blade as it brings me more mental fatigue for each battle.

I was going to process the corpse right here, so I used the [Air dome] spell to cut off the airflow from this place to not have the blood attract other hungry beings with the smell of blood. With earth energy, I raised three pillars around the body with chains that connected them to it and raised the corpse. Afterwards, I made a hole under it and took a dagger best suited for this type of work.

First of all, I used [Inspect] to check if it was edible and the answer that I received was positive 'I think' and with that, I started hacking away. Apart from some internal organs, nothing from this corpse was going to be wasted. It is a way to respect the fallen animal as life was not cheap. I will keep all the meat inside my inventory where it wouldn't go bad and everything else was going to be sold.

As I was working, I thought to myself 'Man, [Inspect] is really useful. Seriously, how come I never heard of it? Although, the instances where I would use it were far between since I normally research things a bit before actually using them, it would be good to know it nonetheless…' I sighed a bit at my own incompetence 'Let's move on to more important matters: Will Yukiria be satisfied with roasted meat sandwich with juice as a drink after long hours of intense exercise after not eating anything for… who knows how long?' My brain could not figure out the answer so- 'Well, let's just do it and see.'