Around midnight, Shichen brought Aqua back.
He set her on the bed. Seeing her furrowed brows and tear-streaked cheeks, he couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.
A moment ago, Aqua had actually cried from the pain.
She really cried—wailing like a child. She was that afraid of pain.
Shichen had worked hard just now—healing her while exerting himself.
Of course, he didn't mind. He had to admit, as expected of a goddess, the feeling was completely different. With others, what satisfied him was more mental than physical; with Aqua, the physical outweighed the mental. After all, apart from her brain, Aqua was practically perfect. But he couldn't just ignore the "brain" part.
Still, Aqua didn't act like a water goddess at all—she couldn't even compare to Darkness. Maybe she was simply too pain-sensitive to relax and enjoy it. He'd just have to find another chance to try again.
He looked at the sleeping Aqua, brushed her damp bangs aside, smoothed her frown, then left for Darkness's room. He still wasn't satisfied—Aqua had kept crying and fussing.
To his surprise, Darkness was still awake.
"Shichen, you really came!" she exclaimed, sitting up.
He noticed she wore nothing; when the quilt slipped, her fair, delicate collarbone showed, and the two "cherry blossoms" were conspicuously on display. Shichen pressed his lips together; he wasn't especially interested in those at the moment—he'd just "tasted" Aqua's.
"Did you know I was coming?"
"No, but I kept wondering if you would…"
Her cheeks flushed as she spoke, and she lifted the quilt again—still wearing nothing. In the dim room, her long, pale legs almost seemed to glow. Shichen's eyesight was excellent; the darkness didn't hinder him—he could see her most intimate place, the soft, downy hair, all quite clearly.
"Looks like you were expecting me," he said, stepping to the bedside.
"N-no…" Darkness denied, unconvincingly.
"Oh? Then I'll head back." He paused and started to turn.
"Don't!" Darkness hurried off the bed and hugged his legs. His legs finally got the same treatment his arms usually did.
"F-fine, I was looking forward to it, okay?" she admitted shyly, looking up at him.
"There we go. No need to play the tsundere," he teased, pinching her chin.
"Mm… y-you're always bullying me… I—I'm the Dustiness family's lady, you know…"
"So you want me to treat you like a noble?"
"N-no need…"
"You only talk tough."
"Mm… s-say more things like that. It… unexpectedly feels good!" Darkness said, oddly excited.
"Hopeless," he muttered.
Huff—huff—
"Anyway, time's short; I can't let you wait for nothing. Let me first see how 'stubborn' that mouth is."
"Okay!" Darkness started to stand.
"That's not what I meant by 'mouth.'" He pressed her head down.
"Eh?" Darkness froze, not understanding.
He said nothing, just looked down at her in silence. From his gaze and angle, Darkness immediately understood. A thrill ran through her; she nodded hard. "I—I get it! Sit here first."
"Mm."
Shichen nodded and sat on the bed. Darkness stayed kneeling, her head level with his thighs. She busied herself removing his "gear," then lowered her head. Shichen stroked her silky blond hair, closed his eyes, and lay back. The room was otherwise silent, save for the occasional wet, slurping sound—who knew what "nutritious treat" she was eating.
It was only halfway through the night—seemingly long, yet maybe not enough for the two of them. Still, Megumin and the others weren't early risers.
Shichen and Darkness didn't sleep at all. Darkness went from being unable to speak to crying out loudly, all the way until dawn. At last, she fell into a deep sleep. She'd had her fill all night—on both fronts.
Shichen didn't stay; he went back to his own room and slept hugging Frieren. He didn't actually need sleep, but after all that effort, a nap wasn't a bad idea.
…
Near noon, he finally woke up satisfied. The room was quiet; no one had disturbed him. To his surprise, Frieren was still in his arms—though she'd woken earlier and was lying on her side, nestled against him, reading manga. If her eyesight were at all affected, he'd have scolded her.
"Morning, Frieren." He let go of her soft, warm body and sat up.
"Mm." Frieren didn't move.
"That flat?" he asked.
"What else?" She set the manga down and gave him a look. "You were hugging me the whole time, interrupting my reading. Isn't a flat response justified?"
"Fair point…"
"Go cook! It's already noon, and I'm hungry," she urged, picking up the book again.
"You really are… fine." He shook his head and started to get up. But seeing her sprawled like that, he still scooped her into his arms and pecked her small lips.
"…You haven't brushed your teeth," Frieren said with a frown.
"Neither have you," he grinned.
"Alright, alright—go make lunch."
"Okay."
He propped her against the headboard, then left the room.
He didn't see the others outside, and the living room downstairs was empty too. Looked like everyone was still in their rooms. Darkness definitely hadn't gotten up; Aqua probably hadn't either. Megumin was certainly sleeping in. Even Yunyun sleeping in surprised him a bit.
He didn't rush to wake them—he'd check when the food was ready.
First was Yunyun; sure enough, she was lazing in bed, explaining she'd relaxed too much after coming home. Megumin was the same—simply too lazy to get up even if hungry. The beds at home really were too comfortable. With winter not yet here, a warm, cozy bed was like a sealing spell—impossible to resist.
Darkness really was still asleep; Shichen chose not to be gentle—two sharp smacks on her rear woke her with a yelp. He left immediately, because instead of getting angry, she looked thrilled, hoping he'd do it again. Not the reaction he wanted from a spanking, so he certainly wasn't going to indulge her.
Lastly, Aqua. When he entered her room, she was awake, lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling.
"Aqua? What are you doing?" he asked at her bedside.
"Shichen… yesterday… we really did it," she said, cheeks flushed.
"You thought it was a dream?"
"I—I'm a goddess, and I did that with you… and it hurt so much. You could've been gentler," she pouted.
"Ahem, it's not like you don't know how this goes."
"I didn't think it would hurt that much. So weird."
He didn't say what he was thinking—that she was just sensitive to pain.
"My fault. I'm sorry," Shichen said.
"It's not… entirely your fault," Aqua murmured, embarrassed.
"I'll be gentler next time."
"N-next time…" Aqua blinked, her face even redder.
"Will it hurt more?" she asked nervously.
"No. You know how this works."
"Oh… then when?" she asked, half expectant, half anxious.
"When you've recovered," he said, ruffling her blue hair.
"Okay… I don't think I can move at all today," she frowned.
"It's fine, I can heal you."
"Then hurry—heal me. I don't want Megumin and the others to notice."
"Why?"
"B-because it's embarrassing…"
He chuckled, slipped a hand under the covers, and began to heal her.
"W-wait—why are you touching me?"
"It works better this way."
"Since when? Don't… massage… mm, I can heal myself."
"Let me handle it."