"Nothing."
Kurose Akira hesitated for a moment, then turned his head toward Lucia, trying to change the subject."Where did you go just now?"
"Drank too much coffee."
Lucia answered casually, her tone seemingly indifferent. Yet the pair of golden-red eyes hidden beneath the white veil never left Akira for even a second.
Cough, cough—
Akira let out an awkward cough, his gaze instinctively drifting away.
At this moment, when it came to Lucia's hidden character quest, Akira found himself unsure how to proceed. From Lucia's perspective, he had no idea what was written inside the envelope, nor did he know the true cause of death of that golden great dragon.
Because of that, Akira honestly didn't know how he was supposed to comfort her.
The last time he could remember trying to comfort a girl dated back to before his transmigration—and the person he'd comforted then was his older sister…
Cough, cough—
"Lucia, about that letter…"
Akira decided to carefully steer the topic back toward her.
"I already tore it up," Lucia replied coldly, her voice calm to the point of sounding deliberately restrained, as if suppressing something churning beneath the surface.
Akira also noticed that when he looked directly at her, her gaze would unconsciously dodge his.
"If it's torn, then it's torn," he said, forcing a neutral tone."It's almost six in the evening. Aren't you going back to the Church of Light?"
"There's nothing going on in the church today. I want to stay here a bit longer—can't I~?"
As Lucia spoke, she glanced toward the guild's hot spring room. She clearly intended to bathe before returning to the Church of Light.
After all, bathing here at Akira's place didn't involve nearly as many tedious rituals.
At the Church of Light, the attendants would insist on preparing all kinds of unnecessary things, wasting her time.
And besides… there was more fun to be had here.
"S-sure~" Akira said with a small smile, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Lucia didn't say anything more and headed straight for the hot spring room.
Akira watched her retreating figure, then fell into deep thought, pondering how he could have a more meaningful conversation with her.
Maybe… he could ask Ivesa and the others for advice.
With that in mind, he went to find Ivesa, who was sitting in the hall holding a holy scripture.
At the moment, Ivesa wasn't piously chanting scripture at all—she was studying light magic with intense focus, clearly trying to strengthen herself enough to suppress Akira's holy power.
Ever since Akira had learned partial dragon-kin transformation, she had completely lost her advantage over him in terms of life-attribute magic.
As a succubus, she naturally couldn't accept losing to a mere human so easily.
And so, Ivesa had become even more diligent, determined to reclaim her pride!
"Ivesa?"
Akira called softly and sat down beside her.
"Yes, Mr. Akira? Do you need something?" Ivesa set the scripture aside and asked, puzzled.
"Ivesa… do you know how to comfort a girl?"
Akira asked earnestly, hoping she might offer some useful advice.
"Comfort a girl?"
Ivesa paused, thinking for a moment, then replied decisively,"Lick her~"
"..."
A flash of confusion crossed Akira's face. It was painfully obvious that Ivesa meant literally licking—not emotional reassurance.
"And… anything else?"
"Stuff her—"
"Okay, okay, stop."
Akira cut her off immediately.
He'd realized that Ivesa's advice probably only applied to succubi—and absolutely not to normal girls.
So he decided to look elsewhere for something more… applicable.
But when he thought about the rest of the guild members—
Lotherin probably wasn't good at comforting people; you could tell just from how she spoke with her niece, Loshia.As for Marei Rhine… she was practically a problem child herself, let alone someone who could console others.
Maybe Alice would have some insight?
Akira looked over—and saw Alice and Viola bathing the Demonflame Silver Phoenix Butterfly together…
Wait.That thing was an elemental construct made of fire.It could… take a bath?
"…Never mind. I'll figure something out myself."
Akira rubbed his nose again, deciding to rely on his own judgment and see if he could complete Lucia's hidden quest.
Just then, Nata—who resided within the Soul Crystal Orb—seemed to sense his distress. She emerged from the orb, gently swaying her dragon tail as she asked,"Mr. Akira, is something troubling you?"
Nata's appearance filled Akira with an inexplicable sense of relief, like a ray of hope breaking through the clouds.
"Nata, do you know any ways to comfort a girl?" he asked.
"That depends on why she's sad," Nata replied.
"Probably because of longing for someone who has passed… and guilt."
"And what kind of existence was that person to her?"
"Something like a mentor. Or a mother figure."
"I understand."
Nata nodded, then stepped lightly closer to Akira. Leaning in, she spoke softly by his ear,"I'm not sure whether this will help, but… you could try filling the emptiness in her heart. In your own way. Use one emotion to compensate for another."
"…That actually makes some sense."
Akira mulled over Nata's words again and again. The concept was still a bit vague, but he understood one thing—this was something he'd have to experience firsthand.
After all, everything had a first time.
"Thank you. I think I know what to do now."
With renewed confidence, Akira headed toward the hot spring room.
Today—he would complete Lucia's hidden quest!
"Mr. Akira?"
Nata froze in place.She… wasn't finished speaking yet!
In the blink of an eye, Akira was already standing at the door to the hot spring room. He pushed it open and stepped inside.
Steam filled the room, thick and swirling, like a dreamscape.
"Lucia?" he called softly.
"What are you doing here?"
Lucia, soaking in the hot spring, frowned slightly when she saw him barge in, a trace of irritation surfacing on her face.
The last incident had been an accident—she'd been affected by an abnormal holy attribute and needed Akira's help.
But that didn't mean he was free to walk in while she was bathing!
"Lucia, about what was written in that letter—"
Akira stepped closer. She was still wearing that golden garment, which would vanish the moment it soaked fully into the spring.
"You don't need to care about that matter. It would be best if you forgot it completely. Do you understand?"
Lucia shot him a cold glance, her tone edged with frost.
Akira's gaze tightened slightly.It seemed his relationship with Lucia still wasn't anywhere near intimate.
But as the guildmaster, how could he just stand by and watch a guild member suffer?
What he didn't realize was that Lucia's words were actually telling him to hurry up and forget the fact that she used to wet the bed as a child.
"Lucia, if there's anything bothering you, you can tell me. As the guildmaster, I'll listen to your worries." Akira said seriously.
"..."
Lucia merely glanced at him. A complex emotion flickered through her golden-red eyes.
After a brief hesitation, she finally spoke."There's no need."
Akira's heart sank.
Lucia's inner world was seriously hard to break into.
Just as he was running out of ideas, Lucia looked at him again, as if weighing something deep within herself.
After a long silence, she slowly said,"I don't know why you want to comfort me. But if you truly intend to…"
Her voice trailed off.
Lucia rose from the clear spring water, droplets sliding down her body, her wet skin glowing with an alluring sheen.
"…Have a drink with me."
With a light flick of her finger, a stone table appeared, along with a bottle of wine shimmering with golden light—and two exquisite glass cups.
Akira nodded and sat across from her.
But once seated, he found it impossible to look away from her.
Her snow-white body was wrapped only in that thin golden garment. Strategically placed golden dragon scales concealed certain private areas—yet somehow made her even more tantalizing.
"Drink. And stop staring at me."
Lucia shot him a warning glance.
"Mm…"
Akira lifted his glass, but his eyes still drifted back to her face.
Her white hair was soaked, clinging to her pale skin. The heat of the spring tinted her cheeks pink, making her unbearably seductive. Under the lamplight, her golden-red eyes shimmered, as if they could steal one's soul.
His throat went dry.
Akira poured himself a glass and downed it in one gulp, trying to calm himself.
It didn't help.
Another glass!
"Pretty good tolerance?" Lucia asked softly.
"Not really." Akira shook his head. He wasn't great with alcohol.
"Is that so?"
Lucia smiled faintly, lifted her glass, and took a small sip."If you get drunk, I'll help you to bed."
"..."
Akira said nothing. He simply refilled Lucia's glass.
There wasn't much conversation between them—just quiet drinking.
As they drank, Lucia would occasionally drift off, clearly lost in memories of something long past.
After several glasses, Akira's vision started to blur. His mind was still conscious, but not enough to pass out.
What puzzled him was that the wine in the bottle never seemed to decrease.
Was this… Lucia's magic too?
"What kind of wine is this?"
Akira glanced at the bottle, confused, and poured himself another glass.
But when he went to refill Lucia's cup—he found that she had already turned into a small, collapsed mess.
"Drunk?"
Akira frowned slightly. He'd thought her tolerance was high. She went down after just a few glasses?
"Lucia?"
He stood up and gently shook her, but there was no response. With no other choice, he reached out and picked her up.
Just as he was about to carry her toward the bedroom, Lucia suddenly opened her golden-red eyes behind the white veil and stared straight into his.
"Y-you're awake?"
Akira looked confused. Why did she suddenly—
Before he could finish the thought, Lucia buried her face into his chest.
Warm, wet drops spread across his clothes.
Akira froze. He looked down at her—
Tears shimmered in those golden-red eyes. Her lips trembled slightly.
"She's… crying!?"