Reasonably speaking, there is no logical explanation as to why I felt so at ease spending my time with Crimson. But regardless, that's exactly how more days passed by; days comfortably spent with my girlfriend in her cozy home.

  After that dinner, after that night, for some unknown reason, I felt… so weirdly at peace. I felt even more… attached to her. Yes, attached. That is the right word. Inexplicably.

  I hate this girl… Being in a relationship really is exhausting! How does she have the same power my mother had over me, and I find myself having none instead? The mere thought of it made me furious! And, of course, at the same time, it was more than enough to make me sigh.

  Well, nonetheless… I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it thoroughly just like the egoistic, spoiled little girl I once was, basking in my mother's comfort; now, instead, in Crimson's comfort and warmth… and questionable, affectionate love acts.

  Perhaps she was right; I'm fine with pretty much everything as long as it gives me what I desire, and that is probably why I found myself with nothing to counterattack. I just like basking in comfort.

  I truly am nothing but a slave to comfort!

  Just like that, the day to get up with the intention of heading to Goldenovum finally came! I woke up surrounded by the now familiar warmth Crimson gave me, the warmth of which I had become fond.

  "Hey, sleepyhead."

  So damn comfortable… "Crimson…"

  In the end, I simply settled on calling her by her name, as 'sugar' seemed too powerful. Which, to tell the truth, might've worked in my favor, but not if she got used to it, and I wasn't about to let her. So, better to save it for special occasions.

  "Are you ready for the trip?" she softly asked me; her voice was just as warm as the comfort blanket I was loath to leave.

  "Hmm… no."

  "No?"

  I shook my head against the pillow. "No…"

  "Why not?"

  "It's warm here. Why can't Goldenovum come here instead?"

  The slight curve of her lips did not escape me. "Goldenovum is warmer, you know?"

  "I don't care…"

  "Mmm..." she hummed. "I'll give you a few more minutes before I force you out of it."

  With that, she slid out of bed, and I had to stay there a few more seconds to mentally prepare myself to abandon that warm shelter. Meanwhile, the heat of her body had already said goodbye to mine, leaving me mercilessly cold. Crimson, instead, was calmly getting dressed, completely undisturbed by the evil betrayal she had just committed. Without a doubt, a sadistic bitch.

  Alas, I forced myself to get out of bed, and got ready. I'd already gotten used to this part of my routine; Crimson proposed to choose my outfit, like my mother used to. I did accept that, reluctantly. And today, she handed me something new. Though…

  "I don't get it…"

  The clothes she chose were… strangely plain? I blinked in the mirror several times, inspecting them.

  "What about them?" she nonchalantly asked.

  It's not that there was something wrong with them, per se… But it was all black!

  She'd given me a simple black shirt, to pair with equally simple black shorts, and black boots… Too simple… to the point of looking suspicious. And all black! Now, I know I shouldn't be the one talking since white is my first choice, but had they run out of dye or something?

  "I mean… they're simple… They're not bold. It's even basic. Besides, all the same color?"

  "Want to change again?" she proposed, lounging on the bed, furrowing a brow as she smirked. "I'm not against it."

  "No, no… I'm fine with this, I guess…"

  Not wasting any more time feeling cold.

  I turned to the mirror, just to see Crimson rising gracefully from the bed and retrieving an accessory from her dresser. "Here, wear this too."

  On her palm: a little white pearl.

  "An earring?" I asked, confused.

  She nodded. "Yes."

  "Alright." I took the earring and carefully affixed it to my left ear. "What about the other?"

  "There isn't. Just one," she said with a smile.

  "... Just an earring?"

  "Just an earring."

  "... Okay…"

  Yeah, I'll never understand her taste… I'll never understand her in general, for that matter…

  But, anyway, I was finally dressed up! I checked myself out for the last time in the mirror, and Crimson joined as well; her hands were gently rested on my shoulders, only to forcefully spin me around to meet her eyes.

  "You'd look good even wearing trash," she softly murmured, earning a chuckle on my part. Slowly, her hands slid down to my side, pulling me closer, and they stood there for a while… until she decided to dig her nails into it.

  "Ow…"

  I wasn't the only one who'd grown comfortable lately; Crimson had as well. She no longer had any problem showing me her true colors. For starters, I came to understand that she loves to bite. A lot. Maybe I taste good; I wouldn't know. Either way, it's a peculiar and curious way to show affection, no doubt about that. Sometimes it's cute, even pleasant; I do enjoy it, most of the time. But, casting that aside, I also learned that she likes to pinch, and graze my skin with her nails. It's always a surprise with that; will she just caress me soothingly, or will she suddenly pinch me with those damn piercing nails just to see me squirm? Who knows…

  Despite all that and her antics, I still loved and welcomed every bit of her, without a single complaint. Her teasing was relentless, surely, but in a way… my mother far surpassed her in that; though she was getting stronger. Still, on my own, I was content.

  "Don't look at me with those eyes, Snowflake," she said softly.

  "What eyes?"

  "Those endearing eyes of yours that only beg me to torment you more."

  "I'm not begging you to do anything."

  A sudden knock on the door made us both flinch. "Crimson, are you two getting ready?" the voice called from the other side.

  Crimson sighed, rolling her eyes with a smirk. "Yes, mom, we are," she replied, raising her voice just enough to be heard. Footsteps could be heard moving further away from the door, and she returned her full attention to me, her hands now on my back. "So… where were we?"

  "Please, don't tear this outfit off as well…"

  She at least attempted to contain her laugh, but ultimately failed spectacularly, and hid her face against my shoulder as her genuine sound pervaded the room. "Hm… alright, alright. I'll behave, Snowflake," she said once she regained her aplomb. "So, are you ready to go?"

  I shook my head. "Give me a kiss first."

  "Mmm…" She stared down at me, and I could clearly discern some sly intention in the glint of her eyes. Something was telling me I had to earn the kiss I was demanding. "Fine."

  Huh, to my surprise… she simply decided to please me. So, I rose on tiptoe to take what was rightfully mine: her lips, and her kisses. The more time passed, the more I grew accustomed to them and all that accompanied them: their little, delicate sounds, the symphony that echoed around the room, their faint smacks, their muah, and above all, the warm sensation they left me with. I had grown addicted to them long ago.

  "This is way more than a kiss," she reproached playfully. "What do you say we go now?"

  I was satisfied with that, so I merely hummed in response. "Hmm-hm."

  Finally, with a backpack containing the essentials, Crimson and I headed to the kitchen for a propitious breakfast. After which, along with her family, we stepped outside.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  "Hm? Where's the wagon?" I asked, looking around.

  "Oh, we won't use it," Crimson said proudly. "My mother is a highly versatile summoner."

  "Huh…"

  Pyrolina hummed; in her hand: a whip. "Ourobofeluenta," she intoned, cracking her divine weapon against the ground. A circle of fire took shape, spiraling upward, and from its flames, a massive creature with equally large, majestic wings emerged. It screeched.

  "A… a gryphon?!"

  Pyrolina winked. "Don't tell anyone, but this is the spell I learned thanks to your mother."

  They hopped on it, while I stood there admiring it for a while.

  "Come on, Snowflake," Crimson incited, extending her hand with a smile. "Let's go."

  Still somewhat dazed, with a gulp, I took her hand and hopped on with her help. I was about to fly over a gryphon…!

  Pyrolina whipped it, and standing on its hind legs, it jumped, effectively lifting from the ground… and we were flying.

  "Wow…"

  This was way higher than Elizabeth's spell. I clutched the creature tightly while Crimson held my sides. "Do you like it?" she asked with a smirk.

  Oh, not only did I like it… it was breathtaking. If I had a spell that allowed me to fly like this, I'd probably abuse it. The gust, the clouds, the view underneath! Hills, fields, such lively colors! Oh, I felt like I could've fainted from amazement. "Y-yeah…"

  Pyrolina chuckled. "Hold on tight!"

  The speed increased further, my hair was a mess, and I turned; Crimson was suffering because of it as well. It took her a bit, but in the end, she decided to rest her head over my shoulder, cheek to cheek. A laugh burst out of me at the scene; she stared at me with a tender smile.

  By the time we descended into the city, my entire skin felt tingling, both fresh and, somehow, hot. I shivered. Crimson, witnessing that, briskly rubbed her hands on my arms. Even so, we were finally at Goldenovum! And in all this I managed not to lose the earring.

  It was evening; turns out there's a big difference in speed and time between flying and galloping to a place. We even avoided the guards; not that they would've been a problem, since I'm with the Incendiaria, but the act of flying really is outside of any scheme.

  The bustling streets seemed far livelier than the last time. Surely, the tournament was the reason behind that.

  "Halt!" someone shouted, running towards us. "State your business! Who are you?!"

  Ah, the guards did notice us in the end…

  "John, relax," replied Pyrolina's husband.

  "Is that you, Vincent?" the guard regarded, squinting as Pyrolina let her summon disappear in a small whirlwind of fire. "Vincent!"

  The two men greeted each other with a joyful hug and shared laughter. A moment later, Pyrolina also approached him.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you again, miss," the now-friendly guard said, bowing slightly to gracefully clasp Pyrolina's hand and give it a little kiss out of respect.

  "Hi, John," she returned fondly. "No need to be alarmed. We're here for the tournament; we've already planned to stay overnight in an inn for a few days."

  "I see, but you arrive a bit late!" he exclaimed, rubbing his beard. "The tournament opened today; the Abyss Reavers already faced off against the Amalgamated Thorny Roses. Tomorrow, it's the latter against the Golden Lucenti. Then the adventurers will follow."

  "Oh, so Carolina won," Pyrolina mused aloud, her eyes slightly widening.

  The guard nodded. "Anyway, with all due respect, my friends; even sleeping in the most expensive and fancy inn would be unfit for you! Why not stay with us instead? My wife would be thrilled to see you again! We've got plenty of room."

  "Are you sure, John?" Vincent asked him, glancing at the rest of us. "We even have a guest with us, we're five in total."

  "Of course!" he said with a hearty shrug. "If your Lady is fine with that, that is."

  Vincent turned to Pyrolina, and he didn't even need to ask to receive her answer, which came with a nod. "Not a problem at all, sugar. But you go ahead, I'll catch up with you later."

  "Up to something?" Crimson asked her, probably glimpsing something along the lines. "Since Carolina's been mentioned…"

  Pyrolina gave away a little, wicked grin. "Mayhaps."

  With that, she stepped away, and John gestured for us to follow him.

  "Are you fine with this?" Crimson whispered to me along the way, holding my hand.

  I tilted my head at her. "With what?"

  "We can go elsewhere if you feel uncomfortable sleeping in a stranger's house."

  "No, it's fine, really. But we should probably look for Leonard tomorrow. I don't think he'll be happy if he spots us first."

  She chuckled at that. "Sure, we'll search for him, tomorrow."

  Walk concluded, we were welcomed into a warm and inviting home, worthy of its overly inviting owners; John's wife's arms were fully open as soon as her eyes landed on Vincent. A strong hug and various kisses on his cheek later, Crimson, Rubro and I were also greeted in turn.

  My introductions were brief, almost curt. Crimson took care of that, and I thought this would be the moment she'd put me on the pedestal as her fiancée, but that didn't happen. Instead, she simply said that I was 'with her', which could have meant anything and nothing at the same time. I didn't mind.

  After the introductions, since we basically entered her house with little regard, we offered to help with dinner. The men enjoyed themselves in a conversation at the table, while Crimson and I helped John's wife in the kitchen, with Crimson casually engaging in little chit-chat from time to time with her as we worked.

  Some time later, Pyrolina returned, her presence preceded by playful knocks on the door. As soon as John's wife opened the door, she basically jumped from excitement, throwing herself to the figure before her for another warm embrace. Pyrolina even took the trouble to bring a little souvenir to apologize for the intrusion.

  While I felt somewhat out of place around all those people who clearly shared a history, I quite enjoyed the warmth that came from them, especially from Crimson, who kept me aware of her presence all the time, giving me generous constant attention and tenderly caressing my thighs throughout the whole dinner. After which, we ventured together into a guest room; our guest room.

  "You know, I was wondering something…" I began.

  "What is it?" she incited, laying on the bed, stretching languidly.

  "I've noticed the mana of many in the city. It was faint… surrounding their bodies. If spells are made of mana, why can everyone see those, but not the one surrounding one's body? I couldn't see it until…" I couldn't continue the sentence; the nasty memory of my mother's soul killing me resurfaced, silencing me completely.

  "I've told you already," she explained with an all-knowing smirk. "Not all mana is the same. Think of it like gas and water. We can't see gas; not normally, at least. But we can see and touch water, especially when it's solid, like ice. Mana is the same. It comes in many forms, and it can take many shapes. Density, quantity, volume… You get the idea."

  "Hmm, I see," I murmured, my eyes going upward as my finger touched my chin. I then experimented with my mana, increasing its density to make my codex hover before me. Indeed, in a way, it could appear like a book floating thanks to a lot of air enveloping it, cradled in a magic white fire, or even floating atop of gentle water.

  Well, substantially, it was like gas indeed; imperceptible, yet undeniably there. Dense, and thick.

  "Does this have anything to do with how you managed to immobilize me back then? Both in Silveandria and at the guild?" I asked, glancing at her.

  Her smirk grew wider, her arms folded behind her head, cradling it as she lay back. "Hmm, sort of. Since you can't fully grasp it yet, I'll keep that information for myself."

  That was a blatant 'yes'…

  I stared at her, blinking. Then, puffing up my cheeks, I clambered onto the bed, and on top of her, straddling her with my legs. "Is this a secret?"

  She let out a soft chuckle. "No, not at all. One day, you'll eventually find out, and I'll lend you my hand. But, for now, as much as I adore you…" Her smirk turned into a grin as her fingers threaded through my hair, until they tangled and she pulled to the point of making me hiss in pain. "I'm not too fond of the idea of my pet getting bold and trying to command me."