Lucian silently picked up the cup of hot milk and took a sip before handing it to Mei.
"Have some too. It'll help you relax."
Mei glanced at the cup for a moment, deliberately checking the rim before taking it and taking a sip from it herself.
Lucian turned his head slightly to look at Mei and saw that, under the moonlight, her profile appeared gentle, her violet eyes reflecting the scattered starlight.
Soon, when Mei set the cup down, Lucian suddenly reached out and held her soft hand as it rested on her knee.
"Mei, I remember when we first met, you angrily said you'd settle the score with me because I stole your first kiss. After all these years, have you settled it yet?"
Hearing this sudden question, Mei averted her gaze and looked into the distance.
"It's already been so many years... why suddenly bring that up now?"
How could she dare to settle the score with Lucian?
If he had not helped Izumo back then, everyone might still have been locked in a desperate, life-and-death struggle against the kami. For all these years, he had protected Izumo, and it was only because of that that this peaceful and warm world existed.
People lived and worked in peace, their lives full and content, filled with laughter—even the lives of her sisters had been saved by him. No matter how she looked at it, they owed him far too much—something that could never truly be repaid.
Compared to all of that, what did her first kiss even amount to?
"Well, I'm just curious..." Lucian said lazily, his tone as relaxed and natural as ever. "Do you regret it? I mean, do you regret that I took your first kiss?"
As he asked, Lucian lay back down again, but this time his head rested on Mei's lap.
"Of course not..."
Mei had never regretted it.
On the contrary, she felt truly grateful—grateful that because of that kiss, she had met Lucian and come to know him.
"I see..." Lucian nodded softly, then smiled frankly. "In that case... If I want to claim you as mine, would you be willing?"
In Mei's ears, the meaning behind these words could not have been clearer—this was essentially a love confession.
As a result, her heartbeat sped up again, beyond her control.
"Haven't I already been fully claimed by you?"
Mei replied in a gentle voice, smiling softly.
"No..." Lucian replied, shaking his head. "I want to take up every place in your heart—not even a sliver left for anyone else. It's just... my heart won't be yours alone... would you still accept that?"
"I don't really have a choice..." Mei replied, gently stroking Lucian's hair and cheek with a soft smile. "Other than you, I can't fit anyone else in my heart anyway... But what about you? Is there a place for me in your heart? Even just a little?"
"Of course there is. Right here."
Lucian took Mei's hand and placed it over his chest, even circling a small 'territory' for her, which made her giggle, her pearl-like teeth showing.
"My sisters are as close as family, and they all care deeply for you..." Mei said with a gentle smile. "Honestly, I don't really mind sharing you with them at all."
"In that case, kiss me—prove that you don't really mind."
Lucian spoke shamelessly, pushing his luck, and Mei, fortunately, just happened to fall for this kind of thing.
"You..."
Mei opened her mouth, then closed it again as her cheeks grew even redder.
In the next moment, she bit her lower lip, her fingers unconsciously clutching Lucian's clothes, then she took a deep breath, her violet eyes shimmering with moisture—shy yet resolute—as she slowly lowered her head.
Moonlight fell across her lowered profile, tracing her delicate features, while the night breeze seemed to soften, brushing gently through her hair.
Just as their warm breaths began to mingle—
"Master!"
A clear, loud shout, filled with frantic urgency, exploded across the quiet terrace like a thunderclap!
*BANG!*
Following the shout, the sliding glass door leading from the terrace to the living room was shoved open forcefully, and Kiana burst out like a white whirlwind, charging forward at full speed!
"Master, this book can help us evolve! Let's evolve toge—huh?"
Kiana's shout was cut off abruptly as she blinked her clear, wide golden eyes, staring at the intimate pair on the terrace.
Seeing Kiana, Mei quickly sprang away from Lucian's lips like a startled cat!
For a reserved woman like her, being caught like this was, no matter what, deeply awkward and embarrassing.
Lucian, on the other hand, remained lying on Mei's lap, silently and calmly staring up at the seemingly innocent moon, but if one looked at his face more carefully, a vein at his temple was twitching slightly.
He couldn't help but wonder why he always got cockblocked whenever he made a move on Mei.
Was he cursed by the Law of Calamity or something?
"Mei, you're actually sneaking around kissing Master here?! I want some too!"
Kiana had always been very close to Lucian, hugging him plenty in everyday life, but her understanding of romantic matters stopped there, since no one had ever taught her more.
Now that she had seen Mei being so intimate with Lucian, she immediately wanted her share.
Right after declaring her intention, Kiana suddenly hopped over in just two steps and pressed herself against Lucian, planting messy kisses all over his face like a dog licking its master.
Seeing this sudden scene, Mei was completely stunned.
Was this really okay?
Why did it feel like she was the odd one out?
"Master, do you like it?"
Kiana asked the silent Lucian softly, wiping her mouth as she grinned.
"Yeah, yeah, I like it..." Lucian replied, nodding helplessly. "Anyway, what were you about to say?"
He sounded like he was coaxing a child, clearly trying to send Kiana back to her room as soon as possible so he could continue his intimate moment with Mei. Knowing he had been so close to sealing the deal with Mei, he definitely could not let Kiana ruin it.
"Mm, this—I stole it from Sister Kyuusyou's room."
Kiana pulled out a book with a cover that looked dark and edgy, with bold letters that read: 'Fusion! Light and Darkness as One!'
"Yesterday, she said it could help people evolve, but I can't do it alone. I need Master's help."
It was obviously one of Kyuusyou's over-the-top chuunibyou comics.
Lucian chuckled, thinking that Kiana had apparently been infected by Kyuusyou's chuunibyou tendencies.
"Alright, but after I help you evolve, you'll go back to your room and sleep, okay?"
"Yes, sir! Thank you!" Kiana exclaimed while playfully saluting, then handed the book to him. "Master, you have to follow what the book says for the evolution ritual to work."
Even though she usually acted like a fool, Kiana was actually a genius who could learn things quickly. Given that she only needed to read something once to remember it, the reason she brought the book was purely so that Lucian could study it.
"Okay, let me take a look."
Lucian was still lying on Mei's lap as he took the book, flipping it open perfunctorily and reading it casually. He had long since outgrown his chuunibyou phase, so looking at chuunibyou comics now made him feel a bit of secondhand embarrassment.
Mei, equally curious, leaned in to read along with him.
Now that both of their attention was focused on the book, neither of them noticed what Kiana was beginning to do.
However, a few moments into reading, Lucian soon realized that he had been too naive—so naive that it hurt.
What he read was not some ridiculous chuunibyou shounen comic about friendship and the like at all, but a full-blown, explicit instructional guide on sex, complete with illustrations, all wrapped in the shell of a 'proper' comic!
Simply put, this so-called comic was actually a hentai manga or doujinshi.
"W-What is this..."
Mei stuttered, her face flushing a bright red as she gazed at the acts depicted within the images in the book.
"Is this book really Kyuusyou's? Kiana, this isn't—"
Lucian had just been about to explain things to Kiana when he suddenly felt something warm and damp on his crotch.
Too late.
It was already too late.
He forgot that, despite Kiana's brilliant mind, which could learn things quickly, she was such an idiot that her actions were always faster than her thoughts!
At this moment, Kiana had already begun carrying out what she understood to be the 'evolution ritual,' following the acts depicted in the book exactly. Her beautiful eyes were filled with focus, as if she were performing a sacred ritual, completely unaware that what she was doing was inappropriate.
"Hisss..."
Lucian, suddenly having his 'little brother' sucked by Kiana's warm mouth like a vacuum, froze for a moment before taking a sharp breath.
"K-Kiana!"
Mei, who saw everything clearly right before her very eyes, had her face and ears turn deep scarlet in an instant.
What she saw was far too absurd and shameless!
Kiana, without anyone noticing, had somehow taken Lucian's 'thing' out and begun sucking it like it was delicious candy!
"Mm, thwe bwook was wight..." (Mm, the book was right...)
Kiana, with her mouth fully occupied, muttered incoherently while moving her head up and down.
"Althwough thwe first stwep feels weiwd, it's okay fow Mawster's swake..." (Although the first step feels weird, it's okay for Master's sake...)
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[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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