Chapter 401: Preparations - 2 (Slight R18)

"What?" Lily asked, confused.

They had already started heading back to their room.

"Like whom?"

"You," Leo said.

"I will never forget the sadness in your eyes when you thought you wouldn’t be able to keep up with me back in the city."

Lily’s face flushed slightly.

"That... that was not it. I was never sad. Hmph," she said, turning her head away.

"You really think you can hide that from me?" Leo teased.

Lily quickly searched for a topic to distract him and circled back to Miho.

"Yes, back to Miho. Is there any way we can help her? She has been stuck at Peak 2-star for quite a while," she said.

Leo’s expression turned contemplative. Lily quietly sighed in relief when she saw him distracted.

"You do know she might already be classified among the top 100 freshers."

"I do, but it’s simply not enough if she wants to stand alongside us," Lily replied.

Then Leo spoke.

"From my guess and the knowledge I gathered on the 4th floor of the library, one tends to get stuck at a certain level when they don’t utilize their talent adequately. Didn’t Professor Katherine say Miho was capable of contracting the lingering souls within beast cores? The only difference is that she acquires the affinity and skill instead of being able to summon them like you."

Lily nodded.

"Yes, that was it."

"Then it’s simple. We need to let her contract a beast core so she can break through her bottleneck. It would also give her a major power boost."

"Hm!" Lily agreed.

"I am also very expectant that she could gain a fraction of the beast’s strength like us. It would help her close the gap between her and us."

Leo nodded.

"I should tell Kaelion to look for a suitable beast core for her during the beast attack in the bounty—preferably a beast found in numbers. After that, I’ll try increasing the bloodline of the core and give it to her to contract."

"What about you? Do you plan to tame any new beasts?" Lily asked.

"Only if I find something interesting."

At his words, Lily thought of something.

"Maybe you should try taming something ordinary? I think you could simply rank it up with your talent. It would also be fun to watch its growth—we would basically be witnessing a new evolution path. What if it turns out to be something very strong?" she suggested.

"You know what, you’re right," Leo said with a smile.

"What type of beast do you like?" he asked.

"Hmmm... maybe something cuddly? Soft, soft," she said with a childish expression. By now, they had reached their room, and their large bed stood right in front of them, almost inviting them to lie down.

"Eek!" Lily yelped when Leo suddenly grabbed her from behind and laid her down on the bed.

After settling in, he reclined against the pillow at the edge of the bed, pulling her with him so she rested over his chest, her back pressed firmly against him. He buried his face lightly in her hair, taking a slow breath as if the smell itself was the most rejuvenating thing in the world.

"Mm! You’re messing up my carefully combed hair!" she complained, though her slightly reddened face suggested otherwise—especially as she glanced at his hand squeezing the soft mound over her chest.

"I already have the softest thing in the world in my hands. Why would I need anything else?" Leo murmured near her ear, his breath warm, making her shiver.

"Hmph! What about me?" she said, grabbing his hand and stopping him.

"Your body is cut like a diamond, with no sign of softness," she added, tilting her head to the side so he could nuzzle against her neck.

"As if you’d like me to be soft. Don’t you always tell me to go harder? Why would I make my body soft?" he said with a chuckle.

Lily’s face turned completely red as she recalled those moments during their ’exercise.’

"T-that... don’t say such embarrassing things so casually!" she squealed when Leo leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

Then, as if wanting to tease her further, Leo brought up the earlier topic again.

"Say, why did you look sad after I awakened back in the city?"

Lily looked at him as if he had committed a crime.

"You are a very bad man. That’s why I was sad. Hmph!" she said angrily, though her body relaxed further into his arms as she got comfortable.

After a brief silence, she spoke again.

"Because I thought I would eventually lose you..." she said softly, her gaze lowered as she traced circles over his chest with her finger.

"And why would that happen?"

Leo gently stroked behind her ears with his hands.

"Because you would become so strong that it would be wrong for a normal person like me to stay beside you. And even if I tried, I couldn’t stop you. In the end, I would just hold you back in your grand life." She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears—even though what she feared would never happen now.

Leo suddenly recalled how the previous owner of this body had wanted to cast away this girl who was willing to sacrifice everything for him. His arms instinctively tightened around her.

"That would never happen. I would have made sure of it. And what about now? I don’t think that’s ever going to happen anymore."

Lily giggled softly.

"Of course. Now I will make sure you can’t leave me," she said, looping her arms around his neck and pressing a sweet kiss to his lips.

"I can never be happier than I am now, knowing I have the capabilities to be with you forever-- Leo!" Her eyes and voice were filled with conviction, affection, and pure, unadulterated love.

"Let’s stay together even after the end of time."

"Of course, this doesn’t need to be mentioned. Let’s be together until eternity," Leo held her head and ruffled her hair gently, basking in her warmth.

After a while, Lily lifted herself slightly and swatted his hand away from her soft pillows, which he had refused to stop playing with.

"Leo, what do you think? Should we bring Sister Sera and Brother James here?"