“You’re welcome to come in.”
As Eliya gave her permission, the door was cautiously opened.
Soon after, various crew members entered, each holding a tray.
They placed one dish on the table at a time.
Judas and Eliya sat calmly.
There was no sign of the hot breaths they had shared just moments before.
The captain Gabriel, who had entered first, spoke.
“Currently, we are sailing smoothly with a tailwind, but at times the ship may rock depending on the situation. I implore you to understand with your grand magnanimity if there is any shaking, as we will do our utmost to maintain a steady course.”
Judas casually replied.
“That’s nothing. It’s natural for a ship to rock, isn’t it?”
Eliya, sitting next to him, added her own comment.
“I didn’t feel the ship rocking at all while waiting. It seems better than expected. This ship, and the skills of the captain and crew.”
A proper flattery.
To maintain morale, it’s also important to be aware of the feelings of those beneath you.
Gabriel smiled politely, maintaining his demeanor as a soldier as much as possible.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Now, please enjoy your meal. Once you’ve finished, you can call upon the crew waiting outside.”
Before long, all the food was laid out on the table.
Gabriel took the crew members and went outside.
Eliya naturally moved to sit next to Judas and said.
“Dining while sailing is something new.”
The room was located at the aft of the ship.
Through the not-so-large round window, the sea could be seen.
The ship sailed smoothly across the vast blue waves without any obstruction.
Dining in such a setting was indeed something extraordinary.
Especially the ingredients.
“I’ve never seen food like this before.”
“Yeah. It’s such rare ingredients that you hardly see even in the palace.”
Lobster, shrimp, and fish that couldn’t be found in the palace.
It was a feast filled with fresh seafood.
Due to corruption issues during transportation, most of these ingredients were not easily distributed to the inland palace.
“Only because we are on board can I have such a meal.”
Judas, who had no shame in eating well, welcomed this new menu.
As he reached for a piece of bread with a somewhat happy heart, Eliya interjected.
“Oh, right. Judas, you need this.”
“Huh? That?”
Eliya opened her hand.
Then, a flat and plump glass bottle appeared on it.
It was a summoning magic that applied teleportation.
If you remember the coordinates of a specific item, you can bring it like this.
“Is that the magic you were researching a few days ago…? But what’s that you have in your hand?”
“It’s something you’ve been enjoying lately.”
“Oh, no way.”
Inside the glass bottle was a pink cream that had a reddish tint.
To be precise, it was tomato cream cheese.
Recently, Eliya had made it, and it matched Judas’s taste perfectly, so he made sure to eat it with every meal.
“You studied that magic just to transfer this?”
“Yeah.”
Her nonchalant answer was so adorable that Judas kissed her on the cheek.
“Thank you.”
“Hehe.”
Eliya giggled like a child, feeling the pressure on her cheek.
She tried to open the lid to give it to him, but it wouldn’t budge.
Seeing Eliya struggle, Judas said.
“I’ll open it.”
Taking the bottle, he put a slight force on it, and the lid opened easily.
“……”
Eliya stared at him blankly, recalling what she just witnessed.
His big, rough hand that pressed down on the lid.
The muscles in his arm that bulged when he exerted force.
The slightly prominent veins.
So, he just opened a glass bottle lid.
But why did such a strong impression linger in her mind and warm her body?
Was it because it was something she couldn’t do?
Still, it was just opening a lid.
It wasn’t something remarkable enough to be considered great objectively.
Even knowing that, Eliya found it hard to steady her racing heart like a fool.
Just opening a glass bottle lid.
Was it strange for her to feel an embarrassment over such a mundane act, or was it that man, who looked infinitely wild and seductive when trying to act nonchalantly?
“…Huh?”
Judas looked at the suddenly quiet Eliya.
“Why…?”
She tried to say something but became speechless.
That expression on Eliya’s face was one he knew all too well.
Her cheeks were flushed red.
Her lips pressed tightly together.
Her eyes slightly drooping at the corners.
The look in her eyes glistening slightly with unspoken desire.
Judas instinctively tensed his body.
He glanced around furtively.
“…Here? Now?”
He worried about whether the sound insulation was adequate, but Eliya suddenly grabbed his hand and brought it to her chest.
“…!”
Through her clothes, he felt her large, soft volume, reaching directly to the center of her heart.
It was where her heartbeat resided.
The warmth transmitted through the fabric was hot, and the pulse was strong.
“Why, why all of a sudden…”
“…Because of you.”
“What did I…”
“I don’t know. Anyway, it’s all your fault, so take responsibility.”
“Well… That’s a nice thing to say, but I’m not sure how to take responsibility…”
“Ugh.”
With a deep sigh, Eliya fidgeted with his hand.
In a sultry voice, she muttered.
“I don’t know if the soundproofing is reliable, and who knows when something might happen at sea… So we should hold off. I want to take you to the cage right away.”
The “cage,” the name for their private space at the foot of the mountain, had been established as such.
“Since we can’t guarantee when we could get out… It wouldn’t do, would it?”
“Yeah. I guess….”
“Sigh.”
Eliya, who had been fiddling with Judas’s hand, suddenly looked up.
“Wouldn’t it be even better if we waited, and then…?”
They had never waited before.
Whenever desire arose, the two would share it and resolve it as soon as possible.
They had never stayed long in a place they couldn’t be sure was safe.
So wouldn’t it be better to hold onto that yearning for a long while before releasing it?
It was an obvious yet somewhat exciting conclusion.
“Well… That does make sense.”
“Hmm. Yeah, okay. Then I’ll try to hold off.”
Eliya said while stroking Judas’s thigh.
“Let’s eat first.”
“…It’s hard to hold off when you stroke my thigh at this point.”
“Huh? Ah.”
Eliya quickly realized and smiled.
A mischievous grin with a hint of playfulness.
She deliberately pressed her upper body against his arm and asked.
“Why? What does it feel like?”
“Like I want to do something naughty that we shouldn’t…”
Judas was in a difficult situation.
He didn’t want to get intimate with Eliya in a place where soundproofing was not guaranteed.
He couldn’t use teleportation.
So he had to wait until they arrived.
“Hmm, still, no.”
Eliya purposely mixed a snicker in her whisper close to his ear.
Her delicate hands gently caressed his thigh.
He could feel her arms wrapped around his waist twitch.
“You can’t do that when soundproofing isn’t guaranteed, can you? So just hold off until we get off the ship. After that, I’ll let you do anything.”
“How about sneaking out to the cage at night….”
“No.”
“…I won’t just sit still either. I can tease you as well, you know?”
“Yeah. Go for it. I can handle it.”
Even when he provoked her, Eliya didn’t budge.
Who had the stronger sexual desire?
It was a matter of debating superiority, but in terms of patience and endurance, Eliya had a clear upper hand.
“Can you really endure while teasing me, looking at me like that?”
It was a complete deadlock.
Judas felt he had no chance against Eliya.
“Ugh… I’m going crazy.”
Judas swept his face with his hand, letting out a deep sigh.
Eliya chuckled and pulled away from him.
“Okay, I’ll stop for now.”
For now, retreating.
She planned to tease and torment him again next time.
Throughout the journey to their destination.
“Let’s eat quickly. You must be hungry.”
Eliya thought it might be quite fun to stay on the ship while finding it amusing.
“…Yeah. Let’s hurry up and eat.”
Judas was surely going to have a tough time, she was convinced.
*
After finishing their meal, the two went up to the deck to see the sea.
Passing the saluting crew, navigators, deckhands, and captain, they found a spot at a higher elevation.
The ship sailed on the endless ocean that stretched beyond sight.
The sound of water being cut.
The noise of sailors handling the sails.
The captain’s commands, the sound of the wheel turning.
The sea smell and the breeze brushing past their ears, etc.
For the two of them, who were seeing the sea for the first time, it was a mesmerizing sight.
They sat side by side, clasping hands silently while gazing at the ocean.
Judas stared into the deep sea, lost in thought.
‘I want to swim.’
Though it was his first time at sea, he had swum before.
As part of his physical training.
He was quite confident about it.
‘Sea swimming is different from swimming indoors, but…’
He figured it would be worth a shot at the beach.
If he’d get swept away, Eliya could always teleport to save him.
‘Does Eliya even know how to swim?’
Now that he thought of it, neither of them had played in the water before.
They occasionally played around in the bathtub, but that couldn’t really be called swimming.
‘Swimming… Eliya’s swimsuit… No, I need to hold off. This is bad.’
It was an instinctive and obvious train of thought, but there was nothing he could do about it.
With Eliya teasing him, his patience was being tested even more, and naturally, he was curious about her in a swimsuit.
While Judas was lost in his animalistic thoughts looking at the sea, Eliya felt completely at ease.
Getting on the ship was a task, but compared to her usual workload in the palace, it felt like a vacation.
She had cleared up her work hastily to keep to the sailing schedule.
The fatigue of the past seemed to be washed away by the cool sound of the sea.
Especially since Judas was with her, it couldn’t have been better.
She was really looking forward to what would happen after the voyage ended.
Then, out of the blue, she became curious and called for Gabriel.
“What do you do if you encounter pirates during the voyage?”
“That depends on the scale of the pirates, but generally, we either detour, or if that’s not feasible, we choose to flee. We only fight back when there’s no other choice, but that’s not a frequent occurrence.”
Pirates were typically those prepared for plunder.
It was akin to suicide for a regular ship to confront them.
“On the other hand, all ships heading toward the Beelzebub Peninsula, including this trading ship, have been instructed to employ a wizard to respond.”
“As you mentioned beforehand, it seems you took proper measures.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
This was an idea Eliya had proposed.
To station a wizard capable of long-range magic on each ship to avoid disruptions during the voyage.
Among Gabriel’s answers, what Eliya was curious about was the former.
She wanted to know what a regular ship does when encountering pirates during their voyage.
She was also considering the political climate of the Empire after the demon world was subdued.
‘As we gradually lift the blockades on the trade routes, new routes to the other continents will open.’
She needed to think about how they could interact with the unknown world.
Of course, once the demon world campaign was over, Eliya planned to roll around and play with Judas all day.
It would be better to decide on logistics early if she wanted her subordinates to handle it in detail.
Though she wouldn’t be able to relax completely, she would still have to attend to important matters from time to time.
Eliya glanced at Judas.
His ears were red, indicating something was on his mind.
She couldn’t wait to see how he would react after they arrived.
As they were gazing at the sea, his eyes suddenly widened, and he pointed somewhere.
“Hey? What’s that over there?”
“Huh?”
Eliya turned her gaze to the same spot.
Something pale gray and streamlined was surfacing on the blue sea.
It arched in a short parabola, rising and falling repeatedly.
There were dozens of such objects.
Gabriel spoke.
“That’s a pod of dolphins. They usually form groups and head north in search of cool seawater during the summer.”
The ship gradually got closer to the pod of dolphins.
They sailed parallel to the dolphin pod, ensuring they got close enough to see without colliding.
The dolphins wouldn’t get spooked at such a close distance, gracefully leaping out of the water as they swam ahead.
Judas and Eliya were mesmerized by this enchanting spectacle.
The dozens of pale gray dolphins were leaping out of the water, seemingly chatting among themselves.
The playful splashing seemed like they were having fun.
“That’s amazing…”
It was a marvelous and beautiful scene.
Judas stole a glance at Eliya.
She looked completely captivated, like a child seeing an animal for the first time.
Her red eyes sparkled with pure wonder.
Judas felt that sight was precious, wanting to protect it.
He gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.
Eliya beamed, returning the kiss on Judas’s lips.
They embraced as they watched the pod of dolphins.
The uninvited guests of nature and the sailing ship enjoyed parallel progress across the sea for quite some time.
Meanwhile, Judas and Eliya never drifted apart even for a moment.
*
The ship made its way to the Beelzebub Peninsula without any major troubles.
They arrived as scheduled after three days.
When they docked at the harbor, it was quite late in the afternoon.
Eliya instructed Gabriel.
More important than sightseeing or checking out the peninsula was something else.
The heat in their bodies was a secret known only to Judas and her.
“I’ll be receiving the detailed report tomorrow morning. We’re quite tired from a long voyage, so we’ll take some time to refresh ourselves on land.”
“Yes, understood, Your Majesty.”
As soon as Gabriel’s response ended, the two vanished.
Eliya and Judas found their way to their private spot at the foot of the mountain.
The cage.
When they arrived, they were already holding each other tightly and kissing passionately.
There was no gentle or affectionate foreplay.
They were diving straight into the main event.
“Ugh!”
In an instant, Judas lifted Eliya and embraced her.
Startled, Eliya wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him even tighter.
He brought her to the bed, laying her down and climbing on top.
When he slightly pulled away from her lips, his gaze was more intense than ever.
“Eli.”
His voice came out low and sultry.
Eliya instinctively shrank her shoulders and swallowed.
“Did you have fun teasing me during this time?”
“……”
“You need to be punished today.”
What did he mean, to what extent, and how?
Though it was not a welcoming statement, Eliya somehow felt a growing excitement.
Looking at the shadow he cast over her, her heart began to race even faster.
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