Chapter 81: “Tuition Fee”
“Alright, alright, stop messing around, Elrose. We’re not joking anymore. Who are you really? Please stop talking about being the Demon King; that kind of joke might be believed by someone like Stella,” Luna said with a smile.
“Sigh.” Elrose, looking troubled, soaked in the bathtub, had nearly given up on convincing Luna of her identity as the Demon King.
“I…”
“After thinking for a long time, Elrose helplessly said, “Fine, I admit that I actually am…”
“Are you a reclusive Mage?” Before Elrose could finish her sentence, Luna excitedly interrupted.
“A reclusive Mage?” Elrose was momentarily taken aback, then quickly nodded, “Yes, that’s right; I am a reclusive Mage.”
Luna’s excitement immediately soared: “That’s right! I knew it!”
Elrose couldn’t help but roll her eyes, thinking, “You don’t know anything. You don’t believe me when I tell you the truth. How frustrating.”
“So, why is it that as a reclusive Mage you have no Mana in your body?” Luna pondered aloud. “Is it because something’s wrong with your body? And the reason you’re in the world this time is to find a way to solve the problem?”
Elrose was once again stunned, silently mocking, “Wow, I don’t even need to think of a lie; you’ve already filled in the blanks for me, haven’t you?”
A Mage returning to the mortal realm to resolve their physical issues—that character setup is doable.
Elrose secretly nodded.
“Yes, just as you think, I really am like that. My body has some problems and has lost the ability to naturally restore Mana, but it seems my body consumes Mana under natural conditions. The high fever I had yesterday was precisely due to the severe shortage of Mana,” Elrose said slowly.
“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Luna nodded gently.
“Then have you tried the Mana Restoration Potion? Like the one Armand had, the Mana recovery effect is incredible. After I drank it, I feel like my Mana has almost fully recovered.”
“The Mana Restoration Potion…” At this, Elrose felt a bit overwhelmed, “Regular Mana Restoration Potions are useless to me; I need a special kind of potion.”
“But the problem is, I don’t know the formula for that kind of potion.” Elrose said helplessly.
“Is that so? I understand.” Luna nodded gently, then smiled, “Oh, not knowing the formula doesn’t matter. You won’t need that stuff anymore in the future.”
“Won’t need it anymore? Why?” Elrose asked, confused.
“Because, because…”
Luna’s eyes sparkled seductively.
With a flushed face, Luna curled her finger and said softly, “You teach me magic, and I have to pay some tuition, right? It’s not nice to freeload…”
“Huh?” Elrose was slightly taken aback, still somewhat not understanding what Luna meant.
Seeing the confused expression on Elrose’s face, Luna hesitated for a moment, then slowly leaned closer to Elrose’s ear and whispered, “What I mean is… whenever you need Mana in the future, you can come to me; I’ll help you restore it.”
I’ll help you restore Mana…
Help you restore Mana…
Restore Mana…
The sweet and enticing words echoed in Elrose’s mind, and a bright crimson flush suddenly crept up her fair cheeks.
“L-Luna, you’re not joking, are you?” Elrose stammered.
“Of course not.” Luna, equally blushing, replied, “The value of knowledge is priceless. If it’s just a little Mana as payment, I can totally accept it.”
“But, but when I restore Mana, I need that, uh…” Elrose hesitated.
“I know, but it’s fine; after all, the first time and even the second time are free. The rest doesn’t matter,” Luna said.
“Is, is that so?” Elrose gently bit her lip, then, blushing deeply, gave Luna a meaningful look. “If that’s really what you want, um, cough, I’ve already used up all my Mana. If possible…”
Luna’s eyes widened in surprise, her cute face turning even redder.
She had mentally prepared herself earlier, but she didn’t expect it to come so quickly.
But now that the words were out, she couldn’t just take them back.
“I understand.”
Luna took a deep breath, wrapped her arms around Elrose’s neck, and then…
Skill: 【Kiss Magic IV, max】 activated.
…
Joyful bathing time passed in a flash, and Elrose and Luna, dressed, held hands as they slowly walked downstairs.
“I can’t believe you two are finally done bathing.” Lilith said with a speechless expression. “Do you know how long you soaked? It was almost an hour! What on earth were you doing in there?”
As soon as these words came out, the complexion of Elrose and Luna, which had just recovered, turned crimson again.
“Haha, we weren’t doing anything, just chatting about life and discussing ideals,” Elrose laughed.
“Yeah, and as for the water temperature, I just heated it up a bit with some magic. Why are you worrying about that?” Luna said.
“Oh, starting to throw shade at me again. It seems Elrose’s emotional counseling was quite effective, curing Luna’s worries so quickly,” Lilith said, somewhat surprised.
“You’re the one with issues.” Luna said angrily. “I just failed an exam and was a bit down. Is it really that serious?”
“Who jumped out in the rain to take a stroll? Does a normal person really do that?” Lilith said.
“You…”
“Alright, enough banter.” Kendrick came out of the kitchen holding a serving tray, interrupting Luna. “You must be hungry; let’s eat lunch first.”
“Mm.” Everyone responded in unison.
At the dinner table, Elrose devoured her food, finishing bowl after bowl at lightning speed.
She was unbelievably hungry; she had run several kilometers just to pursue Luna, and after that, she had used 【Element Separation】 and 【Element Fusion】 and barely managed to walk back.
To be honest, on the way back, there were times she felt she might faint from exhaustion, but she managed to hold on.
“Kendrick, another bowl, please.”
Kendrick took Elrose’s shiny bowl, a bit surprised, “Elrose, you want more? This is already your fifth bowl.”
“Uh-huh.” Elrose nodded repeatedly, urging, “More, more, hurry up.”
Kendrick instantly frowned, “Uh… The rice is finished. If you want more, you need to wait a bit.”
“What? Wait?” Elrose rubbed her little belly, her face filled with reluctance.
But just then, Luna came over with a bowl.
“I’ll share some with you,” Luna said gently.
Luna was eating the supreme beef rice bowl that Lilith had made earlier. Even though it had been a while and the rice was cold, Kendrick’s family always adhered to a tradition of frugality; reheating and reprocessing made it just as delicious.
Heaps of beef and sparkling rice were poured into Elrose’s bowl, the tempting aroma wafting through the air.
Elrose licked her lips and without hesitation continued devouring her food.
“Chomp, chomp.”
On one side, Elrose was eating heartily, while on the other, Luna looked at her with a doting gaze.
This scene, however, was noticed by Lilith nearby.
That look was concerning.
Combining it with what happened during breakfast earlier that day, Lilith had reason to suspect that something was up between Luna and Elrose.
Just as Lilith was about to ask, Stella suddenly pulled her aside and whispered, “Sister Lilith, never mind, some things are best left unsaid.”
“Huh? Stella, even you noticed it? They’re definitely off.” Lilith said.
“It’s not that. Their behavior is so obvious that anyone except for someone as dense as Kendrick can see it,” Stella said.
“Is that so? But why should I not ask? Is there something to explain here?” Lilith asked in confusion.
“Ah, my dear elder sister, if you just bluntly say it, Luna is a person who cares about face; she might end up blushing to death. Then you might really have to fight her,” Stella said earnestly.
“But they’re both girls,” Lilith pointed out.
“So what if they’re girls? Isn’t same-sex love true love?” Stella said seriously. “Besides, Sister Lilith, what qualifications do you have to criticize Luna? I think the person you end up liking will probably also be a girl.”
“Huh? Stella, what are you talking about? I’m a super visual person; I only like incredibly handsome guys. There’s no way I’d like a girl,” Lilith scoffed. “Let’s be clear; even if I were to die, I would remain single for life and definitely wouldn’t become a lesbian.”
Upon hearing this, Stella suddenly wore a mysterious smile: “Ah, who knows what the future holds?”
Several hundred kilometers away, on a high mountain cliff.
“Achoo!”
Alicia sneezed heavily, as if someone had been mentioning her.
She wiped her nose, holding the map in her hand, gazing at a bustling border town in the distance, her smile growing wider.
“Karashok, I’ve finally arrived.”
“Tia, I’ve come to find you.”
