Book 4, 158

The Battle Begins(2)

“Here?” Richard looked around in shock. This was a black and red land with sulphur in the air and hundreds of thousands of tombstones for spectators. It wasn’t exactly the most romantic of venues.

“Here!” Alice suddenly sounded determined, “We are two members of the Archeron Family, acting upon our traditional obligations. There is no better place than the sacred land of the family!”

Seeing the fire in his new partner’s eyes, the crimson hair almost standing in the midst of her passion, Richard simply couldn’t find a reason to refute. Although still somewhat astonished by her words, he eventually hummed in agreement.

Alice straightened her body and asked coldly, “What are you waiting for? These clothes aren’t going to take themselves off, you know.”

Why can’t you take them off yourself? Richard opened his mouth, but decided not to vocalise that thought. Instead, he walked up to Alice’s rigid body that looked like a spear planted in the ground, somewhat bemused at the memory that she had been half a foot taller than him when he first arrived in Faust. Now that difference was the exact opposite, and he’d grown buffer to match her after the hydra egg and the various meals he was being treated to.

Looking at the solemn woman, Richard suddenly felt a sense of oddity. Her expression, the mood, the location... it was all wrong for what was about to happen. This definitely wouldn’t be smooth sailing.

As he reached out to undress her, his hands naturally gravitated towards her chest. The moment his fingers made contact with her large breasts, however, her entire body trembled and she grabbed his hands like lightning, “It’s just sex, right? We don’t have to do it naked, just undo the pants first!”

Alice’s words were blunt and fearless, but Richard felt like he was looking at a startled bunny. He nodded and loosened her belt with no obstruction to have her pants fall. However, just as he was about to slip out of his own, he suddenly felt her knee twitch. It was a subtle movement, but years of battles had trained him so well he flashed away in an instant.

“What are you doing?!” he asked. That knee had been aimed right at his crotch. He would rather eat two hydra eggs at once than be subjected to that torture.

“I just wasn’t used to it, I wouldn’t actually kick you. What are you, a baby?” Alice ridiculed him.

However, Richard wouldn’t believe her words in the slightest. If she truly hadn’t intended to do it, his instincts wouldn’t have kicked in so aggressively. He returned once more, but this time proceeded with caution.

As expected, things did not go well.

Just having stripped down from her pants, Alice suddenly changed her mind and asked that he be completely naked before she removed her underwear. Annoyed but accommodating, Richard complied to get this over with.

Moments later, she bit her lips and stared at his fit body for a bit before throwing herself forward aggressively. However...

“Huh? Why... Why are you running? How are we going to do it if you don’t strip?!” Richard’s confusion slowly turned to anger, but it took quite some time for him to catch up to her.

“Alright,” her voice suddenly rang out, “Here should do just fine. Come on, stop dawdling!”

“I’m the one who’s dawdling?!”

“Of course!”

“... Fine. Stay still, I’ll try to make it quick. Listen, it’s not as scary as you imagine it to be. In fact, it’s quite sim— OW, WHAT THE FUCK?”

“I... I used too much strength by accident. Eh, you’ll be fine, right? Right?”

“You...” a soft whine echoed throughout the cemetery, “Are you trying to kill me?”

“It wasn’t intentional. Come on, let’s continue. Don’t be a pussy, stand up. I know you can do it!”

“...You. Just kicked. My—”

“Why bicker so much? Come now, I can’t wait.”

A short while later...

“ALICE!” a bellow resounded through the volcano, “WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?”

“No-Nothing, really! Look, I’m ready again.”

“Just how many times have you been ready?”

“This is the first time? I forgot!”

Another short while later...

“Alice, what exactly is going on here?”

“Nothing, nothing! We’re doing great, aren’t we? Look, you’re not wearing anything, I’m not wearing anything, there’s nobody else here. Everything’s perfect, isn’t it?”

“Look, if you don’t want to be my partner, I won’t force you to. You know I never had this in mind.”

“Then why did you accept me afterwards?”

“Because you suggested this would be a great way to strengthen our relationship!”

“Yes, then let’s not hesitate and continue!”

“Continue? We never even started!”

“Is that so? Then let’s start now!”

“Then you’ve got to stop running!”

... Some more time later...

“Alice...”

“What?”

“You...”

“That... was just a reflex. I can’t actually control it. Sorry, you’re going to have to try harder. Once the first time is done, I don’t think there will be problems anymore...”

“Alright, I understand. Struggle all you want, then. Stop trying to control it.”

“Huh, why?”

“Because we’ll never start if you don’t run out of energy first.”

“Okay, be careful.”

“AAH!”

A long time later, Alice was staggering between the tombstones. Her naked body was a harsh contrast from the black and red scenery, dripping with sweat as her legs gave way to an obstacle and she fell powerlessly to the ground.

Richard walked over from behind. He was equally exhausted, but his footsteps were still firm. Although he was a mage, he’d eaten the hydra egg and the laws he had absorbed from the Tree of Life had strengthened his restoration affinity in his elven bloodline. Alice had run out of energy, but he could still last some time longer.

Completely done with this farce, he leaned over her and gruffly adjusted her position, pinning her down before pressing himself onto her body.

A pained scream rang through the volcano...

“Finally...” Richard heaved a long sigh.

“Finally,” Alice whimpered, her voice almost undetectable.

When the two of them walked out from the cemetery, it was early morning the next day. Their “lovemaking” had lasted an entire afternoon and night, but only ten minutes of it had been spent on actual sex.

Fuschia rushed up to Alice the moment they exited the portal, eyes red from a sleepless night. She stared at her lord blankly for a few moments before asking, “You... did it?”

“That’s right,” Alice nodded her head.

Both happiness and heartache swept across Fuschia’s face. Eventually she just sighed, “You... I didn’t expect you’d be so quick. I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”

Alice smiled as she patted her follower’s head, “Don’t worry about it, I definitely see through the things I want.”

Richard stood at the side with a disapproving expression. If not for his powerful regeneration, she would have left him in the dust and just run away. He was no match for her in a head-on battle, and her irrational fear of sex had taken him nearly everything to overcome. Hopefully, future attempts wouldn’t be as difficult.

His brows twitched at the sound of her boasts, but he managed to muster up the discretion not to out her in front of a subordinate. Thankfully, Alice realised she was bragging too much as well. Fuschia could read her mind better than anyone else, so she hastily pushed the other woman out of the study, “There’s some other things we have to discuss, don’t worry. Go help me get something to eat.”

Done with that, Alice walked over and jumped onto the table, crossing her arms in front of her chest before glancing at Richard, “So, how do you plan to handle our relationship from now?”

“I’ll answer that question, but that’s my spot.”

“Oh? I can see why, it’s nice. But so what, isn’t all of yours mine too now?”

Richard decided to ignore her disregard, responding to the question with the answer he’d decided upon long ago, “Allies and partners for life. If you never desert me, I’ll never change either.”

Alice snorted, pouting, “Just the first sentence would have been enough, then it would’ve been so much more moving. You’re really bad with girls.”

“Yes, and you qualify to tell me that.”

“Hey, it’s instinct you baby. It has nothing to do with how experienced you are.” Alice wasn’t ashamed in the slightest.

As night came, a few griffins ferried Alice and Fuschia far away. Richard then returned to Faelor with thirty rune knight candidates that she had provided.

From the outside, everything seemed completely peaceful. Nobody realised that a critical alliance had been forged in the Archeron Family.