“Ugh?!”
I stared at Lily with a bewildered expression.
Her lips felt utterly different now that I was fully awake compared to when I first woke up.
They were soft, moist, and above all…searing hot.
The scent wafting into my nose made my head grow warm.
As my breathing pattern was disrupted and I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath, Lily pulled away.
Lily, who was now licking her lips, was exuding an entirely different aura than when she had held me.
I quickly reached out to stop her as she moved to approach again.
“Why~? Let go~”
Fortunately, she seemed to retain some semblance of rationality and didn’t force herself on me.
“Wait a moment. You said you’d eat, so why are you kissing me?”
In response to my words, Lily, whose eyes seemed to regain some focus, replied in a dreamy voice.
“Do you remember the terms of our contract?”
“‘I take your energy and part of your body in exchange.’ That one?”
“Yes, I replenish my energy by consuming human life-force. This is my way of eating.”
“So by ‘part of your body’, you mean…”
“That’s not necessary yet.”
‘Yet’, is what she says.
“Did that satisfy your curiosity? Now…”
Lily’s hair extended and tightly bound both my hands to the side.
“Give me food.”
Once again, as Lily’s lips pressed against mine, a strange suctioning motion began.
My heart raced wildly at the sensation.
“Hey…”
“Yes?”
“Could you open your mouth a bit?”
“Wha?!”
“I can barely get any this way~ Come on, open up~”
Not only did Lily cling to my body, but she also attempted to sound endearing in a surprising twist.
“Bread~ Lily wants bread~”
Her deadly combination of cuteness and seduction left me dizzy.
But thinking about what Lily had done for me, there was nothing to refuse.
“I’ll eat well~”
This time, Lily opened her mouth wide and came down on mine.
I felt a burning heat enter my mouth, accompanied by an odd sensation.
I shivered as I felt something being drawn out of me through my mouth.
‘Is this my life-force?’
“Mmm~”
Judging by the happiness clearly shown on her face, that seemed to be the case.
Lily’s lips were firmly pressed against mine with no gaps, as if determined not to waste a drop.
The suctioning sounds grew louder, and the sensation of something leaving me became stronger.
Though it was alarming to feel my life-force being drained, I didn’t feel any other physical issues.
I felt no dizziness or weakness.
As my worries subsided, my attention became fixated on the sensation of our lips.
Some of Lily’s saliva mixed with mine as our open mouths pressed together.
Her saliva was less sweet but more fragrant than the honey wine she had given me before.
When the saliva was just enough to overwhelm my senses, we parted.
A short thread connected our lips for a moment before disappearing.
“Mmm~”
Lily smiled contentedly and cupped her cheek.
“Your life-force really is sweeter than others.”
‘Again?’
I slumped down as the hair that had been supporting me loosened.
“You might feel a bit dizzy or have a headache as a side effect, but it’s only temporary.”
“I’m not feeling dizzy…”
Just thinking about the feeling of her lips made my head spin.
“Really? That’s strange. I took quite a bit since it’s been a while…but can I take a little more?”
I barely managed to stop her from coming close again.
“I’m sorry, but humans need sleep. And it’s already…”
The wall clock pointed exactly to midnight.
Lily pouted.
“Tch, guess I have no choice. Alright then, let’s sleep.”
With a snap of her fingers, all traces of the dinner, including the old one grills, disappeared.
“Shall you wash up?”
“No, I’ll just sleep.”
To be honest, I was so tired I was worried I might fall asleep standing.
Maybe it was from all the strange things that happened today, but I was especially exhausted.
Still…
“What are you doing?”
“Huh? Isn’t this normal? I prepared the bed.”
Yes, I could see that much, but…
“Why are you laying down on my bed like it’s natural?”
“Family members sleep together all the time, right?”
Is that normal…? Or maybe it is?
I’ve never had a real family experience before.
At the orphanage, there was only ever one person per bed…
“Come on, come here.”
Lily pulled back the covers and patted the space beside her.
As I hesitated, she grabbed me and pulled me to lay beside her.
We were facing each other.
“Are we really going to sleep like this?”
“Mhmm.”
Lily pulled the covers over us both.
Her expectant expression made me lose the will to argue, so I sighed and said,
“Nyx.”
At the command, the magical lamp extinguished its light.
With the windows all covered by curtains, the room was plunged into complete darkness.
With my vision cut off, my other senses became more acute.
The warmth of life from beside me and the sweet fragrance under the covers seemed even stronger in the darkness.
The scent would intensify and fade with the soft breathing.
“How was your day?”
The sudden question took me a moment to process.
“…What?”
Even this response was inadequate.
Laughter came from the darkness.
“To be honest, I’ve never really had a proper family either, so I’m not sure if I’m doing it right.”
Even I could give a firm answer to that.
“It was good. I was very happy.”
“…”But…”
“But if you exclude that last kiss.”
“Mommy, that was just dinner.”
“How shameless of you.”
Thinking about it now, it was unfair.
That was my first kiss after all.
“Was it your first kiss?”
You can probably read minds from other dimensions as easily as eating porridge.
“…Yes.”
“And?”
“W-What are you asking?”
The rustling sound came again, and Lily’s presence felt even closer.
Now her breathing was crystal clear in my ears.
“Would you like me to do it again if you want?”
Her whisper was sticky and hot.
I shivered all over and felt a burning sensation in my cheeks.
“No! We’re family…”
“Oh, don’t family members kiss all the time?”
“No way!!”
Even with my limited knowledge of family, I was certain this wasn’t right.
I realized now.
This foreigner was teasing me.
“Fufufu, so cute.”
“Wasn’t there another way?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t want Lily to starve. I believe I should give what I can. Honestly, I think what I’ve received from Lily is far more than enough.”
“Then just do it.”
There was another rustling sound.
“…”
Even without seeing, I knew.
We were very, very close now. Just a little bit closer and our lips would meet.
“S-Still, if there’s another way, shouldn’t we try it first?”
“There is…but…”
The next moment, Lily’s voice was right by my ear.
“Want to try?”
I gritted my teeth and suppressed the shivers.
“What is it?”
“Hmm, want me to hint?”
At the same time, Lily’s hand reached my stomach.
Through my heightened senses in the darkness, I felt her long fingers.
Her hand slowly moved down toward my lower abdomen.
Realizing the destination, I panicked and stopped her hand.
“A kiss! Let’s go with a kiss.”
“Mommy doesn’t mind, you know.”
“Please, let’s just stick with a kiss, alright?”
“Hehe, if you want to kiss me that much. I’ll make an exception for you.”
After that, the conversation stopped for a while.
There was an awkward silence where I should have said something but couldn’t think of what to say.
Then Lily’s whisper reached me again.
“Can I sing you a lullaby?”
“No need!”
Who’s treating me like a child here?
It reminded me of something I wanted to know.
“Lily, do you sleep too?”
I’ve been wondering.
Do gods sleep?
“I can.”
“Can?”
“I can sleep if I want to. Or I can stay awake forever if I choose.”
Oh, gods have quite convenient bodies it seems.
But for me…
“Though I prefer sleeping.”
“I can read your mind too clearly right now.”
“Those refreshing moments after waking up aren’t easy to come by. It’d be a waste to give them up.”
“The same here. If I could choose, I’d probably choose to sleep.”
“Especially the moment right after waking up when you roll around…”
“A! I know what you mean. That hazy but happy feeling.”
“…We fit surprisingly well it seems.”
“Yeah. Unexpectedly……”
My words were cut off by a sudden yawn.
“You’re tired, huh? Let’s sleep then.”
“Okay.”
Then, a warm sensation enveloped my body.
“Uh, wait. Are we really going to sleep like this?”
“Mhmm.”
“This feels a bit…”
Lying in Lily’s gentle embrace made me feel hazy.
Her steady hand patting my back made my eyelids feel heavier and heavier.
No matter the position, it didn’t matter.
Lily’s embrace had the power to make anyone more forgiving.
“Fuuu…Good night, Lily.”
“……Good night.”
With Lily’s farewell as the last thing I heard, I drifted off to sleep.
For the first time in a long while, I was able to sleep soundly without dreaming.
