[ The Witch of Pride glared grudgingly! ]
[ ... ]
[ The Witch of Pride has been blocked. The Host's date shall not be disturbed! ]
Mel rolled her eyes as she walked with Lila, hand-in-hand. The festivity has finished on a slightly sour note for the surprised seducer, but Mel wouldn't allow the bizarre feud between the Witch and her System to disrupt her date.
10 Years. For 10 whole Years, she has waited. Her resolve for a perfect ending flared up, burning brighter than the flames from the Witch of Wrath.
Passing the ceased bonfire, drunk villagers, and lingering scents of a finished banquet, they have arrived back at Mel and Saria's mahogany cottage.
"Heh...." Saria mused as the door opened, revealing a smirky Mel and a tense Lila. "You two have already gotten to it, huh?"
Mel puffed out her chest. "We won't be too loud!"
Lila hiccuped, then smacked Mel on the forehead. She is fully aware that it was she who invited Mel in the first place, but her 'friend' couldn't be more blatant in deepening Saria's misunderstanding!
Luckily, the sensible Knight stood up from the chair, yawning lazily. "I'm going to bed. Don't sleep too late, brats."
The Witch of Lust chuckled, saying 'good night' to Saria before pulling her blushing friend into her room.
Something feels different tonight. Mel examined with utter satisfaction. The mattress seemed more temptingly soft; the moonlight was gracefully adorning the room with a veil of glitter. She could practically smell the 'romance' in the air, which is definitely not her being smug about it!
"Alright."
Let's not mess this up. Mel sat carefully on the bed, glancing at the standing, fidgeting Lila. She could sense the unease in the emerald eyes, beckoning her for guidance.
She pulled Lila, facing her with a gentle smile. "Nervous?"
Lila blinked before nodding. "Nervous." A kiss that would reshape their relationship. Or perhaps change nothing at all.
"It'll not be our only time if you wish, Lila," Mel whispered with the soothing tone of a nightly breeze. "Or are you confused? You don't know what this means for us?"
The Witch of Envy's eyes darkened, her anxiety swirling like a turbulent snowstorm. "Does this not mean after this that we're lovers? Or do you have something else in mind?"
[ The Witch of Envy looked heavily upon your answer! ]
"Depending on your consent, it can be everything or nothing, Lila."
Mel observed Lila's hesitation. A kiss that destined them for love? Or a kiss that satisfied a curiosity for intimacy? Both were also kisses, yet carried different meanings.
The former served as a bind for eternity, chaining them together as each other's restraints.
The latter served as a mere experiment, a passing moment that could be played for laughs or tears for an unforeseen future.
This here, however, is Mel's lie. She intended to carry responsibility for Lila no matter what. However, she never told her true motive for approaching her: To save her and this World from torments that were out of their control.
And Lila hung her head, knowing this was her only way out.
"It means everything to me, Mel."
And she snuffed it out right away.
"My sister... I don't know what you did, or even why you approached me long ago." Lila's finger stretched out, pricking at Mel's hand. "But I am truly grateful, Mel. For all that you are. For all that you did."
[ The Witch of Envy boldly confessed her love(?)! ]
[ Favourability: 52 -> 57 ]
Mel's finger twirled with Lila's a little, like a playful snake coiling around its prey. "Remember that I told you I would still have secrets to hide? Back when you're shocked at me bringing a cure?"
Lila nodded, half-anticipating some forms of truths from Mel.
Yet her friend only had to disappoint, the schemer's golden eyes curving like a curtain of playfulness, all to hide a bundle of secrets. "That remained true even till this day, and the last thing I want is to involve you when it's unnecessary."
Lila's excited expression was washed away by disappointment, her downcast gaze stuck on the graceful moonlight, as if figuring out the mystic from within could give her the answer she needed.
The Witch of Envy knew she was the one protected again, her strength not warranting enough trust to carry the weight of truths behind Mel.
Even still, both her palms covered Mel's hand, her emerald eyes steady with a hint of trembling. "I-I understand."
Mel chuckled. "We're still talking about what happens after we smooch each other, right?"
As usual, blush spread across Lila's face. In her sentiment, she almost forgot what they came here for.
"Uh-" She stammered, unsure of how to proceed. "Uh-um, so yes. My fir-first kiss... means everything to me, I think."
And as usual, a foxy smile returned to the Witch of Lust's face. "What if I said the opposite? Do be warned, your lips may not be the only ones I'll taste."
"...trash." A darkness swirled in Lila's eyes. "Even after-"
However, her words were cut off when Lila was pulled to the bed with a plop. The blue-bun gasped at the sudden softness before two arms landed, trapping her head like firm pillars.
Mel hovered over her childhood friend, a pink hair slipping out of her sunhat to tickle Lila's blushing cheeks.
"First means a lot to me though, Lila."
Without filters or lies, Mel confessed. "From this point onwards, I will make no vague promises."
She leaned in, her chest sliding onto Lila's. Even through the minimal contact, Lila could feel the passionate thrums of their heartbeats, echoing with her muted whimpers that clung to her throat like honey.
Mel's voice grew more addictively sweet. "Eventually, I will make sure you grow strong enough. And one day, I will tell you everything you need to know."
For the transmigrator Mel, overwhelming Lila now about the 'truths' is a definite no-go. And while she trusted Lila to accept, she was afraid Lila would shoulder a burden she couldn't afford to, not when her sister had just recovered.
Worse is the 'cause' behind that poisoning. It is cruel to tell her friend her sister was targeted by the Witch's cult because of her identity as the Witch of Envy. In all her selfishness, Mel would like to delay the sight of a self-blaming Lila if she still can.
In time, however, when Lila grew strong, experienced, and readied, up until she awakened her
"Despite that, would you accept me, Lila?"
Mel's lips pressed together with an uncharacteristic shivering. The Witch of Lust wanted her first kiss to be with Lila, but she must prioritise her friend's wish above all else.
Her Lila, however, merely pouted. "That didn't answer my question, Mel."
Mel's brows raised. "What question?"
Lila's teeth clattered together before swinging her gaze aside. "How many... how many more girls are you planning to kiss?"
The Witch of Lust, as her moniker suggested, held back a chuckle. She worried about a rejection for hiding secrets, and her Lila...
"Are you not mad at me?"
"Far from it." Lila's pout bloated, a 'not-so-obvious' sign of frustration. "One day, I will grow strong enough myself. I can't be the one being protected all the time, but before that, I'm asking, will you cheat on me until then?"
Did she already think of us as a couple? This time, an amused 'pft' escaped from Mel's lips. "Maybe. Maybe not."
"Oi!"
Mel's golden eyes swept over her grumpy wife. That is another secret she must hide for now, and her 'save-the-World-by-seducing-everyone' plan was part of her lifelong desire.
"But I am grateful." Mel's forehead tapped against Lila's, the slight gesture sending her with a calm heat. "Pleased, even, that you would trust me. That you were promising to protect me."
Lila hiccuped, her pupil darting away at how her words' implications were exposed. "Mm. It's the least I need...want to do. To repay you. To... be with you."
Mel's tease receded in her head, replaced by a warmth she couldn't recognise.
That reminded her: Ever since her teasing about kissing more women, the favourability had never dropped.
So, has Lila's feeling been capped? And has she finally assured her feelings?
Mel's palm enveloped Lila's cheek, the slight purr echoing in her ears. She was enthralled by Lila's pure emerald eyes, full of sincerity and obedience for what came next.
A sentiment came to Mel, and she blurted out a confession before she knew it. No thoughts, no intents, no secrets, her voice carrying the pure affection she held for Lila in 10 years of her current life, and in 23 years of her previous life.
"I love you, Lila."
Not waiting for a response, Mel's lips collided with Lila's.
It was a rough, passionate kiss. Mel turned her head at each whimper from Lila, seeking every angle to explore her friend's mouth, imprinting each inch of the wet smoothness from the pink borders into her memory.
Lila responded with a panic, her head stilling against the suddenness that crashed down on her. She couldn't react, not even pulling back against the pleasure. Not that she ever wants to.
And with a plop, Mel drew back her head, licking her lips for any lingering taste. "Enjoy?"
Lila's eyes welled up with watery bliss, her chest huffing to catch her breath. "I-I..."
"Mhm."
Mel smiled. "I want another as well."
The Witch of Lust selfishly kissed her again. More whimpers. More pleasures. The rhythmic squelches from the kiss were a silent consent for more, until their lips melted into each other.
----------------
In the end, Lila and Mel slipped into the bed sheets.
No debate about the relationship in the future. Not even how they felt about the kisses, one was too satisfied, the other too embarrassed, so both slept silently without more words.
Lila touched her lips, her heartbeat drumming in her ears as she gazed at the sleeping Mel. The memory was quick, too quick for a remembrance, yet too significant to be left behind.
"Mel."
[Favourability: 57 -> 61 ]
"I don't know how many more... how many more you've planned to save like me."
She's not an idiot. She still couldn't guess why, but at least she could deduce the secrecy involving how Mel wished to save her and her sister.
"But even if you save many others more like me, I would not allow anyone to occupy my spot in your heart."
Her mind was drawn back to Mel's confession. 'I love you', three simple syllables, yet it was a comforting weight she would gladly lift for the rest of her life.
"For that, I promise I will be strong. Strong enough to pull back anyone standing in our way."
Her eyes darkened with obsessions that Mel would have to face forever and ever.
"I'm sorry..." She stammered, as if the next moment Mel would wake up and express her disgust, "that you have to be stuck with me like this, Mel."
[ The Witch of Envy envisioned only a future with you and her alone. ]
[ Favourability: 61 -> 65 ]
"I love you too."