Eris looked like a petite girl on the outside, but she was gorgeous—radiating a smart, elegant vibe and a gentle, spring-breeze warmth.
That was Shichen's first impression when he met her. Right now, though, she'd ditched all that ladylike poise and, blushing hard, threw herself into his arms.
She barely came up to his chest. He caught a faint, familiar fragrance on her.
Of course he knew why it felt familiar.
Not that it mattered—she was already pressed up against him, and he could feel the impact of Eris's chest against him. It had looked decently sized a moment ago, but the texture felt… strange.
He'd felt this on others before—by hand, chest, back, even face—and, yes, he'd even tasted it.
Different types, different sizes, but there's usually a common feel.
Eris's felt completely different.
Shichen tilted his head back so she couldn't cover his mouth, took her by the shoulders, pushed her slightly away, and glanced down at her chest.
Maybe it was his imagination, but it looked a lot flatter.
"So you were padding after all."
"Wh—…" Eris froze, her delicate face flushing bright red.
The sudden change in expression made the faint scar on her face stand out a little more.
"That scar… you're Chris, aren't you?" Shichen let one hand go and gently stroked her cheek where the faint scar lay.
The scar didn't look jarring at all; her skin was still smooth and soft.
Chris—the white-haired thief girl who'd taught him a bunch of rogue skills. After he'd gotten a little too wild back then, she hadn't dared show up around him.
What could he say—he'd just gotten that skill and really wanted to try it.
"Y-you're talking nonsense…" Eris panicked, then denied it on the spot.
"Still planning to keep it secret?" Shichen asked with a smile.
"I don't understand what you're talking about…" Eris turned her head away.
"Looks like I'll have to jog your memory." Shichen took a step back, raising his palm toward her.
"What are you doing?" Eris frowned, not quite getting it.
"Remember that move you taught me?" he asked.
"What I taught—wait, d-don't tell me you're going to use Steal?" Eris crossed her arms over her chest in a hurry, staring at him in alarm.
"Smart. So you admit you taught me, then?"
"No. I'm a goddess. Knowing a few things is normal." Eris denied it again.
"Is that so? In that case, don't mind if I do."
"Hmph~ I'm not scared." Eris gave a little huff and deliberately lowered her hands.
They were in the divine realm. She was Eris, goddess of fortune—the one who governed luck. A luck-based skill like that shouldn't work on her at all.
Last time he swiped her bra pads had to have been a fluke—probably because they were in the mortal world.
"Really? If I end up taking something, you're not allowed to get mad."
"Hmph~ I'm a goddess. Why would I get mad? But you do have to tell me how you got here."
"Deal."
Shichen nodded. Golden light blossomed in his palm.
"Steal."
With a soft invocation, he sensed the valuables on Eris—clothes and otherwise, all of it.
He wasn't interested in a goddess's clothes; it's not like he could wear them. He had a very specific target.
He closed his hand, and the item was in his grip.
"Hmph—see? You didn't get anythi—" Eris started to gloat, then stopped cold.
She knew exactly what had gone missing. Without it, her clothes suddenly felt a lot looser.
Her bra pads had been stolen. Again.
How was that even possible?!
How could anyone's Luck beat the goddess of Luck?
But now wasn't the time to think about that. He was holding something important—her lifeline for appearances and a very private item—in his hand. Mortifying didn't even begin to cover it.
"G-give those back, now!" Eris lunged at him again, tears welling in her eyes, her whole face burning.
Shichen lifted his right hand high so she couldn't reach, and with his left he held her head to keep her at bay.
The thing in his palm felt warm. He felt a little ashamed, too.
This was… kind of low.
So why did it feel so wickedly satisfying?
Why did he always end up doing this kind of thing whenever he faced Eris?
Because she was easy to tease?
He knew perfectly well Eris wasn't easy to push around. But he also knew her real nature: as a goddess, she was dutiful, shouldering everything alone and trying to solve it herself.
That was admirable. But it wasn't all she was. Down in the mortal world as Chris, the lively, sunny girl—that was the real her.
Shichen figured he was doing this to help her loosen up.
Yep. Definitely not because he wanted to tease her or because he was interested in her bra pads.
That said, credit where it's due—the material was on point. Pretty soft.
"You want these back?" Shichen looked at her tear-rimmed eyes, utterly unmoved.
"Y-yes, give them back, now!"
"Sure. Tell me whether you're Chris."
"I—"
"Hm? Still not going to admit it? It's not like I'll tell anyone."
"You really won't tell anyone?"
"If I lie, I'm a dog."
"…Fine. I'm Chris." Eris finally confessed.
"See? You should've said so earlier—I wouldn't have had to do this." Shichen lowered his hand, reached toward her, and opened his palm.
Two concave, flesh-toned ovals lay there. Even though he'd been holding them the whole time, they weren't bent out of shape at all.
Quality material, for sure.
"My pads!" Eris snatched them back, clutched them to her chest, then backed away, glaring at him warily.
"Relax. I'm not taking them again. I'm not actually interested," Shichen said.
"Yeah, right! If you weren't interested, why did you take them twice?" Eris glared at him through tears.
Humiliating didn't even begin to cover it. No normal girl could live this down. Her dignity was gone.
"I was demonstrating what you taught me. Look how good I am now, right?"
Good was an understatement—if he could steal from the goddess of Luck, the skill was basically broken.
"I'm the one who taught you! Why would you use it on me?"
"Because you wouldn't admit you were Chris. Last resort," Shichen shot back.
"Then why did you do it the first time?" Eris demanded.
"I was curious. I'm a normal guy—who wouldn't be curious about that?"
"Then you're not allowed to do it to me ever again."
"That can be arranged. But you don't really need those pads, do you?" His eyes dropped to what she was hiding behind her back.
"Don't look!" Eris whipped both hands behind her, pouting.
"I've already felt them—what's the harm in looking? …They're pretty warm, too."
"You— I'm a goddess! Why are you treating me like this? Shouldn't you respect me?" Her voice wavered, on the verge of tears.
"Yeah… I don't really believe in gods. You've seen how normal I am with Aqua, right?"
"…I guess that's true. Is that why you can steal from me?" Eris sniffled.
"Not sure. Maybe."
"Anyway, you are not allowed to do that to me ever again. I have zero face left."
"It's fine. It's just between us. I won't tell anyone, and Aqua won't, either," Shichen tried to reassure her.
"That still doesn't make it okay!"
"Alright, alright. I won't do anything like that to you again."
"Really?"
"Really. If I'm lying, I'm a dog—as long as you don't keep hiding from me."
"I… I haven't been hiding from you all the time. I went to the mortal world because I had things to do."
"Yeah? I thought you went because you were bored—and you even became friends with Darkness."
"T-that was just… incidental," Eris mumbled, embarrassed.
"If it's important, bring me along. I can help."
"No need. I can handle it myself." She shook her head.
"Don't be so formal with me. We're already like this, aren't we?"
"We are not 'like' anything!"
"Oh? You want to pretend nothing happened? My hand still smells like it."
"Smells like—! Don't you dare bring that up again!" Eris realized what he meant and yelled, flustered.
"Fine, I won't. But can I ask one question?" Shichen suddenly grew serious.
"W-what?"
"Aren't those the same pads I stole last time? Why are you still using them even after I gave them back?"
"I… I'm going to fight you!"
~~~
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