But however hard he tried to push away Kane's strange wishes, he reminded him of them every second, already moving on to humiliation, and he saw him only as a rag who could never take everything into his own hands.
– Today I cooked a new dish; I hope you like it.
– Thank you.
When she tried a spoonful, her eyes filled with pleasure. The more he looked at the happy Sword Princess, the warmer his soul felt. Now he finally understood Raven, who had always insisted that he wanted to see people's happiness, and especially when he was the one bringing them happiness.
Noticing his intent gaze, but this gaze differed from those that men always cast at her: in this gaze, there was joy and satisfaction. She did not understand why he was looking at her like that, but decided not to pay attention to it.
Kopii saw a fleeting surprise reflected on her face, but then she quickly returned to eating.
– Tasty.
– Yes.
– I have a proposal for you.
At his words, she stared intently into his eyes. He understood that she was all attention. Smiling, he continued:
– Let's have a sparring match.
– In bed! You forgot to add. Who else but me will remind you of this.
…
– And don't say that the difference in our levels is too big.
But seeing how she just stared at him with an unreadable gaze, he decided to resort to extreme measures:
– If you don't agree, then I… won't cook for you anymore.
– Alright. – she answered without hesitation.
He smiled even wider at the Sword Princess's answer. He waited until she ate, and together they went deeper into the ruined district of Orario.
– Come on! Get into a stance!
But seeing how she did not even move, he only smiled and began his attack with a lunge. Before he could even approach her, he saw only darkness.
«What?» – that was the last thing he thought before losing consciousness.
Ais looked at Kopii's unconscious body. This scene reminded her of when she had first met him, helpless and half-dead. She could not have imagined then that the boy she had saved would surpass her record.
She had always felt interest in him, and especially after that incident in the "Benevolent Mistress", in the dungeon, when walking with her friends, when eating, when bathing, all her thoughts were only of him. And with every day, they only grew stronger and stronger. It was something new for her, a feeling both frightening and at the same time alluring. Lifting him and carrying him home, she laid him on the bed.
Ais simply looked at the unconscious Kopii, but the more she looked, the more a desire flared in the depths of her soul to look at his back and learn his secret. But she decided not to do that, because there was a very high chance that his falna was hidden, but there was also another reason – because she would have to undress him, and for her, that would be very awkward.
Reaching out to his face, she touched his hair. It was so soft and pleasant to the touch; without realizing it herself, she began playing with his hair. The more she played, the more she liked it. But realizing what she was doing, she pulled her hand away and felt her cheeks burning.
She did not understand what was happening to her. But she could not stop.
After hesitating a little.
«No one will know,» – she thought, starting to touch his sleeping face. His skin was so smooth and pleasant. Her movements became more and more confident. The more she did this, the more she understood that it was beginning to bring her wild pleasure.
But a sudden movement from Kopii frightened her, and she pulled her hand away as fast as if she had touched something hot.
«He just moved.» – She exhaled in relief.
– Did I hit him too hard? Quite a lot of time has already passed since their sparring, and he's just lying there unconscious. – After all, she already wanted to eat. She wanted to eat his food. She could not even have imagined, when he had cooked her a very exquisite dish, as he said, as a token of gratitude for sharing with her back then, that she would like his cooking so much that she would become dependent on it. It was so tasty that she ate only at his place. Because of this, she felt bad when he spent a whole day in the dungeon and did not cook her anything at all, which irritated her a little, to put it mildly.
Opening his eyes, the first thing Kopii saw was his already familiar ceiling. He immediately remembered the last minutes of his pitiful defeat. Of course, he understood that the difference in levels was too great. He had hoped she would go easy on him.
«Maybe this is payback for blackmailing her?» – But even so, he did not regret fighting her, for perhaps he too would one day become like her, or maybe even stronger than her. He smiled as widely as he could.
– I want to eat… Kopii.
Hearing such a beautiful voice and looking at the Sword Princess's usual emotionless face, Kopii's smile disappeared. He once again asked himself the same question, but now he said it directly to her:
– What, were you kicked out of the Loki Familia?
– No.
Her answer followed immediately.
– You're lying to me.
– No.
– Then don't you have things to do?
– I do.
– Do you have a personal life?
– Yes.
– Do you have a boyfriend?
– No.
– Then go and get yourself one, and let him cook for you to his heart's content!
– Why do I need him, if you can cook for me?
– What, am I your personal cook?!
He shouted, getting up abruptly from the bed. His irritation had reached its limit; she was simply using him as a cook.
– And finally, how soft are your breasts!
– And finally, how soft are your breasts! – he said, as if nothing had happened, not fully understanding.
Realizing what he had said, all of Kopii's irritation evaporated, as if it had never been there. He had simply repeated after Kane unconsciously. Looking at the Sword Princess's face, hoping that she had not heard, but her furrowed brows said otherwise.
«It's over, I'm dead,» – he thought, understanding, and beginning to mentally prepare for the worst outcome.
– Sorry I doubted you.
…
…
– Come on, say… Let me think… Oh! You can show me your panties. Come on, say it!
But he fully ignored him, beginning to understand that perhaps all was not lost yet, and he began to act.
– Hey, hey, I wasn't thinking anything like that! – he waved his hands in different directions. – It just slipped out, you know… just a thought out loud.
– … Just a thought out loud?
«Damn, what did I say!»
– No, I… Let's just forget it. Alright? – He spoke at once.
– …
– I'll cook you something to eat.
He threw out his last trump card and looked at her with hope that it would be forgotten so easily, but the longer she was silent, the more nervous he became, and with every second, his hope grew smaller and smaller.
– Alright, – she said, as if nothing had happened.
He beamed with joy, for he understood: if she did not like this, she could do whatever she wanted with him, or, even worse, turn the Loki Familia against his familia. But thank the gods that at least once, luck was on his side. After all, if today had been one of those days for her, or if she was simply in a bad mood, he would not have gotten off so easily, probably.
– There's one more condition.
He looked at her with a degree of wariness, for in truth, he never understood her or her motives.
– And what is it? – he answered uncertainly.
– You will cook for me for a whole month.
– Well, fine, – he answered without delay, for even without this condition, he would have cooked for her anyway, and of course, he knew that soon the Loki Familia would begin their descent, and she definitely would not stay here. After all, he knew for certain that the very first thing on her list of interests was strength.