She closed the door quickly behind her, careful not to slam it.
Her heart leaped so violently she could feel the blood rushing through her veins and her chest pounding fiercely. She staggered forward; the world spun before her eyes, blurring and distorting.
She took a few steps away from the door and slumped against a wall. She looked down at her trembling hands, and seeing them, she became fully aware of the events that had transpired just seconds ago.
'What…'
Her mind was, surprisingly, calm; it was a still lake. But that tranquility was being disrupted by memories and emotions, falling like pebbles into the lake, creating ripples and sinking into the depths.
Her tongue felt prickly, and she was very hot. Her cheeks flushed so red they seemed to cast a faint glow in the dark storeroom.
Prisoner of her anxiety, she covered her face with her hands, trying to hide. Even though no one was watching her, she wished she could disappear.
'Why did I do that?! No! No! No!'
She pressed her hands hard against her face.
Her trembling lips parted, wanting to scream, but no sound came out. She was overcome by the panic of being heard by Master Sunless and triggering another awkward situation.
Unable to relieve the bundle of emotions, she parted her lips again and raised her voice moderately.
"Shoot!... Darn it!... Gosh darn it!... Fudge!... Consarn it!... Damn it, I don't know any more curses!"
Having failed to dissipate her frustration, she clenched her fists and prepared to punch the floor with all her might. Just as she was about to, the walls trembled.
The force of her fist dissipated along with her mood, and she immediately went on alert.
The tremor vanished as quickly as it had come. Telle was attentive to her surroundings, sharpening her senses.
Then she froze. Her golden pupils contracted before trembling uncontrollably; the right side of her face, which she had covered with her hands, was wet.
She looked down at her right hand; that's when she realized it was with this hand that she had caressed Sunless's sweat-covered chest.
The hand hadn't dried yet; it was still soaked with sweat.
Undignified, choked squeaking noises came from her throat; air desperately entered and left her lungs.
Her vision blurred; both her hands and jaw trembled. The image of the well-built, handsome man formed in her mind; she vividly recalled the sensation of his soft, damp skin, causing her mind to take flight with fantasies.
She imagined Master Sunless in all sorts of flirtatious situations with her.
Like the two of them drinking from the same bottle, sharing an umbrella in the rain while she clung to his arm.
Of all those scenarios, products of her innocent mind, the one that stood out the most was of him and her on a walk in the park under the moonlight. He gave her the most charming smile in two worlds; after reaching the end of the path, they sat on the grass, leaning back while their hands were intertwined.
"H-h-holding h-hands…"
Something inside Telle disconnected, and little by little, her vision blackened until she could see nothing. With a dull thud, she fell to the floor on her side.
There, Telle died…
Or at least, she wished that had happened.
The first thing that greeted her as she regained consciousness was the exquisite softness of silk, comfortable compared to the hard floor where she had fallen.
She was still on the threshold of sleep, reluctant to wake up; unconsciously, her mind continued to project scenes of her and Master Sunless.
She frowned, seemingly concerned; her hands pressed against her chest; Telle's head moved from side to side.
Muttering words that only she could understand; her voice, normally distant, burst forth with emotion.
"N-no… It's too soon for that…" It left her lips softly, like a whisper.
"T-that's not right… mhhf… No… d-don't put it there, stop…"
Her cheeks flushed a blood-red once more.
"No… Don't put your bed next to mine, the house blocks are asymmetrical… and don't place cobblestone there, it looks ugly… sticks… villagers… armor… Neth…"
The volume of her voice faded as she lost the battle against the comfort-induced sleep.
"Achoo!"
Telle's eyes snapped open; she immediately grasped the change in environment. Quickly, she sat up in the bed.
The room looked very different from where she had been before; she turned her head, scanning the room's details, gathering information.
Her eyes stopped on a floating mass near her.
She stayed still for one second; by the next, she was already summoning a weapon.
But those precautions were unnecessary; the floating mass wasn't a Nightmare Creature or something dangerous, it was the shopkeeper who had greeted her before.
"Tch, I hate spring. It's always the same," she said, rubbing her nose. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blonde girl sitting up, looking at her.
The newspaper in her hands flew toward a nightstand, landing perfectly on its surface.
Using a push from her aspect, she approached the bed.
"Oh, good morning, sleeping beauty," Aiko said with a friendly smile.
Telle's eyes widened. "Good morning?! W-what time is it?"
The floating girl blinked a couple of times. "Ah, sorry, sorry," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Relax, it's not daytime, I just said it out of habit. It's still the middle of the afternoon."
The muscles in her face relaxed; she let out a relieved sigh she didn't know she was holding. She took a long breath that helped her calm down and reassemble her serene appearance.
"What happened?" said Telle.
Her smile widened slightly; giving herself a few pushes with her aspect, she settled beside her, seeming to sit cross-legged in the air.
"Well, I went down to see what happened after the walls trembled and I saw you lying there on the floor. I got so scared when I saw you! I thought the boss had gone too far with you. He has endless stamina, you know? For me, no matter how hard I try, I can never tire him out…"
Telle tilted her head, listening intently to the explanation.
"…Forget that for now. The thing is, I obviously couldn't leave you lying there, so I brought you here. And don't be alarmed about the time; only about five minutes have passed."
She nodded and then coughed.
Something in this already uncomfortable situation felt wrong; it was a hunch.
She felt a pang in her chest as she contemplated the idea. Her lower lip trembled; she lowered her head, hiding among her golden hair.
"Could you tell me whose bed this is?"
"The boss's!" said Aiko.
With her suspicions confirmed, Telle froze; her hands trembled, her legs too; her whole body was shaking on the verge of a convulsion.
Her face turned red again; she worked her mouth to say something, but only choked squeaks came out.
Aiko took Telle's shoulders, shaking her gently. "Hey! Snap out of it!"
But the girl didn't react; her chest expanded and contracted with her accelerated breathing.
Her eyes expressed what was on her mind: complete chaos.
'I skipped every single step that ever existed. I'm in his bed, sleeping in his bed, where he sleeps. Me, me, me, and—'
"Wake up!" a voice shouted beside her.
Cold water fell on her. She let out a deep gasp from the cold.
Aiko clicked her tongue.
"Bah, I had to change those sheets anyway… Lately, I've been doing it daily. What a nuisance."
In her hand, the bottle she had used to douse Telle vanished into sparks.
"Better now?"
Telle's nervous attack was successfully contained, though she wasn't fully recovered.
She looked coldly at the floating girl. First, she felt annoyed, but she instantly suppressed those feelings; after all, she had helped her.
She sighed, discarding her annoyance.
"I guess… Thank you."
"It's nothing."
The shopkeeper's friendly smile began to transform into a wicked one; she narrowed her eyes and floated closer and closer with her aspect.
"I can see you did take my advice, didn't you?"
Telle blinked and her wet head tilted.
"What do you mean?"
Aiko's brow furrowed slightly, but she didn't drop her smile.
"Don't play dumb, you know what I mean." She raised her hand and pointed at her face. "Your unusually expressive eyes tell me everything."
Telle averted her gaze and snorted, defeated.
"I still don't understand what you're telling me… I'm truly confused."
Aiko floated in circles around her.
"Oh, 'confused,' are you? Don't worry, Auntie Aiko will help you get your bearings. Let's talk business… Tell me, do you want the full service?"
A shiver ran down her spine. Aiko hadn't spoken in a particularly intimidating way, but she felt something was deeply wrong with how she said it. Unconsciously, she retreated toward the headboard.
"What is that service? I don't understand what you're saying," she said, looking at her with genuine confusion in her eyes; her serene expression only made Telle seem like a confused child.
The shopkeeper's smile vanished.
"I can't believe you're this dense… Well then, let me ask you a couple of questions. Don't try to lie to me, those little eyes of yours betray you very easily, so tell me…"
She recovered that strange smile as she asked her question. "Do you like Master Sunless?"
Her heart jumped at the question; her whole body paralyzed except for her golden eyes, which darted around in their sockets.
"There it is! You do like him!"
"Ha, ha, ha!" She laughed maliciously.
"I didn't even leave you alone for 10 minutes, you know? Not that I can blame you for falling so easily."
Telle wanted to refute; she parted her lips to express herself and clarify, but nothing came out of her mouth.
The shopkeeper spun in the air again. She was lying down, pretending to hold her face in her hands and kicking her legs softly.
"I'd like to know what happened to make you pass out, but we can leave that for later. I don't mind filling in that space with my own imagination either, hehehe."
Spinning back, she now landed on the bed next to Telle.
"Now, I'll make you a special offer, just for you! Okay?"
Without waiting for an answer, she continued, ignoring the poor blonde girl.
"You came looking for a memory, and you'll get one! But besides that… I offer you Master Sunless! For a special price, of course." She winked at the end.
"What do you mean, 'offer'?" she said with innocence.
Aiko gave her a tired look and let out a sigh.
"Oh, you'll see. You could chat about trivial things before going out for a walk, eat something, watch the sunset, and hold hands while stargazing…"
Her pupils trembled with emotion; she clenched her fists and her heart warmed.
"…Of course, that's not it. You're going down there to have him, girl! Are you really that innocent?"
Telle's eyes froze and her fists clenched tighter; her jaw dropped.
"And, of course, if you want, you can do all that stuff I said before. I won't stop you as long as you pay me. But that's the deal. What do you say?"
Her chest ached.
"N-no… No… That's not right… No… no…" Her voice was tremulous; she hid her eyes with her hands and shook her head in denial.
"The fact that you're hiding your eyes also gives me an answer, you know? Since you're all wet, let's get you fixed up. Get up."
She floated toward a closet in the room. This piece of furniture hadn't been there before, but after more than one person had stayed at the emporium, Sunny found it necessary to better accommodate the girls.
After removing, taking out, and putting back garments, she threw a set of clothes at the girl.
"Here, put this on. Let's see how it looks on you."
Telle still hadn't uncovered her eyes, standing firm as a statue.
"No… I don't want to. You can't force me. I don't want to… no…"
Aiko couldn't help but give a big smile. She was having a lot of fun with this girl.
"Oh, of course! You can absolutely refuse. No one will force you to do anything, but since you have nothing to do here…"
She made a gesture with her hand, inviting her to leave.
"Go ahead, the door is quite wide. Shoo, shoo."
The blonde girl didn't move at all.
"I see. I'll take that as a yes. Take your time, I'll wait outside."
The shopkeeper floated to the door and closed it without touching it behind her.
Now she was alone again. Seconds passed, then minutes, and she still hadn't moved, but every moment of inaction made her sink deeper and deeper into a pit of emotions she couldn't recognize.
But there was one thing she did recognize: she was offended. Ever since she entered the shop, it seemed she had lost her status as a Legacy; she had been treated like just any girl. Less than that.
She had never taken advantage of her status in any context, but being treated this way made her feel conflicted.
And, despite how indignant she was feeling, it was gone. She hadn't made a decision, but her heart had: she was going to stay.
Finally, she removed her hands, freeing her eyes.
She got up from the bed. Standing there, she saw the outfit.
Her expression contorted. She stared at the outfit with her mouth open.
'There's no way… absolutely no way. I hate it. I hate everything.'
She picked up the largest garment. It wasn't even her size; it was at least one or two sizes too small.
She bit her tongue upon seeing the other pieces. Her eyes stung; her legs trembled.
"It's not fair…" she said in a low voice, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
When the door opened again, Telle stepped out timidly, peeking out and catching the attention of Aiko, who was floating in the middle of the hallway with her arms crossed.
"Are you ready? I told you you could take your time, but you sure took a while. Come on, out!"
Telle clenched her jaw and eyelids. She took a step into the hallway, leaving the room.
She emerged wearing a loose black silk robe. The fabric, soft and cool, whispered ghostly against her legs, which were covered by opaque black stockings that reached her thighs.
The robe's only belt was tied in a weak knot at her waist, and the fabric was so short that every step she took felt like teetering on the edge of a precipice. She crossed her arms in an attempt to cover herself, feeling the silk cling to her skin.
None of the garments were the right size for her. So, if this outfit was already somewhat revealing, now she was playing at being something more.
Aiko's eyes traveled over the girl's figure; with each passing moment of observation, her wicked smile grew, giving Telle chills.
"Wow… I knew you were a hidden sweet under that armor, but you've even left me speechless," she said, her voice laden with perverse satisfaction.
She wasn't exaggerating; the girl's generous bust was only accentuated by the lack of space between the fabric and her skin; the same went for her hips and other attributes.
"Underwear… please," Telle said with clear effort; her flushed cheeks only accentuated her attractiveness. Aiko had to contain the saliva in her mouth; on the other hand, she wanted to laugh, but she held back her mockery to not make things harder for poor Telle.
"I'm sorry, you'll have to go down like this. But don't worry, I don't think those clothes will stay on you for long anyway."
The blonde's lip trembled visibly. Suddenly, she turned around, trying to hide her face; her shoulders shook.
"Come on, you look precious, girl. Don't be ashamed of it."
Aiko's gaze stopped on the knot at Telle's waist.
"Just remember to breathe… and maybe don't bend over to pick anything up, understood?... You're not crying, are you?"
Telle was sobbing, wiping her tears.
"This isn't right… If Mother saw me like this…" she said, her voice breaking.
Hands held her trembling shoulders. From her right side, Aiko leaned in, entering her field of vision.
"But Mom and Dad aren't here right now. It's just you."
She pulled a handkerchief from her waist, tucked into her uniform, and used it to wipe the girl's tears.
"Come on, cheer up. No pretty girl should cry like that! Don't you think so?"
She didn't quite smile, but her expression relaxed and the tears stopped falling. After a series of breaths, she opened her eyes and turned to look at Aiko.
"I guess so…" she said with a soft, little laugh.
After she calmed down and Aiko gave her a few more pieces of advice—which made Telle even more nervous—the two of them began to descend the stairs. With every step, she felt her heart beat faster and her stomach churn; the air was heavy, very heavy, and the walls seemed to be closing in. But there it was, the door to the forge right in front of her.
"Alright, go on in. He's all yours," said Aiko.
She was one step away from grabbing the handle and entering. Her legs were trembling. Standing alone before her destiny, she reconsidered things.
'What am I supposed to be doing? No, no. This is all wrong. What am I even supposed to do inside? Why did I even agree to this? What am I even wearing? What…?'
In a whirlwind of doubts and thoughts, Telle came to her senses and chickened out.
She shrank back and turned around.
"M-Miss Aiko, I don't want to anymore. I changed my mind. I don't want to go in, I'm scared."
She looked at Aiko as if she were the answer to all her doubts, the one who would understand and support her.
"Are you sure you want to leave?" said Aiko in a maternal tone she had never used before.
Telle nodded, tears once again welling up in her eyes, threatening to overflow.
"I see… Come here, it's alright." She smiled kindly.
She opened her arms, inviting her to come closer. The confused and lost girl approached her arms, seeking refuge.
But just as she was about to sink into the embrace, a strange force pushed her; it was like a yank; her whole body was being dragged backward.
The door behind her swung open. Without even having time to react or process the situation, she was already crossing the threshold; she fell to the floor. It wasn't rough; it was like the fall of a feather.
After falling, she immediately turned toward where she had just been, and there was Aiko.
The compassionate smile had transformed back into the wicked one from before. Telle trembled under the gaze of her black eyes, which looked at her with satisfaction and as if she were looking at a "something", not a "someone".
"I'm sorry, Lady Telle, but I can't let a sure deal like this slip away. I hope you understand. Enjoy it! You won't regret it!"
Telle, for the first time in her life, felt something break inside her; a feeling that could destroy and plunge even the strongest of hearts into misery. Telle had been betrayed.
After hearing Aiko's last words, the door closed without being touched.
Just like before, the door closed, leaving her abandoned by the same person.
She stood there, stunned, staring at the door. She would have stayed like that longer if not for a voice that snapped her out of her stupor.
"Lady Telle?"
Precisely that voice pierced her chest like a spear.
Slowly and trembling, she turned toward the source of the voice, and there she remembered the reason why. Why she had brought that shameless outfit, why she had wanted to come here in the first place, or rather, for whom she had come.
Just like when she had entered the first time, there was heat. A lot of heat. Too much heat.