Chapter 123: The Abyss of Love

The first thing Valerian felt when he woke up was the warmth and weight of Seraphine laying directly on top of him. In his half-asleep state, he wrapped his arms tighter around her and squeezed her like a plush toy, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Agh!"

But Valerian didn’t let her go and kept her right in front of him with both his arms around her waist.

"Val... wake up," she quietly said, while laying her head on his chest.

When he heard her voice, his eyes fluttered open and he looked down. Seraphine looked up at him with a pleading face as she pinched his side.

"Good morning. I take it you enjoyed the night?"

She was obviously referring to the fact that he treated her like a squeeze toy, refusing to let her go.

"Haha, good morning to you, too."

He laughed, slightly embarrassed at his actions when he was half-asleep. But Seraphine wasn’t angry with him, and grinned while placing her legs beside him and leaning closely over his face.

The blanket fell off her, and Valerian could see her black panties between her legs, and part of her chest through the loose T-shirt that hung from her shoulders.

She leaned in closer, until their lips met in a morning kiss. It wasn’t a wild one like the times before; it was a comfortable and slow one. Valerian’s hand moved up from the bed and along her thigh, but before he could make his way to her butt, the space in front of the bed split apart.

Seraphine jumped off of Valerian and turned toward the space rift.

"Valerian, get up."

Ravena stepped through the space rift and stopped when she saw the scene before her. Valerian was lying in bed without a shirt on, next to a half-naked girl in underwear and a T-shirt. Both looked flustered like they were caught red-handed, and the situation clicked in her head.

"Did I interrupt something?"

Valerian threw the blanket to the side and stood up with a sigh.

"Yes. Next time, please send me a message or something before you just appear in my bedroom."

He looked over at the slightly flustered Seraphine, who still sat on the bed, and pointed to Ravena.

"This is the person I told you about, my sword master, Ravena."

Seraphine stepped off the bed, pulling the blanket with her and wrapping it around her waist so as not to stand in her underwear in front of Valerian’s master.

"It’s an honor meeting you, Ravena. Valerian told me a lot about you."

Ravena scanned Seraphine for a moment, her eyes piercing through the outer shell of a flustered girl caught with her boyfriend. Her eyes widened for a moment before going back to normal and turning back to Valerian.

"Get ready. We are starting."

With that, she stepped back into the rift, leaving it open for Valerian to follow her. Sighing, he walked over to Seraphine and gave her one last light kiss.

"I have to go for now. You can stay here if you want. I will be back later."

"Mmh-hmm."

She nodded in response and watched as Valerian entered the bathroom before returning clothed in his combat uniform a bit later, leaving her in his room while he went to train.

She sat back on the bed and let herself fall onto the soft mattress.

’We actually did it. We slept together.’

Thinking about it, a wide smile appeared on her face as she stood back up and put on fresh clothes from her spatial ring while looking at the clock.

’I might as well skip today.’

It was already past 9:00 and the first lesson had started, but she didn’t feel like going there today. And honestly, she didn’t need to; she was the best student in the elite class, so it wouldn’t matter if she skipped from time to time.

Even the teachers wouldn’t punish someone for missing class, as the academy was a lot about responsibility and not forcing the students to attend every class.

With a happy step, she walked through the dorm room, exploring every room.

Valerian stepped into the white space and turned to Ravena, who was wiping one of her katanas clean with a towel, his eyes turning into a frown.

"Why did you react so weirdly to Seraphine?"

He saw the micro-reaction she had when she looked at Seraphine. Ravena, who was normally a detached and cold demigod, had been surprised when she saw her, and Valerian had to know why.

Ravena stopped cleaning the sword with the towel and turned to Valerian.

"She felt like you, that’s all." ℯℯ𝑙.

’Felt like me? Is she talking about the mana?’

He knew that she had the title [Touched by True Divinity], since he had checked her with his [Dragon Eyes], but he was surprised that Ravena would realize the connection Seraphine’s mana had with him.

’The senses of a demigod, I guess.’

He walked up to her and took the sword she assigned to him today; it was a sabre with a curved blade.

Without wasting much time, they began the fight. Today Ravena was using her katana again. She was fast, and behind every swing was enough force to cut through any reinforced steel without any problems.

But Valerian’s body adapted to every strike; every counter she used against him wouldn’t work a second time. At an insane speed, his mastery over the sword reached new heights.

Ravena was marveling at the speed at which he was improving, but it was not only the physique that made him better with every fight. It was a strange feeling Ravena got, like Valerian was actually melding with the concept of the sword. It was frighteningly like her own [Sword] affinity.

They continued for a few more hours before Ravena stopped it for today. Valerian was just about to step through the rift when Ravena called out to him.

"It’s good to have someone to fight for."

Valerian looked at her with slight confusion. It wasn’t like her to give philosophical advice, so it made him slightly nervous and on edge. She looked at him with a complicated expression.

"But it can also be your downfall. Be careful, Valerian, not to lose yourself in the abyss that is love."

She turned around and didn’t say anything else, leaving Valerian staring at the back of her head. Her strong back seemed strangely... lonely and sad.

"Thank you, Master. I won’t."

He didn’t wait for an answer, left the white space, and arrived back in his bedroom. The first thing he noticed was that it smelled amazing in his dorm.

’Is someone cooking?’

Following the scent, he left the bedroom and stepped into the living room. He could hear the sound of water boiling and meat cooking coming from the kitchen attached to the living room.

’Hmm?’

He walked into the kitchen and saw Seraphine wearing a pink apron with a cute-looking dragon printed on it, standing in front of the stove. Her long silver hair was tied in a neat ponytail as she looked at the steak with a complicated expression.

Underneath the apron, she was wearing a white T-shirt and skirt that wasn’t part of the academy uniform and clearly her own.

A smile appeared on Valerian’s face at the sight, and he silenced his footsteps by covering his feet in darkness as he slowly sneaked closer to her.

"Is that right so- AAHG!"

Her mumbling got interrupted as Valerian suddenly hugged her from behind, wrapping his arms around her belly.

"Are you cooking for me?"

When she heard the voice and now felt the familiar mana, her shock lessened and she relaxed into the hug.

"Don’t do that again, or I will actually attack you."

She pinched his hand that was around her waist, causing Valerian to giggle.

"And yes, I thought it might be nice. But I have never cooked meat before, so I don’t know if it tastes right."

Since she was a vegetarian since birth, she had no experience cooking or eating any kind of meat, but she still wanted to cook something for Valerian, and so she tried it.

Valerian tightened his arms around her.

"Thank you. I’m sure it’s good."

They leaned into each other for a minute, feeling each other’s presence as comfort, before Seraphine suddenly slapped him on the head with the ladle in her hand.

"Go shower. You smell of swords."

"Okay, okay."

Valerian walked back out of the kitchen, but before he left, he stuck his head out from the side.

"Wanna join me?"

Seraphine blushed slightly before throwing the ladle at him.

"Just go!"

Valerian disappeared and teleported into the bathroom to wash. After he returned, they ate. The meat that Seraphine had been cooking was surprisingly tasty, something that he honestly didn’t expect from a vegetarian princess.

When they finished eating and washing the dishes, they began the usual examination that again lasted deep into the night, causing Seraphine to stay over again.