Chapter 293: Second Step [R18]

A few hours later...

After coming out of the small Inn and tipping the maid an entire platinum coin both Atlas and Seraphiel could be seen sitting by the bank of a river. Seraphiel had insisted on coming here, to the edge of the Moltren River, the river after which the city itself had been named. She had laid her head against Atlas’s shoulder while he simply stared at the water flowing continuously in front of them, watching the currents move without interruption.

After remaining like that for a while, Atlas finally spoke, "You seem to know every good place, Seraphiel."

"Hmm, I know, but I never actually visited them this leisurely. I only ever came here to discuss matters with merchants and Nobles in the city. Most of the time, I simply passed through these places without having the opportunity to actually enjoy the scenery." Seraphiel answered with her eyes closed, her voice relaxed as though nothing else mattered to her at this moment.

She wasn’t thinking about the upcoming crisis, the Outsiders, or anything else that could disturb the peaceful world around them. For now, she simply wanted to remain beside Atlas and enjoy the quiet moment.

Atlas’s right hand had been resting loosely at his side when he suddenly felt Seraphiel take it. She gently lifted his hand and placed it around her waist under her wings, causing Atlas to turn toward her in slight surprise.

However, Seraphiel’s eyes remained closed as she spoke without even looking at him, "Don’t look at me like that, I prefer you touching me rather than remaining aloof or indifferent when we are close like this."

Atlas nodded and said nothing. Instead, he adjusted his arm and held her a little tighter, bringing her closer to him as he felt that keeping her safe and secure within his arms was better. Seraphiel immediately smiled when she felt his movement, clearly satisfied with his response.

’I need to escalate things slowly. For now, this will be enough.’ She mused inwardly before wrapping her own arms around the left side of Atlas’s neck.

Atlas barely felt her weight against him. Hell, it didn’t even feel as though she weighed anything at all. His physical strength had already reached a completely different level, making something as ordinary as the weight of another person almost irrelevant to him.

He could feel her soft, sleepy breathing against his chest, and after a moment, his left hand instinctively moved toward her hair. His fingers gently passed through the strands as he began softly caressing them without even consciously thinking about it.

’It... feels different. Completely different with her. It’s like I can forget everything around me and just live like this.’ His heart tightened slightly as he remembered Eliomor explaining that the Outsiders would eventually be coming to this world. ’I can create a space where we can live by altering the logic of Space... but I doubt I can alter the logic of "Life" just like I can alter almost everything else with only a slight mental backlash.’

He already knew it instinctively.

The grassy land beneath and around them was alive, and creating or altering something connected to Life would require him to become much stronger. ’If I can’t alter "Life," then that space would be nothing but empty... nothing like these surroundings, these moments I’m spending with her.’

Atlas sighed inwardly as he cleared those thoughts from his mind. He didn’t want to allow the coming crisis to ruin the peaceful moment he was sharing with Seraphiel.

For now, he only wanted to spend time with her. When he felt like it, he would go to that "Outside" and return stronger with whatever that new energy was. Until then, there was no reason for him to think about it any further. He continued gently caressing Seraphiel’s hair, enjoying the quietness of the moment, when she suddenly lifted her head and looked at him with puffed cheeks.

"Hmph! What are you doing right now? I am not a kid, you know!"

"Huh? Well, I don’t know about that. My hand instinctively moved like that." Atlas responded calmly to her sudden angry yet cute expression.

"-!"

Seraphiel felt as though an invisible arrow had pierced straight through her heart from those words. ’W-Why does he speak those words so calmly? He will kill me with those words someday! Hmph!’ She puffed her cheeks even more as she finally stood up from beside him and immediately sat down on Atlas’s lap.

"???"

Question marks practically seemed to appear over Atlas’s head as he stared at her, completely confused about what she was trying to do. He had just begun wondering whether he had seen this particular position somewhere before when Seraphiel suddenly leaned closer and pressed her lips against his.

"Hmph! Mhmmm!!"

Atlas moaned in surprise as he felt Seraphiel’s tongue enter his mouth, moving against his tongue several times as the kiss deepened.

He hadn’t expected the sudden movement at all, and before he could react, Seraphiel pushed him backward until he fell onto the grassy ground. Her body remained close to his as she leaned over him, holding both of his hands around her waist while a soft moan escaped her lips, "Mmmm... Nggg."

Minutes passed before she finally pulled away, panting softly as she looked down at Atlas’s equally breathless face from above. "Huhu~ Who told you to say those words? Now you are going to be ’Punished’!"

She immediately moved again and pressed her lips against his once more. This time, Atlas felt his mind going blank from the sudden sensation of her sweet tongue, and the sensation seemed even more intense than before, as though the constant circulation of Spirit Energy through her body had refined her physical senses to an unusual degree.

The same, no, an even worse situation was what Seraphiel currently faced. She couldn’t stop herself even for a moment as she felt as though she wanted to devour his lips and tongue alike.

"Mph! S-Sera-!" Before Atlas could finish speaking, her tongue moved against his again, leaving him unable to complete the sentence. Atlas’s hands tightened around her slender waist, making Seraphiel widen her eyes before another involuntary moan escaped her lips, "Nnngghh!"

Minutes after minutes passed as they remained like that, completely absorbed in the moment. The continuous sound of the river flowing beside them made the indecent situation feel strangely natural within the peaceful surroundings.

Neither of them paid attention to the passage of time as they remained together on the grass, and only after nearly half an hour did Seraphiel finally pull away again.

"Huff... Huff... A-Atlas, how is your tongue so sweet? I-I couldn’t stop myself." Her face was flushed and slightly sweaty, yet she didn’t seem to mind it at all.

Her eyes remained fixed on Atlas, carrying an intensity that made it obvious how completely absorbed she had become in him. Atlas looked into those abyssal eyes while still feeling the lingering sensation of her lips, before calmly responding, "I could say the same for you, your tongue has a sweet taste."

Atlas slowly sat up while continuing to hold her waist, causing Seraphiel to arch an eyebrow at his movement. "For now, I think that was enough. And also... warn me before you kiss me again, that was surprising." Seraphiel’s eyes seemed to return to their usual sky-blue color as she puffed her cheeks again, clearly displeased by his response.

"Hmph! Talking as if you didn’t enjoy it. We will do more than this in the future, I warned you right here, right now, so remember those words!"

She shouted before hugging him tightly, while Atlas continued holding her waist with a confused expression. ’Is she... talking about those indecent things?’ He could only wonder about it, still trying to understand what exactly she meant by her words.

Meanwhile, Seraphiel had a small grin on her face as she thought, ’That was the second step. Now the final will have to wait for a long time. Fufu~’