When Beth woke up, she was lying on the mattress with her head on the pillow. Beside her, the boy was sleeping peacefully, his soft breath landing on the pillow that was squished in the gap between them. His silvery hair shone in the dim light of the room. She smiled at the sight of the handsome boy. Had he decreased the light when she had slept off? She wondered.
She grabbed the pillow and pulled it away from its spot between them, and scooted closer. Licking her lips nervously, she put a hand on his chest. He was warm, but there was no heartbeat. Nonetheless, her own picked up its pace, feeling his smooth skin under her palm. As her hand slowly started to slide down his chest, the boy woke up, startled. He quickly grabbed her hand and looked at her with dreadful eyes.
Beth wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively. "You're quite pretty, aren't you?" She asked, sliding closer.
Horrified, he sat up, covering his chest with both his hands. Beth stared at her wrist that he had abandoned to protect himself. She brought it to her nose and sniffed it. Her face lit up with ecstasy. He smelled like sweet strawberry ice-cream.
"Master! This is sexual abuse!" The system exclaimed, horrified at her actions.
Beth laughed, standing on her knees the next instant. She leaned towards him with an evil smile on her face. Before he could try and escape, she blocked all his routes with her hands pressing against the wall on both sides of his torso. They were incredibly close. She could feel his breath on the side of his neck as she gently blew against his neck.
"Who are you going to complain to?" She whispered into his ears with much confidence.
"I-I'm a kid right now!" The system stuttered, moving away from her mouth only for his head to hit her left hand.
Beth huffed. She lowered herself onto him, putting her legs on either side of his waist. He watched the adam's apple on his neck bulge up and down as he gulped nervously. Putting her hands on his shoulder, she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Who are we trying to fool? You and I are both adults. Why don't you shift back to your older form?" She asked, leaning closer to his face.
A cold hand pressed against her lips before she could reach her target. As he pushed her face away, she pushed him back with her mouth, narrowing her eyes at the boy. He pushed her back with all his force and stood up on the bed, looking down at her with wide eyes.
"I- I can't." He said, trying to get off the bed.
But Beth didn't want to give up so easily. She took hold of his leg and glared at him. "I demand you to." She shouted.
The boy shook his head desperately. "No. I literally can't. I took all my energy to transform myself into this age and now I can't shift back." He replied, pulling his leg back.
The answer shocked her. She sighed, letting go of his leg. There goes her dreams of the private strip session that she had been dreaming about, she thought, shaking her head.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Beth asked, scrunching her eyebrows at him.
The boy threw up his hands in the air in exasperation. "Because it's not relevant!" He shouted, looking at her as if she were ridiculous.
"Who said so?!" She shouted back, pointing an accusing finger at him.
How dare he try to act smart with his master?! She was going to teach the system a lesson and strip him naked right this instant! The boy screamed in horror as she clutched his pants tightly. Beth laughed evilly, happy that she was getting the upper hand.
"Master!" The system shouted suddenly, grabbing her hands. "There's someone out there."
Beth narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. But as they quieted down, she could hear it- the sound of footsteps. Was someone pacing in her room? She wondered.
"I'll be back." She said, shaking her finger at the boy in a warning. "Don't move."
The system nodded, gulping nervously. Getting her assurance, Beth slipped out of the system, only to wake up in her futon. She stretched like a cat as she stood up. A small smile played on her lips as she remembered how sinfully calm the system looked as he lay there, sleeping on the mattress next to her. At least she got a perk from planting the damn tree, she thought, shaking her head. Man toy it is! She thought, slipping the bracelet off of her hand.
She walked to the door and unhinged the lock. Opening it, she stretched her neck outside, wondering what the noise was about. The sun had risen and was moving quietly up the sky. There was a mild chill to the air that signaled that it was still too early for any visitors. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the guest.
"Fifty-eight," She asked, raising her brows, "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"
"I errr... thought we could go to work together." The girl replied, flashing her a nervous smile.
"Why?" Beth asked, confused.
It was not like they ever did such a thing. In fact, no one in the lower town ever went to work together!
"Because I'm scared to go alone." The girl replied meekly.
Beth sighed. "You're just too obvious." She said, shaking her head.
Without wasting any time, Beth washed her face, and tied a band on her head, ready to head to work. Fifty-eight could turn out to be a headache when she wanted to, and Beth didn't want to ruin her morning with it. She quickly slipped out of the door, making sure that it was closed properly behind her.
"Didn't you sleep yesterday night?" Beth asked as she walked beside the girl.
She looked tired and had dark circles under her eyes, unlike Beth, who had a great sleep despite her tensions.
Fifty-eight shook her head. "I couldn't. I kept thinking about.." she paused. Lowering her voice, she said, "the punishment."
Beth put a sympathetic hand on the girl's shoulder. "Fifty-eight, forget that you ever did that. Maybe then you'll stop acting like a culprit." She said, hoping to get some sense into her.
It was going to be dangerous for the both of them if the girl kept acting like this, Beth thought to herself.
"But I can't! I was the one who did it!" Fifty-eight exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears.
"Did what?" A familiar voice came from behind them, sending chills down their spines.
"One!" Both of them exclaimed, turning around to face the minor god.