Lothar fidgeted slightly in his chair as Millana stared up at him with encouraging eyes.
"W-why do you need to sit on my lap?"
Lothar turned his gaze away, red cheeks flaring slightly. Amused, Millana offered a gentle as she patted Lothar's head.
"Just trust me."
Lothar hesitatingly looked back at the elf, before sighing and putting his hand up. He imagined a ball made of void the size of a tennis ball. He rectified his last mistake, making sure that it wasn't as large this time around. He gritted his teeth as his mind brought him back to the void.
He began to shiver, his breathing going erratic as his eyes opened. There, the void orb floated lazily over his shaking hand. He was quickly reminded of the void once more and was starting to hyperventilate.
Only for him to calm down slightly when he felt something warm and fuzzy flowing through him.
He felt every vein in his body course with that fuzzy feeling, his trembling limbs slowly stabilizing as they did so.
Breathing in and out, Lothar relaxed his tense muscles as the vision of the void slowly faded. Replacing it, he saw the faces of his family, his friends, and his crush before that fateful day happened.
Smiling at the lost memories, he maneuvered the orb made of void around his arm, willing it to circle around his head. All while the fuzzy feeling remained in his body.
The orb bobbed and weaved, Lothar's imagination broadening as his thoughts took on a very happy turn.
Once he was done playing around with the void orb, he willed it to vanish. In an instant, the void orb ceased to exist, tiny particles of the void slowly falling to the ground.
"What… What was that…?" Lothar gasped out as the fuzzy feeling inside his body began to pass.
"That, Lothar, was me sharing my magic with you." Millana smiled as she hopped out of his lap. "But it wasn't any ordinary distribution. Because of my connection with you via the subordinate ritual, my mana that flowed within you was more in tune with yours, despite our differences."
"… Does that mean, normally, this kind of mana sharing is impossible?" Millana nodded at Lothar's question, which made him more curious. "How it normally supposed to be then?"
"Mana sharing is common knowledge amongst mages." Millana propped herself up on the chair she was seated in earlier. Sipping a glass of tea that was served to her by Elora, she hummed, then continued. "However, what most mages perceive as mana sharing, they perceive only as a way to refill their mana reserves. For those who are contracted to each other, be it by ritual, by blood, or by coincidence, mana sharing is something far more intimate."
"… I see." Lothar stared at Millana as his right hand clenched and unclenched, trying to get a feeling of using that void orb by reminiscing about the fuzzy feeling that flowed through him.
His mind betrayed him, however, as it only showed an image of the void in all its glory. Lothar grimaced, but it didn't turn into a full-blown panic like it did last time.
Relieved at the fact that he no longer panicked when exposed to a little of the void's image, Lothar sighed and leaned back in his seat.
"Can I ask something then?" Millana gestured with her hand for Lothar to continue. "What do you mean by something far more intimate?"
"It is as I say." Millana's cheeks turned rosy pink. "If you so want a word to describe it aptly, it would be something along the lines of sexual intercourse."
At that, Drake had no small amount of redness in his cheeks. Even Elora was affected by her words.
But the two were not the most affected. That belonged to Millana, who was sporting a massive blush, even if her expressionless face hid her embarrassment well.
"… Right…" Lothar ducked his head down as he faked a cough. "Anyway, should we continue with the lesson?"
"Mhm…" Millana hummed as she took another sip from her tea cup. "Then let's continue."
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It'd been a few hours since Lothar went on his way back to his room after a hearty meal served by the elf maids in the library.
Lothar was still too tense to eat in the dining room, surrounded by elven guards.
Millana accepted the fact that Lothar wouldn't be eating in the dining hall anytime soon. She hoped, however, that the man she took a slight liking to over the course of a few days would overcome his problems.
Mainly, his trauma of the void, his fear of choking or swallowing if Ashryn is to be believed, and his paranoia against other elves that aren't her, Elora, or Ashryn.
"Lady Millana?" Elora spoke up from her spot, Millana rubbing her eyes as she yawned.
"Yes, Elora?"
"Do you think he'll be ready when the time comes?" Elora looked out the window, her vision being taken up by the elven village basking under the moonlight.
"Time will tell, Elora, and if his progress earlier in the day was any indication," Millana gave out a small smile as she laid her head on a pillow, "He will overcome them. We just need to be patient."
Elora didn't say anything else, but the feeling in her gut was continuing to pester her to prepare herself for something. Something she didn't know, but otherwise, a threat to her, and Lady Millana.
Meanwhile, Lothar laid on his bed, his room lit up like the fourth of July to keep away the darkness.
'I haven't checked on my status yet ever since I arrived here… Might as well do them now.' Yawning, Lothar lazily brought up his status window, eyebrows rising as he saw a visible change.
Name: Lothar Edwin
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Class: Outsider
STR: 6
AGI: 7
INT: 5
LUC: Error!
'… Progress…?' Lothar stared at his status screen with curiosity. 'My strength went up by one, while agility by two… Did I get that from training with Elora yesterday?'
Thinking back on the hellish training he suffered yesterday, Lothar agreed that it was indeed the case.
'I mostly did cardio training rather than pure strength exercises, so I can see why agility increased more than strength.' Lothar hummed as his eyes locked on the intelligence stat. 'For intelligence, though, how am I supposed to increase that? Read books? Gain knowledge?'
Yawning, he closed the window and turned to the side.
'I'll ponder that tomorrow. For now, I need to sleep.'