[Skill: Lust
Type: Passive
Activation: Sexual Encounters
Effect: Upon activation, gain exp based on level of Sexual Encounter, Voyeur being the lowest, and Sex being the highest. Upon activating the highest level, gain the ability to copy a skill from the Activation target.
Extra Information: Charisma will now increase with each sexual encounter.
Side Effect: Emotions and Desires increased. Acting on those will provide a small boon.
Hidden Information: One of fourteen primordial Skills. Can be combined with six others to evolve further.]
It was as if a dam just broke within me, the love I felt burst forth in a way it had never done before. It was an incredible feeling, giving into my emotions, one that took me to cloud nine but also threatened to take me to the depths of hell. Just the thought of losing one of the ones I loved was crippling, more so than anything else in the world.
I stared into her tender eyes, my feelings oozing from my every pore, wondering if she had noticed just how I feel yet. It hadn't been more than twenty minutes since I had noticed it myself, so it was a bit ridiculous to expect her to have as well, but I couldn't help but be impatient. I wanted her to know, to understand, but I couldn't say it out loud for fear that she didn't feel the same.
It was funny, not long ago I was sure that she was in love with me, but now that I realized I was in love with her I have begun to doubt myself. Yet she still held my gaze, her eyes never wavering from mine, nor did they ever tint with confusion or hatred at my actions, instead they simply looked into mine, just as I looked into hers. I was sure yet unsure at the same time, it was the most indecisive I had ever been in my life.
The only thing that broke us out of our stare was the footsteps of the waitress approaching. We quickly looked down, both of us blushing deeply as we took quick glances at each other while pretending to browse the menu. The waitress reached our table, the clacking of her footsteps stopping next to us, and took our orders that we somehow managed to stutter out.
I had decided, once we got back to the inn, I would confess. Whether she said yes or no didn't matter, I would accept it either way.
Our meal continued in a dull silence, only interrupted by spatterings of small talk that we each initiated only to try to clear our embarrassment away, to no avail. Yet still, it was one of the most enjoyable days of my life, something that made perfect sense yet no sense at all, at the same time.
The silence didn't last after we left the restaurant, as the night market had begun. There were stalls upon stalls of random things for us to perrouse, as well as performances, plays, and game booths for us to talk about. We wandered for an hour, just looking at the goods presented and occasionally playing some games, before we finally bought anything.
The first thing I bought was a hairpin, it was a light green flower that matched the green in Mimi's hazel eyes. I couldn't pass it up, as it fit her too perfectly to not buy it. So I bought it secretly to not allow her to refuse, then brought it to her while she was busy window shopping at another stall.
Her face lit up when she saw the pin, her eyes sparkling at the gift I had given her. It made my chest feel warm inside when I saw her eyes light up like a child on christmas, a broad smile breaking out on my face.
"Thank you!" She said, hugging me tightly while still holding onto the hairpin I had given her. Her face buried into my chest as her arms tightened even further around me. I followed suit, wrapping my arms around her and hugging tightly, just enough so that she would feel it without getting hurt. I was, after all, far stronger than she was. Luckily, along with strength I had gained control which meant I was at no risk of hurting her, not unless I lost myself to my desires to hug her as tight as possible.
"You're welcome." I whispered to her, my mouth right next to her earth as I did so. Her cheeks flushed as spoke, and she tried to pull back out of the hug but I didn't let her, I kept hold of her tightly, not letting her escape from my grasp.
She looked up at me with a pout before letting out a defeated sigh and once more embracing me, just as she had done before. After a bit, I finally let her go, my smile dipping slightly as she pulled away, but quickly returning when I saw her smiling face as she began to put the hairpin on.
I was right, it really did suit her. She looked absolutely stunning, with her new hairpin helping her makeup and dress to make her eyes pop. Any tension or embarrassment from our dinner together had dissipated, meaning we were free to simply enjoy each other's company for the rest of our time at the night market.
And that we did. I bought her a few more things, some trinkets, a necklace of the same color as her hairpin, and a dress that I thought would fit her well. She bought me a few things, an overcoat that she said suited me, combat boots for when I hunt, and a necklace of the same style as the one I bought her, but this time instead of the light green that fit her eyes it was the same sea green as mine.
I loved each and every thing she had bought me, vowing to never lose even a single one of them. Yet when I said as much out loud she looked at me with confusion and laughed before saying that the combat boots would never last for the rest of my life. I bit my lip in thought when I heard that, I had not realized that when she had bought it, but if I use them they will eventually break.
But just as I was about to say I would never use them, Mimi spoke up. "You can't say that you'll never use them, okay? If you do, I'll be angry. A gift is meant to be used, you know this." I opened my mouth to argue but was unable to come up with a way to counter her point and eventually, I just gave in. She was right after all, I was just being stubborn.
She giggled cutely at my behavior as we continued to walk through the market. It was incredible how large the market was, as we had been exploring for nearly two hours yet still hadn't seen it all. Normal people would be tired after walking around for two hours straight, and I was beginning to notice that Mimi was getting tired as well, so I looked around for somewhere we could rest when something caught my eye.
It was a sign fixed atop a door that led to a rather large building, the sign read 'Auction', and it had a time underneath it. The time, luckily, was only twenty minutes from now, so I figured it would be a good place to rest and maybe find some things to buy.
I said as much to Mimi, and she agreed immediately, her eyes sparkling in curiosity as she looked at the building that had the sign for the auction. I smiled at her cute behavior, committing her childish look to memory as we walked into the building. An attendant met us at the door, showing us the way to the auction room before turning around and returning to the door.
The room was just like that of an opera house, with seats surrounding the stage in a half circle, each row slightly higher than the row in front of it so as to not block anyone's vision. It was first come first serve when it came to seating, and most of the good seats, those in the very front, were taken. So we took a seat near the middle of the rows, getting comfortable as we waited for the auction to start.
It was an unspoken rule to have absolute silence in the room at all times, so we couldn't talk. Instead, I reached my hand over to hers and grasped it lightly, my cheeks blaring red in embarrassment as I did so. Fortunately, she didn't reject my hand, instead turning hers to interlock our fingers. I smiled at the feeling of her small, dainty hand in mine, something I had never felt before when I had grabbed the hands of any of the girls I had been with so far.
The only one who had been similar was Hera, but it wasn't to this level. I wondered if it was because of my Skill that I hadn't felt as strongly, or if I truly loved Mimi more than anyone else currently. I didn't know, nor would I know until I made it back to the Academy.
Although, to be honest, I didn't care too much. My feelings for Mimi were true, no matter what I felt for anyone else. And I had decided to accept that already.
The twenty minutes passed quickly as we waited, hand in hand, for the auction to start. A small man came onto the stage, a small orb in his hand. When he spoke into that orb, his voice reverberated throughout the room, making sure every person inside could hear it. It was almost the same as a microphone and speakers from Earth, except of a far higher quality.
"Welcome, everyone, to the night market auction house. As always, I am your host, Earl Frederick." I blinked in surprise when I heard his name. Earl Frederick was the second son of Marquis Frederick, who was the governor of the entire city. His son was given the title Earl as a reward for his financial ideas by the King himself. Meaning that this small man on the stage who looked like he could blow over at any second, was actually one of the most influential people in this city.
I stared agape for a moment, surprise overtaking me, as I watched him address the crowd. "This week's auction is a bit special as we have some very special magical items in store today, so look forward to that. Now for our first item…"
I recovered from my shock as he began to auction the items, leading the auction brilliantly. I was impressed by how he handled the crowd, making sure to keep their attention at every given moment. The first few items were mostly gems and other expensive trinkets that rich nobles spent exuberant amounts of money obtaining. So we had no place to butt in, instead choosing to watch as the nobles fought among themselves and enjoyed the show.
This continued for a while until finally something caught my eye. "For our next item, this is something we found lost deep at sea in a mission to recover a lost shipment that had fallen from our transport ship. It is rusted and nearly unrecognizable, but it seems to have some kind of mana attached to it. This is… the Unknown Sword!" He announced the name while pulling the sheet away from the box that was covering the sword, showing us how it looked.
He was right, it was rusted and almost didn't look like a sword, but the mana I felt from it felt eerily familiar to me. Enough that I couldn't pass up on it. I raised my hand, placing my bet.