Deep within the Great Wildlands Forest, tens of thousands of miles away from the Goblin Kingdom, underneath a mystical waterfall thousands of meters in height, a man who looked like a fallen immortal and a beautiful jade beauty were seen talking to each other with small smiles on their usually stoic faces.
.....
"...You are so irritating..."
Crystalline commented with a small pout when she saw the playful grin never leave Azmond's face.
"I just can't help myself~," he responded as his sly grin grew even wider.
"You know what?" he asked.
"...What?" Crystalline responded with a bit of reluctance.
She knew anything that came out of this man's mouth was bound to be something shameless.
Azmond's smirk was at an all-time high when he saw the unwilling face of the Ice Beauty.
"Your cold, emotionless side has its perks~," he began.
"But I personally think you look far cuter when you're showing so many different emotions like you are now."
An earnest look formed in his gaze as he finished what he was saying while staring directly into Crystalline's emerald-like eyes.
"..."
His face was one that made Crystalline flinch a little.
'Why did he say it so seriously...?' She thought.
'This man is seriously...'
A small, lovely smile started to form on Crystalline's face as she gazed right back into Azmond's deep blue eyes with a small bit of affection.
'...So annoying'
.......
"So... Anyway, Crystalline~," Azmond began with a gentle smile. "What brings you to this waterfall? You already know why I'm here, but you never told me your reason for being here."
"!!"
His actions were ones that made Crystalline quiver a little when she heard him call out her name in such a sweet way... with that same... annoying smile.
It was a smile that she was starting to get addicted to as a barely noticeable, giddy grin emerged on her jade-like face.
However, in spite of her slight elation, Crystalline felt like she needed to respond to Azmond, so she said, "I came because of..."
She turned her head away as she thought carefully about her next words.
Crystalline was originally going to lie to him without a second thought—at least she should've—until she once again saw that beautiful smile on Azmond's face when she turned her head toward him.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said with an understanding tone.
However, even though he understood her point of view, a dejected look appeared on Azmond's countenance for but a second before it returned to a kind smile once again.
"..."
Crystalline saw the look he made, and for some reason, it broke her heart a little when she witnessed it.
So without thinking, Crystalline spoke the truth about her situation without a second thought:
"I... I am out training for my sect," she said before she continued. "The competition to see who will be the next heiress of my sect is about to occur... so I came outside of my sect to get real-life experience training."
Crystalline spoke with a rushed tone as she blurted out the entire truth without thinking. She quickly realized what she had done and put on a face of regret.
But... when she saw the beaming smile on Azmond's face once again reappear, that regret disappeared as quickly as it came...
"I didn't realize I was in the presence of an heiress~ Apologies for my uncouth behavior, Your lady'ness~"
A fox-like grin emerged on his face as he went right up to the naked figure of Crystalline and bowed slightly while spouting a bunch of nonsense.
"..."
Crystalline instantly regretted ever telling this man anything.
*Humph!* "Annoying," she responded with a slight snort as she turned her head away in embarrassment.
Her two twin peaks and their pink tips followed along with her as they ricocheted a bit
"..." The swaying of her breasts was something that Azmond watched with attentive eyes and a seductive smirk.
"...Oh No! My lady is disappointed in me! Whatever shall I do about this?!? Oh~ I know something that might work~"
"!?" Crystalline suddenly got a bad feeling when she heard his words, but she realized it just a tad bit too late...
FWIP!
Azmond flashed right over to Crystalline and put his index finger right on her abdomen.
"!!!"
It was an action that she noticed immediately as she tried to jump back from freight, but... she was too late.
The Big Bad Wolf already had his claws out ready to devour the little lamb set out before him.
Azmond slid his index finger up her abdomen in a sensual way as he picked up a drop of sweat that was sliding down the cavern between her breasts.
"Mhmmff~!"
A voice sweet like honey came out in a soft moan as this action of his caused the still-sensitive Crystalline to have an electric current go throughout her sexy body.
Azmond proceeded to put the drop of sweat in his mouth as he sucked the droplet off his finger seductively.
"...Salty... And sweet?" Azmond spoke with a small grin as he continued to lick his finger off till there was nothing left of the sweat droplet, all while staring seductively into Crystalline's big green eyes.
"!!" Such an act made her shiver a little in fear, excitement... and a little lust...
*Jiggle Jiggle*
Her two perk bunnies and their hard tips bounced away with the rest of her voluptuous body as she covered up her private parts with her arms for the first time since this entire interaction started.
Following her movements, an emotion that you would never think to be possible for the Ice Princess to be capable of feeling before today started to bubble up inside of her.
"...Why...? Why did you do that... Y-You meanie..."
A face that Crystalline hadn't shown to a single soul in her entire life emerged on her doll-like face as small tears started to form in her big green eyes.
"..."
When Azmond saw this scene, he felt like a part of his heart was being torn apart as he felt regret.
It was an emotion that he had also never felt or shown to another soul in both of his lifetimes.
He never regretted his actions, not in this lifetime and not in his past lifetime, but... this now timid-looking Ice beauty whose name was Crystalline made Azmond feel regret when he saw those big, beautiful eyes of hers start to tear up...
And for the first time in his entire existence, he sincerely apologized.
"...I'm sorry, Crystalline," he murmured with a downcast expression as he walked slowly over to her with a downtrodden countenance.
"!!" This action made Crystalline flinch back a little, but she ended up staying frozen in place as she waited to see what he was trying to do.
......
When Azmond reached Crystalline, he stretched out his right hand with gentle movements as he set that hand on top of Crystalline's bed of long, black hair and started to rub her head tenderly.
"...?" Crystalline turned her still teary face up to his with a dazed look on her perfect features as she turned her head slightly sideways in bewilderment.
"..."
That confused expression she was making made Azmond think she looked like a cute, confused black kitty who suddenly started to get petted by her human.
*Pat Pat*
Nonetheless, regardless of his thoughts on her appearance, he continued to rub her head like she was the most precious thing in the world with a kind smile on his face.
......
For ten whole minutes, the two of them just stood there, staring into each other's eyes as if trying to understand each other completely.
"Do you forgive me, Crystalline?" Azmond asked with a genuinely apologetic expression as he moved his other hand toward her cheek and started to caress her face.
"..."
When Crystalline saw the way Azmond was looking at her with those kind eyes, she practically folded underneath the pressure and replied with a soft... "...Mhm..."
Afterwards, she turned her head away from him and stared at the ground, like something interesting was there.
"I'm glad," Azmond responded with the brightest smile Crystalline had ever seen as her face turned a brighter shade of red.
"..." She once again intently stared at the ground while avoiding eye contact with the absurdly handsome man before her.
'...This man... is annoying...' Crystalline thought to herself as a small, affectionate grin appeared on her divinely beautiful face.
*****
While the two lovebirds were having their moment, they suddenly heard a loud, booming voice come from beyond the giant waterfall.
FWIP!
A large green figure with a golden crown on his head and a big, gaudy cape appeared out of thin air and shouted at the top of his lungs with a sinister look on his hideous face:
"FOUND YOU!!!!"
WAAAA!
The Goblin King suddenly produced a massive pressure that almost forced Crystalline onto her knees.
However, Azmond quickly negated the pressure with his own before it could do anything serious to Crystalline.
He then took a spare robe out of his storage ring and put it around her before he turned his inexpressive gaze toward the floating figure and then back to the trembling woman beside him.
"..."
His outer appearance may have appeared calm and collected, but on the inside, he was practically fuming in anger as he looked at the still-wobbling Crystalline, who was trying to stand up properly after experiencing such an intense aura from the Goblin King.
He gazed at her with a distressed look as he scanned her entire body with his divine sense to make sure the harmful aura caused no internal damage.
Luckily, there were no substantial injuries to her body, which made Azmond sigh a little in relief as he turned his gaze back toward the Goblin King floating in the air with a glare of absolute hatred.
"You really couldn't just stay in your little castle in your tiny kingdom and wait for me to come take your head myself?!?!? You just had to come find me yourself!!?"
A voice that sounded like it came from the very depths of hell was heard from Azmond's mouth as a chilly aura started to come out in large amounts from him.
WAAAA!
However, he wasn't yet done speaking as he continued, "And You Dare Exude That Nasty Aura Of Yours Over A Friend Of Mine?!?"
OOOM!
A tundra was virtually on the verge of being unleashed as his rage reached an all-time high!
....
"..."
When Crystalline heard what Azmond categorized their relationship as, a small, dissatisfied smile formed on her tired face as she turned her head up to look at his wide back as he confronted the Goblin King.
'A friend, huh...'
For some reason unbeknownst to Crystalline, a small tinge of disappointment was quickly growing inside of her when she heard that her relationship with Azmond was just that of friends.
'I should be happy that he said we were friends—something I have never had with anyone before...' She thought.
'So Why...? Why do I feel so irritated that we're just friends...'
She clenched her chest with a vexed expression as she attempted to decipher what it was that was bugging her so much...
'What is this feeling?... This tightening in my chest when I think of Azmond...'
'Is it hate?...' She asked herself.
However, that notion was shot down as quickly as the nukes during World War Two, as she thought, No! I don't hate him! He may be annoying, but...'
A conflicted look appeared on Crystalline's face as she looked at Azmond who was still shielding her with his aura.
She tightly gripped the robe he gave her with an anxious expression.
'He is kind as well...' A small blush appeared on Crystalline's face as she turned her head away from him with a cute pouty look.
'So... What is this Feeling growing inside of my heart??'
A puzzled look emerged on her face as she tightened the clenching of the left side of her chest with her hands.
*****
Meanwhile, as Crystalline's thoughts were swirling down a rabbit hole of no return, Azmond was currently standing off with the Goblin King.
"Goblin King!!! You Are Really Courting Death!!!"
A malevolent look formed on Azmond's face as he suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of the Goblin King in a flash.
FWIP!
"Just DIE."
A voice as cold as the vacuum in outer space was heard from him as he threw a simple punch in the direction of the Goblin King.