"Let's rest for the rest of the day, and then we can meet with Mom about attacking the savage lands, okay?" Sheira asked.
Aqua plunged into thought for a moment. "I do not mind. The immediate threat is gone. I need to discuss this with Valerie, too."
"Who is Valerie?" Sheira asked.
"Ah, that is the name of the world soul, she is very sweet."
"Oh, sweeter than Azure?"
Aqua's face gained a slight red tint. "Sheira, we both know that Azure is one of a kind."
"Hah!" Sheira exclaimed. She looked at Aqua's expressions closely. "You two drool for each other so much, just kiss already!"
We already did. She chuckled and quickly led the way toward their dorm room, forcing Sheira to run and catch up.
"Hey, what was that chuckle for?!"
"You don't need to worry about it, Shei Shei~."
The new nickname made Sheira's face go completely red. "What's with a new nickname?! Stop ignoring me!"
Ignoring the adorable princess, the duo made their way in front of the dorm room door. She slowly opened the door, and they stepped inside.
Her eyes darted around before a certain knight pounced at her from behind, and the duo rolled and crashed into the bed, making the planks crack.
"Aqua! You are back, I knew as soon as Sheira's battle ended you would return!" Azure shouted while rubbing her face against Aqua.
After a moment of enjoying Azure's affection, she gently peeled the woman away. Aqua smiled gently and looked toward Sheira, closely followed by Azure.
"Ah, Sheira! I didn't see you there. You did so well!" Azure shouted proudly while squeezing Aqua with such a force that a weaker being would be crushed.
The princess sighed. "Hopeless. Please continue, do not let me interrupt your cuddling session with my glorious self. I just finished a battle with a cataclysmic dragon, no big deal."
The two women looked at each other, then at Sheira.
Azure grinned, as if she had an evil master plan. She pushed Aqua's hair aside and leaned close.
"Azu?" Aqua asked, yet she did not distance herself, on the contrary, she got closer and closed her eyes. She wanted to taste her fiancé's sweet lips.
Aqua truly hoped that letting herself love Azure would not bite her later, alas, she could not resist.
Before she could even speak, Aqua was pushed to the ground, her arms pinned above her head, and Azure's lips connected with hers.
"Ehhhh?!" Sheira exclaimed, stepping back in panic, and her face reddening. "Who are you?! No way my Azu would be brave enough to kiss Aqua in front of me!"
Sheira couldn't watch or even speak, she turned toward the door, trying to shut out the sounds of kissing.
After a minute of it, Azure finally released Aqua and stood up, leaving Aqua breathing heavily. "Delicious."
Aqua wiped her mouth and pushed herself up. "What brought that, Azu?"
Azure side-eyed Sheira before giving her full attention to Aqua. "Nothing, I just wanted to kiss you. I hope you don't mind."
Aqua smiled, shyly. "Of course not, I belong to you."
Sheira slowly turned, her face still red. "What did I miss?! How… No! When did you start kissing each other?!"
Aqua and Azure looked at each other. "Just before I teleported you."
Sheira blinked, she felt her brain short-circuiting, her jaw agape, then she smiled. "Finally! I was getting sick of you two drooling for each other every day. At least now you are happy."
In the corner of her eye, Aqua noticed a small crude-looking plushy on Azure's broken bed. She separated from her Azu and inspected it. Is this me?! It made her turn red again. "Azu…"
"Oh that…" Azure said, rubbing the back of her head. "Sheira made a plushy of you. I missed you too much while you were gone."
"It is so cute," Aqua whispered.
Sheira chuckled. "I did my best, you should have seen her begging me to make her a plushie of you, it was hila—." Her voice was interrupted by Azure placing her palm over Sheira's mouth.
"Enough of that, we should celebrate Sheira's triumph over the Dragon Lord Zm'aj. I never thought he would be felled, much less by the little helpless Sheira."
The princess pried away Azure's hand from her mouth and stepped aside, placing her hands on her hips. "Yes, I am now a proper goddess! I didn't even break a sweat fighting that overgrown lizard."
Azure sighed. "Sheira… you really don't need to embellish this. Your deed was incredible. Nobody can deny that you are probably the most powerful person we have, besides my Aqua, of course."
Sheira dragged her finger under her nose and grinned. "Yes, my mommy and I are the strongest!"
While Azure and Sheira were bickering, Aqua walked over to her bed and sat down, staring at the plushie. She felt a tear well up in her eye.
It is really not fair how sweet Azure and Sheira are. How can I even dare doubt either of them, ever?
They made it impossible not to trust and cherish them. The time she knew the duo was a blip in her lifespan and experience, yet both were completely invaluable.
Her fingers tracked the crude construction, it was clearly one of the first Sheira's crafts, yet just the fact that someone found comfort in her company made her incredibly happy. She wiped her tears and looked toward the bickering duo.
I need to make a proper training regimen for her once the savages are culled.
She set the plushie aside and tapped the bed. "Azu, come here."
Aqua's voice made Azure snap out of her discussion with Sheira and obediently sit next to her. "What is it, my star?"
I need to modify her ring, I can't have her being weakened.
"Give me your ring, I need to make some changes to it," she said, making Azure's eyes widen as if she were sentenced to execution.
"But…," she protectively placed her hand over the ring. "Why?"
No, how can one woman be so adorable?!
Sheira sat back at her own bed. "Azure, I am pretty sure she isn't taking back her proposal."
Azure looked at Aqua, then sighed. "As long as you give it back later."
Aqua nodded. Nothing in the world would have made her break her promise to Azure. "I will do the same modification I did on Sheira's bracelet. I don't want you to be weakened. I will make sure the aether circles inscribed on it are hostile to enemies, not yourself."
The reassuring words made Azure comfortable with taking off her ring and handing it to Aqua.
She brought the ring to her eyes and inspected the runes. Just like with Sheira's bracelet, she erased them and made a conditional target of the enemy divinity. Of course, this would cause Azure's blessing to grow once more, but Aqua was nearby now and she was ready to spend a lot of time around Azure.
She would make sure that it was kept at a manageable level while not weakening Azure.
Before even a minute passed, she grabbed Azure's hand and placed the ring back on her ring finger. "There we go, modified. I even added an extra set of circles so it will be even more powerful."
Azure blushed. "Thank you, my star."
"You did the same thing to the bracelet, too?" Sheira asked.
"Yes, while you were unconscious, I made sure it doesn't suppress you anymore, but it will make all other blessed children and even some gods powerless before you. It's a perfect dampening accessory for you."
Sheira's eyes sparkled, and she raised her hand up, staring at her wrist. "Oh, this is going to give Ilya such a scare."
"Ilya?" Aqua said, tilting her head.
Sheira hummed. "Oh, we were visited by a blessed child of night a little after your departure. She was rather strong."
The way Sheira spoke immediately raised Aqua's suspicion. "Did she do anything?"
The princess crossed her arms, clearly in thought. "She just took Hikari away to do some mission, I do not know much else."
Aqua, realizing that Sheira wasn't going to tell her anything more, turned to Azure. "Ilya and I got into a fight. She wanted me to come with her, and I refused. We had a small skirmish, and she went on her way."
Sheira's eyes immediately widened.
Coming from Azure's lips, she trusted the information. Oh, she will regret that. Nobody will start a fight with my Azu.
Azure noticed Aqua's hatred boiling and instantly wrapped her arms around her. "It's fine, darling. She is just a little childish, no need to be upset."
How could I not? Yet Azure reassured her, so she decided to let it go for now.
Aqua jumped off the bed. "Alright, for today, let's take this opportunity to unwind, tomorrow we will go to Soleah and discuss our next move. I will not tolerate a threat to my home existing more than necessary."
"Sure, I need to see everyone's reaction to my battle, too!" Sheira exclaimed excitedly. "Also, I want to give you two love birds some alone time, so see you later~."
The door clicked behind Sheira, and Aqua and Azure were left alone. "What do you think about having some food with me?" Azure asked.
"Would love to, darling," Aqua said and grabbed Azure under the arm. "Lead the way."