At this moment, the bathroom was filled with nothing but the gentle sound of water rippling across the surface of the bathtub, the faint splashes echoing softly through the warm, steam-filled air.
Himeko had retreated into a corner of the tub, hugging her knees slightly beneath the warm water as she stubbornly refused to look directly at Lucian. Her cheeks were so red they seemed ready to burst into flames, while every nerve in her body felt hypersensitive. Even the rising steam surrounding her seemed incapable of concealing the overwhelming embarrassment threatening to swallow her whole.
Yet despite her best efforts, her eyes betrayed her.
Every now and then, she found herself stealing glances at Lucian from the corner of her eye, only to hurriedly look away again whenever she realized what she was doing.
Lucian's body was even better than she had imagined, especially the lines of his muscles—they were smooth and natural, carrying neither the exaggerated bulk of a bodybuilder nor the softness of someone who lacked strength. Instead, his body possessed the lean, explosive power of a seasoned warrior, every contour appearing perfectly balanced as though it had been sculpted through countless life-and-death battles.
More importantly, watching the water droplets slowly roll down his broad shoulders and firm chest before disappearing beneath the surface of the water made him look unbelievably sexy.
Unfortunately for Himeko, the longer her gaze lingered, the lower it accidentally drifted, causing her face to become even hotter than before.
'T-That thing could probably kill someone...'
Watching Himeko desperately avoid eye contact while simultaneously sneaking glances at him, Lucian couldn't help letting out a low chuckle.
Deliberately, he shifted a little closer, sending gentle ripples through the water between them until they reached her side of the bathtub.
"What are you hiding for? What's there to be embarrassed about? With the kind of relationship we have, you're still shy?"
Hearing his words, Himeko immediately shrank back even farther.
"W-What relationship do we have?" Himeko protested, her face flushing slightly as she instinctively avoided his gaze. "Aren't we just teacher and student... plus traveling companions?"
Lucian raised an eyebrow.
"Just teacher and student... and traveling companions, huh..."
A trace of amusement appeared in his eyes as he slowly stood up and pretended to climb out of the bathtub.
"Forget it, then. I'll get off at the next habitable planet tomorrow, find myself a sweet, caring wife, and spend the rest of my life enjoying a peaceful family life."
As soon as those words left Lucian's mouth, Himeko completely forgot about her embarrassment.
*Splash!*
Suddenly, Himeko shot upright, water splashing around her as she instinctively reached toward him.
"You can't!"
Her response escaped before she could stop herself.
"I don't want you to leave! You promised you'd keep adventuring with me!"
Hearing the desperation in her voice, a victorious smile briefly flashed through Lucian's eyes before disappearing beneath a mask of confusion.
"Oh? What identity are you using to stop me, then?" Lucian leaned in a little closer and asked calmly. "Teacher and student? Traveling companions? Somehow, that doesn't sound all that convincing."
At the sudden question, Himeko froze.
At this moment, Lucian's face was so close that she could clearly see her own reflection in his beautiful golden eyes.
For a brief moment, she struggled internally, her emotions and rationality waging a fierce battle within her heart. Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, and every one of them urged her in a different direction.
Eventually, however, she took a deep breath, steadied her trembling heart, and forced herself to speak.
"When we first boarded the Astral Express..." Himeko said slowly, her voice soft. "I wanted to tell you something... If several years passed and we still hadn't gone our separate ways... I wanted..."
Lucian's gaze softened.
"Right. I remember now..." Lucian said with a gentle smile. "Pom-Pom interrupted you before you could finish, so go ahead and tell me now. What did you wanna say?"
Himeko's cheeks burned brightly, but even so, she gathered every ounce of her courage and met his gaze before speaking again.
"I wanted... I wanted to be with you..."
Her heartbeat thundered wildly inside her chest as she spoke those words, each syllable feeling as though it had exhausted all the courage she possessed.
"Aren't we already together? We see each other every single day."
Right after hearing Himeko's 'confession,' Lucian immediately chose to tease her.
"Not that kind of together!"
Himeko glared at him, her face flushed with equal parts embarrassment and frustration.
Seeing her reaction, Lucian fought hard to suppress his laughter.
"Oh? What kind, then?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
"I don't. If you don't say it, how am I supposed to know?"
At his deliberately clueless-sounding words, Himeko immediately became both embarrassed and annoyed.
"Do I really have to be the one to say it? I'm a girl, you know..."
Lucian pretended to sigh helplessly, then reached toward a nearby towel.
"Fine... If you're not gonna say it, I'll just go find a wife who's willing to tell me she loves me—"
Before Lucian could finish speaking, Himeko suddenly lunged forward without the slightest hesitation.
*Splash!*
Water splashed everywhere as she wrapped her arms tightly around Lucian from behind. In an instant, as the warmth of the bathwater enveloped both of their bodies and they pressed closely together, she buried her burning face against his broad back, as though she had finally cast all caution aside.
"I want to be your girlfriend! I want to stay with you forever! I want to keep adventuring with you! So please, don't go looking for someone else!"
At last, the words Lucian had waited five long years to hear finally slipped from Himeko's lips.
For a brief moment, the bathroom fell completely silent, with only the gentle sound of rippling water lingering in the air, before...
"Hahahaha..."
Lucian finally burst into laughter before turning around and gently but firmly pulling Himeko directly into his embrace.
"I've been waiting five years to hear that. You finally said it."
As he spoke, Lucian gently rested his forehead against Himeko's, a genuine smile spreading across his face as the satisfaction and joy in his voice became impossible to conceal, free of his usual teasing and filled only with pure happiness.
Now that everything had finally been spoken aloud, the atmosphere between them changed completely.
In an instant, the uncertainty that had quietly lingered between them for years seemed to dissolve without a trace, replaced by a quiet intimacy neither of them could deny nor wished to deny.
At the same time, however, Himeko gradually became aware of another problem.
Now that her emotions had settled somewhat, she suddenly realized exactly what position they were in.
At this moment, neither of them was wearing anything, and the distance between their bodies was practically nonexistent.
Meanwhile, as they embraced one another, the warmth of their skin intertwined beneath the bathwater, while the softness pressed against his solid chest made it increasingly difficult for Lucian to remain calm.
As a result, the atmosphere inside the steamy bathroom had already become dangerously intimate.
"You forced me to say it..."
Himeko muttered quietly as she lowered her head, stubbornly avoiding Lucian's gaze.
Now that the excitement of finally confessing had gradually faded, the overwhelming embarrassment came rushing back into her mind all at once.
Even though they had officially become a couple, the reality of standing naked in each other's arms was enough to make her wish she could simply sink beneath the bathwater and never come back up.
Honestly, she had no idea how she had ended up inviting Lucian into the bathroom in the first place.
More importantly, how was she supposed to deal with the situation now?
"I forced you? Nope, I just tricked you," Lucian replied with a chuckle before leaning in a little closer. "When I said I'd steal your heart one day, didn't I pull it off?"
Hearing that, memories quietly surfaced in Himeko's mind.
Back then, she had treated his words as nothing more than a joke. Yet somehow, without her ever realizing when it happened, those words had slowly become reality.
Hidden safely within his embrace, Himeko gently nodded.
"Mm... You did..."
Her voice was barely audible, but the sweetness hidden within those simple words was enough to soften even Lucian's expression.
Immediately, the atmosphere between them grew even warmer, the air between them filled with a quiet tenderness that needed no words.
Lucian gently lifted Himeko's chin, lowered his head, and after a brief moment of hesitation, their lips finally met in a soft, lingering kiss.
Himeko froze for the briefest moment, her golden eyes widening ever so slightly before she slowly closed them. As the initial surprise faded, she gradually relaxed and gently returned the kiss, her response shy yet unmistakably sincere.
Neither of them spoke another word.
As a result, the bathroom seemed to grow quieter and quieter as the distance between them disappeared completely.
At this moment, the warm water surrounding them, the rising steam, and the privacy of the room seemed to gradually isolate them from the rest of the universe, leaving only the two of them in their own little world.
Himeko's cheeks grew increasingly red, while her eyes gradually became hazy as she was slowly swept away by the moment.
Everything seemed to be progressing naturally.
Lucian's wandering hands caused her body to tremble ever so slightly, but she never stopped him. Completely carried away by the atmosphere, she felt as though her mind had stopped functioning altogether, leaving only her racing heartbeat to remind her that this was real.
Just as the situation was about to escalate even further, and Lucian was seriously considering exploring another 'use' for the bathtub—
*WOOOOOO—!!!*
A deafening alarm suddenly shattered the silence.
At the same time, Pom-Pom's frantic voice echoed throughout the Astral Express.
[Interstellar pirates are blocking the main route ahead, pom! A stray shot almost hit the train windows, pom! Passenger Lucian! Passenger Himeko! Hurry to the Parlor Car, pom!]
Lucian: "..."
Himeko: "!!!"
In an instant, the warm, pink atmosphere that had taken so long to build was completely obliterated, vanishing without leaving even the slightest trace behind.
Lucian's expression darkened so quickly that it was almost impressive, and the vein near his forehead twitched visibly.
An extremely unpleasant aura immediately spread throughout the bathroom, causing even the surrounding air to feel noticeably heavier.
'What idiot fleet had to show up right now? Couldn't they have picked literally anywhere else to start a fight? Are they seriously trying to ruin my day?'
Suppressing the overwhelming urge to swear, Lucian reluctantly released Himeko and stood up from the bathtub with a splash before grabbing a nearby towel and casually wrapping it around his waist.
"You take your time getting ready. I'm gonna go see what's going on."
Lucian's voice sounded calm, far too calm.
Anyone who knew him well would have immediately realized that he was only one step away from completely losing his temper.
Himeko remained submerged in the warm water, her face still burning from both embarrassment and the lingering emotions from only moments ago.
"Be careful."
"Yeah."
Lucian simply nodded before turning around and leaving the bathroom.
As the bathroom door quietly closed behind him, silence returned to the bathroom once more. Only then did Himeko finally have the time to process everything that had happened.
Slowly sinking deeper into the warm water until only her face remained above the surface, she replayed every moment in her mind.
Her confession.
Their embrace.
Their kiss.
And everything that had almost happened afterward...
"I actually got together with him..."
Himeko's voice was barely above a whisper, yet it carried an unmistakable sweetness.
"And we almost..."
Unable to finish the sentence, Himeko covered her burning face with both hands, genuinely unsure whether she should feel disappointed or relieved that they had been interrupted.
In the end, after remaining silent for a long while, she could only arrive at one conclusion.
Next time, she needed to remain calmer.
More rational.
More reserved.
At the very least, she couldn't let herself become so flustered that Lucian could tease her however he wanted again.
===
Right after leaving the bathroom, Lucian glanced down at the towel wrapped around his waist and decided it wasn't exactly suitable attire for dealing with a potential battle.
In the next moment, with a casual wave of his hand, a proper set of clothes, mostly black in color, materialized around him, and by the following second, he had already changed into them, restoring his usual composed appearance.
"Just a little more..." Lucian muttered, his deep voice carrying a hint of regret. "Of all times for something like this to happen..."
In the end, the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became.
Five years.
He had waited a full five years for this day.
Everything had finally fallen into place, only for a bunch of brainless interstellar pirates to suddenly appear out of nowhere and interrupt them at the most critical possible moment.
By the time he stepped into the corridor, most of his patience had already disappeared.
He fully intended to find out which group of interstellar pirates had decided to block the Astral Express today. Not only had they stopped his train, but they had also ruined the most important moment he had waited five years for.
If he didn't turn those pieces of scrap metal into cosmic dust, he would write his own name backward.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones]
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