Durandal was the first to break the heavy silence. "Elysia, do you think... my desires are a bit too intense?"
"That's a question I should be asking you," Elysia replied softly. "Durandal, don't you think I'm being a little too frivolous?"
The words had barely left Elysia's lips before Durandal pulled her into a firm embrace. "How could I? That's just who you are. It's my own lack of restraint that's the issue."
"But being straightforward has always been your nature, hasn't it?"
As soon as Elysia said it, the two of them couldn't help but let out a collective laugh.
It was true—that was simply who they were, so why overthink it? It was better to just move at their own pace.
One loved expressing her heart with unabashed honesty, while the other always demonstrated her resolve through direct action.
When two people like that came together, "moderation" was always going to be a tall order.
As for what everyone else thought...
Since everyone already knew anyway, why bother worrying about it?
After their laughter subsided, Elysia began sharing a little discovery of her own with Durandal, her voice bubbling with excitement.
"Durandal, I just realized... if we do it like this, it won't leave marks as easily~"
As she spoke, Elysia lifted her own arm and pressed a gentle kiss against it, giving Durandal a little demonstration. That simple gesture was all it took to reignite the fire smoldering in Durandal's heart.
The night was still young.
The next morning, Durandal and Elysia actually managed to wake up early.
Given their physical conditioning as warriors, once they grew accustomed to "working through the night," their biological clocks were quick to snap back into place.
Durandal's appearance at the Schicksal temporary branch office was a godsend for Kevyn.
She had waited all of the afternoon before last, and spent all of yesterday juggling Honkai beast elimination tasks while waiting for this very moment.
Seeing Kevyn look as though her savior had finally arrived, Durandal felt a bit bewildered. However, since she had business with Kevyn anyway, she beckoned her over and led her into the office.
Elysia, naturally, followed right behind them.
She was already starting to wonder if she should move an extra desk into Durandal's office. The idea of becoming Durandal's secretary was becoming more appealing by the second.
With Elysia in the room, Kevyn—who had been bursting with things to say—suddenly found herself tongue-tied.
Seeing Kevyn hesitate, Durandal didn't waste time waiting for her to find her words.
She powered on her computer and found the document Elysia had emailed her. After the printer hummed to life and spat out the pages, she handed them over to Kevyn.
"Take a look, then sign it."
Kevyn took the papers, looking a bit dazed. At the top of the page was an application submitted by Elysia, Captain of the Second Squad, for Kevyn's promotion to Flame-Chaser status.
"This is..."
Kevyn couldn't believe it. How long had she even been with the Flame-Chasers?
It had been less than two months, and she was already being promoted from a regular member to a leader capable of commanding her own combat squad?
Seeing Kevyn's lack of movement, Durandal spoke up. "Kevyn? Is there an issue with the document? If you feel you aren't ready for my evaluation yet, don't worry—I can give you more time to prepare."
That snapped Kevyn out of it. She quickly scanned the text and scrawled her name in the signature line at the bottom.
Handing it back to Durandal, she said seriously, "I am always ready for the Leader's evaluation. We can start whenever. It's just..."
"Just what?"
Durandal glanced at the signed paper, satisfied, and tucked it into a file folder.
"It's just..."
Kevyn bit her lower lip. She glanced at Elysia, who was currently perched casually on the armrest of Durandal's chair.
She thought about asking her to step out for a moment, but ultimately decided to just go for it. With a look of pure desperation, she blurred out the matter that had been agonizing her for the past two days.
Durandal and Elysia shared a look.
Durandal managed to keep her composure, maintaining her serious, "by-the-book" commanding officer persona. Elysia, however, had no such filters.
She burst into laughter, leaning so far over that she tumbled right into Durandal's lap. "Durandal, I can't... I really can't! How is Kevyn even more of a blockhead than you used to be?!"
Durandal was struggling to keep a straight face herself.
Seeing Kevyn on the verge of dying from embarrassment, she refrained from commenting, though she thought to herself: My ancestor really is something else. Incredible.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop laughing at you," Elysia said, wiping a stray tear of laughter from the corner of her eye. She decided to offer some guidance. "Kevyn, relax. Mei definitely wasn't complaining about you being a bad kisser. Though, well... maybe your technique actually does need some work."
Elysia's eyes twinkled as a mischievous idea struck her.
"But since you're so insecure about it, I have a suggestion: more practice. As for how to go about that, I don't think Durandal and I need to teach you, right?"
Kevyn was still in a daze when she walked out of Durandal's office.
Logically speaking, because of a single comment from Mei, she had suspected she was a terrible kisser and went to seek advice from Durandal, who had more "experience." Even though it was Elysia who had ultimately given her the answer, the path forward was clear: practice makes perfect.
Only through practice could she improve. That made sense.
But something still felt off.
After thinking about it for a long time, Kevyn finally realized what was bothering her.
Elysia had explicitly said that Mei wasn't complaining about her being bad at it, yet she hadn't explained what Mei did mean. Instead, she just told her to go practice more.
So, what did that actually mean?
Was Mei unsatisfied or not? If she wasn't unsatisfied, why did she need to practice?
Kevyn scratched her white hair until it was a messy nest, unable to find an answer. All she knew was that her heart was already racing back to Mei.
Regardless of the reason, if she was going to "practice," her partner could only be Mei.
Just the thought of kissing Mei repeatedly for "training" made Kevyn's face flush bright red and her heart feel like it was melting.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.