Luka stretched his arms across his chest, outside the entrance. Strangely enough, after dying twice, his body no longer felt so foreign, though still lacking muscle and stamina. His control over each muscle had greatly improved.
"It feels so natural to me now."
He swallowed the night air, enjoying the cold chill it spread through his lungs.
After a moment passed, Luka brushed his hair back with both hands, revealing his small, pretty face.
Luka smiled and entered Galatea's tent.
When he first met Galatea in this body, a dull weight settled in his stomach, and his chest grew tight, making it difficult to breathe. Yet now there was only a comfortable calm and a powerful vibration pulsing through his body.
'I guess things worked out for the better.'
The second he stepped inside, a mixture of scents overwhelmed him: the sweet aroma of a young woman, the slight bitterness of a knight's sweat, and the burning oils from the lamps.
Most of the tent remained dark.
He scanned the room, only to find Galatea's figure lounging on a makeshift seat, using leather, cloth and wooden boxes.
She leaned back against a second row of boxes, wearing the same light black dress from earlier in the evening. The position revealed her ample breasts as the silk draped halfway down her shoulders as she read a book.
The book's pages were faded and discoloured.
Yet she read them with a content grin on her lips, slowly turning the pages, oblivious to his intrusion.
Step~
Her gaze shifted from the book the moment he approached, though she glanced in his direction; the darkness hid his figure.
"Who?!"
"It's me, Galatea."
Luka no longer felt the need to hesitate or hold back with his dear knight. Stepping into the small pillar of light, he approached her with confidence.
The subtle thumping in his chest grew stronger the more he set eyes on the blonde beauty before him.
The smooth, silky skin which shone in the dim light. Her narrow blue eyes that trembled slightly as she quietly watched... and her glossy pink lips, which parted slightly each time she exhaled.
"M-My Lord!?"
Unlike Luka, she suddenly jumped, pulling her gown over her shoulders and sitting straight, her cheeks already flushing slightly pink.
"Don't be so stiff, call me Luka when we're alone like this."
He approached her with long strides and dropped on the crate beside her, slamming against the uncomfortable surface with a bitter grimace.
Galatea stared at his face for several seconds before finally pulling away and ending the awkward silence.
"Mm, if that's what you want, Luka."
Though she remained a little awkward, their relationship wasn't quite the same as it had been back then. Luka already accepted the changes happily, but from her reaction, he couldn't help but want to tease her more and more.
"Though I would prefer to be here to meet you privately, there's something we need to discuss with your grandfather and Vaun."
Galatea glanced up from her book and gave up her act of pretending to read the same page over and over.
"T-Then, should I get changed and call them?"
"No."
Luka leaned closer, touching her shoulder with his. He always found it amazing that, despite being a knight. Galatea's body always carried a welcoming fragrance, a blend of flowers and honey.
"Then why did you come here?"
She glanced at him nervously, stroking the surface of her old book.
He stared into her eyes, which resembled the boundless skies he adored and smiled.
"To see you."
"Oh, I see... Eh?"
Galatea's cheeks immediately reddened, her pupils shrinking before returning to normal as the fingers stroking her book trembled ever so slightly.
Almost as if she doubted what he said, she remained silent, as if waiting for some punchline that never came.
'What a lovely woman, there is such a striking difference.'
"Does that make you happy?"
Luka didn't have personal experience with women, but thanks to the decades spent guiding human knights and mercenaries.
He'd gained a wealth of experience, from the kind and gentle types to the rough and straight-to-the-point thugs.
Alas, he didn't know the difference between the two.
"W-What do you mean happy!?" Galatea snapped back with the blush spreading from her cheeks to her small ears and neck.
"Hmmm, I could have sworn it'd make you happy." Luka tilted his head for a moment, then shook it, "Such a difficult woman." Galatea's lips parted at his words, but in the next moment, he cupped her cheek. "But no one compares to my dear little knight."
"L-Luka!?"
Although she cried back at him, there was no physical rejection.
She happily narrowed her glistening eyes as she leaned into the hand cupping her cheek as he stroked along her cheekbones. Then slid her leg atop his, brushing against him subconsciously.
He followed his memories on how to distract the woman from things that made them feel awkward or self-conscious.
"Well, let's talk about the meeting."
Galatea nodded, her eyes shifting to his face, instead of the finger playfully curling her silky blonde hair. "But why now? What happened for you to be in a rush suddenly?"
Her question was valid, but the reason was something Luka couldn't quite articulate well. He just knew that with around five days remaining before things truly started. He needed all the time he could get by making a preemptive strike.
'Not to mention there's no promise Luvia won't betray or break the binding between us, I don't know enough about dark elves or that strange mark that bears my emblem...'
However, it also made him wonder.
What if this was why the dark elf women ran a matrilineal society?
To avoid the fact that they have a strange curse that binds them to a man, depending on certain conditions.
Even if forcible.
'Forget it, now I should focus on Galatea.'
The lady in question, though, remained slightly entranced by the subtle movements of his fingers, which now caressed the rim of her earlobes.
"We need to hold a meeting about Amol Village.
There's not enough time to keep waiting around, though it's partially my fault for dying again. I don't think we can waste another day, that's all."
"...again?"
Galatea repeated with a thoughtful look. However, in the next moment, Galatea quickly became interested. Her eyes became fierce like a lioness as she glared at Luka with an unnatural beaming smile on her lips.
"Then the dark elf talked?"
'What happened to the fragile maiden, haha.'
"Yes, she talked. I made her talk as much as possible; from now on, she will follow my orders."
"W-What?!"
"Hm?"
Galatea quickly pulled away from his hand and stood up, her "priceless" heirloom dropping to the floor.
But she ignored it and pointed at Luka's face.
Her dress getting caught on the box revealing supple curves and bare bottom in the process.
"H-How did you manage to make a dark elf talk?! There's no possible way! A dark elf would never submit to a male!" She glanced down at Luka's crotch, gulping before she shook her head. "No, no matter how big—there's just no way a slut like that would offer information to us for free, it's a trap! It must be a trap!"
Her reaction was quite extreme, and the fact that she chose to ignore her exposed lower half added to the wonderful situation.
He watched her in silence before curling his lips.
"What, are you jealous?"
"J-Jealous, why in the world would I become jealous as your knight? I am here to protect—Kya?!"
Thud!
Luka took her hand and pushed her against the supporting pillar.
A feeling of Deja vu sprouting within his heart.
Despite her powerful abilities, the muscular body and fierce, raspy voice that graced her elegant lips, she offered no resistance and instead accepted his actions.
"No matter what your stubborn mouth says. I won't believe you when..." He failty stroked her smooth skin and traced along her spine. "It's clear how you feel when your body accepts me so easily, no?"
"L-Luka... I...."
He lifted her chin, gazing into her glazed eyes.
"Galatea, I am not perfect. But for you, yes, for you alone I can at least strive for it."
"B-But your fiancée..."
Luka's lips formed a devilish grin.
"To hell with human morals and rules... if I want you, then who can stop me?"
"I..."
"Hmph, still denying that this is something you seek as well?"
"N-no, it's just—Mmmn?!"
Once savouring the delicious forbidden taste, a man couldn't return to the way he was before.
Luka took the initiative and kissed her, a gentle peck to savour her soft lips, while gently sucking them, he felt Galatea's fingers threading through his hair. She stopped holding back or making excuses and opened her mouth, inviting his tongue inside.
Lost in a moment of passion, the two eventually found themselves on her bedroll. The strong scent of her body enveloped Luka from above and below as she sat atop his waist, holding both his hands against the straw.
Galatea stared into his eyes.
Brilliant sapphire-blue gemstones sparkled in his vision.
Big, beautiful and watching him.
This time, she cupped his cheek, gently brushing his lips with her thumb.
"This isn't the right moment..."
He also knew that he shouldn't give in to his desires, but it was frustrating to hold back and keep tiptoeing around her after what happened earlier.
The knights spoke of a term called the "Brother-in-Arms" when used by a female knight, or maiden who sought nothing but a friendly and platonic relationship with them.
So he took action to avoid this.
"Mhm, it's not. But, what shall we do?"
To his surprise, she answered almost instantly.
"C-Can you give me time, just a little to accept everything?" She rubs against his chest, circling with her fingertips. "After we retake Amol Village... then, I will make no more excuses.... we will decide everything in that battle."
'I wasn't expecting such a positive answer, what a pleasant reward.
Let's seal the deal.'
Luka no longer held back the dark, murky emotions that had remained locked within his chest for over the millennia he had existed and for the century since meeting humans.
The moment he died a second time, facing the endless darkness took something from him, as if a pair of timeless jaws ripped part of his soul and took the emotions of his state when he was a pure angel without such corruption.
Now, he could lie or manipulate those who trusted him with ease.
'To avoid betrayal, and take revenge on those ingrates I called brothers, I will use anything as a weapon...
Even my own heart.'
But to the young woman sat atop his chest, seeking his response.
He uttered the most honest words from the genuine depths of his heart, one last time.
"I could wait an eternity for you, Galatea."