Chương 80: A Step Forward

In the dim candlelight that filled the room, Nerez could see that Ily's face was completely flushed. But the look in her eyes told him she was perfectly serious.

"Lord Nereziel, I told you not to play with my ears so much. Now I can't hold back anymore," the visiare said with a mischievous smile as she drew closer to him.

"I didn't know ears had that effect on visiare..." Nerez replied, standing up from the bed and backing away until he reached the wall. Ily kept advancing as she untied the small knot at the collar of her chemise, causing the garment to come loose and fall at her feet. Her slender yet curvaceous figure was left almost completely exposed. Now, a pink bra decorated with floral ornaments and a small matching pair of panties were the only garments still covering her most intimate parts.

"You're quite bold for a visiare... I was under the impression that Osvel and the others of his generation had children so soon only because they needed to populate the Last Valley..." Nerez remarked, nervously watching as Ily drew closer and closer.

"You're barely over fifteen hundred years old. There's no need to be in such a hurry..." Ily kept advancing until she stood right in front of Nerez. There, she stopped and placed one of her delicate hands on his chest.

"Lord Nereziel, the excuse you used to give before was the curse of a goddess of fate, but I understand that no longer exists..." Cerys and that mouth of hers, not to mention that her drinking buddy is the leader of an order of spies... Mm? Drinking?

"Lord Nereziel, didn't you want to have a family? For all the rumors among mortals about your romance with Goddess Selene, the two of you are among the few gods who still remain alone. Most of the others already have descendants."

"I've heard Aren and Vilkie still haven't taken that big step. In fact, apparently they're still pretending to be just friends..." Nerez tried to defend himself, without much success.

"Not to mention Lirien or Aion... Ah! See? All three of us absolute gods are still single. It must have something to do with rank! Yep, that must be it. There's nothing we can do..."

"Lord Nereziel," Ily repeated for the third time.

"I think it is already time for you to take a step forward. If you are afraid, then please just let things happen. This is my first time too, but I have studied extensively... I have studied a little! Just a little! About this kind of thing." Nerez let out a sigh of resignation. It seemed Ily was not going to give up so easily. Even though the visiare's face was as red as a tomato, her resolve was diamond-hard. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"All right, you win, Ily."

"That... Does that mean we're going to...?!"

"But first..." At that, one of the rings worn over Nerez's black gloves began to shine, and when he opened his palm, it glowed with the same color. Before long, the light had taken the shape of a finely engraved crystal bottle.

"First, we have to make a toast. It is a special occasion, after all."

"Is that...?!" Ily exclaimed in surprise.

"Mm? It's one of the storage rings Thaelor gave me. I thought you already knew about it..."

"No, not that! Lord Nereziel! That bottle!" Ily exclaimed.

"It's voskyne! A liquor produced only in one small region of the empire! It's absurdly expensive and extremely rare!"

"Ah... yes... Miri likes to give me a bottle every now and then for my birthday... (the day I arrived in Eryndea ended up becoming the date)."

"Ugh... Mireia has too much of an advantage. How am I supposed to compete with gifts like that..."

"I don't know what advantage you're talking about... but if you want to try it, you're more than welcome to," Nerez said with a smile, taking two glasses out of his ring as well. Ily's hands reached almost on their own for the glass of precious golden liquid he offered her.

"A-all right... we can start with this," she agreed, her eyes shining with anticipation. That was exactly why she looked close to tears when the glass was pulled away from her.

"First you have to get dressed. You'll catch a cold like that," Nerez urged, holding the glass high while Ily repeatedly tried to grab it.

"All right, all right!" Ily finally exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks.

"But do not think you are going to escape, Lord Nereziel! This is only a temporary pause!"

"Of course, assuming you can stay on your feet."

"Don't underestimate me!" Ily declared as she picked up her chemise from the floor.

"I'm the one who always ends up putting Lady Cerys to bed!"

"What happened to Lady Supreme Reaper?"

"It is too long!"

"Ha ha, isn't it?"

"Ily might hold her liquor better than Cerys, but Cerys can barely hold hers to begin with..." Nerez remarked with a smile. They had not even gotten through half the bottle before the visiare was already sprawled across Nerez's bed, completely asleep.

"When the word 'drinking' popped into my head, I remembered this strategy that never fails to distract Cerys. But who would've imagined it would work this well..." Nerez picked Ily up in his arms and tucked her into bed. They may not really be cousins, but they definitely are kindred spirits. Nerez let out a tired sigh and sat down on the other bed in the room, his gaze resting on Ily's face as she slept peacefully in what was supposed to have been his bed.

It's not that I'm unwilling to do that sort of thing, but after everything I've lived through, I can't help looking at other people as if they were children. It's a mindset I'll have to abandon sooner or later...

"After all, I do want to have actual children and start a family of my own someday... Mm?" For an instant, Nerez thought he saw one of Ily's eyelids move, but he figured it had probably been his imagination.

The next morning began early, though not without some difficulty, since Nerez had to wait until Ily had recovered enough to get up. That required plenty of water and a few secret miraculous medicines of the visiare. When they came downstairs to meet Edran's group, Nerez noticed Yvene looking at Ily with a blush on her face, clearly eager to ask how things had gone. It was understandable, considering the two had shared the room from which the visiare had begun her mission of conquest.

As expected, though, once they stepped aside to gossip in private, it was not long before sighs of disappointment could be heard from both of them.