Chapter 75: RoutineSunlight streamed through the window, painting warm stripes across Grace’s bed.

    She blinked awake, feeling... different. Her body hummed with a strange new energy, like divine light was coursing through her veins instead of blood. And yet, she felt oddly calm. Centered, almost.

    At least, she did for almost a whole minute, before...

    [Wait, did I really...?]

    Memories from last night flooded back—Petriel’s shy smile turning bold, hands exploring places Grace had never been touched, that moment when—

    "OH MY GODDESS!" Grace squealed, burying her red face in her pillow. "I actually did it!"

    She had. After 18 long years of comfortable loneliness in a rural farm, Grace finally had experienced what constituted the climax of all those romance novels she’d steal from her mom. And, it was...

    Well, the words didn’t do it justice.

    She peeked out from her hiding spot to find the bed empty beside her. Petriel must have slipped out already. Grace sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest despite being alone. Her body felt... well, used was the only word that came to mind. But in a good way? Was that weird?

    A quick glance around confirmed she was alone in her room, though she could hear movement in the common area. Her System status page appeared with a thought.

    「Status」

    Bravery: 38/100

    Compassion: 44/100

    Love: 19/100

    [Wait, my Love attribute went up? From THAT?]

    She blushed harder, if that was even possible. The System had been tracking her... performance? Great. Just great.

    Grace pulled herself out of bed, wincing slightly at new aches in new places. She fumbled for her clothes, finding her undergarments scattered in decidedly non-virginal ways around the room.

    [I can never look Petriel in the eye again. Ever. Period.]

    Once dressed, Grace examined her schedule for the day. Morning combat training with Seraph, afternoon healing practice with Mara, evening... whatever with Venus. Back to routine after everything that had happened at Rosewood. After encountering ancient world-shaping entities and literally meeting with Eternia herself, normal angel stuff felt almost quaint.

    She took a deep breath and opened her bedroom door.

    "THERE SHE IS!" Alia squealed from across the common room, practically vibrating with excitement. "Our little Grace is all grown up!"

    Grace froze mid-step, her face heating to temperatures that probably violated several laws of thermodynamics.

    "W-what are you talking about?"

    Zephyr, lounging on the couch with a book, didn’t even look up.

    "The walls here are thin, sunshine. Really thin."

    "Kill me," Grace muttered. "Just... someone kill me right now."

    "No can do," Alia chirped, bouncing over to throw an arm around Grace’s shoulders. "We’ve got training in twenty minutes, and Seraph will literally murder us all if you’re late."

    Grace nodded mechanically, her brain still trying to process that her roommates had heard... everything. She made a mental note to invest in soundproofing. Was that a thing in heaven? It should be.

    "Where’s Petriel?" she managed to ask.

    "Got called to the medical wing early," Zephyr said, finally looking up from her book with a smirk. "She was blushing harder than you are right now, if you can believe it."

    That was actually a relief. At least Grace wouldn’t have to face her just yet.

    "Come on!" Alia tugged at Grace’s arm. "Food, then training. You need energy after burning so many calories last night!" sea??h thё N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "ALIA!"

    ---

    The training arena was mercifully empty by the time Grace arrived—except for Diana.

    Because of course Diana would be there early. And of course she’d be wearing nothing but those skin-tight shorts, her upper body completely bare except for the sweat glistening on her abs.

    [Don’t look at her boobs. Don’t look at her boobs. DON’T LOOK AT HER—]

    Grace looked at her boobs.

    [Damn it.]

    Diana turned, catching Grace mid-stare. A predatory grin spread across her face.

    "Well, well. Look who decided to join the land of the deflowered."

    Grace nearly tripped over her own feet.

    "W-what?!"

    "Please," Diana scoffed, running a hand through her short, sweat-dampened hair. "The entire Dominion probably heard Petriel screaming your name last night. Who knew the shy little healer had it in her? Only took ya two whole lifetimes."

    "We weren’t that loud!" Grace protested weakly, knowing full well they absolutely were.

    Diana’s grin widened.

    "You do realize I can hear everything that happens in this wing, right? ’Oh, Grace, right there! Don’t stop!’"

    Her imitation of Petriel’s voice was disturbingly accurate.

    Grace covered her face with both hands.

    "Can we please just... train or something?"

    "Sure," Diana shrugged, moving closer. "But I’ve got to say, I’m impressed. I figured you’d be all fumbling hands and apologies your first time."

    "Yeah, well," Grace mumbled, trying to sound casual and failing spectacularly, "I learned from watching the best."

    "Oh?" Diana raised an eyebrow.

    "You and Zephyr on the couch?" Grace reminded her, trying to turn the tables. "That... that... thing you conjured up with your divine energy? Pretty creative."

    To Grace’s immense frustration, Diana didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed. In fact, she looked proud.

    "Thanks," Diana said with a wink. "I’ve had a lot of practice. Maybe I’ll show you sometime."

    "Please don’t," Grace rolled her eyes.

    Diana closed the distance between them. Her hand came up to cup Grace’s chin, tilting her face upward.

    "You know, you’re different today," Diana observed, smirking, her voice dropping lower. "Something’s changed."

    "I lost my virginity, not my personality," Grace shot back.

    Diana laughed—an actual genuine laugh that transformed her usually hard features into something almost soft.

    "That’s not what I meant. Your energy is different. Stronger. More... focused."

    "Oh."

    "It’s good."

    "Y-Yeah? Well, I don’t care if you think it’s good or bad."

    "Really?" Diana’s smirk only deepened. It was annoying.

    Grace huffed, pouted, and turned away.

    "Mhm." She got chills as Diana suddenly wrapped her arms around Grace from behind. Her abs, warm and with a thin sheet of sweat, pressed against the back of Grace’s head. She tried as hard as she could not to panic.

    "Petriel must be better than she looks." Diana stepped closer, her tits practically resting on top of Grace’s head.

    "O-Okay, anyway, c-can we not talk about this? Like, ever? L-Let’s just move on."

    "Why not?" Diana’s hands ran along Grace’s shoulders. "Sex is just sex. Nothing to be embarrassed about."

    "Says the woman who walks around with her boobs out 24/7."

    "As if you don’t appreciate that."

    "I do NOT."

    "Your eyes say something different. What do you think? I could give you some Love Sister training of my own, you know? Show you how you’re actually supposed to fuck."

    Grace’s entire body froze.

    "I—you—what—"

    Then—without warning—she turned Grace around, leaned down, and pressed her lips against Grace’s.

    It wasn’t like Petriel’s kiss, which had started gentle before turning passionate. Diana kissed like she fought—direct, aggressive, taking what she wanted. Her hands found Grace’s waist, pulling her closer until their bodies pressed together, skin to fabric.

    Grace’s brain short-circuited for approximately three seconds before rebooting with a simple directive: kiss back.

    She reached up, hands finding Diana’s shoulders, feeling the smooth skin and hard muscle beneath.

    Diana made a sound—half-chuckle, half-approval—and deepened the kiss. Her hands slid lower, grabbing Grace’s ass and lifting her slightly.

    "HEY!" Seraph’s booming voice echoed through the arena. "SEPARATE IMMEDIATELY!"

    They jumped apart like they’d been electrocuted. Grace’s heart hammered in her chest as she turned to see Seraph striding toward them, followed by at least a dozen other Bravery Sisters, all in various states of amusement.

    "Save it for after training!" Seraph barked, though she was clearly fighting a smile. "This is a COMBAT arena, not a LOVE nest!"

    Diana, completely unfazed by being caught, simply shrugged.

    "Just giving the rookie some motivation."

    "I’ll motivate BOTH of you with fifty extra laps if you don’t get in formation RIGHT NOW!"

    Grace scurried to her spot, painfully aware of the amused glances and knowing smirks from the other angels. Diana sauntered to her position with all the concern of someone who had exactly zero shame.

    [... Geeze,] Grace sighed. [I’m really going to melt into nothing if this keeps going.]

    ---

    As Seraph began bellowing instructions and the training session fell into its familiar rhythm, Grace found herself smiling despite the embarrassment. After all the cosmic revelations, ancient entities, and world-shaking truths she’d faced at Rosewood, there was something comforting about getting back to basics. Swing sword, dodge, parry, try not to fall on her face.

    Between Eternia’s cryptic instructions about the Pillars and the looming threat of Azrael, Grace knew bigger challenges waited on the horizon. For now, though, she was content to let Seraph yell at her form, to sneak glances at Diana’s perfect abs, and to pretend—just for today—that she was just an ordinary angel learning the ropes.

    Well, an ordinary angel who could permanently kill demons, who carried the direct blessing of a goddess, and who had apparently developed a talent for making quiet healers scream in ecstasy.

    But still. Almost normal.

    Almost.