Chapter 88: New ConfidenceThe sun had nearly set by the time Grace finished with her sixth—or was it seventh?—village woman of the day. She’d lost count somewhere between the tavern keeper’s daughter with those adorable freckles and the widowed weaver who could do things with her hips that made Grace’s head spin.

    Grace fixed her hair as she walked away from a small cottage at the edge of the village. Her System had pinged with two more techniques over the course of the afternoon:

    「Technique Acquired: Tongue Twister - Ability to bring pleasure through precise oral manipulation」

    「Technique Acquired: Sweet Spot Seeker - Ability to intuitively locate a partner’s most sensitive areas」

    Not bad for a day’s work. Especially considering she’d spent most of her life as a virgin turnip farmer.

    As she walked through the village, Grace noticed women giving her these little looks. Some smiled shyly. Others blushed. One baker even handed her a free sweet roll with a whispered "thank you" that made it very clear what she was thankful for.

    [Is this what being an actual Love Sister feels like? I could get used to this.]

    Then reality hit her like a cold splash of water—there were only three days left until the new moon. Three days until The Tide would turn another massive batch of townspeople into fish people. Three days for Grace to figure out how to stop it.

    [Maybe I should look into that artifact Meridian mentioned.]

    The Tide’s Tear. A perfect blue pearl that could supposedly calm the waters. It sounded fake as hell, but Grace figured there was no harm in trying.

    Grace spread her wings and took to the sky, heading back to their camp in the forest. The flight gave her time to think—about The Tide, about her rapidly increasing Love attribute, about whether she was actually ready to seduce a primordial entity.

    [At least I’ve had some practice now. Though going from village girls to ancient water goddesses is a bit of a jump. Like going from turnips to... I don’t know, dragon fruit?]

    The campfire came into view, a small orange dot among the trees. Grace circled once before landing gracefully—a far cry from her crash-landings of just a few weeks ago when she’d face-planted into trees on the regular.

    Diana looked up from sharpening a non-divine sword.

    "Well, well. Look who finally decided to come back."

    "I was busy," Grace said, dropping down beside the fire.

    "I bet you were." Diana’s eyes narrowed as she studied Grace. "There’s something different about you."

    "What do you mean?"

    "You’ve got this..." Diana waved her hand vaguely, "aura now. That ’not much of a virgin anymore’ confidence."

    Grace felt her cheeks heat, but she didn’t look away.

    "Thanks. I think."

    Petriel emerged from her tent, carrying an armful of dried herbs. Her eyes lit up when she saw Grace.

    "Oh, you’re back."

    "Just in time," Meridian added, glancing up from her scrolls. "I’ve finished triangulating the possible location of the Tide’s Tear."

    "You actually found it?" Grace asked, surprised.

    "Maybe." Meridian spread a crude map on the ground. "Based on local legends and astronomical references in the elders’ stories, I believe the artifact is hidden in a sea cave approximately three miles north of here."

    Diana snorted.

    "So you don’t actually know where it is."

    "I have narrowed it down to a small area," Meridian said, her back stiffening like someone had shoved a stick up her ass. "Which is more than any of you bothered to do while Grace was off... boosting morale."

    Diana mouthed "boosting morale" with air quotes behind Meridian’s back, making Grace bite her lip to keep from laughing.

    "I think we should check it out," Grace said. "It’s worth a shot."

    "The cave is only accessible during low tide," Meridian warned. "Which gives us a narrow window at dawn tomorrow."

    "Then I’ll go at dawn," Grace decided. She needed to do something productive besides seducing villagers, no matter how enjoyable that had turned out to be.

    "I’ll come with you," Petriel volunteered immediately, her golden eyes big with worry. sea??h thё n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Diana stood, stretching her arms over her head.

    "Alright, count me in. I’m not letting you two face whatever water weirdness is in that cave alone."

    Grace shook her head.

    "Someone needs to stay here and protect the village. Especially with their water supply compromised."

    "Meridian can do that," Diana argued.

    "Meridian couldn’t fight off a determined cat," Grace said bluntly.

    "I take offense to that," Meridian muttered without looking up from her scrolls.

    "It’s tactical," Grace insisted. "Diana, you’re our best fighter. If more water creatures attack while we’re gone, the villagers will need you."

    Diana crossed her arms, muscles flexing in the firelight.

    "And if you run into trouble in this cave?"

    "I can handle myself," Grace said with a confidence that would have been unthinkable just days ago. "Petriel will be with me for healing if we need it."

    Diana stared at her for a long moment, then nodded reluctantly.

    "Fine. But if you’re not back by midday, I’m coming after you."

    "Fair enough."

    ---

    They spent the rest of the evening preparing. Meridian provided a detailed map of the coastline, marking the cave’s location with meticulous precision. Petriel packed healing supplies, while Grace checked over her divine weapon.

    Diana pulled Grace aside as they were finishing up.

    "You sure you’re ready for this?" she asked, her voice actually serious for once.

    "Ready for a cave?" Grace raised an eyebrow.

    "Ready for whatever The Tide might throw at you. Caves connected to the ocean? Sounds like her territory."

    Grace hadn’t considered that.

    "You think this could be a trap?"

    "I think nothing about this mission has been straightforward." Diana shrugged. "Just be careful. Seraph and I have put a lot of effort into your training. Hate to see it go to waste."

    [Is she... worried about me?] She quickly shot the thought down. [Nah, probably not.]

    "Yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine."

    Dawn broke clear and calm, a rare sight after days of churning seas. Grace and Petriel stood at the edge of camp, wings spread and ready for flight.

    "Are the directions clear enough?" Grace confirmed one last time.

    Meridian nodded.

    "Follow the coastline north. The cave will be visible in the cliffside when the tide is fully out."

    "Alright then. We’ll be back by midday," Grace promised.

    Diana stood with her arms crossed, looking pissed about being left behind.

    With a final wave, they launched into the air. Grace took the lead, wings beating powerfully against the morning sky. They climbed higher, the village and forest shrinking beneath them, before banking north along the coastline.

    The ocean stretched out below, looking way too calm. Grace couldn’t help wondering if The Tide was watching them right now, tracking their movements with those creepy black eyes.

    [Let her watch. I’ve got new skills-or, uh, techniques-to show off.]

    The thought brought a smile to Grace’s face as they soared toward the distant cliffs.

    Petriel flew close beside her, occasionally glancing over.

    "You’ve changed," Petriel said, raising her voice over the wind.

    "Diana said the same thing," Grace called back.

    "It’s a good change," Petriel clarified. "You’re stronger now. More... confident."

    "Thanks to everyone’s training," she said.

    Petriel’s cheeks flushed pink.

    "Not just that. It’s like... you’ve grown into yourself somehow."

    [Into what, though? A divine sex machine? The Saintess of Orgasms?]

    But Petriel was right. Something had changed—was still changing. Every increase in her Love attribute shifted something fundamental in how Grace saw the world. How she saw herself. It was a small change, but she could still feel it.

    There were three days until the new moon. Three days until she faced The Tide again.

    Grace was beginning to think she might actually pull this off.

    The cliffs came into view, tall and imposing against the morning sky. Grace dipped lower, scanning the rocky face for the cave entrance Meridian had described.

    "There!" Petriel pointed to a dark opening about halfway up the cliff, just above the waterline.

    They circled down, the sound of waves crashing against rock growing louder. The cave mouth was barely visible, a shadow among shadows.

    [Here goes nothing. Please don’t be full of water tentacles.]

    Grace landed on a narrow strip of wet sand below the cave entrance, Petriel touching down beside her. The tide was out, revealing tide pools and slick rocks normally covered by water.

    "Whatever happens in there," Grace said, summoning her Blade of Dawn, "stay close."

    Petriel nodded, her healing aura already shimmering around her hands. "I’m ready."

    Together, they faced the dark cave opening, the faint sound of dripping water echoing from within.

    [Time to find out if this Tide’s Tear is real... or just another legend.]

    Grace stepped forward, blade illuminating the way as they entered the darkness, aware of the blue eyes watching from beneath the innocent-looking tide pools behind them.

    [Because of course we’re being watched. It would be weird if we weren’t at this point.]