Chapter 91: Hands-On Training"So what exactly does this thing do?" Petriel asked, her wings flapping lazily as they flew back to camp.

    Grace, who had the dumbest grin on her face for the last ten minutes, held the Tide’s Tear up to the sunlight. The pearl glowed with an inner blue light, swirling patterns dancing around inside it like tiny ocean currents.

    "No idea," she admitted.

    "Huh!?"

    "Uh..."

    [Let me check.]

    Grace focused on the artifact, willing the System to tell her something actually useful for once. Sear?h the N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    「Item Acquired: The Tide’s Tear」

    「Ancient artifact connected to The Tide’s consciousness」

    「Effect: Allows communication with and potential influence over The Tide’s domain」

    「Warning: Power varies based on user’s connection to The Tide」

    "Well?" Petriel asked, golden eyes big with curiosity. "Do you feel anything?"

    "Uh..." Grace tried very hard to act like she was manifesting some magic in front of her. "Something about communication and influence over The Tide’s domain. I-I think."

    Grace tucked the pearl into her pouch.

    They flew in comfortable silence for a while, both still flushed from their "celebration" in the temple. Grace couldn’t help stealing glances at Petriel’s profile against the blue sky. The shy healer had surprised her. Several times, actually.

    [Who knew Petriel had such a talented tongue? And those fingers... Eternia’s boobs, those fingers...]

    "There’s the camp," Petriel pointed toward the shore where they’d set up base.

    They descended, wings creating small whirlwinds of sand as they touched down. The camp was weirdly quiet.

    "Meridian?" Grace called out.

    Nothing.

    "Diana?"

    Still nothing.

    [Great. They’re either dead or having sex. Fifty-fifty chance at this point.]

    They walked toward the shore, where they spotted Meridian sitting cross-legged on a rock, furiously scribbling in one of her endless scrolls. Her blue hair was tied back, and she had that constipated look she always got when she was deep in scholarly thought.

    "Meridian," Grace said, approaching the nerd. "We found it. The Tide’s Tear."

    Meridian looked up, blinking like someone who’d forgotten what sunlight was.

    "Excellent. I need to document its physical properties immediately." She reached for the pearl, but Grace held it back.

    "Where’s Diana?"

    Meridian’s eyes darted toward a cluster of rocks further down the beach. She pointed with her quill.

    "Your warrior friend is... busy with the locals."

    Now that Grace focused, she could hear it—moaning. Lots of moaning, punctuated by occasional squeals of delight and what sounded suspiciously like Diana’s signature laugh.

    [Of course she is. I’m out risking my life for a magic pearl while she’s having a... beach orgy. Typical Diana.]

    Grace sighed and headed toward the sounds, Petriel trailing behind her. They rounded the rocks to find exactly what Grace expected: Diana, gloriously naked as usual, surrounded by three village women in various states of undress.

    "You have GOT to be kidding me," Grace muttered.

    Diana looked up, not even pretending to be embarrassed. Her face broke into a wide grin.

    "Heeey, you’re back! And still alive! That’s a win." She patted one of the village women on the ass. "Give me a minute, ladies."

    The women giggled and began gathering their clothes, shooting admiring glances at both Grace and Petriel. One whispered something to another, both looking at Grace’s white hair and golden eyes with obvious interest. Grace ducked her head, embarrassed.

    Diana stood, not bothering to put on any clothes as she walked toward them. Grace had to actively pull her eyes away from the beads of sweat rolling down her toned body.

    "So? Did you find it?"

    Grace pulled out the pearl.

    "The Tide’s Tear. I think it’s supposed to let us communicate with The Tide, maybe even control her domain."

    Diana whistled, genuinely impressed.

    "Wow. Nice work, rookie."

    "Thanks." Grace tucked the pearl away. "I see you’ve been keeping busy."

    Diana shrugged, completely shameless.

    "Eh, figured I’d make this my application for the Love Sisters, you know? Keeping morale up. These village women were worried about their friends and family. I helped them relax."

    "With... your thing?" Grace wasn’t even sure why she asked. Maybe she was sub-consciously curious.

    "This?" Diana created her divine construct absent-mindedly. That light-dick of hers.

    "Y-Yeah."

    "Ah, well, this is just a little trick Venus taught me. Actual ’morale-booster’ technique, funny enough. Super handy."

    "I’m sure," Grace said dryly. "Anyway, we should probably call a meeting, figure out how to use this thing before the new moon."

    "Absolutely," Diana agreed. "Right after you finish your training."

    Grace froze halfway through turning to leave, looking back.

    "My what now?"

    Suddenly, Diana’s hand landed on her shoulder, spinning her back around. The warrior angel stood way too close, that construct of hers pressing against Grace’s robes.

    [Oh. Oh shoot. That’s... warm.]

    "Your training," Diana repeated, voice dropping to a husky whisper, grinning. "You’ve practiced on village women, but if you’re going to be taking on the Tide, you’re gonna need more techniques, aren’t ya?"

    Grace’s mouth went dry as Diana guided her hand to the glowing construct between her legs. Her eyes widened. It felt solid, warm, and weirdly alive under her fingers.

    "Don’t you want more training? The new moon’s only two days away."

    Grace gulped, her heart racing. Petriel stood a few feet away, watching with those big, innocent eyes that Grace now knew were anything but innocent.

    Her Love attribute hummed through her veins like a drug, and her fingers tightened around Diana’s glowing cock. At least, that was what Grace decided she’d be blaming for this.

    [Well... practice makes perfect, right?]

    She swallowed.

    "How does this technique work exactly?" Grace asked, trying to sound professional despite the heat flooding her cheeks.

    Diana’s grin turned predatory.

    "Oh, I think it’ll be easier if I just show you."

    "EEK!"

    She wrapped an arm around Grace’s waist, pulling her closer. Her lips brushed against Grace’s ear.

    "Unless you’re scared?"

    Grace looked away, glaring at nothing as her face reddened further.

    "I-I’m not scared of anything."

    "Good answer." Diana’s free hand slid down to Grace’s ass, squeezing appreciatively. "Petriel, you joining us or watching?"

    Petriel’s face turned scarlet.

    "I... um... I..."

    Eventually, though, she walked forward a couple of steps.

    Diana threw her head back and laughed.

    [Is this what Venus feels like all the time? No wonder she’s always smiling.]

    Grace couldn’t argue with that internal assessment. Between her increased Love attribute and Diana’s "lessons," she was slowly becoming someone her former turnip-farmer self wouldn’t recognize.

    And she didn’t mind as much as she thought she would.

    "Fine," Grace said, trying to sound put-upon despite the heat building between her legs. "But this is strictly educational. For the mission."

    "Of course," Diana agreed, not even trying to hide her smirk. "Purely professional."

    Grace rolled her eyes.

    "You’re so annoying."

    "And yet, you’re still holding my dick," Diana pointed out, still grinning like an idiot.

    Grace looked down. She was, in fact, still gripping Diana’s glowing light-cock. And she wasn’t letting go.

    "Fine," she sighed. "Lead the way, Professor- H-HEY!"

    Diana swept Grace off her feet and carried her, one arm under her legs and one hand on her back. Her laugh was warm and rich as she guided them toward a sheltered cove hidden behind the rocks.

    "Oh, I like that. You can call me Professor while I teach you all about handling divine rods."

    "I’m not calling you Professor ever again," Grace muttered.

    Wanting to focus on anything except what was happening, she thought of the mission.

    [Two days until the new moon. Two days to figure out this pearl. Two days to prepare to face The Tide.]

    But right now, as Diana led her and Petriel toward a secluded spot behind the rocks, Grace couldn’t bring herself to worry about any of that. Right now, there was just this moment, this feeling, this burning desire to... well, educate herself, of course.

    After all, if she was going to seduce a primordial water entity, she needed all the practice she could get.

    [Eternia, what have you gotten me into?]

    As Diana pulled her into the hidden cove, Grace saw the blankets already laid out on the sand. Diana had clearly been planning this. That, or she’d already brought someone here.

    "What the hell is this?"

    Diana winked.

    "I had faith in you and Petriel. And I figured we’d have something to celebrate."

    "Is that what we’re calling it now? Celebrating?"

    There was, of course, a "who am I to talk?" that flashed through her skull given what she’d been doing with Petriel earlier, but still.

    "Call it whatever you want, shortie," Diana said, putting Grace down, her hands already working at the ties of Grace’s robe. "Training. Celebrating. Fucking. It’s all good to me."

    Petriel’s fingers joined Diana’s, and Grace found herself surrounded by eager hands, her protests dying on her lips.

    [Maybe the turnip farm wasn’t so bad after all. At least there, I didn’t have to worry about dying from... sexual exhaustion.]

    But as Diana’s mouth found hers, and Petriel’s lips traced a path down her neck, Grace knew there was no going back. And honestly? She wasn’t sure she wanted to.