CHAPTER 63 - LET’S GET WASTED! (4)

“Ren…?”

Soren’s drifting thoughts snapped back at the sound of Lilliana’s drowsy voice.

She was rubbing her eyes, her pink ears twitching slightly as she tried to wake.

“You’re awake, Lily?”

“Yesss… but my head hurts…”

“Here’s some water.” He passed her a cup from the table.

“Thanksss…”

She groaned as she raised her body before putting the cup to her lips and downing the entire glass, then let out a long sigh.

“Hahh…”

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Slightly…”  Her lime eyes blinked around the room, then widened at the sight of the mess. “What happened…?”

The bottles, the half-finished dishes, the scattered chairs, all proof of their night.

“We really drank all of that?”

“Yep.”

Her ears twitched upright in alarm.

“Wait, your wallet! Are you going to be okay?”

Soren froze for a second before remembering his boast.

“H-Hopefully…”

“I can help cover it if you need. I don’t mind.”

He smiled despite the guilt curling in his chest.

“No, you’re included in the people I wanted to repay.”

“Ren…Thank you.”

He scratched his cheek, feeling awkward under her gratitude.

“...Don’t mention it.”

But then her eyes flickered red, faint but clearly enough for Soren to see.

“Are you okay?”

“Uhm… Thirsty,” she admitted softly.

Soren blinked.

“...Ah. That.” He glanced around at the others, still asleep, sprawled across the table and floor. “Not here.”

If they were alone, he would have agreed easily, but right now they were with everyone, even if they were all asleep.

“There’s an ensuite…” she murmured, hesitant.

Soren rolled his eyes around the room, weighing the risk, then sighed.

“...How thirsty?”

“Very…”

“Alright. Come on.”

“Sorry.”

“I told you it’s fine, it’s better than anything happening to you.” He said as he got to his feet, holding his hand out to Lilliana.

She took it with a guilty look, and the two of them slipped away, unaware of the half-open eyes that followed them.

* ••✦ ♡ ✦•••

Inside the ensuite, Soren locked the door.

The small, dim space only sharpened the strangeness of it all.

He knew how important it was to Lilliana that her race be kept a secret, and although he had freely used blood magic in the duel, he was safe, as he was a human.

“Should I… just sit there?” he asked, eyeing the toilet.

“I guess so…?”

He sat down, exhaling through his nose.

“This is weird…” Soren muttered.

The act itself wasn’t strange anymore.

He’d grown accustomed to the feeling of feeding Lilliana, but here, sneaking into a bathroom together, with alcohol still in their systems, his brain refused to calm down.

And it wasn’t just him either.

“I-I’m sorry…” she whispered.

From the way her face flushed as she settled on his lap, arm hesitantly circling his neck, it was clear that he wasn’t the only one feeling it.

“...Let’s just get this over with,” he muttered, his ears hot.

He was sure that his face was probably just as red as Lilliana’s.

Lilliana nodded and leaned forward, her face inching ever closer to him, and…

Crunch

Then she sank her fangs into his pale neck.

“Mmm…!” The noise leaked out of him before he could stop it, making them both freeze in place.

“...”

“...”

The tense atmosphere only deepened.

Soren swallowed hard.

“Sorry… you should continue.”

She obeyed, sinking deeper.

Heat and pleasure coiled under his skin.

He bit his lip, trying not to flinch at every pull, every brush of her mouth against his neck.

Soren desperately tried to stop himself from reacting to the strange feeling creeping through his body.

‘Why is it so different?’

He couldn’t understand; he didn’t know why his body reacted in such a way to something he had done so frequently.

Lick lick

Then came her tongue, warm, slow and wet, lapping against his skin.

Soren’s breath caught, his hand shot up to cover his face.

‘No fucking way…’

He was in disbelief, yet he still had the wherewithal to shift his body slightly backwards, away from Lilliana.

Soren felt deeply embarrassed by the thoughts and feelings that were currently flowing through his head as he shut his eyes tightly and bit his lip, praying that Lilliana would be finished soon.

Every second dragged, every sound magnified in the enclosed space.

Slurp

Every brush of her tongue on his body sent shivers down his spine and made him shift his body further backwards, praying that Lilliana would not notice.

It was only after a few agonisingly long minutes that Lilliana finally opened her eyes and let out a heated breath.

“I’m done.”

At last, she pulled away, licking her lips with a flushed face.

His eyes remained glued to her lips; even that simple action was enough to completely enthral Soren in his current state.

“Soren?” she asked, puzzled.

He tore his gaze away, his cheeks blazing.

“L-Lilliana…?”

“Why’re you suddenly using my full name?”

He shut his eyes, steadying himself.

“...Could you please leave first? I need a moment.”

She tilted her head, still confused, but not pushing.

“Sure…”

Lilliana remained confused, even as she jumped off his lap and exited the bathroom, but she didn’t bother asking any further.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, Soren bolted upright.

“Hahh! Shit!”

The moment he confirmed that he was alone, he shot up from the toilet seat, ran over to the door, and locked it.

“That was close, far too close.”

He had been fortunate that not only was the bathroom dark, but that she didn’t ask any questions about his actions and also that Lilliana hadn’t moved around much.

If any of those conditions hadn’t been fulfilled, he might have just keeled over and died right there and then.

Click

He flicked on the magic light and walked towards the sink to take a look in the mirror.

Only when he stood face to face with his reflection did he finally understand how truly dangerous that situation had been.

He splashed water across his cheeks, but it didn’t erase the image of her lips, the heat of her breath…

“...”

His face was burning red, so much so that it almost matched his eye colour, the marks on his neck from Lilliana’s teeth were visible, and blood slightly trickled from them, then finally… his gaze flickered downward.

“...Alcohol’s more dangerous than I thought.”

As a man, Soren had obviously had thoughts about the women around him; their beauty was undeniable, but this was something else. His body reacting to Lily’s feeding? That was a new and humiliating experience.

He had gotten used to Lilliana’s feeding, Esper’s clinging and Amelia’s distance, but for some reason, things had changed today.

Even as he felt deep embarrassment, he couldn’t stop the strange thoughts from appearing in his mind.

And because of his perfect memory, he was able to remember every moment of the touches from the women around him.

“This is dangerous. Seriously dangerous.”

He turned on the faucet and splashed his face with water once more, in an attempt to cool off.

He didn’t want to think about those around him in that way.

The thoughts circling in his mind were just stray thoughts influenced by alcohol, he told himself.

They’re all just friends, so it would be strange if he suddenly became conscious of them, especially for reasons as dirty as this.

Soren was aware that he could do those things with friends under the right circumstances, but he preferred the relationship he had now; beyond that, it was unlikely that any of them would even accept it, given their statuses.

‘I’m also too busy…’

It was a statement that directly contradicted the thoughts he had right after transmigrating, about how he didn’t want to become like those protagonists in novels who were unable to accept anyone until the story was over because of how busy they were, but Soren’s life was busy.

Sure, he had the freedom to hang out with his friends, but even then, most of the time he spent with his friends was also time spent training in some form.

From his physical training and sparring with Amelia, to his blood magic tutoring with Lilliana, those he spent the most time around were often helping him with his growth.

It would be unfair to them for him to begin lusting after them when they showed him such pure kindness.

“Hoo…”

* ••✦ ♡ ✦•••

Only after a few minutes had passed did the blush on his cheeks fade and the discomfort in his pants disappear.

“Let’s go out now…”

He unlocked the door after taking one more deep breath and stepped back into the room with everyone, only to see something shocking.

The moment he returned, Esper’s sing-song voice rang out.

“Professor Roseblooddd~”

Soren blinked.

Lilliana was curled in the corner, hiding her face in her knees while Esper poked her back, grinning playfully.

“...What’s going on?”

Felix and Amelia, newly awake, gave him matching looks; Amelia’s was the sharper one.

“Soren, seriously?”

“What?”

Esper pounced over to him with a mischievous gleam.

“Cutieee~ You and the professor snuck into the ensuite together, huh?”

Soren’s face froze; he turned to Lilliana, only to see tears at the corner of her eyes.

‘Oh god…’

“Essy, it’s not like that.”

Esper smirked.

“Not like what exactly?”

“Lily was just thirsty and needed help getting to the bathroom, and I was the only one awake.”

A glimmer of hope returned to Lilliana’s eyes as she heard Soren’s attempt at defending her, but…

“Not buying it!” Esper chirped. “Why’d you lock the door then? And why’d you stay after she left?”

Soren opened his mouth… then shut it again.

“...I’ve got nothing.”

“Ren???” Lilliana squeaked, looking betrayed.

“I mean, Lily, seriously, how the hell am I supposed to explain it?”

“T-That’s… true…” She wilted, realising how bad it looked.

A voice cut in, dry as stone.

“You’ve got blood on your neck.”

Soren stiffened as Amelia leaned in, blowing lightly on the bite mark.

Felix’s eyes sharpened.

“You’re bleeding? What happened?”

“Are you hurt?” Esper’s grin vanished in concern.

Soren forced a sheepish laugh.

“A bug must’ve bitten me in my sleep or something. Doesn’t hurt though.”

Esper pulled out a handkerchief, dapping at his neck.

“Here, I’ll wipe it for you! It could be dangerous if you just leave it!”

He sat still, grateful for the shift in topic.

‘It must’ve been because I was acting weirdly.’

Ordinarily, after feeding Lilliana, the wound wouldn’t produce any more blood thanks to her sucking as much out as possible, but with Soren’s strangeness earlier, she must’ve stopped, thinking that something was wrong.

Only after Esper finished cleaning his wound did Soren finally talk, careful to keep the subject away from him and Lilliana.

“So… when should we wake those two up?” He asked as he pointed to the two who were still fast asleep, cuddling.

Everyone’s attention turned, the tension easing into laughter.

And for the moment, at least, Soren could breathe again.

“It’s adorable, isn’t it, Cutie?”

Soren nodded in agreement; it was as if his shipping fantasies had come to life, so of course, he enjoyed it.

“Should we give them a couple more minutes then? Then once everyone's awake, I can pay the bill and we can leave.”

“Yep!”

“That’s good with me.”

“Sure.”

“Alright.”

With everyone in agreement, they sat there exchanging small talk for a few more minutes before waking up the somehow-not-a-couple and laughing at their flustered reactions.

————「❤︎」————