Chapter 42: Joy

As the hot water seeped into every curve of her voluptuous body, Lily let out the deepest, most contented sigh of satisfaction.

"Aaaaah... this feels so good~"

Now with her hair tied in a ponytail to keep it from soaking in the hot water, Lily wriggled happily.

Though the bathtub was small and didn’t allow much movement, the simple act of soaking in warm water—a rare luxury for her—helped her fully relax. The last time she’d had such an opportunity was ruined by the irritating group led by the one-star mage who attacked them at the hot springs.

"Nhm... yes... so warm~"

Like Lily, the girl on her lap seemed equally happy, though probably for a very different reason.

"My wife is a breast addict..." Lily teased, poking the cheek of the naked girl sitting on her lap in the bathtub, a playful smile on her lips.

"Yes, I am. I love them, and I don't want to let go..." Nia responded, using Lily’s chest as the ultimate luxurious pillow. "Lily, spoil me~"

As promised, Nia would never held back her desires or worries anymore. Seeing this, her loving wife began stroking her head while gently rubbing her slightly rounded belly.

"There, there," Lily cooed softly, placing kisses on Nia's head as she relaxed even more, watching her beloved squirm with delight.

"Hehe, I love you, Lily~"

“I love you too, Nia”

The sight of the beautiful woman nuzzling against her like a cat seeking warmth was too precious. Lily couldn't resist embracing Nia tightly, basking in her warmth.

Even though Lily knew Nia still had more than enough energy for them to continue their loving moments, they had already been in the bathroom for quite some time. Not wanting to raise suspicions, Lily decided it was time to leave.

Noticing this, Nia gave Lily one last, lingering kiss before retreating into her body. In the blink of an eye, Lily’s body dried completely, and her black dress and cloak once again enveloped her.

Since the bathroom had already been cleaned of their "wet mess," Lily left without worry. However, as she opened the door, she noticed that the other two women were no longer in the room.

Though this struck her as odd, considering how long she had been in the bathroom, Nia—who constantly monitored their surroundings with mana-location—hadn't mentioned anything unusual. Lily concluded that the delay must have been caused by their food taking longer than expected.

Sitting on one of the beds, Lily waited for about five more minutes before the two women finally returned.

"You took your time. Did something happen?" she asked.

Cleomel opened the door for Abelia, who entered first and sat down on the empty bed.

"The line was a bit longer than usual." Cleomel placed a small wooden bowl on the table between the two beds. Inside were two pieces of bone-in meat accompanied by a few boiled vegetables. "They were serving the house specialty today: lamb shank. Since livestock farming is more limited within the mist-covered territory due to the lack of sunlight, access to meat is somewhat restricted and quite rare. So, even though it was a bit pricey, I figured it was worth waiting to get some."

Lily's eyes widened at the sight of the dish, the aroma of spices wafting to her nose enough to make her mouth water. It had been years since she last tasted a piece of meat, and just seeing it plated before her nearly made her forget the strange feeling she'd had ever since the two women returned.

“Hm... Is everything alright with Abelia?”

Wiping away the saliva threatening to escape her lips with her fist, Lily turned her attention to Abelia. The noblewoman sat silently at the edge of the bed, her face buried in both hands. The moment Lily voiced her concern, it was as if a dam broke, and Abelia began to release everything she’d been holding back.

"It's because of that lascivious couple who were shamelessly engaging in their relations without any restraint! Heavens, everyone in the lobby and kitchen could hear their moans echoing through the walls! It was like two animals in heat competing to see which could bellow louder. How indecent can someone be to make such a racket, even in a crowded inn?"

Her face flushed red with conflicting emotions, the noblewoman paced back and forth across the room, her voice growing louder with each word. Her heart pounded in her chest, matching the fervor of her indignation.

"You heard them too, didn't you, Lady Lily?"

"I-I didn't hear anything! I was bathing! It's not what you're thinking!"

Lily's voice wavered, and without realizing it, she blurted out a defense of her innocence. However, lost in her outrage, Abelia failed to pick up on Lily’s inadvertently incriminating remarks.

"I understand that they were enthusiastic, but everything should have limits! The noise didn’t come from any of the first-floor rooms, so it must have been from one of the upper floors! How energetic can someone be to make their cries carry so far? I swear I could feel the walls shaking as if someone were being thrown against them. Is that even physically possible?"

"Please calm down, my lady!" Cleomel, her own face tinged with a deep blush from the stimulating noises she’d overheard, tried her best to soothe her mistress.

"How can you ask me to calm down, Cleomel? You didn't see the faces of the innkeepers— they were so embarrassed that they couldn't even think of how to explain the situation to the guests! If the noises hadn’t stopped, I’m certain the neighbors would’ve come over to complain!"

For the first time in her life, Lily felt as though if someone brought anything flammable near her face, it would ignite immediately, so intense was her embarrassment.

(I think… we might have gone overboard.)

Even Nia, who normally wouldn’t concern herself with such things, felt her body heat rise from the vividness of Abelia’s descriptions of their lovemaking session.

Not even Lily's legendary poker face could save her this time. With a loud thud, she dropped her forehead onto the table, hiding her face in her arms as she began to mutter in desperation.

"I know I get carried away when we do it, but... do I really moan that loud?!"

The lack of an immediate response from Nia spoke volumes. Her wife, now committed to complete honesty after their recent heart-to-heart, was clearly taking her time to choose her words carefully.

(We were keeping quiet until halfway through, but then... Lily's moans calling for me were so beautiful I couldn’t bring myself to remind us to stay silent or control our strength.)

Perhaps due to the shift in her tone whenever she spoke with Nia, neither Abelia nor Cleomel recognized her as the one responsible for making the building’s walls tremble with the force of her hips and the full-throated moans that accompanied them.

Would they go room to room, questioning couples in search of the source of the sounds? This desperate thought flashed through Lily's mind, and she silently began apologizing to any innocent couple who might be interrogated because of her. Unlike when they had stayed at the Stardust Spring Inn, the staff here didn’t even know she was a guest. Still, Lily silently vowed to leave some extra money at the reception desk as compensation for the inconvenience.

Thankfully for Lily, during the minutes it took for the knight to calm Abelia, neither of the two women noticed how many times Lily slammed her forehead against the table.

“It is indeed delicious, isn’t it, Lady Lily?”

“I'm sorry! I promise we’ll be more restrained when staying at inns!”

“What?”

Snapping out of her frantic thoughts, Lily realized with a start that she now had a piece of lamb shank on her fork. Across from her, Cleomel sat in one of the chairs at the small table, her expression puzzled by Lily’s odd response.

“No! I mean, yes! The lamb is delicious! So good that we need restraint to avoid eating it all at once!”

Scratching the back of her neck and forcing a dry laugh, Lily quickly stuffed another bite of lamb into her mouth, focusing on the blend of spices in the soft, succulent meat to distract herself from her slip.

(The flavor is so different from anything else!)

Nia, having overcome her embarrassment far quicker than Lily, used their shared senses to savor the dish as well, cheering in delight within Lily’s mind while urging her hand to scoop another bite.

Although her appetite had initially vanished from all the awkwardness, Lily found some solace in Nia’s obvious joy. Allowing her to take control of her body to enjoy the meal, Lily quietly observed Abelia sitting timidly on the bed, eating some vegetables.

Despite her noble upbringing, Abelia didn’t complain about the food even once. Having spent several weeks in the mist-shrouded territory, her adaptability surprised Lily, who had always imagined nobles eating dishes adorned in gold. Watching someone of high status eating the same food as her felt oddly surreal.

Once the three women—or rather, four—finished their meal, Lily finally began explaining what she had done before entering the inn. As she recounted the reasoning she had previously shared with Nia, the two women waited patiently for her to finish before speaking up.

“Indeed, the man’s approach is suspicious,” Abelia said, crossing her arms and closing her eyes as she considered Lily’s words. “It’s almost impossible for a professor from the academy to assist an unknown girl simply because he’s an acquaintance of the store owner.”

“I didn’t even notice the glass showcases when I was questioning the shop earlier! How could I overlook something so important?” Cleomel clenched her fist, her face darkening with frustration at realizing she had missed a critical lead despite being so close to it.

"As I said, that was just my initial suspicion, since I know how unscrupulous people can create favorable excuses using their work to get what they want."

Although she didn't like it, Lily would never forget how the guards in her village used the excuse of morning patrols to watch the wet bodies of women washing clothes in the river.

"But Lady Lily..." Abelia resumed the conversation, her worried tone reflected in her words. "Isn't there a risk that they will take Alice out of the city before tomorrow? Wouldn't it be better to interrogate the man today to find out about his associates?"

"I feel that the shopkeeper is just a disposable member. Even if we capture him today, we might not be able to extract the information we need, and we will lose our best chance." Lily replied, her fingers resting on her chin as she reflected. "Due to the monster warning, the likelihood that the kidnappers took your daughter out of the city is low. But even if they did, our chances of finding the culprit and forcing him to confess where they took her will be higher if they don't suspect we are after them."

Lily's explanation made sense, and although her heart was still apprehensive about her daughter's safety, Abelia gathered her strength to calm down and follow the girl's plan.

With nothing more to do but wait for the next day to arrive, Lily was the first to lie down while the other two women took turns using the bathroom for a bath.

Covering her red face with the thin blanket as she turned to the wall, Lily couldn't shake the thought that people were now showering at the scene of her ‘crime’.

Thanks to the streetlights, even though the thick fog blocked the moon, it was still possible to see small bluish glimmers through the curtains reaching the bed, creating a relaxing view.

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep you company during the night, Nia," Lily spoke softly, her eyes growing heavier as the busy day caught up with her.

(Don't worry, Lily, I like making sure you're safe. Also, I'll continue my analysis of the heart the guardian Nox gave us. Out of all the things I've absorbed, this is by far the one that's taking the longest.)

Lily felt one of Nia's tentacles wrapping around her body under the covers before finally reaching the side of her face. Giving the tentacle a soft kiss, Lily wrapped her hands around it and pressed it against her cheeks, using it as a pillow.

"Good night, Nia."

"Good night, Lily."

Her eyes slowly closed, and Lily surrendered completely to a sweet sleep. The rhythm of her breathing became calmer as she allowed her tired mind to relax. The sense of security she felt in the comfortable bed, with the beating of her heart, carried her deeper into the comforting darkness.

When her eyes opened, Lily felt the morning sun enveloping her body, and the soft breeze coming through the slightly open windows brought the scent of flowers.

Sitting up, Lily removed the blanket that covered her and knelt on the bed, her small arms fully opening the wooden window to reveal the majestic sky with golden and orange hues that appeared as another day began.

"Lily, you're awake? Hurry up, breakfast is ready."

Upon hearing the familiar voice calling her, the little girl jumped out of bed and slipped on her sandals. She happily skipped out of her small room, her silver hair a complete mess.

With just the change of one room, a delicious smell reached her nose. On top of a small table in the center of the room, a piece of yellowed bread was all her eyes could see. The steam rising from it showed that it had just been baked. Already salivating, the girl couldn’t hold back and climbed onto the chair to grab it.

“Wait, Lily!”

However, just as she was about to snatch her prize, the girl felt her body become lighter as she was lifted off the ground by two arms wrapping around her waist.

“Buh!” Her cheeks puffed up, and her blue eyes squinted in frustration at being stopped. “But I woke up by myself today! Why can’t I eat?”

The arms around her gently sat her down in the chair, and a small kiss was placed on her forehead.

“Because it’s still hot. You don’t want to burn your tongue, do you?”

Lily puffed her cheeks again but couldn’t think of anything to rebut the man’s words as he began gently combing her hair.

A few minutes later, another kiss was placed on her head, and her hair, now arranged into a single long braid, swayed as she wriggled happily in the chair.

“Now, what’s missing from all this?”

Upon hearing those words, the little girl put her hands over her mouth, her face in panic as if she had forgotten to do something very important.

Jumping out of the chair, Lily ran to hug the man, a big smile on her joyful face.

“Good morning, Daddy!”