45—Hot Cuppa

I was lost for words as I took in the sight before my eyes. My jaw was metaphorically hanging open.

In front of me stood Nika, but her appearance was completely different from usual.

Her adventuring attire—a flowing purple robe enchanted to not only attract ambient mana towards her but also prevent tearing and stains—was replaced by a cute, simple, frilly white skirt, a loose cyan blouse, and a black undershirt beneath it, visible due to the blouse's remarkably low neckline. The clothing revealed much more of her... assets, and I had a hard time keeping my eyes off her plump, juicy thighs, partially exposed collarbones and sizeable breasts.

Her long hair, normally tied up in a ponytail, was flowing unhindered too, running like a purple waterfall from her scalp to below her shoulders. Seeing it like that, I realized it was slightly wavy, unlike Aina's perfectly straight locks, and I felt myself getting lost in its shapes and contours, how its colors changed as it caught the light.

"Ray, I'm... very happy to see you. Um... please come inside. Make yourself at home."

Her words broke me out of my trance, and I laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head as I made my way inside, taking off my jacket and hanging it on the wooden rack designed for just that.

"Sorry for the embarrassing display, staring at you like an idiot instead of properly greeting you. I was just stumped by how different you looked in comparison to when out adventuring..." I was going to leave it there, but as I passed her, a faint, pleasing scent which I couldn't identify reached my nose. 'She put on perfume to greet me?'

It gave me the confidence to finish my sentence.

"...you look really beautiful. Gorgeous, actually." My words came out awkward, badly phrased, my embarrassment almost making me stutter, but their impact was satisfactory.

It took a moment for Nika to process my words, but then she immediately averted her gaze, twiddling her thumbs as she mumbled, "Don't spout such obvious lies. I couldn't even buy anything good to wear since nothing fit. These are just my comfy clothes..."

I smiled, as my heart began to speed up a little.

"Well, you look de–gorgeous in them, Nika. And I'm glad you're wearing something comfortable, and not burdening yourself to please me. I wouldn't like that at all."

'I–I really almost said "you look delicious" there! What the hell's wrong with me!?'

Nika didn't seem to notice my slip-up though, or at least she didn't draw attention to it. I couldn't really see her face, but I could swear she smiled upon hearing that. She was definitely blushing, too.

"We–well, I'm happy to hear that, Ray. If you say so, I–I won't force myself to wear uncomfortable things to appeal to you... Ahem! So, have you eaten already?"

I couldn't help but crack a smile at the obvious attempt to redirect the conversation, but I gladly followed her lead as I responded, "Yeah, sorry if it messes up your plans... but I basically gorged myself on food from the street stalls when I was shopping with Aina a while back."

Nika clapped her hands what I could only guess was a mix of happiness and relief.

"Perfect! I was worried since I'd already eaten, too. Then... would you like to join me for some tea?"

I grinned, showing Nika two rows of gleaming white teeth. "Will there be cookies?"

'Though perhaps biscuits would be more appropriate, haha.'

Bemused, Nika nodded.

"Well then, count me in!" I said, then leaned over conspirationally, and with my hand shielding my mouth, whispered, "Well, I would've said yes even if you hadn't added cookies to the deal."

She laughed at my foolishness as we broke off, with her making for what I assumed to be the kitchen while I waited on the expensive-looking sofa in the living room.

She came back a moment later, tray in hand, on it two china cups and a large teapot, along with the promised biscuits.

She sat down next to me, putting the tray on the table in front of us and saying, "It'll take a while for it to heat up, even with me speeding up the process. Sorry for the lack of preparation, but I didn't know when you'd arrive."

Looking at the teapot, I saw it was sitting on top of a magical heater plate, a portable version of the appliance I'd seen in my family's mansion's kitchens, which worked off ambient mana, but could be sped up by actively pumping one's own into it, even more so if it was fire-attuned.

I smiled, the gesture bittersweet.

"Yeah, we really should've planned things better... don't rush it, though. I don't know what kind of tea it is, but you'll probably ruin it that way. The flavor needs to be able to slowly seep into the water..."

'...and she definitely knows that already. Given the seemingly very expensive tea set, the fact that there's no one else in the house to use it, and that she invited me to tea on the first occasion that was available, she definitely knows what she's doing when it comes to tea. I might've just put my foot in my mouth big time, treating her like an idiot.'

Fortunately, she didn't frown at my rude words, but rather gave me a surprised look upon hearing them.

"Oh? You know about tea-brewing?"

I had to laugh at that one. 'Nope, only what I overheard my grandma say—may she rest in peace—when we visited her and she made some for everyone.'

I felt a pang in my heart as I recalled those memories, and quickly shut them off, focusing on the president.

I couldn't tell her about them, anyways, so I opted for a safer option.

"Eh... Not really. But, if you're around people who keep brewing it, you'll end up picking up on a few things here and there."

She raised her eyebrows at that one, for some reason, but didn't ask further.

'What, is tea a rare thing in this world or something? Due to Raynold's limited scope of memories, I have no clue...'

Soon, the teapot began hissing, steam riding out of it, and a while later we were drinking our tea and eating out biscuits, side by side, as we talked about this and that, the present and the future, our words flowing naturally now that the initial awkwardness had worn off. Or maybe it was the tea.

"Mmmm... I feel all warm and fuzzy."

Nika's words mirrored my own feelings. "Yeah, that brew really hit the spot..."

I awaited an answer, but instead felt a slight, warm weight on my shoulder as Nika leaned against me, her head nestling comfortably on the crook of my neck. Almost by instinct, I wrapped my arm around her waist, and pulled her closer.

Only then did I catch myself and realize this wasn't Aina, and that I'd just stepped way over the line.

My heart was racing.

"Uh–Ah, sorr–" I began to fumble out an apology, but Nika's arm interlocking with my own stopped me.

"This feels... really nice. It feels... right." She smiled. "Yes. I belong here, with you like this." She sighed in contentment. "I don't want to let go of you, ever."

I couldn't find anything clever to say, something that fit the mood, so I just went with my heart.

"I'll never let you go either, Nika, no matter what. So, don't worry yourself over it. You won't be able to escape even if you wanted to."

I heard a quiet giggle at my words.

"Yeah... Together, we'll manage, somehow. We'll find a way to be together."

I didn't say anything. I didn't need to. Instead, I pet her head, running my fingers through her smooth, wavy hair, marvelling at its silky texture.

"Nika."

"Yeah?"

"Can you feel my heartbeat?"

"Mhm... it's really calming. Ba-dok, ba-dok."

"And...?

"And, it's... well, it's going pretty fast right now."

I smiled.

"Do you know why?"

"No... Why?"

"The answer's easy. It's because..."

I took a deep breath. Then I said it.

"...I love you, Nika."