The Sword and The Shadow

"Huh?!" He'd thought he'd misheard. What can he do? What did she mean?!

Eirinn remained silent. It was already pushing her limits for someone as pure as her to say something like that.

In the end…

"You meanie! You're definitely trying to mess with me!" She was already dying of embarrassment, but she mustered her courage and said once more, "You can! The two of us.."

[Teacher, am I hearing things?] He still wasn't willing to believe it. He hadn't had anything that wonderful happen to him before, so his first reaction was to assume he was mistaken about something. There had to be a catch somewhere.

[That's right!] Gahrona said in annoyance, [Quickly reply to her! I think she's so ashamed she's about to off herself! Sheesh, I really wonder what the hell is with you humans. Why does a pig like you get all the good fruit?]

He started to blank out once more. Gahrona had to give him a mental shock to snap him out of it.

"Big Brother…" she called out after seeing him not respond for a good while. Her face turned from red to pale in an instant.

What was I thinking? Dark elves are the most hated race of humans! How could Big Brother Leguna like a `half-blood dark elf like me?! He wouldn't like me even if I shamelessly offer myself up to him! Doing so will only make him hate me!

The thought of that caused her to wince with pain. Her race and bloodline could not be picked, but now, she felt she was paying for being born as she was.

"I got it…" she said self mockingly, "I'm an abhorrent mix-blood dark elf. Don't worry, Big Brother, I won't ever trouble you like this again."

"What are you saying, Eirinn?" He snapped out of it and noticed she was misunderstanding something. "I want to! Of course I'm willing! I've dreamed of doing this!"

He suddenly didn't know what to say.

Gah, me and my stupid mouth! What was I going to say?! I want to do you even in my dreams? I meant what I said, something so dirty! The shining impression I left in her is going to crumble! Darn it!

While he felt that he went a little overboard from what he said, her eyes brightened when she heard it. She struggled to hide her embarrassment and looked him straight in the eye.

"Big Brother… you don't hate me?"

"What the hell?"

While he didn't quite understand what she was getting at, the girl's pitiful look was so cute he almost couldn't take it any longer.

He forced himself to calm down and sat down by the bed with her. Hugging the shivering girl, he said, "I've never hated you, Eirinn. You're the kindest, most endearing and most beautiful girl I've known. How can I come to hate you?"

[Eugh… This gives me goosebumps,] Gahrona said. Even someone as thuggish at him felt embarrassed after hearing her jab.

[Teacher, go do your own thing! I need to apologize to her, so I have to sweet talk her first, alright?] he spat.

[You stinking brat! Don't think I don't know what you're trying with her! If you talk back to me again, I'll use my way to call everyone here! Is that what you want?!]

[Oh, Gahrona, forever young and beautiful… Please overlook this foolish one's mistake this once…]

[Hmph!] She stopped bothering him after that.

He looked back at her and noticed that she had begun to cry.

After a moment of silence, he got off the bed and bowed to her. "I'm sorry, Eirinn."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I did something really bad to you in the Dusk Zone." While she was half-naked before him, he was acting completely seriously. "Eirinn, your mother… is…"

"I know… I guessed… she wasn't a good person. I also understand that you were only trying to protect me…"

"You don't blame me for it? She was your… birth mother, after all."

"Mother has never raised me… Sniff… And now, she's… gone… Even though I'm quite saddened about that, I don't blame you for it… You're the most important person to me. I've come to understand that just recently… Sniff… As long as you're fine… It doesn't matter to me how you treat other people…"

Her crying only intensified. "Is this selfish? Have I become bad? Did I inherit the badness of the dark elves? Waaah… Do you hate this kind of me? I'm a hated dark elf after all… I'm still the kind of person hated by everyone…"

He was both touched and helpless when he heard that.

He was touched because he held such an important position in her heart. She was someone who would regret stepping on an insect for the good part of the day, yet she said she wouldn't care if he hurt others as long as he was fine.

But he didn't know how to feel about the reason behind her bad mood. She wasn't bothered much by the death of her mother, but rather, she was afraid she would be hated for being half dark-elf.

She was all over the place!

He smiled warmly and hugged the sobbing girl and let her rest her head on his shoulders.

"Eirinn, listen to yourself. My heart is here and it always beats for you. If not for you, I wouldn't be here today. No matter what you turn out to be, my heart will always belong to you. Just listen hard and you'll hear my heartbeat, by true intentions. That's how I truly feel."

That's enough! My goosebumps are falling off! Why did I ever get such a cringey disciple?! Gahrona thought. She didn't send it through the mental link to not disrupt the mood Leguna had with Eirinn.

"Mhmm…" she responded as softly as a mosquito's buzz before she closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat.

Badump… Badump…

Her lips gradually curved into a smile as if she heard something.

His heart began to beat even faster. He was responding normally as all males would. His physiological responses were being triggered.

Like Angelista had said, he was a cherry boy. He hadn't been weaned yet despite being well into his twenties.

All the pent up desires over two decades…

And now, he was hugging a such a beautiful half-elf, one who was in nothing but her undergarments at that. So, he began to react…

When his thing came into contact with her, she didn't know what it was and gave it a pinch as she thought, as expected of a high-order assassin…. He brings his weapons everywhere… But why is the handle of this weapon so hot?

She pinched it a little more and noticed that it didn't feel right.

Dazedly, she opened her eyes and looked down. She only just realized what she had been doing.

"Kyah!" She was both shocked and embarrassed. She drew her hand back like it had been scalded and avoided his gaze, blushing profusely. "I'm sorry, Big Brother… That wasn't… intentional…"

Her voice got softer and softer till it was barely audible.

Leguna looked at the helpless girl and smirked.

"I had hoped it was."

She continued to keep her head low without a word as if she had committed some sort of mistake.

"Eirinn?" he said teasingly, "Did you hear my heartbeat?"

"Yes…" She inched her head down even further.

"Then… let me hear yours too!" he said beside her pointy ears.

"Okay…"

Her face reddened even further, covered by strands of her silver hair. However, she did respond all the same. Hearing about what happened between him and Annelotte made her rather anxious. She was worried that Annelotte would make the first jump for a certain something. What kind of woman wouldn't want to be her lover's special first? It was one of the few selfish things Eirinn didn't want to deny herself.

He looked at the melons wrapped in her undergarments and buried his head in them.

I'm sorry, Sis Annie, Innie… I'm… I'm being selfish again…

And so the two engaged in their first union of body and soul on a lazy summer afternoon.

For real, this time.