“Damn it!” Aether grumbled under his breath, feeling a sudden shift in his vision as the world around him transformed, drenched in a haunting red hue.
It was as if he had crossed into another realm entirely, where everything was painted in various shades of crimson.
“This is… incredible,” he muttered to himself, his voice filled with disbelief as he studied the person before him.
It was almost surreal!
Aether’s eyes zeroed in on the person’s heartbeat, which echoed clearly in his mind, ‘Lup-dup, lup-dup…’ The rhythm pulsed steadily, and the sight of the blood coursing through their body left him feeling… strangely exhilarated.
It was more thrilling than fighting monsters!!
Without realizing it, a wicked grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
He stepped closer to someone nearby, eyes gleaming. “Hey,” he said.
In that instant, Aether’s bright blue eyes flickered, transforming into a deep, bloody red, and the boy’s mind went blank as if someone had just turned off the lights in his head.
“Go stand over there,” Aether commanded, his voice calm but laced with authority, eyes focused intently on the boy.
Without hesitation, the boy nodded, eyes glazed over, and moved mechanically to the bench as instructed.
“Holy shit… it’s fucked up, Man!” Aether muttered under his breath as he watched the boy stand obediently.
He deactivated the skill, feeling a slight burning sensation in his eyes as his vision returned to normal. Blinking a few times to clear the discomfort, he looked at the boy again. To his surprise, the charm still seemed to be working even after the skill was no longer active.
‘Interesting… it persists even after I deactivate it,’ he thought, making a mental note. Aether approached the boy again, raising an eyebrow. “Sit down,” he said with a casual wave of his hand.
The boy instantly obeyed, plopping down on the bench without a second thought.
“Huh. This just keeps getting better,” Aether mused, his tone filled with mild surprise. He then frowned slightly, wondering how he could break the boy out of the charm’s influence. ‘How do I wake him up…?’
Snapping his fingers sharply, he leaned in and called out, “Hey! Snap out of it.”
But before the boy could gush any further, Aether swiftly turned on his heels and bolted, not interested in entertaining his newfound fan or dealing with the consequences of his little experiment.
He returned to the principal’s house, slipping into the training hall. Inside, he spotted Celestia busy noting down a list of products that still needed to be delivered. Her face was focused, but a soft smile appeared when she noticed him enter.
“The transportation is nearly done,” she said, her voice light but slightly tired. “The remaining products will be delivered to Rosavere by tomorrow.”
“Good,” Aether replied, nodding in approval as he patted Snowflake, who had eagerly snuggled into his arms the moment he stepped inside.
“Aether,” Celestia called again.
“Hmm?” He glanced her way.
“If you’re thinking about expanding this operation and making serious money out of it… you’re going to need a bigger factory. And more people,” she said with a weary sigh, her hand rubbing her shoulder in clear discomfort. “We’re at our limit here. We can’t handle this much pressure on our own.”
Aether’s face softened with guilt. “I’m really sorry, Celestia. I didn’t mean to put you through this much stress. The timing was tight, and I pushed things too hard…”
She gave him a tired smile, her eyes warm despite the exhaustion, “I’m not complaining, Aether. I know you mean well. But we’re going to need more help if you plan to expand production even further. Otherwise, this pace will break us.”
He nodded thoughtfully, “You’re right. I’ll definitely think about it…” he said, noticing her still rubbing her shoulder with a slight blush on her cheeks as she kept glancing at him with an eager expression.
Aether chuckled softly, shaking his head in amusement. He walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and whispering near her ear, “What’s on your mind? Tell me what you want.”
Aether chuckled again. He began kneading her shoulder gently, his fingers finding the tense spots.
Crack!
Crack!
Celestia let out a soft moan of relief, the tension in her shoulder easing under his touch. But after a moment, Aether’s expression turned a little more serious.
Celestia blinked and turned her head slightly to glance up at him, curiosity flickering in her eyes. “Oh? Then what’s the real reason?” she asked, wondering what sort of playful trick he was about to pull on her.
He lifted her voluptuous chest, his fingers tightening around her bust, making Celestia shudder involuntarily. Her body trembled, her face flushed a deep crimson, and before she could protest, Aether’s hands were already fondling her, exploring her soft curves with unrestrained delight.
His touch was bold, teasing, and utterly relentless.
A strange sensation pricked at the back of her neck.
Both of them froze.
Aether, too, felt it…. a stern gaze, sharp and unwavering.
Slowly, both turned their heads to the side, and there, standing with an unblinking stare, was…. Snowflake!
Snowflake’s head tilted slightly, her eyes intensely focused on them.
Her head swayed gently, her focus shifting from Aether’s hands to Celestia’s body, almost as if she was studying them, wondering what exactly was going on.
Aether and Celestia shared an awkward glance, their faces flushed with embarrassment.
They both coughed simultaneously, feeling as if they’d just been caught red-handed by a child spying on their parents in an intimate moment.
“L-Looks like you need to, um… clean her clothes. They got really dusty,” Aether stammered awkwardly, trying to play it cool, though the blush creeping up his neck betrayed him.
Celestia quickly patted her chest, still trying to calm herself. “Y-Yeah, I… I think I’ll go do that,” she replied, her voice a little shaky as she moved away from him, still trying to regain her composure.
As they awkwardly distanced themselves from each other, Snowflake continued to watch them with her head tilted in even more curiosity.
She blinked slowly, clearly not understanding what had just transpired but somehow still suspicious.
‘Why is she staring at us like that?’ Aether thought with an uncomfortable frown. He turned away, trying to distract himself from the awkward moment.
Just as he moved to refocus on his work…
Aether immediately called his log,
‘That’s… really generous,’ Aether thought to himself, eyebrows raised in surprise. He hadn’t expected the storage space to be so vast, but it was certainly more than he could have hoped for.
But then, something caught his attention. A frown crossed his face as he noticed an unfamiliar item in his storage, ‘Wait a minute… I don’t remember using that, especially after it nearly drained me the last time I used a single coin…’ he mused, trying to recall what the item was.
Sshh!
A sudden shimmering appeared on his hand, and Aether’s eyes widened as a large, gleaming blue crystal horn materialized in his grasp…. Fresh Blood slowly dripped from its surface.
His eyes grew even wider as recognition dawned on him.
It was one of the Dragon Emperor’s horns he had taken during a fierce battle… And never thought it would come with him back.
“Wow… today’s been full of surprises,” Aether muttered with an amused expression, still marvelling at the horn in his hand. Just as he was about to inspect it more closely…
SSSSHHNNNNNN!
The horn began to glow even brighter, its light growing so intense that it forced Aether to shield his eyes.
Then suddenly…
RRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
