At the dignified posture of the little one, I raised a hand to stifle my laughter. I rubbed at my mouth and took a moment to organize my thoughts.
If the Rebels moved on their own, it would save us the trouble of searching for them. Still, the fact that this was no ordinary activity bothered me.
I turned to Morpha and asked,
“If the Rebels raid the black market, do we need to help them?”
I didn’t know the scale on either side, but I felt we ought to help free any monsters being held.
Morpha, however, shook their head firmly.
“There’s no need. On the contrary, it’s a good opportunity. We’ll be able to see what the Rebels are capable of.”
“Ah....”
“We didn’t come here to watch them. First, we need to verify whether they’re a force worth taking on as allies.”
I raised my eyebrows in quiet admiration. The more I saw of Morpha, the more they displayed the qualities of a true negotiator.
They stood up and pulled out a bundle of keys from their pocket. Handing them out one by one, they spoke in a tired voice.
“I rented this entire place for a week. It’s shabby, so there aren’t any customers. Other than us, no one’s here—use it comfortably.”
Key in hand, I looked up at Morpha with emotion welling up.
They might have been annoyed, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from practically dripping with gratitude.
“Morpha, why did you only come to me now?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you know how hard it’s been for me alone....”
The image of the past month in the forest suddenly came back to me—lugging Varen on one shoulder and Kallen on the other. They had each played their part, sure, but none of them acted with Morpha’s level of sense and initiative.
Even when I did nothing, even without being told, they anticipated what was needed and provided it. Tears welled up as I felt thankful to Neira for sending someone so capable.
At that moment, a tiny palm snatched the key from my hand.
“One room is enough. Ceryl and I will use one bed.”
“...Kid. Big brother will sleep with you, sure, but....”
“Let’s go up, Ceryl. Take my hand.”
A small hand waved right in front of my eyes. Even without looking, I could tell Kallen and Margon were struggling with all their might to hold in laughter.
I bit my lip and swallowed my own laughter. If I burst out laughing, Varen’s pride would be shattered, so I took his hand and stood as he wished.
Even with his size reduced, a dragon was still a dragon. The strength with which he pulled my hand was unchanged. Still, his short legs looked strained climbing the steep stairs.
“Kid, want me to carry you?”
“I’m fine. And don’t call me ‘kid.’”
Of all things, the room key Morpha had given us was for the very top floor—the fourth. Varen answered in a sulky voice and stomped up the stairs, his small back bristling with irritation.
Suppressing my laughter, I followed him. When we reached the fourth floor, there was only one room. It seemed to be this old inn’s version of a suite.
When I opened the door, a spacious bedroom greeted us. A king-size bed sat in the center, and the wide-open window even had an ocean view. The sight of the sea at sunset drew my eyes on its own.
“Wow, this is way nicer than I expected.”
Excited, I headed straight for the balcony. I wanted to step outside, but I hesitated at the sight of the broken wooden floorboards here and there. I decided to enjoy the view safely from inside.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I could smell the salt of the sea, mixed with a faint fishy tang.
“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the ocean. Oh, right. Varen, this is your first time, isn’t it?”
When I turned back with a smile, the little one was watching me with his arms crossed. I couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
“Stop striking poses and come here. The sunset’s out— the sea looks amazing.”
“You’re prettier.”
“.......”
Varen spoke the word “pretty” to me as easily as breathing. I was still awkward enough hearing it, but hearing it from him in that little body sent a chill up the back of my neck.
In the end, I gave up on watching the sunset together and headed for the bed. The blankets smelled a bit musty, like they hadn’t been washed in a while, but my body felt so heavy that it was still comforting.
It felt like I could fall asleep the moment I lay down. Still, I lifted my arms, heavy as soaked cotton, and patted the side of the bed.
“Varen, come lie down too. Let’s sleep early tonight.”
Morpha had said the Rebels might raid the black market as early as tomorrow night. Just in case, we needed to build up as much strength as possible until then.
As I closed my heavy eyelids, I felt the bed tilt slightly. Soon after, warm body heat pressed against my side, and I smiled with my eyes still closed.
Even though I’d said we should sleep early, Varen asked in a clear, wide-awake voice that carried not a hint of drowsiness.
“Ceryl, there’s something I want to ask.”
“What is it.”
“...Morpha.”
At his hesitant tone, I barely managed to open my eyes halfway and turned my head. The cute little one lay on his side facing me, nervously working his small lips.
When I raised my eyebrows to signal him to continue, Varen clenched the bedsheet tightly and spoke.
“You... what you said earlier. Did you mean it?”
“What did I say?”
“...That you were waiting for Morpha.”
I’d thought he’d been quiet lately, but it seemed his jealousy toward other males had flared up again.
Letting out a dry laugh, I stared up at the ceiling. Then something I’d been curious about came to mind.
“Varen, is Morpha a man? Or a woman?”
“Gender isn’t important to the House of Elysion. If they want, they can become male, or female.”
“Oh... so they’re hermaphroditic.”
“Herma-what?”
“There’s such a thing. You don’t need to know.”
At my words, Varen suddenly pushed himself upright. His youthful face was full of frustration.
“Why is it always that I don’t need to know.”
“No, it’s just that there’s no need for you to know words like that....”
“I want to know too. Anything about you.”
Normally, I would brush off Varen’s pouting without a thought, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that with child-Varen.
Awkwardly, I propped myself up on my elbows as well.
“I’m sorry, Varen. I won’t say things like that anymore. Did it upset you?”
At my quick apology, the deep furrow in Varen’s brow slowly eased. He spread his arms and puckered his lips.
“Ceryl, hug me.”
“Hahaha, come here. I’ll hug you as much as you want.”
I pulled Varen’s small body into my arms and lay back down. Usually, just having one of Varen’s arms draped over me made it hard to breathe, but with him in this smaller form, it was fine even with his whole body on top of me.
I patted his huffing back and closed my eyes. Just the right amount of weight, a [N O V E L I G H T] comforting scent, the back of his head fitting perfectly in one hand.
Varen hated his current form, but I couldn’t have been more satisfied.
“Ah... it’d be nice if it stayed like this.”
“What? You like me like this?”
“It’s perfect for hugging. Cute, too.”
I pressed my lips to the soft crown of Varen’s head. When I gave him a couple of pecks, his face, flushed bright red, suddenly lifted up.
“Ceryl, do you really like kids that much?”
“...That phrasing’s a bit weird. Someone might misunderstand if they heard you.”
“I don’t like it. I hate how I look right now. I want to be with you as—”
“Hey, hey, I get it, I get it. Let’s just sleep.”
I forced his lifting head back down against my chest. Varen struggled, but the difference in our builds made it easy to restrain him.
With one arm, I held his upper body close; with the other, I patted the back of his head.
“Sleep, sleep, my little one. Sleeping so well, my little one.”
“I told you not to call me that...! Hey—let go!”
“The front hill and the back hill... in between, cough....”
Then, in an instant, a crushing weight pressed down on my entire body, knocking the breath from my lungs. The lullaby I’d been using to put him to sleep cut off.
The arm that had been holding Varen’s upper body began to slowly spread apart. The breath buried against my chest grew steadily hotter.
I cautiously opened the eyes I’d had tightly shut. It hadn’t even been a few minutes since I’d said it would be nice if it stayed like this.
“...Varen, get off now. You’re heavy.”
“No.”
At some point, a large, handsome man in his early twenties was looking down at me. Long blond hair tickled my cheeks.
I felt like I’d dug my own grave and was about to start making excuses, but Varen, now in his adult form, didn’t miss the opening and pressed his lips to mine.
“Mmph—mmh!”
Varen lunged at me like someone who’d been starving all day. I tried pushing at his shoulders, but the body I’d been able to restrain with one arm just moments ago didn’t budge in the slightest.
I squeezed my eyes shut as his tongue invaded my mouth without mercy. Ever since we’d crossed that line once, physical contact with Varen had become more natural—but that didn’t mean I’d gotten used to it.
“Mmm... Va—ren... wait....”
On top of that, I couldn’t get my head straight as Varen’s increasingly skilled tongue left me no room to think.
The guy who used to just shove his tongue into my mouth without any finesse was nowhere to be found. He hit sensitive spots with uncanny precision, leaving me lightheaded.
He even started running his hands down my waist and along my spine, sliding his thigh between my legs and spreading them as naturally as flowing water.
