Just like that, in the time it takes for one to blink, Elizabeth"s previously comfortable and soothing state was ruined by the sounds of a sliding door, and with coldness somehow manifesting around her in the form of killing intent and those trademark dead eyes of hers, Elizabeth threatened to pierce right through Sun, as the poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d stood there silly, half embarra.s.sed and half worried.Like most normal teenage boys, being caught by a girl, entering a bathhouse naturally caused his face to flush from embarra.s.sment; though not by much, considering the debacle that took place at her house.
If not for the fact that he was barely clothed, with just a towel covering his nether regions, then because it was entirely possible for Elizabeth to be naked at such close proximity to him. Sun wasn"t exactly trying to live the ascetic life and as a healthy teenage boy, there would naturally come the occasional fantasies of being together with a girl. For Elizabeth in particular, Sun couldn"t but grow extra fl.u.s.tered as she was his benefactor; the one who returned him from the dead and even gave him a way to get revenge!
On the other hand, that aura and look she gave him, the one of a killer, was rather worrisome. It even gave Sun a slight feeling of danger, but before he could confirm his instincts, the feeling escaped his sense as Elizabeth returned to normal. If it hadn"t, Sun wouldn"t just be worried, as he couldn"t help but grow devastated subconsciously, over what he would do should Elizabeth turn on him and truly wish for his death.
After that initial burst of hostility from Elizabeth, the dumb demon dispelled her recently acquired killing intent and returned to enjoying the wonders of the hot tub. She didn"t expect for Sun to say, "Hey uh… You know it"s not time to switch yet, right?" He was naturally referring to the bathing schedule when he mentioned switching.
To his complete and utter shock, Elizabeth responded with, "Huh? I thought this was unis.e.x bathing? You actually want me to get out?" Perhaps only Elizabeth would have the cheek to exploit this clear and easy double-standard. If a girl wished to bath during the men"s time, she would receive nothing but the warmest welcome; afterward, people might look at her funny, but nothing too extreme would come her way. Yet if a guy tried to do the same? He"d be lucky if his sentence was as light as some indecency charges, as even crucifixion was not entirely out of the question if the public were outraged enough…
"..." Just as Elizabeth calculated, Sun shut his mouth and went on his merry way over to the showering area. He did his best to not get caught as the occasional side-glance escape his conscious control and accidentally landed on Elizabeth. What could the poor boy do? His eyes would not follow his commands!
After what had to be the longest and most awkward shower of his life, Sun got up and began walking over to exit the bathing area; the thought of joining Elizabeth in the sublime hot tub didn"t even cross his mind. Lucky him, Elizabeth actually wanted to talk to him as she watched him leave.
She said, "Hey Sun!"
Her words clearly spooked him as a visual jerk and the nervous movements to face her were all seen, before he nervously asked, "W-what?" It was a severe understatement to call Sun"s current predicament, "being put in an awkward spot."
Elizabeth said, "Can you do me a favor?" After the demon in her calmed down from realizing the lack of danger, she"d gradually adopted that smile from before. Alas, poor Sun mistook that ambiguous smile on her face for one with a different purpose.
Sun said, "W-what d-do you w-want..." Sun"s already half red face, grew a shade deeper.
Elizabeth blew some bubbles under the hot tub"s water as Sun"s face amused her. She rose her head out of the water and said "Could you tell Jane and Atid, that I"ll be missing today as well? I"m not feeling too good..."
"...Ok," Sun said as he turned around and walked away in a semi-frantic manner. A certain someone/thing had awoken from its slumber at the moment and Sun could under no circ.u.mstances continue to stay around Elizabeth. If he didn"t flee now, he might just die of shame…
"What a weird guy..." Elizabeth said, as she also got up from the hot tub and made way for the changing area. Watching Sun leave reminded her of how much time she had idled away, and though she certainly enjoyed the time spent in the hot tub, there were still many things stacked up on her plate; it wouldn"t be a good idea to procrastinate any longer.
As Elizabeth walked over to the changing area, she used the towel that had kept relatively dry on her head, to dry herself. When she slid open the doors to the changing area, she found Sun in quite possibly the least flattering position he could be in, bent over and in the process of putting on his underwear. Yet, it was only after the two sustained eye contact for over a second that she felt the need to ask "You gonna finish dressing up… or what?"
At this point, Sun"s face had transcended the redness a person"s face should naturally get, as unG.o.dly amounts of blood rushed up his head. He couldn"t even retort as the sight of Elizabeth"s body fully exposed stole away more than just his ability to speak.
At that very moment, Elizabeth received a notification and her face couldn"t help but degraded into skepticism.
[Alert! Drastic Change!!!
Status
Name: Sun
Affection Rating: Forever Loyal
Current State: Budding Love Interest
Description: You"ve managed to steal away a tiny corner in Sun"s heart for yourself, as he has manifested a desire to spent the rest of his life with you… NICE FIGHTING, exposing yourself so shamelessly was definitely the right move~]
Elizabeth felt her skin crawl as the comment on Sun"s Current State Description caused her to envision an old pervert flashing her two thumbs up and a less than immoral smile. Then with no more of her attention placed on Sun, she kept drying herself and eventually got around to putting on her clothes.
Like a statue petrified by Medusa, Sun could only stare aimlessly as Elizabeth didn"t show even the slightest bit of reproach for letting him stare at her so blatantly. But, after she put on her underwear, Elizabeth seemed to have grown tired as she said, "Bruh, why you gotta make this weird? I"m just putting on my clothes..."
In Elizabeth"s twisted mind, this was a bathhouse; a unis.e.x bathhouse. Naturally, she came in prepared for the possibility of others bathing as well. Though admittedly, she had forgotten she was a girl. In the end, she had been to unis.e.x bathhouses in the past, and though the people irked her, since everyone was naked, it didn"t bother her to the point of not being willing to enjoy the experience should the opportunity arise. Sun could look at her all he wanted and she wouldn"t care, but at a certain point, it became disgusting being stared for so long…
"S-sorry…." Like a total coward, Sun behaved completely opposed to his usually confident and steadfast nature as he slumped his head down in shame. After Elizabeth brought him out of his thoughts, he grew ashamed of his actions thinking, "What is wrong with me! Am I really that weak against a woman"s charm?" At the recesses of his subconscious, he couldn"t help but question whether or not he had accomplished anything with his lifetime of training if all it took was for Elizabeth to charm him in the nude and he"d be left completely helpless.
Regrettably, it would take years if not decades for Sun to understand that the results of this even were not entirely his fault. First and foremost, Elizabeth literally possessed the body of a fallen G.o.ddess; it was safe to describe her looks as naturally otherworldly. Then the effects of 100% completion of the Mortal Stage had to be mentioned once more as not only did Elizabeth"s skin improve drastically from reaching where she now stood, there was also that Seamless Magic Connection of hers; one of its underlying effects lay in augmenting that G.o.ddess-esque look inherent to her natural looks…
Uncharacteristically, Elizabeth felt bad upon watching Sun"s depressed stature. When she considered their positions and recalled what this must be like for the average guy, she couldn"t help but want to cheer Sun up. She walked over to Sun, still just wearing her underwear, and grabbed his shoulder, saying, "It"s no big deal, just try not to be so awkward next time..." There was probably no way in h.e.l.l that any other guy would receive such treatment if Elizabeth didn"t first acquire their undying loyalty.
Sun looked up from the floor and after seeing the smile on Elizabeth"s face, a bit of that shame from before disappeared. Along with some more indecent thoughts, the budding romantic interest he had for Elizabeth grew. But with those indecent thoughts, adding on to the ones from before, that certain someone/thing he was trying to keep at bay had fully awakened…
Unfortunately, Elizabeth"s soft hands placed on his shoulder didn"t help the situation, and by now there was no doubt that the woman in question noticed the fully pitched tent that he"d set by his lower torso.
Sun looked at Elizabeth"s face, and couldn"t quite tell what emotion her face expressed. Though for some reason his subconscious immediately thought "defeat" and "impressed." Elizabeth had indeed noticed Sun"s "problem," and Sun"s subconscious was right on the money as she couldn"t help but compare herself to Sun — the subject matter related to when she wasn"t yet a girl... Back when she was a guy, she wasn"t as well endowed as him and at a primal level that kind of stung her ego.
"Uh… I"m gonna go now..." Elizabeth said as she pretended to not have noticed.
"M-me too..." Sun definitely noticed how Elizabeth pretended to not have noticed. But, to save face, he pretended to not notice her not noticing him...