Bedtime.

Ari hugged Earl tightly from behind. Her voluminous breasts pressed tightly against his back and her sweet smell made him dizzy.

Moonlight gently pierced through the curtains.

"Let's stay like this for a while," She whispered.

"Okay."

He could feel the heaviness of her heart. Despite having apologized already, there was a lingering feeling of guilt. It was understandable. Even though the summoning of the Great Dragon Lord was unintentional, the feeling of dread he felt earlier was engraved into his very soul.

At that moment, many what-if questions popped into his mind. What if his mother was not around? What if she reacted too late? What would happen to Lily and Aria? To Saryll and Alea?

However, that was exactly why it was his job to make her feel better.

Her hands felt colder than usual as their fingers intertwined.

"I'll work harder." He told her.

"..?"

"I'll work hard and become strong. So strong that you won't have to worry about our safety."

Her hold became less tight at his vow. "You're too young to be saying something like that, silly."

"That way, you won't have to worry as much."

"There's not a day where I'll worry less." Her voice was soft and gentle. "I'll protect you forever."

"W-where did that come from?"

Ari laughed lightly and asked teasingly. "Is my Earl flustered?"

Earl was left with no other choice than to reply with a dead-serious tone. "Very much so."

"That was too honest."

"That's how I was taught."

"Is that so? ...Thanks for what you said earlier. It made me feel better."

"It was unexpected circumstances so..."

"-No," She cut him off with her voice trembling. "That's not a valid reason when... I've already lost your grandparents due to unexpected circumstances..."

"Sorry..." Earl quickly apologized for digging up a painful part of her past. He remembered how emotional she was when she told him about her village which was massacred by monsters.

"What are you apologizing for? It's about you as well, silly."

Earl smiled wryly. "It's like we are taking turns apologizing."

"That's how it is with these talks. Lay on my lap."

Her lap was much more comfortable than any pillow. It felt like home to rest against her soft and supple thighs covered in a silk negligee.

"Let's talk about something else then."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Your academy then. What are you planning to do next?"

"My academy, huh? Lots of work and planning has already been done so it's about putting it into action now. Let's see~ For the immediate future, I'm planning on hiring dwarven architects to build the actual academy on top of the island. Then it's about finding the right people to help me run the place which I've already made a list of..." Ari elaborated most of the outline of her plans over several minutes.

When she finished, Earl was taken away. "That is impressive."

"Of course. Whose mother do you think I am?" She said proudly.

He chuckled and said, "That's true. I look forward to attending then, Headmistress."

"Getting ahead of yourself here, aren't you?"

The night then passed peacefully with the two of them sleeping in each other's embrace.

When morning came, it was time to return to the usual routine. Earl met Alea at the door.

At their first eye contact, she immediately averted her gaze. Earl paid no mind and greeted, "Good morning."

"Hi." Her tone was bland and disinterested as usual. However, after knowing her for a long time, it was easy to pick out her emotions.

He tilted his head curiously and went closer to ask. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Big dragon scared you?"

"No."

"Are you mad at someone?"historical

"I'm not mad at you who is clearly more enamoured with his servants than me."

"..."

Bam!

The door slammed shut behind him and Earl was left alone with his own thoughts.

He thought of how cute Alea was when she was jealous and smiled.

When he arrived at the Elven Forest, Saryll was sitting quietly under a tree.

"You look awfully happy today." She remarked.

"Yes, something good happened."

"Oh? Now I am curious~"

"It's a secret~"

"Tell me~"

Earl smiled mysteriously and told her, "Maybe if I get another reward today, I'll tell you."

"Since when did you become this scheming? Sure." Saryll readily agreed. She walked out from under the shadow of the tree and presented her alluring self to his eyes.

Blonde hair, green eyes, a white dress. An incredible combo that no man can get tired of.

"Should I tell you now?~"

"You can tell me after this session is over."

"Sounds good to me. What's the warm-up for today?"

She circled him and patted him on the shoulder. "The usual but I'll crank up the difficulty. Work hard to earn your reward, my cute student."

"I shall work hard for my most wonderful Teacher."

"Talking like that won't make it any easier, you know?"

"I am speaking from the heart, dearest Teacher."

"Let's get started then."