Sweet, warm, gentle, magical... that is how Saria will always remember her first kiss with Lucien.
That's not by far Lucien's best kiss. Rather, that is just a peck on the lips, the first contact between their mouths. Yet, that's enough to leave a deep impression on any woman.
It is also unique to Lucien as he remembers the first kiss with each of the women he cares about. And Saria is already a very important woman to him.
The first time he sought an army, Neola's bandits were the only people he found in a situation susceptible to his command.
And he will never regret bringing the L Secret Group girls into his arms as their loyalty has always been unquestionable.
Then he met the Nagas. They are a strong breed that is in a complicated situation. He doesn't mind helping them in exchange for getting more loyal soldiers as well as powerful wives like Mira and Kamala.
Yet, Lucien has never been as determined to help a group of people grow stronger as he thinks of the Mermaids. He really wants to help the gentlest creatures he's ever met to be so powerful that no one will abuse them ever again.
And Saria is the key to the bright future they have together. That's why he wants to make everything perfect with her; one step at a time.
So after the first contact between their lips, he slowly backs away and gets fascinated by the confused but also happy expression of the beautiful Mermaids Princess.
She is speechless, as are all the other Mermaids watching that scene.
[Did he actually kiss her???] All those Mermaids who respect and love their Princess can't believe what they just saw.
A wave of chaotic feelings. .h.i.t them, leading to their hearts confusion, anger, indignation, and though no one wants to admit it, jealousy, so much jealousy.
"That devil screwed up the purity of the Princess!?!?!" Ramla exclaims, not because she really thinks that way, rather because she feels it is her duty as the Queen's right arm.
"..." But no other Mermaid cares for those words. Saria doesn't seem to have hated that kiss at all, and neither do any of them think that kissing the most attractive man they've ever seen could be bad.
"What is she going to do next?" Another Mermaid thinks aloud, and those words represent the actual thoughts of all those Mermaids.
[What should I do next???] That thought pops into Saria's mind. She's really never been so confused.
If someone asked her, did you like it? She would undoubtedly answer yes, so much!
But how could she do that to her people? She just said that she would not let anyone abuse the Mermaids anymore and that she would have the determination to kill anyone who tries that.
But then she let that arrogant, mysterious, devilish, and... d.a.m.n handsome devil kiss her so easily.
Embarra.s.sed. That's how Saria feels right now, more from having enjoyed the kiss so much than from letting Lucien get ahead during their not-so-innocent compet.i.tion.
[The compet.i.tion! That's it; he wants to prove he's stronger than me!!] She tries to focus on something other than the wonderful taste on her lips and that so-powerful urge, consuming all her will.
[He's fast, alright... but I wasn't really serious.] She points her rapier at him again and focuses her water magic on strengthening her body instead of creating traps he could destroy.
"Looks like you didn't like the kiss…" Lucien makes a fake disappointed expression.
[No, no! Of course not!!!] Saria exclaims in her mind. But she clearly doesn't want to say that out loud.
"Maybe it was a mistake..." He makes a fake sorry expression.
[No, no, please... don't tell me you didn't like kissing me???] That reaction further stirs Saria's feelings, leaving her frustrated and upset.
While Saria doesn't say anything, Lucien lowers his head as he slowly turns around. His performance is perfect, and everyone can see just a poor guy who has declared himself to the woman he loves, but the girl said something like 'I just want to be your friend,' breaking his heart into a thousand pieces.
'Really??!?' l.u.s.t exclaims in Lucien's mind. She can't believe how with just one sad look, he managed to make all those Mermaids feel sorry for him and upset with Saria.
'I don't like to deceive such gentle creatures, but I have to start teaching them not to be so naive.' He tries to explain, but l.u.s.t knows he's trying something like ma.s.s seduction. The poor devil, first act.
And that works perfectly. Mainly due to the envy that the other Mermaids are feeling for Saria, they think she shouldn't ignore Lucien's obvious feelings.
The fact that he's a mysterious demon that appeared out of nowhere along with the Nagas isn't a good thing, but now everyone thinks he just wants the attention of the beautiful Mermaid Princess.
Even Saria thinks that way. [He's so handsome... but so am I, so it's no wonder he fell in love with me at first sight.]
[But what am I supposed to do now?!?!] Breaking the 'poor' devil's heart certainly seems very cruel, at least as much as not satisfying that growing desire in her heart.
"Wait there!!" She speaks in a tone not as determined as she expected.
Lucien doesn't finish turning around and looks at Saria with a pleading expression. Those droopy eyes and quivering lips make her and all the other Mermaids want to give him a thighs lap and pat his head until he starts smiling again.
[That's definitely not the thought I should have about my opponent during a battle!!!] Saria shakes her head.
Lucien starts to feel bad about how his sad performance affects the Mermaids. That would never work with other people, but they are so sentimental and have an absurd level of empathy enough that he can communicate with them without using any words.
Saria can see in Lucien's eyes that he really feels bad, and she starts to blame herself for that. And when she thinks about how she can fix that, only one word comes into her mind, fight.
"Don't be a coward!!" She shouts and charges towards him, initiating an attack that carries the power of her water magic.
Lucien can't help but smile. He knew Saria wouldn't attack him with all her power as she wouldn't feel any hostility from him. But now, their not-so-innocent compet.i.tion is enough motivation for her to fight with determination, thus allowing him to also prove his strength and ability to take care of the Mermaids.
He raises his red katana and blocks Saria's powerful attack, which generates an incredible force wave.
*BAM*
"Whoa!!" The other Mermaids are impressed by Lucien's strength again as they already know how amazing their Princess is.
Saria tries to put on a fierce and determined expression; however, she can't help but look excited. "Don't think too much of yourself just because you made the first point! I was just distracted, but I won't make that mistake again."
Lucien smiles as he forces his red katana against Saria's rapier. "Then show me your best."
"My best is too much for you!" She smiles in reaction to his smile.
While simply blocking her attack, Lucien plans his next move, but then l.u.s.t speaks to him mentally. 'There's something wrong!'
'What is it?' He quickly asks as he notices Saria's body turning even brighter blue.
That mystic blue color seems to even influence the water around them, which starts to glow too. Saria's beautiful white-blue hair begins to swing under the power of her aura, which gets stronger and stronger.
Lucien also feels Saria's strength growing fast, forcing him to use even more strength to hold the position; it is evident that she is doing something similar to the bost he gets using his demonic energy.
'It...' l.u.s.t uses her abilities to the fullest to find out what Saria is doing, but she can't believe the only possible answer. 'I've never heard of anyone below the Cosmic Realm who made it...'
'Just tell me what is this.' He asks as he is forced to use his demonic energy to the fullest to hold back Saria's strength.
'A domain.' l.u.s.t responds and quickly explains. 'Only when someone has mastered an element to the maximum can they make a domain. It is a s.p.a.ce where that person has control over a specific element in ways that only they understand, being able to use it in ways that only they could imagine.'
Lucien can't help but be more impressed by Saria's strength. So he smiles at her. "You weren't exaggerating about your best."
"Thank you." And she can't contain her proud smile. For some reason, his praise affects her in a unique and special way.
They could stay there, flirting indefinitely. But that's a battle, and Saria keeps pus.h.i.+ng Lucien back.
He feels her strength growing more and more as if the water around them is strengthening her, which is precisely what is happening.
Seeing that he can't compete using brute strength anymore, Lucien flaps his wings forward, creating a powerful force wave that pushes him back and her forward.
Time seems to go into slow motion as both Lucien and Saria have their senses active to the fullest. As his body is thrown back, he thinks about using his teleport ability to catch her off guard from behind.
But their eyes met again, and he can see that she is very confident with that beautiful smile.
In that second, Lucien stops to appreciate Saria's beauty, and her body becomes one with the water, disappearing.
He is baffled, but his higher senses scream in his mind as he feels the minimum change in the water around his body. [Behind!]
Acting at full speed, Lucien activates his spatial mana and teleports, not forward, but one meter back.
His body and Saria's body appear at the same time, she behind where he was a second ago and he behind her now.
Both are shocked at each other's abilities, but also both smiling, happy, and proud of each other.
"You are incredible!" Both speak at the same time.
Saria giggles, and Lucien wastes no time trying to put his black katana on her neck, but water hands come out of her shoulders and grab his arms before he can do anything.
[Plan B!] He thinks as he materializes his red katana in front of her.
The red katana moves toward her neck, but she holds it by the blade while her hands glow brightly.
[No way!] Lucien is again impressed by Saria holding his red katana by the blade as if it meant nothing.
He rests his nose behind her neck as the water hands hold his arms; then, he starts laughing. "Hahaha... you are really formidable, my dear."
[My dear???] Lucien's words again have an impact on Saria's feelings that she can't control. In any case, the more he praises her, the more she wants his praise, and not just that, of course.
Again Lucien thinks about using the teleport ability to get out of that situation. But then his senses again scream in his mind. [Above!!!]
However, this time he knows it's too late. His senses are faster than his own body, and Saria's rapier's cold tip is already touching the back of his neck.
[How???] Lucien doesn't understand what's going on as Saria is still in front of him. [Does her rapier also move willingly like my red katana??]
His question is immediately answered when that 'Saria' pulls his red katana towards her neck. The blade pierces her skin, and her body explodes in bright blue water.
[A clone!!] Lucien thinks as he sees that fake Saria turning water and the real one is above him, holding the rapier that could take his life, maybe before he activates the teleport ability.
Even l.u.s.t couldn't have warned him about that in time as the speed he and Saria move is very fast.
He should feel bad for falling for such a trick, but how could he be upset that his future wife is as beautiful as she is powerful and smart?
Well, she'll only have the chance to be his wife if she doesn't try to kill him now.
At that moment, as Saria slowly creates a blade of water and puts it on his neck, he gets concerned; not about dying, but that he's done something wrong that takes such a perfect woman away from him.
"Your senses are unbelievable..." She comments as she makes him looks up to see her smiling face. "But within my domain, I make all the rules."
"Alright…" Lucien can feel that despite a blade of water, that could quickly kill him. Yet, he doesn't show any fear as he looks into her beautiful eyes. "So, what's next?"
[An innocent compet.i.tion...] Saria remembers Lucien's words and reflects on them. [Every time one of us gets a chance to kill the other but not do it, I will kiss you.]
[So, did he already expect it?] She concludes.
Kill the most interesting man she's ever met, or let him kiss her? The doubt doesn't even come close to Saria's mind as she's sure what's next.
"Hehe..." Her teasing smile reveals to Lucien another part of the beautiful Mermaids Princess, one he is also sure he already loves.