“Stop! Stop! Please stop!”
Astraea was barely holding her own against Luo En’s attacks. Gripping her long straight sword with both hands, she used every ounce of strength she had just to barely block the downward slash of Luo En’s blade.
It was terrifying. The little elf’s limbs were going limp—not from fear, but from numbness.
A single casual strike from Luo En required the little elf to give her absolute full attention. His monstrous physical strength shocked her.
Clang.
Luo En tossed his standard-issue straight sword to the ground. “Didn’t you tell me not to hold back?”
Panting heavily, the little elf leaned on her sword. She hadn’t expected Luo En’s strength to be this overwhelming in the first place.
So had she only managed to charge in and out of Viscount Adrian’s estate seven times because his guards were all ordinary people without a single knight?
“Id, idiot! Do you have no social awareness at all?”
Astraea suddenly realized that she’d been getting the short end of the stick whenever she dealt with Luo En these past few days. This guy just loved seeing her like this. If she flew into a rage and started yelling at him, it would probably just excite him more.
But strangely enough, the fact that Luo En enjoyed teasing her like this made the little elf feel a bit happy inside.
‘He has me in his heart…’
Her lovesick brain was still working overtime. Astraea was startled by her own subconscious thought.
Ever since the first time she’d started mining for Luo En, she’d abandoned ideas like “I used to be male, so I can’t date a man.” As the saying went, matter determined consciousness. Even magic required elemental particles to work. Since the little elf was now a woman, how could she keep viewing herself through a male lens?
Most importantly, Astraea had realized at a very young age that she felt nothing for women. The Elven City-State might not have been huge, but elves were everywhere, and young Astraea had never felt any attraction toward a female elf.
On the contrary, she actually got shy around male elves…
That was probably the influence this elven body had on her. In fact, Astraea had thought about it—if she ever turned back into a man, he would definitely regain his attraction to women.
So… Astraea had given up struggling. She’d just go with the flow.
But that didn’t mean Luo En could maliciously tease her!
Seeing the smile at the corner of Luo En’s mouth, Astraea caught her breath and flushed bright red. She suddenly dropped her sword and lunged at him!
Astraea crashed into Luo En’s arms, then opened her mouth and bit down hard on his muscular arm.
“Ow, that hurts.”
Hearing the completely flat, unemotional delivery, the little elf got even angrier. She bit down harder. But elves weren’t known for their bite force. Against the thick, tough skin of a human knight, Astraea’s delicate teeth just weren’t enough.
In the end, she used all her strength just to leave a shallow teeth mark on his arm.
“Hmph!”
Astraea’s ears twitched. Luo En felt the urge to grab them and play with them.
But that was just a thought. He didn’t want to end up washing all the little elf’s clothes by himself.
“Hey, Astraea. Do I really not need to learn any more of your swordsmanship?”
Luo En gently stroked the little elf’s head. Her smooth, flaxen hair felt wonderful under his fingers. Petting Astraea had become his favorite activity.
The little elf seemed to like this position too. She buried herself completely in Luo En’s arms, almost greedily breathing in his scent.
This was the only time she thought her superior elven senses were actually useful.
As for Luo En’s question, Astraea snuggled against him and replied, “Teaching you any more would be pointless. Sword techniques and patterns are for people who lack experience and can’t keep up with reactions. There’s no such thing as a legendary ultimate sword style in the world. Mm… Even though you’re still just a small fry, the only thing you’re lacking now is experience.”
Astraea’s fingers traced circles on Luo En’s chest, tickling him and making his heart itch.
But he was the little elf’s guardian knight. Even if he guarded her right into bed, he couldn’t make the first move. Only if the little elf sincerely invited him could he…
“Luo En, I… I want to… I really want to…” Astraea’s face was bright red, her eyes starting to glaze over. Luo En’s heart leapt with joy. Was he finally going to get some today?
“I want you… to cast a Lighting Spell right now!”
Even though her actions were teasing him, the little elf actually had a deeper purpose.
Her sudden, unexpected demand caught Luo En completely off guard.
Realizing that the little elf had shifted into teaching mode, Luo En quickly regained his focus. He concentrated and extended his left hand, beginning to draw in elemental particles.
A faint ball of light appeared in his hand. In less than a second, Luo En had completed the Magic Circuit for the Lighting Spell.
This spell was nothing to him now. If the little elf wanted to test him with this, she could try all she wanted.
Seeing Luo En’s smug expression, Astraea smiled.
After all, she was the hardest-working and most talented young elf in the village. Why would she give him such an easy test?
The little elf grabbed the shoulders of the tall knight from within his embrace, then used her arms to lift herself up until she was right beside his ear. Her two rather substantial mounds pressed tightly against the knight’s body, causing an unavoidable reaction from him.
But that was it. Even as he breathed heavily and felt that reaction, the ball of light in Luo En’s hand continued to shine! It might not have been perfectly stable, but at least it stayed lit.
But the little elf still had a finishing move.
Luo En felt a warm breath tickling his ear.
It was the little elf’s breathing. Astraea leaned close to Luo En’s ear, her warm breath swirling around it.
Like a newlywed wife whispering to her husband, Astraea extended her delicate little tongue and licked Luo En’s earlobe.
Thump!
Luo En felt his heart leap. The focus he’d barely managed to maintain to sustain his Magic Circuit instantly began to waver.
The ball of light flickered. It seemed like it would go out at any moment. Luo En gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down, silently reciting the names of all the gods.
From Sig… no, the All-Father, to the God of Wisdom and Strategy, Luo En chanted each one in order.
With the blessings of the gods, he finally felt his heart calm down a little. The ball of light in his hand brightened again.
That’s right. He was a knight, a noble knight! How could he be defeated by a mere elf?
Seeing that Luo En had withstood the temptation, Astraea puffed out her cheeks in frustration, looking like an angry pufferfish.
She lightly licked Luo En’s ear a few more times. The brief, fleeting warmth made Luo En’s heart tremble again.
But the ball of light was still shining. Finally, Astraea steeled herself.
“I love you~”
Her voice was so soft, but the words struck like the sharpest arrows.
No god could help him now. Luo En felt like he heard a cracking sound in his ears.
What was it? Oh. It was the sound of the psychological defenses he’d built shattering.
No matter how strong a defense, once there was a crack, collapse would follow quickly.
Had that crack appeared within a single day? Obviously not. The little elf’s gentle whisper was just the last straw. The cracks hidden in the shadows had actually been spreading since the first moment Luo En laid eyes on the little elf.
It wasn’t love at first sight. It was just lust at first sight.
Shattered. Collapsed. The ball of light in Luo En’s hand suddenly went out. He turned his head and stared at the blushing Astraea.
There was a lion in his eyes… Just kidding.
Astraea felt like Luo En’s desire had broken through some threshold. His eyes looked like they were about to shoot fire.
‘Oh no! He’s really going to eat me!’
The little elf closed her eyes in fear, but there was a hint of anticipation in her heart. She’d made her bed. Now she had to lie in it.
Her heart felt tight, but not from frustration. It was anticipation and joy. Astraea could proudly say she had completely feminized.
‘Let’s see… I’ve been single for over forty years, right? Is today really the day? Will it hurt a lot? Will it actually feel good after? Ugh… Why am I so disgusting…’
Her mind full of all kinds of thoughts, the little elf pouted, waiting for Luo En to devour her completely.
But after waiting with her eyes closed for a long time, Astraea didn’t get what she wanted.
Luo En’s embrace was still warm. His scent still made her feel safe. But, but…
She was almost no longer satisfied with just hugging. An urge deep inside Astraea drove her to go further with Luo En.
This urge truly came from within her. It definitely wasn’t the influence of some god. Actually, without this urge, even a god would have had a hard time making her fall for Luo En so quickly.
Astraea opened her eyes. With a hint of confusion, she saw Luo En grinning mischievously.
“Hmph, you jerk. You’re messing with me again…”
The little elf’s fist gently tapped the knight’s chest. It was more flirting than attacking.
This time, Luo En didn’t hesitate. After savoring the little elf’s reaction, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to Astraea’s.
Astraea’s eyes flew open. She was completely caught off guard by Luo En’s sudden attack. The mental preparation she’d just built up was useless.
A wave of intense shame washed over the little elf’s heart, but it also made her sink into the moment.
Soon, Astraea’s tense muscles relaxed. Luo En held the now-soft little elf, feeling overjoyed.
He did it. He kissed his beloved. He!
‘He’s still just a 17-year-old boy…’
Astraea looked at Luo En, who had only pressed his lips against hers without doing anything more. A hint of helplessness welled up inside her.
Right. This was a world untouched by the internet. Luo En was just an innocent boy. In his mind, kissing might already be a huge deal.
Astraea extended her little tongue, pried open Luo En’s tightly closed lips, and slowly wrapped around it…
‘Hmph, you stupid small fry. In the end, I still had to make the first move!’