Otis slept for a long time, and she had a dream—in the study of her own mansion, dressed in loose and comfortable pajamas, with Hil by her side.
Although the fireplace in the study was burning, the two girls still nestled tightly together. Hil was teaching her magic, and she, of course, was studying very earnestly. But as the lesson went on, things started to become a bit strange.
Maybe the fire in the hearth was burning too fiercely, or maybe it was something else—Otis suddenly felt her body growing hot: first her chest, then her lower abdomen, and, as expected, her cheeks soon flushed red.
Strangely enough, Hil’s body was cool, making Otis subconsciously want to move even closer, for the two of them to become more intimate. And in the dream, Otis did just that—she leaned in, she touched, she greedily inhaled the fragrance from the other girl’s body.
No one knew exactly what went wrong, but Otis actually took the initiative to reach out and unbutton Hil’s shirt. First, a fair neck was revealed, then a flat but unexpectedly cute chest, and finally a soft, flat stomach and lower abdomen. Next, there was only the skirt, firmly guarding the final line of defense below.
Otis pressed on, quickly pulling the troublesome skirt aside. The sight under the skirt took her breath away, and the girl’s sweet gasps in her ears made Otis’s heart tremble.
At that moment, Hil suddenly spoke: “It’s alright, Otis. This chastity, never even possessed by the gods, I’m willing to offer it to you now.”
“Will you be my friend for life?”
Is this how friends are supposed to act?
Are friends allowed to admire and touch each other’s naked bodies so freely?
Are friends supposed to offer up their most precious chastity, without reservation, to one another?
……
Otis woke from her dream. What she saw was the now dim chapel; she was lying on the big bed, her breathing growing rapid.
Everything from the dream remained vividly clear to her—even the details of Hil’s naked body after undressing were branded into her mind.
She wanted nothing more than to slap herself. A wave of shame flooded her heart.
Otis, Otis, do you still deserve to be called a noble?
To have such filthy, depraved, **, impure thoughts about your own best friend—how awful could you possibly be!
Hil drank her blood only because she was hungry, out of the need to survive, but this naked desire—this was something else entirely!
Not long ago, they’d exchanged secrets and troubles, clearly two of a kind, and after that, their friendship should have only deepened.
“No, no… It shouldn’t have turned out like this!”
Poor Otis. She berated herself for having a spring dream about her friend. When she came back to her senses and turned her head, she saw the very star of that dream—smiling brightly at her.
“Ah!” Otis couldn’t help but yelp, not even sure why herself.
Just seeing Hil’s face made her feel as though the scenes from her dream would play out in reality at any moment.
“Why are you so surprised?” Hil asked. “Did you have a bad dream?”
She had indeed dreamt… But there had been no pain, no sickness, no partings by life or death—just her own impure desire for her friend.
Otis forced herself to appear calm and answered, “Mm, it was not a very good dream.”
Was that dream really “not very good”?
A voice abruptly rang out in her heart.
You actually think Hil’s body is beautiful too, don’t you?
Thinking further, if her future fiancé weren’t some fat, pampered wastrel, or some disgusting old man, but instead the lovely girl before her… Wouldn’t her married life be happy?
Otis’s thoughts ran wild, but she kept a graceful smile on her face.
“Class is over now.” Hil reminded her, “It’s a little over an hour until sunset.”
In this world, whenever nightfall was mentioned, people couldn’t help but feel anxious and uneasy.
She needed to go back soon, or else her mother would worry.
With that thought, Otis got up from the bed. She straightened herself at the bedside; she absolutely could not let anyone see her in such a disheveled state after leaving the chapel.
“I’m sorry, Otis, I didn’t get the dosage right. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t feel any pain, but I ended up making you sleep all afternoon and miss your afternoon classes.” Hil felt she should be honest with her friend and apologize.
“It’s alright, Hil, it’s not your fault.” Otis generously forgave her.
“Speaking of which, the weekend’s coming soon.” Hil said softly.
“The weekend…”
Yes, every weekend, Hil came to her mansion to tutor her in magic.
It was nothing special; after a few times, both of them should be used to it by now. But as soon as Otis thought of it, she couldn’t help but recall her recent dream: the locked study, the wind blowing outside, the wood crackling in the fireplace. The two girls, stripping off their heavy clothes, facing each other frankly, clinging so close not even a sheet of paper could fit between them…
Ugh!
She mustn’t think about it anymore, or Hil would think she was weird!
They had only just become even closer friends…
“Thank you, Otis.” Hil earnestly thanked the girl before her. “I… haven’t eaten so much since that day.”
“So, will you want more then?”
“No, no, no.” Hil quickly waved her hand, afraid Otis would mistake her for one of those blood-obsessed vampires: “What I had today is actually enough to last me four or five days. But unlike humans, I don’t digest it quickly—I can store it.”
“I see.” Otis was learning this much about a bloodkin for the first time.
“But, Otis, I should say—other bloodkin are not like me. They’re often greedy and lack self-control. If they met a young girl like you, they’d drain you of every drop of blood in one go.”
Most bloodkin preferred to fish dry every pond they hunted.
Hil took a deep breath, her tone deadly serious: “So no matter the situation, you must keep your distance from any bloodkin but me. They won’t care for your body, let alone your life. All they want is the blood flowing in your veins—all of it!”
“Thank you, Hil, thank you for telling me.”
……
The two finally parted. One boarded the carriage that had long been waiting outside the academy; the other set out on foot for her apartment.
Night had fallen completely. Hil returned to her apartment and took off her academy uniform. It was cold now, especially after dark; she should have changed at once. But her keen sense of smell made her linger for Otis’s scent on the uniform.
So fragrant…
After hugging each other so tightly in the chapel, both girls had left their scents on each other’s clothes and bodies. Otis probably couldn’t sense it, but Hil could smell it clearly. The scent of a young girl, like fresh lilies—not strong, but delicate and persistent, impossible to ignore.
Most importantly, Hil was a bloodkin. Besides fantasizing about her lovely body, Otis was also food in her eyes.
Who could resist food that looked good, smelled good, and tasted good?
When Hil came back to herself, she’d already buried her face in the uniform, greedily inhaling its scent like some pervert.
This was her own clothing!
Just because it carried another girl’s scent, she actually…
She let out a shameful wail, yet the shame melted in her heart, turning sweet. The things that had happened in the chapel replayed in her mind over and over like a lantern show.
Just like Otis, who was also back home—both girls had sunk into sweet torment.
But Hil didn’t know—something even better was waiting for her.
She changed clothes and sat cross-legged on the bed to meditate. Maybe because she’d eaten so much, she broke through the three-hour mark this time. When she opened her eyes again, it was already deep night.
Hil glanced at her panel: She had just earned 8 experience points!
Today really was a wonderful day!
She put on her black trench coat, then climbed onto the roof of the apartment. Tonight, the weather was much better than yesterday—no dark clouds, even the moon was out.
A rare full moon hung high in the sky. As always, Hil bit her finger, using her flowing blood to form a prayer sigil.
“Great Night Goddess, Mistress of the Unorthodox, Mother who holds the Silver Moon…”
Once the not-so-long-winded prayer was complete, Hil snapped open her eyes. She saw, high above, the silver moon’s radiance pouring down toward her. Soon, the moonlight gathered on her body, forming a silver-white gown of gauze, as if she were nestled in the goddess’s soft hand. A sense of peace welled up in her heart as never before.
She felt as if she’d received a blessing, which filled her with wild joy. She hurriedly opened her panel:
Name: Hil Hamilton
Level: 4 (400/200)
Race: Bloodkin
Sequence: None
Skills: [Night’s Favor I], [Transcendent Magic I], [Blood Emperor I]
[Blood Emperor I]: The friendship between you and your friend, which is about to transcend mere friendship, has moved the goddess deeply. Even from her distant divine realm, she watches with great delight. She sends you her favor: As a bloodkin, you are born with mastery over blood. Anything that bears the concept of “blood” will respond to your call and become a weapon in your hands.
The goddess’s whisper: Hurry up! The more the merrier! I love watching!