Chapter 27: Arian’s Request

Dinner concluded, and both the host and guests were satisfied.

After clearing away the dishes, Arian said, “There happen to be two empty rooms upstairs. I’ll go tidy them up right now…”

Having had her fill of food and drink, Onyxia replied, “One is enough. As long as the bed is large enough.”

The statement was made so naturally that Arian instinctively responded with a “Fine” and turned to head upstairs.

However, she had only taken two steps up when her feet suddenly came to a halt.

She slowly turned her head, her gaze sweeping across the three people at the door one by one.

“Ah…”

Arian felt a bit dizzy.

She had originally thought that only Celia and Onyxia were a pair of partners.

But now, it seemed Ilyas was involved as well.

For a Wood Elf who firmly believed in having only one true love, this was indeed quite a shock.

Her eyes wandered back and forth between the three of them, reflecting a mix of amazement, confusion, and an effort to understand.

Eventually, she grew calm.

She did not understand, but she was respectful.

“…I see.”

She spoke again, a smile reappearing on her face.

“One room, one large bed… I will prepare it. Please wait a moment.”

Downstairs, Celia finally could not help herself and reached out to give Onyxia’s arm a firm pinch.

Onyxia let out a low laugh and took the opportunity to catch her hand.

Arian moved quickly; the rooms upstairs seemed to be tidy already, and she soon came back down with a slight flush on her cheeks.

Standing at the foot of the stairs, her gaze quickly swept over Celia — who looked slightly uncomfortable while being held by Onyxia — and then she cleared her throat, keeping her tone as natural as possible.

“Miss Celia… could I trouble you to come over for a moment? I want to double-check the thickness of the bedding. I’m afraid you might not be used to it.”

The reason was a bit abrupt, but it was reasonable enough.

Celia took the chance to gently break free from Onyxia’s hand.

She gave a small shake of her head to Onyxia’s questioning look, signaling for her to stay calm, and then followed Arian toward the second floor.

Arian did not actually ask about the bedding.

She leaned back against the wooden wall, her hands clasped unconsciously.

The calm smile she had worked so hard to maintain downstairs faded, replaced by genuine confusion.

She lowered her voice, ensuring those downstairs could not overhear.

“Miss Celia, please forgive my bluntness… but I am truly curious. Is this kind of relationship your own personal behavior, or is the entire Dark Elf race like this?”

Arian’s question left Celia uncharacteristically speechless.

She pursed her lips slightly, seemingly organizing her words to be more accurate.

Celia finally spoke, “This… counts as one of our clan’s customs. We are not like many other Elf branches that have only one partner. Our society… allows for more flexible forms of relationships.”

“Then Sister Lani’s partner, is she like that too?”

“As for Sister Lani’s…”

Celia’s voice dropped a bit lower, her gaze wandering slightly.

She seemed to feel it was a bit awkward to discuss a fellow tribeswoman’s private affairs in such detail behind her back.

However, facing Arian’s sincere eyes, she chose to be honest.

“Besides Sister Lani, she… indeed has two other partners. They are two human women.”

Having said that, she stole a quick glance at Arian, seemingly wanting to observe the other’s reaction.

She added in a whisper, “They get along… very harmoniously. A Dark Elf will always give all their love to their wives.”

Arian’s eyes widened slightly as she processed this information.

She remained silent for a moment, her gaze drifting toward the faint sounds coming from downstairs before returning to Celia.

The confusion on her face had not entirely vanished.

“I understand. Perhaps I cannot completely feel the way you do right now, but I respect your choice.”

Suddenly, she changed the subject.

“Miss Celia, I want to go see Sister Lani. It has been so many years, and I haven’t seen her in a long time… Can you tell me roughly which direction the Dark Elf territory is in?”

“Our territory is within the Shadow Forest. But without a clansman’s introduction or a token, it is very difficult for ordinary visitors to be allowed into the village area.”

After a moment’s thought, Celia took a small object from her travel bag.

It was a leaf-shaped emblem made of dull black metal with fine vine patterns along the edges and Celia’s name engraved on the back.

“Keep this safe.”

She handed Celia’s emblem to Arian.

“This is my token. Once you reach the outskirts of the village and encounter the patrolling clansmen, show them this. When they see it, they will bring you inside.”

Arian took the emblem with both hands and nodded.

“I understand. Having this means I am a guest invited by you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, Miss Celia. This means a great deal to me.”

“Go ahead. Sister Lani will surely be very happy to see someone from her homeland.”

A smile appeared on Arian’s face, and she stepped aside to gesture.

“The room is ready. Please get some good rest. Tomorrow morning, I will take you to the merchant caravan.”

With those words, she went downstairs.

A short while later, Onyxia and Ilyas came up.

The moment they entered the room, Ilyas quickly locked the door behind them.

Celia turned back at the sound, but before she could even ask “What’s wrong,” Onyxia was upon her, leaning in and causing her to fall backward.

The soft bed caught them.

Celia sank into the bedding, her silver hair spreading out.

“You talked for quite a while?”

Onyxia’s voice sounded in her ear.

“Does the thickness of the bedding… really require such a long discussion? Hmm?”

Her fingers gently lifted Celia’s chin, forcing her to meet her gaze.

“Is that Miss Arian a bit too curious about you? First she asked all sorts of questions, and now she called you out alone. Could it be… she’s interested in you?”

Celia felt a bit helpless; she knew it would be like this.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

She tried to turn her head away but was held in place.

“She was just curious about Dark Elf customs, and… she wanted to ask for news about Sister Lani.”

“Oh? Does asking for news require getting that close? Does it require blushing?”

“I’m blushing because you are too close to me. You know my body…”

“Is that so…”

Onyxia’s sigh was almost a murmur.

“Then it’s my fault. It turns out my Celia is just too sensitive.”

Before her voice had even faded, she leaned in for a kiss.

The moment their lips met, there was a hint of punishment in the depth of the kiss.

At the same time, her hand skillfully reached for Celia’s clothes, her fingertips hooking onto the ties and unhurriedly loosening them.

Celia caught Onyxia’s mischievous hand.

“Stop it… this is someone else’s house… we have to get up early tomorrow.”

Just then, the sound of running water came from the other side of the room as warm steam gradually began to fill the air.

Ilyas had already turned on the water for the bathtub.

Onyxia glanced toward the misty bathroom and then turned back to look at the blushing Celia beneath her.

“You’re right… we should be mindful of the setting. But we should at least take a bath.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly applied force with her arms, pulling off Celia’s clothes, and then picked Celia up by the waist without allowing any argument.

Celia let out a low gasp and instinctively wrapped her arms around Onyxia’s neck.

“So,” Onyxia said, holding her as she turned toward the bathroom, “let’s move to a more appropriate place… and continue.”

“And Celia, I’m reminding you, the soundproofing in this house isn’t good, so you’ll have to be a little quiet.”

“Don’t be like this, you two are going too far…”