The chirping of the birds could be heard in the background as Lux slowly opened his eyes.
Nine days had passed since the tournament's conclusion, but only now had he regained his consciousness after his battle with Cai.
The first thing the Half-Elf saw was a blue-haired beauty sleeping soundly beside him. Iris was hugging him like a body pillow, and her soft, sound asleep breathing reached his ears.
Lux looked at his step-sister's sleeping face that he hadn't seen for quite some time. At that moment, a thought passed through the red-headed teenager's mind, and that was none other than that he wouldn't like anyone else to see this side of her, wanting to monopolize it for himself.
As Lux's gaze wandered down his body, he noticed his baby Slime, Eiko, was sleeping on his chest.
As if sensing that her Papa was awake, Eiko sleepily opened her eyes then looked at Lux once before yawning and closing them again.
Clearly, she was still sleepy that even seeing her Papa recovered and awake didn't deter her from going back to sleep.
The Half-Elf smiled after seeing this and lightly patted the baby Slime's head, which made the latter subconsciously rub her head against his hand.
After petting the baby Slime for a while, Lux glanced at the ceiling and tried to piece together the memories he had during the battle.
The last thing he remembered was summoning Orion to help Diablo and the others fight against Cai.
He had no memories after that, making him feel a cold chill run down his spine.
'Did I lose?' Lux thought as a tinge of anxiety started to grow inside his heart. 'Should I kidnap Cai and roast it in an open fire?'
Various thoughts about different methods of silently erasing the Boar from the world formed inside his mind. Although he didn't have any grudge against it, for Iris' sake, he was willing to dirty his hand and feed the boar to the fishes if he had to.
Just as these thoughts were starting to form, he felt a soft, delicate hand caress the side of his face and gave it a light pinch.
"Good morning, Lux," Iris said softly.
The young lady's gentle touch, as well as her voice filled with happiness, made Lux's heart skip a beat.
This was not the first time that Iris had called him Lux instead of brother, and yet, this time around, the way she said it felt different to him. It was as if there was another meaning behind it, instead of the usual playful endearment that Iris often used in order to get his attention.
"Iris, who won the tournament?" Lux asked. His heart was beating wildly inside his chest in both anticipation and fear of the answer that she would give him.
Originally, Iris planned to tease the Half-Elf and tell him that Cai had won the tournament, but after seeing how serious he was, she decided to not give the latter more worry as she moved closer to kiss his cheek.
"You won," Iris replied after she planted a kiss on Lux's right cheek. "You are the Champion of the Lionheart Tournament."
At that moment, Lux felt that a stone had disappeared from his chest. The anxiety he initially felt vanished without a trace. He then hugged the young lady in front of him, making the baby slime who was sleeping on his chest, fall off, and get sandwiched between him and her mama, who was also hugging Lux back.
"Ma!"
"Pa!"
Eiko said as she squeezed herself upwards to appear between Lux's and Iris's faces, making the two giggle.
As if thinking of the same thing, Lux and Iris kissed Eiko's left and right cheeks, making the baby slime giggle.
"I'm glad you woke up today, Lux," Iris said, no longer calling the red-headed teenager in front of her Brother, like she used to. "This is the best birthday gift ever."
After hearing her words, the Half-Elf opened his eyes wide. He had no idea what day it was because he didn't know how long it had been since he fell unconscious. The realization that he was able to wake up on the same day as Iris birthday made him thank his lucky stars.
"Happy Birthday," Lux said as he caressed her face. "I'm sorry, I haven't prepared anything for your birthday. What would you like to have as a gift?"
Iris smiled happily after seeing that Lux had taken the initiative to make a gesture of intimacy with her.
Lux had also done this several times to her in the past, but this time felt different. This simple act of touching her face allowed her to feel his rugged hands, which had grown hard through training. It warmed her heart and made her happy.
"You already gave me the best present by winning the tournament," Iris replied. "But, if you really want to know what I want then…"
Iris moved closer to whisper something in Lux's ear, making the latter's face turn as red as his hair.
The blue-haired beauty found this reaction quite funny, so she looked at him with a smile on her face.
"Okay," Lux replied half a minute later. "Let's do it tonight."
Iris' face reddened after hearing Lux's reply. The moment someone turned sixteen in Solais and Elysium, they were already considered young adults, which meant they were eligible to marry.
Both worlds were filled with danger, so the minimum age for marriage was lowered in order to prevent the population from declining. Naturally, this rule wasn't set in stone. Anyone could marry even if they were in their 20's and even 30's, but no one would give a hoot to anyone marrying each other as long as they had come of age, which was sixteen years old.
Lux and Iris stared at each other with passionate gazes.
The baby Slime, who stood between them, subconsciously thought that her parents were planning to do something intimate, so she crawled on top of the bed canopy, looking down at two with a curious look on her face.
"Let's have Grandma look after Eiko tonight," Iris said as she moved closer to Lux.
"Good idea," Lux replied, as he too moved closer to the young beauty who had already wrapped her arms around him.
The two fondly stared at each other for a few seconds before Iris closed her eyes.
Lux knew that, as the man, he should be the one to take the initiative, so he closed their distance and pressed his lips against her soft, pink lips, giving iris a short, yet passionate kiss that made her heart skip a beat.
When their kiss ended, the two gazed at each other for a while and smiled.
"One more time?" Lux asked.
This was the first time he kissed Iris' lips, and for some reason, he felt the urge to give her another one.
"Un," Iris shyly nodded her head in reply.
Just as the two were about to kiss each other for the second time, a knock came from the door, almost making the two of them jump off the bed in shock.
"Iris, good morning," Vera said as soon as she entered the bedroom. "Breakfast is ready, do you want to…"
The old lady wasn't able to finish his words due to the scene in front of her.
Lux was halfway off the bed, with his head already touching the floor. Iris, on the other hand, was hugging his body, clinging to his waist as if trying to prevent him from falling.
The two had flushed expressions on their faces, and one of the strings on Iris's one-piece night-wear had slid off from her shoulders, creating a scene that could easily create a misunderstanding.
"Breakfast can wait," Vera said with a sweet smile on her face. "The two of you take your time. I'll make sure that no one will disturb you. Eiko, come, let's have breakfast together."
"Nanma!"
The Slime happily jumped off the bed canopy and landed on Vera's hand with a look of anticipation on her face. The food served in the academy tasted good, so even though they were not Beast Cores, Eiko still loved eating it.
"Lux, this is Iris' first time so be gentle with her." Vera reminded the red-headed teenager. "I'll look forward to meeting my great grandchildren a year from now."
Vera then gave the two teenagers a wink before slowly closing the door. For some reason, the lock that was supposed to only be accessible inside the room turned by itself, locking the door completely.
Clearly, Vera didn't mind if her two grandkids tumbled on the sheets for a few hours. She was even eagerly anticipating holding her great grandchildren a year or two from now.
Lux and Iris, who had been staring at the locked door for a few seconds, shifted their gaze to each other and smiled helplessly.
Both of them knew that their Grandma had misunderstood the situation, which was why she left the two of them alone to continue whatever they were doing.
As if losing the tension on their bodies, Iris' grip on Lux's waist loosened, making the Half-Elf slide off of the bed completely.
The two then stared at each other before chuckling at this unexpected turn of events.
"Today is a busy day, and I know that the preparations for my birthday party are well on their way," Iris said as she stepped down from the bed and crouched beside the Half-Elf, who was still lying on the carpeted floor. "I'm sure that Father would like to see me at the breakfast table to talk to me about a few things in regards to the festivities that will be held later tonight."
"Yes," Lux replied as he reached out to place his hand behind Iris' head to slowly pull her closer to him. "We still have time for one more kiss before you go, right?"
Iris nodded. "Un."
The two then kissed each other for the second time before Lux reluctantly left the room to let the blue-haired beauty change her clothes.
Although he had now been officially recognized by Alexander as Iris' fiance, he still found it inappropriate to stay inside her room while she changed her clothes.
After leaving Iris' room, Lux walked down the hallway and headed towards his room.
Today was his step-sister's… no, Fiance's birthday, so he decided to spend the rest of the day looking for an appropriate gift for her.
Although Lux was still adapting to the sudden change in their relationship, he was looking forward to the future when the two of them would be officially married. Afterall, they had already received the blessing of Iris' father, Alexander, whose opinion of Lux had changed after he became the Champion of the Tournament that was held in Barbatos Academy.
