Dania: What Does Kissing Feel Like?

All in all, after a delicious, warming late-night meal, Cartethyia and Dania reached a basic understanding about what to tell the family tomorrow.

Xiao Ling had listened to the whole conversation, and he could not help letting out a long sigh of relief.

Honestly, this should have been his problem to handle, but Dania had not only raised little objection to Cartethyia suddenly joining them, she had also taken the initiative to help him with some emergency damage control.

He had no idea what the two girls had discussed while he was cooking, but they were clearly getting along much better now.

By one thirty in the morning, all three were a little tired. The lights in the living room and kitchen were switched off, and they each returned to their rooms to sleep.

Cartethyia stayed in the room opposite Chisa's, for the same reason as Chisa: they were both worried that something might suddenly happen to Xiao Ling.

(Actually, she just wanted to be closer to Hajiling so she could launch a night raid on him later (strikethrough).)

Speaking of which, though, there was something else bothering Cartethyia.

Although her power had been suppressed in this world, her ability to sense Lament power had not. She could feel a faint resonance between Dania and the portion of the Lament Leviathan's power inside her.

In other words, Dania had previously had something related to the Leviathan inside her.

As far as she knew, aside from the people of Rinascita, the only ones who had any connection to the Leviathan were the lunatics of the Fractsidus.

But she had never seen this person in Rinascita, so...

"Is that girl from the Fractsidus? But the Righteous One seems to trust her quite a bit..."

Xiao Ling lay on the soft, spacious bed, letting his mind go blank.

Honestly, he had thought Dania would have quite a few objections to him bringing a beautiful girl home without saying a word beforehand. Instead, she had barely reacted, had taken the initiative to help Cartethyia settle in, and had even worked out what she could say to the other girls.

(Dania is a good girl.jpg)

But he felt that this was the most dangerous situation of all. Dania was clearly being a little too generous about this sort of thing. She certainly had not been like this when he was with Lupa a few days ago.

Just as his thoughts were wandering, the doorknob turned gently with a click.

Then he saw a pink-haired bundle launch herself onto his bed and tuck herself under the covers as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What brings you here?" Xiao Ling asked, poking the peach that had come to launch a night raid on him.

"Your little girlfriend didn't want to sleep alone, so she came all this way to share your bed and pillow~" Dania rested her head on Xiao Ling's arm, her voice languid and a little playful.

"Aren't you afraid I'll get turned on?"

"It's not like you'll do anything about it."

Dania stared at Xiao Ling teasingly, her expression saying, "I don't think you can get it up." It made him feel a strong urge to prove his manhood.

He could tell she had been getting more and more forward lately.

But it was not time yet. At least, not now.

The regret hidden in her heart had yet to be resolved. At the very least, he had to wait until it was, before he could eat this adorable peach without feeling guilty.

"Then let's sleep. It's getting late."

Xiao Ling naturally drew Dania into his arms and settled down to rest.

He really was exhausted. As soon as he closed his eyes, he began to drift off.

"Did this guy really just fall asleep?" Listening to the even breathing of the person beside her, Dania sounded a little dissatisfied.

(Xiao Ling: I can't worry about propriety between men and women anymore. I'm going to sleep!)

Poke, poke.

After poking him twice and getting no reaction at all, Dania sighed helplessly and turned to face him, cheek to cheek.

It was hard to imagine that a guy who was usually such a jerk could look so peaceful in his sleep. He was even a little handsome?

Come to think of it, she had not asked him for her reward yet, even though she had helped him out of a pretty big predicament.

But it seemed she could ask for it now, too?

Dania quietly moved closer to Xiao Ling, taking great care for fear of waking him along the way.

She only stopped when his warm breath brushed gently against her face.

Strangely enough, she had been terribly sleepy just now, but now she was the one who could not fall asleep. She could not figure out what she was thinking.

What does kissing feel like?

For some reason, Dania suddenly found herself thinking about kissing. She had watched quite a few films, shows, and anime since coming here, and whenever she saw couples kissing as though they could not bear to part, she thought it was a little exaggerated. Wasn't it just pressing your lips together? How could one kiss last so long?

As it happened, there was a test subject right here, so she could try it now.

A little closer... closer still... and then...

Kiss~

Just one fleeting peck made Dania blush and quickly pull back, afraid that the bad guy would discover she had stolen a kiss from him.

It was ordinary, nothing all that special, but somehow she still felt a little unsatisfied...

Maybe I should try again? Hold it a little longer this time?

Dania felt a little guilty, but the thought that she had solved a problem for him put her at ease.

Who cares? I already helped Hajiling solve the problem with Cartethyia. What's wrong with asking for a little payment now?

Kiss-mwah~

After only a few seconds, Dania blushed and pulled back again. Xiao Ling's eyelashes fluttered slightly, making her heart skip a beat.

Nothing happened.

"That scared me..." Dania had thought she was about to wake Xiao Ling with her kiss.

She seemed to understand a little now. Kissing really did not seem like something you could just sample and leave at that. Once there was a first time, there would be a second.

Having reached the conclusion she wanted, Dania still wanted another kiss as she savored the memory, but she was not going to take the risk again. What if the bad guy really woke up this time?

So, after quietly watching Hajiling's peaceful sleeping face for a while longer, she found herself yawning.

"Yawn... I'm a little sleepy... Time for bed..."

"Good night..." Dania said softly. It was unclear whether she was speaking to Xiao Ling, who was already asleep, or to herself.

Then she rested her head on Xiao Ling's arm and fell comfortably asleep, the corners of her mouth curving up in a faint, unconscious smile.

"Mm, good night, Miss Peach."

(Hajiling, your acting skills are so powerful, they're truly astounding!)

In fact, Xiao Ling had woken up in a daze when she first stole a kiss. He had been wondering why there was suddenly something warm on his lips when the second stolen kiss followed. That one lasted a little longer and woke him up completely.

He had originally considered suddenly opening his eyes halfway through and catching the peach stealing a kiss from him red-handed. But on second thought, he decided against it. She had finally worked up the courage to take his first kiss, and he would be a jerk to tease her for it. What if she stopped doing it next time?

The peach's cherry lips were soft, cool, and sweet. He wanted a few more kisses.

Why didn't Xiao Ling just say so to her face, you ask?

He would only tell you that he liked the thrill of sneaking around~

Besides, it would not be long now. Once Dania's birthday had passed and he had eaten this fragrant, soft peach down to the last bite, he could kiss her however he wanted.

For now, though~ he would enjoy this kiss from their unspoken prank first~

And so Xiao Ling gently drew the sleeping Dania into his arms and returned to dreamland with her in his embrace.