"I like this smell, what is this flower called?" Aina asked.
Aina closed her eyes, a calm smile on her face as Leonel shampooed her hair. The gentle smell of apple and lavender made her feel at peace.
"It's called an Infant Sun Lily."
"Infant?"
"Mm." Leonel nodded. "If I hadn't harvested it so soon, it would have produced a fruit at maturity that had the effect of clearing the mind and amplifying fire affinity. Though, the rise in affinity is only large for the first few minutes, after that it begins to dwindle. If you wanted lasting effects, you have to consume the fruits over a long period of time."
Leonel scratched the back of his head a bit awkwardly. He didn't know much about herbs, so he hadn't known at the time that he interrupted the Sun Lily's growth process. In fact, much of the reason its yellow color was so pale was precisely because it was still an infant.
"Oh, I see. I like the smell…" She said softly.
"In that case, I can start planting them in the garden so we can have more."
The Abode Setting was just like any other luxurious home. It had several rooms, a large bathhouse, and also had a garden.
That said, Leonel didn't visit the garden very often at all. He thought of using it as a training space as there was ample room. But, his training was much more efficient if it took place in his Dream World. So, there truly wasn't much of a point.
"Okay."
Leonel's heart warmed when he heard the slight tinge of happiness in Aina's voice. Even though he couldn't see her smile, he knew it was there and that was all that mattered.
Leonel covered the length of Aina's hair in the fragrant liquid. Then began to slowly wash it out, a tinge of seriousness on his face. If others saw him now, they would definitely feel that he was taking this task much too seriously.
"Your hair's gotten longer." Leonel commented off handedly.
Aina's hair was much longer than what he remembered. Considering the growth rate of hair, it shouldn't have been possible for such an exaggerated change to occur in just a few months. Somehow, Aina's hair had gone from barely reaching the small of her back to reach past her ankles. If she walked around like this, her hair would definitely drag across the ground.
What Leonel didn't know, of course, was that this had been caused by Aina's transformation. Though the rest of her body had gone back to how it once had been, her hair didn't shorten, unfortunately.
Now that Leonel thought about it, long hair was quite uncharacteristic for a woman like Aina. With her level of practicality, even down to her military uniform and boxer briefs, Leonel wouldn't have been surprised if she appeared before him completely bald one day. But, interestingly enough, she never did.
In fact, back when Leonel first met Aina, her hair had been exceptionally short, no longer than Jessica's. But, after their freshman year, during their sophomore year if he recalled correctly, she began to let it grow out.
Not that he minded. He quite preferred long hair. He thought it made her look particularly fairy-like.
Aina blinked at Leonel's words. "You don't like it?"
Leonel was stunned before hurriedly shaking his head.
"No, no. I like your long hair. It just might be slightly inconvenient for you."
Aina smiled. It was a shame that Leonel couldn't see it… the slight blushing of her cheeks, the hint of pride in her eye, the gentle slope of her pink lips…
"… I know you do." Aina spoke in words that were barely audible over the moving water.
"Hm?"
"Nothing…"
Leonel raised his brow in confusion. He didn't understand what Aina meant by that.
At that moment, Leonel washed the last of the soapy bubbles from Aina's hair. The light fragrance of apple coming from her made him feel at ease. He even forgot about his previous confusion.
"All done." He said proudly.
"Okay… Turn around…" Aina said with her usual soft tone.
"Oh." Leonel nodded like an obedient child and did as he was told.
It wasn't long after he did so that Leonel felt a pair of small hands on his back. The feeling was so novel that he didn't know how to react.
Aina's actions were just as slow and meticulous as Leonel's, but her face was flushed red with embarrassment from start to finish.
It wasn't just because she felt that following the outlines of Leonel's muscular back left her feeling warmth in ways she never had before, but… it was also because Leonel was much taller than she was. So, while the water covered her waist quite easily, it couldn't do the same for him…
Leonel seemed to realize this after a while too, but he was too embarrassed to say anything about it. He never thought that he would have such a day.
"… Finished…"
When Leonel heard these words that were no louder than the flapping of a butterfly's wings, he wanted to run away at that moment as quickly as he could.
How embarrassing. He wasn't one who cared very much about such things. He had appeared naked in a locker room more than once in his life. However, doing it in front of Aina left him feeling flustered. He felt even more embarrassed than Aina herself.
All that comfort he had felt disappeared.
However, just when Leonel wanted to run away, he found two arms wrapped around his waist.
At that moment, it felt like a bolt of electricity had shot through his body. It wasn't because of the arms, but rather because a softness he had never experienced before was now firmly pressed against his back.
Two, perfectly molded, soft mounds of flesh pressed flush against him.
Leonel's mind went blank. All the computational power in the world was at his finger tips, yet he suddenly short circuited. Whatever control he had over his lower half vanished. It pierced through the water as though it was a spear itself, standing at attention.
Leonel was so lost that he didn't even notice when a slender hand reached toward it.