"I will give you some of my clothes."
Skyler took out some clothes from his storage ring as he sat beside Riruru.
"You can wear them for now."
His face turned serious suddenly, a grim expression replacing his carefree smile.
"And... Riruru, you absolutely must make sure that you don't change into a human in front of anyone else besides me, okay?"
A wave of heat crept up his neck when Riruru tilted her head, her innocent gaze questioning what he meant.
"Shhh..."
He closed his eyes for a second, realizing how overbearing he sounded when she did not even understand what he was saying.
"Am I being possessive right now? When Riruru had just turned into a human? Wow, just wow. How much worse can I get?"
He muttered under his breath, his voice dripping with a bitter sarcasm that hung heavy in the air. He had so much to teach her; she was practically like a newborn.
Even so, he was reluctant to say that it was acceptable for her to change form in front of someone else. Just the thought of it made him clench his fists in frustration.
A deep sense of unease settled over him. For the first time in his life, he realized the depth of his own selfishness, a truth that stung like a slap in the face.
'I still remember the ruby-red eyes of the woman who helped me in Battle Royal so vividly... her face, her gorgeous wings.'
He sighed, a flicker of guilt in his gaze.
'I know I can't take my eyes off Riruru right now, but I still don't want to give up on her.'
Skyler immediately jerked back in surprise when Riruru sat up, staring directly at him.
"What...?"
His gaze dropped to her lips when she opened her small mouth.
"I won not..."
Skyler's eyes shot up to meet hers.
"Huh?"
He felt a fluttering feeling in his stomach when he understood what Riruru was trying to convey. She was telling him she wouldn't change form in front of anyone else.
A smile spread across his face as he reached out to pat her head. Her hair felt smooth and cool, so his touch lingered.
"Good. I will get a special artifact for you. So, a tailored garment materializes around your body when you shift into a human. I saw it online once. I'll check on Star Net."
He pushed the clothes he was holding toward her, his eyes darting away nervously. The first time he had seen her naked was an accident, but if he let his gaze wander there again, he would truly be a jerk!
"You should wear these."
He paused for a second.
"Do you know how?"
Riruru stared at him and he got it: she did not know. With a deep breath, he steeled his loud heart. It seemed he had no choice. He had to help her. Skyler swore, his intentions were pure when he took back the clothes.
But maybe heaven noticed his dropping gaze as he lifted his hand to get rid of the blanket wrapped around Riruru, a familiar golden light flashed in the room.
Skyler shut his eyes, and when he opened them, he felt a pang of regret as the beauty transformed back into her snake form.
"Why so soon? I was finally calm."
He grumbled before falling silent.
The image of Riruru's figure flashed in his mind, and he pinched himself to dispel it.
Skyler turned to look at the small, white snake, who yawned with droopy eyelids. It seems changing into a human wasn't easy for her. He watched her as she drifted off to sleep. How could she be so beautiful and adorable? He chuckled at his thought.
"It seems first I need to teach Riruru to slap me if I ever tried to take advantage of her."
He shifted his body, turning towards her.
The stress and exhaustion of the past five days finally caught up to him. That's how a snake and a human fell into a deep sleep amidst a glittering array of treasures.
In the silence, an ethereal aura spread out from Skyler's body. A pair of glowing white eyes flickered open in the darkness, and he rose to his feet. A smile played on his lips as he gazed at Riruru's sleeping form.
"It's been so long... Still, to think this idiot found a part of you without any help. Things are going different from usual because he refused all the memories."
He reached out to touch her, but halted.
A sad smile spread across his lips.
"Look, I didn't lose myself..."
With that, he turned away. His gaze didn't linger. This Riruru wasn't the one he fell for. She had died in front of his very eyes.
He waved his hand, and the treasures scattered in the room began to float.
"Hmm... it should have been here?"
His gaze sharpened as he looked at the storage rings scattered across the bed. All the rings flew towards him and he scanned every treasure within them, his movements so rapid they strained his body. Skyler was not yet strong enough to wield such power.
A mirthless chuckle escaped his lips when he finally found what he was looking for.
"Ruler of Hell. Perhaps... I'm saying, just perhaps, if we had been more immature like him, we wouldn't have fallen?"
One of his eyes shone with a dark hue.
'Shut up, or I will consume you.'
Amusement flickered in his gaze as he considered the thought directed at him. His gaze fixated on the small, ancient pendant hovering before him. It was tarnished and weathered, yet still emanated a red glow.
Under his eyes, the pendant disintegrated into a flurry of shimmering particles, which then surged into Riruru's sleeping form. She shifted in discomfort but then suddenly the aura around her spiked. A familiar golden light enveloped her. Within seconds, she jumped from being a 9-star to a 12-star.
Riruru's eyes flickered open for a second. However, she fell unconscious when the fragment of her soul grew in size.
He smiled and looked away.
"With this, now he had two parts of her scattered soul. I am kind of jealous."
With a flick of his wrist, all the treasures in the room vanished into the storage rings. Then the rings gathered and entered the pouch that lay on the bed beside Riruru.
In the end, only the storage ring Skyler's father gifted him remained on his finger. The white hue in his gaze faded, replaced by a dim, fake blue as he left the room.
"Let's go find that. The Keeper of Time has a bad habit of putting it in the most casual place possible... since he can't touch it."
A snicker sounded in his thoughts.
'Here I thought the current owner warned us not to use his body without permission.'