Dinner and Dreams
“Mmph?!”
I stared at Lilith in utter shock. Her lips, felt while fully awake, were on an entirely different level from the ones I’d experienced right after waking. They were soft, moist, and above all… warm. The sweet scent drifting into my nose made my head spin. My breathing faltered, and just as I felt I might suffocate, Lilith pulled away.
She licked her lips, radiating an atmosphere completely unlike the one she showed when she held me. I thrust out a hand to stop her as she leaned in again.
“Why~ Let me~”
Fortunately, she still had a shred of reason left and didn’t force her way forward.
“Wait a second. You said you were going to eat, so why are you kissing me…?”
At my words, Lilith’s eyes regained some focus. In a dreamy voice, she answered, “Remember the contract terms?”
“‘I receive your energy and a part of your body in return.’ That one?”
“Mm-hmm. I replenish my energy by feeding on human life force. That’s a meal to me.”
“Then, about that ‘part of your body’…”
“I don’t need that yet.”
Yet, she said.
“Curiosity satisfied? Then…”
Lilith’s hair stretched out, binding both my hands and shoving them aside.
“Thanks for the meal~”
Her eyes clouded over once more as she pressed her lips against mine. The way she sucked at them so desperately made my heart pound wildly. After a long moment, she drew back with a dissatisfied expression.
“Um…”
“Yes?”
“Could you open your mouth for me?”
“…What?!”
“You’re only giving me a tiny bit at a time~ Come on, open up~”
She clung to me and—surprisingly—tried aegyo.
“Feed me~ Lilith wants her meal~”
The sight of that lethal mix of cuteness and sensuality made my head spin, but…
“Ah~”
After everything she’d done for me, including that delicious meal, I couldn’t refuse her this.
“Thanks for the meal~”
This time Lilith opened her mouth wide and covered mine. As the hot warmth entered, a strange sensation washed over me. It felt as if something inside my body was being drawn out through my mouth, sending shivers across my skin.
Is this my life force?
“Mmm~”
The unrestrained happiness on Lilith’s face told me I was right. She sealed her lips tightly against mine, refusing to let even a drop escape. The sound of her sucking—chup, chup, chuuup—grew more intense, and the sensation of something leaving me became stronger.
Knowing it was my life force being taken should have made me anxious, yet…
…Huh? It’s not as bad as I thought?
There was definitely a feeling of something being pulled out, but nothing else seemed wrong. No dizziness, no weakness. Once the worry faded, all my attention focused on the sensation of her lips.
Because she was leaning over me, a little of Lilith’s saliva trickled into my open mouth. It was slightly less sweet than the honey wine she’d given me, but carried an even stronger fragrance. While I was lost in that sweetness on my tongue and in my nose—
Pop! Our lips parted, leaving a brief, transparent thread between us.
“Mmm~”
Lilith smiled in satisfaction, cupping her own cheek with one hand.
“As expected. Your life force is far sweeter than anything else.”
As expected?
When her hair finally released me, my legs gave out and I collapsed onto the floor.
“You might feel a little dizzy, lightheaded, or get a mild headache. Nothing permanent, so don’t worry.”
“No, I’m not dizzy at all…”
Only the lingering sensation of her lips kept making my head spin.
“Really? That’s strange. I sucked quite a lot since it’s been a while… Can I have more?”
I barely managed to hold her back as she leaned in again.
“I’m sorry, but humans need sleep. And right now it’s…”
The clock on the wall pointed to midnight. Lilith pouted.
“Tch. Can’t be helped. Fine, let’s stop here and go to bed.”
With a snap of her fingers, the remains of our meal—including the Old One roast—vanished instantly.
“Want to wash up?”
“No. I’m just going to sleep.”
Honestly, I was so sleepy I might collapse in the middle of washing. Maybe it was because of everything strange that had happened today; I felt unusually exhausted.
But…
“…What are you doing right now?”
“Hm? Getting ready for bed?”
Yes, that much was obvious from looking.
“Why are you lying down on my bed like it’s the most natural thing in the world?”
“Isn’t it normal for family to sleep together?”
That couldn’t possibly be normal… or could it? I vaguely remembered scenes like that in books, but I’d never actually had a real family, so I didn’t know. At the orphanage, only one person was allowed per bed.
“Come on, over here.”
Lilith lifted the blanket and patted the empty space beside her. When I hesitated, she pulled me in and laid me down right next to her. We ended up facing each other.
“…We’re sleeping like this?”
“Yep.”
She pulled the blanket over both of us. I didn’t want to ruin the expectant look on her face, and I was far too tired to argue, so I sighed and spoke to the magic lamp.
“Nox.”
The lamp went out on its own. The curtains were drawn, plunging the room into total darkness. With my sight gone, my other senses sharpened. I could feel the warmth of another living being and, even more strongly beneath the blanket, that sweet fragrance. It grew richer and fainter in time with her soft breathing.
“How was today?”
The sudden question took me a moment to process.
“…Huh?”
Not exactly a proper answer, but Lilith’s soft laugh came from the darkness anyway.
“Honestly, I’ve never really had a proper family either, so I’m not sure if I’m doing the family thing right.”
Even timid as I was, I could answer that firmly.
“It was good. I was really happy.”
“…Yeah?”
But I couldn’t hold back what I really wanted to say.
“…Except for that last kiss.”
“Oh my, calling it a kiss? That was just a meal.”
“You’re shameless.”
Thinking about it, it was unfair. That had been my first kiss.
“Was it your first kiss?”
Reading a human’s mind seemed effortless for an Outer God.
“…Yes.”
“How was it?”
“W-what do you mean?”
Rustling sounds came from the darkness, and Lilith’s presence drew closer. Now I could clearly hear her breathing right beside my ear.
“If you want, I could give you more?”
Her whisper was sticky and hot. Goosebumps rose all over my body and my face flushed.
“N-no! We’re family now…”
“Oh my, don’t families kiss each other without hesitation?”
“That can’t be true!!”
No matter how little I knew about families, I was certain that wasn’t right. I realized it clearly now—this Outer God was teasing me.
“Hehe, how cute.”
“Isn’t there another way?”
“Hm?”
“I don’t want you to go hungry either. I think I should give you what I can. After everything you’ve done for me, this much isn’t enough.”
“Then just do it.”
More rustling.
“Haa…”
I couldn’t see, but I knew—we were so close that the slightest movement would bring our lips together.
“S-still, if there’s another method, maybe we should try that instead…”
“Another method… There is one, actually.”
The next moment, Lilith’s voice whispered right against my ear.
“Want to try it?”
Suppressing the shiver running down my spine, I answered, “Can you tell me what it is first?”
“Hehe, want to guess?”
As she spoke, her hand touched my stomach. With my vision blocked, my senses were sharper; I could feel her long fingers clearly. They slid slowly downward toward my lower abdomen. Realizing their destination, I flinched and grabbed her hand.
“A kiss! Let’s just kiss!”
“Oh my, I don’t mind either way.”
“Please, just kiss me, okay?”
“Hehe, if you want to kiss me that badly, I’ll yield.”
Conversation stopped for a while after that. The silence was unbearable, yet I couldn’t think of anything to say. While I hesitated, Lilith whispered again.
“Want me to sing you a lullaby?”
“No thanks!”
I wasn’t a child. Then something I’d been curious about came to mind.
“Lilith, do you sleep too?”
I’d wondered about it for a long time. Did gods even need sleep?
“I can if I want to.”
“…You can?”
“If I feel like sleeping, I sleep. If I don’t, I can stay awake forever.”
Wow, gods really had convenient bodies. But if it were me…
“Of course, I prefer sleeping.”
…It really felt like she could read my every thought.
“The refreshing feeling after waking up is hard to come by. It’d be a shame to give it up.”
“Same as me. If I could choose, I’d pick sleep too.”
“Right~ Especially that feeling right after waking up and rolling around in bed…”
“Ah! I know what you mean. That hazy, happy feeling.”
“Hehe, we match better than I thought.”
“Yeah. Unexpectedly… haaam…”
A yawn escaped me and cut my words short.
“You’re tired? Let’s just sleep.”
“Okay.”
At that moment, a warm presence wrapped around me.
“W-wait. Are we sleeping like this?”
“Yep.”
“This is a bit…”
Being held in Lilith’s soft embrace made my mind grow hazy. The gentle rhythm of her hand patting my back only made my eyelids heavier. Whatever the position, what did it matter? Lilith’s arms had a way of making a person generous.
“Haaam… Good night, Lilith.”
“…Night.”
With Lilith’s farewell, my consciousness sank deep. Perhaps it was thanks to her warm embrace, but for the first time in a long while, I slept without dreaming at all.