When Love Comes True (3)
Bria Academy presented uniforms only to its graduating students. A sky-blue tailored jacket, accented by a blue ribbon on the chest, a white knit sweater, and a gray skirt—it was an outfit that left quite an impression.
Right now, Alonne was wearing the uniform issued by the academy. Her petite frame made her look much younger than her classmates, and in this uniform that evoked schoolgirl attire, she resembled a fresh, adorable high school girl brimming with youthful charm.
“What do you think, Master? Super cute, right?!”
Alonne spun around once as she spoke. She’d been beaming nonstop ever since getting the new uniform, clearly thrilled with it. Yushin responded honestly: “Cute.”
His praise brought a bright, innocent smile to Alonne’s lips.
“Ardena was a graduate too, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah, both Sis and Dad went to the academy. Pretty much every high elf active in politics or business is a Bria Academy alum, I bet.”
The one answering Alonne was Leticia, walking alongside them.
“Graduating from Bria Academy, the pinnacle of prestigious education, is an honor beyond measure. It’s the first official recognition of one’s worth before stepping into society. You could call it the process of sifting gems from pebbles.”
Gems and pebbles. Extreme words, but not wrong. Graduation from Bria Academy was a life-or-death milestone for high elves. Even direct heirs of noble houses were branded dropouts if they failed, or so the rumors went.
“Quit bragging, you tit monster.”
“Wh-who’re you calling tit monster?!”
Leticia clutched her chest with both arms at Alonne’s crude jab, her massive breasts thrusting forward prominently. Her E-cup rack—textbook definition of voluptuous—formed huge swells against the white knit sweater. Every time she moved, the top button straining to hold the sky-blue tailored jacket seemed to scream in agony. Without the other buttons, it would’ve surely popped under the pressure from those enormous tits.
“Huff!”
The red-haired high elf girl exhaled a breath she’d been holding forever.
Pop!!
The tailored jacket exploded—or rather, the button sealing it shut rocketed off like a bullet. The button flew straight at Yushin. He reached out to snatch it midair, but he miscalculated the sudden acceleration and failed. It slipped between his fingers and nailed him square in the forehead.
“Ow!”
“Master got owned by the tit monster!”
Whoosh. With the jacket’s seal broken, Leticia’s huge E-cups burst free.
* * *
Arriving at Valencia Castle via warp gate, Yushin rubbed his throbbing red forehead. Who’d have thought he’d take a hit from a button? No one could’ve predicted that poor fastener, tormented by mega-tits hydraulic pressure, would scream for freedom and fire off like a gunshot.
“Yushin.”
Stepping out of the warp gate, Ardena called to him with a grave expression. The vibe was off. Where the hell was Allen? It was about time for her nap to end.
“Yeah.”
Yushin answered. Ever since that kiss, she’d been dodging him, but now here she was, meeting his eyes with a serious look. Something had clearly shifted in her heart. Otherwise, why would she approach him like she had urgent business?
“Could you spare me a moment?”
“Of course.”
Yushin shrugged agreeably at her request. The high elf warrior captain nodded, then turned to Alonne—who’d been watching with Leticia.
“Alonne, please look after Allen Rocksfield for a bit.”
“...Yeah, got it!”
Alonne nodded, sensing the gravity from her sister’s stern face. What could it be? The heavy atmosphere kept her from asking.
“Yushin, there’s somewhere I need to go. Join me for a while.”
Ardena extended her hand. She led him back to the warp gate. Using it meant a long-distance trip. He didn’t ask where— he trusted her completely. He just figured it was a date to some far-off spot.
* * *
The place Ardena took Yushin was an unnamed grove. Thousands of dense biro trees blotted out the sky, their lush green canopy—nurtured for centuries in the sunlight—rustling with cool breezes below.
They walked through the forest together. Birds chirped, beasts called out, and leaves pattered down with each gust. Amid it all, they began a real conversation.
Yushin spoke first.
“Weird having a warp gate in a place like this.”
“It’s the sacred mountain of House Valencia—or rather, our sacred grove. Only family members and those they permit may enter.”
“Makes sense. Elves called ‘forest folk,’ so sacred mountain becomes sacred grove, huh.”
“Yushin. There’s something I wish to say to thee.”
Walking the forest path slowly, Ardena suddenly turned her head. A sudden wind blew, tousling her beautiful golden hair. She paid it no mind, even as strands danced. At last, she spoke.
“The power dwelling in the Dragon’s armor. I wish to ask of that power.”
“...The goblin told you, huh.”
“Had she not, I would have remained a fool! Ignorant and foolish, blindly relying on thee without grasping the truth!”
Ardena cried out loudly. Her shout, laced with fury, echoed, startling resting birds into a frantic flutter from the trees.
“Why didst thou not tell me?”
Her voice trembled with sorrow, rage, and a heart shaking like falling leaves as she demanded answers. Why keep it secret? How long did he plan to hide it? She harshly reproached his secrecy—even from her—while loathing herself as the true culprit who’d driven him to such extremes.
“They say it grants limited immortality at the cost of lifespan. How many years hast thou lost thus far?”
“...Around thirty.”
“The gods grant humans a century. As a Six Sword Realm swordsman, thine own span exceeds the common mortal’s. Yet compared to elves... to us, who live near eternally... it is far too brief.... Bearing such a fleeting life already... why trade more lifespan for borrowed power...!”
Humans’ lives were so short. A mere blink to elves. Lifespan—the greatest barrier Ardena had always feared. The primary reason elves could not unite with humans. And the foe she dreaded most while harboring love in her heart.
He’d sacrificed lifespan for immortality. To Ardena, the cruelest outcome. Time was already scarce; no moments for laughter, chatter, or whispered affections. Yet this short-lived being had bartered his life to save her homeland and kin.
Guilt, regret, and heartbreaking sorrow stabbed her deepest core for burdening him so.
“I’m sorry.”
Tears streamed down her snow-white cheeks, like flakes piling on a winter plain. Thick, rough drops like a misty rain poured out her aching heart. She gripped his shoulders with both hands, bowed her head, and sobbed like a child hearing ill news, clinging desperately. Just like when she’d wept in her mentor’s arms upon parting from the man who’d been her pillar.
“I... I pushed thee too far.... Because I was weak, lacked the strength to protect... it’s all my fault! I know... it’s not thy fault... I knew... It’s wretched, my powerlessness... lacking the might to fell the Demon King....”
Ardena lamented her own frailty, apologizing profusely to Yushin. She yearned to atone, beg forgiveness. After all, it was because of her— to save her—that he’d fought Sabnack.
Thirty years. He’d lost a full thirty. A third of his life. Already brief, now shaved down by that much.
“But you’re still here.”
Yushin said. He placed his hand on her arm gripping his shoulder, sliding down to clasp her hands gently. She lifted her head. Her face was a mess of tears of anguish and grief.
“You survived because of it. We’re living this moment fully. Talking like this. Meeting eyes. Holding hands... all possible only because we’re alive. Sure, the lifespan’s precious. But we’re here now because I offered it. So I don’t regret a thing. Even if I went back... I’d sacrifice it a hundred times over.”
Though his words spilled long and winding, Ardena listened intently through tear-soaked eyes, blinking to etch them deep. Eyes, ears, every sense captured his voice, actions, this instant in vivid clarity.
“Why? Why go that far?”
Her voice quavered as she asked him. Why protect her at such cost? She wanted to hear it straight from him.
“B-because... I like you... that’s why.”
Yushin said, averting his gaze in shy confession.
Ardena’s tear-filled eyes widened at his love declaration. As if she’d never suspected. As if she’d never dreamed of hearing it here, now. A stunned, slack-jawed expression. And fresh tears welled—but not of sorrow or despair. Tears of pure joy, ecstasy from overwhelming happiness and disbelief.
“Hic!”
Ardena rose on tiptoe, clutching his hands tight, and kissed him. Sudden, fervent. Evoking their terrace kiss amid yellow roses. First there, now beneath biro leaves. In this wind-kissed forest, the pair exchanged devotion, leaning into each other. Tongues entwined, hands caressing, the kiss deepened.
“Nngh!”
Ardena moaned as Yushin’s arms wrapped firmly around her waist. The high elf maiden stepped closer, yielding fully to his touch, pressing her ample breasts against him. They deformed against his chest, yet she clung fiercer, brooking no distance.
Smack, slurp...
Parting from the intense kiss, strands of saliva bridging their lips, Ardena gazed dreamily and spoke.
“As thou gavest thy time for me, so shall I give mine unto thee.”
All her time. Her remaining life to match his. So please, accept her love—her time.
“Sounds like a sweet deal.”
Yushin grinned.
“Human and elf live on different timescales. Yet thou art worth pouring all into. I stake my every moment on thine. Even if thou perish first... the time shared with thee shall outvalue any I’ve known.”
Ardena yanked his necktie, drawing him to the grassy clearing. Soft, dewy turf carpeted it. Yushin lay back amid the forest’s green scent, watching her unbutton her top boldly yet deliberately.
“Staring so intently... even I, resolved as I am, feel shame....”
“Should I look away?”
“Nay. Witness all of me—every shameful sight—with thine eyes.”
She shed the gray shirt. Beneath, barely veiled porcelain skin emerged. Pure white lingerie, chaste yet alluring in its simplicity. Plain design, yet it suited her natural beauty perfectly.
“Ah.”
Straddling him, Ardena reached back, unhooking her bra. Pop. It fell away, baring her huge, milky breasts. Pale as skin, topped by shy, erect pink nipples quivering faintly—her first time exposing them thus.
“But we don’t have protection....”
Condoms or whatnot. Yushin wasn’t the type to carry them everywhere.
Ardena replied.
“I promised thee all of me.”
Topless now, she leaned in for another kiss. Mwah. Fierce, stamping ownership like a seal.
“Dost thou not grasp the meaning?”
Smiling slyly, she kissed his tense lips again.
“It means I give thee everything.”
Answering her own query, the bold high elf maiden showered him with consecutive kisses, teasing him relentlessly.