And then a god descended from the heavens and saved her from her fate at the hands of the bandits. All that was left, Aisha thought, was for her to be punished for her foolishness.
Her mind was hazy. She was all but dead. But now, she could feel herself being wrapped in a warm light. She felt like something unimaginably vast was being poured into her. Her lips touched something warm. It felt good. So good that she wished it would last forever. But all too suddenly, it was over.
~ ‡ ~
The girl’s soul consolidated and stabilized. Her body, too, was affected by the spell, and flesh returned to her scrawny bones. Her skin and cheeks regained their color. A glance was all it took to tell that she was in much better condition. The filth caking her clothes and body vanished in the light, displaying her true beauty. Nacht could feel her happiness as their lips touched. And then the girl opened her eyes.
Ahhh...
Their lips were still almost touching—they were close enough that Nacht could feel the girl’s breath on her skin. Nacht felt something stir inside her, and the girl seemed to feel the same. Neither one of them moved. The night breeze was warm against their cheeks.
Suddenly, Nacht regained her wits and quickly pulled away. “Ah!” The girl made a sad little sound, but Nacht wasn’t paying attention at all. What she had just done was sexual harassment! She was sure to be banned from RWO!
“Oh no!” Nacht said. “This isn’t— This wasn’t— I was just— That was first aid!” she lied. “Artificial respiration! It wasn’t because I wanted to kiss those sweet lips of yours! No! I mean—!” That was certainly the wrong thing to say. But the girl just squirmed bashfully, staring mutely at Nacht. It didn’t look like she was at all upset.
It was true that she had used Dragon-Bound Servant for something like first aid, but it was undeniable that there had been some personal enjoyment in the mix as well.
“Ehe...” the girl giggled. “I, um... No, I mean, who...who are you?”
“There was nothing I could do!” Nacht continued to protest. “I mean, it was necessary! I mean... Huh?” It dawned on her that the girl did not, in fact, seem angry. She was staring at her, bewildered. “Me?” Nacht said. “The name’s— No, sorry... A pleasure to make your acquaintance!” She tried to speak as amiably as she could to give the girl as little reason to be afraid as possible. “My... My name is Nacht Schatten. Go ahead and call me Nacht if you like! I’m sorry to suddenly kiss you like that...”
“N-No,” the girl said. “I’m glad.” Then she stopped herself. “I-I-I-I mean, no! I’m...um... I’m glad you saved my life? Th-Thank you... M-M-My name i-is— Ouch! I bip by tonk...”
“Yes, that’ll happen if you’re too tense...”
“I-I’b bot! I’b bot tenze!” the girl insisted, but it was obvious given how loudly her teeth were chattering. She couldn’t even give her own name. Maybe Nacht had come on too strong; she had to get the girl to calm down first.
Nacht gently held the girl’s hand and pulled her to her feet. Then she stomped her foot twice. A claylike blob of earth rose up from the ground, shaping itself into two chairs a second later. “Here,” Nacht said. “Have a seat.” She led the girl daintily by the hand like a knight escorting a princess.
“Whaaat?!” the girl exclaimed, but she sat down obediently. Nacht then snapped her fingers and a table appeared between the two of them. This was just an application of her Golemcraft ability, which turned out to be surprisingly versatile. Once she had gotten the hang of it, she could make anything from life-sized figures to massage chairs.
“Now then,” Nacht said, “let’s take things nice and easy. Why don’t you tell me your name?”
“O-Okay...” she said. “My name is Aisha.”
“Hey, relax! I want us to be comfortable around each other! I mean, you’re the first person I’ve met in this world, and now you’re bound to me as my servant...”
“Ah?!” Aisha trembled. “What do you—?” She seemed like she was tensing up again.
“Don’t worry,” said Nacht. “I’ll explain everything. But first, let’s get to know each other a bit—introduce ourselves. It’s our first meeting, after all.”
“O-Okay...” Aisha said. “But... Lady Nacht, you’re a god, aren’t you? I hardly know what to ask someone like you...”
“A god?” Nacht echoed. “I’m nothing that special. I’m pretty much the same as you! We’re both half-human, it’s just that my other half is a little bit more...wild.” It looked like the girl’s estimation of Nacht was a little bit too high. Nacht, of course, would have welcomed such breathless exaltation from someone else, but if Aisha was going to be her servant, things were different. As outrageous and egotistical as Nacht was, she wanted to treat Aisha as a trusted companion.
Nacht glanced at Aisha’s cute pointed ears. “You’re half-human and half-elf, if I’m not mistaken?”
“A-Ah! Yes, that’s right. I’m a half-elf...” Aisha lowered her head. For some reason, she seemed ashamed.
Elves were one of the most attractive and popular races in gaming! Those that were played by real women were worshiped like an endangered species! Being part elven was nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it should have been a point of pride. Scores of elves had been crowned Miss Real World Online in the annual beauty pageant! (Nacht herself had placed in the contest just once. It was secretly one of her proudest accomplishments.)
It suddenly struck Nacht that a real half-elf was sitting in front of her. “You have such beautiful ears!” she said. It was all she could do not to reach out and squeeze them right then and there.
“Wh-What?! ‘B-Beautiful’? But they’re different from everyone else’s...”
“What do you mean?” Nacht said. “They’re the ears of an elf! Everyone loves elves! They’re super sexy! Perverts wanna lick their ears! Of course they’re beautiful! And if you’re worried about being different from everyone, well...have you ever met anyone weirder than me?” Nacht, freshly reincarnated, wasn’t even from this world. She was at least a hundred times stranger than Aisha.
“You really...?” Aisha started to cry. “I... I...” she sobbed. “Waaah haa haa...”
“Wh-What’s wrong?! Why are you crying?! D-Did I say something wrong?!”
“Sniff... N-No...” Aisha managed to say through her tears. “It’s just... Nobody’s ever said anything nice about me before...except my father. I was just...really, really happy. I’m a stupid, dumb girl...” she said. “I can’t do anything useful at all, and my body just won’t get any bigger. My dad was always looking after me...”