Still, Damien couldn’t help but feel uneasy about being "befriended" by such a dangerous creature.

But there was nothing he could do about it. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

He sighed in surrender.

...

That was at lunch.

Now, it was deep into the night, and the mansion was quiet as everyone slept.

Theo had mentioned he’d be staying in his room tonight to catch up on work. Damien had also convinced Leonide and the others to head back for the night.

So he sat alone in his room, waiting for his visitor.

He waited... and waited. The appointed time had long since passed, yet there was no sign of anyone arriving.

What on earth was that elf doing?

Just as he was about to give up and go to bed, the door to his bedroom opened quietly.

The door opened... or so it seemed.

...Actually, it hadn’t really opened at all.

It was cracked open a few centimeters, yes, but it didn’t look like it would open any further.

In fact, it just silently closed again.

What kind of prank was this?

The only person Damien knew who would pull something like this was the elf.

He climbed out of bed and went to open the door.

"What’s going on? Come on in already."

But... the elf wasn’t there when he opened the door.

Wait, no—there he was, trying to leave.

"What... what are you doing?"

Frozen mid-step, the elf looked like he was sneaking away on tiptoe.

Damien sighed, a little exasperated.

"Th-thank you for coming to greet me!" the elf said, turning around while crossing his arms, and standing there with a mock look of authority.

What on earth was he talking about?

Well, fine—maybe it was technically a greeting.

"Yeah, yeah, welcome, or whatever," Damien replied dryly. "So, are you leaving? Because if you are, I’ve waited here just like you said, so this should cancel out the debt, right?"

As much as he understood how dangerous the elf was, Damien couldn’t bring himself to like him. His tone was just as dismissive as he felt. The elf had always been hard to deal with, so he’d stopped worrying about the right approach. If he was doing something wrong, the elf would probably make that clear soon enough.

"Of course not! I was just thinking of rescheduling."

"Fine, but if you want a day when no one’s around, it might take a while to make that happen. So if you’re leaving, don’t expect another day anytime soon."

The elf had insisted that Damien’s "debt" be repaid by doing "one thing he asked, with no one else knowing about it." Although Damien had hesitated when he heard "one thing," the elf had sworn it would be nothing that would threaten his life or safety. So he’d decided to believe him.

And honestly, the fact that the elf insisted no one else know about this arrangement told Damien all he needed to know about what the "one thing" probably was.

Oh, well. If this was what it took to clear his debt to this crazy being, it was probably worth it.

"So, are you heading home?" he asked, watching the elf hover by the doorway, clearly unable to make up his mind.

"It doesn’t matter to me," Damien continued with a slight smirk. "This is what you want to get rid of, isn’t it?"

Drawing out his words, Damien added with a grin, "You’re... a vir-gin."

It was, honestly, starting to be fun watching the elf’s face flush deep red as he glared at Damien silently for a moment—before giving a tiny nod.

At that moment, Damien decided to keep quiet about the fact that he, too, was a virgin.

...

They sat facing each other on the bed, Damien cross-legged, while the elf sat primly on his knees, head down and silent.

They’d been sitting there a while, and the elf hadn’t said a word, almost like a child getting scolded.

When he first entered the room, he’d muttered, "What a terrible room," but it had sounded so forced, like he was trying to put up a front.

And after that, when Damien ignored the comment out of sheer annoyance, the elf had gone completely quiet.

The atmosphere felt stifling.

Ugh, Damien thought. This isn’t the kind of mood for something like this.

Fine, he’d take the first step.

"So, what’s your name?" he asked.

"Huh?" The elf looked up, startled by the question.

Damien thought calling him just "the elf" felt too impersonal, especially since this was his first time, after all.

"I’m Damien Crowell—just call me Damien. What’s your name?" Damien asked.

"Hmph! Why should I give my name to an inferior being?" the elf scoffed.

Damien could feel a vein in his temple pulse. This guy was infuriating.

"Alright then, ’Virgin’ it is," Damien replied.

"Wha—!? What’s that supposed to mean!?"

"Well, you won’t give me your name, and you’re, you know... a virgin," Damien teased, watching the elf scowl and sputter in indignation.

Bothering this guy was turning out to be unexpectedly fun.

After a moment of strained silence, the elf finally muttered, "Elyon."

"Huh?"

"That’s my name. Elyon Eilbanise. Don’t go saying it in front of others," the elf replied, still visibly irritated.

That’s cute name, Damien though.

"Fine then, Ely," he said with a grin.

"W-what? What’s this ’Ely’ nonsense!?"

"Well, you said I shouldn’t call you by your real name in front others, so I’ll just use a nickname. Ely," Damien said matter-of-factly.

Elyon’s face twisted in another frustrated scowl, but he seemed too flustered to argue.

"So, Ely, what are we doing tonight, then?" Damien continued, raising an eyebrow.

Elyon looked at him, suddenly flustered. "Uh... I mean... earlier, didn’t you—"

"Look, I’m just a lowly, dim-witted inferior being," Damien said with exaggerated innocence. "You’ll have to be clear if you want me to understand."

Elyon’s pointed ears turned bright red as he looked down again, his face also as red as his ears. Then, seemingly regaining some composure, he suddenly stood on the bed, pointing a finger down at Damien.