Mage Manual-Chapter 1470 - 1070: Morning Kiss (Part 2)

At the same time, the wonder of the "Dark Demon Form" completely collapsed, and most of the Technique Spirits annihilated themselves from sheer exhaustion. The spectral mist could provoke the weary Technique Spirits into giving 120% effort through the threat of despair, but the inevitable cost was their immediate death... But what did it matter? After all, they were just a bunch of Technique Spirits.

But now, I can finally deal with Vishi—

Thud!

The spectral mist’s body shuddered, and unexpectedly, a look of reluctance appeared on his cruel and violent face: "Give me ten more minutes... Three minutes, three minutes at least... Just one minute would do, let me say a word to her..."

He seemed to have lost all his strength as his Void Wings retracted, and he fell straight into the blood-red sea.

"The sea breeze..."

Ash opened his eyes and murmured quietly, "It is indeed very soothing."

Snap. His soul was so fatigued that he didn’t even want to move a finger, allowing himself to descend into the lightless deep sea. Yet somehow, in the dark, gloomy seabed, he could still smell a strong aroma of smoke.

He looked at Death Mad sinking with him and suddenly felt like he’d encountered a creditor in a public bath.

"25%, I’ve taken it," Death Mad said calmly.

Ash looked at her, his eyes querying, but he stayed silent. Death Mad diverted her gaze and blew a perfect smoke ring: "You’ll soon know what you’ve lost. It’s not power, not life, but..."

"Yourself."

...

...

When sunlight squeezed through the cracks, Ash instinctively made a lazy snort, turning his head to avoid the light.

After a while, his nose twitched as he caught a faint scent of honey, his eyes opening a slit, and there he was, face-to-face with the maid, their noses practically touching.

Vishi lay sleeping sweetly beside him, her pink hair spread across the pillow, sunlight casting a milky luster on her cheeks, with each eyelash like frost formed by radiant dew, the playful shimmer dancing on her cute little nose.

Ash gazed at her blankly, lowering his gaze to see the deep cleavage formed by the softness within the maid’s corset. He pondered for a while, deciding to enjoy the view for a bit.

"Aren’t you going to touch?" A lazy teasing voice came from beside him.

Ash instantly flinched, looking at Vishi, his face flushing red, seemingly at a loss. Vishi blinked, realizing, "Don’t worry, the Sword Maiden and others aren’t behind you, only I know that you secretly peeked at my body... No, you’ve practically watched openly, just short of using your eyes to undress me."

"The Sword Maiden..." Ash blinked, "Where did they go?"

"It’s almost noon now. They saw you hadn’t woken up in the morning, and since today’s the open day of the local Technique Spirit black market, they went to see if there were suitable Technique Spirits." Vishi propped her cheek, "You can share your Hell experiences when they return, so you won’t have to repeat it twice."

"Hmm."

"Do you want to sleep more?"

"...Hmm."

"Do you want a good morning kiss?" Vishi teased with a mischievous grin, revealing her wicked little fangs.

It stands to reason that Vishi shouldn’t make risky jokes when it’s just her and Ash alone because it’s been proven multiple times that Ash is capable of retaliating against her. However, Vishi thought it over for a night and realized that Ash selectively retaliates. Compared to ’love,’ he leaves Vishi flustered more in ’desire,’ and if Vishi insists on making lewd jokes, he’d actually rise to the challenge.

So Vishi wanted to test teasing him from the ’love’ aspect, confident that Ash would never show any affection. In her mind, Ash would either turn his head away in refusal or brazenly rise to the challenge; either way, she could further test Ash’s limits.

However, Ash’s response took her by surprise. He looked at her wide-eyed, clutching his quilt tightly, saying nothing, his lips pressed tight, like a raccoon that had let down all its defenses... Vishi froze; it was the first time she had seen his eyes without a hint of cautiousness.

After hesitating for a moment, she lifted a strand of hair and leaned in to peck Ash’s lips lightly. Soft, comforting—it was unlike the last time they kissed when her attention was entirely attracted to Ash’s techniques, leaving no room to savor his taste.

But that couldn’t test Ash’s limits at all, so Vishi’s eyes shifted, and she said: "Your turn now."

"Huh?"

"A good morning kiss is mutual; it’s etiquette. I gave you one, now it’s your turn to give me one." Vishi concocted offhandedly, her eyes intently focused on Ash’s attitude.

This time, you won’t even have the chance to be passive; decisively refuse and let me see your limit!

Yet Ash neither refused nor acted decisively. He hesitated for quite a while before slowly reaching out towards Vishi. He was so cautious, constantly watching Vishi’s expression, seeming ready to curl up under his quilt at the slightest sign of her displeasure.

His movements were so stiff it was as if it was his first time getting close to a maid, every hair brimming with tension.

Unexpectedly, Vishi herself also grew nervous, staying stock-still as Ash approached, yet feeling an urge to flee. Being a Prophetic Demigod, she suddenly had a strange intuition—that this was the last chance, and if she didn’t flee now, it would be over.

Ash gave her ample time to escape, and with every second, Vishi’s urge to flee soared higher, but perhaps out of pride or confidence, she forced herself to suppress the impulse.

However, the moment Ash’s fingertip touched her, Vishi’s danger intuition exploded to the extreme, making her want to jump away like a rabbit from the second floor... but she couldn’t because Ash embraced her neck, gently pressing his lips against hers.

It was devoid of any excess intimacy, a polite-level kiss that ended as quickly as it began, leaving Vishi no time to even feel it. She logically shouldn’t have had any thoughts, but the problem was... this was a kiss without any reason.

It wasn’t to search for memories, nor to explore clues, it was just a simple, purely emotional... good morning greeting.

"I’m going to prepare lunch; the drink is on the bedside cabinet!"

In one swift motion, Vishi got up, opened and closed the door, fleeing the bedroom at a Demi-God Level speed, leaving only a hurried lunch announcement behind, as if she enjoyed cooking that much.

Ash pondered on the bed for a moment, picking up the can of milk coffee on the bedside cabinet, walking over to open the window. The outside temperature remained low, yet the gentle warmth of the sunlight mingling with the breeze against his face felt comfortably diffused.

"So comfortable." He gulped down a large mouthful of milk coffee, speaking softly: "It’s so good to be back."

Seated on the edge of the bed, Ash looked up at the patterns on the ceiling, gently breathing out white vapor: "She knows the Sword Maiden and others... She will wait by my side for my return... Also, my heart indeed holds..."

"Which means, she should be a close person to me..."