Leonel took long, deep breaths. Somehow, that one shot seemed to have drained him completely.

Looking up at the ceiling, he smiled bitterly. He had been partially joking when he spoke of the 40 kilometers and hour matter. But, why did it look like someone had been throwing darts at the ceiling?

Replaying it in his mind, Leonel realized that he had been right. It was at least a several hundred kilometer difference. And, the volume was much greater, giving it more impact.

Aina, who still kneeled before Leonel, her head having dodged out of the way, suddenly giggled.

Leonel choked. "… What you laughing about? It's not my fault you suddenly turned into a succubus."

Aina, though, only continued to giggle. She wasn't laughing at Leonel. Rather, she was laughing in happiness. For some reason, these series of events made her very happy. For just a moment, she seemed to forget all of her worries.

With the actions of a caring wife, Aina found a moist towel in her room and began to clean Leonel's cock with gentle strokes. This action left her at peace and also resurfaced some of her memories that made her smile deepen.

The truth was that Leonel stunk slightly of sweat right now. It wasn't anything too potent, but it was the truth nonetheless. After all, the two had just been at the Selection not much more than 20 or so minutes ago. Then, they probably used even more energy during their 'battle' just now.

After Leonel made his declaration, not a single other person dared to challenge him. What a joke, he had just single handedly wiped out the more elite members of Bear Rose. Was there even a point to continuing the Selection?

Still, Aina didn't care very much about Leonel's slight stink, even to the point of not minding to touch her lips to it.

That said, just because she didn't care, didn't mean Leonel didn't. It was part of that anxiety and realizing he was too late to stop Aina's actions that made him fail to control himself. In the end, he could hardly savor the feeling before he blasted off.

Leonel watched Aina work with a smile on her face, an indescribable feeling of warmth spreading through his chest. At that moment, he too realized that he loved her, loved her so much that his heart hurt.

Yet, for some reason, much like Aina, he didn't say those words aloud either.

Leonel pushed Aina's hand aside and scooped her up, catching her somewhat off guard. holds © this.

"Oof, you've gotten heavier."

Aina's brows shot up. "What did you say?!"

"Nothing, nothing!" Leonel laughed.

Leonel smiled. He found that Aina's every emotion seemed to have an area of effect to it. It was quite interesting, almost like she was imposing her will onto the world subconsciously.

The couple entered the bathhouse and began to clean themselves off. An air of comfortable silence hung between them as they helped each other. It was as though they had already been doing this for years.

"I didn't know my blood would be of such help to you." Leonel said after a while, helping Aina to shampoo her hair with his favorite apple scent. "If I had known, we could have done this long ago. How do you feel?"

Aina smiled. "I feel better than I have in a long time. The curse isn't gone, but it seems too afraid to surface."

Leonel nodded.

"I think it might be because of my Snowy Star Owl Lineage Factor and my Scarlet Star Force. I already awakened my Healing Branch and after my Innate Node recovered to its mature form, it subtly changed the characteristics of my Star, Light and Fire Elements…"

Aina's brows arched in understanding.

If Leonel's healing factor was combined with the destructive capability of his Scarlet Star Force, and especially the purifying characteristic of the Star Force aspects, then his blood would indeed be the bane of all poisons and curses.

This was only made better by Leonel's Mage Core. After synergizing with his body, Leonel's passing healing factor was more than tenfold stronger than it had been in the past.

"What do you think, can my blood heal you?" Leonel asked.

There was no better person to ask this question than Aina. Who better than her, with her ability to perfectly understand her body, to have the right answer?

Leonel was quite prepared to be disappointed by the answer, but he was shocked by the reality.

"I think so, yes. The curse has already been burnt away by more than a percentage point. Even though it's hiding, it's my body, I can easily find it. If my mind is clearer next time, shaving it down by even five or ten percentage points with the same amount of blood wouldn't be an issue."

Leonel grinned. This was a pleasant surprise, indeed. He had thought that he would need to do far more to find a cure for Aina, when the reality was that he was the cure.

"You know…"

Leonel blinked. "Hm?"

Aina turned back to meet his gaze, her supple breasts in full view. They looked like perfect droplets of ambrosia, shaped by the hands of a master sculptor. Their small, pink protrusions especially still made Leonel gasp for air even now. It was a lethal combination that ruined what was an otherwise wholesome moment.

Aina smiled but didn't seem to mind Leonel's gaze. She had gotten used to it.

"… Your blood is very valuable." Aina continued. "I only had a small bit of it, but I felt my strength take a large leap forward. Are you sure you want to give me so much of it?"

Leonel raised his brows. "What nonsense are you saying right now? Why would I care about any of that?"

Leonel shook his head, reaching a hand forward to caress Aina's cheek. Her skin had always been this soft, but without the trenches of her scars, it felt endlessly supple.

Aina pushed herself up to the tips of her toes, planting a gentle kiss on Leonel's lips.