“Let’s talk about our future, shall we?” Hazeel gave me a dazzling smile, but her eyes betrayed her inner emotions: nervousness. I took a seat on one of the two beds in the room, and gestured to the other bed next to me.

“Please take a seat. I tried to give her the most reassuring smile I could muster, but she still seemed a bit off-kilter, sheepishly making her way over to the bed. After she took a seat, I started talking.

“What did you mean when you said, ‘our future?’ I’m sure you know where I’ll be going next.” The wood elf looked up nervously as if I had struck a nerve.

“Yes, but think about it for a second. One third of our group has just become the ruler of an entire country, and now we have a gap in our team.” She closed her eyes and exhaled before opening them once more. “Are we looking for more members before we head off to the gold country? If so, I know a place we could-”

I held up a hand to stop her and shook my head. “Not necessary. The entire reason I even considered signing up for a guild was to get information on a place where I could repair Dantae, and with that taken care of by Bella, I have no more need for anything in the Azure Kingdom.”

Hazeel looked down and mouthed the word, ‘anything’. Sitting up straight, she looked me in the eyes. “So what about our future?”

I cocked my head. “Didn’t I just give you an answer?”

Hazeel clicked her teeth. “You know what I mean. I- I would like to go with you to the Gold Continent if possible.”

“I don’t see why you can’t.”

She looked at me, stupefied by my answer. “Of course I can, I was asking more if you would like me to… as a special person.”

I cocked my head, so she sighed and started elaborating. “I want you to make a decision, Leo. I want you to tell me what you think our relationship is, and what you want from me. Most of all, I want to know what I can get from you.”

I looked at her, and thought for a moment before responding. “Our relationship is… difficult to describe. For the most part, it’s like employer and employee. We take on work together because it’s convenient and we enjoy each other’s company.” Her face lit up, but I wasn’t done yet.

“When it comes to anything further than that, the words I would use are master and slave. That’s mostly due to your own rashness at activating such a contract in the first place, but I digress.” Hazeel’s face lit up, but she said nothing. Taking that as a sign, I continued, “That’s about all I have to add."

Hazeel gave me an exasperated sigh and sat up straight. “Look Leo. I know you’re avoiding the most important issue, and the one I want to hear the most about. You know I’m attracted to you, Leo. I want to know how you feel about me.”

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I eyed her up and down. From her well-toned legs, her wide hips and moderately sized breasts, she was certainly attractive. Even if she was older than me, in terms of converting elf to human years, she wasn’t that much older. Plus, she had even revealed her will to become my slave.

“You are certainly attractive.” Her eyes lit up, and then dimmed again at my next words. “But I can’t make any moves on you in good conscience. Not while Dantae has yet to awaken, at least.”

“I get how what I asked could be misconstrued.” She got up and sat next to me, and inadvertently made our thighs touch. “I wasn’t asking if you found me attractive or not per-se, but rather if you loved- no, if you liked me in the way that you would a lover?”

The question startled me more than it should have. After all, I was long overdue getting called out on the ambiguity of my answers. Even I knew that. Still, I couldn’t help but think about how much more complicated my life had become since my time at the Clairborne Mansion.

Honestly, I had no idea whether I liked Hazeel in that way or not. I’d put so much of my energy into gathering resources to help me in this new world that I didn't really put too much stock into said resources' feelings towards me.

If a tool can be used, it will be used after all. I gazed into Hazeel’s eyes, and saw fear there. Probably the fear that I would throw her away, or worse, leave her to die by the curse she placed on herself. I sighed, something I’d seemed to be doing a lot of lately.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” I could see the hope in her eyes disappear as she listened in silence. “Let me be clear. I definitely don’t feel apathetic towards you. In fact, I would venture to say that I like you. A lot. But like and love are two completely different emotions.”

“Are they though?” She leaned closer to me, and put her hand on my thigh.

“At this point, yes.” I said, moving her hand off my leg. “Besides that, if I even wanted to think about having a relationship with you, I would need Dantae’s permission first.”

Hazeel sighed and moved back to her own bed. She lay down facing away from me. “She must be really special to you if you’re going that far for her.”

I smiled, not that she could see it. “Of course, I am her shield after all.” I lay back in my bed and blew out the lantern in between our beds.

A few awkward moments later, she mumbled, “Leo… you said earlier that Dantae would think I was attractive, right?”

I nodded, then remembered Hazeel couldn’t see me, so I said, “Yes, I did.”

“In that case,” she began, “there’s a non-zero chance we could end up together, right?”

“Yes.” I could only smirk at her optimism.

“In that case, I’ll accompany you until Dantae is repaired.”

“Sounds like a plan. It’s Vanessa, by the way.”

“What?”

“Her name is Vanessa. Dantae is more of a pet name.”

I heard rustling as Hazeel probably turned to look at me. “How’d she get a name like that?”

I turned to face Hazeel’s bed, the wood elf’s face barely visible in the dark. “That, Hazeel, is a long story.”

She turned onto her stomach, still facing me, and flashed a toothy grin. “We have time. If I’m going to be the lover of a woman I’ve never met before, I’d like to at least know a little something about her first.”

I rubbed my temples but continued. “You’re a pain sometimes, you know that?”

She stuck out her tongue at me. “It just accentuates the pleasure I bring that much more.”