Benjamin opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.
"Mhm. You don’t need to explain anything," she shook her head and smiled despondently. "From the way you spoke about the tree dwell—I mean, the Amazons—I realized that you truly loved them. So I completely understand wanting to go back. I also don’t want to be a source of pressure... to... to..."
Tears began to drip off her eyes, dropping on Benjamin’s stomach like melting gemstones. "I... don’t want to lose Ben-samaaaa."
Benjamin also furrowed his brows, then wrapped her in a warm embrace.
"C’mon, don’t cry. You’ll make me cry too. I’m more of a cry baby than you, you know!" He teased her, but she still sniffed and sobbed.
"Okay, get this; I promise to visit here every week. I now have this teleportation ability, so coming here might not be a total hassle... When I learn how to teleport properly, that is."
Aoi looked at his smiling, reassuring face with her big blue eyes, then she joined their lips again. Not that messy or hungry kiss, no. Just their firm lips on lips, staying together like that as her tears dripped some more.
The thing was, Aoi knew.
Sakura also knew.
Basically everyone aware of Benjamin’s kidnapping understood it.
Elara would never make the mistake of letting Benjamin out of her sight again. Maybe all the time, especially concerning matters with Shishi-no-su.
After all, that was exactly what Sakura and co. would do if they were in Elara’s shoes: exactly what they would do if someone stole Benjamin from them for half a month.
He was like a wonder drug they couldn’t live without. And letting him go was only due to their love for him, not their personal wish.
As Aoi released Benjamin’s lips, her big blue eyes twinkled up at him, shimmering like the lake under moonlight.
"Ben-sama, I love you very much. Please, I want you to know that."
Benjamin’s redness crept from his cheeks to his ears and neck, turning his skin a deep crimson. "Eh? But telling me that so suddenly..."
He looked at the blue fox girl again.
Her ears were flattened against her head in reluctant vulnerability, with her big eyes locked on his face with unobtrusive intensity, and her blue furred tail drooping low behind her like wilted petals.
The mere sight tugged at something deep in his chest.
Then he made a soft and sincere smile and patted her head, his fingers threading through her sleek blue strands.
"Aoi, you’re so adorable. I can’t not love you!" He squeezed her into another hug, his arms wrapping tight around her small frame, and her warmth seeping into him like sunlight.
...But Aoi was still having a gloomy expression.
’If you love me... Then don’t leave me,’ was her inner thought, unspoken but heavy in the atmosphere between them.
As they walked around the festival—it was a pretty large festival spanning a wide area, almost the entire district celebrating—Aoi was silent, until they met with Midori suddenly.
"Yo... I’ll have to borrow Ben-sama now." She raised her hand and took Benjamin without further speech, her fingers closing around his wrist with casual strength.
Aoi only nodded, looking at the ground.
Though, Benjamin protested, tugging back his arm lightly. "Hey, wait—"
But Midori ignored him, dragging him away through the crowd with purposeful strides.
MIDORI’S POV
Among my sisters, I am the least impressive one.
Kuro is deep, quiet, and highly introspective. She even wielded both darkness and light attributes with natural charm. Yukari is the same; multitalented, brilliant, and good at almost everything.
Aoi is the smallest and she was cute. Everyone wanted to kill just to see her or speak to her. Her presence alone lit up rooms.
Sumire is mature and thoughtful, sometimes acting as our leader, coming up with ideas and decisions that kept us going.
Akane is fierce, and everyone knew she didn’t condone nonsense. She could be a bit dishonest at times, but she even checks up on me regularly, asking if I was feeling down, and if I wanted to join them in scheming or mischief.
Ayaka is the embodiment of pride—even among us embodiments of pride. But her arrogance was almost cute, considering how she stood up for her family and publicly displayed it without shame... declaring she loved everyone, including me.
Gin made it seem like she lacked emotions, but she is actually really caring. She had a lot of amazing abilities and was the star of any event we held, always carrying herself with superiority and wisdom.
And I don’t need to say much about Sakura nee-sama. She is the pillar holding Shishi-no-su from breaking apart.
Several times I would see hints of frustration on her face, but if asked, she’d immediately become normal and say there was nothing wrong. She’s always shouldering everything herself.
She is a powerful and strong queen I adore, and basically a mother to us all.
But me? I was... nothing.
I do have the ability to control vegetation and plants, but in comparison to Gin or Ayaka’s ability to create treasures, I was just a helpful tender.
Compared to Sumire and Kuro’s command of darkness, I am simply mediocre.
I am not cute like Aoi, elegant like Ayaka, or intelligent like Gin. I am just plain.
And due to not wanting to be outdone, or forgotten, I turned to excess and debauchery.
At any rate, all my sisters—and basically most beastkin—are extremely sensual creatures. But I made myself heads and shoulders above them.
I had to be... or else I would be overlooked as the mediocrity.
I’ve lived my life like this for ages, concealing who I really am: a girl who loved to read books and fairytales, a girl who loved the quiet serenity of nature, a girl who would rather spend decades watching flowers bloom than drink, smoke, and laugh loudly like a hypocrite.
But it was the price to pay for not being disremembered as the "normal" one. That was far scarier.
But then... this aberration called Benjamin Mark appeared. And he changed my life without asking.
SOME DAYS AGO...
"C’mon, Ben-sama!" I raised my kimono up, stirring my pussy in front of his face. "Pussy-chan wants to gobble up your cock~"
"..."
But he was just sitting there, watching me as I stood before him with a bare pussy.
I know I’ve been doing this for eons, but it was still embarrassing at times. Especially when the victim didn’t react as expected.
"What? Cunt got your tongue?" I tried to break the awkward atmosphere with my blithe and teasing voice—the usual mask I wore every day.
He didn’t laugh, though. And he didn’t look away in embarrassment as he used to. And neither did he lunge at me like most men would do by now.
He just... observed me emotionlessly, like I was some specimen.