Chapter 591: Bonus - 59: Gold god and Pink Girl: Golden Glance

"Maste—I mean, Benjamin... I... I was thinking if you were..." Vaelora hesitated, searching. Her fingers still rested lightly against his tunic. "I mean, I yearn for your touch, Benjamin. We have only done it a few times in the past. So I hope you have not lost interest in me."

Benjamin chuckled, the sound low and warm in the quiet of the room.

It was the kind of laugh that seemed to come from somewhere deep in his chest, unhurried and easy, carrying a weight of fondness that filled the small space between them.

He reached out and patted her head, his palm settling lightly against the soft pink curls, fingers brushing once through the strands as if to steady her, as if to remind her that, as she was there, nothing else in the world needed to matter.

"What was that?" he asked, still smiling, his voice with that same warm amusement. "So you thought I could just move on from such a darling fairy like yourself? If you want..."

His hands shifted, settling firmly around her small waist, fingers curling against the fabric of her gown.

He pulled her forward until their bodies pressed fully against each other, the fabric of his tunic meeting the gown, the heat of him unmistakable through the thin layers, the steady beat of his heart a quiet rhythm against her own.

"...we could do it right now."

Joy flooded her body from the proposal.

The feeling rose so quickly it left her breathless, a sudden rush of warmth that started somewhere in her chest and spread outward until it reached the tips of her fingers and the ends of her toes.

Her face and neck turned a deep red, color blooming from her cheeks down the column of her throat and across the tops of her shoulders, a flush so bright and sudden that it seemed almost to glow in the dimness of the room.

Inside her mind the thought formed clear and grateful: [Thank goodness... He hasn’t forgotten me in the midst of all the other outstanding and notable women around him.]

Then—

"...?!"

Suddenly Vaelora jolted.

The soft, open expression vanished as if a door had slammed shut deep inside her mind.

Her posture went rigid, every muscle in her small frame going tight at once, and she looked serious in a way that did not belong to the moment they had just been sharing...

As though some private revelation had struck her without warning; or maybe some distant voice had called her name and she had no choice but to listen.

Benjamin’s smile faded into concern. He kept one hand at her waist but leaned back just enough to see her face properly, his blue eyes searching her features for some explanation.

"What happened? You suddenly look tense."

She did not answer at once. The silence stretched between them, thin and taut, filled only by the sound of the soothing whisper of wind beyond the window.

She stared into the middle distance, past his shoulder, past the orange light still lingering at the window, as if something far away had called her name and she was deciding whether to answer.

After a long moment she closed her eyes. When she opened them again the change was immediate.

"Eh?" Benjamin’s eyes widened. The word came out half-formed, startled, almost disbelieving. "Vaelora, your eyes..."

Where her eyes had been the familiar soft pink, they were now a beautiful, slightly glowing gold.

The color held light of its own, gentle but palpable, as though someone had lit a small lamp behind each iris.

Vaelora flustered at once. She lifted both hands and waved them in small, rapid motions, the gesture of someone trying to brush away attention before it could settle.

"Ah, please pay it no mind, Benjamin. For some reason my eyes turn gold when I am overcome with gladness. It will eventually revert back to its former pink. Truly. It is only a passing thing."

Benjamin still wore a skeptical look of concern. His blue eyes searched hers, lingering on the new color, tracing the edges of that golden light as though trying to read something written beneath it.

"Are you sure...?" he asked. "Well... if you say so."

Inside his own mind the quieter voice spoke, directed at the presence that usually answered him without delay.

[I don’t think she’s lying, but she seems to be hiding something... don’t you think, Sys?]

{...}

[Huh? Sys...? Did she fall asleep? Or wait—! I hope you’re not ignoring me?!]

{...}

The silence from the Ego Partner remained complete, so Benjamin let the matter go for now.

He had been overworking that companion for a while; silence was not entirely surprising. He returned his full attention to the fairy in his arms.

Vaelora fidgeted. The motion was small but continuous—shoulders shifting, fingers curling against the front of his tunic, gaze flicking up to his face and then away again as if the sight of him were too bright to hold for long.

"S... So..." she began, the single syllable uncertain, hanging in the air between them like a question that had not yet found its shape.

Benjamin’s smile returned, softer this time. He chuckled under his breath.

"Hehe. What are you doing being so adorable?" He wrapped both arms around her and stood in one smooth motion, lifting her with him as though she weighed nothing at all.

He spun once, the room turning around them in a brief blur of orange light and pale walls, then dropped them both back onto the bed.

She landed half across his chest, her pink hair spilling over his shoulder, and one wing draped loosely across his side.

"If you want to do some innocent virgin play," he said, voice warm with amusement, "I’m down for it."

Vaelora was still blushing intensely. The color had returned even deeper than before, a crimson tide that seemed to have no end.

She gazed at him from her place against his chest as if this were the first time she had ever looked at him properly—eyes wide, gold still faintly glowing, lips parted on an unfinished breath.

"Oh... The real..." Her voice trailed off.

Benjamin’s hand rose and rested lightly against her upper back. "Is everything really alright?"