Pillow talk.

You eventually find yourself sitting right on the shore of the stream, occasionally dipping your toe inside or brushing your fingers over the surface. Meanwhile, Nyllia sits right beside you, snuggling up tight to keep warm, as the two of you are both unclothed. Her hair is soft, though so is everything else, and her fingers tickle around your neck in such a relaxing manner as she plays with your hair and generally tends to your body. In return, you do the same, stroking a finger down her cheek before wrapping an arm around her to hold her close.

"I never thought... I would be able to do this," she says to break the silence. It wasn't at all awkward, of course. The quiet was comfortable, and nothing needed to be said. "Before I met you, I never did."

"You're so confident and, well to be frank, pretty forward and seductive when you want to be. I'm surprised."

"Yes, well it is not so simple I suppose. I have spent a long time being the noble knight of righteousness. A famous adventurer everybody knows. It is not as if I secretly wanted to do dirty things. Not at all. I have been happy doing what I have been doing. However, living such a proper life had become quite dull to me, and I started to think. I realized that the most fun I had was when I travelled with people who were not so..."

"You were used to working with the best of the best, and we were pretty much the worst at the time."

She giggles. "Hey. Do not count yourselves out so quickly. But I believe you still understand what I mean. My point is that a cute boy suddenly walked in on me bathing, yet I knew it was not something lecherous. The same boy who was all so green when it came to questing. Yet, I felt something in him. Right then and there, I had such devious thoughts, but I shook them away. It was not simply that you changed me. I am not trying to sound so cliché. But I started to think even more about... what actually makes me happy. Why I wanted to adventure, and what I wanted to use my power towards."

"When everyone knows you as someone so proper, it's scary to suddenly turn around."

"Are you saying I am not proper?"

You laugh and try to reply with, "I--"

She sticks out her tongue. "Not as much anymore. I do not care. People will know that I have turned to serve the Demon King up in the mountains, and it does not scare me at all. I have grown, and it is because of you and the others."

"When I first came to this world, well it's weird to explain, but I thought about these RPGs back home. Videogames, board games, uh I suppose shows and moves and stuff too. There's a trope where someone is sent to a fantasy word to be the hero that slays the Demon King. But things were so hard. I was frustrated, and I felt weak, like things weren't going how they were supposed to go. When I met you, I got excited again. The funny thing is you came across way more as the hero, like the protagonist of another story going on. And now after everything, I'm the Demon King? Well, whatever that title really means."

"Are you saying I, as the hero, must slay you~?"

"I think you already did."

She laughs and gives you a kiss on the cheek. "In these stories of yours, does the hero meet plenty of beautiful women?"

"Uh... Yes, actually."

"Interesting. And what happens with that?"

"Sometimes it actually becomes a full on harem, though in a lot of them, they keep it intentionally vague. Sometimes there's a harem but they have like a wife, or there's some kind of obvious main love interest but somehow he's still involved with other girls, whether that's because the story never ends, or they're just all in on it."

For a moment, things are quiet again. The two of you stare at the memorizing water flowing by.

"I know things are strange for you," she continues. "Perhaps you could have a so-called harem of your own, if that is what pleases you. Though if I may be so frank as well, if you do end up choosing one to love above all others one day in the future, I would not be so opposed to being that one, even if it means to share." Then she looks at you, and gives you an obvious wink.

A little flushed by the wink--a powerful move by Nyllia--you look at her with a smile before bringing your eyes back to the stream. "Aha, yeah. I've got a lot to think about. Between other Demon Kings, this so-called Hero King who replaced Catherine, whatever the future holds for my own weird body in relation to the class stuff, and everything else, I'd love to no longer have to worry. Rest in Castle Phoenix, and actually make a decision like that one."

"You will. One day. And you know, the girls feel the same. I think everyone is just happy to all be together, especially through everything that is happening."

With a relaxing sigh, you opt to spend even longer there, sitting alongside Nyllia. Even in silence, it's incredibly therapeutic. You have no idea how much time has passed since your first arrival and now, especially with the sun still hidden, but it does feel as if it's noticeably darker than before, meaning that behind the clouds, the sun has moved far enough to no longer send as much light through the opening in the canopy.

Nearby, a cute squirrel sniffs the grassy soil, and slowly makes its way surprisingly close to the both of you. It touches its nose to the water before reeling back and letting out a quiet sneeze. Then it returns to crawling about through the tall blades of grass near your leg.

"How cute," Nyllia says with a smile.

"I wonder what the little guy is up to."

"Well, winter is coming. He is likely hunting for some nuts to take."

With a sharp inhale through your nose, you cover your groin defensively and finally stand up.

Nyllia bursts into a fit of laughter.