Liel gasped.
Eyes widening in alarm.
Her hands flew instinctively to her chest—now fuller, noticeably more mature than moments ago.
Color flooded her face in a violent rush. With a panicked squeak, she dropped straight to the floor, knees drawn tight, arms wrapped tight around herself in a frantic attempt at modesty.
Despite her sudden growth, her emerald eyes remained unchanged—still wide, still brimming with innocence and wonder.
Only her hair told the story of her evolution: silver-white strands cascading past her shoulders, their tips brushed with a soft cyan glow.
Luci, too, had shifted. Her figure carried a new elegance, curves undeniable yet borne with unshaken composure.
One arm rested casually across her chest, posture modest yet utterly unbothered.
Short jet-black hair framed her pale face.
Crimson eyes gleamed with their usual quiet melancholy, A small fang peeked at the corner of her lip— subtle, but unmistakably vampiric.
Lien was the opposite of composed.
"Master! Look!" he shouted, vibrating with excitement. "My hair changed!"
He ran both hands through his short silver-white hair, streaked with the same faint cyan glow as Liel's.
A single stubborn strand still stuck upright, as irrepressible as its owner.
His frame had stretched as well—lean muscle, longer limbs, energy sparking off him like static.
And then there was Thog.
The black orc's frame had reforged into something even more formidable.
His inky skin deepened into a sleek steel-gray, smooth and unyielding.
His already massive physique thickened further, every muscle defined like chiseled stone.
On each wrist, two swirling black tattoos burned like ancient brands—marks of strength, ancestry, or perhaps something older.
His deep earth-brown eyes gleamed sharper, colder. He flexed once, slow and deliberate, a rumble of approval shaking his massive chest.
Piers watched all of it with his usual unreadable, half-lidded stare.
They really did evolve completely…
Then Luci moved.
Her steps were soundless, too fluid. A faint, unreadable smile lifted her lips.
Piers's gaze sharpened.
She's definitely up to something.
Before he could retreat or complain,
She bent without warning and lifted him clean off the ground—
—drawing him into her embrace like something fragile and irreplaceable.
Her serene smile remained soft.
Her crimson eyes, however, glimmered with unmistakable mischief.
"Oi—" Piers started, only for his words to vanish as Luci pressed him closer, burying his face against her now-curvier, undeniably larger chest.
His muffled voice came out flat and unimpressed.
"Mmh—?" His eyes peeked up, half-lidded."…What exactly are you doing?"
Her skin was warm, her hold firm—too firm.
Is this her idea of a hug—or a new spell? Shadow suffocation?
She didn't even blink."I am covering myself,"
"…With my face?"
A faint blush touched her pale cheeks, though her tone stayed perfectly serene.
"I don't have clothes, So I am using you."
Piers blinked into her sternum, unimpressed.
"…Is that really the correct method?"
"You have to take care of it,"
Luci replied, as if stating a universal law.
Behind them—
"EhhHHHHH?!"
Liel lurched upright with a strangled squeak.
Her emerald eyes went huge, wavering between jealousy, embarrassment, and full-blown panic.
One arm clamped desperately across her newly matured chest; the other trembled as she pointed at Luci.
"H-Hey! Wh-What are you doing, Luci?!" she shrieked, voice cracking like a kicked kettle.
Luci turned her head slowly.
Her serene expression curved… into a smug, almost villainous smile.
That one smile made Liel's entire face explode cherry red. A vein throbbed at her temple.
"H-Hey!!" she yelped again, stumbling forward while still trying to cover herself.
"You're—you're being totally indecent! And right in front of Piers-sama!"
"Indecent?" Luci echoed mildly. Her grin widened.
"I'm simply allowing our Master to do what comes naturally."
Her crimson eyes glimmered with calm mischief as she tilted her head.
"Unlike some, I don't feel the need to hide what I earned from evolving."
Her gaze flicked to Liel's fumbling arms—then she pulled Piers even snugger against her chest, smug and deliberate.
"Wh-Wh-Wh—Y-You—!" Liel sputtered, her whole face deepening into volcanic red.
"It's not about hiding—it's about dignity! Modesty! Basic decency!"
she cried, flailing helplessly.
"You can't just—just shove your boobs in his face like that!"
"Why not?" Luci purred, tightening her hold like a smug cat cuddling its favorite toy.
"Master is quite comfortable. Aren't you, Piers-sama?"
"D-Don't answer that, Piers-sama!!"
Liel wailed, launching herself forward in a flustered blur.
In an instant, Piers was smothered from both sides—caught in what could only be described as a full-scale boob pincer attack.
The two girls wrestled above him, their new curves colliding like rival weapons of mass distraction.
Meanwhile, his eyes—still buried—remained perfectly flat.
Unmoved.
Unimpressed.
Possibly traumatized.
From a safe distance, Gyuunyuu hovered silently.
Her gaze drifted from her tiny bottle body… to the teenaged curves waging war over her Master's face.
"…Unfair," she muttered, wilting midair like a sagging balloon.
"Master sure is… lucky," Lien said with a goofy grin.
"Indeed," Mutou intoned. The faint flicker in his flame was—by his standards—laughter.
Thog could only stare, a giant sweatdrop rolling down his stone-grey temple.
"Enough, you two."
Piers's voice sliced through the chaos like a blade through fog.
With surprising strength and zero hesitation, he planted his tiny palms firmly against the sides of their overblown chests.
"Skill: Matter Forging."
FWOOM!
Mana flashed.
In an instant, scraps of leather and oversized leaves materialized, snapping into shape with uncanny precision—makeshift tops sturdy enough to hold, light enough to move in.
Luci stepped back,
brushing her fingers over the leafy fabric.
"These are good and light, Piers-sama,"
she said serenely,
as if nearly suffocating him between her new curves had been a perfectly normal afternoon activity.
"Work with it for now,"
He replied flatly, brushing imaginary dust from his hands.
"I'll make something more coverable outside."
A tiny, shaky gasp slipped from Liel.
Tears welled in her emerald eyes. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her warm, trembling face into his small shoulder.
A soft, hiccup-like snort escaped her—half a sob, half a laugh—as raw relief loosened her whole body.
"Thank you, Piers-sama,"
she beamed, voice quivering with gratitude.
"It's fine. Don't mention it," he muttered, unimpressed as always. But he didn't push her away.
He exhaled and turned back toward the open reward box.
"Alright. Let's check the artifacts."
Liel pulled back, still glowing with relief, while Luci adjusted her leafy top with effortless composure.
Their earlier quarrel dissolved into silence as the group clustered around the chest.
* * *