"Ha-Hanami!" Irene exclaimed, surprised.
The woman she had previously rescued from the snow, who had disappeared from the castle for many days, was sitting in front of her under the moonlight, though she looked very different from the last time.
She no longer had that exhausted, pitiable expression from her time in slavery, but a coquettish, somewhat seductive smile. Instead of wearing tattered fabrics, she now wore a beautiful purple dress with white and gold trim that revealed her slender, pale shoulders in a very erotic way.
What stood out the most was her enormous witch hat and the pointed ears that Irene hadn't noticed the first time.
'So sexy… What a gorgeous woman! She would definitely be an SSR unit, and I'd spend all my obelisks on her and her weapon! Why don't I look like that? I envy her. Wait. I already have another body—I can show off my curves too!'
A little giggle escaped Hanami's glossy lips as she spoke while standing up and walking toward Irene.
"Your scent is really delicious," she said, sniffing her, as Irene stumbled back until she fell onto the bed.
Hanami crawled across the mattress until she was over Irene, but without touching her body. She sniffed and murmured:
"Ahh~ I can also smell blood under your conditioner. Is it that time of the month?"
Irene blushed and instinctively covered her crotch. Hanami laughed charmingly and stepped back. Her posture was confident, her body language self-assured. When she stood, she made space for Irene to sit on the mattress.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner, princess. I needed time to recover, eat a lot, and dress like I used to." She twirled, lifting the folds of her dress in the process.
"W-why didn't you come through the front door?"
"And go through all those security checks that take hours? Never!" she complained, shrugging. "Besides, I wanted to avoid running into your elf girlfriend. She's not very flexible."
"Rynelle and I aren't girlfriends, just best friends," Irene replied naturally, kneeling on her bed.
"Eh? Oh, really?" Hanami held her chin, looking down. "My intuition failed me. Well, that means you're single, right?"
"Um?" Irene muttered as Hanami moved closer again.
"And now you're defenseless in front of me, in your dark room," she traced her fingers slowly along Irene's arm. "That's practically an invitation for me to assault you…" she said in a coquettish, seductive tone. "And I really have a hard time controlling myself, you know?"
Hanami stopped just a few centimeters from Irene's face. Their hot breaths collided in the air. They fell silent, suspended in an uncomfortably intimate closeness. Irene decided to break it:
"W-what are you doing here?"
Hanami smiled, relaxing her eyelids into a flirty gaze. As she spoke to Irene, she ran her fingers along the kitsune's neck as if pretending to walk her hand across it.
"I wanted to thank you for helping me. Also, I won't deny that I'm curious to meet my savior. Or is it that we can't be friends?"
That last question sent shivers down Irene's spine as Hanami traced her index fingernail along her neck. Seeing her tremble, Hanami smiled gently.
'Her innocence makes me want to assault her,' Hanami thought.
Hanami waited for a response, but was puzzled when she didn't get one. When she focused on Irene, she noticed her downcast, flushed gaze; even seeing her breath escape her mouth, she immediately understood what it was about.
"Did you give up so quickly? Or did I come at a bad time because of your period? Are you in that vulnerable stage?"
Irene looked away with a soft sound of discomfort. Hanami understood and decided to stop teasing her. She stepped back from the bed and spoke in a more natural tone:
"My words about wanting to be your friend aren't false. I'm a very curious woman, and I think it's normal to feel attracted to the person who saved my life. Of course, if you reject me, I won't insist. I'm even willing to formalize our friendship by going through all that guard inspection routine at the castle."
Irene breathed to calm herself. She knew she was already in adolescence, and her hormones were wild at all times, but she couldn't get aroused that easily.
"I can be your friend," Irene said. "But you'll have to be accepted by Rynelle first."
"That elf who isn't very flexible," Hanami replied, scratching the back of her head.
"Yes. Rynelle is my best friend, and I respect her judgment too much; besides, she's the one who protects my life, and I don't want to ignore her opinion on anything. It's my way of thanking her for so much and valuing her presence."
"I see… Then I'll go meet her too. Do you know where she is now?"
Irene looked up, placing her index finger on her lower lip.
"Hmm. I think she should already be in her room at this hour, but knowing her, it's better if you wait until tomorrow."
"I understand. Do you have any advice for me to earn her trust?"
"Yes, plenty," she replied, nodding with a smile. "But I won't tell you. If I did, it wouldn't be an approach, it would be manipulation. You'll have to get to know her your own way."
Hanami sighed, holding her waist. Thinking about everything she had to do felt like a hassle.
"Listen, little fox, I'll only accept your request because I genuinely want to be your friend, but that elf doesn't interest me at all."
Irene smiled with a subtle giggle between her lips and replied, swishing her tail:
"Rynelle is the most amazing woman you could ever meet, and also the nicest. At first glance, she doesn't seem like it because of her seriousness and grumpy face, but she's simply incredible. I adore her."
◇◆◇
Hanami breathed in the fresh, pleasant air at the highest tower of the castle. The night was cold, and the full moon made her feel more alive and free than ever. The wind tousled her long ash-colored hair and the folds of her purple outfit.
"I suppose my first side mission will be to talk to that guard," she said softly, coming out of her trance. "Or will it be a main mission?"
Her lips curved into a smile, letting out a short chuckle.
"At least she's an elf; naturally, they're good with magic and I could use some advice. Although now that I think about it, that little fox and that elf are long-lived species too, so maybe this really is a main mission."
Finishing her talk with the moon, she leapt away from the castle and disappeared into the darkness of the night.