A faint smile formed on Kuro's handsome face. Yet before he could say anything, Yang Guifei's eyes fluttered shut for a brief moment, and she leaned forward without the slightest hesitation.
The narrow distance between them vanished as something akin to a serpent, finding a hollow in the earth and a shortcut back to its nest, slipped through the final barrier that separated them.
Kuro fell silent.
And the moment it entered, the wandering serpent unexpectedly found its destined partner waiting on the other side, inviting it into a dance.
"Mmm... mmh..."
The serpent's movements were simple. At times it pulled, at times it coiled, hooked, and released, only to repeat the same pattern again and again, leaving its partner with little choice but to follow its lead.
"Mmm... nnh... haa..."
At the same time, their breaths intertwined, rising and falling together like the music that accompanied the dance of the two serpents.
Not long afterward, their faces parted slightly, leaving behind only a delicate thread between them, so fragile that the air itself seemed capable of carrying it away.
Yang Guifei's hands moved from Kuro's cheeks to his shoulders.
Her body seemed to soften as she drifted even closer, until the boundary between them all but disappeared.
Her gaze was hazy and unfocused, eyes shimmering with moisture, carrying the unmistakable look of someone thoroughly intoxicated.
"Hehe~ Emperor..." she murmured, her voice gentle and slow. "You're so handsome... and so sweet..."
Kuro let out a quiet sigh, sounding more amused than exhausted.
"At this point, you're not just drunk. You're probably under the influence of my charm and... perhaps Zen of Joy as well."
"Yuyu isn't drunk!" Yang Guifei protested immediately. "Master's talking nonsense... Master's the drunk one! A naughty mouth deserves punishment!"
"Punished by wha—"
Before he could finish, Yang Guifei leaned in once more and erased the thin boundary between them, allowing something like a serpent to return and invite its partner back into the dance.
For a brief moment, she pulled away.
"Punishment..." she whispered in a broken, lingering tone. "Sweet..."
Then she moved closer again and slowly pushed Kuro backward until he fell onto the wooden floor of the pavilion.
In the process, the diamond-shaped wine bottle beside them and the wine glass in Kuro's hand slipped free by accident. Both tumbled to the floor, spilling their contents across the wood.
Amid the haze clouding her thoughts, Yang Guifei suddenly froze. It was as if a clap of thunder had struck directly inside her mind.
The warmth flooding her head receded slightly, allowing a fragment of clarity to return.
Her eyes widened.
Then widened even further.
Realizing the situation she was currently in, Yang Guifei immediately pulled herself away from Kuro and retreated several steps back.
"Ah..."
A faint sound escaped her lips as Yang Guifei suddenly froze.
For several seconds, she simply stared at the aftermath around them—the spilled wine across the floor, the overturned bottle, Kuro lying on the wooden boards, and finally herself.
A visible blush quickly spread across her face.
"My Emperor..." Her voice sounded noticeably less steady than before. "I..."
Yang Guifei stopped midway.
For perhaps the first time since being summoned, she looked genuinely embarrassed.
Kuro slowly sat up and brushed a few drops of wine from his sleeve before glancing at her.
"Looks like you're finally awake."
There was a trace of amusement in his voice.
Yang Guifei immediately lowered her gaze.
"...Please don't remind me."
"Unfortunately, I was there for the entire thing."
The blush on her face deepened.
Kuro let out a small chuckle before standing up from the wooden floor. His eyes drifted toward the diamond bottle lying on its side nearby, its precious contents already spilled across the wooden boards.
"Looks like the effects of Zen of Joy were a little slower than usual this time because of the Orochi Wine."
Yang Guifei blinked.
"Zen of Joy?"
"Hm."
Kuro bent down, picked up the fallen bottle, and briefly inspected it.
"I never really explained it, did I?"
Yang Guifei shook her head.
"It's a sort of innate ability," Kuro explained. "The details are troublesome to explain, and honestly, some of its effects are a little mischievous."
"Mischievous?"
The corner of Kuro's lips lifted slightly.
"I think that's probably the safest way to describe it."
Yang Guifei studied him for a few moments before lowering her gaze again. For some reason, that answer only made her more curious.
Meanwhile, Kuro looked at the bottle in his hand and sighed.
"...Next time, I should probably give a warning before opening a bottle of Orochi Wine."
After saying that, Kuro picked up the diamond cup that had fallen not far from him. A golden portal appeared above it, pouring the same golden liquid as before.
Once the glass was filled enough, the flow stopped, and the Gate of Babylon disappeared.
Kuro raised the glass to his lips and took a sip of the wine while gazing at the artificial moon he had formed from a mass of ice high in the sky of the Mirror Dimension.
He did not think too much about what had just happened.
From the beginning, his only intention had been to sit back, have a drink, and calm his mind, which had been filled with various problems lately.
As for the Servants, including how to divide his time among them, he could think about that later.
For now, the matter of territory and establishing a base was far more urgent.
On the other side, Yang Guifei also gazed silently at the artificial moon.
"Master..." she said gently. "If you have so many problems, perhaps it would be better to untangle them one by one."
Kuro turned his head slightly.
Yang Guifei continued.
"Like loosening a tangled knot. If you unravel it one strand at a time, eventually, the solution will reveal itself."
Kuro fell silent.
His red pupils widened slightly before slowly returning to normal. A few seconds later, he turned toward Yang Guifei.
"...You're right." He smiled faintly. "Rather than trying to solve everything at once, it's better to deal with them one at a time."
Yang Guifei answered with a gentle smile.
"This concubine, Yuhuan, is happy to be of help to the Emperor."
Kuro let out a soft chuckle before taking another sip of the wine in his hand.
For the first time in several days, his mind felt a little lighter.
He raised the wine glass in his right hand and drained it, holding a small portion back instead of swallowing it immediately.
After setting the empty glass down on the wooden floor, that same hand moved behind Yang Guifei's head and gently drew her closer.
Yang Guifei's eyes widened in brief surprise as the thin boundary between them vanished. A moment later, her eyes drifted shut, allowing something to flow softly between them, like a serpent delivering its sweet venom.
"Mmmm... haa.. glup..."
Her breathing grew heavier, becoming a note within an unspoken melody. A faint blush gradually returned to her cheeks, and her eyelids remained closed for a moment.
"Mmmh... nnh... haa... slurp..."
When the flow finally ceased, something like a serpent moved once more along the narrow trench that separated them, as though searching for its partner to continue the dance.
Their movements were simple—almost mundane, familiar even—but that simplicity had long since become something uniquely their own.
A moment later, Kuro pulled back slightly, giving Yang Guifei the chance to steady her breathing and slowly open her eyes.
"Haa..." she exhaled softly. "Master... if you keep doing things like that, I might lose my focus again."
A gentle smile appeared on Kuro's face as he looked at her.
"Why do you sound like you dislike it?" he asked. "I was only showing my appreciation for your achievement. Naturally, in a way that feels familiar to you."
A faint smile curved Yang Guifei's lips. She lifted both arms and wrapped them around Kuro's neck.
"You know, something familiar to me can be quite dangerous, Master," she replied. "And yet you don't seem affected by my charm at all."
After a brief pause, a soft blush spread across her beautiful face.
"Instead, I find myself becoming enchanted by you," she continued. "You're so beautiful... like a painting that has stepped out from its canvas."
The distance between them gradually disappeared once more, leaving only a paper-thin boundary between their breaths.
This time, they allowed their two serpents to dance together, accompanied by the quiet melody of mingling breaths.
At the same time, Kuro's left hand moved like a serpent of its own, gliding toward a hidden garden concealed beneath the layers of Yang Guifei's dark garments.
Yang Guifei's body reacted ever so slightly. Her shoulders trembled for a brief moment before slowly relaxing, allowing herself to drift along with the current carrying her away.