Chapter 154: Second Layer of the Forest of Disruption? [15]
"Ah..." Lillian froze before slowly leaning away. She then sat on her knees and turned her face away as well. "I-is that so...?" She shyly scratched her cheek.
Silence then filled the air between them, turning it a bit awkward. That was until Lillian spoke up.
"T-thanks... So... where did you put my clothes?"
"I stored them in my earring. It'll be fine. I'll give them back after we leave the forest."
"I see..." Lillian then stared down at Marionette's lap.
She then moved forward and planted her face into her lap. This action of hers caused the woman to stiffen a bit.
The Assassin stared in surprise as Lillian rubbed her face against the centre of her lap, shocking her slightly.
"What are you—"
"Your lap is very soft and comfy, Marionette..." Lillian twisted her body around, so her face was facing the red-eyed woman.
"I should've done this a long time ago!" She giggled.
Marionette held her hands above Lillian's face, raising and lowering in hesitation. She eventually lowered them to the sides of the girl's face and rubbed them.
"Comfortable, hm? I suppose I can allow you to do this more from time to time."
"Ehhh~? Allow me? Would you really push little 'ol me away~?" She stared at Marionette, pretending to be saddened by her words.
Marionette gave a low hum before pinching her cheek.
Lillian squirmed under her merciless pinching, "O-ow! Hey!"
Marionette eventually pulled back her hand, "Don't be so dramatic." she muttered.
Lillian rubbed her cheek with a pout, "I was just joking..." She then moved her hand over her chest.
As she pressed her hand against her breasts, she noticed something... odd. Something... Missing.
She was missing her bra.
She slowly pulled her gaze towards Marionette to find her staring down at her with a raised brow. After noticing Lillian's attention on her, she said:
"Yes?"
"Did you take my bra?"
"..." She stared at the girl silently before nodding, "I did. It was dirty."
"Ah..." Lillian then grinned teasingly. "So you even saw them as well, eh~?"
Marionette, seeing this as another challenge, didn't back down this time. She smiled back, "Yes, I did. And I must say..." She leaned down, brushing the tip of her nose against Lillian's.
The white-haired girl shivered a bit, feeling Marionette's warm breath brush against her face. Not only that, but a slight blush appeared on her cheek at what she said next.
"Your chest was quite the sight to look at."
"Eh?" Before Lillian could respond, Marionette continued.
"So much so, in fact, even I got distracted by them for more than a second." She whispered, slowly moving her left hand down the side of Lillian's face.
She caressed her jawline and made her way down the side of her neck. She ran the back of her finger up and down it, eliciting a tremble from the girl.
Lillian timidly brushed her hand away and turned away from the woman. In a sceptical and quiet voice, she said:
"Am I really that pretty?" She knew she was above average, definitely. Even if it would be pretty narcissistic of her to think so. But... she had an unconscious feeling of wanting to hear Marionette say she was.
The smile on the Assassin's face widened a bit at Lillian's adorable expression. She then bent down to her ear and whispered in an almost sultry tone.
"Absolutely... I almost even want to try and convince you to let me see it again..."
It was at these words that Lillian finally pulled away.
Rolling to the side, Lillian got onto her knees. Cupping her ear, she stared at Marionette in shock, "H-huh!? W-what did you just say, right now?!"
Did Marionette really just say that?! It definitely wasn't what she heard, right? The Marionette she knew definitely wouldn't say something so perverse and inappropriate.
She then chuckled a bit nervously, "You're definitely joking, right?"
As she stared at Marionette's playful expression, she noticed the smile on her face faltered. Her face became stoic once more. And then her voice rang out:
"Of course. I was just joking."
Lillian breathed a short sigh of relief, ignorant of the slight hint of disappointment in Marionette's voice as she sighed as well.
The raven-haired woman then said:
"I think we should make camp here for tonight."
"Hm? How come?" Lillian asked with a tilt of her head.
"... Despite the potion healing your body to its supposed optimal condition. I'd rather not risk it."
"Ehh... But it's a High Potion." Lillian then waved her hand dismissively, "I'll be fine. We gotta catch up to the others—"
"No. We are staying here." Marionette chimed, stubbornly. It seemed she was quite adamant about not making Lillian exert herself more than she already had.
Lillian sighed and nodded in defeat, "Fine, fine. We'll do what you want." She couldn't help but feel that Marionette was becoming a lot more protective over her or something.
She then got up from the ground. She then paused before a massive smug grin appeared on her face.
"Oh yeah! I killed this massive-ass Spider, which was a Rank C monster with 3 Mana Shells formed! Isn't that cool!?" She asked, jubilantly.
This adorable reaction from her caused Marionette to give a rare chuckle of approval, "Yes. It absolutely is. I'm so proud of you for being able to kill something of that rank, Lillian."
"Hehehe..." Lillian giggled at the praise as she rubbed the back of her head. "So have you seen it? I wanna take another look at the thing."
Marionette nodded and pointed towards the right, "It should be over there."
Lillian nodded and took a step in that direction before stopping. She then turned back towards Marionette and asked, "Are you sure?"
"... Why wouldn't I be? Are you doubting my skills in discerning directions, Lillian?" Marionette asked, with a cute tilt of her head.
Her words caused Lillian to smile wryly, "Eh... Never mind... I'll just try and find it."
And fortunately, when she did move in the direction that Marionette pointed to, the Spider really was there. Dead.
But... Lillian recognised it looked a little... off...