The Demon Queen's Royal Consort

05:00

You know that feeling of throwing yourself onto the bed, yearning for restorative sleep, expecting perfect rest? The body relaxes, muscles surrender to the softness of the mattress, and the mind quiets into slow, calm thoughts.

My body begged for deep sleep. Darkness enveloped me like a cloak, isolating me from the outside world.

And then, magic happened.

Life crushed me like a baker kneading dough. Seconds after surrendering to sleep, I woke up to find that daylight had already arrived. My body felt worse than before, as if I had been run over.

That was the magic that happened to me.

My body shut down the moment Dália and I reached the peak of pleasure. Like a system reboot, shutting down its functions to preserve the hardware's integrity. It can happen for various reasons, such as high temperatures or system errors.

In my case, it happened due to sensations far beyond anything I had ever experienced. My brain interpreted the signals of exhaustion, fatigue, and overwhelming pleasure receptor stimulation as an opportunity to reboot.

At least, I think that's what happened.

Everything would've been fine, if not for the fact that, mere seconds after my eyes closed, I was jolted awake by ice-cold water being thrown in my face.

"Aaaaaaaah!" I screamed, startled.

The dissonance in my perception of time hit me hard, clouding my awareness and lucidity. My vision was heavy, every muscle in my body trembled, and my memories were hazy.

Beside my bed, two Lesleys, both clad in battle armor, held an empty bucket.

"Why are there two of you?" I asked, struggling to form words.

Lesley furrowed her brows, leaned in closer, and took in the scent exuding from my body. Some kind of understanding dawned on her face.

"So, Rose has already started," Lesley inferred.

"Someone had quite the eventful night," she said with acidic humor.

"Get up and get ready, Sleeping Beauty. You have five minutes."

Lesley's words sounded distant and muffled. If it weren't for my drenched body and bed, I would've rolled over and gone back to sleep.

"Five minutes, got it," I mumbled drowsily.

I tried to move my legs, but they felt like they weighed a ton, taking far longer than normal to finally plant my feet on the floor.

I pushed myself to stand, but the moment I got up, my knees buckled, and I collapsed first onto my knees, then face-first onto the ground.

"Haaa, come on!" Lesley shouted in pure frustration.

My mind was spinning along with the world, pain stretching from my pelvis to my head.

"Fuck, what the hell is happening?" I thought.

That's when I felt a strong, rigid hand grasp my left ankle. Before I could even process what was happening, my body began sliding across the floor.

My mouth scraped against the polished jade floor, the taste of stone invading my mouth. With great effort, I lifted my head and turned toward Lesley, who was dragging me effortlessly.

My double vision started merging into one, and I realized she was hauling me toward the bathroom door. It didn't take more than a few seconds before she kicked it open and pulled me inside.

Lesley had barely dragged me a meter into the bathroom before I felt a powerful push from my ankle.

An unnatural force catapulted me toward the hot spring. My body spun chaotically through the air, my vision unable to focus on anything.

"Splaaaaaaaaaaash!" My back smacked against the water's surface.

Lesley had thrown me straight into the thermal baths.

The impact of the warm water, combined with the adrenaline of the throw and the full-body immersion, shocked my senses awake.

"Aaaaah!" I gasped, breaking the surface.

My heart pounded furiously as my breathing tried to stabilize my body.

"Four minutes left. I'll see you in the dining hall," Lesley called out before leaving the bathroom.

"What the fuck was that?" I muttered in disbelief. "She literally threw me into the hot springs!"

Soaking wet and, as always, completely naked, I quickly moved to get dressed and head down to the dining hall.

"Everything's spotless," I noted about the bathroom.

No splintered wood from the broken tub, no traces of semen anywhere.

Dragging myself in front of the mirror, I let out a long sigh.

"Pheeeew," I exhaled, staring at my reflection.

I looked wrecked, deep dark circles under my eyes, spontaneous tremors occasionally shaking my legs and arms. A silent fatigue weighed down on my shoulders.

"Makes sense. A virgin losing his virginity and fucking nonstop for hours on end. HAHAHA. Being an Awakened is fucking awesome," I grinned, acknowledging how absurdly good everything had been.

"What?" I stared at my own reflection.

"Did you think I'd say I feel like shit? Of course not. She came!!!" I gave myself a thumbs-up in the mirror.

I quickly dressed in training gear, similar to what I wore on the day of my Awakening. I tried to hurry down to the ground floor, where the dining hall was located.

The dining hall was divided into two sections: a large one, capable of feeding over three hundred people at once, and a more intimate one, a small, cozy room with a rectangular table about four meters long and a meter and a half wide.

Twelve cushioned chairs were positioned with meticulous precision. At the head of the table, Lesley was eating a few slices of bread and drinking something I assumed was tea.

"You're two minutes late," she said. "You'll run double the distance and perform double the endurance drills."

"What?" I asked, confused.

She ignored me and continued her meal. At the far end of the dining area, a large and well-equipped kitchen was installed. But only Dália was moving energetically within it.

Apparently, only a small section of the kitchen was operational, which made sense, there were only three people in the entire complex.

I sat to Lesley's right, and Dália quickly served me a hearty breakfast. I couldn't hide my embarrassment.

'Give me a break, I was a virgin until a few hours ago!'

Dália hummed happily in the intimate dining room. Her hair was slightly damp, gleaming even more than I remembered from last night. Tied up in a simple ponytail, her skin radiated vitality, and her crimson eyes gave off a sensation as if they could shoot lasers.

A slap to the back of my head snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Hurry up, we've got a lot to do," Lesley said.

I shelved my questions for later and focused on the matters at hand. I quickly devoured two portions of eggs with generous slices of bread. A piece of white meat, steaming atop a hot plate, caught my attention.

Its taste was impressive, it seemed grilled like fish, but it wasn't fish. The flavor was different, slightly citrusy and perfectly salty, with a firm yet tender texture.

"This is really good!" I praised Dália's cooking, earning a delighted, shy smile from her.

As for the liquid, it was indeed tea. I wasn't a big fan of tea. Where I came from, coffee was the drink of choice. Tea was more common among Asian cultures.

I considered not drinking it after the first sip, but changed my mind. Watching me, observing my every reaction, Dália's gaze pierced through my perception. So instead of rejecting it, I downed the entire cup.

She deserved it, she had given me an unforgettable night.

Lesley stood up, and with a piece of bread still in my mouth, I hurried to follow her.

"Have a good day, young master," Dália wished me.

We took the same path to the underground level. A slight recess at the end of the dining hall led to a spiral staircase descending below.

"Wow! It looks way different than before," I said in surprise as I laid eyes on the training grounds.