431 CH. 451: Riveria's Fear

The mirror and the wardrobe stacked with several dozen swimsuits had become Riveria's friends for the past thirty minutes. The utter quantity of the choices made her indecisive. She had never worn any swimsuit, which turned the difficulty by a notch.

What should she wear?

The high elf princess thought as she checked herself in the mirror. She was in an odd one-piece swimsuit. Two royal blue side straps covered her breasts and extended all the way to her back, where they joined into one strap. The swimsuit's design provided less coverage than a typical bikini. No one expected such a bold design from Riveria.

"Having difficulties?" Asahi's voice came from outside.

Riveria flinched and quickly grabbed a long cloth from the wardrobe to cover her lower body. The coverup she found ironically had the same color and silky texture as her current bikini. After tying the cloth around her waist, she took one more look at herself and tied her hair into a bun with her nimble fingers.

"It's not bad," she commented.

The exposure of her lower body was minimum with the skirt. The straps surrounding her humble bosom were tight and wouldn't budge unless someone tugged at them.

"It'll do the job for now."

There were only women on the beach except for one man, whom she could ignore like always. She psyched herself up and opened the door.

"Sorry for taking so long," Riveria apologized with a straight face. "Asahi?"

But Asahi's face wasn't straight nor calm. Anyone could read the shock on his face. Her elegant yet alluring look blew him away. He clapped his hands in awe.

"The combination of jade and dark blue is genius. You look absolutely fantastic."

Even a tough woman like Riveria cracked under his sincere compliment. "Thank… thanks."

The stammering high elf blushed, her cheeks visibly reddening under the sunlight.

Asahi instantaneously took out his phone and snapped a picture without her consent. The portrait was breathtaking.

"Mom, come."

Before Riveria processed his actions, Asahi took her hand and dragged her into the shade of a large umbrella. He instructed her to lie on the blanket. While lying, Riveria hugged a pillow to prevent any chances of her boobs getting seen.

Asahi took another moment to appreciate her pure skin. It seemed all the elves had exceptionally smooth skin.

Riveria looked at Loki, whose body shone with a wet layer. "Is that sunscreen?"

Loki chuckled. "Yes."

She sat down to watch the dramatic first real climax of the high elf princess. After all, she had become Asahi's victim less than ten minutes ago.

'Don't be soft on her.'

Loki wanted Riveria's climax to be intense. Asahi realized Loki's intent through her smile and shook his head. He wasn't trying anything lewd with Riveria, or so he will try. Nothing was guaranteed when his hands were involved.

Riveria gulped as Asahi's lotion-covered hands approached her back. Her veteran adventurer warned her of the danger concealed within his hands. It was on par with a Monster Rex!

"C-Can't someone else do it? Ais, let's call Ais."

She ignored Loki's presence as the perverted goddess would grope her more than Asahi.

"Are ya sure? Asahi does it best," Loki said. "His hands have magic. He is a god."

"The demon lord you mean…" Riveria tried laughing off the terrible joke she made in a state of perpetual anxiety.

Riveria tried to ascertain the aftermath of her terrible joke, only to stop with a shuddering breath. Asahi was staring at her unblinking; the aura around him dignified and solemn as if he became the very essence of her joke.

A demon king.

"Riveria, you are always on edge whenever you are with me. Am I that bad of a person?"

He had noticed her stiff attitude for quite some time but hadn't commented on it. The serene atmosphere of the beach worked in his favor to sort things out with the high elf princess.

Riveria opened her mouth, only to seal her lips a second after. She used to act naturally around him during the dungeon expeditions, never retreating from chatting with him or plainly tutoring him about how things worked.

However, after he got into a relationship with Loki, Riveria became unusually on guard against him. In all honesty, she had no desire to act this way, but it was her only choice. She built walls around her as a simple countermeasure to protect her heart.

"The blame's not on ya, Asahi," Loki said. "Riveria's pride is high. She won't be friends with a playboy. Ain't that right, my dear executive?"

Riveria pushed herself and sat in a kneeling position. "Loki-sama, I never thought of him like that. Asahi is a great man despite his flaw of flirting with every girl he encounters and his habit of oversimplifying things with his power... A playboy will never have a happy family like this."

Riveria only needed a glance to see the joy on each and every face around her.

"Mom, it's your family as much as it is mine," Asahi said with a soft smile that brought a small smile to Riveria's face. "You still haven't answered my question. Why am I being avoided like I'm a plague?"

The high elf furrowed her brows as she came up with her answer. "I don't want to fall in love."

She admitted it outright instead of beating around the bush. Ever since she acquainted herself with Asahi, she became more and more aware of her loneliness. Her age was a year short of reaching a century, yet her heart was like a chaste maiden. An uncertainty originated from her weakness, that of a lady-killer like Asahi exploiting her into a relationship. This very doubt compelled her to act distant toward Asahi.

Asahi and Loki remained silent at her confession, their faces emotionless as a blank paper. Riveria's calm mind reached a conclusion of its own.

Lowering her head, she sighed. "I'm a horrible person. Is this what you are thinking?"

"Kuk," a snicker escaped Loki before she broke into full-blown laughter. "This is cute. My god, this is so cute."

Asahi couldn't hold back his chuckle. "Mama stole my heart."

"..."