Chapter 7: Interlude I part 3

Noa yawned, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Onee-sama was nowhere to be seen, and a set of clothes were already laid out for her. Her thin nightgown fell to the floor as she moved towards the shower,

Noa never really understood the concept of 'modesty'. Everyone had the same basic form, so there was little point in hiding it. Nothing in nature wore clothes, no animals cared if they were naked. Her Dragon wore no scrap of cloth to cover himself while he stood on four legs rather than two. It was rather odd of humanoid creatures to wish to hide something beneath a single layer of cloth.

As with all things, her Dragon calmly explained the phenomenon when she asked. The way he explained it, it was a cultural idea shared by sentient beings that had the intention of mating for life. The cloths covering them would only be removed in the presence of their mate, which made their bodies an exclusive gift attainable by no one else.

Archer-nee agreed with the words, later adding that Demons based off Lust seldom bothered with clothing since they took many mates. Archer-nee, however, flatly refused to remove her clothes, since she swore she would only ever reproduce with the Dragon she loved.

That made more sense. If showing her body to people other than her Dragon made her less desirable, then she would reluctantly consent to wearing coverings. But since she had not the foggiest idea how to tell the difference between said coverings, she elected to leave the process to her Onee-sama.

A very good idea, as it turned out. The one time Noa attempted to pick her own coverings, Archer-nee turned a brilliant red and immediately sent her back into the bedroom to change. Apparently the lower layer of coverings couldn't be more visible than the upper layer, or Archer-nee would turn interesting colors.

Shalltear called Onee-sama a 'prude' for that, and since Noa had no idea what that meant, she decided it must be a compliment. Archer-nee always grumbled something quiet whenever the word was brought up, though, a source of endless amusement on slow days.

…Wait.

Noa frowned, looking around.

…She got distracted again, didn't she? What was she meant to be doing?

Noa thought back, skipping over thoughts of odd coverings until she found what she was looking for.

Ah. Yes. She was supposed to be cleaning herself. Another thing that made little sense to her.

Oh, the idea of cleanliness made perfect sense, but she didn't get why her Dragon stopped cleaning her himself. At least that had been pleasurable. And since Archer-nee was often busy making breakfast, her aid wasn't an option either.

Noa sighed, stepping into the shower. It was faster than a bath, but more boring.

But as annoying as boredom was… it was still a reminder that she was alive.

Trees never got bored. They never got happy, or sad, or anything really. They didn't live, not really, they just survived. The sheer bliss of being alive was enough to sweep her off her feet at times, while at others the sheer amount of conflicting information made her wish she could curl up and hide. Without her Dragon there to gently guide her when she first stepped into the world, Noa would never have known such beautiful and terrible things existed.

Noa sighed softly, enjoying the bubbly feeling that thoughts of her Dragon always invoked. A pure bliss, making her feel lighter than air and utterly invincible. 'Love', as it was called. A funny word. It could just as easily refer to the gentle warmth she had for Archer-nee, or the satisfaction she felt while consuming her favorite foods. It even seemed to be connected to the roaring urge of protectiveness that came whenever her Dragon stood too close to an unknown female.

Love was an amazing thing, Noa decided for the umpteenth time, humming softly to herself. Without love her life would be a lot less interesting. 'Love', 'family', 'home'… all things that Noa would be lost without.

The water turned off, and Noa stepped out of the shower. A towel dried her off, and Noa stepped into the garments held out for her. "Thank you, Onee-sama." She said softly.

Archer smiled at her, extending a hand. "It's not a problem, Noa. Breakfast is ready whenever."

Noa nodded, taking Archer-nee's hand. Dragon-sama would be here within the hour, something that both of them were looking forward to.

When Noa first came into existence, she was alone. The only child of the World Tree. But when she finally dared to look outside of the Tree she called home, she learned of the kind being that stood watch over her.

She was no longer alone.

It was the desire to know him that brought her out of her Tree, the desire to understand him that first sparked her adoration for him. He was quite literally her entire life. She lived to breathe in his scent, to stand near his warmth, to dwell in his care. He was her own personal sun, warming her from within and allowing her to grow into what she was always meant to be.

She was meant to be his.

She was given to him, cared for by him, taught to live and understand life through his patient care. The adoration she had for him, the single-minded drive to please the being protecting her from her very first conscious thought, all of that was proof of her purpose in life.

Oh, the First Tree didn't know it at the time. The jolt of pleasure she got from making the Dragon happy was likely meant to keep her from alienating him, driving him from protecting her. But it had long since been perverted into something much different by her new form, her mind running wild with thoughts of reproducing with him.

Yes. That would be the ultimate pleasure. Reproducing with her Dragon, letting him impregnate her…

Noa shuddered softly, the idea sending a pulse of delight through her. Shalltear-nee had told her that the process of reproduction was the most pleasurable thing imaginable, something that her biology and urges seemed to agree with.

She had seen Archer-nee give in to her own urges more than once, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. And since the Archdemon seemed more than willing to share a mate… perhaps they could come to an arrangement.

Noa opened her mouth to ask her, then paused. Archer-nee would probably not appreciate a straight question, so she would have to wait until she could figure out how to not reduce her to a stuttering mess.

As fun as it could sometimes be, it seemed almost cruel to do it too often.

"Noa? Are you all right?"

Noa blinked, noticing that she had been led into the dining room. A heavenly smell filled the air, and the table was lavishly garnished with all sorts of foods. Just standing in the room was enough to make her drool.

Technically, no one needed to eat here unless they were consuming a Recovery Item, but the idea of eating was always a nice one.

"Have a seat." Archer bustled around the kitchen nearby, putting the finishing touches on the arrangement of food. The eggs were green and the meat was likely from some monster, but Noa couldn't find it in herself to care.

Food from Archer was food from heaven. She would know, she had once tasted food from Valhalla, and it was decidedly worse than even Archer-nee's cooking failures.

Nodding to herself, Noa began loading a plate with food. A few Items were pulled from her Item Box as well to join the healthy goodness, sweets she had stockpiled over the years to add to the often odd meals Archer made using the few edible ingredients she could find.

"So…" Archer began as Noa piled food onto her plate. "How are you this morning?"

Noa popped a piece of meat into her mouth. "Good."

"Don't talk with your—"

Noa levelled her with a flat stare. The kind that outright stated that she would be ignored if she finished that sentence.

It was her fault for asking when Noa was eating.

"…I'm fine as well." Archer swerved, moving on. "I already ate, though, so this is mostly for you."

Noa blinked at the full table spread, then looked back at the Archdemon. "Really?"

"Really."

Pause.

Gruawllll…

"Really?" Noa repeated.

Archer coughed. "I mean, I did eat…"

Noa nodded. "But now you're hungry again. It's all right Archer-nee, I know you eat a lot."

Archer twitched. "A-ah…"

"It's all right, though." Noa assured, realizing she had said one of the 'inconsiderate' things on Shalltear-nee's list. "You still fit in your clothes."

Another twitch. "Th-thanks, Noa." She mumbled, drooping. "That… really makes me feel better."

"Good." Noa returned to her meal, satisfied. Socializing was hard, but apparently this time she had done the right thing.

Then something she had just noticed finally registered, and she lowered her fork. "Is that Dragon-sama's shirt?"

"…Ah…" Archer blinked, cheeks reddening. "I, um…"

Noa blinked, realizing that she was about to get an entire day's worth of entertainment. She took a bite in preparation, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Y-yes, it is. But, um, I just found it and I outgrew some of my old clothes, so while they're in the wash, I'm wearing this." Archer nodded once.

"But you fit just fine into your old clothes." Noa corrected, confused. "They're self-adjusting."

"Then, it's because mine are in the laundry." Archer repeated. "As I said."

Noa blinked. "So it isn't because you miss him?"

"No." Archer shook her head firmly. "I understand completely why he had to leave us, and he'll be coming back later today to visit. I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much."

They both knew it was because she missed their Dragon's constant presence. It was sort of a game for her to avoid saying it as much as possible.

But, of course, if she wasn't sentimental and she wasn't wearing his shirt because it was laundry day… that left just one option.

"Closet pervert." Noa stated.

"Urk." Archer twitched. "…Where do you even learn those words?"

"I read your manga." Noa frowned. "Am I not supposed to use them?"

"N-no, it's just… do you even know what they mean?"

Noa nodded slightly. "It means you don't want to admit when you're having ecchi thoughts about Dragon-sama."

Archer twitched again, tail drooping. "I-it's not my fault." She protested weakly. "I'm a Lust Archdemon, it's practically hardwired into us."

Noa blinked. "So it wasn't because you're a closet pervert that you became a Lust Archdemon, then?"

It was with great satisfaction that Noa watched Archer slump, depressed. Archer-nee was in constant denial that she adored their Dragon as much as Noa did, and if a few pointed questions got her to admit it, Noa could stand to watch her squirm.

"…Ah… yes…" Archer mumbled, still slumped. "Demons have amplified Desires, and I kept noticing how his muscles rippled beneath his shirt whenever he would move…"

Noa nodded sagely. Muscles were quite attractive, they meant that the male they belonged to could protect their female from harm. "I see."

"I don't have a muscle fetish, really, I swear." Archer continued, words tumbling out of her mouth in the adorable way they always did whenever she was flustered. "They were just really hard to ignore, and after I started noticing them, it was hard not to, and then I started wondering how it would feel if he were to push me down and…" She trailed off, eyes widening for some reason.

Noa nodded quietly, trying to imagine the sensation. It would likely feel amazing, her Dragon's strong arms wrapping around her, gently cradling her in their safe hold even as he repeatedly violated her…

Hmm.

Something else to try in the future.

"I don't mean I want that, either, I'm not into that sort of thing!" Archer blurted. "But my instincts really love the idea of that happening, so it's hard to ignore the urge…"

Noa nodded again, saying nothing.

Archer-nee was normally very stoic, but she could be adorable once she started going on a tirade like this. Even if Noa couldn't completely understand why she was so flustered, it was still fun to watch.

"…Never mind." Archer slumped, and Noa could almost picture steam coming from her ears like in manga. She had to resist the urge to coo at the embarrassed expression on her face. "I'm a bit of a pervert, all right? I admit it. But it's still not completely my fault that I'm like this."

Noa blinked, but said nothing.

Archer-nee made no sense sometimes…

Finally getting her composure back, Archer straightened and coughed into a hand. "A-anyway. As I was about to say before, we have an important job to do. Ancient One-sama might be gone, but he only left us behind because he was going somewhere too dangerous for us to be present. As part of the restricted beings in this World, we can't use Items on our own, so we aren't able to break the same barrier Ancient-sama and Momonga-sama did. We have to stay here while they go out and defeat the creatures that the World Tree can no longer protect us from."

Noa blinked at her, tilting her head. Why was she repeating what they both already knew? They had both been present when the Dragon explained the situation. Even if Noa was admittedly a bit forgetful at times, it hadn't been that long since the Dragon's explanation. And even if it had been, Noa made a point to try to remember everything her beloved said, especially when it was important.

…Ah. Archer-nee was still talking for some reason. And now she looked annoyed.

"Noa, can you please stop eating while I'm talking to you?" Archer asked exasperatedly, making Noa blink and look down. A half-eaten melon bread was being held between her fingers, the soft pastry looking absolutely delicious.

…Hmm. Odd. Normally Noa would remember picking up the fluffy goodness known as melon bread. Apparently Archer's monologue had been so boring she had just blocked the memory out of her mind entirely, melon bread included.

Ah, well. She probably didn't miss anything important.

Sighing, Noa lowered the Recovery Item. "…What?"

Archer gave her a bemused look. "…I was saying that we should probably clean the mansion while he's gone."

"But you told me not to clean after I flooded the laundry room." Noa stated, puzzled.

"Ah… yes. Right." The Archdemon nodded once. "Which is why I'm going to clean the house while you go out and feed Harold. I'll even send you with a nice lunch, and you can spend the afternoon there."

"Oooh." Noa perked up, already excited. Archer-nee made the best lunches. And breakfasts. And dinners. And pastries. And basically anything that could be made in a kitchen.

Archer-nee was just amazing in general, really, even if she was a bit silly when it came to love. She just hadn't realized how simple it was just to accept her own vulnerability when it came to entrusting her heart to the gentle Dragon.

Archer-nee giggled softly, reaching out to ruffle Noa's hair. "You're adorable, you know?"

Noa blinked, tilting her head in confusion. Archer-nee just smiled wider, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "All right, you. I'll grab a few ingredients from Ancient One's storage, then I'll send you off."

Nodding, Noa finished off the last of the melon bread. The sweet had been pilfered from Bukubukuchagama's possessions, and unfortunately the supply was getting low. While the Dragon had a lot of Items usable for both cooking and Alchemy, none of them could be used to make more melon bread.

…Why did Noa steal the Slime's melon bread, you might ask?

Because fuck her.

She never ate it anyway, and according to Archer-nee she tried to steal their Dragon away more than once using some evil method called 'flirting'.

Vindictiveness might not have been Noa's style per se, but she certainly wasn't above passive-aggressive sweet theft.

Nodding once to herself, Noa licked off her fingers and rose to her feet. "I'll go get ready."

No, not get ready as in 'go pick out clothes for a nice outing', more like 'go change into the outfit Archer had told her was appropriate for a picnic'. Apparently wearing something see-through was close enough to nudity that it flustered Archer-nee, so it was against the rules to wear The Evening Star into an area where others might see her in it.

It made no real sense to leave behind a powerful piece of equipment when approaching a dangerous former World Threat, but Archer-nee insisted, and Archer-nee knew best.

By the time Noa returned to the kitchen, there was already an Infinite Backpack waiting for her. She pulled it on, looked around for Archer-nee, and resolved to thank her later.

The door swung open, and Noa stepped out into the backyard. Bare feet moved against the smooth stone of the path as Noa walked towards the invisible Gate disguised as a simple archway. She was already picturing the hill that hid the family pet, the Gate plucking the location out of her thoughts and instantly sending her on her way.

The land around the World Turtle was green and beautiful, though not due to any real effort on nature's part. Not unless you counted Noa's irritated Spells to fix the torn earth and torn plants caused by the Turtle's movement. She didn't hold it against the giant beast, though. He couldn't help how large he was. He could hardly be expected to understand the value of nice terrain when he quite literally qualified as a part of it.

No matter.

The Turtle slowly opened a giant eye as she approached, a picnic basket in tow. He blinked slowly, not even bothering to move.

"Hello, Harold. Food time." Noa told the World Turtle, holding out a hand. Her Nature's Herald Skill allowed the Turtle to understand her perfectly, whether or not he cared what she was saying. "Would you mind if I sit on your shell after I feed you?"

Predictably, the Turtle ignored everything after the word 'food'. It had what Aura-nee called a 'no fucks given' attitude towards everything, so Noa didn't take it personally.

The Turtle blinked sleepily at her, glanced at the watering hole where it would have to go in order to eat, then apparently decided it wasn't worth the effort. Two enormous eyes closed, and Harold settled back down to sleep.

No matter. All the better for a nice picnic.

Activating [Tree Walk], Noa stepped back through the bark of a spruce and shifted through numerous different trees until she found the one she was looking for. She stepped out, looking around. Before her was a beautiful view of the eighth Floor, an expanse of nature that stretched in all directions for many kilometers. The sun felt nice against her skin, warm and friendly even if it was just a fake.

Noa sat down, leaning back against the tree she had stepped through. A picnic blanket was lazily tossed out in front of her, a basket placed on top of it. All she had to do now was wait, relaxing until Archer-nee told her it was time to return. Just sit atop the shell of a giant World Turtle and enjoy the world around her.

Reclined back against the trunk of a young oak, Noa sleepily wondered how Harold saw the world, the errant thought guiding her back into the world of dreams.

Word count 3200