Chapter 214 : Portal Crystal In The Morning

We sometimes meet Deel when we go to the Portal Crystal because he usually patrols around the village before noon and in the evening. However, we have never met anyone other than him around the Portal Crystal since we came to this village.

I thought it was strange considering that creating Portal Stones is a tradition in this village, but when I asked Celine, she told me that villagers usually visit the Portal Crystal at night.

According to Celine, you can see the color of your own mana that shines in the branches of the Portal Crystal better at night. You can use that advantage to adjust the power and direction of your mana to refine your crystal branch better and make progress on your Portal Stone more efficiently.

Celine said that she used to refine her crystal branch at night back then but men often tried to pick her up. She got annoyed and decided to start doing it during the day when no one was around.

While I was thinking that, I continued pouring my mana into Celine’s body.

After refining her crystal branch for a while, Celine started to look tired.

「Hahh… Hahh… M, Mark…」(Celine)

「Are you tired? We can stop here.」(Mark)

「Y, Yeah… I don’t think I can keep going… I think it’s enough for today… U, Ughh…」(Celine)

Celine was holding the branch with her left hand while holding my hand with the other hand, but then she let go of the branch and fell on her knees.

I quickly let go of Celine’s hand and caught her back with both hands before she collapsed.

I don’t want to see her collapse to the ground and be covered in dirt every time.

The other day, I wasn’t quick enough to catch her before she collapsed, but I successfully did it today.

As usual, Celine’s body is burning hot and her dress is drenched in sweat, but she doesn’t lose consciousness this time.

After staying still for a while, she slowly put her hand on my shoulder.

「Celine, I’ve said this many times but I’ll say it again. You don’t have to push yourself too hard. You can tell me when you start to feel tired.」(Mark)

「Hahh… Hahh… I’m sorry, Mark… But your mana felt warm and pleasing. It made me not want to stop…」(Celine)

Celine replied to me while breathing heavily. She then slowly sat on the ground and leaned her head against my shoulder.

「Mark, I can’t stand yet… Can I borrow your shoulder for a while?」(Celine)

「Sure. I won’t go anywhere so you can take a nap if you want.」(Mark)

「Thank you…」(Celine)

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

I patted her back and waited for her to regain her strength.

After letting her sleep for about fifteen minutes, for some reason, Celine pressed her nose against my neck and started breathing harder and talking in her sleep.

「*Sniff sniff* Ahh… It’s Mark’s smell… Mark… Mmm~…」(Celine)

She then moved her hand behind my back and hugged me tightly.

It was a bit suffocating, to be honest…

「Ugh… Ce, Celine… Stop…!」(Mark)

I decided to wake her up by tapping her arm. Even so, she hugged me even harder.

「Mmm~ Mark~….」(Celine)

「Hey, Celine, wake up! I can’t breathe…! Ugh…!」(Mark)

「…Eh? …Aa… Aaaa!! M, Mark, I’m sorry! Are you okay?」(Celine)

Realizing what she was doing, Celine was shocked as if she was struck by lightning.

She immediately let go of me, stood up and quickly took a few steps back.

It looks like she has completely come to her senses.

「I’m fine. I just couldn’t breathe for a second. Forget about me. How about you? Are you good now?」(Mark)

「Y, Yeah… I think I’ve had enough rest.」(Celine)

「That’s good. Shall we go to the bathhouse then? As usual, I’ll prepare a potion bath for you.」(Mark)

「Yeah, thank you, Mark~!」(Celine)

She panicked for a moment but then replied with her usual bright voice.

Nicola, who hasn’t uttered a single word until now, clung to Celine, and then the three of us started heading to the bathhouse I built in the middle of the woods.

『Hey, why are you so quiet today?』(Mark)

『I was trying to enjoy Celine’s erotic sweaty body from afar this time.』(Nicola)

『Uhh… I think I’ll never understand your weird fetish…』(Mark)

『Well, thanks to that, she seemed to have completely forgotten that I was here too and attacked you while sleeping.』(Nicola)

『It’s getting worse, don’t you think?』(Mark)

『Yeah. I think you should be careful when you sleep with Celine.』(Nicola)

『You’re right… Next time, please help me if you see her trying to attack me while sleeping.』(Mark)

『Do you think I’ll do that? I will enjoy how you react. Khu khu khu~』(Nicola)

『Oi…』(Mark)

『Just kidding~』(Nicola)

It’s hard to tell if she’s just kidding or not…

Anyway, I have to be careful the next time Celine sleeps next to me.