The Next Day
"This is our lucky year or what? We got our fourth junior Magic Knight in a single year and that too a royal cutie… Am I dreaming?" Magna heard from Captain Yami that Mimosa had joined the Black Bulls, conveniently ignoring the word 'temporary' entirely.
"Thank you for your kind welcome. I look forward to working with you all…" Mimosa bowed politely, her gentle demeanor startling the ragtag group of commoners and peasants while her eyes searched for El but he was nowhere to be found.
"I guess not all nobles are same, That prideful Noelle threw a water ball at me when I tried to welcome her—she should gupplpp…." Magna's words cut off as a water bubble engulfed his head, choking him mid-sentence.
"Hey, Mimosa, how strong are you?" Luck suddenly appeared in front of her, grinning, while Magna fell to his knees taking long breaths as Noelle's spell dissipated.
"Huh? I—I am a junior Magic Knight…" Mimosa faltered, unsure how to respond, but before she could say more…
"Shut up, idiots. I'll be the one handling this newbie's baptism." Magna stepped forward to confront Luck, only for both of them to halt abruptly.
"Huh… I can't move my body," Magna muttered.
"Neither can I…" Luck added, his gaze shifting toward the source of the magic, the drunkard of black bulls, now lazily yawning.
"You two idiots shouldn't get ahead of yourselves. She's not a brute like Asta or El, but a delicate little flower. And just like how Noelle went through her baptism with me when she joined the Black Bulls… Mimosa will do the same, Hehe…" Vanessa's sultry voice sent a shiver down both Mimosa's and Noelle's spines as they imagined what kind of "baptism" she meant.
"Hey, I don't remember going through any baptism when I joined?" Noelle frowned.
"Of course, Noelle. You don't remember it, that's how it's designed." Vanessa's reply made goosebumps rise across Noelle's skin. It felt as though her mind had forgotten the event, yet her body remembered something enough to make her cheeks flush.
"Wh—what did you do to me…?" Noelle demanded, but Vanessa only responded with a playful wink before turning to Mimosa. She shook her hand, then draped an arm over her shoulder, whispering something into her ear and dragging her along.
"Hey, Charmy… do you remember anything from your baptism?" Noelle quickly asked, turning to the glutton who continued eating nearby, utterly unconcerned about the newcomer.
"Hm… I remember everything clearly. She asked me to do a baptism with her, and I asked if there was any food. She said there wasn't, so I refused," Charmy replied plainly, which did nothing to ease Noelle's worry.
"C'mon, Noelle. I heard you're cousins, you'd want to join this too. Let's go." Vanessa grabbed both girls and dragged them away.
The boys tried to follow, but by the time they reached the corridor, the girls had already disappeared from sight.
"Too bad they disappeared… What is there to hide in a baptism? I would've loved to see them spar," Luck muttered, though he quickly lost interest and went back to pestering Magna.
Meanwhile, the three girls—more accurately, two being dragged along arrived at a rather unexpected place for a "baptism."
"The common bath…?" Noelle frowned as Vanessa shut the door behind them casually.
Neither Mimosa nor Noelle were truly shocked by the idea of communal hot spring baths; among nobles, chatting in the warm baths with friends from other houses was a social ritual. Or at least, it had been for Mimosa.
Noelle, ever the outcast, had rarely been included in any such event thus she found herself taken aback by Vanessa's boldness. A deep flush rose up to her face with her thoughts running wild.
Without speaking another word Venessa began to undress herself of whatever little clothing she wore.
"Wait... we did this before? Why don't I remember anything?" Noelle looked at Vanessa, demanding an answer, but her gaze inadvertently drifted down her body.
Vanessa wore her usual black bull robes over a Rose laced bra and matching panties, with a tall, floppy witch's hat and thigh-high boots that took zero effort to remove.
She often claimed she felt most 'comfortable and free' this way, but seeing the body of a seductress made Noelle's heart thrum against her ribs.
Vanessa possessed a tall, slender figure, but her breasts now freed from her bra appeared even more voluptuous than usual. Definitely F-cups... maybe more, Noelle thought, feeling a pang of envy. She wasn't an expert in the field, but the comparison was hard to ignore.
"You didn't answer my question!" Noelle's eyes trailed from Vanessa's chest down toward her stomach and further toward her nether region when shame suddenly overtook her senses and she jerked her head away staring at the wall with a shy, panicked expression.
"C'mon, Noelle. Don't tell me you haven't been in a bath with friends before. We've been squadmates for half a month now, It's not a big deal?" Vanessa's playful voice teased. She turned her back to them, her plump rear swaying provocatively as she walked toward the warm bath.
"It's okay, cousin. I know everyone treated you like an outcast, and I apologize if I ever acted the same," Mimosa said softly. "The Black Bulls seem like such kind people... I didn't even get a welcome in the Golden Dawn."
Mimosa began to undo her robes. They slid to the floor, revealing a flawless figure clad in a black bra with matching panties.
"No... no, it wasn't like that. You weren't rude to me, Mimosa..." Noelle's voice trailed off.
She watched as Mimosa reached back to unhook her bra, letting loose two firm and monstrous melons. Noelle had never seen anyone with a chest that size alongside that perfect curvy figure.
"Oh... you've gotten bigger, Mimosa..." In a daze, Noelle let the words slip out before realizing. She watched mesmerized, as Mimosa bent over to slide her panties down, stepping fully into her birthday suit.
"Is that all you have to say, cousin? Hehe..." Mimosa's voice turned mischievous. "Are you going to strip yourself, or do you need my help?"
Shocked by the sudden boldness, Noelle backed slightly, peeling off her own clothes. Beneath her simple white clothing, she wore an ordinary purple bra and panties.
Meanwhile, Mimosa stepped into the bath, which was large enough to resemble a small indoor pool.
Vanessa hadn't forgotten her wine bottle, drinking in small sips her eyes traced Noelle as she shed the final layer of clothing, revealing a petite yet perfectly proportioned body, making her lick her lips with a predatory smile.
Following Mimosa's lead, Noelle sank into the water, letting the warm water wash away the anxiety of yesterday's capital battle.
"Now, will you tell us, Lady Vanessa... what is this baptism really about?" Mimosa asked. She was half-submerged and relaxed, yet her breasts floated stubbornly on the surface, drawing envious glares from Venessa and Noelle.
Feeling their piercing gaze, Mimosa tried to push them under water, only for them to bob right back up.
"Khm... Khm… Just call me Venessa and as I was saying," Vanessa began.
"The baptism is a game the witches in my hometown used to play due to boredom. Grey and Noelle have played it before, but Grey isn't exactly the social butterfly, so I didn't invite her today. As for Charmy... well, let her be."
"I'm a witch from the Witches Forest. There are no men there and hardly anything fun to do, so the girls get bored. To pass the time, they invented a few... specialized potions." With a flick of her wrist, six small bottles appeared out of thin air.
"We each get two. One is a 'Truth or Dare' potion; the other is a memory wiper," Vanessa explained, taking a whiff of a corked bottle and looking instantly intoxicated. Mimosa and Noelle shuddered, a strange, nervous anticipation bubbling in their chests.
"Once we drink the first, we'll feel a bit lightheaded for an hour. But here's the kicker: whoever's drinks it, cannot lie or refuse a task they have been given."
"And when the game ends, If you don't like it, you can drink the second potion to erase the last two hours of memories. That's why you don't remember your first time, Noelle, but it always feels as if a heavy weight has been lifted from your shoulders."
'What could have happened back then to make me feel this way…?' Noelle couldn't deny it, Goosebumps rose on her skin just trying to recall those forgotten memories, her mind drifting back to the heat she felt when El had kissed her on her lips.
"I don't like where this—"
"It's a one-time thing, Mimosa," Vanessa cut her off with a smirk. "Or would you have preferred to go back and spar with those idiots?"
Faced with that choice, even the polite Mimosa found this game to be far more tempting.
"Let me explain the game first, it's simple, and then you can decide."
"Truth or Dare… but you can't choose Truth more than twice in a row, on the third turn, you must pick Dare."
"Once you choose, you can't change it. We will mutually decide your question or task… hic…."
"No resisting, no lying or something entertaining will happen to you. Got it? Hic…" Vanessa explained, her words slightly slurred but easy to understand.
"…Alright. If it's like that… but I'm telling you, you witches are bizarre for coming up with something like this." Noelle muttered.
The three of them raised their bottles and drank the entire thing. The pink liquid carried a soft, rosy fragrance, its taste unexpectedly rich as it dulled their senses spreading an unknown euphoria in their bodies.
"Uwahh… I feel a bit sleepy, but it feels good… like that time—hic…" Mimosa murmured, trailing off mid-sentence recalling the memories of her and El on the beach few days ago.
"Don't get used to it," Vanessa warned casually. "It can get addictive."
"Hic… what did you even make this with…? The taste is so strong," Noelle murmured, her earlier stiffness replaced with confidence and something else.
"Mostly alcohol, rare fruits, herbs… and a touch of witch's wicked magic hehehe..." She chuckled but replied honestly, the potion's effect already at work.
"Enough wasting time. Let's start with our newcomer, Mimosa."
Vanessa leaned back against the edge of the bath, stretching her wet arms lazily across the stone edge. The movement pulled her chest out, leaving them almost exposed above the waterline as she gave Mimosa a predatory smirk.
"Truth… or Dare?"