"Seeing you acting so shiftless, Ram actually feels much more at ease."
Ram curled her lips, her breathing gradually relaxing, and she took a half-step back to sit directly on the coffee table.
Grin watched Ram's swaying jade-white legs and sniffed almost imperceptibly.
"Are you really going to exploit me so openly?"
"Giving you a chance to touch Ram is generous enough, you greedy fellow."
Ram raised her chin, looking down at Grin with a hint of nonchalant nobility in her eyes.
Grin's eyes were a bit hazy; Ram in this posture looked simply amazing... "Alright, you win."
Grin extended his index finger and bit down lightly with his sharp teeth, and full beads of blood began to slowly emerge from the wound.
Ram tilted her head back slightly, revealing the stump of her oni horn, waiting for Grin's blood.
"Mmh..."
A warm sensation came from between her brows, and Ram couldn't help but let out a soft groan.
The greenery in the courtyard moved without wind, making a gentle rustling sound.
Guided by the Forest Blessing, countless glowing points of life energy gathered toward the meeting hall.
The broken horn was activated once more, like a gear pushed by an invisible force, and began to absorb mana from the atmosphere.
A wave of tingling pleasure spread through Ram's entire body.
Her soft body leaned forward slightly; as the distance closed, her breath carried a faint fragrance of greenery.
Ram deliberately turned her face away, refusing to look Grin in the eye, her ear tips hidden in her hair flushed with an imperceptible crimson.
Rustle... A pulse of mana rippled out with Ram at the center, and she finally lost all strength, falling into Grin's arms with a "thump."
"Ram, your horn is indeed growing slowly under the nourishment of the Blood of Life, but the speed is extremely slow. It will probably take several sessions to complete."
Grin caught Ram as she fell, pulling her into his embrace and whispering.
Ram's body must have used all its energy for the regeneration of the oni horn, to the point where she could hardly squeeze out the strength to speak.
"Okay..."
Ram only murmured like she was talking in her sleep and curled up in Grin's arms.
Grin swallowed hard in torment, his tongue quickly darting across his dry lips.
Don't misunderstand, he was just a bit thirsty.
"Don't move around, Ram..."
The soft, fragrant feeling was a form of torture for Grin right now.
Looking at Ram's cute appearance in his arms, Grin couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.
He wondered if it was like this when Roswaal replenished Ram's mana... Suddenly, an especially wicked thought surfaced in Grin's mind.
"Hehehe..."
At the thought of what he was about to do, Grin couldn't help but laugh, his grin almost reaching his ears.
Then, with a thought, Grin quietly cast Transformation Magic.
A purple magic circle lit up from beneath Grin's feet and floated up to the top of his head.
Once the circle vanished, Grin had taken on Roswaal's appearance.
Hahaha, I'm a despicable NTR-er!
Grin suppressed his laughter, his body twitching from time to time because he couldn't hold it in.
Leaning close to Ram's ear, he mimicked Roswaal's voice and said, "Ram, I hereby grant you the Protection of the Stars..."
Hearing this, Ram in his arms snapped her eyes open as if struck by lightning, which gave Grin a fright.
He hurriedly pressed down the hand he was using to transfer blood, tightly covering Ram's eyes.
"Don't open your eyes, Ram-chan, I'm Ros— Ouch!"
Before he could finish, Grin felt a sharp pain in his palm.
Looking down, he saw that Ram had bitten him.
"You... low-taste bastard! Change back right now..."
Grin tossed Ram onto the sofa, shaking his hand vigorously in an attempt to break free.
He couldn't maintain the Transformation Magic either, revealing his original appearance.
"Hiss... Ram, you dog!"
"Once Ram regains her strength, she will definitely beat you up."
Ram lay on the sofa, one hand over her heaving chest, looking weak as if recovering from an illness.
Grin gritted his teeth in pain; looking down at his hand, he saw two rows of small teeth marks in the same spot where the Ulgarum had bitten him.
"Hehe, Ram, your teeth are quite straight."
Ram gave him a look as if she were looking at an idiot; it seemed that getting angry at Grin was just asking for trouble.
"Sigh... Ram needs to rest, you go out first, Grin."
...Time passed, and it was quite peaceful during that period.
Grin remained enthusiastic about taking care of the patient, Rem.
After finishing his daily task of feeding her dinner, Grin returned to the kitchen with the empty tableware.
Rem's complexion recovered very quickly; Grin even suspected the girl was faking it.
Walking to the kitchen door, Grin took out a key and opened the newly installed lock.
Ram's efficiency was beyond reproach.
To protect the precious ingredients from prying eyes, she had installed a precision lock meant for a vault on the kitchen door.
"Tsk tsk, what a spendthrift woman. This lock could buy three kitchens."
Creeak~
Grin hummed a little tune as he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Eh? No way, opening the gate of opportunity at a time like this."
With that, Grin immediately turned around, preparing to slip away.
"You, stop right there for Betty! To disregard Betty's gate of opportunity like this is truly infuriating."
An angry shout came from behind.
Betty's small fists were clenched tightly, looking as if she wanted to jump up and punch Grin in the knee.
Grin turned back helplessly: "Betty, how about I go wash the dishes first and then come play with you?"
Betty's brows furrowed sharply, and her purple eyes were instantly tinged with displeasure.
"Do you take Betty for a child? You insolent man."
With that, she waved her small hand, and a purple spatial rift appeared beside Grin.
A powerful suction came from the rift, and with a "whoosh," it swallowed the tableware in Grin's hand.
As Betty's hand dropped, the spatial rift zipped shut like a zipper and vanished.
Grin was dumbfounded; he finally knew how he had been sucked in back then.
"Betty, if you do this, what will I do when Ram asks me for the tableware later?"
Betty crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze somewhat disdainful.
"It's not like it's anything valuable. It'll just be deducted from your salary."
"I'm working while in debt right now; my wages are already advanced up to three months from now."
Grin shrugged and gave a carefree smile.
"I say, how about we find a junk collector to sell the old books in your library? We can sprinkle some water on them first, and we'll definitely make money."
Grind, grind... The sound of Betty gnashing her teeth.
"You fellow, Betty will exile you to a different dimension to be with the tableware right now..."
"Wait, wait, don't be angry, Betty. If you exile me, who's going to fix the bookshelf for you, right?"
Grin immediately begged for mercy and quickly slipped behind Betty to massage her back in a fawning manner.
Betty took a deep breath, and most of the anger in her heart dissipated.
"Hmph, Betty thought you were planning to break our agreement!"
"How could that be? As everyone knows, an elder never lies."
Grin pulled out the nails he had prepared in advance to prove his words.
He had specifically asked the blacksmith of Aram Village to forge them, and a small bow was even engraved on the head of the nails.
Betty's expression noticeably improved.
These stubborn spirits valued agreements above all else; if one didn't keep them in mind at all times, they would surely be hated.
"With a mere decade of experience, you dare call yourself an elder in front of Betty? Betty has already lived for over four hundred years."
"Alright, Betty wif... ey, Granny, you are the elder."
With that, Grin pressed a nail against the loose bookshelf with his left hand, and with his right hand, he summoned the bewildered magic mirror...