Chapter 193 36.2 Padding?

GUIDANCE

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"You can do this..."

Standing in front of Moriya's room, Guidance stood by awkwardly as her fist hovered over the metal door. It's been a few minutes since she arrived, and even then, she still couldn't find it in herself to knock.

"You've done braver things than this, dammit..."

It had been a few days since their death-defying scuffle with an endgame boss, and the dev couldn't help but think that she had been utterly useless down at that fight. Well, she knew she wasn't completely useless. She did manage to somehow keep them warm through the barrier that showed up. And while she didn't feel them dying numerous times, the fact that it took them a while clearly meant that they went through a death or two. She should've helped somehow.... Or at least, that was the excuse she was using to justify herself.

Sure, she knew that she probably still could've helped in figuring things out if she was able, but she wasn't that much of a martyr. She knew her limits, and there was nothing she could do about what had already happened. In fact, she didn't even care anymore about it.

In truth, she just wanted to sate her hurt pride by making sure that Moriya wouldn't be able to blow off doing her as something that he could easily forget if she wanted him to. Ever since they got back to safety, all of her prior gripes went back to the forefront of her mind. Without all of the mortal danger distracting her, she suddenly remembered that she was still partly miffed at her fellow otherworlder blowing off having done her.

No. That simply wouldn't do.

[*knock knock*]

Finally gathering the courage, Guidance knocked. Her heart hammered in both embarrassment and anticipation, a part of her really wanting to let some steam out after such a stressful debacle.

"Guidance?"

As soon as the door opened, the dev fought her best to prevent the mad blush from forming on her cheeks to materialize. Unfortunately, her biology betrayed her as she felt her entire body blushing up a storm just from the thought of having her way with the man she gave her virginity to.

"Moriya," Guidance politely addressed, somehow managing to keep herself composed as she invited herself in. "What're you doing?"

"Messing with my stats?" Moriya replied, an eyebrow raised as he let her enter his room. "Also, I should be the one asking you that question. What're you doing still up this late?"

"Just couldn't sleep," Guidance shrugged. "Have had a lot of rest while we're out sailing."

After Withermoon happened, nothing of significance really happened. They simply peacefully sailed towards what Moriya counted as the mainland shore while they waited for Shizu to fully recover. The plan was that they'd let the princess tell them where to go, but that wasn't possible at the moment with the girl still holing herself up in her room more often than not.

Seriously, she was starting to get worried about her. She never designed Shizu to be this depressive.

"If you say so."

Wordlessly, Moriya closed the door before sitting back down on his bed. Meanwhile, Guidance decided that she'll just lean by the nearest wall, the porthole beside her giving them a decent amount of starlight as she took a deep breath. Looking at Moriya, she could feel the suspicion rolling off him from his gaze alone. And why wouldn't he be? She absolutely had no reason to be in his room like this other than to, well, just sleep with him.

She still couldn't believe that she was asking for seconds. Her heart sang her praises as soon as she decided that she'll be back to him for more, but for the life of her, she couldn't understand why that was the case. Thankfully, their prior escapades didn't result in her having a new life growing inside her, but that didn't mean that it was no longer still possible. For all she knew, this was the one that would knock her up.

And yet she still couldn't find it in herself to stop her.

"So, can you tell me why you're really here?" Moriya asked her, his rightful suspicion only making her heart pump even faster. "Unless you're gonna tell me that you wanna sleep here, then by all means feel free to do so."

Guidance couldn't help but chuckle at her companion's dry sarcasm. Somehow, he could switch from eloquence to dense at a drop of a hat, and it was kind of endearing in a weird sense of the word.

"Something like that," Guidance awkwardly smiled, her blush never leaving her cheeks as she turned to the porthole. "I'm here to, well, see where we'll end up. You know, us."

"Oh..."

I blinked at his response. Oh? Just that? "Are you seriously only now thinking about it?"

"I didn't expect you to be this forward, Guidance," Moriya replied, crossing his legs as he leaned on the nearest wall to him. "I was thinking more along the lines of us getting to know each other more."

"Doesn't this count?" she annoyingly retorted. "And I'm not being forward. I'm being prudent."

She was raised in a conservative environment, and she knew the power that was being a wallflower and letting a man approach her. However, she had a feeling that such methods would fail in the current environment. They were fighting for their lives, for crying out loud. There was no time to waste playing coy when she could just force the issue and be done with it.

"Okay then. Let's hash this out," Moriya chuckled. "Are we an item?"

Guidance quickly replied, "No?"

"Do you want that to change?"

She hesitated, "...I don't know."

"Well, I don't see the reason why you're here then," Moriya shrugged. "Or do you want me to court you old-school?"

She couldn't help but smile in embarrassment, "Yes?"

Her heart fluttered at where their conversation was going. She knew she was getting distracted, that she should just push him down and do what needed to be done. But a part of her really wanted it to happen. She seriously wanted this to work.

Still, her pettiness was starting to remind her why she was there in the first place.

"I-I see," Moriya awkwardly continued, rubbing the back of his neck as he cutely blushed in front of her. "We can start with- Guidance?!"

Before she knew it, she was already pushing Moriya down, her breaths almost coming out as pants as she stared at him dead in the eye.

"What're you-"

"Hush, Moriya," she cut him off, her eyes still transfixed on his handsome face. "I just remembered why I'm here in the first place."

It was an excuse. There were no words needed. She'll let her body do the talking for her.

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