Chapter 265: Parting Ways

"Is that everything?" Asked Vanimo softly as he looked between Vanye, Lazuli, and Alexander, prompting them to nod while exiting from the brunt rubble.

"Yes, I don't see anything else that survived the fire." Replied Alexander with a nod as he carried a sack over his shoulder while scanning the pile of brunt rubble with his eyes, using [Heroes Gaze] to search for anything salvageable.

Exiting the pile of brunt rubble, which was previously the sibling's home, I grabbed the sack from Lazuli and approached Vanimo, who I then handed them to, prompting him to search through them.

"Haa, so little stuff, huh?" Muttered Vanimo, slightly depressed as he closed the sack before faintly sighing to himself.

"Sorry." Said Alexander lightly as he patted Vanimo's shoulder, causing him to wryly smile before shaking his head.

"Oh, I can't blame everything on you, Alex, though; unfortunately, it seems like my magazines didn't survive the fire." Remarked Vanimo with a shake of his head as he glanced at Alexander before lowering his head, only for Vanye to suddenly drop another sack right at his feet.

"Vanimo, what are these?" Asked Vanye sternly as she narrowed her eyes behind her golden helmet while dropping multiple magazines onto the ground, each cover containing a beautiful yet nude woman.

Raising my eyebrow at the magazines, I glanced at Vanimo before leaning down and grabbing one of the magazines.

"U-Um, w-what do you mean? I-I don't know what these are, Vanye." Said Vanimo nervously as he closed his eyes, refusing to look at either Vanye or the magazines.

"Oh, damn, there are some freaky stuff in here, alright. Master and slave roleplay? Bondage? Rape roleplay? Exhibitionism? I don't know who this belongs to, but one of you two is definitely a closet freak." Remarked Alexander lightly as he flipped through the magazines' pages alongside Lazuli before shifting his focus between Vanimo and Vanye.

"I've been solely focused on removing Vanimo's curse for the past thirty-five or so years; I didn't have time to revel in sexual pleasure, though it seemed someone was able to." Stated Vanye with a deep gaze as she leaned towards Vanimo, who awkwardly coughed while refusing to glance at Vanye.

"Ugh, f-fine, i-it belongs to me, alright!? What, I-I can't lust after women now, Vanye? Just because I don't look like one doesn't mean I'm not a man! I've got lust!" Stated Vanimo defensively as he threw his arms up into the air while glaring at Vanye, who was slightly taken aback by his outburst, only to awkwardly cough,

"Hmm, I-I guess you're right, Vanimo. I-I just wasn't expecting that you, of all people, would interested in such EXTREME sexual pleasures." Said Vanye softly as she stepped backward and glanced at Vanimo, who scoffed before averting his gaze with a faint blush.

"I-It didn't start out like that; at first, just looking at a nude woman was more than enough, b-but as the years went on, I slowly delved deeper into the world of sex." Replied Vanimo softly with a faint blush as he glanced at Vanye, who nodded, only to cough afterward, changing the topic.

"A-Anyways, this was everything I gathered." Said Vanye as she pointed to her sack, causing Vanimo to nod while he tossed his magazines into the sack, causing her face to twitch though she remained silent.

"Hmm, I'm really a fan of the others, though Bondage doesn't seem that bad. I wonder if Michelle would be interested." Said Alexander quietly as he handed the magazine to Vanimo while rubbing his chin with a thoughtful expression.

"Why not Yuki?" Asked Lazuli curiously as she glanced at Alexander, who rolled his eyes before scoffing.

"You've seen how Yuki and I make love; in some way or another, I almost always end up on the bottom while she's doing most of the moving. I highly doubt she'd be interested in Bondage." Replied Alexander with a shake of his head as he glanced at Lazuli, who raised an eyebrow before nodding in agreement.

Seeing Vanye pick up the three sacks, I frowned slightly and reached into my chest pocket, grabbing my spare space pouch, which I tend to use solely for quests or dungeon diving, and handed it to Vanye, who just gave me a look.

"It's a space pouch; you've never seen one before?" "I know what they are, but why are you giving me one?" Asked Alexander and Vanye, respectively, as the former raised an eyebrow while the latter looked slightly confused.

"So you don't have to carry around three sacks; I would love to carry them for you, but we've got our own things to do." Remarked Alexander lightly as he stepped forward, grabbing the sacks from Vanye's hands before stuffing them into the space pouch.

"They're expensive, though; even the smallest one cost five gold coins, and you clearly don't have the smallest one." Said Vanye lightly as she glanced at the space pouch before looking at Alexander, who nodded in understanding only to toss the pouch to her.

"Oh, I see now. Don't worry, Vanye, you're only borrowing it from me. After all, you think I've stopped trying to court you? I'm only stopping once I've finally made you my wife." Stated Alexander confidently with a smirk as he winked at Vanye, who nodded before shaking her head.

"It is unlikely." "Maybe, but unlikely still means it's possible." Remarked Vanye and Alexander, respectively, as the latter smirked before reaching down and kissing the former's hand, prompting her to flash a small smile.

"Tastes like dust and flowers, weird combination." Said Alexander lightly as he licked his lips with a confused expression, his words causing Vanye to frown while Vanimo chuckled.

"I'm surprised she didn't taste like a dired-up old woman." Muttered Lazuli lightly, her words prompting Vanye to narrow her eyes.

"I'm an Elf; 50 is only a tenth of our average lifespan." "50 is still 50. I, on the other hand, am a ripe 22." Stated Vanye and Lazuli, respectively, as the latter faintly smirked while proudly raising her head, irritating the former.

Clearing my thoughts, I broke apart the two's arguments and successfully grabbed their attention.

"So, where are you two going now? Or do you plan to stay here and rebuild?" Asked Alexander curiously as he gazed between Vanimo and Vanye, prompting them to look at each other.

"Um, no clue. We're no longer being held down by anything, whether it be my curse or Vanye's, so we could go anywhere we wanted to." Said Vanimo lightly with a pondering expression as he scratched his head, only for his eyes to widen as he grabbed Vanye's waist, shaking her.

"Let's do that, Vanye! Let us journey around Asckbon! That way, we can visit many unique and different places while also searching for where to settle down." Added Vanimo with a large grin as he stared at Vanye with hope-filled eyes, making it nearly impossible for her to refuse.

"A-Are you sure? Your curse may be broken, but you're still small; a journey may be exhausting for you." Said Vanye lightly as she looked at Vanimo, who nodded while flexing his muscles, prompting Alexander to suppress a laugh.

"I may still be small, but I'm growing! I used to be 5'3, but now, in only a few days, I'm 5'4! I've grown a full inch in merely a few days! Not only that, but I've also gotten a little bit stronger as well." Stated Vanimo excitedly as he looked at Vanye while tapping the top of his head, his words causing her to sigh before nodding.

"Since that's the case, I suppose that's what we'll do, as I have no better idea." Said Vanye lightly as she glanced at Vanimo, who raised his arms in victory.

"Hehe, well, before then, you might want to stock up on supplies from the nearest town or city." Said Alexander lightly while gesturing toward the city where he and Vanimo met.

"Good point, Alex. C'mon, let's get moving!" Said Vanimo in excitement as he grabbed Vanye's hand while leading the way, only to stop a few moments later.

"Are you two not coming?" Asked Vanimo lightly as he turned before glancing at Alexander and Lazuli.

"Our destination isn't that way; we're heading to the Dryad Kingdom." Replied Alexander lightly, his words causing Vanimo's excitement to somewhat dissipate.

"S-So, this is goodbye then?" "No, we'll see each other again. I haven't given up courting your beautiful sister." Remarked Vanimo and Alexander, respectively as the latter approached them while glancing at Vanye, who opted to ignore his words.

I was about to try to shake hands with Vanimo, but instead, he hugged me, and it wasn't the manly type of hug either.

"I-I'll see you later, Vanimo." "Yep, I'll see you soon." Said Alexander and Vanimo, respectively, as the former awkwardly reciprocated the hug.

Once Vanimo stopped hugging me, he did the same to Lazuli while I attempted to hug Vanye, who simply outstretched her hand, causing me to pout.

"C'mon, I can't at least get a hug?" Asked Alexander as he shook Vanye's hands, causing her to playfully eye him.

"You can hug me next time." Replied Vanye calmly, her beautiful voice causing Alexander to begrudgingly nod.

"I was hoping for something a little bit more than a hug, but so be it; I suppose I must take things slow with such a long-lived species." Remarked Alexander lightly as he glanced at Vanye, who faintly smirked before glancing at Lazuli.

The two women entered a staring contest, and only after a few moments did they finally stop.

"Seeya later!" "Bye!" Said Alexander and Vanimo, respectively, as they waved their hands while walking away.