Staring Openly

Just as she swam in between the coral reefs, a problem appeared.

Her chest was stuck in the narrow entrance.

"…"

"…"

Neo and Amelia stared at her with awkward gazes.

Turning his head, Neo subconsciously compared Elizabeth with Amelia.

'There is room for a lot of development.'

He shook his head in disappointment.

It seemed Amelia failed to inherit good qualities from her mother.

Or maybe, Amelia took after her birth mother?

Neo wouldn't know since he never met Elizabeth's twin sister.

"Mom, do you need help—"

A pulse of wave passed through the undersea and suddenly the seabed was ripped apart for miles.

Elizabeth, after changing the underwater landscape, turned to them.

"Amelia is claustrophobic, so I enlarged the entrance. It shouldn't be uncomfortable anymore."

"Huh? I'm not claus—"

"You are, sweetie. You just don't know because you've never been in confined spaces."

Her expressionless face was saying to never bring up the topic again.

Neo would be lying if he said his eyes didn't wander to inappropriate places.

He moved his gaze away before Elizabeth could catch him.

It was already morning by the time they entered the underwater cave.

Thankfully, the cave was not destroyed by Elizabeth's rampage.

Amelia left the underwater cave after a short rest.

They ran away from the Mermaid Country without bringing anything except food.

So Amelia was going to buy the basic necessities from the city while Neo and Elizabeth used the Divine Water pond.

"You can enter the pond first," Elizabeth told him.

Neo didn't refuse.

After making sure Elizabeth was looking in another direction, he removed his clothes and sat inside the Divine Water pond.

He could feel his exhaustion disappearing. It was a good idea to listen to Elizabeth's advice.

Just when he thought that, Elizabeth entered the pond. She had removed most of her clothes, leaving only the bare minimum.

'She must've entered the pond like that because the rate of healing depends on the area of skin contact with Divine Water,' he told himself.

He would be lying if he said he was displeased by the situation.

Elizabeth's slender white neck gave way to delicate shoulders, leading down to a perfectly proportioned bust.

Her waist was narrow, accentuating the soft curves of her hips, which moved with a fluid grace.

Every time she took a step, the twin mountains quivered ever so slightly.

She had a sexy, and mature charm.

Yet she looked graceful like a Valkyrie who had descended on earth from heaven.

"You shouldn't stare so openly," Elizabeth told him with a teasing smile.

"I'm not the one who entered the pond after telling the other person they can use the pond first," he said.

Elizabeth chuckled at his boldness. She looked below after breaking eye contact with him. Her eyes slightly widened.

"So that's why Amelia was surprised," her voice was filled with astonishment. "No wonder she was afraid after seeing this."

Neo shrugged, then he closed his eyes, and sank into the pond, feeling relieved by its healing ability. Since he had grown stronger, he no longer needed to worry about exploding like an overcharged battery.

After a few dozen minutes had passed, Elizabeth had healed to a good amount.

She said, "Since we have time, I will teach you the Tremor-ranked Spell right now."

"Here?" He opened his eyes.

"The Divine Water pond will help you replenish your Divine Energy quickly. This is a good place to learn the Spell faster."

"Okay." Neo nodded. "What should I do?"

"Come here," Elizabeth beckoned him.

"...?"

He felt something was strange.

Was he imagining it, or was this a chance?

Thinking again, Elizabeth might've had some intentions when she entered the pond with him.

Neo looked at her again.

She looked like someone who was in her early twenties like a ripe fruit, yet she held an undeniable mature charm.

Moreover, her children, Paul and Clara, were Spellborn. So—

'Huh? Isn't she the best then?' Neo blinked.

Only an idiot would say no to a perfect woman like Elizabeth.

Just as he was about to speak, he felt a presence at the cave's entrance.

"What are you two doing?" Amelia's icy voice rang. She stared at him and her mother with a cold, disgusted gaze.

Seeing her, he clicked his tongue audibly, making sure she heard it.

He got out of the pond, dried himself with a towel and changed into fresh clothes.

"You took quite a bit of time to return," he said.

"Y-you!"

She glared at him as if he was her mortal enemy.

Which wasn't exactly wrong considering he was trying to get steamy with her mother.

"Why were you naked with him, Mom?!"

She turned to Elizabeth after she realized speaking to Neo was like shouting at a rock.

"I didn't want to ruin my clothes," Elizabeth answered with a calm, confident smile.

But Neo noticed the red tip of her ears.

She seemed embarrassed, caught by her daughter in an awkward moment.

"What do you mean?" Amelia narrowed her eyes.

"We don't have money. If I ruined the clothes I had on me, I would've had nothing left to wear," she gave an excuse.

Amelia's face stiffened.

The excuse was so bad that she wondered if her mother was even trying to make an excuse.

She turned her head and glared at Neo.