Gardenia’s Heart

(Are you sure it was okay to give that man your name?)

Nia asked with a hint of concern as she watched Lily descend the stairs.

“Hm... I think it’s fine. I didn’t sense any hostility from him, and the way he put his companion’s life above his pride is something you don’t see every day.”

Lily had long been exposed to the worst kinds of people. Bandits who would sell and abuse women just for fun, or those who took pleasure in mocking anyone they deemed inferior. 

In a world filled with human scum, where every relationship was built on distrust, Lily had believed she would never find someone she could truly rely on.

Placing a hand over her heart, Lily smiled as she felt the pulse of her beloved inside her. In a dark world, Nia was her light and salvation.

“I once heard a saying that you shouldn’t hate all flowers just because one pricked you, but I prefer a different version. I won’t hate the flowers, but I’ll never trust any of them. Words can be lies, and actions can be mere performances. Other than the one who’s important to me, I won’t give my trust to anyone else.”

(And who is that important one to you?)

Nia’s mind stirred at Lily’s words. The thought that she might not be one of those Lily trusted was terrifying and made her feel uneasy.

Lily stopped walking and slid her hands under her shirt, her fingers reaching behind her to grasp one of the tentacles hidden and ready to act at any moment.

“My pure and sincere flower is asking strange things. It seems I’ll have to re-educate you later.” 

As her fingers trailed along the tentacle, a shiver ran through Nia’s mind.

The mention of “pure and sincere” reminded Nia of the meaning of her name, which referred to a beautiful flower.

(Gardenia...) 

Realizing that from the very beginning, she had been the only and most precious existence to Lily, Nia was moved to the point of tears. Overcome with joy, she wrapped Lily in an embrace with all four of her tentacles. 

(I love you, Lily!)

Feeling her beloved’s embrace, Lily chuckled softly and returned the hug.

“I love you too, Nia. I love you so much that I’m holding back from covering you in kisses right here and now.”

She laughed as she resisted, settling for a single kiss on Nia’s purple tentacles.

“To finish answering your question, while I might be suspicious of everyone, there are still good people who deserve at least our respect. Like the lady at the weapon shop and the man who was so concerned for his companion, the one we just met.”

If all living beings were truly awful, not just humanity but the entire world would have crumbled by now.  

(Is that why you gave all our potions to him?)

“That was part of the reason, yes. But I also felt that if he wasn’t lying about the money, it would be unfair to take so much for just three potions. I’m sorry for deciding that on my own.”

The silver-haired girl understood the power of money and the weight that fifty gold coins could carry. When she heard the offer, it took all her strength to keep the trembling in her legs from showing to the men. 

(It’s fine, I trust all of Lily’s decisions.)

While studying the green coin with the winged lizard crest on its back, the two finally reached the third level.

"Once we finish exploring this floor, we’ll have enough money for the map. Since we have a day and a half, let’s take our time exploring." 

Each floor seemed to have different monsters and environments, so it wasn’t strange for this one to have a different layout as well.

This time, instead of a carved stone corridor or a frozen cave, they found themselves in a vast, spacious cavern resembling a large ravine. 

The rocky walls were illuminated by colorful moss on the cavern's ceiling, and among them, countless sharp stalactites could be seen. 

The passages here were much more spread out than on previous levels, resembling the interior of a massive anthill. Additionally, the paths were not flat but sloped both upward and downward.

After walking a few meters, Lily observed a massive pit that stretched down dozens of meters. Though she wasn’t afraid of heights, the thought of falling unnerved her, especially since she couldn’t see the bottom. Finding the staircase in these conditions seemed like a major challenge. 

Another notable feature was the stifling heat. When Lily touched the walls, which felt like they were on fire, she could feel an intense heat radiating from them. The sound of scalding water echoed nearby, and she knew there was a hot spring close by.

When they entered the second floor, Lily had forgotten to check the manual for the monsters that appeared there. Although they hadn’t had any issues, she preferred not to take unnecessary risks. So, without wasting time, she pulled it out and began reading.

"It looks like this floor has rivers of hot water!" she exclaimed, analyzing the manual as if she were planning a vacation spa trip. The thought of a warm bath after so long made her visibly excited. 

(Maybe we should ignore the monsters and head straight to the water?) Nia suggested, noticing her beloved’s enthusiasm at the prospect of a bath.

Hearing the mention of monsters, Lily continued reading the manual to gather more information.

"The monsters here are called Rock Golems. They’re about two meters tall and don’t travel in groups. Their bodies are resistant to most spells, so it’s recommended to use physical or high-impact attacks to defeat them. What we need to collect for sale is a yellow stone located in their chest." 

(Interesting, I’ve never encountered a monster this big before.) Nia pondered with some anticipation.

Now that they were no longer in the freezing cold, Nia had returned Lily’s outfit to normal, removing the white fur and covering only her back and chest.

The girls decided to explore the cavern using Nia’s radar ability, which they had named mana-location. 

(There’s a presence 200 meters ahead. Would you like me to create a portal?)

"Let’s walk a bit this time; after all, we’re just killing time until we head back." 

With her new ability, Nia could get a solid understanding of the area around them, avoiding wrong turns and potential dangers.

As they walked, analyzing the complex and fascinating structure of this floor, they eventually reached the source of the mana signature. 

"So this is a stone golem?" 

Just like the manual described, it stood a little over two meters tall, with a massive body that seemed like a collection of brown rocks. Embedded in its chest was a yellow crystal, resembling a spiked orb. Where its head should be was just another stone of the same material as its body, the only distinction being two golden lights that served as its eyes. 

(Can I handle this one? I feel like I didn’t do anything on the last floor...)

Although Nia had said she would take action before, they had found the stairs too quickly, leaving her without any combat. Hearing her partner's timid voice, eager to show her strength, Lily allowed Nia to take charge. She approached the golem without even drawing the sword at her waist. 

The stone monster immediately noticed the woman’s approach and began its attack, raising its rocky arms to crush her into the ground. 

However, just before impact, a dark half-sphere appeared, blocking the blow. A deep thud echoed through the cavern as the monster, surprised, took a few steps back to attack again, this time using a single fist to strike at the side of the girl. 

The destructive blow came, but once again, it was blocked. This time, instead of a shield, two purple tentacles emerged from Lily’s back, grabbing the golem’s stone arm. 

The ground beneath them trembled as the golem was slowly lifted into the air by the tentacles. Before it could realize what was happening, it was flung into one of the cavern walls, sending up a cloud of dirt and dust. 

After a few seconds, the dust settled, revealing the golem’s body, now with only slight cracks. 

(It really is tough. I’ll have to get a little more forceful.) 

Even from almost five meters away, the tentacles didn’t cease their attack. Acting like fists, they each targeted a different part of the golem’s body. With every impact, a new crack formed. It took some time, but the small damages accumulated until finally, the entire stone figure crumbled, leaving only the yellow crystal intact. 

"Great job!" 

Seeing the defeated monster on the ground, Lily began clapping to congratulate her victorious companion. 

(Heheh, thanks!) 

Nia let out a shy laugh, unable to hide her joy at the praise. 

"So, this is the crystal. I wonder what material it’s made of." 

Holding the crystal, which was about the size of a ball, Lily inspected the golden glow it emitted with curiosity. 

(I believe it’s a mix of amber and mana.) Nia analyzed the item, drawing on the knowledge in her mind to offer a possible explanation for Lily’s question.

Nia then tried to absorb the rest of the golem's body but realized that aside from the crystal in its chest, the rest were just ordinary rocks. From her analysis, the crystal acted as both the heart and brain, holding the stones together using mana to form the body. Although she could absorb the crystal to try and gain some traits, they decided to sell it, as a large number of crystals would be needed to acquire even a minimally useful ability.

Afterward, the girls began searching for the area where the water flow converged. Since Nia’s radar could only detect things within a radius of about five hundred meters, it took them longer than expected, as the cave seemed to extend several kilometers both upward and downward.

The shifting layout of the cave also proved to be somewhat frustrating. Lily noticed how the ground and walls moved easily from side to side, and the terrain would rise or sink as if it were a sandcastle being shaped by hand.

Despite this, they enjoyed the exploration, and after a few hours, their efforts were finally rewarded with the sight of a magnificent hot spring.

“Finally, a bath~” Lily sang cheerfully as she made her way toward the water. She didn’t even need to remove her clothes, which dissolved and seemed to merge back into her body, revealing her soft, flawless skin.

Testing the water with her fingers and feeling a pleasant warmth, she carefully stepped into the spring after tying her silver hair into a simple ponytail.

“Aaah... That feels so good~”

The hot water filled every space in her body and its soothing effect relaxed all her muscles.

The hot steam from the hot springs was pleasant and gave her a sense of privacy, although she didn't plan to hide anything from the person next to her. Pressing her arms together, Lily's voluptuous breasts were squeezed, bouncing upwards. The warm water gave them a slightly reddish color, which intensified their beauty even more.

“What do you think, Nia?”

From the moment Lily entered the water, Nia was in a trance. Looking at her lover's naked body seemed like a feast in her mind. Her gaze wandered to the mounds that were pressed together, a thin layer of water formed in the large ravine between them, flowing down to her beautiful pink nipples.

(Beautiful... you're so beautiful, Lily!)

Unable to contain her excitement, Nia felt her body heat up as she longed to taste her lover fully. The beautiful silver-haired woman had a small silver thread on her pink lips, giving her an even sexier appeal.

She wanted to feel her lover's body as soon as possible, but just as she was about to take control of Lily's arms to start massaging the girl, a warning sign appeared in her mind.

Lily was startled when the black half-sphere covered her body, blocking a blade coming towards her neck.