A Shameful World

Val's eyes scanned the crystalline cavern, shivering a little in the wet, cold of the chamber. While the air felt less repressive than that of the downward tunnel, it was still much cooler and damp than she was used to.

Her steps echoed in the vastness of the space, and she could just faintly hear the same from Cael's steps from somewhere else in the cave. They'd woken up about an hour ago, and after eating a brief breakfast of dried fruit, they'd split up to begin their search.

She sighed, running her fingers across a nearby gemstone. It glowed softly under her touch, and she felt the familiar tingle of magical energy run through her body. The mana in the area was denser, and her senses were tingling, but the hum of resonance still remained distant.

Ever since they'd arrived, she'd been dealing with three types of discomfort. The first was the most pleasant discomfort—as contradictory as that was to say: her body's reactions to whatever Cael did.

She lightly clenched her hands together.

The mere sight of him could cause her to flush and get a little warm. And while that by itself wasn't too different from before, now knowing just why she was feeling that way had completely changed her relationship to those feelings. It was a struggle just to determine what was 'normal' for her anymore.

What was normal for romantic partners? How much affection was she supposed to show him? How far was she meant to go? There were so many different characters in the romance stories she'd read, and all of them did unique things depending on their preferences.

But how did that translate to real life? What did she like? She hadn't had the chance to explore all of her desires! And the idea of experimenting was both… exhilarating and frightening! She'd already been fumbling around so much with her attempts at intimacy. The idea of messing that up again and ruining things made her want to tear out her hair!

Her mind flashed back to last night and the fact that she'd been so close to touching a very private part of his body without realizing it, and she cringed. 

Past Val would've likely just happily hummed, blissfully ignorant of what she'd been about to do.

Present Val, on the other hand, was mortified at her own actions.

She clapped her cheeks, sending a refocusing pain through her face. No! She needed to focus on the present! The bath crystal! Where was it?

Val took a deep breath and calmed herself. She outstretched her hand, letting herself feel the subtle vibrations of the air, the mana swirling around her and the crystals. Her leg muscles cramped slightly from the constant walking and crouching, but she pushed through the pain, trying to hone in on what they needed.

These were the other two discomforts she'd been dealing with. The second was rather obvious given her body's constant rebellion: her exhaustion.

The both of them had gotten decent sleep last night, but her muscles apparently didn't get the memorandum. No, they just had to ache and whine whenever she moved, forcing her to stop and stretch every once in a while.

She would just have to hope that it faded soon enough, because the final discomfort would likely be a thorn in their sides until they left this place.

The resonant hum in the air had grown stronger. It was now a constant, steady rhythm, a deep throbbing that made her head pound and her teeth rattle. She knew that the location of this cavern would bring with it the thrums and pulse of the world's mana, but she had underestimated its effect from the descriptions of this place. The guides to this cavern had explained it as a mere drone, the type that would fade into the background as one got used to it. And while it had done so on their descent, it had quickly returned in force once they'd started exploring this chamber.

While on the matter of inconsistencies, she had also been surprised by the sheer amount of crystals here in the resting area. From what her books had told her, the caverns this close to the surface were mostly barren with only occasional outcrops of gems. They shouldn't have even spotted a viable one until they'd descended even further into the earth.

Had this place really changed that much since that guide had been written?

Her gaze flicked over to the far end of the chamber, where another opening led down into the depths of the world. She supposed that she shouldn't be complaining about this stroke of fortune, and that she should instead be thankful that they could probably find their prize quicker than anticipated.

But still, it was a nagging thought, and she didn't know what to make of it. Crystals took decades if not centuries to form from what she knew. So unless there had been a massive influx of ambient mana in this world's leylines, there shouldn't have been such a change. It might not have mattered in the grand scheme of things, but she couldn't help but be curious.

"Val?! Hey Val, I think I found something!"

Cael's voice echoed from across the cavern, and she immediately snapped her head in his direction. He was crouched near the wall of the room, waving his arm and pointing at a crystal that was nestled in a small crack.

She quickly scurried over, sending small rocks skittering across the stony floor as she ran, and then she dropped beside him. The colorless gem was smooth and polished, shining with an inner light. Its surface was clear, save for a few small imperfections that glimmered like stars in a cloudless night sky.

"Ah, I see you've found a warding crystal. This is quite a large one too." She tapped it with her fingers gently to test how loose it was in the rock. "It would definitely be useful for the cottage if we could take it back with us."

Cael's stormy grey eyes glittered in the glow, and his eyebrows scrunched together in curiosity. "I thought it looked somewhat familiar. How do these things even work anyway? Would we just pluck it out then plop it wherever?"

She nodded, and her lips curved up into a small smile. "More or less. You don't need to use any magic to activate this type, nor do they need to be charged. They'll work so long as they're in contact with the ground in some fashion."

Val began to search through her pack, nudging aside items while trying to find where she'd put the pick.

"Ah, there it is. Alright, let's see what we can—" She pulled on the tool but paused as she noticed Cael tugging on the crystal with both hands. "W-what are you doing?"

"Taking the crystal. What does it look like I'm doing?" He grunted, pulling harder, straining to loosen the crystal from its rocky crevice or to perhaps snap it loose from the bottom. "Come on… Just a little more…"

"C-Cael, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, these things are very durable. In order to retrieve it, we'll need to use—"

*SNAP*

The sound of crumbling stone filled the cavern. Cael's eyes went wide as he stumbled backwards, tumbling to the ground. His hands gripped the crystal, and it glowed softly in the darkness of the cave.

"Hehe, I did it! That wasn't so hard, now was it—? Uh, Val?"

Val's face went blank as her eyes honed in on arms. H-had he really just...?

She blinked. Then blinked again.

The lines of his forearms, the way the muscles bulged slightly as they held the crystal, the way his palms gripped it tightly. It was all just so—

Her cheeks flared up, heat rushing to her face.

"U-um, are you okay? Your face is really red…"

"Y-you're so cool!"

***

Val buried her face in her hands as she continued to search. Her embarrassment from the sudden outburst earlier still lingered, and the heat in her face hadn't faded. She'd just said the very first thing that came to mind, just like she'd been used to before, but…

Aaaaagh! Why was it so embarrassing to voice her compliments out loud now?!?!

It was frustrating! She wanted to tell him how amazing he was all the time, but now that they were romantic partners, the act of actually doing so felt much more difficult.

Why?! Wasn't it supposed to be the opposite?! Wasn't she supposed to be able to say those kinds of things freely now?!? It was unfair!

She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. It was fine, she was just overreacting. Eventually she'd be able to get a hang of—

A happy gasp interrupted her thoughts as she saw something.

"Ooh, a crystal!"

She jumped in glee, wrists pointed inward, before rushing over to observe the gemstone.

"Let's see, let's see, what are you?"

Her eyes scanned its shape and color. It was a deep, vibrant purplish blue that glowed with a lively inner light. Its edges were sharp and angular, but not jagged or rough.

It was growing right between clusters of heating crystals and water crystals too! Oh, this was definitely it, wasn't it? A bath crystal they could use!

She reached out her hand, feeling the familiar tingle of magic at her fingertips. The energy within it was strong and steady, pulsing softly in the air.

Her giddiness only skyrocketed the moment she tried activating it. Immediately, a shower of pleasantly heated water began to cascade forth from it and onto her hands.

"O-oh!" Val giggled, her eyes shining as her skin was hit with the warm spray. "It really is a bath crystal! I found it, I found it!"

She immediately turned to tell Cael about the discovery, but suddenly stopped as she realized just how relaxing the water was. The pressure of the shower was just the right amount of firm, and it soothed the aches in her body. She hadn't even realized how much she had been missing this feeling.

The urge to clean herself surged within her, the dirt and grime of her travels suddenly feeling so much more apparent on her skin and in her hair. It had been over a day since she'd last washed, and the temptation to indulge herself in a quick rinse was overwhelming.

But that'd be so selfish, wouldn't it?

Her gaze drifted over in the direction of Cael was. She could hear the faint sound of crystals clinking and snapping as he likely worked on gathering some other spare crystals for around the house.

"… A brief one would be okay, wouldn't it?" she mumbled to herself. "And besides, I do need to test it properly to see if it truly is working…"

Yes, that was it! This was an experiment, a necessary part of the search to find a replacement for the one that broke.

She happily discarded her clothing, folding it neatly and putting it aside on a nearby stone. Then she began to run her hand through her violet hair, combing it out as her braid unfurled. The warm water flowed over her scalp and through her long, dark strands of hair, washing away the dirt and sweat from her travels.

Ah yes, the temperature was working just perfectly. She could feel the heat seeping in, warming her skin and soothing her aching muscles.

"Hehe, Val, you are such a thorough and responsible person!" she said, giggling to herself. "Such dedication to testing things. A pioneer of new sensations. A paragon of the highest—"

"Hey Val, I think I found something promising over here! It might be a…"

Val froze beneath the tepid water as she slowly turned her head toward the trailing off voice.

Cael stood a few meters away from her, his eyes wide and mouth open, staring at her naked body in all of its wet, shimmering glory.

"…" Oh, how lovely. She believed she just discovered a completely new sensation.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"