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[Where is he going?] The Nymph fumed. [Tell him to come back right now!]

|[I can't.]| I informed her. |[He has gone away to hunt with his new playmate.]|

The Nymph scowled while gazing up at Sylrin's distant figure. [Ill-mannered beast! Look at what he did to my dress. Aren't you going to scold him?]

Seeing her sorry, enraged figure, I couldn't stop smiling. She brushed off a few specks of dust, her dark hair falling back into place with a wave of her hand and then the Nymph looked as impeccable as before.

[I wonder who he takes after.] she still cursed under her breath and I ignored what she was trying to imply.

.

It definitely wasn't me. Sylrin acted no differently from a kid, always quick to move on. He didn't even give me a proper goodbye, before rushing off to hunt with the Alpha wolf.

I was surprised how quickly they became friends.

Then the Nymph gave me a puzzling stare.

[You can understand him, in the same way you can understand me. How is that possible?]

|[Uh... intuition.]| I replied offhandedly as the Nymph glanced at me with suspicion. |[We should start heading back now.]|

Her children weren't far, and they looked rather nervously at me in Sylrin's absence, one was even clutching my summon in a tight grip, her face pale, and eyes wide in shock. But as we approached, the miniature serpent was handed over to the Nymph and it settled down on her shoulder.

If all went as planned this summon would be very valuable to me in the future.

However, for now it was best to leave before the atmosphere got even more strained.

I called my nestlings over and they rushed towards me after saying farewell to their new friends. The Veladrys seemed particularly upset to see us leaving, but all the Lyenysa bore expressions of relief, especially after the uproar Sylrin had caused.

Like them, I wasn't too keen on staying, so I quickly said goodbye to the Nymph and headed straight for the tunnel, however, she quickly blocked my way. 

[I can't let you leave without any protection.] The Nymph said, her concerned face the picture of innocence. [Let some of my children accompany you.]

It seemed she would not be satisfied until she'd attached some strong spies to me, and I scowled at her.

Behind her, the four Lyenysa were glaring at me, their faces full of reluctance. 

By children, she probably meant them, but if they accompanied me, I would be no better than her prisoner.

|[Alright. I'll take these four.]| I replied, gesturing to the small group of pink haired Veladrys next to the Lyenysa.

Artemis was overjoyed at my choice, but the Nymph glared at me, her ruby eyes flashing dangerously in anger.

It was better the Veladrys, than for one of the Lyenysa to enter my cave. If that happened I would never get anything done. And technically, she did say 'some' of her children – that included the Veladrys too.

[Fine. Then can go with you.] Unable to argue, the Nymph could only suppress her fury. [I expect to hear some news about my oldest, soon.]

I let out a sigh of relief. |[I will! Thank you for having us, Shiranui.]|

The Nymph blushed at the sound of her name – all traces of anger gone as she looked at me. [You'll visit again soon, right?]

I nodded, because by then I'll probably know where her real body was.

The remaining Veladrys on her side, as well as the Lyenysa all bowed to us as we retreated, leaving only the Nymph to stare at me with a forlorn look.

The four Veladrys I'd chosen were making their way across the forest floor towards the pathway connecting our lairs, my nestlings not far behind them, and I slithered over to join them.

But then, Sensei decided to interrupt the peaceful mood. «Tell her you're not interested in becoming her lover before you leave, or it'll be too late.»

"What?!" I exclaimed. "And have her kill me?"

I was convinced Sensei had lost it – what a horrible idea!

«So, you'd rather deceive her?» Sensei replied.

What the heck was he saying?

However, when I turned back, the Nymph was still standing there, staring at my retreating figure although the crowd of Veladrys had retreated from her.

Even her children were attempting to pull her away but weren't able to and I felt a twinge of regret.

"Why are you saying this now?" I grumbled at Sensei. "Our alliance is too fragile. How is it smart to tell her now?"

It wasn't like I was trying to lead her on. To me, the Nymph was wonderful and quite caring for a monster, even better, as the nestlings seemed to like her, just as much as her Veladrys liked me.

On paper, she was the perfect ally, and I would have like to have her as a friend too, now that my head wasn't being held hostage by the [Nymphs Kiss]. But the whole 'lover' thing took me by surprise. I had no idea when she started to like me, or why.

Was it normal for monsters to fall in love so easily?

I wasn't even sure she was serious!

«It'll be much worse to tell her later when she's fallen too deeply.» Sensei replied, which only made me irritated.

It wasn't like I didn't like the Nymph, she was just a bit…insane, and I had a feeling there was much more she wasn't telling me. Even now, her gaze filled me with shivers, and I moved faster towards the pathway, causing the others behind me to hurry up as well.

Once out of sight I was able to slow down, and I became more troubled by what Sensei was trying to achieve by moonlighting as my conscience.

"Don't act so self-righteous." I snapped at him. "Since when are you against deceiving people? Wasn't the plan to get her on our side by any means? What changed now?"

«Your hesitation concerns me. It doesn't seem like you want her to leave.» Sensei replied.

And I frowned, because he was partly correct.

"Because there's no need now." I stubbornly insisted. "She isn't trying to control me anymore, so..."

Without the kiss, there was no threat. If anything, the Nymph had traded her leverage in exchange for a name which didn't really benefit her.

«The kiss was already weakened before she removed it.» Sensei disappointedly sighed. «It was of no use to her, anyway.»

Now, I was surprised to hear this.

«You've started to like her.» He continued. «Which means you won't be able to kill her if it really comes down to it – even if you do find her tree.»

"That's not true." I replied.

«I told you she's more shrewd than you. Do you think all of this was for nothing? She's simply wearing out your defences by showing you a different side of her.»

"Why would she do that?" I scoffed in disbelief. "She hasn't done anything to hurt me, and she gains nothing from this." 

I refused to believe it. Sensei's paranoia was really getting out of hand.

The same thing happened with my nestlings and now with the Nymph – It was like no one was good enough.

"Is it that hard for you to believe she genuinely likes me and wants to follow me?" I asked him.

«You don't leave something that important to chance.» Sensei replied. «There will always be another kiss to replace the one she removed.

You don't bring a predator into your cave – you cut off its head outside. Your ally should be someone you can turn your back on without expecting to find a knife waiting for you.»

"And also completely mindless." I added, since he seemed to have omitted that.

Sensei didn't disagree either and I sighed.

It would be illogical to demand the Nymph's complete loyalty when I wasn't being honest with her.

I arrived at the pathway leading underground, its internal walls alight with copious amounts of glowing insects that travelled through the opening while I waited for my nestlings to catch up, and I took one last look at the pink forest.

Right now, Sensei's sudden morality wasn't helping matters.

As for the nymph, while I wasn't too sure about her, I had come to understand a lot of things after speaking to her.

For one, she cared a lot about her children which was similar to me – she just was not used to honesty, much like Sensei in that regard.

But why did she ask me to name her?

If she really wanted some of my power as she claimed, it would have been easier for her to try and kill me. That's what made me feel conflicted because somehow she was willing to trust me.

I could even say I liked her a little.

"My honestly would ruin everything." I said at last. "I'd rather wait and see what she does before deciding anything."

«As long as you don't let your guard down.» Sensei replied.

He was so sure trusting her was a bad idea, but some part of me suspected he simply didn't like her and wanted to get rid of her.

But then again, I could also be wrong.

The first nestling to reach me was Cygnus, followed shortly by Delphine. Soon everyone caught up including the four Veladrys and we vanished into the pathway.

Thankfully, the journey back was uneventful and short.