100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 504 - Return

Lucien hastily donned his clothes.

This choice stemmed more from necessity for survival than any moral high ground.

The small realm surrounding them stayed serene, enchanting, and exceptionally skilled at rendering all sensations tender and unavoidable.

In such a setting, absent any other souls and with no urgent obligations looming, giving in to pleasure might prove perilously simple.

Lucien recognized this danger clearly.

It wasn’t a lack of desire for more that held him back.

Quite the opposite—that very desire posed the issue.

Thus, he clothed himself again with the stern determination of a warrior withdrawing from a battlefield he’d relished too greatly to linger near safely.

From behind, Seraphine observed him with evident displeasure.

Then, following a lingering gaze that did nothing to bolster his self-control, she started getting dressed as well.

Midway through, Lucien erred by peeking at her.

He instantly averted his eyes.

Only to fail moments later and glance back.

His skill: Breed hadn’t been useless the previous night. Far from it—it had proven outrageously potent. Now he felt profoundly irritated by its flawless performance.

This awareness didn’t bolster his resolve.

Instead, it intensified the struggle to act as if he weren’t aching to ignore every lingering enigma for another hour—or several.

Lucien breathed out deliberately.

Their Celestial physiques were robust enough that the evening hadn’t drained them. Yet this very fact heightened the peril of boundless indulgence.

With countless tasks ahead, mysteries unsolved, and numerous lives relying on him, he couldn’t risk growing hooked on this idyllic haven or the woman at his side.

Thankfully, Seraphine grasped this reality too.

Regrettably, her comprehension didn’t prevent her dissatisfied expression.

Upon exiting the hut at last, the atmosphere of this crafted realm welcomed them like a soothing touch upon the thoughts.

The meadow persisted unchanged. The hush as well. The realm’s intentional, timeless yearning hadn’t faded one bit.

Yet Seraphine had transformed.

She appeared more radiant now.

As if a deep-seated tangle in her soul, older than memory, had finally unraveled, subtly reshaping her features with quiet ease.

A concealed tension had vanished from her. The resolve remained. The luminosity too. But now her countenance held room for gentleness to linger without fierce contention.

She moved nearer to Lucien, resting softly against his shoulder in silence.

Lucien permitted it.

This gesture felt instinctively right, stirring both delight and a touch of unease in him.

For a brief time, they just lingered there.

Seraphine stayed mute. Lucien shut his eyes, inhaling the crisp breeze. The realm wrought curious effects on emotions. It urged stillness. Lingering. Fond glances backward and unhurried views ahead.

At length, Lucien’s eyes opened, shattering the quiet.

"Would you like to come with me to my territory?"

Seraphine held her response.

Rather, she nestled even closer, savoring his warmth before grave discussion intruded. Then she lifted her face and offered a faint smile.

"I want to," she said. "But not yet."

Lucien remained patient.

"I need to settle things in the East first. The branch is stable, but that is not the same as finished. And..." She hesitated, then continued softly, "I’ve grown attached to the others."

Lucien smiled in response.

He refrained from pressing.

Her readiness alone delighted him beyond anticipation. And he knew duty too well to begrudge hers.

"I won’t steal you from your duties," he said.

Seraphine shot him a glance.

"You say that as if you weren’t about to try."

"I was being optimistic."

"That’s a flattering word for it."

Lucien chuckled.

The banter rested comfortably between them, precisely as it ought. No awkwardness tainted it. No pretense of roles post-intimacy. If anything, its natural flow deepened the authenticity.

Soon after, Seraphine retrieved a box from her storage ring.

It was expertly shielded from casual scans.

She extended it toward him.

Lucien accepted it curiously and unveiled its contents.

An Origin Core fragment lay within.

He glanced up sharply.

Seraphine’s face stayed composed, yet her gaze revealed this gift’s profound significance.

"Take it," she said. "The leader said you needed more. And this belongs to you anyway."

Lucien examined the fragment, then her.

Her final words eluded his full grasp.

Nevertheless, he replied based on what he understood.

"What’s yours doesn’t have to become mine."

Seraphine swiftly raised a hand, gently pressing two fingers to his lips.

"Take it," she said again.

Her voice brooked no argument.

Lucien met her eyes a moment longer, then grinned.

He shut the box, moved nearer, and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you."

Seraphine’s gaze softened by the tiniest degree.

"No need for such politeness between us."

Those words lingered in his mind far beyond the touch of her lips.

…

Not long afterward, they started traversing the odd small realm, hunting for the exit array.

Lucien attempted, several times, to veer back toward the hut’s interior where she’d glimpsed something.

He kept his voice casual, yet his interest burned true.

"What exactly did you see?"

Seraphine shot him a quick look, then faced forward once more.

"Something you’ll learn in time."

"That’s a lousy reply."

"And it’s the only one you’ll get."

A bit later, Lucien probed from a fresh direction.

"Was it painful?"

"Maybe."

"That’s somehow even worse."

A faint smile nearly touched Seraphine’s lips.

After that, he dropped the subject.

He sensed the truth remained too fresh and tender within her. She cradled it delicately, like a wound mending yet tearing anew.

Thus, they shifted to other topics.

Chatting about the East, the branch, the ridiculous quirks of Liberator customs, and if Seran’s wit hinted at deep insight or enduring soul-scars.

At last, they arrived at the teleportation array.

Lucien’s focus snapped to attention.

The instant his eyes fell on the formation anew, he approached it with the eager intensity of someone discovering a fresh fixation.

He examined each rune, every overlapping pattern, every link between the main body and the subtle adjustment sigils buried inside. It was stunning.

Seraphine lingered close by, observing his fascination with clear delight.

"You’re drooling."

"It’s earned."

That pulled a soft chuckle from her.

Lucien kept analyzing for some time more, etching the design firmly into his mind. When he finally withdrew, his expression held the contentment of one already plotting a coming endeavor.

Then they both mounted the array.

Light blazed under their soles.

In the next instant, they were back in the Big World’s secret chamber.

They shared a glance.

Next, Seraphine triggered the Covenant of Pathless Sovereignty once more, whisking them smoothly to her lab in the Eastern Liberator branch.

Within the chamber again, the atmosphere shifted ever so slightly.

Yet Seraphine stayed in an evidently cheerful state. The shift in her had taken root. It was hers to keep.

Lucien regarded her, then spoke. "I’m going to analyze that teleportation array."

A brief silence fell.

"If I manage to recreate even a portion accurately, I could visit more frequently."

That gave her pause.

She nodded.

"The East will probably launch into expansion mode again shortly. When matters calm and my faction stops being a chaotic pile of duties masquerading as a group, I’ll join you."

Joy surged in him more than he revealed.

Little remained to discuss then.

The key phrases had passed between them. Everything else could bide its time.

Their eyes met once more.

Lucien swallowed hard.

Seraphine caught it. Her mouth curved upward.

Suddenly, they both advanced together into another embrace of lips.

This kiss held less urgency than the one in the tiny realm.

Equally genuine.

As they parted, Lucien pressed his forehead to hers for a moment and grinned.

"Then I should leave now."

Seraphine appeared far too pleased with herself.

She ran her tongue over her lips lightly, then gave a single nod.

Lucien retreated at once.

Pure self-preservation.

A smart move.

He invoked the Covenant before she could reinterpret "now" as optional, vanishing from the lab with precisely the haste needed to retain his poise.

He materialized straight in his personal rooms at Lootwell.

The comforting feel of home enveloped him instantly, bringing the sharp awareness that his absence had stretched long enough to spark concern among some.

Thus, he exited and sought Vivian without delay.

He located her right where anticipated: bustling about, directing underlings with the effortless command she’d embraced so seamlessly it still tickled him to recall her earlier self.

Spotting him, her features lit up immediately.

"Lu." She approached. "You’re back at last. I was getting worried."

Lucien grinned and tousled her hair.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

Vivian fixed him with a deadpan stare.

"With you? Anything."

True enough.

Even so, as she stood gazing at him, her look altered.

Faintly.

"What happened?" she asked slowly. "You seem... changed."

Lucien clutched his chest, feigning injury from her words.

"Sis, I’ve only been gone a day. What kind of dramatic transformation are you imagining?"

Before she could respond, he drew her into a swift embrace.

Vivian took it without hesitation.

Midway through the hug, she suddenly froze.

Lucien failed to notice the cause right away.

But others did.

The elemental women appeared nearly at the same instant.

Marie halted in her tracks first.

Then her gaze narrowed.

Extremely gradually.

"Luc," she said.

That voice instantly alerted him.

She moved nearer.

Leaning forward, she sniffed at him.

Lucien gawked at her.

Marie returned the stare.

Her face shifted to one of shocked outrage.

"This is another woman’s scent."

Kaia stiffened right after.

Her eyes focused with terrifying precision.

"This is not just perfume."

Sylra stayed back. A gentle breeze swirled around Lucien once, picked up what it required, and drifted back to her.

She scowled immediately.

Meanwhile, Marina had turned utterly rigid.

Her eyes expanded. Then grew misty. Then overflowed.

Lucien noticed and, for a brief instant, pondered escape.

Too late.

Marina charged forward, struck his chest with a tear-soaked, heartbroken watery blow, and broke down crying.

"You traitor," she sobbed. "I was clearly first."

In a single smooth, wildly theatrical gesture, her form melted into a surge of animated water and bolted down the hallway, consumed by sorrow.

"My prince, you traitor!"

Her cry reverberated long after her departure.

Silence ensued.

A profoundly condemning quiet.

Lucien rubbed his cheek.

"Oops."

Marie placed hands on her hips.

"Oops?"

Kaia crossed her arms.

Sylra uttered not a word.

Somehow, that proved even worse.

Vivian gradually withdrew from the embrace, shifting her gaze from Lucien to Marina's escape route, then back again.

Comprehension struck.

Lucien, spotting that expression, grasped with sinking dread that what followed—

spelled trouble.