Location: Lil. Red Storm, Seed World, Devil Merchant Code, Inter-Realm City, Sector WS9909, Infinity Library, Study Room
"Yes, I did. I wanted to say goodbye and thank you before I leave," Wyatt said with a gentle smile to Maymay, who actively avoided eye contact with him.
"You're leaving?" Maymay asked in surprise, breaking her indifferent mask. She quickly composed herself, silently scolding herself for being unable to control her emotions. For some unknown reason, whenever it came to Wyatt, her usually sublime mind grew muddled, making her clumsy. Even after a year and a half since their previous meeting, she still couldn't fully grasp control over herself in his presence.
"Yes, I've accomplished all my goals for entering isolation training, thanks to your pills. They were incredibly helpful-thank you. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to afford the study room, let alone all the medicines you provided for me and my clones. I'm truly grateful. But now, it's time for me to return," Wyatt said, repeatedly thanking Maymay, subtly extending their inevitable goodbye to give her time to act on her feelings.
"Don't mention it. I only did a little to help my friend, and most of it was part of your compensation," Maymay replied, though her voice and eyes betrayed a sense of loss, knowing Wyatt would soon vanish from her life.
The past year and a half had been emotionally turbulent yet fulfilling for Maymay, Every day, she watched Wyatt from afar, seeing him study so seriously, then pondering on what he meant by asking her to try every type of kiss in the myriad realms on him. The emotional turmoil she experienced was unlike anything she had felt in her long life.
It was addictive. She never grew tired of monitoring Wyatt or replaying their first meeting in her mind. These moments with him were the most emotionally charged of her entire life. Though they barely made up a fraction of one percent of her memories, she wanted to cherish and protect them for millennia to come.
Making saying goodbye to him just as emotionally challenging for her. She wanted to ask him to stay but couldn't, as she still hadn't come to terms with her feelings. She thought of him as a friend, but it was clear he wanted more. Though she didn't feel the same, she grew curious about the possibility of such a relationship after reading all the books on kissing in the Infinity Library. Those books described using kisses to express various forms of love. While she understood familial and friendly love, passionate love was foreign to her, as the mating of pixies differed greatly from that of
other races in the myriad realms.
Biologically, it should have been impossible for her to even consider such love. Yet, when it came to Wyatt, she couldn't help but entertain the thought. She had never felt this way toward anyone before. As an elder pixie, such notions shouldn't have crossed her mind, which was why she felt too embarrassed to seek advice from her tribal elders or friends.
However, embarrassment alone wasn't enough to make these thoughts and emotions go away. Part of Maymay wanted to suppress and forget them, but another part was curious, wanting to explore what Wyatt had suggested. She wanted to try all the types of kissing she had recently learned about and explore the various forms of love to see if they were just as satisfying and fulfilling as the ones she already knew. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to move forward.
Maymay knew what she wanted, but for obvious reasons, she couldn't come to terms with it..
Seeing that Maymay wasn't taking the opportunity he offered, Wyatt decided to push further. "Speaking of compensation, I'm leaving, so this is your last chance to redeem my compensation to you. If you don't know how, just say the word, and I'll take the lead," Wyatt said provocatively, hoping to stir her pride.
"I know how," Maymay retorted, her voice firm. "I read all the books in the Infinity Library on the different ways of kissing in the myriad realms, just like I said I would."
She had replayed their last conversation in her mind enough times to know exactly what Wyatt was doing-he was trying to provoke her. But she didn't care. There was something about him that made her forget her sublime and immortal status as an elder pixie. In his presence, she felt like-what was the word from the book?-a prey, meant to satisfy his desires.
Maymay couldn't understand how she could feel this way toward a male from a race so obscure that many in the myriad realms didn't even know it existed. But that was precisely the point. She had never felt emotions like these before. No one in the entire myriad realms had ever made her feel this way. Yet somehow, in Wyatt's presence, she felt as vulnerable and mortal as any other being.
Instead of wondering why, instead of questioning how this mortal demon merchant could evoke such emotions in her, why him of all the powerful beings in the universe, she thought: 'If it's him, it should be possible! He could help her explore all the forms of love mentioned in the books. With him, she could understand the emotions and expressions that had always eluded her.
Even this craving-this deep desire to understand love more fully-was something she could savor because of him. Without him, she would have remained ignorantly content with the limited forms of love she knew. Despite her immortal status, she would have missed out on the rich experiences mortals cherished in their brief lives.
"So," Wyatt said, breaking her reverie, "do you want to claim your compensation-or should I head back?"
"Huh?" Maymay had a lot to say but didn't know what to say. She wanted to scream, 'Why is this so hard to decide!' But just then, Wyatt's manly hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. Before she could react or protest, his alluring lips locked with hers...