God Of Crafting

Chapter 43: Genius, again

We exchanged a select few of the words. And in a single moment, the atmosphere in the bath changed once again.

And it would be weird if it didn't, given the weight of what we dropped in those few words.

An investment.

It implied a relationship based on the calculation of costs and incentives.

A deal sweetener, on the other hand, was merely a honey trap aimed to gain leverage.

'When put in this way, this really sounds bad, huh?'

I resisted the desire to hang my head.

Doing so right now would inevitably mean Claire shifting her position as well. And right now, it was our conversation that I had to put all my attention to, not some stupid worldly desires.

In the end, I only managed to cover my face with the palm of my hand before heaving a long sigh.

"Listen," I tried to speak out, only for Claire to, once again, tighten her hold over me.

"Shut up."

For a moment, she left me hanging. Her voice... annoyed?

'Wait, that doesn't track...'

She didn't cry out nor weakly whispered. She just... snapped a bit, as if too focused on something to allow any distractions.

Then, as opposed to my long one, she took a quick breath before... tightening her hold yet again.

"Okay, I'm sorry, it's not like that."

For the first time in ages, her hands, her legs... relaxed a bit.

The suddenness of the change caught me off-guard. As if, maybe, some sort of load dropped off her shoulders?

And as I fell deeper into her now relaxed embrace... she moved her hand down the last inch.

'Shit...'

The moment she did, however, weakness suddenly overtook my whole body. A sense of sleepiness...

There was no pain, no exhaustion, no... nothing.

Just a strange desire to just lay down and lazily recover in the warm rays of the sun.

My whole body went limp in an instant as my consciousness started to fade...

"Here!" Claire's hurried shout... somehow seemed to root me in reality, anchoring me away from the much desired and DESERVED sleep!

Yet, the very next moment, this overwhelming sense of sleepiness... receded, leaving as quickly as it came to be.

The moment the reality returned, however...

I've somehow ended up with my face all the way up Claire's wet and heavy chest!

And quite noticeably... her hands were now gently wrapping against the back of my head. What's more, her hips were still pressing against my stomach, proving her legs couldn't be wrapped around me either!

And yet... I was awake?

'So that's what's all about with this tranquilizer...' I thought, recalling what I learned a bit earlier. 'Then...'

Wasn't there a part of her taking on the burden, rather than just shielding me from it?

'So that's why she was so...'

"We don't have much time. This artifact will only last for about fifteen minutes," Claire suddenly announced as she wrapped her hands a bit tighter around my head... Only to then let go as she slowly dropped right back down on my lap, intentionally looking down and squinting her eyes as her face dropped just below mine.

"As arrogant as this might sound, I think I know what you are thinking, how you are feeling," Claire suddenly announced, perking her head up as she looked directly into my eyes. "But everything is actually in reverse."

Resting her hands high on my chest, Claire suddenly climbed up on her hips, raising just high enough to lock my face between her lowered head and her bust. And as she cradled the back of my head with one hand while brushing through my hair with the other...

"You don't seem to be aware, but you are a bona fide genius."

The intensity of Claire's voice right now, especially as she spoke right into my face...

Not even looking down into her adorable expression was enough to distract me from her voice.

"And honestly..." Claire climbed up even higher only to bring her lips down to my ear. "I'm the one taking advantage of you, not the other way around."