Free Web NovelChapter 33: Awakening Alongside Selene
The next morning, Adam opened his eyes earlier than usual.
The room was still bathed in soft light.
The first rays of sunlight barely filtered through the curtains, tracing thin golden lines on the walls.
Selene was still asleep against him.
The white tiger-woman was nestled against his chest, her ears twitching faintly from time to time. Her breathing was calm, deep, almost peaceful.
Adam looked down at her.
He still struggled to reconcile this relaxed woman with the guild mistress who had knocked him to the ground several times the day before.
"She really does have two faces..."
As if she had heard his voice, Selene shifted slightly and rubbed her cheek against his chest.
A low purr rose from her throat.
Adam smiled in spite of himself.
"And the second one is far too dangerous for my sanity."
Selene slowly opened her eyes.
Her golden pupils rested on him.
For a few seconds, she remained silent, still between sleep and wakefulness.
Then a satisfied smile appeared on her lips.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
She stretched slowly, without leaving his arms.
"Did you sleep well?"
Adam looked at her.
"Given yesterday, I think my body had no choice."
Selene gave a low, deep laugh.
"That’s a good sign. You’re recovering quickly."
"Thanks to Mana Body and Vigorous Body. Both reached level two last night."
Selene’s ears perked up.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Her smile grew proud.
"So my training is working."
Adam stared at her.
"You call that training?"
"Of course."
"I see you’re putting everything in the same category."
"If your body is improving, it’s because of training."
Adam remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he sighed.
"I have a feeling I’ll never win this debate."
Selene smiled.
"Good intuition."
Adam straightened slightly, then reached for his inventory.
A faint light appeared.
A silver ring, identical to those of Elena, Isadora, and Lyriana, materialized in his palm.
Selene’s smile vanished immediately.
Her gaze settled on the object.
The bluish runes engraved on its surface pulsed softly.
"It’s..."
Adam nodded.
"The Ring of Promise. My power granted it to me last night, after recognizing you as my mate."
Selene remained silent.
Her expression had changed.
She was no longer playful.
More predatory.
More teasing.
She gazed at the ring with almost solemn attention.
Adam gently took her hand.
"It works like the others. Storage space, long-distance communication, mutual location, light mental protection."
He looked up at her.
"If you need me, you can call me. And if I’m in danger, you can find me too."
Selene looked at him for a long moment.
Then her smile returned.
But this time, it was gentler.
"You know that giving this kind of object to a woman like me is dangerous?"
"I’m beginning to understand that everything is dangerous with you."
She laughed softly.
"Good answer."
Adam slipped the ring onto her finger.
The runes lit up immediately.
A thin line of blue light connected their hands for a few seconds before vanishing.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ring of Promise Bound
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Worshipper: Selene Arkwell
Link Recognized: Companion
Activated Functions:
*Spatial Storage
*Long-Range Communication
*Mutual Location
*Mental Protection light
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Selene gazed at the ring on her finger.
Then she raised her hand and played the light on it.
"It’s beautiful."
"And practical."
"Both."
She leaned towards Adam and placed a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you."
Adam smiled.
"You’re welcome."
The moment remained calm.
Too calm.
Then someone knocked on the door.
Knock.
Adam and Selene turned their heads at the same time.
The door opened almost immediately.
Isadora entered quietly.
She wore an elegant morning dress, simple but perfectly fitted. Her gaze flickered from Adam to Selene, then back to the ring on the tiger woman’s finger.
A smile appeared on her lips.
A smile that clearly said: I already know everything.
Adam sighed.
"Does anyone in this mansion wait for an answer before entering?"
Isadora inclined her head slightly.
"Sometimes."
"When?"
"When necessary."
Selene burst out laughing.
Isadora watched them both with amusement.
"It’s almost a shame the others haven’t had their turn yet. Otherwise, they could have woken up with you this morning."
Adam froze.
Selene, however, didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed.
On the contrary, she smiled broadly.
"That would be interesting."
Adam slowly turned his head toward her.
"You’re not helping."
"I know."
Isadora moved slightly closer to the bed.
"So, Selene?"
The tiger woman looked up at her.
"Yes?"
"How was your night?"
Adam sensed the danger.
Selene didn’t even bother to think.
"The best of my life. By far."
Adam closed his eyes.
Isadora smiled wider.
"That much?"
"Yes."
Selene stretched lazily against Adam.
"I can’t wait for it to start again."
Adam murmured:
"You two are really impossible..."
Isadora replied gently:
"You’ll get used to it."
"That’s exactly what worries me." "
The duchess gave a soft laugh, then sat up straight.
"Breakfast is ready. Don’t be too late."
She headed for the door.
Before leaving, she added without turning around,
"And Selene... try not to completely exhaust herself before morning training."
Selene smiled.
"I’m not promising anything."
Adam opened his eyes.
"I’m still in the room."
Isadora left the room with a perfectly innocent smile.
The door closed.
Silence followed.
Then Selene burst out laughing.
Adam looked at her.
"You’ve all decided to make me lose my dignity, haven’t you?"
"No."
She stood up slowly.
"We just noticed that you react very well when we tease you."
"It’s no better."
A few minutes later, they took a quick bath.
The hot water helped Adam ease what remained of his pain.
Selene, on the other hand, already seemed to be in top form.
Adam looked at her suspiciously.
"You’re recovering far too quickly."
"I’m a white tigress."
"Is that supposed to explain everything?"
"Yes."
He gave up the idea of protesting.
After washing and dressing, they went down to the dining room together.
This time, Adam didn’t even try to pretend no one would notice their arrival.
As soon as they entered, all the women looked up.
Elena was sitting next to Isadora, a huge smile already on her lips.
Lyriana was calmly drinking her tea, but her ears twitched slightly when she saw Selene.
Elaria was reading a document while taking notes.
Shiora was still playing with a gold coin.
Vespera was consulting a magical scroll that floated in front of her.
They all stopped almost at the same time.
Then they smiled.
"Hello," Elena called out, her tone a little too cheerful.
"Hello," Adam replied cautiously.
Selene, for her part, sat down as if nothing had happened.
"Hello." "
Shiora rested her chin on her hands.
"Well?"
Adam sighed.
"Perhaps we could start by eating?"
"No," Shiora replied without hesitation.
Elena leaned towards Selene.
"How did it go?"
Selene calmly picked up a piece of bread.
"Very good."
"Only very good?" Shiora asked.
Selene smiled.
"The best night of my life."
Elena burst out laughing.
Lyriana looked away slightly, but a smile crossed her lips.
Elaria looked up from her notebook.
"Expected reaction, given the emotional state observed this morning."
Adam stared at her.
"Can’t you see that too?"
"No. But your embarrassment is very obvious." "
Vespera added calmly,
"He’s making progress in magic, but not in facial concealment."
Adam slowly rested his forehead against his hand.
"I was almost used to the physical training. But the social training is much more intense."
Isadora smiled.
"It’s also a form of adaptation."
Breakfast finally began.
Despite the teasing, the atmosphere was pleasant.
Selene answered questions with unabashed enthusiasm, showing no sign of embarrassment.
She spoke naturally, as if this intimacy were now part of her everyday life.
Adam, on the other hand, was a little embarrassed at first.
Then, little by little, he began to get used to it.
Perhaps it was simply the way they were.
In this world, their relationships weren’t hidden in the same way as in his old world.
They were more direct.
More frank.
And with these women, modesty seemed to be more of a weapon for teasing.
Adam finally smiled in spite of himself.
He ate in silence, listening to the conversations drift from one topic to another.
The day ahead.
Training.
Border reports.
The Imperial provocation at the Merchant Guild.
The explosion of the Mage Tower.
The Valoria barrier.
Finally, Isadora put down her cup.
"Very well. Today, everyone resumes their schedules. Adam, you start with Selene again. Then Elaria, Shiora, and Vespera."
Adam sighed.
"So, the same day as yesterday, but with even more accumulated pain."
Selene smiled.
"Exactly."
"You sound far too happy saying that."
"I am."
Shiora laughed softly.
"At least she’s honest."
After the meal, each left the dining room to attend to her duties.
Elena left first with Lyriana to join the other knights.
Isadora returned to her study.
Elaria, Shiora, and Vespera also left the room, each with the same ominous phrase:
"See you later."
Adam watched them go.
Then he turned to Selene.
"I think I hate that expression now."
Selene placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You’re going to hear it a lot."
"That confirms my fears."
They left the mansion together.
The city of Valoria was already awake.
The streets were filled with merchants, guards, artisans, and adventurers heading to their respective tasks.
Walking beside Selene, Adam noticed several glances turning in their direction.
The white tiger woman was well-known.
Respected.
Feared.
And clearly, seeing her walk calmly with him to the Adventurers’ Guild was enough to provoke murmurs.
Selene, however, didn’t seem to mind.
"Today, we’ll continue the fight."
Adam looked at her.
"I figured as much."
"But we’ll also add body work. Falls, rolls, dodges, recovery after impact."
"In other words, you’re going to throw me around again."
"Yes."
"At least that’s clear."
Selene smiled.
"You need practical experience. Yesterday, you learned how to survive for a minute. Today, you’ll learn how to survive longer."
Adam took a deep breath.
"An ambitious goal."
"Necessary."
They arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild.
This time, Adam felt more than just apprehension.
He also felt a kind of impatience.
Yesterday, he had been outmatched.
But he had improved.
Today, he wanted to see how far he could go.
Selene noticed his expression.
His smile grew prouder.
"There. That’s better."
Adam frowned.
"What?"
"Yesterday, you came as a victim. Today, you come ready to fight."
Adam placed his hand on his training sword.
"Don’t get carried away. I always prefer to survive."
Selene opened the guild door.
"Then prove it." "
And, under the curious gaze of the female adventurers present, Adam followed the white tigress to the training room to begin a new day.
