Pink Eyes and Peculiar Pleasures

“Pink eyes?”

“Yes, just now. They were quite beautiful, actually, though they didn’t really suit your style.”

The previous times my eyes turned pink were always due to enchantment. How could they suddenly turn pink on their own, without any apparent reason?

“I’m not entirely sure…”

“Oh? Then…”

“Chloe, what are you doing here?”

Tia’s voice suddenly drifted from behind them. Chloe instinctively pulled her hand free from Nelly’s grasp and turned, walking towards the sound.

“Uh, everyone had some urgent matters, so the integration training will be postponed for a while.” Chloe felt an immediate sense of relief upon seeing a familiar face, as if all external pressures had vanished. “Did you finish talking with the commander so quickly, Sis? What did you two discuss?”

“It wasn’t anything important, so you needn’t concern yourself with it.”

“Alright then…”

‘Sis?’ Upon hearing Chloe address Tia as ‘Sis,’ Nelly couldn’t help but frown. She had always assumed Chloe would at most refer to her as a senior. While it might not be unusual for others to address each other as sisters, it was quite perplexing given that Tia had only recently lost her own younger sister. Could it be, as Aurora suggested, that Tia truly views Chloe as a replacement for Yilan?

“I’m not in a good mood today, so when we get home, I’ll deal with you properly.” Tia pulled Chloe closer, her palm enveloping Chloe’s head, fingers gently threading into her hair to softly massage the scalp beneath.

Chloe, for her part, looked utterly content, like a pampered fox kit, her eyes half-closed in blissful submission.

Observing the ambiguous and unusually intimate interaction between the two, Nelly’s suspicions solidified, leaving her deeply uncomfortable. What kind of older sister would be so intimately close with a girl who called her ‘Sis’ so soon after her own younger sister’s passing? It resembled a peculiar dynamic between young lovers. It was like a self-imposed, false taboo, only to be deliberately broken for a thrill.

Yet, as an outsider, what right did she have to interfere? Nelly could only sigh deeply before quietly departing. ‘Hopefully, Yilan won’t mind from the afterlife.’

Upon returning home, Chloe recounted the problem that had been troubling her throughout their journey to Tia.

“You’re saying your eyes turned pink without being enchanted?” Tia gazed at Chloe’s golden eyes with a skeptical expression. “Are you sure you weren’t mistaken? How could that be possible?”

“I suspect it’s the influence of the dark energy, similar to what happened with the fox ears and tail before.” As she spoke, Chloe channeled her magic to transform. This time, however, the flow of magic felt slightly obstructed. This transformation only brought her into an active magical state; it didn’t summon her combat gear. The fox ears and tail from before had vanished, likely a result of Doctor Blanca’s potion.

To both their astonishment, Chloe’s eyes had indeed turned pink after the transformation, just as they had when she was enchanted previously. The sole difference was that her pupils were now of a normal shape, rather than heart-shaped. Tia, with her keen observation skills, also noticed that Chloe’s hair color had significantly lightened, appearing almost white under the sunlight’s reflection.

“I can feel the dark energy flowing within my eyes.” A profound unease laced Chloe’s voice. Those pink eyes were far more than a mere change in color. Chloe’s youthful appearance lent an innocent veneer to these eyes, yet the inherently sinister core of the pink irises inevitably shone through, creating an unsettling, eerie effect.

Through those eyes, Tia seemed to gaze at someone else entirely, someone who was mercilessly mocking her helplessness from behind them. She had believed that drinking that potion would lift the shadow of the potential witch transformation, but it proved she had been far too naive. Witches, with their insidious nature, were not something one could easily escape once entangled. Even if the witches couldn’t harm her directly, those close to her would suffer retaliation. First Yilan, and now…

Once again, Tia was overwhelmed by the helplessness of being unable to control the situation.

Chloe found it astonishing to see the usually strong Tia so disheartened. After a moment of hesitation, she tiptoed and, with a stretch, gently patted Tia’s head. “Don’t worry too much, I feel fine right now. It’s nothing serious.”

After being teased for so long, she hadn’t expected to receive comfort from Tia; instead, Chloe was the one offering it first. Ah, but I just can’t bear to see others upset.

[Master, you did well! That’s it!] Papertreat’s voice, after a long silence, suddenly chimed in.

“Shh! Keep your voice down!” Chloe glanced guiltily at Tia, who was still looking down, but saw no reaction.

Tia’s lowered head suddenly trembled before she slowly raised her gaze.

“Let’s do it.”

‘She uttered incredibly frightening words in a perfectly calm tone.’

“W-wait! Why… did I do something wrong?” Chloe’s eyes widened in astonishment, and she quickly withdrew the small hand that had been patting Tia’s head. “If you don’t like it, I won’t touch you anymore.”

Gazing at Chloe’s pink eyes, which signified the encroaching dark energy, an unnamed desire ignited deep within Tia’s heart.

‘Just looking at them is annoying! I must suppress it fiercely!’

The tall girl before her gradually drew closer, an irresistible aura emanating from her. Her resolute gaze showed no trace of confusion; on the contrary, she was utterly lucid.

‘Why does she have to make it sound so grand and tragic?!’

Resigned, Chloe was about to deactivate her transformation, as a combat state was hardly suitable for this kind of “battle.”

“Don’t change back. Stay just as you are.”

“But… isn’t this improper?”

“There’s nothing improper about it. Hmm… something’s still missing…” Tia pressed Chloe onto the sofa with one hand, while the other propped her chin as she pondered intently. Then, her eyes suddenly lit up. Releasing Chloe, she swiftly turned and walked back into her room. A few minutes later, she slowly approached Chloe, carrying two items.

‘What were those?’ Chloe focused her gaze, and nearly fainted on the spot, her pretty face instantly flushing crimson. They were a pair of fox ears and a fox tail.

“Put them on! I’m going to battle the Fox Witch for three hundred rounds!”

‘Hey! Don’t just arbitrarily give her such strange titles! I’m not a witch yet! And don’t make this sound so righteous!’ The fox ears were one thing; they were just ordinary head accessories. But that fox tail…

“No way! I’m not wearing that thing!” Chloe exclaimed, pointing at the fox tail, which had a strange, teardrop-shaped metal piece at its base. Her flushed pink cheeks were almost the same color as her eyes.

“Ah, I knew you wouldn’t agree. I’ll just have to reluctantly help you put it on.”

“N-no… stop! There… ah! It’s so cold!”

“Alright, Fox Witch, prepare to meet your end!” Tia raised her slender fingers, her translucent nails reflecting a sharp, cold gleam.

“Wha—?! At least trim your nails first, hey!”