Chapter 279: Chess

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"Yum-Yum...I can't wait a whole year...You know how I feel..." Barbara glued herself to him, pecking his cheek like a bird at a feeder full of seeds.

'Damn! Her cuteness is off the charts!' thought Yomite. 'If this keeps up, she's going to eat me alive with her love. It's gonna be tough to resist.'

Iris who was walking alongside them noticed their exchange, "Master, I think you should just give in. I'm starting to understand what love is now, and it feels good, so why not accept it?"

"That's for sure." Barbara agreed. "Great going, Iris! Keep it up!" She added excitedly.

With the support of other girls, she was bound to convince Yomite eventually. It was only a matter of time!

The three continued walking together until they reached the mansion. Barbara spent all of that time walking by gazing at Yomite's body from every angle.

Yomite's shirt was his crowning glory; sable, thick and black and soft as sin. The material was thin enough to still show his muscles underneath while still being warm and comfortable. A perfect fit for someone like him.

Barbara glanced up at his chest and remarked, "Your pectorals are huge...If you're going to wear clothes that tight, you might as well not wear any. Do you mind if I take a peek under there? Just once or twice."

"You want to see my chest?" He asked, surprised.

She nodded, smiling sweetly. "Yes, please."

He laughed out loud, "Well...Okay then...the request is a bit weird but it's not like I mind..." And took off his shirt, revealing his muscular chest.

The body goddess Sia made for him was magnificent, yes, however, he had also put a lot of effort into training himself and working out to stay in shape and gain more power, so it wasn't just her doing.

Barbara reached forward, running her fingers along his abs, "I'm so glad I get to finally see it again...I've been wanting to touch it ever since I examined you at the church..."

He didn't object to her hands on his body, but he did say, "Your hands are pretty cold though."

She giggled, "Well, you refuse to hold them, so I had to improvise to warm them up..."

"Whatever works," he replied, amused by her antics.

Barbara winked at him and slid her palms lower, grazing over his waist and sliding down to his hips.

"That's enough." He warned, pulling away from her.

She pouted, "But I was having fun!"

"I believe I told you earlier that we will wait for that until you're 18." He reminded her. "Besides, Iris is right beside us, don't corrupt her pure mind..."

Iris looked at his chest curiously when Barbara pulled away, "Master, may I touch your chest as well?"

"Ehm...well, go ahead...?"

The girl got closer and lightly caressed the soft, yet firm skin, her fingertips traveling over his chest and stopping at his belly button where she rubbed gently, looking up at him.

"It feels very nice to have Master's skin against mine. It makes me feel warm all over." She whispered.

"I agree," Barbara added. "There's something special about touching like this. It's very romantic."

Yomite looked at both girls in turn, feeling a bit overwhelmed by their affections.

He put his shirt back on, leaving only his jacket open.

He had the urge to pat Iris' head as she seemed way too adorable, so he did, patting her head softly, "You're cute, Iris. Stay innocent."

Iris leaned into his hand like a puppy, "What is this, Master? This wonderful feeling...I feel it yet again...Mm..."

"Eh...Affection, I guess?"

"Terrifying...do it again..."

"..."

Therefore, after another five or so minutes of caressing her head and Barbara's head as well since she got jealous, he determined that it was time to go.

"Okay, let's head inside now."

They entered the mansion through the front door into the living room.

Despite fighting earlier today, Fischl and Hu Tao now lay on the couch, sleeping soundly.

"Iris, would you mind going into my room? I want to talk to you about something important." Barbara asked.

Iris nodded, "I'll be there."

The two of them headed upstairs, leaving Yomite alone downstairs.

"Now, what should I do?" He wondered, thinking deeply.

His eyes landed on the pair of sleeping best friends; they were cuddling and holding each other.

They must have been still tired after the hard night.

'What a lovely sight,' he thought, 'I just feel like joining them, but I don't want to wake them up.'

He gave the two of them kisses on their foreheads, "Rest, you guys."

Wth that, he went to the kitchen to see whether any food was left, but it seemed that the dove soup was long gone.

"I wonder where Lumine and Paimon are," he mumbled.

He went upstairs and knocked on Lumine's door.

"Yeah?" Came the response.

"Hey, could I come in?"

Lumine spoke immediately, "Sure thing."

Yomite walked in and saw the two of them playing chess.

"Is something wrong?" Lumine asked, seeing his face.

"Nah, I was just surprised...I see you are playing chess again. I used to play it back in highschool a lot, even entered a few tournaments."

"A highschool?" Lumine questioned, confused.

"Ah yeah, my bad...Highschool is essentially a school. Back in my world, we had multiple types of schools for different ages."

"Ah, that's interesting...Paimon and I had decided to play again. Unfortunately, I wasn't yet able to win a single game...but this time, I am feeling confident! The game is looking great!"

Yomite looked over the board, only half paying attention, a few seconds had passed and he could already deduce a few things.

Lumine wasn't a bad player, but Paimon was much, much stronger. The duo of girls played together dozens of times before, and Lumine had never won, yet she kept coming back, always ready for another chance.

Paimon was only a few moves away from finishing the game, but he didn't think Lumine recognized this. Across from him, Paimon focused intensely, her stare boring holes in the wooden board. When Paimon smiled, Yomite knew the game was over for good and that Lumine lost.

Just as Yomite had expected, Paimon moved one of the pawns, setting up a trap one move later. From a certain perspective, the stratagem would have been a good one, but Lumine lacked the foresight to see the result of her move. Blinded by the prospect of short-term gain of a few poins, she missed the threat looming on the horizon.

Paimon pretended to think over her next move while her opponent spoke.

"It was a good game, Paimon. I finally won."

Paimon looked up and smiled. "Paimon thinks that Paimon still has a chance!"

Paimon sacrificed her queen, one of her strongest pieces, to set up an endgame she wanted. Lumine took the bait without question, a queen was a valuable piece, and a few moves later, the game was over.

Lumine showed a sad smile about her loss. "I lost again...Paimon is so strong while playing chess...too bad she can't play any card games because her hands are too small—"

"—Hey! Don't be mean!!" Paimon squealed, cutting her off mid sentence, looking pouty. But Yomite could tell Paimon wasn't really upset.

He came up to Paimon and brought her up to his embrace, pulling her into a tight hug. He kissed the top of her head, whispering into her ear.

"There, there...Paimon is so smart and amazing."

"Y-Yeah..." She was certainly pleased at the compliment and by the affection she received.

Paimon's ability to read people was incomparable. Yomite found her sharp eyes and astute decision-making frightening sometimes, but also cute when combined with her silly antics.

"Paimon did her best indeed! Everyone has different weaknesses. It's simply a matter of being able to find and exploit them..."

That was actually a fairly accurate statement, despite how chilling it sounded coming from her.

Lumine looked baffled by her words. "Could you tell me? What's my weakness?"

"Um...that is..."

Paimon paused, as though considering.

Meanwhile, Yomite let Paimon sit on his lap and played with her hands, slowly moving them to teasingly pinch at her soft tummy.

She let out a soft squeal and giggled when he tickled the sides of her waist.

Yomite loved her like that. She'd never done anything that wouldn't make her cute. Her affection was just so pure and wholesome, like that of a child.

If he ever had a child in the future, he wanted the moments with it to be as wholesome as with Paimon.

"Stop! Paimon can't give traveler an answer like this!"

She let out a laugh and started tapping her feet on the ground.

Yomite wrapped Paimon up in a bear hug. "Paimon likes it when we're all nice and cozy, doesn't she? Let's cuddle now!"

Paimon's eyes widened.

"Y-yeah..."

Her face brightened considerably and she leaned against Yomite's chest, hugging him back. As she snuggled in close to his warmth, they both let out soft coos of happiness.

"So cute! Aaah! This is the life! Paimon is love, Paimon is life!"

Yomite hugged Paimon even tighter, enjoying every second of it.

"T-That's too much! Too much hugging and patting!"

In response, Paimon sent a series of attacks towards Yomite's hair, but they didn't hurt one bit and only classified as pats to him.

"Anyway...Th-the weakness...huh, ye-yeah, the weakness…!" Paimon was unable to form coherent words, blushing, as she finally put words to her emotions, squirming in Yomite's arms.. "W-Well, um...Paimon thinks that you know what you are doing, and you are strong, but you have tendency to focus too much on acquiring as many pieces as possible."

Lumine raised her beautiful eyebrows, thinking she would also love to be hugged like that, "But the player who has the most points has the highest chance to win the game. Basic strategy."

"Yes, but focusing on the individual pieces that might hold small value, you ignore potential threats of hidden pieces that might end the game in a few exchanges..."

Lumine nodded in understanding. "Paimon is very knowledgeable. I wonder if there are other beings like Paimon, maybe we can collect more of them and become unstoppable."

"...Hey! There is only one Paimon! Hmph!" Paimon complained and Yomite comforted her by stroking her head gently.