Frostfire Legacy

After their dinner was over and their discussion wrapped up, they all scattered, returning to their individual rooms—which were basically neighboring each other. Just for clarity, the place where they had dinner was Cassy's room.

Their safety was ensured by the sparsely spread members of the hit squad, each equipped with anti-brainwashing equipment. With them standing guard 24/7 around the Twister Hotel, it would be hard for even a mouse to slip in.

"Phew..."

Aster let out a soft sigh as he plopped on top of his bed, bouncing a few times from the soft, cushiony mattress. Honestly, he was worn out from all the things that happened, but still, he didn't let any of it show on his face.

It wasn't for pride as a man or anything, but more about him plainly not wanting his weak side to be seen by others. He gently closed his eyes, letting all the noise fade in the background as he kept his breathing rhythmic and slow.

*Arf!*

As if missing him, the little white husky, Argus, jumped on top of the bed and moved by the side of his head, licking his cheeks playfully. He didn't join them during dinner, as if he got fed up with having to put up with the girls. Aster chuckled before pulling the little pup into his embrace and trying to return to his before-sleep routine.

His peaceful time, unfortunately, didn't last too long.

*Knock!* *Knock!*

"...?"

A series of knocks on the door brought back his half-fading consciousness. He wasn't sure how much time passed—estimating a quarter of an hour at most—making him wonder what the person on the other side wanted.

After hearing the same round of three knocks echo, Aster had no choice but to stand up and drag his feet toward the door.

"Who is it?" He asked as he pulled the door slightly open.

From the gap, he found vast, creamy mountains lined up, with lines of thin, silky smooth fabric covering parts of it.

*BAM!*

Before he could react, one of the girls kicked the door open, which in turn also pushed Aster back a couple of steps.

"This is a raid, captain." The culprit, Kali, grinned while staring at Aster's eyes. "This stupid rabbit said she's scared of sleeping alone, so you have no choice but to let us sleep here tonight!"

"S-Sorry to bother you, Star..." Cassy, the person she mentioned, apologized lightly.

Aster scratched the back of his head before letting out a short, soft sigh. "Ah, alright. I guess it's the usual then..." He muttered under his breath.

He then turned to the other two, who also tagged along for some reason. "And you two?"

"There's no way I'll allow other girls to sleep with darling unattended, so I need to watch over them!" Tina exclaimed, her tone filled with a mix of indignant justice and unsavory undertones that made Aster feel exasperated.

The last one, Liz, smiled wryly as she added. "Well, everyone's coming, so I guess adding one more wouldn't really differ by much."

Aster wanted to say that it "does" matter, as the bed's space was limited, but he decided to simply let it pass.

"... Come on in." Half resignedly, he consented.

Well, the girls weren't waiting for his words and already entered even before he gave permission, however. All four of them, even Cassy, were wearing thin, silky nightgowns in the color of their own hair.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Cassy with a lively orange, Kali with a cold bluish-white, Liz with a fiery red, and Tina with an adult-like semi-see-through black. Other than the last one, which allowed Aster a clear view of Tina's "racy" underwear, the rest were barely acceptable despite the high amount of skin exposure.

"...!"

Aster felt a shiver run down his spine, making him rush out of the door and check the hallway. However, despite the chill that he felt, or more like near-physical killing intent, he found no one in the vicinity.

"... Was it my imagination?" Aster frowned, shrugging as he turned around.

He closed the door behind him and locked it tight before turning around and heading for his bed in one go.

Embarrassed by sleeping with four girls in one bed? Aster had long graduated from such worries—especially after surviving the hellish training under Ardra, making him get "used" to a girl's presence. After all, the little girl liked to snuggle up to Aster whenever it was time for his short rest, and the same thing happened every day for the entire duration of his training.

'This shouldn't be much harder than that, for sure.'

Aster snickered, convinced that he could remain unperturbed the entire night no matter what happened.

As he reached the bed, he found that the girls had already taken position around it. They seemingly left a small space at the center, purposely—with Tina to the left side and Cassy to the right—where Aster could squeeze in. Liz was positioned behind Tina, already breathing slowly, as if asleep, while Kali was behind Cassy, arms wrapped around the poor rabbit's waist as if to watch over and protect her.

*Whine...*

Argus, afraid of getting squished by someone rolling in their sleep, decided to simply curl up further down the bed, far from the reach of anyone's legs.

"Goodnight..."

Cassy's soft whisper reached Aster's ears, making him smile lightly as he glanced at her face from up close.

"Yeah, goodnight," Aster replied.

After that, nothing but soft breathing sounds filled the space for a while as they were slowly drifting to sleep. Aster also closed his eyes, waiting for the drowsiness to hit him once more—but before then, his resolve suddenly began wavering.

"Mmm..."

His confidence that he could survive the night without getting flustered quickly went down the drain as an unexpected person began to stir. It wasn't Tina, whom Aster was wary of from the start, but instead, Cassy!

She pulled his right arm tight into her embrace, sandwiched between two soft bulges that exuded a relaxing warmth, along with the faint vibrations from her gently beating heart.

*Sob!*

"..."

But after hearing a muffled noise come from her, Aster's mind quickly raced. His heart ached, seeing Cassy's crumpled expression. If her eyes were fine, he was sure she would've been crying at the moment.

Aster could tell that the other girls were aware of Cassy's situation, but they didn't move, as if leaving it to Aster himself. Even Tina didn't bother stopping him as he pulled Cassy gently closer to him, resting her head against his chest, and slowly caressed her head.

"It's alright," he whispered, his tone steady but warm. "You're safe now, Cassy. No one will hurt you anymore."

Her small frame trembled slightly, but slowly, her breathing steadied. The tension that had coiled within her softened, and she nestled into his embrace, finally allowing herself the vulnerable release she'd been holding back.

In a different sense than usual, Aster couldn't get much sleep that night.