Gardenia’s Heart

The girl fell to the ground after carrying out the last attack. Both legs without the energy to even continue standing. From her mouth, a long sigh of tiredness and relief escaped.

(Is everything okay Lily?!) Her beloved companion asked in fright as the girl fell to the ground.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead with her right hand and taking a few seconds to adjust her breathing, she spoke.

“Yes” Lily placed her hand on her chest and spoke slowly “I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, that’s all”

Looking at the five lifeless bodies around her without feeling anything, Lily thought about what had just happened.

The mere idea of being able to face a man, or even a wizard, always seemed impossible. Her body shook and she fought not to let the fear she felt show in her voice. Lily may have become stronger, but she was just an ordinary girl who had to risk her life to survive. She never learned spells, or even how to manipulate mana. Her physique wasn't the best and she didn't even know how to fight.

But anyway, as she placed her hand on her heart and felt Nia's presence, Lily knew that she would never lose against those men. No matter how much fear she might feel, being supported by her beloved girl, how could she lose?

“Thank you so much for being by my side, Nia. I love you!"

Closing her eyes and focusing on the presence that was literally her entire heart, Lily conveyed her most sincere feelings.

(Lily, please never leave me, I love you, I love you so much!) The metamorph screamed with joy inside her body. Ever since Lily had woken up she had been feeling so much happiness that she could barely convey it in words.

“Yes, we will be together forever”

Forcing her aching and tired body to stand, Lily walked over to the dead bodies of the men and began searching their pockets.

(What are you looking for?)

“Anything that looks useful, expensive, and can be sold” From the three bandits that attacked her, she managed to find some silver coins in small leather bags. She picked the one that looked the best and dumped all the coins into it.

Furthermore, on the man whose head she had blown off, she couldn't help but stare at the beautiful black cloak he was wearing. The fabric looked expensive and the simple design looked charming. Its size reached just below the knee and it looked comfortable and warm. She would immediately like to take it, but she had a problem.

“I really made a mess here...” Lily couldn't help but sigh as she took in the state of the outfit.

The cover was almost completely covered in blood. Although black clothing should make splashes of red blood less noticeable, the clothing was so crimson that it appeared to be that color from the beginning.

(Don't worry, I can handle it) A cheerful and confident voice resounded in her mind.

Quickly, Lily's left arm began to move without her will. Lily did nothing to protest the action, just relaxing her body more to give her beloved complete freedom.

Her arm then turned into a transparent gelatinous material that resembled Nia's body. Lily watched with curiosity and excitement as her new arm melted over the entire cape and absorbed it completely.

Lily didn't question for a second what Nia was doing. Within seconds, a violet aura spread around her neck, and a cape began to appear on her back. A part of the fabric covered her neck and went down to cover her breasts. Finally, a small black bow was formed

(What do you think?)

“I didn’t know you could transform into objects too Nia! It’s so beautiful, I loved it!”

Turning her body around, Lily let her beautiful cloak sway in the cold wind of the mist as she hummed with joy. Just like the inside of her body, she could feel Nia's presence coming from inside the cloak.

(I didn't know either, but... after analyzing complicated structures like organs, somehow... it seemed natural that I could do things like that too)

“Nia is so smart!”

Still happily studying the cover, Lily felt as if she was not only filled with Nia but enveloped by the girl. That made her very happy.

Knowing she needed to continue, she lowered herself to the ground again to empty Travis and Hector's pockets. Her expression, which was not at all icy, lit up again when she noticed a small amount of vials with colored liquids.

(What is this?) Nia asked.

“Intermediate potions, the green ones are for healing, the yellow ones for resistance and the blue one supposedly improves mana absorption”

Lily explained calmly, as she took all but one of the potions and placed them in a pocket Nia created in her newest cape. Having the means to heal herself was very important for her safety. She realized that Hector was so scared when facing her that she couldn't even think about using the potions.

Uncapping the bottle of a yellow potion, she quickly ingested its contents, feeling the energy once again returning within her.

“I’ve never taken an intermediate potion before, but it’s much better than the inferior ones.”

If an inferior yellow potion would recover your stamina similarly to a few hours of sleep. She felt like she had spent more than an entire week just sleeping.

After getting clothes, supplies, and money, the last item on Lily's priorities was weapons.

“Nia, do you think you can absorb swords too?” She asked holding up the two swords that were still in one piece. Lily also observed the bow, but as the arrows were conjured with mana, it seemed pointless to take it.

(I believe I can..., but in this case, I'm not sure if my constitution would surpass the original quality of the material… I'm sorry)

Unlike the fabric cover, which Nia could mimic the properties of, acquiring characteristics of iron and steel in addition to its durability seemed difficult at the moment for the girl.

“Don't worry about it, what you're doing for me is beyond anything I could imagine” Responding with joy to cheer the girl up, Lily placed the two swords around her waist.

Understanding what she wanted to do, a small violet aura formed and there a loop held the swords together like an improvised belt.

"See that? You understand perfectly what I intend to do. Nia is amazing!”

The voice that sincerely and frequently praised her was so sweet that it threatened to melt Nia's senses. Her resistance to Lily's praise was minuscule and her mind didn't seem to plan to work on increasing it.

“I would like to go home one last time to collect herbs from my garden, but it's better not to risk it. We need to get out of here soon.”

Lily had taken care of the two guards, but given the intensity of the fighting, perhaps some other members of the bandit caravan would arrive soon. The girl wondered if she could handle them as she felt the potions in her pocket.

The silver-haired woman did not have what could be called empathy for the people of the village, but if she tried hard, perhaps she could save some of them by surviving. Realizing what she was planning to do, Nia quickly intervened.

(It's better not, even with the potions and my help, you've lost a lot of blood Lily. I'm increasing the blood in the important areas to keep you awake, but you need a lot of rest.)

Hearing Nia's warning, Lily finally realized that even after taking the yellow potion, her vision was still tired and a little dizzy.

“Yes, let’s get out of here.” She looked across the river which was at least a hundred meters away. “Do you think you can take us there?”

The answer was in the form of a circular portal that resembled a starry night sky.

(Of course!) The joy in the voice that was finally heard remained constant.

After checking that she hadn't left anything behind, Lily confidently entered the portal.