Overlord: When Human Meets Inhuman

Chapter 44: A wish

"So did you have fun during training?" 
I keep pulling and pulling, trying to get the safe's door open.

Why the hell and how the hell did she get the door of her "private safe" stuck?

I have no idea why Shalltear called me here to help her get her safe's door unstuck, but I don't really care as long as I'm spending time with her. Just seeing her close to me is enough to make my heart race.
"Yeah…I met some new people, had a couple of nice sparring sessions…how did this get stuck…" 
"New people like who?" 
From what I learned before, the King attacked the lizardmen's village some time ago, but after a fight with Cocytos in which Zaryusu, Zenberu and others were killed, Ainz chose to bring the two I just named back to life, for some reason. And now the lizardmen live under Ainz's rule, on the 6th floor. I had happened to overhear a few people talking about the fact that it was a sort of social experiment, especially Demiurge.
"Two lizardmen. And a giant hamster." 

I said that way too casually to be honest. But as I already said a million times, I've officially stopped asking myself questions or surprising myself about things here in Nazarick.

"Oh, Hamsuke!" 

Hamsuke is…cute, in his own way. 

"Yeah…he's cute, even though-" 
"You know Hamsuke is a female, right?" 

I'm sorry what? No I must have misheard.

"Excuse me?" 
I keep pulling and pulling so hard, but the door doesn't seem to want to get unstuck. I also try not to lose my balance since I'm standing on an armchair.
"Yes, she's a her!" 

Again, at this point I should not be getting surprised, since Nazarick is one of the weirdest places probably in the world.

"Damn safe…why won't you-"
I'm interrupted as the safe door suddenly opens, and with all the force I was using I lose balance. With a scream, I fall back and end up in Shalltear's arms somehow.
"M-Mark? Are you…" 

Why didn't she finish her sentence?

I blush a lot and get up on my own, seeing that Shalltear was also blushing quite a bit herself, then I clear my throat and scratch my head. 

Well that went from totally normal to a level of awkwardness hard to sustain even by me. Ugh, I want to cringe so badly but I also don't want to take my eyes off Shalltear's angelic face.

"I'm…fine. By the way, what was in that safe that you needed so much?" I ask, hoping she made me pull so much for a good reason. Shalltear at that walks to the safe and searches thoroughly for a minute or so, then she pulls out…a three-pointed candle? 
"A...candle." I mutter, a bit disappointed. 
"Yes, but not an ordinary one! This thing can grant the bearer three wishes! One for each point! And, well…I thought you should have the last one. See that one of the points still has its flame lit, that means the wish hasn't been used. All yours." 

Is she serious? I...I love this woman so much I could die.

"N-no, I can't accept this…you were already kind enough by turning me into a vampire, sparing my life and taking me to Nazarick, not to mention all the other things." 
"Well I did bad things too. So this is just a gift and-" 
"But why do you give me so many gifts? You know very well I don't have the possibility to give anything back and-" 
"Shut up and take it! It's an order. Can you do that for me, Mark?" She says, doing the face I can't say no to. The thing when she looks so intensely into my eyes and pulls a kind of "sad puppy" face.

Oh, she's got me cornered now. Well...she's still being too kind.

"I…I guess, if you insist…" I stutter and take the weird candle in my hands. 
"To make it work, close your eyes, think really hard about what you want and say "I wish...something something". Alright?" 

Seems easy enough. 

"Any wish can be granted with this?" I ask still astonished. 
"Almost, yes. You can't wish for the universe to be destroyed, but in the majority of cases it'll work." 

Interesting…but this isn't something I can just think about on my feet. I need time. 

"I need time to think…I'll use it, of course, but I need to think about it really hard. This is a once in a lifetime chance, so I want to be very sure of what I wish." I explain, clenching the small object in my hand very tightly.
"Of course. I'm happy enough you took it without many complaints. Use it wisely, and most importantly use it on yourself. Think about what the thing you want the most is and make it true!" 

She's making it sound very easy, while it's not.

"I'll think about it very thoroughly, don't worry. Thank you for everything." I say from the bottom of my heart and smile warmly at Shalltear.

This is such an awesome gift...but I don't know how to use it. I mean...all I want now is her.

As I think that, I see a very amused and pleased expression in Shalltear's eyes, and immediately understand she just read my mind.

"If you want me, I'll be glad to give you what you want. Come here." 
I take a few steps towards Shalltear who is now sitting on her bed. As I approach her she stands up in the blink of an eye and grabs my collar, throwing me on the bed. She then climbs on the bed herself and looks at me like a fierce tiger looking at its harmless prey. She then leans closer and gives me a brief but intense kiss, which completely turns me on.

Oh, shit...my heart is exploding.

She pulls her usual sassy grin and runs a hand on my chest, making me get a chill.

Oh, fuck yeah. I would like nothing more right now. I didn't exactly feel like spending an evening alone. 

"I love that stranded look on your face, Mark..."

What is the thing I want the most right now? Is it something related to my family? I don't think so, honestly. My family is here in Nazarick now, not in E-Rantel where those two brainless idiots live. Well, I don't know right now. The only thing on my mind now is Shalltear, and frankly I wouldn't want anything or anybody else to be on my mind right now. In the space of like a week, she's changed from my enemy to the person I love. And frankly, now that I've experienced what it's like to love her, I would never want to go back.