After their rest, they resumed the climb up the stairs, which still seemed to have no end as they cut through the deep wilderness. Ard and Eva kept their eyes locked on Beatrice and Adeline, who were walking ahead with Peggy fluttering playfully between them. Naturally, their constant focus on the two girls caught the attention of Alicia, Milia, Mirea, Claudia, Pyria, and Rosalind, who were all trailing behind.

"Hey... why do you two keep staring at Beatrice and Adeline?" Milia asked, her curiosity piqued.

"She's right. I've noticed your eyes haven't left them since we left the pavilion," Alicia added.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," Ard replied casually, though his gaze never shifted from the path ahead.

"I'm just afraid they'll pull some kind of stunt," Eva added, her eyes also fixed forward.

"Hmm... suspicious," Claudia muttered, striking a pensive pose.

"Drop it, let's not talk about this anymore. The important thing is that we just keep an eye on them," Mirea said.

"Yep, exactly. Personally, I'm more focused on the climb... it's still so far," Pyria added.

"I couldn't agree more," Rosalind chimed in.

They continued their trek up the stairs. As evening approached, after a full day of hiking, they finally reached the halfway point and found a path leading toward a resting cave. They immediately turned off the trail and headed for the cave to settle in for the night and prepare dinner.

Stepping inside, they saw that the cave was surprisingly vast. The walls were etched with runic symbols that glowed in various colors according to their elements, casting a soft, multi-colored light through the darkness. Ard and Eva quickly pulled out their camping gear and built a fire, as the mountain air was quite chilly. At the back of the cavern, they discovered a natural hot spring for bathing, located in an outdoor area separate from the main cave. Once the tents were up, the girls headed to the back to soak, while Ard, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin sat around the campfire waiting for dinner.

"Phew... finally made it halfway. Roughly how much longer is the trip to the top?" Geoffrey asked.

"About another half-day. But don't worry, this path up is pretty safe," Ard said.

"Back then... 3,000 years ago when you came here, did you have to climb like this too?" Irwin asked.

"Yes. Velvet actually used her magic to create these stairs," Ard answered.

"Hmm... that means these stairs are incredibly old," Ainsley noted, looking out of the cave and adjusting his glasses.

"Yeah. But the Rellios Kingdom maintains them, so they still look new. It didn't look like this originally—it was just stones used as markers and footholds to make the climb easier," Ard replied.

"That is truly fascinating. I want to learn so much from you, Ard," Ainsley said.

"Same here. I want to know a lot of things... especially about demons. And if possible, I want to find out who my mother was," Irwin added.

"Oh... you don't know who your mother is?" Geoffrey asked.

"I remember her face... from when she was disguised as a human and lived with my father. But when they were killed and my mother changed her form, I realized I knew nothing about her or who she actually was," Irwin answered.

"Hmm... I see. You should try asking the Dragon God. He might know something," Ard suggested.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I plan to do," Irwin replied.

"Haaaah... once they're done, I want to take a dip too," Geoffrey said.

"Same here, count me in," Ard replied.

They continued to chat casually about anything and everything while keeping an eye on the food and waiting for the girls to finish. Meanwhile, at the hot spring—which sat on a mountain cliff, fenced in by menhir stones etched with glowing runes—the sky had begun to darken, and a few tiny stars were starting to peek through the open ceiling. Eva, Alicia, Milia, Mirea, Claudia, Pyria, Beatrice, Rosalind, and Adeline leaned against the natural rock edges of the pool. "Haaaah," they sighed in relief, savoring the soak in the hot water.

Alicia turned to see Milia, who had brought Wilgram along and was whistling cheerfully while cleaning the blade.

"Why did you bring your sword into the bath?" Alicia asked.

"No reason... just thought I'd clean it, and just in case," Milia answered.

"Relax, it's safe here. The runes on the walls were put there to protect this cave. Elidyr installed them," Eva said.

"Oh... the Elder put them there? Three thousand years ago?" Pyria asked.

"That's right. This cave used to be our campsite back then too, when we were building the stairs out front to get up and down the summit," Eva replied.

"Wow... so this cave is actually ancient," Claudia muttered, glancing around at her surroundings.

"This is fascinating. I'd love to stay here just to study these runes," Mirea murmured, her eyes fixed on the symbols carved into the menhirs.

Suddenly, "Splash!" Water surged across the pool, drenching Eva, Alicia, Milia, Mirea, Claudia, Pyria, and Rosalind. They immediately wiped the water from their faces and looked ahead. It turned out Adeline was busy scrubbing Peggy—who had returned to her full size inside the pool—right alongside Beatrice.

"Hey, Princess Beatrice, Princess Adeline! Don't wash Peggy in this pool," Rosalind said, standing up to face the two of them.

"Why not?" Adeline asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Because we're trying to bathe here, that's why!" Alicia snapped, standing up as well.

"It's fine. We're all just taking a bath together anyway," Beatrice shot back.

"Adeline, please put Peggy away. We're really getting annoyed," Claudia said, standing up.

"Seriously... we're trying to bathe. If you really want to wash Peggy, you can do it after we're done," Pyria added, also standing up.

"Um... how exactly do I do that?" Adeline asked, looking confused.

"Oh, right. We haven't actually taught her how to store her familiar yet," Mirea realized.

Suddenly, "swooosh," a sharp, icy wind swept over them, making everyone shiver. Instantly, they all dove back into the warm water to heat up, including Beatrice and Adeline. It was then that Eva, Alicia, Mirea, Pyria, and Beatrice caught sight of Adeline's bare chest. They realized that for a thirteen-year-old girl, Adeline was surprisingly well-developed.

In an instant, they all began to crowd around her. Naturally, Adeline was left feeling confused and bewildered.

"Huh... what is it?" Adeline asked.

Without saying a word, the five of them reached out toward Adeline's chest to size her up. Adeline jumped in shock, covering herself and spinning around.

"He... hey! Why are you trying to touch me?" Adeline stammered.

"Hmm... turns out she's actually bigger than I am," Mirea said, feeling her own chest.

"How is that even possible? What have you been eating? I feel like the last time we met, you weren't this developed," Alicia said, eyeing Adeline curiously.

"It's not fair. I'm only this size... and a thirteen-year-old is already that big," Pyria lamented, looking down at herself.

Eva glanced over at Beatrice, who looked a bit flat compared to her, then looked back at Adeline, who was definitely larger than she was.

"Hmm... is it because she inherited an angel's physique too? Grr... this is so unfair," Eva thought to herself.

"Hey... why are you looking at me like that, Eva?" Beatrice asked.

"At least I've got you beat because I'm bigger," Eva snapped, deliberately flaunting her chest.

"Whatever! I'm still growing. My mom is well-endowed, so I'm sure I'll be big too," Beatrice said, puffing out her chest toward Eva.

"Yeah, yeah... you're still growing," Eva replied, sounding bored. "Of course you are, you're only thirteen," Eva thought to herself.

In the end, they all began comparing themselves to one another, leaving Adeline standing in the middle, completely clueless about what was going on. Meanwhile, Rosalind, Claudia, and Milia—who were still leaning against the edge of the pool enjoying their soak—started glancing at each other. The three of them shared a cynical laugh, because it was obvious that their chests were far larger than the others and roughly the same size as each other.

"Competing over bust sizes... how strange," Milia said, deliberately puffing out her chest while holding onto Wilgram.

"That's just how it is. I feel sorry for those who haven't quite become women yet," Rosalind added mockingly.

"You guys... just let them be. Those of us who are clearly larger and more developed don't need to join in on the comparisons," Claudia added, placing her hands on Milia and Rosalind's shoulders.

Milia and Rosalind turned to inspect Claudia's body—it was toned and perfectly proportional, with a set of sexy, defined abs. Feeling their eyes on her, Claudia glanced from side to side.

"What is it?" Claudia asked, confused.

Without warning, Milia and Rosalind grabbed Claudia's arms and started feeling her muscles. They even reached for her abs, making Claudia feel a bit uncomfortable and ticklish.

"Hey... what gives?" Claudia said, wincing slightly.

"Nothing... you're just incredibly athletic and toned," Milia and Rosalind said in unison, clearly comparing Claudia's physique to their own.

"Hey... stop looking for other things to compare, would you?" Claudia said, sounding annoyed.

In the end, the atmosphere became quite lively as they all fell into a heated debate, comparing their physiques with one another—and absolutely no one was left out.

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