Emily Shadowbleak, A Woman with Strange Tradition

Evenly Uryu's POV:

I step out of the bathroom, drying my hair as I make my way toward the sofa. There, I see Devin sitting, smiling warmly. I settle down beside him.

"Aunt, umm, well, when do you think we should go?"

Spring Water. It will take the whole day to find Spring Water, and then we have to bathe continuously in the water for three days. Depending on the water quality, we might have to bathe together.

After some thought, I replied, "We will go tomorrow morning, so be ready."

"Okay, then is there anything I should know about or take with me?"

"There is nothing to worry about. My friend will come with us, and she is strong. Also, I will take everything we need, so just go to your room and sleep."

I smile at him and affectionately kiss him on the forehead. As I see him smiling back, he wraps his arms around me before happily heading to his room.

I feel that Devin has changed. Previously, he always thought about Ava and didn't care much about himself. He even stopped smiling, but this morning, he seemed different.

He smiled, spoke about becoming stronger, and hugged me with his own incentive, something he never did before.

I hope this change brings good things for him. I smile, stretching my legs and arms before picking up my phone.

After searching for a while, I found my friend's number and dialed it.

"Hey, Emily, where are you?"

"Um... I... I'm at home." A soft, shy woman's voice comes from the other side of the phone.

"Come over to my home with some pills. I sent you the name of the pills in a message."

"Oh... Okay."

"Haha, you still have trouble speaking directly."

"This... I..."

"Don't worry, just come to my home with the things."

"Hm."

After I hang up the phone, I wait for Emily. She's a unique woman, strong yet shy around people. She doesn't even have the courage to speak to a child. Well, considering her unique tradition, which might seem a bit strange to others, it makes it difficult for her to connect with people.

----

"Devin, wake up, wake up."

The sweet voice appeared in my ears, waking me up from my sleep. I opened my eyes and saw the beautiful face of my Aunt Evelyn.

"Get ready, we have to go early if we want to reach there before night."

She spoke and lifted me up and made me sit on the bed. I was rubbing my eyes as she went out the door, saying, "Get ready quickly."

I sat there for a while before I got up, and went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and took a bath in the bathtub. It was a heavenly feeling. Yesterday when I took a shower, I thought nothing could beat that feeling, but I was wrong. Laying in hot water in the bathtub was a feeling that was out of the world.

I enjoyed the bath as I forgot the time. I didn't even get out of the bath until I heard Aunt Evenly's voice.

"Dev, are you done?"

"Yes, I'm coming out." I said and then got out of the bathroom, wearing clothes that looked beautiful.

----

In the cozy kitchen, the morning sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow over the scene. The woman with hair as long as her height sat on a chair, her dark, ink-like hair cascading down like a flowing waterfall, obscuring most of her face. Her porcelain-like features were like white snow, but they remained partially hidden by her thick, black hair. Nervousness and shyness emanated from her as she fidgeted with her dress, which covered her entirely, leaving her figure concealed.

Standing beside her was Evenly, the woman with enchanting green hair tied in a neat bun. Her pale skin and vibrant red lips added to her captivating appearance. Evenly held a coffee mug in her hands, and she spoke with a soothing tone, trying to reassure the long-haired woman.

Evenly smiled warmly. "Hey Emily, I made your favorite coffee. Don't worry, and there's no need to be so shy around here. You're my friends, and I want you to feel comfortable in my house."

"Th-thank you, Evenly. It's just, I've always felt a bit uncomfortable in new place, and my hair being like this." Emily said softly.

"I understand, but you should know that your hair is absolutely mesmerizing. Although there is other place hair that make you uncomfortable, you don't have to feel that uncomfortable feeling in front of me." Evenly gently said.

"I-I'll try. It's just hard sometimes." Looking unsure, Emily answered.

Evenly placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and spoke, "I know how difficult it's for you, but i think that now you will live with me, you will forget about this shynees, and might wear some good cloth in house."

"It is you decide on your own that i will leave here, but" Emily was silent for a while before she said, "Thank you, Evenly. You're always so kind to me," Emily softly smiled.

"It's my pleasure. Now, why don't you take a sip of this coffee? It might help ease your nerves a bit," Evelyn smiled back.

Emily picked up the mug, taking a cautious sip, and a small smile appeared on her face as she began to relax in Evenly's comforting presence.

----

I entered the kitchen. As I saw long hair woman.

A status screen appeared in front of me.

[Name: Emily Shadowbleak]

[Bloodline: Sliver]

[Skill: Master Swordsmanship, Master Movement Skill, Master Fire Element, Master Close Combat]

[Spell: Fire Blast, Fire Dish, Fire Dragon]

[Rank: High D Grade]

I was surprised seeing this and also guessed that this woman might be his Aunt Evenly's friend, and there was another surprise seeing Shadowbleak's name because they have rather unique traditions but are also strong.

"Oh, you finnally came out from the bathroom, came here, met my friend, Emily." Aunt Evelyn waved at me to come near as she turned to Emily, "Emily, this is Devin. I'm taking care of him, and he is also living with me."

I smiled kindly and spoke, "Hi, Aunt Emily. Nice to meet you."

"Hi, Devin, nice to meet you too." She looked nervous as she spoke.

Then I heard my Aunt Evelyn's voice, which was a playful voice. She asked, "So, how does Emily look?"

I saw Aunt Emily's face turn red with embarrassment as she glared at Aunt Evenly.

In a situation like this, I only have to say, "Emily is one of the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Aunt Evenly was slightly taken aback by my comment but then recovered with a smile. She asked me, with teasing in her voice, "Oh really? And what about me? Am I not beautiful?"

I replied quickly, "Of course, Aunt Evenly, you are also one of the most beautiful women I know."

Aunt Evenly nodded, clearly satisfied with my response, and then she shared some things with me about Emily's family tradition, which I already knew.

"Dev, according to Emily's family tradition, she's not allowed to cut any of her body hair, which has led to her having such long hair. She finds it difficult to wear clothes that show even a little bit of her skin of her arms or legs, and you can understand why, right?"

I saw Emily's face turned red again, glaring at Evenly. She must be shy about me knowing this.

Shadowblek was a family of most of the men. Girls in this family were too rare to find. This family never cut any of their body hair because they use their body hair to fight.

A woman like Emily, not able to cut hair on her arms and legs, must be made ashamed of showing her skin, and not to mention the Shadowblek family grows more hair than the average person. Even if she cut her hair, in just some minutes, all her hair would regrow even more than before.

As a woman, Aunt Emily must have a hard time fitting in with other women since other women think of her as a wild woman. Looking at her, she seemed 25 to 30 years old. Still, she got shy just because I said she was one of the most beautiful women I saw.