"Uhm... Benjamin..." Lotus began speaking, her voice soft and hesitant, feeling unusually shy and self-conscious as she drew closer to Benjamin on the large bed, her body shifting across the soft mattress until she was sitting right next to him, their shoulders touching. "It has been quite some time since we last... you know... since we were intimate with each other. And I was wondering if perhaps you might be interested in... reconnecting this evening..."

Benjamin had finally snapped out of his pregnancy shock, his brain rebooting and his senses returning to normal.

The revelation that Lotus was also carrying his child was unexpected.

He turned his head to face the fidgety and nervous Lotus, watching her squirm there like a teenage girl in love.

"Sure. I would love to. That sounds like a wonderful way to spend the evening," he smiled warmly at her, his hand already slithering to her waist and resting there comfortably.

One of his hands then shifted away her silvery grey hair from her shoulder and her neck, exposing the smooth skin beneath.

He continued; "In fact, I have to reward you properly for successfully kidnapping me back, no?"

Lotus gawked at Benjamin’s handsome features for a long moment, studying his face and his expression.

Then she looked away in a short but thoughtful pause, her golden eyes drifting toward the window and the night sky visible beyond.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Lotus?" Benjamin tilted his head, not understanding the reason for her sudden hesitation and distant gaze.

"No... It is nothing bad. It is just..." Lotus smiled exhaustedly, a tired but fond expression crossing her beautiful face, as she reached out and began to pat Benjamin’s head gently, stroking his brown hair with her palm in a slow and rhythmic motion. "Compared to when you first arrived here in Verdant Spire, so nervous and uncertain, so full of questions about everything around you... you have become much more active and aggressive lately.

"You take initiative now, and you make decisions confidently. You even stood up to someone like Renard Valois on that summit, facing him directly without backing down, which is something that most beings in this world would never dare to do. You have changed so much, Benjamin. Grown so much. Sometimes I look at you and I barely recognize the man you have become." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Oh... I see," Benjamin snuggled into her hand on his head, pressing his cheek against her palm like a cat seeking affection and warmth. "You don’t like this version of me... Mummy?"

"Do not dare call me something so ridiculous," Lotus moved quickly to pull his cheek with her fingers, stretching the skin slightly as she frowned a bit from being referred to as "mummy" in such a teasing manner. "I did not say that I dislike this version of you. I simply said that you have changed and grown, and I am still adjusting to the new you. The naive, clueless Benjamin who first arrived here was very easy for me to pamper and take care of and protect.

"That version of you made me feel needed and more useful. But I already know this very well, because I have seen it happen many times before over the long centuries of my life: the young shall grow. The dependent shall become independent. That is simply the natural order of things, and I cannot stop or reverse it, no matter how much I might miss the way things used to be."

Benjamin looked at Lotus’ golden eyes carefully and recognized something there, a deep and complex emotion that she was not expressing directly in her words.

The thing is; Lotus had very strong maternal instincts, a powerful desire to nurture and care for those she loved.

And while she was genuinely in love with Benjamin as a romantic partner and a potential husband, she also wanted Benjamin like a son...

Or more specifically, like a baby boy (not sugar son).

A child to dote on and fuss over, to hold in her arms.

A son which she had been unable to have, due to her Amazon blood and the curse that prevented the birth of male children from their bloodline.

[Wait a second, my senses are telling me that this situation is leading to another weird and unusual fetish. How many different fetishes have appeared in this novel so far?] [Ben]

"Alright then, mummy," Benjamin wrapped his arms around Lotus’ torso in a warm and trusting embrace, pulling her closer against his body.

He then relaxed his frame, letting his weight rest against her lap and her chest, making himself small and vulnerable in her arms. "Why don’t you get active and take the lead? I’ll be your baby boy again. Now and forever."

Lotus blushed profusely at his words, her pale cheeks turning red and her golden eyes going wide with surprise and embarrassment. "I told you clearly! Do not call me something so strange and embarrassing! Oh, also... About your word ’forever’..."

Benjamin looked up to her from his position on her lap, his blue eyes curious and attentive. "What about it?"

"Earlier today, something unusual and unexpected happened to me," Lotus began speaking, her voice thoughtful and a little uncertain. "In the moments just before you appeared suddenly at the summit... I seemed to have received some kind of upgrade to my being and my abilities. A sudden and unexplained increase in power."

"?!"

Benjamin instantly recognized what she meant by those words, his eyes widening slightly before he controlled his expression.

Quick recap: the majority of the people who were connected deeply to Benjamin received some sort of gift and blessing from his evolution to demigod status.

The surge of power that had transformed him had also radiated outward to those closest to him, elevating them in various ways.

However, some of those recipients might not even realize where their new abilities came from, or know that the source of their upgrade was Benjamin himself and his evolution.

"E-Eh... Is that so? How interesting!" Benjamin’s eyes rolled away slowly, avoiding direct eye contact with Lotus as he pretended to be surprised about the cause of her power increase. "So what upgrade did you receive exactly? What has changed about your abilities?"

"My magical power reserve has grown to twice the size it was before, maybe even more than that. I have significantly more energy to draw upon for spells and rituals," Lotus began listing the changes she had noticed. "And I believe that I have become a level 2 demigod as well."

Quick note: Most Amazons are borderline demigods already, but purer bloods like Marina, Elara, and Lotus are real demigods.

"Really? That must be really cool, right?! What a wonderful development!" Benjamin chirped with enthusiasm, trying to sound supportive and pleased without revealing his own involvement. "You should thank the gods for such a sudden and unexpected leap in personal growth and power! It is a true blessing."

"Yes, the additions are certainly impressive and welcome," Lotus agreed, nodding her head slowly. "But the most surreal change of all is..."

Benjamin swallowed hard with the suspense, his throat moving visibly as he waited for her to continue. "What is it?"

Lotus raised one finger in a telling and dramatic fashion, her golden eyes locked onto his face as she delivered the revelation.

"I believe I have become immortal now."

"..." Benjamin’s expecting and curious eyes immediately dimmed back to flatness and disinterest, his expression shifting from anticipation to boredom in the span of a single heartbeat.

"Eh? Are you not taking this news far too casually? Immortality, though! That is a huge deal!" Lotus shook Benjamin’s shoulder with both hands, trying to elicit a stronger reaction from him, frustration and confusion mixing on her face.

"No, it’s not like that. It is just..." Benjamin awkwardly smiled at her, scratching the back of his head with one hand. "I’m really happy for you... But... were you not already immortal before?"