Vol 3. Chapter 47: Sober Again
Someone sent by the Child of Destiny came looking for me first thing in the morning...
Recalling the awkward encounter with Xue Tianao the previous night, Miss Yumo couldn't help but furrow her brows.
A trace of displeasure and disdain quietly surfaced in her ruby-red eyes.
There was once a time when she had been full of expectations for this Child of Destiny and even held a favorable impression of him.
Now, however, merely hearing his name filled her with annoyance.
Still...
No matter what, he was an indispensable part of the trial. She couldn't simply ignore him...
With that thought, Yumo let out a helpless sigh before calling toward Saiboke-Baniya outside the door.
"I understand. Tell him to wait a moment."
"Understood, Lady Yumo."
Saiboke-Baniya respectfully replied before walking toward the main hall with his usual graceful elegance.
After he left, crimson Shadow of Silence Power slowly rippled around Yumo's body.
Along with a flash of scarlet light, an elegant black gauze dress enveloped her delicate figure, while her beautiful black hair instantly became smooth and perfectly arranged across her shoulders.
After putting on the Black Rose Family overcoat, Yumo reluctantly slipped into the high heels Saiboke-Baniya had prepared for her.
After all, she wasn't in the Great Winter Forest anymore. She was representing the Black Rose Family while visiting Skyvault. Walking around barefoot simply wasn't appropriate.
"Sigh... I really can't get used to these..."
Looking at the black high heels adorned with crimson gemstones on her slender feet, Yumo couldn't help complaining.
As she muttered to herself, her gaze drifted toward the silver-haired girl lying on the bed wearing nothing but her underwear.
The blanket had long since been kicked onto the floor by Mengxi's little feet. One pillow—envy of all pillows—was trapped tightly between her thighs, while another was firmly hugged against her chest.
Every so often, Mengxi would suddenly open her cherry-colored lips and bite down on the poor pillow.
"..."
Well...
Now I know why I kept waking up every morning with someone's drool all over my face...
This girl's sleeping posture...
...is truly awful.
After grumbling a little more, Yumo picked up the blanket from the floor and carefully covered Mengxi with it once again.
She's really impossible to stop worrying about.
Afterward, Yumo left the room and headed toward the main hall to meet the envoy from the Imperial Palace.
Meanwhile...
After she departed, the two Black Rose Family maids guarding the bedroom door stared thoughtfully at the tightly closed door before exchanging glances.
An indescribably strange silence settled between them.
"J-Just now... was that...?"
Both maids wore expressions of complete disbelief.
Because...
Just before Lady Yumo closed the door, they had happened to glance inside.
One look...
...and they nearly died from the shock.
Clothes scattered all over the floor...
And a silver-haired girl lying on the bed with her clothes in complete disarray...
In an instant, a terrifying thought resurfaced in both of their minds.
Lady Yumo...? She couldn't possibly...?!
But... they're both girls!
How did they even manage that?!
—
Several dozen minutes later, when almost none of Miss Yumo's lingering scent remained inside the bedroom, a faint golden light filled with sacred power slowly rippled across Mengxi's body.
As the golden glow shimmered, the blanket covering her chest was suddenly pushed aside.
The next moment, a tiny creature with ruby-red eyes and a snow-white body—something resembling both a cat and a rabbit—sprang out from between Mengxi's soft breasts and landed atop the bed.
This little fellow was Sakura, the energy lifeform that had accompanied Mengxi from the very beginning.
As the being personally arranged by the Goddess to stay at Mengxi's side, Sakura's duty was simple—to ensure that Mengxi grew properly, ultimately defeated the Abyss Demons, destroyed the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, and completed the trial.
Naturally, throughout that process, Sakura also had to prevent Mengxi from straying from the proper path.
However...
Ever since returning from the Great Winter Forest, Sakura had been unable to calm herself.
Because she had a feeling...
Miss Mengxi had already gone astray...
She cared far too much about that black-haired girl!
She always claimed that growing close to that Demon King-class girl was merely to better utilize the power within her body and cultivate more efficiently so she could become stronger as quickly as possible.
But judging from her actual behavior...
Sakura constantly felt that her young lady harbored some other, rather suspicious intentions.
And lately...
Those intentions seemed to be growing stronger and stronger!
Especially after reading that yuri novel Pickled Radish White had given her!
Mengxi's changing attitude filled Sakura with anxiety.
If her relationship with that Abyss Demon became too close...
What if, later on, she became unwilling to fight the Abyss Demons because she cared too much about the black-haired girl's feelings?
Wouldn't the entire trial be completely ruined?
If the trial failed, wouldn't the Goddess end up grinding me into the dirt?!
Because of that...
Sakura had spent these past few days constantly trying to persuade Mengxi to stay away from the girl known by the codename "Blood Butterfly," repeatedly warning her that Blood Butterfly was definitely taking advantage of her.
Originally...
After arriving in Skyvault, Xiaomo—the disguise used by Blood Butterfly—had completely disappeared. Hidden inside Mengxi the entire time, Sakura had finally breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Yet...
Before she had even finished celebrating, that infuriating Demon King-class girl appeared yet again!
This time...
As the eldest young lady of the Black Rose Family!
What left Sakura utterly speechless was that the moment the girl appeared, her own young lady completely forgot everything Sakura had told her.
She simply ignored all of her warnings...
...and immediately went looking for the black-haired girl again.
In the end...
She even followed her back to her room?!
Good heavens!
That's one of the enemy's top generals!
And you're the Child of Destiny!
How can you be so intimate with her?!
Left with no other choice, Sakura could only scream inwardly while staring at the sleeping silver-haired girl with an incredibly complicated expression.
Although she was extremely worried...
There was nothing she could actually do.
After all, she had no authority to interfere with Mengxi's decisions.
After letting out a deep sigh...
Golden light spread from Sakura's body, gradually enveloping the silver-haired girl.
Little by little...
Under Sakura's power, Mengxi's eyelashes fluttered slightly as her hands slowly curled into fists.
A short while later, she finally managed to struggle awake, lazily opening her sleepy violet eyes.
A relaxed smile bloomed across her lips as she stretched her slender arms.
"Ah~~"
Accompanied by a long, soft, melodious yawn, the girl's beautiful eyes opened completely.
The morning sunlight pouring into the bedroom gently illuminated her graceful curves and exquisitely proportioned figure.
At that moment, the breathtaking silver-haired girl shone like a holy angel descended from heaven.
Her beauty was so overwhelming that even time itself seemed to stand still.
"Good morning, Sister Sakura."
Sitting up, Mengxi smiled sweetly at the little white creature beside her before immediately pulling the cat-and-rabbit-like fluffball into her embrace.
Sakura, however, wasn't moved by the affectionate gesture.
Instead, she deliberately put on an angry face, preparing to properly lecture this disobedient girl.
But...
Before Sakura could even speak, Mengxi thanked her first.
"Thank you for helping me, Sister Sakura~. If you hadn't planted that psychological suggestion beforehand, I probably would've blown my cover after getting drunk last night~."
"..."
Hearing Mengxi speak so casually, Sakura frowned as anger surged through her tiny body.
Last night, she hadn't dared say anything because she had to conceal her own existence.
But now...
The fluffy white creature glared fiercely at the silver-haired girl.
"Miss Mengxi, that was far too reckless! Deliberately getting yourself drunk... What if your identity had been exposed? That Abyss Demon might have hurt you!"
However...
Faced with Sakura's scolding, Mengxi merely tilted her head without the slightest concern.
"Sister Yumo would never hurt me."
"B-But she's an Abyss Demon! How can you be so certain—"
"I'm certain."
"B-But—?!"
"Sister Yumo would never hurt me."
Mengxi interrupted Sakura once again, answering with complete certainty.
The unwavering look in her eyes, combined with her unquestionable tone, left Sakura momentarily speechless.
After standing there in a daze for a while, she finally spoke again.
"But... even if... even if she wouldn't hurt you, and even if your identity wasn't exposed... weren't you worried about what might happen after you lost consciousness? What if that woman... did something to you? You have to understand—even another girl could... well... do things to your body... It's... it's very dangerous!"
If something had happened to you...
How was she supposed to explain it to the Goddess?
Unfortunately...
Mengxi still looked completely unconcerned.
"Hm? Dangerous? If she did something to me? Enmmm..."
Resting a finger against her chin, the silver-haired girl pondered for a moment before revealing an amused smile.
"Wouldn't that actually be even better? If something really had happened, then with Sister Yumo's personality, she'd definitely take responsibility and stay with me forever. Unfortunately..."
Lowering her gaze toward herself and seeing that her underwear was still perfectly neat, a faint trace of disappointment appeared on Mengxi's face.
"It seems Sister Yumo didn't do anything at all."
"So in the end..."
"I was the one who took advantage of her last night~."
As though recalling something, Mengxi revealed a charming smile tinged with mischief—a smile completely at odds with her holy and pure aura.
"..."
After seeing the meaningful smile on Mengxi's face, Sakura silently swallowed the words she had been about to say.
Recalling what Mengxi had told her before drinking the previous night, Sakura's expression gradually became rather strange.
The reason she had been so determined to keep Mengxi away from Blood Butterfly...
...was because she feared that Demon King-class girl had ulterior motives.
She was worried about Mengxi's future.
Afraid the Abyss Demon would lead her astray.
But...
Thinking about it carefully...
Sakura suddenly began to wonder whether she had been worrying for nothing.
Given how clever her young lady was—and how she never allowed herself to suffer a loss...
It honestly seemed rather unlikely that she would ever be the one getting tricked.
Somehow...
It felt like the black-haired Demon King girl...
...was actually the one who needed to be worried about.