Selim opened her eyes, glanced at the distant clock, and stretched lazily.
Although she had spent a long time in the world of the trial, in the Reality World, at most, only an hour had passed.
“You…”
Sophia saw that Selim was awake and was just about to speak.
Lying on Sophia’s lap and enjoying the lap pillow, Selim ignored her words, turned over, and hugged her with both arms, closing her eyes again to feign sleep and continue enjoying the comfort.
After all, Sophia’s long and supple legs were so comfortable to rest on that Selim had no intention of leaving so easily.
Seeing that the other party had no intention of getting off her lap, Sophia couldn’t help but feel a surge of nameless irritation.
“I say, that’s about enough, isn’t it?”
Sophia used both hands to turn Selim’s head upright, her green eyes like a lake stirring with a ripple as she silently locked eyes with Selim’s crimson gaze.
“Hmph~ Stingy.”
With Sophia holding her cheeks, Selim’s face puffed out in a sulky pout.
“Hoo~”
Sophia did her best to calm her emotions and spoke. “You know you owe me a favor now, don’t you?”
“Hey, aren’t we friends? Is it necessary to be so distant between friends?”
Selim knew she was talking about the Bead she had tricked Sophia out of.
But for Selim, making this into a straightforward transaction was nowhere near as beneficial as muddying the waters and making it a debt hard to pin down.
She had to make Sophia truly believe, from the bottom of her heart, that the Bead she swallowed had been given willingly.
In the future, Selim would naturally repay Sophia’s efforts, but that, too, couldn’t be a transaction. It had to be the so-called “caring among friends.”
Sophia said nothing, but her gaze gradually grew dangerous.
Meeting Sophia’s lake-green pupils, Selim turned her head and pretended to look shy.
“Don’t think you can play dumb to escape,” Sophia said, not amused by Selim’s shy act. “Miss Selim, have you thought about how you’ll repay this favor? Do you need me to remind you? You should know what I want.”
“Is that so…”
Just as Selim was thinking how to tease Sophia further, a sudden urge to pee surged up.
Almost instantly, Selim found a perfect point of entry.
Her face flushed red, she nervously fiddled with the hem of her skirt, as if she were about to do something terribly embarrassing.
“Um… Before that, can I go to the restroom first?” Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. “Carry me to the bathroom next door, please?”
Nature’s call was urgent, and Sophia couldn’t harden her heart against Selim’s predicament. She could only nod and agree. “Alright, but this is the last time.”
Gently lifting Selim, Sophia headed out of the room toward the bathroom.
Once Sophia set Selim on the toilet, she spoke, “Alright, you can handle this yourself, right? I have nothing to do here, so let’s continue our conversation later.”
“Wait a second.” Selim reached out and grabbed Sophia, who was about to leave.
Sophia looked down at her right hand, now held back, utterly confused as to why Selim would call her at such a time.
“Help me.”
“Help you with what? You think I can do it for you?”
Selim puffed up her cheeks, snuck a glance at Sophia, and put on a shy face. “I… I can’t take it off.”
With that, she gently lifted her skirt, revealing a pair of slender, almost overly pale legs, and a piece of black lace underwear in the forbidden zone.
“Can’t take it off?” Sophia was stunned by Selim’s behavior, unable to understand how someone could act so bashful and do something like this at the same time.
“I’m talking about my underwear…” Selim spoke with tears glimmering at the corners of her eyes, as if she’d truly been humiliated.
“You know, I can’t move my legs.”
“So… I can’t reach.”
“Can you help me take it off?”
At this point, Sophia could only grit her teeth and do as asked.
She had to admit, Selim was one of the most beautiful girls Sophia had ever met.
The last girl this beautiful had been a junior at the Imperial Academy who used to pick fights with her but never once won. If she remembered right, her name was Cecilia.
Doing this kind of thing was shameful even for Sophia.
So she turned her head aside, using only touch to find her target.
Lacking the help of sight, Sophia’s hands inevitably brushed against Selim’s skin.
“Ah~”
“Ying~”
Of course, Selim wouldn’t actually turn into a damsel ripe for the picking from mere touch, but facing Sophia, she could at least pretend she was.
If someone else was standing behind Selim at this moment, they’d see nothing but a bashful girl clutching her skirt and tilting her head.
While another girl fumbled under that skirt.
A gentleman might only sigh that times had changed, and morals were in decline.
But some would get excited and shout for more.
“Can you be quiet for a second!” Sophia finally snapped, blushing, and yanked the underwear down along Selim’s pale thighs.
Splash~
Just as Sophia pulled it to knee-level, Selim seized the chance and let herself go.
“Eh?”
Hearing the sound of water, Sophia realized what was happening, and, even more embarrassed, she instinctively fled the bathroom.
But her escape was so swift that before Selim could react, she accidentally took something else with her.
Feeling the coolness below, Selim was momentarily stunned, then couldn’t help but smile at the corner of her mouth.
Sophia’s unexpected behavior would make it even easier for Selim to carry out her plan.
“Hoo~” Sophia, having dashed out of the bathroom in panic, reflexively raised her right hand to wipe away nonexistent sweat from her brow.
The next moment, her face brushed against a piece of warm, silky fabric.
With a sense of foreboding, she gently unfolded what was in her hands.
It was the very undergarment Selim had just worn.
Sophia carefully folded it and placed it behind her, escaping from reality. At this moment, her toes could probably dig a three-bedroom apartment out of sheer embarrassment.
The sound of running water in the bathroom gradually died away. To avoid further awkwardness, Sophia was the first to change the subject. “Miss Selim, did your Transcendent Awakening Trial Ritual go smoothly this time?”
“Of course. How could I let down my friend—Miss Sophia’s painstaking efforts?”
As she spoke, Selim summoned several Soul Tentacles, moving octopus-like toward the wardrobe.
Floating in the air, the cool sensation was quite a novelty.
Watching Selim move on her own, Sophia, now realizing she had been played, suppressed her frustration and spoke up. “You little…”
With the help of the Soul Tentacles, Selim found another piece of white undergarment in the wardrobe and put it on gently.
Seeing Sophia, who looked like she wanted to say something but held back, sulking to herself, Selim first tilted her head in confusion.
“Oh!”
Selim clapped her hands together, feigning sudden realization.
She twisted her two index fingers together, as if hesitating.
Selim used her Soul Tentacle to take off the just-donned white undergarment and, under Sophia’s bewildered gaze, slowly handed it over.
“If you want it, the white one too…”