Hualí’s cheeks puffed out with anger, making her look like a little hamster with its mouth full of nuts — she was absolutely adorable.
Penina blinked, her gaze instantly sharpening as she spoke with righteous indignation.
“You idiot, Hualí! Are you questioning me? As the Saintess of Light, I haven’t even held you accountable for consorting with magical beasts and bringing an evil Slime into the Human Capital!”
‘Didn’t she know that magical beasts were dangerous beings that could hurt people at any time?’
Ultimately, she was doing this for Hualí’s sake and for the safety of all the residents in the Capital!
‘How could it possibly be for her own selfish desires?’
Penina pulled back the empty covers beside her and patted the light pink plush sheets, making a muffled thud-thud sound.
“But it’s fine. I’ve already dealt with the hidden danger. Turn off the light and come back to sleep. I have to wake up early for prayers tomorrow.”
“Ugh… alright…”
Hualí was about to climb onto the bed like a fool when she suddenly froze, her cheeks flushing crimson.
“Wait! You can’t sleep while holding me! And give that thing back to me!”
“Why do you feel the need to use padding? Are you that insecure, Hualí?”
Penina tilted her head.
A few locks of smooth golden hair fell past her ears, resting against her elegant, swan-like neck.
A faint, inscrutable smile played at the corners of her mouth, as if she particularly enjoyed Hualí’s shy reaction.
“T-That’s not the reason at all!”
The pink-haired girl averted her eyes and defended herself in a small voice.
“I-It’s just that I happened to have one, so I was just trying it out a bit…”
‘She was the Human Hero! She was the strongest Sword Saint of the Human Race! How could she possibly be insecure?’
“Anyway, Penina, what you’re doing is wrong. I treat you as a friend and a partner — you can’t keep putting your hands on me!”
The simple, cute, pink-haired girl tried to correct the blonde Saintess’s misguided thoughts.
“Otherwise, you’ll become a shameless bad girl.”
“But isn’t it normal for girls to hug each other occasionally or hold hands?”
Penina blinked, expressing her confusion as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
As she tilted her head, the loose collar of her nightgown slipped off her shoulder, revealing her pale, rosy skin and a thin pink strap.
‘Was this normal? No matter how she thought about it, it definitely wasn’t normal!’
Hualí gritted her teeth and stomped her tender little feet against the wooden floor.
“But you still can’t… you still can’t…”
‘She couldn’t just reach her hand inside someone’s clothes and start squeezing and kneading! Who could possibly stand that?’
“I can’t?”
“No!”
“I see…”
Penina nodded as if she understood, but then a smug look flashed across her face.
“Then I’ll change my reasoning.”
She pulled back the thin quilt, revealing the messy plush sheets underneath.
“I spent a full 25 gold coins to buy you. That’s enough to match a whole year’s salary for an ordinary worker in the Capital. It shouldn’t be too much to ask for you to warm my bed, right?”
She wasn’t even pretending anymore!
“Ugh…”
Hualí’s face crumpled, filled with hesitation and struggle.
Knowing she couldn’t out-argue Penina, Hualí could only voice her sole requirement.
“T-Then you can’t hold me anymore. It’s uncomfortable!”
Penina nodded in agreement.
The lights in the bedroom were turned off, and the room returned to pitch-blackness.
Since her eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dark yet, Hualí couldn’t see a thing; she shuffled her feet and slowly climbed onto the bed, lying down next to Penina.
She didn’t have the courage to face Penina directly, so she chose to lie on her side with her back to the girl behind her.
Hualí planned to ignore whatever the other girl said, as long as she didn’t touch her.
“Hualí…”
Penina’s airy voice reached her ears.
Hualí’s delicate body trembled, and she squeezed her eyes shut, pretending not to hear.
“…”
“Idiot Hualí…?”
“…”
The next moment, Hualí felt Penina press against her back.
Feeling the soft sensation of two large mounds pressing against her back, Hualí turned pale with shock.
“Wah! Y-You said you wouldn’t hold me!”
“That’s right — I’m not holding you. After all, I am a Saintess.”
The girl’s warm, moist breath brushed against her ear, so close it felt as if her earlobe were being taken into the other’s mouth.
She could even hear the faint sound of Penina’s lips moving.
She said:
“It is my duty as the Saintess of Justice to prevent you, a little idiot, from going out and causing trouble in the middle of the night — all to protect the lives and property of the citizens of the Capital.”
To deal with the idiotic troublemaker Hualí, the righteous Saintess chose to sacrifice herself, using her own body to restrain and imprison her.
“Ugh… I won’t cause trouble again…”
Hualí said aggrievedly.
“What if you do it by accident?”
Penina’s brow relaxed as she rubbed her cheek against Hualí’s neck.
She smelled a familiar fragrance on the girl’s hair.
It seemed Hualí had used her favorite hair cream.
The scent of tallow mixed with the faint fragrance of Sun Flowers and Hualí’s own natural scent.
Its sleep-inducing effect was not inferior to any incense on the market.
“If you cause trouble again, I don’t have any extra money to pay for the damages. When that happens, you’ll just have to be arrested and rot in the Capital’s Prison.”
“Do you have any money, Hualí? If you cause trouble without money, you’ll go to jail.”
“Ugh… I don’t have money, and I don’t want to go to jail…”
“Then be good and go to sleep,” Penina said.
Her tone was calm but carried a firm resolve that brooked no refusal.
She buried her face deep into the pink-haired girl’s neck, breathing in the pleasant scent of her favorite hair cream.
This night was destined to be peaceful and beautiful — at least it was for Penina.
As the Saintess of Light for the Human Race, she had been faced with one troublesome matter after another since the day she returned to the Capital.
She had to stay constantly alert to deal with everything.
The sudden crises that could erupt at any moment in the Royal City had kept her from getting a good night’s sleep for a long time.
Hualí’s arrival allowed her to finally relax her tense nerves for a brief moment.
Hualí’s simplicity… or rather, the purity of being with Hualí meant she didn’t have to be on guard or worry if her actions matched her status as the Saintess of Light.
In the dark room, Hualí felt that cold touch start to crawl up from her waist again.
Her body trembled, and she cried out, “W-What are you doing!”
“Releasing stress before bed.”
“Don’t you have your own? And yours are even bigger!”
“If you cause trouble, you have to pay. If you have no money, you get arrested and put in prison, sleeping on a cold iron bed that’s as hard as the floor…”
“Fine! I just won’t move! I beg you, stop talking about it!”
Tears welled up in the corners of the girl’s eyes.
She gritted her teeth and swallowed her pride along with the humiliation she suffered today.
She swore that all the humiliation she endured would be repaid many times over one day!
She staked it on her name as the Human Hero, Hualí!