“Ten miles of peach blossoms, the years of waiting to be wed, pearls on the phoenix crown, woven into hair…”
In her sleep, Yelena seemed to hear someone singing.
But why this song?
Because before going to bed, she had drunk warm milk and needed to go out to pick flowers, she rubbed her sleepy eyes and tried to sit up.
However, she simply couldn’t get up.
Anna was very disciplined, wrapped in a single blanket and sleeping sideways away from the two of them.
Yiweite, who was hugging Yelena from behind, was fast asleep, but she had her arms and legs wrapped around Yelena’s waist and legs like an octopus.
Yelena was also very sleepy, and only after waking up did she realize her predicament.
‘Damn that villain! Why, after becoming a girl, instead of bullying other girls, am I the one who can’t move?’
Yelena now needed to think of a way to escape this situation. Otherwise, as someone who had just become female not long ago, her bladder’s tolerance, due to lack of training, might…
If she let go right now, her career as a cook would probably be over, right?
She immediately chose to move her body, using her arms to struggle free from the octopus’s embrace.
Good heavens, her strength was still too weak compared to Yiweite’s. Not a single inch moved.
Although she really wanted to give the red-haired girl beside her a Rocket Headbutt, she looked at her defenseless, relaxed sleeping face and abandoned the idea…
Yelena had no choice but to channel her magic and transform back into her fox form.
The sudden change in size instantly freed her from the restraint. Then, hopping and skipping, she arrived at the tent entrance, gently lifted the flap, and after reverting to human form, quietly closed it again.
She couldn’t disturb them; at least today, they had worked much harder than she had.
Yelena moved forward, passing through the magical barrier outside the tent alone, heading deeper into the cave not far from the tent to simply pick some flowers.
Carrying a small Magic Lantern, she passed through the Golden Lion Holy Alliance squad’s camp, quickly released a water magic spell, took out a handkerchief to wipe herself clean, put her stockings and skirt back on, and immediately prepared to return to her own squad’s camp.
Passing through the Golden Lion Holy Alliance squad’s camp again, she stared dazedly at the four pitch-black tents.
How nice… They had finally found a suitable person to fill her position.
[Warning: Captured negative emotions from target!]
[Killing Intent]
What?! Yelena abruptly turned to look behind her, but found no one.
[Negative emotions from target disappeared. No further Killing Intent detected.]
“Ah, just scaring myself~”
Yelena perked up, rubbed her face, then chuckled and turned around, continuing toward their three-person tent.
But after only two steps, an accident occurred.
A cold hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder, startling her into dropping the Magic Lantern, which shattered.
When she turned to look, the person behind her had disheveled hair, and in the darkness, she couldn’t see their face at all.
“Don’t… go…”
The unidentified person spoke with a trembling voice, creating echoes in the cave.
Without screaming or calling for help, Yelena’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted, foaming at the mouth.
…
…
“Miss Yelena! Miss Yelena! Wake up!”
Not knowing how long she had been unconscious, she slowly opened her eyes, but only darkness greeted her.
“It seems I didn’t make it to heaven… Is this hell?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Yelena… It’s me… Aisha…”
Yelena followed the sound and saw Aisha, her eyes brimming with tears.
The broken Magic Lantern emitted a faint light, and she realized that the Hero was giving her a lap pillow.
Yelena understood that the crying Aisha before her was in her weakness state of being afraid of the dark.
This was a secret about Aisha known only to former Hero Party members.
Their Hero, who fought fearlessly on the battlefield, once plunged into prolonged darkness, would turn into a timid, scared girl.
She must have also come out to relieve herself. Yelena looked toward Aisha’s single-person tent, noticing a light indeed shining inside.
That’s right… She was the type of girl who needed a small lamp on even to sleep.
Yelena quickly took out a new Magic Lantern from her Space Ring and lit up the surrounding area.
Light gradually drove away the darkness, and also drove away Aisha’s fear.
Seeing Aisha gradually relax, her shyness becoming clear in the light.
Yelena saw the familiar look again.
It probably wasn’t Aisha who had emitted the Killing Intent, but who was that unknown source of Killing Intent targeting? Never mind, now wasn’t the time to think about such things. Since Aisha’s problem was resolved, she should go back to sleep.
“Don’t go… Miss Yelena. Can you talk with me for a bit?”
Just as Yelena was about to stand up, a hand grabbed her. The blonde girl holding her hand showed clear intention to keep her.
“I think, Miss Yelena, just like your peerless appearance, you are definitely not a harsh or mean person.”
“…”
When Aisha grabbed her earlier, it was a bit sudden. She tucked her fox tail behind her skirt, but the tip still swayed uneasily.
She didn’t speak because her heart was more or less hurt by them.
But the Aisha before her still wore a disappointed and confused expression, waiting for Yelena to give her an answer.
“We’ve only met for the second time, yet… Miss Yelena gives me a familiar… close feeling…”
Yelena’s footsteps stopped, paused for half a moment.
Maybe she should take this chance to hear what Aisha thinks.
“Miss Aisha, can you tell me the story between you and that Fox Tribe boy?”
Yelena’s tone changed from before, and Aisha noticed the change in Yelena’s attitude toward her. The expression on her face no longer troubled; she didn’t want her random guesses to affect Yelena’s impression of her in the future.
At least she could sense that Yelena had a strangely familiar scent about her…
“Thank you, Miss Yelena~”
“There was a Fox Tribe boy in my party. He was strong, gentle, and considerate. We all liked him very much.”
“But I heard that you mercilessly abandoned him not long ago…”
Yelena’s expression was calm, probing, and more than anything, she wanted to know Aisha’s true feelings.
“So it’s already become a stain on our party… There’s no helping it. As the leader, I am willing to bear all the consequences alone. Even if Ye Lian never talks to me again from now on, and doesn’t recognize me, I have no complaints…”
Yelena took out two hot water bottles and handed one to Aisha. Then they continued talking in a sheltered spot.
“Miss Aisha, what was the reason? I’m just curious. As a bystander, I won’t pry too much into your privacy.”
Yelena followed Aisha’s lead and asked, but of course, she couldn’t appear too concerned about the reason.
“Miss Yelena, I trust you. Just as you were willing to accept me when I was afraid of the dark, I’m willing to tell you the secret.”
Aisha said this while caressing the Holy Cross Pendant on her chest. The pendant seemed to sense Yelena’s magic, emitting a faint light, pure and free of any impurity. This was a confirmation that Yelena was a kind-hearted person.
“We received orders from the Church…”
“What orders from the Church? Tell me about it.”
The red-haired girl suddenly gently wrapped her arms around Yelena’s shoulders from behind, revealing a playful smile as she looked at Aisha.
“Yiweite!? Nothing… Don’t you try to pry into Church matters…”
Aisha stopped midway, looking at her nemesis in front of her, and didn’t continue.
“Hmph, boring.”
Yiweite picked up Yelena without a word, princess-carrying her, not giving Aisha a chance to continue speaking, only wanting to quickly take the fox girl back to sleep.