Staring at the “Memory Stone” that was pointed right at her, clearly in an activated state, Salina felt as if her whole world was falling apart.
If… if that utterly humiliating scene of her getting spanked just now had been recorded and made public… she simply couldn’t imagine what kind of disaster that would be!
“You… you bastard!”
Salina’s voice trembled with despair, and for the first time, true fear appeared in her crimson eyes. Compared to the risk of utter disgrace, the pain of her body and the temporary humiliation seemed like nothing at all.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Camilla accepted Salina’s “praise” with a beaming smile. Her finger continued to trace lightly over the pattern left by the ropes on the girl’s back—a trick she had actually learned from Lao Ai.
“So then, about compensation, shall we have a good talk, Princess?”
“…What do you want?”
Salina practically ground her teeth as she forced the words from deep within her throat. She knew she was completely finished, with no room left to bargain.
Camilla pretended to consider for a moment, then drawled slowly.
“Let’s see… I’m not some sort of demon. As a Princess of the Blood Clan, you should be carrying some good stuff, right? Like Blood Crystal (Purified), Moonstone, and the like.”
Salina could only let out a stifled “Mm,” then, giving up completely, asked,
“…How much do you want?”
Camilla straightened up and clapped her hands.
“How about this: since this is your ‘first offense,’ I’ll give you a discount. I won’t ask for much—just three Blood Crystal (Purified), and… hmm, ten Moonstones, or the equivalent in magical materials. Then I’ll act as if this never happened, and I’ll destroy the original Memory Stone right here. How’s that?”
“Blood Moon Essence?! One thousand gold coins?!”
Salina cried out in shock. After all, Blood Crystal (Purified) was an essential cultivation resource provided by her family, something you couldn’t even buy with money. Moonstones were also highly valuable alchemical materials, worth several months of her allowance on the open market.
“You… you’re robbing me!”
“Oh?”
Camilla’s tone rose at the end, and the hand that had been pressing on Salina’s rear lifted slightly, as if ready to strike.
“I’ll give it! I’ll give it!”
Salina shuddered in fright and almost blurted it out by reflex. Compared to the coming slap and the risk of total disgrace, her possessions didn’t seem all that important anymore.
“That’s better.”
Camilla smiled with satisfaction and skillfully untied the ropes binding Salina.
As soon as she was freed, Salina scrambled up from the chair and staggered a few steps back, putting distance between herself and Camilla.
She rubbed at her wrists, marked red by the ropes, and couldn’t help but touch her still-stinging backside, her face flushing and paling in turns.
“Don’t try any tricks. At this distance, I could easily take your head. Sure, I’d be hunted by a few people afterward, but that would only happen after you’re dead.”
“I know that.”
Salina, with extreme reluctance, retrieved three Blood Crystal (Purified) and a small pouch of Moonstones from her Space Accessory.
She slapped them down on the table with a bang, as if venting her anger and humiliation.
Camilla held the beautiful, flawless Blood Crystal (Purified) up to the light, weighed the pouch in her hand to feel the contents, and nodded in satisfaction.
“Deal. As expected, Princess, you are straightforward.”
She walked over to Rimuru and took the Memory Stone from its tiny “tentacle.” Right in front of Salina, she squeezed it gently—there was a crisp “crack,” and the “Memory Stone” turned to white powder, sifting down through her fingers.
“See? I keep my word.”
Salina stared fixedly at the falling powder, and only after confirming that the Memory Stone had truly been destroyed did she finally let out a breath. Yet the sense of humiliation and her hatred for Camilla remained undiminished.
She tidied her disheveled dress and hair, trying to recover a trace of noble bearing, but her slightly swollen eyes and still-flushed cheeks betrayed her sorry state.
“Camilla Vielritte…”
Salina’s voice was a little hoarse.
“The shame of tonight, I will never forget! The mountains are high and rivers long—we… will meet again!”
Having thrown out these fierce words, she dared not linger for another moment, afraid the demon-like girl would come up with a new way to torment her.
Her figure turned into a streak of black mist and, just like when she came, slipped silently out the window and disappeared into the deep night. Still, no matter how you looked at her back, it was tinged with panic and embarrassment.
Camilla watched her disappear, brushed the stone dust off her hands, and let out a long sigh of relief.
“Finally settled… Honestly, why is it so hard to quietly write a few chapters?”
She put away the precious necklace and coin pouch, her mood instantly shifting from cloudy to sunny.
“But, the haul is not bad—a windfall, really.”
She bent down to pick up Rimuru from the floor, giving its squishy body a good squeeze.
“Nice job, Rimuru! Extra dinner for you tonight!”
“Puchi!”
Rimuru called out happily and nuzzled her fingers.
【…Master… long live…】
In truth, it had been ready to fight Salina to the end just now, but for some reason, its master suddenly instructed it to pick out a relatively intact piece of star essence from its own food stash. Then, something miraculous happened: the bad guy actually surrendered.
That’s right, what Rimuru was holding wasn’t a Memory Stone at all—just a piece of unprocessed summoning beast food. Camilla had come up with a random idea to trick Salina, and hadn’t expected it to work so well.
“Here, this is your reward!”
With that, Camilla tossed Rimuru the largest Blood Crystal (Purified), storing the other two in her storage bracelet for now.
For the Blood Clan, Blood Crystal (Purified) was one of the most precious cultivation materials. For other races, it was also a vital resource, greatly enhancing one’s bloodline strength, though the effect was somewhat less pronounced than for the Blood Clan.
For a certain reason, Camilla didn’t plan on using the Blood Crystal (Purified) herself, but would save one for her elder sister, and the last… well, she’d decide later.
After swallowing the biggest, purest Blood Crystal (Purified), Rimuru began to glow white, as if about to evolve… Well, actually, it didn’t. After eating, Rimuru simply let out a satisfied burp, then sprawled lazily on the floor.
After all, this Blood Crystal (Purified) was only about 50% pure. To trigger a true bloodline transformation in Rimuru, it would have needed to be at least 90% pure.
Such high-purity Blood Crystal (Purified) was practically a legend even in the long history of the Blood Clan. Camilla had played through countless cycles and only ever gotten less than five of them.
Not surprised by this outcome, Camilla stretched. The Radiant Armor on her body automatically dissipated, and she sat back at her desk, the only sound in the room now the scratching of her pen on paper.
Taking advantage of her inspiration, Camilla decided to write a bit more. Unconsciously, the sun rose once again.
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