Yvette slowly ate the apple handed over by Yelena, comfortably leaning against the cushion inside the tent, like a well-fed and contented big cat.
“Just going along with her game? What if we overplay our hand?”
“We’ll take it easy for now. It’s not that easy to overplay.”
Yelena threw the apple core into the trash bag, then slowly picked up an orange and began peeling it.
“She wants to use Aisha and the others to achieve some goal. The timing might not be right yet. Until then, she’s more afraid of exposure than we are.”
Yelena put a segment of orange into Yvette’s mouth, a sly fox-like smile on her face.
“Besides, the hero party is probably in a low morale state right now.”
“This is exactly when they need an outside push. That Mila girl might be the perfect catalyst.”
…
Early the next morning, the Phoenix Rebirth Team returned to Antal City, the Adventurer’s Guild.
Yelena triumphantly placed the petrified but still warm Lava Core at the Adventurer’s Guild quest counter, and the previously noisy hall instantly fell silent.
Immediately after, a sound of shattered glasses came from the bar, breaking the silence.
All the bystanders stopped what they were doing and turned their gazes to the counter.
“Th-This isn’t the core of the A-rank timed quest «Lava Giant», is it?”
“That’s insane! The 48-hour limit just appeared yesterday, and they already completed it??”
“It’s the Phoenix Rebirth Squad! It’s them again!”
The elven lady at the counter froze for a moment, took a while to snap out of it, and was gently nudged by a colleague behind her before realizing someone had submitted an A-rank quest.
“P-Please wait a moment! I’ll go fetch the guild master immediately!” After stammering, she turned and entered the guild.
Soon after, an elderly man with white hair and a vibrant spirit slowly walked out.
He was the Adventurer’s Guild Master, Mattio.
Mattio immediately noticed the distinctive object on the counter.
He quickly walked over, put on inspection gloves, and examined it carefully; the surprise and joy on his face were impossible to hide.
“A perfectly petrified core… the energy fluctuations are normal as well. Unbelievable — you only took less than a day.”
Mattio raised his head excitedly, then looked solemnly at the three and announced loudly in the hall.
“Phoenix Rebirth Team, the guild confirms your successful completion of this quest. Here is your bounty, along with the time-limited special reward.”
A large money pouch and a long object wrapped in thick cloth were handed to them.
Yvette unceremoniously took the money pouch, weighed it in her hand, and gave a satisfied whistle.
Yelena, on the other hand, unwrapped the parcel.
Inside was a smoothly shaped kitchen knife with a beautiful silver-white blade.
The magical engravings on it had flame-like patterns. When Yelena held it, a gentle energy resonated with her own mana.
[Acquired special kitchen utensil: Silver Flame Chef’s Blade, a masterpiece crafted by a high-level dwarf forge master for a royal chef.]
Yelena gripped the handle and casually spun the knife in a flourish.
Yvette watched her; even through her veil, she could feel the little fox girl’s delight, and she was happy too.
Without further ado, the three thanked the guild master and immediately returned to the Sword Saint’s Mansion.
…
Night, Sword Saint’s Mansion.
Yelena returned to her private room.
Yvette had been very attentive; all her previous promises had been fulfilled.
The floor had been replaced with tatami mats, a vanity table was in the corner, and the doors and interior decorations had all been changed to Eastern-style sliding screens and ceilings.
Outside there was a small bamboo grove and a winding stream; the bamboo joints combined with the spring water produced a pleasant, relaxing sound.
To be honest, Yelena was getting more and more accustomed to this body. Her Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox bloodline had been trained and grown, and she was also becoming more adapted to her current residence and paying more attention to her clothing and grooming.
But…
‘A legendary captain has still fallen.’
‘Why can’t I take off one more time! Kora!’
The 98K and 16x scope were both gone; replaced by a shotgun, and it took a long time to get used to the feel!
‘At least my heart is still male. I won’t give up easily!’
A few days ago, while chatting with Yvette, she still insisted emphatically:
“Even if my body has become female, my heart is still a real man!…”
“Oh~ Physiologically female, personality male, isn’t that a little tomboy?”
Yvette’s words instantly made her cheeks flush red, and she wanted to huff.
“You’re the tomboy! You, you you! You stinking tomboy!”
“Hey~ Can’t you speak nicely? Why are you acting spoiled again?”
That day’s victory and defeat ended in Yelena’s crushing loss; not only did she lose, but she kept being stubborn…
‘So annoying!’
Yelena decided to ignore this for now; recently she had been training and busy with various adventure quests.
Not just her, but even Anna and Yvette felt exhausted.
These past few days, they hadn’t taken a proper bath.
Yelena sniffed herself; her inherent rose scent was still there, but mixed with some of Yvette’s sweat odor…
‘I need to find a way to wash off that person’s smell.’
Therefore, to relax properly, she decided to take a bath first and enjoy her private hot spring.
She was in a good mood today, so she neatly placed her boots in the shoe cabinet at the entrance.
She took off her indoor house clogs, then removed her freshly changed tabi socks and knee-high white socks.
She unfastened her corset, shed the rest of her clothes, then prepared to first wash her body before going to the hot spring.
Yelena skillfully cleaned her body. Although she had become more adept at washing lately, every time she stared at the pair of large snow beauties in front of her, she couldn’t help but blush.
She gradually no longer resisted the soft sensations of her body, but the feedback from various parts was still very sensitive.
Her nonexistent phantom limb seemed to be reacting again.
‘It’s already been a month since I completely bid farewell to my captain career…’
Because she stared for too long, a rush of blood surged, and the reaction in her nasal cavity was intense.
She quickly turned her head away and washed her face with a separate wooden basin.
‘What the heck! Who gets a reaction from looking at themselves!’
Yelena took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, then wanted to divert her attention, so she looked up at the sky.
Last time it was the same, also a full moon night; that day it was clear after rain, today the night sky was cloudless.
“The moonlight tonight is beautiful too.”
…
After spending two hours washing up, Yelena dressed and began to organize her wardrobe.
But in the middle of organizing, she noticed something was off.
The number of undergarments seemed off…
She left her room, intending to ask Anna to figure out the situation.
But when she found Anna, she saw Anna carrying folded clothes that belonged to her, entering Yvette’s room.
‘Good, so it was Yvette’s mischief!’
Fuming, Yelena quickly rushed into Yvette’s room. Anna, who was still folding clothes, and Yvette, who was handling paperwork at the desk, both looked at Yelena with question marks.
Yelena was displeased and blurted out in her own hometown dialect of the Yuan Kingdom:
“So annoying… how did my underpants and socks all end up in your room?”