The stationed troops were resting around the city, and military discipline could not be slackened.
General Glengo patrolled the Camp, and wherever he went, the soldiers all stood tall and straight, chests out.
General Glengo’s face was as unyielding as stone, exuding authority.
“All right, at ease. Return to the Camp and rest!”
“Yes, General!”
The soldiers went back to rest, and Glengo also returned to his own Camp.
As soon as he lifted the curtain, the stern look he wore just moments ago instantly melted away, replaced by a broad smile.
“Wife, are you cold? I’ll have someone go into the city and buy a few more clothes for you later.”
Selina rolled her eyes at him.
“It’s the middle of summer, how could I be cold?”
“We’re heading toward Lilburg, you know. The closer we get, the colder it’ll be.”
Glengo sat beside her and pulled her into his arms.
“I’m just afraid you’ll catch a chill.”
“How could I be as delicate as you say? Besides, we’re only going for a few months—we’ll be back before winter.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right, wife… By the way, where’s Little Sally? Hasn’t she arrived yet?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you go check the post station?”
After cuddling for a while, Selina found a small excuse to send her husband out, telling him to take a stroll over to the city’s post station.
Glengo strode out of the Camp, quickly collecting his smile and returning to his stern demeanor before he encountered anyone outside.
“Greetings, General!”
“Mm, maintain order. Stay on alert at all times.”
“Yes, sir!”
Inside the Camp, Celes was pulled out from her hiding spot by her mother.
“You saw it just now, didn’t you?”
Selina said with a cheerful smile.
“Your father’s two faces.”
Earlier, when General Glengo was inspecting the Camp, the mother and daughter had been secretly watching from the side.
That guy looked so imposing and aloof while walking outside, but as soon as he returned to the Camp, the contrast in his expression was huge.
“Your father is cold and strict with others outside, an iron-faced, impartial General. But once he’s home, he’s all clingy and shameless, always grinning like a big silly bear.”
Selina spoke earnestly.
“But no matter which side you see, he’s still Glengo—your father, my husband. You’ve seen it for yourself, how he is in front of me. That is his truest self, at least to me.”
Celes nodded, seeming to understand.
It felt like she understood.
***
A wisp of light smoke drifted into the air, carrying a faint, dreamy intoxication as it passed before the girls’ eyes.
“Did you see it clearly?”
Leah asked again.
Ella paused for a moment, then belatedly said, “No, I just remembered something.”
“What is it?”
“My eyes probably aren’t high-speed cameras.”
“Huh?”
Leah was stunned.
What in the world was a Shroud Serpent Incense Princess?
“I mean, I can’t see all the reactions in that instant when it melts with just my eyes—the process you were talking about, when it takes effect.”
Ella tilted her head at her.
“Can you see it?”
Leah shook her head, then nodded—first in answer, then in agreement with the girl.
Yeah, how could eyes possibly see something like that?
“It’s fine, we don’t need to see it—we can feel it.”
She quickly came up with another method.
“Let’s feel it with our hearts.”
Before Ella could react, the little arrow cut off another piece, and Holy Fire ignited it directly.
This time it was even bigger than before, the drunken haze even thicker, and it lingered instead of fading in a flash.
Two minutes later, as Ella finally steadied herself, Leah hurriedly asked,
“How does it feel? This method—producing effects through scent—is it the same as what happens to you?”
“I don’t know.”
The girl blinked.
“But this is definitely strong.”
Her body felt a little hot, but since they’d lit incense indoors with the windows closed, feeling a bit warm was perfectly normal, so she didn’t mention it for now.
“Then let’s do it again!”
The fourth time, or maybe the fifth, or even the sixth—Leah couldn’t quite remember.
The incense was making her feel a bit hazy, too.
As for the few beads of fragrant sweat on her forehead, she figured it was just because she was excited.
After all, she was working hard on a serious matter.
“Come on, how does it feel this time? When you were in the Demon Castle, did you ever get this kind of feeling from those Succubi?”
“I… don’t feel so good.”
Ella instinctively unfastened the top button of her collar.
“Leah, maybe we should stop here for today.”
There was already a missing button in the middle, and now the top was undone too, leaving her collar wide open, exposing a vast stretch of snowy white skin.
“How can we stop? Tomorrow has its own things to do—how can we leave today’s task for tomorrow?”
Leah, in a daze, picked up the remaining incense.
“Huh? Why is there so little left?”
She hesitated for a moment, then the Saintess slapped her thigh.
“Since there’s just a little left, let’s use it all up!”
With that, she lit it.
Ella let out a soft yelp, because Leah had just slapped her thigh.
“Are you sure this is okay? I feel like something’s off.”
“It’s fine, everything’s under my control. What could go wrong?”
Leah was wrong—she’d forgotten at least two things.
First, since the window was closed, the incense smoke couldn’t escape.
So, instead of “just a little each time” as she thought, the whole stick’s worth was in effect.
Second, since the incense was made with Human Tribe Ancient Brewing, pure natural herbs with no pollution, it didn’t belong to Darkness Power and wouldn’t be rejected by Light.
In short, the Saintess wasn’t immune to it.
And neither was Ella.
“Leah, your… your clothes?”
“What are you talking about? I don’t understand. By the way, your clothes?”
I don’t know, I just felt hot and took them off.
Isn’t it normal to wear less when it’s hot?
That’s what Ella was thinking, but it felt like too much trouble to say it out loud.
She saw Leah coming closer, and very quickly—the big marshmallow felt an incredibly soft impact.
This was something else—more intense than Celes, much more than Lil, and leagues beyond Veina.
“Leah~”
“Mm~?”
“Why are you hugging me~”
“I’m not hugging you. Why are you hugging me~?”
“It was you… mm.”
If someone were standing by watching right now, they’d see the golden-haired girl and the pink-haired girl tightly embracing, arms around each other, their fair, lustrous legs entwined like locks.
Both of them were right—neither let go.
“You… let go.”
“I did, you let go~”
“I let go too~”
In truth, neither had let go, but neither realized it.
With their beautiful legs tangled, there was no way to stay standing.
A few seconds later, the two dazzlingly beautiful girls fell over together.
Splat—!
Gravity gave the soft collision an extra push.
That felt incredible. For a moment, Ella’s dazed mind became startlingly clear.
And in those fleeting seconds, a bolt of lightning flashed through the Demon King’s mind—
Oh no, how did I end up on the bottom?