Chapter 59

Later, General Sheffy lost consciousness.

Her “fortified” position had likely been completely taken over by the enemy.

If one had observed carefully at that moment, they would have seen a black feather drifting down by the bedside, gradually dissolving into densely concentrated magical light and slowly fading away.

Yes, even as she fell asleep and began to dream, Xiarette still dreamed of chewing on a feather-stuffed cake, as if muscle memory had been formed overnight.

This time, Xiarette finally somewhat understood why Sheffy said the cake was delicious.

That was basically how the battle went.

Xiarette looked at Sheffy’s puffed-up little face in front of her and couldn’t help but lift her delicate hand to stroke her cheek, as if trying to smooth out the puffed-up expression.

“Sheffy, don’t be mad… Sister was wrong, isn’t that enough?”

“Mm… Who’s mad, I’m not a child. If I’m not as skilled, I have to admit defeat… I’ll win it back next time!”

“That’s probably not going to happen, you know?”

“What?!”

“I like you.”

“!”

Xiarette!!

Poor little Sheffy, completely flustered by Xiarette who had entered her rhythm!

Little Sheffy spiraled her head down, her eyes darting around with nowhere to rest.

In the end, she shyly spiraled back up… slowly raising her head, blinking her deep purple eyes, and glanced up at Xiarette from below.

“Well… I also… I also like Xiarette, okay? Aah…! What are you making me say!!”

“Pfft…! Sheffy! So cute!! I can’t take it anymore… let sister hug you!!”

“Again?!”

Oh dear…

The little Holy Sword lying flat in the grass heard these strange sounds and couldn’t help but sigh—Lady Sheffy really had it tough~~

They snuggled together in an embrace for quite a while. Xiarette, fully satisfied, held her close, gently patting the little one’s back.

When it came to Sheffy… her spoiling wasn’t just in words.

She had to show it through actions too.

“Sheffy, sister truly is sorry. Yesterday was a bit sudden. It just happened to be my birthday, and I was caught up in emotion… I really couldn’t control it. So… how about this: today, sister will take you out to have some fun, really relax for once. How about it?”

“Eh… sounds tiring, I don’t want to go.”

“Two tickets to the Royal Capital Arena, VIP seats, with two limited-edition donut vouchers.”

“Let’s go! Right now!”

“Hold it right there?!”

Grabbing Sheffy’s collar and pulling her back, Xiarette tapped her forehead and reminded her.

“You still have to bathe before going out. After all that tossing around last night, how can we go out without washing up? And you need to change into fresh clothes.”

“Uwaa… limited-edition donuts! If we’re late, there won’t be any left!”

“Then let’s bathe together with sister. That way we can save half the time.”

“!”

You really are a clever little devil!

…………………………………….

63. Arena (Five Thousand Words)

Legend has it that in the icebound lands of the extreme north, there exists a magical bird. They usually appear in pairs, always two female birds, flitting across the snowy plains, coming and going without a trace.

These two female birds would typically migrate together to temperate streams, where they would bathe and frolic.

Bathing in itself wasn’t the issue.

The key was that once they began bathing, it would last for seven days and seven nights!

People admired their patience during these long baths, and thus named this pair-bonded, carefree species the “Twin-Bathing Bird.”

“Bathing,” as in to wash.

“Twin,” as in a pair.

That was how the Twin-Bathing Birds behaved—but were there humans who acted the same?

Of course there were.

No human had the patience to soak for seven days and seven nights.

But to think a simple bath lasted five whole hours! That was something Sheffy had not expected!

【Healing】【Healing】【Advanced Healing】

Already dressed in a pure violet dress, her hair now transformed into flowing black, Miss Xiarette continued casting healing spells on her waist and legs as they stepped out.

Truthfully, she didn’t need that many repeated healings. A single basic Healing spell would have been enough to make her feel refreshed and lively. But Sheffy felt that if she didn’t keep doing this, her waist and legs would keep giving off phantom aches!

Also dressed in a light brown dress and holding a sunhat as they headed out, Xiarette didn’t quite understand Sheffy’s behavior.

“You okay, Sheffy? We just took a bath, why are you being so dramatic?”

“A bath…? You call everything that just happened a bath?!”

That remark thoroughly infuriated Miss Xiarette. She rose onto her tiptoes and pointed straight at the setting sun!

“We agreed at noon that we’d head out, remember? And what happened? Now noon is long gone! It’s twilight now, do you see that twilight?! And you’re still holding a sunhat? Put it back! We’re about to see stars already! Aah, you call that a bath… what you did was non-stop hands all over me!”

“Didn’t… didn’t use my feet, just used my hands a little… really, only the fingers… right?”

“Hey, are you trying to argue semantics with me now? Huh?”

“No, not at all…”

Oh wow, look at that—Xiarette, you’re actually playing the victim here?

I’m the one who actually suffered, okay!

Xiarette said they’d bathe and head out afterward—such a straightforward promise. And innocent, good-hearted Miss Sheffy actually believed her nonsense.

And what happened?

When the two of them got into the large bathing pool together to save time, things quickly took a turn.

Logically speaking, if the tub wasn’t being refilled, the water level should decrease the longer you bathe—but the reality was quite the opposite.

Some things can only be understood, not spoken.

Ahem! In short, Sheffy had always been lazy when it came to bathing—she usually just got it over with. This was the first time in both her lives she’d ever bathed for over five hours!

“Completely ridiculous… a five-hour bath… and in the end! Only the last hour was actual bathing. Xiarette, I need to explain something to you—you can’t just act recklessly just because you’ve got a superior constitution, you know? Maybe your body can handle it endlessly, but the spirit has its limits! Just look at me, really look at my dull, lifeless eyes—they’re all your doing! I’m so pitiful!”

“Haa… but if you ask me, Sheffy’s eyes are still just as beautiful… like gemstones, all sparkly.”

“Wha…! Stop stop stop, the way you’re talking—clearly you’ve learned nothing. So you’re dead set on not going out tonight either, is that it? Want to go back and keep ‘fighting,’ huh?”

“Of course not… cough, I mean… I understand. Everything in moderation. I promise… I’ll be more mindful next time.”

“Good! Now that’s more like it!”

One could only say—Sheffy acted like a younger sister when she was pinned down, but only when she stood up to speak did she occasionally seem like the older one.

Xiarette did feel guilty, no doubt about it. But what could she do? Seeing Sheffy in her bare, naked state just made her lose her mind—it was an instinctual surge of affection, hard to suppress.

The only solution would be to persuade Sheffy to wear proper clothes even at home. That was the only way to prevent trouble.

Sheffy looked furious, arms crossed, staring off into the distance. Thanks to the sunset casting a glow on her slightly flushed face, it didn’t appear as red as it really was. As for what she was thinking—no one could know.

No “person” knew.

But a sword did.

The little Holy Sword Sylatrella, currently in its invisible state and tucked at Xiarette’s waist, had something to say!

“Mmgh… but just now when we were outside, I clearly heard that Lady Sheffy was very happy. You were calling out ‘Sister Xiarette, Sister Xiarette!’ so excitedly in the bath! The echo was so loud—it was even more enthusiastic than when you see cabbage and mushrooms at mealtime. That didn’t sound like someone who was unhappy at all, right? Please don’t blame me for talking too much, Lady Sheffy. A thousand years ago, I witnessed someone suffer misfortune just because they were too stubborn with their words. So being stubborn isn’t the way! Honesty is also a virtue, and virtue is a kind of—mmfwaa?!!”

“You get out of here!!”

“Sheffy?!”

The little Holy Sword… she was airborne.

Even from within the sword, she saw the vast blue sky and white clouds.

And not only that—just moments later, she plunged rapidly down, seeing shimmering lakes and mountain scenery, with schools of fish swimming below.

To put it simply…

—She had been picked up and thrown into the lake by Sheffy.

Thank you, Lady Sheffy, for granting such beautiful sights. Is this the power of motherly love? So much love, truly.

With her face flushed in shame and anger, Sheffy maintained a perfect throwing stance and stared intently at the holy sword slowly sinking to the bottom.

How satisfying!

Then she made a throat-slitting gesture, indicating: elimination!

Xiarette gently patted Sheffy’s little head to reassure her—it was alright…

Sister wouldn’t laugh at her, not at all. On the contrary, she was really happy.

But still, Sheffy insisted on punishing that little Holy Sword!

Damn it… Sylatrella! Maybe you have witnessed someone suffer because they were too stubborn, but you definitely haven’t seen someone sink to the bottom of a lake just for talking too much!

Besides, wasn’t that all nonsense… If someone can take that final step with the one they truly feel connected to, claiming they weren’t happy—clearly that’s a lie…

But but…! There has to be a limit to these things! Just look at Xiarette!

Sheffy suddenly turned her head to look at Xiarette—who was tilting her head in confusion, her expression adorably clueless.

Tch… just look at her: a peerless blonde beauty, gentle as the sea, yet so innocent. Xiarette couldn’t control herself, and if I also lost control, the consequences would be unimaginable… The heavens would fall, the moon and sun would be blotted out!

That’s why restraint is a virtue—and distance creates beauty. That saying wasn’t wrong either.

Of course, later the two of them used magic to fish the now utterly satisfied Holy Sword out of the lake.

Incidentally, they also fished up a large fish that had been accidentally skewered by the sword.

The big fish had enjoyed a peaceful night… only to meet its end after all.

After handing the Holy Sword back to Xiarette, Sheffy stored the unexpectedly acquired fish with Storage Magic, and her mood significantly improved.

She patted her reddened cheeks to regain a bit of composure.

Seriously… starting from last night, she had been in a dazed, foolish state the whole time—how could that be okay!

Once she snapped back to her senses, the ahoge on top of Sheffy’s head—just dried after her bath and still sticking up—drooped down in defeat.

Seeing that, Xiarette naturally became anxious. She still carried a sense of guilt over her earlier actions in the bath.

She assumed Sheffy was still feeling exhausted, so she quickly made a promise—one that was hard to call a true promise.

“Sheffy… Sister really is reflecting this time… I swear! When we get home tonight, I’ll definitely restrain myself!”

“Ugh… That’s not what I’m upset about.”

“Eh? Then you’re…”

Sheffy looked far off into the distance across the lake shore.

Then lifted her head to gaze at the now-dim sunset.

And let out a heavy sigh.

“It’s over, it’s over… We were supposed to go to the arena, supposed to get those limited-edition donuts—and now it’s so late, they’re definitely all gone… Xiarette, do you know something? I hate limited editions. I want to go rob the supplier.”

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