The heavy rain fell for three whole days. Ever since they had come down from the clock tower that day, Ivelia had been following Lin Ling practically everywhere.
“Lady Demon King~ There's really no need to follow me around at a time like this, is there?”
Seeing how Ivelia took a step behind her for every step she took, she couldn't help but wonder: had her failure to stop the Demon King that day sent some kind of signal?!
Lin Ling felt like crying, but... she didn't hate it.
At least the Demon King was unexpectedly cute in this regard.
At that thought, a smile played on Lin Ling's lips.
“You're smiling, Miss Saintess.”
Lost in thought, Lin Ling hadn't even noticed Niya standing in front of her.
“Whoa! Niya!”
Startled by Niya's voice, Lin Ling scrambled backward, terrified of bumping into Niya, who was carrying a tray.
But as she retreated, she ended up falling right into Ivelia's embrace.
Seeing that flash of white tumble straight into her arms, Ivelia naturally wrapped her arms around the Saintess.
“You're the one who threw yourself into my arms, Miss Saintess.”
Ivelia's voice came from behind. Before Lin Ling could even react, she was completely pinned.
“Damn it, why are you so practiced at hugging!”
Lin Ling struggled desperately in her embrace. Even though the arms holding her didn't seem to be applying much force, she simply. Could not. Break. Free!
After a bout of useless struggling, Lin Ling only succeeded in completely exhausting herself.
She closed her eyes and let fall two tears of sheer helplessness.
【If I could start over, this Saintess would definitely allocate a billion points into Strength.】
“Miss Saintess and the Demon King still get along so well.”
Niya smiled as she watched the embraced Lin Ling, picking up a piece of cake from her tray and offering it to the exhausted Saintess.
But another hand snatched the cake from Niya's grasp with lightning speed.
And then, she held the small, sauce-covered cake right up to Lin Ling's lips.
“Sniff, sniff.”
“Nom~”
The moment the food was presented to her, Lin Ling instinctively went into predator mode and ate it.
“Is it good?”
“Mmh, mm-hmm~ Yes!”
After closing her eyes to savor the flavor for a moment, Lin Ling opened them and gave Niya a big thumbs-up.
Her eyes were filled with deep appreciation for the cake.
“Food fed by little Niya is always the best!”
However, Niya only offered an awkward, strained smile in return.
Meanwhile, Lin Ling felt the grip around her waist tighten slightly.
“Um, Miss Saintess, that cake...”
Niya looked at Lin Ling, who was happily reminiscing about the taste of the cake, looking like she wanted to say something but was hesitating.
Seeing Lin Ling's expectant gaze, Niya ultimately swallowed her words.
“It's nothing, Miss Saintess! I-I'll get back to work now!”
The moment the words left her mouth, Niya vanished without a trace.
“Little Niya is so hardworking, leaving in such a hurry.”
“And you, Demon King!”
“You should... probably... let go of this Saintess now!”
Lin Ling gritted her teeth as she struggled, shouting at the Demon King who was holding her—and whose grip was only getting tighter.
“But it seems a certain Miss Saintess misunderstood something just now.”
Just then, Lin Ling felt the arms around her suddenly loosen.
She was free?
Which meant now was the perfect chance to slip away!
In the next instant, Lin Ling flashed forward, putting a massive distance between herself and Ivelia.
But the scenery in front of her didn't seem to refresh?
【Something... feels off?】
She watched as the Demon King slowly approached her, each of her steps heavy and deliberate.
【Teleport! Where is this Saintess's teleportation magic?!】
【This is bad! Bad, bad, bad!】
Looking at Ivelia's leisurely pace and that eerie smile of hers...
“Wait, wait, Demon King!”
“Just wait a bit longer, just a second, my spell is almost ready!”
To think she would say such pathetic things just to escape.
Lin Ling, oh Lin Ling, how utterly pathetic you are right now.
But with every step she took, the entire Demon King's Castle seemed to shake with an earthquake!
(The above was entirely Lin Ling's imagination.)
In reality, Ivelia was taking light, cheerful steps toward the startled Saintess.
Conveniently, the Saintess had backed herself right against the corridor wall of the Demon King's Castle, providing a perfect setting.
In the next instant, Lin Ling felt a gust of wind brush past her ear.
Demon King's Corridor Wall-Slam—Achievement Unlocked!!
【Why is a weird pop-up appearing at a time like this!】
Seeing the Saintess before her getting dizzy and starting to babble, Ivelia simply raised her other hand, which had a bit of glistening sauce on it.
She held her glistening finger right in front of Lin Ling's eyes.
“You know, Miss Saintess, sometimes you really know how to break a Demon King's defenses.”
Lin Ling's dizzy, swirling eyes instantly focused on the finger, which for some reason seemed to emit a faint, glistening glow.
“C-Could it be... the one who fed this Saintess just now wasn't little Niya?!”
Lin Ling's pupils shook with sheer shock.
Seeing Lin Ling's shocked expression, Ivelia leaned in closer. They were so close that a mere tilt of the head would result in a kiss.
“Miss Saintess, you successfully broke a Demon King's defenses. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“Eh? Uh, ah?”
【This Saintess doesn't want to break your defenses this way!】
【Niya, this Saintess is so disappointed in your performance. I've decided to give you the cold shoulder for three... no, one minute!】
Seeing Lin Ling close her eyes again and tilt her head up at a forty-five-degree angle, Ivelia released her from the wall-slam.
Feeling the scent of violets fade away, Lin Ling quietly peeked open one eye.
Such a minor detail naturally couldn't escape Ivelia's exceptional kinetic vision.
Seeing Lin Ling squinting and pretending she hadn't opened her eye, Ivelia curled her lips into a smile.
【Damn it, it's hard to see clearly with my eyes squinted like this.】
【But Leya-chan smiled, didn't she? She definitely smiled!】
In the next moment, Lin Ling watched as Ivelia put her slightly glistening finger into her own mouth.
This caused the Saintess's eyes to widen instantly.
Though the action was brief, Lin Ling had squinted and witnessed the entire process.
【Isn't this an indirect kiss? It has to be, right?!】
Seeing Ivelia heading back in her direction, Lin Ling immediately shut her eyes and returned to her forty-five-degree head-tilt pose.
The scent of violets suddenly grew intense, and Ivelia's whisper drifted into her ear.
“The cake really is delicious~”
Lin Ling's face instantly flushed bright red, and the sound effect of the Saintess's defeat echoed through the Demon King's Castle once more.
Over in Phelan's laboratory, Zona's ears twitched.
“Master Phelan, did you hear someone screaming?”
Phelan remained calm, recording data bit by bit.
“It's fine. Just one of the usual occurrences in the Demon King's Castle. Keep recording.”
“A... usual occurrence?”
Though she was a bit bewildered, since Master Phelan said so, it had to be a normal occurrence... right?
Rate on N.U.
