Anya had never directly retorted Meidi before. It felt surprisingly refreshing, and it was rare to see the other party so flustered.
Iris had opened up the confusion in her heart quite a bit—was this perhaps her truest self, the one who’d been suppressed for so long?
Anya couldn’t say whether this was good or not, but having Iris by her side at this moment seemed enough.
The days that followed weren’t exactly eventful—if anything, they were rather monotonous.
Meidi was probably busy preparing for the tournament a month away and didn’t bother her again.
Anya was only too glad for the peace and quiet.
Every day, she practiced swordsmanship inside Iris’s System Space, and each time she found various excuses to stay behind.
Even just sleeping together had already happened more than a dozen times.
Anya herself didn’t even notice it—she’d gradually become unable to leave the white-furred little bundle alone.
If she went a day without cuddling, she felt uncomfortable all over.
Come to think of it, was it those comics Iris gave her to pass the time that did this?
Anya couldn’t quite explain, but Iris was the one who kept stuffing those things at her. Maybe, just maybe, this was what Iris had wanted all along?
As Anya entered the System Space more and more frequently, Iris also noticed that little Anya was growing bolder—she’d even started taking the initiative to cuddle Iris to sleep.
“No, no, why am I turning more and more into a little housewife?!” Iris only realized it much later.
At first, Anya always said she felt uneasy and couldn’t fall asleep unless Iris was with her.
Thinking back, the kid had suffered a serious lack of love before.
Iris figured that in the future she could keep earning points through her to read comics and play games, so she readily agreed.
One morning, Iris woke up to find herself tightly embraced by little Anya again. She thought her sleeping posture was just terrible.
But after this happened several times, with Anya perfectly at ease and only Iris left blushing and with her heart pounding, Iris finally started to catch on.
One night, she pretended to be asleep—only for her body to suddenly soften, wrapped in a surge of warmth that startled her wide awake.
She hadn’t expected Anya to be so bold that night, actively pulling her into her arms.
Iris couldn’t help but ask on the spot—had the previous times been on purpose, too?
Anya just blinked and said she thought of Iris as a teddy bear on the bed—she couldn’t sleep unless she had something to hold.
Iris felt a bit dubious inside—wasn’t that excuse a bit much?
But the moment she saw Anya immediately droop her head, looking so aggrieved, the words on the tip of her tongue swallowed themselves.
Fine, then. All she could do was comfort her and let Anya hold her.
After that, Anya didn’t bother pretending anymore—every night she had to cuddle up to sleep, leaving Iris troubled for quite a while.
“Am I spoiling this little one too much?”
At this moment, Iris was lying up high, looking down at Anya practicing swordsmanship in the System Space, chin propped in one hand, mumbling to herself.
Anya’s swordsmanship really had improved a lot, but since she clung to Iris every day, Iris hardly had any time for herself.
All those comics she’d saved up were practically gathering dust. After more than half a month, she’d only finished reading two volumes!
“This isn’t what I imagined at all!” In her mind, Iris pictured a beautiful scene.
She’d be lying comfortably in the System Space, manga in her left hand, a fizzy drink in her right, while Anya leveled up and defeated monsters, earning her a steady stream of points.
But now? She hardly had a moment’s peace to read comics at all.
Anya would drag her out every so often, and at night they’d return to the System Space for sword practice.
Most of their outings were to Miss Amy’s Divination Shop for cake and sweet drinks, but that little relaxation hardly made up for it!
Creating this Training Ground was already taxing—an occasional visit was fine, but doing this every single day left Iris with no energy for manga.
In the end, she was so tired she’d fall asleep before Anya finished talking.
After that day, Anya didn’t even bother to come up with excuses—she simply stayed and slept here as if it were only natural.
“When the time is right, I have to refuse this little one’s requests!” Iris clenched her fist, secretly making up her mind.
On the Training Ground, Anya’s swordsmanship had become unrecognizably advanced—she had the air of someone who could guard a pass single-handedly and take on a thousand opponents.
Even when beset by many, she could rely on sharp instincts to deal with them at ease.
She had finally found her own sword style—not simply imitating others, but creating a swordsmanship that perfectly complemented the Converter.
However, she also discovered that pure swordsmanship still put her at a disadvantage against magicians, who could hurl massive spells from afar.
At first, Anya had to dodge frantically, exhausting herself.
Until one day, she accidentally discovered she could use the Converter to channel mana, and gradually developed her own sword technique, naming it “Ice Blade Slash.”
At first her practice was clumsy and full of failures, but as time passed, she grew increasingly proficient, eventually mastering it completely.
Only then did she realize the wonders of the Converter, and slowly began to integrate magic into her combat.
It could be said that Anya’s actual fighting ability now far surpassed the average person. All of this was a supreme benefit Iris had brought her.
A Swordmaster’s role in battle was simply too overpowered—someone who could perfect both offense and defense to the extreme, practically a bug in the system.
Out in the real world, Kashan naturally noticed Anya’s changes too—her swordsmanship had progressed in leaps and bounds, every move sharp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
She was curious, but didn’t manage to get any real answers.
Anya didn’t plan on revealing the System Space and kept a trump card up her sleeve in front of Kashan, never fighting with her full strength.
After finishing her sword practice for the day, Anya, as usual, took Iris’s small hand, unable to hide the joy in her expression.
“What is it, little Anya? Why are you so happy today?” Iris raised her eyebrow.
“I feel like I’m about to break through to Third Rank,” Anya said with a smile.
“Oh, Third Rank, huh.” Iris was initially nonchalant, but the next second her eyes widened. “Wait, what did you say? You’re about to break through?”
“Yeah,” Anya tilted her head, a bit puzzled, “Iris, is it really worth getting so worked up over?”
“Ahem…” Iris realized she’d overreacted and quickly coughed to cover it up. “It’s a good thing! Keep it up, little Anya.”
After all, Anya’s breakthrough would net her a whole thousand System Points—that was more than enough to live carefree for a while.
“I will.” Anya laughed softly, her eyes fixed on Iris, tone natural and expectant: “Iris, I want to sleep with you again tonight.”
“Little Anya, why don’t you try sleeping alone tonight?” Iris’s expression froze.
Anya gently shook her hand, her voice soft, “But I sleep best when I’m holding you, Iris.”
Iris hadn’t expected Anya to use such a gentle approach this time—she really couldn’t resist little Anya’s spoiled act!
“All right, but this is the last time, okay? There can’t be a next time!” Iris’s defenses were breached once again.
Anya smiled and nodded. After all, she could always come up with another excuse next time.