Lyamie didn’t express any opinion about Ivy’s teasing, so Ivy dropped the joking expression and grew serious.
“So, did you complete the task I gave you? Did you find the ‘Yiqiu Seed’?”
As soon as Ivy finished speaking, Lyamie pulled a compact wooden box from the shadow of her clothes and handed it to Ivy. When the box was opened, it revealed a stone marked with strange patterns.
The moment Ivy laid eyes on the stone, her eyes lit up. She quickly grabbed the stone, examined it a few more times, and, after confirming it was indeed what she wanted, tucked the oddly patterned stone into her cloak.
“Hehe, as long as I have this, no one will be able to…”
She stopped abruptly, as if to deliberately arouse curiosity.
Slowly, she turned her gaze to Lyamie and allowed a faint smile to appear—though Lyamie couldn’t see it. She spoke in a tempting tone: “Do you want to know what this ‘Yiqiu Seed’ is for?”
Facing the President’s question, Lyamie calmly replied, “I don’t want to.”
“Oh?” Ivy couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, the corners of her mouth lifting, “Why not? Didn’t this thing catch your interest?”
Facing Ivy’s persistent questioning, Lyamie replied without the slightest hesitation, “I really have no particular interest in this ‘Yiqiu Seed’ you mentioned. More importantly, without your permission, I would never pry into things I shouldn’t know.”
After Lyamie finished speaking, silence settled over the place. After a while, Ivy’s satisfied voice sounded.
“Very good. Looks like you haven’t forgotten our society’s basic rules. That’s enough for today. As for your next task… we’ll let it go for now. You should be getting busy soon, right? In that case, I won’t burden you with more assignments. I wish you swift success with the most important task I’ve given you!”
With that, the President vanished into the darkness, taking the stone with the strange patterns.
Seeing this, Lyamie breathed a sigh of relief. She lingered a little while longer before finally leaving.
On the way back to the Corin estate, Lyamie glanced at the shining stars above, unable to stop herself from recalling the decision she’d made before.
After Sifny’s failed magic attempt, Lyamie had made a temporary decision: she planned to continue living in this body for now. Maybe it was because she’d been like this for so long, her thoughts had begun to change as well.
But whatever the case, this was what she wanted now. After all, it wasn’t as if she could turn back anymore, right? So thinking this way—there shouldn’t be any problem with that?
But thinking about it, Lyamie couldn’t help but wonder—what did Corin think of all this? What would he think of her decision? In fact, did he even know she’d made this choice yet?
Recalling the troubled look on Corin’s face on the way home, Lyamie thought perhaps it was best not to tell him just yet.
At least… at least until she’d figured out how to explain it clearly to Corin. Yes, that’s what she would do!
Lowering her face from the stars, Lyamie realized she’d already arrived at the main gates of the Corin estate, though she couldn’t recall when.
Looking at the quiet, pitch-black mansion, Lyamie realized it was already midnight—everyone inside was likely fast asleep.
With this in mind, Lyamie didn’t open the door with her hands; instead, she slipped into the shadows and passed through the crack in the door.
Once inside, Lyamie intended to move quietly so as not to disturb anyone, gently making her way back to her room. But, to her surprise, the moment she crossed the threshold, she bumped into someone.
“Back so late? Nothing happened, I hope?”
And that person, of all people, was Corin—the very one Lyamie had been thinking about!
Corin stood silently at the doorway, watching Lyamie—who had just bumped into him—speak with concern.
While rubbing her aching little head, Lyamie feigned composure and said, “What could happen to me? It was just a routine annual meeting. But what about you? What are you doing here so late? You made me bump my head! Sometimes I think you’re more like an assassin than a paladin!”
Faced with Lyamie’s attempt to change the subject, Corin didn’t fall for it as usual. Instead, he seemed a bit conflicted, as if deep in thought.
Soon, the conflicted look vanished, replaced by an unusually serious expression.
It was an expression Lyamie had rarely seen—even she knew she was in trouble when she saw Corin’s face like this.
“Wh-what’s wrong? W-why that… expression?”
Lyamie’s slightly trembling words didn’t stop Corin from moving closer, and when their bodies were almost touching, he halted.
He slowly raised a hand and, using a wall slam pose, pinned Lyamie at the entrance.
Then, in a tone that brooked no resistance, he asked Lyamie, “What do you really think?”
At first trembling and nervous, Lyamie fell silent when she heard those words.
Yes, what did she really think? In truth, she’d long known the answer in her heart—she just didn’t know how to confess it to everyone, especially to him.
She’d thought about this scenario, but it was simply too soon. She had only just decided to talk to Corin after figuring things out, but he had already come to ask her directly.
Faced with this, Lyamie didn’t know what to do. Should she confess her true feelings? Or muddle through as she always did?
But seeing Corin’s expression, she realized there would be no muddling through this time.
With that in mind, Lyamie made up her mind. Her tightly pursed lips slowly parted, and soon, a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz came from her mouth.
“I… my thought is… living as a woman… is not impossible…”
But Lyamie’s voice was so small, she hadn’t really spoken at all—just moved her lips. So Corin couldn’t make out what she was saying.
“What did you say?”
Corin told Lyamie he couldn’t hear her, so Lyamie had to repeat herself. Still, Corin didn’t catch it. In order to hear more clearly, he brought his ear close to Lyamie’s lips.
Their bodies were already close; this brought them even closer. Corin could now feel Lyamie’s faint breath with every word.
But he had no choice—if he wanted to hear, he had to do this. Lyamie’s cheeks blushed red, but, urged on by Corin, she had to try saying it again.
Perhaps because of the close distance, Lyamie took longer to speak this time. As she started to utter the first syllable, Corin felt an odd but pleasant sensation pass from his ear to his brain.
Seeing this, Corin swallowed and pretended to stay calm, waiting for Lyamie to finish.
Of course, this little act didn’t escape Lyamie’s eyes, but she didn’t react; after all, she herself was flustered beyond belief.
Staring at Corin right in front of her, feeling his ear just short of touching her lips, Lyamie’s words came slower and slower.
But Corin was in no hurry; feeling her breath so near, he waited patiently. In that moment, it felt as if time had stopped, unable to move forward even a fraction.
Just as Lyamie uttered the fourth word and was about to say the fifth, a spherical light suddenly appeared before them, with a vague figure inside.
At once, Corin and Lyamie, who had been nearly glued together, jumped apart and returned to normal.
The figure in the sphere of light didn’t seem to notice what had just happened, instead speaking on some other business.
“Corin Squad! A new high-level incident has occurred nearby! Please proceed immediately to assist! The coordinates are…”
Hearing this, Corin and Lyamie exchanged a glance. Although both soon looked away, faces tinged red, they already knew each other’s thoughts.
Compared to what was happening now, dealing with the high-risk incident was more important! Whatever needed to be said could wait until after they took care of it!
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night. Who knew how many more such sleepless nights awaited them?
But everything must end eventually; sleepless nights couldn’t last forever, and the members of Corin Squad wouldn’t remain unchanged. Their relationships, too, would inevitably reach a turning point—and that moment wouldn’t be far off.
(End of Volume One)