Two hours later, Xia Li stood in front of a manor located in the heart of Steinburg City.
“Enis, this is your home?!”
Xia Li gazed at the tall, magnificent villa before her, so stunned she couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
“Impressive, right~” Enis chuckled mischievously.
Filiya approached the iron gate of the manor, used her certified magic to push it open, glanced at Xia Li, and said coldly, “Come in.”
Xia Li followed the cobblestone path inside, passing a messy garden and a fountain filled with fallen leaves, then entered the villa. The crystals inside lit up in unison, and the opulent scene unfolded before her eyes.
“This is what a noble’s manor looks like…” Xia Li remained dazed for a long moment.
It was even more luxurious than her palace when she was the Demon King!
The oil paintings hanging on the walls and the crafted collectibles displayed nearby clearly held immense value.
If she could secretly take these and sell them, the money wouldn’t be counted in copper or silver coins, but gold coins—something ordinary people might never even see in their lifetime!
The religious business really was lucrative.
To buy such a large manor in the city center, where every inch of land was precious—how much money would that cost?
Even if she were an adventurer her whole life, she probably couldn’t afford a single room here.
But she couldn’t shake a strange feeling of unease.
Was it too quiet here?
The garden outside was unkempt, and dust covered the tables and chairs inside.
There was no sense of life at all.
Usually, in a manor like this, shouldn’t there be a butler and maids taking care of daily chores?
“You’re overthinking it. Only my sister and I live here,” Filiya said, removing her priest’s robe and tossing it aside before sitting on the sofa.
“Eh, how did you know what I was thinking!” Xia Li was startled.
“Your dazed expression was obvious,” Filiya crossed her legs. “The manor belongs to the head of the Kafus Family. We only have temporary residence rights and are responsible for maintaining it.”
“So you’re basically the butlers here!”
“Something like that. After all, we’re just a branch of the big family,” Filiya snorted coldly. “More importantly, when do you plan to put my sister down?”
“Sis, I don’t mind~” Enis lazily sprawled on Xia Li’s back, looking very comfortable.
Until Filiya shot her a sharp glare.
“Ugh, fine, I’m getting down now…” Enis obediently jumped down and sat beside Filiya, lowering her head.
She could’ve moved around normally a long time ago.
But lying on Xia Li’s back was really comfortable.
Besides… it was rare to see her sister so thoroughly embarrassed.
It was kind of entertaining.
Filiya crossed her legs, flicked her fingers, and used magic to pick up the teapot and cups on the table, pouring each of them a cup of black tea.
“Enis Kafus,” Filiya began slowly.
“Yes!” Enis tensed and stood up straight.
Being called by her full name suddenly made her heart jump to her throat.
No need to guess—something bad was definitely about to happen!
“I need to make things clear about what you did today,” Filiya said, taking a slow sip of her tea. Her tone was calm but felt like slow torture.
“Sis, I was wrong!” Enis immediately bowed.
“Wrong about what?”
“I shouldn’t have stolen from your room, I shouldn’t have gone on adventures without your permission, and I shouldn’t have talked behind your back!”
“Anything else?”
“I… I shouldn’t have… um, what else?”
“You shouldn’t hang around unknown people, and you certainly shouldn’t call them so intimately.” Filiya glanced at Xia Li.
Wait, why was this suddenly about me? Xia Li, mid-sip, felt an inexplicable arrow hit her heart.
“Sis Xia Li isn’t a bad person…” Enis mumbled.
“Are you sure just because you met her once?” Filiya set down her teacup, expression serious. “I’m not asking you to always stay with me—I’m not a demon.”
“But what does it mean to call someone ‘sis’ right after meeting them? What happened to your family values? You’re only 18, right? At this rate, when you’re 36 you’ll have four ‘sis’s, and 72, eight ‘sis’s—how many people will be surrounding you in the end? As your sister, I must discipline you properly, really.”
Xia Li sipped her tea and enjoyed the drama like an audience up close.
This didn’t feel like a sister scolding her sibling—it was more like lecturing an unfaithful woman.
And she happened to be the ‘other woman’ Enis had cheated with.
Eating this gossip with a sense of involvement was truly amusing.
After Filiya finished, she left Enis to reflect on her own.
Then she said to Xia Li, “I have already handed over the Misty Rain Flower and Monster Crystal Cores to the Adventurer Association, but the amount is huge and needs time to verify. It will take about two days before the payment comes through.”
“Since you’re homeless and protected my sister, I agree to let you stay here temporarily, but only until the association issues your reward.”
“No problem.” Xia Li shrugged.
She had already made up her mind—to rent a place in the East City District of Steinburg once she got the silver coins from the payment.
The location was more convenient for taking on quests later.
She didn’t want to live under the same roof with others.
After all, she had another identity as a Demon King, and switching to that side would cause her to lose awareness of this body.
If others discovered her situation, it would be disastrous.
“Also, I promised to help you fulfill a wish,” Filiya continued. “Decide quickly what you want. I don’t like owing favors.”
“I’ve already thought of it.”
“What do you want? As long as it’s within my power, I will do my best to fulfill it.”
“Give me Enis in marriage.”
“Crack—”
“Pfft—”
Filiya unconsciously snapped the handle off her teacup.
Enis had just taken a sip of tea and immediately spat it out, her cheeks flushing red. “Xia… Xia Li, what are you suddenly saying! This has to be a joke!”
“Yeah, of course it’s a joke.” Xia Li watched as Filiya’s teacup crashed onto the table, spilling tea onto her thigh. Her heart, just pricked by an arrow, instantly lifted with delight.
Since she knew Filiya’s weakness was her sister, teasing her was so much easier.
“If you dare joke about this again, I can’t promise I won’t accidentally miscast a spell,” Filiya said with a dark expression.
“Don’t be so tense. I simply see Enis as a friend and half a sister.” Xia Li sipped her tea again with a faint smile. “Actually, the one I want to marry is you.”
Just imagining Filiya’s expression upon hearing that made her want to laugh.
No, she couldn’t laugh yet. Forty more seconds.
“Oh? Is that so?”
Yet Filiya’s disgust vanished instantly.
A faint smile curled at the corners of her mouth, and her eyes gleamed with a strange meaning as she slowly said, “You… are… sure?”
“…Huh?” Xia Li was seeing her smile for the first time.
This reaction was suspicious!
“Fine, I accept.” Filiya cut her off before Xia Li could say anything else.