After returning to her human form, Chu Lian's movement speed increased even further. She avoided areas that radiated danger as much as possible and always chose the highest routes to advance.
She didn't want to waste time on unnecessary matters, because that would only interfere with her plans. Right now, the most important thing was to investigate the situation of the frost dragons in the snow mountains. After that, she would deal with the remaining forces of the Slane Theocracy.
Mm... if those troops were still wandering outside and hadn't fully withdrawn yet, then it should still be in time. And even if it wasn't, she would simply storm into the Slane Theocracy and eliminate them anyway. The mission was what mattered. As for the lives of the humans here? She had already grown very indifferent to them.
In truth, ever since the battle in Miami, Chu Lian's mindset had begun to change.
In the past, the negative emotions she felt after killing would always be absorbed by Dark Chu Lian, allowing her to maintain a sense of guilt and reluctance toward taking lives.
But after the battle with the dragon in Miami, when she saw how her actions had nearly caused an entire city's population to perish, she developed a strange perception of life.
It was as if she cherished it more... yet also looked down on it at the same time.
She didn't know where this feeling came from or why it had appeared. She only knew that she seemed to be growing.
However, what she didn't realize was that once she dared to bear the negative emotions brought by the loss of life—whether caused directly or indirectly by her—Dark Chu Lian would begin to disappear.
One day, when she recalled that dream atop Mount Tai, Dark Chu Lian would become an unforgettable memory in her life. Perhaps... it was simply a matter of gaining something while losing something else.
"Phew... why is it so far? I'm exhausted." From morning until night, the snow mountains still seemed just as distant in her eyes. Chu Lian felt a sense of helplessness. Was this really what they meant by "a mountain that looks close but takes a lifetime to reach"?
"But covering nearly half the distance is already pretty good speed, right?"
Sitting atop a tree, Chu Lian used her spiritual sense to scan her surroundings. After confirming that there were no strange creatures—like bugs, bugs, or more bugs—she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Finding a spot with more complex terrain, she took out her bed and placed it down, preparing to sleep.
"Little Lian'er, aren't you going to take a bath? Even though your physique keeps you clean, don't you feel uncomfortable after not bathing for several days? There's no one around anyway. Go wash up before coming back to sleep."
Just as Chu Lian lay there, gazing at the full moon in the sky and drifting toward sleep, Ayase's voice suddenly rang out, instantly waking her.
"Ah, Ayase, you can't do this... If you wanted me to bathe, you should've said so earlier. I've been living like an adventurer these past few days, so I didn't react in time. Did you really have to bring it up right when I was about to fall asleep? Now I'm completely awake."
Chu Lian's mood turned sour. Ayase's mischievous tendencies were still as difficult to deal with as ever.
"Yawn..." Ayase let out a lazy yawn and replied in a languid tone, "I just woke up too, you know. There's a clear water source nearby, completely unpolluted. You can bathe there. At worst, I'll accompany you. It's been a while since we bathed together, hasn't it?"
Ayase's words stirred something in Chu Lian's heart.
Indeed, compared to Inori Yuzuriha, she had spent more time with Ayase. In the past, they had often bathed together, but recently, that hadn't happened.
Now that it was just the two of them again, returning to that kind of life didn't seem bad at all.
"No problem, Ayase. I love bathing."
Chu Lian quickly sat up. Pressing her hands against the bed, she pushed herself off the tree and jumped down to the ground.
Her high heels sank slightly into the firm earth. Steadying herself, she followed Ayase's directions toward the source of the water.
Under the moonlight, a waterfall cascaded down from a height of ten meters into a pool below. Scattered stones lay around the area, and the silver moon reflected on the water's surface, shimmering with gentle ripples that instantly lifted one's mood.
"This is amazing~"
Seeing the pool, Chu Lian was overjoyed. She reached to her side, unzipped her qipao, and removed it. Kicking off her high heels, she stood almost completely naked by the water's edge, enjoying the sensation of moist air brushing against her skin. She sighed in satisfaction.
"Ayase really is the best... You knew I was tired these past few days and specially brought me here to bathe."
Using her spiritual sense once more to confirm that no other lifeforms were nearby, Chu Lian removed her final layer of defense. Her perfectly shaped feet extended gently into the water, testing the temperature. Finding it not as cold as expected, she took small steps and slowly walked into the pool.
"Ah... this feels so good."
The water was slightly cooler than the air, yet it matched her body's most comfortable temperature perfectly. The sensation of pure, unpolluted natural water flowing over her skin was simply wonderful.
"Ayase, aren't you coming in?"
Chu Lian closed her eyes and submerged her entire body beneath the water before rising again. Brushing the droplets from her face, she looked at the still, quiet pool and asked.
"I was just about to."
A warm, soft body embraced her from behind. Leaning against Ayase's collarbone, Chu Lian tilted her head and gazed at her slightly smiling profile, feeling a deep sense of peace.
"It would be nice if we could always find places like this in the future... No disturbances, just immersing ourselves in nature like this. It's my first time experiencing something like this, and it feels incredible."
Moved by the moment, Chu Lian turned around. Placing her hands on Ayase's shoulders, she said, "Ayase, we'll be able to do this often in the future, right?"
"What, are you still worried that I'll leave you alone for a long time because of my own matters?" Ayase smiled knowingly. "I'm the system's manager. I can stay hidden within the system forever if I want. But once I leave you—or stray too far from the system—my movement and time become limited. Sure, there are special methods to extend that range and duration, but they all have limits. Eventually, I'd still have to come back."
"But you don't know how much I missed you during that time you were gone," Chu Lian shook her head. Her long hair spread across the water, creating rippling patterns as Ayase sensed the unease in her heart. "Maybe because you never left before, I never realized how important you were to me. But after you were gone for just over nine days, I understood—I can't be without you. I can't. I can't ever."
"If you keep acting like this, you'll never grow up, you know." Ayase felt touched, yet also amused by Chu Lian's childish behavior, and smiled gently.
Chu Lian paid it no mind and instead answered seriously, "I can grow in front of everyone else—but in front of you, I never will. Because I like being held in your arms. I like the feeling of being bullied by you."
"Oh? Careful, girl. Saying things like that makes it sound like you're a masochist." Ayase raised a delicate brow and leaned closer, her face nearing Chu Lian's.
"Even if I were, I'd only let you bully me. This is exclusive—just for you. For a lifetime, for my whole life, forever. That will never change. I belong only to you."
Chu Lian didn't back down. She met Ayase's gaze directly as she spoke.
"Little girl... you're playing with fire."
Seeing her own reflection in Chu Lian's eyes, Ayase's heart trembled. Her lips parted slightly. The moment she finished speaking, she suddenly pressed her lips fiercely against Chu Lian's, pushing the girl down into the water.
Chu Lian stared into her eyes without resisting, letting her do as she pleased. After all, it wasn't the first time. She was already used to it... wasn't she?
Submerged beneath the water, the two figures—one taller, one smaller—entwined their limbs gently as they drifted deeper into the spring.
The moonlight remained unchanged.
In the quiet depths of the forest, no one knew that a white lily was silently blooming.
Perhaps... this would be a sleepless night?
...
E-Rantel City.
Narberal sat inside a room in another tavern, resting her chin in her hand as she gazed at the distant moon, lost in her thoughts.
"What? Still thinking about Deloris?"
Behind her, Ainz removed his helmet, revealing his skeletal face as he spoke.
"Ainz-sama, will Lady Deloris really be able to return? The graveyard we saw today... it was destroyed so horribly. Even super-tier magic might not have that kind of power." Thinking back to the scene at the graveyard, unease filled Narberal's heart. Deloris... please be safe.
"Heh, Narberal, you're overthinking because you care too much. Did you see that fissure?"
Ainz, however, showed no concern. After seeing that massive crack, he already understood what Deloris had intended to convey.
Well... perhaps a large portion of it was just his imagination. But at the very least, it had kept him from immediately setting out to search for her, which was not a bad thing.
"That fissure? I saw it, but I couldn't figure out what kind of attack could have caused it," Narberal replied. She could never forget that enormous rift that seemed to split the land in two.
"That was left behind by Deloris using the weapon she calls a blade. She left it there to tell us that everything has been settled—that all past grievances have been cut cleanly in two." Ainz's tone carried a hint of emotion as he spoke.
"Ah... could it be that Lady Deloris has betrayed Nazarick?" Narberal instinctively jumped to the worst conclusion.
"You're thinking too much. Her name still exists on Nazarick's roster, which means she's fine and hasn't betrayed us. It's just..."
At this point, Ainz raised his hands and scratched his skull, falling silent for a moment before continuing:
"It's just that she seems to have matters of her own to resolve. That cut doesn't mean she's severing ties with us—it means she's cutting away past secrets and grudges. When she returns, it will be a new beginning."
Hearing this explanation, Narberal nodded somewhat blankly. "So... Lady Deloris has gone out to clear her mind, and once she figures things out, she'll come back?"
"Mm. That's also why I didn't go looking for her. Otherwise, after bringing Nfirea back this morning, I would have already set out to find her."
Those words completely reassured Narberal. Looking at the beautiful moonlight, she softly murmured:
"Lady Deloris... Narberal will be waiting for your return..."
She still remembered that kiss from last night, those words, and that resolute figure. All of it would become the most unforgettable memory of this journey.
If Chu Lian knew that the slash she made—merely to show off and intimidate—had been interpreted by Ainz in so many ways, even leading him to temporarily abandon the idea of searching for her, would she praise herself for such an unintended outcome?
As expected... Ainz would always spin countless meanings out of others' meaningless actions. Perhaps what sat atop his neck wasn't a skull—but a black hole.
At the same time, within the forest where Chu Lian was located, a group of unwelcome guests had arrived...