Chapter 29 The Trembling Girl
Looking at the monster plastered against the glass outside the window, Lonis felt a chill in her heart.
These monsters were truly terrifying. They resembled bats but were covered in blood streaks, with dark black eyes and hundreds of fragmented teeth, not just the usual upper and lower pairs.
Even more horrifying was the protrusion at the base of their tails, resembling a mace.
Lonis remembered reading in her textbook that these Headhunter Bats would latch onto their prey’s face and insert their thick, sturdy tails into their mouths.
This would instantly inject the prey with paralyzing venom, rendering them unable to resist – leaving them at the mercy of the Headhunter Bats.
Afterward, the Headhunter Bats wouldn’t kill their prey directly. The prey, in turn, would be consumed by the feeling of being dominated, finding it hard to break free. Even after the Headhunter Bats flew away, the prey would remain dazed, as if they had lost their minds, craving that injected sensation.
So…
(So, so scary!)
Lonis subconsciously sealed her lips tightly. Fortunately, the Magic Ship was sturdy enough. If the Headhunter Bats broke through the window, she, being so cute, would surely be toyed with for hours?
…
…
Lonis was a bit at a loss. Just then, Elusius walked over.
“Hmph, you stupid maid, why are you awake too?”
The black-haired girl blinked her eyes, seemingly quite surprised by Lonis’s awakening.
“Ah… Elusius, is there… is there anything I can help with?”
“Hmph, they’re just some small monsters; they don’t even warrant us using our trump card.”
Elusius shook her head, appearing very casual. “Oh, right. Go take care of Su Ling.”
“Su Ling?”
“Mhm, she seems… quite scared.”
…
…
“Wuwu…”
Accompanied by a sound that seemed to come only from a small animal, Lonis saw the pink-haired girl curled up beneath the dining table.
This girl looked extremely frightened, her eyes completely squinted >_<, unwilling to look at the scene outside the window. Lonis's sudden appearance seemed to startle her as well… "Wuwuwu, don't eat me!" "Eh, Su Ling classmate, it's Lonis." "Eh, is it Lonis-chan? That's a relief…" Upon seeing the familiar silver hair, Su Ling's mood seemed to ease slightly, but her body was still trembling, looking incredibly pathetic. So, Lonis sat beside her, hiding under the dining table together. "Su Ling, are you okay? I'll keep you company." "I-I'm fine… I just, suddenly…" "It's okay, seeing those monsters, I'm a little scared too?" … As girls, the fear of tubular objects stems from instinct. And although Lonis was a boy, seeing the Headhunter Bats made her feel uneasy. So Lonis had no intention of mocking Su Ling. Instead, she found the pink-haired girl's trembling appearance very cute and endearing. "Hehe, Su Ling, don't be afraid. Head pat." "Little Lo." "It's okay, Su Ling. We're all on the ship. Besides, even though Elusius classmate is black-hearted, she's actually quite capable." "Mmm… Black-hearted?" "Ah, it means she's full of tricks. And Isumi-senpai is also very capable. I heard… she's the leader of the student council, right? So she's very capable too!" "Mmm…" Under Lonis's care, Su Ling's expression greatly eased. Her eyes were no longer filled with fear, but she naturally snuggled closer to Lonis. "Um, Lonis-chan is the best." "Ah?" "So gentle and considerate. You're truly an all-around maid!" "Mmm…" Su Ling's words made Lonis blush. After all… It was one thing for her to get close to Elusius as a girl, considering Elusius knew about her past as a boy and thus wasn't being deceived. But Su Ling didn't know! She just thought Lonis was a girl and thus felt comfortable opening her heart to her. Treating her as a friend, someone she could confide in. But can friends have secrets and deception between them? Thinking this, Lonis's mood became somewhat complex, her expression turning into an indescribable sense of loss. "Eh? Lonis-chan, what's wrong?" "N-nothing." Lonis shook her head, trying to signal that she was fine, but Su Ling misinterpreted Lonis's hesitation as something else. "Ah, I understand. I said something wrong just now. Lonis-chan doesn't just want to be a maid, right?" "Eh?" "Little Lo really likes Elusius, so you want to be a little wife and stay by her side, right?" "Wuwuwu!" Lonis wanted to shake her head and deny it, but the more she tried to explain, the redder her cheeks became, as if scalded by a hot towel, her ears turning crimson. She undeniably wanted to marry Elusius. But even if they were to get married, there had to be a distinction between the dominant and submissive partner… And now, even if Lonis had a hundred times the courage, she didn't believe she could overpower the black-hearted girl. So her only option was to obediently let Elusius push her onto the bed, like a little wife. "Mmm…" "Eh, Little Lo, did I say something wrong?" "N-no, let's not talk about this anymore, okay?" The silver-haired girl shook her head, blushing. Fortunately, Elusius wasn't around, or she would have taken this opportunity to tease her again. "Mmm, then what should we talk about? Right, let's talk about something from the past." "Past things?" "Hehe, Little Lo probably doesn't know it, but I was quite bold when I was little~" "Eh?" "I used to run around everywhere, and I even sneaked into the school's slime farm and caught a slime once?" "Th-that's called stealing, isn't it?" "Mmm! Lonis-chan, I wasn't that bad… Because the slime farm at school is run by my family, so it doesn't count as stealing." The pink-haired girl said this, pouting her lips. "Eh?" "So, at that time, I wanted to catch a slime to make soup for Grandma! But when I tried to cook it, I failed." "Was it because it was too slippery and you couldn't cut it?" Lonis had also eaten slime at the hot pot restaurant… this creature should be a close relative of jellyfish, rich in collagen, and quite delicious. "It was because it was too cute, and I couldn't bring myself to do it." "Ah?" "It kept looking at me pitifully, always trying its best to jump out of the bucket, wanting to live. So, in the end, I didn't kill it?" "Mmm, that sounds exactly like something Su Ling would do?" Lonis wasn't surprised. In fact, if she encountered cute kittens or puppies, she wouldn't be able to bear eating dog meat hot pot. "But, usually, I eat slime jelly very happily?" "Eh…" "So I wondered if I was hypocritical? Even if that slime was released back, it would probably be made into jelly one day, right?" "These things…" Growing from a child to an adult, one always loses something. Perhaps it's innocence, or perhaps it's that sliver of beauty hidden deep within the heart. Even if smiles don't become numb from oppression, there are always too many things piling up in one's heart, acting as shackles, hindering people's progress, aren't there? Lonis opened her mouth, about to say something comforting. But Su Ling shook her head and said, "Later, Grandma comforted me." "Eh." "Grandma said that precisely because I consumed the slime's energy, I should live well for it too." "!" "Striving to live is nothing to be ashamed of." Su Ling smiled slightly and said so.
