Chapter 58: A Sad Little Cat Face
The Star Realm communication ended, and Shaya withdrew his mental power.
He opened his eyes to see Diris standing obediently by his bed, tidying the bedding and cleaning up any traces in the room.
Diris had now resumed her image as the diligent and upright student council president.
“I’m actually quite curious,” Shaya mused as he looked at the graceful maiden before him, “between the kind and honest student council president and the Royal Succubus from before, which one is the more real you?”
“How should I put it?” Diris tilted her head slightly, her beautiful eyes blinking. “Perhaps both.”
“If I had to say… I think the persona from the Human World is closer to my true self.”
“Although at first, it was merely a disguise to infiltrate Saint Roland Academy, a false mask.”
“But after wearing a mask for a long time, I gradually became that mask.”
She paused for a moment before speaking again.
“On the contrary, the succubus persona was an act I put on, imagining how my kin should be.”
“To be frank, maintaining that so-called charming allure, speaking in a certain tone.”
“Adding interjections like ‘ne,’ ‘oh,’ ‘na’ after every sentence… that felt quite tiring.”
“Speaking of which, what did His Highness talk to you about?”
“Nothing much, really,” Shaya Silently summoned Yin, holding the Little Mink in his arms as a pillow.
“It was just a transaction. I offered my loyalty to the future Empress of the Empire.”
“And she said she would fulfill my dreams in the dream world, helping me complete the real *Guide to Evaluating Exotic Racial Customs*, starting with you, the evil succubus.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t object if that were the case.”
Diris smiled faintly, gazing at the Silver Moon fading outside the window.
Her eyes, a mix of the unique crimson of a succubus and her original light brown, flickered and intertwined.
“Classmate Shaya’s dreams are very palatable, very delicious.”
“And His Royal Highness has shown me kindness. If becoming your exclusive OOO would repay this debt of gratitude, then I would certainly not refuse.”
“Kindness?”
Diris’s gaze shifted as she spoke softly, “There are no laws or legal principles of human kingdoms in the Abyss Plane.”
“If it weren’t for Your Highness providing a place to take shelter, my kin and I might have already become mere embers at the bottom of the Abyss.”
Shaya nodded, not pressing further.
The last of the Royal Succubus Clan, the Abyss Plane, kin, losing their haven…
These keywords, when combined, painted a story full of imagination.
One could only say that every family has its own troubles…
He had his, Little Ai had hers, and Diris had hers too.
Perhaps similar substitutes truly attract each other.
Among the people Shaya had gathered around him, too many had a past of displacement.
“Then, please permit me to take my leave, Classmate Shaya.”
Diris lifted the hem of her white skirt and performed a standard noble bow to Shaya.
Her figure gradually faded, and she soon disappeared into the twilight before dawn.
Shaya rallied his spirits and opened the closet beside him.
Then, reflected in the silver mirror within the closet, the blood moon, shaped like a comma, slowly appeared.
“Remember.”
“After I returned to my bedroom, I spent a few minutes tidying up and then went to bed.”
“I didn’t wake up until early morning.”
After completing his mental affirmation, Shaya changed into a new formal outfit before pushing open the door again and heading downstairs.
It was now the light of dawn breaking.
The blonde maiden was kneeling in the faint morning light.
She wore a fluffy white pajama set and long stockings woven from black silk netting. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was tied into twin ponytails with two simple knots.
Unlike her previous sharp and imposing aura,
Aerora now felt much softer and more natural to Shaya.
She was like a sheathed long sword, her edge contained, but her hidden threat was no less than before.
This indicated that she had completely mastered the power of the Third Ring.
Sensing Shaya’s arrival, Aerora stood up and placed two cups of brewed coffee on the table.
She handed one cup to Shaya and held the other herself. “Has President Diris already left?”
This time, Shaya chose to give up resisting. “So, what kind of push and pull, what game theory is this?”
“It’s very simple.”
Aerora took small sips of her coffee.
Unlike her past, where her displeasure was plainly written on her face, her voice today was as usual, even carrying a hint of cheerfulness.
“If President Diris hadn’t come, you would probably whistle right now—”
“And say, ‘As expected, Little Ai understands me the best. Today you’re wearing twin ponytail pajamas and black stockings, I love it~'”
“…”
Shaya sighed, “But you seem quite happy?”
“I am indeed quite happy.”
Aerora held the coffee cup, which was a matching set with Shaya’s, and looked at the identical print on the surface of the coffee. “After all, President Diris spent the entire night alone with you in your room, and nothing happened.”
“If something had happened, you’d still be in bed pretending to be asleep right now, too afraid to come downstairs and see me.”
“This means President Diris doesn’t pose too great a threat to me. My prior vigilance was a bit of an overreaction.”
Shaya sighed again.
It turned out that when someone in your circle knows your database well, revealing your identity is as easy as pie.
“President Diris’s visit was at the behest of the Second Princess, who wanted to recruit me to her faction.”
“The Second Princess… Her Royal Highness Isadorella?”
“Mm,” Shaya didn’t hide it. “I made a deal with her. In exchange for becoming a Sword Holder and supporting her in the Royal Selection ceremony, I received some resource support.”
Aerora fell into a moment of silence.
After a long while, she spoke again, “You have something very important to do soon, are you preparing for that?”
Otherwise, based on Aerora’s understanding of Shaya, he wouldn’t have made such a deal.
“Something like that.”
“That matter, or rather, that battle, I can’t participate in?”
Shaya nodded.
The blonde maiden asked no more.
However, the previous hint of cheerfulness on Aerora’s pretty, plain white face vanished, and she once again wore a sad little cat face.
Her displeasure was written plainly on her face.
She was Shaya’s sharpest sword and his sturdiest shield.
But now, Shaya was facing a severe challenge, and she was completely unable to intervene, only able to watch from the sidelines.
This was something Aerora could not accept.
