Chapter 32: Chapter 31: Jima and Frostleaf
In the morning, Jima got out of bed after finally getting enough sleep, but halfway up, she was hit with a series of aftereffects: sore back, aching legs, and a hot sensation in her womb. She grimaced, revealing her small canine teeth.
She slowly got out of bed and lay on the Nimbus, heading first to the bathing pool. She reclined in the warm water, dozing off for over half an hour before, with Lianxi’s help, she washed her entire body clean, had breakfast, grabbed some snacks, and after a quick touch-up in front of the vanity mirror, she lifted her shirt to feel her flat abdomen.
She could still sense the overwhelming heat inside her womb. Last night, she had let go of her restrictions and allowed herself to conceive George’s child.
Her emotions were very complex now.
Was she really going to become a mother?
Looking at her youthful and innocent reflection in the mirror, Jima felt she lacked the capability and temperament to bear the heavy title of “mother.”
Her tail drooped down, soft and limp, devoid of any strength.
“Good thing it’s just for my own sake, just carrying an egg.”
Jima’s tail, which she had let go of, began to sway again. “At worst, I can just hand the egg over to Jenna and say it’s George’s offspring, let her raise it.”
After saying this, she pulled out a heavily worn gold coin, softly muttering a spell while asking, “Am I pregnant?”
With a flick of her thumb, the gold coin spun in the air, landing on the table with the reverse side up, indicating a “no.”
Jima instinctively sighed in relief, but then grew tense again; she didn’t have many days left for conception. Despite being stirred by a certain gentleman’s promise, feeling that George could heal her soul’s wounds.
But she knew, in all matters, preparation was key. Therefore, tonight’s practice of sliding and escaping couldn’t be neglected and needed more rehearsal.
After taking care of her business, Jima glanced at her personal system to check her to-do list and remembered that she still needed to find Eve Frostleaf to accompany her.
The thought of the proud silver-haired elf drained her motivation; she just wanted to go with the flow and take it easy.
Jima grabbed a bag of roasted pistachios and shared them with Lianxi before leisurely shouldering a branch axe, cracking sunflower seeds as she walked out the door, deliberately doing a little divination beforehand.
There was no danger, as expected. She didn’t believe that her enemies could find her on the very first day of her adventures.
As soon as she exited the dream palace, the initial dizziness faded, and Jima immediately smelled the scent of blood, the laziness and drowsiness instantly disappearing from her body.
The moment she stepped out was the best opportunity for an ambush.
Without a second thought, she became invisible and instinctively reached for her “puppet decoy.” At this moment, she recalled the divination results; yet, results could be interfered with, so without hesitation, she used her “puppet decoy.”
A poorly made puppet appeared from the air and fell to the ground, while she invisibly teleported to the ground.
Things had changed; she couldn’t foolishly walk toward the cave entrance.
She teleported to a position five meters above the ground, stretched her wings, made a slight sound, and opened her eyes to look down.
Goodness, there were bodies sprawled all over, demon warriors with arrows stuck in their heads, warriors in armor with burnt flesh, simple-looking Norska with arrows in their eyes, and two mouthless demonized war mastiffs…
These corpses radiated from the entrance of her dream palace, surrounding her in a circle, with soft earth, broken branches, charred trees, and congealed blood all recounting the fierce battle from last night.
Eve Frostleaf, impeccably clean, was kneeling on a white piece of fabric, meditating.
A gust of wind blew, black smoke toppled, branches rustled, and Jima’s waist-length black hair swayed in the breeze.
Eve Frostleaf twitched her long ears, suddenly opening her eyes and looking up at the invisible Jima.
Jima canceled her invisibility and landed in front of Eve Frostleaf, greeting her, “Good morning, Frostleaf, I’m so glad to see you.”
Eve Frostleaf nodded slightly.
“Thank you for fighting bravely for me against so many enemies last night,” Jima said, placing her hands over her heart. “I’m sorry for misunderstanding you before; you truly are a cold exterior, warm interior kind of woman.”
Eve Frostleaf shook her head dismissively, seemingly serious as she looked at Jima, speaking without blinking: “It was very easy.”
The long leg, intentionally or unintentionally poking out from her skirt armor, with its spotless silver sheen, seemed to loudly testify to Eve Frostleaf’s words.
Jima carefully examined her leg and armor, realizing she wasn’t just a little girl over two years old.
Jima pretended to understand, “So that’s how it is.”
Eve Frostleaf nodded.
“Then let’s move together in the future,” Jima said. “Last night, when I met with George and the others, George criticized me for acting alone; I’m sorry for throwing a little tantrum, I apologize.”
Eve Frostleaf nodded, her posture becoming straighter, her long ears seemingly perked up even more.
Jima hummed a tune off-key, saying, “Now let’s investigate the battlefield; I want to see which enemy had the gall to come my way.”
Eve Frostleaf remained silent, leaping gracefully onto a branch like a cloud.
As Jima investigated and gathered spoils, she noticed a corpse with two arrows sticking out of its eye sockets. Using divination and other skills, she tried to learn more about it.
A chilly female voice floated down from above: “He can find you; I followed him last night.”
“Ah?” Jima tapped the back of her head, feigning confusion. “Were you looking for me all night?”
“No, it was a coincidence.”
Jima replied with a tone of “disappointment” and even a little sadness, “Oh, I thought… never mind.”
A light hum came from above.
Jima cut open the long-frozen entrails of the deceased, revealing a mutated liver that had grown a mouth. She poked it with her axe, and it seemed to respond. Using the entrails combined with her years of experience, she reached a conclusion.
“The Four Gods have selected Marus to target me; even the Four Gods are helping, through blessings, sending a loose fish connected to me to cause trouble—no barrier of tranquility can stop this.”
It seemed curses shouldn’t be casually thrown around, as they could easily lead the gods back to her.
“Alright,” Jima looked around anxiously, like a cat afraid of being abandoned. “Frostleaf? Frostleaf!”
A white figure lightly landed in front of Jima, resembling a feather falling.
Jima said, “I agreed with George and the others last night; we need to rush to Kisleif to regroup. I can fly, and you can use wind elements to float; so…”
She stretched out her hands, her eyes bright as she looked at Eve Frostleaf.
The latter nodded, replying, “Okay.”
“Yay.”
Jima suddenly hugged Eve Frostleaf’s strong waist from behind with enthusiasm and force. Eve was slightly startled by Jima’s sudden action, her face shifted a bit, and she raised her hand as if to push Jima away, but it just hovered in the air without moving.
Jima flapped her wings, lifting the light Eve Frostleaf and soaring into the sky, rising higher and higher toward the nearby snow-capped mountains.
“By the way,” Jima asked, “Were you tired last night?”
Eve Frostleaf emphasized, “It was very easy.”
“Good,” Jima said. “Last night, George, Jenna, and I played pretty much all night. I thought it was only the first day of adventure; it wouldn’t be that dangerous—thankfully, it wasn’t too dangerous.”
“What were you playing?”
“What else can a wife and husband play?” Jima laughed. “I originally wanted to invite you, but you didn’t seem to be in the dream last night—what a pity.”
A wave of anger surged in Eve Frostleaf; she regretted not delivering a fiery punch to the entrance of the dream palace last night.
