Chapter 109: A Surprise Awakening

“How can you say that?” Nanaya clenched her fists.

“You’re a cleric. If you suddenly turned into a vampire overnight, it would definitely impact the church. Come clean!”

“That’s true,” Menglinna nodded, finally deciding to speak up. “I haven’t found a new treatment yet, just an opportunity.”

“Opportunity?” Nanaya tilted her head, waiting for Menglinna to confess, but the other woman seemed unwilling to continue.

“This is my personal matter,” Menglinna repeated. “If I think it’s necessary, I’ll ask for your help.”

Though Nanaya was addressed as a saint, she felt a hint of distance.

“Fine.”

Since the other party didn’t want to respond, Nanaya had no choice but to drop it.

****

Finally, a hard-earned day off. No need to run the church or go out adventuring, and she had already prepared the next batch of potions. Menglinna felt a rare sense of relaxation.

What to do now?

Menglinna placed the potions on a shelf and glanced at the clock in her room. It was only half past ten.

Since there was still time, why not read a book?

Menglinna looked at her bookshelf, which held various volumes on Yanan folklore, herbal encyclopedias, monster guides, and vampire research reports.

The only exception was a book titled *A Guide to the Body of a Vampire Lady*. Judging by the title, it seemed like a research report on vampire racial traits. In reality…

Well, it kind of was, but the research direction was off. To increase readability, the author had deliberately exaggerated the physical attributes of the protagonist, a young lady who was essentially a fountain of blood in the story.

Alright, it had absolutely no research value. It was simply a romance novel with a rather heavy tone. Menglinna had bought it along with other research books without checking carefully, and because the content seemed off, she had never touched it.

Now that she finally had some free time, she might as well use it to kill time.

Menglinna opened the cover and began reading seriously.

****

“Don’t you think the plot here is ridiculous?” Nanaya reached out and pointed at a passage on the page. “She’s a young lady, right? Why is she being manipulated by this little maid at this point? Is she a lolicon?”

Hearing Nanaya’s words, Menglinna couldn’t help but reply, “Although the young lady is indeed a lesbian, if you insist… according to the book’s setting of the young lady…”

She stopped mid-sentence.

“What setting?” Nanaya’s eyes widened with curiosity. “Go on!”

“Wait, why are you here?”

This was her room, wasn’t it? How did this little saintess suddenly appear, and naturally discuss the plot of that book with her without her even noticing?

Without waiting for her brain to explode, Menglinna closed the book and stared warily at Nanaya.

“I knocked, but you didn’t answer, so I came in. I didn’t expect you to be reading this kind of book,” Nanaya glanced at the cover. “So you like this sort of thing, huh?”

Her tone was calm, no surprise, no delight at catching her red-handed—as if she were simply saying, “Oh, you like tea.”

Combined with Nanaya’s youthful face, it made Menglinna feel both anxious and guilty.

A surge of shame overwhelmed her.

It felt like she was leading an innocent child astray.

“No,” Menglinna quickly denied. “I bought it in bulk from a bookstore. I thought it was a thesis on vampire body studies, but it turned out to be completely different.”

“Oh,” Nanaya nodded. “It is indeed something you need to learn more about, isn’t it?”

“It would be even better if I didn’t have to learn this,” Menglinna put the book back on the shelf, pretending to be nonchalant. “So, is there something you need from me?”

“It’s getting late. Don’t you want to eat?”

Menglinna instinctively looked up. The clock was already pointing to half past twelve.

“Sorry, I lost track of time,” Menglinna scratched her head. “If I start cooking now, it won’t be ready in time. Let’s eat out.”

“I’m fine with that.” Nanaya just stared at her, as if urging her to hurry.

“Give me a moment to get dressed.”

Saying that, Menglinna picked up a pair of ice sleeves and pulled them onto her arms. After all, it wasn’t ideal to go out in this summer heat without some cover.

Taking the opportunity, Nanaya moved closer and whispered in Menglinna’s ear, “So, you like that kind of thing, don’t you?”

Caught off guard, Menglinna looked puzzled. “That kind of thing? What kind of thing?”

Nanaya’s expression remained unchanged. “Just like in that book. You long to be like that young lady, controlled by a woman smaller than you, right?”

“Wha—what nonsense are you talking about?” Menglinna suddenly exclaimed. “Do I look like the kind of coward who would be?”

Nanaya nodded. “A bit.”

“Hey!”

“Just kidding.”

After lunch, Menglinna, who had resolved to work hard, unsurprisingly immersed herself in the novel’s world again. After all, humans are creatures who, given the chance, prefer to slack off.

But this time, Menglinna was smart enough to set an alarm early. When she saw it was almost dinner time, she rushed to cook, avoiding the possibility of Nanaya discovering her laziness.

“Pig blood, duck blood… Are you craving blood?”

Looking at the various blood-related dishes on the table, Nanaya couldn’t help but frown.

Though it hadn’t shown outwardly yet, Menglinna’s taste was undoubtedly trending towards vampires. It wouldn’t be surprising if she felt the urge to drink blood someday soon.

“Not really,” Menglinna replied hesitantly. “I don’t have any desire to drink blood yet. Besides, it probably won’t be long before Yushi’s situation is resolved.”

“Alright,” Nanaya nodded and started a new topic. “You were reading that book all afternoon, weren’t you?”

“Why are you bringing up the book again?” Menglinna fidgeted slightly and denied it. “No, I was studying the principles. What about you? What did you do this afternoon?”

Nanaya just smiled at Menglinna’s denial, making the latter blush. “I practiced divine arts this afternoon, getting used to the new sacred mark.”

“A new sacred mark? You mean the one like you gave me?”

Menglinna was stunned. She had thought it was just a trinket and never imagined it could actually be used as a spell catalyst.

Nanaya nodded. “That’s right. Its spellcasting power is decent, and it can serve as a magical medium.”

Feeling that Nanaya had almost said “I customized it for you,” Menglinna felt a little embarrassed.

“Then I’ll try it tomorrow.”

Having finished dinner somewhat awkwardly, Menglinna quickly retreated into the bathroom.

Not sure why Nanaya was so aggressive today, Menglinna decided to avoid her.

After showering, she would take her blanket back to her own room. For now, it was better not to sleep in the same room.

While Menglinna was bathing, Nanaya was still working through her dinner.

“You want to make a move on her?”

The Flame Evil God’s voice echoed in her mind again. Strangely, now that she was actually doing something, the god seemed to have dropped its earlier provocation.

“Don’t you think her reactions are fun? I’d like to see her backed into a corner.”

“I’m not opposed either.”

She said something terrifying, but Nanaya maintained her calm expression, quietly enjoying her dinner.

That scumbag girl’s cooking surprisingly suited her taste. Maybe it was because they had lived together for a while, and her palate had been remolded to match Menglinna’s during their many meals out.

“You know, you’ve got the makings of a yandere.”

“I don’t think so.”

Nanaya mostly ignored the Flame Evil God’s words.

After eating, she cleaned up and headed to her room, just as she bumped into Menglinna, who was ready to move her blanket to her own room.

“What are you doing?”

Looking at the blanket in Menglinna’s hands, Nanaya felt a bit uneasy.

Though they only slept in the same room, truth be told, she had gotten used to Menglinna’s snoring—it had become her nightly lullaby. If she left now, Nanaya might fall back into her poor sleeping habits.

“Just moving my blanket… You see, we’ve already eliminated those two monsters, so it should be safe now, right? So I thought maybe we could sleep separately. It’s a bit weird for two young women to share a room like this. People might get the wrong idea…”

Menglinna rambled on, her gaze shifting around, missing the gradual darkening of Nanaya’s expression.

“Of course. Why not?”

With no good reason to keep her here, Nanaya had to let her go.

She hadn’t mentioned any of this when she was shamelessly clinging to sleep in the same room.

Without another word, Nanaya retreated into her room.

Today, unusually, Nanaya went to bed early.

But unfortunately, she wasn’t used to falling asleep early. After she turned off the light, the glow from the next room seeped in.

Needless to say, she couldn’t sleep.

The next morning, before the sun had fully risen, Menglinna woke up early as usual.

She found herself in her own bed.

It felt somewhat foreign to her.

But more foreign was the warm breath that inexplicably tickled her ear. She tried to push the blanket aside but found it pressed down by something.

So she turned her head and saw Nanaya lying right beside her.

“Huh?”

Within half a second, Menglinna’s mind went blank.

Whether it was because her waking movements were too loud or the unconscious exclamation was too loud, Nanaya rubbed her eyes and woke up.

“…”

For a moment, four barely awake eyes met.

Nanaya just rolled over, face up, closed her eyes, and continued sleeping.

Since the other had invaded her bedroom, Menglinna had no reason to back down. She tugged at the blanket pinned under Nanaya and, with some assertiveness (at least in her mind), forced the other to face her.

“What’s the matter?”

Disturbed from her sleep, Nanaya opened her eyes, as if assessing the situation.

Clearly, she hadn’t slept enough. After asking, she closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.

Seeing Nanaya so lethargic, Menglinna couldn’t help but get a little anxious. “Wait a moment! At least explain why you’re in my bed!”

Nanaya briefly opened her eyes. “Last night, I thought I heard some beast outside. I worried about you, so I came over. I was sleepy, so I just slept here.”

So that’s it…

It was exactly the same excuse she had used before. What goes around comes around.

Helpless, Menglinna could only swallow her grievances.

“So if there’s nothing else, let’s leave it at that. I’m a bit sleepy; I’ll sleep some more.”

Without caring about Menglinna’s opinion, Nanaya closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

“How can this be?”

Menglinna sighed inwardly, then began to examine her surroundings.

According to Nanaya, she had only come over because she heard a beast and wanted to protect Menglinna, so she hadn’t made any preparations. They ended up sleeping in the same bed, under the same blanket. If it weren’t for Menglinna’s wide bed and the two pillows, they would have been even closer last night.

Muttering inwardly about Nanaya’s carelessness, Menglinna checked her body.

Her pajamas were completely dry, and there were no suspicious liquids on her.

Good. At least nothing strange happened to her.

Although Nanaya had rolled herself up like a Swiss roll with the blanket, she had slept peacefully, and the blanket had no odd liquids.

It seemed she hadn’t done anything bad while Menglinna was asleep last night.

Reflecting on how deeply she usually slept, Menglinna quietly got up.

Despite the strange start to her morning, she decided to begin with her morning prayers.

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