Chapter 19: An Evil God’s Aura and an Unexpected Shower

Although it was an abrupt change of topic, this was indeed a question Xiluo’er wanted to ask.

After all, Freya had been tapping her head for quite some time now, and seemed much more lively, perhaps indicating she was almost fully recovered.

Well, ‘lively as a dragon and tiger’ might be a bit unfitting to describe a deity, but the sentiment remained.

However, being almost recovered meant she wouldn’t need to hibernate. Not needing to hibernate meant Xiluo’er could swagger through the streets with a deity’s power.

And if she could swagger, didn’t that mean all the current problems before her would be easily resolved?

Thus, Xiluo’er’s large eyes, sparkling with anticipation, turned towards Freya.

In response, Freya rolled her eyes dramatically.

“What are you thinking? I only woke up by chance this one time.”

“Besides, after tapping your head for so long, the little bit of power I just recovered is already struggling to hold on.”

‘Tsk, what a false alarm.’

The hopeful expression on Xiluo’er’s face instantly crumbled.

“However, I didn’t just wake up this one time for no reason.”

“Hey, have you encountered anyone strange recently?”

A look of genuine disgust actually flickered across Freya’s face.

“I sensed a repulsive aura, similar to that of an evil god, which is why I temporarily awoke.”

“Have you recently come into contact with anyone connected to evil god powers? Like, cultists or something?”

Cultists?

Catching the keyword, Xiluo’er’s spirits immediately lifted.

“Are you sure, Freya?”

“You should call me—Lady Freya!”

Freya rolled her eyes dramatically once more, clearly annoyed.

“Anyone carrying an evil god’s aura is most likely one of their followers. You probably don’t have such bad luck as to encounter an evil god’s avatar or anything.”

“In any case, be careful yourself. I’ve given my warning, and now I’m going back to hibernation.”

“Wait, that…”

Before Xiluo’er could finish her sentence, she abruptly opened her eyes in reality, lying on her bed.

‘Damn it, again!’ ‘She still wanted to ask for more details.’

‘This deity named Freya was never reliable!’

However, if that was the case, did it mean she could essentially pinpoint Rona’s identity?

After all, she had recently had a rather long interaction with Rona at the City Lord’s Manor.

‘Never mind. Next time there’s an opportunity, I’ll see if I can get Freya to specifically locate who has the evil god’s aura on them…’

As Xiluo’er thought this, she slowly closed her eyes again.

However, less than ten seconds later, her eyes “whoosh”ed open once more.

‘Can’t sleep!’

Perhaps because she had been kicked out of her dream by Freya, Xiluo’er found herself completely devoid of sleepiness.

Moreover, she wondered if it was because Freya had been tapping her head for so long, but she still felt a slight headache.

Thus, in the pitch-black room, Xiluo’er, feeling a touch of indignation in her heart, lay flat on the bed, staring at the now not-so-unfamiliar ceiling above her.

‘Damn it, Freya, you owe me nine hours of quality sleep!’

****

The next day, in the evening.

“Xiluo’er—I’m back.”

Eve embraced Xiluo’er from behind, leaning half her weight onto Xiluo’er.

Although her voice was still as cool and clear, Xiluo’er distinctly heard a hint of weariness within Eve’s tone.

It seemed Eve had indeed been very busy these past two days.

“Sigh, the City Lord’s Manor seems to be vigorously investigating the missing persons cases recently, and they’re a bit short-handed.”

“Besides my usual commissions, I’ve also helped Rona with a few things lately.”

“I must say, work at the City Lord’s Manor is truly demanding.”

For once, Xiluo’er heard Eve let out a slight sigh.

“Sister Eve, you’ve worked hard.”

Hearing Xiluo’er’s words, Eve felt a sense of healing, like being greeted by a pet upon returning home, and her overall spirits improved significantly.

“Good, thank you, Xiluo’er.”

Eve patted Xiluo’er’s head, but unexpectedly noticed deep dark circles under Xiluo’er’s eyes.

“Xiluo’er, did you not sleep well last night?”

“Ah, mm, I had a little insomnia, Sister Eve…”

Xiluo’er blinked her tired eyes.

‘Is it that obvious?’

‘Of course I didn’t sleep well! After Freya woke her up from her dream last night, Xiluo’er barely slept a wink.’

This resulted in her feeling lethargic all day, to the point where she didn’t even leave the house.

“Then make sure to go to bed early tonight after you shower.”

Eve gently pinched Xiluo’er’s small cheek.

“Come on, let’s go shower.”

With that, Eve naturally took Xiluo’er’s hand and led her towards the bathroom.

Shower… wait a minute? What is she doing?

Xiluo’er’s eyes, which had been somewhat lifeless from exhaustion, suddenly widened.

“Um… do you mean we’re showering together, Sister Eve?”

“That’s right,” Eve’s emotionless face turned towards Xiluo’er, “Is there a problem? I’m very tired today, and showering together will save time.”

“The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go to bed.”

‘Why is it unfolding this way?!’

“But, but…”

Xiluo’er felt a profound sense of awkwardness.

This was completely deviating from the original story’s plot.

Forget about showering together; in the original work, Xiluo and Eve took a considerable amount of time just to establish a good relationship.

Moreover, their relationship was very ordinary, simply that of adventure partners, not even reaching the ‘more than friendship, less than love’ stage.

The emotionless Eve seemed uninterested in everyone.

‘After all, how could a little mole like you get the protagonist’s script from a power fantasy novel?’

‘Under normal circumstances, at this point in time, she, Xiluo’er, should still be strangers with Eve.’

‘How did things inexplicably go off track to this extent, boohoo…’

Xiluo’er had always felt this way: perhaps due to her change in gender, Eve’s guard against her, as another girl, wasn’t as high as it was against Xiluo in the original story.

Eve might not consider showering together a big deal. However, in the original plot, it would have been absolutely impossible.

For Xiluo’er, this wasn’t necessarily a good thing, as she couldn’t yet escape the Chaos Cult.

The more Eve interacted with her under these circumstances, the greater the possibility of her identity being exposed.

‘After all, the original Xiluo didn’t need to painstakingly maintain a distant relationship with Eve; Eve herself wasn’t interested in him!’

“Um, maybe we shouldn’t…”

After much hesitation, having already shuffled into the bathroom, Xiluo’er finally formulated her refusal, but she only managed to say half of it before falling silent again.

Because Eve had already begun to emotionlessly help her take off her clothes.

“Th-that, at least let me take off my own clothes…”

Xiluo’er covered her clothes with both hands, her small face flushing crimson.

‘See? It’s like this again.’

‘It seems whether I refuse or not no longer matters so much, haha.’