Chapter 75: I Still Have You

What kind of price would have to be paid for the God of Decay to agree to let Qingcheng bring so many people back to the present—without even affecting her past self?

Pereti’s fingers curled unconsciously, her heart weighed down.

Whatever Qingcheng had paid was far beyond her comprehension. No matter how hard she tried to imagine it, she couldn’t grasp the burden hidden behind it. In the end, there was only one way to know the answer—find the God of Decay personally and hear it from Him.

“Feiye, the God of Decay is still at the World Tree, right?” she asked, turning her head toward the girl beside her.

Feiye stiffened all over. She instinctively grabbed Pereti’s wrist, her knuckles turning pale. The gentle warmth that usually filled her eyes had vanished, replaced by a hollow, abyss-like coldness.

“What are you planning to do?” Her voice trembled ever so slightly.

“I want to know what happened between Qingcheng and the God of Decay,” Pereti met her gaze and quickly added, “Not for the elves—just for Qingcheng.”

She knew very well that bringing up this topic in front of Feiye was like dancing across a field of explosive runes—one wrong step, and it could ignite the girl’s deepest fears and obsessions.

“Don’t you want to know?” Pereti asked softly.

“I…” Feiye clenched the hem of her dress so tightly that deep wrinkles formed in the silk. After a long hesitation, she spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

“But I’m afraid you’ll become like that too…”

Like Qingcheng—carrying unseen scars, silent in a way that made people uneasy.

“It’ll be okay.” Pereti turned her hand and held Feiye’s cold fingers, her voice gentle but firm. “Then you can come with me. We’ll go together, alright?”

“Together…” A crack finally appeared in the emptiness of Feiye’s eyes. She looked up at Pereti’s serious expression and nodded firmly.

“Okay!”

“So… what do you plan to do next, Sister?” Feiye asked quietly.

Pereti lowered her gaze, staring at the dark steps beneath her feet. “I… don’t know yet.”

Qingcheng had chosen to change the human world with her own power. But what about her? What was the meaning of her staying here?

Lost in thought, Pereti’s attention was suddenly drawn to a figure sitting at the bottom of the steps.

The girl who usually carried herself with the poise of a candidate saintess was now completely disregarding her image—slumped on the steps, her white dress stained with dust and bits of grass. In each hand, she held a skewer of sizzling grilled meat. Her cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel stuffing food into its mouth, and oil and cumin powder clung to the corners of her lips.

Josuna?

What was she doing here—eating skewers like an unsupervised child?

Pereti approached quietly with Feiye, full of confusion. Josuna was completely immersed in her food, chewing happily and even narrowing her eyes in satisfaction, utterly unaware of their presence.

“Is it good?” Pereti couldn’t help but frown slightly at her unrefined appearance.

“Ah?!” Josuna jumped in fright at the sudden voice, nearly dropping her skewer as sauce splattered onto her dress.

When she saw it was Pereti, she patted her chest in relief. “It’s you! You scared me to death!”

“You’re here… eating skewers?” Pereti took out a white handkerchief embroidered with pale blue roses. Stepping closer, she gently lifted Josuna’s chin with one hand and carefully wiped the seasoning off her face with the other.

“You’re already grown up. At least pay some attention to your appearance.”

Josuna obediently tilted her head up, letting her clean her face while mumbling, “On the way back, I saw a skewer stall still open this late. The vendor must be having a hard time, so I bought a bit more.”

“This is ‘a bit more’?” Pereti pointed at the pile of used skewers on the paper by her feet—more than twenty of them—and shook her head helplessly.

“Do saintesses eat meat?” Feiye asked curiously from the side, watching Josuna’s satisfied expression.

“I’m just a candidate saintess—the key word is ‘candidate’!” Josuna puffed out her chest in protest, then deflated with a pitiful look.

“Besides, the banquet got ruined tonight. I didn’t eat a single bite. You can’t expect me to starve, can you?”

She waved a skewer in her left hand and offered it to Pereti. “Want a couple? They’re still warm.”

Pereti hesitated for a moment, but eventually took them. She sat down beside Josuna on the steps and took a bite.

“Wait!” Josuna suddenly shouted, putting down her skewers and wiping her hands hastily on her clothes.

“What?” Pereti froze mid-chew, startled.

“Don’t move!” Josuna said, suddenly placing both warm hands on Pereti’s cheeks, kneading them gently like dough. The pressure wasn’t strong, but it carried an undeniable familiarity.

“Stop kneading, it won’t make me thinner…” Pereti’s face grew warm as she slapped her hands away, half-laughing, half-exasperated. “What are you doing?!”

“Hehe.” Josuna’s eyes curved into crescents as she grinned, revealing neat white teeth.

“That’s better! You’ve been frowning ever since you came here. Your face was full of exhaustion. No matter how pretty you are, a droopy face still looks bad. You need to smile more.”

“A droopy… face?” Pereti instinctively touched her cheek. The skin felt tense, stiff.

She turned to Feiye for confirmation, and Feiye nodded quickly, her eyes full of agreement.

So her exhaustion and anxiety had already been written all over her face.

A trace of bitterness rose in Pereti’s heart. She lowered her head and took another bite of the skewer, chewing slowly.

The meat had already cooled, tough in texture and far from delicious. It was also quite spicy—she remembered that Josuna usually disliked such strong flavors.

“How is it? Is it good?” Josuna leaned forward, her bright, star-like eyes fixed on Pereti, full of anticipation.

“Mm… it’s good. Thank you.” Pereti swallowed and smiled at her. The gloom in her eyes faded a little.

“No need to be so polite!” Josuna laughed, patting her shoulder warmly.

Looking at the radiant smile of the girl before her, Pereti’s vision suddenly blurred.

The surrounding light twisted. Josuna’s figure seemed to shrink, the background shifting into a grassy hillside. A younger version of her sat there, holding a stick of malt candy, smiling brightly—pure and carefree, without a trace of impurity.

“Why are you crying?” Josuna noticed her expression and immediately panicked. She reached out to wipe her tears, then suddenly remembered her hands were covered in chili powder and quickly pulled back, looking flustered.

“I’m fine.” Pereti wiped the corner of her eyes, her voice slightly choked but firm. “I just… suddenly remembered something from the past.”

The rules of the nobility, the restraints of the Church, the plight of the elves… she could choose not to care about any of it.

As the Church’s top candidate, she would surely be a target of the Church of Gluttony.

If she could protect this carefree girl beside her—

Then perhaps, that alone was enough reason for her to stay.