Vol 3. Chapter 154: Walking the Tightrope?

Unlike last time—when she used [Saint’s Favor] to heal Isatia and the “concert” ran from start to finish—Vanessa didn’t overdraw herself this time. When she finished curing Dale, the mana inside her body hadn’t been completely drained. The side effect of [Eternal-Day Holy Hymn] also sealed her Spirit Soul rather than sealing [Saint’s Favor]. Therefore, Vanessa could rely on the final scraps of remaining mana to release [Saint’s Favor] and fly to Mirexia’s balcony.

In a situation like this—nowhere to go, and still in a bloodline-awakening state that absolutely couldn’t be exposed—the first person Vanessa thought to seek out was her childhood friend Mirexia. She was the person Vanessa trusted most, and one of the most reliable people in Vanessa’s heart.

As for why she didn’t tell Dale the truth, Vanessa’s reason had always been clear. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Dale’s character—she didn’t trust Dale’s intelligence. With how inexperienced Dale looked, it was genuinely hard to believe she wouldn’t get coaxed into spilling the secret by someone.

Besides that, [Eternal-Day Holy Hymn] had a one-month cooldown. After Vanessa used [Eternal-Day Holy Hymn], her Spirit Soul would be temporarily sealed, making her unable to use [Armor Fortress]. So when she landed on Mirexia’s balcony, she was still wearing the same men’s academy uniform from before.

The clothes were stretched so tight on Vanessa that she felt miserable. After landing at Mirexia’s window, she pitifully tapped on the glass.

Hearing the sound, Mirexia thought a mischievous little bird had landed on her windowsill—seeing its own reflection in the glass—so it was pecking at the window to play. When she looked up...

It really was a little bird.

And it [N O V E L I G H T] was a pink little bird in distress outside, begging for help. She held up pure-white wings, like it was about to rain outside and her feathers were going to get soaked—drenched into a miserable, soggy mess.

Seeing that, Mirexia was confused as to why Vanessa would appear here, but she still hurried out of bed, opened the balcony’s glass door, and let her in.

After that, she found one of her own outfits and had her put it on first. After all, having a busty beauty keep wearing men’s clothes was just too uncomfortable—and it looked weird, too.

After changing into Mirexia’s clothes and underclothes, Vanessa still vaguely felt a little tight, but it was obviously far better than before. Their sizes were close, but not exactly the same. Mirexia’s “mountain range” was already freakishly gifted and impressive—but Vanessa was, even compared to Mirexia, just a tiny bit bigger.

“Mirexia’s clothes fit so nicely~ As expected of Mirexia’s clothes. They feel so dry and comfortable on my body,” Vanessa said out loud.

That wasn’t really a lie. If she tried to find a girl in the entire academy whose underclothes would fit her perfectly, she probably wouldn’t find one. Mirexia’s was likely the closest match possible.

Did her own clothes... feel comfortable on Vanessa?

The moment Mirexia thought about how the underwear she usually wore was now on Vanessa—pressed tight against every inch of Vanessa’s skin—she lifted her tea and took a sip, keeping her expression calm.

[Virtue +200]

[Current Virtue: 8904]

Her childhood friend really was as cute as ever. Tease her a little, and all kinds of emotions would spill out.

Watching Mirexia’s face remain unchanged while her Virtue was exploding behind the scenes, Vanessa propped her head up, the corners of her lips curving. Those peach-heart eyes of hers seemed to ripple with a spring of crystal-clear water.

“You look like you’re in a very good mood,” Mirexia said, not daring to stay on that topic any longer as she changed the subject.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I got to see my cutest, prettiest childhood friend. Of course I’m very happy,” Vanessa said, lightly lifting her shapely brows.

She didn’t say the whole truth. Seeing Mirexia made her happy, yes—but a big part of it was that Dale’s problem had been solved. The boulder in her heart was gone. She could finally come over and tease Mirexia, instead of continuing to worry.

Mirexia’s hand, holding the tea tray with proper, composed grace, trembled imperceptibly.

[Virtue +100]

[Current Virtue: 9004]

All you could say was: Mirexia’s daily baseline performance was stable as ever. Squeeze a little, and a pile of Virtue would come pouring out.

“Should I go back to calling you ‘dear Mirexia’? I feel like that nickname really is pretty fitting,” Vanessa continued joking.

When that nickname was mentioned, Mirexia couldn’t help thinking of Aesphyra.

Even when she was alone with her... she still couldn’t escape other people’s shadows?

“Do you have to call me that?” Mirexia blurted suddenly. For some reason, her heart felt stuffy and heavy.

Vanessa sharply caught the faint unwillingness in Mirexia’s words—like she didn’t want Vanessa using that nickname.

Was it because she didn’t like the nickname itself? Or because of Aesphyra?

Vanessa didn’t know. But it had only been a joke anyway. If Mirexia didn’t like it, then she simply wouldn’t use it.

“Oh~ True. That’s a name other people call you, after all. I should come up with something exclusive. Mm-hmm... then from now on I’ll call you Little Mirexia~? Just like when we were kids.”

“But now... we’re both grown up,” Mirexia said, her lips trembling faintly.

[Virtue +80]

[Current Virtue: 9084]

She was rejecting it with her mouth, but the Virtue change and the tiny, involuntary body language had already sold out all of Mirexia’s real thoughts.

“Then I’ll call you Little Mirexia from now on, okay~? If you’d feel embarrassed if I call you that in public, I’ll only call you that in private. Is that fine~?” Vanessa smiled as she sipped her tea, her manners gentle and proper.

“Do whatever you want,” Mirexia said in a compromising tone that made Vanessa want to laugh.

She obviously liked it—she obviously wanted Vanessa to call her that—yet she still insisted on acting like she was only giving in because she had “no choice.”

Cute.

That kind of Mirexia made Vanessa’s playful impulse rise. Anyway, someone like Mirexia was the type you could flirt with all day without anything “going wrong.” And they were childhood friends—joking and teasing each other was totally normal, wasn’t it?

“By the way... the tea Little Mirexia brewed for me... did you put something extra in it~?” Vanessa said, resting her cheek on her hand with a knowing look.

“?” Mirexia’s face flashed with confusion. She didn’t understand what Vanessa meant.

“Ahh, I can taste it. You added Little Mirexia’s feelings, didn’t you~?” Vanessa blinked at Mirexia with dazzling, overflowing charm.

Mirexia immediately felt her cheeks heating up.

[Virtue +60]

[Current Virtue: 9144]

“I—when did I add that kind of...” That line was too embarrassing to say out loud, to the point that Mirexia’s “passive skill” triggered and she reflexively tried to refute it.

“Oh? So when Little Mirexia brewed tea for me, you didn’t add your feelings?” Vanessa gently stirred the tea with a small spoon, leaning forward.

[Virtue +60]

[Current Virtue: 9204]

“...” Mirexia felt like her emotional processor was overloaded. She couldn’t quite turn the corner.

Answering that she did add it wasn’t okay. Answering that she didn’t add it wasn’t okay either. Vanessa had instantly beaten Mirexia into stammering nonsense.

It was related to how Mirexia had been raised since childhood. She was far too restrained and far too shy about these things. The moment she got flirted with, her brain jammed and she couldn’t make a sound.

Vanessa smiled without speaking, unhurriedly taking an elegant sip of tea. She set the cup down and chuckled. “The flavor’s really different~ Little Mirexia, do you want to taste what mine tastes like?”

“?!” Mirexia’s cheeks flushed scarlet as she stared at the rim Vanessa’s lips had touched. Her mind filled with nothing but Vanessa’s tempting, petal-soft lips.

[Virtue +200]

[Current Virtue: 9344]

Pfft. It was just a joke. Why did it add so much? Don’t tell me Mirexia took it seriously~?

Vanessa looked at Mirexia with amusement, still watching her with those bewitching yet holy eyes, bright and captivating.

Then, seeing Mirexia still not moving or speaking, Vanessa lifted the teacup and drank the rest of the tea.

“Looks like Little Mirexia is disgusted by me. Even though when we were kids we ate the same cookie before. Fine~ Forget it—pretend I never said anything.” Vanessa set down the cup, now empty, and smiled.

For some reason, Mirexia’s heart filled with annoyance and regret.

If... she’d decided faster just now... would it have—

No, no—what was she even thinking?!

[Virtue +100]

[Current Virtue: 9444]

Huh? Why was there still Virtue popping?

Vanessa watched Mirexia with a deeper, meaningful look.

Ahh~ Her adorable childhood friend didn’t actually take that joke seriously, did she?

She really was unbearably cute.

“So... why did you come so suddenly?” Mirexia took a long time to recover. Maybe she was trying to change the subject, or maybe she was trying to redirect her own attention. She threw out the question she’d wanted to ask earlier. “You came before dawn.”

“That’s... a long story,” Vanessa said, flicking the little teaspoon in her hand as her brows rose.

“Little Mirexia, do you remember my cute Moon Elf roommate?”

“Mm.” Mirexia fell silent for a moment, then gave a low, muffled “mm.”

Mirexia’s personality was always like this—brief, economical speech—but Vanessa’s mind was delicate and sharp, and she still noticed something off.

That was: Mirexia paused—more precisely, she went quiet for about half a second—before answering with a somewhat perfunctory “mm.”

[Virtue +50]

[Current Virtue: 9494]

The Virtue that increased next further confirmed Vanessa’s suspicion.

Did she say something wrong?

But there wasn’t a problem with the immediate line, was there?

If she hadn’t said something wrong just now, then something she’d said earlier made that line sound “wrong” to Mirexia.

Vanessa figured it out in under two seconds.

“Of course... my childhood friend is still the cutest~” Vanessa said with a sweet, sincere smile.

“......”

[Virtue +80]

[Current Virtue: 9574]

When Vanessa saw Mirexia’s expression—like she’d been firmly held in her grip~—Vanessa finally relaxed internally, knowing her judgment was right.

It really was her fault for laying a minefield for herself. Earlier, for the sake of farming Virtue while flirting, she kept calling Mirexia “my cutest childhood friend.” Now she’d said Dale was cute too, so Mirexia naturally felt like Vanessa called everyone cute—like the word “cute” coming out of her mouth was cheap.

Vanessa couldn’t help feeling a little helpless, like she’d lifted a rock only to smash her own foot.

But whether she said Dale was cute or Mirexia was cute, it was the truth. Among the Destiny Heroines, those two had bottom-tier aggressiveness. Dale was even more extreme—she claimed to be second-from-last, and no one dared claim to be last.

Anyone she could hold in her grip~ felt cute to her. Anyone she couldn’t, didn’t—like Aesphyra. No matter what, Vanessa would never think that woman was cute.

Like earlier with the tea—when she suggested Mirexia taste her tea—only Mirexia and Dale would blush and fall silent. If it were Aesphyra... Vanessa didn’t even dare imagine what that woman would do.

Watching Mirexia’s reactions, Vanessa had the feeling she’d cleared a checkpoint.

Lately, she kept feeling like her conversations with the Destiny Heroines had turned into walking a tightrope. She didn’t know if it was just her imagination.

“She had a problem back in the cube space. The Church’s low-level nuns and priests were helpless about it, so I turned into Vanessa and cured her. But it wasn’t time yet, and I couldn’t appear in front of her... so I came to find you, Little Mirexia,” Vanessa explained.

“I see.” Mirexia nodded. She understood this really was Vanessa’s usual style.

Someone as kind as Vanessa wouldn’t sit by and watch her roommate die.

As for how Dale was doing afterward, Mirexia felt she didn’t need to ask. After all, the Saintess had personally stepped in—how could Dale still have anything wrong?

“By the way, Little Mirexia... have you been really busy lately?”

“It’s fine. Recently, because of the sudden incident before, it’s naturally been a bit busy. Besides my duties as Student Council President, I’m also counting how many Camella Kingdom nobles returned,” Mirexia said.

“Is it... not looking good?”

“Fortunately, most of them came back. It’s just a small portion.” Mirexia paused.

“Does that include Caron?” Vanessa asked after a brief silence.

“That’s right.” Mirexia froze for a moment, then nodded. After that, she stared at Vanessa with hesitation.

Mirexia understood what Vanessa saying this meant—Vanessa knew some hidden details, and she had something she wanted to say.

“Little Mirexia... Caron probably isn’t coming back.” Vanessa’s tone tightened. The playfulness vanished, replaced by a more formal weight.

“What happened?” Mirexia also straightened, asking solemnly.

Caron was the son of the Dragon-Knights commander of Camella Kingdom. By status, he could easily be counted among the high nobility—practically a close retainer of the king. If something happened to him, it definitely wasn’t a small matter.

“Little Mirexia, I personally also desperately hope that our Camella Kingdom nobles simply couldn’t come back because of an unexpected accident—and that they all died gloriously while protecting others. But unfortunately... not everyone’s situation is like that.” Vanessa shook her head.

“So in the cube space... what exactly happened?” Hearing Vanessa say that much, Mirexia realized the problem was serious. Her brows knit tightly.