Yuna looked up at the ceiling.
"I survived… I succeeded."
She breathed out shakily.
She didn't want to think about anything complicated. She didn't want to mull over her current situation. She was weary.
Her physical condition was better than ever.
Somehow, along with her plate being successfully forged, her body had been forged as well. Perhaps because circulating elements through her body had become second nature, her body had been unconsciously refined along the way. The scattering of her cells had made it easier to break her body down and reforge it, restructuring it to accommodate her plate in the most efficient manner.
Her body brimmed with elements, and with every breath, she inhaled the purest form of them. It had reached the point where simply breathing could make her level up.
The inside of her plate had also become boundless. Yuna couldn't even estimate how large or how sturdy it had become.
She caressed her chest.
The dimension stone was embedded in her body, positioned at the center of her chest.
What a perverted place to settle itself, tsk, Yuna snorted inwardly.
For now, she didn't sense any threatening energy from it. Instead, it had blended in seamlessly, melding into her body as though it were a natural part of her.
Yuna didn't know what the dimension stone could do, and she didn't want to tangle herself in complicated thoughts over it. Thinking was exhausting.
She had survived. She could live. That was all that mattered right now.
Her future self could worry about it later.
As for her present self—let's enjoy being alive.
Even if her future self wanted to slap her past self for this attitude, it wasn't like she could time travel anyway.
Yuna took a deep breath.
"It feels so good to be alive… in another world," she remarked.
She only knew that the dimension stone had trapped her in a place where time stood still. The sun never rose, and when she first regained consciousness, it was still the same dark night.
The trees around her had all withered, but Yuna knew exactly where she was in the forest. It was a place she liked to escape to, where she practiced her fire element alone—her temporary sanctuary in another world.
The forest was miles away from her home.
Yuna made her way back and reached her house after the sun had risen. It seemed that the frozen time had finally begun to move again once she regained consciousness.
As soon as she entered her house, she flopped onto her bed and sank into an exhausted, dreamless sleep. Her grandfather came to wake her, but Yuna barely budged. He could only shake his head and let his granddaughter sleep longer. After all, he was a doting grandfather.
A day and a half later, Zahia and Austin returned from the Moonlit Orchid expedition.
"I don't think that's how a Moonlit Orchid is supposed to look," Yuna commented innocently, acting oblivious to the intense stares from her master and Austin.
Their intuition is unnecessarily sharp, Yuna clicked her tongue inwardly.
She frowned and touched her face. "What? Is there something on my face?"
"What did you do while we went on the Moonlit Orchid expedition?" Zahia asked pointedly.
"What else? I waited for your store like you asked. I didn't slack off!" Yuna rolled her eyes.
"…There was a child," Zahia said slowly. "A very bold one. She came through a teleportation array, snatched a stone, and swallowed it to prevent it from exploding and implicating others…"
Her eyes searched Yuna's face for any sign of abnormal emotion.
Yuna, a mischievous child who had maintained a good-person façade for so long that the entire community praised her and used her as a role model, was unfazed by the scrutiny.
"Ugh… Is this a riddle or a story? Why are you acting so weird?" Yuna grumbled as usual.
Zahia placed her hand on Yuna's head and gently caressed it.
"It's good that you're behaving well and not courting disaster," Zahia said.
Her gaze on Yuna was heavy—almost suffocating—but Yuna didn't notice, as she never looked up. Zahia withdrew her hand and gaze as Yuna walked through the back door leading to her room.
"What's wrong with he—"
Yuna was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace before she could finish her sentence.
"It's good that you're fine, Yuna," Austin said, his voice muffled as his face buried into the crook of her neck.
"What's wrong with you?" Yuna grumbled, feeling uncomfortable with his face nuzzling her neck. She didn't dislike hugs, but she couldn't handle tight embraces or overly affectionate gestures.
Still, knowing she had worried them, she decided to endure it for a little while.
Ugh… my social anxiety really can't handle this much close proximity! Hurry up with the hugging, or I won't be able to control my reflexive repulsion!
"Right… what could happen to you…."
"I won't let it happen."
Austin replied with a smile in his voice, but Yuna didn't notice how his eyes darkened, his smile twisting almost imperceptibly.
"Yuna…" Austin whispered softly, as if wanting to say something more, but he stopped. If the person he had seen in the forest really was Yuna—if he had truly witnessed her body disintegrating—Austin didn't know what he would have become.
The apothecary and he had traveled nonstop without rest, driven solely by the need to ensure Yuna's safety. They had rushed back to Huin Town without pause.
Austin reluctantly pulled away from Yuna. He smiled softly, as if the grim, almost deranged expression from moments ago had never existed.
"I should head back. I'm quite tired," he said gently.
He needed to calm his restless emotions—otherwise…
With such turbulent feelings, Austin realized he had already grown addicted to Yuna. Should he continue indulging in this addiction? The thought brewed in his conflicted mind.
"Go back quickly! Why did you come here first? Do you know how worried your mother will be?" Yuna scolded him, secretly relieved that the uncomfortable hug had ended.
"Yeah."
Yuna let out a sigh of relief as she watched Austin leave.
I deserve an Oscar for my great acting, Yuna patted her chest in admiration.
She then slowly walked toward a man who had been thrown heavily onto the cold store floor by her master. He lay there, completely immobile.
Bending down, Yuna greeted him politely.
"Hello, mister."
Hello, fucker. Do you know I nearly died because of you? she snarled internally, glaring down at him.
The man—Louis—looked coldly at the child smiling sweetly at him, like a newborn calf unafraid of anything.
"Sensei! Who is this man? Does he need treatment?" Yuna asked loudly.
"What treatment? He's a criminal I caught," Zahia's rough voice came from behind the back door.
"Oh…" Yuna stretched lazily.
"If I don't do something to you, I'll feel like something is choking me," Yuna said softly to the man, clasping her hands together as if praying.
Louis, bound by a mute spell, could neither tell the sweet girl to get lost nor move. He could only watch coldly as she muttered incomprehensible things.
Yuna stood up, grabbed a pair of scissors, bent down again, seized a tuft of Louis's hair, and began cutting it haphazardly.
Louis's eyes widened.
He wanted to scream, You dare!, but he couldn't move or speak. He had no choice but to endure the humiliation of a mere child cutting and playing with his hair.
His eyes narrowed threateningly, but Yuna continued regardless.
"They say a man's hair is his pride and honor," Yuna said, patting his face. "My, my, what a nice haircut."
She raised her finger, her hand heating up and turning red.
Even though Louis was immobile, he could still feel the scorching heat as her fire-encased hand caressed his face.
With focused concentration, Yuna slowly and carefully carved words onto his face.
"Sensei! What's his name?" Yuna asked loudly.
"…Louis. Stop disturbing me!"
"Okay!"
Yuna grinned upon hearing the name. "Louis. What a nice name."
For a bitch.
With one final stroke, Yuna withdrew her hand, stood up, took out a small mirror, and placed it in front of Louis's face.
The moment Louis saw his reflection, rage and hatred erupted within his eyes. His glare locked onto Yuna, as if he wanted to tear her apart. Even after becoming a fugitive, he had been respected and feared—
But here… in this place…
Zahia's disciple.
He would remember her.
"Free tattoo, my man. No need to thank me," Yuna said shamelessly.
Carved onto the unruined side of Louis's face were the words:
I AM A BITCH, LOUIS THE SLUT
Seeing the twisted mix of hatred and humiliation on his face, Yuna felt refreshed, as though the grievances of the past few days had finally been alleviated.
"Don't be such a bitch next time, Louis the slut," Yuna whispered beside his ear, standing up with a satisfied expression.
Heh.
"Master, I'm leaving."
Yuna trotted out of the apothecary store in a good mood.
She advocated peace—and preferred to take revenge harmlessly.
She was a civilized person. ( ╹▽╹ )