"Ah, so you finally remembered? I thought you'd already forgotten all about it. After all, compared to a beautiful woman, a mere mission must seem completely insignificant, right?" Sitting on the sofa with one hand propped under her chin, Ayase smirked coldly at the timid Chu Lian, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"H-hey, I remembered now, didn't I? It's not that late." Chu Lian raised both hands in surrender. Right now, Ayase was clearly in a bad mood—arguing back would only make things worse. No matter how strong she was, inside the system space, she could never defeat the invincible Ayase. Resistance was futile.
"Not that late, huh? Sure, it's not. At this rate, even if you never finish your mission, you can still say it wasn't that long, right?" Ayase scoffed, eyes glinting as she looked at the girl lowering her head before her. A faint smile tugged at her lips—this girl really was easy to tease.
"Good sister, I was really wrong this time. I'll accept any punishment you decide." Chu Lian had no excuses—it was her fault. If Ayase wanted to give her a hard time, that was only natural. She'd completely forgotten about something this important—of course Ayase would be furious.
"Oh? You'll accept any punishment?" Ayase raised an eyebrow, her smirk turning playful and slightly seductive, a teasing gleam in her eyes.
"As long as it'll make you forgive me, I'll do anything you say." Hearing that, Chu Lian felt a wave of relief. If she could just calm Ayase down, everything would be fine. From now on, she told herself, she had to check her mission log constantly—never again would she forget a task.
"Then come here." Ayase curled a finger toward her.
Chu Lian obediently stepped forward, stopping right in front of her.
Ayase leaned in close, her lips almost brushing against Chu Lian's ear. A soft breath of air caressed her skin, making her whole body stiffen before Ayase murmured in a low, bewitching tone, "Didn't you say yesterday that you liked being licked? You even mentioned wanting Chu Chu to…"
Her words made Chu Lian's heart jolt violently. Wait—was Ayase really going to—?
"How could you even think that, silly girl? When you've got the aura of a queen, then maybe. But for now…" Ayase chuckled softly. "I'll be the one getting licked~."
She lightly traced Chu Lian's earlobe with her tongue, and the girl's knees instantly weakened, collapsing into her arms.
"Coming right into my arms, hmm? Little Lian'er is so adorable—so eager to experience this kind of thing already?" Ayase whispered against her ear, her voice like honey. The more Chu Lian listened, the redder her face became.
"W-wait, Ayase… right here? Right now?" Her eyes flickered nervously toward Ayase's delicate bare feet. They were undeniably beautiful, and though the thought wasn't unpleasant, the idea of doing something like that here was mortifying.
"Well, well, I didn't expect my Little Lian'er to be so bold—wanting to do this in public?" Ayase tilted her head in mock surprise. She had only been teasing, but now that Chu Lian's reaction sounded half-serious, she couldn't help but wonder if this girl had simply spent too much time around those shameless girls outside.
"Ahh, I was wrong! Ayase, I shouldn't have forgotten about the mission, or waited this long to come here…" Chu Lian quickly realized that Ayase was teasing her, and she could only protest with an embarrassed whine.
"Oh, but I heard you promise, didn't I? So whenever I feel like it, you'll have to do it, okay?" Ayase's beautiful eyes shimmered faintly as she pressed her soft lips close to Chu Lian's ear again, whispering in that same alluring voice, each word brushing warmly against her skin until even Chu Lian felt herself wavering.
Thankfully, both of them knew this wasn't the time for fooling around. After a moment, they pulled back and composed themselves, making sure not to let the sultry tension cloud their focus.
They were merely using flirtation to deepen their connection—but poor Shiroha was the one who suffered for it.
Without a true independent personality—or even a definite gender—Shiroha had no way to process what was happening. It could understand every word they said, but once they started using those strange tones, its logic completely broke down.
Though its self-configuration described it as a "beautiful, knowledgeable, kind, elegant, twin-tailed blonde tsundere young lady," that was only a setting—not a real personality.
Without an independent personality, Shiroha possessed only a soul—one that longed to become sentient—but it had no understanding of human emotions. How could something like that possibly grasp the meaning of affection between people?
So as it watched the two grow so intimate and listened to their exchanges, Shiroha didn't know how to respond or interpret what it heard. Instead, it simply spammed the screen with emoticons like "/(ㄒoㄒ)/~~", "(;′⌒`)".
Sometimes it would even fill the display with long strings of ellipses, as if hoping that by mimicking human expressions, it could somehow understand what emotions felt like.
But no matter how much it tried, nothing worked. In the end, Shiroha could only record every word exchanged between Chu Lian and Ayase, storing it away in the faint hope that one day it might comprehend the meaning behind them.
If it ever gained a truly independent personality, perhaps it could finally experience what those feelings were like.
Even if it was all in vain, the process of thinking and observing at least gave it something to pass the time with—and, in the meantime, it had collected a massive library of reaction memes. That alone would make future conversations with it much more entertaining.
Thankfully, the two who had just finished their little flirtatious interlude hadn't forgotten the real reason they were here. Chu Lian stood up from Ayase's embrace, her face so red it seemed ready to drip blood. After taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, she was promptly shooed toward Shiroha by an Ayase who clearly had no patience for her bashful fluster.
"Cough, Shiroha, check my hidden-class quest progress for me. I think I might've finished it by now?"
"Hidden-class quest: The Mysterious Merchant Who Walks Through Time — Spacetime Traveling Merchant: A trader capable of freely conducting business across multiple worlds. They possess countless extraordinary goods, and as long as you can pay the price, you can obtain anything you desire. (Note: Any item not available in the system exchange may be purchased through this method.)
"Transfer Requirements: Experience with spacetime travel, spatial abilities, access to multiple item channels, and potential to rival the gods. (Requirements Met)"
"Quest Objectives: To become a successful Spacetime Traveling Merchant, you must explore many lands and buy and sell goods you acquire along the way."
"Distance traveled: 50,000 / 50,000 km (Completed); Sales revenue: 8.75 / 10 million yuan (Incomplete); Cities visited: 96 / 100 (Incomplete); Countries visited: 4 / 8 (Incomplete); Experience one instance of spacetime travel (Completed)."
"Rewards upon Completion: World Affinity, Spacetime Shuttle, Fair Trade, Mysterious Shop, Beginner Merchant License."
"Pfft—ahhh! I still have three unfinished objectives! I'm doomed!" Chu Lian froze, staring blankly at the quest list.
She had barely checked this mission since it began, assuming that the study trip would naturally cover enough distance and cities to finish it. She had thought completion was guaranteed.
But she hadn't expected the entire journey to spiral into chaos right from the first day. Halfway through, everything had gone wrong, and they'd been forced to return early—leaving the quest incomplete.
"You're only realizing that now? It's a long-term quest, so eventually you'll complete it, sure. But… did you know that two of the rewards are things you'll definitely need in just a few days?"
Ayase opened one eye, looking at the petrified Chu Lian with faint amusement as she calmly reminded her.
"Wait, hold on—you're saying two of my rewards are things I'll need soon? What are you talking about? I don't remember anything like that!" Chu Lian's expression twisted in alarm as she jumped to her feet.
Impossible. She hadn't scheduled anything that would require such abilities in the near future. How could she possibly need them?
"See? You never pay attention to your own affairs. Think back—two days ago, when you finished those other missions, what did you leave unfinished at the end?" Folding her arms, Ayase closed her eyes again and sighed in exasperation.
"Two days ago… when I completed those quests?" Chu Lian tried to recall, then suddenly froze. "Right! I remember now—when I was about to check the S-rank dungeon Overlord, Inori woke me up, and I completely forgot about it afterward. The dungeon mission doesn't have a time limit, so I didn't bother checking again…"
Her voice trailed off, growing smaller and smaller. Wait—what did she just say? No time limit? Yeah right! There was no way it didn't have a time limit!
"Finally figured it out, have you? Even the Hogwarts Admission Letter had a September 1st enrollment deadline. Of course other dungeons have their own time limits too. Honestly…" Ayase rubbed her forehead, speechless at how oblivious Chu Lian could be to something so obvious.
"I just… had too much going on lately, alright? My brain short-circuited a little, that's all…" Chu Lian lay flat on the ground in a '(:з)∠)' pose, completely defeated.
"Then what are you still spacing out for? Go check the dungeon requirements already." In the blink of an eye, Ayase appeared behind her, grabbed her ankle, and lifted her upside down.
Her pure white panties flashed beneath her flipped skirt—but Chu Lian didn't even care anymore. Nothing mattered more right now than the dungeon.
"S-Rank Dungeon: Overlord. Access qualification for the Overlord dungeon unlocked. This is a world with an SS-level danger rating—please proceed with caution. However, since this mission was unlocked as a promotion from the A-rank dungeon Harry Potter, its base difficulty remains A, though it can be adjusted freely by the host."
"Main Quest ① (Protagonist Side): Seize the world item artifact Downfall of Castle and Country. Difficulty Level A. Quest Reward: World Item Artifact Downfall of Castle and Country."
"Main Quest ② (Protagonist Side): Eliminate all external forces of the Slane Theocracy. Difficulty Level A. Quest Reward: S-rank Title I Am Nonhuman."
"Main Quest ① (Human Side): Join the Slane Theocracy and assist in controlling Shalltear. Difficulty Level A. Quest Reward: S-rank Title I Am Human."
"Main Quest ② (Human Side): Destroy twenty demi-human villages, totaling ten thousand casualties. Difficulty Level A. Quest Reward: S-rank Title The Butcher."
"Side Quest (Neutral): Slay a dragon within the Overlord world. Difficulty Level S. Quest Reward: A dragon's entire body is treasure enough; full Dragon Slayer set awarded."
"Optional Quest ①: Destroy the Slane Theocracy completely and restore peace. Difficulty Level S. Quest Reward: SS-rank Title I Am the True Nonhuman."
"Optional Quest ②: Expose the threat of Nazarick and unite humanity. Difficulty Level Unknown. Quest Reward: SS-rank Title The Strategist."
"Optional Quest ③: Kill Ainz Ooal Gown. Difficulty Level SS. Quest Reward: SS-rank Title The Girl Is Human."
"Optional Quest ④: Clear the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Difficulty Level SSS. Quest Reward: All items and treasures obtained post-battle may be taken back."
"Optional Quest ⑤: Recapture Shalltear. Difficulty Level SS. Quest Reward: A true melee vampire loli, purified and free of all monstrous transformations."
"Optional Quest ⑥: Conquer the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Difficulty Level SSS. Quest Reward: A harem of genderbent skeleton girls and all of their collective property."
"Optional Quest ⑦: Defeat the Six Great Gods through time travel. Difficulty Level SSS. Quest Reward: SSS-rank Title The Hidden Boss."
"Optional Quest ⑧: Eliminate Zuranon and cause humanity to distrust the Slane Theocracy. Difficulty Level A. Quest Reward: S-rank Aura Skeleton Slayer."
"Optional Quest ⑨: Annihilate the Black, Sunlight, and Windflower Scriptures. Difficulty Level S. Quest Reward: Queen's Blood."
"Optional Quest ⑩: Become Ruler of Humanity. Difficulty Level SS. Quest Reward: Grip of the Emperor."
"Optional Quest ⑪: Conquer the World (available only after completing Conquer Nazarick and Become Ruler of Humanity). Quest Reward: A portable world and +30 Goddess Value."
"Dungeon Activation Time: 76 / 120 hours remaining. Required Skill: Spacetime Shuttle. Note: The dungeon's protagonist possesses an extremely powerful protagonist aura. To move freely and complete objectives, sufficient World Affinity is essential—otherwise, you may be treated as a hostile entity. Increase World Affinity before entering."
"Entry Options: Player may choose Human Side or Protagonist Side. Main Quests must be completed. At least one Side Quest and one Optional Quest are mandatory."
"Ayase, can we… maybe change the quest requirements a bit? Like, remove all the S-rank and above side and optional missions? It's just… there's so many of them, and I'll get exhausted~" Hanging upside down, Chu Lian looked up pitifully, trying her best to sound cute.
"Remove them? Nonsense. SS and SSS missions shouldn't be a problem for you. The rewards are incredibly generous, after all." Ayase glanced at her white underwear with a smirk, then dropped her onto the ground. Chu Lian landed right back in her '(:з)∠)' pose, as Ayase smiled sweetly down at her.
"I'll die, I'll die, I'll die if I take those on!" Chu Lian wailed dramatically. Those missions weren't challenges—they were suicide!
"Really? How do you know if you don't even try?" Ayase crouched beside her, twirling a lock of her hair between her fingers and speaking softly. In her mind, the missions didn't seem that hard—so why was this girl acting like it was the end of the world?
But then it hit her—Chu Lian hadn't even read the entire dungeon description yet. No wonder she looked so hopeless.
"Forget it. I can't explain everything. Just read the final note in the dungeon details, and you'll understand." Ayase flicked her on the forehead as a reminder.
"Oh, right! I didn't check the last part yet!" Jumping to her feet, Chu Lian eagerly pulled up the final section of the dungeon details, her mood instantly brightening…