"The Trickery... hasn't failed?"
At this moment, Okhema's Dawn remained unchanged, causing Cipher's exquisite little face to freeze instantly.
Although this was a good thing, how come... it was a bit different from what she'd imagined?
No, was... was this really a good thing?
The Authority of Trickery had suddenly been unaffected. Could Cipher think this was the precursor to a coming storm?
"Don't overthink it." Seeing the various thoughts crossing Cipher's face, Lumina felt somewhat speechless.
Why did this little kitten enjoy overthinking so much?
The way her face had gone ashen just now, she must have been imagining something like the end of the world, or the scenes of friends and family dying before her eyes, right?
Now, judging by her expression, she must be thinking that this current silence was laying the groundwork for subsequent chaos.
Facing this, Lumina smiled.
She reached out her small hand, gently placed it on Cipher's head, and began to rub it softly.
Her voice was gentle as she spoke: "Hey, Cipher little kitten, do you know why Okhema's Dawn still exists?"
Hearing this, Cipher looked up at Lumina.
In her eyes, which sparkled more beautifully than gems, a hint of worry and fear was revealed.
Her first reaction upon hearing these words was not curiosity, but fear.
She feared that all of this was just a hallucination born as she neared collapse, feared that all of this was just a facade... feared that Lumina was teasing her.
Seeing this scene, Lumina still wore that same gentle smile.
Looking at the face so close before her, it was inevitable that some... unspeakable emotions would arise in her heart.
But there were still several beautiful girls behind her. If she did something to Cipher in front of them, it would be a bit troublesome.
Feeling the increasingly piercing glares from behind her, Lumina also consciously suppressed the unspeakable emotion that had been born for Cipher in her heart.
But unspeakable emotions were unspeakable emotions, and not doing anything to Cipher was not doing anything to Cipher.
The only things she couldn't do were some excessive things.
Some things that weren't so excessive could definitely still be done casually.
Lumina leaned her head forward, moving to a position less than a few centimeters from Cipher's face.
At this distance, as long as Cipher slightly pursed her lips, she would gently touch that very thing the beautiful girls behind her so desperately craved...
But regarding this, Cipher didn't seem to have any thoughts at all.
Feeling the warm breath emanating from Cipher, feeling the breath of her breathing brushing against her face, and feeling the gazes of the beautiful girls behind her, Lumina's heart was suddenly filled with a sensation of both cold and heat.
It made one want to drown in it uncontrollably.
This feeling was extremely comfortable, giving Lumina a new kind of experience.
It left Lumina somewhat... unable to stop.
Of course, even if it were for this feeling, she couldn't just casually do such a thing.
Because Lumina had already sensed it, sensed that one of those gazes behind her was gradually becoming extremely dangerous...
Without a doubt, although Lumina didn't turn her head, she still knew the owner of this gradually becoming dangerous gaze.
Little Herta.
Other than her, no one else would be like this, so it could be considered normal.
Although Lumina didn't care much, come what may, no matter how dangerous, wouldn't she still be easily suppressed by me in the end?
Lumina had her own pride.
But for a beautiful girl, this pride could be set aside if needed.
So, although Lumina didn't mind, she still had to exercise a little control.
"Umu..."
Feeling Lumina's beauty at such close range, even Cipher, who had already fallen into a state of worry and anxiety, couldn't help but tremble slightly in her heart.
Her originally pale and bloodless little face actually started to turn a rosy red at this moment.
Seeing this scene with Cipher, the people behind Lumina did not show the slightest surprise.
Succubi are just like this.
It was just a matter of common sense, and there was nothing surprising about it.
Seeing the blush on Cipher's face, Lumina was very satisfied.
Although Lumina wanted to continue maintaining this posture with Cipher and keep silent, seeing what Cipher would become under such circumstances.
But the gazes from behind were simply too intense, so this idea could only wait until next time.
Lumina smiled and gave the answer as to why Okhema was still Dawn: "Because... I am the most special existence in Miss Cipher's heart."
"As the most special existence, isn't it perfectly normal not to be affected by some normal things?"
"Huh?" Hearing this explanation, Cipher froze completely.
What... what kind of answer was this?
The answer Cipher wanted was for Lumina to tell her personally, to promise her personally, that Okhema would absolutely not suffer the danger of world destruction because of this problem.
"You..."
"Hehe."
Cipher's lips parted slightly, wanting to say something.
But Lumina seemed to have sensed her thoughts, and after a soft chuckle, she withdrew all the actions she had been performing on Cipher.
In an instant, the warmth that had been continuously coming from her head vanished, the warmth wrapping around her body vanished, the warmth in front of her and the stunningly beautiful face that had occupied her entire vision vanished... The feeling of all the warmth vanishing caused a sense of emptiness to suddenly surface in Cipher's heart...
Fortunately, the aura Lumina left behind prevented Cipher from immediately losing her composure.
"Huu..."
Looking up at the sky that was still Dawn at this moment, Cipher let out a deep sigh of relief in her heart.
Although she didn't know exactly how this person named Lumina had managed it, she definitely hadn't lied.
The Authority of Trickery had been exposed by her, yet the lie achieved through Trickery remained unbroken... For such a situation to occur, Cipher, as a Demigod of Trickery, could only think of one possibility.
That was that Lumina did not exist within the Rules of Trickery.
In this way, even if a lie achieved through Trickery was spoken from her mouth, it would not cause any effect on this already realized lie...
As for why Lumina did not exist within the Rules of Trickery, Cipher was not particularly clear about it.
Cipher roughly guessed that perhaps Lumina's strength was simply too great, and the Rules of Trickery simply did not dare to include her...
Thinking about it this way, wasn't her previous plan to steal something from her just like a joke...
Cipher muttered in her heart.
Now she had completely understood why, when she had finished her conversation with Agy and was preparing to leave, Agy had specifically instructed her not to do anything to Sister Lumina...
Back then, as soon as she heard those words... well, during her conversation with Agy, Cipher's curiosity had already been piqued by Lumina.
Agy called her "Sister," after all. For such a heavyweight figure, Cipher definitely had to go see her.
Especially since Agy had specifically warned her not to do anything to her, Cipher's curiosity skyrocketed.
This was the first time Cipher had ever felt such intense curiosity about a person.
Ultimately, after meeting Lumina, Cipher's intense curiosity was finally satisfied.
She took another look at Okhema, filled with the light of Dawn, and after confirming there was truly no problem, she pressed her hands against the ground. With a sudden burst of strength from her hands and waist, she launched herself upward like a little kitten and landed steadily back on her feet.
With one hand on her hip, she used her other hand to swipe her thumb across her nose. In just a moment, she transformed from a gentle and cute house cat into a cool and edgy stray cat.
"?"
Cipher's instantaneous transformation made it difficult for everyone to connect the image of the abandoned, despondent little crying cat from moments ago with her current self.
"Why are you all staring at me? Go ahead and ask your questions," Cipher waved her hand, gesturing to them.
Hearing this, Castorice, Stelle, and Mem exchanged glances. If that scene hadn't just unfolded right beside them, they would have wondered if a long period of time had passed in the blink of an eye.
Without thinking further, since Cipher seemed to be fine, no one dwelled on the matter any longer.
Castorice spoke up, asking, "Miss Cipher, when will we be departing for Styxia?"
Castorice's voice was soft and gentle; though she did not lower her posture, she still managed to give off a feeling of extreme comfort.
Most people would likely find Castorice's manner of interaction very likable.
"Huh? When did I say I was going to Styxia with you?"
But Cipher didn't seem to be one of those people. In response to Castorice's question, Cipher retorted with a look of complete confusion.
"Besides, didn't I just say it?"
"Princess Homebody, don't tell me staying home has made you sickly?"
"Whoa! That won't do. How about I take you to the Twilight Courtyard for a proper check-up right now?"
Cipher's face was written with the word "concern," as if she were truly worried about Castorice's health.
If an outsider saw this, they would probably think they were best friends with a very close relationship.
"Huh?" Hearing Cipher's string of words, Castorice was momentarily stunned, her small mouth forming an "o" shape as she stared blankly, like firewood thrown into a heart's bonfire, making the flames burn even brighter...
Although this bonfire of the heart was something only Lumina possessed... the firewood released by Castorice's stunned expression only affected the flames in Lumina's heart.
But this had absolutely nothing to do with Castorice, as Lumina was like this with all beautiful girls.
To put it simply, this was the feeling of one's heart skipping a beat!
"What do you mean 'huh'? I'm showing you concern, Princess Homebody." After Castorice saw her embarrassing state just now, Cipher definitely still felt a bit bothered.
After suffering a loss at Lumina's hands, Cipher was afraid that if she went to provoke the other strangers, she would end up being ruthlessly played again.
Therefore, Cipher chose Castorice, whom she knew, as the target for her "revenge."
Among these few people, Castorice was the one Cipher was most familiar with, and she had naturally heard about Castorice's past actions in Okhema.
She also knew her personality well.
Cipher, as a Demigod of [Trickery], fully understood the principles of picking on the weak and taking out one's anger on the smallest target.
"Um... thank you for your concern." After being speechless for a long time, Castorice first softly thanked Cipher.
Then she hurriedly asked, "Miss Cipher, I..."
"Oh dear, Princess Homebody, you really are so boring." Seeing that Castorice not only failed to fight back after being treated this way but even thanked her, Cipher was momentarily stunned.
Then she came to her senses, interrupted the words Castorice was about to say, and sighed helplessly.
After returning to normal, she glanced at Lumina, waved her hand, and said, "Don't you have someone here with heaven-defying abilities?"
"With her here, why are you still worried about the problem of going to Styxia?"
Cipher hadn't harbored this doubt before, but after witnessing Lumina's recent actions, the question finally arose in her mind.
If someone transcends the rules of [Trickery], wouldn't it be a simple matter for them to take a few people to Styxia?
Why seek me out? Just to let me watch the show, or perhaps to be toyed with and played around by this person?
Cipher complained silently to herself.
No matter how she looked at it, this matter should have absolutely nothing to do with her.
"Because..." Hearing this, Castorice turned her gaze to Lumina.
"Because I am just an ordinary Little Physician, without any heaven-defying abilities like Miss Cipher," Lumina smiled, answering the question in Cipher's mind.
"..."
Cipher did not believe this explanation in the slightest.
She crossed her arms, turned her body sideways, and stared at Lumina with her small face tilted.
Her entire exquisite face was written with the question, "Do you really believe that?"
An ordinary Little Physician, huh? How could an ordinary Little Physician transcend the rules of [Trickery]? How did Cipher not know? How did Hyacine not know?
Not to mention, Hyacine was no ordinary Little Physician either.
Cipher believed in the Physician, but she did not believe in the "ordinary."
However, if "ordinary" meant someone who was ordinary under heaven yet could reach the heavens, then Cipher would believe it.
"Haha, alright, I was just joking." Feeling Cipher's gaze, Lumina gave a sheepish smile.
Then, with a completely serious and earnest expression, she explained, "Because we are pressed for time."
"Although I could also take them to Styxia, it would consume a vast amount of time, which clearly contradicts our primary goal of rushing."
"Therefore, in all of Amphoreus, only Miss Cipher, this 'Great God,' can help us!"
"Miss Cipher is beautiful and kind-hearted, and she also possesses the strength to stand tall and become a hero. Surely she will be eager to help us, right?"
Lumina spoke absolute nonsense with a completely serious and earnest expression, then cast an expectant gaze toward Cipher.