"Hey, hey, Princess Homebody, what exactly was written in that book that could make you so flustered?"
After paying Cipher for guiding everyone to Styxia, they left Castorice's home and returned to the streets of Okhema.
Recalling the scene in the room just now, Cipher couldn't suppress her curiosity and couldn't help but ask Castorice.
Princess Homebody was a Chrysos Heir after all, right? Such a flustered appearance, how could she maintain her dignity!
Of course, the main point definitely wasn't this, but the content of that book.
Something that could make a Chrysos Heir so flustered, if she said she wasn't curious, it would definitely be a lie, right?
Hearing Cipher's words, Castorice secretly glanced at Lumina without leaving a trace.
Seeing that her face still bore that gentle smile, as if nothing had happened just now, she turned her attention back to Cipher and answered her request.
"No, it's nothing."
Faced with this request from Cipher, Castorice chose to refuse without hesitation, very decisively.
Looking at it was definitely not allowed, Castorice would rather die than let anyone see this kind of thing.
Although Sister Lumina, the main person involved, had already seen it just now...
Thinking of this, Castorice glanced at Lumina again.
Then, with her cheeks flushed and ears burning, she retracted her gaze.
Even now, even while feeling the gentle breeze of Okhema stroking her cheeks, the blush on Castorice's face had not completely faded.
This lingering blush seemed to tell everyone that she still couldn't fully recover from that sudden incident.
Precisely because of this, even after facing Castorice's completely unhesitating and extremely decisive refusal, Cipher's heart still itched with curiosity.
She was truly curious about what words were recorded in that book.
But Castorice's lips were now sealed as if they had been glued shut with some powerful adhesive, not allowing a single word to escape, which made Cipher feel extremely depressed.
At the same time, the itch in her heart grew even stronger.
The more mysterious Castorice acted, the more curious Cipher became.
If she had just calmly and openly spoken about it without any emotion, Cipher might not have been this curious.
But right now, Cipher's curiosity had been completely aroused by Castorice.
Realizing she wouldn't get any answers from Castorice, Cipher turned her gaze to Lumina.
With a single step, she instantly appeared beside Lumina, asking her with a playful grin, "Sister Lumina~ What did you see in that book back then?"
"This Little Kitten is very curious, will you tell me?"
Cipher looked at Lumina expectantly, striking a cute pose like a little kitten.
It seemed she had identified Lumina's preferences and was launching a targeted assault.
Feeling Cipher's actions, Castorice looked at Lumina with a slightly nervous expression.
She was worried Lumina would reveal what happened...
Even though Lumina herself, the central figure in the book, already knew, it was still better for fewer people to know about this kind of thing...
If it gotten out, Castorice wouldn't just want to dig a hole to bury herself in, she wouldn't even have the face to stay on Okhema...
Though as a Chrysos Heir, she would certainly never leave Okhema.
But the amount of time she spent shutting herself at home would definitely increase.
Castorice still needed a little bit of social interaction, after all.
Fortunately, the thing Castorice feared did not happen.
Faced with Cipher's cute act, Lumina unexpectedly resisted the temptation of her beauty, gently shook her head, and said, "I don't know. The stories recorded inside aren't worth telling."
As soon as Lumina spoke, the few people on the scene immediately showed completely different reactions.
Castorice breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Cipher felt it was a great pity.
Herta, on the other hand, thought more highly of Lumina.
She actually wasn't tempted by beauty? Did the sun rise from the west today?
Wait, Okhema's sun never seems to set anyway.
Herta felt very surprised in her heart that Lumina had rejected a beautiful girl.
But on second thought, she rejected this beautiful girl for the sake of another beautiful girl... Thinking about it this way, it didn't seem to be anything surprising.
If she had rejected a beautiful girl for something that wasn't a beautiful girl, that would be something truly surprising, shocking, and praiseworthy.
Herta muttered to herself, finally fully understanding Lumina's personality.
The only thing that could stop Lumina from cuddling with a beautiful girl was cuddling with another beautiful girl.
Hmm... Then why does Lumina always ignore me?
Am I not a beautiful girl?
Thinking about this, a nameless anger suddenly rose in Herta's heart.
This guy, Little Lumina, could it be that she's specifically targeting me...
Being treated differently by Lumina, Herta felt both joy and displeasure in her heart.
Joy that she was special to Lumina, worth specifically targeting.
Displeasure that Lumina treated her differently...
Herta lowered her head, her bangs covering her eyes, making it impossible for anyone to see through her eyes and know what she was thinking.
"Uh... alright, alright~"
"If it's not something worth saying aloud, then let's not talk about it~"
Herta's appearance didn't attract everyone's attention. Even though Lumina noticed Herta's behavior, she didn't say anything.
Hearing Lumina's words tinged with a hint of amusement, Cipher also knew that asking Lumina would definitely yield no results. So she waved her hand and stopped dwelling on the matter.
At least... on the surface, that was how it looked.
But secretly, Cipher was calculating that after dealing with Styxia's matters, she would steal the notebook that Castorice had placed in the drawer before Castorice returned home.
Anyway, it's all text inside. As long as I'm fast enough to read it and put it back before Castorice returns home, it will be fine.
Stealing is only called stealing if you get caught.
If no one finds out, can it still be called stealing?
That is called my supreme genius predicting the contents of your book.
"Sir... Sir Cipher, let's not waste any more time." Seeing Cipher no longer dwelling on the matter, a bad premonition suddenly rose in Castorice's heart.
Although she didn't know what Cipher was thinking, Castorice felt it definitely wasn't anything good.
So she quickly spoke up to change the subject.
Speaking of which... does her bedroom door have a lock?
Castorice wondered.
Although the place she lived in was practically the safest in all of Okhema, the least likely place for a thief to appear, but... what if Lady Cipher became that thief?
Because of this bad premonition, Castorice's mind wandered into a train of wild thoughts.
"Um... no, no, that's too rude."
"Lady Cipher... she probably isn't that kind of person."
But soon, Castorice shook these wild thoughts out of her mind.
Such thoughts were extremely rude, and Castorice didn't know why she had even made the connection.
Was it because she really didn't want anyone else to see the contents of that book?
That was probably it. Castorice now regretted why she had acted on a whim and written such a story in a single night...
The best solution now would be to directly cremate this doujinshi. As long as the object completely disappeared, she wouldn't have to worry about the issue of exposure at all.
But, but Castorice couldn't bear to do it.
After all, this was... the result of her own hard work over a single night. To let the results of her hard work, especially the results involving her and Sister Lumina, be put into the fire and completely cremated, Castorice really couldn't bear it.
"Um..."
In any case, no matter what, she should stop thinking about this.
Let's focus on the task at hand. Perhaps on this trip to Styxia, she wouldn't even be able to come back...
After an embrace, comes an eternal parting.
The Prophecy of the Chrysos Heirs, unique to Castorice.
Perhaps this prophecy would be fulfilled on this trip.
Castorice had a premonition in her heart, but it stirred no waves of emotion within her.
She seemed to have already prepared herself.
"Now is the time." Cipher didn't waste any more words, waving her hand gently to signal that they could now head to Styxia.
Hearing this, Castorice snapped back to her senses, her gaze sweeping over Lumina, Stelle, and the others, silently asking for their opinions.
After receiving a series of confirming glances, Castorice nodded to Cipher and said softly, "Yes, Lady Cipher, let's go."
"Come on, come on, Princess Homebody. You can go and get ready first. Once you're prepared, come to the outskirts of Okhema City."
"I'll be waiting for you there."
With a final gesture from Cipher, her entire figure vanished without a trace. Aside from the fragrance lingering in the air, it was as if she had never existed at all.
"Miss Cipher... truly comes and goes like the wind," Castorice couldn't help but sigh.
"Yeah, she really does," Lumina echoed, sighing along with her.
Looking at the aura Cipher had left behind, a hint of regret flashed through Lumina's eyes, but it vanished without a trace almost immediately.
To have reached this level of intimacy on their first meeting was already quite good.
Dealing with a little kitten, Lumina didn't even need to devise a special plan. Once she got a chance to be alone with Cipher later, wouldn't she be able to win her over easily?
After winning over Cipher, she'd feel like she'd pretty much conquered all the beautiful girls in Amphoreus.
Thinking this, Lumina stole a glance at Mem without leaving a trace, then withdrew her gaze, ensuring Mem herself didn't notice.
Her gaze fell on Castorice, and Lumina asked with a smile, "This journey might be risky, Little Sister Castorice, is there anything you need to prepare?"
"Although time is tight, it's not like we can't spare some. A little preparation will give us more countermeasures when we encounter danger."
At this moment, Lumina was just like a parent, giving her child one instruction after another.
...Maybe "just like" can be removed. How can an older sister not be a guardian?
"N-no, I don't need to prepare anything." Hearing Sister Lumina's instructions one by one, Castorice felt extremely warm, and no feeling of annoyance arose in her heart because of this.
With such a gentle voice and such a beautiful appearance, no one would ever feel annoyed by this continuous nagging.
If they did, they should be beaten severely, beaten until they stopped... Sister Lumina is so kindly reminding you, and you still dare to feel annoyed? You're asking for a beating, aren't you!
"Sister Lumina, Big Sister Herta, Miss Stelle, do you need to prepare anything?" Castorice asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
"Then... let's go. Let's go find Lady Cipher outside the city."
-
Amphoreus, Okhema, outside the city.
After searching for a while, the group soon found Cipher.
"Ah, the sun is shining brightly. What a perfect time for a farewell."
"Do we need to say goodbye to Aglaea?"
Stelle asked as she approached Cipher.
"No, no need. I've already informed her, and she has no objections." Cipher answered with a beaming smile, her hands on her hips.
Then her gaze fell upon Castorice, and the smile completely vanished from her face. Her expression slumped in frustration as she said, "Sigh... Castorice."
"You've really presented me with a super difficult problem."
"I want to take you on a journey, but I can't actually touch you. How troublesome."
Even as the Demigod of [Trickery], Cipher was still affected by Castorice's [Death].
This had nothing to do with strength; it was like a [Rule]. As long as a touch occurred, death would be triggered. No matter how powerful a person was, they could not avoid it.
At least, that was how Cipher saw it.
"...Sorry." Hearing this, Castorice's face slumped, and she murmured an apology full of regret.
"Heh heh heh, just teasing you, don't take it to heart." Cipher chuckled, not dwelling further on the topic.
After that, she immediately continued, "You know, according to the myths, to allow the dead to cross the River Styx smoothly, an Obolus must be placed in their mouth or over their eyes..."
With that, Cipher extended her small hand, opening her palm to reveal four small coins: "Here, for you. Take them."
"This is the fee to the Underworld. We'll just pretend for the sake of it."
Seeing this, Stelle reached out, took the coins from Cipher's palm, and then handed one to Castorice.
Next, her gaze turned to Lumina and Herta.
"..."
Lumina and Herta exchanged a glance, and after a silent understanding, they took the coins.
"Alright, alright, the fast-track journey straight to the Underworld is about to depart!"
"Come on, give me the coins. After I check the tickets, we can get started."
Cipher stretched out her little hand to the group, gesturing for them to return the coins.
Seeing this, everyone handed the coins back to Cipher without any hesitation.
After taking the coins, she put them away again.
Cipher's gaze fell upon Castorice: "Princess Homebody, before you go, let me give you a piece of advice~"
"The wind can't be waited for. Since you've come to the human realm, don't waste your life away, okay?"
Swoosh!
Before Castorice or anyone else could say a word, a sharp sound of something slicing through the air rang out, and Castorice's figure vanished from everyone's sight.
"Huh?" Feeling the sudden disappearance of Castorice beside her, Stelle blinked in confusion.
But before she could even react, another swoosh sounded, and Stelle also vanished from where she stood...