Starting a couple of days ago,
Kiana's house arrest had been lifted.
Though nowadays, in Shenzhou's coastal city of Sapphire City, there were still plenty of security personnel—both in plain sight and behind the scenes—keeping an eye on her due to her involvement in recent events.
But at least it wasn't like before, where everywhere she went—every shop, every stall—was staffed by undercover agents.
Bit by bit, the real citizens had returned to the streets.
That said, while people had gradually resumed their normal lives—whether going back to work, reopening their businesses, or carrying on with other daily routines—most still had no idea why those restrictions had been in place to begin with.
They just assumed some big shot must've passed through the area.
Sure, some grumbled about it under their breath, but what could they do? When orders come from above, you follow them.
In reality, though, both Kiana and Elysia looked quite different from the portraits revealed during the sky screen incident.
Most importantly, their aura and vibe just weren't the same. Unless you looked really closely, or already knew they were the ones from the video, you probably wouldn't recognize them even face-to-face.
In a way, that worked out perfectly.
Kiana and Elysia didn't even need to bother with disguises.
Just acting normal and natural was basically enough.
Sure, they were stunningly beautiful and had figures that clearly stood out—obviously not your average girls.
But pretty is pretty—
that doesn't automatically mean they're the real-life versions of those famous portraits.
No one would seriously think those larger-than-life figures were actually walking among them. It was a bit like hiding in plain sight.
Even Elysia, who had already made a name for herself in Fire Moth, had only joined relatively recently.
Though she was active and energetic, she hadn't truly stepped into the public eye just yet.
Things might get more complicated later on, but for now, this was more than enough.
"Take care, you two~"
"No need to come back for dinner if you don't want to."
"..."
Kiana's mother stood at the doorway, gently waving goodbye to the two girls.
Her warm advice carried a playful, teasing tone.
"And it's totally fine if you don't come back to sleep tonight."
"Just let me know in advance, okay~"
"..."
"Mom! What are you even saying?!" Kiana groaned in embarrassment.
But Elysia, ever the earnest one, nodded seriously as if filing every word away for future reference.
Her exaggerated reaction made Kiana want to smack her—which she did, lightly.
"Let's go."
"Alright~ Today, Elysia is entirely at Kiana's service. Sound good?" Seeing Kiana stride ahead, Elysia quickly caught up and slipped her arm through Kiana's, smiling sweetly.
Kiana immediately felt her arm sink into something soft and cloud-like.
But this "cloud" wasn't just soft—it was springy, warm, and soothing, like a heated hand warmer gently brushing against her heart.
She tried to tug her arm free a couple of times, but couldn't quite manage it.
Eventually, she gave up and let it be, walking forward on her own while subtly guiding Elysia along.
Elysia, of course, noticed Kiana's resignation.
She held onto Kiana even tighter, though cleverly without hindering their movement.
To anyone watching, they just looked like an intensely affectionate couple, glued together and sweet as can be.
It drew some looks, but wasn't exactly unheard of.
"So, what are we buying at the shopping street?" Once they boarded the subway, Elysia finally released Kiana, as if giving her a chance to breathe, and casually asked.
"Games."
Kiana wasn't one to lie.
Since Elysia asked, she explained a bit more.
"The sequel to Black Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood is out. I'm gonna buy it so I can jump right into it after finishing the first one."
"Black Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood? And the sequel is called…?" Elysia raised an eyebrow.
"Black Fairy Tale: Snow White." Kiana's lips twitched, as if even she found the title a bit ridiculous, and she seemed to hesitate before saying it.
But in all fairness, the game was actually really well-made.
She'd had a lot of fun playing it.
When she first saw the title, she almost couldn't hold back her laughter. The concept alone—a twisted take on classic fairy tales—had given her plenty to complain about.
But as she played, she found the gameplay engaging and the story decent enough.
So gradually, she got used to it.
What else could she do?
Thankfully, the Previous Era was relatively similar to her past life—unlike the next era, where a buck-toothed, yellow rabbit somehow dominated the entire gaming world.
If every game was just some Honkai-themed Homu series, and every anime or manga was the same, Kiana felt she might as well just give up on life.
She just couldn't get into that stuff.
Not in her past life, and not now.
After getting off the subway and stepping into the commercial street, Elysia leaned in close again.
Though she wasn't clinging as tightly as before, she boldly reached out and gently took Kiana's pale, slender hand.
Compared to earlier, this actually felt simpler and more natural.
Kiana's nervous heart relaxed a little. If it was just holding hands instead of full-body contact in public, she could handle that.
Maybe before, she would've been more reactive, but now, surprisingly, it didn't bother her.
Of course, Kiana hadn't come out just for Black Fairy Tale: Snow White.
She was also curious about the earlier titles in the series, Black Fairy Tale: Cinderella and Black Fairy Tale: Alice, and planned to pick those up too.
Besides that, she wanted to check out any other new games that might be available.
Most of these were console games or handheld cartridges, though.
The mobile games and MMOs she played were easier to handle—just a quick download online.
Elysia stayed by Kiana's side, watching her shop.
She wasn't all that interested in games herself, so her attention remained fixed on Kiana.
In that sense, she was pretty dedicated.
Luckily, Kiana was getting used to Elysia's teasing—her tolerance had grown.
Even when she noticed Elysia's gaze, she took it in stride.
That said, a girl like her usually knew what she wanted, got it, and headed straight home.
But since she'd decided to make this outing a sort of date with Elysia, she wanted to consider Elysia's preferences too.
It was still early.
"How about catching a movie?"
"Mhmm, sure! I'll follow your lead~" Elysia agreed cheerfully, her smile bright and sunny.
People around them kept glancing their way, intentionally or not. Beautiful girls stood out no matter where they went.
They didn't mind, though. They hardly even noticed.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.