163. The Witch's Discovery
"Seriously, your shopping spree is a bit over the top!"
Walking down the street, Xiling rolled his eyes at the various shopping bags and packages floating around him and called out to the brisk, excited witch ahead.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph," Elaina, walking ahead, wagged her index finger smugly, without turning her head.
"This is a rare opportunity for company reimbursement, wouldn't it be a waste not to buy more? Ah! What's that? A novelty I've never seen before, I'll buy it!"
Before she finished speaking, her figure had already dashed like a gust of wind towards an inconspicuous stall by the roadside.
"Hey! Wait!" Xiling sighed helplessly, resignedly waving his Starry Cloak.
"You're having an easy time, but not for poor me, who became your dedicated bag-carrying assistant."
As soon as he finished speaking, the floating items were instantly swallowed up by the cloak. Xiling strode off, chasing after the direction Elaina had disappeared to.
The two of them strolled through the bustling streets like shopaholics.
Any unfamiliar, unusual item, exquisitely decorated trinkets, or enticingly fragrant local delicacies, once caught by Elaina's eyes, instantly became a new addition to her shopping list.
"I've never seen this before, I'll buy it!"
"That looks interesting, I'll buy it!"
"It smells so good, I'll buy it!"
The crisp commands echoed one after another. Xiling transformed into a dutiful human shopping cart and mobile warehouse; the interior of his Starry Cloak seemed to connect to an endless space, continuously accumulating the witch spoils.
Anyway, someone would eventually reimburse the bill.
"Perfect! A great haul, a great haul!"
Finally, it was over. Elaina stopped, satisfied, and unfolded the shopping list that nearly dragged on the floor. It was densely packed with the names of various items, enough to give any inventory manager a headache.
Elaina squinted, her face beaming with pure joy. She had never enjoyed such unrestrained shopping in her life; she felt cleansed, both physically and mentally!
"Same here, same here." Xiling, standing beside her, nodded in deep agreement, sincerely echoing Elaina's sentiment:
"Having someone reimburse you without limit is just… amazing!"
Walking down the street, Xiling turned to Elaina:
"Speaking of which, how was your adventure in Belobog? A snowy, icy place must have been quite unique, right?"
"Don't even mention it…" The sunshine on Elaina's face instantly turned to gloom. She instinctively hugged her shoulders, her body shivering almost imperceptibly.
"It was awful, a complete nightmare."
Xiling raised an eyebrow, his eyes sweeping over her thin, delicate witch's outfit.
"You didn't... go there in this, did you?" His tone was clearly teasing.
"And then you froze like an icicle?"
Elaina guiltily turned her face away, her gaze drifting to the window of a dessert shop in the distance, her voice barely a whisper: "Al... almost..."
"Pfft—" Xiling couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
"Seriously? If you felt so cold, didn't you even think to find some thicker clothes to wrap yourself in?" He shook his head, laughing.
"How old are you? Really."
"Hmph!" Elaina's cheeks puffed out slightly from his laughter. She lifted her toes and lightly kicked Xiling's shin twice without any politeness.
"Stop laughing! At a time like this, as a companion, shouldn't your first concern be whether I'm freezing?" She put her hands on her hips, trying to appear self-righteous.
"The way you put it makes me feel like I'm blind." Xiling gestured to his eyes with his finger.
"It's...it's not much different," Elaina muttered softly.
She turned around and continued walking. After a few steps, she seemed to realize something was amiss, tilting her head slightly, her tone inquisitive:
"Hey, how about you? How did your solo mission go? Was it relatively smooth?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Elaina keenly noticed Xiling's previously relaxed expression instantly crumble, and a strong sense of curiosity immediately rose within her.
"Sigh..." Xiling let out a long sigh.
"The mission itself...was completed smoothly, for the most part," he said carefully. "But during the execution...something unexpected happened."
"Something unexpected?" Elena's forward steps froze instantly, her curiosity ignited like a flame. Slowing her pace, she leaned closer to Xiling, asking curiously, "What happened?"
Xiling seemed a little embarrassed, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, his gaze darting around:
"...Um, it's just...I got confessed to."
Elena: "...What!!!"
The witch froze in place. Her beautiful purple eyes widened instantly, the depths of her pupils clearly reflecting the bewildered white-haired figure of Xiling looking back. Her mind seemed to go blank for a moment, bombarded by this sudden information.
Confessed to? By whom? The mission target? A stranger?...
Her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, then began to pound like a drum. An indescribable feeling, a mixture of surprise and some subtle emotion, surged up.
Calm down! Calm down, Elaina! This is normal!
Xiling... although his mouth is a bit sharp and his personality a bit awful... but... her gaze uncontrollably lingered on Xiling's face—those exquisite features, especially those unique eyes, possessed a strange allure.
An absurd yet somehow reasonable thought uncontrollably surfaced: ...If this guy were willing to wear women's clothing... he'd definitely look good, right? This thought startled even herself.
"Ahem!" She cleared her throat sharply, as if trying to shake off the jumbled thoughts and inexplicable awkwardness in her mind. Her fair cheeks seemed slightly flushed.
"What...what are you saying!" She tried to make her voice sound normal.
"What kind of accident is this! How boring!"
Looking at the witch beside him who had suddenly started shaking her head, Xiling tilted his head in confusion.
"Hey? What's wrong with you? Why are you shaking your head all of a sudden, and your face is a little red? Could there be something wrong with the hot drink I bought earlier?"
"It's all your fault!"
Elaina gritted her teeth inwardly, a nameless anger mixed with bitterness rushing to her head. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress her surging emotions, and raised an eyebrow in a casual tone, asking as if it were just casual gossip:
"Oh? How strange, someone actually confessed to you? I didn't realize you were so popular." But the slight upward inflection at the end of her voice betrayed a barely perceptible tension.
"Hey, why does that sound so awkward?" Xiling rolled his eyes, annoyed.
"What do you mean by 'strange'? It's like I'm some kind of idiot."
"Heh, hard to say."
Elaina pouted, feigning indifference as she looked away, but her heart was inexplicably racing. She tried to remain calm, but her voice involuntarily lowered, carrying a barely perceptible hint of probing:
"So? You... you said yes?"
"What else could I do? Could I refuse?"
"Why can't you refuse!?" She almost shouted the words aloud.
Refuse! Idiot! Can you just accept a confession so easily?! Clearly... clearly I was first...!
A gentle, serene figure instantly entered her thoughts. Could it be... that person?
"The one who confessed to you..." Elena's voice unconsciously softened, "...could it be... Lemuen?"
"Bingo! Smart!" Xiling gave her a thumbs-up.
"You guessed it right away! As expected of you!"
Sure enough... it was her...
But shouldn't this be something like this? Living together day and night, sharing life and death, the emotions accumulated through countless battles fought side-by-side, supporting each other, finally became clear under a fateful opportunity, and then naturally led to holding hands and forging the most sacred contract...
This description... isn't this exactly what Lemuen and Xiling are like?!
But why... why...
"Xiling!" Elaina suddenly took a big step forward:
"You! Tell! Me! Clearly! What exactly happened?! Not a single word can be left out!"
Slightly bewildered by Elaina's sudden outburst of intense reaction, Xiling blinked and instinctively confessed honestly, "Uh... It's just that another girl I met on the mission, I don't know why, suddenly confessed to me... and then... Lemuen found out about it... and she also... um..."
He seemed a little embarrassed, scratching the back of his head, "...expressed something similar..."
"And then?" Elaina's voice suddenly rose.
"And then..." Xiling looked at the witch in front of him, who seemed ready to pounce and bite him at any moment, swallowed hard, and honestly confessed the result, "We're probably... well... together, right?"
....
"Where's Elaina?" Kevin raised an eyebrow as he looked at Xiling, who had returned alone. He had already made up his mind; it seemed he would have to be the villain who broke the ice.
"Probably went home," Xiling said somewhat uncertainly.
"Useless... huh?" Kevin instinctively wanted to complain, but suddenly stopped, a strong sense of déjà vu washing over him.
"This scene... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?" He stroked his chin, lost in thought.
"The last ball. What, even the memories of the MANTIS warriors aren't fused anymore?" Xiling bypassed the frowning Kevin, walking straight into the living room, collapsing wearily into the soft sofa as if trying to bury himself in it.
"Yes, that's right!" Kevin remembered, sitting down next to Xiling and asking curiously.
"What's wrong? Is something wrong?"
"It should... be nothing serious, right?" Xiling's tone was even more uncertain.
"She just said 'I have something to do,' and then left." He frowned, seemingly realizing that Elaina's reaction had been somewhat excessive.
Had he... overlooked something?
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Lemuen smiled and gently placed a delicate teacup on the tea table in front of Elaina.
"Why did you suddenly think of coming to sit here?"
Elaina took the teacup, feeling its warmth on her fingertips. She lowered her head, her toes unconsciously shuffling on the carpet. To be honest, after hearing what Xiling had said, her first thought was indeed to rush home and concoct some "unforgettable" special potion, to make that white-haired bastard truly understand the price of offending a witch.
But inexplicably, she had applied to go to Lemuen world.
Now, facing the gentle-smiling, serene Lemuen before her, Elaina felt a sudden, intense guilt, even unable to look her directly in the eye.
"Um… well… it's been a long time, I wanted to see how you've been."
Lemuen picked up her teacup, gently blowing on the steam. Out of the corner of her eye, she took in all of Elaina's unease: the evasive gaze, the flustered movements, the awkward excuses… This was definitely not a simple reunion.
Why does she seem so guilty upon seeing me? A thought flashed through Lemuen's mind, a glimmer of understanding flickering in the depths of her gentle eyes. Could it be… related to that guy, Xiling? And in… that direction?
She subtly suppressed her doubts, her face maintaining its impeccably gentle smile, tinged with just the right amount of apology:
"What a pity, I have some work to do later, otherwise I really wanted to take you around Laterano and try the new dessert shop."
"I'm sorry, I'm bothering you," Elaina said hastily, her fingers nervously rubbing the warm rim of the cup.
"How could it be a bother?" Lemuen took a sip of tea, her tone sincere.
"I also need to rest for a bit, and I'm glad you could keep me company."
Looking at Lemuen's gentle and harmless demeanor, Elaina felt a lump in her throat. She took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage, or perhaps unable to suppress the churning questions in her heart, and spoke in a tone that was deliberately casual and gossipy:
"By the way, Lemuen… I heard… uh, that guy Xiling told me something really outrageous today, saying that he, you, and some girl he met on a mission… the three of them are together?" She finished quickly, immediately chuckled dryly, and even casually scratched her cheek, "Hahaha… sounds so fake, doesn't it? That guy's definitely talking nonsense again. I knew it, how could that be…"
Her laughter abruptly stopped, as if she'd been choked.
Because in front of her, Lemuen tilted her head slightly and nodded clearly.
"Yes," Lemuen's voice was calm and even, "just as he said." She paused, her gaze seemingly looking through the sunlight streaming through the window towards some uncertain distance, her tone carrying an indescribable complexity and compromise, "The three of us… Well, let's just say we're together now."
"Is… is that so? Well, congratulations then. I have something to attend to, so I'll be going now." Elaina hurriedly left after saying those words.
Lemuen sat quietly in place, her gaze still fixed on the spot where Elaina had disappeared, a question that had been pondered in her mind now answered.
So...that's how it is...
It was you, Elaina.
Just then, a rustling sound came from under the workbench.
A head with striking, long white hair cautiously and slowly peeked out.
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There were no knotted wings.
Only stealing, robbing, and never letting go.