"I don't want to!"
At the end of her rope, Pansy finally mustered the courage to refuse, but as soon as she opened her mouth, a slender finger pressed against her little lips.
That gentle, magnetic voice sounded by her ear: "Be good, otherwise it'll be bad if you die from the poison."
"Th-Then… I'll look after these little animals from now on. I'm very loving. Please help detoxify me, senior brother."
Pansy forced a wry smile, accepted the job, and waited for the antidote.
"Mm, since you're so sincere, I'll detoxify you…"
"One, two, three—detox!"
With a grin, Damian flicked her on the forehead, then turned and left.
That hurts!
Covering her little head, Pansy only then realized she hadn't been poisoned at all, and her face darkened at once.
That whole Smiling Half-Step Madness was a lie; it had scared her into hopping the whole time.
This lunatic was playing me!
She was the woman chosen by Hades, second only to a god and above countless people, raised in a noble household, with fingers that never touched spring water.
Raising pigs and chickens and ducks—such menial chores—were absolutely beneath her.
Then… complain to Shaina?
Just as Pansy thought of going to explain things to Shaina, that hearty, magnetic voice reached her again with a hint of severity: "Forgot to mention, Shaina has a mission and probably won't return to the Sanctuary for a while. It's just you and me here."
"Remember, if Pandora goes hungry, I'll spank you once. If a chicken goes hungry, I'll spank you twice. If a duck goes hungry, I'll spank you four times. If a fish goes hungry, I'll spank you eight times. And so on. Infinite spankings… so take care of yourself."
Infinite spankings!
A total devil.
Pansy shivered, feeling like her little butt had blossomed without being struck.
"Please don't worry, senior brother. I'll definitely take care of these chickens, ducks, fish… pigs."
She immediately grabbed handfuls of oddly scented feed and tossed the mushrooms out one by one. The chickens and ducks all snorted and scrambled, eating with gusto.
Pansy truly didn't dare provoke a lunatic with a screw loose.
She could only grit her teeth and comply.
Watching her every move, Damian was quite satisfied. "Looks like the graveyard has a new free laborer. From now on the dirty work of feeding pigs and raising chickens and fish can all go to her. I can take it easy and grind the graveyard."
"No one's going to report me for using child labor anyway."
"And Pandora doesn't exactly count as child labor."
It was obvious Pandora was swallowing her pride with some scheme in mind. In this state, she might reveal her true self at some critical moment and throw the Sanctuary into chaos.
As long as he kept an eye on her, no matter how much mischief the little girl tried, she wouldn't be able to stir up any real waves.
If she had the gall to act blind, he'd go full lunatic once and show her what "terror like this" meant.
Damian turned to look out over the barren graveyard.
Since the age of myth, from the very founding of the Sanctuary, this graveyard had stood here.
Here lay the remains of Saints through the ages—Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Even Popes were buried here.
Counting from the mythic age, nearly ten generations of Sanctuary Saints were all interred here. The number of tombstones was vast, stretching beyond sight—if not ten thousand, then certainly several thousand graves.
Over the more than a year since he crossed over, he had stayed almost entirely within the graveyard, restoring graves and extracting Cosmo and skills.
Even the lofty false Pope, Dark Saga, whose Cosmo could blanket most of the Sanctuary, could not cover this remote graveyard.
He wouldn't bother paying special attention to such a secluded place either. Few Saints ever came here, so staying in the graveyard was very safe.
But restoring graves wasn't a guaranteed success. Over this year, counting the freshly uncovered Cancer Saint's grave, he had only found five Gold Saints' graves from the previous generation, plus various Silver and Bronze Saints' graves.
Saints through the ages had a tradition of dying on the battlefield, and had little in the way of demands for burial. Their graves were basically the same in style.
After centuries of weathering and erosion, the inscriptions were hard to read.
He couldn't tell whether a grave held a Gold Saint or a Bronze Saint, and even probing with Cosmo was interfered with by the graveyard's chaotic residual Cosmo.
On top of that, the graves were scattered and messy—one to the left, one to the right, one up, one down. It was easy to get lost. He didn't know if the graveyard had been deliberately built like a maze, but it was certainly intricate and complex.
Damian could only restore them one by one.
It was a bit like treasure hunting.
Most of the time he dug up Bronze Saints' graves from the last war. Even if those were restored up to Bronze or Silver grade, they usually only yielded the three basic attributes, and skills were seldom produced.
After all, Athena's eighty-eight guardian constellations were divided into three levels: twelve Gold Saints, twenty-four Silver Saints, and the rest Bronze.
Strength.
Agility.
Constitution.
Those three attributes were Damian's main income, and there were many of them—he saw gains in the three basics almost every day.
Fortunately, several months ago he had already grasped the Seventh Sense of the Cosmo, vastly improving his power and understanding of it.
Attaining the Seventh Sense wasn't that strong in this world; quite a few Saints had it, and gods even appeared. After a Holy War, many Seventh Sense experts kicked the bucket.
Indeed, even with the Seventh Sense, Damian still felt too weak.
Now Pandora's unexpected appearance at the Sanctuary graveyard only made him feel more inadequate.
Throughout, he kept a safe distance from this little spy, avoiding unnecessary contact.
For Pandora to dare come alone, she surely had some unknown ability.
After Pansy finished feeding, Damian led her back into the labyrinthine graveyard.
He walked ahead with brisk steps.
Pansy stumbled along behind.
The mountain paths in the graveyard were rugged. For an eight- or nine-year-old girl, they were truly exhausting.
Before long, panting for breath, Pansy shouted, "Senior Brother Damian, this road is so long. Could you carry me?"
"Carry you?"
Damian turned, tilting his head slightly, his expression puzzled, as if he hadn't heard right.
"I'm a girl, you know. I've walked so far my feet kind of hurt."
Pansy pouted coquettishly.
"Hmph. Training muscle is training the soul. You want to become a Saint. If you can't keep walking, just die in the graveyard."
Damian's reply was crisp.
"…"
Pansy blinked her big eyes at him and found he wasn't joking. Yet with his upright posture and heroic bearing, like a being from the heavens, she couldn't help but sigh.
Who'd have thought such a refined, elegant heartthrob was a madman—and the contrast between him clothed and shirtless was too great.
"Actually, I have a secret to tell you."
Damian suddenly leaned in, lowered his voice, and smiled.
Pansy reflexively pricked up her ears to listen.
"The secret is…"
He suddenly raised his voice: "I can fly!" ~voice crack
Pansy felt deafened, nearly rolling her eyes. Her ears rang, and she stumbled back three or four steps and plopped down on a mound.
"Don't be so loud… Can you really fly?"
No sooner had she asked than a terrible premonition rose in her heart, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
Sure enough, Damian pointed ahead. "It's a few hundred meters to the other side of the graveyard. Since you want me to carry you, I'll take you on a flight. But remember, if you splatter, I'm not responsible."
"S-Senior brother, I was joking."
Pansy panicked and waved her hands.
Judging by this setup, nothing good was coming.
How had she forgotten this senior brother's peculiar brain? It was enough to make her want to cry.
She didn't want to know what "fly" meant.
"I've researched whether humans can fly. You happen to be my first test subject."
No sooner were the words out than Damian scooped Pansy up around the waist.
Pansy was frantic, tears welling in her big eyes. "Please, let me go, senior brother. I'm timid—I don't want to fly."
Damian said with deep feeling, "Don't worry. After much exploration, I've summarized a special method of flying. I don't yet know how safe it is. Today you and I will soar together and witness this great moment."
Listening to his gentle words and looking at his heroic face—
Suffocated by those two pecs, Pansy wanted to cry.
Senior brother, can I say no?
Taking a step forward, Damian spun three hundred and sixty degrees to store power, then suddenly hurled Pansy toward the residences.
Whoosh!
The petite Pansy shot up like a human cannonball, streaking toward the distance. The wind roared in her ears, and even her tears flew.
I'm going to die!
Really going to die!
Is this lunatic trying to kill me?
I'm so cute, so beautiful, and he just throws me.
Is there any humanity at all?
Just as Pansy thought she'd end up as a meat patty, a rose suddenly flew out and struck her, altering her trajectory as she fell.
With a waft of fragrance, Pansy dropped into the arms of a woman in pink. A lovely rose scent rose from her, intoxicating and refreshing.
Opening her eyes, she saw the woman clad in pink floral dress, eyebrows like a painting, red lips smiling, almond eyes and willow brows, a sultry air, and a beauty mark at the corner of her left eye—stunning, with a singular charm.
"Big sister, you're so beautiful."
Knowing she was saved, Pansy offered a heartfelt compliment.
The woman parted her red lips and let out a bull-like rumble: "Ah ya, you little girl really know the right thing to say, actually calling me big sister, hahaha."
That voice… ((‖))
Pansy shuddered all over, her eyes going wide.
Struck as if by lightning, she instinctively glanced at the person's Adam's apple, which was oddly prominent.
What's going on?
Is this person a man or a woman?
Thanks for reading!If you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and leave a review.Your support keeps the cosmos burning and helps me write more epic Saint Seiya battles!