"Snap my fingers?"
Luna Belle looked at her fingers skeptically, then back at Ellen, who wore an expression that clearly said, What are you doing now? She hesitated for a moment but raised her hand anyway, rubbing her thumb and middle finger together with force.
Snap!
A crisp sound rang out across the silent grassland. In the next heartbeat, a magical scene unfolded. The second-hand VCR that had blocked the wolf's claws and the bulky CRT television, its indicator light still flickering, vanished without a trace—as if erased from existence by an invisible hand.
"Whoa!" Luna Belle stared at the empty grass in surprise, then back at her hand. "It actually worked!"
Ellen slightly widened her perpetually half-lidded red eyes, offering a muffled comment while sucking on her lollipop. "Oh? This is quite convenient."
Then, Fairy's faint voice transmitted directly into Luna Belle's mind once again. "Storage complete. Items have been placed in the temporary system space. Retrieval works the same way."
Luna Belle breathed a sigh of relief, finally rid of those two heavy burdens. She asked in her mind: "Fairy, what should we do next? We can't stay in the middle of nowhere forever. It doesn't look very safe here." She hadn't forgotten that Magic Wolf. Although Ellen was here, her stamina wasn't infinite.
"Of course, Master. Fairy suggests you prioritize heading to a settlement of intelligent beings to gather information and obtain necessary supplies. Based on a preliminary environmental scan and analysis, I have planned the optimal route for you. You only need to travel about ten kilometers in this direction to reach a small town."
As Fairy spoke, a light blue arrow cursor that only Luna Belle could see suddenly lit up at the edge of her vision, pointing toward a specific direction on the grassland.
"Ten kilometers..." Luna Belle clicked her tongue, feeling the soles of her feet already starting to ache in anticipation. She turned to Ellen, who was boredly sweeping the grass with the tip of her shark tail. "Ellen, Fairy says there's a town ten kilometers that way. Let's head there and find a place to stay first?"
Ellen nodded slightly and gave a small yawn. "Let's go, let's go. It's better than sleeping on the grass... I hope the beds there are a bit softer." She put away her massive Shark Pruning Shears, preparing to set off.
Her gaze inadvertently swept over the cooling corpse of the Magic Wolf. As if suddenly remembering something, she asked, "By the way, Belle. Since we've come to this... well, fantasy world? Then this thing..." She tilted her head, looking at the wolf. "It looks pretty fierce; maybe it's some kind of valuable magical beast? Its fur or that organ that shoots energy balls might be worth some money. We're newcomers with nothing to our names; we need some starting capital, right?"
Luna Belle's eyes lit up. "That makes sense! Trust you to be so thoughtful, Ellen!"
She immediately called out to Fairy in her mind. "Fairy! Can you store this wolf corpse? We should be able to sell it for money in town, right?"
Fairy's voice responded immediately, tinged with a hint of pride. "Of course, Master. As New Eridu's strongest artificial intelligence, integrating basic matter storage functions is only natural. Storing the remains of such a low-level magical creature is no trouble at all."
As soon as she finished speaking, without Luna Belle even needing to snap her fingers, the massive wolf corpse vanished just like the appliances before.
"As expected of you, Fairy!" Luna Belle clapped her hands, her mood lightening.
"You can praise me more if you like, Master." Although she couldn't see the AI, the image of Fairy acting spoiled formed in Luna Belle's mind.
"Ahem..." Seeing Ellen's what-have-you-done-to-the-AI's-settings expression, Luna Belle scratched her head in embarrassment. "Well... let's go!"
Hearing the command to set off, Ellen just gave a lazy yawn, her weary red eyes narrowing. She slowly walked up behind Luna Belle and, before the other could react, naturally wrapped her arms around Luna Belle's neck, pressing her whole body against her.
"Carry me, Belle."
The sleep-laden murmur sounded right against Luna Belle's ear, the warm breath brushing against her skin and causing a slight itch. Immediately after, Luna Belle felt a weight on her back. Ellen had unceremoniously climbed on, her head resting naturally on her shoulder. Her heavy shark tail dangled down, swaying gently before going still. The sound of steady, light breathing followed almost immediately; Ellen had entered a state of sleep at light speed.
"...Honestly, you really don't hold back," Luna Belle muttered, but her body subconsciously adjusted its center of gravity to support the "large accessory" hanging off her. She reached back, carefully cupping Ellen's thighs clad in black silk stockings, and gave her a little hoist to find a better position.
Fortunately, Ellen was even lighter than she looked. The girl's body heat was clearly transmitted through the fabric of their clothes. The soft body pressed closely against her back carried a faint, sweet scent. The unfinished lollipop seemed to still be in her mouth, leaving a small bulge in her cheek.
Luna Belle breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, she usually exercised so she could pull all-nighters gaming, so her stamina was decent—unlike the Belle in the game who would pant after just a few steps. Otherwise, this ten-kilometer trek would have been the death of her.
"Mhm... good thing Ellen is relatively light..." she thought, subconsciously making comparisons. "If I were carrying a curvy big sister like Rina or Zhu Yuan... I'd probably collapse halfway..."
The thought made her face heat up for some reason, so she quickly shook her head to cast aside those stray thoughts. She identified the light blue arrow cursor, took a deep breath, and set off. Carrying the sleeping Little Shark, she stepped through the moonlit waves of grass toward the unknown town.
The light of the twin moons stretched their shadows long across the grassland. The only sounds were the rustling of grass and Ellen's steady breathing. Luna Belle walked steadily, trying her best not to disturb her passenger. Her hands supporting the crooks of Ellen's knees could clearly feel the fine texture of the black silk and the warmth beneath, forcing her to concentrate to keep her thoughts from wandering.
The ten-kilometer journey didn't feel so long in the silence of the night walk...