Clack clack clack clack clack. The crisp sound of typing on a keyboard echoed through the room. The black-haired girl had a relaxed expression as she controlled her character, taking down the monsters lunging at her one by one.
"Sigh, easy peasy." After wiping out all the monsters, Leticia comfortably picked up a piece of apple from the fruit plate Melanie was holding and popped it into her mouth.
"So sweet." Chewing the apple, the girl wore an expression of pure enjoyment.
Beside her, Melanie, dressed in a black and white maid uniform, was clearly struggling to keep her composure.
Indeed, Leticia's second request was for Melanie to wear a maid outfit and serve as a maid in her home for an entire day.
The maid outfit was a friendly contribution from Luna. This particular outfit was slightly different from the ones Luna usually wore; it was part of her private collection, one she hadn't even worn herself yet.
At Leticia's insistent demand, Luna had no choice but to part with her treasure and give this brand-new set of clothes to Melanie.
However, Malanie wasn't exactly grateful for it.
"Your request is truly unpleasant," Melanie said through gritted teeth, glaring fiercely.
She wasn't upset that Leticia was ignoring her to play games; her dissatisfaction stemmed entirely from the clothes she was currently wearing.
"Are all the maids of your Demon Race like this?"
Why would Luna consider this outfit a treasure and never wear it?
The reason was that the outfit was simply too daring.
Luna's usual maid outfits were already quite bold; walking down the street in one would definitely make a crowd stop and stare.
But compared to the one Melanie was wearing now, Luna's usual outfits could almost be considered conservative.
"Isn't it great? I think it looks quite good, Little York~" The corners of Leticia's lips curled up slightly. Seeing so much of Melanie's snowy-white skin exposed to the air gave her a sense of immense satisfaction.
Weren't you trying to seduce me before? Fine, since you want to seduce me so badly, I'll let you do it.
Seeing this maid outfit—which could practically be called lingerie—on an icy beauty like Melanie gave Leticia wave after wave of gratification.
Especially those long, fair legs, which looked incredibly alluring against the white lace garter stockings. Compared to this, Melanie's previous attempts at seduction were like comparing a gutter to an ocean.
"!"
"Are you angry?" Leticia giggled. "So you do know how to get angry?"
Melanie was likely experiencing firsthand just how infuriating it was to be forced into doing something one disliked.
"Do you really hate wearing these clothes?" Leticia picked up another piece of apple with a toothpick, but this time, instead of putting it in her own mouth, she held it up to Melanie's lips.
Melanie's expression softened for a split second before freezing over again. She nodded, admitting she was very unhappy right now.
"As for me, you barged into my life without permission. My anger is not a bit less than yours is now." Seeing that Melanie had no intention of opening her mouth, Leticia lost interest and popped the apple into her own mouth instead. "I haven't forgotten the grudge from that arrow back then."
"..."
After a long silence, Melanie looked at Leticia, her eyes showing unwavering determination. "I can endure it."
"...Are you out of your mind?!" Leticia snapped. Was this the answer she wanted? She wanted to hear Melanie admit that her behavior was wrong!
What did she mean by "I can endure it"?
The implication was that Leticia should just endure it too?
Sure, Melanie was a saint with a broad mind, but Leticia was a narrow-minded girl. She couldn't stand it.
"It's best if the two of us have absolutely nothing to do with each other. You be your Melanie, and I'll be my Quinn Sukina." Leticia stopped pretending and laid her cards on the table. "I actually quite like the Human World, so you don't have to worry about me causing some major incident one day."
"What do you mean?" A bad premonition rose in Melanie's heart.
"If I can't afford to provoke you, can't I at least hide from you?" Leticia huffed. A major reason Melanie could annoy her so frequently was that they lived far too close to each other.
So close that they could appear in each other's homes with just a thought.
If she could put some distance between them, Leticia didn't believe Melanie could continue to pester her with such high intensity every day.
"You're moving away?"
"What, you're going to control that too?" Leticia rested her chin on her hand, looking at Melanie with a half-smile. "I'm already looking for a new house. This time, I plan to buy a villa directly, so I won't have any more annoying neighbors."
Melanie's face turned grim. The news that Leticia was moving was something she found hard to accept.
"Just because you hate me?"
"That's only one reason." Leticia shook her head. While Melanie was certainly a primary reason, there were others. "You are a Sword Saint. Even if you're retired and no longer active as a hero, the trouble surrounding you won't decrease one bit."
"I don't want some strange things barging into my home when that time comes. I just want to live a peaceful life."
Leticia's goal had always been very clear: she wanted to slack off and didn't want to get involved in any nonsense.
Games, manga, novels—weren't these much more interesting than fighting and conspiracies?
"There will be no shortage of people with ulterior motives around you. Unlike me, although your identity is kept secret, quite a few people still know it." Leticia walked up to Melanie and stared into those beautiful crimson eyes. "My final request is: do not disturb my life. Can you do that?"
"I..." Melanie suddenly found herself speechless. Leticia's request was sincere, and her reasoning was perfectly sound.
From the very beginning, she was the one who had forced her way into this girl's life.
"But there's one thing I've never been able to figure out. Why do you insist on pestering me?" Leticia asked. Logically, she and Melanie should be like fire and water, riddled with conflicts.
After they met, how could the thought of 'I want to get close to Leticia' possibly occur to Melanie? Wasn't that strange?
Their previous interactions consisted entirely of Melanie's one-sided approach and Leticia's utmost forbearance.
Leticia's forbearance was understandable, but Melanie's proactive approach was hard to explain.