Chapter 19
Behind her, Xiarette was still sleeping peacefully, her breathing steady, her sleeping posture elegant.
By comparison… what was this creature lying face-to-face with her?
Sheffy turned her head back to the front.
Starting from a pair of delicate, crystal-clear little feet.
Ending with hair the color of a deep starry blue sky.
A pristine, still-immature and adorable face, a slender, fragile waist that seemed like it would snap with a twist.
Simply put, the being lying directly in front of Sheffy… was a strange and curious creature known as a loli.
And this creature’s sleeping posture was all over the place, limbs sprawled in every direction—Sheffy found it hard to compliment.
It must have been when this girl pulled her into her arms earlier that Sheffy’s face ended up pressed against her flat, rock-like chest.
Tsk tsk tsk, malnourished, aren’t you!
Why was Sheffy able to examine her figure so closely?
Because this loli, at the moment—was completely naked.
Hmm...
Sheffy silently sank into thought.
Who is she, where am I, why isn’t she wearing any clothes, why did she ambush me with that chopping-board chest, and are there any strawberry donuts today?
These questions poured into Sheffy’s mind in quick succession, overwhelming her not-so-large brain to the brink of crashing.
By the end of it, Sheffy had a flash of inspiration and snapped her fingers. If this were a comic, a little lightbulb representing wisdom would surely have lit up above her head.
Oh oh! I think I know how to handle this kind of situation!
Rather than overthinking, when faced with a naked stranger who appeared out of nowhere in her bed, wasn’t a more direct approach the way to go?
Sheffy calmed herself, took a deep breath, and after exhaling, stood up and flexed her limbs as if warming up for morning exercise.
Then...
Her sharp gaze locked onto the backside of the petite creature before her.
At the same time, Sheffy slowly extended one of her now-loosened short legs, placing her foot there, ready to exert force.
Hoo...
Silently, in her heart, she whispered an apology.
“So just who the hell are you?!”
.......................................
At that moment, Sheffy felt completely innocent.
The unfamiliar loli, who had been kicked off the bed and rolled several times before coming to a stop, clutched her buttocks, looking up at Sheffy with eyes full of grievance and resentment.
Meanwhile, Xiarette, now awakened, held the Holy Sword in her hand, cold and stern, the blade pointed at the unknown girl before her—who hadn’t even turned to look at her.
“Sheffy... get behind me.”
“Aw, honestly, I don’t think this one’s that dangerous. Look, she can’t even afford clothes. Probably poorer than me.”
“Don’t let your guard down… the protective barrier is still functioning normally. How did she manage to sneak in…”
Xiarette’s gaze turned sharp, and a golden swirl of magic surged around her.
The terrifying pressure channeled through the Holy Sword *Sylatrella*’s gleaming tip, unleashing a wave of overwhelming force toward the little girl, who remained fixated on Sheffy without blinking.
“Speak… who are you, who sent you, and what is your purpose…”
This time, the interrogation did at least prompt the little girl to turn her head slightly for a glance.
But her response… made Xiarette feel utterly baffled.
“You’re really asking me that…? Holding the Holy Sword? Pointing it at my face? Heehee, that doesn’t work on me, you know.”
“Doesn’t work? You can find out for yourself—huh?”
In the girl’s eyes—deep and boundless as the starry night—a golden glow suddenly shimmered, identical to the brilliance of the Holy Sword.
At the same moment, a shocking scene unfolded.
The Holy Sword, which had been radiating immense power, suddenly dimmed as if snuffed out. Its glow vanished entirely, turning it into an ordinary treasured blade.
Xiarette hurriedly poured her magic into the hilt, but the sword—
—refused to respond, unable to accept the infusion.
Though shocked, Xiarette stood her ground without hesitation, placing herself firmly in front of Sheffy.
With or without the Holy Sword, the difference in Xiarette’s strength was between Tier Ten and Tier Nine.
Even if that gulf represented an astronomical difference in power, it couldn’t shake Xiarette’s resolve to protect the one she cherished.
“She’s definitely no ordinary person… Sheffy, you should—Sheffy?!”
Just a moment ago, when she turned her head, Sheffy had still been behind her.
But when Xiarette glanced back again, Sheffy had already vanished from where she stood!
Following Sheffy’s presence, Xiarette quickly snapped her gaze to the front.
In the blink of an eye, Sheffy had already teleported directly in front of the unfamiliar little girl.
With a somber expression, Sheffy’s eight jet-black wings burst forth from behind her nightdress—the use of *Teleportation* caused the normally concealed wings to momentarily appear.
Xiarette understood instantly. Sheffy must have intended to strike first and subdue the opponent before making further decisions!
But the anticipated magical burst never came.
The moment she saw the wings, a look of dazed admiration appeared in the little girl’s eyes.
Yet that fleeting emotion, glimmering in her gaze, went unnoticed by anyone else.
Because the little girl had been kicked to the ground again!!
Barefoot, Sheffy stomped on the unfamiliar girl’s backside over and over, each kick fueled by her fury—and accompanied by the girl’s pained yelps.
“Scaring people, huh?! Still playing mysterious?! Xiarette asked who you are! Can’t you speak properly?!”
“Ow it hurts…! Lady Sheffy, please forgive me! I know I was wrong!!”
“You even know my name…?! Then you deserve an even harsher beating!”
“A-again…! No…! Waaa, I didn’t mean to…!”
“I don’t even know who you are! But you’re this short! Shorter than me! You clearly haven’t eaten properly—how pathetic is that?!”
“Pathetic! Pathetic! Everything Lady Sheffy says is right!! I… I confess to my crimes!! I *am* pathetic! Hiss… ahh… Lady Sheffy’s feet—wait, no, I wasn’t getting carried away! Lady Sheffy, please stop for a moment! I can explain!!”
“You pervert!!”
“Thank you for the praise!!”
“??”
Watching all this, Xiarette was in total confusion.
What… was Sheffy doing here? Was this some form of interrogation and punishment… or a reward?!
“Sheffy, maybe stop for a moment…? Let’s not, ahem, ‘reward’ her anymore. Let’s ask who she actually is first.”
“Aw… fair point. Then go ahead and explain yourself—what *are* you?!”
**19. Sylatrella**
The poor blue-haired little loli, at least now wasn’t completely exposed—she’d wrapped herself in a sheet large enough to cover her whole body.
She was quite creative too, tying the sheet like a cloak, with a bow at the chest. Then she let out a hum of satisfaction, placed her hands on her hips, and proudly faced Sheffy.
“Do I look nice, Lady Sheffy?! Ah…! You hit me again!”
“You’re lucky that’s all I did! Don’t just tie the top, tie the bottom too, you pervert!! Ugh, no good… my blood pressure’s way too high this early in the morning. Gotta down a glass of ice-cold snow-topped Oroman fruit nectar to bring it down, or else how am I supposed to…”
“…Sheffy?”
“......”
This was what people called: one thing overcomes another.
Sheffy could beat common sense into the blue-haired girl by knocking on her head.
Likewise, Xiarette could stop Sheffy—who had just gotten up—from heading to the ice magic stone cabinet for a chilled drink, using that half-smile, half-frown expression.
Guzzling iced nectar first thing in the morning… was *not* a good habit, okay?
Xiarette wasn’t in the best mood now, so Sheffy sneakily dipped a finger into the juice, tasted a bit, and dashed back without daring to be too blatant.
How strange… wasn’t it just that some mysterious creature showed up? Why was Xiarette so mad?
Well of course—because the girl wasn’t wearing any clothes earlier!!
Xiarette was utterly frustrated… She’d only managed to muster the courage last night to hug Sheffy from behind as she slept. And now? Now she woke up to find another girl clinging to *her* Sheffy—completely naked!!
If she wasn’t furious, would you take her for a dormant volcano that never erupted?!
Xiarette stirred up a gentle breeze with her magic.
Another bedsheet on the bed flew straight toward the blue-haired girl, fully covering her scrawny figure.
Now clutching two large bedsheets, the blue-haired girl curled up in the corner of the bed, looking pitiful.
“You can’t blame me for not adapting… I’ve been asleep for over a thousand years… and this is my first time coming out, so it’s only natural that I’m a little…”
“*“Get—to—the—point.”*”
Sheffy and Xiarette, for once, spoke in rare unison, their faces cold with impatience.
At the same time, Sheffy grinned wickedly and cracked her knuckles as a “friendly gesture.”
Although she had already withdrawn her wings, the blue-haired girl still trembled uncontrollably—but an unnatural blush inexplicably surfaced on her face. Sheffy’s expression quickly turned into one of disgust—which only made the little blue-haired girl even more excited!
Before the iron fist of punishment could fall again—
The blue-haired girl slowly raised a finger...
The finger pointed directly at the Holy Sword *Sylatrella*, hanging on the wall.
.....................................
After listening to the girl’s rough explanation, Xiarette, already confused, now felt even more at a loss.
“You’re saying… your name is Sylatrella?”
“Strictly speaking, I don’t have a name. Or maybe I did once, but I’ve long forgotten it. Since the world calls the Holy Sword ‘Sylatrella’, let’s just go with that—it doesn’t matter.”
“But… isn’t Sylatrella the name of the Hero’s Holy Sword?”
“I *am* the Holy Sword.”
“But the Holy Sword is hanging right there…” Xiarette glanced at the sword on the wall and used process of elimination to conclude, “So you can’t be the Holy Sword.”
“......”
The blue-haired girl, who called herself “Sylatrella,” gave Xiarette a look as if she were an idiot.
Then she turned to the one sitting beside Xiarette, munching on a donut—Lady Sheffy herself.
“Lady Sheffy… I think this generation’s Hero is a bit dumb. A little slow.”
“Who are you calling…?!”
Before Xiarette could even retort, Sheffy cut in.
“Oh oh, yeah, Xia is a bit of a dum-dum.”
“Sheffy, how can even *you* say that?!”
Sheffy swung her little legs twice and hopped down from the finely carved wooden chair, still biting onto the donut without letting go.
She shoved the rest of the donut into her mouth, then licked the sesame crumbs from the corner of her lips.
Like a clever little fox, Sheffy began pacing side to side, trying to analyze the blue-haired girl’s words from a “smart person’s” point of view.
“Here’s probably what’s going on—the Holy Sword used by humans is just a vessel. The real core of magical power inside is this little thing. In other words, *she* is the true form of the Holy Sword. Without her magic, the sword is just an empty shell.”