Chapter 52
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Volume 2 + Chapter 52: Bitterness And Leisure
Mirexia hugged Vanessa and took her back to her dorm.
“Phew, I can finally relax.” After entering Mirexia’s villa, Vanessa took off her cloak, letting her long hair fall loose, and sighed in relief.
Coming to Mirexia’s home and smelling the familiar, comforting citrus scent, her anxious heart immediately calmed down.
“Do you have slippers for me, Mirexia~” Vanessa gracefully removed her high-heeled boots, her charming voice carrying a hint of ambiguity.
“Of course.” Mirexia felt a tingle in her ears but remained composed on the surface.
She found a pair of slippers for Vanessa in the shoe cabinet by the entrance, though they weren’t the same pair Vanessa had worn during her last visit.
“I washed the ones you wore last time,” Mirexia explained.
“No worries~ These golden retriever ones are cute too.” Vanessa slipped on the golden retriever slippers Mirexia handed her, her tone playful. “Just as cute as Mirexia.”
“Hmm.” Mirexia looked at the golden retriever slippers now on Vanessa’s white-stockinged feet.
Did the golden retriever on the slippers resemble her?
At this thought, a blush flashed across Mirexia’s cheeks, as if recalling a similar incident from the past.
‘Virtue + 30.’
‘Current Virtue: 6184.’
Indeed, no matter how much Aesphyra was willing to burst with virtue, Mirexia remained an insurmountable mountain, the undisputed top-ranker.
Arriving at the study on the second floor, Mirexia took out a magic tool that resembled a stone, emitting a somewhat murky light that scanned Vanessa from head to toe.
“Everything’s normal. There’s no magic cast on you or any enchanted items attached,” Mirexia said seriously, confirming that the murky light showed no abnormalities.
“Really? That’s good.” Vanessa relaxed. Although she didn’t think Aesphyra would do such a thing, it was always better to be cautious.
After confirming that no tracking magic or similar spells had been cast on her by Aesphyra, Vanessa could finally let go of her worries.
She had already taken off her cloak upon entering and looked at her outfit. Although the damaged [Armour Fortress] had been repaired by Selina, the stains on her body hadn’t been removed. Since she had the chance to bathe now, she decided to take a shower.
“Mirexia, are you using the bathroom now?” Vanessa stretched her soft arms and asked.
“No, you can go ahead.”
“Eh, but aren’t you exhausted too? You were involved in quite a few battles, and you must be dirty as well?” Vanessa tilted her head.
“I’m not in a hurry, and I still have to go back later to handle the aftermath,” Mirexia said.
Mirexia had been searching for Vanessa to confirm her safety. Now that she was sure Vanessa was safe, she had to return to work.
“Is that so? I was thinking if you were in a hurry, we could shower together~” Vanessa threw a flirtatious glance at Mirexia.
“……..” Mirexia suddenly averted her gaze, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.
‘Virtue + 70.’
‘Current Virtue: 6254.’
Indeed, her dear childhood friend still cared for her. Just a few words and jokes could extract virtue from her.
Only Mirexia and Shikondel, who were emotionally reserved and shy, wouldn’t take her jokes seriously.
Even if they did, they wouldn’t act on them, so it didn’t matter what she said, it could still yield virtue. If it were Aesphyra, she wouldn’t dare say such things, as the other might actually take advantage.
“But, Mirexia, don’t forget the lesson we learned that day.”
“Huh?”
“Balancing work and rest increases efficiency. Why don’t you take a nap and go back after waking up? I’ll go with you then, how about it~?” It was clear which day Vanessa was referring to.
“It’s been so long, I really need to go back and take charge now,” Mirexia shook her head.
Vanessa said nothing, tiptoed closer to Mirexia, and poked her cheek with her delicate finger.
The soft, warm touch of the girl’s fingertip made Mirexia’s heart tighten.
‘Virtue + 50.’
‘Current Virtue: 6304.’
“Really, look at you~ You’re about to get dark circles from exhaustion. The teachers and higher-ups are enough. This incident started due to oversight, and if they couldn’t prevent it in time, leaving the aftermath entirely to the students makes it seem like the mentors did nothing, right?” Vanessa smiled.
“That’s not good. Let everyone have a bit of involvement.”
“Mirexia, rest well tonight and go back at dawn.” With that, Vanessa tiptoed, gently pressed Mirexia’s shoulders, and eased her onto the sofa.
“If you keep mistreating your body and not taking care of yourself, I’ll get angry, okay?”
“…I understand.” Under Vanessa’s dual approach of soft and hard tactics, Mirexia finally chose to compromise and agreed.
After both took showers, they slept until the next morning.
The next morning.
“Hoho, that’s right, kids, your daddy is back!”
After waking up, making the bed, and preparing breakfast using Vanessa’s cooking skills, Vanessa clasped her hands together and transformed back into Winnie, still in the male student uniform from over a day ago, with his hairstyle still intact.
Winnie ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath of the air in the room.
Hmm, the sweet citrus scent, it almost made him visualize Mirexia’s dazzling golden fluffy twin tails.
“Mirexia, good morning.” Seeing the neatly dressed blonde girl coming downstairs, Winnie waved and greeted her.
Hmm, perhaps it was the influence of the body. In female form, he didn’t feel it, but now that he was back, even though it wasn’t his first time here, being in Mirexia’s dorm still made his heart race a little.
Looking at Mirexia’s current mental state, hmm, she had recovered well. It seemed she had slept very soundly last night.
“Hmm, you’ve turned back into Winnie?” Mirexia examined the blue-haired young man before her.
The change was significant. The old Winnie had been covered in freckles and acne, very unattractive.
Now, his skin was flawless, his face much more handsome than before, making even the naturally beautiful Mirexia marvel.
“Yeah, it’s time, so I had to turn back. With the recent incident at the academy, I don’t want any complications,” Winnie scratched his head.
“Did Vanessa make this?” Looking at the lavish and fragrant breakfast on the table, Mirexia instinctively asked, then quickly corrected herself. “Did you make this in your female form?”
“Ah, yes. Since I was going to turn back, I thought I’d make one last breakfast to maximize efficiency,” Winnie said.
After finishing breakfast, the two headed out to the student council together.
Upon arriving at the student council, as expected, it was bustling with activity.
“Winnie, thank goodness you’re finally back?? Hurry up and fill out this return registration form. Your roommate has been looking for you several times in less than a day!” As soon as Winnie entered, he heard a familiar voice.
The senior unceremoniously shoved a registration form at Winnie and, seeing Mirexia standing beside him, quickly bowed.
“President, you’re here too.”
“Registration form?” Winnie examined the form, tilting his head.
“Senior, if I remember correctly, I’ve already enrolled and joined the student council, right?”
“Of course I know that. If you weren’t a student here, why would I ask you to fill out a post-disaster report form??” Even in front of Mirexia, the senior rolled her eyes at Winnie.
“You didn’t even come back to report you were safe, and you didn’t return to the dorm last night. Your roommate was so worried he asked us to notify the teachers, who are still searching for you.”
“Uh, uh.” Winnie scratched his head. “Sorry, I encountered some unavoidable circumstances. President Mirexia can vouch for that.”
“President, is that so?” The senior looked at Mirexia beside her.
“Yes, Winnie has been with me all this time. We encountered some unexpected events, which caused the delay,” Mirexia also explained on Winnie’s behalf.
“Well then, Winnie, please write a brief account of your experience during the time you were missing on the registration form.” With the student council president’s explanation, the senior couldn’t say much and sighed softly.
Forget it, as long as he’s safe. It’s a miracle this troublemaker didn’t get himself lost this time.
“By the way, senior, are you injured?” Winnie asked.
“You’re actually concerned about me now?? Thanks, but worry about yourself, Winnie,” the senior said with a hint of annoyance.
Although the senior’s attitude wasn’t great, it was out of concern for him. Winnie was also glad to see she was unharmed.
He especially didn’t want anything to happen to the people around him.
“By the way, has Dell come to the student council to ask about me?”
“You mean your roommate who looks like a girl? He’s the one who reported you missing, so of course he did.”
“Oh, I see.”
So, Winnie quickly filled out the registration form and handed it to the senior.
As for the reason, he could just make something up. After all, once Vanessa appeared, no one had seen him, so what he did and where he went was entirely up to him to decide. Besides, Mirexia was there to back him up.
Later, Winnie and Mirexia went to the president’s office, where Winnie assisted Mirexia. There were quite a few documents piled up overnight that needed processing.
“By the way, Mirexia, what’s the current public opinion?” Seeing Mirexia in work mode, Winnie asked the question he was most concerned about.
“Public opinion? The students with church backgrounds insist it was the goddess manifesting. Of course, a small minority thinks it wasn’t the Goddess of Radiance herself but rather Saintess Selina or someone like that.” After a moment of contemplation, Mirexia organized her thoughts, showcasing her high work efficiency, and pulled out relevant documents, summarizing their key points.
She knew what Winnie was concerned about, so she had deliberately had people collect detailed surveys on such public opinions.
“Are there any other theories about this?” Winnie asked.
“Of course there are. At least, right after the incident, there were many different opinions. But for some reason, only these two theories remain in the academy now. I think it’s because the church students are spreading them, right?” Speaking of this, Mirexia also found it strange.
Logically, such a bizarre event should have many interpretations, and initially, that was the case.
But now, all those various theories had mysteriously disappeared, and everyone seemed to have reached a consensus, as if they had all agreed on a conclusion.
It was a somewhat strange phenomenon, but not entirely unexpected. In such a desperate situation, it was natural for people to attribute it to a divine miracle.
The goddess descending to save the world during a catastrophe was also what people hoped for.
“I see.” Winnie frowned. According to his original calculations, he thought he might be exposed this time. He didn’t expect to be shielded by rumors, though most of them were true, the Saintess really did manifest.
But, how should I put it?
It still feels a bit strange.
Winnie noticed something amiss, Winnie pondered, Winnie fell into deep thought, Winnie couldn’t reach a conclusion, so he gave up thinking.
Forget it, no need to think about it. As long as the outcome is good.
Mostly true with a bit of falsehood is the hardest to detect. Besides, no one expected the saint to manifest, but it happened. Who can explain it?
That’s just how it is. Even if you investigate further, it won’t change anything. Even the Radiance Pope couldn’t explain why a six-winged angel appeared during the Demon Pillar invasion. It’s impossible to suspect the possibility that it was another descendant of Varelis.
“Winnie, during the battle against the Demon Pillar, was the power you displayed your own?” Mirexia also asked the question she was most concerned about.
“Of course not.” Winnie spread his hands. “If I were that powerful, why would I still be studying? I might as well graduate directly, right? Save myself from hearing their sarcastic comments every day.”
“Then, what was it?”
“Actually, those rumors aren’t entirely false. Saintess Selina really did manifest, and she possessed me at the time.”
“It really was the Saintess??” Mirexia was also surprised.
“Yes.” For Mirexia, Winnie had complete trust, so he recounted the entire incident to her without reservation.
“Saintess Selina really did manifest??” Although she had anticipated it, knowing the truth still left Mirexia utterly bewildered.
