Primrose felt speechless.
Her mother looked like she was helping her choose a partner.
‘What was this all about?’
“Mom, I don’t think this is a good idea. We barely know each other, and now we’re bathing together?” Primrose made one last attempt.
“What’s wrong with it? We’re all girls.”
Lin Naiyue said matter-of-factly, “Back home, I always tried to get you to join me in the bath, but you never wanted to.”
“Now we finally have a chance, and with Cecilia here too, it’ll be so much fun.”
Primrose admired her mother’s ability to accept her transformation into a girl so quickly.
She glanced at Cecilia.
She knew it was impossible, but she still hoped the saintess might suddenly change her mind and say something like “the dignity of a goddess must not be violated.”
But ever since Cecilia learned her mother’s true identity, she seemed to have sided with her completely.
“Please allow me to serve you…”
“To have the honor of bathing with the Lady Goddess, and… and the Lady Goddess’s mother—this is a divine blessing!”
The saintess, who had been spouting dogma moments ago, now had flushed cheeks and her aquamarine eyes sparkled with unprecedented fervor—a complex mix of excitement, ecstasy, and a hint of disbelief.
Divine blessing, my foot!
Primrose bent her arm and pressed her hand to her forehead. “Fine, fine. Do whatever you want.”
“Yay~” Lin Naiyue enthusiastically took Cecilia’s hand. “Let’s go, let’s go. The water’s getting cold.”
“Yes, Mother!” Cecilia responded excitedly, then looked at Primrose with an almost reverent gaze. “Lady Goddess, please allow me… to go ahead and prepare everything for you!”
With that, her face red, her eyes turning into spiraling lines, and steam practically rising from her head, she marched stiffly, almost left-right-left, as Lin Naiyue pulled her into the bathroom.
‘What else could she do?’
“Sigh…” Primrose let out a resigned breath and accepted her fate.
She stepped into the bathroom. Warm, moist air rushed at her, and a thick white mist filled the space, partially obscuring the massive white jade bath.
Cecilia had already efficiently removed her saintly white robe, folded it neatly, and placed it on a nearby rack. She was only wrapped in a pristine white towel.
Lin Naiyue had also shed her Hero attire and expertly wrapped herself in a towel.
“Lady Goddess, your towel is ready.”
Seeing Primrose enter, Cecilia immediately approached, holding a fresh towel.
Primrose only then realized.
Right, undressing.
She turned her back and fumbled at her clothes.
Buttons, ties, and all those messy decorations…
Who knew what the game designers were thinking, making it so complicated!
Just as Primrose was at a loss, Lin Naiyue, watching her daughter stand there dumbfounded, walked over with a smile.
“Come on, Prim. Let Mommy help you.”
“Lady Goddess, do… do you need my help?”
Cecilia’s voice came from the side, carrying a barely perceptible eagerness.
Hearing her, Lin Naiyue and Cecilia exchanged glances.
“M-Mother, you go ahead.” Cecilia graciously yielded the opportunity.
“No, no, Cecilia. As Prim’s mother, I have this chance anytime. You do it.”
Lin Naiyue smiled with gentle maternal poise.
Seeing this, Primrose’s forehead filled with black lines.
Since when did helping her undress become an opportunity that required deferring??
In the end, Cecilia handled it.
During the undressing process, all Primrose had to do was spread her arms out to the sides.
The last time she’d been taken care of like this was back in first or second grade, when she’d throw a tantrum in the morning and make her mom take off her pajamas and put on her school uniform.
It felt incredibly strange. For the first time in her life, someone other than her mother was helping her undress.
“Alright, all set! Let’s get in the water!” Lin Naiyue announced cheerfully, stepping into the bath first.
The warm water immediately enveloped her body, drawing a satisfied sigh.
Cecilia followed.
Now only Primrose remained standing by the edge.
She looked at the misty bath before her, at the two figures—one large, one small—inside, and felt as if she were standing on an execution platform.
‘Who knew what those two would do once she stepped in?’
“Prim, come on in! The water’s wonderful.” Lin Naiyue waved her over.
Primrose took a deep breath, closed her eyes, steeled herself, and stepped into the bath.
As the warm water covered her body, she felt her tense nerves relax a little.
Mm, it really was comfortable…
Wait, this wasn’t the time to think about that!
She opened her eyes and found herself right between Lin Naiyue and Cecilia.
On her left was her mother, wearing a gentle, loving smile; on her right was the saintess with a very generous figure.
Cecilia’s aquamarine eyes darted quick, furtive glances at Primrose.
The Goddess’s shoulders… so white.
Her collarbone… so delicate.
And that silver-white hair, clinging wetly to her skin… she wanted to touch it up close…
Just then, Lin Naiyue suddenly cupped some water and splashed it at Primrose.
“Prim, let’s play!”
Warm droplets hit her face. Primrose instinctively raised a hand to shield herself.
She looked at her mother’s childlike, carefree smile, and long-buried memories began to surface.
It felt like it had been ages since she’d played like this with her mother.
Ever since she started high school, she’d been like a hedgehog, wrapping herself up, immersing herself in the world of games, brushing off her mother’s concern with perfunctory replies.
If she hadn’t died that day…
She’d probably still be at home, eating her mother’s home-cooked dinner, then retreating to her room to find some game that could replace Fantasy Divine Domain and diving into it.
A pang of indescribable bitterness welled up in Primrose’s heart.
She looked at Lin Naiyue, and without thinking, cupped some water and splashed it back.
A childish water fight erupted without warning.
“Eep! Prim, you sneak attack!”
Lin Naiyue, splashed in the face, wasn’t angry at all—she only laughed harder and launched an even fiercer counterattack.
For a moment, the bathroom was filled with flying water and the laughter of mother and daughter.
At first, Primrose was a bit reserved, but soon she was swept up in Lin Naiyue’s mood.
The awkwardness and resistance she’d felt seemed to wash away in the splashing water.
Yes, this was her mother.
No matter what she’d become, no matter which world they were in, that bond wouldn’t change.
Thinking that, it didn’t seem like such a big deal.
Primrose completely let go. Taking advantage of her longer arms, she chased after Lin Naiyue, splashing her with abandon, having a blast.
Cecilia, sitting to the side, was completely dumbfounded.
‘What was she seeing?’
The sacred, pure, inviolable Lady Goddess Primrose… was having a water fight?
And laughing so happily, so radiantly, like an ordinary girl next door.
This…
Cecilia felt her worldview being reshaped over and over.
So the Goddess could laugh, could play, could act like a child…
This realization didn’t diminish the goddess’s image in her eyes; instead, it created an unprecedented sense of closeness.
The Lady Goddess was no longer that distant, cold entity to be worshipped only before her statue.
She was flesh and blood, with feelings, who laughed and played… a living god.
Cecilia’s heart pounded violently. A fervent emotion, stronger than anything before, erupted from the depths of her soul.
She watched Primrose playing in the water—her silver-white hair tracing beautiful arcs in the air, water droplets sliding down her smooth skin, catching the light in the mist and scattering into specks of radiance.
So beautiful…
Like a scene straight out of myth.
Cecilia was mesmerized, completely forgetting where she was.
Just then, a splash of water hit her square in the face.