Chapter 31: Life

Anlis had already heard from her mother about how Vylian had saved the village.

At first, a faint trace of gratitude welled up in her heart.

After all, no matter how you looked at it, this annoying Demon King had genuinely saved someone close to her.

Then she heard that the troublesome lord noble had turned into a Corrupted Disaster…

That tiny bit of gratitude vanished instantly.

Corrupted Disaster. Corrupt Monarch.

Anyone with eyes could see this was clearly the other party staging the whole thing!

First, corrupt the greedy noble, control his mind to cause trouble, then finally defeat him in front of everyone, reaping a field full of praise and gratitude.

The routine was old-fashioned, but it was indeed effective.

After all, who could refuse this kind of life-saving help arriving in a snowstorm?

And finally, through her own mother telling the story, anyone hearing it would surely feel indebted.

Anlis inwardly scorned it all, but on the surface, she still had to show gratitude.

This was the result the other party wanted to see, and it also served as a layer of disguise for herself, lowering Vylian’s suspicion of her.

“Checkmate.”

Vylian, focused on the chessboard, placed her chariot in a tricky position, planning to take Anlis’s horse after she moved her marshal.

The thrill of bullying a novice was truly delightful.

Just like stepping on Anlis yesterday.

“Ah, this is so hard. I lost again.”

“Actually, you could make a move to stay alive.”

Vylian pointed at the marshal, indicating that Anlis could move it one space in another direction.

Then Vylian could cheerfully say, “Your horse is gone.”

“Sigh, I see it now. I’m completely defeated. Continuing is pointless. Let’s just start another game.”

“Well… alright then.”

Then let your horse be gone next game.

Just as Vylian was tidying the chessboard, Anlis suddenly glanced at the sky outside the window.

“It’s already so late. Maybe we should just go to sleep.”

Vylian quietly sensed the time. It was actually only around eight or nine o’clock. She never had the habit of sleeping this early.

But for some reason, she felt like Anlis was making an excuse to escape because she kept getting crushed.

Was it because she had been too serious about crushing a newbie, with no intention of going easy?

After all, she was someone who always gave her all.

“The Hero can’t run away from battle, you know.”

“I’m really sleepy.”

‘Just kidding.’

‘Played eight games, got crushed eight times. Absolutely zero gaming experience. Anyone who could keep playing would be a saint.’

Helplessly, Vylian could only put the pieces away.

Anlis very consciously curled up against the wall side of the bed, leaving a large space for Vylian.

Vylian lay down gently, pulled up the thin blanket, and as the candle flame was extinguished, the room instantly fell into silence. Only moonlight spilled in, laying a soft silvery white over the interior.

Anlis wasn’t lying comfortably.

Her face showed no expression, but her heart was inexplicably pounding, almost leaping out of her chest.

The whole time, she could smell that faint, elusive scent of roses from Vylian.

She had thought it was perfume, but even after bathing, without any makeup, that scent on the other’s body remained elegantly lingering.

Especially in such a quiet night, the fragrance was particularly strong.

It wasn’t pungent; instead, it was quite soothing.

If it was a natural scent, where exactly was it emanating from?

“Anlis, are you asleep?”

Suddenly, a soft call came from beside her.

“No.”

“Oh.”

A while passed.

“How about now?”

“What do you want?”

“I can’t sleep. How about another game?”

“No. We have farm work to do tomorrow.”

“Farm work?” Vylian was taken aback. “So you weren’t lying to me last night? You really have to work?”

“Of course. That’s why I said I have no energy to deal with the Hero’s Mission.”

Vylian fell silent for a moment.

Right now, she truly felt this girl was just an unambitious country bumpkin.

Even after gaining power that could easily change her own fate, she was still thinking about her own little plot of land.

The two chatted idly. After a while, Anlis suddenly spoke softly.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

“You saved the village this afternoon, right? If I’d come back to find the village completely destroyed, I really wouldn’t have known what to do. It’s good you were there.”

“It was a trivial matter.”

Vylian’s words were casual, but a strange flicker of joy rose in her heart.

‘She actually came to thank me specially?’

‘Hmph. I didn’t do it to save people.’

‘It was mainly to cut off the Hero’s growth opportunity. Saving the village was just a byproduct.’

‘Now, without the hatred of her family being wiped out, the Hero will never have such a strong motivation to grow stronger.’

‘Hehe. I disrupted her growth, and she still has to thank me.’

Thinking about it, perhaps feeling a bit bored, not long after, intense drowsiness washed over her. Vylian just fell asleep like that, without any warning.

Anlis, who had been silent for a long time, had wanted to say something more, but then heard the breathing of the girl beside her gradually become even and gentle.

It seemed she was probably asleep.

Just a moment ago, she was clamoring to play chess and wouldn’t sleep, and now she was out like a light so quickly.

Letting out a soft sigh, a somewhat resigned Anlis also prepared to close her eyes and rest.

Too much had happened today. Even though she had napped a bit in the evening, she still felt heavy with sleepiness.

Suddenly, something pressed down on her, startling away all her drowsiness.

“What’s going on?”

She quickly raised her head and found a fair, slender leg now resting on her body.

What did this mean?

Anlis instinctively turned her head, thinking the little loli had deliberately put her leg over, perhaps even seeing the other girl’s eyes open with a mischievous grin.

But what met her eyes was Vylian’s sleeping face, her lips slightly parted with soft, milky murmurs, clearly in deep sleep.

‘Is this girl’s sleeping posture this unruly?’

‘Why is she moving around so much?’

She wanted to reach out and move that leg away, but then another hand swung over.

Anlis hurriedly shielded her chest, and that hand settled steadily on her body. The pressure wasn’t light or heavy, as if she was being used as a soft pillow, and it even subconsciously hugged her a bit tighter.

So much so that Anlis, just from the sensation of lying on her side, could feel the curves of the other’s body.

Whether it was the slightly rising peaks or what pressed against her thigh below…

‘I’ve had enough!’

She had to move this girl away.

Anlis was just about to move when an utterly terrifying pressure suddenly spread out, making her whole body shudder and instantly freeze in place, not daring to move a muscle.

‘What’s happening?’

‘Is she awake?’

‘No, not awake. If she had woken up, she wouldn’t be so careless as to release pressure of this level.’

‘So… is it waking temper?’

‘Can I handle a Demon King’s waking temper?’

‘If I wake her up now, I’ll definitely be in for a world of trouble.’

Anlis’s face twisted into a bitter expression.

‘Maybe… I should just let her hold me like this?’

‘Wail!’

“Sigh, life… could you just give me a break once?”