Deep within the consciousness space, the Herrscher of Thunder sat curled up, hugging her knees.
There was something the Herrscher of Thunder hadn’t told Ling Yi.
Whenever she wished, she could sense everything happening to Raiden Mei.
It was like watching a movie—she could see everything Raiden Mei experienced.
And so…
she had seen Ling Yi and Raiden Mei open their hearts to each other, then bid each other good night.
She felt…
a little empty inside.
She wanted to protect Ling Yi too, yet Ling Yi had chosen that coward and had even stayed by her side just now.
Hah.
She was a divine apostle, the incarnation of the Honkai.
She didn’t need Ling Yi.
Besides, she was dangerous to begin with.
Wasn’t it only natural for people to avoid dangerous things?
She had repeatedly killed Ling Yi before, so it was perfectly normal for Ling Yi not to like her.
She didn’t want to see Ling Yi anymore.
She didn’t even want to fight.
Ling Yi didn’t like her anyway.
So be it.
Crack— Just as the Herrscher of Thunder was thinking this, the sound of something shattering came from the upper layer of the consciousness space.
The Herrscher of Thunder’s eyes lit up.
That sound could only mean one thing—Ling Yi was here.
She hurriedly looked up, only to remember that she was still angry.
She couldn’t act like this.
She quickly turned her head away from the approaching figure.
“I’m back.” Ling Yi moved closer and tried to hug the Herrscher of Thunder, only to embrace empty air.
“Are you angry, sweetheart?” Ling Yi asked cautiously, keeping her tone as gentle as possible.
She had come back to sleep.
Although she was now only a consciousness-form, she had retained the human habit of sleeping.
The deeper consciousness space was indeed darker and more suitable for rest.
No wonder consciousnesses in novels and stories always retreated into their deepest layers to rest.
The quality of sleep really was better here.
“No.” The Herrscher of Thunder snorted and turned away, feeling incredibly irritated.
‘Who are you calling sweetheart…?
That’s so childish!’ “I’m sleepy.” After subconsciously deciding that the Herrscher of Thunder wasn’t too angry, Ling Yi yawned and completely relaxed her body and mind.
She truly was exhausted.
Her thoughts were already hazy.
“Then sleep.
Why tell me?” The Herrscher of Thunder was puzzled.
“I want to sleep in your arms.
It was so comfortable when I slept in your arms this afternoon.” Ling Yi smacked her lips.
Although she hadn’t slept for long that afternoon because Raiden Mei had been kidnapped, it had been truly comfortable.
“Wh-What are you saying?!” The Herrscher of Thunder felt her heart stop for an instant before it began pounding wildly like a deer that had slipped its reins.
Her head buzzed as blood rushed into it all at once.
“I said your body is very comfortable.” Ling Yi was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.
After bluntly saying this, she toppled over.
“H-Hey!!” The Herrscher of Thunder watched Ling Yi slowly fall.
Normally, she would at least have reached out to steady her.
But now, she had resolved not to have any more contact with this person.
She had made up her mind, and this was the moment to stand firm.
The time had come for the Herrscher of Thunder, divine apostle that she was, to prove her resolve!
Thump— The Herrscher of Thunder caught Ling Yi and slowly sat down with her in her arms.
“You’re the best, my dear Herrscher of Thunder~ I like you, I like you~” Ling Yi, clearly not fully conscious, nuzzled deeper into the Herrscher of Thunder’s embrace like a child.
Her mind had completely stopped functioning.
She couldn’t think about anything else, or her head would start hurting.
“Do you even know what you’re saying?!” The Herrscher of Thunder could no longer think.
She felt as though she had lost her soul.
It was as if sorcery had taken control of her mind, leaving her soul, heart, and even body no longer her own.
She had never heard Ling Yi say anything like this before.
Ling Yi was never this direct!
“I know…
I know.
My dear Herrscher of Thunder, I’m saying it to you.
I like you, I like you.” Ling Yi thought they were all friends—friends for life.
Of course there was affection between people who were like family.
Whether it was Raiden Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder, Kiana, or Mobius, Ling Yi wanted to remain friends with them for the rest of her life.
Never to be separated.
“Shut up!!!” Countless bolts of lightning erupted around the Herrscher of Thunder as she unleashed her power in all directions.
An overwhelming sense of embarrassment flooded her heart.
Yet even then, not a single bolt struck Ling Yi.
“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry…
Whimper~” Amid the raging thunder, Ling Yi clung tightly to the Herrscher of Thunder and let out a pitiful whine like a puppy.
“…Tch.” The Herrscher of Thunder took a moment to calm down and suppressed the strange feeling in her heart.
Looking at Ling Yi in her arms, she tried to push her away.
Her hand rested on Ling Yi’s shoulder, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to move it.
The air gradually fell silent, and the raging lightning slowly faded.
The Herrscher of Thunder gazed at the damselette in her arms.
The person who had just opened her heart to Raiden Mei was now lying in her embrace.
Just what was Ling Yi thinking…?
“Why did you come here?” The Herrscher of Thunder asked in an exceptionally quiet voice.
“Because I need to sleep, because I need to rest, and because you’re here.” Ling Yi was already half asleep and speaking purely on instinct.
“…Weren’t you angry?
Weren’t you angry with that coward?
Weren’t you on her side?
Why did you come to me?” “Are you two…
enemies?
Why can’t I come to you just because I went to her?
Besides, I was angry with her because I thought…
she was being irrational…” Ling Yi hadn’t been angry with Raiden Mei because of the Herrscher of Thunder.
She had only been angry that Raiden Mei had irrationally accepted the challenge without protecting herself.
Later, once she realized Raiden Mei had been perfectly rational when she accepted the challenge and understood her reasoning, she naturally stopped being angry.
“That coward and I…?” The Herrscher of Thunder fell into thought.
Perhaps they were enemies in a certain sense, but putting that relationship aside, she and Raiden Mei didn’t get along badly.
“Besides…
anyone could tell that you care about me and only want to protect me…
Why would I abandon you?
You’re my…
friend.” Ling Yi didn’t understand.
She was now acting entirely on instinct.
“You won’t abandon me?
Even though I’m so dangerous?
Even though I’ll kill you?” “I’ll come back to life, so I’m not scared.
I can revive an infinite number of times.
You’re just a little sensitive and a little tsundere, my dear Herrscher of Thunder.
Deep down, you’re a very, very good person.” In Ling Yi’s memories, the Herrscher of Thunder had once loved Kiana and used Self-Seal to avoid hurting her.
How could someone capable of doing that be a bad person?
“Do you know something, my dear Herrscher of Thunder?” “What?” “When you said you wanted to protect me, I could’ve died without regrets.” It was the same for everyone.
Raiden Mei and the Herrscher of Thunder had fought because each wanted to prove she could protect Ling Yi, just as Kiana had said she was willing to oppose the entire world for her.
With friends like them, Ling Yi could die without regrets.
“Idiot.” The Herrscher of Thunder looked at Ling Yi, now completely asleep in her arms, and gently stroked her bangs.
She really was just like a child.
This side of her was completely different from usual.
A mixture of nervousness and curiosity arose within the Herrscher of Thunder.
She bent down, her long purple hair slowly spilling across Ling Yi’s face.
She was sleeping so deeply this time.
If she kissed her now, would Ling Yi get angry?
Would she be scared?
Would she hate her?
Ever since Ling Yi had fallen asleep, the Herrscher of Thunder had been able to hear her own heartbeat.
What had once been a flowing river was gradually becoming a storm-tossed sea.
‘I really hate Ling Yi,’ the Herrscher of Thunder thought.
‘I truly hate her.’ ‘How could you say something like that?’ The Herrscher of Thunder gently rubbed Ling Yi’s head as she listened to her mumbling in her sleep.
That’s right.
‘I won’t lose to that coward.’ ★ ★ ★ T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me!
★ ★ ★ Shilling time!