“So, Xian Ling, did you figure anything out?”
Watching Xian Ling stand at the entrance of the Great Tomb, her expression shifting repeatedly, Cyrene could not tell what had happened—but she could easily guess it was nothing good.
“…I just realized something very serious.
If you enter the Tomb of the Nameless Titan, you’ll be subjected to a terrifying restriction.”
After a moment of hesitation, Xian Ling chose to tell the truth.
There was no way to hide it anyway.
Cyrene wasn’t some airheaded fool like March.
Moreover, as she went deeper into the Great Tomb, her dormant memories would gradually awaken, and she would eventually remember what “Formatting” meant.
So, if she wanted Cyrene to successfully enter the Tomb and stay long enough, Xian Ling only had one option left…
No wonder Cyrene (Fuli form) had left that message.
‘You in the past nurture sprouting buds and form flawless affection.’
“Once you enter the Tomb of the Nameless Titan, you will trigger the Scepter’s Formatting.
When the Formatting Process reaches 100%, you will inevitably be loaded into the buffer zone—in other words… death.”
“And this kind of Formatting has extremely high priority.
Even if Demiurge has awakened, it can only delay the process…”
“…” Cyrene froze for a moment.
“Xian Ling, do you mean… I might not make it in time to finish telling the story?”
“There’s a chance of success, but at most… around forty percent.”
Xian Ling softly gave a number that was significantly higher than the actual probability.
“Forty percent… that’s quite a nerve-wracking probability.”
Cyrene’s expression also turned serious.
She was not afraid of death—but now she bore an important mission, and could no longer recklessly charge forward like before.
“If we move faster, would the odds improve?”
“Maybe.
But it won’t make much difference.
Long-distance warp can’t be used inside the Tomb.
And Fourth Mirror can’t enter either.”
“So… we can only gamble on this probability?”
Cyrene took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Forty percent—just barely at her bottom line.
Any lower, and she would never attempt it.
Any higher, and it might distort her mentality later.
“Even though I’ve become more mature than before… this feeling is still really unpleasant.” Cyrene clenched her fist.
“But don’t worry, Xian Ling.
“If it’s forty percent, then so be it.
If I really can’t hold on… Xian Ling, you must help me tell Demiurge the rest of the story.”
“From what you described, she seems like a good child.
I believe with your ability, you’ll definitely gain Demiurge’s trust.”
“But then the problem shifts somewhere else…” Xian Ling smiled bitterly and shook her head, lightly holding Cyrene’s hand.
“Oh right… Herta once gave me a ritual to increase luck.
Since we don’t have any other options, want to try it?”
“Eh, really?”
Cyrene blinked.
Previously, in the Membrane Maze, Fourth Mirror had also mentioned curios like Felicitous Gel related to “luck.” Given Xian Ling’s position, it wasn’t strange for her to know such things—so Cyrene didn’t doubt her at all.
“Of course it’s real.
But you have to close your eyes first.”
“Okay~ sounds like a very mysterious ritual ♪”
“Mm…”
Xian Ling responded somewhat guiltily.
She rarely lied.
More often, she simply packaged real information to achieve her goals—but now she had to tell Cyrene two lies at once.
Even for the sake of completing everything, her expression was still a bit unnatural.
Unfortunately, Cyrene had her eyes closed and didn’t notice it.
After preparing a few preliminary steps—such as Compiled Data Overwrite and Remote Transmission—Xian Ling slowly stepped closer, then wrapped her arms around the girl’s slender waist.
Cyrene let out a confused sound at the sudden intimacy, her pale cheeks gradually flushing red.
But before she could react, she suddenly felt a soft, sweet contact.
“Mmngh?!”
This time, Cyrene could no longer remain calm.
A warm current surged through her body in an instant, the blush spreading from her cheeks all the way to her pointed elven ears.
For a moment she tried to push Xian Ling away, but her body had already gone weak on its own.
However, this kind of action also seemed like a serious test for Xian Ling’s own shame threshold.
So after only a brief, featherlight touch, she immediately let go.
Even though Cyrene looked weaker between the two of them, for two people who hadn’t known each other for long, this level of intimacy was still a bit beyond the limit.
“This… this is the method you were talking about?
Did Lady Herta really teach you this?”
Cyrene’s chest rose and fell lightly with her breathing, her voice mixed with confusion, shock—and a trace of dissatisfaction that she couldn’t quite place.
And one could only wonder whether Demiurge, within the Great Tomb, was able to witness this utterly yuri-filled scene.
Of course, this wasn’t entirely false.
Ruan Mei’s emotional understanding was somewhat flawed, and after taking Xian Ling in, the way she expressed affection was… a bit excessive.
Even recalling those simulated memories alone was enough to make Xian Ling’s face flush.
“Y-you’re not lying, are you?”
Noticing Xian Ling’s uncertainty, Cyrene, now also flustered, patted her reddened cheeks, trying to regain some composure.
“Or are you just using this as an excuse to do something indecent to a cute girl, hm ♪?”
“Cough, no.
It’s normal for close girls to hug and kiss each other, right?
Besides, it was just part of the ritual…”
Seeing Cyrene suddenly adopt a tone reminiscent of Ellie in a hurry, Xian Ling quickly walked ahead.
“Anyway, that’s the ritual.
Now all you have to do is believe in yourself, and you’ll definitely survive the Scepter’s deletion, okay?”
“Eh?
Hey, you’re just going in on your own…” Cyrene hurried after her.
“Honestly, that was my first kiss, you know!
Don’t you have anything to say about it, Xian Ling?”
“It was my first kiss too.”
“That’s not what I want to hear!
You’re so robotic… never mind, I’ll deal with you after we get out of the Tomb…”
Cyrene finally let it go—for now.
But she didn’t intend to forgive Xian Ling so easily.
After all, stirring a girl’s emotions came with responsibility.
Even now, her body still felt warm, not yet recovered from earlier.
However, what Cyrene did not notice was this:
Just as the redness on a face is not the same as overheating, the warmth inside her body might not have been entirely due to embarrassment.
Excess data transmission could also cause the body to heat up.
[Scanning in progress…
Target: PhiLia093.]
★ ★ ★
T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
★ ★ ★
Shilling time!