Alex Morgan walked over and stared at the photos with her cherry-red eyes.
The photos weren’t framed in any professional way; they were just casually tacked up with thumbtacks or cute stickers.
The content of the photos was almost entirely scenery.
There were farmlands shimmering in the sunset, skyscrapers and bustling traffic, blue coastlines under summer cumulonimbus clouds, and stray cats lazily sunbathing in unknown alleys.
Although the composition and lighting didn’t seem to show any profound technique—they even looked a bit amateurish—and the image quality wasn’t high, looking like they were taken with a mobile phone, every photo possessed a natural, clear quality that made one feel calm just by looking at them.
Sensing Alex Morgan’s slight distraction, Sophie chuckled.
“Senior, you don’t remember Rosehaven Town anymore, right? That’s perfect; I go out to take photos every weekend!”
“Look, this is the most famous statue in the Second District…”
She sat by the desk and began rambling on, introducing various places in Rosehaven Town to Alex Morgan, seemingly wanting to use this to awaken her memories.
After introducing for a while, Sophie seemed to realize something, sniffed slightly, and then stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.
“Sorry, Senior! Are you feeling a bit uncomfortable? Are you very tired?”
“After all, Senior just had such an intense fight with those monsters, your magic power is almost exhausted, and your body feels sticky, full of sweat and dust. You must really want a bath!”
Alex Morgan’s slightly unfocused gaze reconverged, moving away from the photos to look at Sophie.
What she said was indeed a fact.
Even though she had eaten and drunk her fill, her current state was not good, and she felt even less like moving.
She had to know that today was her first time encountering a situation where her magic power was exhausted—or to be precise, the first time she had survived after running out of magic power—and thus she had discovered some properties.
Magic power is a very subtle force, seemingly linked to the spirit, and its recovery speed is slower than she imagined; perhaps it isn’t something that can just increase by sitting still.
She indeed needed a thorough rest to restore her combat capability, otherwise, she wouldn’t feel secure in her heart.
Sophie grabbed Alex Morgan’s hand, excitedly pointing towards the direction of the bathroom downstairs, her eyes sparkling with anticipation: “Let’s go, let’s go! The hot water should be ready; let’s go take a bath together!”
Hmm, taking a hot bath would be very helpful for recovering energy and improving sleep quality.
This matter is… Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Wait, what did she say?
Sophie said very naturally: “My bathtub at home is very big, more than enough for two people to soak!”
Huh?!
At this instant, the Pink-haired girl’s pink eyes widened slightly, and the [Precision Control Engine] that had been operating precisely within her Soul seemed to jam at this moment, with vigilance arising spontaneously.
—Wait a second, that’s not how it works in a Heartbound!
Sophie should be like Hailey Morgan, constantly using various methods to increase her favorability, and only after making her draw many tally marks in a notebook could she start to gradually shorten the social distance, and after reaching a certain level, propose the request to come over to her place, which she wouldn’t refuse.
But even so, the distance between agreeing to bathe with Hailey Morgan, or even playing that boyfriend game—which who knows what kind of demands it would make—was still miles away, or even a distance she would likely never agree to in her entire life!
How is it that just having met today, Sophie is going to directly unlock her special CG?!
This, this isn’t right, is it?!
“By the way, Senior, do you still remember what taking a bath is?”
Sophie continued to explain to herself, raising her index finger and assuming a mentor-like posture: “It’s just soaking in hot water after cleaning your body, emptying your mind, which can achieve the effect of relaxing the body and Soul.”
“Don’t ever underestimate taking a bath; what water temperature is most suitable, how long is the optimal bathing time, how much iced strawberry milk to drink in one go after coming out to feel comfortable… there is a lot of knowledge inside!”
Then, she realized she couldn’t pull Momoka’s hand.
“…What’s wrong?”
Seeing the Pink-haired girl standing blankly in place, not being pulled, Sophie was a bit confused, then tentatively asked: “Could it be that Senior doesn’t want to bathe with me?”
“…”
Although Alex Morgan didn’t reply, this in itself was a kind of answer.
“Eh—?”
Sophie’s originally high spirits visibly dropped.
She let go of her hand, lowered her head slightly, and those big emerald green eyes looked a bit downcast: “I was thinking we could scrub each other’s backs and chat about Magical Girl topics while we’re at it…”
“…”
It seems that’s also true.
Right now, she is not her original self, but a Magical Girl.
So Sophie is not trying to unlock her special CG, but just engaging in normal interaction between Magical Girls, like a way to advance the plot normally in an anime?
Although it’s not like this in a Heartbound, it does seem to be like this in Magical Girl works, where it can enhance friendship and better extract information; if she refused, it would actually hinder the plot progression…
So, is it possible that she was indeed overly cautious and misjudged the genre of the work?
At this moment, Sophie keenly captured the Pink-haired girl’s hesitation, and her expression suddenly brightened: “Hehe! I knew Senior wouldn’t refuse!”
She excitedly ran to the wardrobe and quickly fished out a pile of colorful fabrics from inside.
“We have similar figures, so Senior will definitely be able to wear my pajamas!”
She picked up two sets of pajamas and gestured them against Alex Morgan, her eyes sparkling with the interest of a dress-up game: “How about this one? Pink lace trim, or this one? Pure white, with a bow at the neckline, the fabric is super smooth and comfortable! Ah, and this one with the little bear print…”
Alex Morgan finally came back to her senses, looking at Sophie who was already showing an expression that allowed no refusal, and those fabrics full of ruffles, lace, and cartoon patterns.
She hesitated for a moment and pointed to the relatively simple white style: “…This one.”
“Eh~”
Sophie seemed a bit disappointed, but didn’t say anything more; she stuffed the pajamas into Momoka’s arms, then took out two sets of underwear, and holding her hand, ran towards the bathroom with some excitement.
“Even if Senior doesn’t remember anything, it’s fine; I’ll help Senior scrub clean!”
…
The bathroom was filled with steam.
An hour later.
As the bathroom door was pushed open, a wave of warm, moist air carrying the fresh scent of body wash gushed out.
“Phew… so comfortable! As expected, taking a bath is justice!”
Sophie sighed with satisfaction while wiping her wet hair with a towel; she was wearing that pink lace nightgown, the blue gem brooch was still hanging in its original position as if it had a magnet, her cheeks were flushed with a healthy glow from the steam, and she turned her head to look inside the bathroom.