As soon as I woke up in the morning, yesterday's events ca rushing back.
"Tomorrow, after the sun sets, please co to the village chief's backyard. I'll be there to greet you!"
Yesterday, Viola seed overjoyed at the thought of having a visitor at her ho for the first ti.
But now, the problem was .
"Ah… I'm getting tired of reading palms."
[Still, based on yesterday, it's fortunate that you hardly use any Enel now.]
Armonia was right.
But the real issue wasn't palm reading—it was the won.
A woman would co, get her palm read, be amazed, and leave. Then another would take her place, and the cycle would repeat endlessly.
The sa words would send them into fits of excitent every ti…
At first, it was manageable, but after a few days, it beca unbearably tedious.
I stepped into the living room for breakfast.
Unlike yesterday, the village chief was there, grumbling.
"Ugh…"
"Is sothing wrong?"
"The person who did the housework here suddenly quit because she had urgent business. Damn it, she could've at least made breakfast before leaving..."
The chief explained that the woman he had hired had abruptly packed her belongings and left in a hurry early in the morning.
There had been no warning signs, but now he was in a difficult situation.
I hadn't expected her to bolt after just one day either.
"Well, that's how it is. We'll each have to handle our own als… No objections, right?"
Judging by his expression, he had no intention of returning the Crystal Pearl.
Not that I had planned on accepting a fake one anyway…
'This old man's shalessness knows no bounds.'
[Perhaps you could eat secretly in your room using Enel…]
'No, wait a second.'
I stopped the chief as he was about to turn and walk away.
"Hey."
"Hm? What is it?"
"If it's alright with you, I can prepare a al."
"Huh? You?"
I casually explained that I had lived alone for a long ti, so I knew how to cook.
"I'm an outsider, so doing household chores might be inappropriate… But I can at least cook."
"Hmm… Alright, then. I'll leave it to you. Let know when it's ready."
"Sure, it won't take long."
The chief headed upstairs.
Creaaaak... Click!
I listened for the sound of his door closing before speaking to Armonia.
"Armonia, if I make sothing similar to what we ate yesterday, how much Enel will it cost?"
[It will require 2 Enel.]
"Only 2 Enel for a al? That's surprising."
Even when I crossed the desert, I had only used about 10 Enel in total—for food, water, and summoning a tent.
[Though I can't say for certain, I believe this might be a form of consideration.]
"Consideration?"
Armonia explained.
Enel Corporation had once provided an enormous amount of Enel to the Sanctuary and the Zodiac, nearly on par with the highest contributors.
At that ti, it had been an obligation, but ultimately, they had offered a significant amount of Enel. In return, it seed they were being given minimal opportunities and resources.
Allowing Armonia, who was on the verge of collapse, to choose was one example.
And for us, who were now walking a dangerous tightrope, perhaps they were nearly giving us necessities like food and shelter for free.
…Or so Armonia speculated.
[This is just my guess, of course.]
"Well, maybe they're hoping to nurture us back to what we used to be."
If Enel Corporation had once thrived by discovering and fostering talents, it would make sense that they still wanted to do so.
"Alright, then make the food in about 20 minutes."
[By the way, Suho, why are you helping the chief?]
"Right now, it's just and the chief in this house. If he starts feeling uneasy about being here, he might bring in the village guards, and that would be a hassle. I just need to show him that I'm a decent guy."
[That is a wise decision.]
Later, when I presented the al to the chief, he was delighted. We ate together before heading off.
***
Night fell.
Everything around was shrouded in darkness.
As usual, I had spent the day reading palms for won.
Once night ca, I pretended to sleep at the chief's house, then slipped out the window and headed to the backyard.
"This should be the place…."
Viola had ntioned that I would find a tree with a ribbon tied around it behind the village chief's house.
"Ah, there it is."
A long piece of fabric wrapped around a large tree, tied into a ribbon.
Then, suddenly, soone slid out from the tree.
"Ah! You're here!"
"Whoa, that scared !"
"Hehe, did I surprise you?"
Of course, I was startled.
I'd been having nightmares of a hero suddenly appearing and saying, 'Hi, I'm the hero. Now, die.' before slashing at .
Viola grabbed my wrist and pulled inside the tree.
Surprisingly, the tree let pass through it as if it were a hologram.
When she ntioned a secret passage, I had imagined an underground tunnel, like sothing out of a mine.
But this was completely different.
Inside the tree was an elegant corridor, like sothing out of a grand palace.
It was so brightly lit that I could have sworn it was dayti.
But none of that mattered to right now.
Viola.
She was wearing a blue dress.
The off-shoulder top exposed her collarbones, elegantly highlighting her figure. White lace delicately covered the upper chest area, just barely concealing her cleavage.
A large flower rested on her left breast, from which embroidered floral patterns cascaded down the dress's flowing lines.
It was the kind of outfit you'd see in a fairy tale or a movie.
I stared, srized. Viola, noticing my gaze, fidgeted shyly before speaking.
"U-Um… Does it look strange?"
"No… You look absolutely stunning."
"Hehe, thank you…! Co this way!"
Viola twirled slightly, making her dress flutter, and grabbed my wrist again.
She was clearly excited.
Not romantically or physically, but in the way soone feels when they finally get to share sothing precious with a friend for the first ti.
Viola was as excited as a child at the thought of introducing her ho to a first-ti visitor.
The place they arrived at was a magnificent underground palace.
It was a taphor, but it truly resembled the interior of a palace.
'What is this, a dieval bunker or sothing...?'
[This is truly amazing. To have such a facility built beneath the village.]
'Wouldn't this have been built before the village was even established?'
[There isn't enough information to determine that, but with a facility of this scale, it seems unlikely that it was built underground after the village was already inhabited.]
The ceiling appeared to be about 20 ters high, with multiple rooms lined up on either side. It was a place truly worthy of being called a palace.
At the centre stood a large dining table, but there were only two chairs.
Behind it, there was a podium of so sort, and beyond that, a spiral staircase stretched upward toward the ceiling.
"The rooms on the left are the ones I use. And this one is my bedroom."
Viola's bedroom door was noticeably different from the others.
Even though the other doors exuded an air of luxury, this bedroom door was on another level.
It was sheer majesty.
Viola opened the door and walked in without any particular reaction.
To an outsider, it would feel like barging into a king's quarters.
Once inside, the room looked like it belonged to an actual princess.
[This is an incredibly lavish facility. The furniture emits energy used in this world.]
'Like mana?'
[Yes, that's correct.]
'Damn, is this place suddenly going to execute outsiders or sothing?'
[You don't have to worry. The functions are simple—deodorization, humidification, temperature control, and dust collection for cleaning.]
'...'
That actually sounds even more impressive.
Viola led around, introducing every room.
The bathroom, the washroom, the kitchen—there wasn't a single space that wasn't extravagant.
But the most impressive of all was the dressing room.
As soon as I stepped inside, I was greeted by rows of dresses stretching out on either side.
There were traditional outfits from various countries, as well as extravagant gowns. If a dress didn't exist here, it probably didn't exist anywhere.
"This is the wardrobe…."
"Wow~"
And among all the dresses, one stood out the most….
"Wow, this one is really beautiful."
"T-that is…."
It was a wedding dress, displayed in a glass case.
Unlike the other dresses, it was prominently showcased, making it the most eye-catching piece in the room.
"This… my brother brought it for to wear soday."
"Oh…."
Her expression didn't look very happy.
To lighten Viola's mood, I asked her to show the rest of the place.
And the more I looked around, the more it reminded of the spaceship.
'Armonia.'
[Yes.]
'This place might actually be better than our ship.'
In terms of technology, of course, the ship was overwhelmingly superior. But in terms of aesthetics, this place was in another league.
[Excluding functionality, this place is far superior to our ship.]
'Let's not degrade ourselves that much. We still have the warp room, my office, and in the ship's corridors, I saw tons of doors on either side. What's inside those?'
[Nothing.]
'Huh? What do you an, nothing?'
[If you open those doors, there's nothing—just the exterior of the ship.]
'Wait, then why are there even doors?'
Could they be ergency exits for escaping hyperspace? If I step out, I feel like my atoms would scatter into space….
[Well….]
According to Armonia, the ship originally had various facilities, but due to poor circumstances, they were all dismantled.
As a result, the doors remained, but opening them would reveal nothing but the endless void of space.
After hearing the explanation, I could sum it up quite simply.
'It's like a fish with just the head, tail, and backbone….'
And not even a backbone with spines—just a plain one.
[By stripping the ship down to only essential facilities, we barely managed to gather enough Enel to summon you, Guardian.]
'You must've gone through a lot.'
[It's sothing I chose to do.]
Armonia sounded a bit down, which made feel a little sorry for her.
I should try to lighten the mood.
'Ohhh, so the exterior must be shaped like a dick then.'
[…]
Was that a failure...?
No! Maybe deep down, she's actually laughing.
'Di…ck?'
[…]
'…Sorry.'
Damn, guess not…
The energy I was getting from Armonia made feel like assaulting her would be less of a garbage move than this.
Let's… not ss with the ship… Noted…
After showing all the rooms, Viola took back to her own.
We sat on the bed and talked.
"Viola, then what about the house in the village?"
"Oh, that's the place my brother uses when he goes outside. If you go up that staircase in the middle, it leads to that house."
She pointed to the centre of the interior structure.
A spiral staircase stretched all the way up to the ceiling.
"What about you, then?"
"I'm not really allowed to go out."
"Then… what do you do all day?"
"I just… exist."
…Did she misunderstand my question?
"No, I an, don't you do anything? Like read books, draw, or make things…?"
"Oh… My brother said that if I do anything, it could be dangerous, so I should always stay still."
"…"
"I just sleep, wake up, eat, sit at the table, then sleep again. When my brother isn't around, I sneak outside and listen to people talk. That's my favourite thing!"
Viola smiled at with genuine joy, but seeing that only made my blood boil.
'That bastard…'
[An extravagant cage unlike any other.]
Armonia was right.
She didn't have to do anything.
But she also wasn't allowed to do anything.
There weren't even books here, and Viola didn't seem to grasp the concept of tools.
She didn't cook or do laundry either.
The villagers brought her als, and whenever she handed out her laundry, soone took care of it for her.
The only thing she could do was eavesdrop on passing conversations and interpret them for her own amusent.
And on one of her rare permitted outings, she happened to stumble upon .
"eting you, Suho is the happiest mont of my life…"
"Viola…"
I pushed Viola down onto the bed and kissed her. I kept my lips closed, just feeling her warmth.
But she was the first to part her lips, slipping her tongue inside to pry mine open.
Her saliva-dampened tongue swam through my mouth, stoking the fire of excitent.
But I deliberately pulled away.
Viola, completely lost in the kiss, whimpered when I suddenly stopped and looked at with teary eyes.
"Ah… Why…?"
"There's sothing I need to confirm."
"Please… tell …"
She placed her hands gently around my neck, practically begging to speak quickly so we could resu kissing.
I caressed her flushed cheek and whispered,
"Co with ."
"Huh? Ah…"
I hadn't asked expecting an answer.
Before she could respond, I kissed her again, and this ti, she didn't even get the chance to speak before diving back into my mouth.
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