deia froze for a mont, caught off guard by how quickly Lucian had read her mind. She let out a quiet sigh, realizing that lying to him was becoming more and more impossible now that he knew about the system.
Not that she had been entirely honest with him to begin with.
She had never told him the real reason she had the system in the first place—to find a husband.
What if he thought their entire relationship was a lie?
But at the end of the day, she would have to tell him the truth eventually—just... not now.
"This is just a side quest," she admitted, her voice steady. "It’s not my main mission, but the system put a ti limit on it."
Wait.
If she rembered correctly, hadn’t the system told her that finding a husband was her main mission, while building a safe haven and helping people were just side missions?
Then... what happened after she married Lucian?
[You don’t need to think about things that are still far off, Host.]
’Hey, you never know. He might just propose out of nowhere.’
[Maybe. And when that happens, your mission will change from finding a husband... to pleasing your husband.]
deia squinted, feeling an imdiate sense of discomfort at the system’s choice of words.
Pleasing him how exactly? In bed? In daily life? What?
She knew plenty of ways to satisfy a man in bed, but at that point, her so-called survival story would turn into a 24/7 adult film.
No one wanted to watch porn every single day—
Actually, scratch that. Everyone probably did.
Maybe the system was right—there was no point worrying about things that hadn’t happened yet.
Besides, who knew how long the system would even stick around? It wasn’t like it had promised to stay with her forever.
"If your quest has anything to do with , just ask directly," Lucian said, "I don’t want you getting hurt over sothing avoidable."
deia waved a hand dismissively. "Relax. The system isn’t going to kill just because I fail a quest."
She was confident about that.
A Goddess had already rewarded her, which ant the watchers enjoyed her show. As long as she kept them entertained, they wouldn’t just wipe her out.
Not yet, at least.
"Where do you think we should park the truck?" she asked, shifting to sothing more serious. "Not too close to the base, but not too far either."
"It doesn’t really matter," Lucian replied. "I can cover it with snow, so even if it’s nearby, no one will be able to see it."
deia frowned, tapping her fingers against the window. "I don’t think leaving it near the Red Canyon is a good idea. The watchtower guards weren’t exaggerating—there’s sothing out there. You saw it too, right?"
Lucian nodded. He hadn’t gotten a clear look, but from the way those figures moved through the storm, towering over the snowdrifts, he could tell—they were massive, maybe three tis the size of a grown man.
"We’ll deal with them when we get back," deia murmured, her eyes narrowing as she tried to look at the figures among the white snow.
An uneasy feeling settled in her gut. They might be a problem.
In the end, they parked the truck farther from the canyon, finding a narrow ravine enclosed by high stone walls. Lucian covered the vehicle with thick layers of snow until it looked like just another boulder lost in the winter landscape.
"Even though we’re just going to the Yellow Forest, the temperature will still be freezing," Lucian said as he wrapped a scarf around deia’s neck. "Don’t ever take off your gloves or scarf, okay? And please, let know imdiately if the cold becos unbearable."
Here we go again...
No matter how many tis they ventured into the forest together, Lucian never failed to give her the sa lecture.
Stay close.
Stay warm.
Don’t do this ... Don’t do that ...
The more ti they spent together, the more deia realized—Lucian was the type to nag about everything, just like the system.
But, of course, if she had to choose, she would always pick him over the system.
[You’re blinded by love, Host.]
deia rolled her eyes before pulling a small compass from her pocket. She motioned for Bear to co closer, then scooped the dog up into her arms.
[Activating Mystical Compass: Teleport to Luminara Forest (Yellow Zone Forest)]
In just a matter of seconds, they had teleported to the Yellow Zone Forest, also known as Luminara Forest. The trees had shed all their leaves, and any plants unable to withstand the freezing temperatures lay buried beneath thick layers of snow.
The forest stretched before them like a graveyard of skeletal trunks, their gnarled branches twisting toward the sky like desperate hands reaching for salvation.
"If I were just an ordinary person, I’d be scared out of my mind," deia muttered, taking the first step forward. She gestured toward the eerie silhouettes of the trees. "I an, just look at those branches! Don’t they look like sothing straight out of hell?"
Lucian trailed behind her, his breath fogging in the cold air. "I ... am not sure. Never been to hell before." He paused, glancing around. "But honestly? It’s not as bad as you think. When night falls, the forest actually looks kind of ... enchanting."
deia arched an eyebrow. "Oh? And why’s that?" She rapped her knuckles against a massive tree trunk, testing its sturdiness. "This one looks solid. Should be good for firewood."
Lucian raised a hand, and with a casual flick of his fingers, the thick log tore free from its base without him even touching it. He lowered it gently to the ground before nodding toward the path. "Have you noticed the mushrooms growing along the way?"
Now that he ntioned it, deia took a closer look. Among the few plants that had survived the brutal winter, most of them were, indeed, mushrooms. They sprouted along the trunks of trees and clung to rocks, peeking out from beneath layers of frost and ice.
Their colors varied, but many had a distinct golden hue.
"What about them?" she asked.
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