At night, the starry sky was especially brilliant. In the weather of late May, clear days seemed able to put people in a good mood. Sitting by her own windowsill, Chu Lian felt exactly that way.
"This isn't much different from the starry sky of the last world, but it's also a little different. Maybe... every single star in this sky is the divine kingdom of a god." Chu Lian's long hair fluttered in the wind. The girl, dressed only in black sleepwear, felt a slight chill, but she no longer cared much about that.
"A month ago and now... the difference is like heaven and earth. It's as if I came here from another world. That pink songstress completely changed my life."
"But I really like this change. With her around, my life is so much more exciting. Much more exciting than before, when I wanted to keep myself busy but could never find a direction."
"And besides, so many things have piled up before now. After this, it should be time to deal with them all."
"First, the Youth Literature Competition. I guess I won't be participating after all. I've already been in the spotlight enough lately. If I join again and get another system quest, who knows how troublesome it'll be. Entering with my current identity wouldn't have much impact on me anyway, and it might even stir up another round of attention. I've endured being watched for long enough. It's time to lie low for a while and let my die-hard fans slowly grow."
"After giving that up, I need to hand Yanran the tens of thousands of words of backlog for Sword and Fairy. Otherwise her mother and my mother are going to come settle accounts with me. After all, it's a story the readers have been waiting on for so long. Constant hiatuses aren't a good look either."
"Even though my integrity is already gone, I still have to recover whatever I can. As for where Part Two will be after I finish Part One... I have no idea. Let them wait a year or two. By then they'll understand just how generously I've treated them."
"Then there's Nana and Lux's situation, which needs to be resolved. Once their problems are settled, they should move in here. There are still plenty of empty rooms, more than enough for the two of them."
"With the two of them here, Xiu'er, Yanran, and Ya'er can properly begin their cultivation. I'm really looking forward to how things develop after that. I'll only help them. As for which road they choose in the future, that'll depend on them."
"What worries me is those curses, or imprisonments, or seals... whatever they are. From what they said, it's something very troublesome. If it's not handled properly, it might bring trouble to the two of them."
"I really don't like trouble. Why does trouble always have to come looking for me? It feels absolutely awful."
"And then, in a little over two months, I'll have to go to the Zhao family to celebrate their old master's birthday. I just wonder what Zhao Ziming's mood will be when he sees that only I came, without any sign of Ayase. It's kind of strange, and kind of something to look forward to."
"As for school, I need to keep an eye on Qu Ningmeng. Why exactly did that girl from the Qu family come here? I feel like her purpose isn't just because of me. There are other reasons I don't know yet. Finding out would be a bit troublesome. Hopefully she won't cause too much trouble. Even if people are protecting her, with that physique of hers, she really attracts hatred way too easily."
"Mmm, Ayase's matter... our three-month deadline. I actually think she'll definitely come back. She's never disappointed me. At worst, if she wants me to lick her feet, then I'll lick her feet. It's not like that's... that... that embarrassing..."
"What am I even thinking?! Why did I suddenly start thinking about this? This is so terrible. I've noticed I'm getting more and more lustful lately. Is it because I've done too much with Inori and the others, so now I'm starting to crave it? Please don't let that be true. That feeling is way too strange."
"Fine, I admit it. I really do long for the feeling of tangling my body with theirs, of being cherished, of being licked and toyed with. And of course, I also love watching them gasp softly and blush furiously under my teasing."
"In the future, I should probably be a little more proactive. If I always leave it to them, doesn't that make me look too passive? But if I take the initiative, I just can't quite let go. It feels like I'm openly craving H, and that's so embarrassing."
"Still, doing it while wearing sheer stockings or something... that kind of scene sounds really amazing. Should I try it next time? But who should I ask?"
"If I ask Inori, Eve and Mana will probably show up and bully me very easily. I never thought I could resist those two anyway. If they bully me, I can only accept my fate. And Inori herself always makes me feel protective. If I bullied her, I'd feel a little bad."
"As for Chu Chu, she's too lustful, and her breasts are way too big. Every time we're naked together, I always feel like I've lost somewhere. That feeling makes me so miserable! Even though she looks so obedient and clingy, I still can never fully relax."
"Xiu'er is my cousin, after all. Bullying her once or twice is fine, but if I do it too much, that'd be going too far. Besides, she's already given me everything. If I went to bully her now, it might make her feel insecure, right? Still, her shy expression really makes my fingers itch."
"As for Yanran, after her memories came back, she's become far too gentle. No matter what I do to her, she never gets angry. She just looks at me quietly. That tender feeling like flowing water makes me want to cherish her before anything else. How could I bully her? I remember that when Xiang Yu and Yu Ji rolled around in bed, Xiang Yu was also very gentle. If I were too proactive, it'd make me seem too... like that."
"And lastly, Ya. She clearly cares so much about others, yet at the crucial moment she's always too shy to say what's in her heart. Sometimes this proud girl is such a hopeless tsundere that people can't help but dote on her. Still, looking at her stubborn expression makes me want to press her beneath me and make her softly yield in my arms..."
"Why is this so hard to choose... Eek, what weird things am I even thinking about? I was clearly thinking about serious matters, and somehow I've rambled on about H for so long again... But seriously, if all six of us slept together again, what would happen? Would it be like last time, where they all just bullied me alone?"
"Forget it, forget it. Mmm, I can't keep thinking about lewd things. If I do, I really won't be able to hold back anymore." Chu Lian shook her head and tossed all those fantasies that would need censoring out of her mind, refusing to dwell on them any longer.
This really was not her fault. As she became more and more integrated into this identity, as her relationships with the girls around her grew increasingly intimate, and after everything that had happened, it was only natural for a girl who had already tasted it to start wanting such things.
After all, when it came down to it, she really was just an H novice. Her body had actually been trained by Ayase into being extremely sensitive a long time ago. If not for how many things had been happening lately, Ayase probably would have devoured the girl long ago, instead of letting her get tangled up outside with so many other girls.
"Oh, what was I just thinking about... ah, right, Ayase's three-month promise. That Hundred Demons Night Parade and that barrier are too terrifying. Even if I wanted to go, there'd be no way. Mom would definitely catch me and lock me up at home the first chance she got. So for this, I can only wait until the deadline arrives. There's nothing else I can do."
"Oh right, when I was in Japan, didn't I meet a girl named 'Yuuki Hatsuru'? After I go deal with Kujou Sakurako's father's matter, I can stop by and see her on the way. I just hope she hasn't forgotten me."
"Speaking of Japan, there's also Kurosaki Satsuki. Problem girls are such a pain. Wasn't it just because she happened to see me rolling around in bed with Xiu'er? And she got that angry over it. You never said you had any special feelings for me. You just purely disliked me doing that, right?"
"For a girl like that, the best solution is to catch her and train her properly. Just like what I did to her at the Wafuu Inn in Japan. Just thinking about it is exciting. Watching that cold, expressionless girl blush red under my training while being unable to resist is more fun than anything..."
"Speaking of Japan, what exactly does that day five years from now signify? Why is it that my parents' matters must be resolved within five years, while that monster that came to hurt Chu Lian and Chu Chu five years ago also mentioned something about ten years? Adding in everything else, so many things seem to vaguely point toward some enormous change happening five years from now."
"But even now, I don't have the slightest clue. Other than the prophecy I thought of back at the hot springs and all the things Father has been busy with, there probably isn't anything else. Five years is both long and short. I want to know what exactly is going to happen."
"But right now, the most important thing is still strengthening myself. I absolutely can't end up like before again, firing one shot and then becoming weak and limp all over. Maybe I should find a way into the magical artillery world and learn some proper cannon-firing postures from Nanoha and the others? Heavy weapons really are my favorite, after all... I feel like..."
"Let me think what else there is, what else... Oh, oh, right, the RWBY dungeon is opening. I need to reach Earth rank before I can do it, but that probably won't take much longer. I estimate that after I go out and deal with everything this trip, I'll be Earth rank by the time I come back."
"I really didn't expect that SS-rank weapon to automatically recognize Hiyori as its master, making her the first among us to break through to Earth rank. What a strange experience. I'm getting more and more curious about the origins of this Umbral Knight. A princess of a fallen kingdom? What kind of nation was it, exactly?"
"There are also some troublesome matters to handle. The shot I fired today was far more powerful than I imagined. Even though it wiped out the Hell Legion in a single blow and earned me thirty-five thousand Slaughter Points, it also exposed me."
"I can only pray there won't be many people who manage to trace this place. After all, once that shot was fired, this place no longer had any connection to it. Even if they notice this general area, it'll still be very hard for them to find me."
"And while I'm busy with all these things, I also can't forget to finish the second phase of the main quest. The best option would be to finish it when I can also complete the Fantasy quest. Then I'll be able to get 'Whispers of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.' A reward like that is an absolute jackpot. I'd be a fool not to take it."
Chu Lian gently swung her legs as she thought through one matter after another, and in doing so, she laid out a clear plan for her future itinerary.
Right at that moment, Chu Lian suddenly sensed an aura that was unfathomably deep yet incomparably familiar returning. A flicker of delight flashed through her eyes. "Ah, that damn old man Dad is back?"
The moment she realized her father had returned, she immediately jumped down from the windowsill and ran back into her room. Without even putting on shoes, she dashed outside in her black sleepwear—after all, she had a chest wrap and safety shorts underneath, so she was not afraid of accidentally exposing anything...