"Yaya doesn't need anything. Yaya only wants Chu Lian to be very, very safe. Just let Yaya stay by your side and protect you." Before Chu Lian could even ask the girl, Yaya had already answered, leaving her both surprised and warmed.
Although her personality was a little strange, she truly treated Chu Lian very well. Right now, Chu Lian was genuinely grateful to the system for giving her such a girl. Even if Yaya's presence had taken away someone else's happiness, she was wonderful by Chu Lian's side, wasn't she?
"Got it. Even if you hadn't said anything, I'd still keep you by my side, because Yaya is my doll." Chu Lian stroked the cheek of the girl in her arms, her smile exceptionally gentle.
"Besides, Yaya, you only know how to use your fists and things like that. Last time I gave you the Dragonfang Spear, you complained it was too troublesome. If I put an IS on you, I bet you wouldn't even know how to fly."
At those words, Yaya merely turned her head back and forth a few times in Chu Lian's arms. She neither answered nor denied it. But that attitude already said plenty, and Chu Lian did not expose her.
Glancing back at the girls, who all seemed rather interested, Chu Lian suddenly asked, "Where did all the pets I gave you last time go?"
Chu Lian had not seen those little fellows in a very long time. Aside from seeing Mom holding Kyubey before they encountered Kurumi Tokisaki, she really had not seen any of the others.
"I left Kedama in my room. Lately, it seems to think the weather is too hot, so it doesn't even want to move. But its body is perfectly healthy. It doesn't need food or water. As long as you give it enough space to play around, it's fine." Liu Yanran still cared very much about her little companion. Even though she had been staying here recently, she had brought it along.
"What about mine?" Cai Ya tilted her little head when she heard Chu Lian mention this. Her face was expressionless as she simply stared at her.
"Ahem, haven't I just been busy all this time and forgotten..." Only now did Chu Lian remember the awkward fact that she had given one to every girl except Cai Ya.
It really was not entirely her fault. Cai Ya had still been unconscious back then, so Chu Lian had not considered her. After Cai Ya woke up, one thing after another happened, and Chu Lian ended up forgetting about it. If Cai Ya had not brought it up, Chu Lian had no idea when she would have remembered.
"What kind do you like?" she asked, making it clear that she would exchange for one based on Cai Ya's preferences. She could not guarantee Cai Ya would be absolutely satisfied, but at the very least, she would definitely like it.
Hearing the question, Cai Ya closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Hmm, for fluffy ball-shaped creatures there were already Kedama and Poro. There was Luna for a cat. For little mascot-like creatures, there were Kero, Kyubey, and Tybaulk. There was even Fyu-Neru as a robot. In that case, the only thing they did not have was some kind of little dog.
There was technically a Heaven Rank Cerberus at home, but that watchdog only listened to Li Mingxue, Anna, and Chu Lian. It barely even listened to Chu Chu. Whenever Cai Ya tried talking to it, it ignored her half the time. So having a little dog of her own sounded pretty nice, right?
"I want something canine. A really small one." Cai Ya held out her hands to indicate the size. From the look of it, by "little dog," she meant something roughly the size of a kitten.
That really made things a little difficult for Chu Lian. She did not know much about this sort of thing, so finding something suitable would not be easy.
Still, since Cai Ya wanted one, Chu Lian would definitely help her find it.
After thinking for a moment, Chu Lian closed her eyes and sank back into the system to ask Shiroha for help.
Quite a while later, she finally opened her eyes and looked at Cai Ya. "I can't guarantee you'll be completely satisfied, but at the very least, I'm sure you'll like it."
Seeing the girl nod in acceptance, Chu Lian sighed in relief. Then she held out a hand, and a crystal sphere appeared, enclosing a tiny creature within.
It was a little dog lying down, its entire body covered in snow-white fur. It opened a pair of icy blue eyes, and the way it looked around was incredibly adorable.
Cai Ya fell in love with it the instant she saw it. She reached out to take the crystal sphere, then used the method Liu Yanran had taught her before, extending her spiritual sense inside to communicate with the little dog.
"Woof, woof~" With two soft barks, the little dog emerged from the crystal sphere into her hands and obediently rubbed against her palm, seemingly very happy.
"Good girl. From now on, I'll call you Lianlian..." Seeing how obedient it was, the smile on Cai Ya's little face never faded. She might be proud by nature, but she truly loved gifts from Chu Lian.
Pfft, Lianlian... What's with a name that feels this familiar? Ya, can we change the name? Whenever you call it, I keep feeling like you're calling me.
Of course, Chu Lian only complained inwardly and did not say it aloud. After all, since this "little dog" had been given to Cai Ya, it belonged to her now. Cai Ya could name it whatever she liked.
"Oh, right. What exactly is it?" After playing with the little dog for a while, Cai Ya suddenly remembered that she did not actually know its origin or species, and curiosity immediately surfaced.
Hearing the question, Chu Lian scratched her head and cautiously said, "If I tell you, you won't get scared, right?"
Once she said that, Cai Ya and the others only became even more curious. After all, they could sense the faint yet extraordinarily pure energy within the little dog. There was absolutely no way an ordinary species could possess something like that.
"Well..." Chu Lian hesitated. She really was worried Cai Ya might become frightened after hearing the answer.
"Tell me." Cai Ya stared into her eyes, becoming even more curious.
"It's the juvenile form of a mutated Extreme Frost Wolf!" Chu Lian blurted it out in one breath, then immediately covered her face with both hands, afraid Cai Ya would come over and pinch her.
After waiting for a while without hearing any reaction, Chu Lian lowered her hands and looked at the girl. Seeing Cai Ya calmly teasing the little dog, Chu Lian suddenly wondered whether she had made too much of a fuss.
"You really are something. It's just a wolf. What's there to be scared of? We've already dealt with so many enemies by now. Zombies, dragons, jiangshi, ghosts, armies from hell, even devils. Compared to all that, it's only a wolf. I could raise it into a husky." Cai Ya stroked the Extreme Frost Wolf's back. Seeing Chu Lian look over, she explained.
"When you put it that way... that's true." Chu Lian had ultimately been worried that the girls' mentality had not changed yet. Wolves were creatures little girls ought to be afraid of, right? But she had forgotten just how much they had already experienced. Now, forget throwing a wolf beside them. Even tossing a dragon at their side would not be a problem.
"Don't underestimate us~" Liu Yanran took Chu Lian's little hand and gently bit it, leaving a shallow, adorable tooth mark as punishment for Chu Lian's lack of faith in them.
"Um, the moonlight is really beautiful tonight. There aren't any clouds or rain outside, and the moonlight shines so clearly..." As she spoke, a dark cloud suddenly drifted into view outside. Blue-purple lightning flickered within it, as though rain were about to fall.
There was basically no need to explain what had happened. Chu Lian extended a hand and flicked a finger toward Chu Chu's little head. "Ow! Big Sis, I was wrong..." Chu Chu covered her head and hid off to the side. The purple-blue lightning around her body receded, and the night sky outside quickly returned to normal.
"See? Even the heavens couldn't stand hearing you lie." Although the scene just now had clearly been caused by Chu Chu, that did not stop the girls from teasing Chu Lian. After all, it really had been Chu Lian's own mistake. Why did she insist on thinking everyone was so fragile?
"All right, all right, I was wrong, I was wrong..." Chu Lian admitted fault with admirable decisiveness. She really had failed to think it through properly. But inwardly, she was also happy. The group of people who had once needed her protection had all grown stronger. She truly hoped that one day, each of them would be able to stand on her own.
"We're all working hard. You may not see most of that effort, but you're not allowed to ignore it!" Liu Yanran played with Chu Lian's long hair as she spoke softly.
Her words made the others nod as well, clearly showing their stance. They were no longer people who could only grow while sheltered beneath Chu Lian's protection.
Looks like my coma really made everyone grow a lot, huh? But then again, they were all exceptionally gifted girls. How could any of them willingly accept falling so far behind everyone else?
"Ah, right, where did Xiu'er go?" Speaking of these things suddenly made Chu Lian think of the shy girl. Where had she gone? Why had Chu Lian not seen her?
"Xiu'er? She woke up earlier than all of us. I don't know what she's busy with right now." Liu Yanran thought about it but really could not remember where Li Xiu'er had gone.
After all, the girl had been very diligent lately. Compared to the rest of them, who could use cultivating, playing around, and waiting for Chu Lian to wake up as excuses, she had far more things to keep herself busy.
"When I went to the kitchen, I happened to see her busy with something. She said she wanted to prepare something really nutritious for you to eat. Mm, I suppose she thought that since you'd just woken up, you needed something you liked to replenish your nutrition. Aunt Li had already prepared food, but she still wanted to make something herself."
Lux had gone to fetch the soup earlier and had seen Li Xiu'er there. Now that Chu Lian asked, she told her exactly what she knew.
"So that's what she's doing. Silly girl. My body is practically comparable to an ancient dinosaur's. How could it break down that easily?" Although Chu Lian complained aloud, the smile on her face simply could not be hidden.
"If you're really that impressive, then where did all these recent comas come from?" Cai Ya gave her a sidelong glance and pursed her lips.
"Lian, lying isn't good." Even Inori, who was normally on her side, joined the other girls on this issue. But what they were saying was true. If Chu Lian really had that kind of constitution, then where had all these bouts of unconsciousness come from?
"She's just obsessed with saving face. She knows she shouldn't do those things, but she still insists on forcing herself. If Big Sister Yukari, Aunt Li, Big Sister Ayase, and the others hadn't been around, how could she possibly have lasted until now?" This topic had truly opened Pandora's box. Everyone's firepower poured down on Chu Lian, and worst of all, she could not refute a single thing they said.
"The greater your strength, the greater your responsibility. But that responsibility isn't supposed to cost you your life." Lux rubbed Nana's hair beside her and added another blow.
"Chu Lian-chan is very strong, so she's naturally confident. But being confident doesn't necessarily solve everything." Ruriko Nana rubbed her cheek against Lux's palm. Her words sounded as though they were meant to help Chu Lian out, but they only added fuel to the fire.
"Big Sis is risking her life just to build a harem~" Chu Chu's voice was so quiet that only Chu Lian and Yaya could hear her.
Chu Lian could not get out of bed to hit her, and it would not be appropriate for Yaya to do it either. But Yaya was not about to simply accept what the girls were saying. She raised her head, looked at them seriously, and declared, "As long as Yaya is here, all future enemies will be left to Yaya. Yaya will never let Chu Lian force herself again."
"Exactly. We're getting stronger and stronger now. Things will definitely become easier and easier in the future." Yaya's words finally gave Chu Lian a way out, and she immediately followed along.
"Really? Let me count... Hmm. You started with ordinary people who had a tiny bit of ability. Then there was a peak Spirit Rank powerhouse from the Otherside. After that came a Spirit Rank expert who had fallen from Heaven Rank.
"Then there were endless hordes of zombies. Next came an Earth Rank dragon that had fallen from Heaven Rank. Then a ghost cultivator who had lived for thousands of years. And after that, the Devil Archduke from before... You're right. Your enemies really have been getting easier and easier."
Cai Ya stopped teasing Lianlian and looked back at Chu Lian, slowly recounting the rough progression of all the battles she had experienced. Chu Lian's expression froze on her face. She could neither smile nor stop smiling. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming.
"Well, future enemies probably won't be that difficult." These last few incidents really had been accidents. In fact, nearly every battle in the real world after the dragon appeared had happened because of some unexpected situation. Something like that happening once was enough. Surely it could not happen every single time.
"Even if they really were accidents, you need to understand that sometimes accidents can become a common occurrence. So you absolutely have to be careful." Liu Yanran and the others had already been through so much. Anything they had not understood, they had asked about afterward. Naturally, they knew that a large portion of these battles had come about because of unexpected circumstances.
And unless someone was deliberately targeting them, for the same kind of accident to happen again would probably take no one knew how long.
Even so, they still could not afford to be careless. Chu Lian herself was practically a magnet for trouble, the sort of person who could sit at home and still have trouble come knocking. There was never anything wrong with being cautious.
Maybe these things weren't accidents at all. Chu Lian could only say that inside her heart, because she did not want everyone worrying about her.
"Whew. After sleeping for so long, even though I don't have much strength anywhere in my body, I actually feel incredibly comfortable. It's like floating gently in a hot spring. My whole body feels relaxed." Chu Lian stretched lazily. She was starting to feel sleepy again.
"That's because your body was under an enormous load before. You were unconscious for ten days and didn't have to deal with anything at all, so naturally you recovered." Inori gently stroked her cheek. Her voice seemed almost magical, making Chu Lian feel even sleepier.
Chu Lian raised a hand and held hers, murmuring softly, "This is really nice, Inori... Having all of you by my side is so nice. So nice..."
As she spoke, her eyelids slowly lowered. Her breathing soon became much more even, and she had already fallen into a deep sleep.
"Ah, Chu Lian still hasn't eaten what I made..." In the final moments before her consciousness faded completely, Chu Lian heard Li Xiu'er's startled cry and the other girls' gentle teasing.
Those sounds were the finest lullaby of all, carrying her safely into dreams.
"She fell asleep..." Li Xiu'er stood beside the bed holding the food, feeling somewhat helpless. It seemed she had once again busied herself only to get the timing wrong.
"It's fine. Sleeping is probably the best thing for her right now. By tomorrow, she should have recovered her normal energy levels. Restoring her strength will just take quite a long time." Liu Yanran stood up from beside Chu Lian's bed and walked over to lie down on her own.
There did not seem to be anything wrong with Chu Lian's current condition. As long as she continued resting, she would probably recover her strength within half a month, just as she had said.
"There are still so many things left unresolved. Looks like once she wakes up, she's going to have plenty of trouble waiting for her." Li Xiu'er gently placed the food on the table. Since Chu Lian was already asleep, there was no need to make her eat it now. If anyone got hungry later, they could simply help themselves.
"That's normal. There are plenty of things in life that we promise to do but still can't necessarily accomplish. All kinds of accidents happen, so sometimes failing to do something is inevitable. Chu Lian's situation is unusual, but it's still a kind of accident. And maybe it's precisely because of things like this that we realize we aren't omnipotent. Just because we say we can do something doesn't mean we'll definitely manage it."
Cai Ya seemed to have a deep understanding of these matters. After hearing Li Xiu'er's words, she began explaining.
"Mm. Even so, once you've recovered, you still have to make up for it. That's how you show everyone your sincerity and make sure they'll continue trusting you in the future." Liu Yanran glanced at Cai Ya and noticed that her mood seemed to have dropped considerably. So after saying that, she decisively changed the subject. "
Chu Lian said she probably won't be able to recover her strength for about half a month, so there will be more things for us to handle ourselves."
"Like cultivating and working on the game? Actually, there are already people working on the game. If we interfere, it feels like we'll only slow down the progress." Hearing her say that, Chu Chu immediately thought of those two things. After all, now that they were staying at home, those seemed to be the only things that actually needed their attention.
"You. Aren't you about to start serializing your manga? Hurry up and find a suitable art style, then start drawing the story from Chu Lian's novel. As for the game, all we really need to do is help refine the worldview and values so they don't turn it into something bizarre. This is a game meant for humans to play, not for some other species."
Liu Yanran's words made everyone laugh. It was true. If those girls were left completely alone to make the game, the ideas it promoted really might not be suitable for release to ordinary people.
So this was something they absolutely had to get involved in. Otherwise, whether it could even pass review would become a serious question. None of the girls wanted all their hard work to go to waste. That would be far too disappointing.
The night gradually passed amid their conversation, while the moonlight slowly grew hazy.
No one knew who had first pushed her bed together with Chu Lian's, then climbed in to sleep beside Chu Lian and Yaya, who had also fallen asleep, but once one person did it, the other girls followed.
In the end, everyone lay together on the same enormous bed, feeling one another's warmth and breathing in one another's scents as they drifted off to sleep.
It was a gentle and intimate night, a night when everyone's hearts drew closer together, and a night that belonged to the girls...