About half an hour later, Shien returned to the inn where his group was staying.
“Welcome back.”
Lasha was standing on the balcony, as if she knew Shien would return at this time, or perhaps she had been waiting for him all along. She greeted Shien, who had descended from the sky, with these words.
“Yeah, we’re back.”
Shien was truly used to it by now. Ignoring Lasha’s presence, he simply handed Beatrice over to her.
Lasha took Beatrice, her expression unchanging as she embraced the girl.
Beatrice obediently stayed in Lasha’s arms, only her eyes still fixed on Shien, their focus unknown.
As for Shien, he was naturally still holding the unconscious fox-girl saintess.
Lasha couldn’t have missed this. Glancing at the fox-girl saintess, she spoke calmly,
“Should I bathe this guest first?”
Lasha asked.
“No, I’ll do it.”
Shien responded instinctively, his expression unchanged.
“…”
Lasha fell silent but kept her eyes on Shien.
“…Alright, I was just kidding.” Shien’s expression immediately turned sheepish. Handing the fox-girl saintess to Lasha, he said, “Wash her up and send her to my room… No! Wash her up and check if she has any injuries!”
“Yes.” Lasha, seemingly without any desire to retort, took the fox-girl saintess and turned to leave.
Beatrice was also taken away by Lasha, her gaze finally leaving Shien.
Shien was finally alone again, letting out a breath.
“What an eventful night.”
Saying so, Shien turned his head and looked in the direction of the temple.
Perhaps because he had been there once, Shien could now clearly sense the abnormal magic power in Cosmos flowing from that direction.
“This strange transfer phenomenon is indeed caused by this magic power, right?”
Shien looked around and noticed that the surrounding buildings looked somewhat different.
Evidently, during Shien’s absence, the transfer phenomenon had occurred once or even multiple times, resulting in this change.
Shien gazed at the scene, lost in thought.
Not long after, Lasha reappeared with the fox-girl saintess.
“Alright, Mr. Shien.”
Lasha announced calmly.
“…That was fast.”
Shien’s mood was complicated.
Had a minute even passed since Lasha left and returned?
It didn’t seem like it.
If the fox-girl saintess’s clothes hadn’t been changed and weren’t emitting steam, and if Beatrice beside her didn’t look freshly bathed, Shien would have suspected that Lasha had simply taken them for a quick spin and returned, just to mess with him. ꞦåNỌ฿ÊꞨ
“Forget it.”
Don’t dwell on it, or you’ll lose.
With this thought, Shien had Lasha lay the fox-girl saintess on the sofa.
“How is she?”
Shien asked Lasha.
“Not very good.” Lasha replied immediately. “I’ve thoroughly examined her and found that she’s not only exhausted her magic power, but her physical condition is also very poor. It seems like something put a great strain on her body, causing internal bleeding and even organ damage and displacement.”
This was serious.
“No wonder she looks so pale.”
Shien looked at the fox-girl saintess’s pale face.
Her face was quite delicate and beautiful, with a hint of allure. She probably maintained an air of authority normally, so she looked strong, but due to her paleness, this strength was accompanied by a sense of fragility, making one feel pity and sympathy for her.
“As expected of a fox spirit. This allure almost rivals a certain voluptuous demon world supreme.”
Shien marveled, but he also guessed the reason for her condition.
“She probably borrowed the power of the Goddess of Life and overexerted herself beyond her body’s limits, right?”
Shien wasn’t completely without guilt.
After all, she had pushed herself so hard to repair the seal he had broken. Shien naturally felt apologetic.
Therefore…