Chapter 33: Here I Come!

Chapter 33: Here I Come!

“No… this can’t be true. How did I end up losing like this?!”

Aierjisi looked at Yake, who had empty hands, and her expression grew darker by the second.

She initially thought that Yake, who was just a newbie at playing ‘Draw Ghost Cards’, would definitely not be her opponent. To her surprise, she was easily defeated in the first round by Yake.

Unyielding, the Little Princess cried out for a do-over, do-over, and so Yake began the second and third rounds.

Yet no matter how many times they replayed it, it remained the same. The Little Princess was effortlessly defeated by Yake each time. It was now 10 PM, and she still had zero wins!

“That’s because of your expression, Aier! Just by watching your face, I know exactly what card I should draw.”

Yake chuckled at the Little Princess. He had been nervous at first, but after a while, he learned to observe her facial expressions. As long as he watched her panic-stricken face, he understood that card was definitely what he needed. And thus, he easily went on to a winning streak against her.

“Waaah… How could this happen? I’ve never lost while playing before, yet this time I ended up losing so badly.”

The Little Princess collapsed to the floor, petrified, and lost all hope.

“Well, it’s getting late now. Come on, Aier, let’s go soak in the hot spring.”

Yake picked up the kneeling Little Princess and brought her to the entrance of the hot spring.

“See you in a bit! Don’t soak for too long, okay?”

“I know! Don’t treat me like a child! I’m older than your great-great-great-great-grandfather, you know!”

Seeing Yake treating her like a kid again, Aierjisi instinctively shot back, feeling indignant.

“Yes, yes, my esteemed Princess. See you in a bit.”

Yake lifted the curtain and entered the men’s bath. Despite Aierjisi being a completely innocent little girl in both figure and demeanor, she loathed being seen as one. This peculiar trait of hers was surprisingly endearing.

“Hmm, I feel like that scoundrel Yake is looking down on me. Alright, I need to come up with a way to get him to see me in a new light.”

Aierjisi walked into the neighboring women’s bath, soaking in the hot spring while brainstorming what she could do to impress Yake.

“If we’re talking about the hallmark of a mature woman, then of course! Without a doubt, it’s an **apron**!”

Drawing from her favorite anime experience, Aierjisi concluded this was the answer. In the shows she watched, young wives always donned **aprons** to prepare delicious meals for their husbands upon their return.

“Welcome home, darling! Would you like dinner first, or a bath? Or perhaps you’d prefer to eat me?”

Imagining herself in an **apron** serving Yake a delightful meal and saying lines like that…

“No way, no way! Just thinking about it makes me want to faint! If I actually did that, I’d surely die of embarrassment!”

Aierjisi shook her head, banishing that unrealistic fantasy from her mind. She needed to think of a plan that would work for her petite stature.

“Ah… after a day bustling around the city, a hot spring really feels nice.”

While Aierjisi was lost in thought, Yake was comfortably enjoying the relaxation that the hot spring offered.

But really, had he been neglecting the Little Princess a bit too much?

While soaking, Yake pondered this. He already owed Aierjisi a life, and on top of that, she had helped him fulfill his physical needs, taught him enhancement techniques, and crafted new weapons for him. It seemed he owed her a lot.

What could he do to assist her?

“Ah… I’ve got nothing! Should I just stick with the **apron** idea?”

After thinking hard, Aierjisi couldn’t come up with anything suitable. After all, attempting to devise a mature woman idea for a little girl was utterly impossible.

But the **apron** idea wasn’t something she could even utilize at the moment! Besides, neither Guanyu nor Aierjisi had any memories of cooking. The **apron** plan wasn’t viable!

“Ugh… what on earth can I do for Yake to see me as a grown-up? Huh? Wait, why not ask Yin tomorrow?”

Suddenly, Aierjisi remembered. Yin, being a mature and alluring beauty, could definitely teach her how to become a grown woman. Even if she disliked her, she would do it for Yake!

【What can I possibly do to repay Aier’s kindness?】

Yake also mulled over for a while but couldn’t think of anything he could do for the Little Princess. Maybe he should ask Miss Yin tomorrow. She was the one most familiar with Pield, and surely knew how to make Aierjisi smile like a little girl.

“Yake. Is there anyone else there with you?”

At that moment, the Little Princess unexpectedly contacted him through a contract.

“Nope, it’s just me in this hot spring.”

“Alright then, I’ll come over to keep you company.”

“Ah? Really? You want to come to my side? But this is the men’s bath, isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”

When Aierjisi mentioned coming over, Yake started to panic a little. After all, he was soaking in the hot spring completely **naked**!

“What’s inappropriate about it? It’s just you there. It’s the same here, I’m all alone too.”

“Then why do you suddenly want to come over? Isn’t it fine to soak alone?”

“It’s not that it isn’t fine, I just feel a little lonely and want to talk to you.”

“But we can chat like this using our mind-link, can’t we? There’s no need for you to come over.”

“But I really want to come over, is that a problem?”

“Then just come over if you want. There’s no one here, as long as we’re not discovered, it’ll be fine.”

“Okay, I’m coming over now.”

After confirming with Yake, the Little Princess stood up from the hot spring, kicked off, and leaped over the partition to the men’s bath.

“Wow! Aier, did you really just jump over from there? Isn’t that a bit too rough?”

The splash from Aier hitting the water soaked Yake’s face, catching him completely off guard.

“Because this is the fastest way!”

Standing back up from the water, Yake then noticed the Little Princess had come over completely **naked**.

“Where’s your towel? Aren’t you supposed to wear it while bathing?”

“That? I left it on the other side. What’s the matter? Don’t be so red! You’ve seen me once already. Besides, didn’t you say my body excited you?”

“This isn’t about having seen you before or whether I’m excited or not! This is the men’s bath, for crying out loud! If someone sees me with a **naked** girl in front of me, how would I explain that I’m not a pervert?!”

Yake’s biggest concern was still his reputation. If someone discovered that a **naked** girl was standing in front of him, no matter how anyone looked at it, he’d definitely be seen as a freak!

“You really don’t need to worry about that.”

Aierjisi turned and cast a sealing spell on the door.

“Alright, that door is now sealed by my magic. No one can open it until we leave.”

“Wait, you did that? What exactly do you want to do with me?”

Yake became increasingly anxious, wondering what the Little Princess was planning as she sealed the door.