Chapter 399: Sip, Sip, Sip (Please Subscribe)

「Mm-hmm~hmm~」

「Don't run! Don't be shy! Let me see! 」

Let me see how well you've developed!?

In the dim space, Herbert casually held the snake tail and stroked it, pressing his cheek against it and nuzzling.

Then, before Herbert could savor the slickness of the snake tail any longer, he once again brushed against the hidden runes on the scales.

Hum—

Herbert once again fell into a state of being "force-fed" knowledge.

But compared to his previous misery, now that he had advanced to Legendary, his capacity to bear it had greatly improved.

He could already withstand the violent baptism of this surging spiritual torrent.

Herbert held the snake tail in silence, feeling his brain being gradually filled with knowledge.

In fact, Herbert could have chosen to release his arms and forcibly break free of this state.

But the knowledge transmitted from the hidden runes happened, very "conveniently," to be precisely the Legendary-tier knowledge he was most lacking right now.

So, after much hesitation, Herbert had no choice but to give up this rare chance to grope the snake tail, and immersed himself wholeheartedly in the ocean of knowledge.

Of course he knew this was no coincidence — the reason behind it was heartwarming: Ofidia had used knowledge as bargaining chips to hard-cc him in place.

「……Fine. 」

After a standoff for a while, Herbert surrendered helplessly, giving up the idea of polishing her snake-tail scales any further.

「You win this time. I won't misbehave, alright. 」

Herbert had settled down, but on the other side, though the atmosphere in the demiplane was equally quiet, it was the opposite extreme.

The two stared at each other, and for a moment it became very quiet, with an awkward atmosphere drifting in the air.

Bishop Rusty Nail: 「……」

Ofidia: 「……」

Bishop Rusty Nail was doubting himself, his face taut, turning the matter over and over in his mind.

Had he come to the wrong place again?

Come at the wrong time again?

And where had Herbert gone?

Where was he?

He had clearly seen him walk in… how strange.

This stiff holy knight racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.

Although he was born into a noble house, he had joined the holy knights at a young age, never receiving a systematic noble education, nor having mingled in noble circles.

Still, although puzzled, he didn't think anything had happened between Herbert and Ofidia.

Flirtation? Secret rendezvous?

Impossible!

Most importantly, Bishop Rusty Nail had never once considered the relationship between those two in that direction.

Let alone secret flirtation — he hadn't even spared a thought for any special friendship between them.

He had grown up under the watch of Bishop Ashes, and had always maintained a humble respect… and fear, toward this senior who was very fond of mentoring juniors.

The shadow of his youth meant that, when facing Ofidia, he could never hold his head high.

Act tough in front of this lady?

What a joke!

Even that brainless Bai Chi wouldn't dare do that!

And beyond that, Bishop Rusty Nail also recognized Herbert's character.

Especially the Oath of Purity on him — that was proof beyond any need for words.

Herbert was pure.

How could that pure child possibly commit such sacrilege?

Let alone with this venerable, highly respected elder.

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible!

So Bishop Rusty Nail's current unease was only because he felt his arrival might be a bit untimely.

「……」

As for Ofidia, she was simply rendered speechless by her own foolish move.

「Am I an idiot? 」

She asked herself inwardly, questioning herself: 「How could I have done such a thing? 」

In fact, Ofidia herself didn't know why she had instinctively made Herbert hide beneath her skirt…

Given the situation just now, she clearly had many ways to handle it.

For instance, she could have simply let Herbert stand openly beside her, to show she had nothing to hide.

In fact, there was no need to hide at all.

Or, she could have refused Bishop Rusty Nail's request to enter the demiplane — she didn't need to explain anything to him anyway.

Let him wait a while, and let Herbert leave before letting him in.

Or again, she could have had Herbert hide somewhere else in the demiplane — this was her home turf after all.

Bishop Rusty Nail wouldn't dare to investigate freely, and no one would notice.

But still, still!

Ofidya's brain short-circuited, and she chose the most bizarre course of action — she shoved Herbert right under her skirt to hide him.

……Hiss!

After coming back to her senses, Ofidya herself could barely hold it together.

Don't ask.

The answer is her brain didn't make the turn — it was pure instinct.

As for how this instinct actually formed?

She had no idea either.

Don't ask me!!!

The two of them stood facing each other in silence for a while, until Ofidya was the first to speak: "Malcolm, you've come to find me again — is there something else?"

She didn't mention Herbert at all, choosing to seize control of the situation and steer the conversation.

Did Ofidya really not know why Bishop Rusty Nail had come?

No, she knew.

The moment Bishop Rusty Nail entered the demiplane, he had mentioned Herbert's name right away, yet she pretended she hadn't heard it and didn't bring it up at all.

If one's emotional intelligence were high enough, one could read between her lines — don't mention Herbert.

But unfortunately, Bishop Rusty Nail's EQ didn't pass muster.

"Oh oh, Your Eminence, it's like this — I came this time to find Herbert. When I saw him earlier, he said he wanted to report to you." Bishop Rusty Nail explained in all seriousness.

This Knight Commander of the Holy Knights, who had left home young and spent most of his life growing up in the Mist Monastery, had absolutely no idea what it meant to read the room.

It's not that he didn't understand at all, but when facing Ofidya, Bishop Rusty Nail simply hadn't thought in that direction.

The Ofidya in his memory had never lied, and never beat around the bush.

So he answered respectfully in his usual manner.

"I forgot to tell him to come to the Knights at noon tomorrow — other times would cause certain… effects."

"You know, that suit of battle armor is alive; it chooses its own master. I need to communicate with it first, otherwise I'm afraid some other accidents might occur…"

Bishop Rusty Nail was about to explain in detail when Ofidya, headache-ridden, waved her hand and cut off his long-winded speech.

"…Alright, I understand. You don't need to explain any further."

Stop talking, say no more.

Seeing how clueless he was, Ofidya felt a bit speechless inside. She could read his character clearly, said nothing more, and remarked lightly: "You're a step too late."

"Before you arrived, he did indeed come to report something to me, but just now, I had already sent him off to another place."

Even as an epic-tier powerhouse, lying in front of a legendary Holy Knight was not a wise choice.

Their sense for falsehood was razor-sharp; they could easily detect the lies in another's words.

So Ofidya did not lie.

Herbert had indeed "reported" something to her, and had indeed been sent off by her to "another place."

There was nothing wrong with that statement — even a legendary Holy Knight couldn't pick a flaw in it.

Sure enough, Bishop Rusty Nail thought for a moment, slowly nodded, and broke into a smile.

"In that case, I understand."

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Eminence. I'll take my leave."

What should be emphasized is that low EQ does not mean no EQ.

Even an idiot could pick up that the atmosphere was off.

Bishop Rusty Nail was merely blunt, not stupid.

He could clearly sense that the Ash Bishop before him was in a rather foul mood — that she wasn't exactly welcoming him.

So, after getting a passable answer, he decisively chose to take his leave.

In short, retreat first.

But in the end, Bishop Rusty Nail was still a bit EQ-deficient and, utterly oblivious to the mood, added: "Oh right, Your Eminence, if you happen to see Herbert afterward, please be sure to tell him to come find me at the Knights!"

"Hmph."

Ofidya shot him a glare, shook her head helplessly, and snorted in annoyance: "So long-winded!"

Still, she didn't refuse, and said calmly: "I'll pass the message to him… mm, if I happen to run into him afterward."

"Besides, I probably won't even need to relay it — he'll already know the answer."

Bishop Rusty Nail didn't think twice, taking Ofidya's meaning to be that he would see Herbert before she did.

He never imagined that Herbert was right there listening to their conversation.

And what he could never, ever imagine was the position Herbert was in at that moment!

He assumed Ofidya had accepted his request, and bent forward to bow respectfully to her.

And just as he finished bowing and was about to straighten up, his peripheral vision swept downward and landed right on the hem of Ofidya's skirt.

Hm?

He had a strange feeling, as if that hem of the skirt… seemed somehow off?

It didn't look quite natural.

But exactly what was unnatural about it?

The folds seemed wrong, as if they were tucked inward…

"What are you looking at?"

!!!

The calm yet ice-cold voice made Bishop Rusty Nail jolt back to his senses.

He immediately stood at attention, stamped his foot hard, and said respectfully to the Ash Bishop:

"Report! We didn't do anything!"

"I didn't see anything!"

……

Bishop Rust Nail came in a hurry and left just as quickly.

After he departed empty-handed, the semi-plane sank back into silence.

Ophidia remained in her previous posture, standing quietly in place.

She lowered her eyes, lost in thought.

"……"

Until a strange soft sound emerged from beneath her skirt.

Suck.

Her eyelids flickered slightly, her expression wordless yet slightly exasperated; she muttered irritably, "Hey."

"What are you doing?"

After her words faded, the sound didn't vanish—it intensified.

Suck! Suck!

Since exposure was already inevitable, there was no point in hiding anymore.

It was like those so-called assassin-simulation stealth games: once exposed, you could move to the next stage.

Exposure isn't a prerequisite for failure—if I eliminate everyone, my stealth remains perfect!

Beneath the unseen skirt, a lavish feast of knowledge was unfolding in full swing.

Herbert was savoring this rich knowledge with every fiber of his being—he reveled in the moment, wishing he could cram it all into his mouth… his mind.

I love learning so much.

I love knowledge so much.

Learning makes me happy! Knowledge makes me joyful!

"Suck-suck-suck—"

While Herbert absorbed knowledge and inwardly cried, "How wonderful! How wonderful!"… the owner of the knowledge grew displeased.

Ophidia didn't act immediately; after enduring for a while, she coldly snorted, "You've gone too far!"

"Three, two, one!"

Having issued a warning and confirmed Herbert's stubborn resistance, she finally enacted her expulsion.

"Get…"

She adjusted the angle of her tail, then whipped it sharply.

"Out!"

History repeated itself.

Herbert was launched from beneath her skirt like a cannonball.

Whoosh—

But this time, he didn't crash clumsily into the bookshelf—he adjusted his posture midair.

His twin wings unfurled, like an angel descending to earth, halting abruptly in midair.

He opened his eyes, smiled at Ophidia, and unconsciously licked his lips.

"Heh, thank you for the gift."

Thanks for the hospitality~

As for exactly which part he was thanking…

That's open to interpretation.

Herbert had no intention of voicing it, and Ophidia had no intention of digging deeper.

Not everything needs to be made perfectly clear.

Some things remain unspoken by mutual understanding; if you voice them, they lose all meaning.

In the end, Ophidia merely rolled her eyes and murmured, "…Hmph. Don't let it happen again."

For this stubborn boy, the "Bai Chi," who insisted on shouldering her burdens and willingly embraced such a fate to become her Keeper of Secrets,

Ophidia, even if silent on her lips, felt a quiet gratitude toward him—and treated him with unusual leniency.

Not to mention she already held considerable fondness for Herbert.

Though originally merely the affection one feels for a junior, Herbert's actions had gradually begun to subtly alter this emotion.

It had not yet fully transformed, but it was already vastly different from what it had been at first.

"Alright, I'll be more careful next time," Herbert nodded with a smile, retracting his blood wings and landing back on the ground.

"By the way, I didn't expect the Knight Captain to be so obedient in front of you—is he afraid of you?"

Earlier, Thorn Bishop had already shown fear toward Ash Bishop, acting stubborn yet cowardly.

But Herbert hadn't thought much of it then, assuming it was an exception.

Yet after witnessing Rust Nail's reaction, he realized… Ophidia might possess another side he'd never glimpsed.

He was curious.

Was she that brutal?

Facing Herbert's blatant probing, Ophidia's gaze flickered, and she lightly sneered, "Oh? You want to try?"

"What, you want to give it a try?"

Sensing something, Herbert swiftly abandoned his dangerous thought and shook his head: "Hmm… not this time, but next time, definitely."

As if sensing something, Herbert decisively put away his dangerous thoughts, shook his head, and said, "Mm… I'll let it go this time, but definitely next time."

"Hmph!"

After finishing his joke, Herbert restrained his frivolous smile, gave Ofidya a slight bow, and asked:

"Guardian, have I now earned the qualification?"

"…Mm."

Ofidya looked at Herbert with a complicated gaze, finally gave a slight nod, and extended her hand toward him.

"May you be able to guard the Hidden."

"…Together with me."

(End of this chapter)