Chapter 33: The Priestess (II)

"Maybe I drank too much; my head feels a bit dizzy." Lucy pointed to the empty glass on the bar counter. "My tolerance isn't great."

"If your tolerance isn't great, then don't drink. A girl traveling alone can't afford to get drunk." Xida shook her strawberry juice and couldn't help but nag a bit more.

In Night City, the number of single girls who go missing after getting drunk is countless.

Xida had heard Rogue mention such cases.

Some with good looks could still be found in certain Sex Doll Clubs; if lucky, they might even be rescued.

Those with poorer qualities or who resisted fiercely could only try their luck on the Black Market.

"You might even see some fresh human organs and familiar cybernetic parts."

Those were Rogue's exact words.

Xida had never seen the Queen of the Afterlife so furious before—her tone was cold and hard, her eyes held ice, and her hand gripped the glass tightly, as if holding a cocked gun.

In the mercenary circles of the Afterlife nightclub, there were two unwritten rules.

First: Do not take away drunk single girls.

Second: Do not partner with Scavengers to engage in organ trafficking.

Violators will be killed without mercy.

No one dared to question the power behind these two rules.

The Queen of the Afterlife, known to everyone in Night City, was once famous for her killing.

Those qualified to stand beside her were either lying in graves or missing, their fate unknown.

In this current Night City, she is the only living legend.

She is the undisputed Queen of Shadows.

Doing business in the Queen's territory requires following the rules.

As her favorite person, Xida felt it was her duty and responsibility to introduce the new pretty girl.

Yahweh sat aside, finishing the same strawberry juice as Xida in one gulp.

Xida was always like this, so enthusiastic that one couldn't refuse.

He helplessly smiled at the bartender Claire and, following the menu, ordered another "Piano Man."

Even a transcendent being had to be pulled into the mundane world, unable to remain detached or continue observing this world with indifference.

He looked at Lucy and Xida, smiled lightly, and took the prepared "Piano Man" from Claire's hand.

He didn't know what misunderstanding had occurred, but recently Xida always liked to feed him strawberry-flavored sweets.

Although there was no risk of cavities, that strawberry sweetness, clinging to his bones like a festering sore, lingered on his tongue, refusing to fade.

It was just right to secretly drink some alcohol to cut the grease.

While Xida was nagging Lucy, Yahweh turned around, his back to them, and drank the liquid in his cup in large gulps.

Lucy watched the mysterious man secretly drinking while listening intently to the enthusiastic explanation from the silver-haired girl beside her.

Her voice, clear and pleasant like a yellow oriole, chirping away, made Lucy involuntarily recall the lovely girl Alice in the small town.

She really couldn't bear to interrupt her speaking.

"Xida... is he your boyfriend?"

Taking advantage of the moment Xida was drinking her strawberry juice, Lucy finally found a gap to ask.

Perhaps it was a coincidence.

She found it hard to imagine Him acting so sneakily, secretly drinking alcohol.

It was really... too down-to-earth.

"Ah! Yahweh!" Xida, just about to introduce her perfect boyfriend, turned her head and found someone secretly drinking behind her back.

Lucy hadn't expected that a simple greeting and question would almost cause Yahweh to be severely disciplined by his only nemesis.

"I was wrong, I was wrong..." Yahweh, with Xida pinching his earlobe, pretended to grimace and bare his teeth.

Claire, seeing this scene for the first time, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Xida is so blessed to have a boyfriend who loves you so much." She took away Yahweh's empty glass and joked with a big laugh.

"When are you getting married?" Lucy propped her chin and joined in the teasing game with this couple of fools.

Since meeting the two of them, Lucy felt her world was no longer boring.

Before, she was an audience member sitting alone in the dark, watching the performance.

Now, someone stood on stage, reaching out to the audience, inviting this sole lucky audience member to join in an interactive game.

Lucy thought for a long time but found no reason to refuse.

So she joined in, a happy smile appearing on her face that she hadn't even noticed herself.

"Stop teasing me..." Xida pretended to be angry, covering her face, her small hands unable to hide the blush all over her body.

Yahweh rubbed his earlobe, which didn't hurt at all, a faint smile always lingering at the corner of his mouth.

"Alright, alright, stop fooling around." He pulled Xida into his arms and vigorously rubbed her flushed cheeks.

"Does Lucy have something to ask us?" Xida secretly glared at him, took a deep breath, and turned to ask the beautiful woman sitting aside, who was smiling and watching them play.

"I want... to join... your team." Lucy kept her eyes fixed on the girl's beautiful violet eyes, making no unnecessary movements.

Yahweh raised an eyebrow, rubbed the slightly messy silver hair of the girl in his arms, and offered no opinion.

"Can you let me see your abilities?" Xida did not refuse immediately.

The slight abnormalities her partner had shown recently made her somewhat worried.

Power always requires a price.

The pride in her heart also did not allow her to always hide behind Yahweh.

"I can..." Lucy took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.

Although she had shown enough respect, she hadn't expected to still underestimate the young girl before her.

Spirits do not favor mortals.

They gazed at each other, their pupils reflecting each other's peerless beauty.

"You two, why are you posing like masters clashing in a Braindance film?"

Claire wiped a glass, watching the two beautiful girls on either side, and couldn't help complaining.

Yahweh nodded solemnly, only to be pierced through the heart by their gazes and pinned to his seat.

"Ah! I'm dead…" He slumped onto the bar counter, head down, muttering in a haunting, muffled tone.

"Pfft…"

Seeing Yahweh's rare antics, Hita was the first to burst out laughing.

Lucy, who considered herself more mature, clenched her cheeks tightly and held back her chuckle.

This was nothing like what she had expected.

Her sun seemed surprisingly good at comedy.

"Just laugh if you want to…" Hita rubbed her aching cheeks and cast a disdainful glance at the mature woman beside her, barely holding back her smile.

"What's so funny?" Lucy shook her head, adopting the air of a composed, cultured older sister.

"Alright, alright, stop fooling around…" It was the second time he'd said those words today.

Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention.

The two beautiful women seemed to be locked in a contest—one desperately trying to make the other laugh, the other stubbornly resisting.

At least, Lucy had successfully been drawn into the group.

He sighed, unable but to admire Hita's subtle tenderness.

The spring wind that nourishes without sound is the most moving of all.