Halftime Interlude

After running out of the dueling arena, Su Mo sprinted as fast as he could toward a place with no people.

Since it was his first time here, Su Mo had no idea where he was heading—he just kept running blindly.

Only when he couldn’t see a single soul around did he finally slow down.

Then he removed the mask from his face, which now had a clearly visible crack he could feel with his fingers.

Miss Pink appeared once again.

She held the mask in front of her and looked at it.

A prominent crack ran from the top to the bottom of the center.

If the crack got any deeper, the mask would definitely break in half.

Fortunately, she managed to take it off before it broke completely.

“Phew~ Thank goodness I reacted fast and knocked Graha out with one shot, or else I’d really have had to perform a live transformation act.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Edenia patted her moderately sized chest.

She lifted her head and looked around.

This was a forest—but an artificially planted one, where every tree had been carefully trimmed.

“Where… did I run to?”

Edenia tilted her head in confusion.

She reached out and scratched her small head, then took a few steps forward before suddenly feeling something off about herself.

Looking down, she realized the blue uniform Alice had given her was gone.

Now, she was wearing a gorgeous dress dominated by white, accented with pink.

The top was adorned with many tiny decorations resembling planets, embroidered along the collar.

The main color of the outfit was pure white, with six golden star-shaped buttons neatly lined up at the front waist.

On both sides of the dress, two pink nebula patterns were painted.

At her back, a huge bow flowed like a vast and endless galaxy, sparkling with starlight as it trailed behind her.

The skirt’s design resembled an enormous galaxy, displaying a dazzling starry sky across the hem.

Her slender, well-proportioned legs were wrapped in pantyhose.

The upper part of the stockings near her thighs was pure white, but the color gradually darkened to deep blue toward her feet, decorated with constellations, as if the entire universe had been captured within them.

On her delicate, rosy feet were a pair of blue high heels.

Each shoe had a dark blue bow at the back, patterned with stars.

Hidden on the soles were two different designs—one shoe bore the sun, the other the moon.

At this moment, Edenia looked as if she had merged the entire cosmos into herself—radiant and full of mystery.

“Eh?! Why did my clothes change? No, wait—why did I use ‘me’ in that girly way again? I should say ‘I’—yes! Next time, I have to say ‘I’!”

Startled at how her outfit suddenly became so extravagant, she then noticed her self-reference slipping toward the feminine style again, and quickly tried to correct herself.

But… it didn’t seem to be working.

“I… how long do I have to wait before I can change back? That little assistant didn’t even tell me how long the effect lasts… sigh…”

Looking at the mask in her hand, which showed no sign of repairing itself, Edenia could only let out a sigh and randomly sit on a large rock.

“Who are you?”

Just as Edenia sat there in a daze, a voice suddenly came from behind her.

Startled, Edenia quickly turned her head—only to see a very familiar figure standing not far behind her.

Lophiel?! Why is she here?! No wonder I didn’t see her at the banquet earlier—she came here instead?!

“Someone I haven’t seen before? Are you also here for the banquet?”

Lophiel pretended not to recognize Edenia and asked from a short distance away.

However, her voice carried a faint tremor.

Right now, Edenia was simply too stunning.

Wearing a dress that seemed perfectly tailored for her—one that matched her to a hundred percent—her charm multiplied countless times over.

“Y-Yes! I just… I don’t really like crowded places, so I came here to take a walk alone.”

Seeing that Lophiel didn’t recognize her made Edenia breathe a sigh of relief.

*That’s right. With how I look now, there’s no way she could tell who I really am. She won’t suddenly chop off my head… so what am I even scared of?

Hmph~ You arrogant overpowered heroine, what can you do to me now?*

Thinking this, Edenia’s tension melted away, and she unconsciously placed her little hands on her hips with a smug expression, as if declaring victory.

But she had no idea that every thought in her head was already heard by the Lophiel in front of her.

How can she be this cute? And that pose with her hands on her hips—what is this? Is she trying to seduce me? She’s making me like her even more~

Lophiel felt her heart beating faster, utterly charmed by Edenia’s every move.

But she knew she couldn’t rush things.

Until her strength completely surpassed Edenia’s, she could only take the slow, gentle approach—like boiling a frog in warm water.

So, after casting a strong calming spell on herself, Lophiel asked with a smile,

“A beautiful lady like you—I’ve never seen you in Ocilis before. Could you be a relative of some noble family?

May I know the name of this stunning young lady?”

Hearing that, Edenia instinctively almost said her name.

But just as she was about to utter the word “Edenia,” she suddenly remembered—Lophiel knew that name but not her face.

If she revealed her real name now, wouldn’t that expose herself instantly?

Thinking quickly, Edenia came up with an idea.

She smiled slightly and said,

“My name is Su Mo Brand, Noah Brand’s younger sister. I came to the banquet with my brother today.”

*Lophiel doesn’t know much about my family anyway. In fact, she doesn’t care about any men at all—so she wouldn’t know the details of my household.

As for whether she’ll investigate later… this was just an accident. I won’t let her see me like this again.*

Listening to Edenia’s inner thoughts, Lophiel found her adorably naive.

Never mind Noah being the very person she needed to deal with—after being reborn, the first thing she did was investigate everything about him.

Does Edenia not realize that if she disappears after this, Lophiel would just question Noah about her?

Thinking this, Lophiel began walking slowly toward Edenia.

Meanwhile, still feeling some lingering fear toward this overpowered heroine, Edenia saw Lophiel approaching with a smile and nervously shrank back, retreating step by step.

Then, her foot caught on something, and she lost her balance, falling backward.

At that very moment, a flash of light appeared beside Edenia, and a hand reached out to catch her, pulling her into an embrace.

Looking at the dazed little cutie in her arms who hadn’t even processed what just happened, Lophiel tightened her hold slightly.

The soft sensation in her arms and the pleasant fragrance entering her nose made her heart race even faster.

“You seem really afraid of me.

And yet, isn’t this supposed to be our first meeting?”