Let’s capture those two princesses tomorrow morning!

Livia suddenly felt as if something within her, like blood or air, was being frantically extracted, all sucked into the gem, accompanied by a wave of dizziness.

Startled, she recoiled as if electrocuted, plopping onto the ground and fearfully touching her small hands.

Damn, what is this thing, a succubus or a cup! Why does it start vacuuming everything when it gets tangled with my fingers!?

Tsk, if she hadn’t reacted fast enough, and had touched it a few more times, she would have been sucked dry!

So scary, maybe she should just run away!

Just as she was hesitating whether to leave, the woman suddenly opened her eyes.

“…!?”

What kind of eyes were those…

Her irises were a rare silver-gray, like a frozen lake in winter, cold and deep.

Livia felt as if she were being stared at by some ancient creature, cold sweat instantly breaking out on her back.

This silver-haired woman was clearly no ordinary person.

Even though her clothes were tattered, their expensive nature was evident. Though the longsword was damaged, its craftsmanship indicated it was the work of a master, including that gem that could explosively suck people in.

All signs pointed to this woman’s identity being at least on par with her cheap best friend, Big Thunder Girl, belonging to the noble class.

Why would such a person faint in the wilderness?

“Hey, who are you, what’s your name, and where are you from?”

Seeing that the woman had woken up, Livia decided to get straight to the point, first stating her identity to dispel any suspicion the woman might have of her.

“This is Elton. I’m just a little village girl gathering herbs. Do you need help?”

“…”

“Hello? Hello—?”

Livia tilted her head in confusion.

Could this girl be brain-damaged?

A void and confusion appeared in the woman’s eyes. Her thin lips were tightly pursed. She seemed awake, but it was uncertain if she had truly regained consciousness.

Her reaction touched Livia somewhat.

“Sigh, I can’t help it. You’re such a useless big sister who can’t even talk.”

Thinking of how confused and helpless she had felt when she first arrived in this other world, Livia couldn’t bring herself to abandon this beautiful girl.

It was definitely not because she was too pretty! Yes!

“Follow me.”

Livia lifted the woman’s arm and supported her with her own petite shoulder.

Fortunately, she seemed to retain some muscle memory. Otherwise, Livia would have been troubled about how to move such a large cutie.

She supported the woman’s body, walking slowly down the mountain, but her mind was churning.

Who exactly was this silver-haired elder sister?

Why was she here?

More importantly… would she bring trouble to her?

All sorts of doubts would eventually have to be asked of her.

Livia brought the woman to the town. The people around cast curious and astonished glances, clearly having never seen such a stunning woman.

Along the way, seeing those who wanted to speak but hesitated, Livia quickened her pace to avoid being spoken to.

She wouldn’t let anyone else help, even if she was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Sigh…

What kind of possessiveness was at play?

It wasn’t until she brought the woman to the inn and carefully laid her on the bed, letting her rest her head on a pillow, that Livia finally let out a long sigh and then collapsed onto the bed as if giving up.

“Ah—! I’m exhausted, exhausted! I saved you. When you wake up, you’d better give me a reward!”

Livia grumbled.

“Even if you don’t give a reward, don’t repay kindness with enmity, okay? Alright, let me treat your wounds first.”

I’m still too kind.

Livia slowly stood up, smoothing her dress.

She couldn’t just ignore someone like this… Sigh, in any case, let’s hide her sword first. After all, her physical appearance was that of a slender, weak woman.

Livia placed the almost broken sword under the bed, then clapped her hands, a look of ease on her face as she took out a healing potion.

Immediately, she brought her hands together and clapped them, ‘pat.’

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to touch you, but the healing potion needs to be applied directly to the skin. I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Although the ice-beauty was likely still in a daze, Livia couldn’t forgive herself if she didn’t apologize first.

She took out the potion from under her skirt, then washed her palms before sitting by the bed, taking a deep breath.

Warm, orange light slanted in through the wooden window, condensing on Livia’s trembling fingertips.

Her finger lingered at the mouth of the potion bottle for a long time before dipping into the viscous liquid.

Her fingertip hovered above a hair-thin wound on the silver-haired woman’s shoulder blade.

It was reluctant to descend.

The scent of lavender mixed with the potion wafted in the air, but it couldn’t mask the cold cedarwood fragrance emanating from the woman.

Those wounds looked like they were made by thorns. Did she roll down the mountain from the summit to the halfway point?

The moment the potion dripped, the sleeping body of the silver-haired woman suddenly trembled.

“Bear with it…”

Knowing the other party couldn’t hear, Livia still moved her lips, tucking her silver hair to her chest, revealing a section of her alabaster-like nape.

The orange warm light of dusk leaked through the wooden window, illuminating the tiny wounds like cinnabar sprinkled on porcelain.

Livia swallowed.

As the potion was applied, the girl’s muscles instantly tensed. In the candlelight, one could see the fine beads of sweat on her shoulder blades.

“Better? The thorns are poisonous, that’s why it hurts…”

Livia mumbled softly, watching as the pale skin gradually regained a rosy hue, like rouge blooming in the snow. She breathed a sigh of relief.

However…

The injuries were not limited to one spot. Her body was almost entirely covered in small cuts, and some even had thorns embedded in them.

The further she treated down, the hotter Livia’s ear tips became.

Those wounds extended from her shoulder blade to her waist, outlining thrilling patterns in the warm light.

“S-sorry! I’ll close my eyes!”

Livia instantly blinked her eyes tightly, continuing downwards like a blind person touching an elephant.

‘Drip, drip.‘

Time ticked by.

After completely covering all the wounds with healing ointment, Livia had stopped thinking. She mechanically covered the silver-haired elder sister with a blanket and slowly walked out of the room.

Her small white head puffed out hot air with a ‘bang~!’

“Oh my god… her thighs below… Yes, pay up, pay up first…”

Keep some of the useful herbs, sell the rest for money, and then pay the inn’s room fees.

Having done all this in one go, Livia ran into Big Thunder Girl at the counter.

“Yes, yes, room twenty-four. Let’s stay for one day first. The money? Oh, I’ll sell the herbs later and pay.”

Alice opened the satchel at her waist, and only then did she notice the little white ball watching her.

“Ya, Lao Ya, you’re back too~?”

Alice put her palm over her sapphire eyes, pretending to look into the distance and shaking her head from side to side, “I almost didn’t see you. You’re just too small~”

“Ptooey, who are you calling small? Let’s not argue about it for now.”

Livia raised her hand and pulled the girl closer.

The other seemed very happy, radiating excitement, her golden pigtails even sparkling.

Livia was of course also very happy. She and Big Thunder Girl squatted in a corner of the inn, whispering to each other.

“Lao Ai, I have some happy news to tell you!”

“Really? Actually, I have some happy news I want to tell you!”

They spoke in unison, then looked at each other.

“What? Why are you happy too?”

“Well, Lao Ya, if you knew what happened where I was this afternoon, you’d be so jealous you’d go crazy!”

“How is that possible! Even if you found a precious herb, I wouldn’t be jealous. Rather, if you knew what happened here, you’d definitely want to cry with envy under your blanket!”

The two, one large and one small, whispered intensely, finally reaching a consensus.

“Then let’s just say it together, and see whose story is happier!”

“Let’s talk, Livia, you just wait to be thoroughly defeated!”

After speaking, both turned their heads away, glancing at the curious looks from the surrounding travelers but not paying them any mind, confirming they wouldn’t be overheard.

Taking a deep breath, they both spoke at the same time, their faces wearing expressions of infatuation.

“Hehe~ When I went to the mountain to gather herbs, I found a little cutie!”

“What!?”

“You found a little cutie too?”

“Let me see!”

The two stood up. Livia curiously poked her small head out, and in Alice’s clear, lake-like blue eyes, a white cast metal head appeared.

“Are you copying me?”

“How is that possible? Rather, why do you also… We couldn’t have found the same person, could we.”

“Did all your brainpower go to your chest? We split up, remember?” Livia rolled her eyes. “Mine is a beautiful silver-haired big sister. What about yours?”

“Pink-haired big sister!”

Alice retorted without missing a beat, “And where did your chest go? Did it grow on your head?”

“Gulp, wait a moment…”

Livia confirmed, then felt a sense of crisis. “Is yours awake yet? Don’t be infatuated and not observe carefully. What if you picked up a wanted criminal or something? We’d both be charged with harboring.”

“Oh dear, oh dear, relax. Mine is truly as beautiful as a flower, shaming the moon and eclipsing the stars, purely a good-natured little cutie, and dressed very lavishly. She’s definitely a noble lady. Maybe we can hit the jackpot with her later!”

“Forget it, you take her to room number three. Room three is a double-bed room. If something unexpected happens, we four can look out for each other immediately.”

Livia said, extending her small hand.

“Let me see if you were slacking off~ Give me your herb bag. I’ll pick out some of the useless ones to sell and pay the fees.”

Looking at the white-haired loli, who was acting like a mature and experienced person, with her voice trailing off playfully and provocatively

Alice was immediately annoyed.

“Hmph, can such a small thing trouble me? Watch how much I collected!!”

“Alright, alright, you’re amazing.”

Livia took the bulging bag. Although her tone was somewhat perfunctory, her eyes were gentle and filled with excitement.

“With this, the money from selling the herbs will be enough for travel expenses! We’ll rest tonight, and tomorrow morning we’ll go take down those two Archduchesses!”

“If possible, we can also bring those two poor little things along, so it won’t be boring on the road!”