The Thief, the Hero, and the Holy Bat

On the second floor of the teahouse, they settled at a window-side table.

Li Yue and Su Luoli ordered a pot of tea, then sat facing each other to talk.

“How many people have you stolen from so far?”

It was called a conversation, but Li Yue’s tone was more akin to an interrogation.

To Li Yue, Su Luoli was nothing but a damned thief.

While Li Yue herself was a delinquent who picked fights everywhere, she only ever fought other delinquents.

In a sense, she believed she never truly harmed anyone else, or at least, that was her own conviction.

The sole reason Li Yue fought was simply because…

…she simply enjoyed fighting.

Su Luoli retorted, “What—what business is it of yours? Aren’t you still an unregistered citizen?”

Despite her timid posture and tone, she uttered remarkably arrogant words.

Moreover, she had overheard everything Li Yue said earlier in the guest room.

If they truly called the police, wouldn’t both of them be in trouble?

“Hmph, I despise petty thieves like you most of all.”

“Who exactly are you?”

Li Yue pointed a thumb at her own nose, answering with considerable pride, “I’m the Fighting King of Tianyi High. There isn’t a single hooligan around the school who hasn’t been beaten by me.”

“A blonde delinquent girl?”

Li Yue’s lips twitched.

Being called a ‘blonde delinquent girl’ always felt strange, yet it seemed oddly fitting.

Fighting was a passion etched into her very bones.

Li Yue was, without a doubt, a battle maniac.

Perhaps this was the true reason she had been chosen by the Goddess to be the Hero.

However, after spending a year in another world and witnessing true battlefields, the obsession to fight at every moment could no longer be satisfied by merely brawling with hooligans.

Returning to Su Luoli…

“Never mind me for now; my problems aren’t nearly as serious as yours.”

Li Yue tapped her finger on the tabletop.

“You must dutifully compensate the victims for their losses.

If you lack the funds to repay them, then have Mo Linyu cover the costs.”

While her thievery was undoubtedly a crime, handing her over to the police wasn’t an option.

At the very least, the damages had to be repaid.

Su Luoli merely scoffed, “Hmph, busybodies. Do you really think yourselves police officers?”

“If you end up going in for any reason, then she’ll be in deep trouble.”

“The Demon Lord? Hmph, how much pocket money could she possibly have?”

Li Yue grinned, “She was supposed to attend your school, a young lady of a prominent family.

But her father’s standing is so high that he feared his daughter would be targeted, which is why he didn’t send her.

Didn’t you enroll in that private girls’ school precisely to latch onto a young lady?

Well, she’s one.

Aren’t you going to seize the opportunity?”

“That’s what my parents wanted.”

Su Luoli frowned, clearly disdaining the idea of living off someone else’s wealth, preferring instead to build her fortune with her own ‘dirty hands’.

“Besides, even if you tell me to return the money, I wouldn’t know how.

Do you honestly think I remember who I stole from? Or their names?”

Even if she genuinely wanted to compensate them, it would be impossible to start.

Her only option would likely be to retrieve police reports.

Moreover, she had no desire to offer compensation.

[Besides, why should I return something I stole with my own skill?]

“What kind of ‘skill’ is that?”

Li Yue rolled her eyes at Su Luoli’s unspoken thought, then suggested, “Why not turn yourself in to the police?

Actively offer compensation and see if you can secure their understanding?”

“Impossible.

If the police truly catch me, my life will likely be ruined.”

“Why are you so afraid of the police?

You mentioned ‘that woman’ earlier—who is she? A police officer?”

At Li Yue’s question, Su Luoli’s expression instantly turned frantic.

“Don’t ask about her.”

Li Yue continued to stare at her chest.

[I absolutely cannot tell them about her.]

This mind-reading ability only worked if the person was actively thinking.

It differed from memory-reading in that it purely perceived unspoken thoughts—words that had never been uttered aloud.

“Sigh…”

Li Yue sighed, then changed the subject and asked:

“So, when you touched that person’s wound just now, what did you feel?”

“…Very—very soft.”

Li Yue raised an eyebrow, looking up at Su Luoli.

“Huh? I was asking if you recovered any memories!”

Li Yue certainly didn’t need Su Luoli to tell her whether Mo Linyu’s chest was soft or not.

She already knew that much.

Su Luoli shook her head in response to the question.

“No, nothing. Are you two just messing with me about these past-life memories?”

Her failure came as no surprise.

Li Yue hadn’t truly believed that merely touching a scar would restore memories.

If that were the case, Mo Linyu would have to let everyone she met take advantage of her.

It was fortunate that Su Luoli was a blonde—er, blue-haired girl.

If some other reincarnated soul from another world had been a man, wouldn’t that have been a huge loss?

She might even have been stabbed to death by Mo Changhong, then meticulously chopped into mincemeat.

“Then try this.”

Li Yue pulled her Holy Sword from behind her—that gleaming, golden baseball bat—and laid it on the table.

“…Made of gold?”

The dazzling golden bat seemed to bewitch Su Luoli at a glance.

Li Yue simply replied, “I don’t know if it’s truly gold, but it is the Holy Sword.”

“Why would a Holy Sword be shaped like a baseball bat?”

“Who knows? It was probably custom-made.”

This was clearly one of the Goddess’s peculiar whims.

Li Longkang had once dominated the streets with a metal baseball bat, which had been his most reliable weapon in fights.

“If you are the reincarnation of a deceased demon, then you were likely killed by this very baseball bat.”

Li Yue…

Hero Moon had single-handedly stormed the Demon Lord’s castle.

Not only the Demon Lord, but every monster that stood in her path was annihilated by her alone—including the Demon Lord’s four strongest Heavenly Kings, who, even acting in concert, couldn’t stop her then.

Understanding Li Yue’s intention in producing the Holy Sword, Su Luoli cautiously reached out and gripped the thicker end of the baseball bat.

“Do you feel anything?” Li Yue asked.

Yet, still nothing happened.

Su Luoli shook her head.

“Is the dosage not enough?”

Li Yue pondered for a moment, then suggested, “How about I tap your head with the Holy Sword?

Perhaps if it touches your soul, you’ll remember.”

Su Luoli immediately shook her head in refusal.

Are you kidding? Being whacked by that massive iron club was no laughing matter!

Therefore, Su Luoli proposed a more subtle, compromising approach.

“W-what if I tried hugging it instead?”

Li Yue looked perplexed.

Su Luoli continued to explain, “You see, perhaps increasing the contact area will have some effect?”

[Anything is better than being hit by this thing.]

Li Yue hesitated for a moment, but then nodded in agreement.

“…Alright, give it a try.”

Su Luoli lifted the heavy Holy Sword and gently embraced the golden baseball bat.

With her hoodie unzipped, the short-sleeved shirt beneath revealed the skin of her slender arms as they wrapped around the cool Holy Sword.

Unlike when the Demon Lord held the Holy Sword, Su Luoli didn’t seem to feel any intense heat?

Yet, at that very moment, Li Yue suddenly felt an odd sensation emanating from below her.

A warm, tingling current spread from her crotch, causing her body to go limp and slump onto the table.

Wh-what was this feeling?

It was almost as if that ‘thing’ down there was still present.

“Hm?”

Su Luoli looked at Li Yue’s reaction with a hint of confusion.

“N-nothing…”

Li Yue denied it through gritted teeth, but her reaction hardly suggested that nothing was amiss.

“Are you sick? Feeling unwell?”

Su Luoli pondered this, but a mischievous thought began to brew in her mind.

[…Maybe I should just run away like this?]

“Hey, don’t you dare… Hiss…”

Li Yue saw through Su Luoli’s intentions, but at that moment, she was powerless to stop her.

Su Luoli stood up.

“Hehe~ I’ll be off then, shall I?”

“Damn it… Stop right there!”

“Nigero dayo!!”

Su Luoli, clutching the Holy Sword, bolted out of the teahouse in a flash.

By the time Li Yue managed to catch her breath, the blue-haired thief had already vanished without a trace.