“Is that really how it is, Vinny? Is your orientation really that locked in?” Shicodale bared his teeth in a grin.

“Really. Truer than pearls! Dale, don’t test me, alright? Or else...”

“Or else, you’ll collapse at a single touch?” Shicodale chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re the type where as long as they’re pretty, everything else is whatever. Heh. Fine. That’s perverted enough. I like it.”

“Also, haven’t you heard a saying? Homophobia is just deep-closet.”

“The hell do you mean, homophobia?!” Vinny couldn’t help it. “Where are you learning this weird knowledge??”

Vinny didn’t understand. Was this stuff Shicodale knew on his own, or was it something Black Shicodale came with by default??

Mm. It looked a lot more like the latter. Vinny couldn’t imagine how Shicodale—who was basically a blank sheet of paper—would know any of this.

And was this even “homophobia is deep-closet”? He was acting like this because he knew Shicodale was a girl, not a guy, alright?? Completely wrong!

So... Black Shicodale plays a guy and messes with him in this blue-eyed game every day—don’t tell him she’s actually enjoying it??

That really was kind of perverted, wasn’t it?!

“T-Then what about you? You’ve been talking forever, but you’re weird too, aren’t you?!” Vinny said irritably.

Since the other side wanted to play roleplay with him and act like a guy in front of him, then fine—act. He’d act along with her. Let’s see who breaks first!

“Black Dale, you keep saying things like ‘you’re my prey’ that make people misunderstand, and you keep doing these movements that make people misunderstand too. You’re the abnormal one, alright? You’re trying to drag this young master, a normal man, down into the mud, aren’t you?” Vinny complained.

“Huh? Human, you’re really slow. You’re only realizing now?” But Vinny’s words didn’t make Shicodale embarrassed at all. Instead, the other side laughed freely and admitted it openly, with a look that said, Can you say something everyone doesn’t already know?

“I never hid it from the start. Are you only seeing it now? I’m a bent blue-eyed guy.” Shicodale split into a nasty grin, pinching Vinny’s jaw and pulling his face closer.

What?!

Hearing that, Vinny was shocked.

Black Shicodale was still a girl, right? Even if her personality was domineering and aggressive, she was still a girl, right??

Vinny never would’ve imagined a girl disguising herself as a guy and then openly declaring she was a blue-eyed guy.

That was way too explosive, wasn’t it??

“Human, your reactions really are slow. You’re only processing it now?”

“No—Black Dale, don’t do this! The two of us aren’t just different races, our genders are wrong too!” Vinny suddenly thought of something. If he remembered right, elves were extremely rejecting toward outsiders. Marrying an outsider—forget royals—even normal elves didn’t accept it in elven culture.

“So what? I like playing this kind of thrilling game. Not allowed?” Shicodale pinched Vinny’s chin again and leaned in closer. They could even feel each other’s breath hitting their cheeks.

Even though Shicodale was using disguise gemstones, the gemstones only disguised the necessary features. His face, skin, figure—what they were like was what they were like. Nothing changed. He looked like a delicate little elf crossdresser who was prettier than girls.

Vinny stared at Shicodale at point-blank range. That face that was usually timid and soft was now full of dominance and wicked charm, and those almond-shaped eyes that used to look like they held dew were now blazing with raw aggression.

That intense contrast made a person’s heart race. Even Vinny felt his cheeks heating up.

W-What was wrong with him??

“Oh? Looks like you’re not as firm as you think you are?” That little change naturally couldn’t fool Shicodale. He laughed mockingly. “Watch your image. You should know the little one has been watching the whole time, human. Your performance right now is pretty shameful.”

“If you know that, then get up already?!” Vinny rolled his eyes at him. “Can you stop feeding little kids weird ideas??”

“Get up? That won’t do.” As Shicodale said that, he blew a breath at Vinny’s face.

“I—w-what is this now?” Vinny swallowed.

“Human, I said it before, didn’t I? You’re way too dishonest.” Shicodale’s finger lightly traced back and forth over Vinny’s chest.

“What do you mean dishonest? You can’t just say things without proof, alright?? This young master is sincere!”

“So, what exactly did you go do today?” Shicodale curled his lips and tugged at Vinny’s collar.

“Didn’t I already say it? I went to help at the Student Council. Mirexia told me to go. If you don’t believe me, ask her!”

“Oh? So that means no matter what you went to do, you can always have your childhood friend cover for you, right?” Shicodale raised an eyebrow.

“So what are you talking about?” Vinny had been stabbed right through on the inside, but on the surface he was still flawless.

“Human, your filthy little schemes really are as many as ever. You can fool that little idiot, but you can’t fool me.” Shicodale lifted his chin. “Ah, fine. I really should leave a mark on you, so you stop running around stirring up trouble everywhere.”

“What the hell?! Don’t do it!” Watching Shicodale’s forehead about to collide with his, Vinny’s pupils shrank.

But right then, Shicodale bared his teeth in a grin—and the next instant, he stopped for no reason.

“??” Vinny didn’t understand. When he lifted his gaze to look at Shicodale, what he saw was a timid, youthful face, and those beautiful eyes full of aggression had faded back into the soft, cute deer-like eyes from his memory.

“Uh, uh...” Shicodale sat beside Vinny in a stiff, awkward posture. Her delicate hand was still pinching Vinny’s jaw, and the two of them were maintaining an extremely close face-to-face distance. The atmosphere fell into a strange, suffocating silence.

The moment he understood what had happened, Vinny went silent. Staring at the awkward position they were in now, he wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say, painfully embarrassed.

“Th-th-th-that, I—this isn’t me, I didn’t do it on purpose...” Shicodale’s little head started venting steam like a train, her face red to the ears, unbearably shy, babbling incoherently.

“I know, Dale. This isn’t your fault. Let go of me first, okay? Let’s get up and talk.” Vinny pressed his lips together. With Shicodale acting like this, things would be much easier from here.

Only she could do this.

That ambiguous, unclear atmosphere Black Shicodale had forced out earlier—once Shicodale acted like this, it was completely gone. Vinny’s brain also sobered up from that muddy, boiling state.

“Ah—o-okay!” Shicodale hurriedly let go of Vinny and quickly scampered to the sofa, sitting upright there, lowering her head, silent, her whole face burning red.

“Ow.” Vinny got up and looked at Shicodale’s reaction. Somehow, he found it a little funny.

So what was Black Shicodale’s deal? She set the two of them up into that scene and then logged off? Was it on purpose??

Or was it just that the time happened to be up—Black Shicodale dropped, and White Shicodale took the account??

No matter what the reason was, Vinny let out a breath.

Thank god, thank god. Even Vinny felt that atmosphere earlier was getting kind of dangerous. If Black Shicodale kept controlling things, then—

Uh. He really didn’t dare think about it.

“Dale, long time no see. You’re home already.” Seeing how Shicodale didn’t dare speak to him, and didn’t dare look at him either, Vinny knew he had to be the one to talk first, or the atmosphere would get unbearably awkward.

“Ah, mm, y-yes. I got home... it’s already been a day.” Shicodale clasped her hands between her knees and nodded like she was pounding garlic.

Only then did Vinny notice: there was a plate on the table piled high with shelled peanuts, and the trash bin beside it was overflowing with peanut shells.

These were obviously shelled by Shicodale.

Vinny immediately pictured it. Shicodale must’ve gotten home very early today, then found Vinny wasn’t there. So she did the chores and waited for him to come home. But she ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) waited all day and he still didn’t come back, so she sat on the sofa peeling peanuts while letting her thoughts run wild.

Yeah. Otherwise, why would even Black Shicodale come out?

With Shicodale’s personality, Vinny immediately thought: maybe Black Shicodale saw White Shicodale anxiously waiting for him, overthinking and consuming herself from the inside, and she had no choice but to take over.

After all, Black Shicodale existed because she was born to protect White Shicodale.

It really wasn’t easy on her. Back in the cube-space, she was the main carry. Now Shicodale ran into emotional trouble and spiraled into internal exhaustion, and it was still Black Shicodale who had to come save the situation.

“I’m sorry, Vinny... earlier, it was... it was her. She was controlling me...”

“I know. That was Black Dale, right? She came out again.” Vinny explained for the unbearably shy Shicodale.

“Mm. Yes.” Shicodale nodded weakly. “But don’t blame her. She doesn’t have bad intentions, she just wanted...”

“I’m not blaming her. Black Dale’s personality is a little mischievous, but I know she doesn’t have bad intentions.”

“This time... it was thanks to her too, right?” Vinny asked.

“Mm. Yes. Back when I ran into trouble in that creepy cube space, it was thanks to her.” Shicodale recalled. “When I was in danger, she appeared in time and brought me out.”

“Of course, it was also thanks to you, Vinny. If it weren’t for you, I definitely would’ve...”

“You don’t have to thank me. I already said it just now—this wasn’t my specialty. I also asked other people for help. Senior Luna and the others are pretty nice.” Vinny said.

“Mm, mm. I still really want to thank you.” Shicodale remembered those dream memories again, subconsciously glanced at Vinny, then shrank her head back.

She was still thinking about what happened in the dream. Looking at Black Shicodale’s conversation with Vinny, she turned it over and over and still couldn’t quite see anything. In Shicodale’s eyes, Black Shicodale’s thinking really was too jumpy—no process in the middle, straight to a conclusion. It felt more like wild guessing.

“You... you don’t feel uncomfortable anywhere now, right?” Vinny asked.

“No. I’m fine. Senior Luna and the nuns basically already healed me. I don’t feel uncomfortable anywhere in my body.” Shicodale shook her head.

“Then... the inner demon?” Vinny asked. “Earlier, those nuns said your problem wasn’t in your body, it was in your heart.”

“Mm, mm. It’s better. Vinny, you don’t need to worry.”

“Oh. I see. It didn’t get cured at the root.” The moment he heard Shicodale’s tone and saw her face and body language, Vinny understood everything. He looked like he was thinking.

“No! I’m cured!” Shicodale hurriedly shook her head.

“Sigh.” Watching Shicodale’s face—someone who couldn’t even lie properly—Vinny could only sigh helplessly, not knowing what Shicodale would do in the future.

But it also made sense that the root wasn’t cured. The pain of a fallen nation and a destroyed family—how could it just be “over” because you said it was?

Even Vinny himself still couldn’t let go. Let alone Shicodale, an elf.

If it couldn’t be cured at the root, then if something like today happened again in the future, it would probably relapse.

But Vinny felt it wasn’t impossible to cure it. He thought of a method that might be able to treat it.

Help Shicodale restore her country.

If Shicodale successfully restored her country—drove out those tribesmen who were running wild in her homeland—then inherited the throne, ascended as the Moon Elf Queen, and rebuilt Mistmoon Forest...

Then maybe her heart’s illness could be cured to a large extent.

But Shicodale becoming the Moon Elf Queen...?

Vinny couldn’t really imagine that scene.

Right now, all of that was probably still too early for Shicodale. And restoring a country—restore it with what??

Vinny himself was still in the infiltration stage. He still couldn’t reclaim the Church of the Dawn. What ability did he have to help Shicodale restore her country??

Thinking it over and over, all of it could only turn into a sigh.

He could only say that his situation and Shicodale’s really were similar. Even what they were facing right now was exactly the same—both of them had their home taken over by someone else.

“So, Vinny... what she said earlier, don’t take it to heart.”

“Mm, mm. I didn’t take it to heart.”

“Right—Vinny, you’re hungry, right?”

“Ah, I...” Vinny was about to say he’d already eaten dinner outside—and he even ate with Mirexia—but when he saw Shicodale’s almond-shaped eyes glittering like gemstones, full of hope, he had to change his mind.

Shicodale was afraid he was hungry. Right now, she really wanted to cook for him.

Fine, fine. What’s one more meal?

“Mm. Yes. I’m hungry.” Vinny nodded.

“Then I already bought the ingredients. I’ll go cook for you right now!” Hearing that, Shicodale was instantly delighted and ran to the kitchen in a hop.

Looking at the kitchen filled with baskets of vegetables, Vinny only then realized—Shicodale had been waiting for him to come home and eat, all the way until now.

She’d just recovered from illness, and she went to the commercial street to buy ingredients for him, then waited for him to come home and eat until now. Since he didn’t come back, she didn’t even cook for herself.

Just to wait for him.

Vinny felt something tug hard inside his chest. He watched that busy figure in the kitchen without saying a word, silent.

“Right, Vinny.”

“Mm? What is it?” Just as Vinny was thinking quietly to himself, Shicodale—dressed like a cook as usual, apron tied on—walked out of the kitchen.

Mm. Very familiar.

Compared to her in that memory-dream—wearing a Moon Elf princess dress made from Mistmoon Forest high-tier silk—Shicodale like this was the one Vinny remembered most deeply.

It was only after he entered Shicodale’s dream and came back that Vinny truly realized: the one who had been cooking for him, cleaning for him, taking care of the house all this time... was the former Moon Elf princess.

“Earlier... I forgot to tell you.”

“Even though when you came in, she already told you, I... I still haven’t told you myself.” Shicodale looked a little shy and awkward.

“Welcome home, Vinny.” Shicodale clasped her hands shyly in front of her apron. Her young, tender voice was filled with sincerity and warmth.