Reborn as a Transcendent-Chapter 766Book 3: : No Favors Without a Catch

The sun outside was still vicious, and the streets of Jade City were far quieter than they usually were around mealtime.

Most of those on the road were ordinary pedestrians, while the wolfish patrols of guards seen days earlier had thinned out considerably. They had probably given up on the search. Or perhaps there was simply no longer any need to continue it.

The guards now stationed around the area were merely the usual on-duty personnel. Seeing these familiar faces at last put people somewhat at ease. They no longer had to live in constant fear as they had over the past few days.

Inside Irene’s room, Yae-hime stood rigid, her nerves taut and her heartbeat racing. Because outside the door stood a powerful presence.

**Knock, knock, knock.**

Suddenly, that powerful presence knocked heavily on the door. Even though it was clearly a casual knock, the aura it carried was still deeply intimidating.

Yae-hime forcibly calmed herself and suppressed her presence to the absolute minimum. For someone who possessed basic spatial power, concealing her aura and sense of existence was not particularly difficult.

The knocking abruptly stopped. After standing outside for a moment, the person turned and left Irene’s room. Yae-hime did not move at all, as though she had merged completely with the surrounding space.

With a sharp swish, the figure that had just left suddenly reappeared in front of the door.

“Strange. Could I have sensed it wrong?” the man murmured in a low voice.

Under the sunlight, his face was finally revealed. It was Gurant, the bishop of the Southern Grand Church. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and left. This time, he truly departed.

Inside the room, Yae-hime finally let out a breath of relief. “Phew… That terrifying aura must be the bishop Irene mentioned. The helper Richard brought in is no ordinary figure.” She tilted her head toward the door and spoke softly.

The opponent’s strength was clearly far beyond what she had initially expected.

“He’s probably about on par with Lili.” Without having truly crossed hands with him, Yae-hime could not determine just how high Gurant’s upper limit was. She could only make a rough estimate.

“That guy doesn’t seem like he came specifically to see Irene.” Staring at the door, Yae-hime spoke with a puzzled expression. If he truly had business with Irene, how could he have left so easily?

“He was probably just passing by and acted on a whim.” With no further information, she could not infer Gurant’s true intentions at all.

“Uuu… mm…” At that moment, Irene, who was lying on the bed, let out a lazy, sleepy sound. She then slowly opened her eyes.

“You’re awake.” Yae-hime looked over and smiled.

“… ” Irene blinked, her rusted brain finally starting to turn. Within a few seconds, she grasped the situation. So she had fallen asleep without realizing it.

‘She actually stayed by my side the whole time. That bad girl is unexpectedly considerate.’ Thinking this, she could not help but smile happily.

“Are you hungry?” Yae-hime asked while reaching out to tidy Irene’s messy hair.

Hearing that, Irene felt as though her heart were about to melt.

‘So considerate! Is this bad girl really the bad girl I knew?’ She could not help but doubt it.

“Not hungry?” Yae-hime asked again. Her voice was as gentle as flowing water.

“I am.” Irene nodded, a faint blush blooming across her cheeks.

“I’ll co—” Yae-hime started to say, then suddenly remembered that there was no kitchen in Irene’s room.

“Co?” Irene asked, sounding slightly confused.

“No, I mean, next time we get the chance, I’ll personally cook you a bowl of noodles.” Yae-hime said.

“I see.”

“Mm. For now, let’s just keep it simple. That said, could you let go of my hand?” Yae-hime lowered her head and looked at her own arm as she spoke. On it was a fair, delicate little hand.

“How strange. Why am I holding your hand?” Irene said in surprise. She had been holding it so naturally that she had not sensed anything amiss.

“You kept holding onto my hand the whole time after you fell asleep,” Yae-hime said irritably. ‘Did she seriously have no self-awareness at all?’

“Ah!” Irene hurriedly let go, an embarrassed expression instantly creeping onto her small face. “I… I didn’t do it on purpose…” She lowered her voice, speaking with a hint of awkwardness.

“It’s fine.” Yae-hime shook her head lightly. She then took out a large assortment of pastries from her spatial ring, along with a teapot of rather unusual structure.

“Wait a moment. I’ll brew a pot of tea.” As she spoke, Yae-hime took out another item from the spatial ring and handed it to Irene. It was a beautifully made book.

“This is!?” Seeing the familiar cover and the familiar text, Irene could not help but exclaim.

“The second half. You’ve been waiting a long time for it, haven’t you?” Yae-hime said with a calm smile. The book in her hands was none other than the brand-new masterpiece by Alicia that she and Irene had enjoyed together before.

“Wuuah, I missed you so much!” Irene excitedly snatched the lewd novel from Yae-hime’s hands and hugged it tightly to her chest. She felt as if she had not read a lewd novel for half a lifetime, and the hunger in her heart was almost unbearable.

At the same time, a wave of emotion surged up from deep within her. ‘Today, that bad girl is being so gentle and considerate. If only she were like this every day!’

Watching Yae-hime busy herself at the small dining table, the warmth in Irene’s heart grew even stronger.

Fifteen minutes later. Yae-hime had finished brewing a pot of fine black tea. The delicious pastries were neatly arranged on plates, looking tempting enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

Reluctantly, Irene set the lewd novel aside and enjoyed afternoon tea together with Yae-hime. A cozy, gentle atmosphere spread throughout the room. Moments like these always passed far too quickly.

After finishing the last sip of fragrant tea, Irene returned to the bed in satisfaction, ready to continue reading her lewd novel. However, before she could even open the book, Yae-hime pressed it down with one hand.

“You slept well, ate well, drank well, and were taken care of. Today, I already fulfilled four of your wishes in one go.”

“Huh?” Hearing this, Irene tilted her head in confusion.

“Irene, we’re good friends, right?” Yae-hime did not explain further and instead looked straight at her.

“Y-yes! We are, good friends!” Stared at by those captivating eyes, Irene immediately became flustered.

“Good friends should help each other, shouldn’t they?” Yae-hime said gently.

“Yes.” Irene nodded.

“Was I good to you today?” 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

“Mhm!” Irene nodded again.

“Good. Now it’s your turn to be good to me.”

Before the words finished leaving her mouth, Yae-hime took four fragments out of her spatial ring and placed them in front of Irene. The moment Irene saw the fragments, her eyes and the corners of her mouth twitched faintly.

Then she reached out with both hands, firmly grabbing Yae-hime by the shoulders as she roared, “Didn’t I tell you to use them sparingly!?”

“Ahahaha, I ran into some trouble, so I ended up using up all the energy,” Yae-hime said awkwardly.

“Ugh, bad girl, I hate you!” Irene puffed out her cheeks slightly as she spoke. How could she not understand now? All that earlier gentleness and consideration had just been currying favor.

‘Give me back my feelings!’

“Please,” Yae-hime said earnestly, gently patting her head.

“Hmph, only this once!” Irene snorted, clearly having vented much of her anger.

“Mm. I’ll be more careful next time,” Yae-hime promised.

‘If that’s even possible… Well, her promise was completely unreliable anyway.’

“Wait, why is there an extra one!?” After counting the fragments on the bed, Irene exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s like this…” Yae-hime hurriedly explained the origin of the fourth fragment.

After listening, Irene glanced again at the jet-black fragment, which was clearly larger than the other three, and said in a low voice, “Maybe I should just quietly slip it away.”