Chen Mian and Flora turned their heads to look at her.
The eyes of the three met in the fluorescent light, and a brief silence ensued.
“You said you were scared just now, didn't you?” Chen Mian asked.
“It's not an illusion! Eh?? Why? I clearly didn't want to answer like that!” After speaking, Loviki covered her mouth again, her ruby eyes filled with shock and confusion.
“After consuming the Moonlight Mushroom Condensation, there's a short-term effect of ‘unable to lie’.” The corners of Chen Mian's mouth curled up.
As soon as Chen Mian spoke, the air fell silent for a moment.
“Really?” Flora's voice was low, sounding a bit embarrassed. “I... didn't know it would do that.”
Loviki slowly lowered her hand, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly as she looked at Flora. “Which means... no matter what we ask right now, we can only tell the truth?”
Flora's elven ears instantly turned bright red. “Loviki, please don't ask any weird questions!”
The curve of Loviki's mouth widened a bit more, her ruby-like eyes flashing with mischief under the fluorescent light. “Flora, what do you want to do most right now?”
Flora's face was already red down to her neck. She desperately covered her mouth, but her voice still leaked through her fingers: “I-I want to crawl into the tent and hide...”
Loviki let out a soft laugh.
Chen Mian lay on the grass, cradling his head in his arms. Watching the fluorescent spores drift slowly overhead, he said with a relaxed expression, “Flora, don't bother covering it. You can't hold it back anyway.”
“Mr. Chen Mian!” Flora turned her back to him, the tips of her elven ears glowing bright red in the fluorescent light.
Loviki lay on her side, propping her head up with one hand, her black hair sprawling over the grass. She turned her gaze to Chen Mian. “Did you do this on purpose?”
“Do what on purpose?”
“Knowing this soup had this effect and not warning us.”
“It's my first time having Moonlight Mushroom Condensation too,” Chen Mian said honestly. “But it really does taste great, doesn't it?”
“It really is delicious.” Loviki froze for a second after speaking, then pursed her lips.
Chen Mian chuckled.
Flora also gradually relaxed from her tense state. She rolled over to lie on her back again, her ears still red.
A quiet moment passed.
“Since we've all had it,” Loviki suddenly sat up, crossing her legs, her black hair draping over her shoulders. “Why don't we play a game?”
“What game?” Flora turned her head slightly to look at Loviki.
“Truth,” Loviki's eyes sparkled in the fluorescent light. “Since we can't lie right now anyway, it's a rare opportunity.”
Flora was about to refuse, but Loviki had already pointed a finger at her. “First question. Flora, what was your first impression of Chen Mian?”
Flora's ears twitched sharply, and her voice squeezed out of her throat almost automatically: “H-He's very good-looking... but the conditions he set were very strange. Though, my intuition told me he didn't seem like a bad person.”
“And now?” Loviki pressed.
“He's a very good person,” Flora said with a smile, her voice firm.
“Next.” Loviki turned to Chen Mian, the mischief in her eyes deepening. “Mr. Landlord, what are your criteria for recruiting tenants? Do they have to be good-looking girls?”
Flora peeked through the gaps in her fingers.
Chen Mian thought for a moment. “No, I just rent to whoever seems agreeable.”
The effect of the Moonlight Mushroom Condensation couldn't restrict Chen Mian, but he didn't intend to lie either, merely hiding the existence of the system.
“Is that true?”
“Yes, I drank the Moonlight Mushroom Condensation too.”
“Then what was your first impression when you first saw me?” Loviki tilted her head.
“Pretty strong, being followed, and like an alert cat.”
“A cat?” A subtle shift appeared in Loviki's expression.
“Yeah, the kind of cat that acts completely nonchalant even though its fur is standing on end.”
Loviki was silent for a moment, her voice dropping slightly. “I had just left the Royal Capital and arrived at Linyu Port back then, wanting to escape my family's surveillance.”
Flora lowered her hand and tilted her head to look at her. “Your family's surveillance? Why?”
The remaining glow of the campfire flickered on Loviki's face. Her expression was calm, as if she didn't care at all, as she said, “A marriage alliance. The Second Prince of the Hella Kingdom requested the King of Hella to propose a marriage alliance to the Lorenz Family. The family agreed out of self-interest. Of course, even the Lorenz Family wouldn't dare offend the royal family in the Hella Kingdom.”
“To be honest, I wanted to shake off the surveillance of my family and the royal family and leave the Hella Kingdom. Then I met this strange landlord, and as it turned out, he really did help me.” After saying this, she turned her head away. “Without my family and the royal family watching me, I finally got to live a peaceful life... Tsk, this soup is so annoying.”
“You can stay as long as you want,” Chen Mian said comfortably, lying on the grass. “Until you want to leave, or go out for a walk. No one can take you away against your will. Of course, you can't neglect your chores during this time.”
“Thank you.” Loviki looked up at the night sky with a somewhat complicated gaze. “I like it here... It's very peaceful.”
“It's my turn to ask.” Flora sat up, gathering her loose hair, and turned to Chen Mian. Her ears were still red, but her gaze was a bit firmer than before. “Mr. Chen Mian.”
“Mhm.”
“You said you lived here alone for a long time... Exactly how long?”
“Fourteen years.”
“Fourteen years...” Flora's voice was very soft.
“Mhm.”
“Has no one else ever come here?”
“No, you two are the first.”
“Isn't it boring?” Loviki asked in a calm tone.
“I got used to it.” Chen Mian glanced at her. “But it's quite nice having people move in.”
“My turn to ask.” Chen Mian sat up, brushing the grass clippings off his clothes. “Flora.”
“Yes?”
“What song do you hum when you cook?”
“I-I hummed?”
“You did. Every time you cook, it's very quiet, but audible.”
“That's... a ballad my mother liked to hum to me when I was little.” Flora's voice grew softer and softer, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes. “In the past, when I was bored in the secret realm, or when I was cooking, humming it would make me feel more relaxed...”
“Flora's mother?”
“Yes, my parents are both very powerful adventurers, but they've been away for a very, very long time... But I believe we will be reunited one day,” Flora said after a moment's thought, a trace of hope and a tiny bit of anxiety in her expression.
“The song is very pretty,” Chen Mian said. “Don't worry, you'll see them eventually. They're very strong, aren't they?”
“Mhm... Thank you.” Flora nodded.
Looking at her, Loviki's expression softened slightly, and she reached out to ruffle Flora's hair.
“My hair is going to get messy, Loviki.”
“It won't~” The corner of her mouth ticked up slightly, and then she turned to Chen Mian. “My turn to ask.”
“Ask away.”
“Were you serious about what you just said?”
“Which part?”
“The part about ‘as long as I don't want to leave, no one can take me away’.” Loviki's beautiful eyes stared straight at him.
“I was serious.” Chen Mian nodded with a relaxed expression. “You're a tenant I recruited, and you even help wash the dishes. Ensuring your safety is the least I can do.”
“Even if it's the Hella royal family?”
“Mhm.”
Loviki stared at him for a few seconds, then lowered her eyelashes. “...I don't plan on paying rent, you know.”
“Then put it on your tab for now.”
Loviki didn't say anything, but her hand clutching the blades of grass slowly relaxed.
The last red embers of the campfire flickered in the night wind. Fluorescent spores drifted down onto the grass between the three of them.
“Last question.” Flora suddenly looked up, her lively eyes sparkling under the fluorescent light. “Loviki, every time after we finish sparring, you space out for a bit. What are you thinking about?”
Loviki's body visibly stiffened.
“...Thinking about how to beat him,” she said in a dry voice.
“And what else?”
“...And,” Loviki bit her lip, her voice getting softer and softer, yet she couldn't stop the words from tumbling out, “although I'm a bit reluctant to admit it, his guidance is always spot on, and... he actually looks pretty good when he's being serious.”
With that, she suddenly lay back down, burying her face in her blanket.
Chen Mian turned his head, looking at the bundle of long black hair bulging under the blanket, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.
Flora covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking gently.
“...What are you laughing at?” a low voice muffled by the blanket muttered.
“I'm not laughing,” Flora said, though the amusement in her voice was completely impossible to hide.
Loviki reached a hand out from under the blanket, groped around to grab a handful of grass, and threw it in Flora's direction.
The grass drifted lightly to the ground, making Flora laugh even harder.
“The effect should be wearing off soon,” Chen Mian said.
“Finally.” Loviki poked half her face out from the blanket, a lingering trace of embarrassment still visible in her eyes. “Can you please make the side effects clear before we drink the soup next time?”
“Weren't you enjoying yourself quite a bit?” Chen Mian asked.
“When was I enjoying myself?!”
“Just now, when you threw the grass.”
Loviki opened her mouth, only to find herself unable to utter a rebuttal. The effect hadn't completely worn off yet.
She pulled the blanket back over her head.
Flora let out a soft laugh and stood up, patting the grass clippings off her skirt. “I'll go tidy up inside the tent. Tonight...”
She paused.
There seemed to be only one tent.
Rate on N.U.
