Sword Princess, You Dare Engage Us in Close Combat?!

"Who cares about your feelings!" The Witch burst into laughter. "Honestly, do you think you're choosing concubines for an imperial harem? Picking and choosing like that... you're utterly shameless!" "Weren't you the one who brought this up in the first place...?" Yaxiu grumbled, glancing down at Lisi, who was still unconscious. "You heard my conversation with her just now, right?" "Yeah." The Witch nodded, crossing her legs on the bed once more. "A pitiful, yet terrifying child." "Pitiful yet terrifying?" "You noticed it too, didn't you?" the Witch said calmly. "Her scheming is real, her memory loss is real, but her childish innocence is real as well. She deliberately acts like someone deeply calculating who can nonetheless be easily seen through by adults—all just for self-preservation, isn't it? Compared to children with sharp instincts or those who aren't clever enough, petty cleverness like hers that looks easy to manipulate is far more likely to earn an adult's favor." Yaxiu recalled Lisi's performance in the underground hall. Back then, both Igola and Harvey had seen through the little girl's petty schemes. Could Annan have failed to notice? It was precisely because she noticed that Annan resolved to keep Lisi around. Had she been a child who did nothing but wail or one who was excessively sharp, Annan might well have handed her over to the Red Hats to deal with. What the Purple Moth needed was an easily controllable 'bug' that could immediately participate in her grand plan. Lisi had vaguely sensed this, and that was why she displayed such a personality, deliberately catering to Annan's needs. This kid might actually make a great wage-slave. Only... why was someone so young already like Yaxiu—who had taken years of beatings from society—knowing exactly which mask to wear for which occasion? "Memory modification?" Yaxiu murmured. "Did someone twist her memories, remodeling her into a bug specifically meant to exploit loopholes in the Weaving Ceremony?" "If they wanted to deceive the God, mere memory modification likely wouldn't be enough." The Witch narrowed her eyes. "What? Feeling sorry for her? Thinking of following her instigation—rallying your companions, rebelling against your boss, and handing over the spoils to this little girl on a silver platter?" Yaxiu suddenly looked at the Witch. "You're just like her." The Witch's heart gave a jolt. Her mind raced to consider whether she had slipped up somewhere, though her face showed nothing. "Just as cute?" "Just like her, you assume that as long as I'm willing, as long as I want to do it, I can tear up the contract, seize the highest hidden score, and claim the final victory." Yaxiu smiled. "Both of you only met me today, yet you're surprisingly confident in me. Do I really project some glorious image of 'can achieve anything as long as he sets his mind to it'?" "Don't flatter yourself." The Witch curled her lip. "It's only because you're her sole option to exploit that she has no choice but to trust you." "I actually don't dislike people with clear goals." Yaxiu shrugged. "Having a goal is what makes it a journey; someone like me is just wandering aimlessly. "My sight doesn't reach that far. The furthest future I can see even on tiptoes is what to eat for lunch tomorrow. Something as complicated as deciding whether to break ties, collude, or betray someone 101 days from now—how could the me of 101 days prior possibly decide that? How do you decide where you'll have lunch 101 days from now? "Besides, I just arrived in this new country. I don't understand its cities, culture, history, or institutions, nor do I know the true power of the Book of Gospel, let alone the might of the Omniscient Weaver... Although I was forced into an evil organization with immense passion, ambitious goals, and a bright future, right now I just can't bring myself to care that much. "Only after seeing enough scenery will I know whether I prefer dusk or dawn." "You sure have a lot of grand rhetoric." The Witch swayed her body. "Got a simpler way to put it?" "Go with the flow, play it by ear." Yaxiu blinked. "Maybe by then I'll have a new perspective. "As for her..." Yaxiu glanced at Lisi, who was sprawled out unconscious. "Although I don't know why she insists on clinging to me, so long as it doesn't harm my interests... or only harms them a tiny bit... After all, she's technically the only member of my work group right now. I'll look out for her where I can." In truth, Yaxiu's heart had simply softened. He wasn't a purely rational creature, after all. Seeing Lisi chasing after him and calling him Papa reminded him of his nephew back home. Though his nephew wasn't as cute as Lisi, the boy had been far more of a mischievous brat! Thinking of that, Yaxiu felt deep regret that he hadn't spanked the boy's bottom more often back then; now he didn't have the chance anymore. In any case, Lisi was tied to him now. He might as well see what plans she had first before making a move. But asking Yaxiu to be ruthless toward a human cub who would ram her own head into a door and knock herself out was simply impossible for him at this stage. The Witch teased, "Wrap it up nicely all you want, aren't you just kicking the decision down the road to your future self?" "Not at all. I am me, and future Yaxiu is future Yaxiu." Yaxiu scooped Lisi into his arms. "I never make light promises to myself, nor do I presume to place shackles on the future Yaxiu. Any premature decision will either turn into worthless garbage or pointless obsession. Only choices made through careful deliberation truly make the heart race. "I don't want to deprive myself of a pleasant 101 days of contemplating." Ah. That was the flavor; that was the feeling. Not madness, not cold detachment, but a deeper superiority that seemed to treat the entire world as a clumsy play, an arrogance that waited for fate to entertain him. It was precisely because of this that she was so— Enamored with the Watcher. The Witch narrowed her eyes and looked at the white-haired girl in Yaxiu's arms. "Ah, am I interrupting your colorful nightlife? I'll take my leave now—" Yaxiu hastily checked her slander. "No, no, no. I'm just taking her back to her room so she doesn't drool all over the floor. You can come along and monitor me to see if there's anything unfit for a children's channel." "Not interested. I'm genuinely leaving." The Witch lost her enthusiasm. "Remember the three rules of communication. From now on, we meet in the Void Realm." Yaxiu didn't press the matter, carrying Lisi out of the room. The Witch didn't depart right away, sitting cross-legged on the bed, lost in thought. Until a questioning voice carrying repressed fury came from behind: "Witch, you've crossed the line." The Witch didn't deny it, asking instead, "Aren't you curious what the current Watcher thinks of the current Sword Princess? Although it has nothing to do with me, hearing that Sword Princess occupies a league of her own in his heart made me feel strangely annoyed—I'm so much prettier than you, after all!" *Smack!* The Witch was shoved violently onto the bed. Sword Princess sat squarely upon her, pinning her slender waist so she couldn't get up, her hands clamping around the Witch's wrists to render her completely immobile. Facing Sword Princess's ferocious, predatory gaze, the Witch shrank back slightly. "What's this? Keep this up and I'll scream for help!" Sword Princess didn't entertain her nonsense, stating each word distinctly: "First, he is not the Watcher, but Yaxiu Heath. She is not the Sword Princess, but Sonia Neverre. Second, you truly crossed the line. "Unauthorized observation, let alone influencing their mental development, is a taboo for reflections of thought. If I report this to everyone, you can kiss your right of observation goodbye." "Uuu..." the Witch whimpered pitifully. "I didn't really say anything, did I...?" "Why did you mention Sword Princess in front of him?" Sword Princess demanded. "You'll cause their information to fall out of sync!" "Well, I really don't know this Sword Princess who is slightly calculating but very cute, sharp-tongued yet kindhearted, and constantly admiring herself in the mirror." The Witch blinked. "I don't really like lying, you know." Sword Princess said coldly, "Of all the lies you've ever told, that must be the clumsiest." The Witch suddenly shifted gears. "Why are you so tense, anyway? If the Watcher had caught me, I'd concede—he's the person in charge, after all. But weren't you forced into this plan against your will? Why do you care so much about the romantic life between Yaxiu and Sonia? "This doesn't seem like the you I know, Sword Princess." A mischievous glint surfaced in the Witch's eyes. "Could it be that you..." "Aren't you speaking up for Lisi just the same?" Sword Princess said calmly. "Isn't it only natural to care about your past self?" After locking eyes for a moment, the Witch averted her gaze. "Hmph. Whatever you say. "Still, Sword Princess, aren't you getting a little... too arrogant?" The Witch hooked her legs around Sword Princess's long legs, twisted her wrists to break free of Sword Princess's grip, and flipped over to reverse their positions in a single fluid motion. In an instant, she had Sword Princess pinned beneath her, clasping both of the other girl's wrists together and clamping down hard on her legs to keep her from moving, her long jet-black hair tangling with short, intoxicated-crimson locks. "Sword Princess, you actually thought," the Witch whispered into Sword Princess's ear, her voice seemingly multiplying into an eighteen-part chorus, "that you had what it takes to fight us in close combat?!" "Let go," Sword Princess said. The Witch's voice turned increasingly manic and hysterical: "However long you pinned us down just now, that's how long we're pinning you!" Sword Princess remained expressionless, but the longsword at her waist was slowly shifting its angle, searching for the Witch's vitals. The Witch seemed to notice Sword Princess's subtle move, yet made no attempt to stop her. A dangerous curve curled on her lips, as though eagerly anticipating a bloody brawl with Sword Princess— Suddenly, the sound of an argument arose outside. It seemed someone had spotted Yaxiu entering Lisi's room, initiating an inexplicable social nightmare that defied explanation. The Witch listened for a moment. The madness on her face receded like the tide, and she suddenly smiled. "To be honest, Sword Princess, when you described the Watch... when you described Yaxiu's personality traits, I didn't believe it, just like the others. "Just like picturing a blushing Sonia, imagining a Yaxiu who has a conscience, possesses humanity, and can feel lonely and frightened is truly far too challenging for our imagination. For him to even feel pity for little Lisi is just absurd..." Sword Princess said coldly, "Yet you've seen it for yourself now." "Yes, I've seen it," the Witch murmured softly. "Aside from the sinister nature suppressed deep within his heart, on the surface he truly is a cheerful, sunny, decent guy. Even without the Bewitching Girl, he still has companions who follow him. "A Yaxiu Heath bathed in sunlight... I like him so much..." "...that I can hardly wait to destroy him right now."