Reverse Day

"As for my current situation," Yaxiu said, "I've already escaped Blood Moon Country, and then—" He ground to a halt right there. From the very first second he arrived in Gospel Country, Annan had become a figure impossible to leave out, seeing as she had scooped him right up from an open-air talent market the moment he landed. Yet under the terms of their contract, Yaxiu could not disclose any information about Annan. Even if he leaked something inadvertently, the contract would suppress it. What was more, his current experiences, his new living quarters, and his new job were all inextricably tied to Annan. From head to toe, even his underwear had been bought with Annan's money—all of it counted as confidential information. He actually had a whole mountain of grievances he wanted to vent about to Sword Princess, but every single thread ultimately led back to Annan. In the end, he could say nothing; any detail risked exposing the secret that he was being kept by Annan. "And then?" Sonia blinked. "I can't tell you," Yaxiu said helplessly. "I signed an overbearing contract that forbids me from revealing anything. All I can say is that I'm safe for now, preparing a grand scheme to blaspheme a god, and I've also ended up with a daughter..." "A daughter?!" "Shouldn't your first priority be the grand scheme to blaspheme a god?" "It's not like you're going to tell me anyway..." Sonia's lips parted slightly. She suddenly recalled that the Watcher was a revived powerhouse from the past. He must have had all sorts of entanglements in his previous life. Given how perverted he was, he might well have had a dozen lovers back then. Lowering her head, she muttered, "I suppose that makes sense. At your age, having a child is only natural..." *What do you mean, at my age?* *I'm only in my twenties! Do I look like someone who has kids? Though to be fair, quite a few of my middle school classmates have already had their second child...* "Actually, it's just a poor kid who insists on treating me like her dad. I never agreed to it, but looking after her is part of my job description, so I had no choice but to take it on. Don't go getting the wrong idea—I'm not married yet, you know." "What wrong idea could I get? It's not like I care whether you're married or not." Sonia let out a soft huff. Could it be that the Watcher had crossed over to a new country and become a teacher? And he was actually taking care of a kid? How would he even do that? It wasn't as though he could use his abilities to force a child to study, could he? "In any case, you don't need to worry about me. I'm safe for the time being," Yaxiu said. "What about you? Are you having a good time at the academy?" "It's so-so. Just that I've gotten a lot more admirers. Every time I step outside, I have to sign tons of autographs, and I was even interviewed by reporters recently. Plenty of people seem to be calling me the greatest swordsmanship genius in Jialesi. I've received heaps of banquet invitations, and the pressure is so heavy that I feel like I've lost weight..." "Did you think I was going to pretend I wasn't jealous? I'm crazy jealous!" Yaxiu was practically dripping with envy. Sword Princess's fulfillingly active college life filled this former college student—whose only campus social life had consisted of LAN gaming parties in the dorm—with boundless longing. "All of this came from you, though. Just over twenty days ago, I was still an obscure, innocent, pretty, and cute college girl." Sonia shrugged. "So... thank you." "Didn't I say there's no need for that kind of talk between us? Besides, what does it have to do with me? You're the one driving your own plot forward. All I did was make you train hard." Yaxiu shook his head, leaning back against the seat and muttering grumpily, "And this kind of verbal thank-you with zero perks is like praise without a pay raise. It doesn't move me at all. In fact, it's getting a little old—" A pair of fair, slender arms gently wrapped around his neck from behind. It wasn't a chokehold grip, but something gentle, cautious, and yet infused with a desire to knead him straight into her body—like hazy afternoon sunlight spilling in after a nap. Her arms were firm and toned. A body in the Void Realm mirrored its physical form in reality. In the real world, Sword Princess practiced swordsmanship diligently; even without deliberate strength training, her arms were naturally packed with power. Her biceps were probably sturdier than Yaxiu's, and Yaxiu quite liked those healthy lines. Warm breath brushed through his hair and against his earlobe, tickling him slightly. The moment he started to turn his head, Sonia immediately let go and drew back, turning her head toward the golden rain outside as though she could never tire of looking at it. "A present for you." *A present?* Yaxiu paused, only then realizing that when Sword Princess had hugged his neck just now, she had slipped a sorcery spirit into his chest. It was none other than the Reverse Day sorcery spirit, an efficient healing spirit that even an utter fool of a sorcerer could utilize. Sonia had never claimed dominion over it after obtaining it, so it remained unbound, ready to be used by any sorcerer. "I—" "If you don't need it, just recycle it directly. Don't give it back to me, and definitely don't give it to Witch." "You—" "On second thought, I don't really seem to need this sorcery spirit, which is why I'm giving it to you. Nothing more to it." Yaxiu tilted his head, looking at her. "If you wanted me to take Reverse Day, why didn't you just say so earlier? Witch was offering it to me in the first place." "If she gave it to you, wouldn't you owe her a favor?" "That was just normal resource distribution. How does that count as a favor—" "If it were just normal resource distribution, why did you turn Reverse Day down? Because you knew very well that the Hour-Minute-Second spirits you picked up couldn't compare to Reverse Day, so you felt embarrassed taking it. If Witch had insisted on giving it to you, you definitely would have kept that favor in mind!" "Even if it were a favor, it wouldn't matter. I'm very fair-minded. I'm not going to be bought out by a bribe or two." "Not once or twice, but what about ten times? A hundred times? Witch started sucking up to you on her very first day. Once those favors pile up over time, she'll sway you to her side sooner or later!" "Well, that does make some sense..." Yaxiu had to admit Sword Princess had a point. "But by taking Reverse Day, don't you owe her a favor now, too?" "If I owe her a favor, I'll pay it back. She and I have a purely collaborative relationship, so a favor won't affect anything else," Sonia said. "More importantly, even if I don't pay it back, it won't weigh on my conscience at all—unlike you, who folds so easily against sugarcoated bullets." "You make taking the money and doing nothing about it sound so righteous..." Yaxiu commented dryly. "Actually, there's no need to be so wary of Witch. Even if we aren't that familiar with her yet, we're bound to become close companions in time." "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Sonia replied dismissively, her gaze fixed on the Reverse Day spirit in Yaxiu's hand. "Are you taking it or not?" Although Yaxiu genuinely felt he had no need for Reverse Day to save his life, Sword Princess had already laid it out like this. How could he possibly refuse? If he declined, she might very well slash him the very next second until he needed Reverse Day to survive. Channeling his sorcery power to bind Reverse Day, Yaxiu suddenly asked, "Wait, by that logic, you went out of your way to take Reverse Day from Witch just so you could turn around and give it to me. Does that mean you want me to owe *you* a favor?" "That's right. You'd better remember this favor well—remember it for the rest of your life." "But if I owe you a favor, won't I show favoritism toward you?" "Are you saying you're not favoring me already?" *Oh, right.* Resources were already preferentially tilted toward Sword Princess anyway. Never mind, then. "While I'm flattered that you two are competing to get on my good side—and maybe even a little smug about it—your true competitive edge lies in your own strength, not my attitude toward you. Once or twice is fine, but please don't focus your energy on this sort of thing," Yaxiu said, scratching his head. "There are only three of us. Infighting is practically suicidal." "It's not like I was trying to flatter you..." "You weren't doing it to get on my good side?" "I was." Sonia looked away from Yaxiu, murmuring softly, "...But not entirely." *** On the lawn not far from the sports car, Diya was rolling around. Once she grew tired of rolling, she flopped onto the grass spread-eagled, showing none of the dignified elegance she had displayed earlier. "Finally, some free time to fool around." She stretched languidly. "Rolling around on the grass is an absolute must when visiting the Time Continent!" Out of nowhere, the White Queen chimed in: *Sword Princess should be handing it over right about now.* "Handing over what?" *The Reverse Day sorcery spirit, of course. The only reason she took Reverse Day was to give it to the Watcher.* "What?" Diya sat up in shock. "She used our stuff to butter up the Watcher? How underhanded! The adult world is so disgusting. No wonder she wanted us out of the way—she just didn't want us ruining her chance to suck up to him!" *Actually, it's not that underhanded or disgusting. It wasn't purely to curry favor with the Watcher.* "Then what else could it be for?" *Princess, Reverse Day is a highly efficient healing sorcery spirit. Earlier, when we offered to trade it to the Watcher, Sword Princess only stepped in to take it after he refused. Even if the Watcher believes he has no need for a trump card like Reverse Day to protect himself, Sword Princess might not share his perspective.* *She was probably just worried about the Watcher's safety.*