Diyin

Diya suddenly felt a sharp pain in her forehead. Letting out a whimper, she pulled the quilt over her head. Soon, however, her quilt was yanked completely away. Blinding, scorching sunlight fought to pry open her eyelids, dancing against her lenses. Diya simply flopped face-down on the bed, burying her eyes beneath a pillow. Then, with a crisp crack, she yelped, flipped over, clutched her bottom, and glared at Yaxiu with deep resentment. "Time to get up." "Don't you know how rude it is to barge into a maiden's bedroom, rip off her quilt, and spank her bottom?!" "Except the problem is, this is also my room, my quilt, my..." Yaxiu tilted his head and glanced over there. "At least half of it is mine, isn't it?" "Half your head!" Diya threw her pillow straight at him, only for Yaxiu to catch it and toss it right back. "Hurry up and get out of bed. You're the only one who sleeps in every time." "I'm only sleeping to keep you company. I don't actually need to sleep..." she muttered. After washing up and stepping out of the room, she happened to see White Queen dragging Little Witch out of the adjacent room. White Queen still looked sullen, while Little Witch had her eyes closed, completely dazed. "What happened to her?" "She stayed up all night playing video games..." "Then just let her keep sleeping." "No. If I let her sleep, she'll definitely dare to do it again next time," White Queen said. "I'm going to supervise her studies the entire time later. No matter how sleepy she gets, I won't let her sleep. That'll teach her a lesson." Diya rubbed her bottom. "Can't you just spank her?" "When I pulled off the quilt just now, she actually stuck out her rear on purpose for me to hit." The corners of White Queen's mouth twitched. "Yaxiu has healed her so many times that she's built up a resistance!" Little Witch mumbled, "Papa, save me..." "Even if Yaxiu comes today, he'll have to study right along with you!" White Queen carried her downstairs in a huff. Diya followed them down and saw Black Butler preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Noticing her gaze, Black Butler said, "The Lalafell will take a little longer. Go soak with Yaxiu for a bit." "Mm." Diya walked out of the main house and saw Red Apostle doing morning exercises in the courtyard. Now and then, white vapor and whiplike shockwaves formed in midair. Only upon closer inspection could one see that the Water-Born Line was lashing through the air at supersonic speed. The Water-Born Line, inherently of supreme softness and sharpness, was actually being unleashed by her with relentless, overpowering force. Red Apostle gave Diya a nod as a greeting, then immersed herself once more in the wonder of sorcery. Diya walked around to the back of the courtyard, where a steaming hot spring pool awaited. Wearing swimming trunks, Yaxiu lay inside resting with his eyes closed. "Don't turn around," Diya warned. She stripped off her clothes and used the Water-Born Line to weave herself a swimsuit—she had long since learned weaving techniques from other sorcerer manuals, so making a swimsuit was a breeze. First testing the temperature with her toes, she stepped in up to her calves, kept her balance with both hands on her thighs, and slowly sat down into the hot spring pool. Unlike Yaxiu, who reclined half-lying, she sat upright; not only were her shoulders unsoaked, even the milky-white curves remained above the waterline. Yaxiu sat up and glanced at the distance between them—practically the diagonal across the small hot spring. "You're sitting so far away." "Who told you to wake me up like that?" Diya huffed, staring at Yaxiu's abdominal muscles shimmering beneath the water. "You really do love soaking after waking up. Even when choosing a place to live in seclusion, you had to find one with a hot spring." "A bad habit I caught from Igola." Yaxiu looked up at the sky. "I wonder how they're doing right now." "They'll definitely be fine." "It's hard to say. It took everything we had just to escape Nabistin. Since they weren't behind us at the time, their only way to survive was to dive into the underground city." Yaxiu sighed. "Unfortunately, right now I can barely be considered a sorcerer. Even protecting myself is an issue, let alone going to save them." "As the price for rejecting Yayin, that's already a bargain," Diya smiled. "As long as you don't use sorcery power and don't go to the Void Realm, the god won't be able to find you. We can settle down here." "Actually, the other sorcery spirits are fine. The main hassle is that Substitute can't be used whenever I want," Yaxiu complained. "With any other sorcery spirit, all I need is to resonate with it to use it. Only Substitute is the laziest; resonating isn't even enough, I have to beg it for ages before it's willing to budge... Just like you." "I'm not lazy at all!" Diya splashed water at him, and Yaxiu, refusing to be outdone, splashed back. After a chaotic splashing battle, Yaxiu suddenly drew right up in front of her. Diya froze instantly. She heard the bubbling gurgle from the hot spring inlet, and half a beat faster than the rushing water, the pounding of her heart. "Even though I can still use sorcery spirits, I'm basically unable to fight," Yaxiu said. "Do you mind?" "Mind what?" "Mind that in the future, not only will I be unable to protect you, but I'll also need you to protect me," Yaxiu said. "Although the Gospel system has collapsed and it'll be hard for others to find me, sorcery factions like Prophecy and Fate could still pick up my trail. There are bound to be countless people who want me to go back, take the throne, and restart the Gospel system. And yet, I can't even protect myself..." "I don't mind," Diya interrupted. "In fact, I've looked forward to it for a long time." "You've looked forward to me becoming an invalid for a long time?" Yaxiu recoiled a step in mock horror. "I meant I've looked forward to being able to protect you for a long time!" Diya firmly gripped his hand and pulled him back. "How could I possibly mind? Back when Lisi was nothing more than a life-difficulty multiplier who brought you nothing but trouble, you didn't mind either." "Hey!" Little Witch's displeased shout echoed from the main house, followed by a swat from White Queen. Yaxiu blinked, lowering his voice. "Actually, I did mind a little at first. But... somewhere along the line, it stopped mattering." "Because you came to see us as family," Diya said. "And the same goes for me." A sudden thought struck her. "In a few years, once things settle down outside, why don't we find a small town and blend in? We can't stay in seclusion forever, and Little Witch will need to grow up in a normal environment later on... As long as we take up a couple of sorcerer professions, we ought to be very welcome." "Sorcerer professions?" Yaxiu blinked. "You have healing abilities, so you can be a healing sorcerer, and I want to try being a clothing designer—I feel like I'm quite gifted at it," Diya said. "A weaving sorcerer and a medical sorcerer, how does that sound? And then we could keep a pet, plant some flowers and greenery, and when we have free time, go on picnics with everyone near home." "That sounds so ordinary." "Compared to things like the agency, princesses, and the First Gospel, of course it's ordinary. But isn't it wonderful?" "Of course it's wonderful," Yaxiu smiled. "It's the peaceful life I've dreamed of day and night." "Sister Red loves adventure, so she'll probably want to join the Bluebeards to explore the Abyss. Sister White and Sister Black don't like going out or seeing other people, so we can just provide for them. As for Little Witch, in a few days we can look for a sorcery faction that suits her..." "It'll definitely take some getting used to at first, but for the future, it's all worth it." "The future, huh..." Yaxiu murmured. "Of course it's for the future," Diya laughed. "Our lives have only just begun. It'll be many years before we retire to the Void Realm." Yaxiu looked at her with a gentle smile. Diya grew a little puzzled. "Did I say something wrong?" "No. I just realized that my life-planning skills aren't even as good as yours." Yaxiu scratched his head. "I never thought I'd end up being the one looked after in life..." "Hmph. I've read plenty of sorcerer manuals, you know! For me, that's just a minor strength not even worth bragging about." Diya put her hands on her hips. "Now, hurry up and apologize for your rudeness earlier!" "All right, all right. Your Highness Princess, please forgive my insolence toward your forehead, your quilt, and your bottom..." Listening to him, Diya's eyes suddenly lit up. Leaning close with eager anticipation, she said, "Say it again." Yaxiu hesitated. "Your Highness Princess?" "Mm!" Beaming, Diya embraced him. "Say it one more time!" "Your Highness Princess, stop playing around, will you?" Yaxiu said helplessly. "Didn't you dislike that identity?" "I only disliked being a princess of Yisu," Diya giggled, clambering right on top of Yaxiu. The hot spring pool hadn't been treated with an anti-slip coating. Losing his balance, Yaxiu tumbled down, holding Diya as they sank into the hot spring together. "Breakfast is ready!" "Ugh... Every day I have to watch Sister Diya ambush Papa..." "Brush your teeth properly!" Hearing her sisters' voices, Diya felt a little shy. She reached out to grab Yaxiu and surface, only to grasp at empty air. She failed to float up. Nor did she sink down. She simply remained beneath the surface of the water, drifting aimlessly, in a daze. "Diya." A voice drifted down from above the water. Diya looked up. Through the ripples of raindrops pattering against the surface, she saw a white-haired little girl squatting there. The rain was still falling. The rain had been falling all along. "Sister Lisi..." "It's still not too late for you to change your mind. I can't take it from you if you don't want me to," Sleeping Beauty said. "But once you fall asleep, you will never wake up again, and that includes the other sisters. Just as you feared, the First Gospel will not permit any other Noise to exist. Once I succeed Gospel, all of your personalities and wills will be completely purged. Even I won't be spared, though my personality existed solely to bear Gospel in the first place." "Just now..." "While I was asleep, I seem to have learned some strange abilities," she said. "So I wove a fairy tale for you, a sweet dream, an opportunity to speak your heart to your regrets..." Diya: "...Just things I regretted never being able to say myself." Sleeping Beauty: "So, have you made up your mind?" Diya asked suddenly, "Can I hide in your eyes?" "No." Sleeping Beauty shook her head. "Only one of us can be awake. That's why when I was asleep, you could enter the Void Realm; and when you were awake, I had to slumber. Once this drowsiness in my mind fades away, you will sink into your final sleep." Diya was a little disappointed by this answer, yet also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She smiled. "Then I'll leave it to you." "Okay." Sleeping Beauty stood up. "Goodbye, Diya." "Goodbye, Lisi." When Lisdia stood up, the river swept away the phantom beneath the water. At the same time, everyone's Book of Gospel popped open once again. Before their eyes, the name ranking first on the Gospel Board twisted, warped, and finally took shape. "[Gospel Board, First Place: Diyin]"