Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 223

Chapter 223

The kiss Ashera spoke of had taken place in the Withered Tree Pool during the closing Hunt Banquet.

At that time, she had clung to him like a vine.

It was a deep, forceful plundering, as if she wanted to swallow him whole.

“How nostalgic. That was my favorite kiss.”

Ashera sighed softly, a deep glimmer of a smile appearing in the depths of his polished gold eyes.

“It’s a pity there hasn’t been another opportunity like that since, especially…”

He paused, his gaze falling on the Golden Whistle hanging around the girl’s neck.

“…since you added this thing.”

At the same time, his pale fingers reached toward the Golden Whistle, as if he might crush it in the next second.

To be honest, Beili really didn’t remember kissing him in any pool, let alone in a way that would leave Ashera so nostalgic.

Could she even use that word?

But his current expression was indeed very nostalgic.

She wanted to try and recall it more carefully, but Ashera’s hand was already reaching out.

Seeing this, Beili took several steps back and asked warily, “What are you doing?”

Ashera withdrew his pale fingers, a faint, phantom-like smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he said leisurely, “Isn’t it a bit cumbersome to wear two necklaces?”

Beili immediately shook her head. “Not at all. It’s not cumbersome in the least. This Golden Whistle is very useful.”

She paused for a moment before adding pointedly, “On the other hand, when the cruise ship was smashed to pieces, I suddenly felt the other one was a bit of a burden.”

A certain someone’s lips curled up silently, his golden eyes narrowing slightly.

“We’ll talk about absorbing Mana once we find an Inn. Right now… it’s not very convenient,” Beili said, having no other choice.

Hearing her words, the tension in his brow relaxed.

“Fine,” he said softly.

***

However, Beili wasn’t in a hurry to find an Inn; she had to locate the Black Bone Scythe first.

As for the Inn, it wouldn’t be too late to find one when it was time to rest.

She followed the trail of the Black Bone Scythe, walking all the way until she entered a Church.

Stained glass windows depicting a tree still shimmered with vibrant colors despite the dim light.

Looking down from the exquisite murals on the dome, Beili saw a long queue forming inside the Church.

It was just like what she had seen in the Town on the Nauze Border.

Except this time, the people weren’t holding containers like cups; they were holding spoons.

Beili pulled Ashera along to the front of the line and saw a gorgeously dressed young girl standing before a long table draped in ornate silk.

On the table sat several overripe, near-rotting apples, their skins covered in black spots.

The girl mashed the rotten apples into a pulp, then took the spoons from the people, giving each person only a single mouthful.

After receiving that bite of rotten apple pulp, the people in line would show expressions of piety and satisfaction, whispering a single phrase:

“Thank you, Forbidden Fruit Lord.”

Forbidden Fruit Lord.

Who was that?

Beili frowned slightly as she heard the people around her constantly repeating that name.

A look of confusion rose in her jewel-like, deep red eyes.

Standing beside her, Ashera’s smile deepened when he saw the rotten apples, a meaningful expression crossing his face.

It was as if he knew exactly what they were.

But when Beili whispered a question to him, he only smiled without saying a word-his act of playing mysterious made Beili want to hit him.

However, her sixth sense told her that these rotten apples were definitely related to the second item Ashera was looking for.

But as long as it concerned his second item, Beili didn’t want to ask too much.

She had no intention of helping him search, nor did she want to accidentally help him discover any clues that might speed up the recovery of his second item.

For her, delaying the time it took for Ashera to obtain his second item was a good thing.

Beili pulled her attention back.

Carefully sensing the position of the Black Bone Scythe, she found that it was deeper within the Church.

However, they were unable to go any further.

The back of the Church was a forbidden area, the domain where the Forbidden Fruit Lord resided.

No one was allowed to disturb the Forbidden Fruit Lord except for the Royal Family of the Nauze Kingdom.

Beili was thus turned away at the door.

But she thought about the Black Bone Scythe; since it was there, the place it had found must be rich in Mana.

She would let it stay inside and absorb Mana for a while.

She could come back and retrieve it later; there was no rush.

Left with no other choice, she could only lead Ashera back to the banks of the Cradle River.

She still didn’t want to waste Mana, after all, this was a dense and continuous source of energy.

***

Beili returned to the gap in the riverbank wall.

Perhaps because she had taken a boat here with Princess Theresa before, the people guarding the area did not stop her.

“You’re back. What do you plan to do here?”
Ashera asked her.

“The same as you-absorbing Mana.”

As she replied, Beili summoned a few Morpho Butterflies, attempting to let them replace the Black Bone Scythe in helping her collect Mana from the river water.

However, the capacity of the Morpho Butterflies was quite limited; they could only bring back a tiny bit of Mana each time.

It wasn’t even enough to offset the Mana consumed by summoning them, so Beili gave up on that idea.

She could only concentrate and rely on her own efforts to absorb the Mana from the river.

The two of them stayed on the riverbank for half a day.

Beili couldn’t help but yawn. Her eyes were a bit misty as she saw that Ashera hadn’t said a word, simply watching her quietly from the side.

Subconsciously, Beili said, “If you have something to do, you can go ahead. I won’t be finished here for quite a while.”

Only after the words left her mouth did she snap back to her senses-

What else could this guy possibly have to do?

If he had business, it would only be to go kill a Mage.

“If you don’t have anything to do…”

So, she added, “Then you’d better stay here obediently. Um… just like this… watching me… watching me absorb Mana…”

It was a bit boring, but it was better than letting him go out and kill people.

Though for him, killing a few Mages in Nauze was probably just a casual task.

Hearing this, the corners of Ashera’s mouth curled up slightly as he said slowly, “Other things certainly don’t compare to being with you.”

Beili’s heart remained as calm as still water.

…

The guards at the wall’s water intake had changed shifts twice, yet Beili and Ashera were still sitting on the river steps.

Oh, and of course, there was Mr. Vulture, who was still standing outside the wall with a dull, wooden expression.

If he hadn’t suddenly appeared, Beili would have thought Ashera had already let Mr. Vulture go back at the previous Town.

As it turned out, he hadn’t.

Mr. Vulture had rushed all the way here and had only just arrived.

Looking at his pitiful, bearded appearance, Beili felt that Mr. Vulture was truly miserable and couldn’t help but suggest that Ashera release him.

After all, in her eyes, they no longer needed a guide.

However, Ashera was in no hurry to let him go.

This actually surprised Beili a little.

“Why?” she asked, puzzled.

“Because I don’t want to, of course,” Ashera said in a casual tone.

“…”

Beili regretted asking.

…

She hadn’t rested all night, and she had spent the early morning on a frantic shopping spree.

Her body and mind were actually exhausted.

Sitting on the riverbank and absorbing the Mana from the water, she couldn’t even remember when she had fallen asleep.

In her dreams, she saw herself still sitting on the riverbank, absorbing Mana.

Her eyes seemed to gradually close, with only her obsession with collecting Mana supporting her body’s functions.

Then, she was gently pulled into someone’s arms.

That person would ask her every once in a while.

“Can we go now?”

Her answer was always no.

She had to continue absorbing Mana.

Until that person let out a sigh, raised a hand, and condensed the Mana from the river into a black sugar cube in his palm.

“This is the amount of Mana you would absorb here in three days and three nights.”

He placed the sugar cube in her mouth, and the rich Mana instantly flowed into her Mana Pool like a mountain spring.

“Alright, let’s go.”

She was picked up.

The temperature in Nauze was cold, the wind blowing from the Cradle River was cold, and that person’s shoulders and chest were also cold.

He wanted to hold her tight, while she subconsciously reached out to push him away.

“Don’t push me.”

She heard him speak in a low voice. He seemed like a different person, his faint voice extremely hoarse.

“Cold…”

Her consciousness was very blurred. She thought for a long time before giving a muddled reply.

He heard her words clearly and then let her go.

Her world became quiet again.

So quiet that she soon fell fast asleep.

Until he returned.

He lifted the quilt and held her again.

It wasn’t cold anymore.

Her hand was caught by him.

She gripped something as hot as a burning coal.

Then, there were many, many words, falling into her ears like the continuous drizzle of spring rain.

It was very noisy.

She raised her other hand to cover the person’s mouth.

That person left kisses and breath in her palm.

Teeth marks were left on her fingertips.

Perhaps the white clouds dispersed, and a ray of warm sunlight fell, warming her a little.

When Beili opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on an unfamiliar bed.

She looked at this strange room, felt a heaviness in her chest, and looked down.

She saw a shock of short silver hair buried in the crook of her neck.

…

After Beili slowly opened her eyes, she saw Ashera in his Youth Form lying on top of her.

His silver wolf-cut hair was scattered messily over her neck and shoulders.

The person’s breathing was quiet and peaceful, as if he were dreaming.

A dream.

As soon as she saw Ashera asleep, a certain matter instantly flashed through Beili’s mind.
This guy seemed lazy, but he had always been cautious.

He never slept in front of her either-except when he was exhausted after some excitement.

There was a high probability he was afraid she might accidentally enter his Dream Domain and pry into his secrets.

At that thought, Beili quietly closed her eyes and concentrated, preparing to take the opportunity to open Ashera’s Dream Domain and take a look inside his dream.

But a second before the Dream Domain could open-

The youth pressing down on her suddenly let out a muffled groan against the crook of her neck.

As if he had just woken up.

After humming, he tightened his arms, pulling her even closer into his embrace.

A moment later.

The youth lifted his head and gave her a light kiss on the lips.

“Good morning, Little Butterfly.”

His voice was somewhat raspy, carrying the laziness of someone who had just woken up.

Having failed to sneak into his dream, Beili opened her eyes, feeling a bit guilty.

-This guy might have even been faking sleep.

“Good morning.”

She gave a sheepish tug at the corner of her mouth and responded.

“You’ve appeared, so that guy agreed to let you out?”

To prevent Ashera from noticing anything unusual, Beili took the initiative to ask him.

“I thought it would be a long time before I saw you again.”

The youth propped himself up with his arms. His eyelashes and golden eyes lowered as he looked at her, his voice halting as he spoke:

“B-Because I wanted to see… see you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the youth stroked her hair and lowered his head, about to kiss her again.

Beili had already calmed down and turned her head to the side.

Whether it was Ashera with the Black Goat Horns on his head or Ashera in his Youth Form, they were one and the same.

Being intimate with either form brought her no benefits.

“I only accept kisses with Mana now.”

Taking advantage of the youth’s slight daze before tears could fall from his eyes, Beili gave him a gentle push and changed the subject.

“I’m hungry. It’s time to get up and go out for breakfast.”

As she pushed, her fingertips brushed against something cold and smooth.

The sensation traveled from her fingertips to her brain.

Beili couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.

She instinctively lifted a corner of the quilt and glanced down.

She saw sleek, cold-white lines unhindered by any clothing.

“Why aren’t you wearing clothes?”

Beili quickly covered him back up with the quilt. She looked up at the youth, her brow furrowed as she asked, “What did you do last night?”

Then, thinking of something, Beili lifted the quilt again to look at herself.

Fortunately, she was still wearing a brand-new, pure white nightgown.

Wait, why was it brand new?

When did she change into this nightgown?

Besides, she had no memory of ever owning this nightgown.

At this thought, Beili’s brow furrowed deeper as she looked at the youth with a face full of suspicion.

“Where did this dress I’m wearing come from? Talk to me.”

The youth blinked his golden eyes gently and explained in a weak voice:

“I… I picked it out for you at the s-shop… Is it n-not pretty?”

Beili glared at the youth.

“Whether it’s pretty or not isn’t the point. I’m asking why you changed my clothes?”

Ashera leaned in close to her and kissed the corner of her lips. His voice was very soft, carrying an almost imperceptible hint of a smile as he said:

“Last night you s-slept too deeply… Your clothes got d-dirty… so I ch-changed them for you.”

She gave the youth a skeptical look.

At this point, Beili vaguely recalled something. She only remembered that the youth seemed to have used her hand to do something bad-just as he often did before she discovered his ulterior motives.

Beili held her hand out in front of him and said in a somewhat stiff tone:

“I’ll let that slide… Besides that, what else did you do?”

The youth lowered his eyelashes, his raven-feather-like lashes trembling slightly as he looked at her with an innocent expression.

Seeing the seriousness in her eyes, he seemed to think seriously for a while before slowly shaking his head.

“Are you sure?” Beili asked.

The youth nodded.

The corners of his thin, cold lips curled up slightly as he leaned down and embraced her again.

A cold breath diffused around her ear.

“Don’t worry… until you a-agree… I won’t d-do that thing.”

He spoke softly.

After hearing him finish, Beili felt her ears instantly grow hot.

Taking a light breath, she reached out and pushed the youth away-just as Ashera had pushed her away in the carriage back then.

“Don’t worry my foot-”

Beili turned her body to the side and said crossly, “Put some clothes on first.”

After being pushed away, the youth didn’t get angry. He simply sat up from the bed.

Looking at the girl’s somewhat stiff back, he reached out to stroke her shoulder and said in a weak voice:

“Don’t be m-mad at me… I’ll p-put them on right now.”