I Only Hope You Can Live a Carefree, Happy Life!

"Trying to pull that on me?"

Rover stared at those lovely legs, blinked, and asked teasingly.

"What, scared? Is the great savior afraid of a little tender loving care too?" Phrolova's lips curled upward, her brow full of provocation.

"Hmph, you overestimate yourself, trying to test me. What savior couldn't withstand a test like this? I accept your challenge!"

With that, Rover lowered himself onto her lap, resting his head on her legs.

As it turned out, Phrolova was only tough with her words; the rest of her was soft all over.

The instant they touched, her body went rigid. Her hands hovered in midair, all ten fingers unsure where to go, their tips trembling slightly.

It was as though what lay on her lap wasn't a living, breathing person, but a fragile porcelain doll that would shatter at the slightest touch.

She secretly drew a breath, trying to quiet her inexplicably racing heart, but it only pounded harder, and even the muscles in her legs tightened a little.

Rover was no better off. Through the thin fabric against the back of his head, he could feel the warmth of her legs and their slight trembling. He said nothing, only wanting to shift his position a little so he could lie more steadily.

Yet every time he moved, Phrolova tensed up again, leaving him to keep his body rigid, afraid to move for the time being.

Only after a long while did Phrolova slowly lower her hands, resting one on his shoulder and the other in his hair. Her touch was light, as though she had finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It was a strange feeling. Not long ago, they had been enemies, yet now they had both let down their guard around each other.

Once she had grown accustomed to it, Phrolova made the first move, tentatively reaching for Rover's hair. She stroked it gently and slowly, afraid of disturbing him.

"Don't mess up my hair. It's where my charm lies."

At that, Phrolova got angry.

"You scoundrel, you're still thinking about going after innocent young girls, aren't you? I won't let you have your way."

After a bout of violent ruffling, a brand-new explosion of hair was born.

Not to be outdone, Rover lifted his head and brought it down like a hammer on the thigh beneath it. With every strike, Phrolova went rigid for two or three seconds, as though she'd been shocked.

"What are they doing?"

In the magistrate's office, the scene in the cell was displayed in perfect clarity on a large screen. Jinhsi watched with wide eyes, as if she were monitoring them, but also as if she were learning.

Sanhua stayed by her side. Though she couldn't see, her resonance power gave her a general idea of what was happening before her.

"Perhaps they're following the usual steps?"

"What steps?"

"The walkthrough steps!"

After a moment's thought, Sanhua answered cautiously.

"Isn't that how you're supposed to play a strategy game?" Jinhsi frowned, skeptical of Phrolova's methods.

"But there's a successful precedent..."

Sanhua took a photo from inside her clothes. It showed an extremely seductive woman who was plainly bad news at first glance.

Cantarella!

"According to the information Miss Cartethyia shared, this lady succeeded by using a tender-lovemaking strategy centered on singing him to sleep. You must be on your guard, Magistrate!"

The magistrate glanced at the person in the photo, then at Phrolova, and couldn't help laughing.

"The moment you opened your mouth, I spotted three problems!"

"First, she's missing the core item in her build. She didn't drug him."

"Second, her stats don't meet the requirements when it comes to her figure."

"Third, she isn't singing. Overall threat assessment: low!"

Yet no sooner had she finished speaking than a soothing melody came from the screen. Four notes, soft and gentle, tugged at the heartstrings.

Rover lay with his head on her soft thighs, his eyes lightly closed, completely relaxed.

Phrolova lowered her head as well, bringing their faces within half a foot of each other. It was an intensely intimate posture.

From outside the screen, it looked as though the tip of Phrolova's nose was about to brush the space between Rover's brows, her lips slightly parted.

Even more infuriatingly, her eyes were half-closed, her lowered eyelashes casting shadows on Rover's face.

The pose was impossibly suggestive, as though she were about to steal a kiss the next instant. Yet she stopped half an inch short, as if an invisible wall stood between them.

Suddenly, Rover went stiff! His whole body went stiff!

It was simply because Phrolova was singing "Dreamless Sleep and Crimson Beyond." The melody instinctively triggered him, stirring up bad memories.

"Ah!"

With a startled cry, he abruptly opened his eyes and sat bolt upright, his golden pupils trembling as though he had just had a nightmare.

"Hahaha..."

Seeing this, the two outside the screen laughed at him mercilessly.

"D-do I sound that awful, or do you really hate this feeling?" Phrolova looked a little dejected, her brows and eyes drooping as her voice grew quieter.

Nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, she humbly curled into a little ball, like a lonely girl who had just found a safe harbor to lean on, only for that harbor to be about to leave her.

"It sounds lovely... really... and I like this comfortable feeling too, but could you sing something else? My heart can't take it!"

"Ahem... in that case, I'll sing something else."

Phrolova seemed to have realized something too. A little embarrassed, she placed both hands on Rover's head and settled it back on her lap.

"Sleep, sleep... little baby, lilacs... red roses..."

Her voice was as soft as if she were soothing an infant, each word lingering in her mouth for a moment before she could bear to let it go.

Her fingers patted Rover in time with the melody, steadily and unhurriedly, as though keeping the beat, or perhaps making sure he was still there.

"Am I a little baby?"

Rover's eyelids twitched. He wanted to say something, but he relaxed beyond all hope of resisting, his eyelids feeling impossibly heavy.

"Forget it, let's get some proper sleep... it really has been a long, long time since I last felt this relaxed..."

"May God bless you and let you sleep until dawn..."

"May God bless you... sleep until... dawn..."

His consciousness gradually blurred, and the voice beside his ear grew fainter and fainter. But suddenly, another voice became increasingly clear.

"Hey, little one, what kind of person do you want to be when you grow up?"

Rover kept his eyes closed, feeling only warmth and comfort. It seemed like something from a very, very long time ago, so long that he couldn't remember how many years had passed.

Yet it also seemed very recent. No matter how many times he had lost his memory, this memory remained clearly sealed away in the depths of his mind.

"I... let me think. Hmm, there are so many things I want to do!"

"Oh? Let's hear them."

The voice grew even gentler, full of affection and indulgence.

"I want to drive a tunneler! I want to travel through the universe, save people who are suffering, and become a savior!"

"Hehehe... what a great and dazzling dream."

"What about you? What kind of person do you hope I'll become?"

"Me? Well, I..." The woman's voice paused for a long time, as though she were thinking seriously.

"I only hope that you can..."

"That you can live a carefree, happy life!"