Black Box

Kallen, after agreeing to the Miko's offer, ultimately felt too embarrassed to completely undress for the Miko to help her bathe. She only lifted her clothes slightly...

However... she seemed to have underestimated the skill of the Miko currently tending to her.

[Xu Yanwu: I'll say it again! Sakura, a girl raised in a small mountain village! Where did you learn such seductive techniques?!]

Kallen's internal monologue: *'Mmm... so hot...' *

*'It's just a bath... why does it feel so good...' *

'But... it really is comfortable!'

Kallen covered her mouth, her face flushed red, forcing herself not to make a sound.

Then, Kallen quietly glanced back at the Miko...

'She's not a bad person, is she?'

'Huh? Was this Miko always this beautiful...?'

"What's wrong?"

The Miko noticed Kallen's subtle movement and asked her curiously.

"N-nothing," Kallen stammered, quickly turning her head back after being discovered by the Miko, continuing to endure the... pleasure??? that the Miko's ministrations were bringing her.

After the Miko finished bathing Kallen and folded the cloth, placing it on the edge of the wooden tub, she said, "That should be about it. You cooperated quite well, didn't you?"

Kallen, her face still flushed, put her clothes back on. But then she realized something important.

The Black Box she had risked her life to take from Destiny was gone!

"Wait a minute!"

Kallen frantically searched, "Where did that thing go!"

That Black Box was incredibly dangerous. If its contents were to leak out... then...

The Miko watched Kallen's anxious state. Although she didn't know what Kallen was looking for, she suddenly remembered the box Kallen had clutched tightly even when unconscious.

"Are you looking for... this black box?"

The Miko handed the black box, which she had taken from Kallen, back to her.

"You were holding onto it so tightly when you were unconscious. It must be something very important, right?"

"Give it to me!"

Kallen snatched the Black Box from the Miko's hand and clutched it tightly to her chest, as if afraid it would be taken again.

No one understood the danger of this thing better than she did.

'Rather than saying this thing is important... it's more like...'

Kallen couldn't help but recall what she had seen at Destiny.

The cruel human experiments conducted on innocent girls.

And the malevolent consciousness within the Black Box she had glimpsed when she snatched it...

Noticing the troubled expression on Kallen's face, the Miko asked with some concern, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"..."

Kallen was silent for a moment before forcing a strained smile at Yae.

"Yeah... I'm fine."

Kallen's grip on the Black Box loosened slightly. "It's just an ordinary box..."

"Oh, really?"

The Miko tilted her head, looking at Kallen, and with a soft sound, placed Kallen's outer garment on her lap.

"Here! These are your clothes. I've repaired them."

"Ah, thank you..."

Receiving her clothes, Kallen felt a little more at ease and her gaze followed the room's doorway out to the beautiful scenery.

"This truly is a beautiful place..."

Kallen couldn't help but exclaim. Compared to the scenes of suffering she had witnessed in Europe, the scenery of Yae Village was almost unimaginable to her.

And her own country... the high-ranking officials of the Church were oppressing the people under the guise of the Deity...

"The one who protects you... must be a very kind Deity..."

What Kallen didn't see was that as she spoke these words, the Miko beside her clenched her skirt where her hand rested on her lap.

"A kind Deity... is that possible..."

"Hm?" Kallen's ears twitched slightly. "What did you just say?"

"No, nothing..."

The Miko stood up from the floor and said to Kallen, "If you have nowhere to go, you can stay here for now."

"Can I?"

"Of course," the Miko said, turning to look at Kallen.

At the same time, a gentle breeze blew, and a few petals fell from the cherry trees in the garden, brushing past the Miko.

"My name is Yae Sakura. What's yours?"

Kallen felt surprisingly at ease after witnessing this scene.

It was as if all her previous worries had vanished.

"Kallen..."

Kallen said to Yae Sakura.

"Kallen Kaslana."

Unbeknownst to Kallen, a nearly invisible crack had appeared on the Black Box she held, the one she had adorned with a jade ring...

Meanwhile, not far from Yae Sakura and Kallen, near Xu Yanwu's body.

Xu Yanwu's soul was currently seated cross-legged above his body. On Xu Yanwu's chest, black mist and white light churned and swirled within the large void, as if battling fiercely in that very spot.

Suddenly, Xu Yanwu opened his eyes and, through several layers of obstruction, looked towards Kallen, who was chatting and laughing with Yae Sakura.

To be more precise, he was looking at the Black Box in Kallen's hand, adorned with a jade ring of emerald green.

"My... heart? Why is it here..."

"Where is Chi Yuan? What happened to Chi Yuan... Did something happen?"

"Kallen... Did Kallen get it from Chi Yuan?"

"No... Chi Yuan wouldn't have a reason to give my heart to Kallen..."

"...Regardless... I must retrieve my heart as soon as possible... Otherwise... the Herrscher consciousness within the Black Box... and Sakura..."

"Kallen... Don't disappoint me..."

Xu Yanwu's voice gradually faded into silence, and the black mist and white light battling in his chest also began to calm down.

Due to Kallen's injuries, Yae Sakura took care of her for several days. During this time, Yae Village was relatively peaceful.

Kallen was also quite satisfied with the tranquil and stable life in Yae Village.

However... on one particular night...

On the outskirts of Yae Village.

A girl with short black hair was tied to the trunk of a tree, about two people's embrace thick.

At this moment, she was looking ahead in terror.