Hesitate, and You'll Lose

"Talk is cheap." Persephone raised his chin slightly, a mischievous smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

It seemed so—but only seemingly. Miss Surtr didn't dare look at her too closely.

"I'll make it up to you! Anything is fine!"

—But if they go too far, I'll just run away. And why did it suddenly become that I'm completely in the wrong... Well, it doesn't seem like a problem that it turned out this way. After all, I was the one who started it.

"Then sit down." Persephone tilted his head and gestured to a spot a little to the side.

"Oh." So Miss Surtr obediently sat down, to the side of Persephone.

Then, a scream.

"Why?"

Her foot was grabbed— Miss Surtr instinctively hugged Laevateinn seemed a little colder than usual. The next moment, she felt the icy touch of the Maiden Doctor's fingertips.

"What you have done, you shall receive," the purple-haired Doctor emphasized earnestly. She picked up Miss Surtr's feet and placed them on her knees. Then, she slowly and deliberately pulled off the little leather boots that were on the girl's feet.

Her movements were slow, deliberately slow. The ankle boots, which were once so familiar they felt like a second skin, became strange because of her movements. The unusual sensation as the edge of the boot brushed against the nerve endings on her feet caused Miss Surtr's feet to tremble slightly.

There's a... strange feeling.

It was just a pair of boots, but at that moment it felt like it had been elevated to the level of underwear. It was as if a protective shell had been forcibly peeled away, revealing the slightly softer parts inside.

She had to work very hard to restrain herself from grabbing Laevateinn and smashing it over her shoulder—she felt her heart beating slightly faster. Her earlobes and neck were also flushed from the rapid blood exchange in her capillaries... well, not really. Her body had an extremely high tolerance; she could eat a volcano without getting hot. And the reason she felt this way was simply due to a psychological shift.

"Persephone... could you... hurry up?" She couldn't help but lower her voice a little.

It wasn't just her voice that was lowered, but also a slight restlessness within her. She didn't really like this feeling... of not being able to make decisions for herself.

However.

With a soft 'thud,' a boot landed on the ground. Persephone raised an eyebrow slightly, glancing at her with a look that could perhaps be described as 'alluring'—a look that sent a chill down the back of her neck.

"There's one more boot." The purple-haired Rhodes Island Doctor calmly placed her fingers on Miss Surtr's other foot. Her fingertips traced the edge of the thin stocking. "One boot, two stockings."

"I will repay you tenfold, and then I will forgive you. Of course, if you want to go back on your word, there's nothing I can do about it." Her tone was calm and indifferent, simply stating the obvious facts.

However, in a sense, this can be considered the general's decisive move.

Miss Surtr shut her mouth.

Is this request excessive?

It doesn't seem excessive.

After all, he had picked someone up without explanation and even removed their shoes and socks. So, receiving a commensurate retribution seemed like a natural consequence, Celestia manifestation of cause and effect.

—But why do I always feel like something's not right?

—Aaaaaah! Whatever! It's just taking off my socks, can't I just pretend I'm a block of wood?!

So the woman tilted her head, ignoring Persephone's little gestures. She picked up the prepared handmade ice cream from the table, grabbed a spoon, and put it in her mouth.

—The taste is not bad.

Smacking my lips, the slight chill and sweetness of the ice cream soothed the restlessness lingering in my heart. And once my mood calmed down, the sound of the other boot falling to the ground seemed insignificant.

... It doesn't itch or hurt.

Her socks were also removed, but the red-haired creature thought Persephone was peeling a banana. She thought for a moment, then picked up a cookie from the table, stared at Persephone's nose, and took a big bite.

—I'll bite!

A cathartic way of diverting emotions is remarkably effective.

Because the next moment, she felt a slight pain in her toes!

Her eyes widened, for right in front of her—or rather, right before her eyes— Persephone slightly parted his lips and bit her smooth toe!

It's not heavy, and it doesn't hurt.

After all, to break through Miss Surtr's skin, one would need to gather at least an army of sorcerers to concentrate their firepower on an area the size of a pinhead. However, despite her high defense, her keen senses would still remain.

She could control her sense of touch; pain or itching a thousand times greater than an ordinary person's was nothing to her. However, no matter what, she could not remain unmoved when the warm, moist touch of a young girl's tongue and the gentle biting sensation of her pearly teeth reached her toes!

"What are you doing?!" The guy panicked, but more than that, he was confused and incredulous.

However, Persephone merely glanced at the half-eaten cookie in her hand with an arrogant and disdainful look, as if to say, "I learned it from you."

"I'll pay you back double," the Doctor said calmly, then smacked her other foot.

"That's enough!"

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Chapter 144: Decisiveness Leads to Defeat

The chaos lasted for a full fifteen minutes. By the time both sides finally quieted down and were able to face each other in a relatively calm manner, the meeting place had changed from the hall to a conference room—the drone swarm controlled by Persephone had taken over the repair work on the damaged hall, and Miss Surtr then recounted everything she had experienced in the world of God Slayer to the purple-haired beauty before her.

Her speaking skills were average, but she told the story in detail and with great organization. After about ten more minutes, her narration reached its conclusion.

"... In short, I finally killed the remnant of the Star Soul that looked like Kazami Yuuka. I corrected the past, ensuring that there were Unwilling God or God Slayer in that world from the beginning. Then I made some follow-up arrangements, met with the original heroines, and finally set off to leave."

"That's basically it." Miss Surtr tapped the table absently with her fingertips. "I brought back very little, just that divine essence I concocted myself in the dream world, imitating the ritual of the Unwilling God. As for that alien starlight..."

She shook her head.

"I didn't leave any samples. I annihilated all the starlight with Godfall Fire in that battle—I felt that if I brought that thing back to Terra, something bad might happen. And I'm not even sure if I could actually bring those samples back."

"Hmm... I don't think there's anything else to add. Persephone, was my experience helpful to you?"

After she finished speaking, she rested her chin on her hand, looking expectantly into Persephone's pale green eyes.

It's interesting, really. Despite the awkward situation before, after Persephone's actions, the complex emotions surging within her actually calmed down—she initially thought she would distance herself from Persephone for a while out of guilt and embarrassment. But now...

—We're even now, and I even lost money.

—Ah... Damn it, one day I'll pin you to the table and slap you—break your arm and then slap you!

Very well, the daring but heartless LSP [self-proclaimed] is back. Full of energy and completely oblivious to the need for any change in her relationship with Persephone —she doesn't even consider that possibility.

She picked up the ice cream cup, brought it to her lips, and took a sip.