Push Your Luck Too Far, and You'll Capsize

"The physical examination went smoothly. For now, we can confirm that the exploration of the dream world will not damage their bodies. Skadi's spirit has also not been damaged. However, they still need to be tested and rested. They are expected to be able to leave the observation period in a few days. —And after consulting with them, I have arranged some... relatively special work for them. It is related to you, and I hope you will be surprised or astonished when the time comes."

Miss Surtr's fingertips traced the surface of the drone. Since Persephone used the word 'surprise,' it meant she didn't intend to reveal anything beforehand. And since she was trying to keep it a secret, Miss Surtr naturally wouldn't ask any further questions.

"I understand, I'll look forward to it," she said.

She saw the drone take off, about to leave. But half a second later, she abruptly raised her hand.

"Wait a moment."

The drone came to a stop.

"Is there anything else, Surtr?"

"I..." The Flame-haired maiden hesitated for a moment.

"I have a request."

--"ask?"

"Hmm... please wear a white Princess dress when you come over tonight."

The voice on the other end of the communication line hesitated for a moment. When it spoke again, there was a subtle emotion in its tone.

"—A white Princess dress...? Surtr, are you planning to get it dirty? Or are you trying to get me dirty?"

"No, I don't intend to do anything to your skirt or to you. I'm just... making a request."

"Just a request? Not a mandate or a contract?"

"It's just a request, there's no exchange. It's me unilaterally expecting you to do something without any compensation... You can choose to refuse."

Miss Surtr carefully considered her choice of words.

However, she received an unexpected answer.

—See you tonight.

She heard Persephone's voice, a voice that seemed to still carry that same strange emotion from before. However, after that voice, the drone departed with the dinner. The terminal then returned to its off state.

Persephone did not respond—but perhaps not responding is itself a response.

Miss Surtr then turned her head to look out the other window. At the edge of her vision, the colors of Twilight had completely faded and disappeared, and the pitch-black night surged forth like a tide, covering everything in the city.

She breathed a soft sigh of relief—she didn't even know why she felt that way.

"You see, Surtr. It's not that hard," she said to herself. "Asking someone for a favor—at least the act itself isn't difficult."

She spoke lightly and returned to her seat. She reached out and touched her chest—her heart wasn't pounding too hard. And her emotions weren't fluctuating—it was as if this were a perfectly normal, ordinary thing. Only the slight embarrassment of being subtly rejected.

It was just embarrassing.

It's just embarrassing.

But this subtle emotion vanished in an instant.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

—I have indeed changed; I am no longer the same as before.

—However... well, it seems that it's barely possible to make a request to Persephone right now. It seems that it wouldn't be possible to do so with other people.

Sarkaz, her hair inflamed, tilted her head. She felt that her change was rather slow—she had only learned to greet people she knew three days ago. And only today was she trying to speak up out of spite.

This is a remarkable improvement compared to toddlers who are just learning to speak.

But...

"Forget it, I'm not sure if this is good or bad anyway. Fast or slow, I'll just let nature take its course..."

She instinctively raised her hand and touched her sword.

She suddenly froze.

His capricious demands... demands, when he asked Laevateinn for flames, wasn't he always just asking for nothing and never giving anything in return?

—Ugh, really. What stupid things am I doing? I've done this so many times before, yet I'm still here foolishly overthinking things.

She tapped her head, stopping her random thoughts, and sat down to tidy the room and prepare some items that Persephone needed. After finishing those chores, she settled on the sofa, picked up her terminal, and spent the time browsing the internet.

This continued for several hours until the appointed time arrived and Persephone, dressed in a white Princess dress, appeared at the door, bringing it to an end.

There's probably only one class today, I have a tour group to run tonight _(:з"∠)_

Chapter 172 Too Much Wave Will Capsize the Boat

How should I describe it?

Beneath the dark starry sky, only a single pure white night-blooming cereus blooms in the pitch-black wilderness.

Miss Surtr had no doubt that when Persephone intended to use her beauty as a weapon, an ordinary person would be captivated by her radiance with just a glance. And even though Miss Surtr was a seasoned veteran, she felt a slight tension in her chest the moment the door opened.

She was nervous, nervous because of lack of oxygen—she was momentarily stunned, and in that instant, her blood cells even forgot about oxygen exchange.

"You're beautiful." She praised sincerely, looking her up and down. "Persephone, even a real Goddess couldn't compare to you."

The girl in his eyes shone brightly in the night, every smile and gesture exuding nobility and elegance—the red-haired man truly hadn't expected that this girl could become so beautiful simply by changing into Princess dress. It wasn't just visual beauty, but a phenomenon akin to a natural law; the air, water, light, shadow, and all known material structures were reflecting Persephone, as if this were her kingdom, and she were a sovereign walking upon it.

"Am I not Goddess? Am I not beautiful enough?"—She heard Persephone's voice, which, compared to her usual tone, now carried both authority and allure. In that instant, Surtr seemed to see multiple overlapping images of beauty—a tender young girl, a verdant maiden, an intellectual lady, and a graceful noblewoman. All these images were clearly distinguishable in his perception, each possessing an independent, overlapping, yet undisturbed beauty.

She is Goddess, yes, she truly is.

She is a thousand faces, she is a thousand appearances, she is the aesthetic convergence of a thousand voices and a thousand bodies.

She is--

—Slaanesh is Slaanesh ...

Memories of the Warp world suddenly surfaced in her mind, contrasting the present with the distant past— Miss Surtr blinked, her gaze converging. The strange feeling vanished without a trace, and inside Persephone's chest, she observed a crystal that had seemed familiar not long ago but now felt somewhat strange.

I see.

It turns out this guy added special effects to himself.

"The divinity of the Queen of the Queen of the Underworld." The Flame-haired maiden's lips trembled slightly. She shook her head slightly and said softly, "You have already controlled it and modified it."