Ark Simulator, Aren't I Incorporeal? Chapter 29

Thus, Su Rui and Ren Dong's warm time together lasted the entire morning.

At noon, Texas came to call them to lunch. When she opened the door, she saw Su Rui playing games and Ren Dong tied to the bed, gagged and wriggling like a caterpillar.

"..." Texas fell silent for a moment, then helped Ren Dong free herself from the ropes.

Su Rui noticed through Scanning Vision and immediately became wary.

But under Su Rui's watchful gaze, Ren Dong merely smiled, leaned close, and lightly kissed his cheek before saying:

"All right, let's go have lunch."

"Oh, okay."

Su Rui had not expected Ren Dong to let the matter go so easily. Surprised and then delighted, he chatted with Ren Dong and Texas as they headed toward the dining hall.

For the time being, Ren Dong needed Su Rui to lower his guard so that her later "punishment" would be more effective. Su Rui thought Ren Dong truly was not angry, leaving him happy and relaxed.

Only Texas, who had seen through everything, silently took it all in and waited to see what Su Rui would look like after Ren Dong punished him harshly.

Time passed quickly. At the ceremony the next day, Su Rui, the divine child watched by countless people, changed into magnificent ceremonial robes. Various ornaments, such as jade pendants and bells, were tied to each of his nine tails.

Following the method provided by the Fox Shrine Maiden, Su Rui arranged his nine tails and displayed all the ornaments before stepping onto the raised platform and looking down at the people attending the ceremony.

The Oni Clan made up the overwhelming majority. There were also some Wolper foxes, Aegir sea creatures, and others Su Rui could not identify clearly.

In any case, none of that was important. The Fox Shrine Maiden performed all sorts of movements backstage, and Su Rui directly copied them one-to-one through Scanning Vision. That was how he completed the ceremonial dance he was required to perform.

And that dance truly proved Su Rui's identity as the divine child, because that old bastard from the Upper System was putting in work whenever he struck those poses.

All sorts of warm blessings began to appear and spread. Their reach was not limited to the city before them—it extended across the entire Eastern Kingdom.

Su Rui's Scanning Vision still only covered the range of one large Mobile City, so he could not see any farther.

But judging by the speed at which the blessings spread, they likely covered the entire territory of the Eastern Kingdom.

No wonder the people of the Eastern Kingdom respect me, the divine child, so much. That old bastard really is capable.

Su Rui grumbled to Ren Dong in his mind. Looking at the people below, who had become fervent and were cheering wildly, understanding flashed through his eyes.

If the god one worshipped truly possessed the ability to grant wishes—and truly did grant them—then having fanatical followers was perfectly normal.

Su Rui's ceremony was nearing its end. He did not need to bow. As the esteemed divine child, once the ritual was complete, he simply turned and walked into the shrine, where the Fox Shrine Maiden helped him remove the complicated ornaments from his body one by one.

After hearing Su Rui's complaint, Ren Dong did not respond. She merely smiled awkwardly.

That was because the Upper System had placed a pair of [] in her vision. There was nothing inside them, but it was obvious the Upper System was watching her.

Ren Dong did not think joining Su Rui in mocking her would be a good idea right now.

Thus, when Su Rui asked her somewhat doubtfully in his mind, "Did you hear what I said?", Ren Dong could only give a vague reply.

"Mm-hm, I heard you. I was a little busy just now. I took quite a few pictures of you. That outfit suits you very well."

"Of course I know... I have a holographic recording here. If you like it, I'll send it to you directly."

Su Rui was somewhat helpless, but he did not repeat what he had said earlier.

As Ren Dong breathed a sigh of relief, she noticed that the Upper System had removed the [] symbol. That probably meant she was no longer watching Ren Dong.

So the Upper System's tolerance was only for Su Rui?

Ren Dong felt a little helpless. Should she try teaching Su Rui to treat the Upper System a little better?

Volume One: Planning for the Future

[Su Rui likes the fried snacks in the dessert shop.]

Although the Upper System did not give a direct response to Ren Dong's words, her reply had already proven that she was pleased with Ren Dong's idea.

It seemed this idea really would work. With that thought in mind, Ren Dong went to Su Rui's room, where he was still removing the ornaments from his body with the Fox Shrine Maiden's help.

"Ren Dong? Come help me. There's way too much of this stuff. It's such a pain to take off now."

Su Rui's eyes lit up when he noticed Ren Dong. He quickly waved her over, but when he tried to swish the tails behind him, the Fox Shrine Maiden reminded him:

"Please do not move around, Divine Child. Otherwise, these ornaments may become tangled together and be even harder to remove."

"Fine."

Su Rui stiffened for a moment, but he still remained completely still as the Fox Shrine Maiden instructed and looked at Ren Dong.

"If your attitude were a little better, perhaps she would help remove the ornaments from you too."

Ren Dong had not forgotten about the issue between the Upper System and Su Rui. As she came over to help him remove the cumbersome ornaments, she spoke meaningfully.

"...I don't think she would. She doesn't seem like someone with that kind of free time."

"What if she did?"

"Then I would..." Su Rui wanted to make some grand declaration, like the bets he and his dorm mates made by calling themselves each other's fathers.

But he was also worried that the Upper System might actually agree. From what Su Rui had seen so far, the Upper System always acted in ways completely opposite to what he expected.

It was difficult to determine what kind of operating logic the Upper System had.

Su Rui hesitated before ultimately keeping his words to himself.

"Forget it. I'll just ask Ren Dong to help me take these ornaments off."

He was not about to call someone Mom or Dad over such a minor inconvenience. It was a matter of dignity.

Su Rui could only endure the discomfort as the Fox Shrine Maiden and Ren Dong gradually removed the ornaments from his tails.

Since they had to untie the ropes that had been used to fasten the ornaments, they inevitably tugged on his tails by accident, making him flinch in pain. The process was rather torturous.

Still, Su Rui eventually endured it until the problem was resolved.

"So there shouldn't be any more activities like this at the shrine, right?"

"Of course, Divine Child. A ceremony like this only needs to be held once a year. Although, when you were not here in the past, the shrine maidens were responsible for the ceremony."

"So the shrine maidens can take my place?"

Su Rui's eyes lit up, but the Fox Shrine Maiden merely smiled. "Of course not. Now that the Divine Child is here, how could insignificant shrine maidens like us be so presumptuous?"

"Who's the divine child here, you or me? I've decided. From now on, the shrine maidens will handle the ceremonies."

Su Rui raised his chin and glanced at the Fox Shrine Maiden before turning to leave.

"But, Divine Child..."

The Fox Shrine Maiden appeared anxious, yet there was nothing she could do about Su Rui.

She could accept serving him in bed without the slightest psychological burden, but the ceremonial dance offered to the gods was not something just anyone could perform.

Faced with the Fox Shrine Maiden's explanation, Su Rui hesitated, nodded, said nothing, and turned to leave.

The Fox Shrine Maiden could tell that Su Rui was unwilling, but she could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

After witnessing the interaction between Su Rui and the Fox Shrine Maiden, Ren Dong asked inwardly:

Was the ceremonial dance actually performed for you to watch?

[...Yes. If I'm happy, I casually hand out some blessings.]

Even though the Upper System only showed her a string of text without any sound, Ren Dong could still see the similarity in personality between the Upper System and Su Rui from the wording alone.

She even came up with a rather terrifying guess, but considering the Upper System was watching her thoughts, Ren Dong did not dare think about it any further.

The following days passed in the shrine. There were no missions and no danger, so time went by quickly.

As Ren Dong and Su Rui spent more time together, more and more people came to know about their relationship.

Sometimes, when she went out with Su Rui, people would greet Ren Dong and respectfully call her the divine child's wife.

The days passed little by little like that.

Texas was also happy to have some peace and quiet. She stayed at the shrine to ensure Su Rui and Ren Dong's safety while enjoying a life free from disturbances.

Every now and then, she could secretly stroke Su Rui's nine huge tails. She could not eat them, but Texas was already trying her best to restrain herself.

As Ren Dong spent more time with Su Rui, her belly grew larger day by day, until moving around eventually became somewhat inconvenient.

At that moment, Ren Dong sat on the soft mattress with a book in her hands, smiling at Su Rui beside her.

"What? Feeling lonely because I can't play online with you now?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Su Rui shot Ren Dong an impatient glare. "Listen to yourself. Does that even sound human? When have I ever been that horny?"

"Yes, yes, I'm the horny one."

Ren Dong stroked her belly, a smile curling at the corner of her lips.

Because of the pregnancy, Ren Dong had not touched electronic devices for quite some time. However, due to her connection with Su Rui, she could actually browse the internet without being affected by electronic radiation.

It was just that, because of the pregnancy, Ren Dong had become somewhat paranoid recently.

She even suspected that the images Su Rui showed her through their mental connection might produce radiation. She asked Su Rui not to show her livestreams and said she only needed to read books to pass the time.

After explaining repeatedly to no avail and going in circles countless times, Su Rui finally gave up trying to persuade Ren Dong.

As long as Ren Dong was happy, everything else could be set aside.

"Oh, right, Su Rui. I want plum blossom cakes. Go buy some for me."

Ren Dong suddenly made a request.

"Plum blossom cakes? The shrine has some. I'll go get them for you."

Su Rui paused before preparing to move, but Ren Dong would not let it go.

"No, I want the kind you buy outside."

"...Fine."

Although he could not understand Ren Dong's strange request, Su Rui still accepted it.

He left the shrine and, under the protection of hidden ninjas, went to buy the plum blossom cakes Ren Dong wanted.

After Su Rui left and Texas stayed behind to look after Ren Dong, Ren Dong said meaningfully to Texas, who had also left her phone behind to care for her and was reading a book:

"Su Rui seems a little restless lately."

"...That's normal. It'll pass after a while." Texas paused before replying casually.

But Ren Dong could see that her words had affected Texas, so she laid the matter bare.

"What I mean is, don't let the good stuff go to outsiders."

Volume One: There Are Ten Tails Now

Texas was truly stunned by Ren Dong's words this time. She looked at Ren Dong, who was smiling as she stroked her belly.

"Do you even know what you're saying?"

"Of course I do."

Ren Dong lowered her gaze and stroked her belly. She could naturally tell that Texas also had such thoughts about Su Rui.

But what good would it do even if she stopped Texas now?

Su Rui would still go on other missions later and meet other women... Just thinking about it made Ren Dong grit her teeth in anger, yet she was powerless to do anything about it.

Since that was the case, since there would definitely be chances to encounter Su Rui again in the future, it would be better to gain another ally from the start and increase the time she could spend with Su Rui.

Ren Dong did not voice her thoughts. Instead, she looked into Texas's eyes and said directly:

"In exchange, you will be my ally from now on and act with me. You also have to take good care of my child. After all, that would make you the child's second mother, wouldn't it?"

"...There's no taking this back once it's done."

The matter was so shocking that Texas did not agree immediately. Instead, she stared into Ren Dong's eyes.

But Ren Dong behaved even more naturally. She no longer looked Texas in the eye and simply said:

"Su Rui will be back soon. You'll have plenty of chances to be alone with him... Do you want them? That depends on you. Don't forget your agreement with me."

Texas nodded, then turned and left the room, leaving behind one sentence as she went:

"I agree."