Skadi, My Wife

Sometimes, Chen An really couldn't understand why Exusiai seemed even more concerned about his relationship with Skadi than they were. And not just her—Texas seemed the same.

Too lazy to think about it, Chen An turned sideways and pinched Skadi's wonderfully soft cheek. "What do you mean, when did we get together? Haven't we been together all along? Otherwise, why do you think I haven't kicked you out after you keep sneaking into my room every day and tearing up the house?"

Skadi blinked, then broke into a happy smile.

This was the first time she had asked Chen An when they had gotten together, and instead of brushing her off and telling her to go play somewhere else, he had given her an affirmative answer.

Damn it! Why did I ask a question like that?

For some reason, Exusiai felt a sourness rise in her chest, and she couldn't help cursing under her breath.

Secretly puffing out her cheeks, she waved her hands around, using her abundant body language to express her dissatisfaction. "What together? Everyone knows you two have been together forever. I meant marriage! Marriage! Skadi has silently followed you for so long. Have you never thought about marrying her?"

"Marriage..."

Skadi's eyes drifted upward, but she did not react much this time.

She was an Abyssal Hunter, and Abyssal Hunters basically had no concept of marriage—Abyssal Hunters were warriors... no, rather than warriors, they were more like combat machines. After all, an Abyssal Hunter's daily life was generally either spent killing Seaborn or rushing off to kill Seaborn. They barely had lives of their own.

More importantly, few Abyssal Hunters lived long. Either they died early in battle against the Seaborn, or they could not endure the corruption and killed themselves, or they mutated and were tearfully put down by their own companions.

For Abyssal Hunters like that, let alone marriage, even romance was practically nonexistent.

That was why Skadi had never asked Chen An, "When will you marry me?" What she had always asked was, "When will we be together?"

Chen An could only sigh helplessly. "Shouldn't marriage be something we consider after settling down? Skadi and I have always been traveling. When would we have thought about that?"

In a sense, running away from marriage was the same as getting married, so naturally, Chen An, who was highly experienced at fleeing weddings, was also highly experienced at getting married.

He did not reject marriage itself. If Skadi had wanted it before, then of course he would have run as fast as he could. But now?

He had already said he was together with Skadi, so naturally, he would not refuse.

But Skadi had never had that thought, and he himself was not particularly enthusiastic about it either. He had grown indifferent to everything. In his eyes, as long as people were together, that was enough, so he had never thought about such things.

Exusiai puffed up her cheeks. "But..."

But if you two don't hurry up and get married, how is Texas supposed to make a move?

She had wanted to say that, but Chen An stopped her.

"It's late. Whatever you were going to say can wait until next time."

He raised a hand, took the shining Halo from above Exusiai's head, then tapped Skadi on the head with it. The Halo became just a ring—its light had gone out.

"???"

Skadi rubbed her head, completely bewildered. What was that about? Why had Chen An hit her?

"!!!"

Exclamation marks seemed to appear over Exusiai's head, and her eyes nearly popped out from shock.

Being able to take off her Halo was already bizarre enough. He could actually switch it off too? How on earth had he done that?

Casually stuffing the darkened Halo into his sleeve, Chen An said irritably, "I couldn't sleep earlier because your Halo was too bright. Now that it's gone, you should be able to sleep, right? Go to bed already. We still have to travel tomorrow."

Seeing her Halo gone, Exusiai panicked. "Hey, hey, don't hide it! My Halo... Huh? Why am I not dizzy?"

Suddenly realizing her head was not dizzy at all, Exusiai was stunned.

What was going on? Wasn't her Halo supposed to be impossible to cover up? Why was it hidden inside Chen An's clothes without making her feel dizzy at all?

Chen An did not want to explain. He casually grabbed his pillow, smacked the bewildered Exusiai flat with it, then lay back down to sleep.

Skadi looked at Exusiai lying there with a baffled expression, then at Chen An beside her. After thinking for a moment, she lay back down too, happily turned onto her side, hugged Chen An, and closed her eyes.

Texas's ears twitched, and she decided to pretend nothing had happened.

No matter how many miraculous things surrounded Chen An, as long as she knew he was Chen An, that was enough.

The tent became quiet again.

This time, Texas could finally fall asleep.

Because I'm not very familiar with Siesta, I need to look over the story and some reference materials and sort out what I'll write next.

Well, I originally wanted to force myself to finish today's second chapter, or write another one while traveling, but after thinking about it, the former would be painful to write in a muddle and might lead to contradictions or plot holes, while the latter would just be filler and waste everyone's cat coins. So there won't be a second chapter today. I'm very sorry.

There's one more thing. What exactly is Gladiia's relationship with Rhodes Island? From what I've seen, she seems like a big shot, but she also does not seem to care much about Rhodes Island. If they're only partners, then I'll poach her. Whether she's strong or pretty isn't important. The main thing is that she's an Abyssal Hunter and Skadi's comrade-in-arms, definitely. I hope readers who know can explain it to me.

Looking through the materials myself is not only hard, I can't even get through them properly.

Also, is Siesta really a lake? In the Heart of Surging Flame story, everyone seems to call it a sea.

Lastly, is a sane Specter the little-devil type? The kind who thinks, since we're all Abyssal Hunters, all comrades and family, your boyfriend seems great, so I want to steal him and join in too. Sharing a boyfriend is fine, right? That sort of little-devil personality?

If so... hehehe.

P.S.: As long as my train of thought doesn't break, like today, I'll write six thousand words a day. Even if it does break, I'll update whenever I can. Don't ask me to add chapters or do mass updates. My typing speed can't keep up, and neither can my ideas, unless someone pays extra. Voice raised dramatically.

P.S. 2: Arknights has four-panel comics, right? If there are any interesting ones, please share them with me. They're inspiration. Here's the group number—533822518. I probably won't speak much there. If you have inspiration, please message me privately. Thank you.

And finally, sorry for slacking off today. Bows.

Exusiai Is So Cute~

One month later.

Siesta.

"Chen An, let's go buy some stuff and throw a party tonight."

"Throw a party, my ass! We've only been in Siesta for a few days. How many parties have we already had? You can't even cook. You say you're helping, but every time you just sit there like some spoiled young mistress without moving a muscle. Fine, whatever. But during the day, you're always getting in my way too. That patient's Oripathy is already very serious, and instead of helping calm her down, you asked when the Originium on her body would explode. Can't you watch what you say?"

Inside the temporary house they had rented as their home in Siesta, Miss Exusiai was thoroughly chewed out by Chen An.

After hurrying along the whole way, the four of them had arrived in Siesta half a month ago.

Having arrived somewhere new, their first priority had naturally been to settle down.

As the legendary Great Demon King who committed every evil under the sun—self-proclaimed, anyway—Chen An was ridiculously bad. His favorite thing to do was snatch lollipops from little girls. Not just ordinary snatching, either. He would seize the candy, lick it once, then give it back. Once the girl experienced the joy of getting it back, he would snatch it away again, crunch it up, and tell her, "Your candy is really sweet." It was villainy so outrageous it defied all reason.

As such a wicked villain, there was no way Chen An would use normal methods to find a place to stay and pay rent. That would be far too lame.

Therefore, the sea-view house Chen An now lived in had been extorted from the parents of a little girl.

The story was simple. Just after arriving in Siesta, Chen An happened to see a little girl running around alone by the seaside. She was neatly dressed and beautifully made up. One look told him she was a rich little girl.

For such a rare rich little girl to have no one watching her, then appear right in front of the Great Demon King Chen An—how could that be allowed?

The moment he spotted that rich little girl, Chen An immediately sent Exusiai to buy several lollipops.

After that, he began employing his vicious methods. First, he tricked the cute rich little girl into believing he was a good person and gave her a sweet lollipop.

Then, just as the rich little girl seemed to trust him and was about to happily eat the candy, he turned hostile and snatched away the lollipop she had just unwrapped but had not yet tasted, then crunched it to pieces in two or three bites.

That was not all. Afterward, he maliciously told ghost stories to scare the little girl and forbid her from crying. Finally, he brought the terrified girl, who did not dare cry, to her parents. After only a few words, he gained temporary use of a sea-view house. His conduct was truly a model example of villainy!

At least, Exusiai had watched in utter amazement. He had kindly helped a little girl who had wandered off and gotten lost find her parents, entertaining her with stories the whole way and cheering her up when she was scared and crying. Yet afterward, he had somehow made it sound as if he had been doing something bad. Incredible!

...Though giving the little girl a lollipop at first, then snatching it back to eat himself, really was pretty bad.

Those details were not worth dwelling on. In any case, because of that lost rich little girl, the four of them had indeed found a place to stay and settled down on their first day in Siesta.

Afterward, having found out where Siesta's Infected gathered, Chen An returned to his old profession—a doctor offering free consultations.

This story could also be briefly explained: under the banner of being a doctor and treating people for free, he brought Skadi and the others around Siesta's Infected, scamming them openly. He had clearly cured them, yet said it was only ordinary treatment. When his words did not match reality, what else could it be but a scam?

His days of scamming people did not last long, because Siesta was not very big and did not have many Infected living there. Moreover, the lives of Siesta's Infected and ordinary citizens were far better than those of the Infected and ordinary citizens in Lungmen's Lower District. Though the Infected were still discriminated against, they were not starving or lacking clothes, so there was not much to do. Thus, after around half a month, Chen An's free clinic work was nearly over.

That was why, before noon today, Exusiai was already pestering Chen An about throwing a party that night and asking him to go buy things with her.

Previously, Chen An had to spend his days making house calls and seeing patients. Whenever Exusiai wanted to throw a party, she prepared it herself or dragged either Texas or Skadi along. Either way, she never troubled Chen An.

Also, Siesta was not as chaotic as Lungmen's Lower District, and they still needed to familiarize themselves with the area to avoid getting lost if anything happened. So when Chen An went out to see patients, he generally brought only one person with him, while the other two wandered around Siesta on their own and learned the lay of the land.

Exusiai was a little unconvinced. "Who says I haven't helped? I do all the party preparations, okay? I'm only worse than you at cooking. Otherwise, why would you need to prepare food for the party? And I didn't mean to say the wrong thing. It was just an accident, okay?"

"Of course, of course."

Rather than argue with Exusiai, Chen An rubbed her head with an indulgent expression that said, Your chest is small, so whatever you say is right. Even if one plus one equals five, you're still right. "Exusiai, you've always been thoughtful and well-behaved, so how about we don't throw a party today? You just like wearing party hats, right? Wear one. Wear as many as you want. Your Halo has been with me for a month already, so it doesn't matter if I keep it a little longer. So... hey, why did you hit me?"

"Don't touch my head!"

Miss Exusiai was furious. "I'm not a child. You touch my head and talk to me in that tone—are you looking for a beating? I'm telling you, if you dare touch my head again, I'll really beat you up!"

Chen An considered it briefly, then raised his hand and rubbed Exusiai's head again.

Exusiai: "..."

Her delicate brows slowly drew together, and her cheeks puffed out. Narrowing her eyes, Exusiai looked at Chen An with an increasingly fierce gaze, like a cat that wanted to bite someone.

Thinking she looked adorable like that, Chen An could not resist poking her cheek with a finger.

It was soft, springy, and felt wonderful.

Exusiai's glare grew fiercer. Without another word, she opened her mouth and lunged forward to bite the hand that dared poke her cheek.

Chen An reacted quickly and dodged.

Hiding his hand behind his back, he smugly waggled his eyebrows, as if saying, You can't bite me~

Exusiai became even angrier.

She kicked Chen An, then stopped talking to him entirely and turned away in a huff.

Chen An shouted, "Hey, hey! If you're leaving, then leave! Don't drag me with you!"

Well, Exusiai had not forgotten her original purpose. As she left, she dragged Chen An along with her.

Chen An's wish to slack off and avoid preparing for the party was ultimately fulfilled.

Just as Exusiai was dragging him out to buy party supplies, Texas and Skadi happened to return from outside. Texas casually asked if they were going to the beach, and Exusiai instantly changed her mind. She decided not to throw a party today and to go play at the beach instead.

On the beach of the little island where the volcano stood, east of Siesta.

Texas and Skadi played by the water, while Chen An and Exusiai stayed on the sand.

Chen An wore beach shorts and sat on the sand. Exusiai wore a pretty swimsuit, with a red gauze scarf tied around her waist, and stood beside Chen An.

Unable to understand why there was a beach near their home, yet they had come all the way here instead, Chen An sat cross-legged on the sand with an utterly lifeless expression.

"Now that I've finally finished being busy, you won't let me slack off at home and instead dragged me all the way here... Seriously. We can see the ocean from home. If you wanted to play at the beach, couldn't we have gone to one nearby?"

"Are you dumb? The beaches near our home are public beaches, and there are lots of people. How could they compare to having this place all to ourselves?"

Giving Chen An a disdainful glance, Exusiai's waist scarf fluttered in the sea breeze, revealing her slender figure. She then put her hands on her hips and proudly puffed out her chest. "I found this place, you know. So? Aren't I amazing?"

Chen An glanced at her. Her legs were white, her waist was white too, and it was very slim, but he did not want to pay her any attention.

Exusiai got a little angry. "What kind of attitude is that? Are you looking down on the fruits of my labor?"

"How could I look down on the fruits of your labor? I'm only looking down on you."

Chen An chuckled and said seriously, "Your chest is so small. One look tells me there's no weight to it. How am I supposed to take it seriously?"

"Do you have a death wish? You dare call me flat-chested? I'll beat you up!"

Exusiai screamed, angrily trying to hit Chen An, but Chen An nimbly dodged.

"Stop right there! If you've got guts, don't dodge!"

"Do I look stupid? And I didn't say you were flat-chested. I said your chest was small."

"Aaaah! Chen An, you're dead! You're absolutely dead! Nobody can save you, not even Skadi! That's what I said!!"

Stomping and shouting, Exusiai, having been mocked again, bared her teeth and claws as she chased after Chen An, who had run off the moment he finished speaking.

Standing in the seawater at the shore, Texas watched Exusiai and Chen An bickering on the beach and could not help shaking her head.

The moment she looked away, Exusiai started making a fuss with Chen An again. Yet she still stubbornly claimed she did not like him. She was hopeless.

Skadi looked over as well. Her lips curved into a gentle smile.

Sure enough, things became lively whenever Exusiai was around. Chen An probably liked this kind of liveliness. He looked very happy.