The Sacred Pact!

"Hungry?"

Bai Xuan was surprised. He hadn't expected Xilin's weakness to come from being hungry all this time.

But when he thought about it, it made sense.

Since being summoned to this world, Xilin seemed to have subsisted on milk alone.

Which raised the question: what did Xilin eat?

If human food couldn't satisfy her, then a Succubus's food was...

"Xilin, what did you usually eat when you were with the Holy See?" Bai Xuan asked.

"To uphold my oath, Her Holiness the Pope prepared a food called the Life Flower for me," Xilin answered softly.

"The Life Flower?"

"It's a flower Her Holiness makes from her magic. Eating one is enough to go three months without food," Xilin explained.

"..."

Bai Xuan raised an eyebrow.

The conflict between Xilin's Succubus and Holy Knight roles had finally come to a head!

She had to honor her oath and resist desire as a Holy Knight. But as a Succubus, she also needed to absorb Life Magic...

Bai Xuan immediately opened Xilin's information panel.

[Xilin]

[Age: 23]

[Quality: Epic]

[Level: F (linked to yours)]

[Identity: Holy Knight (Blue)]

[Race: Succubus (Blue)]

[Affection: 72]

[Attributes: Strength A, Agility A, Constitution A, Spirit S]

[Abilities: Lightless Sword (Purple), Flame of Justice (Purple)]

[Hidden Roles: ?, ? (Unlock by completing character quests)]

[Character Quest: Not Started]

[Status: Hungry (?)]

"A question mark?"

Bai Xuan tapped Xilin's status and expanded the flashing question mark.

[Hungry (?): Hunger has left Xilin extremely weak, but consuming Life Magic directly would break her vow. You can learn a magical spell to prevent this.]

[Learn it?]

"A magical spell?"

Bai Xuan's eyes lit up. He tapped confirm without hesitation.

"Learn it!"

[You have learned the spell—Sacred Contract (?)]

[Sacred Contract (?): Trace the contract's magic sigil on Xilin's lower abdomen to forge a sacred bond with her!]

"?"

After reading what the Sacred Contract did, Bai Xuan raised an eyebrow.

This contract...

He turned to Xilin. "I just learned a spell. It might help suppress your abnormal condition."

"What spell?"

Xilin looked up with a glimmer of hope in her blue eyes.

"Sacred Contract."

"Sacred Contract?"

"Do you trust me?" Bai Xuan asked.

"Of course I trust you." Xilin answered without hesitation, her gaze unwavering.

"But I need to draw the contract's sigil on your lower abdomen," Bai Xuan warned her.

"All right."

"Wait, you don't mind?"

"Why would I?"

"Okay, let's get this Sacred Contract done!"

"Mm."

Xilin lowered her head slightly and followed Bai Xuan's instructions.

She was wearing one-piece pajamas, so she only had to slide down the front zipper to reveal her smooth lower abdomen.

Nothing was truly exposed, but those tantalizing glimpses were all the more tempting. The top remained half-concealed, while the opening below stopped right at the base of her abdomen, a hair's breadth from the Succubus's hidden depths.

Gulp.

Bai Xuan swallowed.

So this was a Succubus!?

"I'm starting."

"Mm."

Bai Xuan extended his right hand and gently touched his fingertips to Xilin's skin.

As the contract activated, a strand of golden magic flowed from his fingertips. It seeped silently into her pale skin, gradually tracing a dazzling pattern.

"Mm..."

Xilin bit her lower lip and let out a faint sound.

"Almost done."

Bai Xuan reassured her softly, but his eyes stayed fixed on her abdomen.

The sigil was taking shape, but that pattern... the longer he looked, the stranger it seemed.

It was clearly a Succubus sigil—

Was this really a Sacred Contract?

Before he could make sense of it, the contract was complete.

With a soft murmur, Xilin closed her eyes. Her body went limp and tipped backward, then floated gently into the air.

"?"

As Bai Xuan stared in confusion, a flood of notifications suddenly appeared before him!

[Sacred Pact activated!]

[Succubus Holy Knight activated!]

[Attention!]

[You are attempting to take over the drafted pact for "Succubus Holy Knight · Xilin"!]

[Pact drafter—Light Pope]

[Question!]

[Are you willing to believe in the Light, take responsibility for sustaining Xilin, and form a Sacred Contract with her?]

[Yes] or [No]

"Sacred Pact?"

Bai Xuan stared at the golden words floating before him, surprise flickering in his eyes.

Had the Light Pope created this Sacred Contract?

Still, the words glowed with brilliant gold and radiated solemn authority. They looked more than capable of suppressing Xilin's abnormal condition!

"Yes!"

[Forming contract...]

[Contract formed successfully!]

[From now on, the bond between you and Xilin has deepened!]

[Source of Life unlocked!]

[Affection +5!]

"Source of Life?"

Bai Xuan studied the words before him with curiosity.

[Source of Life (Gold): An innate magic sigil containing Life Magic. Can be used to restore or strengthen magic. Current reserves: 100% (Source: Life Flower)]

"A gold-quality attribute?"

Bai Xuan was surprised.

Forming the contract had done more than free Xilin from hunger.

It had also granted her a rare gold ability!

The moment the contract was complete, Xilin floated gently back down.

She slowly opened her eyes, a faint light shimmering in their blue depths,

and whispered, "That strange feeling... it's gone..."

"Do you feel better?" Bai Xuan asked with concern.

Xilin nodded gently, a small smile touching her lips. "Mm. Much better."

"Good." Bai Xuan relaxed and nodded.

His gaze happened to fall on his phone screen, and he froze.

It was already ten!

Oh no!

He was late for school!

"Forget it. At this point, I might as well ask for the day off."

Bai Xuan immediately sent his teacher a message requesting leave.

In a world plagued by Anomalous Calamities, though, asking for leave wasn't about reporting an absence. It was about telling the teacher he was still alive.

I wonder how Sis is doing... With that thought, he sent Bai Yu a message too.

She and the others had gone to the Safe House, but danger lurked everywhere in this world. Nowhere was completely safe.

Before long, Bai Yu replied.

Bai Yu: "Everything's fine here."

"Good." Bai Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, then opened the World Book to see if any new missions had appeared.

Ninghang City was still quiet, with no flashing red lights. No Anomalous Calamities had appeared there yet.

He turned his attention to the map of White Sea City.

Unlike peaceful Ninghang, the map of White Sea City was almost covered in red dots!

They were packed so tightly together that there were over thirty!

That might have had something to do with White Sea City's location. It sat on the edge of the White Sea and far surpassed Ninghang City in both administrative status and population. It was one of only three A-Rank Cities in Huaguo.

A-Rank meant the city could withstand an A-Rank Anomalous Calamity.

Ninghang, by contrast, was only a C-Rank City.

"I'll go to White Sea City today."

Bai Xuan opened White Sea City's mission list and carefully picked one...