"Miss Robin, I must be going now."
"My friends in the Sweet Dream still need me."
Having cuddled with Robin for a while at Dreamscape Reef, it was about time for them to part ways.
"Mm-hmm, goodbye, Miss Lumina," Robin nodded, then added, "I still need to stay here at Dreamscape Reef for a while, so..."
"Don't worry, I'll let Sunday know you're safe," Lumina reassured her, seeing Robin's hesitation. She chuckled softly, reaching out to ruffle Robin's hair. "You just stay here at Dreamscape Reef and wait for us to come back."
"After all, I wouldn't want any discordant notes to mar Miss Robin's beautiful song."
Lumina's mischievous hands, no longer content with merely patting Robin's head, gradually slid down to her soft cheeks, giving them a gentle pinch.
"Mmm..."
Seemingly carried away, Lumina used both hands to playfully mold Robin's exquisite face, as if she couldn't get enough of it.
"M-Miss Lumina..."
"My apologies, I was being rather impolite."
Lumina finally snapped out of her daze when she noticed the rising temperature on Robin's flushed cheeks.
Looking at the blushing Robin, who looked so tempting she wanted to take a little bite, Lumina lowered her head and quietly apologized.
"N-no... it's fine," Robin stammered, waving her hand nervously, her face crimson. "In fact... more... more..."
After saying it was fine, Robin lowered her head, her cheeks flushed, and murmured almost inaudibly, "More..."
Miss Lumina's head pats... Miss Lumina's cheek pinches... They feel so comforting, so warm... just like lying in her mother's arms, being stroked by her mother's loving hands...
Robin wanted Miss Lumina... to do more.
"What was that?" Lumina's heart practically burst with joy at Robin's faint murmur.
But she pretended not to hear anything, yet acted as if she might have caught something, tilting her head in feigned confusion.
"N-no, no, no! I didn't say anything just now. I was just trying to say that you don't need to apologize, Miss Lumina," Robin stammered, her face flushing crimson.
But her strong composure allowed her to quickly regain her composure and deliver a coherent sentence.
The fleeting expression on her face was so subtle that an ordinary person would hardly have noticed any telltale signs.
However, Lumina was no ordinary person. She saw straight through Robin's facade with a single glance.
Instead of exposing her shame outright, Lumina chose to savor the moment, watching Robin's forced calm and the fleeting relief that crossed her face when she thought she hadn't been caught.
[How wicked! How wicked! Utterly wicked!]
[A wretched woman like you deserves punishment! Until you cant take care of yourself anymore!]
Gazing at these words on the System screen, Lumina paid them no mind. She merely hummed softly and immediately blocked the messages.
This is ridiculous! Lumina thought. I don't have any special relationship with them. At best, we're friends, close confidantes, or mother and daughter. What possible reason could they have to punish me?
Besides, even if I stood still and let them hit me, they wouldn't be able to break through my defenses, would they?
And even setting aside a million inexplicable reasons, I'm an Emanator of Abundance! I'm the Emanator of Abundance—everlasting, tireless, with infinite endurance!
How could I ever become incapable of taking care of myself?
Without giving it much thought, Lumina smiled at the Robin before her, who was feigning composure. "Even if it's awkward, I should still apologize for my actions. I can't just take advantage of my status as your idol to grope and manhandle you, can I?"
"I... um..." Robin's cherry lips parted slightly, and she desperately wanted to say, Please do!
But she couldn't bring herself to say it—she wouldn't dare.
Even more terrifying was the thought of how Lumina would look at her after hearing such a twisted confession, with that strange, repulsed expression.
Though as the gentle, holy, kind, beautiful, and immaculate Saintess, Lumina might not even care about her feverish ramblings.
Robin dared not gamble, unwilling to let her "corrupted" ravings taint Lumina's pure white robes.
From the moment she first saw Lumina, Robin had been suppressing these defiling words deep within her heart, presenting only her most composed demeanor to the Saintess.
But Robin had clearly never heard the four-word Xianzhou idiom:
Extreme begets its opposite.
Having suppressed these emotions to their breaking point, a violent rebound was inevitable, propelling her towards the opposite extreme.
As Lumina's embrace enveloped her with motherly warmth, as her gentle hands cradled her with maternal tenderness, and as her face gazed down with indulgent affection, the "suppression" deep within Robin's heart had already begun to crack.
Perhaps, one day in the future, this fissure would widen until the dam burst, unleashing the pent-up torrent of repressed emotions...
"Robin? Robin!" Lumina called out, her voice laced with concern as she watched Robin freeze in place, lost in some unknown thought.
"Oh, I'm fine," Robin replied, snapping out of her reverie. "I was just thinking about my brother and things related to the Family." Her voice was so natural that even Lumina detected no hint of anything amiss.
"I see." Observing Robin's flawless, composed demeanor, Lumina still felt a lingering doubt but dismissed it with a nod. "Don't worry," she said. "Once we're out, I'll tell Sunday you're safe so he won't be concerned."
"Thank you, Miss Lumina," Robin replied with a smile—a smile that seemed utterly natural, generous, and gentle, yet sent a peculiar chill down Lumina's spine.
It's like the ominous calm before a volcano erupts...
Hmm, perhaps the System's earlier comment has planted some unsettling ideas in my mind.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Lumina looked at Robin, who radiated perfect normalcy. She naturally took Robin's small hand in her palm, her gesture as effortless as breathing.
"Robin, why do you keep adding 'Miss' after my name?"
"Aren't we friends now?"
"Since we're friends, there's no need to be so formal, right? ♪"
Feeling the warmth radiating from Robin's palm, Lumina's beautiful jade-green eyes filled with boundless anticipation.
It was as if one word of denial from Robin would send Lumina bursting into tears on the spot.
Crack...
Whether it was Lumina's imagination or not, a sound like a mirror shattering suddenly echoed in her ears.
"Mm, you're right. We're friends now!"
"Friends don't need to be so restrained or formal!"
Before Lumina could dwell on it further, Robin turned her hand over and clasped Lumina's small hand in return. Leaning slightly forward, her flawlessly exquisite face radiated sincerity.
"Sister Lumina, I'm so glad we're friends now!"