After Acheron prepared the bathwater, the mechanical bird arrived right on cue, flying to the doorway with a large box in its beak.
Sylvia watched as Acheron gradually prepared the medicinal bath, filling the entire room with the scent of herbs.
"All done, let me carry you over."
As she spoke, Acheron reached for Sylvia's collar.
Before Sylvia could even react, her upper garment had already been swiftly stripped off by Acheron's nimble hands.
"Wait, wait—Mei!"
"What is it?"
Acheron, who had been about to undo the buttons on Sylvia's skirt, paused at her voice and looked at her, puzzled.
She was still holding onto Sylvia's skirt, making the whole scene look rather questionable.
"What do you think…"
Sylvia covered her chest and glared at Acheron. How could this person just start undressing her like that?
"Who just starts stripping someone like this? Don't tell me you plan to undress me completely here before carrying me to the bath?"
"Is there a problem?"
"…"
When Acheron tilted her head and asked that, Sylvia gave up arguing.
It was her own fault, really. She'd forgotten that Acheron had no sense of shame.
You can't make someone without shame understand your own sense of shame.
They'd just stare back blankly and say, 'What's the big deal?'
Rather than staying in this embarrassing state and trying to explain shame to Acheron, it was better to just let her finish up quickly and get to the bath.
"…Never mind. Just hurry up."
Sylvia closed her eyes and steeled herself, simply giving up resistance.
If she couldn't see it, she could pretend this was the bathroom, not the living room.
Watching Sylvia's expression of 'bravely facing her doom,' Acheron found it amusing but still couldn't quite understand.
It was just taking off clothes—why make such a fuss? There were no outsiders here. What was the big difference between the living room, the bedroom, or the bathroom?
Acheron couldn't wrap her head around such complicated thinking, but since Sylvia had stopped resisting, she didn't hold back either.
Reaching out, she effortlessly removed Sylvia's lower garments, then scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom.
As for Sylvia…
She had nothing left to say.
Being carried princess-style by Acheron while completely naked was just… too absurd.
People without shame are truly something else.
Clearly, someone like me is much more normal.
Sylvia sighed inwardly, finding a small victory in her thoughts.
Then she was placed by Acheron into the bathtub, which was filled with floating medicinal herbs.
Her long white hair was carefully wrapped in a towel by Acheron, who knelt by the tub.
"…Thank you."
Even if Acheron was a bit of a weirdo, she had personally done so much for her. Sylvia was genuinely grateful.
The slightly hot water temperature was just right. Sylvia slumped into the bath, leaving only her face above the surface.
Acheron, however, didn't move. She remained crouched by the tub, staring intently at Sylvia and the faintly visible silhouette beneath the water.
Under that unwavering gaze, Sylvia didn't know what shocking thing Acheron might say next, but she couldn't help speaking up.
"…Why are you staring like that?"
"I'm worried you might soak until you faint."
"That shouldn't happen… given how resilient my body is."
Sylvia was well aware of her own physical sturdiness. Passing out in a bath really shouldn't be something that happened to her.
But Acheron shook her head, reaching into the water to lightly touch Sylvia's neck and collarbone.
"Better safe than sorry. You're very weak right now—just in case."
Acheron's tone was flat, clearly not open to argument.
Not only that, but after a moment, she began undressing and started bathing right beside Sylvia.
According to her reasoning:
After Sylvia finished soaking, she'd need to rinse off. Since she'd get wet anyway, might as well take a bath first.
It was logical and sound, but for Sylvia—who could only watch and not touch—it was agonizing. She could only swallow hard, again and again.
--+--
The whole day passed like this.
Thanks to Sylvia's powerful recovery ability, by the time she woke the next day, she was already able to walk.
Though her whole body still ached, at least it was no longer at a level where she had to endure intense pain.
Acheron had taken care of Sylvia all day. After seeing she was recovering well, she made breakfast, prepared medicine, and then left.
Perhaps because she had been practicing lately, the food Acheron made this time was much tastier compared to that first attempt.
After seeing Acheron off, Sylvia reloaded the Fullbottle.
As the Fullbottle reconnected with the Herrscher Core, Sylvia still didn't detect any signs of a new consciousness emerging.
It was just that the two Heliobi inside the bottles remained distinctly separate, though there seemed to be a faint hint of them merging.
But it was still very unclear.
Who knew if, given enough time, a new consciousness might be born?
Or perhaps a 'Phantylia' was already hiding within.
Heliobi were strange creatures. Neither Sylvia nor Acheron could say for certain whether such a possibility existed.
But after checking the restraining power of the Fullbottle, Acheron wasn't too worried about it.
As for the side effects of using the Hazard Trigger—
Now, whenever Sylvia tapped into her power, her whole body would tremble with pain.
She could force herself to use it if necessary, but unless absolutely required, there was no point suffering like that.
Fortunately, Acheron could be summoned to her side at any time, so Sylvia's safety wasn't a concern.
Sylvia now sat on the sofa, waiting for Robin to visit.
Thankfully, yesterday's set of tarot cards could be directly retrieved through her system—otherwise, who knows where they might have flown off to.
What Sylvia regretted most about yesterday was the sword.
With a flick of her hand, she retrieved the sword she had just gotten from the Artisanship Commission yesterday from her spatial device.
The pale blue blade had now turned ashen gray.
Tiny cracks covered its surface—a classic sign of an item eroded by Nihility.
The internal structure of the entire sword was gradually breaking down. The cracks were just superficial manifestations, marks left as the material grew brittle.
If it weren't for Sylvia being unafraid of this level of Nihility energy, an ordinary person touching this sword would have been in serious trouble.
But Sylvia had already cleansed it using the power of Permanence, dispersing the lingering Nihility energy within the sword.
It wouldn't be eroded further now, but even in its current state, even with the boost from Permanence, this sword could barely be considered an ordinary blade.
To Sylvia, it was little more than a decorative toy now.
"Ah… my sword… I just got it yesterday, and now it's already like this."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.