"You tell me first what you want to do..."
Silver Wolf stared warily at Sylvia. Just what was this woman planning?
Don't tell me she wants me to sneak her into the space station to help steal those little Herta puppets?
If I really went along with such a ridiculous scheme, my reputation as the great Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf would be completely ruined.
Seeing Silver Wolf so guarded, Sylvia felt a bit helpless.
"I just wanted you to help me steal—"
"In your dreams! I'd never stoop to something so tacky!"
"I haven't even finished!"
Sylvia was dumbfounded. How could Silver Wolf refuse so decisively?
Silver Wolf, meanwhile, shot her a massive eye-roll.
"I know what you're eyeing without you saying it. Don't come to me with that perverted, embarrassing nonsense."
The mere thought of this woman's abilities gave Silver Wolf a headache. Contracting normal people was one thing—at worst, it made her a player.
But to set your sights on a puppet...
Wow, when it comes to being a freak, you really take the cake. Even thinking about marrying a puppet...
Silver Wolf's gaze grew increasingly disdainful, which left Sylvia utterly bewildered.
"...I really feel like you've got some kind of misunderstanding about me."
"Ha—what misunderstanding? Dare you say you've never thought about doing something with a Herta puppet?"
"No, Duckie, don't phrase it so weirdly. You make it sound like I'm some kind of pervert!"
Faced with Sylvia's righteous rebuttal, Silver Wolf just scoffed and ignored her.
That reaction left Sylvia momentarily speechless, giving her the strange illusion that her image had completely shattered.
"Ahem... Well then, Duckie, if it really won't work, how about you help me make a signal jammer?"
"..."
"Duckie, don't say I didn't warn you. If you don't help, and I mess up, I'll definitely have to make a run for it. And if I run, I'll definitely use Aether Editing's teleport function. When Herta sees that..."
"You little—?!"
Silver Wolf was instantly alarmed. This woman truly had no shame.
Fine, fine. Dragging me into the mud with you, huh?
The kicker was, this jerk really could teleport using Aether Editing... If she actually spread that around, my reputation would be utterly destroyed.
Sylvia, for her part, wore an expression of pure innocence. Everything she said was true, after all.
Her teleportation ability was stamped all over with Silver Wolf's style.
Once people saw it, they'd go, 'Aha! Silver Wolf teamed up with someone to have designs on Herta's puppets.'
"Duckie... You wouldn't want people to think you're a pervert with a thing for puppets, would you?"
"...You're ruthless!"
Silver Wolf gritted her teeth, secretly plotting to pay her back a hundredfold for today's humiliation. The shame of today would be repaid tenfold another day!
"What do you want me to do?"
Seeing the 'humiliated' look in Silver Wolf's eyes, Sylvia couldn't help but grin.
She reached out, hooked an arm around Silver Wolf's shoulders, and gave her a pat.
"Don't be mad. Am I the kind of person who'd drag a buddy into deep water?"
"...You already did!"
Silver Wolf tilted her head and chomped down on Sylvia's hand.
Since they were in the game, Sylvia just let her do it.
"Ah, come on. What I actually want is for you to make a device that can block the signals of Herta's puppets."
"Really?"
Silver Wolf shot her a suspicious glance. Was this woman being genuine?
She'd thought Sylvia was going to ask for a full-service package: infiltration, theft, the whole shebang.
"Of course it's true. What kind of person do you take me for? Would I really dump everything on you?"
"..."
Silver Wolf didn't say anything, but her eyes told Sylvia that yes, she absolutely thought that.
Sylvia instantly flushed with frustration.
Fine, fine. So that's the image I have in your eyes.
Seeing Sylvia about to make a move, Silver Wolf, knowing she was in the wrong, quickly spoke up to change the subject:
"Tell me your specific requirements first, and what exactly your plan is for the... acquisition."
--+--
The discussion with Silver Wolf went on for a while.
After logging out of the game, Acheron had already finished washing up and was lying next to her.
Sylvia opened her eyes, saw Acheron beside her, and remembered the last time she was on this starship.
Back then, she and Acheron had only known each other a few days. Resting at night was a solitary affair, since Acheron didn't have the habit of sleeping at all back then.
That she now came back to sleep once every day or two was a habit she'd developed only after being with Sylvia.
Thinking about it, Sylvia even had a sense of 'how things have changed.'
Even though, in truth, not much time had passed at all.
"What is it? You've been staring."
Acheron turned onto her side. The smooth sheets clung to her, outlining a lovely figure.
Sylvia couldn't help but smile and told Acheron what she'd just been thinking.
"Just remembered the last time we were on this ship. You weren't sleeping back then."
Acheron didn't know what had gotten into her. It hadn't been that long ago—was she already getting nostalgic?
Fortunately, her memory was pretty good these days. She hadn't forgotten anything for over a month.
"Sleeping... that's true, I suppose."
Acheron naturally didn't reject sleep as a mechanism for self-relaxation. Before, she simply hadn't slept because sleeping felt worse than staying awake.
But that she had, without really noticing, grown accustomed to sleeping once every day or two—that came from Sylvia.
Sylvia slept every day, sometimes for half the day at a time.
Living with her for this stretch, Acheron had picked up the sleeping habit from Sylvia.
Thinking this, Acheron raised her arms and stretched her body with force. She also recalled a bit more of her experiences with Sylvia.
Then she suddenly asked:
"Speaking of which... you haven't given me a massage in a while, have you?"
Acheron still remembered that time Sylvia had massaged her.
It was that time, too, that she'd finally managed a proper, restful sleep.
Just thinking about that feeling of utter relief now, Acheron still found it incredibly pleasant.
A kind of liberating feeling, as if all worries and responsibilities had been tossed out of her mind.
"Ah... well..."
Sylvia nodded awkwardly.
Back during that period, she'd tested the skill on quite a few people, only to discover that its hidden side effect couldn't be cancelled through technique or any other method.
Which was pretty awkward.
So later on, Sylvia had only given Fu Xuan a few more sessions and never recruited any new 'clients.'
She mostly just used the technique on herself these days.
But then it occurred to her—Acheron and she were pretty close by now.
Plus, this woman had been staring at her during baths every day not long ago, torturing her sense of shame.
If she didn't take this chance to pay her back in spades, then when?
Having figured this out, Sylvia rubbed her hands together and smiled sheepishly.
"It really has been a while. Want to relax a bit, Mei?"
"Is that alright?"
"Of course."
Seeing Sylvia nod, Acheron certainly had no objections.
So Acheron proactively took out the essential oils and ointment Sylvia had made for her back then, took off her clothes, and lay down on her stomach next to Sylvia.
Seeing her so eager, Sylvia rubbed her hands together, spread the ointment on them, and then swung a leg over to straddle Acheron's back.
--+--
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.