After spending two days with Firefly on the vacation planet, their little date came to an end.
After all, Firefly was still a member of the Stellaron Hunters and had missions to attend to.
Unlike Sylvia, who was something of a free spirit, idling her days away without a care.
After parting ways, Sylvia decided her next destination would be her place on the Xianzhou.
She'd heard from March 7th that the Astral Express was preparing to depart. As for the next stop—though it hadn't been finalized yet—it was definitely heading to the Xianzhou.
Sylvia arrived early because she intended to visit Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan first.
She wanted to borrow some texts related to Permanence, but such things were likely only held by the Vidyadhara.
So it'd probably be easier if Jing Yuan helped facilitate it.
Of course, Sylvia didn't teleport back directly. The unmanned spacecraft was responsible for sending passengers home.
It's just that Firefly's line of work was rather special, so she didn't opt for that service and teleported back instead.
Sylvia didn't mind either way, so to save some credits, she chose to return by ship.
The only thing was, the trip back felt a bit lonely with just herself for company.
And so—
"Help me, Big Sister Acheron~"
"…?"
Since she'd been summoned so abruptly, Acheron initially thought Sylvia had run into trouble and needed backup.
The moment she appeared, her long blade was already drawn, her hair shifting to white.
But as she landed, that restrained killing intent found no enemy—instead, she saw Sylvia lounging in a swimsuit, leaning over the edge of a large pool.
"Mei~"
Sylvia rested against the hot spring's edge, tilting her head back slightly and squinting up at Acheron.
Wrapped in the rising steam, Sylvia's dewy little face was flushed, looking utterly tempting.
"…Where are we?"
"On a starship headed to the Xianzhou. I was feeling a bit bored all alone, so I thought I'd call you over for a soak."
Sylvia raised a hand and waved at Acheron.
"You… gave me a scare. I thought you'd run into another Emanator."
Seeing Sylvia was fine, Acheron sheathed her blade, her hair fading back to its usual color.
"It's not that easy to run into Emanators, and didn't I tell you? I was vacationing on a tropical resort planet."
Acheron shook her head with a soft smile, undoing her coat and then her long boots.
With only Sylvia around, she didn't have any reservations.
"Here, there's a swimsuit ready for you over there. Unless you'd prefer not to wear one?"
As she unfastened her buttons, revealing a figure with beautifully defined muscles, Acheron glanced back at Sylvia.
Her gaze cut through the water and mist, taking Sylvia in from head to toe.
"I'll wear the swimsuit. You picked it out thinking you'd get to see me in it, didn't you?"
The one set aside for her was nearly the same color as Sylvia's hair.
Clearly chosen with care.
Not wearing it would feel like a waste of Sylvia's thoughtful gesture.
"Okay but, why does that sound a bit odd coming from you?"
Sylvia leaned on the pool's edge, shamelessly peeking up at Acheron as she changed.
Had to admit—
Acheron's already stunning proportions looked even more striking from this angle. Those long legs seemed endless, utterly captivating.
Once changed, Acheron turned slightly, hooking a finger under the edge of her swimsuit to adjust it, then looked down to meet Sylvia's eyes.
And the phone Sylvia was holding, its camera aimed right at her.
"What are you looking at?"
"Looking at how good you look."
Click—
Sylvia made no effort to hide that she was snapping a photo of Acheron in her swimsuit.
Then Acheron crouched down, pressed a hand on Sylvia's head, and snatched the phone away.
The first photo in the album was the one just taken of her.
The side profile perfectly highlighted Acheron's elegant curves, and the gesture of tugging at her swimsuit edge added a hint of allure.
The low-angle shot further emphasized her nearly perfect legs.
"…"
Holding Sylvia down with one hand, Acheron silently studied the photo for a moment.
Well, it was actually a pretty good shot. Even Acheron had to nod slightly in approval.
Then she sent a copy to her own phone.
"Ahem, can you let me go now?"
Pinned down by Acheron, Sylvia couldn't lift her gaze, leaving her staring at Acheron's lower half as she crouched.
Made it hard to let her eyes wander.
"Mmm…"
Acheron made a soft sound, about to release Sylvia when her finger casually swiped the screen.
The phone's display shifted to a photo with Firefly.
"Oh?"
Acheron's eyes shifted slightly. She swiped again and found many more photos—some with Firefly, some of Firefly alone.
"So this is the one who pilots the Stellaron Hunter Sam?"
She lowered the phone, showing a picture of Firefly smiling brightly, hands spread wide, playing with sparklers.
"Ah, yeah… that's her."
Though her tone was casual, Sylvia couldn't help feeling a sudden wave of pressure.
"Quite a pretty girl. Doesn't quite match the image of that Stellaron Hunter."
As she spoke, Acheron let go of Sylvia, then sat on the edge of the spring, dipping only her legs into the water.
Sylvia quickly sat up and settled beside Acheron, lest she get pinned down again.
She reached for her phone, but Acheron moved it just out of reach.
"What?"
Sylvia looked at her, bewildered.
It's my phone!
What do you think?
But Acheron seemed to ignore Sylvia's silent protest, pressing Sylvia's wrist down instead.
Then she went back to scrolling through the photos from Sylvia's date with Firefly.
Seeing how things were, Sylvia simply gave up. Fine, look all you want. They're just some swimsuit photos anyway, what's the big deal.
After a moment, Acheron suddenly spoke:
"No new accessories this time?"
"Huh?"
Sylvia paused, then turned to Acheron, realizing she meant the ritual.
Why hadn't she performed it with Firefly this time?
And her tone was as casual as asking if she'd had lunch.
"Nah, this trip was just for fun. Besides… you don't like it, right."
"…"
Acheron shook her head slightly, handing the phone back to Sylvia.
"That's your way of gaining power. I do have some reservations—after all, rings carry special meaning in my homeland. But you don't need to worry too much about how I feel."
"Did you recover more memories?!"
When Sylvia heard this, her first thought wasn't overanalysis—just excitement that Acheron's amnesia might be improving. Though it was also possible Acheron had remembered all along.
The joy and concern in her voice were impossible to hide.
Seeing Sylvia like this, Acheron's lips curved into an unconscious smile:
"I did remember a bit more, yes. But not much."
"Hooray~"
Sylvia was thrilled for Acheron, but it also crossed her mind that this likely meant Acheron had grown even stronger.
--+--
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.