Chapter 12 : If you lose, you’ll be forced to do *that*

“Uwaaah X﹏X”

In the end, Qianya was still dragged onto the soft bed.

Before she could even struggle, Zero hugged her tightly from behind.

Then, through the thin fabric, Zero kept kneading the two little buns over and over.

“Nnah, Zero… let go of me quick… eh?”

Qianya futilely pushed at Zero’s arms, then suddenly realized…

Zero’s eyes were closed!

This girl… was sleepwalking?!

No wonder she didn’t respond when called earlier (´-﹏-`；)

Qianya let out a sigh.

As a veteran who had dealt with Zero’s sleepwalking many times before, she knew the only way to wake her up was—

Qianya took a deep breath. While Zero’s attention was still on her buns, she quietly reached back and accurately grabbed the tip of the black cat tail hanging at Zero’s waist.

Qianya gritted her teeth and tugged with a bit of force.

“Nyaa?!!”

The next second, Zero shot up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, fur standing on end. She stared wide-eyed at Qianya, completely shocked.

Her pajamas were already a mess from all the rubbing, collar slipped down to reveal delicate collarbones, a few strands of long black hair falling across her cheeks…

Anyone who didn’t know better would think they’d just finished a battle (not).

“Qian…?”

Zero blinked in confusion.

“Finally awake QAQ”

Qianya hurriedly scrambled off the bed and fixed her disheveled maid outfit.

Zero stared at her for a few seconds, then looked down at her own messy clothes.

At this point… might as well go back to sleep ( )

Zero shook her head like she hadn’t fully woken up, said nothing, and flopped back onto the bed. She pulled the blanket over her head, and within seconds her breathing evened out again.

Qianya: “…?”

She actually fell asleep again!

“Wait, don’t sleep yet! Tell me if you still have any cheeseburgers first Σ(っ °Д °;)っ”

…No response from Zero.

“I… uwaaah…”

Qianya stood by the bed, watching Zero sleep peacefully, and rubbed her forehead.

Why are both of them such heavy sleepers QAQ

♡♡♡

Now she couldn’t get any snacks from Zero.

Qianya’s little tummy started growling.

“Nn… this is bad…”

She rubbed her stomach, feeling wronged.

The bread Iris gave her wasn’t nearly enough, Zero was no help, Luko wasn’t awake, and Vivian probably wouldn’t wake until noon…

Looked like she’d have to fend for herself (ー`´ー)

Since there was no food at home, why not… go out and buy some?

The moment the idea appeared, it refused to leave.

The capital’s food scene was incredibly developed.

Qianya remembered there was a barbecue place near the café, and a milk tea shop around the corner—technically her competitors.

There was definitely no shortage of food nearby.

“Let’s do that (º﹃º)”

Qianya clenched her fist and quietly slipped out of Zero’s room.

After tiptoeing downstairs, she saw the living room was empty.

Perfect.

Iris was probably still busy in the kitchen—this was the best time to sneak out.

Qianya hurried to the front door and reached for the handle…

But the instant her hand touched the door, a green magical barrier suddenly flared from the frame like an invisible wall.

“W-What’s going on… mm-eh?!”

Green glowing vines suddenly appeared on the wall, wrapping around her wrists, ankles, waist, and chest.

“Waaah, what is this (〃д〃)”

Those spots were all bound. Qianya’s face turned bright red.

The vines didn’t care about her embarrassment and ruthlessly flung her backward!

“Ouch X﹏X!” Qianya hit the floor.

“What the heck…”

The white-haired, heterochromatic girl rubbed her butt as she got up, staring blankly at the faint green barrier at the door.

“What is this Σ( ° △ °|||)︴?”

It looked like some kind of magical ward?

Where did a ward come from?

“Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”

Iris’s cold, questioning voice came from behind.

Qianya turned to see Iris standing at the stairs, arms crossed, staring at her.

“Iris… don’t tell me this barrier is—”

“Hmph~”

Iris raised a brow, walked over, and touched the light green barrier. Ripples spread across it.

“I set this up yesterday. The moment you get close, vines bind you and throw you back…”

Huh?

That shouldn’t be right. How do Iris and the others get in and out?

Qianya: …Wait a second!

“This thing only targets me ∑(°口°๑)”

Qianya’s mouth fell open.

“Yep, just to stop you from sneaking out. You think I’d give you the chance to escape?”

Iris crossed her arms, looking a little smug.

“You—I wasn’t trying to escape!”

Qianya instantly bristled.

“I just wanted to go buy food! Is that necessary?”

“Food? Hmm… there’s still bread in the kitchen.”

Iris raised a finger.

“More bread, uwaaah X﹏X”

Qianya’s eyes turned to X’s.

“I don’t want that. It’s not even filling… I want to go buy real food ˃ʍ˂”

Qianya protested loudly.

“No way (ー`´ー)”

Iris rejected again.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re so weak right now. What if someone kidnaps you the moment you step outside? Stay obediently in the café.”

Qianya: Excuses, all excuses. She just wants to keep me locked up QAQ

She refused to believe Iris actually cared.

“Enough! I used to be your master. Don’t underestimate me (ﾉ｀⊿´)ﾉ”

“Master?”

Iris sneered, eyes full of mockery.

“Get over yourself. Before the café even opened—mining, quests… every way we made money relied on the four of us. What can you do? Besides sipping tea and ordering us around, what else are you good at? On your own, you probably couldn’t even earn enough for a meal.”

The elf looked at Qianya with pure disdain.

“You—”

Those words stabbed straight into Qianya’s heart like a knife.

She froze, then her face turned bright red—not from embarrassment, but from rage (annoyed).

“You jerk! What if I can earn money?!”

“…Oh?”

Iris raised a brow, suddenly interested.

“Interesting. Want to prove yourself? Then let’s make a bet.”

“…A bet?”

Qianya blinked.

“That’s right. I’ll give you one day—from now until sunset. If you can earn enough for one day’s meals, I’ll remove the barrier and let you come and go freely from now on.”

Iris said slowly.

One day’s meal money?

Qianya put her hands on her hips and grinned confidently. Piece of cake.

“Bet accepted~”

“Don’t celebrate yet. If you fail, you have to promise me one thing.”

Iris added with a smile.

“Thing? What thing?”

Qianya swallowed nervously.

A bad feeling… Iris’s expression was too suspicious. It definitely wasn’t anything good.

“You’ll find out when the time comes. It’ll be something very embarrassing.”

“E-Embarrassing Σ( ° △ °|||)︴”

“What, scared to bet?”

Iris crossed her arms and looked down at the cute little Qianya.

“Who’s scared!”

Qianya gritted her teeth.

Even knowing there might be a trap, she couldn’t back down.

“Fine, we bet! It’s just earning meal money—I can definitely do it!”

“Very good~”

Iris nodded in satisfaction, then pulled a copper coin from her pocket and tossed it to Qianya.

“Your starting capital. Use it wisely.”

“Nn…”

Qianya caught the coin and clenched it tight, feeling a little nervous.

She had never earned money with a girl’s body before…

But for the right to come and go freely, to prove she wasn’t useless!

Qianya: I will win (ﾟﾍﾟ)

With that, Qianya prepared to head out.

“Wait, one more thing.”

Iris stopped her.

“What?”

“No earning money with your body (ー`´ー)”

“I-I wasn’t going to ≧﹏≦”

Qianya’s face turned red as she protested.

She hadn’t even thought of that.

Qianya: Nn… but…

She lowered her head, blushing, and glanced at her own soft little buns.

Qianya: They say that kind of thing feels really good for girls… is that true? (thinking)

Maybe it was unintentional.

But Iris had indeed planted the seed of a very bold idea in Qianya’s mind ( )