Vol 4. Chapter 150: A Beauty Fresh from the Bath

Aaaaaaaaah!!!

What on earth happened to my house?!

Yumo found it rather difficult to accept that several rooms had suffered such severe damage. She couldn't help raising her hands and clutching her head.

"M-My house... Waaaaah..."

As someone who had once struggled with housing problems for a long time back on Blue Star, Yumo had an inexplicable obsession with having a home of her own.

And yet...

Her first exquisite little wooden house had been destroyed by those damn Braves from the Asumos Church...

Her second luxurious forest villa had suffered severe damage because of Limo and the others playing around...

And now, her third home, or rather, her apartment...

(Since the Black Rose Family had already purchased this apartment, it could technically be considered Miss Yumo's property.)

She hadn't even lived in this third apartment for more than a few days, and it had already suffered such utterly outrageous destruction!

"Who the hell did this?!"

Sensing the lingering auras inside the apartment, a flash of anger appeared in Miss Yumo's eyes. Puffing out her cheeks indignantly, she clenched her fists and hurried downstairs, intending to ask her youngest daughter exactly what had happened inside the apartment.

However...

When Yumo rushed into the living room, she discovered that the enormous room was also completely empty. The little girl who had originally been sitting at the dining table eating had vanished without a trace, causing Yumo to frown.

"Hm? All the food on the table is gone? And Yuan'er...? Where has that child run off to now?"

There didn't seem to be any trace of that child's aura inside the apartment anymore.

Had she gone out again?

Or perhaps... she was in the bedroom?

Feeling puzzled, Yumo headed back upstairs toward her own bedroom.

Since her room was protected by a barrier that blocked perception, and Miss Yumo didn't want to forcibly destroy the barrier and waste magic stones, she simply walked up to the second floor and pushed open her bedroom door.

"Yuan'er? Are you here...?"

However, when she saw the completely silent room, Yumo swallowed the rest of her words.

"Looks like that girl isn't here..."

Besides...

At least her own room had escaped disaster.

Unlike the other rooms, which had been wrecked beyond recognition, her bedroom remained perfectly neat and tidy, filled with an atmosphere of nobility and elegance, along with a touch of girlish charm.

"Hm? What's that?"

While inspecting the room, Yumo unsurprisingly noticed a conspicuous white envelope lying on her desk.

Obviously, there hadn't been any such letter in the room before she left.

Curious, Yumo slowly approached, tore open the envelope, and began reading its contents.

As the words entered her eyes, her crimson pupils contracted slightly.

Hm?

Th-This letter...

Was it left by Yuan'er?

The contents were extremely simple, consisting of only a few sentences.

——"Mommy! I'm not coming home tonight! I'm going to play at Little Meili's place! Also, since Little Meili hasn't eaten yet, I took all the delicious food from the dining table with me! Mommy doesn't need to worry about me! I'm very safe when I'm with Little Meili!"——

At the end of the letter was Yuan'er's signature.

Although the handwriting was crooked and the letter's formatting was completely wrong, it conveyed one very clear piece of information to Yumo.

Her daughter had gone to her best friend's house to play and wouldn't be coming home tonight.

"Enmm... This girl..."

She already spent so much time playing with Little Meili during the day.

And that still wasn't enough?

What a playful little troublemaker...

Leaving me a letter instead of telling me in person... Was she afraid I'd object?

Honestly, this child...

Well, whatever... It's perfectly normal for children her age to be a little playful.

At least compared to Piere and Limo back in the day, Yuan'er knows to come home for a meal and tell me where she's going...

With such a stark comparison in mind, the displeasure in Yumo's heart quickly faded somewhat.

A moment later, Miss Yumo let out a relieved sigh and lovingly placed the first letter Yuan'er had ever written to her into her spatial ring.

"Forget it. It's rare for her to find a friend she can play with without accidentally killing them. I'll just let that child have some fun. Yuan'er is such an obedient girl, so she should know when to stop."

Miss Yumo murmured softly to herself.

And just then...

The bedroom door behind Yumo slowly opened.

"Hm?"

Since there were currently only two people in the apartment, herself and Mengxi, Yumo naturally knew exactly who had opened the door.

With that in mind, Yumo could only sigh somewhat apologetically before slowly turning around.

"Um... Sorry about this. I'll get another room ready for you in a little while. For now, you can just go and... ???!!! Huh?!?!"

However...

Before she could finish speaking...

The moment Yumo fully took in the scene behind her, her words came to an abrupt halt.

She stood rooted to the spot, utterly dumbfounded, as though she had just been struck by five bolts of lightning.

???!!!

"M-Mengxi??"

Gazing at the angelically beautiful girl whose entire body was still dripping wet, with wisps of steam occasionally rising from her skin, Yumo couldn't help trembling all over.

An indescribable fluttering sensation arose in her heart, making her take a slightly nervous, deep breath.

Standing obediently in the doorway...

Was none other than Miss Mengxi, who had just finished bathing.

It had to be said that Mengxi, fresh from the bath, was like a lotus emerging from clear water, pure and breathtakingly beautiful.

Compared to her usual appearance, she now possessed an additional touch of ethereal beauty, as though she were a fairy untouched by the mortal world.

In particular, those large eyes of hers were as sparkling and translucent as purple diamonds, yet as pure and clear as the icy lakes of a snow-covered plateau.

Her delicately arched eyebrows resembled willow leaves, and her long eyelashes trembled ever so slightly.

A faint rosy blush glowed beneath her flawless, snow-white skin, while her delicate lips were as tender and alluring as rose petals, making one feel an irresistible urge to bite them.

This extraordinarily beautiful girl had nothing covering her delicate body except a thin bath towel.

Her smooth, snow-white skin and exquisite, alluring figure were faintly visible through the rising steam and beneath the white towel.

Moreover, unlike her usual self, the silver-haired girl seemed so embarrassed by her scant clothing that not a trace of her former confident and heroic bearing remained.

Her pretty little face was flushed bright red.

One hand pressed tightly against her chest to prevent the bath towel from slipping, while the other tugged the towel downward as far as possible, desperately trying to conceal the maiden's secret garden.

Her legs were clamped tightly together, and she had even turned her toes inward out of embarrassment...

It had to be admitted that this picture of a beauty emerging from the bath was simply perfect.

Her sensual figure and enticing movements, combined with the faintly visible steam and the droplets of water trickling from the tips of her hair and down her long, snow-white legs, created a sight so breathtakingly seductive that it could practically give someone a nosebleed.

It was simply irresistible.

Even Miss Yumo, who was already quite familiar with Mengxi's body, couldn't help blushing slightly as she stood there in a daze.

So...

"So cute..."

Yumo couldn't help sighing in admiration inwardly.

However...

After admiring her for a brief moment, Yumo's brows suddenly furrowed.

Looking at Mengxi's soaking-wet silver-white hair and the large expanses of snow-white skin exposed to the air, Yumo bit her lip in displeasure.

"What on earth are you doing, you silly girl?! You haven't even dried your hair, and you've come running over here without putting on any clothes! Are you trying to catch a cold?!"

Unconsciously...

It was as though she had returned to their days together in the Great Winter Forest.

Once again, Yumo began treating Mengxi like a delicate little sister who needed looking after.

Back then, Mengxi had been just like a child. Every time she finished bathing, she would run around completely naked, giving Yumo quite a headache.

"Sigh..."

With a sigh, Miss Yumo casually picked up a towel from the bed and quickly walked over to Mengxi.

Then, with practiced ease, she began drying the other girl's beautiful hair.

"You're the Child of Destiny, for goodness' sake! How can you run around dressed like this?! Even if there's nobody else nearby, you still shouldn't do that!"

"But..."

Faced with Yumo's 'scolding,' Mengxi lowered her head somewhat aggrievedly and stared at her own delicate, fair feet.

Her pitiful, bashful expression was so soft and vulnerable that it was almost impossible to describe the tenderness and protective affection it inspired.

"I don't want to be like this either... But..."

"But what?"

"I... I don't have any clothes to wear... And Sister Yumo took away my only school uniform... So that's why..."

"Huh??"

Hearing this, Yumo finally revealed a look of sudden realization.

Come to think of it...

That really is the case, isn't it?!

Mengxi's dormitory was blown up... and that's why she came here to stay with me...

Under those circumstances, where would she get a change of clothes?!

When I pushed her into the bathroom earlier, I completely forgot about that?!

For a moment...

Yumo awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

The displeasure in her crimson eyes was instantly replaced by guilt.

"S-Sorry... I forgot about that..."

"Then... Sister Yumo... do you have any other clothes here?"