"Demonfolk?"

Ariel’s gaze sharpened. She immediately put her hand behind her back, gripped her sword hilt, and took a guarded stance.

The environment was dim. Even with magic providing light, the flowing water obscured most of that person’s features. On top of her current dangerous situation, Ariel was especially cautious.

"No."

But she reacted quickly.

"It’s a human!"

There was no demonic aura, no horns on the head, and those pale arms that occasionally rose and sank with the ripples all proclaimed the other party’s human identity.

"And it’s a woman!"

Ariel strode over.

She still didn’t let her guard drop easily. First she circled along the riverbank, leaving flames for illumination in every blind corner and dark spot. Then she took out a spherical magic tool from her storage ring and threw it into the river.

The spherical device spun around in the water and returned to Ariel’s hand.

"Good. No ambush, no trap."

Ariel let out a breath. "There aren’t even traces that someone’s been here... Was she washed down from upstream? Or... no, now’s not the time to think about that. Save her first!"

Splash—Ariel jumped into the river.

The water only reached her waist and back, but it was far more icy and bone-piercing than she’d expected. Ariel waded to the other side of the river bend, grabbed the woman—who had been stopped at just the right moment by a large rock in the current—and in quick, efficient motions dragged her up onto the bank.

For Ariel in her usual condition, that would’ve been an easy action. But after she got up, she still bared her teeth slightly—her freshly bandaged wounds had been pulled, and the pain stabbed straight through her.

"Good. She’s alive."

But Ariel had no time to care about such small problems. When she’d grabbed the other woman’s wrist just now, she’d felt a pulse. It was extremely weak, but at least it meant she was alive.

Alive was good.

Ariel hurriedly gathered up the flames she’d used to probe the area and tossed a few stones in, using them as fuel.

There was no firewood here, so she could only use Divine Favor. Divine Favor didn’t consume magic power, but it did consume the user’s stamina.

And for Ariel right now, stamina was something even more precious than magic power.

But she had to light this fire.

For a girl who’d lost consciousness and had been soaking in cold water for who knew how long, the warmth from a flame could save her life.

After the fire was lit—and after Ariel set up warning magic tools at every narrow passage around the cave—she returned and finally had the time to properly look at the woman she’d rescued.

She was tall and long-limbed, a little taller than an average woman. Her clothes were somewhat torn, but they still covered most of her body, failing to legally reveal any gorgeous spring scenery.

Even so, her exposed arms and thighs were still pale and alluring enough that Ariel stared for a moment without realizing it.

And most importantly...

"Blond hair?"

She had an eye-catching head of long golden hair. Even though the water had plastered it down, messy against her face, it still hadn’t lost its luster or softness.

Ariel’s most hated thing in this life was blond hair. And the thing she liked most... was also blond hair.

She hated it because of a certain damn yellow-haired Muen Campbell. The things that bastard had done to her were infuriating enough that now, if she saw some yellow-haired punk on the street, she wanted to drag him over and beat him to a pulp.

As for liking it...

Her childhood friend, her former conquest target—the frog who’d been stewing in a big pot for ten years, only to now fall into the clutches of that yellow-haired devil’s hands—Liya... also had beautiful platinum-blond long hair.

And aside from Liya, recently there was another beauty who made her heart move, whose fate felt so uncanny that Ariel couldn’t help thinking it might be some kind of destiny... Miss [N O V E L I G H T] Muse.

That dazzling, unforgettable golden wavy hair of hers still lingered in Ariel’s mind.

"But is this a coincidence, or...?"

Ariel’s heart thumped.

A very immature thought suddenly flashed through her mind—absurdly low probability, yet not completely impossible.

Could it be...

"No. No way..."

Ariel swallowed hard.

No—no matter what, if it really was that, then this was way too coincidental.

The Abyss was so huge. Gutongs Castle was so huge. Even this underground cave space was huge as well.

If you scattered a hundred people across places like this, they might never meet each other for an entire lifetime.

So even if she really had been captured into the demonfolk’s main territory as well, it still shouldn’t be possible...

"J-just... just take a look first..."

Ariel reached out with a slightly trembling hand and slowly lifted the long hair that lay in messy strands across the woman’s face, hiding her features.

And then... she trembled even harder. For a moment, her breathing even sped up sharply.

Because...

"It’s actually real..."

That face.

That revealed, breathtaking beauty.

Even though she was bloodless right now, pale as paper, with her brows tightly furrowed... Ariel could never mistake her.

The fragile, flowerlike beauty before her—so delicate it made one involuntarily feel endless pity...

It was Miss Muse. The Miss Muse she’d been thinking about nonstop!

"H-how... how can there really be a coincidence like this in the world?!"

Ariel couldn’t help clutching her wildly pounding heart.

A hundred people could wander through this enormous Gutongs Castle for a lifetime and never meet each other.

But in just a single day’s difference, she’d run into Miss Muse—the very person she’d been about to go search for!

And when she connected it with those earlier chance encounters, those coincidences... if this wasn’t fate’s arrangement, then what was?

Ariel took out her voice-transmission stone. Feeling that frequency inside it—the one she could dial at any time—she couldn’t help drifting into sweet fantasies...

Could it be that her crystal palace was finally going to...

"No. Now’s not the time for that. I have to save her first!"

Ariel jolted awake from her endless pink daydreams.

For that one instant, she’d practically already planned how she and Miss Muse would spend the most wonderful night... but there were priorities. If anything happened to Miss Muse, then nothing wonderful would happen afterward.

So Ariel, who had been acting with ease before, immediately panicked.

"Body temperature—first I have to keep her warm..."

She made the flames burn stronger, but that still wasn’t enough.

Ariel took out some of the stones she’d been heating in the fire, then quickly dug up a lot of dry sand and buried those stones—now so hot they were almost melting—under the sand. Finally, she covered the sand with a blanket.

Just like that, a simple heated bed was complete.

Ariel carefully lifted Miss Muse in a princess carry and laid her onto the bed.

"Next... did Miss Muse just drown? Do I need to do CPR, and... and mouth-to-mouth?"

Ariel’s cheeks instantly flushed. Even though her qi and blood were depleted to the extreme, she suddenly felt as if blood was surging through her veins. Her heart thumped like a war drum.

"I-I’m not groping her. I’m saving her!"

After all, her battle qi and magic power were both depleted—she could only use this kind of primitive first-aid method, right? 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Ariel turned and knelt astride Miss Muse’s lower abdomen.

It was firmer than she expected—she probably trained regularly.

From this angle, Miss Muse’s figure looked even more striking. Not only was she tall and long-limbed, the outline of her full curves was perfect—like an arc carved by hand.

Ariel took a few deep breaths again.

I’m just saving her...

I’m just saving her...

I’m just saving her...

"That’s right. I’m just saving her!"

After building herself up mentally, Ariel suddenly bent down, used a standard posture, and pressed both hands down hard on Miss Muse’s chest.

"Huh?"

Ariel froze.

It felt... like something was off.

Miss Muse’s chest... why was it so firm?

It didn’t have anything like the soft sensation of Liya’s big-milk-cow softness that Ariel had secretly touched before. Instead it felt like pressing on marble—solid and powerful.

Was this also because of training?

Ariel had only ever touched her own and Liya’s in this regard—she was too inexperienced to say for sure.

"It’s fine. I like firm and powerful too. It’s just that if it’s like this, CPR is harder... Should I skip that step first?"

Ariel’s gaze suddenly fell on Miss Muse’s lips—clearly soft at a glance.

Her mouth went dry all at once. Even though those lips were so pale right now, they still carried some kind of alluring magic.

"Gulp..."

Ariel swallowed hard again.

"I’m not groping her, I’m not groping her, I’m not groping her..."

That’s right—she was also doing this to save someone, like rescuing a cursed princess!

After building herself up again, Ariel gently pinched Miss Muse’s cute little nose, gently pried her lips apart, and then—

Smack.

A crisp slap rang out.

Ariel slowly straightened up, a huge handprint stamped on her face, her expression full of indignation.

She had slapped herself.

"What the hell am I doing?! Aren’t I just groping her?!"

Actually, the moment her hand had gone to Miss Muse’s chest, Ariel had already noticed that Miss Muse’s breathing and heartbeat were normal—just weak. And the reason she’d been deceiving herself and going with the flow like this was entirely because...

She coveted Miss Muse’s body. She was shameless!

"No. Taking advantage of someone isn’t something a hero who saves beauties should do. What I want to conquer isn’t Miss Muse’s body—it’s her heart!"

She’d read so many great romances. Was it really just so she could grope someone?

No!

It was to conquer girls’ hearts!

A crystal palace that girls entered willingly—that was a real crystal palace!

Taking a girl’s chastity before taking her feelings—that was the despicable thing only yellow-hairs did.

She was a pure-love war god!!!

"In... out..."

Adjusting her breathing, Ariel calmed down and got off Miss Muse again.

In fact, she could already tell that Miss Muse probably wasn’t in immediate danger anymore, because the life force inside her body was gradually recovering.

Slowly, but there should still be some distance from death.

It was just that, like Ariel herself, she seemed to have suffered extremely serious injuries.

Because even though it wasn’t obvious on the surface, that overly pale skin—like it had just grown back—and the bloodstained clothes that were still covered in marks even after being washed by the current... all of it spoke of the kind of battle and torment she’d endured.

"What a tough girl... that hits my exact strike zone even harder."

A slight curve lifted at Ariel’s lips.

Unfortunately, her Delusion-Breaking Eye had suffered backlash earlier when she stared directly at the Enchantress Grand Duke, and she couldn’t use it for now. Otherwise, she could’ve analyzed Miss Muse’s injuries through the Delusion-Breaking Eye’s “seeing through” ability.

So now... she could only treat her in a gentler way.

Ariel took out some medicine meant to replenish qi, blood, and life force, and for the time being fed it to Miss Muse.

When it felt like Miss Muse’s breathing became steadier, Ariel finally let her heart settle.

"Your brows are knitted so tightly... you’re missing someone too, aren’t you."

After doing that, Ariel crouched beside Miss Muse, gently smoothed the tight furrow between her brows, and said softly,

"Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you the whole time..."