stjorthotic Chapter 254 : The Saintess Has a Secret
Chapter 254 : The Saintess Has a Secret
Celitia watched helplessly as Ariel's face approached hers bit by bit, her exhaled breath brushing past her nose tip, stirring up a tingling sensation.No good, too close...!
Instinctively, Celitia forcefully pushed her away.
Ariel was caught off guard, swaying from the push and stepping back half a step before steadying herself.
Noticing Ariel's confused gaze, Celitia faltered and quickly explained:
"No need—whether I have a fever isn't important. A night's rest will make it better."
Celitia felt quite contradicted herself.
This morning, Shanie had also tested her temperature with her forehead, and Celitia hadn't felt anything wrong then.
Why did it feel too close and overly intimate when it was Ariel?
It was all that stinking old man's fault—his words made her paranoid!
Celitia secretly gritted her teeth.
Ariel stood frozen in place, and after a while, she somewhat understood.
Had she just been... a bit inappropriate?
Perhaps ordinary friends shouldn't behave this way?
Ariel had almost no same-sex friends, so she had no idea what distance was considered normal.
Right, maybe she should think from a different angle.
For instance, if Sophia were present and saw her acting this way, she'd probably be furious, right?
Yes, that was the reason.
She had to find a way to develop a set of behavior and social distance appropriate for ordinary friends...
Ariel couldn't help but ponder deeply.
Perhaps thinking too seriously, Ariel didn't notice the inexplicable deep sense of loss rising in her chest.
The two looked at each other, but their gazes drifted far away, neither focusing on the other, each lost in their own thoughts.
At this moment, Judy came over carrying hot tea, took Celitia's hand, and placed the teacup in her palm.
"Drink some hot tea to warm your body—please don't collapse again."
Her interruption brought both back to their senses.
"Thank you."
Celitia held the black tea and took a small sip.
"Then rest early," Ariel coughed lightly. "Don't forget, tomorrow morning you're going to the old village site to search for ruins. Right, since we're planning to go, we need to prepare well—absolutely can't let the plan get disrupted!"
Celitia felt Ariel made sense and nodded in agreement.
"Then I'll go wash up and rest early tonight."
Silently watching the girl's departing figure, Ariel unconsciously lost herself in thought for a long time.
The next day.
Having gone to bed early and rested well through the night, when Celitia woke up, she felt her body had indeed recovered considerably.
As she opened her door, Celitia saw Ariel emerging from the guest room across the hall.
"Good morning, Ariel." Celitia smiled and greeted her.
Unlike the energetic Celitia, Ariel had large dark circles under her eyes.
Looking at that slightly haggard face, Celitia couldn't help but laugh:
"What's wrong? Didn't sleep well last night?"
Being exposed face-to-face, Ariel felt very embarrassed:
"Maybe... maybe because I wasn't used to it, so I didn't sleep well."
She randomly made up an excuse.
The real reason was that all night, Ariel had been pondering exactly what constituted normal distance for ordinary friends.
Thinking and thinking, she thought too much and accidentally suffered from insomnia.
If Celitia knew, she'd definitely laugh at her...
Feeling she was obsessing over unnecessary things, Ariel's cheeks couldn't help but flush slightly.
"Not used to it?" Celitia tilted her head.
Impossible—if Ariel still had trouble with unfamiliar beds that prevented sleep, she might as well never leave home. How could she have fought with her on battlefields for so many years?
Hmm, so the Saintess had a secret?
What kind of secret?
Still giving Ariel some face, Celitia didn't continue pressing.
"You go down first—breakfast should be about ready." Celitia changed the subject. "I need to wake up Shanie and Benita."
Those two had played until very late yesterday—Celitia didn't even know when they'd returned.
Having been classmates for several months, Celitia knew their sleep habits somewhat.
With those two having such fun last night, expecting them to wake up according to plan the next morning was simply impossible.
Celitia declared that the set plan absolutely could not be disrupted!
Everyone had to obediently get up!!
Ariel nodded and headed downstairs.
Before long, she heard Shanie's agonized screams upon waking echo throughout the house.
She was indeed somewhat like Sophia.
Silently sipping her black tea, Ariel mentally gave Celitia a thumbs up.
For dealing with these bed-clinging fools, strong measures were necessary!
Moments later, Celitia came downstairs first, followed by Shanie and Benita floating like ghosts.
"Are you really okay like this?" Ariel was both amused and exasperated. "According to your plan, you're supposed to explore the village ruins later."
"Adventure, right, adventure!"
Shanie bounced up as if injected with adrenaline, instantly transforming from drowsy confusion to high spirits.
"It's treasure! I see treasure beckoning to me!!"
Benita covered her face, sighing: "Maybe we should go tomorrow instead..."
The three turned around in unison, saying together: "No way!!"
Two who hated disrupted plans most, and one who got overexcited...
Benita, tragic.
After breakfast, even the most dispirited Benita had recovered some energy.
Shanie was boundlessly energetic, carrying two shovels from the family tool shed.
In Shanie's thinking, since they were exploring ruins, they might need to dig holes, so shovels were naturally necessary!
Seeing Shanie's overexcitement, the other three didn't dampen her enthusiasm.
The second shovel went to Benita, who looked disgusted but ultimately accepted it.
The four prepared for a while, packed their things, brought the golden cup, and set off for the old village site.
When they reached the ruins entrance, Celitia felt that the strange energy she had originally sensed was almost completely gone.
In its place were traces of sacred power remaining from the church's purification ritual.
Ariel surveyed the surroundings and was quite satisfied:
"Good results—the abnormalities here have been basically cleared. Our whole night of hard work wasn't wasted."
Before departing to explore the old village site, Annie, as the former local boss, naturally came along too.
Perched on Celitia's shoulder, Annie clearly heard Ariel's words.
Old and new grievances surged up, and Annie almost jumped onto Ariel to give her a good bite.