Chapter 6 : Request
Chapter 6: Request
Lilia felt like she was about to burn up.
From her ears to her neck, and then every inch of her back that was in contact with Hera, it was all frighteningly hot.
What the hell is this supposed to be?!
“Punishment teaching?”
System, get out here! I swear I won’t beat you to death! This is clearly you abusing your authority for personal revenge—watching the chaos and enjoying it!
Lilia roared crazily in her heart, yet her body was as stiff as a rock, completely imprisoned in Hera’s embrace, unable to move at all.
Behind her came the cool yet soft touch of the Demon Queen, and what lingered at the tip of her nose was that cold yet domineering unique fragrance.
Every breath she took drew that scent deep into her lungs, stirring her mind into unrest.
In the more than twenty years of her life before transmigrating, the closest contact she had ever had with the opposite sex was accidentally falling together with a female teammate during sanda training.
But that brief, sweat-filled collision was completely different from this… being tightly embraced from behind by a powerful, beautiful woman who held absolute control over her life and death.
【Failure Penalty Increased: Endure the Demon Queen Hera’s ‘hands-on’ punishment teaching until you learn.】
The System’s prompt floated coldly before her eyes.
Until… you learn.
Lilia’s whole body trembled as she instantly understood the terror hidden within those few words.
With her current clumsiness, if Hera let go and allowed her to do it herself, she would definitely mess it up again.
And then, Hera would pull her back into her arms once more, “hands-on,” repeating this suffocatingly shameful process.
Again… and again.
Until she learned.
This wasn’t punishment—this was an infinite loop of public execution!
No!
Absolutely not!
Better short pain than long suffering!
A crazy thought formed in Lilia’s mind.
She took a deep breath. The air mixed with Hera’s body fragrance made her scalp tingle. She used all her strength just to keep her voice from trembling too much.
“M-Master…”
Hera’s body, which was holding her, paused for a moment.
Lilia felt that the soft fullness behind her seemed to press even closer.
She closed her eyes and went all in.
“In order… in order to learn faster and meet your standards…”
“P-please… just like this… supervise me as I complete all the cleaning work.”
After saying that, Lilia felt all the strength in her body drain away.
She had actually taken the initiative to request maintaining this shameful posture!
Lin Feng, where the hell is your backbone?! Where is your over twenty years of straight man dignity?!
Gone.
Shattered into pieces long ago.
In front of survival, what the hell is dignity worth?
The bedroom fell into a strange silence.
Through 【Absolute Senses】, Lilia could even clearly “hear” Hera’s steady heartbeat right behind her—calm and powerful.
After what felt like an entire century, Hera’s cold voice finally came from beside her ear.
“Approved.”
The moment she received permission, Lilia instead let out a sigh of relief.
Good. Next was speedrun mode.
“Next target, the bookshelf.”
Within the vision of 【Absolute Senses】, the top of the ten-meter-high bookshelf was crystal clear, even the fine dust hidden within the wood grain gaps.
Hera did not release her. Maintaining the same posture, she half-dragged, half-carried her toward the tall bookshelf.
Lilia felt like a puppet on strings.
Hera held her hand and raised the silver feather duster that was taller than she was.
“Engage your core.”
Hera’s knee pressed lightly against her lower back again.
Lilia jolted, subconsciously straightening her back as her abdominal muscles tightened instantly.
“Relax your wrist. Use finesse, not brute force.”
Cool fingertips lightly tapped her wrist, and a strange magic flowed through the point of contact, causing her tense wrist to relax involuntarily.
Guided by Hera, the feather duster traced an elegant arc.
Those silver feathers seemed to come alive, precisely sweeping across every crevice at the top of the bookshelf, lifting the invisible dust without letting it scatter.
The dust was bound by an invisible force, eventually gathering at the tip of the duster.
The entire process was silent, efficient, and full of rhythm.
Lilia stared in a daze.
This is cleaning? This is performance art!
“Did you understand?” Hera’s voice pulled her back to reality.
“…More or less,” Lilia answered uncertainly.
“Again.”
Hera released control over her wrist, but still held her in her arms, merely returning the control of force to her.
Lilia swallowed and tried to imitate the feeling from before, attempting to swing the feather duster.
“Your wrist is too stiff.”
“The angle is too high.”
“The frequency is wrong.”
Hera’s voice was like an emotionless correction machine, constantly ringing in her ear.
Every time she made a mistake, Hera’s fingers would tap the part where she erred—lightly or heavily—correcting her posture and force application.
From the bookshelf, to the display shelves, to the folds of the curtains—
The entire bedroom became Hera’s mobile classroom.
Lilia went from stiffness, shame, and helplessness at the beginning, to gradually becoming numb.
Her mind was forcibly cleared of all distractions, leaving only Hera’s instructions and the cleaning targets before her.
Under this high pressure, 【Absolute Senses】 was pushed to its limit.
Unknowingly, her movements began to grow smoother.
At first, it took ten reminders from Hera for her to get one action right. Then it became five, three, and eventually, there was even a time when she subconsciously completed an entire wiping sequence without Hera saying a single word.
When she finished wiping the last candlestick and placed it back perfectly in its original position, she belatedly realized that the entire bedroom had already been cleaned once over.
Under Hera’s guidance, she had even folded the blankets and sheets using a special method, leaving not a single wrinkle—edges so sharp they could be used as a ruler.
Lilia was so exhausted she was on the verge of collapse. Sweat soaked the fabric on her back, causing the already thin material to cling tightly to her skin.
And it made the sensation from Hera’s chest even clearer.
【Ding!】
【Daily Mission: Clean the Demon Queen’s bedroom until it is spotless (Demon Queen Supervision Version), Completed!】
【Evaluating mission… Evaluation: Perfect!】
【Congratulations, you have obtained reward: D-Rank Cleaning Magic · Magic Shockwave (Cleaning Version).】
A warm current instantly flowed into Lilia’s body.
Unlike the full-body reconstruction pain when she previously obtained 【Absolute Senses】, this time the power gently flowed into her right hand.
A stream of information instantly appeared in her mind.
How to mobilize magic, how to compress it, and then release it in the form of a harmless shockwave to shake off stubborn dirt attached to surfaces.
She subconsciously spread her palm.
A faint trace of magic gathered in her hand, forming an almost invisible, constantly rotating miniature vortex.
She felt a strange sensation.
As long as she wanted, she could make this vortex erupt outward instantly.
So this is… magic?
Just as she was shocked by this newfound power, the force restraining her from behind finally disappeared.
Hera let go.
Lilia’s body went limp, nearly collapsing to her knees. She hurriedly supported herself against a nearby table to barely remain standing.
The sudden loss of support left a hollow coolness on her back, making her feel somewhat unaccustomed.
She panted heavily, not daring to turn around.
She could sense that Hera was still standing behind her, unmoving.
That powerful aura of magic was like a mountain pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.
The moment of judgment had arrived.
“Stand up.”
Hera’s voice remained cold.
Lilia did not dare delay. Struggling, she straightened her body, lowering her head like a criminal awaiting judgment.
Hera walked past her, slowly moving through the bedroom.
Her steps were light. The black combat boots made no sound as they stepped on the mirror-like obsidian floor.
She stopped before the bookshelf, her slender fingers gliding across its edge.
Spotless.
She moved to the window and lifted the heavy velvet curtains.
Not a trace of stale scent.
Finally, she stood before the massive bed, looking at the sharply folded bedding.
The entire bedroom was terrifyingly quiet.
Lilia’s heart rose to her throat.
She didn’t know whether what she had done met Hera’s twisted standards.
If… if there was even the slightest imperfection, would she have to go through another round of “hands-on teaching”?
At the thought of that possibility, Lilia’s body couldn’t help but tremble.
Hera stopped.
She turned around, looking at the silver-haired girl standing stiffly in place with her head lowered.
The girl’s clothes clung tightly to her body from sweat, outlining a youthful yet already forming graceful figure. Her silver hair stuck messily to her cheeks and neck, and that breathtaking face still carried a lingering blush.
Within those ruby-like eyes were tension, exhaustion, and a barely noticeable… stubbornness.
Like a small beast that had just endured a storm—soaked through, yet still trying its best to stand straight.
A flicker of unreadable light passed through Hera’s golden pupils.
She stepped forward, walking past Lilia toward the bedroom doors.
Just when Lilia thought everything was finally over, Hera stopped at the doorway.
She did not turn back.
A cold voice, carrying the faintest trace of something barely perceptible, drifted over.
“Not completely useless.”
As her words fell, the heavy obsidian doors silently closed.
The luxurious and empty bedroom was left with only Lilia.
She stood there blankly for a long time before finally processing what Hera had said.
Not completely… useless?
Th-this… was that praise?
Coming from that absurdly picky, cleanliness-obsessed Demon Queen, this was more shocking than being directly rewarded with a mountain of gold!
The joy of surviving a disaster, mixed with indescribable complex emotions, instantly flooded her.
Lilia’s legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the cold floor.
Having survived the ordeal, all she wanted now was to lie flat.
Replaying that evaluation of “not completely useless” in her mind—
Her emotions were indescribably complicated.
This Demon Queen… didn’t seem entirely devoid of humanity?