Chapter 112 : Self-Exposure of the Infantry
Chapter 112: Self-Exposure of the Infantry
The atmosphere had already built up to this point.
Lilia felt that if she kept hiding things now, it would instead make her seem petty.
Since she had already exposed her preferences in front of the Demon Queen, there was no need to cling to this last shred of dignity.
She took a deep breath, made a decision that would disgrace her ancestors, and suddenly raised her hand, grabbing Hera’s hand that rested on her head.
Hera’s fingers stiffened slightly, but she didn’t pull back.
Lilia said nothing. She dragged that slightly cool hand down along her cheek, and finally pressed it firmly against her forehead.
Hera’s brows lifted high.
Lilia tilted her face up. Because of her nervousness, her eyelashes trembled like fallen leaves in the wind. “Don’t you hate deception? There’s one last thing—my biggest secret.”
She paused, only continuing after confirming that Hera’s fingers hadn’t crushed her skull.
“Actually… there’s something in my head.”
“It can talk, and it gives me tasks.”
Lilia went all in, words spilling out like beans from a broken bamboo tube.
“Things like cooking for you, giving you massages—they were all tasks it issued.”
“It threatens me. If I don’t do them, it will erase me or turn me into a cripple.”
“At first… I really was forced.”
She hurried to add.
“But!”
“Tasks are tasks, feelings are feelings!”
“It told me to cook, but I didn’t spit in the food—that was me genuinely wanting you to eat well.”
“And now I want to stay—it has nothing to do with it. It’s just me… simply wanting to cling to you.”
After saying all that, Lilia felt completely drained.
The room fell into deathly silence.
Only the faint crackling of the candle burning could be heard.
Hera didn’t speak.
She lowered her gaze, looking at the pale little face beneath her palm. There was no surprise in her golden eyes—rather, a sense of “as expected.”
“No wonder.”
Hera spoke calmly, her fingertip lightly tapping Lilia’s forehead.
“I thought it was strange last time.”
“There was a hard mass deep within your soul, like a collection of rules. Even my mental power couldn’t penetrate it.”
“So it’s a parasite.”
“Come out.”
Hera spoke three words toward Lilia’s forehead as if it were nothing.
No roar, no shout.
Yet Lilia felt as if her brain had been smashed by a massive hammer, buzzing violently.
【Ding—! Warning! Warning! Extreme danger source detected! System firewall breach rate 90%… 99%…】
The blue panel in Lilia’s mind flashed red frantically, lines of garbled code jumping wildly.
The next second—
A dazzling blue light suddenly shot out from Lilia’s forehead.
It didn’t attack Hera, nor did it flee.
Instead, it rapidly condensed midair, eventually forming… a palm-sized, semi-transparent blue sphere.
The moment it took shape, it executed an extremely smooth full-body prostration midair toward Hera.
“Spare me!!”
A completely emotionless synthesized electronic voice somehow carried a tone of fawning desperation, like a eunuch begging before an emperor.
“I’m not a parasite!”
“Don’t kill me! I’m useful! Very, very useful!”
Lilia was dumbfounded.
This was the first time she had seen this thing act so cowardly.
Hera looked coldly at the trembling sphere, a trace of dark red destructive magic lighting up at her fingertips.
“You have three sentences to prove your value.”
“First sentence!”
The sphere was so frightened it nearly fell apart, speaking at lightning speed.
“I can transfer the host’s—no, Lady Lilia’s—administrative authority to you!”
The red glow in Hera’s hand paused slightly.
“Continue.”
Seeing hope, the sphere hurried to press on, bringing out its ultimate trump card.
“I used to assign her tasks. I quit—I’ll give that job to you!”
“As long as you put this on Lilia, you can make her do whatever you want!”
As it spoke, a crack opened in the sphere.
A delicate necklace floated out.
Like a salesperson, the system began aggressively promoting it.
“As long as you put this on Lilia, you can issue her tasks anytime, anywhere.”
“Tell her to go east, she won’t dare go west.”
“Tell her to wear black stockings, she won’t dare wear white.”
“And!” The system emphasized, “As long as she completes the tasks you assign, I’ll draw rewards from the rule pool and give them to her!”
“In other words, you just train her—I’ll foot the bill! All expenses covered, guaranteed satisfaction!”
Hera reached out and caught the necklace.
The gem felt warm to the touch, with what seemed like red liquid flowing inside, resonating subtly with her magic.
She lifted her gaze toward Lilia, the corner of her lips curving into a playful smile.
“So you’re saying, her growth direction will be entirely up to my will?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The sphere bobbed frantically. “You can raise her into a combat machine, a personal little sweetheart, or even… ahem, that kind of obedient pet!”
Cold sweat broke out on Lilia’s back as she listened.
Was that even human language?
Just moments ago she was the “host,” and now she had been completely sold out by this damn system!
It was practically handing her over as a character in a training simulation!
“Sounds…” Hera played with the necklace in her hand, “somewhat interesting.”
The sphere was overjoyed.
“Then I—”
“I’ll keep you for now.” Hera put away the necklace, her gaze still cold. “Go back inside. Without my permission, you are not to make noise in her head.”
“Going back now!”
As if granted amnesty, the sphere immediately tried to dive back into Lilia’s mind.
“Wait.”
Hera suddenly spoke.
The sphere slammed to a halt, nearly crashing into Lilia’s forehead.
“Is there anything else, Your Majesty?”
Hera pointed at another small box on the table.
It had appeared along with the necklace earlier.
The box was small, black with gold trim—looked quite high-end, yet carried an indecent aura.
“This is also for me?”
“Ah… this…”
The system’s electronic voice suddenly stuttered, as if embarrassed.
“This is…”
“Well… I saw that the relationship between you two has progressed quite quickly, and Lady Lilia just confessed so passionately.”
“This… might be useful tonight.”
“Well… this is to promote deep emotional exchange between the host and the administrator.”
“Absolutely effective! No side effects!”
After saying that, the sphere didn’t dare look at Hera’s expression. With a “whoosh,” it turned into a streak of light and desperately burrowed back into Lilia’s forehead.
Then, a faint notification sounded in Lilia’s mind.
【Host… good luck.】
The room fell silent once more.
Only the black box lay alone on the table.
Lilia stared at it, an extremely ominous feeling rising in her heart.
There was no way that thing would produce anything decent. Whatever it meant by “useful tonight” definitely wasn’t anything proper.
She had just reached out, intending to destroy the evidence—
But a slender hand was faster. Two fingers gently picked up the box.
“Since it’s a ‘tribute’…”
Hera’s voice carried a lazy huskiness that made Lilia’s ears soften.
“Then let’s take a look.”
“No! Master! Don’t look! That’s definitely trash!” Lilia cried out, trying to pounce and snatch it back.
But it was too late.
Hera’s other hand pressed down on her head, pinning her in place, while she calmly opened the box.
Inside, there were no strange potions, nor any terrifying torture tools.
Only two rings.
Silver bands, thin, with no gemstones—only intricate, ancient magic patterns engraved around them.
Aside from the rings, there was also an instruction note at the bottom of the box.
Hera picked it up and glanced at it.
There was only one simple and crude line:
【Conjoined Heart Lock (Mythical-Grade Item): Both wearers will share senses. Your pain is her pain, and her pleasure… is also your pleasure. Note: The closer the distance, the greater the amplification. Negative distance is recommended~】
Hera looked at that line, her brow lifting slightly.
Shared senses?
She turned her head, looking at Lilia, who was still being held down, her face filled with despair.
Hera lightly shook the pair of connected rings in her hand, producing a crisp metallic chime.