My Host Only Marries the Strong

But wait—how exactly was she supposed to do this?

Although her heart was pounding, the completely clueless Echo pressed her lips together and fidgeted with her hands, feeling oddly shy.

Oh no!

Seraphine, who’d been waiting impatiently under the tree, cracked her whip and slowly approached Echo.

“Did you secretly destroy something you didn’t want me to see?” she asked with deliberate suspicion.

Echo clapped her hands together and beamed. “Nope! Not at all!”

Playing dumb.

Seraphine didn’t bother pressing further. This stupid thing had been acting like a completely different person lately, lost in whatever ridiculous thoughts were bouncing around in that round head of hers.

Seraphine had been spending her days sparring at the academy, venting all her frustration through combat training. She couldn’t be bothered dealing with Echo’s nonsense right now—she’d just wait for her to inevitably mess up and come crawling to her.

Let’s see how long you can keep this up, Seraphine thought.

With that in mind, Seraphine’s lips curved into a smirk. She folded her whip and tapped the tip repeatedly against Echo’s chest. “The academy trial results are out. Naturally, I came in first place. Master Mingyan gave us three days to prepare before the ten of us enter the Flame Array together.”

Echo immediately started clapping enthusiastically. “That’s our Seraphine! I just know you’ll perform brilliantly in the Flame Array and take first place!”

Seraphine’s face showed a hint of pride, which she quickly suppressed. Both of them walked side by side toward Phoenix Perch Terrace as she continued, “Though I want to enter the Insight Academy Secret Realm, three of those ten participants have been studying at the academy for years. Their cultivation might be far below Senior Sister Lanzhi’s level, but they understand the Flame Array better than us newcomers. I need to be at my absolute best.”

Time for the system to shine!

Echo quickly said, “Please take me with you! I’ll help!”

Seraphine glanced at Echo sideways and snorted. “Save it. Use that time to figure out whatever’s been bothering you instead—watching you mope around is annoying. Besides……” She looked almost offended. “Who are you underestimating? I’ll win first place and show you exactly what I’m capable of.”

There’s the confident Seraphine I know!

How wonderful. Echo reached up to pat her shoulder gently. “Seraphine, I’ve already figured it out.”

“?” Seraphine looked at Echo in surprise, unconsciously asking, “What exactly were you thinking about? What did you figure out?”

Echo smiled, her eyes crinkling.

What she’d figured out was this: the probability of a system and a human ending up together had existed from the moment she appeared in this world.

From the first high-level mission assignment, from the moment she dropped like a water droplet into the pages of this world’s story, she’d already become part of the narrative.

And if she’s part of the story, then the possibility of becoming entangled with the story’s characters is one hundred percent.

Moreover, her host is Seraphine.

A beautiful, resilient Seraphine who makes her core processors race.

She gained her voice for the first time for Seraphine. She gained a physical form for the first time for Seraphine. She gained a body for the first time for Seraphine. So she could also become the powerful guardian who protects her—for Seraphine.

Which brought her back to the original question.

How does she make Seraphine fall for her?

Humans probably have a hard time falling for systems, right? We’re so round and smart and amazing. Echo tilted her head, plucked a blade of grass to chew on, and swayed as she pondered: How exactly does one seduce a human?

After spending a month immersed in academy training, Seraphine hadn’t expected to return and find Echo in such a lazy, roguish state. Her face darkened as she smacked Echo on the butt and pulled the grass from her mouth.

“Where did you learn to act like this?”

Echo clutched her butt in shock and honestly confessed, “Error.”

Besides grass-chewing, Error had also taught Echo which flower nectar contained sweet water.

The Insight Academy Palace was full of masters and students who were all total overachievers, surviving purely on fasting pills. Echo’s storage ring’s snack supply was running critically low, so she’d resorted to chewing grass and sipping flower nectar to get by.

Seraphine: “……”

“You’re quite the snitch. And who did Error learn it from?” Seraphine was somewhat skeptical. In her month at the Insight Academy Palace, she hadn’t interacted with many disciples, but those she’d met were all eloquent and polite—perfect gentlemen. She couldn’t imagine these white-robed immortals casually chewing grass as they wandered around the academy.

Echo restlessly plucked two more flowers and reached up to tuck them behind Seraphine’s ears. Her raised hand paused, and she didn’t refuse, touching the flowers gently before saying in a softer tone, “Spill it.”

“Pine Child told us where the best fruits grow in the Insight Academy Palace and which plants aren’t poisonous. It is a tree spirit from Prospect Peak, so it knows all about these things.”

“Seraphine, did you know that Error got greedy and ate a bunch of pretty fruits that turned out to be toxic? She was unconscious all afternoon before waking up!” Echo said with admiration. “Error is really hard to kill!”

Seraphine: “……”

While she’d been non-stop sparring and training at the academy, competing for a spot in the Insight Academy Secret Realm, what exactly had they been doing?

“Oh right, I picked one! Look, this is the fruit. Seraphine, if you ever encounter these in the wild, absolutely don’t eat them.” Echo pulled a bright red peach-like fruit from her storage ring—it smelled quite fragrant—and held it up for Seraphine to see.

“How old do you think I am?” Seraphine said irritably, reaching to snatch the fruit from Echo’s hands. Echo hesitated at first, but seeing that she really wanted it, she carefully handed it over. “Really, you can’t eat it.”

“Shut up. This is a vermillion fruit. It smells sweet but tastes bland, and eating too much causes unconsciousness. Medical cultivators often use it to make anesthetic powder.” Seraphine’s pale fingers held the fruit, its bright red roundness looking like a perfect coral bead in her palm.

“Besides that, it can also be ground with pearl flower petals to make rouge and nail dye. However—” Seraphine’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Echo suspiciously. “Didn’t you read thousands of books at Chongshan Immortal Palace? How could you not recognize such a common vermillion fruit?”

The bright red fruit bounced up and down in her palm as Seraphine smirked mockingly. “Don’t tell me all that deep thinking has actually broken your brain?”

“Oh no, what should I do!” she mimicked Echo’s tone, catching the falling fruit and pressing it against Echo’s chest before turning to leap up the stairs.

Her long hair fluttered in the air, catching the candlelight in a hazy glow.

Phoenix Perch Terrace stretched from the palace down to the mountain base, with golden lanterns hanging on both sides of the mountain path.

On Seraphine’s first day here, they walked this route together, lighting all the candles inside. Burning Moon candles never go out in wind or rain, illuminating the path below for a hundred years unchanged.

Echo watched Seraphine’s retreating figure and lifted the vermillion fruit to smell it, carefully storing it back in her ring. This was the best vermillion fruit in the entire Insight Academy Palace—naturally, it should be saved for the most beautiful Seraphine.

As for the other vermillion fruits…… “Seraphine!”

Echo called out loudly. Seraphine turned around on the mountain path to see Echo toss something her way. She caught it in surprise, muttered “How dare you” then cupped it in her hands to look. It was a rouge compact.

Carved on the box’s surface was a little stick figure with pigtails wearing a small dress—clearly Echo’s handiwork.

The surprise in Seraphine’s eyes faded as she opened the compact. Inside, delicate rouge filled the jade container completely, giving off a sweet fragrance.

“Click.”

Echo hopped up to the step closest to Seraphine. She had been so long since she’d looked up at her like this—she found this angle quite interesting as she admired her face, then smiled and said, “I made this in my spare time. Do you like it? If you do, I’ll have Error and Water Dragon’s Hymn gather other colored fruits and flower petals from the mountains to make more rouge for you. How about it?”

“……” Seraphine suddenly reached out, pressing her index finger to her lips.

This past month had been incredibly hectic, with several days where she didn’t even return to Phoenix Perch Terrace. The beauty-loving Palace Lord Velka had been rushing out each morning with just a quick dab of lip color.

Holding this compact of rouge and being watched by Echo’s expectant gaze, waves of emotion surged through her heart. First came a touch of sweetness, followed by a hint of bittersweet ache, finally dissolving into infinite tenderness.

This feeling was exactly like Error eating those fruits—knowing they contained poison but unable to resist their allure, willingly swallowing them and falling into blissful unconsciousness through sheer anticipation.

“Thank you,” Seraphine laughed softly. “Looks like you’ve finally found something fun to do. You’re fine, but tell Error that if she only focuses on playing around instead of proper cultivation, I’ll have to discipline her properly.”

Echo nodded eagerly. “I’ll make sure to supervise her!”

Seraphine and Echo were aiming for ascension within a century—as Seraphine’s contracted spirit beast, Error couldn’t afford to slack off!

Seraphine’s smile deepened. Taking advantage of Echo’s wooden head, she boldly lifted her long lashes, her affectionate eyes smiling as they gazed at Echo. She dipped her finger lightly in the rouge and pressed it to the center of Echo’s forehead.

Echo stared intently at Seraphine, thinking: She’s so beautiful. How can anyone be this beautiful?

Little flowers bloomed above her head. When Seraphine lifted her hand, Echo grabbed her sleeve and asked hopefully, “Seraphine, am I pretty?”

“Pretty,” Seraphine said, looking at the red mark on Echo’s forehead. “Very pretty.” This pretty—you should have been mine long ago.

Echo breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that since Seraphine was satisfied with her appearance, this was wonderful. So—how does she make Seraphine fall for her?

She tilted her head and scratched her cheek, a shy little system covering its face appearing in the bubble above her head. If Seraphine falls for me, I’ll take good care of her!

[Author’s Note]:

All systems are cordially invited to gather at Main System Headquarters on XX Year XX Month XX Day at XX Time. There’s something important I need everyone’s help with! Please please please!

—Golden Finger Echo

[Countless little letter envelopes flying toward System Realm.gif]