“You… Live here? Wouldn’t something a little low-key be better?” Lily-rose questioned in amazement.

“Trust me, I had the same reaction.” Nell nodded her head with a small smile.

“Low-key? Surely, let me build a hidden, run-down hut in the middle of a swamp. That won’t be conspicuous at all. Especially not if they were to use modern technology, no.” Lucy teased with a lively chuckle.

Her words made Lily-rose blush as she somehow saw the exact image the latter thought of when Lucy mentioned her house.

Lily-rose has been looking around for the past dozen minutes with her jaw dropped. She had never seen this many grandiose houses, much less been near this many as they traveled through the wealthiest part of Nexus. Even the cheapest houses looked to be worth millions of dollars.

They even had a large gateman blocking the street who let them in without question, even considering Lily-rose’s mildly tattered clothing. He and Lucy smiled deviously at each other, and nothing else transpired.

What any of this could possibly mean eluded Lily-rose entirely.

“When you really think about it, this is just about the best situation. My parents being at the top of massive corporations is the perfect excuse as to why they’re never present. If anybody wanted to attack or disturb my experimentation, they’d have to get through a lot, making it nearly impossible for people to get information on me. Quite the ideal spot for you to hide out because if anybody gets hurt, it’s the rich elite.”

Considering the last bit as a joke because she couldn’t tell if Lucy was serious, Lily-rose nervously chuckled.

Eventually, though, her nervous chuckles faded as they arrived at their destination—Lucy’s house.

In the current scope of things, her house didn’t stand out much. If anything, it looked a little cheaper than the other houses… Not that that was saying much. It was still a mansion of considerable size.

“This is your house? Your family is capable of owning this much land?” Lily-rose continued to question in astonishment.

“This much land?” Lucy paused and smiled, turning to face Lily-rose.

“Oh, my dear Ashe. We’ve been on my family’s land since… About… Since the gate.”

As if those words were a signal for Nell, she covered her ears with her two front paws before dropping into Lucy’s massive school bag.

Freezing up, blinking twice, and turning behind three separate times in that order, Lily-rose couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“WHAT?!”

She shouted at the top of her lungs without care, her only witnesses being Lucy, Nell, and the Moon, which watched over them, yet it felt like her voice traveled for countless kilometers.

“Trust me, I had the same reaction.” Nell echoed her previous words.

‘Is being a banshee part of the Half-Alien package?’ Lucy accompanied Lily-rose by screaming internally instead of externally.

“I’m so lucky Diana set up multiple layers of protective talisman in this place. I might be in trouble if any mundane residents heard such a terrible scream.”

“You’re a horrible person, Lucille.”

“As a Witch, even just saving people is already above my moral obligation. Let me revel in the misery and confusion of others.”

It’s a genuine wonder how these two manage to function in the presence of the other, but that aside, after Lily-rose’s mild… Episode, they entered Lucy’s not-so-humble abode, with Lucy leading Lily-rose to a massive bath while Nell wandered off into the Sentinel base.

“Hmm… You’re a little petite, but I might have some clothing that’ll fit you. I hope you’re okay with something a little bit big until we can go out and buy you some clothing.”

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“U-uhm, no! Not at all!”

“Alright, I’ll be right back.”

Walking into another room, Lily-rose looked around in a daze. Today was… A lot for her.

She spent months and years planning her escape, even sneakingly preparing a small place for herself in this city, yet everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.

She managed to escape successfully, but the Xin managed to track her location, and by the time she managed to shake them off, two Sentinels appeared, trying to kill her indiscriminately. And yet…

She was now in one of the many bathrooms her savior had, undressing to take a bath like nothing had ever happened.

How was she supposed to feel about that? Relieved, maybe, elated that she ran into Lucy and Nell at quite literally her darkest hour?

“Dad… I know you’re alive. I’ll find you soon enough.”

Placing her clothing on a nearby stool, Lily-rose entered the bath and was immediately hit by a wave of calmness washed over her.

It was like her worries from moments ago vanished and were replaced by this sense of clarity and confidence.

Looking at her hand while clenching it repeatedly to make sure her senses were still normal, she heard a chuckle from behind.

Turning, she saw a figure that couldn’t be described as mesmerizing, covered only by a white towel.

“It seems you found the extra effect of this water?” Lucy chuckled, placing down the clothing and hygiene supplies she grabbed.

It took a few moments but when she snapped out of her trance, Lily-rose quickly coiled into a ball covering her body.

Placing her towel to the side, Lucy also got into the massive bath, paying guest’s mannerisms no mind.

“This water is enchanted with both Psychic magic and Vanity magic, allowing for it to have a calming effect while cycling out dirty water for clean water. Originally, I was considering getting a higher grade enchant just to induce complete euphoria and mess with them, but ultimately decided that was far too much effort for a prank.”

“That’s cruel,” Lily-rose responded with a gurgle, her mouth being completely submerged underwater.”

Glancing at Lily-rose before returning her gaze to its original position, Lucy shrugged.

“Perhaps. So, too, is being so on guard with me after I saved your life and promised you protection. Aren’t we around the same age? You’re what, 1, maybe 2 years younger than me?” She once again teased the girl.

Poking her head up, Lily-Rose didn’t exactly know how to respond to that.

For some reason, Lucy’s words felt hypnotic. Even earlier, when she was casually implying using her neighbors as fodder, Lily-rose felt safe hearing those words.

‘Just what is wrong with this girl? What’s wrong with me?’ She wondered, unsure if her mind was just believing what it wanted to because she feared the power that opposed her or if Lucy had ulterior motives.

“You know,” Lucy spoke up, noticing the uncertainty filling Lily-rose’s head. “You have the same eyes as me.” She continued.

“E-eh? Eyes?”

Raising her hand from the water, Lucy tried to create a small construct out of mana, but the energy dispersed the moment it tried to take any shape.

“The answer to Nell’s question earlier. Why I’m taking as much effort to let you live with me to protect you? Your eyes show you long for something, yet you’re completely helpless. I was the same at several points in the past. If you’re not careful, you can easily fall into a pit of self-destruction. I was lucky and got not 2, not 3, but 4 chances to survive in situations that would have killed me 99 out of 100 times, and other people won’t be that lucky.”

Pausing to find the right words to use, Lucy’s smile vanished.

“Earlier, you didn’t bring out that golem until the thought of me getting hurt fighting 2 on 1 was present. Despite those sentinels wanting to kill you, you didn’t retaliate with your full power and only tried to find a way to escape… Among the many questions I wish to ask you, I think this is the most important…”

“What do you fight for?”

“What… Do I fight for?” Lily-rose mumbled Lucy’s words back to herself.

“Think about it for a bit. It’s intentionally not an easy question to answer. Until then, let me wash your back, my cute junior.” Lucy perked up, refusing to let the mood stay somber for too long.

She made a telegraphed motion before playfully lunging at Lily-rose.

Surprised by the sudden shift in the atmosphere, she nearly got hit by Lucy’s antics, but luckily, her reflexes were quick enough to narrowly avoid it.

“Get away from me!”

“If you wanna escape, you better pray you’re faster than me!”

Without even realizing it, Lily-rose smiled at the antics of Lucy. Whether it’s because of the Psychic magic effect or her gratefulness to Lucy, all of her worries were entirely gone. At least for the moment.

If only a moment like this could last an eternity…

If only…