Chapter 18: Chapter 18: The Ring
Meanwhile, as Stelle slowly opened her eyes, the player's perspective in the game returned.
"Ah, you're awake!" March 7th exclaimed, rushing over with concern. "Are you alright? Do you feel anything strange?"
Stelle rubbed her head, slowly sat up, and gazed at March 7th, who was brimming with worry. Two options appeared in the player's perspective:
[I'm fine. I feel like I could take down a Doomsday Beast with a single punch right now.]
[Ugh... I... I'm in so much pain. I need Lumina to heal me.]
"Is that even a question? Of course, we're choosing the second option," Xiao Hunhun declared, instantly selecting the second choice. "Showing off is less important than my own wife's well-being."
[Hey streamer, wipe that smug grin off your face! She's my wife, not yours.]
[When's the next Lumina doujinshi update coming? I'm dying to see her corrupted form!]
[To the commenter above: Add me. I'll sell them for five yuan each.]
"Hey, mods, ban this doujinshi guy!" Xiao Hunhun exclaimed, spotting the comment and immediately issuing the command to the chat moderators.
While he was also curious, there was no way a Lumina doujinshi would be available at this hour. The earliest one would appear would be tomorrow...
The commenter was clearly a scammer.
"Ugh... I... I'm in so much pain. I need Lumina to heal me," Stelle groaned in the game as Xiao Hunhun selected the second option, suddenly writhing in apparent agony.
Even the clueless March 7th could see through Stelle's act. She crossed her arms, shot her an exasperated glare, and snapped, "Hey, if you're going to fake it, at least make it convincing! You just want to see Sister Lumina, right? I'm not stopping you—just say so!"
Caught red-handed, Stelle grinned sheepishly, scratched her head, and tried to hide her embarrassment.
"Alright, alright, I know you're desperate to see Sister Lumina, but it's not possible right now."
"You need to find Himeko first. She said a VIP on the Space Station wants to meet you."
"If Himeko's calling someone a VIP, it can only be Madam Herta, the owner of this station, right?"
March 7th held her phone screen up to Stelle, showing her the message to prove she wasn't lying.
"But..."
"I know what you're going to ask. Don't worry, Sister Lumina is fine, and the station is safe. The Antimatter Legion's invasion crisis has been completely resolved."
At that moment, March 7th seemed to have unlocked her full potential, her mind unusually sharp and radiating intelligence.
The instant Stelle opened her mouth, March 7th knew exactly what she wanted to say. She interrupted Stelle before she could even finish the question, writing down the answer without hearing the full question.
"..."
Stelle fell silent, stunned by March 7th's perfectly accurate explanation.
"Has March 7th been possessed by a Doomsday Beast?" Xiao Hunhun exclaimed in shock from outside the screen, watching March 7th's response.
According to the beta version of the story, March 7th was supposed to be a bit of an airhead. How did she become so clever?
[Solved! The March 7th before us has been possessed by a Doomsday Beast!]
[March 7th is so cute! Anyone got any doujinshi of her?]
[To the commenter above, I have some. Five yuan each.]
"Damn it... forget it, I'll handle this myself." Xiao Hunhun glared at the chat log, his anger rising. With a flick of his finger, he kicked both offenders out of the live stream.
"Hmph, do they think my live stream is a doujinshi marketplace?" Xiao Hunhun snorted coldly, then steered Stelle toward Himeko's location, following the quest marker.
[Hey streamer, if I don't sell doujinshi here, can I at least give them away for free?]
[Daddy!]
[Daddy!]
As the comment flashed across the screen, the chat exploded with "Daddy!" messages.
"..."
Xiao Hunhun didn't reply, simply silently banning the "Great Sage" from the live stream, letting his actions speak louder than words.
"Oh, right, Sister Lumina! I bought you some potato chips."
After the head-patting session, Asta suddenly remembered something and pulled out a huge bag of potato chips from who-knows-where.
"So many!" Lumina exclaimed, staring at the massive bag with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Asta scratched her cheek sheepishly. "I wasn't sure which flavors you liked, Sister Lumina, so I bought three bags of each kind. If you only like a few specific ones, I can exchange the rest right now." She spoke with earnest sincerity.
Seeing Asta's earnestness, Lumina shook her head with a helpless smile. "That's not necessary. I mostly just eat potato chips for the texture anyway. As long as the flavors aren't too weird, I can eat them all."
With a wave of her hand, Lumina made the entire bag vanish without a trace.
Asta watched in fascination as the huge bag disappeared right before her eyes. "Sister Lumina, how did you do that?" she asked curiously.
"Here, the Storage Ring."
Lumina held out the back of her hand for Asta to see.
"Huh? But there's nothing there! Where's the ring?"
Asta gazed at Lumina's slender, fair hand, its smooth, soft skin resembling polished jade. Silently admiring its beauty, she noticed the unadorned, snow-white fingers and asked in confusion, "But your fingers are bare."
"Look again," Lumina said with a gentle smile. Under Asta's watchful eyes, a vibrant jade-green ring materialized on her pinky finger, adding another layer to her elegance.
"How amazing!" Asta exclaimed in genuine surprise at the spectacle.
Hearing Asta's awed reaction, Lumina chuckled softly and lowered her hand. The ring vanished without a trace.
"I crafted this ring myself. If you like it, I can give you one as a welcoming gift."
"Oh, no, no, Sister Lumina! It must have taken so much effort to make this ring. I couldn't possibly accept it!" Asta protested, waving her hands frantically to decline Lumina's kind offer.
"Not at all," Lumina said, shaking her head. "It takes a little time, but it's hardly a chore. If I wanted to, I could mass-produce them."
Lumina smiled faintly and gently pressed a finger to Asta's lips, preventing her from refusing. "You can't say no. This is my little welcoming gift for you. If you turn it down, wouldn't that mean you don't want to see me?"
Asta: ...
Feeling the warmth of Lumina's finger on her lips and gazing at her radiant smile, Asta found herself nodding in agreement against her will.
"Okay, I'll have it for you within a day at the latest!" Lumina lowered her finger and promised.
"No problem, even a little later is fine," Asta quickly assured her.
"Oh, no, this is a gift for Asta. I can't possibly be lazy about it," Lumina said, winking playfully. Her adorable expression burrowed deep into Asta's heart.
"Mmm... Mmm..."