After leaving his room, Zhang Luan crossed a short hallway and reached the room next door.
It belonged to Nan Fenghua.
He toyed with the thin card in his hand, then knocked. After a long while, someone finally answered.
“Mm... Who is it?”
Her voice was groggy. She was clearly half-asleep.
“It’s me, Zhang Luan. I need to talk to you.”
The moment he finished speaking, something crashed inside the room.
“Are you all right?”
Zhang Luan hesitated, wondering whether he should open the door himself and check on her.
Then the door opened.
Nan Fenghua stood there in a thin pink nightdress, her face flushed as she looked at him.
“When did you wake up, Brother Zhang Luan...? It’s so late. What’s wrong?”
She tried to cover the skin exposed by her nightdress. The outfit was new and rather revealing. She probably didn’t usually wear it. Zhang Luan’s sudden visit had caught her unprepared.
The exposed skin made her feel embarrassed, and the clingy attitude she’d shown during the day had vanished completely.
That was the effect of the talent called [Self?].
Perhaps some mutation had occurred, causing the talent—which originally changed her personality only once—to develop into something far more complicated.
“I just woke up. Did you fall out of bed? How did your forehead end up like that?”
Zhang Luan stared at the red mark on Nan Fenghua’s forehead and nearly laughed.
Judging by the crash he’d heard, she had clearly been the thing that hit the floor.
At his question, Nan Fenghua shyly lowered her face. Her cheeks turned bright red.
“No... No, I just bumped into the bedside table. Um, Brother Zhang Luan, come inside. It’s a little cold out here...”
Late at night, a beautiful girl inviting a handsome young man into her room would certainly lead to all sorts of strange misunderstandings if anyone found out.
As Zhang Luan entered, a refreshing floral scent drifted toward him.
He followed the fragrance with his eyes and saw a night flower swaying gently on the windowsill. It gave off a soft, hazy glow.
The scent came from it.
“That smells wonderful. What is it?”
“Oh, that? My godmother gave it to me when I was little. It’s called a Phantom Night Spirit Flower. It purifies the air and keeps people from having nightmares. Do you want it, Brother Zhang Luan?”
Zhang Luan shook his head.
He’d only been curious. Even if he really wanted it, he wouldn’t take it from this airhead.
“No need. I don’t have nightmares. I was just curious.”
He sat down on a sofa shaped like a teddy bear. It was soft and surprisingly warm.
As he squeezed one of the bear’s little paws, he thought of Aruola’s room in the Mage Tower.
She had teddy bears there too—an absurd number of them.
“Do all girls like teddy bears?”
“Huh? I guess so...? I usually sit here when I sneak snacks. It’s really warm. Um, Brother Zhang Luan, wait here. I’ll make you some tea.”
Nan Fenghua tugged up one of her slipping shoulder straps, then hurried over to the table in her rabbit slippers.
Judging by her movements, she barely used the tea set. The heating spell nearly burned her.
Her clumsy appearance made Zhang Luan smile helplessly.
He walked behind her and caught her trembling hand.
“I’m not going to eat you. Why are you so nervous? You weren’t like this during the day.”
Nan Fenghua’s body shuddered. She flinched as though a current had passed through her.
Her face grew so red that steam practically seemed ready to rise from it.
Zhang Luan paid no attention. He simply poured two cups of hot water, returned to the soft teddy-bear sofa, and began drinking on his own.
“Um... I... I don’t know why I’m acting like this. Thinking about it now, I didn’t feel like myself during the day... I...”
Her voice faltered, and she looked close to tears.
“Hey, don’t cry. Why does this make it sound like I’ve done something? I haven’t even done anything since I came in.”
Zhang Luan looked at her with a headache coming on.
He’d never expected that Nan Fenghua’s personality would change again during the day he spent sleeping.
That talent, [Self?], must have activated once more.
“Sniff... I’m sorry.”
She looked so easy to bully that anyone might feel tempted to tease her.
But Zhang Luan hadn’t come here to bully this airhead.
He rose from the sofa, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pressed her gently onto the soft bed.
Nan Fenghua gasped for breath as though she’d just been through some great ordeal.
“W-Wait... I’m only fifteen... I’m not ready for anything...”
Her eyes brimmed with tears, and her voice was weak and timid.
She looked utterly convinced that something terrible was about to happen.
Zhang Luan stared at her strangely.
Without the slightest hesitation, he drew out the thin Bond Card and pressed it against her forehead.
The moment the Bond Card touched Nan Fenghua, it transformed into a slender golden thread.
The thread sank into both their chests.
Zhang Luan felt warmth spread through his body. The air around them grew gentle, and the Phantom Night Spirit Flower’s soft glow became especially dreamlike.
He climbed off the bed and stretched.
Nan Fenghua had fainted the instant the card touched her forehead. She was already fast asleep.
A smile curled at the corner of her lips. She must have entered a pleasant dream.
Zhang Luan sighed helplessly and pulled the blanket over her.
Did this airhead really think he was some kind of perverted lecher?
No matter how much he liked beautiful girls, he’d never lay a hand on a fifteen-year-old idiot.
She was overthinking everything.
He opened his status panel.
This was the first time a Bond effect like this had appeared. It was impossible not to feel curious.
The system’s voice continued to ring in his mind.
[Bond Card target: Nan Fenghua]
[Bond detected. Beginning link.]
[Multiple Bonds detected. Please select the Bond Talent activated this time.]
Zhang Luan was slightly stunned.
He hadn’t expected a choice to be necessary.
Could it be that the Bond between him and Nan Fenghua wasn’t limited to the Holy Son and Holy Maiden connection?
With that thought, he continued reading.
Bond 1: [Saint]
When two holders of this Bond belong to the same faction, this Talent activates.
Once activated, all allies gain the [Courage] effect.
All attributes increase by 20%, along with an additional 50% resistance to fear.
Bond 2: [Visionary]
When holders of this Bond belong to the same faction, the effectiveness of speech-related effects increases by an additional 50%.
This includes brainwashing, faith, mental manipulation, taunting, and similar effects.
Bond 3: [Desirer]
Binding effects inflicted on units possessing this Bond increase by 100%.
They cannot be resisted or evaded.
