The next day, Tini opened her eyes from a deep sleep and saw Wude roasting something over the fire.

“Kid, save me a portion!” Tini sat up, checked her condition a little, then spoke to Wude.

The moment Wude heard her voice, he turned around at once. Seeing Tini already sitting up, he quickly brought over the skewer of meat he had just finished roasting.

“Tini, you’re finally awake. Here, this one’s done. Eat.”

He held the grilled skewer out to her.

“Tini? Why aren’t you taking it?” Wude asked when she didn’t move for a long while.

“Kid, feed me.” Tini stared fixedly at Wude. Her eyes practically had the words “hopelessly dense” written in them.

That look stabbed right into Wude’s otaku heart. But thanks to it, he also realized Tini’s condition was probably still awful. She likely didn’t have any strength at all.

He brought the skewer to Tini’s mouth. Just as she was about to open it, Wude seemed to think of something and suddenly pulled the meat back.

“??” Tini froze. The meat that had reached her mouth had flown away?

“Tini, you just woke up. Your body isn’t suited for greasy food like this. Wait a bit. Elisa went to look for fruit.”

“...” Tini felt miserable. If she had any strength right now, she’d definitely punch him. No wonder this guy hadn’t made a move even after turning both Alreis and her into slaves. It was in his nature.

“I need energy. If you won’t let me eat meat, then I’ll just absorb you instead!” Tini didn’t even call herself “this Sovereign.” It looked like she didn’t have the energy to be tsundere. Even so, she still glared at Wude with intense resentment.

“...” What could Wude even say to that? His life was in danger now, okay? Also, in Tini’s eyes, was he on the same level as grilled meat? Wude wept inwardly. In the end, he still brought the skewer back to her mouth.

“Ah~ mm.” Tini bit off a huge mouthful, chewed once or twice, then swallowed it. There wasn’t the slightest trace of elegance to match her mature, seductive appearance. “Kid, you’ve got some skill.”

After swallowing that piece of meat, Tini seemed to absorb it in an instant. She recovered a bit of strength, and her expression looked a little better.

Then Wude offered the meat to her again. Tini glanced at him, snatched the skewer away in one grab, then shot him a disdainful look. It probably meant, you’re useless now.

If you weren’t injured, I’d definitely make you pay for that today... Wude vented a little in his heart, then turned back to the other piece of meat roasting by the fire.

Tini quickly finished the whole skewer. She closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she opened them again and stood up in one motion. It was impossible to imagine that just before this, her whole body had been covered in wounds and she had looked half-dead.

“Alreis still hasn’t woken up?” Tini walked behind Wude and watched him crouching there, roasting meat.

“Not yet...” Wude turned the meat in his hand. “But since you’re awake, Alreis should be soon too. She’s way stronger than you, after all.”

“?!” Tini was dumbfounded again. What was that supposed to mean? Couldn’t he speak properly? Was she really that disliked? And besides, this kid hadn’t been like this before.

“Kid, do you have a problem with me?” After digesting a skewer of meat, Tini had regained enough strength to act tsundere again.

“...” Wude knew he still probably wasn’t very good at controlling his emotions.

Wude suddenly realized that this was the first time he had ever been alone with Tini. Before, either Alreis had been there, or Elisa had. Maybe he really didn’t know how to be alone with Tini.

“Tini, let me ask you something.”

“Kid, this Sovereign permits you to ask.”

“You’re mistaken. I’m not asking for your permission. I’m just informing you.”

“...” Tini felt like there had to be something wrong with his head. How had she even offended him?

“Tini, why were you fighting so desperately?” Wude finally asked the question.

By Wude’s reckoning, Tini had first been knocked down in level by Alreis. Then Wude had forced a Slave Contract onto her. After that, she had been forced to swear to revive her mortal enemy. She had even killed her own “Sage,” Chris.

Wude didn’t understand the affairs between Ascendant Sovereigns, but logically speaking, even if Tini intended to keep her promise, there had been no need for her to save Alreis and suffer such severe injuries in the process. That was the part Wude couldn’t understand at all.

Tini glanced at him, seeming a little surprised. She apparently hadn’t expected Wude to ask that. She stretched her body, showing off her excellent figure. The full places were very full, and the places that shouldn’t be full were impossibly slender. She looked extremely alluring.

“Kid, what do you think?” Instead of answering, she tossed the question back to him.

Of course Wude didn’t know. If he did, he wouldn’t have asked.

Seeing the confusion on his face, Tini let out a sigh.

“There’s no reason at all,” Tini answered. “I just wanted to do it.”

“...That self-indulgent?” Wude felt like he’d gotten no answer at all.

“Self-indulgent? That’s not wrong. We Ascendant Sovereigns are self-indulgent.”

Wude still wanted to say something.

“Alright, kid. Take me to see Alreis. You’re worried about her, aren’t you?” Tini threw out a suggestion Wude couldn’t refuse, and he gave up on asking anything more.

“...Mm. Alreis will wake up tonight.” After checking Alreis’s condition, Tini gave her conclusion.

“Really?!” Wude was a little overjoyed. He had been worried the whole time. He had relaxed a little when Tini woke up, but only now, with a definite answer, did he truly let go.

“Don’t be happy too soon.” Tini’s expression didn’t look nearly as relaxed.

“What? Don’t tell me Alreis...”

“That’s not the issue.” Tini shook her head. “Let me tell you first. If I want to recover my strength, I’ll still need a week. Alreis may not need any less time than I do.”

“So?” Wude could understand that. After injuries that severe, if they recovered in an instant, he’d really have to question whether Ascendant Sovereigns were even human.

“Come to think of it, I still haven’t told you...” Tini let out a sigh.

“I said before that we didn’t completely fail, right?”

“Yeah, but you passed out before you explained the details.”

“This Sovereign will tell you what happened then...” Tini finally began to explain the scene in detail.

A few minutes later, Wude finally understood what had happened during the resurrection.

“So what you’re saying is, you revived Lingyue, but Lingyue didn’t seem to remember Alreis. She did seem to recognize you, though?” Wude came to that conclusion.

“You could say that. Lingyue, in soul form, originally wanted to take Alreis away. But when I made my move, it was obvious Lingyue knew me. After exchanging one strike with me, she retreated. Probably because she was still only a soul and couldn’t sustain herself. Though by then, I was already at my limit too...”

“How could that happen?” Wude was deeply confused. He couldn’t make sense of the situation. Lingyue had supposedly been revived, but if it really was Lingyue, things shouldn’t have turned out like this.

“So I need to ask you something.” Tini’s expression wasn’t very good. In truth, she already had some guesses.

“Gulp.” Wude swallowed.

“Wude, the Lingyue you knew... was she really Lingyue?” Tini voiced the question that had been circling in her heart all this time.

That sentence hit Wude in the chest like a giant hammer.

“What do you mean by that?” Wude’s voice had gone a little dry.

“I already found it strange from what you told me before. How could Darkness be that kind?” Tini paid no attention to Wude’s state.

“Do you know how she and I became enemies?” Tini asked, but before Wude could answer, she continued, “Back before we came to this new continent, when I was still in the old world, that woman Darkness slaughtered tens of thousands in my kingdom.”

In a calm tone, Tini stated a fact Wude could hardly believe.

“So how could someone who kills lives so casually, someone who has no respect for life, be the person you described? Patiently teaching you, drinking a little fake liquor every day, even helping Elisa get into the academy... that’s not something the Darkness I know could ever do...”

After hearing Tini’s words, Wude fell into endless silence.

If what Tini said was true... and there was no way Tini was lying... then who exactly was the Lingyue he had known?