Collapse Iron: I'm a Succubus in the Universe

At this point, a rich aroma filled his nostrils, but he could also taste a strong bitterness in it. It was Himeko who had handed him a cup of coffee at some point.

Upon seeing this, Qiong's expression changed instantly. He instinctively wanted to back away, but he felt a tightness on his shoulder as Himeko's slender arm pressed down on him with immense force.

"Listen to me, this coffee is a new flavor I developed, I guarantee it will taste great~"

"Um... Sister Himeko, I'm not thirsty right now, can I not drink it?"

"No, you can't. I specially made this for you. Are you sure you really don't want to drink it?"

At this moment, Himeko's originally gentle and doting tone was, in Sora's eyes, filled with a crisis equivalent to death.

Swallowing subconsciously, Qiong finally mustered the courage to accept the cup of coffee, and then...

And that was it. Qiong lost consciousness and completely forgot what happened afterward. She only remembered that when she woke up again, she was in an unfamiliar room.

The room was elegantly decorated, and a familiar fragrance wafted from the soft bed. Looking at the ceiling, one could confirm that they were still on a train.

"You're awake? How are you feeling now?"

Himeko's voice rang out from the side, holding a small cup in her hand. After being reminded, Sora felt the bitterness lingering in her mouth again.

When he saw the other person offer him the cup again, he instinctively wanted to resist.

"Don't worry, it's just water. It seems that even if the concentration is reduced, it's still not very suitable for you."

Himeko shook her head somewhat helplessly as she spoke. She herself really liked the taste of espresso and had always been enthusiastic about recommending it to the people around her.

"Speaking of which, is this Himeko-nee's room?"

“Yes, you fainted at the time, so I could only bring you here first. I was thinking that if you didn’t wake up, we would have to squeeze in tonight.”

Himeko said this in a joking tone, and Sora glanced at her upon hearing it. Then she glanced at the bed.

"...Is it too late for me to go back to sleep now?"

"Hehe, silly child, what are you saying? Now that you're awake, hurry back to your room. Remember to be quiet and don't disturb the others."

As she said this, Himeko's face flushed slightly, but it wasn't noticeable under the room's lights, and Sora listened to her.

After leaving the room, I was careful not to disturb anyone else, except...

"Qiong? What do you want with me so late at night?"

March 7th was somewhat surprised to see Qiong arrive. In the past few days, Qiong had been helping Belloberg with his affairs, which made her feel a little uncomfortable sleeping alone.

"Nothing much, just came to check if you were asleep in March. If you weren't, do you want to sleep together?"

"W-what? You...don't speak so loudly, what if other people hear?"

March 7th peeked out from the corridor and looked around to make sure no one else was there, then pulled Qiong into his room.

"If others hear you say that, they could easily misunderstand!"

What's the misunderstanding?

"Uh……"

March 7th was stumped by the question; it seemed there really wasn't anything to be misunderstood.

"In short, don't talk nonsense! Also... you can sleep here tonight."

The girl didn't care about anything else and pointed to the pink bed in the room. Seeing this, Qiong couldn't help but smile.

"What are you laughing at? I... I just think it's fair to let you sleep in your room again today after sleeping in it so many times before, right?"

However, despite saying that, March 7's ashamed expression clearly revealed that she didn't really think that way.

"Uh-huh."

Qiong nodded. He knew March 7's personality; although he said that, his actions betrayed him.

"Ugh! Be gentle, my throat still hurts!"

Late at night, March 7th complained with some dissatisfaction. Although she had initially refused, it had become too much of a concern, and she had no choice but to agree.

"Forget it, forget it, you'd better not move around."

To avoid suffering further losses, March 7th, feeling uneasy, stopped Qiong's actions, but throughout the process, she kept thinking about one question.

Is it psychological? Or is it because of the stab wound to the throat I had before? I have this urge to bite down hard...

The girl thought this with some doubt. Of course, Qiong was unaware of her thoughts, otherwise he would probably feel a chill of fear.

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle..." (blowing bubbles with unclear meaning)

Time quickly passed to the next morning.

"Hmm, it looks like the fever has subsided."

Qiong reached out and touched the girl's forehead. After confirming that her temperature was normal, he couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder she lives in the snowfield year-round, her physical fitness is really strong."

"Hmm? Is it Sora who's back?"

Just then, Ling Ke opened her eyes, noticed Qiong's figure, and subconsciously smiled.

"Lingke, how are you feeling now? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"It feels great, but..."

The girl's face suddenly flushed, and she looked a little embarrassed, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated because of her pride.

From Qiong's perspective, the bottom of the sleeping bag bulged a few times, as if two small fish were gently rubbing against each other inside, looking quite nervous.

The reason is quite simple: ever since Reiko was rescued by Cocolia, she has stayed here, and she hasn't left the tent once since yesterday.

It was at this moment that Lingke seemed to finally be unable to hold back any longer. With her little face flushed red, she spoke softly.

"Qiong, my... clothes..."

"Ah, the clothes are here."

Qiong handed the dried clothes to Lingke, and then left the tent on her own.

Seeing this, the girl hurriedly crawled out of her sleeping bag. Looking at herself wearing only two thin pieces of clothing, her pretty cheeks flushed even more, and it was unclear what she was thinking...

Then came the rustling of clothes being put on inside the tent. A short while later, Lingke came out dressed.

Seeing that everything was almost done, Qiong thought of taking Lingke back to the city first, but before that...

"Qiong, please wait a moment."

The girl said she would leave for a while, but she returned quickly, looking more relaxed this time.

Chapter 59: Defeated Xier

Since teleportation is a unique ability of the Nameless Guest, they will have to travel a distance to bring Ling Ke back.

Fortunately, going back now wasn't too difficult, since Cocolia was there. In the end, the two returned to Beloborg without any problems.

To express her gratitude, Ling invited Qiong to her home, where she naturally encountered Shiluwa, who was staying at home.

However, Jepard was not seen, presumably still holding his post, as Belleburg is currently in a state of disrepair.

Even with the help provided by Qiong, the Silver-Haired Iron Guards still had many tasks to complete.

"Ling Ke? Why are you back so soon this time? And also... Qiong?"

Hiluva looked at the two people in front of her with a puzzled expression, wondering how they had met. She also knew her younger sister well.

Ling Ke spends most of her time away on field research, and besides, she doesn't seem like the type of child who would initiate conversation.

"Sister, it's actually like this..."

The girl briefly described the situation, trying to avoid using words that might sound dangerous, but upon learning what had happened, Hiluva still couldn't help but hug Reiko.

"That was terrifying! I never imagined you'd encounter such great danger on your trip... Luckily, you met Qiong. You're truly a great benefactor to our family!"

As she spoke, Hiluva looked towards Qiong, her expression revealing obvious gratitude. Such a solemn thank you made the latter feel a little embarrassed.

"No need to be so polite."

"How can that be? You saved Lingke! How about this, you stay for dinner tonight, and I'll let you try my cooking!"

Seeing Hilva's enthusiastic invitation, Kyō found it hard to refuse and agreed. A little later, Jepard also returned.

Qiong had grasped the highest level of hospitality in the Landau family, and Hilva originally wanted him to stay overnight at her home.

However, for various reasons, Sora ultimately refused.

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. Having finished dealing with Bronya's affairs, Sora felt somewhat idle with nothing to do.

It's been a while since I've seen Seele.

For a while, he, Bronya, and Pera had been handling official business together, while Seele had been traveling around and they rarely saw each other.

Now that I'm free, the other person probably doesn't have anything to do either, right?

As luck would have it, just as Qiong was thinking about it, Xi'er happened to appear not far away, and just as he had guessed, her busy footsteps had also slowed down.

"Qiong? What are you doing here?"

Seele was the first to notice Qiong, and when she asked her, Qiong naturally replied that she was just wandering around because she had nothing to do.

"I see. You seem to have a lot of free time, but I'm in the same boat now... I heard you've been helping Bronya a lot lately."

"Yes, are you going to thank me for her?"

"Hmm! I never said anything like that! Of course, she has to do this herself. I'm too lazy to help her, but..."

Seele's face flushed slightly, and her strong expression betrayed a hint of embarrassment. After hesitating for a moment, she continued to speak.

"Let's keep things separate. You helped her, which made things a bit easier for me. Come on, what would you like to eat? It's on me."

"Ugh?"

"...Why are you making that face? I have some spare cash too, you know!"

Seeing that Seele had said so, Qiong naturally couldn't refuse, but he didn't have any good ideas about what to eat now.

"Does Seele have any recommendations?"

"Me? Okay, then come with me."

The two communicated simply and efficiently, and soon arrived at the lower level together, which did not surprise Qiong.

Finally, led by Seele, Qiong arrived at a street food stall. He remembered that there had been a big eater event at this place before.

"Boss, two servings of braised oysters in a metal pot."

When Seele ordered, Qiong initially thought it was quite normal, but after seeing the portion sizes of the dishes, she became a little suspicious.

Are you sure we can finish this?

"At least I'm fine. You can't possibly not even have this much food, can you?"

Seele probably didn't mean to tease, but the way she said it...

Soon after, the two sat on a nearby bench and finished their meal. In all respects, the braised salamander in an iron pot was a pretty good dish.

The price was reasonable, the taste was pretty good, and the portion size was generous. But now that we've finished eating, what should we do next?

As Qiong thought this to himself, he looked at Xi'er beside him. The girl was also looking at him, and their eyes met...

"Would you like to have another match?"

"Huh? So this is a game where we have to duel if we make eye contact?"

Qiong made a sarcastic remark, which made Xi'er frown slightly, somewhat puzzled.

"What are you talking about? I just want to do some exercise to help digest my food. The rules are the same as last time: the loser grants the winner one request. Is that okay?"

Seele was referring to their first meeting. Qiong had thought the matter was over, but it seems she still cares about it.

"Row."

Qiong readily agreed, but because she had suffered a great loss last time, Xier was extremely cautious this time.

Throughout the battle, I avoided direct contact with Qiong, but even so it was useless, since things are different now.

"Ah! Let me go!"

Seele's tone was somewhat hurried. At this moment, her hands were bound by Qiong, and she was pressed against the wall, revealing her smooth armpits. She was completely powerless.

A faint blush rose to her pretty face, her pearly teeth clenched slightly, and she stared at Qiong with a shy and embarrassed expression, her knees pressed together uncomfortably. She was clearly very nervous.

"So, are you admitting defeat?"

"Ugh...! Okay, I lost. Are you satisfied now? Let go of my hand!"