LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 183
Chapter: 183
With bright red hair cascading down to her waist, red eyes with elongated pupils like a beast, fluffy wolf ears perked up atop her head, and a lazily swaying red tail, a companion Lian thought he would never encounter here stood right before him.
“J-Jess?! Why is Jess here?!”
Lian’s mouth fell open as if a fly had flown in, staring blankly at Jess.
Her normally bright smile and sparkling eyes now reflected the arrogance of a predator looking down on the world, and her perpetually smiling lips were pressed tightly together, intensifying the sharp atmosphere around her.
As her slow gaze scanned the room, it locked onto Lian’s, causing him to freeze completely.
Her indifferent yet dangerously gleaming gaze seemed to harbor the desire to shred him into pieces. The sharp teeth protruding slightly from her slightly parted lips glinted ominously.
Though her incisors were smaller than a pinky nail, they only accentuated her cuteness, but they weren’t harmless. With magical enhancement, those fangs could rend flesh to shreds like tearing paper when it bites into an enemy, making them a lethal weapon.
Faced with her fierce gaze, Lian couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that he stood not in a prison but in a wolf’s den. He remained rooted in place, staring at Jess as stiff as a beast caught in a trap.
“You’ll be staying here from today. For more details, ask the other slave in the room.”
Creeeak, clank!
All beings assigned to Zone 0 possessed the capability to fight against high-ranking executives. However, it was only at a level of withstanding; they lacked the might to subdue.
Moreover, it was impossible to ascertain what abilities the new slave had, so relaxation was not an option. Transporting these slaves was akin to carrying a ticking time bomb, as they often employed all sorts of outlandish methods to attempt escape.
Thus, the guard, eager to throw the major problems onto someone else, dumped the explanation of Zone 0 onto the other prisoner in the room. With Lian’s current body owner in a state that wouldn’t be surprising if he died tomorrow, it was a natural instinct to use him as a meat shield.
Consequently, a chilly silence settled in the room, leaving only Jess and Lian.
‘It’s not Jess… or maybe it’s a lost family member or something?’
Seeing Jess stand before him gave off an aura so different from the Jess he knew. The Jess he remembered was a sweet and fragile girl who craved attention. But the woman in front of him looked strikingly similar in face and body, exuding a razor-sharp atmosphere.
‘Ugh… just in case, I shouldn’t act like I know her.’
With that thought, just as Lian steeled his resolve, Jess abruptly approached him, her chains clanking noisily at her wrists and ankles with each step she took.
Lian snapped back to reality and awkwardly raised a hand while speaking.
“H-Hello -..”
“Sniff, sniff.”
Before he could finish his greeting, Jess had leant in close to his face, sniffing at him with a twitching nose. The awkwardly close distance made Lian freeze, trapped in a rigid smile.
Her gaze held a mixture of confusion, anxiety, anger, and affection as it bore into Lian’s eyes. The beautifully sparkling ruby-like eyes reflected his black-haired form, making him feel as if he were trapped within them—unable to escape.
“Hrrr…”
She half-squinted her eyes, letting out a low sound, then, as if losing interest, abruptly turned her body towards the empty bed.
“Ah…”
Lian stared blankly at her red hair brushing past his face before tracking her retreating back. Overwhelmed by emotions he couldn’t articulate, he subconsciously pressed a hand to his chest.
‘Gulp, I thought I was about to be eaten there…’
Perhaps due to the spine-chilling fear that he felt, Lian’s heart raced wildly.
‘If Jess is like a country puppy, then this girl seems… more like a cat.’
Watching the woman silently slide into the bed, Lian couldn’t help but shake his head.
‘That’s not what’s important right now!’
Images of the guard’s earlier words echoed in his mind.
‘He told me to explain this prison… but I don’t know anything!’
With an impulse to tear at his hair, he groaned, returning to the bed. He needed to be careful not to go bald from stress, so instead, he pressed his hands on his head and glanced at the red-haired beastwoman lying on her stomach.
Her profile was clearly visible as she lay on her side, and Lian found himself unexpectedly following the curves of her body with his eyes before jolting, quickly lowering his head.
‘No, I shouldn’t do this!’
It wasn’t just a matter of common decency; the more significant issue was the fact that she was a high-ranking executive.
‘If she’s that strong, she’ll definitely notice me staring.’
While minor damages might heal, going into lava and emerging as a skeleton was far beyond the realm of possibility.
If she didn’t appreciate Lian’s gaze and decided to crush him, he wouldn’t stand a chance at recovery.
‘Should I just lay low and quietly slip away?’
The thought flitted through his mind, but he soon shook his head.
‘Well, it seems possible if done correctly…’
Lian’s gaze wandered to the familiar red hair and pointy animal ears.
‘But I can’t just leave behind someone who might be part of Jess’s family.’
There was no guarantee that just because Jess was kind, her family would be too. Yet he couldn’t just let her go without trying.
‘At least, I should try to have a conversation. If I die… I’ll just find another body.’
He hadn’t explored all of Zone 0 yet, so perhaps he could find even better flesh than the one he currently occupied.
With that hopeful thought in mind, Lian stealthily approached the woman quietly lying on the bed.
‘Ugh… what should I even say?’
Initiating a conversation with a stunning stranger, especially one who wasn’t a family member or an acquaintance, was enormously difficult for Lian, who had the unique experience of having earned the favor of a unicorn. His mind raced with absurd thoughts.
‘Should I say, “Good morning”? Wait, there’s no window, so how would I know if it’s morning?! What if I ask if she ate? But what if she says she’s hungry?! There’s nothing to eat here?! Maybe I should crawl on my knees and carefully call out to her? At least that wouldn’t come off as threatening, so maybe she’d chat with me.’
After much deliberation, he concluded that, like a commoner meeting a king, he should approach while kneeling with his head bowed.
Lian immediately knelt beside the bed, half-bent like a sycophant.
“Um -..”
Just as Lian began to carefully call out to her, the red-haired woman spun around to look behind her. Lian was about to introduce himself when suddenly, an attack whooshed right above his head.
Swish! Boom!
With the sound of air bursting, a crescent-shaped attack flew above Lian’s head and smashed into the opposite wall. Being a place to confine dangerous beings, the sturdy wall bore not a single dent.
‘That was close! I almost lost my head! Wait! Is my hair okay?’
Lian’s face blanched as he checked his scalp. Thankfully, his hair was unscathed. Just as he sighed in relief, a hand with impressively sharp nails reached up and gently lifted his chin.
Before he realized it, a woman astonishingly similar to Jess was sitting at the foot of the bed, crossing her legs as she gazed down at Lian.
‘Will Jess grow up to have such an imposing presence?’
Overwhelmed by the sexy sister vibes, Lian felt himself blush lightly, but then he quickly snapped back to reality.
‘Oh! This is my chance to talk!’
Desperate to seize the opportunity, Lian rushed to spill out his introduction.
“Um, hello. I’m Lian, and I’ll be sharing this… uh, prison with you. I don’t know how long we’ll be together, but I hope we can get along.”
“…!”
As he nervously completed his introduction in a slightly trembling voice, a look of surprise spread across the formerly bored expression of the woman.
“Li…an?”
“Uh?”
Her voice flowing from slightly parted lips was so familiar that Lian froze in shock.
‘Could it really be that she’s my twin?!’
As that thought crossed his mind, she suddenly leaned close to Lian’s face. The red hair brushed against his cheek, and her sweet breath wafted into his ear.
“Sniff, sniff…”
Following that, the woman buried her nose into Lian’s nape, sniffing continuously as if searching for something, her delicate nose brushing against him.
“…”
As she pulled away from him, her expression was strange. She didn’t seem delighted, indicating that perhaps she hadn’t found what she was looking for. The woman, still rigidly staring at Lian, opened her mouth again.
“…My name is Jess.”
“Jess?!”
Not able to hide his bewilderment, Lian locked eyes directly with her, no longer avoiding her gaze. The realization that the individual he had believed to be a part of Jess’s family was none other than Jess herself left Lian unable to contain his surprise and emotions.
Swoosh.
The previously still tail of Jess began to sway slowly.
“Master?”
Having discovered a depth of affectionate loyalty only visible between a master and their pet, Jess instinctively realized that Lian was her master. Even though he had changed in appearance and scent, the loving glimmer in her eyes and her voice couldn’t be concealed.
“Uh? Jess, you… this isn’t ‘master’ but ‘ma…”
Before Lian could finish, Jess—now resembling a beast—lunged toward him, her tail swirling like a propeller.
“Master!”
The once proud and glimmering eyes of Jess now sparkled as if filled with stars.