"How interesting. This is even more interesting than I expected."
Queen Medusa waved her hand, signaling the serpent guards to leave.
However, just as the guards reached the doorway, she suddenly called out:
"If he has any further requests, let him come directly to me."
The serpent guard was momentarily stunned. Meeting the Queen... what an immense honor that would be! If he weren't one of her personal guards, seeing the Queen even once would be nearly impossible, let alone for a mere human.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The guard nodded.
"Good. You may leave."
Once the serpent guard had departed, Queen Medusa spoke coldly, "Come in."
As her words fell, an elderly serpent man, clad in a plain robe and looking rather frail, slowly stepped inside.
"Elder Baru, you are the only alchemist of the serpent race. Examine this pill and tell me its quality."
With a light flick of her jade-like hand, the brownish pill in her palm flew toward the robed elder.
Elder Baru, as she called him, caught it in one swift motion. The moment he glanced at it, a sharp gleam flashed through his murky eyes.
"Although it is merely a first-tier Healing Pill, its quality is nearly perfect. Just from this alone, one can tell that the alchemist who refined it possesses extraordinary pill refinement skills and profound fire control techniques."
"Oh?" Hearing this, Queen Medusa was even more intrigued. She immediately asked, "Elder Baru, as a third-tier alchemist yourself, can you refine a pill of this quality?"
Baru shook his head. "Judging by the pill's refinement, I would estimate that the alchemist behind it is at least a fourth-tier alchemist."
"Fourth-tier?" Queen Medusa immediately sat up.
"Oh, right. Who refined this pill?" Baru asked curiously.
Queen Medusa's red lips curled into a smirk, her amusement growing stronger.
Meanwhile, atop a sand dune...
A serpent guard spoke respectfully to Mobaas, who stood before him.
"Chief, I've confirmed it. That human has moved into Her Majesty's chambers."
Mobaas was instantly shocked. He grabbed the serpent guard by the collar. "Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"
"There's no mistake! My brother is one of the ones guarding that human. He's staying in a small side chamber within Her Majesty's palace." The guard's voice trembled.
Mobaas flung the guard aside and growled, "If Her Majesty hadn't stripped me of my position as commander of the palace guards, making it impossible for me to approach her chambers, I would have killed that brat already."
The guard dared not even breathe too loudly. He knew all too well that Mobaas's hatred for humans surpassed that of any other serpent.
After venting his frustration, Mobaas said coldly, "Keep a close watch on that human. The moment anything unusual happens, report to me immediately. I'll go speak with the Great Elder."
The lamps illuminated the chamber brightly.
Chen Mo retrieved a wooden tub from his storage ring, filled it with water, and added a restorative elixir.
Just as he was about to undress and soak in the bath—
"Your Highness." It was the voice of a serpent guard.
"Chen Mo." It was Die's voice.
"Come in," Chen Mo said.
The door opened and was promptly shut again.
Die walked in slowly, her hands clasped behind her back.
Chen Mo was visibly excited. Trapped as he was, he couldn't exploit the situation without Die's presence. He had planned to take advantage of the momentum, push his favorability score to 100, form a Dao companion bond, and maybe even level up as a host.
Hearing Chen Mo's eager tone, a faint blush crept onto Die's cheeks.
She wore a brand-new crimson dress, her skin as fair as jade, radiating beauty. Around her slender neck hung a dark gold pendant.
If she wore a crown, at a glance, she would be almost indistinguishable from Queen Medusa.
Of course, upon closer inspection, there were differences.
For one, Die's figure was slightly less... pronounced compared to Queen Medusa's.
Her features were not as bewitching, lacking a certain seductive allure.
[Ding! Favorability +1. You have received 1 favorability coin.]
Die brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, her face still tinged with red. She spoke softly, "How's your alchemy going? I came to see you at noon, but the guards said you were refining pills, so I didn't disturb you."
"Not bad. Here, take a look."
Chen Mo took out a jade bottle from his storage ring and handed it to her.
Die glanced at it before returning it to him, covering her mouth as she chuckled. "I didn't expect you to be an alchemist."
"Haha, surprising, right? There's more where that came from." Chen Mo teased before asking, "Now that you've regained your memories, what's your real name?"
Even though he already knew, he asked anyway—just for formality.
Die shook her head. "When my sister and I were born, we were not given names. Everyone just called me 'Your Highness.'"
"But it doesn't matter. From now on, I have a name. I've decided... my name is Die."
She smiled brightly as she spoke.
Seeing her expression, warmth surged through Chen Mo's heart. He immediately said, "You still haven't answered my question from this morning."
"...What question?" Die bit her lip shyly.
Are you seriously playing dumb?
Chen Mo had no choice but to press on. "Do you like me?"
As soon as the words left his mouth—
Die's face turned bright red, even her ears flushed. She avoided his gaze, lowering her head as she softly murmured:
"What? I didn't hear you." Chen Mo had heard her clearly but chose to tease her.
"...Mhm." Die repeated, a little louder this time.
"Still too quiet. I didn't catch that."
Die was momentarily stunned, but when she noticed the mischievous grin on Chen Mo's face, she realized he was messing with her. A flush of embarrassment and frustration filled her as she lightly slapped his arm.
"You're so annoying!"
Her delicate slap carried no strength at all.
Chen Mo easily caught her soft hand and, without thinking, pulled her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her slender waist.
"W-What are you doing? Let me go...!"
Die's body stiffened, struggling as she weakly pushed against his chest.
[Ding! Favorability +1. You have received 1 favorability coin. Intimacy bonus activated—Gained one incense stick's worth of comprehension time.]
Chen Mo: I don't believe you one bit.
His arms instinctively tightened around her waist, his gaze fixed on her. A faint heat flickered in his eyes, and as his hand lightly traced along her smooth, jade-like skin—
Die's entire face instantly turned scorching red.
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