Chapter 57 - 2.18

Since they were about to spend the night in the cave, won't it mean that he had no choice but to sleep within a very close distance with the lady? The cave was narrow, and there was not much space to host one people, let alone two. However, it was in a secure place, and if they did choose to be there, they would definitely last the entire night without disruptions.

He definitely had to get the lady to sleep there.

After careful thinking, Zenith came to the conclusion that he would just stay alert and patrol the surroundings. Not only will he be keeping the lady safe, he would also not have to face the awkward situation of sleeping with the lady.

One night with no sleep was not too much of a big deal! Compared to letting his thoughts travel everywhere..

That won't do.

Determined, he brought her to clean the corpses up, then introduced the existence of the cave he found.

"Lady Ariel, we can't just stay out in the open. I found a cave that we could reside in for tonight.. Shall we check it out?" Zenith asked.

"A cave? I do not know much about camping, so I shall trust and leave it all to you. Will that be alright?"

"Naturally, Lady." Zenith nodded and brought Xu Jiaqi to the location he found earlier.

Midway, Xu Jiaqi's body was so overthrown by fatigue that she started to have trouble walking. Hence, she asked for the knight to carry her, to which he responded with a rather funny expression.

It was quite delightful to tease him. Just like she teased Qin Zicheng in the previous world. Although, that man did retaliate towards the end, making her a bit troubled since she wasn't used to being teased upfront.

Memories, oh memories.

Xu Jiaqi: Zicheng ge~ save me, I'm in danger! Wuaa!

The exasperated System: Host, will it kill you to shut up for once? Besides, you weren't innocent in the previous world! You led that man around like a snake and left him broken!

Of course, he didn't dare voice the thoughts as the Host could be very, very scary.

Zenith did carry her to the aforementioned place. Along the way, he commented on how light Xu Jiaqi was. That she definitely needed to strengthen and take care of her body more. Like how a father would tend to his daughter, Zenith made up a resolution to feed her more in the future so that she wouldn't be this weak. The years of suffering under the Maines couldn't continue forth now that she was salvaged.

Upon reaching, he set up their living space with sleeping bags and utilities. With the ingredients from the surroundings, he gathered wood to make a large campfire and cooked for Xu Jiaqi.

Zenith was extremely dexterous, and he was skilled in a lot of things. Within his range of expertise, one of them was cooking. Thus, the victimized animals that Zenith caught ended up being turned into tasty skewered dishes that Xu Jiaqi enjoyed and filled her stomach with.

They also parked the carriage in front of the cave so that they could leave right after waking up.

After the sky became darker and darker, whilst the moon shone brightly, it was time for Xu Jiaqi to sleep. The body was slowly drifting to sleep again no matter how hard Xu Jiaqi resisted the temptation.

Xu Jiaqi entered her space and used the sleeping bag to cushion her rest. She closed her eyes, fully knowing that the man was definitely not going to sleep. One of her eyes was left open as she watched the man pace back and forth in front of the cave, probably thinking about how he would spend the rest of the night.

A sneaky smile appeared on her face, as she prepared to launch her attack on the man, desiring to see his flabbergasted face.

"Zen, why aren't you going to sleep?" she asked with a sleazy voice, slurring some of her words.

"It's fine, Lady Ariel. I am not sleepy yet. Please sleep well." Zenith replied, a lodge stuck in his throat as he turned his gaze away from the lady's sleeping figure. How come she didn't hide anything at all? Did she not have a sense of shame?

System: No, nein, nada. Shame doesn't exist in Host's vocabulary, unfortunately!

"Zen.. Haa, come sleep with me. Surely you are not thinking of staying up all night, right? I know what you are worrying about, but rest those thoughts. I also have placed a barrier over the cave, so you shouldn't fret about security. We will be well protected." Xu Jiaqi extended her hand, tugging on Zenith's clothes as she pulled him towards her. She pouted, as if Zenith had done her wrong.

The man turned rigid. "Lady Ariel.. This, a man and a woman sleeping together without-"

"Sssh.. You need not worry about things like that. If I get tired tomorrow, and you are also tired, who is going to carry me around? Are you telling me to walk on my own two feet until they bleed? Heartless!" Xu Jiaqi placed her index finger over her mouth to silence the other, launching an unreasonable complaint.

"N-no.. That's not it. It's just that it's inappropriate.."

"Just treat me as a fellow knight.. a comrade. That reminds me, in the future.. We will probably be doing a lot more inappropriate things, so make sure you get used to it early.. Lest you mess up later?" Xu Jiaqi giggled.

"What?! More inappropriate things.. What.. what are you talking about, Lady??" Zenith freaked out. He did figure out that the lady was eccentric, but to think that she would go this far?

"I said what I said. Now, will you rest? There's two sleeping bags. Oh.. or perhaps, you wished to share the same sleeping bag as me? Although it would be suffocating, I don't mind if its you, Zen.." Xu Jiaqi smirked mischievously as she opened her sleeping bag up as if to invite Zenith inside.