Chapter 96 - Is a nickname
“Winnie, you're finally back!” A small white head peeked out from inside the house, and the familiar, slightly silly voice came from within.
'Virtue + 30.'
'Current Virtue: 2094.'
“Ah, long time no see, Dell. Looks like your mission went smoother than mine,” Winnie said with a smile.
“Not really, maybe the task I was assigned was just simpler,” Shikondel scratched her little head. Although she was happy to be praised by Winnie, she remained modest to consider Winnie's feelings.
“My task was just to deliver a letter, but I ran into some minor troubles along the way,” Shikondel said.
“By the way, Winnie, wasn't your mission a two-person task?” Shikondel continued to ask.
“Yes, quite unfortunate. I thought the difficulty would only be slightly higher, but it turned out to be much more than just a little. We encountered quite a few, um, troubles,” Winnie initially wanted to say 'dangers' but didn't want to worry the little fool Shikondel, so he settled on 'troubles.'
“Eh, Winnie, you completed it successfully? That's amazing!” Shikondel clenched her fists, her eyes sparkled with admiration. “You must have handled most of the incidents, right?!”
“Hehe, not bad, though that's indeed the case,” under Shikondel's full-on praise, Winnie couldn't help but feel a bit vain and went along with her compliments.
After all, his role in this mission far exceeded what a slacker should have done. Saying that this time it couldn't have been done without him isn't an exaggeration, right? Can't this be called a C?
Ah, C to the max.
“So, Winnie, who was your partner this time?” Shikondel asked.
“Nothing worth mentioning, just a worthless silver-haired short nut,” Winnie brazenly boasted. “This time, it was all thanks to me cutting through thorns and turning the tide. If it wasn't for me, that silver-haired short nut would have been turned into nut crumbs.”
“Silver hair, nut?” Shikondel tilted her little head, not quite understanding who Winnie was talking about.
But, silver hair??
“Yeah, a short little silver-haired nut, ah, she was crying all the way. If it wasn't for me taking care of her, she would have fallen into a pit long ago!” Winnie continued to let loose.
“Um, Winnie?” Shikondel paused for a moment, somewhat confused. “Was the person who went with you a girl with silver hair and violet eyes?”
“Yeah, eh?” Winnie frowned, realizing something was off. “How do you know that?”
Wait, even if Shikondel had seen Aesphyra, she shouldn't know who the silver-haired short nut he was talking about was, right??
“Um, Winnie, the lady you mentioned is, well, currently behind you,” Shikondel pointed weakly behind Winnie.
“...Huh??” Winnie tilted his head, not quite processing it.
“Winnie~”
“........” Hearing the familiar, playful, and teasing voice, Winnie's neck stiffened, and his head turned slowly like it was wound up, his gaze landed on the silver-haired girl with a beautiful yet somewhat eerie smile on her face.
“Oh, oh yo oh yo??” Winnie's expression froze, and he staggered for a while without managing to say a word.
“Ah, haha! Isn't this Aesphyra? What's up, couldn't bear to be apart from me for long and came looking for me?” Winnie laughed awkwardly.
“Unfortunately, no, but it seems Winnie missed me quite a bit. Not long after parting, you couldn't wait to talk about me behind my back, saying bad things about me~” Aesphyra said with a smile.
“Eh, what are you talking about? Who said bad things about you? Who dares to say bad things about you, my Lady?? If anyone dares, I'll be the first to slap them twice!” Winnie said with righteous indignation.
“Um, excuse me, are you the silver-haired nut lady Winnie was talking about?” As soon as Winnie said that, he heard Shikondel softly and cluelessly ask Aesphyra.
What??
If it weren't for knowing that this little elf girl was truly clueless, Winnie would have suspected she was deliberately undermining him.
“Mhm,” Aesphyra glanced at Winnie teasingly, her eyes full of mockery.
“Eh? Why did Winnie call you a silver-haired nut?” Shikondel, completely unaware of Winnie's stiff expression, continued to ask, not picking up on the awkward atmosphere.
“Want to know?” Winnie was at a loss for words, but Aesphyra mysteriously appeared at Shikondel.
“Um, can you tell me?” Shikondel asked politely.
“Of course, in fact, anyone can know,” Aesphyra smiled brightly.
Seeing Aesphyra smile so radiantly, Winnie had a bad feeling. He felt like this silver-haired little bread was about to stir up something big again.
Then, he saw Aesphyra lean close to Shikondel's ear and whisper, word by word, “This is Winnie's pet name for me, a term of endearment~”
Huh??
Winnie was dumbfounded.
“Pet, pet pet name?!” Shikondel stuttered, her face red, unable to say a word.
“Isn't that right~? Winnie?” Aesphyra looked at Winnie with a smile.
“Uh, uh,” Winnie didn't know what to say. After all, being caught talking about her behind her back was already embarrassing enough, and he had also boasted about how he was the one who saved the day. Although he only did it to bask in Shikondel's admiration and satisfy his vanity, he didn't really mean to claim all the credit, but it was still awkward.
But, has Aesphyra gone mad?? Calling it a pet name??
Wait, isn't she the one who hates being associated with men the most? What's going on, is she trying to change her taste today??
“Well, sorry, classmate, Winnie and I have some things to do, so I'll borrow him for now,” Aesphyra winked at Shikondel and gracefully turned to leave.
“Winnie, don't you want your practical grade anymore?” Seeing Winnie not following, Aesphyra turned her head, her amethyst-like eyes holding a captivating smile.
“Ah, Dell, I have to finish a practical report with this classmate, so I won't be back for dinner tonight, sorry,” hearing this, Winnie had no choice but to explain to Shikondel and quickly followed Aesphyra.
“Eh, but...” Shikondel hesitated, only able to watch silently as Winnie left with Aesphyra.
But she had planned to go out and buy groceries tonight since Winnie was back, to let him taste her improved cooking.
And, what does a pet name mean??
That silver-haired classmate, could she have feelings for Winnie??........
Moreover, that silver-haired classmate is really beautiful, the kind of beauty that even girls can't resist. Shikondel had never seen such a beautiful girl before.
If she were to pursue Winnie, how could anyone compete with her??
Shikondel kept telling herself that this had nothing to do with her, an outsider. But once she thought about it, she couldn't help but feel a bit upset, her heart heavy.
'Virtue + 200.'
'Current Virtue: 2294.'
Eh? Virtue increased? Was it Shikondel??
Well, there's nothing to be done. Once he and Aesphyra finish the practical report, he'll come back and explain to her.
Who would have thought Aesphyra would suddenly go crazy and stir up such a big mess? It was just supposed to be a practical task report with a partner, but she made it sound so ambiguous.
Can't blame him for misunderstanding, Aesphyra really made it sound like that.
“So, you came to me just to write the practical report?” Winnie caught up with Aesphyra.
“Otherwise? What else would Winnie want to do?” Aesphyra looked at Winnie with a smile.
“Then what did you mean by saying that earlier? What do you mean by 'pet name'??” Winnie said irritably.
“Ah? Did I say something wrong?” Aesphyra looked surprised. “Winnie always calls me that, so isn't that a pet name?”
“You?...... Fine, you win, can you explain it like that??” Winnie was speechless.
“Winnie, you're too sensitive. A simple nickname can make you think so much,” Aesphyra teased.
“It's your words that are too misleading, and you still have the nerve to say that??” Winnie rolled his eyes at Aesphyra.
“Or, did my words just ruin Winnie's good thing?” Aesphyra suddenly said.
"? What good thing? What are you talking about?" Winnie couldn't help but said. “You're not still having those strange thoughts, are you? I told you, Dell is a proper guy, just a bit feminine. Don't get any weird ideas!”
He still remembers Aesphyra discussing Shikondel's gender with him before, and Aesphyra's answer was quite ambiguous. Winnie wasn't sure if she had figured it out or not.
But, speaking of which, in the original story, Aesphyra was the one who actively pursued Shikondel. As for when Aesphyra discovered Shikondel was a girl, that's unknown.
The changes in the timeline are too significant. For some reason, Winnie felt that in this life, the relationship between Shikondel and Aesphyra had become somewhat subtle, but he couldn't quite pinpoint where.
Could it be that this silver-haired nut's old habits are acting up again, and her green-eyed radar is on the hunt??
“The practical report has to be completed by the two of us together, not written separately. I forgot about that earlier, so I came back to find you,” Aesphyra returned to a serious tone.
“Did you forget on purpose or by accident??” Winnie's mouth twitched.
Just happened to forget, and just happened to catch him talking about her behind her back, right??
In the past, Winnie would have thought it was a coincidence, but after spending some time with Aesphyra, he felt it was entirely possible that this scheming silver-haired little bread had set a trap.
“Of course it was by accident. Let's find a cafe,” Aesphyra led Winnie to a high-end cafe with practiced ease, apparently a place she frequented, as the waiters there recognized her.
Entering through the glass door adorned with a small cup ornament, the natural aroma of coffee beans wafted over them.
“How's this coffee?” Aesphyra asked.
“Feels like it's not as good as a maid cafe,” Winnie edited at Aesphyra. “Given your nature, it's surprising you don't go there.”
“What, does Winnie want to go?” Aesphyra smiled. “It's not impossible.”
“No need, I thought you might want to,” Winnie said expressionlessly.
“Ah, I don't mind, but the maid I liked seems to have stopped working there, unfortunately,” Aesphyra shook her head.
“You have a specific maid you like? Didn't your heart shatter into millions of pieces, each with its own owner??” Winnie asked with a strange expression.
"Ah? Is it okay for Winnie to say that about me? Don't spread rumors, I'm quite loyal. Winnie is the playboy, always saying he liked Milicia, but this time you couldn't take your eyes off me when I wore the dress you like," Aesphyra teased.
“You really are??” Winnie was both angry and amused by her turning the tables.
The two found a table, sat down, and took out the practical report to start figuring out how to write it.
Although Winnie's suggestions were all over the place, as he wasn't good with words and everything he wrote was just a bland account. This kind of thing was better left to Aesphyra.
In the practical report, they truthfully describe the entire process, including Julliana's sudden appearance, the priest Varkas colluding with a succubus to harm the villagers, and the level of danger they faced. If they had been slightly unlucky, they really wouldn't have made it back.
However, some things definitely couldn't be written truthfully, like Aesphyra's [Divine Blessing].
Winnie didn't ask, and Aesphyra didn't mention it either.
'Virtue + 50.'
'Current Virtue: 2544.'
Ah, Aesphyra is just too meticulous, considering every possible issue.
Seeing the increase in virtue, Winnie sighed.
This silver-haired nut had been paying attention to the questions he raised and naturally noticed that he had been deliberately avoiding the topic of how she managed to get them out of trouble.
In contrast, Aesphyra didn't ask Winnie what he was holding at the time or why it caused such a strong emotional reaction from Julliana.
Everyone has secrets they can't share. Since Winnie didn't ask her, she wouldn't ask Winnie either.
Unless it was something very important to her that she needed to know, she would slowly probe, using hints and verbal traps.
If the other person let the secret slip, it wasn't her fault, right? After all, she didn't force or bribe them, it was purely their own choice to tell her the secret, wasn't it~?
As Winnie watched Aesphyra organize the practical report, he suddenly noticed that before the 50 virtues Aesphyra had just added, there was another line of virtue added earlier, which he hadn't noticed while talking to Aesphyra.
Two hundred virtues were added, increasing it from 2294 to 2494.
No wonder the virtue didn't add up earlier, it had quietly increased before.
What's going on? Did Aesphyra think of something else? Why is virtue increasing so unpredictably??
What he didn't know was that at the booth next to where he and Aesphyra were sitting, a blonde twin-tailed girl with blue eyes was silently sitting there, holding a cup of coffee.