CHAPTER 368: CHAPTER 368: THE COLD SHOULDER

~ Support & Read 10 Advanced Chapters on my Patreon

Haru lay comfortably on the floor, Aoko Aozaki on top of him, her pearly white teeth clamped firmly onto the soft flesh of his shoulder.

Her azure eyes had a bluish tint, like a snow wolf feeding on the tundra.

"Bite harder. What’s wrong? Out of strength?" Haru turned his head, a look of disdain on his face, and taunted her.

"Ah," Aoko summoned all her strength, focusing it all in her teeth, and bit down hard.

If not for the fact that she couldn’t tear off a single piece of flesh, and could only leave a neat row of teeth marks on his shoulder, a restricted-rated zombie feeding scene would have been playing out in this cold, gloomy mansion.

"Strangely, this mansion has a real horror movie vibe," Haru said with a sigh.

Hearing this, Aoko’s ferocious bite loosened slightly.

"Hiss!! Ow, how is that possible? You’re so much stronger now." Sensing her relaxation, Haru immediately feigned a pained expression and sucked in a sharp breath.

But all he got in return was Aoko’s ’you’re an idiot’ look.

"..."

A wordless silence descended upon the spacious living room.

"...Let go." Aoko’s face was cold, her voice like a raging winter wind in his ear.

Haru obediently released his hands from her smooth back and the two soft mounds of flesh below.

"Being on top of me? You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Especially since I’m currently... completely undressed. It’s even better for you, right?" Aoko’s lips curved upwards, her expression completely blank as she stared at him.

"How could that be? You’re biting me so hard, it hurts," Haru said, rubbing his shoulder, a pained expression on his face.

"Heh, not even a red mark, and you’re in pain??" Aoko let out a few dry laughs, a mocking expression on her beautiful face. She sat up, looking down at him.

"...What’s with the sudden change in attitude?"

Haru looked at Aoko with surprise. Where was the Aoko who had been so easily toyed with? Who was this woman, sitting on top of him, completely unconcerned about her... exposure?

Aoko completely ignored his surprised gaze. She understood now. Everything Haru did was to provoke her, or rather, to tease her in various ways, like a cat, to make her show all sorts of expressions for his amusement.

Aoko was, of course, exceptionally furious at this kind of teasing. If she couldn’t beat him, if she couldn’t even take him down with her, it would be a miracle if she didn’t kill him.

The reason she knew she couldn’t take him down with her was because, just now, when she had tried to use the Fifth Magic, he had pressed a hand to her shoulder and sealed her magical power.

With his unpredictable spatial abilities, and his ability to seal magical power, she didn’t think her half-baked magical skills would give her a chance to take him down with her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have resorted to such weak, and to Haru, beneficial, attacks like biting and scratching.

Aoko, her expression impassive, stood up and, under Haru’s surprised gaze, walked to the sofa and picked up her clothes, putting them on.

Seeing his surprised expression at her shameless changing, Aoko became even more certain that he enjoyed teasing her.

’So, I’ll just treat him like air. The cold shoulder should prevent the recent, endless stream of terrible situations.’ Aoko thought to herself. The thought of all the... services... she’d recently performed for him sent a wave of nameless rage through her.

But the next moment, she suppressed the flame, and silently encouraged herself.

’Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him!’

Three minutes later, Aoko, gently gathering her messy, deep brown hair, her expression calm, addressed Alice, who was sitting on the sofa beside her, frowning in thought. "Alice?"

"...Hmm?" Alice, startled by her call, turned her head, a dazed look on her face. She looked around, and finally, her gaze fell upon Aoko.

After a few seconds of daze, Alice returned to her usual calm, her voice gentle. "Finished with your tantrum?"

"Uh... probably." Haru, with a carp-like flip, stood up, patted his clothes, brushing off the non-existent dust, and looked at the calm Aoko with a strange expression.

"Alice, what’s the situation with the barrier today?" Aoko asked, her expression grave.

"Hmm?" A hint of surprise flashed in Alice’s eyes. She was surprised by Aoko’s behavior. Normally, being teased by Haru until she was furious was the normal development. Why was she so seriously discussing the ley line barrier?

"As I thought, you and this guy are in cahoots to bully me, aren’t you?" Seeing Alice’s surprised expression, Aoko’s face darkened, and she said, a humorless smile on her face.

Seeing Aoko’s dark expression, Alice’s gaze flickered slightly. She softly explained the barrier’s situation, trying to change the subject.

"...The situation is currently stable, but last night, three of the barrier nodes were destroyed. If nothing unexpected happens, the barrier will be broken today."

"Hmm? Three of the barrier nodes were destroyed?" Haru raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise on his face.

Aoko shot him a cold glance, then silently turned her head and looked at Alice.

Alice tilted her head, her gaze on Aoko growing even more surprised. But after looking at her for a few seconds, she turned her head slightly and explained to Haru.

"The intruder from last night destroyed three of the Misaki City’s great barrier’s nodes in one night. Hmm, it was because three nodes were destroyed in one night that Aoko and I were running around, tracking the intruder, which is why we’re so tired today."

Hearing the word ’tired,’ Aoko’s brow furrowed. She immediately remembered the strawberries Haru had planted on her due to her exhaustion, and her face darkened even further.

"That disgusting puppet master!!!!" she gritted out.

If not for that puppet master who had invaded Misaki City, would she have been in such a... compromised... situation? She couldn’t deal with this True Magic User, Haru, but she couldn’t deal with that bug hiding in the shadows?

The hot-tempered Aoko directly blamed all her recent suffering on the ’puppet master’ she had never even met.

"Oh?" Haru raised an eyebrow, looking at the furious Aoko with surprise. It seemed something interesting had happened last night.

"What happened last night?" Haru turned his gaze to Alice and asked softly.

Hearing this, Alice’s lips curved upwards slightly.

Support & Read 10 Advanced Chapters

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)