CHAPTER 212: PINK BOOKS

"Hell no, absolutely not!"

Diliya shook her head like a maniac.

No matter what Ginya said, she wouldn’t budge.

From her perspective, losing her flesh transformation ability was already a kick in the gut.

Now wanting her ’treasures’ too—over her dead body!

Plus,

She was freaking out that once this precedent got set,

Would her best friend!

Even her future boyfriend have to be shared with this creature?

Though she didn’t have a boyfriend yet, she was getting ahead of the game.

Seeing the human half refuse no matter what, Ginya lost her cool.

Her withered leaf-covered giant hand immediately reached toward human Diliya.

"If you won’t hand them over, I’ll take them myself!"

Ginya’s jet-black pupils blazed with total confidence.

Nobody knew better than her

How insanely powerful she was now.

Even the formerly badass squad captain would be a total pushover compared to her.

Not to mention she knew her human half’s strength inside and out—no way she could compete!

Diliya visibly freaked out.

How could you pull this crap?

We were stuck together as one for decades, and now you’re getting all violent.

Diliya knew that with her own power, she couldn’t fight back against this monster half who’d gone completely off the deep end.

She immediately looked at Carlos with puppy dog eyes:

"Sir..."

Her eyes were all hurt, like saying: Aren’t you gonna rein her in?

Carlos took a chill sip of tea, savoring the sweet taste.

About the throwdown between Diliya and Ginya, he pretty much got the gist,

But it wasn’t his place to butt in.

After all,

This was their personal drama.

"This is between you two.

I shouldn’t stick my nose in it."

"Sir,

This isn’t personal!

Your retainer wants to mug a loyal, righteous psychic.

If word gets out, it could trash your reputation."

Diliya panicked.

Without their lord keeping things fair,

Wouldn’t all her stuff get jacked by this damn monster half?

"That’s got some merit."

Carlos’s eyes narrowed as he knocked back several sips of tea.

But having said he wouldn’t interfere, how could he flip-flop?

Besides,

Deep down,

Carlos was slightly rooting for his own retainer.

Ginya nearby pulled back her hand, no longer planning to grab them by force.

Though her stuff mattered, master’s reputation mattered more.

"Diliya!

For the sake of fairness,

All assets and treasures—

How about we go fifty-fifty?"

From wanting everything to asking for only half, Ginya had backed way off.

’?

Calling me Diliya?’

This meant

The monster in front of her had accepted her new name, totally saying goodbye to the past.

No way,

How could you switch names so easily?

You used the name Diliya for decades—don’t you feel any conflict?

Though she’d won the Diliya name war, Diliya couldn’t feel good about it.

Looking at their lord elegantly sipping tea nearby,

If Diliya were in her shoes, she’d probably make the same call.

A perfect member of the opposite sex, crazy strength—just changing a name and looks was totally worth it!

’Damn it, why wasn’t I the half that became a retainer!’

Pure jealousy bubbled up in Diliya’s heart.

"I’m cool with it.

Fifty-fifty is definitely something we can both live with."

So,

Diliya and Ginya made a deal on personal belongings,

First splitting up the stuff in storage space.

"Four boxes of nail polish—exactly two each!"

"Sweet!"

"Five pieces of white spirit gear—I’ll take three, you take two.

I’ll throw in a rare mineral to make it even."

"Works for me."

"..."

At first things were pretty chill without any drama,

But at the very end,

A book with a pink cover.

"This one’s mine. See what you want as payback—I can give you anything."

Diliya gripped half of the pink book, her slender fingers going white from the pressure.

Who knew that Ginya, who’d been nodding to everything before, now had a problem, her giant hand gripping the other half.

"No freaking way!

I’ll go along with everything else,

But I’ve gotta have this book!"

This book absolutely could not fall into anyone else’s hands!

"Now I am Diliya!

This book can only belong to Diliya!"

Diliya’s face looked like thunder.

"Nope!

I’m also Diliya!"

"Wrong!

You’re Ginya! Not Diliya!"

"Nuh-uh!

I’m Ginya! But also Diliya!"

"..."

The human woman and new retainer squared off,

Over a pink book, neither willing to let go.

"..."

Carlos was dying to know—

What book were the two Diliyas throwing down over?

Pink cover, the materials looked pretty fancy.

"A diary?

Treasure map?

..."

Carlos ran through possibilities in his head.

The two Diliyas were stuck in a deadlock,

Neither could back down,

Both dead set on having this book.

"Ginya, you don’t even look human anymore!

Why are you still obsessed with this book!"

Human Diliya snapped.

This was a ’winning secret manual’ she’d scored by pure luck!

It had tons of never-before-seen battle outfit styles,

Such crazy varieties, such mind-blowing patterns—it totally blew Diliya’s mind.

Her own underwear was made following this weird book.

Hearing this,

Ginya instinctively looked down at herself.

Her surface covered in thick withered leaves—she could only be called a humanoid monster.

Ginya got embarrassed and pissed:

"Diliya, mind your own damn business.

I’ll need it someday!

Let go!"

As she talked, her jet-black pupils couldn’t help but sneak a peek at her master.

Right now she was a retainer, a monster.

But in the future, she’d definitely get back to human form.

Then, being a retainer would just be the beginning!

Ginya’s heart was packed with beautiful dreams for the future.

Seeing the two stuck with no end in sight,

Carlos couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up:

"Sorry to butt in,

I’m curious—

Why don’t you just make a copy?"

"..." X2

Diliya and Ginya looked at each other.

Making a copy—

That seemed like a solid solution.

One becomes two, one each!

"Master, your wisdom is deeper than the ocean!"

"Sir, you’re a genius!"

One person and one monster immediately started kissing up to Carlos,

Clearly from the heart,

Because they honestly hadn’t thought of this solution.

"We don’t have copying gear right now.

I’ll hold onto it for now,

And we’ll deal with it after we get back."

Diliya instantly scooped up all the stuff allocated to her, including the pink book.

"...Fine."

Seeing this, Ginya looked at her allocated pile and started to put it away...

"Oh crap,

I’m a retainer now, not a psychic anymore—

I don’t have storage space!"

Ginya was mortified.

Where could she stash all this junk?

She looked at Carlos with pleading eyes:

Master, please help me out!

"..."

Carlos was at a loss for words.

What kind of mess was this?

But since she was his retainer,

If he didn’t help her store stuff,

He couldn’t really let her lug bags around—that would be way too weird.

Putting down his tea, his mind focused,

And instantly Ginya’s pile of random crap vanished.