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"Lord Riku, what was that form you were in just now? It had such a pure dragon aura," Zhu Yue suddenly asked.
The question caught the attention of both Zhubi and Jibril.
"Well, let's just say I figured it out while fighting Reginrave," Riku replied with a helpless smile, scratching his nose.
There was no way he could tell them about the system.
"Riku's lying," Zhubi said quietly.
"Zhubi, this is one of those times when keeping quiet would be the smart thing to do," Riku replied, rolling his eyes and patting her head like he was teaching a kid.
Yeah… there was no way he could fool a machine-species like Zhubi with a half-assed excuse.
"But Zhubi wants to know more about Riku," she said, staring intently at him.
"Hmm… we'll talk about it another time, alright?" Riku said with a shake of his head.
"…Okay." After a brief silence, Zhubi nodded.
Seeing how human she was becoming, Riku nodded back in satisfaction. She was getting more and more emotionally expressive.
"Zhu Yue, let's keep moving."
"Alright."
With that, Riku, Jibril, and Zhubi climbed back onto Zhu Yue's back.
Riku lay down, resting his head on Jibril's soft, curvy thighs, gazing up at the sky. After using so much power earlier, he was pretty wiped out.
"By the way, Master," Jibril asked curiously, gently stroking his forehead, "are you heading to the vampires to get them to join the alliance too?"
"Nope. I'm going there to find a treasure—something only I can find," Riku replied vaguely after thinking for a moment.
"Oh? So that power you used just now, was it from something you found in the dragonkin territory?" Jibril asked with interest.
"More or less," Riku replied softly.
He mainly answered because he saw the look in Zhubi's eyes—it made him feel a little guilty.
"Hehe, Master, since I've fully recovered, how about making a deal with me again?" Jibril's eyes sparkled as she leaned down so close her cute face nearly touched his, grinning like a lovestruck fool.
"Jibril, what's your current role?" Riku raised an eyebrow and exhaled onto her face as he spoke calmly.
"Of course, I'm your maid," she answered without hesitation.
"If you're my maid, and I want to play with your body, why would I need to make a deal?" Riku said seriously.
"Huh? Yeah, I guess that makes sense!" Jibril blinked, then tilted her head in surprise.
"As someone I respect the most, Master can touch and play with my body anytime he wants~ Do you wanna do it now? I can strip and serve you right here," Jibril said with an ecstatic, borderline obsessed expression as she stared hungrily at him.
Hearing that, the corner of Riku's mouth twitched. Knowing her, she was dead serious—she'd actually go through with it.
"Sexual activity is prohibited," Zhubi suddenly cut in.
"Hey! You dumb Flugel! Don't start screwing around with Lord Riku on my back!" Zhu Yue growled from under them.
"Ara~ Are you saying that because you can't take human form, and you're jealous Master and I can make love?" Jibril smirked, flipping her hair dramatically.
"Jibril, if you keep playing like this, someone's gonna end up going too far," Riku said seriously, furrowing his brows.
"Honestly, I kinda want you to go too far," Jibril shot back with a teasing grin. "You spoil that brat Fia way too much."
"Well, congrats, Jibril. You've officially pissed me off. When we get back, I'm going to give you a very thorough lesson on how to respect your master," Riku said in a tone full of mock menace.
"Ooh, I'm looking forward to it," Jibril said sweetly, curling her lips into a smile.
"You two are idiots," muttered Zhu Yue, exasperated.
Meanwhile, Zhubi was staring at Riku with a conflicted look in her eyes, like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how.
"Zhubi? What's wrong?" Riku asked gently, noticing her expression.
"Zhubi… wants to help Riku. But Fia won't share any reference data, so I can't create the perfect 'hole' for you…" she said in a small voice, clearly frustrated.
"Uh…" Riku rubbed his nose awkwardly. Her obsession with this topic really ran deep.
"Also… in terms of combat power, I'm just holding everyone back. I hate the feeling of being useless," she said softly, looking down.
Those words made Riku, Jibril, and Zhu Yue all freeze for a moment. Riku could handle it, but the other two were shocked that a machine-species like Zhubi had such deep emotions. That wasn't how they were supposed to work.
"You don't need to think like that," Riku said seriously, reaching out to gently stroke her cheek. "To me, Zhubi, you're one of the most important people. You're also one of my trump cards—the key to claiming the Star Grail."
"But Zhubi's not that powerful…" Her eyes lit up for a second at his words, then dimmed again. "I'm just a disconnected analysis unit."
"Disconnected doesn't mean you can't reconnect," Riku said firmly. "I'll not only get you reconnected—I'll make you the commanding officer of all the machine-species."
"—!"
Zhubi's eyes widened in shock. Even Jibril and Zhu Yue were speechless.
"Do you believe you can do it?" Riku asked with a smile.
"…For Riku, Zhubi will make it happen," she replied after a pause, voice full of quiet determination.
Her calculations told her it was impossible—but her heart, that strange emotional center she didn't fully understand, screamed that she could. No, not just could—must, for Riku.
"Good. No matter what, Zhubi, you've always been my most important contract. Our lives, our souls, our wills… they were bound together from the moment we first locked eyes, weren't they?" Riku said softly.
"Yeah." For the first time, Zhubi gave a real smile—something truly human—and gently laid her small body on top of Riku, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.
Riku smiled too, running his hand through her hair.
This warmth… it felt so real. Even if she didn't fully understand how it differed from energy flow, she liked it.
"I gotta admit, I'm kinda jealous," Jibril thought quietly to herself as she watched the two of them.
Not even back when Riku was spoiling Fia did she see this kind of warmth in him…
"....."