Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 53: Quite the Coincidence

The ethereal dream shattered, revealing the familiar simplicity of the bedroom.

On the bed nearby, Diris lay sprawled on the white sheets, her jet-black wings twitching involuntarily. The succubus princess stared blankly at the ceiling with a vacant, hollow gaze.

For the final time, Diris had unleashed her full power in Dream Creation, generating an overwhelming surge of Desire Energy in one go.

With this massive influx, she had directly broken through the Third Soul Pact in a single burst.

Even after the breakthrough, the residual Desire Energy continued to wash over her soul repeatedly, making it difficult to process the ever-expanding power. Her consciousness blurred, and even the dream itself became impossible to maintain.

She had no choice—despite being born into a race of veteran players, Diris was undeniably the disgrace of the succubi.

Absorbing Desire Energy from a dream? This was her first attempt. She had no experience whatsoever, was completely clueless, and ended up crashing and burning on the spot.

…

At the table nearby, Xia Ya pulled out a tissue and wiped his hands.

On the wooden surface, the silver spinning top infused with spiritual energy had already toppled over, no longer spinning.

Crumpling the tissue into a ball and tossing it into the trash, he retrieved paper and pen from a drawer beneath the desk.

Then, under the glow of the Magic Lamp, the tip of his steel pen glided lightly over the paper as he began analyzing the gains and losses of the night.

"Overall, while this was an official test initiated by the Empire, I simply went along with the flow."

"If I had wanted to, I could have completely refused Diris’ Ritual Catalyst and Dream Creation."

"It's just… I have too many secrets."

"Leaving aside everything else, just the fact that the system can directly improve a summoned beast’s skill proficiency is enough to cause an uproar."

"Not to mention my entirely self-created skills… and the ancient summoned beast I contracted through Historical Echo, a species nearly extinct in the modern era—each of these is a classified secret."

"And I can't avoid using these abilities in reality. Back when I was investigating the Ruins of Cangting Ancient Kingdom, I left traces behind… these signs can't be completely erased. Even the Ashen Order incident had already drawn attention."

"If this continues, the scrutiny I face will only increase."

"Since that’s inevitable, rather than passively enduring more investigations and vigilance from various factions, I might as well take the initiative."

Xia Ya’s pen tip paused briefly.

"Besides, taking the initiative allows me to control what I reveal. I can showcase parts of my Mental Image while concealing the rest."

With Silver, a purely psychic summoned beast, as his main pet, coupled with his previous experience battling opponents skilled in illusions, Xia Ya had already developed significant resistance to mental-type skills.

Since Dream Creation was an exclusive racial ability of the succubus royal lineage and was likely being monitored through the Starrealm, he couldn't completely distort the dream without being noticed.

However, manipulating and concealing parts of it? That was easy.

Everything in the dream was a reflection of Xia Ya’s true mental landscape—but only partially true.

For example, the vast starry sea was indeed his ideal world, but only the end goal of his vision.

The Space Elevator and Dyson Sphere—those magnificent constructs were undoubtedly awe-inspiring, but they were so far removed from the current fantasy world setting that they lacked any clear details beyond their grand and mysterious presence.

How to actually achieve this "ideal end" was something Xia Ya had deliberately hidden.

The pink desire followed the same principle.

That shade of pink was something he had intentionally exposed, and even his final act of intensifying the Desire Energy, causing Diris to lose control of the dream, had been part of his plan.

A perfect, selfless saint who cares for all living beings would seem too abstract, too unrealistic, even suspicious…

But a man with desires, one with flesh and blood, would appear much more real—much more trustworthy.

As for how much of that pink and resplendent dream was actually true… Xia Ya would remain tight-lipped.

Although, yes, cat-eared maid-outfit Little Ai was indeed amazing—

But when it came to his golden elf teacher…

Xia Ya would never admit a thing.

He was afraid she’d beat him to death.

…

Minute by minute, time passed.

On Xia Ya’s bed, the mental and Desire Energy fluctuations that had been overflowing from the succubus princess slowly subsided.

Her horns, jet-black wings, and heart-shaped tail all began to fade, eventually vanishing completely.

Diris returned to her previous form—the pure and proper student council president.

"Stabilized at Third-Ring Mid-Tier?"

"As expected of a race from the Abyss. You succubi have it much easier than us humans when it comes to advancing."

Xia Ya glanced at her, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"It’s mainly because this was my first time using Dream Creation… If I try again, I won’t get the same effect."

Diris sat up from the bed, her beautiful eyes soft yet weary, tinged with exhaustion.

"And besides, this was all thanks to Xia Ya~"

"Even though I lack experience, based on my kin’s records… no one else’s dream quality can even compare to yours, Xia Ya~"

She reached out, turning on the Magitech Lighting on the nightstand, then licked her crimson lips with her soft pink tongue.

"Also, this was my first time as a succubus, you know~"

"You have to take responsibility for what you did, Xia Ya~"

"Stop saying things that can be so easily misinterpreted."

Xia Ya glanced at the door out of the corner of his eye.

"If Little Ai heard that, she’d seriously think something shady went down between us."

"Alright, if I’m not mistaken… you’re here on behalf of the people behind you to probe me and conduct an assessment, right?"

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"Now that we’ve had our dream session, and you’ve gotten a good look at everything, I’d say the assessment is just about done."

"If that’s settled, I’m going to sleep. Little Ai’s intuition is sharp as hell—I might need to take some time to clean up the scene. Otherwise, she’ll probably throw a jealous fit tomorrow."

Diris stood up, just about to say something.

But before she could speak, an incoming transmission interrupted her.

She listened for a moment, then turned back to Xia Ya.

"Her Highness wants to see you."

Her Highness?

Xia Ya immediately picked up on the implications behind that title.

Taking the pale blue crystal Diris handed him, he infused it with his Mental Energy.

Soon, through the communication network formed by Astral Wraiths, the image on the light screen became clear.

A silver-haired, crimson-eyed girl stood before him, clad in a black-and-red Black Eagle Military Uniform.

Her delicate features carried a commanding presence, exuding an authority that made her age easily overlooked.

Xia Ya wasn’t unfamiliar with this uniformed girl—after all, he had just seen her in his dream not long ago.

Well…

That was quite the coincidence.