Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 58: Pouting Like a Little Kitty

The astral communication ended, and Xia Ya withdrew his mental energy.

He opened his eyes to see Diris standing by his bed, neatly folding his blankets and quietly tidying up the room.

Right now, Diris had returned to the diligent and proper student council president she had always been.

“You know, I’m actually curious…”

Xia Ya looked at the graceful girl in front of him and couldn’t help but sigh.

“That kind and righteous student council president, and the seductive succubus princess from before—which one is the real you?”

“Well…”

Diris tilted her head slightly, her soft eyes blinking.

“Both, I suppose.”

“If I had to say… I think my human world persona is closer to my true self.”

“In the beginning, it was just a disguise—something I put on to blend into Saint Roland Academy.”

“A fake mask.”

“But when you wear a mask for too long… you start to become it.”

She paused, then continued.

“On the other hand, the ‘succubus’ persona I put on before… was just my fantasy of what my people should be like.”

“To be honest, keeping up that alluring, seductive act is exhausting.”

“Having to speak in that slow, lilting tone, adding ‘ne~, oh~, na~’ to the end of every sentence… it’s actually pretty tiring.”

She suddenly looked at Xia Ya.

“So, what did Her Highness talk to you about?”

“Not much.”

Xia Ya silently summoned Silver, pulling the little Snow Ferret into his arms as a makeshift pillow.

“Just a simple trade.”

“I pledged my loyalty to the future Empress of the Empire.”

“And in return, she promised to help me fulfill my dream from the dreamscape—”

“To finally complete the definitive ‘Exotic Species Cultural Evaluation Guide,’ starting with you, the wicked succubus.”

“Honestly, if that’s the case, I wouldn’t mind.”

Diris chuckled softly, gazing out the window at the fading Silver Moon.

Her eyes, shifting between her succubus’s crimson hue and her original soft brown, flickered with an entrancing light.

“Xia Ya, your dreams are… delicious.”

“They taste exquisite.”

“And since Her Highness has done me a great favor, if becoming your exclusive OOO is what it takes to repay that debt, then I won’t refuse.”

“A favor?”

Diris’ gaze wavered, and she spoke in a quiet voice.

“There are no laws or justice in the Abyssal Planes.”

“If Her Highness hadn’t provided us with a sanctuary, my people and I… would’ve been reduced to nothing but ashes in the Abyssal flames.”

Xia Ya nodded, not pressing further.

The last royal bloodline of the succubi… the Abyssal Planes… displaced clansmen… nowhere to call home…

Any combination of those words could weave an entire tragic epic.

Every family has its own struggles.

Him, Ailora, Diris—they were all the same.

Maybe similar people really do attract each other.

Most of the people gathered around Xia Ya had stories of exile and displacement behind them.

…

“Well then, if you’ll excuse me, Xia Ya.”

Diris lifted the hem of her white dress and gave him a proper noble curtsy.

Her figure began to fade, and soon she disappeared into the pre-dawn twilight.

Xia Ya shook off the lingering haze of sleep and opened the wardrobe beside him.

Then, he faced the silver mirror inside.

Slowly, the crescent-shaped Blood Moon appeared in its reflection.

“Remember this—”

“After I returned to my room, I spent about ten minutes freshening up, then went to bed.”

“I didn’t wake up until morning.”

After completing the mental reinforcement, Xia Ya changed into a fresh formal outfit, then pushed open the door and headed downstairs.

By now, dawn was breaking.

A golden-haired girl was kneeling gracefully in the soft glow of the morning light.

She wore a simple white fluffy pajama set, her legs wrapped in black fishnet stockings, and her long blonde hair was tied into twin tails with two simple ribbons.

Unlike the sharp, imposing aura she had before—

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Ailora now felt… much more relaxed and natural.

Like a sheathed sword, her blade was hidden, yet the potential danger lurking beneath was even greater than before.

It was proof—

That she had fully mastered the Third-Ring.

Noticing Xia Ya’s arrival, Ailora stood up and placed two cups of freshly brewed coffee on the table.

She handed one to Xia Ya and held the other herself.

“Did President Diris already leave?”

This time, Xia Ya didn’t even bother resisting.

“…Alright, so what kind of psychological game is this now?”

“It’s simple.”

Ailora took small sips of her coffee.

Unlike before, where her displeasure was clearly written on her face, her tone now was as calm as ever—

In fact, there was even a hint of amusement in it.

“If Diris hadn’t come over, then right now, Xia Ya, you would have whistled—”

“Then you’d say something like, ‘As expected, Little Ai, you really get me. Today’s twin-tail pajama and black fishnet combo—I approve~’”

“……”

Xia Ya let out a long sigh.

“But you seem to be in a pretty good mood, don’t you?”

“I suppose I am.”

Ailora cradled her matching coffee cup, looking at the identical design on both her cup and Xia Ya’s.

“After all—”

“Diris spent the whole night alone with you, yet nothing happened.”

“If something had happened, you’d still be upstairs, pretending to be asleep, too afraid to come down and face me.”

“This proves that Diris isn’t much of a threat after all.”

“…Looks like I was a bit too paranoid.”

Xia Ya sighed again.

Turns out, when someone in a familiar circle knows you too well, keeping up a poker face is next to impossible.

“Diris was sent by the Second Imperial Princess—she wants to recruit me.”

“The Second Princess… Isadella?”

“Yeah.”

Xia Ya didn’t hide it.

“I made a deal with her. In exchange for supporting her in the Royal Selection and becoming a Swordbearer, she’s providing me with resources.”

Ailora fell silent for a moment.

Then, after a long pause, she spoke again.

“You… have something important coming up.”

“And this is how you’re preparing for it?”

Because if Xia Ya was making a deal like this, it meant—

Something major was about to happen.

“Pretty much.”

“That event… that battle… I can’t be involved, can I?”

Xia Ya nodded.

The golden-haired girl didn’t press further.

But the subtle happiness she had just moments ago—

Vanished completely.

Her expression fell.

Like a pouting kitten.

Her displeasure was written all over her face.

She was Xia Ya’s sharpest blade, his strongest shield.

But now, Xia Ya was about to face a serious challenge—one she had no part in.

She could only stand by and watch.

And that—

Was something Ailora could not accept.