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With both her dignity and ass being on the line, Cynthia of course tried her best to get out of the situation, even if it meant making a few compromises.
The emerald-eyed girl knew that Emilia wasn't completely unreasonable. In fact, her villainess had a special soft spot for her 'savior', and had it not been for her accumulated offenses, she might have already gotten out of trouble simply by fluttering her eyelashes.
After all, back when Emilia had first visited the heroine's restaurant, Cynthia had even made the girl cry in public, but hadn't she still gotten off scot-free?
Unfortunately, her overconfidence in Emilia's indulgence really seemed to have backfired now.
Emilia nibbled on Cynthia's soft earlobe, still keeping the girl pinned beneath her. "You want to negotiate, huh?"
If her partner was willing to compensate her fairly for her previous transgressions, then Emilia could consider forgiving the girl… partially.
The raven-haired girl couldn't help but shudder as she felt Emilia continue fluttering kisses on her cheek, ear, and neck. Most of Cynthia's thoughts couldn't help but shift to how soft the lips of her villainess were, and how good they felt against her skin.
No wonder those monkey brains lost their puny minds to such sensations! Her villainess was really too sinful!
In a brief moment of respite when her partner moved to the other side of her face, Cynthia finally managed to squeak out a stuttering affirmation. 'F-Fortunately, as a superior being, my resistances to such mundane temptations are very high! Hmph!'
Emilia grinned against her partner's nape, gently biting her soft skin before sitting back up to stare into the girl's slightly glazed-over eyes. "Cynthia, oh Cynthia… underneath this thin, flimsy little veil lies only your naked skin. What can you possibly trade with me, other than your body to get out of your punishment? AH, but of course, such a beautiful, pure maiden… I'll take the deal!"
When Emilia's hands left her own to slide down her shoulders, Cynthia immediately panicked. "N-NO! I-I can answer your questions, you know!"
The reason for her sudden panic may not be clear to Emilia, who would probably assume it to be either out of disgust or embarrassment, but how could it possibly elude Cynthia herself? But although she knew, the raven-haired girl didn't dare to accept it, even in her own mind.
Emilia paused, and then pulled the girl up till they were sitting face to face on the bed, though Cynthia was still firmly secured on her lap, unable to escape her tightly wrapped arms around her waist. "You mean those things you weren't willing to answer before?"
"Y-Yes." Cynthia gulped. Somehow, this position felt even more intimate than when she had been pinned firmly beneath the girl. 'This villainess… her every movement is evil!'
Emilia narrowed her eyes, as if she was still a little suspicious. "You won't lie this time, right?"
Cynthia felt her heart stop for a moment, though she wasn't sure if it was from the fact that Emilia seemed to have noticed when she lied to her before, or from the girl tightening her grasp around her waist. "I-I don't dare?"
Emilia grinned as she bit her partner's earlobe again, even though the soft little thing was already red from her earlier 'abuse'. "Okay… then… my question—"
"B-Before that, can't you stop doing this already?" The emerald-eyed girl squirmed as she tried to get out of her partner's grip, but that only made everything feel 'worse'. And her partner even dared to squeeze her butt with a giggle. Just how much more insolent could one get?!
Next time, she really had to invest more energy into making better clothes! Extra thick, extra durable ones!
'A-Ah, but… there's only 0.71% left… HUH?! How did it become 0.51%?!'
Unaware of her partner's thoughts, Emilia smirked mischievously and kissed Cynthia's cheek again. "This is just interest, you know? I'll stop taking it once you've paid off your debt. Of course, if you want to pay your debt off this way, I can also consider it… you just need to kiss me. A good, proper kiss!"
Cynthia couldn't help but forget about her earlier thoughts for a moment as she rolled her eyes and punched her partner's shoulder. "S-Shameless! No, wait! Emilia! Emergency!"
"Are you trying to distract me?" Emilia rolled her eyes as she held the girl tighter, and the emerald-eyed girl couldn't help but groan. 'T-This goody-two-shoes princess really became such a deplorable villainess! I'm really too good at my job, aren't I?!'
But when she tried to push her partner back forcefully and explain the situation, Emilia suddenly turned silent.
It was only a moment later that Cynthia realized how soft and squishy the feeling in her palms was. And even if she couldn't tell from Emilia's red face and naughty smile, she could still see that her hands were squeezing the girl's soft mounds.
Cynthia immediately retracted her hands as if she had been struck by lightning. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean that!"
Emilia smiled. "It's fine. You can do this anytime, you know?"
The raven-haired girl couldn't help but roll her eyes at how cheeky her villainess was. "No thanks! WAIT, stop! I really meant it earlier, we're in deep trouble!"
Emilia had still been indulging herself in teasing her partner earlier, but this time she could clearly see Cynthia's disturbed look, and immediately sobered. "What's wrong?"
Cynthia couldn't help but bite her lip tightly, looking at her partner in distress. "The energy consumption is wrong! According to our usage so far, I should still have 0.71%, but it's lower!"
Emilia blinked at her in surprise. It had been a while since she last called Cynthia out using follower summoning, which was one of their 'major' sources of energy consumption thanks to the girl's insistence of making her clothes. "Could it be because of the shapeshift skill? I did use it quite frequently, but you told me it doesn't consume energy, right?"
Cynthia nodded, looking even more confused than before. "It does not! That's definitely not why it went down. There must be something else. L-Let me think…"
Emilia couldn't help but frown. Being inside her mind all the time, how could Cynthia figure anything out? It was most likely due to something she herself did, and only she could help them figure it out. "When was the last time you checked how much was left?"
Cynthia thought about it for a while. "I-I think it should have been around the time you went to the place where the fake arrest was taking place?"
Emilia thought about it for a while before a thought occurred to her, and her expression couldn't help but turn weird. "Does it consume energy to heal me?"
If she considered the time period between that fake arrest and now, there were only three things that came to her mind.
First, Crystal's 'awakening' to her real potential, which Emilia didn't think should affect herself too much, though she wasn't completely sure.
Second, the trip to the supermarket, and everything she did there. It was possible that something somewhere could have influenced her and consumed her energy, though this was also highly unlikely.
And last but not the least… was sex with Dixie.
Cynthia gave her a confused look. "A-A little? Did you get hurt?"
Emilia hesitated a little before nodding. Anyway, with how rough Dixie had been, it would be a lie to say she didn't get hurt. Plus, the main issue was that the girl had consumed her blood after taking her virginity, which Emilia suspected might be the cause behind the sudden loss.
Cynthia gave her a look mixed with both relief and exasperation. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?! I panicked for no reason, you know!"
Seeing how her partner just blinked at her stupidly, Cynthia couldn't help but pout. "This has to be worth some points, right?"
Emilia chuckled as she squeezed her partner's cute little nose, much to the girl's annoyance. "Because you're so adorable, I'll drop your score all the way down to four."
Knowing her villainess, Cynthia thought this wasn't too bad of a deal, and nodded in satisfaction. "Still, don't hurt yourself so severely next time, okay? Not only is it a waste of energy, it's also suspicious if you can just regrow body parts!"
Emilia just smiled and kept silent. 'Interesting… so what Dixie did…'
Cynthia didn't seem to notice Emilia's thoughts, and continued lecturing her. "Actually, not just body parts, you should treat every part of you with care! Even your saliva and hair strands, it's all a precious treasure! Even when you're kissing someone, be careful not to let them have it!"
"Why not?"
"Idiot! Although the amount of energy in saliva is very small, we still lose something! In the long term, it's not good to deplete our energy like this—! AH! My heart, you're giving me a heartburn!"
"…"
"… T-That has to be worth a point, right?"
Emilia sighed. "Fine, you have three points left now. Oh, but if we lose something… what do they gain?"
Cynthia was ecstatic. 'As expected! Even my training cannot turn this dumb little princess into a true villainess! I just have to pry open her tough shell a little, and then it's easy to play around with her soft core! Easy points! Hah!'
She didn't even mind answering her partner's question. "Not much. Just a little saliva from kissing? Heh, maybe an extra day in their life? But for us, even if it's a fraction of a fraction, that's still lost energy! That'll be one point, by the way."
Looking at her partner's smug appearance, Emilia couldn't help but giggle. "Alright then, let me try something."
And before Cynthia's grin could even fade away, Emilia's soft lips connected with her own.
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~ To be continued ~
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Only one chapter today, sorry! >_<