Zerene swiftly stripped off her clothes, then obediently lay down on the bed, her delicate face brimming with anticipation. Lili carefully examined her body, and a sudden wave of inferiority surged through her heart.

Compared to Zerene’s body, which had been restored by Yae-hime, her own seemed almost unbearable to look at. The injuries she had suffered over the years had all left their marks on her, and accumulated together, they formed countless flaws.

‘M-My chest is just a little bigger than hers… I win this round!’

After searching for a while, Lili finally found her one advantage. A flat-against-flat comparison, yet that tiny bit of prominence secured her complete victory. And yet, thinking about it only made a trace of sorrow well up in her chest…

She lowered her head, letting out a soft sigh. Soon after, she raised her head again to look at Yae-hime. Recalling what she had said about beautifying, an unusual sense of anticipation quietly stirred within her.

“Starting now.” Yae-hime did not waste words. Her pupils instantly turned emerald green as a slender green needle condensed at her fingertips.

“Mhm!” Zerene responded brightly from the bed.

The very next moment, the green needle pierced into her body. That faint prick of pain carried an unexpected, tingling sensation. After inserting one needle, Yae-hime swiftly formed another and continued. Her speed grew faster and faster. Before long, ninety-nine green needles were embedded across Zerene’s body.

“It might hurt a little. Endure it.” As she spoke, Yae-hime gently placed her right hand on Zerene’s flat abdomen.

“Mhm.” The latter nodded. Immediately after, she felt the lightning force within her body tremble as if startled, beginning to grow restless. Yet before it could unleash its power, it was enveloped by a powerful surge of life energy.

At that moment, Zerene only felt her body grow numb and tingly, with a gentle warmth spreading throughout. On the other side, Yae-hime observed her closely, studying that mysterious lightning force.

‘Strange… this kind of lightning force, imbued with such profound energy, shouldn’t be this easy for me to suppress…’ Watching it remain docile like a flock of sheep, she found herself deeply puzzled. ‘Could it be… they actually like me?’

How could that be possible! Yae-hime shook her head, forcefully casting aside the absurd thought. Without further hesitation, she began extracting the lightning force from Zerene’s body. Just as she had expected, those energies did not resist at all and were drawn out with ease.

The moment they entered Yae-hime’s body, however, they immediately became active again, greedily devouring her life energy. In an instant, a crackling surge spread through her body, bringing with it an indescribable wave of pleasure. It felt as though, with the slightest lapse, she might ascend into pure bliss.

Lili watched the two of them intently, her heart far from calm. On one hand, she worried that Zerene might suddenly recover her memories. On the other, she feared that absorbing too much lightning force would harm Yae-hime.

Yet when she saw the expressions on their faces, as if they were about to drift into ecstasy, she nearly stomped her foot in frustration. She had been worrying for nothing.

‘No way, no matter what, I’m getting Little Hime to give me a beauty treatment later!’ There was no way she would let that little girl take all the benefits for herself!

Time ticked by, second after second. The lightning force Yae-hime had absorbed was already on the verge of overflowing from her body. She quickly withdrew her hand, then sat cross-legged on the bed, closing her eyes to refine it.

The process was anything but pleasant, the pain so intense it felt as though her body might split apart. But the benefits were just as immense. Five minutes later. A notification from the system suddenly rang out.

Ding! You have obtained Intermediate [Lightning Force]. Lightning resistance has greatly increased. Lightning control has greatly improved.

After hearing the announcement, Yae-hime slowly opened her eyes, a faint smile of satisfaction appearing on her face. Through this absorption, her strength had risen to another level. Not only that, she felt as though she could, at any moment, draw heavenly lightning into her body and command this force of nature!

“Mm! That felt amazing!” At that moment, Zerene sprang up from the bed and exclaimed happily. She could clearly feel that the troublesome energy within her had been greatly reduced. Now, both her body and mind felt incomparably light and comfortable, to the point where she almost wanted to break into song on the spot.

“Haa…” Yae-hime exhaled softly, and in the next instant, energy surged within her as violet lightning crackled and flickered across her body.

Just as Zerene was about to pounce toward her, the sight of that violet lightning made her face turn pale. Her body stiffened like stone, a flicker of fear flashing through her eyes.

Seeing this, Lili narrowed her eyes slightly, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.

“Finally done.” At the same time, Yae-hime retracted the violet lightning back into her body and spoke in a cheerful tone. Helping Zerene restore her body while gaining tremendous benefits herself, this kind of win-win situation truly could not be better.

“Little Hime, are you okay!?” Snapping back to her senses, Zerene immediately rushed forward. “Let me see if you’re hurt!”

Seeing how recklessly she pounced over, Lili quickly stepped in, using all her strength to pull her away.

“I’m just worried about Little Hime! Lili, you’re so annoying!” Zerene complained.

“You’re clearly just trying to take advantage of Little Hime!” Lili shot back, rolling her eyes without restraint.

“Alright, alright, both of you, that’s enough.” Yae-hime stepped in and separated them.

“Little Hime, listen to me, Lili’s getting more and more unreasonable!”

“Little Hime, listen to me, Zerene’s the one getting more and more unreasonable!”

The two of them grabbed Yae-hime’s hands at the same time, looking up at her as they spoke in a spoiled, pleading tone.

“It’s getting late. I still need to make some medicine later. Can we talk about this afterward?” Yae-hime tried to mediate.

“No!” the two replied in perfect unison.

Watching their puffed-up, adorable faces, Yae-hime could not help but shake her head with a helpless smile. “Then what do you want?”

Zerene bit her lip, her eyes darting around as if thinking of something.

“Little Hime, I want you to spank her,” Lili said.

Hearing that, Zerene quickly protested, “Little Hime, you can’t spank me! I’ve been so well-behaved!”

“How about I spank both of you?” Yae-hime suggested with a smile.

The moment those words fell, both Lili and Zerene froze, then shook their heads vigorously. They were already grown, being spanked would be far too embarrassing. There was no way they would agree!

“Alright, no one’s getting spanked. Let’s go downstairs for breakfast,” Yae-hime said with a calm smile.

Hearing this, both Lili and Zerene felt like they had just been brushed off. Yet neither of them pressed the issue further. To begin with, they had only wanted a way to step down gracefully.

As long as they did not lose, that counted as a win! At this moment, both of them believed they were the winner.

“Oh, right, Little Hime… about the beauty treatment…” Lili suddenly tilted her head slightly, looking at Yae-hime with a faint blush on her face.

“Do you want to do it now?” Yae-hime asked. She had originally planned to do Lili’s treatment in the afternoon, but since she brought it up now, the schedule would have to change.

“Mhm!” Lili nodded, the blush on her face deepening.

“Since we still have some time, let’s start right away.” Yae-hime glanced at the bed. “Take off your clothes and lie down first.”

“Mhm…” Lili responded softly. Then she turned to Zerene. “There’s nothing for you to do here. Go out and play.”

“I’m not going out.” Zerene grabbed Yae-hime’s hand. “I want to stay with Little Hime.”

“No, you can’t stay here,” Lili said with a stern expression.

“Oh ho~ you don’t want me here because you feel inferior, don’t you? Afraid I’ll see your body and laugh at you?” As she spoke, a mischievous grin slowly spread across Zerene’s face.

“……” Lili blinked, and in the next instant, a surge of anger shot straight up within her. ‘Why is this girl so unbelievably infuriating!?’