CHAPTER 9

Alya woke up late in the afternoon.

Alya had shed off every once of sleepiness. She quickly got up from bed, wore her sandals, and ran to the door.

The moment she opened it, something hard hit her forehead. The force of the impact made her fall to the floor with a thud.

"Oh....!!"

Her eyes were closed shut as she grimaced in pain. As she gently massaged her forehead, she slowly raised her head to see Nyx at the door, with her fist in mid-air.

Nyx froze the moment she saw Alya on the floor, glaring daggers at her. Sweat trickled down her forehead.

"....."

"What the heck?!!"

Nyx flinched at her outburst.

"Mmm....."

She quickly went up to help her.

"I'm so sorry, I was about to knock on your door, I didn't know you would open it before I could." Nyx tried to help her up, but Alya irately pushed her away and got up herself.

"Is your head...??..."

Nyx blankly stared at Alya's forehead. There was no bump or even a bruise.

"You're not injured?"

It was a hard hit, one must surely get a bruise if hit, and Nyx was stronger than a regular human. But, Surprisedly, Alya was just fine.

Her eyes narrowed unconsciously, as she knocked on Alya's forehead again.

"Is your head made out of metal?"

Nyx was getting Alya more ticked off. And what was more aggravating, was that Nyx had completely forgotten the situation and was still shamelessly poking her head.

"What the heck are you doing?!!!"

"I wonder if it could break metal....." Nyx continued to poke her head.

'....'

Moments later, Alya's forehead had gotten strangely hot.

'Huh?'

Alya fiercely growled and swatted Nyx's hand away. Nyx quickly came back to her senses.

"Oh.....sorry...."

Alya wanted to smack her so hard, she would grow unconscious. And she was about to do it, but Nyx instantly moved back more than ten feet away.

"We still have our tour of the town, and don't you want to buy stuff?" Nyx smiled nonchalantly.

Alya paused, then folded her arms.

"A bribe?"

"It is." Nyx gave a coy smirk. She was the candid type.

Alya unconsciously placed a hand on her hips, then sighed. She needed a tour guide and a shopping spree.

"I won't forget this...."

"Well, you should, learn to forgive."

Alya's face darkened. The atmosphere got hotter by the second.

Nyx was getting uncomfortable.

"It's hot in here, don't you think?"

Nyx could feel the intense heat in the room, but Alya seemed to be unaffected, Nyx noticed this. As Alya glowered at Nyx, Nyx gazed curiously at Alya.

Alya scoffed, then looked away with a sigh.

"Let's go then...."

The temperature slowly went back to normal.

Nyx poked her own chin, slightly amused.

'Oh?'

Alya was unaware of what Nyx was thinking so she just ignored.

"Aren't we going? Don't make me hit y....."

'!!'

Before she could fully blink, Nyx, who was many feet away, had suddenly materialized right in front of her face.

"Oh?" Nyx cooed.

She had her slender finger touching Alya's forehead.

With a charming smile, she poked her head once more.

"Don't act so brash. I got ahead of myself for a bit.... forgive this senior."

".....!"

"Also.....you know you can't hurt me..."

'!'

Her voice was gentle and angelic, and her speech, slow and passive.

Alya could sense something ominous. Her voice was still the same, but her aura had changed. She could feel a dark oppressive air around Nyx, so dense she could almost see it.

It was almost suffocating.

It wasn't as strong as Xyros', but it was still confining. She felt goosebumps all over her skin.

'Mm...!'

"If you do, I wouldn't be able to show you around town. Don't you want to go shopping?"

Nyx gently flicked her forehead.

"Huh?"

Alya's face froze, Nyx's demeanor had changed completely, in an instant. It was like her oppressive aura was never there to begin with.

She stared intently at Nyx, she still had her charming smile.

"What's with that look?"

'Was I.....imagining things?'

"Nothing, let's go then...."

Nyx smiled and nodded her head submissively.

"Right... but first I need to take a bath and change clothes again, I feel sticky."

Nyx ran to her room, which was next to Alya's room, and quickly took a bath. Alya decided to take one too.

.....

Minutes later they both came out from their rooms. Since Alya didn't have any clothes yet, she wore the same one she had on when she got here, while Nyx had changed into clothes, similar to the last one. She carried a small bag to put her money in.

"Shall we go then?"

Nyx led the way, and Alya followed.

.....

The moment they left the house, Alya's mood instantly brightened. She beamed as she strolled the streets, filled with people like her.

The town was very lively. Nyx immediately became her tour guide. They toured every building, street, and shop they could. It felt like some renaissance setting. Nyx also introduced her to the people they met on the way. They all seemed friendly.

Many had given the duo many compliments, mostly on their appearance. They were indeed a stunning duo. Alya could only blush and bashfully accept them.

What Alya was most fascinated by, however, was the town's market.

She ran to almost every stall, and Nyx could only sigh as she bought most of what she asked for.

More than two hours passed by, and Nyx could barely see her feet as she walked. She was carrying most of Alya's bags. She was exhausted, but Alya still pranced around energetically like a kid, barely holding anything in her hands.

They then passed by a clothing store. Alya halted as she stared at the clothes on the show glass.

"I need clothes too."

She grinned and immediately ran inside. Nyx stared hopelessly at the girl and chuckled.

'She does need clothes....'

Nyx followed her trail and entered the shop.

Nyx spotted Alya, who was already busy searching for clothes.

Nyx shook her head as she dropped the things they bought on a wooden table and walked towards her.

"It's now you remember clothes."

Alya ignored her words and kept on searching for clothes. Nyx rolled her eyes.

From the corner of her eyes, Nyx spotted a familiar woman. The woman also spotted Nyx, her eyes showed a sense of familiarity, and she smiled brightly. She was slim and middle-aged, with brown shoulder-length hair, hazel eyes, porcelain skin, and had the ears and tail of a brown bear. She wore a dark brown, simple tea gown with long, puffy sleeves and a white lace Puritan collar. Fixed over her dress was a black demure under-bust corset.

A pair of round glasses nestled on the bridge of her nose.

"Nyx dear, it's been a while. it's so good to see you." The woman walked towards them, her voice was soft but clear and friendly. Nyx beamed.

"It's good to see you too. Sorry.....I was quite busy these past few weeks, so I didn't have the time."

"I understand, dear, I'm just happy you haven't forgotten me. You came at the right time, I have a lot of new dresses for you to try on." The woman clasped her hands together in extreme excitement. Nyx had a sweat bead on her forehead.

'Uh....'

"Anyway, I brought someone here with me today." Nyx turned to Alya, who was behind her, still searching for clothes.

Alya wasn't interested in their little reunion, so she continued to search for clothes. Until she felt Nyx's gaze on her back. She turned to see Nyx smiling at her, then gestured for her to come forward.

"Alya, come here, would you?"