191 Confirming Dominance
“Heh heh heh~”
Delia hummed a tune as she padded inside, shuffling in her slippers. Her tawny hair was wet, clumping into translucent strands. Steam rose from her skin, which looked especially flushed and tender from the hot water.
Pandora sat on the edge of the communal bed, eyeing the doorway.
Heh, she’s showered, turned into a fair and tender little brat—she looks quite delicious.
A smile played on her lips, and her fingers interlaced and writhed like a soft sea anemone.
“Senior is such a nice person,” Delia said with a smile.
Pandora’s expression instantly turned cold.
Are you out of your mind?
Why are you still thinking about my mom?
“A senior helped me turn on the water heater just now. Mmm, it’s so warm,” Delia said, rubbing her hands together.
Ah, I misunderstood.
“Sorry.”
Pandora narrowed her eyes, carefully observing Delia’s eyes. Indeed, the focus of her gaze was slightly closer than the actual objects.
But she couldn’t tell which one was the prosthetic eye.
After examining it for a while, the bloodshot veins, eyelids, and pupils—including details like pupillary contraction in response to light and tracking movement—were all crafted with such realism that there was no sense of discrepancy. No wonder it had gone unnoticed after spending the entire day together; it was definitely a high-grade, custom-made Relic Artifact.
“Don’t forget to ask Senior to turn on the water heater for you; that requires mana,” Delia kindly reminded.
Favorability +6.
Pandora’s brows furrowed slightly. Does taking the initiative to care for others also increase favorability? Heh, that stupid loli really is a good kid.
When bedtime arrived, the six girls in the dormitory settled on their bed assignments. Then, one by one, they crawled into the quilts on the communal platform bed, curling into balls as they tried to warm the icy bedding and adapt to their new surroundings.
They were still strangers to one another, so their movements were hushed, and even their breathing was faint.
In the silence, Pandora extended a pale, shimmering arm from beneath the covers, the cold air causing her skin to tingle slightly. Her arm slithered across the silk bedding like a delicate, smooth white snake, slowly gliding into Delia’s covers beside her.
“What are you doing?”
Delia opened her eyes, her small face slightly flushed as she glared at Pandora with mock indignation. She didn’t like the feeling of being touched without permission.
Pandora, of course, wasn’t about to stop just because of a single protest; instead, she only intensified her movements.
Delia’s face grew even redder as she curled her body into a ball like a shrimp. Whimpering softly, her hands swept through the covers until she finally captured that mischievous hand and pinned it down firmly. Her chest heaved slightly as she panted, saying:
“Pandora, stop messing around. I need to sleep. The Housemother said we have to get up early tomorrow for Mass and classes.”
“Heh…”
A sudden light flickered beneath Pandora’s blankets. A green glow stirred, moving along as her other hand reached out from under the covers.
The Nightglow stone illuminated the tea-haired young girl’s small face. Irritated by the light, her amber pupils contracted slightly.
An amused smile curled at the corners of Pandora’s mouth.
As expected, it was a prosthetic eye.
At this moment, the Nightglow stone was positioned to Delia’s right. It was clearly visible that her right eye contracted more than her left; however, since the pupillary light reflex is bilateral, both sides should have been the same size.
From this, it could be inferred that the left eye was a prosthetic.
Pandora leaned out from under the covers, the silk bedding sliding like water over her fair, lustrous back. Her slender waist made her appear exceptionally supple.
In the darkness, her snow-white body gleamed with a porcelain-like luster. She pressed over, her jet-black hair cascading like dark clouds, some strands clinging messily to her skin in a stark contrast of black and white. Her thin lips moved close to the tea-haired girl’s ear, her breath teasing her ear, as Pandora spoke in a voice so faint it was barely audible:
“Your left eye… it’s fake, isn’t it?”
Delia’s expression stiffened as she stared blankly at the long-black-haired young girl.
The prosthetic eye was her greatest secret.
When she was a child, her eyes had been exposed to the light of a Pollutant. Her left eye was ruined; the pupil was dilated and clouded over with a hazy gray, making it look quite eerie.
The children in town bullied her, calling her “Captain Delia” because the reverse side of the common two-cent copper coin featured the image of a one-eyed female pirate captain.
Delia was heartbroken, spending her days cooped up at home, unwilling to step outside.
Her father had spent a fortune to have a prosthetic eye custom-made for her—more accurately, it was a lens similar to a colored contact. With the prosthetic eye in place, Delia looked no different from anyone else; she could finally stop fearing the way others looked at her. For all these years, she had hidden herself carefully, like a monster wearing a mask while living among humans.
“I’m so cold, let me into your covers.”
Pandora’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she exhaled a white mist, looking the picture of vulnerability. Her hand, however, restlessly turned over to gently scratch Delia’s palm.
“No…” Delia realized she was about to be teased; her eyes filled with panic, and her breathing quickened.
“Eh? Then I’ll tell your favorite Senior Wang Yue about this… Do you know about the ‘Uncanny Valley effect’? As long as there’s even one part that isn’t human, it triggers a strong sense of discomfort in others, making them suspect you’re a monster. For example, not having a belly button—isn’t that terrifying? Or for instance, dentures, and… a glass eye… Think about it. If Senior found out you were a little one-eyed girl, she’d feel repulsed, wouldn’t she? She’d think you’re an incomplete person…”
“Please… don’t… tell…” Delia gasped with difficulty, pleading in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
She turned her face away on the pillow, her pupils dilated and her expression vacant, a dazed look of one contemplating life and the future surfacing on her face.
Seeing the stupid loli’s desperate expression of being at her mercy, Pandora felt boundless joy. She loved the moment of confirming her dominance most, and that moment was now.
As long as she held this secret in her hands, no matter what she did to the stupid loli, she wouldn’t be rejected; instead, the girl would approach her tremblingly at her command. This sense of submission was truly wonderful.
Although Delia’s progress bar was almost empty, her favorability had dropped to freezing point, and her trust had become negative, she didn’t care—grinding favorability was merely a means; dominance was the goal.
Pandora flowed into Delia’s covers like water.
The brown-haired girl’s skin suddenly came into contact with a large expanse of cool softness, causing her whole body to shudder and her teeth to chatter.
It was a curious sensation. The strange girl she had met during the class placement at Crowsnest Town was holding her gently, making no move to mistreat her.
A soft humming sounded in her ear. Pandora’s voice was melodious and pleasant, like a trickling stream soothing her heart.
Delia slowly relaxed, her gaze falling upon the snowy neck and slender shoulders of the long-black-haired loli. She found them delicate and beautiful, and the contours of her brows and eyes were also very lovely. Soon, the body temperatures of both lolis rose, and it became warm and cozy beneath the covers. Perhaps sleeping with two people is better; it’s too cold alone, Delia couldn’t help but think.
Her senior was an unattainable flower on a high peak, but her roommate was someone she could hold warmly in her arms. The emptiness of the ideal versus the satisfaction of reality caused a subtle shift in her thoughts.
Pandora… might be quite nice, though her personality was a bit strange.
Delia lightly inhaled the fragrance from the neck of the long-black-haired loli, thinking with a mix of fear and shyness: Do I already belong to her?
Her affection was quietly rising.
However, she didn’t show it, because the insecurity of having her weakness held against her kept her feeling afraid and angry.
She thought that if only Classmate Pandora would take the initiative to apologize, she would graciously accept, and then, she would become good friends with the strange Classmate Pandora.
The senior should just give up; that black-haired senior’s ethereal silhouette was not something she could reach.
Delia was indulging in wishful thinking; unfortunately, Pandora only wanted to exert Dominance over her.
Soon, Pandora’s slightly raspy voice drifted into her ear:
“I’m thirsty. Go pour me a glass of water.”
Delia’s body stiffened.
On a bitterly cold night, leaving the warmth of the covers to walk across the room was undoubtedly a form of torture.
Seeing her hesitate, Pandora pressed her advantage, baring her sharp little teeth as she threatened:
“A high-grade prosthetic eye like this must be very expensive, right? What would happen if it were to get ‘lost’? With your blind eye exposed for everyone to gawk at, your classmates wouldn’t be able to look at you normally, would they? The kind ones would look away to avoid staring at your empty socket, while the mean ones would mock you by closing one of their own eyes… Just imagine it: standing on the podium for your self-introduction while everyone stares at your blind eye. It would be quite the sensation, wouldn’t it?”
“Please, don’t…”
Delia’s voice was thick with tears. She forced herself to suppress the urge to cry, her breath coming in ragged, snuffling gasps. Her thin shoulders heaved, and her voice was strained.
