In Academy City, the Paradise Project begins.

Page 142

Inside the private bathroom of the High Bishop of England.

Warm water enveloped my body, and rose petals, exuding an elegant fragrance, floated on the surface.

Laura Stuart, the High Priestess of the Anglican Church, was soaking comfortably in a huge bathtub, her long, flowing golden hair spreading out in the water, almost taking up half the tub.

The flawless curves are partially revealed in the bathtub, sparking the imagination.

"Um…"

She hummed lazily, her jewel-like blue eyes half-closed, comfortably enjoying herself in the water.

"That interesting young man from Xia... his name is Higashino Yu?"

The brief but unexpected encounter at the hot spring came to mind.

At the time, Laura took the initiative to win over Higashino, a newly recruited Level 5 ability user. On the one hand, she was indeed interested in his identity, but on the other hand, she had a faint dislike for him that she herself did not know why.

However, that feeling came inexplicably and went away quickly. On the contrary, being rejected made me even more interested in him.

Especially that ability, even in her eyes, it definitely has unlimited potential... It won't be weaker than those demon gods once it grows up.

"But that guy...could he have...completely forgotten his promise to the lady?"

She puffed out her cheeks slightly, with a hint of girlish capricious dissatisfaction, making it impossible to tell that she was the Supreme Archbishop who controlled a vast organization, let alone imagine that her true identity was that terrifying Great Demon.

Even when she's bathing alone in a place like this, she's still playing the role she's been given.

"This won't do! Since it's an agreement, we can't break our promise!"

They had agreed to meet once a month to talk about interesting things, but Higashino has been back in Academy City for almost half a month and hasn't contacted her even once.

She had unusually given her personal contact information to Higashino, but he showed absolutely no intention of contacting her.

Luo stretched out her hand, picked up her phone from the edge of the bathtub, and her fair fingers danced lightly on the screen.

[Dr. Higashino: Greetings. The moonlight in London isn't as enchanting as it was last time. Have you forgotten something important? Sincerely, Laura Stuart]

The message was sent successfully. A meaningful smile appeared on Laura's lips.

She didn't know how Higashino would react after receiving the text message, but she figured he would be quite troubled! It was an invitation from one of the most influential people on the magic side.

I'm really looking forward to seeing that guy's troubled expression. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be flying to the UK soon... He doesn't seem like the type to break his promises, even after I reminded him.

But what kind of surprise should I give him this time? How about... I turn him into my slave?

She put her phone back in its place, relaxed, and sank into the water, revealing only her exquisitely beautiful face, glistening with moisture, but her eyes revealed a malice she would never normally show.

Inside Higashino Yu's bedroom in Academy City.

Higashino Yu had just finished his energetic "evening exercise" with Hokaze Junko.

It has to be said that the bunny girl outfit gives people a different feeling, and this time it gave Higashino unprecedented satisfaction, both psychologically and physiologically.

The claim circulating online, especially that clothing can increase attack speed, has once again been verified.

This is indeed a fact! The maid outfits with Kanzaki last time, the swimsuits with Wannai during the day today, and this time the bunny girl outfits all perfectly prove this point.

The only downside might be that it's hard work and tiring, and the kind of pain that most people can't endure... But what can you do when he's kind-hearted?

With the thought that "if I don't go to hell, who will?", he figured he should let himself suffer as much as possible. He would do everything in his power to subdue female demons like these, preventing them from ever having the chance to wreak havoc on humanity again!

"Today was so long, I feel a bit overworked..."

Looking at Runzi lying in her arms, she was like a lazy cat, her cheeks still flushed, and she drifted off to sleep with even breathing.

Higashino gently kissed her sweaty forehead, a hint of indulgent smile on his face.

Although she was a little shy, this girl was indeed very gentle, and she would fulfill any request Higashino made.

Just then, the screen of the phone on the bedside table lit up silently.

[New Info: Laura Stuart]

Higashino raised an eyebrow and opened the message.

"Tsk, it's that troublesome and capricious devil..."

He muttered to himself, but a barely perceptible glint of interest flashed in his eyes.

He hadn't forgotten that transaction in the misty hot spring and that "invitation."

Higashino originally planned to fulfill the request to meet once a month at the end of the month.

After all, during his last trip to London, although he had gained a lot of knowledge by dating Kanzaki, if he had an extra day to become stronger, he would be more confident when facing that great demon, who would be troublesome even for Aleister, when they met again.

But since she's already urging me to go, wouldn't it be disrespectful if I didn't?

Moreover, the speed at which his strength evolved during this period far exceeded expectations. Just the two events of fighting Misawa Juku and Accelerator alone brought about a qualitative leap in his strength, not to mention the further evolution that Misaka Network brought him afterward.

"However, we still need to make some preparations."

Higashino closed his eyes, sensing the situation of those who had an anchor point in London.

"Hmm, let's let them unconsciously approach that area first."

Under the influence of the ability, those in London who had been anchored began to move closer to Laura's location for various reasons.

Higashino glanced at the sleeping Junko and shook his head helplessly.

He never expected that he would be a scumbag who would eat and run away twice in one night, but he would be able to come back later if nothing unexpected happened.

He stretched out his hand, a barely perceptible silvery-white light emanating from his palm, and intricate geometric patterns flashed and disappeared at his fingertips.

This time, he's going to try a space jump over an extremely long distance.

Using the anchor point on Laura as a reference, appearing near her would definitely give that guy a surprise.

Without a sound, the scene in the bedroom vanished in the blink of an eye. Warm steam, a rich rose scent, and an extremely private sense of space instantly enveloped him.

The moment his vision returned, Higashino Yu froze on the spot.

Before me lay a luxurious bathroom shrouded in mist.

And he stood on the edge of the huge bathtub in an extremely abrupt manner, looking down from above.

In the bathtub, clear water rippled gently. Laura was soaking lazily in it, large expanses of her fair and delicate skin appearing and disappearing beneath the shimmering water and floating rose petals.

She seemed to have just been startled by the slight disturbance in the space. Her clear blue eyes, like jewels in the sky, were filled with a hint of sleepiness as she stared straight up at the suddenly appearing Dongye.

Perfect collarbones, the lines of the neck and shoulders slid down with water droplets, the beautiful curves of fullness, and that golden garden that makes one want to explore it... all of it crashed into Higashino's vision without reservation.

Time seemed to have frozen.

"Huh?!"

A short but absolutely genuine gasp escaped Laura's lips, breaking the stillness.

She was startled at first, then seemed to remember something, quickly crossed her arms over her chest, and abruptly pulled her body back into the water, leaving only half of her blushing cheeks and a pair of blue eyes filled with astonishment, disbelief, and a hint of offended anger above the water's surface. Her long golden hair instantly covered her body completely.

"Higashino Yu?!"

Her voice rose in shock and embarrassment.

"You...you...you! How did you get here?! And in this way?!"

She had considered that Higashino would come to England to meet her, but definitely not within ten minutes of her sending the message.

This is Britain! Has this guy been able to ignore spatial distance and travel such long distances?

After the initial shock, Higashino quickly forced himself to calm down. He hadn't expected Laura to send him the message while she was showering. For a moment, he had genuinely worried that Laura might become angry and attack him.

But thinking about it carefully, it's unlikely. Putting aside the fact that this guy is trying hard to play the role of Laura, and as the Great Demon Coronzon, he probably wouldn't care about what just happened...?

He was expressionless, his eyes trying to remain polite... Ugh, what awful hair! What's the point of growing it so long?! It's flying everywhere, I can't see anything at all!

"That's a question for you, Bishop Stuart."

His voice sounded calm and even suggested he was going to shift the blame for the accident onto Laura.

"Your suggestive text message made me think you had encountered some kind of emergency and needed me, your 'psychologist,' to provide you with 'remote diagnosis and treatment services' immediately."

Higashino was talking nonsense with a straight face, and no normal person could possibly imagine that Higashino would instantly travel from Academy City to London after receiving the text message.

"It seems I misunderstood the lyrical rhetoric in your 'London Moonlight'."

"misunderstanding?!"

Laura's voice was filled with exasperation, but she was inwardly speechless. She had seen shameless people before, but she had never met anyone like Higashino who had seen a lady naked and then calmly turned around and accused her.

"Even in an emergency, a lady's bathroom is not a place for you! You are clearly... you are...!"

She stammered "yes" for a long time, but couldn't come up with a sufficiently elegant word to describe this outrageous behavior.

"To make such a long-distance space jump, I've already done my best to vaguely pinpoint the coordinates on the London side, especially since I haven't installed any surveillance on your side."

Higashino explained in a serious tone that this was also true.

Unlike during the daytime, when he deliberately chose the time to teleport to Misaka's side, the distance between London and Japan is far too great, making it quite difficult to clearly sense what Laura is doing.

"I thought that since you were so eager to invite me in advance, you would choose to meet in the 'bedroom.' Now it seems that you didn't expect me to come so quickly."

He turned his head slightly and glanced at the "golden cocoon" in the water out of the corner of his eye.

"But since things have come to this, I'm sure you won't care about such a small matter, right? Should I return to Academy City now? Shall we discuss the 'Moonlight' issue after you've... finished sorting things out?"

"wait wait wait!"

Laura's voice came through the water and her hair, sounding somewhat muffled, but less angry and more like gritted teeth and speechless.

"Since we are here..."

She took a deep breath, temporarily setting aside her speechlessness at the guy's shamelessness, and got down to business.

"Perfect timing... I have some new ideas about our little 'deal' that I'd like to discuss with Dr. Higashino."

She paused, then said, "But please... at least turn around! And don't look back! That's the bare minimum for a lady!"

The water was splashing loudly, clearly she had started moving in the water.

Although it was a bit of a pity that he wouldn't be able to see the new CG of the Great Devil pretending to be shy, Higashino, who was still somewhat self-aware, turned around as instructed, with his back to the bathtub.

Hearing the sound of water and the rustling of fabric behind him, he sighed expressionlessly.

Still too weak. Otherwise, you could have made a bolder suggestion like taking a bath together.

Chapter 178 Laura and the Great Devil's Kiss?!

Some time later, the two arrived at the Supreme Bishop's private reception room.

After changing into an ivory-white lace-trimmed blouse and an elegant dark green long skirt, Laura Stuart seemed to have completely forgotten the embarrassment in the bathroom. She sat gracefully in a high-backed chair, like the most perfect heroine in an oil painting.

Of course, she didn't really care about that kind of thing, after all, in her eyes, humans were no different from roadside weeds.

Besides, the Great Demon doesn't have feelings of shyness; those behaviors are simply part of the persona Laura is meant to portray.

She picked up her teacup, sipped the richly fragrant black tea, and gazed at Higashino Yu across from her with a flawless smile in her eyes.

The faint scent of rose bath lingered in the air, but it had been replaced by the delicate aroma of tea and the subtle atmosphere between the two.

"You really gave me a big fright, Mr. Higashino."

Laura put down her teacup, lightly touching her rosy lower lip with her fingertip, her tone half reproachful and half playful.

"From now on, before using your spatial abilities to visit a lady, please be sure to... at least ring the doorbell?"

"...Don't worry, this kind of accident won't happen again."

Higashino Yu leaned back comfortably on the sofa, relaxed, but his eyes remained calm and expressionless. While waiting for Laura to get dressed, Higashino had already devised a rather daring plan.

If that plan had succeeded, there wouldn't have been this awkward situation of accidentally entering the bathroom. Instead, it would most likely have turned into a scene of rubbing each other's backs.

"So, what is the purpose of His Excellency Bishop Stuart's going to such lengths to send an urgent message via 'London Moonlight' to summon me here?"

"Wow, you've really gotten straight to the point."

Laura gently shook her fluffy blonde hair, revealing an innocent and harmless smile.

Actually, she was just bored while taking a shower and urged me on, there was no particular reason, but you definitely can't say it like that directly.

"I'm just curious, doesn't a genius like Dr. Higashino, with such incredible abilities, feel... cramped staying in that small 'experimental field' of Academy City all the time?"

This guy is just rambling on and on because he's bored.

Higashino didn't believe a word she said, but remained outwardly calm: "Feeling cramped? I'm quite satisfied with my current pace of life and... research environment."