Chapter 151: My Bed... It's Very Large

Chapter 151: The Queen’s Whisper: My Bed… It’s Very Large

Led by the elven maid, Celeste traversed the magnificent corridor, finally halting before a unique, unadorned door.

The door was carved from a single, massive piece of ancient Moonlight Wood, the same material as the study door she had visited before—possessing an identical, understated elegance.

The maid bowed respectfully toward the door and then quietly retreated, leaving the space entirely to Celeste.

Steeling herself, Celeste pushed the door open.

What lay behind it was not the study or parlor she had anticipated.

It was a sprawling indoor garden.

Winding paths paved with warm, glowing Moonstone meandered through the space. Clear streams gurgled between beds of exotic flowers and lush plants, the sound of the water a pleasant melody to the ears. The air was thick with a refreshing, unheard-of floral fragrance; a single breath seemed to invigorate her very spirit.

In the deepest part of the garden, beneath a colossal tree that radiated a soft halo of life, sat a round table of white jade and two rattan chairs.

Queen Elaniel was lounging lazily in one of them.

She wasn’t wearing the gorgeous, formal gown that symbolized her royal power. Instead, she had changed into a well-tailored, silver-white casual ensemble. Her waterfall of silver hair cascaded loosely over her shoulders, shedding the imposing majesty of a ruler and adopting the approachable charm of an older sister from next door.

Seeing Celeste walk in, she smiled and waved.

“You’ve arrived? Sit.”

Celeste walked to the table and sat down, her eyes darting around with undisguised curiosity.

“This place is…”

“My private garden. And also, my bedroom.”

Elaniel gestured to a spot not far away. There, half-hidden by a curtain of lush branches and leaves, Celeste could faintly make out a huge bed formed from the interwoven roots of a living tree.

‘Whoa, I got brought straight into the Queen’s bedchamber?’Celeste’s heart skipped a beat.’Has the Astral Express of this plot welded its doors shut and started racing down the tracks at full speed? Isn’t this development a little too fast? Is the next step to unlock some paid DLC content?’

“Relax,” Elaniel said, a light smile playing on her lips as if she could see right through Celeste’s chaotic thoughts. She poured a cup of steaming tea for her, the fragrant steam curling gracefully into the air.

“This is the safest and most private place in the entire palace.”

“Besides myself and my personal maid, only Eldara has ever set foot in here. And when she comes, she just stands there like a wooden stake, reporting on her work.”

She paused, her gaze softening. “And now, there’s you. In the future, when there are no outsiders, you can just call me Elaniel.”

The sense of intimacy in her words was unmistakable.

“Alright, Elaniel.” Celeste went with the flow, picking up the teacup and taking a delicate sip. “So, you didn’t just ask me here for a tea party, did you?”

“Of course not.” Elaniel set her own cup down, her captivating, wine-red eyes gazing earnestly at Celeste. “I want to hear you talk about your world.”

“My world?” Celeste was stunned for a moment.

“Mm,” Elaniel nodded, her eyes shimmering with pure, unadulterated curiosity. “A world that can give birth to… a unique existence like you. Is the Holy Light there really as colorful as yours? Are the combat methods all accompanied by singing and holographic projections?”

It was clear the memory of the “concert” and “music video” Celeste had unleashed on the battlefield was still fresh in her mind, and she was deeply intrigued.

“Uh… well…” Celeste scratched her cheek, unsure where to even begin.

The entire reputation of Blue Star had been thoroughly compromised by her antics!

She couldn’t very well tell the Queen she was relying on a system cheat and that all that flashy nonsense was just “borrowed” from another world, could she?

“Our world could be considered to have magic as well,” Celeste began, deciding to pick and choose the easier parts to explain. “It’s just that our ‘Class-holder’system hasn’t been around for very long. Compared to your elven race’s magical civilization, which has been passed down for tens of thousands of years, ours is still in the exploratory stage. It’s relatively… crude. So, we took another path, one called’technology’…”

She did her best to use terms and analogies someone from this world could grasp, picking out some anecdotes about technology to share with the Queen.

“As for the combat methods… mine is an exception. Most people are still very straightforward.”

“I really want to go and see it…” Elaniel murmured, completely entranced. Her eyes shone with a deep longing. “A world where magic is still in its infancy, yet it creates miracles through other means.”

Seeing her like this, a thought suddenly surfaced in Celeste’s mind.

‘This Queen… she looks so high and mighty on the outside, but she’s actually quite lonely, isn’t she?’

Like a canary locked in a gilded cage. She possessed everything, and yet, she had lost everything that truly mattered.

“What about you?” Celeste found herself asking. “Are you happy being Queen?”

The question made the smile on Elaniel’s face freeze for a fraction of a second.

She fell silent for a moment, picking up her teacup and gazing toward the flowing, magical galaxy visible in the distance beyond the garden’s canopy. Her eyes grew distant.

“Happy? Perhaps,” she said, her voice barely a whisper, laced with a hint of self-deprecation. “Possessing supreme power, enjoying the adoration of the masses, determining the fate of an entire race… that sounds like something one should be happy about.”

“But, it is also very lonely.”

She turned her head, looking at Celeste again. Her beautiful red eyes were now stained with a touch of sadness that Celeste had never seen before.

“I told you during the barbecue that day… my former friends, they all changed the moment I put on this crown.”

“They started being deferential, bowing to me. Every word they spoke had to be carefully weighed and considered.”

“Even Eldara… she’s like a younger sister to me, practically raised by my own hand. You could even consider her half a daughter. She was so mischievous when she was little, but now… now, all that’s left in her eyes when she looks at me is respect.”

Celeste listened quietly, not saying a word.

When you stand too high, everyone will look up to you, but no one will ever dare to embrace you again.

“So, I am very grateful to all of you.” A genuine, warm smile blossomed on Elaniel’s face once more. “Especially you, Qingyue.”

“You’re the only ones who, knowing my identity, still dare to joke with me, dare to eat and drink with absolutely no regard for appearances in front of me, and dare to bluntly ask me what’s for dinner.”

“Only when I’m with you do I feel that I’m not just the ‘Elf Queen,’but also’Elaniel’.”

Looking at the sincerity shining in her eyes, Celeste’s heart inexplicably softened.

‘Sigh, who could possibly resist a mature, beautiful lady like this?’

“Then in the future, just come hang out with us more often,” Celeste patted her chest and declared heroically. “As long as you’re providing the food.”

Elaniel was amused by her shamelessness, and the last trace of sadness in her eyes vanished completely. “Alright, I’ll provide the food. Plenty of it.”

The atmosphere became relaxed and easy once more.

The two of them chatted about everything under the sun, like best friends who had known each other for years.

Their conversation drifted from anecdotes about the elven race to Celeste’s past life experiences playing games on Blue Star; from the dark history of Elaniel’s own youthful “mischief” to Celeste sharing her most recent moments of social death.

Before they knew it, the tea and snacks on the table had been replaced several times.

“I was so engrossed in our chat that I completely forgot the time.”

Elaniel stretched languidly, the motion causing her form-fitting casual clothes to reveal the full extent of her perfect curves. Celeste couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.

She let out a delicate yawn, a hint of moisture welling up at the corners of her eyes.

“You look tired, too,” Elaniel said, standing up. She walked over to Celeste’s side but showed no intention of letting her leave.

She stopped directly in front of Celeste and lowered her head slightly. A suspicious flush crept up her fair cheeks, and her eyes darted about as if she were hesitating over something. Her slender fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her silver-white tunic, her gaze dodging away, yet she couldn’t stop herself from sneaking glances at Celeste again and again.

“Um… Qingyue.”

The Queen’s voice was as light as a feather, tinged with uncertainty and a hint of a plea.

“Can I… ask you one more thing?”

“Hm? Go ahead,” Celeste replied, her curiosity piqued.

Elaniel seemed to have made up her mind. She lifted her head, her wine-red eyes gazing at Celeste with earnest sincerity.

“On the battlefield… that feeling when you held me… I…”

She seemed to find the words difficult to say. The tips of her ears turned completely red, and her voice gradually faded into a breathy whisper.

“That feeling… it was very comforting. I haven’t felt that way in hundreds of years… the feeling of being able to safely entrust everything to someone.”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller, carrying a trace of reliance and a coquettishness that she herself seemed unaware of.

“Can you… hold me again, just like that?”

Celeste’s brain instantly crashed.

‘Wait a minute, did I hear that right? Is Her Majesty the Queen… placing an order? Is she trying to renew her princess-carry service subscription?”What is this? Is the paid DLC finally unlocked? Something as rare and unattainable as holding the Queen, and I get to do it again just like that? Who could possibly resist this!’

Looking into Elaniel’s eyes, which were filled with expectation, shyness, and a heart-wrenching vulnerability, Celeste found it impossible to say “no.”

She suppressed the tsunami of thoughts raging in her mind and fought to maintain a calm facade.

“Of course. If this can make you feel more at ease.”

Before she even finished speaking, she had already stepped forward.

Her arms skillfully slipped under the bend of Elaniel’s knees and behind her back. With a standard, firm princess carry, she steadily swept that soft and fragrant body into her arms.

‘Damn it, this damn SSR-grade feeling! So soft! So fragrant!’ Celeste roared internally.

The woman in her arms was tall and curvaceous, yet weighed almost nothing. Through the thin fabric of their clothes, Celeste could feel an astonishing warmth radiating from her, as if she were holding a pliant, little stove.

Elaniel let out an extremely faint gasp, her arms subconsciously wrapping around Celeste’s neck. Her waterfall of silver hair instantly slid down, a few strands brushing against Celeste’s cheek, bringing a slight, ticklish sensation.

Once her body had settled completely into that solid, warm embrace, she visibly relaxed. Like a kitten that had found the most comfortable nest, she contentedly rested her cheek in the hollow of Celeste’s shoulder.

A faint, satisfied sigh escaped her lips, vibrating directly against Celeste’s chest and making her heart skip a beat.

Holding the fragrant, pliant Queen in her arms, Celeste walked step by step toward the huge bed formed by the interwoven tree roots, feeling her own CPU about to melt.

She gently placed Elaniel on the soft, moss-like bedding and was about to withdraw, but she found that the arms wrapped around her neck not only didn’t let go but tightened ever so slightly.

“Don’t go.”

Elaniel’s voice came from the hollow of her shoulder, muffled and thick with sleepiness.

“The bed… is very large.”

Celeste froze.

‘That’s not how the script was written! What happened to the best-friend heart-to-heart talk? How did we fast-forward directly to the yuri sleepover segment?! Did our friendship level just get boosted by a rocket?’

She lowered her head and could only see the top of Elaniel’s fluffy silver hair and those pointed elven ears, which had turned a shade of crimson that put rubies to shame.

Her Majesty the Queen seemed to realize just how shocking her request was, so she simply buried her face deeper, adopting the strategy of an ostrich, using only her actions to express her reluctance to let go.

Celeste sighed, resigning herself to her fate.

What else could she do?

She couldn’t exactly pry the Elf Queen off of her, could she?

Following Elaniel’s “silent invitation,” she lay down on the other side of the bed with the stiff, awkward movements of a malfunctioning robot.

‘Calm down! Calm down! This is a pure, revolutionary comradeship!”Elaniel just sees me as a high-end, self-aware, breathing, human-shaped comfort pillow! Yes, that’s it! Just a comfort pillow!’Celeste lay there rigidly, the faint floral scent that was identical to the Queen’s own lingering at the tip of her nose. The warm, even breathing from the person beside her sent her brain into complete chaos.’However… isn’t the compensation package for this pillow a little too good? They provide food and a place to sleep? What kind of premium deluxe package is this?”This friendship level! If the `Embrace of Moonlight` doesn’t unlock a third effect after this, it just wouldn’t make any sense, right?!’

[Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story? Every single bit helps immensely: