“I’m disappointed too!”

The girl sat cross-legged on the bed, looking dissatisfied: "You are not as cold, cruel and evil as I imagined."

"So this is the image my portrait gives people?" Ash was shocked and scratched his head. "Well... nice to meet you. I'm Ash, the End Watcher."

"I'm the Black and White Witch." She shook her body in the **: "Just call me Witch."

"Good evening, witch, have you eaten yet?"

"Stop, the unnecessary pleasantries are over." She held up three fingers: "I came here this time to establish three principles with you first."

"Um?"

"First, you are not allowed to ask about my life unless I ask you."

"Second, you are not allowed to reveal anything about your life unless I ask."

"Third," the witch raised her third finger, "I want the same treatment that Sword Princess gets."

Ash thought for a moment and asked, "Is it because of the secret treasure?"

The witch said noncommittally: "You can think so."

The Silver Blessing of the Black and White Witch, the Secret Treasure, can be strengthened by concealing one's own information, so it is natural for her to ask for privacy. It would be fine if she just wanted to keep her own privacy, but why did she ask Ash not to disclose his information?

But Ash couldn't reveal much anyway - An Nan had just ordered them not to leak any information to anyone other than those working in the firm. Even if Ash wanted to complain about his new boss in a virtual chat, he would be banned by the contract.

As for the treatment of Sword Princess, Ash thought about it carefully: endless training, the Vanguard Shield in the virtual realm exploration, the test subject of various event cards...

"No problem!" Ash clapped his hands, "I will try my best to fulfill your wish!"

"Now that the principles of communication have been established, if there's nothing else I'll just—"

"Wait, do you know Sword Princess?" Ash called her, "I haven't seen her for a few days. Is she... um... busy over there? She can't even spare a little time to come and see me?"

The witch looked at him with interest: "Are you asking about the sword princess who is a little scheming but very cute, says one thing but means another but is kind-hearted, and often admires herself in the mirror?"

“…Maybe?”

"I'm sorry, I don't know that Sword Princess." The witch spread her hands: "I just know that besides you, there is another teammate named Sword Princess."

"Then how do you know so much about her?"

"I can tell from the portrait."

Many question marks popped up above Ash's head. Can the portrait really reveal so much information?

Damn it, if it weren't for the high-definition screen, he would definitely use a magnifying glass to see every detail of the witch and sword girl's portraits that was worth studying day and night.

"I'm curious as to why you think Sword Princess wants to see you."

The witch dragged her chin and smiled, "If I hadn't set the rules with you before the official exploration, I wouldn't have bothered to come and meet you. After all, our only intersection is the exploration of the virtual realm. Other than that, we are strangers who will never meet. Non-interference is the most reasonable relationship."

"What is the relationship between you and Sword Princess, and why should she care about you?"

Ash said without hesitation: "Because we are not strangers, but companions with a bond. I know she will definitely care about me, just as I care about her in my heart."

The Black and White Witch looked at Ash quietly and was silent for a moment.

For some reason, Ash felt that her attitude seemed to have changed a little. Although the witch seemed very natural and lively when she appeared, she sat in the ** from beginning to end, keeping a long distance from Ash, and was polite yet distant.

Although she was still sitting in the **, her body was slightly leaning forward, as if she was curious about Ash, and her attitude became softer.

"Whether we can appear in front of you like this is not determined by us, but by the bond between us." The witch suddenly explained: "The deeper the bond, the harder it is for us to appear in front of you. If Sword Princess really cares about you, then you may hardly see Sword Princess's thoughts in the future."

"So it's not Sword Princess' fault that she didn't come to see you. She is actually waiting for you to appear in front of her, maybe in the virtual world, or maybe in..."

The witch paused and said, "In short, if you hope to see Sword Princess often, you might as well hope that you and Sword Princess can stay in the virtual world forever."

"What a strange setting." Ash frowned and said, "Shouldn't it be that the deeper the bond, the easier it is to meet?"

"Distance creates beauty, and our current state is not a physical entity, but a longing." The witch shrugged: "The so-called longing means that you don't cherish it when it exists, and you can't get it when you want it."

"But, we haven't seen each other for just a few days, and you miss Jian Ji so much..."

The witch's eyes sparkled and her face was full of curiosity.

"o(＊≧▽≦)ツDo you like her?"

“I like it.”

Hearing such a decisive and straightforward declaration of love, the witch's eyes widened. She patted her face lightly and asked, "Can you say it again?"

"I like Sword Princess." Yaxiu said as a matter of course: "She is so powerful, so cute, and so beautiful. Of course I like her."

Wow!

Wow!

Wow!

The witch wanted to go back immediately and announce the news to everyone, but she suddenly noticed that Ash was looking at her black and white silk stockings openly while speaking.

She hesitated, stretched her legs, and raised her skirt above her knees, "So do you like me?"

"If you put on a miniskirt like the one in the illustration, and if you were strong enough in virtual realm exploration and your growth rate was not low at ordinary times, I would probably like you too." Ash looked at the beauty of the black and white stockings for a moment and commented very seriously.

"…It's such a cheap love."

Ash was puzzled: "How expensive would you like it to be? Would you like to have your name listed as the beneficiary of the insurance?"

Yes, the witch thought, after all, in Ash's eyes, they were not completely real, just like no one would fall in love with a piece of paper, Ash's feelings for them naturally stopped at "cheap liking".

"But I think it will be hard for you to catch up with Sword Princess in my heart unless you are really strong."

"Oh?" The witch raised her eyebrows: "Why? Do you think Sword Princess is prettier than me?"

"It's not just about the illustrations," Ash said, "it's mainly because Sword Princess is my first trustworthy companion since I came to this world, the first comrade-in-arms who fought side by side with me. We explored the sea of ​​knowledge together, entered the whirlpool together, read the magician's manual together, participated in the fate quiz together... My life in this world started with Sword Princess."

"She is to me like the sun rising over the cemetery."

"Just based on this experience of sharing hardships, I feel that no one can shake her position in my heart."

He added: "Unless your intensity is really high."