"Is there something on my face?" Thirteen asked as he looked at Shana, who was throwing glances in his direction as they ate breakfast together.
"N-No," Shana replied, averting her gaze.
Despite her answer, the color of her face slowly turned beet-red. Even the tip of her ear was red, the sight of which made Erica laugh internally.
'I guess Zion bit her last night,' Erica thought.
Sherry also found the Saintess' reaction very odd. The latter seemed to be unable to meet the teenage boy's gaze, making her wonder if something happened between the two of them.
'Strange,' Thirteen thought. 'She was still fine last night. Did she have a bad dream or something? What do you think, Tiona?'
The black snake hesitated whether she should tell her Master about everything she saw last night, including how her Master treated Shana the way he treated Erica whenever the two of them slept together.
In the end, Tiona decided to avoid the topic by nuzzling Zion's cheek, acting very spoiled.
The teenage boy smiled and kissed Tiona's head, showering her with affection.
The black snake often acted from time to time, so Zion was already used to it.
As Shana uncontrollably looked at this scene, her gaze strayed to Zion's lips, which had their way with her last night while she was sleeping.
"Shana, are you sick?" Thirteen asked after noticing that Shana's face had turned a shade redder. "Do Saintesses even get sick?"
"Of course we do," Shana replied, using this opportunity to talk to Zion. "I'm still human, you know?"
"Then you should drink some medicine." Thirteen looked at Shana with a serious expression on his face. "We will arrive at the Temple soon, so you must be in good condition before you enter its doors."
The teenage boy then reached out to use his hand to touch Shana's forehead, taking the young lady by surprise. "I-I'll get better before then," Shana replied, not resisting in the slightest as the teenage boy's cold hands touched her forehead and neck.
"You don't seem to have a fever. Still, don't overdo it today," Thirteen replied. "Just focus on getting better, okay?"
Shana nodded, not wanting to stay on this topic any longer.
After breakfast, Erica asked Sherry to take care of Zion while she had a private talk with Shana.
The Sorceress then watched as Sherry pushed the wheelchair toward Derek, Diana, and Mildred before turning her attention to Shana.
She then reached to hold Shana's hand and entered the cottage, heading straight to her room where she and Sherry slept last night. "Shana, I have good and bad news for you," Erica said as soon as she closed the door behind them. "What would you like to hear first?"
"The bad news first," Shana, who had no idea what Erica was going to tell her, sat on the bed with a frown.
"The bad news is that you have been infected by the Zion Virus," Erica replied in a teasing tone. "This virus is so strong that your purification will not be able to eliminate it."
Shana's body shuddered, not expecting her friend to throw this curveball at her without warning.
"W-What are you talking about?!" Shana stuttered. "Me? Affected by the Zion Virus? That's impossible!"
"Oh, really?" Erica smirked. "You know, I often wondered why you would always use your purification spell on me and say I might have been infected by the Zion Virus. Back then, I didn't understand what you were talking about.
"However after being engaged to Zion, some things became clear to me. This is especially true about the Zion Virus, which you had been campaigning for a long time."
The Sorceress then sat beside Shana on the bed and held her hand. "I'm sorry to say this, but by the looks of it, you were infected by the Zion Virus long before I did," Erica stated. "The only difference between us is I understood what it felt to fall in love with someone earlier than you.
"I'm sure that even now, you're still in denial about how you truly feel about Zion. But, that all changed when he bit you last night, right?"
"How did you know he bit me?!" Shana, who was already shaken by Erica's words, couldn't help but reply before she could think properly.
Only when she had finished saying her inner thoughts did she realize that the Sorceress was only prodding for answers, which the Saintess had given without problems.
Erica didn't want Shana to feel needless anxiety, so she gave her friend's hand a light squeeze and looked at her eyes directly.
"I've been with Zion for a while, so I'm familiar with his sleeping habits," Erica said. "However, he never did anything to you when you slept together. "This made me think that he might be treating you like Sherry, whom he subconsciously didn't want to taint. Maybe it's because you're the Saintess, whom he respects and perhaps admires to a certain extent."
"He admires me?" Shana, who was already very conscious of her feelings, asked.
"I'm not sure," Erica replied truthfully. "However, one thing is clear. He cares for you in his own way. I believe you're special to him."
Erica truly believed that Zion thought of Shana as someone special. Since her fiance seemed like a brick, unable to show any romantic feelings for anyone, including her, she wasn't certain what kind of person Shana was in his eyes.
But despite all this, she knew with every fiber of her being that the teenage boy thought of Shana as a special existence.
Of course, she also believed that Zion thought of her as someone special as well. This was why she was determined to teach her fiance about love, so both of them could love each other in full.
"Shana, although we are not married yet, I hold the position as Zion's first wife," Erica declared. "Sherry is now engaged to Zion as well. As you know, many exceptional Wanderers could have more than one wife. "I just want to let you know that I wouldn't mind welcoming you as a part of our family. Besides, Zion already bit, kissed, and licked that part of your body. You can no longer get married to anyone aside from Zion.
"However, I will confess one thing to you. I may have been responsible for what happened to you and Zion. Last night, when both of you were sleeping, I sneaked inside the room and undid the shoulder strap of your nightgown."
Shana's eyes widened in shock and looked at the Sorceress in disbelief.
Now that she knew the culprit who had triggered Zion to react in that manner while he slept, she pounced on Erica, pinning her onto the bed.