OVERLORD- CH-79. An Actor's Self-Cultivation

'It seems that she is not human.' Looking at the long horns on her head, Operan thought so and tried to get up.

She had the urge, both physically and mentally, to just lie down and bury herself in her arms again, but she managed to stay rational.

At that moment, the other party suddenly stretched out his hand and placed it on her waist. Instantly, an immense force that she could not resist pressed her down.

Their chests collided, their faces mere centimeters apart. Operan swallowed subconsciously.

Her heart was pounding abnormally fast, her breathing quickened, and her face burned with heat.

'How could this happen? Is she supposed to be homosexual?'

'Wait, this face…'

It looked so familiar—her facial features, the angles of her face—all of it was unmistakably familiar.

"No way." She didn't want to admit it, but the answer was already obvious.

"Levi?" She called out, her voice trembling.

Perhaps feeling the warmth of her breath on his face, his eyes suddenly opened.

The blue-purple star-like pupils cast a clear and deep light, resembling an endless ocean beneath a starry sky.

These eyes were so mesmerizing, just like Levi's.

A light fragrance lingered in the air, accompanied by a faint breath against her skin. Her nose felt itchy, prompting Aya to slowly wake up and open her eyes.

The moment she did, all drowsiness vanished. Operan's face was inches from hers, staring at her in shock.

'What happened?' Feeling unusually confused and sensing a strange sensation in her chest, Aya instinctively looked down.

Two pairs of plump bodies were pressed against each other. The one on top belonged to Operan, her black dress mostly torn. The body underneath… also looked strangely familiar.

'Huh? What's going on?'

"P-Please, can you let me go?" Operan mumbled, her face flushed red. Aya was too stunned to react.

"Um… may I ask, what is your relationship with Levi?"

Aya's mind buzzed, unable to process the situation immediately.

She needed time to think.

Time Pause!

The tenth-tier magic [Time Stop] had an effect as literal as its name—it stopped time. During this period, the caster remained unaffected, making it ideal for delay tactics and charging skills.

In the gaming era, the ability to counter time magic was a crucial benchmark for a player's skill. Generally, players had to prepare countermeasures against [Time Stop] from level 70 onward.

Now, Aya relied on it to work exactly as intended. Operan's movements came to a halt completely.

Looking at the occupational distribution alone, Aya's spellcasting options were quite limited. However, thanks to the power of the Mother Goddess of Life, she could freely learn all life magic.

Additionally, her Pope profession granted her access to faith-based magic, while her status as the Elf Queen and Succubus Queen heightened her adaptability to magic, forcibly raising her magic level.

Though her spells were not as potent as those of a pure wizard, she could still learn a vast range of magic.

All in all, by relying on this spell to buy time, Aya attempted to piece together her thoughts.

The only thing she remembered with certainty was removing [Abnormal Status Immunity V]. Everything after that was hazy.

Even so, based on her vague memories and logical deduction, she could roughly guess what had happened.

She got drunk, lost control, went wild… and now, she was naked, with Operan lying on top of her, also in a disheveled state. And worse—she had reverted to her female form.

"Oh my God." Aya covered her forehead, her voice almost a wail, "What have I done?"

While drunk, the suppressed characteristics of the Succubus Queen must have activated. Her instincts told her she might have done something very regrettable.

"This is bad. Really bad." Feeling a massive headache from the pressure, Aya forced herself to think.

Now, the big question—what to do?

Setting aside what had already happened, she needed to focus on damage control.

She had long planned to develop a friendly relationship with Operan and intended to reveal her true gender only after gaining trust and intimacy.

But she definitely hadn't meant to expose the truth so soon!

Killing Operan was out of the question. She considered her a potential best friend and had no desire to harm her. Besides, that would render all her previous efforts meaningless.

Altering memories? Not viable. Past experiments on human captives under Lilith's command had shown that memory magic consumed an absurd amount of mana. Simply reading memories drained nearly all her magic, let alone modifying them in detail.

Human memory was an intricate system. As of now, Aya lacked the precision to delete or alter specific sections without causing irreversible damage.

Using [Charm] to turn Operan into an obedient puppet? More feasible—but also undesirable.

For one, [Charm] could cause severe personality distortions. For another, Aya detested being deceived mid-game; she preferred to play her hand openly.

After reviewing multiple solutions, she realized that none of the traditional "erase-the-mistake" methods would work.

Sincere apologies? Would they even help at this point? Aya was at a loss.

Then, a sudden idea struck her.

There was no need to erase the mistake—she could redirect it.

As the time limit for [Time Stop] expired, Operan resumed her movements, and their eyes met once more.

Aya widened her eyes in feigned shock, glancing between Operan and herself.

"Operan?" She gasped, her eyes welling up with tears.

Her arms, which had been wrapped around Operan's waist, dropped. One hand covered her chest, while the other shielded her face.

"D-Don't look! Don't look here!" Aya's voice trembled, "Operan, what have you done to me?!"

"Operan, what did you do to me?" Aya's voice quivered with a mixture of shame, anger, and heartbreak.

Her misty, doe-like eyes bore into Operan's, filled with raw vulnerability. One look was enough to soften even the hardest heart.

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Thank you all for supporting me.