Yae Miko did not reply, merely offering her a smile before turning and leaving the room.
Seeing that the other party was unwilling to respond, Paimon didn't say much more. After all, if not for her appearance, that woman might have simply killed her host to save face.
Flying to the bed, Paimon observed Ying's condition for a while longer. Confirming she was not in mortal danger, she then lay down beside Ying with relief and grumbled somewhat dejectedly.
"Sigh... that hateful Scaramouche is really something. He only gave such a small amount of antidote, leaving me no chance to show off my strength."
"Fortunately, only a few people were in that space at the time, so not many witnessed my embarrassment ~ (￣▽￣～)~."
...
Alright, perhaps a tiny handful of people did see it.
"Cough..."
A very faint cough interrupted Paimon's rambling, startling her so much she almost jumped. She turned to look at Ying and discovered she had actually woken up.
"Host?! You-you-you... how did you wake up so quickly?!"
Paimon was deeply confused. Was she kidding? What kind of injury had Ying sustained just now? Describing it as "worse than death" would be an insult to the severity of the wounds Ying had endured!
Let alone ordinary people, even she herself, or even Lumine, if she had suffered such injuries, might not have been able to recover, let alone wake up so soon after it ended.
In fact, the situation was precisely as described. Frankly speaking, with the severity of Ying's injuries, even Barbara would likely be terrified and unsure how to proceed if she saw them.
The reason she was able to wake up was entirely due to Ying's inner worries: she was afraid of losing the match and implicating Paimon, worried that Lumine would seek revenge on Ei if she learned of her death, and concerned that Lumine might ask Hu Tao to drag her ghost back from the boundary of life and death for a scolding...
Well, that was assuming she could even become a ghost. After all, this opponent was a god, and it was possible she could have been obliterated along with her soul.
Although her body was extremely weak, and even opening her eyes had nearly exhausted all her strength, upon seeing Paimon's surprised and worried expression, Ying still wanted to make a joke.
"Wuwu..."
Alas, reality was as cruel as imagination was beautiful. Forget making a joke; she had only slightly parted her lips and the moment her throat trembled, she felt a searing pain. It hurt so much that tears welled up in her eyes.
Wuwu... this feeling was a thousand times more agonizing than how someone who had never exercised before suddenly decided to run a marathon and woke up the next day.
Seeing Ying suddenly cry, Paimon's face turned deathly pale. She hurriedly wanted to embrace her, but her hand stopped halfway, afraid of hurting her, and she looked utterly helpless. Ying found this incredibly endearing and desperately wanted to tease her a little.
Alas, as fun as it was to joke with Paimon, compared to the bone-deep pain, Ying decisively chose to rest and recuperate.
However, though she couldn't speak, Ying still managed to give Paimon a look. The moment Paimon received it, she understood its meaning and immediately began to comfort her.
"Host, don't worry. We've already left that space. It was that fox who pulled you back from the gates of hell."
Soon, Paimon recounted everything that had happened after Ying had fallen unconscious.
After receiving so much information, Ying felt a wave of speechlessness.
Sigh... she had just escaped the clutches of death and now she had to face all these bothersome things.
She didn't know if the Hilichurls who crossed the sea were the same group as the ones by the coast earlier. Although she could tell they couldn't swim when she encountered them, Scaramouche, or rather, Dottore's power was too sinister. Overcoming their inability to swim would likely be very easy for them.
However, Paimon had said that the fox didn't seem worried, so she believed she must have a way.
...
Although she wanted to think that way, Ying's heart couldn't rest easy. After all, that fox's thoughts were always difficult to decipher. Who knew if her confidence was in her ability to resolve this crisis, or in her confidence that she and those she cared about would not be affected by it.
Besides, the real challenges were the La Signora, one of Inazuma's bosses mentioned by the person who had crossed over earlier, and the persistent gnats, Scaramouche and Dottore, who kept bothering her.
She hadn't passed the Electro Archon's trial yet. Unless Inazuma was severely threatened, the chances of her intervening were not high. As for Yae Miko, she had some idea about her facing Ying alone, but what if all three of them were there...
Thinking of this, Ying's heart grew even more agitated.
Sigh... it was a pity she currently had no combat power whatsoever. Otherwise... Hmph...
Even if the three of them attacked along with those monsters, they wouldn't be able to gain any advantage against her in her current state.
Wait... together... attack together?!
Ying's eyes suddenly lit up. She immediately prepared to sit up and share her perfect plan with Paimon.
"Pffft..."
Ah... but as soon as she managed to sit up a tiny bit, the pain from her body forcefully knocked her back into unconsciousness. All that was left was Paimon, who had been bewildered moments ago and then startled by Ying's sudden relapse, rushing to call for a military doctor...
Several dozen hours later, Ying once again opened her eyes from unconsciousness...
"Cough... cough cough..."
A violent coughing fit caused Ying to immediately feel a pain indescribable by words. Fortunately, compared to the pain last time, this level was still something she could endure.
Sigh~ It couldn't be helped. After all, she was a girl who had survived being impaled in the chest by a monster's claw and fighting against the Electro Archon. It should be normal for her pain tolerance to be five to eight times stronger than average people~
Thinking this, Ying laboriously turned her head and glanced at Paimon, who was sleeping soundly beside her. She noticed that Paimon was still holding the ointment. A faint smile couldn't help but appear on her lips.
It seemed she was exhausted...
Never mind. She wouldn't need her to trouble herself anymore. Let her sleep well.
Ying smiled, effortly lifted her arm, and took the ointment from Paimon's hand. Then, she got out of bed, letting Paimon lie down in the spot she had just vacated.
After covering Paimon with the blanket, Ying, somewhat drained, leaned on the nearby table. Looking at her trembling legs, Ying couldn't help but lightly tease herself.
"This is the first time I've experienced such an unforgettable pain..."
Compared to this feeling, being directly pierced through the body by a monster earlier seemed much more pleasant. At least that pain had only lasted a short while before she became a ghost.