When they came out of the hair salon, not just Bianka, but even Cecilia was a little dazed.
Looking at the water in the bottle, which had already dropped to the two-thirds line, Bianka suddenly had the urge to fill it with her own tears.
Why was it... so expensive?!
"Ahem..." Cecilia cleared her throat to ease the awkwardness. The sudden large expense made her realize what she was doing.
She was here to reintroduce Bianka to human society, not to let her own shopping impulse steal the show.
The Schariac's super control kicked in. Cecilia returned to her plan and led Bianka to their next destination.
Bianka, who had been hit twice in a row, seemed not to have recovered from the sacrifice of "money." In Cecilia's eyes, Bianka now looked at all the shops on the roadside with a vigilant gaze.
This made Cecilia unsure whether to laugh or do something to comfort Bianka's tense expression.
But the next destination had arrived.
Now that they had beautiful clothes and a nice hairstyle, the last thing they needed was...
Cosmetics—next to the snack shop!
Using cosmetics on such a young child was too much! Her little "Kiana" was naturally beautiful, with skin as smooth as a peeled egg, and her whole body was as white as snow, ahem...
Cecilia didn't think Bianka needed any skincare products or makeup.
Her bare face was already stunning. Maybe a little light makeup could make her look even closer to her peak?
She was still a child. Children should be carefree, not worrying about how to become more beautiful every day.
And the easiest way to make a child happy was just a few simple things.
Praise, food, and play.
Bianka was obviously not one to let loose and play, and as for praise... would Bianka even realize she was being praised?
So that only left "food," right?
Judging from the sandwiches in the morning, Bianka was very receptive to food. So Cecilia planned to take Bianka down this street and eat from one end to the other!
Hmm, I hope I don't get fat.
Cecilia, having made a great sacrifice in her heart, led Bianka to a cake shop.
"Little 'Kiana', do you want to eat cake~"
---||---
"I want to eat cake~" a weak wail came from the desert. Under the scorching sun walked a large parasol.
Under the umbrella were three figures, one large and two small, walking side by side.
What was surprising was that the parasol, which looked like it should be on a beach, was being carried by a child. The only adult among the three was comfortably walking to the side and behind the child, enjoying the shade provided by the parasol.
Theresa huffed and puffed as she carried the large parasol, her steps deep and shallow as she advanced over the sand dunes, leaving a series of footprints of varying depths.
And Li Sushang beside her was even more overwhelmed. The tracks she left were already two parallel lines, and she moved forward by shuffling.
It was a miracle that she hadn't fallen behind yet.
"I want to eat bitter melon, bitter melon juice, bitter melon cakes, bitter melon dumplings, bitter melon buns, bitter melon burgers, bitter melon chips, bitter melon balls, bitter melon sweet dumplings, bitter melon..."
Ah, that must be hell, right?
The string of bitter melons from Theresa's mouth made Li Sushang, who was beside her, roll her eyes. In her mind, a bitter melon paradise filled with bitter melons had already appeared.
Even the halos on the angels' heads were bitter melon rings...
That must be hell, that's definitely hell!
"Theresa-sama," Rita said in a timely manner, interrupting Theresa's rambling. "Your saliva is also a precious water resource in the desert. Please don't waste it."
Theresa was startled awake and slurped back the saliva that had trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Rita, how much longer until we arrive?" Theresa looked back at the footprints behind Rita, and a sense of admiration grew in her heart.
Even in this environment, Rita's steps were still as precise and stable as if each one had been measured.
But what really made Theresa take notice was Rita's silence. Rita, who always answered every question, was as silent as if she hadn't heard Theresa's question.
A bad feeling arose.
"Rita, can we reach the City of Sighs before we run out of water?" Theresa's eyelids lifted slightly as she looked at Rita and repeated her question.
Rita remained silent. This time, even Li Sushang realized something was wrong and looked back at Rita.
Two gazes focused on Rita, and finally, Rita's lips trembled slightly.
"Theresa-sama, Li Sushang-sama, we should still be able to make it back if we turn around now," Rita said, offering a very sincere suggestion.
The parasol was suddenly stuck in the ground. Rita's simple sentence had drained all of Theresa's strength.
"So you don't know where the City of Sighs is either, Rita?" Theresa asked, a little desperately. This time, Rita nodded readily.
"Are we going to die here?" Li Sushang asked, staring blankly at the constantly rolling horizon. She felt as if her soul had already left her body.
"We won't, Li Sushang-sama," Rita said with a reassuring smile. "Although Rita doesn't know the exact direction to the City of Sighs, a convoy passed by on this road not long ago."
"Eh?" The two dejected little beans perked up at once, looking at Rita in unison.
"There are very clear tire tracks on the Gobi Desert a while back. They are the kind of tracks left by large, tracked trucks carrying heavy loads, and they are very new."
"So, we've actually been chasing a convoy all this time?" Theresa understood Rita's intention.
"Oh, oh, oh, we're going to ask for directions, right!" Li Sushang felt her soul returning! She, Li Sushang, was still a hero!
"But it's a convoy, after all..." Theresa was still a little uncertain. She looked at her own short legs, then at Rita's long ones. "Can we really catch up to a car on foot?"
Rita did not answer again.
Theresa had indeed asked the question she was most uncertain about. They were, after all, mortal. They needed to rest and recuperate, while the drivers could take shifts and drive day and night.
So it was very likely that they would be left further and further behind by the car, until the tracks faded away.
Now, they could only hope that this was not a single route... and that a car would give them a ride...