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“I see. I’ll be counting on you to develop the trading system. Now, let’s start the second phase of your treatment,” Yaeger nodded and suggested.

Allie set the small box of Black Magic Crystals down on the table, her expression turning slightly apologetic.

“Actually, I have an important meeting soon. Could we do the treatment after noon?” she asked hesitantly.

Hearing this, Yaeger paused in thought before responding. “That’s fine. We can do it after noon.”

Having already assigned the material collection task to Kastina, Yaeger had no pressing matters left and her schedule was now wide open.

“That’s great! I’ll make it up to you later~” Allie said playfully. Suddenly, Allie reached out and gently tapped Yaeger’s chin with her slender fingers, lifting it slightly as she teased her coyly.

“You’re so hot.” Yaeger smirked, grabbing her arm and tugging hard, pulling Allie off balance and into her arms. In one swift motion, Yaeger pulled Allie into an embrace and held her chin with one hand. “Watch out, or I might just eat you up.” she said with a mischievous grin.

As she spoke, Yaeger leaned in closer, her lips hovering just inches from Allie’s.

“Waaah!” Allie, startled by the sudden move, reflexively pushed Yaeger away with both hands, sending her stumbling back.

Gasping slightly, Allie’s face turned red with embarrassment.

‘So close… Almost… She almost kissed me… Wait, wouldn’t that have been better?’ Allie thought, immediately regretting her reaction.

“Hehe, didn’t you just say you’d make it up to me?” Yaeger teased, recovering her balance gracefully. Yaeger knew she had a million ways to deal with Allie’s mix of bold teasing and shy retreat.

“You’re so mean! I’m off to my meeting!” Allie pouted before quickly leaving.

“Ouch!” At that moment, the two receptionists who had been eavesdropping behind the door suddenly fell over with a thud.

“It’s you two again!” Yaeger sighed in exasperation, spotting them on the floor.

“We… We were just passing by!” they stammered, scrambling to get up. “Just passing by!”

The two pretty receptionists quickly got to their feet and fled in embarrassment.

“Allie sure ran off quickly. I didn’t even tell her what time to come back for the treatment,” Yaeger muttered as she exited the lab.

The corridor was already deserted by the time she left.

“Forget it. There’s not much to do today anyway. I’ll just come back a little earlier,” Yaeger shrugged.

Her top priority now was to gather materials to repair the [City of Chaos] and cure Allie, so she could strengthen her allies as soon as possible. Everything else could be put on hold for the moment.

With Allie gone, staying in the Sage Tower seemed pointless. Yaeger swiftly descended to the ground floor. Just as she stepped outside, the system notification rang in her ears.

“Heh, what an interesting woman.” Yaeger chuckled to herself as the notification came through.

“Wait… Rosalina?” Yaeger was stunned as the second notification hit.

“Even more?”

Still stunned, Yaeger continued to hear the system notifications ring out without stopping. The notifications finally ceased when her relationship with Rosalina turned into three question marks.

“Three question marks again? What does that even mean?” Yaeger murmured in confusion. By now, Yaeger had gotten over her initial shock and was genuinely puzzled.

Of course, there was no answer to be had.

“And why did Rosalina’s Favorability suddenly shoot up like that?” she asked herself, her face a mix of disbelief and confusion. After all, the only times she had gained this much Favorability were when she helped people like Alicia and Aurora in meaningful ways.

Even Kastina…

“Wait a second… She’s like an extreme version of Kastina. Could it be?” Suddenly, Yaeger’s lips twitched as the memory of what she did to Rosalina flashed through her mind.

“Pervert. She’s the biggest pervert in history!” Yaeger thought, unable to believe it. Worse still, she had created this monster herself.

“Now that I think about it, I guess even villains can’t resist my charm,” Yaeger mused, half-seriously. Ruffling her jet-black hair, she spoke with confidence. “Ah, being this beautiful is such a burden,” Yaeger sighed dramatically.

After that, she immediately trembled all over, shaking her head vigorously. “Snap out of it! You’re a boy!”

‘This is bad. I keep feeling off lately… I need to dispel [Dream Transformation] as soon as possible!’ With that thought, Yaeger bolted from the Magic Academy at an incredible speed.

The commercial district bustled with life, packed with people and brimming with energy. Every corner echoed with chatter and lively shouts.

At that moment, most of the conversations revolved around the Empire’s notorious troublemaker: Black-hearted Princess.

“Did you hear? The Black-hearted Princess actually has that thing!”
“Yeah, I heard! Shocking, right?”
“I was there! I heard the beauty say that the Black-hearted Princess has a long, thick object, and she made her ascend to heaven!”

Someone said with obvious excitement.

“Hiss! Beauty with a beast, huh? That’s… wild!”

In the midst of the crowd, a cloaked girl clenched her fists tightly, her body trembling in frustration. That girl was none other than the topic of the gossip—Black-hearted Princess herself.

‘These damned idiots are spreading ridiculous rumors about me!’ she fumed internally. She wanted nothing more than to punch every single one of them. But…

There were too many of them bad-mouthing her—she couldn’t just go around beating up everyone, right? Besides, doing that would only make the rumors seem more valid.

‘Forget it. These rumors will blow over in a few days. Let them gossip all they want.’ she thought, trying to calm herself down. Convincing herself, Yaeger started heading out of the commercial district.

Just then…

“Hey, did you hear? That bounty hunter’s sister apparently recovered!”

The people around were instantly confused upon hearing this.

“There are tons of bounty hunters in this city. Which one are you talking about?” someone asked.

“Number ten in the rankings, Fiat. His sister is Aurora!”
“No way, that’s fake, right?”
“His terminally ill sister actually recovered?”
“Wasn’t Fiat trying to cure her for ages, even consulting doctors from all over the Empire?”
“Exactly. How’d she suddenly recover?”
“It’s gotta be fake. I saw Fiat a few days ago, and he looked as sour as ever. If there was even a chance for his sister, he’d be smiling from ear to ear by now!”

Someone voiced their doubt.

“Heh, then you don’t know. His sister’s recovery happened just in the last two days!”

Everyone gasped in shock upon hearing this.

“That’s impossible! His sister was practically on her deathbed. Two days? She couldn’t recover that quickly even if you gave her half a month!” someone argued.

“Heh, this info came straight from Aurora’s caretakers. No way it’s false!” Hearing his confidence, the others glanced at each other, still unsure what to believe.

By then, Yaeger had already made her exit, swiftly leaving the commercial district.

‘Aurora might be in danger. I need to figure out how to protect her,’ Yaeger thought, her mind racing.