"Cough, cough..."
Stelle remained completely unfazed. Pressing a finger against her throbbing forehead, the faint smile lingering at the corners of her eyes gradually disappeared, and her expression turned serious.
"First of all, this is definitely not how a Trailblazer should act."
"Secondly, a so-called cleanup only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."
This time, Stelle had actually hit the nail on the head.
Even if Stelle brought Firefly or Acheron along and directly wiped out the Ability Bureau's upper management, the end result would most likely just be a change in leadership, with nothing fundamentally changing.
At best, it would simply become a different group of people.
Yunli nodded, her tone becoming more earnest.
"Besides, we've been with Mu Yao and everyone for quite a while now. Let's not put them in a difficult position."
As she spoke, Yunli reached out with both hands, pinched Mo Xin's cheeks, and gently stretched them apart. Her tone carried both exasperation and helpless amusement.
"Most importantly, stop comparing everything to those web novels! Do you really think you're the protagonist of one? Can't you use your brain a little before acting? You're even more... than your Eldest Senior Sister... ugh, never mind. Just try to be a little smarter, okay?"
"Mmm... I got it... Mashter Yunli... be gen... gentler... it hurths..." Mo Xin pleaded indistinctly, her puffed-up cheeks making every word come out garbled.
Beside them, Stelle laughed so hard she nearly doubled over.
Pointing at Mo Xin, she mocked her without the slightest sense of guilt.
"Hahaha! March 7th, as expected, you're still the same as ever—cute and lovable, but completely brainless!"
Amid Stelle's merciless laughter, the topic finally came to an end.
Mo Xin, who had only intended to crack a joke, had unintentionally matured a little from the experience.
...
"I was wrong, I was wrong! March, don't hit me!"
"I told you, my name isn't Mo... no, I mean, I don't care whether you're sorry or not!"
As they continued on their way, the relationship between the two girls advanced by leaps and bounds.
If one had to describe it—
Stelle (눈_눈): "Mo Xin, I have a very important question. It concerns our future relationship!"
Mo Xin (๑òᆺó๑): "Ah? Then go ahead and ask. I'll tell you everything I know!"
Hearing Stelle's unusually serious tone, Mo Xin couldn't help but brace herself.
The very next second, Stelle locked eyes with her with an intensity that left no room for escape.
"What kind of women... do you like?"
"Voluptuous, long-legged, cool and elegant beauties with amazing figures! Of course, cute and petite girls like Master Yunli are also... eh?"
Mo Xin answered almost entirely on instinct.
But halfway through, she suddenly realized what she'd just said.
Her expression froze instantly.
Yunli (•᷄ࡇ•᷅): "Hmm?"
Mo Xin Σ(ﾟVﾉ)ﾉ: 'Wait a second... something seems off?'
"I see..."
However, before Mo Xin could untangle the mess inside her head, Stelle—who had looked so serious just moments earlier—suddenly changed completely.
She slowly raised her head, her amber eyes gazing toward the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.
Tears quickly gathered and rolled down her cheeks, while a strange sense of fragility spread across her beautiful face.
Stelle (;´༎ຶ◡༎ຶ`): "I also like older sisters. It seems we're kindred spirits... Oof?!!"
Mo Xin (￣ε(#￣)☆╰╮o(￣M￣///): "Shut up!!!"
...
Mo Xin (/∇＼): 'It's over... my reputation is ruined!'
'It's all over. My life is completely finished. Why hasn't the world ended yet?!'
Yunli watched Mo Xin bury her face in her hands, her ears and neck burning bright red.
Her embarrassed appearance resembled a child caught stealing candy, making Yunli's mouth twitch.
'This bargain disciple of mine really isn't the brightest.'
Yunli raised an eyebrow, clearly not taking Idiot Mo Xin's earlier confession seriously, simply assuming the girl had been acting cheeky again.
Then she turned toward Stelle. A trace of helplessness appeared in her eyes as she gently shook her head.
Yunli (๑ᗜ ˰ ᗜ๑): "Your mentality seems even more carefree than before."
Stelle (˶ᗜᗜ˶)ಣ: "Hehe. As the saying goes, reputations are mixed. I used to be my old self, but now I'm a pervert."
The little interlude soon came to an end.
The three of them—Yunli, Mo Xin, and Stelle—arrived at the entrance of the Ability Bureau.
However, instead of going inside immediately, they all stopped where they were.
Looking ahead, about five or six people had gathered on the street not far from the Ability Bureau. They were arguing so fiercely that their shouting could be heard from quite a distance.
But the trio paid no attention whatsoever to the argument itself.
Instead, all three pairs of eyes were firmly fixed on one exceptionally eye-catching figure standing among the crowd.
That splash of vivid purple was simply impossible to overlook amidst the otherwise dull surroundings.
"Acheron (Sister)?"
"Hmm?"
With her keen senses, Acheron had already tuned out the noisy argument around her.
Upon hearing the familiar voice, her violet eyes accurately turned toward them.
Seeing that it was the three who had only recently parted ways with her, a trace of confusion surfaced in her usually indifferent gaze.
"What are you doing here?"
"We should be the ones asking you that!"
Yunli pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly, her tone caught somewhere between laughter and exasperation.
Stelle's eyes lit up as she enthusiastically waved.
"What a coincidence, Acheron! Did you come to the Ability Bureau on purpose too?"
Acheron slowly shook her head.
"After we parted, I intended to head straight home, but I seem to have accidentally taken a wrong turn."
Mo Xin (°ー°〃): 'As expected... but why did Sister Acheron arrive before us even though she walked in the opposite direction?!'
However, while Yunli, Mo Xin, Stelle, and Acheron chatted as though no one else existed, the group of men who had been arguing earlier suddenly darkened their expressions.
"Hey! You dare ignore—hiss?!!"
The apparent leader had only just begun speaking when his gaze landed on the women behind them. The rest of his sentence instantly caught in his throat.
The others likewise stopped arguing.
Their eyes became glued to the newly arrived women, instantly lighting up with unconcealed excitement.
Their shameless stares were filled with undisguised admiration.
"Holy crap, even more top-tier beauties! This makes things easy—we don't even need to fight anymore!"
"Then that barefoot little loli is mine!"
"Hehe, that purple-haired beauty is definitely mine!"
"Hey, that silver-haired girl looks pretty ordinary at first glance, but the more you look at her, the prettier she gets."
"Then the last one is mine... Tsk, fine. I'll settle for her for now. Once you guys are done having your fun, it'll be my turn!"
The last man's gaze lingered on Mo Xin for several seconds before he curled his lip in visible disappointment, reluctantly accepting his "assignment."
Mo Xin (ꐦÒ‸Ó): 'Wait, what exactly do you mean by that? Why do you look so disgusted when it comes to me?! Never mind that, you dare set your eyes on me and my friends? The four of us combined could probably sent your entire bloodline to hell if we wanted to!!'