The two lingered in the art classroom for quite a while.

The midday sun had already begun to shift westward. If she didn’t eat something soon, Adele felt like her stomach would be growling.

Seemingly sensing her Master’s need, Celeste prepared to open the door of the art classroom.

“Wait a bit longer… My legs are weak.”

Adele stopped her.

“Yes, Master.”

“Help me tie my tie, I’m exhausted.”

 

The girl’s voice was filled with a charming coquettishness.

“…Yes.”

Celeste thought disrespectfully in her heart, but hadn’t her Master been mostly motionless the whole time? It was she who had been…

But she didn’t dare to challenge her Master’s authority on this matter.

Otherwise, Celeste might face a real “punishment.”

Not like just now, which was more like a reward than a punishment.

Adele leaned back against the desk, tilting her flawless and beautiful face slightly towards Celeste, closing her eyes, and feeling Celeste’s gentle and adoring gaze on her cheeks.

 

Although it didn’t have the warmth of the sun, it was far better than the spring sun.

Celeste straightened the collar of Adele’s school uniform shirt, then picked up the tie that had just been covering her eyes and slowly tied it for Adele.

“Don’t act on your own next time.”

Adele suddenly said.

Celeste finally understood, so… it was because of that matter that she was being punished.

But thinking about it, it was because her Master felt that she had bribed the teacher for her sake, so in the end, she relented and chose this way to “teach her a lesson.”

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again, Master.”

 

“Pfft, who calls themselves a dog?”

“I thought Master would like it…”

“I told you not to assume… forget it, you’re a hopeless dog, your ‘biting’ skills are quite good though.”

Celeste didn’t understand what her Master was talking about at first.

Until she realized the meaning behind the words “biting.”

Her face instantly flushed red to the tips of her ears.

After she finished tying Adele’s tie, Adele jumped lightly to the floor.

 

“Let’s go, take me to eat something delicious~”

Adele naturally wrapped her arm around Celeste’s, acting spoiled like usual.

Even a Master didn’t have to put on airs all the time when with their subordinate.

That would be too tiring.

Celeste smiled slightly, feeling a strange warmth flowing comfortably in her lower abdomen, where the magic patterns were.

“Okay, what does Master want to eat?”

“Spicy hot pot~”

 

It sounded like a cheap and ordinary food, Celeste thought to herself, puzzled.

Could it be that her Master had some special meaning behind it?

But actually, Adele didn’t think that much at all.

She used to be poor and suddenly became rich, so she would subconsciously try to cater to the upper class, eating Western food and buying luxury goods.

Later, she got used to being wealthy and lost interest in these things.

It was like someone taking a picture of an uncle wearing flip-flops in a high-end restaurant and complaining about how such a person could be allowed in.

But in reality, it was just an ordinary lunch for the uncle, it was the person taking the picture who was dressed up and carefully groomed for a meal, the difference was obvious.

 

As they left the art classroom, Celeste suddenly saw a flash of white light on the window sill, but when she looked again, she found nothing.

Maybe it was just an illusion, the girl thought to herself.

Ten minutes later, in a spicy hot pot restaurant on the corner of the street, Adele added an extra spoonful of chili oil and sesame oil to her spicy hot pot, mixing it evenly. This way, it tasted better.

Celeste didn’t seem to be able to handle spicy food, so her bowl of bland soup was only decorated with a few chopped green onions.

This was Celeste’s first time trying “spicy hot pot.” She immediately started searching online.

• “My lover treated me to spicy hot pot, what does it mean?”

Celeste used the word “lover” instead of “Master.” Clearly, even as a “dog,” she had her own desires and ambitions.

Soon, the search results came out.

 

And it was precisely these results that made Celeste’s face flush crimson.

“Celeste? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing, Master… I just think… it’s a little too spicy.”

Adele tilted her head.

This… was considered “spicy”?

Damn it! Don’t underestimate “spicy”!

But on the other hand, Celeste thought seriously.

 

After eating this bowl of spicy hot pot, did she really have to do it thirteen times?

Would Adele… really be okay?

Celeste’s first thought wasn’t about herself, but about her Master’s body.

Could it be that her Master was the kind of person who didn’t look like it on the surface, but actually had a very strong “desire”?

Adele: ???

………………

While eating lunch, Adele felt that Celeste’s gaze towards her was a bit strange.

 

But she couldn’t tell what was strange about it.

Perhaps spicy hot pot wasn’t to her liking.

In that case, they should go back to eating Western food next time.

Adele felt that she was already doing her best as a Master, who would be so considerate and caring towards their subordinate?

“By the way, Celeste, what’s your task?”

“It’s about a recent incident in Dongdu, related to beastmen.”

Celeste’s expression became serious. Her task wasn’t as easy as the one Adele received, it was a matter of life and death.

 

Fortunately, she had a senior leading the team, reliable teammates, and Celeste herself had a talent for this, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Beastmen? Beast-eared girls!?”

Unexpectedly, Adele’s eyes lit up.

Her focus was always different, leaving Celeste speechless.

“…No, it’s probably different from what Master imagines.”

“Beastmen and beast-eared races are two completely different foreign races. The beast-eared race is what Master imagines, they have beast ears and tails, and the rest is basically the same as humans. The beautiful beast-eared girls are probably the beast-eared girls Master is expecting.”

“But beastmen are completely different. They are beasts first, then humans.”

 

“Or it’s not wrong to call them ‘upright walking beasts.’ They have beast-like features all over their bodies, fur and fangs, but they walk upright and use tools.”

“Past legends of ‘wild men’ and ‘Bigfoot’ almost all originated from their race.”

“Eh… is that so? How boring, good luck, Celeste.”

Adele’s tone instantly became perfunctory.

After all, if there were no beast-eared girls, she really wasn’t interested.

But speaking of beast-eared girls, although First Snow didn’t belong to the beast-eared race, she was a real cute cat-girl!

“Yes, I will.”

 

“Be careful too, their physical abilities should be very strong, right?”

“Yes, but it’s okay, I have a few partners, including some vampires who specialize in physical techniques.”

The so-called physical technique vampires were vampires who had enhanced physical abilities.

They weren’t good at magic, didn’t sign contracts with familiars, and didn’t have special abilities, but they had naturally strong physiques. Some could tear metal with their bare hands, and some could travel thousands of miles a day.

But just relying on these probably wasn’t enough to compare to the other three types of vampires, so their other ability was particularly crucial.

It was called “Blood Rage,” which could temporarily increase a vampire’s physical abilities by several times, even dozens of times! The price was consuming the user’s blood essence and lifespan, almost like self-harm.

This varied greatly from person to person, so the difference between geniuses and ordinary people among physical technique vampires was even more despairing.

 

However, this “Blood Rage” wasn’t exclusive to physical technique vampires. To be precise, all vampires could use it after learning it.

It was just that the effect of physical technique vampires using it was particularly shocking.

Other vampires, like Adele, let’s say she could carry 20 kilograms of rice.

Okay, let Adele show them what she could do!

After activating Blood Rage, Adele could carry 40 kilograms of rice, congratulations!

So apart from physical technique vampires, why would other vampires burn their lives using this skill for no reason?

Adele listened to Celeste’s explanation and gradually felt relieved.

 

After all, it was just an internship task. They might get injured, but it was unlikely that their lives would be in danger.

She was actually no different from Celeste, she hoped that the other party would be safe and sound.

Adele didn’t tell Celeste that she might not follow the internship task arrangements and go to the agency to organize archives.

Otherwise, Celeste would definitely be curious and worried about what she was going to do.

The fact that she had met Li Lige in advance had already disrupted her plan.

Whether Li Lige followed the original trajectory or not, Adele didn’t want Celeste to disrupt her plan again.

Therefore, she just asked Celeste to drop her off at school.

 

Everything after that had nothing to do with Celeste.

“Goodbye, Adele.”

Celeste said goodbye to Adele in front of her dorm.

Adele waved her hand, actually quite reluctant, but she still turned and entered the dorm, returning to her quiet little bedroom.

She had the afternoon off, and the official internship period would start tomorrow.

If nothing unexpected happened, tomorrow Adele should be ostracized by her “companions,” then leave the team alone, and finally accidentally encounter the dying and escaping Li Lige, be witchified by Li Lige, gain her first cheat, and embark on the path of the protagonist.

But obviously, the unexpected had already happened, Adele’s task had been completely changed, and she had met Li Lige in advance.

 

A butterfly flapping its wings could cause a storm, Adele had changed so much so far, and the future became even more unpredictable.

So instead of worrying about what would happen next, Adele decided to live today well first.

Even if she missed this opportunity, spending a while longer as a salted fish might not be so bad.

After all, her biggest threat came from Dorothy.

But recently, for some reason, Dorothy wasn’t as aggressive towards her as before.

Even the fact that the chastity curse on her lower abdomen had mysteriously disappeared, Dorothy didn’t seem to notice or care much.

Could this be the biggest change?

 

The biggest and strongest villain in the book lost interest in the protagonist Adele in advance, the end!?

If this was really the case, Adele wouldn’t mind.

But it was most likely not because of this reason.

So it could only be attributed to…

Was there something else that occupied Dorothy’s attention more?

No matter what the possibility was, for the current Adele, being able to live as a salted fish every day, not being forced to become stronger by Dorothy, was really great.

Adele’s mood was reflected in her actions.

She ran up to the second floor with light and happy steps.

Sharon, who was originally huddled in the corner of the bed, holding her phone, her whole body exuding a gloomy aura, couldn’t help but perk up her ears when she heard the sound.

Adele… was back.

This was one of the few things that could make Sharon’s mood fluctuate.

She hadn’t gone out for a while, her silver-gray short hair had grown a little longer, looking messy.

Originally, her bangs only covered one eye, now, as long as she lowered her head, both her eyes were completely covered.

Sharon fit the stereotypical image of a shut-in, or rather, she was a bit too reclusive. Compared to going out to breathe fresh air and socialize, she preferred to stay alone in a corner, reading novels or manga, being moved by the feelings of the girls in the stories, and couldn’t help but yearn for it.

Yes, the novels and manga she favored were, of course, yuri.

She liked to read stories about pure girls ending up with the people they liked, or about lonely girls finding warmth and redemption.

It was easy to find the prototypes of these two types of people in reality.

First was Adele, and second… was Sharon herself.

From this, it could be seen that Sharon was a girl who loved to daydream, which happened to coincide with her ability.

But in order not to disappoint Adele, the girl hadn’t used this ability for a long time.

Just as she thought that Adele would enter her bedroom as usual and close the door with a “bang,” making Sharon’s world lonely again, Adele’s voice came through the door,

“Xiao Meng? Are you there?”

“…”

Sharon’s heart skipped a beat, and she instantly became nervous.

“Are you not there?” Adele’s voice sounded a little disappointed.

If she did nothing and let Adele give up on communicating with her, it would logically be the best course of action for Sharon.

Because that way, she could avoid being discovered by Adele to the greatest extent.

But Sharon, as if possessed, raised her hand and knocked on the wall behind her.

Perhaps she just didn’t want to disappoint Adele.

She used this method to reveal that she was actually in the bedroom.

Adele was so sharp, she would definitely sense it.

As expected, the next moment, Adele’s surprised voice came,

“Xiao Meng is here!”

“Ahem, sorry to disturb you, actually, it’s nothing important, I just received my internship task and I’m a little excited!”

“So I wanted to share it with Xiao Meng, and I also wanted to know if Xiao Meng has received her internship task, we can discuss it together~”

“Or is Xiao Meng actually my senior? If so, Xiao Meng can also give me some advice.”

“Ah, sorry, sorry, I talked too much! If Xiao Meng hates being disturbed, I’ll go back to my bedroom now!”

“…No.”

A slightly dry voice came through the door, and Adele’s eyebrows raised in delight.

Anyway, it was always right to try to communicate with Sharon.

Adele also wanted Sharon to open up, come out of her room, and be close to her.

Sometimes, taking small concealments too seriously would only alienate their relationship.

If the thin-skinned Sharon didn’t have someone like Adele, who was thicker-skinned, to guide her, it wouldn’t be difficult to predict that she would end up “forever alone.”

Adele used her proactive and affectionate approach to pry open Sharon’s heart. At the same time, she wasn’t impatient and didn’t ask Sharon to come out of her room or say anything that would make her wary, like wanting to get to know “Xiao Meng” in real life.

She just chatted about life and studies like an ordinary neighbor and roommate.

Confiding in Xiao Meng like an ordinary friend.

And this was precisely the atmosphere that Sharon enjoyed.

Then, at the right time, Adele would insert her own “private goods,” hoping to achieve the desired effect.

“Xiao Meng, you remind me of a friend of mine, you’re both the kind of shy and introverted girls.”

“…” Sharon’s heart tightened, thinking that Adele had discovered something.

But she had already tried her best to speak in a voice completely different from her own, and she didn’t say much, she shouldn’t be discovered…

Just as Sharon was feeling nervous, Adele seemed completely unaware of the girl’s mood behind the door and continued to chat casually, which made Sharon feel a little relieved.

“But speaking of her, she hasn’t chatted with me for several days.”

“I’m also thin-skinned, I always stare at her profile page in a daze, and the feeling at that time, how should I put it, it’s just a little lonely.”

“If possible, I really hope she could take the initiative to talk to me.”

“I even have this whimsical thought that it would be nice if we could meet in dreams~”

Sharon’s heart skipped a beat, not because she suspected that Adele had discovered that she had entered her dreams before, but because she felt sad.

So when she didn’t know, Adele missed her so much that she even wanted to dream of her.

“I used to dream of her often, but recently, for some reason, I haven’t dreamed of her much.”

“They say you dream of what you think about during the day, I’m always thinking about her, but why doesn’t she come into my dreams like before?”

“…Maybe, she will come to your dream soon.”

Sharon was clumsy with words, and her comfort was practically a self-destructing truck.

But as long as Adele didn’t deliberately expose her, she could continue to play the role of “Xiao Meng.”

Adele smiled, her plan working perfectly, but her tone was slightly melancholy.

“I hope so…”

“Oh, I’ve talked too much without realizing it, Xiao Meng, I’m going back to my bedroom~”

“…Okay.”

Her “private goods” had been delivered, and Adele didn’t linger.

Next, it was up to Sharon whether she wanted to take the bait.

With the soft sound of the door closing, Adele’s figure disappeared from the corridor.

Sharon’s hanging heart should have relaxed.

But it was still hanging, as if the girl was struggling to make a decision.