"That was unexpected..."

Carried on Sylvia’s back, Aslan left.

Yulia, left alone in the garden, remained frozen for a while, utterly dumbfounded.

She had thought that, of course, Aslan Vermont would be desperate to monopolize and exploit her abilities.

But without a shred of hesitation, he firmly declared that he had no intention of forcing anything upon her. It left her bewildered.

"That doesn’t mean I want to go somewhere else though..."

Of course, just because freedom had been offered, it didn’t mean Yulia wanted to leave Vermont Security. It was unfortunate, but what Aslan Vermont had said was the truth.

Aslan had successfully developed the superhuman talents of Charlotte and Yulia, after all.

Charlotte’s magic sword was said to be based on a legendary holy sword, whose value was practically incalculable.

Yulia’s handling of the “mud” and the facilities built for the Undead Army were also impressive.

To develop their talents, Aslan was willing to invest without hesitation.

Could there be anywhere else in the empire that could develop her powers as well as Vermont could?

Even if such a place existed, could she truly trust them fully?

With Aslan Vermont, at least she had some trust, believing that betrayal was unlikely due to his connection with the dark-skinned old man.

"Really unlucky! He knew I had no other choice but to stay here..."

The most reliable and successful place was still Vermont Security.

Aslan Vermont knew that she had no other choice, and that’s why he was so calm!

For a moment, Yulia clenched her fist in anger, shaking it.

"What was that at the end..."

Suddenly, she recalled the moment when Aslan’s hand had brushed her head and ground her teeth in frustration.

It had been such a natural gesture.

Like stroking a pet, as if it were part of his daily routine...

It was so nonchalantly done that she couldn’t even react in surprise.

What was that about?

Was it a habit from constantly stroking Charlotte and Yulia?

Or was he intentionally closing the distance between them?

Was he trying to treat her the same way as Charlotte or Yulia?

Thinking about it like that, a chill ran down her spine, and she shivered.

"Is he trying to seduce me too!? No way, that’s not going to happen..."

Aslan Vermont! I can see through your intentions!

You probably think that if you just pat my head and take care of my benefits, I’ll fall for you, don’t you?

But I’m not that easy!

I’ll marry you to achieve my goals, but I’ll never give you my heart...!

As Yulia kept thinking that over and over in her head.

For some reason, she had to struggle to calm the flustered feeling in her chest.

"But just now... Aslan Vermont seemed to know a lot about my abilities..."

Suddenly, she recalled the feeling of unease.

When she had first awakened her abilities and was confused,

Aslan Vermont had calmed her down and taught her how to control the abilities she had never seen before.

At first, she had thought it was nonsense and didn’t want to listen.

But reluctantly, she followed his instructions, and surprisingly, her ability control improved gradually.

It was as if the advice came from someone with real experience...

Could it be that Aslan Vermont himself had some ability?

No, he probably didn’t have one himself.

Had he become an expert by helping Charlotte and Yulia awaken their powers?

"Tsk..."

Was it because of the habits from constantly stroking Charlotte and Yulia?

It made her feel bad...

He had patted her head with the same hand he used to stroke Charlotte and Yulia.

And he had guided her with the same experience from awakening them...

It was unpleasant for reasons she couldn’t quite explain.

Perhaps it was the skill itself that bothered her...

If Aslan had been flustered and nervous, just like she had been when first awakening, she wouldn’t have felt this way.

What was he even trying to do?

Yulia herself didn’t understand why she felt so confused.

"Yulia!!! Is it true that you healed the old man’s wound? Is it true? Huh? Huh huh?"

Suddenly, she heard the loud, excited voice of Charlotte, running across the garden.

And behind her, Yulia was panting and running with effort.

Yulia, whose head had been full of thoughts about Aslan, suddenly smiled brightly and greeted her friends.

"Did you use magic? Did you develop healing magic!?"

"Well, no... I think it’s my own ability. It wasn’t something I studied like magic, it just happened suddenly today..."

"Wow...!"

Charlotte and Yulia exclaimed with their mouths wide open in awe.

Yulia, feeling awkward, scratched the back of her head.

It seemed that her friends were even more excited about her awakening than she was.

"The wound really disappeared completely! Amazing! Does that mean no matter how hurt we get, if we go to Yulia, we’ll be fine?"

"Ah, I’m not sure how severe an injury I can heal yet, so please don’t get hurt on purpose..."

"Hehe! Of course, we won’t do that!"

"Really, really, I’m so relieved, Yulia! We’re strong, so it’s not a big deal for us, but Aslan’s so weak, I was always worried about him... If you have that power, I won’t have to worry about Aslan getting hurt anymore!"

"..."

Even in times like this, Aslan Vermont’s name always comes up first...

How much do they think about him on a daily basis...?

Yulia couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable again, as she noticed the affection for Aslan in the way Charlotte and Yulia kept mentioning his name.

"But it’s amazing. A power that heals wounds... It feels so unlike you, Yulia!"

"Exactly. How did you awaken such a talent?"

"Umm... Maybe it’s because I really wanted to heal his wounds... Those wounds are why we’ve been hanging out with Aslan more lately, and not much with you, Yulia... Maybe that made you dislike it..."

"That’s not it!!!"

"..."

"..."

Charlotte jokingly teased, while Yulia quickly denied it with a loud exclamation.

Charlotte and Yulia focused their gazes on Yulia, and silence fell over the area.

"Ah..."

Yulia realized that she had taken the joke seriously.

Her face turned bright red in an instant.

[Part Break]

"Looking at all this noise, they must be talking about the healing abilities."

As she looked out at the garden where the children were chattering away, a warm smile naturally spread across her face.

Charlotte, Yulia, and Yulia.

How long had she waited to see them talking and playing together without masks, without pretenses, face to face?

There had been many times when she wanted to give up.

But after all her efforts, in the end, she had made them meet again.

At least, the chances of Yulia stabbing her with a knife in the near future had now become virtually zero.

"The next hurdle is how to arrange the engagement with Yulia..."

To get engaged to Charlotte and Yulia, Yulia’s consent was still necessary.

And the fastest and easiest way to gain Yulia’s consent would be, of course, to pursue Yulia herself.

Although she had been putting in her maximum effort lately...

She couldn’t quite tell if things were going well or not.

It wasn’t something that could be tested with a sudden confession.

In the end, it felt like she was endlessly filling a translucent kettle that wouldn’t reveal when it would overflow, but once it did, it would overflow, and she would know.

She decided to be patient with that thought.

"What are you all doing over there?"

"Eeek!?"

As she quietly descended the stairs to the basement, her maids froze in surprise at her call.

They acted as though they had been caught in the act of stealing.

Why were they so cautious about going to the children’s room?

Looking closely, one of the maids was holding a box wrapped in beautiful paper.

"What is that?"

"Oh. This is a gift for Yulia, master."

"A gift for Yulia? Only Yulia? Charlotte and Yulia might feel left out. If you're going to give it, give it to all of them."

"Well, um..."

A gift only for Yulia?

Yulia was about to scold them for it, but the maids seemed to be hesitating, as if they had something to say, glancing at her nervously.

What was going on?

"Considering the nature of the gift, we couldn’t do otherwise..."

"What do you mean? Tell me."

"Uhh... It’s... underwear... women’s underwear..."

"...!?"

[The Evil God, 'Kali', demands that you firmly hold onto your sanity!]

The maid leaned close to Yulia’s ear and whispered quietly.

Yulia froze, her mind in shock for a moment, unable to move.

Yulia... now wearing women’s underwear...?

Her mind went blank.