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Back in Room 217 at The Reverie.
"Silver Wolf, you've changed. You promised you'd stay with me for a lifetime."
Sparkle's eyes were misty with tears, as if she were deeply reluctant to part with Silver Wolf.
"The old me was immature. Now I understand that freedom is better." Silver Wolf looked at Sparkle, a sense of superiority rising in her heart as she spoke with heavy emotion. "I'm sorry, Sparkle. I can't let down Stelle's sacrifice."
Back when she and Sparkle had shared the same hardships, she had once felt a trace of pity.
But now, that feeling was completely gone. Thinking back on it, she even felt a little foolish—actually pitying a Masked Fool.
Now she was free, while Sparkle still didn't know how much longer she would continue to suffer losses.
Times change, and people change.
"Silver Wolf, don't make Sparkle sad."
Sol walked over and said to Silver Wolf, "Now that you're free, you should act with the responsibility of a free person."
"Wua-haha!"
Sparkle, overcome with grievance, threw herself into Sol's arms and began sobbing softly as she said, "Darling, just break the contract once and keep her here!"
"!?"
Silver Wolf stared at Sparkle in shock.
Fine, you cry like you're laughing—whatever—but how can your intentions be this vicious?!
She immediately looked at Sol warily, afraid that he might go back on his word.
A contract breaker must suffer the punishment of devouring rock—but for someone as strong as Sol, would eating a rock even be hard to digest?
"Be good, I know you can't bear to see her go." Sol gently patted Sparkle's smooth, beautiful back and said tenderly, "But I keep my word. What I promised Stelle, I will definitely fulfill."
"Wua—!"
Sparkle seemed to cry even louder, looking even more pitiful.
"Hoo~"
Silver Wolf let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
Thankfully, Sol still had principles.
Listening to Sparkle cry while laughing, Silver Wolf couldn't help feeling smug.
See? No one can stop her from running toward freedom!
While comforting Sparkle, Sol looked at Silver Wolf and said, "Go on. Silver Wolf, you're free now. You've got a good friend."
"Thinking back on our time together, you were actually a pretty decent person too."
He spoke with deep emotion, as if truly reminiscing about fond memories.
"Mm."
Silver Wolf nodded, finding Sol much more agreeable to look at.
Sure, this guy could be nasty, but he wasn't bad to get along with.
"Silver Wolf, but don't get too carried away." Sol looked at her seriously. "Although Stelle helped you resolve your freedom issue, you still owe me quite a few bets from before. Only after you repay those will you be truly free."
"Mm?"
The joy on Silver Wolf's face froze.
She remembered now—back then, in order to win back her freedom, she had kept staking new things again and again, yet hadn't won a single time.
Accumulated to this point, it seemed like she might not be able to repay it all.
"Silver Wolf, don't worry. Just remember to repay them slowly." Sol stood up, walked over to her, and patted her shoulder, speaking earnestly. "Don't gamble casually with people next time. This time, Stelle saved you. Next time, no one will."
"Mm."
Silver Wolf nodded awkwardly.
She felt deeply conflicted—she didn't really want to repay the remaining bets.
She had learned this painful lesson well: don't gamble casually. She had dug her own grave.
Her impression of Sol improved a bit too. At least he knew how to warn her—that was fairly conscientious.
"And also, don't think about winning those bets back from me." Sol warned her sternly. "Just repay them honestly, one by one."
"Uh, well…"
Silver Wolf thought of the bets she owed.
Good advice may be harsh to hear—Sol's words weren't pleasant, but she really couldn't gamble anymore.
Still, if she repaid them one by one… that felt no different from selling herself.
The kissing bet had already been paid off by Stelle, but there was still one night of doing nothing, ten days as a body pillow, a hundred days as a private maid…
After going through all that, if she didn't end up pregnant, that'd say more about Sol than her.
"Debts must be repaid one by one! You can't beat Darling anyway!" Sparkle came over at this moment, pressing her face close in mockery. "Haha, Silver Wolf—by the time you finish repaying Darling's debts, you'll definitely be shaped like him!"
"So funny—the you who gained freedom isn't any different from me at all!"
Luring the enemy deeper into the abyss—that's step one!
"..."
Silver Wolf was already calculating her escape.
She would keep her word—just not specify when.
At worst, after regaining her freedom, she'd delay repayment for ten thousand years.
"Sparkle's right. You can't beat me." Sol patted Silver Wolf's shoulder and said earnestly. "You're terrible at games. Even with cheating, you couldn't win. If you keep gambling, you'll only betray Stelle's goodwill. What you owe me isn't urgent—just repay it slowly, one thing at a time."
"W-What!?"
Silver Wolf latched onto the keywords.
"Games". And "Terrible"!
"WHO SAID THAT I'M TERRIBLE AT GAMES?!"
Silver Wolf's face flushed red as she shouted incoherently, "Every popular game in the Galactic Top 100, I'm a peak-tier player in all of them! Those seventy-six accounts of mine that got banned—every single one held top records across different games!!"
"I'm telling you, when you beat me in that fighting game before, I was holding back!"
"You say I'm bad at games—do you even understand games?!"
She was a god-tier player.
In real-time competitive games, she could 1v5 with godlike plays—even with pig teammates, she'd still win, a ranked powerhouse on the universal servers.
In casual and puzzle games, she was a record holder across the board—even in something as simple as Snake, she had grinded past a hundred billion points.
Calling her bad? This guy had zero sense.
"By 'holding back,' do you mean modifying your character to have a million HP and a hundred thousand attack power?"
Sol snorted disdainfully and said, "If you're bad, just admit it. Don't argue."
"I was going easy on you!"
Silver Wolf fumed with rage and said, "I didn't even use HP lock or invincibility! I was afraid you'd break down!"
"Cheating and you still dare talk?" Sol curled his lips and said casually. "Rock-paper-scissors. Fifteen rounds, best of eight. One match decides it. No stakes—I don't want you breaking down."
"No stakes? Who are you looking down on?!" Silver Wolf shouted angrily. "If I win, one of the debts I owe you is wiped clean! If I lose, I'll call you Dad!"
"Heh. You already lost that bet to me before. You just never paid it."
Sol shook his head slightly, speaking with disdain.
"Ahhh!"
Silver Wolf went completely berserk and blurted out, "You still haven't fully mastered my Aether Editing skills, right? If you win, I'll work for you for free for ten years!"
"Barely acceptable."
Sol reluctantly agreed.
A straight hook was cast—and someone really bit the bait.
Those anglers who go home empty-handed every day really are just lacking skill.
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