"Ehe, Little Pardo, Sis Nia, come, come! Let me introduce you. This is our new friend, Miss Ashara from the Americas."
Inside the sanatorium, Vill-V clapped Ashara on the shoulder, posturing as if to say, 'This is my new 'little brother'—oh no, it should be 'little sister'.'
Her attitude was not at all how one would treat a walking, human-shaped nuclear bomb, but rather like she was dealing with an ordinary person.
In truth, however, at Ashara's own suggestion, a special device had already been implanted inside her. The moment her second personality showed any signs of awakening, it would immediately send a signal to notify Fu Li.
Simultaneously, it would inject Fu Li's 'Śeṣa' venom, completely paralyzing her in a short amount of time.
In short, it was very safe.
Vill-V was an extremely proud person. In the entire orphanage, the only ones she recognized as friends were Aponia and Pardofelis. So, upon receiving Fu Li's mission, she immediately thought of them.
They are all beings with their own unique talents. They are worthy of being my friends!
Vill-V's mental abacus was clicking away loudly.
However, when Aponia and Pardofelis looked at Ashara, their reactions were completely different.
"Hello, my name is Pardofelis. You can call me Pardo, or Felis, whichever you like."
Pardofelis was very happy. Her intuition was quite sharp, and looking at the shy older sister before her, she felt a strange chill run down her spine.
It was like a walking air conditioner.
Very comfortable!
Pardofelis thought, carefree as always. She flashed a cute smile and began plotting how to sell her goods to this shy older sister.
She looks so timid, and she's an American who's probably used to spending lavishly. She must be an easy customer.
As for Aponia, she had been silent ever since seeing Ashara. The gentle smile that seemed perpetually on her lips had dipped slightly, and a faint red hue seemed to flash in her beautiful gray-blue eyes.
But this state lasted only for a moment, like an illusion. She quickly returned to her usual gentle demeanor and said in a low, warm voice:
"Hello, Miss Ashara. My name is Aponia. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Um... my name is Ashara. It's a pleasure to meet you all, too."
Despite being the oldest one there, Ashara seemed somewhat reserved and quickly responded with embarrassment.
Then, she even tried to hide behind Vill-V, leaving the other two at a loss for words.
Soon, however, Aponia, acting as the host, naturally broke the silence.
"By the way, Vill-V, Li's intention was for us to show Ashara around and get her familiar with the place, correct?"
"That's right. You can see how shy she is." Vill-V shrugged. "So, I brought her out. I remember there are lots of fun places around here where we can relax."
Of course, she was hoping to stay out for a while longer.
After all, Ashara was severely lacking in a sense of security, a flaw that had become even more pronounced after her Herrscherization.
She was always trying to cling to Li's side, which made Vill-V a little uncomfortable.
Aponia nodded. "Is that so? Then I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it?"
"What suggestion?" Vill-V asked curiously.
"Well, would you like to go buy some souvenirs?" Aponia shrugged. "You haven't forgotten, have you? Your school term is about to start."
Vill-V's summer vacation was only two months long, and a month had already passed. According to a normal schedule, she had half a month left before school started.
But Fu Li had already arranged for her to advance. With Vill-V's current level of knowledge, going straight to university was no problem at all.
To further her studies, she had just four days before she had to return to Mu University's most prestigious institution and become a special student.
From the third year of junior high straight to university, at the age of fifteen.
An absolute genius, who had even reached the doctoral level in mechanics.
Terrifyingly talented.
"Oh, right! I'd forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it." Realization dawned on Vill-V. "Li wants me to go to university to further my studies, but he's worried I'm too young, so he needs to take me there to get familiar with the place first."
"But honestly, I really don't think those people can teach me anything. Most of them aren't even as good as Ashara."
Ashara, despite her meek appearance, was actually one of the top five scientists in the American branch, more brilliant than many professors.
Hearing this, Ashara pursed her lips, as if wanting to be modest, but in the end, she said nothing.
Aponia and Pardofelis were already used to Vill-V's attitude towards others, so they didn't find it strange.
"Anyway, we need to buy souvenirs, right? I remember tomorrow is Li's birthday. We can just give them to him as a present."
With that, Vill-V said, "Pardo, do you know any good shops in Twilight Street?"
"Of course, boss!"
Hearing the prospect of business, Pardo's eyes lit up. She patted her own small chest and said, "I have my own little shop outside. It has everything, and the prices are absolutely fair for the quality."
"Then let's go," Vill-V said. "What do you think, Ashara?"
"Mm..." Ashara nodded. "Boss's birthday... then I'll buy him a gift, too."
She didn't want to pass up this opportunity to curry favor with Fu Li, even though she knew he wouldn't care about such things.
With everyone in agreement, the group of four didn't dawdle. They immediately set off from the sanatorium in a grand procession.
Ever since she'd had Fu Li backing her, Pardofelis had become a little tyrant in Twilight Street, and she had long since established a general store.
It was named the 'Penguin General Store,' and its logo was just a penguin with a pink bow tie. It even had five employees.
When Pardofelis led the other three through the doors of the store, a young woman in a uniform came up to greet them.
"Welcome, boss. Is there anything you need to buy?"
As she spoke, she gave them a professional smile, which held a faint trace of an unscrupulous merchant's grin.
She had clearly learned a thing or two from Pardo.
"Mm... these are my friends. I'll take them to pick out something they like." Pardofelis waved her hand magnanimously. "Give them a 20% discount!"
A 20% discount!
Hearing that number, the salesgirl's pupils shrank. From what she knew of her boss, a discount often signified a relationship.
And 20% off meant a particularly good relationship.
"So, what kind of souvenir are you planning to buy? I can help you find it," Pardofelis asked curiously.
"Mmm, an ornament related to snakes, I think," Vill-V said. "I've seen Li collect a lot of snake-related things. He should like this."
She saw no problem with her words, but Aponia, standing beside her, froze for a moment, then said幽幽ly, "Snake... related? You're going to give Li that?"
"Yeah, is there a problem? I know Li very well!" Vill-V said with complete confidence.
"I see." Aponia said meaningfully. "That's nice. Mr. Li really does like snakes, doesn't he..."
"That's very nice..."
---o---
Author's Note:
PS: To avoid any misunderstanding, I'll just mention, Ashara is not part of the harem, just a subordinate. And she's still a virgin (chu).