Birds swept across the sky, and one of them followed the sunlight down to the mansion's windowsill.
Laurier glanced outside, then reached out and drew the curtains. The room instantly dimmed.
The blonde Elf did not turn on the Magic Stone lamp. Instead, she smoothly opened a drawer and took out the notebook inside.
The parchment was packed with dense handwriting. Among the many names were numerous one-way arrows of unclear meaning.
Every arrow pointed toward the name [Bell].
Laurier's gaze moved back and forth over names such as [Gale] and [Nine Hell]. Behind each woman's name were extremely detailed notes.
How their relationship with the young man had progressed, guesses about their feelings for each other, the information gathered so far, whether that person might have a harmful influence on Bell Cranel, almost everything related to Bell had been recorded by Laurier in meticulous detail.
Although much of it included her own subjective guesses, the general contents were not far from the truth.
This was Laurier's weapon, and also her way of protecting the feelings in her heart.
At last, Laurier's gaze settled on a few names at the edge of the page.
"Then I'll start with them..."
"You can do this... You can do this..."
Laurier murmured softly, as if cheering herself on. She closed the notebook and carefully placed it at the very back of the drawer.
Once the curtains were opened again, the room instantly returned to brightness.
Laurier glanced at the rabbit plush on the bed, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, then left the room.
...
Inside a certain office, a blue-haired woman was buried in work.
"Asfi-sama, you're pushing yourself again."
Laurier looked at her Captain and smiled helplessly.
"Sigh, it can't be helped. The Guild deliberately covered up the surge of monsters in the Pantry, and now they're suppressing the matter of the Floor Boss too. We ended up getting dragged into it as well. It really is troublesome."
Asfi let out a long sigh, faint dark circles under her eyes.
A mutated Floor Boss had appeared on a Safe Floor. If such unheard-of information spread, it would cause a massive uproar among Orario's Adventurers.
To prevent order from collapsing, the Guild had taken forceful measures and kept the news contained as much as possible.
However, there had simply been too many eyewitnesses. The tale of the young hero who single-handedly defeated the jet-black Floor Boss was still spreading among the people like a legend.
Laurier understood that her beloved was gradually becoming the center of the world.
She looked at Asfi's blue hair and said softly, "Captain, let me massage your shoulders."
"Huh? There's no need..."
Asfi shyly refused.
"It's what I should do!"
Laurier quickly stepped forward and used her increasingly practiced massage technique to ease the other woman's fatigue.
Asfi did not refuse again. Instead, she leaned back in her chair and enjoyed this rare moment of peace.
What she did not know was that a single strand of blue hair had silently fallen into Laurier's hand.
...
At a street corner.
Laurier set up a sign and quietly waited for someone to arrive.
Tap, tap.
As footsteps approached, Laurier called out.
"You there, Guild employee. Would you like to try a fortune-telling?"
"Huh...? Me? An Elf doing something like this? You look way too suspicious, don't you?"
Eina glanced at the questionable little roadside stall and really did not want to get involved.
"You are my first customer today, so the reading is free."
Laurier covered her face with a veil, giving herself a mysterious air.
When gathering information, she often disguised herself, so she was already very used to this.
"Free? Sorry, I'm not interested..."
As a mature woman, Eina naturally understood that free things were what one should be most wary of.
She waved her hand and continued walking.
"You must be troubled by matters of love, aren't you?"
"Ugh..."
"The person is younger than you, and another girl is involved?"
Laurier's words were like a hook, catching Eina's feet and stopping her in place.
"How does the fortune-telling work?"
In the end, Eina turned back.
Because of her relationships with the people around her, she had no one she could confide in about love. Her coworkers would only laugh and chat, and as for her good friend Misha, Eina could already imagine exactly what she would say.
If you love him, then go for it!
Misha would definitely encourage her like that.
The only person who might understand Eina was her younger sister, who lived far away, but with this kind of topic, she could only hint around it and did not dare ask directly.
For all those reasons, even though Eina knew this was suspicious, she still fell into the trap.
"It's very simple. Give me one strand of your beautiful hair, and I can help you glimpse a few scenes from your future."
Laurier gave the line she had prepared in advance.
"If it's that simple, then please..."
Eina plucked one strand of her brown hair without hesitation.
Laurier accepted it and, with an air of mystery, placed it on the crystal ball.
She closed her eyes and said, "I see it. You're sitting on a sofa in front of a fireplace. Beside you is an Elf girl with light brown hair and emerald-green bangs. She is...?"
"Ah, that's my younger sister, Nina!"
Eina exclaimed excitedly.
She had not expected much at first, but the other woman had described it in such detail. She had to be a genuine fortune-teller.
"Oh... Nina-san has the same happy expression on her face as you do."
Laurier replied mysteriously.
Because she had investigated Eina's family background in advance, she was able to guide the conversation this way.
Although her goal had already been achieved and she could leave now, Laurier did not want to simply walk away.
According to her information, the half-Elf Eina held a certain fondness for the young man. If that relationship continued, Bell would be able to handle many Guild-related matters more easily.
Following her plan, Laurier let surprise enter her voice. "This... what is this?"
"What's wrong? Did something happen in the future?"
Eina asked anxiously.
Since it involved her younger sister, she could not help growing more worried.
"It's just a little unexpected. You and your sister are both holding onto a certain white-haired man, and both of you seem to be pregnant..."
Laurier pressed her lips together and withdrew her right hand. "No, I can only see this much."
"Huh? Please wait!"
Eina was shocked by that string of predictions.
She still wanted to ask for details, but Laurier packed up her sign and walked into the alley.
"Could you do one more reading? I don't mind paying... Huh? Where did she go?"
Eina hurried after her.
But in the blink of an eye, the fortune-teller had vanished.
How strange...
Could she have been some unknown God?
A white-haired man had to mean Bell, right...
But Nina... pregnant?!
Eina looked up at the blue sky, her thoughts tangled together as they drifted far away.
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