Milady...
Seeing her boss's anxious and insecure look, the chicken breast in Kuma's hand suddenly lost its appeal.
She wanted to say something comforting, like "Lynch is so easygoing, he definitely won't care," or "At worst, we can just kill everyone who knows."
But the words reached her lips and she swallowed them back.
Because she also knew that humanity's fear of witches was carved into their very bones.
Just then, a hearty laugh came from the direction of the kitchen.
Hahahaha! You're too kind, boss! Alright, then it's a deal! I will definitely keep this recipe a secret!
Lynch walked out, his face glowing with excitement, holding a piece of paper covered in writing. Evidently, he had successfully stolen the master's secret.
Watching the man striding towards them, Felsy took a deep breath, quickly concealed the melancholy in her eyes, and replaced it with her usual reserved and indifferent expression.
You're back?
Yep! All sorted!
Lynch sat back down and waved the piece of paper in his hand like a prized treasure. Once we get back to the village and gather the ingredients, I'll try making it! But for now, eat up, eat up. After we finish, we still have to accompany that poor kid Asik to his exam.
Looking into his clear, bright eyes, Felsy silently sighed in her heart.
Forget it.
At least for now... it's better not to think about these things.
Mhm, it's getting cold, you should eat too.
She picked up her knife and fork and gently placed the best piece of cut meat from her plate into Lynch's.
...
Inside the roast chicken restaurant that staked the chef's career, most of the diners had already dispersed.
Phew... I'm so stuffed.
Lynch put down his napkin and patted his stomach in satisfaction. Although the restaurant's name was a bit edgy, the taste was truly impeccable.
He glanced at Felsy across from him, who was still elegantly wiping the corners of her mouth, and then at Kuma, who was slumped in her chair burping, and stood up with a smile.
You guys sit here for a bit, I'm going to take a walk outside.
Hm? Where else are you going? Felsy looked up, a hint of imperceptible vigilance seemingly flashing in her eyes.
After-dinner dessert.
Lynch said as a matter of course, On the way here, I think I smelled a really fragrant milky scent. There's probably a good dessert shop nearby. I'll go scout it out. If it's good, I'll bring some back for you, and if it's bad, we'll dodge a bullet. Saves you the extra walking.
Wait here for me for ten minutes.
With that, Lynch waved his hand, turned around, and walked out the door, quickly disappearing into the flow of people on the street.
Watching his back disappear, Felsy's initially calm face crumbled almost at a visible speed.
She rested her chin on one hand, her other hand unconsciously stirring the already cold lemon water in front of her. Her brows were tightly furrowed, as if the delicious roast chicken from earlier had all been made of wax.
Milady?
Kuma leaned in, carefully observing her boss's expression. Are you still worrying about what happened earlier? There's really no need. Even if Lynch is just an ordinary person, and even if there will be danger if your identity is exposed later, that's a problem for the future...
It's not that.
Felsy interrupted Kuma's comforting words, her voice faint. I'm thinking about something else.
About what?
Felsy took a deep breath, as if she had made some sort of decision, and lowered her voice.
Kuma, did you notice... after selling the wolf pelts just now, the accounts Lynch reported to us weren't right.
Accounts?
Kuma looked bewildered. As an animal-eared girl who only cared about eating and fighting, she was never sensitive to numbers. What wasn't right? Didn't we sell them for a lot of money?
It was short.
Felsy narrowed her eyes, her purple irises flashing with the glint of a master detective. According to the grocery store boss's quote, plus the margin of Lynch's haggling, the total amount should have been thirty-five silver coins. But in the coin pouch he took out at the dinner table just now, there were only thirty.
Where did those five silver coins... go?
Kuma scratched her head. Maybe he spent them on snacks? Or bought the blueprints for that irrigation sprinkler thing?
Impossible, Felsy said decisively. Those five silver coins, he deliberately held them back and hid them on himself.
That is... a secret stash.
When she said the words secret stash, Felsy emphasized them heavily, as if it were some extremely serious betrayal.
A secret stash? Kuma blinked, thinking this wasn't a big deal. He's a man, isn't it normal to keep a little money on hand to buy smokes and drinks? Even though Lynch doesn't smoke, he might want to buy something else...
Something else?
Felsy sneered, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes. That's the crux of the problem. What is he saving money... to buy?
She suddenly leaned closer to Kuma, her expression as solemn as if she were declaring war.
Do you remember the alley with the pink lanterns we passed on our way to the restaurant just now?
Kuma recalled for a moment.
There was indeed such an alley. A few scantily clad young ladies were standing at the entrance, and the signs had suggestive words like Succubus Dream or Tender Embrace written on them. That was Shattered Gold Town's famous red-light district.
I remember, what about it?
At the time... Felsy gritted her teeth, Lynch looked inside.
And he looked for more than just a glance! He lingered for at least three seconds! He even said, Wow, this decoration is really unique!
Kuma: ...
She remembered now. Lynch indeed took a look at the time, but that was because there was a giant magical neon sign hanging at the entrance of that shop, flashing like a disco. Any normal person would take a look, right?
But at this very moment, in the eyes of a deeply lovesick and extremely sensitive witch, that single glance was evidence of a crime.
Hiding a secret stash... paying attention to brothels...
Felsy's fingers tightly gripped her glass of lemon water, her knuckles turning white. The logical chain is complete.
He... he must be...
Felsy's face flushed bright red; she just couldn't bring herself to say the shameful word. It must be because his body has been too healthy lately, and... and he has nowhere to vent his energy, so he wants to take his secret stash to that kind of dirty place to... to have fun!
Pfft—
Kuma almost spat out a mouthful of saliva.
She stared wide-eyed at her boss.
No way?
Case closed just like that?
Just because he was short five silver coins and glanced at a neon sign, Lynch went from being a model husband to a whoremonger?
Her imagination was running way too wild!
Seeing Felsy looking so angry and anxious, with her eyes red, Kuma's mischievous nature started bubbling up again.
She suppressed the urge to burst out laughing, cleared her throat, and put on the serious facade of an objective bystander.
Um... Lady Witch.
If... I mean if. If Lynch really took the money to go to that kind of place, so what?
So what?! Felsy's voice instantly spiked, drawing a sidelong glance from a waiter clearing a nearby table. She hastily lowered her voice and glared at Kuma. What kind of nonsense are you spouting! He is my... my...
He is your cover, your landlord, your chef.
Kuma counted on her fingers, her face a picture of innocence as she spoke. "Isn't that what you always say? You two are merely a married couple in name, living together solely to conceal your identities."
"Since it is just a performance, what does his private life have to do with you?"
"Besides," Kuma spread her hands, deliberately fanning the flames. "He is a normal adult male, not to mention a hot-blooded Tier 2 powerhouse. Every night, you only let him give you massages and nothing else... It is only natural that he would get pent up and go out to find an outlet to vent."
"As long as he still comes home to cook for you and maintains the cover, it does not matter if he seeks out human dancers or succubus ladies on the outside. It has no impact on your plans at all, right?"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
