Chapter 249: The Bull-Horned Woman and the Female Mage

"Smuggled goods from the Heavenly Court Flower Kingdom?"

The woman with bull horns behind her asked skeptically.

She walked over.

Casually leaned her elbow on Luo De's shoulder.

With her other hand, she took the deep pink magic ring from Oana and examined it closely.

"The circuitry is crude, but the craftsmanship is definitely the same as that of the Heavenly Court Flower Kingdom."

"This kind of girl's trinket isn't suitable for you!"

Oana quickly snatched the ring back.

"Nonsense, girls all love this stuff—I'm no exception."

The bull-horned woman smiled and patted Luo De's shoulder: "Bro, don't you agree?"

Luo De sensed the immense spiritual energy within her—certainly at least eighth-rank or higher.

He also understood she was hinting: "I want one too."

He smiled and nodded.

Made no other physical gesture.

Who are you? We're not even acquainted—handing this to you right away makes me seem like a universal air conditioner, okay?

But the bull-horned woman clearly didn't understand the polite refusal in his smile.

She even wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

A large, masculine face leaned close.

"You're such a good-looking kid. Do you have some charm-based spiritual art or artifact? I'm starting to like you."

Luo De froze.

Immediately recalled one of his buffs.

【White Bull's Charm】

【Details: An innate spiritual art hidden within Minotaur bloodline, increases affinity with bovine creatures and makes married women more likely to fall for you.】

He gained this buff after purifying a bull-headed skull teeming with vengeful spirits with Kali Site.

"A minor buff I picked up by accident."

He didn't specify what it was, but didn't hide it either.

"Oh, I see—*sniff*—you smell so good. Just breathing you in gives me the urge. Want to sleep with me?"

Luo De's chin was lifted by thick fingers; warm breath nearly touched his face.

The bull-horned woman before him was powerfully built—even more muscular than a typical male beastman.

Normally, Luo De had high tolerance for female body types.

From land naga to female beastmen, from half-deer to halflings—he'd considered them all.

But this one? Not so much.

If not for her modest chest curve, that chiseled, brutal-male face would've made him almost call her "Big Brother."

"Get lost! You're scaring my guest!"

Before Luo De could speak, Oana properly refused her.

She shoved the bull-horned woman away.

Face flushed with annoyance.

"Oh? Oana, am I stealing your man?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Kosi! This is a relative of Lady Yulia—no, a friend!"

Kosi's smile faded.

Her gaze toward Luo De turned serious.

A relative of the Vampire King Yulia?

That was serious.

Luo De: "?"

Relative? Of Commissioner Yulia? I've never even met her.

My only link to Yulia is the scorpion woman Hera—could Hera have secretly claimed me as her son?

That's impossible.

"Anyone Lady Yulia favors must be exceptional. Mr. Luo De, would you be interested in joining our cleanup team?"

Kosi issued the invitation with full formality.

"Cleanup team?"

"A squad that clears out cosmic entities or phenomena from alternate dimensions that threaten the real world."

Wow.

Sounds incredibly dangerous.

A team where just hearing about it meant certain death for countless people—Luo De would never join.

"You're trying to poach someone Lady Yulia has set her eyes on? Aren't you overstepping?"

Oana got angry.

She shoved Kosi, then laughed and exchanged sharp retorts.

Soon, she drove her out of the office.

As for the human mage who had been sitting quietly nearby, she glanced at Luo De, nodded to Oana, and also left the office.

Luo De naturally noticed.

And she was wearing a robe similar to those of Bahadur Magic Academy.

Only the color differed—the one he'd met before was black; this woman wore a purple robe with intricate thread patterns.

Market District.

Indeed, packed with people coming and going.

But the Magic Control League had deliberately limited crowd size, so it didn't feel overly crowded.

Oana walked through the crowd.

Turned her palm, admiring the colorful magic ring in her hand.

Her eyes brimmed with delight.

Luo De didn't understand current continental trends—these colorful rings struck him as highly unconventional.

"So, the current bustle in the Market District is all because of the cleanup team that Miss Kosi belongs to?"

"Yes. Kosi and I are both direct subordinates of the six commissioners of the Magic Control League. Do you think purple looks better on my index finger or ring finger?"

"Both look good."

"Really~~"

Luo De stopped before a general goods shop and easily spotted several items on his shopping list.

Checking the remaining stock, he saw there wasn't much left.

He bought them immediately.

When he actually stored them in his spell satchel, he felt a quiet sense of relief.

The massive influx of cosmic entity loot from the cleanup team had truly fueled consumption—even here, far from the cosmic entity specialty street.

If he'd waited in line patiently until those thousands passed, most of the market's inventory would've been swept clean.

"That female mage seems to be from Bahadur Magic Academy? I recall the Magic Control League's affiliated academies are rivals with that one, right?"

Oana's white robe sleeves were long, usually hanging loosely.

But now that she wore the colorful ring, her hands danced constantly before her, never still.

"Vanessa Valentin, a magic professor from Bahadur, eighth-rank high-tier? I forgot who arranged the meeting, but Kosi, I, and her met for two reasons: one, a rare cosmic entity relic from the cleanup team; two, a certain containment item."

Oana spoke freely, showing no concern for confidentiality.

Clearly, she had no intention of agreeing to her request.

"Her reputation is terrible. A few years ago, she was imprisoned by Bahadur for colluding with Hell, only recently released."

Colluding with Hell?

That didn't surprise Luo De—nowadays, mages colluding with Hell wasn't rare.

Newspapers carried a dedicated section almost daily condemning Aetheron's inaction on such crimes.

This Vanessa Valentin had done it two years early—if she'd done it now, she probably wouldn't have been imprisoned at all.

What surprised him was:

Bahadur had independent law enforcement authority!? An independent prison??

Oana stopped before a small food stall.

Bought a skewer of boiled potatoes and radishes, fragrant and steaming.

She blew on it as she spoke: "It's said Vanessa Valentin had her experimental materials and a pile of other things stolen by a student years ago—her memories were also affected, making her somewhat erratic. Otherwise, she wouldn't have broken protocol to come to the Magic Control League."

Luo De froze:

"Stolen experimental materials and a pile of things—and her memories affected too?"

Why does that sound so familiar?

(End of Chapter)