Chapter 401: Enhancement and Trust

After Pan Ni came to, he used the Bronze Spirit-Measuring Ball on her once more.

The black crystal shard displayed — 【193 Marks】.

"Oh!"

Rod couldn't help being surprised either.

A direct surge of 15 marks, almost catching up to Tally's 198 marks.

Obviously.

The passive skill's bonus would be counted directly by the Spirit-Measuring Ball.

The passive skills the girls had rolled out were still relatively few.

【Negative Energy Physique】 counted as one.

Tally's 【Archduke Bloodline】 as well.

Only, to avoid the smell of sulfur, Tally had directly given up the core 【Demonic Flesh】 skill.

If not for that, her value should have been above 200 marks.

But if you were to say Pan Ni could beat Tally, that probably wasn't very likely.

A shadow spell up close, one cast of +8 【Pain Lash】, and the ghoul would probably be done for.

A succubus's entire skillset came with bonuses; her combat power among early seventh-tier was terrifyingly high.

Pan Ni, after all, had the limitation of playability; her body was somewhat lacking in agility, and her softness and elasticity weren't quite enough either.

Rod only sought her out when he wanted to play something new, so the 【Growth Spirituality】 infused wasn't much, that's all.

"Why can't I add some to myself."

Rod shook his head, not thinking much of it.

He cut off a finger for the ghoul as a reward, and conveniently used it to test his own 【Regeneration】.

Pan Ni went wild with joy, the corners of her mouth splitting open and never coming back down, cradling the blood-drenched finger in both hands the whole way as if it were some treasure.

She nearly dropped to her knees for her master on the spot.

【Pan Ni's obedience toward you +5, current obedience: 56】

Pan Ni's method of improvement was equally clear.

This one simply wanted to eat Rod's flesh.

Such was the ghoul's nature; nothing to be done about it.

But if one wanted to feed her a meal every day and max out obedience within a month, that was also impossible.

The first few days would probably still yield gains, but once she got used to it later, there'd be nothing left.

Just draining the pond to fish — afterward he'd have to find a new method of improvement, troublesome.

What comes by hard is cherished; a slow, steady stream lasts longest.

The two finished dinner, not in a hurry to head back.

They strolled along the New Lank Street scenery, walking off the meal.

Yellow dwarven lamp fixtures strung together in a row, hung on the neatly arranged fronts of each house.

All sorts of colorful signboards with big logos flickered under the lights — a sight that would seem utterly ordinary back on Earth, but to the people of Shi Ying Town and even the Spirit Continent, it was rather romantic.

In the dim night, quite a few couples walked hand in hand.

This was already the most popular commercial street in Shi Ying Town.

Apart from in bed, Pan Ni hadn't really spent time alone with her master before, so she was a little excited.

After getting permission, she imitated the passing couples and successfully looped her arm through Rod's.

She instinctively drew close, pressing her master's arm tightly against her chest, grinning foolishly the whole way.

Obedience also ticked up a little because of it.

Just as they were walking.

A strangely familiar figure up ahead made Rod stop in his tracks.

"Dimia?"

The girl clutching a yellow paper bag with her head lowered froze mid-step.

She raised her head; her baby-plump face revealed a stiff smile, a cute little canine tooth peeking in and out.

It was the witch Dimia.

She wasn't wearing her usual strapless, revealing mage robe and wide-brimmed mage hat at the moment.

Instead, a brown-red solid-color wool long dress, with two layers of pale-yellow line embroidery at the cuffs and collar. A brown belt at the waist accentuated her waistline — even though she'd deliberately not cinched it tight, it still emphasized her magnificent bosom.

Her thick golden hair had somehow turned the most common brown, tied into two braids, one on each side resting at her shoulder blades.

And an oversized thick-yarn knit cap covered up more than half of her cute-style pretty face.

As if she'd become a completely different person.

If not for Rod's habitually sharp impression of pretty girls, he really wouldn't have spotted her.

Rod laughed: "A change of outfit? What's this for, you're not up to something shady, are you?"

"H-how could that be, ha-ha"

Dimia glanced at Pan Ni beside him, her gaze drifting away unnaturally, refusing to meet his eyes.

The yellow paper bag clutched in her arms was instinctively hugged tighter, pressed against her chest, making the brown-red dress bulge outward and lose its shape.

Seeing her look embarrassed, Rod was about to change the subject.

"It's not what you're thinking, that's all."

"I'm not thinking anything, it can't be some erotic picture book, hahahahaha."

She couldn't laugh anymore.

The witch Young Lady's face flushed red, along with a sense of shame and unwillingness at being seen through.

"Uh—"

Fortunately, the ghoul beside her was still standing there in a dazed, silly grin, watching the passersby while muttering low food reviews like 'What a nice complexion, her lungs look like they'd taste great.'

Rod stepped forward and quietly offered an explanation on her behalf: "Reference material for a novel, right?"

"Ah? Right! Y-yes, that's right, just reference material for a novel!"

Judging by your reaction, it doesn't really seem that way.

Could it be that you simply wanted to read it for yourself?

Didn't the dog-girl Sharon say something about this best friend of hers — that back in her school days she loved secretly reading raunchy novels under the covers?

Rod wasn't about to say anything about someone else's hobbies.

Don't bring up a friend's embarrassing moments out on the street — just let it go with the wind.

"I'm heading off first."

"Mm, wait a moment. Looks like Young Lady Tally hasn't told you about today's matter yet."

Dimia suddenly grew serious, the shyness fading from her face — clearly she meant to discuss work.

When Rod had slipped out of City Hall during the day, he'd secretly had Tally take on his appearance to attend the meeting in his place.

He said stubbornly:

"I know about it."

Dimia couldn't help a soft laugh, her plump cheeks bouncing on both sides.

"Young Lady Tally didn't act the part at all — not long after she started, she fell asleep, and even talked in her dreams with your face on."

"Uh, alright, what was today's meeting about again?"

Rod didn't much care.

City Hall meetings held no meaning for him.

"Shortly after you left, a letter arrived from Gale City — they've announced that Rosalia's secondment is over, and they're demanding we organize the wealthy merchants and every available fighting force to relocate inside Gale City, to concentrate our strength and deal with the coming crisis."

Rod frowned at that as well.

"They want to abandon Shi Ying Town?"

"After the Argyle family withdrew, the acting administrator — Daphne's cousin, Baron Ram — is a spineless widow whose whole life has been one compromise after another. With the pillow-talk of those useless sycophants around her, two dragons would be enough to scare the courage right out of her."

Dimia's tone turned cold.

"I report directly to the Argyle family, and being reassigned down to Shi Ying Town went through proper channels, so brushing off an acting city lord like her is no problem. Shi Ying Town has its guardian formation — it must have some significance within the Kingdom of Aethelron, and we can manage."

"But Rosalia is different — she's one of Baron Ram's people, and climbing into that relationship wasn't easy. She'll most likely leave over this."

(End of Chapter)