Chapter 674: A Week and the Newspaper

Shiying Town, Xin Lank Street.

Outdoor tables and chairs outside the “Sophia Afternoon Tea” shop.

Under a beige sunshade, Luo De lounged with one leg crossed over the other, sipping black tea and reading the newspaper.

Tally wore a precisely tailored black maid’s outfit today.

The skirt flared gently without being excessive; the fitted corset hugged her waistline tightly, accentuating her slender, barely-there waist.

A white ruffled apron tied at the front did not hide her figure—instead, its layered folds heightened the prominence of her chest’s contours.

She adhered to the elegant maid persona.

After refilling her master’s tea, she cut a small piece of cheesecake with her own fork and offered it with a look of tender affection.

“Master, ah—”

Luo De opened his mouth and bit down; the texture was smooth and soft.

Hmm, Lily’s recommended shop really is good.

Beside him, Tally stared longingly at the fork still dusted with cake crumbs, grinning foolishly.

“Master’s saliva paired with cake? Perfect.”

Then she licked it clean greedily.

“.”

Luo De ignored her.

The street was nearly empty, even though today was the rare Hunting Festival—most people had the day off.

It had all come after a week of intense preparations.

The peace concert by the superstar Cloud Sprite begins tonight at seven, and nearly everyone with free time has gone to Coral Bay to join the crowd.

Even the owner of “Sophia Afternoon Tea” was among them.

After serving Luo De his tea and pastries, she was dragged off by a group of excited friends, leaving only the keys and a plea for him to lock up after finishing.

Luo De shook the newspaper lightly—he didn’t care much.

A week isn’t long.

But the trivial events have been plenty.

First, the Banshee Krista, for reasons unknown, had suddenly contacted the superstar Lila Starwhisper’s team, claiming she wished to perform as a special guest at the concert.

Those who know, know.

The undead lady was envious of the concert’s popularity and profit potential, and foolishly tried to ride the superstar’s coattails.

And since Luo De had recently retrieved Lila Starwhisper unharmed after her escape,

Her agent, Camille, had been desperately searching for someone to thank—and now, Krista’s move led her to mistakenly believe this was Luo De’s doing, and she happily agreed.

Apparently, Camille had never encountered a Banshee before—these undead usually live in the countryside.

After Krista casually spun a few lies, Camille took her for a future singing sensation.

Fortunately, the event schedule reached our head steward, the Arachne Elf Yuna, who swiftly intervened and removed her from the lineup.

When Yuna reported this to Luo De, she patted her chest repeatedly, visibly shaken.

It was a close call.

Their master cares about appearances.

If wandering bards learned that a Forest Warden had forcibly inserted his woman as a guest performer at the concert—and had her sawing-wood voice recorded on a recording stone—

Who knows what the newspapers would write about him!

Luo De himself didn’t mind much.

But he felt sorry for Yuna’s exhausted expression, so he immediately transferred the half-vampire Vanessa from the underground magic ring factory to Coral Bay to help.

The half-vampire had years of experience and had worked in Bahadur—she likely understood social nuances.

The missing factory workers were replaced by Lunar Luka.

Despite her erratic behavior, her strength and experience made her perfectly capable of empowering magic rings on the assembly line.

Moreover, she used the rule of the Pale Corridor Maze—【Moon Shadow】—to create five or six shadows, greatly increasing the ring output this week.

But her appearance while working—muttering nonsense, grimacing—was terrifying.

She didn’t sleep at all; voices from the underground factory echoed through the night.

She didn’t frighten Selena—but she terrified the Mind Flayer Hart, who was terrified of the Lunar Deity and would shiver at the sound of her voice.

Word is she hasn’t slept properly for a full week.

It didn’t frighten Selina, but it terrified the Mind Flayer Hart—he was terrified of the Moon Goddess and would shiver at the sound of her voice.

The Magic Control Union’s 【Long-Distance Teleportation】 still hasn’t been restored.

With no secure sales channel, he could only sell them individually to familiar ship merchants and freight traders.

Lots of hassle, little volume.

With no secure market for the magic ring, he could only sell it to familiar ship merchants and independent traders, one by one.

Luo De didn’t want to handle it personally, so he turned again to his old acquaintance, the Gnome Pete.

Gnomes are a race that thrives on boldness and starves on timidity.

Pete was thrilled, waved his hand, signed the agency contract, and set off without delay.

It was another steady income stream.

The giant deformed Siren in the Monster Sea had been cleared out after a week of operations—results were good.

But to say there was no impact would be false.

Next, the trade route connecting Shiying Town to Shanlun City had opened. This route benefited Shiying Town’s mineral industry—and Coral Bay as well.

But there was one slight problem:

Recently, the Harpy tribe’s chieftain in Eagle Claw Gorge seemed increasingly irritable, occasionally summoning storms.

Travelers reported seeing the still-beautiful old Harpy chieftain perched on the mountain peak, gazing toward Sunset Hill—as if waiting for someone to arrive.

Luo De pretended not to hear.

The old hag was putting on a show—probably only doing it when someone passed by.

What?

That I, Luo De, let her use me for cultivation and took advantage of her? A scumbag?

Pfft.

When she clung to me back then, she even begged me to visit Jin Along often—who’s really the one taking advantage?

“Hm?”

Luo De paused mid-sip of tea as he spotted the headline on the new section of the newspaper.

——《“Wings of Light” Launches Raid! Key Materials Stolen from Igo Church’s Xuan Shui City Branch! Igo Sect Enraged!》

Luo De, having just sipped his black tea, froze upon seeing the headline on the new newspaper section.

The underground organization he secretly funded to oppose the Igo Sect—led by the former conscription unit commander Carter.

Luo De never interfered with how Carter operated.

He just gave money, then checked their battle reports and Carter’s updates in the newspaper.

Tally fed him another bite of cake. Seeing her master’s serious expression, she leaned forward to look.

“Oh? A front-page headline like this? Looks like the Igo Sect is finally taking this seriously~~”

Her elbow rested on the armrest of Luo De’s chair; her swaying head brushed his chin unintentionally.

The fabric stretched slightly, the back laces tracing her slender waist, while the low neckline revealed a faint, alluring shadow.

“Logically, Carter has exposed the Igo Sect’s true intentions multiple times—why have they never reacted?”

The fabric stretched slightly, the back laces outlining a slender waist, while the low neckline revealed a faint, alluring shadow.

“These public statements are too easy to suppress or dismiss as conspiracy theories. Few people take them seriously. Their original strategy was better: take out more Campbell family and Igo Sect hideouts.”

The Campbell family are human traffickers—their targets are always near their hideouts.

And these hideouts are mostly in areas on the fringes of power.

Striking and rescuing helps rapidly build their reputation in rural areas.

But now, raiding a church feels unnecessary.

Perhaps there’s some important reason?

(End of Chapter)

Now their surprise attack on the church feels a bit unnecessary

Perhaps there’s some important reason?

(End of Chapter)