“You're back?”
Having heard Lyon's footsteps long ago, the red-haired director didn't bother to look up. She continued to gesture at her hair with scissors while casually asking:
“Is everything arranged at the Underworld Branch?”
“It's pretty much on track…”
After replying, Lyon looked at the red-haired director, who was still gesturing, and couldn't help but ask curiously:
“Director, what are you doing? Getting a haircut?”
“I'm temporarily transferring control of the [Crimson Hair of Slaughter].”
After explaining what she was doing, the red-haired director finally found the approximate position. The bronze scissors in her hand snapped shut, cutting off a lock of bright red hair. She then waved away the scattered strands and calmly explained:
“Although this thing is my anomaly, it's also responsible for protecting the [Eleven Ant Nests]. If I want to leave the Royal Capital, I need to transfer control of the [Crimson Hair of Slaughter] to my successor to ensure that the most important ant nests don't have any problems.”
Leaving the Royal Capital?
Upon hearing this, Lyon blinked and asked in surprise:
“Did something happen while I was at the Underworld Branch? Why are you going on a mission too?”
“You're thinking too much, it's just a vacation.”
Glancing at the lock of white hair on Lyon's head, the red-haired director temporarily stopped cutting her hair and said with a smile:
“Because I have to stay in the Royal Capital year-round to ensure the safety of the [Eleven Ant Nests], my on-duty time is the longest among all branch directors. I haven't had much time to rest.
Now that the戮王 (Lu Wang/Slaughter King) Society has suffered a great loss of vitality and you've turned the Dead Realm into the Underworld Branch, it's a rare opportunity for things to be calm for a while, so I'm planning to find a nice place to relax a bit.”
So that's how it is…
After listening to the red-haired director's explanation, Lyon nodded in understanding, but soon felt that something wasn't quite right.
Based on his understanding of the director, she seemed to prefer staying still to moving around… or, to put it bluntly, regardless of whether she wanted to "move" before, she would directly "stay still" after getting drunk.
For her, the fun of going out to relax couldn't compare to a good drink, so…
“Where do you want to go?”
Revealing a look of great interest, Lyon put his hands behind his back, grabbed the Black Goat by its head, and asked with curiosity:
“I just finished things at the Underworld Branch and was planning to take a few days off. Can you tell me how you plan to relax? Maybe I can use it as a reference.”
“……”
“……”
“You really are…”
After a brief moment of silence, the red-haired director looked at Lyon's hand behind his back and shook her head helplessly:
“You're suspicious even when I'm just taking a vacation? Your defensiveness is too high. Can't you be a little more positive?”
“You lied first.”
Seeing that the red-haired director had taken the initiative to expose him, Lyon took his hand from behind his back. While openly using the Black Goat to detect lies, he narrowed his eyes and said:
“I respect other people's privacy, and I don't have to ask if you don't want to say, but you've been acting strange since I got back, so there must be a problem!”
“I'm very normal, what's strange?”
“It's the fact that you're acting so normal that's strange.”
“……”
“Stop pretending.”
Looking at the red-haired director's speechless expression, Lyon became even more certain of his guess. He curled his lip and directly exposed her:
“Based on my understanding of you, you should have been drinking while working when there's nothing much to do! If you were really 'normal,' I would have seen you drunk when I got back.
And besides that, you would have been winking at me while drinking, asking if I could help you pre-pay next year's salary after becoming a director, or encouraging me to ask Director Taurus for the Dionysus's Pearl.
You might even threaten me under the influence of alcohol, claiming that if I don't help you get the [Wine-Soaked Pearl], you'll report me to Veronica for sexual harassment or something. How could you be so serious right now?”
“……”
Although they were all just unfounded speculations about herself, they did sound like things she would do…
Faced with Lyon's reasonable analysis, the red-haired director, who was temporarily speechless, smacked her lips and decisively abandoned the idea of hiding, instead nodding crisply.
“You're right, I do have something I'm hiding from you.”
“Then you…”
“But I'm not going to tell you.”
“……”
Leaning back in her large chair and leisurely crossing her legs, the red-haired director looked at the speechless Lyon and said with a smile:
“Even if you're now a director and your position is half a level higher than mine, that doesn't mean I have to listen to everything you say, right?
As for what I want to do when I leave the Royal Capital, you can guess it yourself if you can, or you can chase after me if you can keep up. Anyway, I'm not going to say anything~”
“Really not going to say?”
“Nope.”
“Don't you want to reconsider?”
“No need.”
The red-haired director smiled confidently, her toes tapping lightly as she said:
“Today, even if you… you?”
“I guessed that you might cause me trouble, so I specifically went to Lord Taurus before coming back and got the Dionysus's Pearl.”
After tossing the small ball, which was only the size of a beer bottle cap, in his hand, Lyon put the fragrant [Wine-Soaked Pearl] back into his palm, cutting off the red-haired director's wolfish gaze. Then, he slowly said:
“You have one more chance to rephrase your words. Are you going to say it or not?”
“I…”
Strange? What exactly is the secret? How can she resist so much this time?
After glancing at the red-haired director, who was still stubbornly resisting, Lyon pondered slightly. Then, under the Black Goat's panicked gaze, he reached out and pried open its mouth, moving the [Wine-Soaked Pearl] next to it as if to stuff it in.
“If you don't say it, I'm going to feed it to this thing.”
“……”
“Director, you know that Dionysus has already been killed by me, and this pearl will melt when it encounters saliva, so…”
“Feed it then!”
“Ah?!!!”
To Lyon's utter shock, the red-haired director actually retracted her gaze and gritted her teeth, humming:
“It's just some wine, I… I can endure it!”
“……”
No… this isn't right, is she still the director I know who loves alcohol like her life?
Looking at the red-haired director, who was still stubbornly refusing to surrender at this point, Lyon's mind went blank, and he couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes.
However, while he was in a daze, several strands of red hair that had been cut off by the bronze scissors earlier had quietly "swam" over, using the carpet as cover. They climbed up from the Black Goat's fur and strangled its pried-open mouth!
