Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
When Rhode touched the bright red card, hot flames surged out like a wave. They spread around the surrounding and quickly engulfed the room. Suddenly, an explosion sounded and the flames broke out from the window. In a few seconds, the entire room had completely changed.
When the flame dispersed, Gillian appeared before Rhode.
“Master, long time no see…!”
The girl waved her hands. At the same time, she was shaking her ears and tail. Her beautiful face revealed a warm smile. Any man who saw her right now would definitely become intoxicated. However, Rhode’s face was still expressionless as usual. He only waved his hand to get rid of the smoke in front of him.
Everything went smoothly.
Even if Gillian was an Elemental Lord, she was still a card. According to the rules, there was no level restriction in selecting a designated Core Card, which was why there should be no problem in selecting her. But it did not mean that everything was perfect. There were still some restrictions. Although Gillian had received the Core Card power, her rank would be suppressed to Rhode’s level. Gillian could only slowly recover her strength as Rhode leveled up and enhanced his strength. Of course, she could still regain her original strength, but Rhode would need to pay the price, and even then, she could only regain her powers temporarily. Everything was still the same as before. To summon her, Rhode still had to pay a price. Fortunately, the restriction only sealed her power and not her IQ, which was enough for him.
However…
“Gillian.”
“What’s the matter? Master?”
“Do you have to create this much ruckus when you show up?”
Rhode looked at the surroundings. Everything in the study room had been blown up by the fire, including the desk and chairs. Only the ashes were left on the floor. When he asked this question, Gillian only shook her ears and innocently smiled.
“This is, of course, Master. As a Fire Elemental Lord, I should start some fireworks to match my identity when I appear, right?”
“… It also means you did it on purpose, right?”
“Of course, Master!”
Facing Rhode’s cold question, she proudly replied. Gillian continuously swung her tail back and forth, as if she had accomplished an important mission and very proud of it. Seeing Gillian’s reaction, Rhode was speechless. Then, he reached out his hand and pinched her ears.
“Aw! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…!!”
When Marlene and the others arrived, they only saw Gillian screaming at Rhode, who was mercilessly punishing her.
“Mr. Rho, Rhode?”
Looking at the girl who suddenly appeared in Rhode’s room, Marlene and the others felt uneasy. They looked at Gillian but did not know what to say. They were familiar with her since the scene back in the Twilight Forest was very unforgettable. A Level 50 Mage was easily turned into ashes and nothing was left of him. It was the first time the three of them saw what was called absolute power. The mage who almost killed them was easily crushed by this girl as if he was nothing but an insect. From that moment on, Gillian’s character as a strong and frightening being was deeply etched into their minds.
However, looking at the scene before them… Gillian was screaming, begging for forgiveness, even almost crying.
“I think you guys still remember her.”
Rhode completely ignored the three people staring at him. He let go of Gillian’s ear and started to introduce her to everyone.
“She’s Gillian, my subordinate. From today on, she will join our Starlight mercenary group and fight alongside all of you.”
“Eh?”
Hearing this, Marlene’s body hardened. The only person who clearly understood Gillian’s real strength was Marlene. Marlene knew that she was an existence who could even make a Grandmaster Mage tremble. She was at least at the Legendary level. Such a strong person would actually fight alongside them? Was this a total joke?!
“Ah!!”
Before Marlene could react, Gillian happily jumped toward them and hugged Christie who had appeared and quietly looked at Gillian without anyone realizing.
“Aaa, how soft, how cute. I’ve always wanted to hug her. She really looks like a doll. I can’t hold it anymore… Master, can I have her?”
“Certainly not.”
Rhode coldly replied and tightly grabbed Gillian’s collar, forcefully separated her from Christie, who just stood still because she did not know how to react. When Christie was finally separated from Gillian, she immediately ran toward Lize and hid behind her. She only showed her head while looking at Gillian in fear.
“Ah… so cute, just like a bunny…”
Looking at Christie, Gillian’s eyes once again lit up. But, before she made her move, Rhode immediately stopped her from trying to create trauma in Christie’s heart again.
“Lize, go and arrange a room for her.”
“Ah, yes, Mr. Rhode.”
When Lize heard her name, she finally nodded as if she had just awoken from a dream. However, hearing Rhode’s words, Gillian’s mouth in dissatisfaction.
“There’s no need for that, I can just sleep together with Master! To tell you the truth, my skill in bed is MAX. Don’t you want to try it?”
Hearing Gillian’s words, Rhode said nothing and waved his hand. Seeing his gesture, Gillian’s joyful expression disappeared, replaced with sadness and uneasiness. She tightly clenched her hands and put it on her chest while looking at Rhode with an uneasy expression.
“Master, you really don’t want to? This… I…”
“This is my decision.”
Although her grieved expression was enough to make people feel heartbroken, Rhode did not fall into her trap. No matter how perfect her acting was, Rhode could still see her true intentions by looking at the wagging tail behind her. She was a wild beast, after all.
“Or should I build a kennel for you?”
“There’s no need. Although we’re relatives, there’s still a difference.”
Hearing Rhode’s words, the grievance on Gillian’s face immediately disappeared and turned into a warm smile. She quickly jumped toward Lize and held her arm intimately.
“Then, let’s go, Little Lize. I hope you can be a good housekeeper and provide me with a good room. I don’t want a room that is too far from Master’s; the third floor is alright. That way, it will be more convenient for me to sneak into Master’s room at night. Ah, that’s right, it will be better if there’s no one living below. I don’t want to hear any noise. Bothering people who are sleeping isn’t good, isn’t it?”
“Ah?? Yes… Please, come with me.”
Lize had never encountered such an unusual person before. Lize was completely ordered around by Gillian, blankly following her and leaving the study. When they left, Rhode helplessly sighed and turned around toward Marlene.
“Marlene, help me look for someone to tidy up this room and rearrange the furniture.”
“Alright, Mr. Rhode.” Hearing Rhode’s order, Marlene quickly responded. But soon, she showed a hesitant expression.
“That… that girl she…”
“Yes?”
“No, nothing.”
Seeing Rhode’s eyes, Marlene hesitated for a while and decided not to ask in the end. From their previous conversations, it could be seen that they were very close and had long gone past the relationship between master and subordinate. In fact, it was also strange that a person of a Legendary level would be Rhode’s subordinate. In her opinion, Gillian’s identity was not as simple as Rhode’s subordinate. She might also be Rhode’s lover.
Marlene’s guess was not illogical because even though she had followed Rhode for a long time, Rhode had never advanced with any intimate movements to any of them. He had always been polite and maintained a distance with women most of the time. It was really unimaginable seeing Rhode pinch a woman by the ear and even speak mercilessly to her. However, Rhode actually did that.
This situation was not uncommon among the nobles. Many of them worked together in their own interests, arranging marriages between their descendants Although it was very rare to see a person who held such enormous strength like Gillian, it wasn’t uncommon. If Rhode’s identity was just as Marlene had guessed, then it would not be weird for Rhode to have such a powerful subordinate around him.
But if that were the case, what should she do?
Thinking until here, Marlene was shocked. However, she quickly calmed down and revealed a serious expression.
“If there’s nothing else, I will excuse myself then, Mr. Rhode. I need at least two days to fix up this room according to your requests. Meanwhile, I will look for someone to arrange a new room for you.”
Having said that, Marlene bowed and left without hesitation.
What happened?
Seeing Marlene’s figure, Rhode was surprised. It was not that he wasn’t aware of the change in her mood, but he just did not know the reason why. At first, he still wanted to ask, but he actually didn’t even have the chance to because she directly left.
“Haa!!!”
Just when Rhode was feeling puzzled, Anne, who had been silent this entire time, suddenly sound relieved and fell onto the ground. She sneakily turned her head around toward the corridor and patted her chest.
“Huft… Finally, it ended. It really scared Anne.”
“What happened, Anne?”
Until then, Rhode finally realized that Anne was being strange. Gillian’s personality was quite similar to Anne’s, so he thought that they would get along quite well. However, he did not expect Anne to stay silent and not even dare to breathe around Gillian. Right now, Anne didn’t look like she had just seen a comrade, but rather a God of Death instead.
“Anne also did not know what happened.”
Hearing Rhode’s question, Anne shook her head and stood up. Her legs were slightly shaking, and she was clearly still frightened.
“When I saw Sister Gillian, it was as if Anne was being glared at by a frightening wild beast and almost eaten. Anne was really afraid and did not even dare to make a sound. It’s really weird, Anne also doesn’t know what actually happened… Anyway, Anne only felt really scared; it would be better if Anne did not defy Sister Gillian.”
“Oh?”
Hearing Anne’s answer, Rhode frowned. However, he wasn’t surprised since Anne was a half beast, and Gillian was also a beast. Considering that she had a strong aura, she naturally also exerted an absolute pressure to similar races. It was no wonder Anne could sense her strength since she was instinctively sensitive and her race was also similar to Gillian’s. It was just a little bit surprising that it would be this obvious.
However, Anne’s response was completely different.
“… But… Christie does not seem to be afraid of Sister Gillian…” She raised her hand timidly and said. After pausing for a while, she hesitated for a moment and continued her speech. “… And… I think Sister Gillian is very familiar. I think I have seen her appearance somewhere…”
What’s going on?
Hearing until here, Rhode was getting even more confused.
It seemed that Gillian’s appearance had brought them a much bigger surprise than he had expected.
