"What were you two talking about back there?" Mia suddenly turned around and asked.
Soren André was startled, but Ron reacted faster, answering casually:
"We were talking about the matches he commented on today. I heard that any player he praised basically ended up losing."
The best way to avoid suspicion is to bring up the topic the other party cares about most—and Ron executed that perfectly.
"Hmph! Soren's praise is basically cursed," Mia wrinkled her nose.
"If I had run into him these past few days, I'd definitely have lost miserably again."
"That's not fair!" Soren André protested.
"I didn't shuffle the deck, didn't pick or ban cards, and I'm not the one drawing or playing them."
"How is this my fault?"
"My praise is just encouragement, and you're all twisting it into something else!"
Mia stuck her tongue out at him.
"Nora already told me—whenever you favor someone, there's a 90% chance they lose. Even if it's not your fault, your luck is terrible enough to affect others!"
"You can't slander me like that," Soren André shook his head with a smile.
"How about I commentate on one of your matches tomorrow to clear my name?"
"No way!" Mia was instantly alarmed, grabbing Nora's hand and looking at her pitifully.
Nora covered her mouth with a smile and said softly:
"The schedule and commentators are already arranged. For your remaining eight matches, Soren André won't be assigned."
The group arrived at the hot pot restaurant and settled into a private room.
They chatted about the Magic Duel tournament, the spread of Element Cards across other cities, and the nationwide expansion of the hot pot business.
Eventually, the topic shifted to Ron's upcoming ennoblement.
"When is your conferment ceremony, Ron?" Mia asked curiously.
"Mid-April, supposedly. The palace will have me rehearse beforehand, so I'll know more then," Ron replied.
"I heard foreign envoys from other races will be attending?" Eileen asked.
Ron nodded. "Yes, they'll be watching the ceremony."
Then a thought crossed his mind.
"What do you think—should I invite them to watch the finals of the Magic Duel tournament?"
"Will they even understand it?" Soren André asked.
"That's not important," Ron smiled.
"What matters is letting them experience firsthand how popular Magic Duels are among humans."
"Maybe it'll even help spread Element Cards to other races. Think of it as a test—see how they react."
Soren André shook his head. "I can't keep up with your thinking."
After dinner, Mia and Eileen left.
Mia had already finished all her matches for the day, so she didn't need to return to the venue.
Soren André and Penny also departed—he had no commentary duties tonight and was apparently going to "study" with Penny. With Ron's pine-needle tea, he'd probably produce decent "results."
Ron returned to the venue with Nora. After wrapping up the evening's matches and finishing the closing work with the staff, they finally took a carriage back to Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop late at night.
As usual, Nora went to bathe.
Ron sat on the living room sofa and looked at the shadow rising from the floor, which gradually formed into Yuna's mature figure.
"I'll tell her about your identity tonight. You don't have any issues with that, right?"
"What issue could there be?" Yuna poured herself a cup of resin tea, then her eyes flickered as she suggested,
"How about I talk to her first? It's easier for girls to communicate."
"Girls?" Ron looked her up and down, then tilted his head.
"How old are you, exactly?"
"Go die!" Yuna glared at him and kicked him across the table.
Without another word, she dissolved into a shadow and slipped into the bathroom, where water was still running.
"Ah!"
A startled cry came from inside—then silence.
Ron could faintly hear a muffled conversation, thanks to his sharp hearing, though nothing clear.
He closed the system panel that had popped up and sighed.
At this hour, Husky was already asleep, so there was no one to play Legendary Kill with.
Left with nothing else to do, Ron brewed some tea and went into the study to read.
But the two girls stayed in the bathroom for a very long time.
What exactly was Yuna doing in there? Did explaining her identity really take that long?
More than an hour later, as Ron flipped through Human Diplomatic History, the bathroom door finally opened.
Steam drifted outward.
Nora stepped out, now wearing a knee-length nightdress, her face flushed bright red.
When she noticed Ron looking over from the study, her cheeks instantly deepened in color. She turned her head away, as if recalling something embarrassing—
Without saying a word, she covered her face and hurried into the bedroom.
At that moment, a shadow rose beside Ron.
Yuna appeared again, now also in a soft white nightgown, sitting casually on the table and swinging her legs.
Ron looked at Nora's retreating figure in confusion, then turned to Yuna.
"What did you tell her?"
"Just… explained who I am," Yuna said, fiddling with her fingernails.
"And then?"
"You're not telling me that took over an hour."
"…Then we took a bath together."
"What did you do while bathing?"
"…Nothing."
"Yeah, right," Ron said flatly.
"Fine! I just… gave her a bit of knowledge she might need in the future," Yuna turned her back to him, her cheeks faintly flushed.
"..."
Ron's expression went blank—but an image still involuntarily formed in his mind.
—Best not described.
"I thought you'd already taught her some of this," Yuna said, fanning her face casually, pretending nonchalance.
Ron rolled his eyes, using Heartvine to close his book and return it to the shelf as he stood up and walked toward the bathroom.
"Sounds like you're quite experienced."
Yuna immediately retorted, "What? Even if I haven't done it, I've seen enough! Is that how you talk to your aunt?"
Ron chuckled. "That's not the same."
The bathroom door closed behind him.
Yuna kicked at the door lightly, then huffed and dissolved into shadow again.
Ten minutes later, Ron returned to the bedroom after bathing and lay down as usual.
Pulling Nora into his arms, he glanced down—her face was still burning red.
A smile tugged at his lips.
But before he could tease her, Nora shot him a shy, watery look—
Then suddenly ducked under the blanket.
"Hey… Nora!"
"Wait—"
"—Hiss!"
What exactly did Yuna teach her!?