The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 232: I Want You And Ashe

Lys could freely change her answers. She could have used the game to manipulate how others perceived her.

In the final question, she bet a single Silver Coin, blatantly signaling her choice of Yes. It was practically her shouting to everyone, ”I, Lys, am an innocent, trusting little girl, and everyone’s favor toward me has just skyrocketed.”

In truth, she had already succeeded. Even Iger, who had the least favorable impression of her, couldn’t help but feel a spark of goodwill at her willingness to cooperate sincerely with the others, free of contract restrictions.

Her success, however, was only partial, and that was because Ashe had also chosen Yes. If the total goodwill in that moment were a hundred points, only ten went to Lys, while the remaining ninety flowed to Ashe.

Lys’s innocence and charm as a little girl were to be expected, but Ashe, astonishingly, displayed the same level of naïve honesty. It was both amusing and unexpectedly intriguing. When a student who normally scored eighty points earned a ninety, it was commendable but not remarkable. Yet when another student, usually scoring sixty, reached the same ninety, it felt almost miraculous. It wasn’t necessarily a complete turnaround, but it was still a remarkable leap.

In terms of sheer charm, Lys had lost to Ashe. And because of him, the scheme she and Annan had set in motion was effectively ruined. Iger, Harvey, and Lys might still distrust each other, but they could always trust Ashe.

This wasn’t really Lys’s or Annan’s fault. After all, who could have predicted that a man associated with a fraudster and a necromancer would turn out to be such a rare, untainted flower?

”Since you’ve figured out I have multiple personalities, have you noticed Ashe—”

”No,” Iger interrupted, a flicker of frustration in his voice. ”He’s always had that early-caregiver personality. Unexpected, yes, but in retrospect, it makes sense. People like him are unique, even in the Blood Moon Kingdom. Don’t misunderstand, Harvey and I are the normal ones here.”

Lys could only acknowledge her bad luck. Then she asked, ”Mr. Perskin, I have another question. Regarding the question about whether you’d cross-dress, I actually chose No, and I bet five coins to create a mistake among everyone else. Otherwise, getting every answer right would be too obvious.”

Her phrasing was awkward. It sounded like a question, but she was really stating a fact. Iger understood immediately. Why were there still five Yes votes on the table when Lys had chosen No? There could only be one possible explanation. Aside from Lys, the other five, including Iger himself, had all chosen Yes.

However, if Iger had chosen Yes, why had he bet only five coins instead of six? In his mind, the only person who might have chosen No was himself. The rest were guaranteed Yes. If he had bet all six coins, everyone would immediately know his choice.

”Just like you betting a single coin in the final question to signal your identity,” Iger murmured to himself, ”I didn’t bet six coins to reveal my own choice.”

Yes. He was gambling. It was possible that all six had chosen Yes, but if even a single No existed, everyone would assume it belonged to Iger. Betting six coins might have earned him a point, but it would have revealed his choice, which was a risk he could not take. After all, had he dared to bet openly, Ashe would probably have teased him every day until his soul sank into the Sixth Layer of Hell.

So Iger gambled, and fortunately, he won. Otherwise, Ashe might have ended up asking Lys to buy him an entire set of fine clothes.

Lys sighed. Despite the sisters having calculated every possibility, these men still managed to outwit them. She had tried to answer incorrectly, yet ended up being correct. She had tried to charm, yet lost to another man. Men were truly complicated creatures.

”Now then, Mr. Perskin,” Lys said, turning to the mirror with a sidelong glance, ”you chose to communicate with me privately rather than expose my true self publicly. That means you intend to use this secret to threaten me...

”Go ahead and spill it. What do you intend to do with a poor, lonely, helpless little girl?”

Iger shook his head. ”You’re not helpless. You still hold an asset in your hands.”

”Me?”

”Yes. It’s you yourself... and Ashe.”

The Secret Princess Dia, in the mirror, quipped, ”Wait, that makes two assets. Mr. Perskin, looks like math isn’t your strong suit.”

***

At the Caimon University Affiliated Hospital of the Blood Moon Kingdom,

”Strange... this is really strange...”

After a quick examination of Serena, Syflin wore a peculiar expression, as if she had just seen a sausage dressed in a gown.

”What is it?” Gerard asked from beside her.

”Serena has no nerves in her limbs.”

”What?”

Syflin’s fingers lightly traced the doll-like girl’s body. ”Normally, if someone loses a limb in an accident, the nerve nodes are still there. It’s like a wire being cut. The line is there, just unusable. But Serena... she doesn’t have any of these lines at all. It’s as if she was never meant to have this function from birth.”

”So... I need to see another doctor?”

”Not at all. Don’t underestimate modern bio-colonization engineering. We can implant a human brain into a steel automaton, install a spine into a building, or even allow virtual characters to have children. Something like this is trivial. The only issue is that it exceeds resident medical insurance, so it’s out-of-pocket.”

”I’m a Hunter Captain. I’ve saved up a decent amount...”

Syflin quoted a number that left Gerard staring in disbelief.

”Since we all come from the Four Great Research Institutes, is there at least a discount?” Gerard asked hesitantly.

Syflin shrugged. ”Have you ever seen an axe spare the trees just because its handle is made of wood? I didn’t set the price. This is cutting-edge biotechnology, and the institute still holds a monopoly on it. You know the cost.”

”But taking nearly eighty years’ worth of my salary in one go is outrageous! This is robbery!”

Syflin said calmly, ”If you went to a doctor outside the Four Great Institutes, it would easily cost a hundred years’ salary. That is the real robbery. Besides, the institute holds a monopoly. If the price isn’t high, how could it encourage high-level consumption? Yes, it’s expensive. You feel it, I feel it too, but that is just how things are.”

Gerard clicked his tongue and glanced at Serena in her wheelchair. The doll-like girl blinked and whispered softly, ”I’m hungry, Uncle Gerard. Can we go home?”

The white-haired hunter scratched his head and let out a deep sigh. ”So we admit her now?”

Syflin said casually, ”Out-of-pocket patients have special channels. I can arrange a deluxe medical suite for you, free of charge.”

”How long will it take?”

”At least a month for full vital sign monitoring and a custom colonization plan,” Syflin said. ”Expensive, yes, but flawless. And expensive isn’t a flaw.”

”I don’t have time to take care of her,” Gerard said, glancing at the doll-like girl. ”I still have to work overtime tracking a runaway werewolf.”

Syflin admitted calmly, ”Neither do I, but the hospital has caretakers.”

Serena suddenly spoke up, ”Uncle Gerard! I don’t want to be admitted. The Pink-Haired Sister said she’d come play with me tomorrow!”

Gerard’s eyes lit up. ”Oh, right. She lives nearby, too. We can hire her to help take care of Serena when needed.”

Syflin raised an eyebrow. ”Pink-Haired Sister? Who’s that?”

”A veela university student,” Gerard replied.