"What is this?"
Ann Rattridge Oaken glanced over the place names on the note. Her pupils shifted slightly, but her face remained a picture of bewilderment.
"Things you know about, of course!"
"After I woke up in Saint Ryd Hospital, I encountered some unbelievable things. A nurse who jumped to her death had become a vicious spirit, and one of the Elders Council's Twenty Hounds came for my body-that was what the fake Gannett told me, anyway. I couldn't tell whether it was true."
"He gave me this note, too."
Qin Ran pointed at the note in her hand.
Ann Rattridge Oaken did not answer immediately. She pushed open the study door and walked inside. Rather than sitting down, she leaned against the desk, seemingly out of habit, putting her perfect curves on full display before Qin Ran. Only then did she continue.
"So you chose to meet me at Carol's Café?"
"2567, do you realize?"
"Doing this will wipe out whatever gratitude I felt toward you for saving my life!"
By the time she finished, anger had surfaced on Ann Rattridge Oaken's face.
Yet paired with her pose, that anger gave Qin Ran the fleeting urge to conquer her.
[Charm: Spirit check passed. No abnormal status inflicted...]
He looked at the Spirit check that appeared on his retina.
Qin Ran raised an eyebrow.
He studied the woman before him in surprise.
Qin Ran was certain that she had used neither an item nor a secret art just then. Her looks and figure alone had prompted the system to perform a "Charm" check.
Her beauty astonished Qin Ran, but it also put him on guard again.
Items and secret arts were powerful, but he could take precautions against them.
This natural, silent manifestation of [Charm], on the other