A month later, in a certain kingdom, inside an ordinary-looking children's welfare facility.
The atmosphere was somewhat tense. Ain, a girl with long, wavy sea-blue hair, lowered her head nervously, her fingers unconsciously twisting the faded hem of her clothes.
From the corner of her eye, she occasionally glanced at the blonde woman seated gracefully on the sofa before her, whose every smile and gesture exuded mature charm.
Stussy studied the girl before her with an appraising, amused gaze. Though young, Ain was already clearly a beauty in the making. Most striking of all were her mismatched eyes.
Tch, that guy... does he have some kind of special fetish? Stussy silently grumbled to herself.
Thinking back on the women around Adams, it seemed that each of them, to some extent, possessed unusual eye or hair colors. Ain before her was no exception.
Only when Ain grew increasingly uncomfortable beneath the prolonged scrutiny, nearly hunching her shoulders, did Stussy finally speak in a leisurely voice with a soothing magnetism:
"Little sister, don't be nervous. I only called you here to ask a few questions."
She paused, observing Ain's reaction before continuing,
"I heard... your family was killed by pirates, is that right?"
Ain's body trembled slightly, and a flash of pain and hatred quickly passed through her eyes. She pressed her lips together before answering in a low voice:
"...Yes. Is... is there a problem?"
At the same time, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. When the head of the welfare facility had mysteriously summoned her earlier and told her that this unbelievably beautiful big sister was the facility's true owner, she had thought she had done something wrong and was about to be thrown out. Now, it seemed she was merely being questioned.
Stussy took in her reaction and