Come On, Answer the Phone

"Miss?" The maid knocked on the door and slowly walked in, pushing a cart of pre-cut fruit platters to the bedside.

Kawaba Mutsumi opened her eyes and immediately held out the hand that had gripped the Cartridge yesterday.

But the maid mistook it for her needing assistance. She gently took Kawaba Mutsumi's hand and helped her sit up.

Kawaba Mutsumi sat up and looked at the fruit beside her.

"Miss, which one would you like me to get for you?" The maid skillfully took out a hair tie and began tidying Kawaba Mutsumi's hair.

Kawaba Mutsumi did not answer right away and continued staring at her hand.

"Miss?" The maid looked somewhat nervous. "Is there something wrong with your hand?"

"N-No, it's nothing."

The maid silently noted Kawaba Mutsumi's change. After tying up her hair, she asked, "Then would you like an apple or an orange first?"

"An orange."

The maid steadily picked up the plate and was about to feed Kawaba Mutsumi when—

Silver Wolf abruptly appeared beside the food cart. "Huh? There's actually someone else here?"

"?" The maid's hand trembled in fright, but she quickly steadied herself. She set the plate on the bed and demanded coldly, "Who are you?"

"Wolf... Silver Wolf?" Kawaba Mutsumi had originally wanted to call her Wolf Venerable, but remembered someone else was present.

"Don't be nervous. You're Mutsumi's personal maid?" Silver Wolf had wanted to come earlier, but who could have expected the last round to go on for so long? And the moment she arrived, she ran into such an awkward situation.

The maid looked at Kawaba Mutsumi and asked, "Miss, you know her?" At the same time, one of her hands was hidden behind her back, clearly making some small movement.

"Mm..."

Silver Wolf did not care about her little movement and quietly pointed it out. "Little maid, don't bother calling anyone. This place has already been muted."

"?" The maid's gaze turned fierce. She threw down the phone behind her, clearly intending to strike first.

Then, in the next second, Silver Wolf appeared behind the maid. "I came to find her sister's number. Perfect timing—make a call and everything will be clear."

The maid froze instantly, not daring to move. Cold sweat immediately covered her forehead as she looked in terror at the utterly unsurprised Kawaba Mutsumi. "..." She chose silence.

Kawaba Mutsumi nodded. "Mm, Silver Wolf isn't a bad person. She helped me before, though it's complicated to explain... Sister Yu, sorry for the trouble, but could you contact my sister?"

The maid picked up the phone, moved a little farther away, and finally made the call.

"..."

The maid said nothing, but her gaze conveyed everything to Silver Wolf.

[She's afraid of you.]

Silver Wolf understood. She had appeared here out of nowhere regardless of the situation, so it was normal that she had frightened her. Not to mention that this world had no such thing as superpowers.

The moment the call connected, the maid spoke tremblingly. "Um, Sister Yue... do you know Silver Wolf?"

"..." The other side did not answer immediately, as if recalling who Silver Wolf was. In truth, she was already racing through countless thoughts before finally replying, "Mm, an acquaintance."

"She! She..."

"I understand. Keep everything you saw confidential. I'll be back shortly."

Upon hearing that, it was as though all the strength suddenly drained from the maid's body. Then the voice on the phone spoke again. "Let me speak to Silver Wolf."

Silver Wolf had already learned the contents of the call through her exceptional hearing. She approached, took the phone, and turned on the speaker.

"Hello~"

"Greetings, Wolf Venerable." Yan Zhiting's voice was calm.

Silver Wolf scratched her head. "I just wanted to discuss something with you, so I could only come find Mutsumi."

"I understand. I'll arrive in about an hour."

"Okay."

After noting down the phone number, Silver Wolf returned the phone to the maid and reassured her, "Don't be afraid. Look at how pretty I am—how could I possibly be a bad person?"

The maid still seemed unable to recover from the shock, but the nervous little movements she had been making earlier had indeed stopped.

Silver Wolf took the peeled orange from the bed. "It's fine. It was all a misunderstanding. Want a mandarin?"

The maid took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. "The young miss should eat first."

Silver Wolf could only take out a segment and feed it to Kawaba Mutsumi. Kawaba Mutsumi cooperatively ate it.

"By the way, did you just wake up?"

"Mm."

She fed her another segment.

"You wake up this early? It's only seven."

"I always wake up around this time."

"I see." Silver Wolf ate a segment herself, then thought for a moment. "Yesterday, you were about to sleep, so I didn't properly explain how to use it."

"It's okay." Kawaba Mutsumi hurriedly shook her head, not wanting Silver Wolf to misunderstand. "I actually thought I'd had another daydream or something..."

"Haha, how could that be..." Silver Wolf felt a little awkward. She really had intended to scare Kawaba Mutsumi before.

The maid stood off to the side, not daring to say much. Her eyes kept darting toward Silver Wolf, clearly full of doubts.

Kawaba Mutsumi took the initiative to speak. "Silver Wolf, this is Sister Ye Yu, who has always taken care of me."

"Hello, Ye Yu." Silver Wolf greeted her with a smile.

"Ah, mm... Hello, Silver Wolf."

Silver Wolf continued feeding Kawaba Mutsumi while asking, "Ye Yu, how long have you been taking care of Mutsumi?"

"About six years..." Ye Yu explained.

Silver Wolf curiously sized up Ye Yu's figure and appearance, estimating her age.

"Is this child labor?"

"No, it isn't..." Ye Yu glanced at Kawaba Mutsumi. "Actually, it's quite a dramatic story."

"Oh? Is there a story behind it?" Silver Wolf asked as she ate another mandarin segment.

Ye Yu took a deep breath. "It's nothing much. I was very lucky to meet Miss."

"Mm, Sister Yu, so was I." Kawaba Mutsumi smiled at Ye Yu.

Silver Wolf's eyes shifted between them, and she could not help muttering inwardly, Is this a normal relationship?

"Looks like you two are very close. If you ever feel like sharing it with me later, I'll definitely listen seriously." Silver Wolf handed the plate containing several remaining mandarin segments to the maid. "I'll leave the rest to you~"

"Mm."

Silver Wolf created a Cartridge and held it between two fingers. "Mutsumi, as long as you want it, you can hold this thing in your hand."

Kawaba Mutsumi did as instructed and, sure enough, summoned a small Cartridge.

"Inside are the fruits of your efforts in the game." Silver Wolf casually tossed the Cartridge, and it vanished in midair. "Of course, if you want to maintain it, that depends on your effort."

"My effort?" Kawaba Mutsumi held the little blue Cartridge and examined it carefully.

"Willpower is always humanity's strongest skill." Silver Wolf stretched in front of them. "All right, enough small talk."

"But..."

"Don't put pressure on yourself. Just be yourself." Silver Wolf smiled and did not explain further. She felt that, as someone who liked speaking in riddles, this was best. If she explained everything to Kawaba Mutsumi, wouldn't she really become her babysitter?

Besides, leaving a little surprise and room for imagination was what made things interesting enough, joyful enough.

If the answer were laid out in plain sight, if the game were too easy, if everything came with cheats, wouldn't it all be boring beyond belief?

"Now that things have come to this, build up your strength—I challenge you to a one-on-one duel!" Silver Wolf created a game console again, while another appeared by the pillow.