“AAAHH! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?” I shout out, nearly having a heart attack.   

Sitting on a chair across the room is none other than the person I was thinking about— Naomi. As usual, there’s a mischievous smile on her face as she enjoys the angry and frightened look on my face.   

“Ara? There’s nothing wrong with me. Why do you ask?” She says innocently, as if wholly unaware of what she did wrong.   

…   

“You bitc— ahem, I mean, can you stop barging into my house and scaring me every time!? There’s a front door, you know!? You can always ring the doorbell,” I say, suppressing my anger.   

As much as I want to rain curses and continue yelling at her, I just can’t. She’s the only one who can help me right now, and thus, I cannot afford to be rude to her.   

“Front door? Doorbell? That’s just a waste of time. I am not doing that,” She says, shrugging.   

…   

…   

Rebecca… Rebecca… I need to keep my patience for Rebecca.   

“Can you— Can you at least announce your presence when you barge in, then? Don’t just sit around silently and speak only when someone calls out your name. That’s creepy as fuck,” I tell her calmly, though my fist is shaking.   

“Hmm… Okay, it will be tough, but I will try to do that. I am not promising, though,” she says, giving me a wink.   

…   

“You will try? I guess I can live with that… for now,” I say with a sigh.   

“Anyway, what are you doing here!? Don’t tell me that you’ve been following me around the entire day,” I ask her suspiciously.   

“Of course, not. You think I have time to do that? I was just checking on my dear apprentice, Mia, when I heard you say my name. You remember her, right? She’s the one following you around and keeping tabs on you,” she tells me in a matter-of-factly way.   

…   

“… the fuck!? What different does it make!? You have people following me!” I say, outraged.   

“Oh, come on now, Jacob. Why do you look as if this is coming to you as a shock? After everything you’ve done, it would be surprising if no one’s keeping tabs on you,” she says, shaking her head lightly.  

… I hate to admit it, but I guess she does have a point.   

“And I am not the only one, the other three races are doing the same thing— even your friend, Zakira,” She tells me.   

“Che… There’s no concept of privacy in other countries, is there? You guys are invading mine so blatantly,” I say with disdain.   

“We’re not exactly invading your privacy. We’re just making sure that you remain safe until we leave for the White Elf Kingdom. Consider them as your personal bodyguards who follow you everywhere except for when you’re in school,” she says, standing up from the chair.   

Bodyguards? Yeah, my ass. They’re fucking spies.   

Fortunately, I haven’t used any system skills after I defeated Princess Ilyrana. I know, Beast Awakening got activated when I went to Kate’s house, but that right after school that day. I doubt there was anyone following me back then.   

Well, anyhow, I need to be careful about using my skills from now on. Also, what I say and do. I don’t want these guys to find out more things about me than they already do.   

“Anyway, we’re getting off the topic here. Now, tell me, why do you need my help? I am very curious to know.”  

Saying this, Naomi walks up to the bed, sitting down next to me. I can smell the sweet yet wild scent emanating from her body. As she leans in slightly, my eye couldn’t help but focus on her deep cleavage— as always, it seems quite alluring due to the skimpy clothes she wears.   

Hmm… wait a second. Having her this close to me and looking at her body… I feel strangely aroused.   

I know, I always get aroused looking at beautiful and busty women, but it’s a bit different today. I went to Evelyn’s brothel in the evening, and dick is nearly dead. I should be in sage-mode right now.    

Then why am I getting aroused…?   

Well, whatever…   

“It’s nothing much, I just want to bring one of my girlfr— I mean, friends to the White Elf Kingdom, but her system Poison is getting in the way. Can you do anything to stop a Poison? Or maybe diminish its effects?” I ask, getting serious and a bit pleading.   

“A friend, huh? Perhaps, you are talking about the blond woman who was present at your house yesterday?” Naomi asks wonderingly.   

“Yes, that her; Rebecca. But how did you guess it’s her?” I ask.   

“Oh, I disabled her pesky little barrier yesterday— figured the princesses wouldn’t like to deal with it themselves. I must say though, for someone at level 1, the strength of that barrier was pretty impressive,” She answers.   

…   

Damn… I didn’t even notice that no one got affected by Rebecca Poison yesterday. Even Rebecca didn’t say anything about it.   

“Anyway, as for her Poison— she probably doesn’t have control over that barrier, right?”  

“Yes, and she cannot get close to people because of it. So, you can help her, can’t you!?” I ask excitedly.   

I mean, she did disable it yesterday, so…  

“Obviously, I can,” Naomi says, waving her hand lazily.   

The next moment, out of nowhere, a plain silver ring materializes in the palm of her hand. She tightly encloses this ring within her fist for a second, and a bright soundless flash later, she opens it up for me to see.   

The silver ring is now gleaming unnaturally and is carrying a bunch of strange marking across its circumference. I can tell just by looking at it that Naomi infused has it with strong magic.   

“There you go. As long as your friend wears this ring, her barrier will be suppressed. Though remember, it will only work for around 4-5 hours a day— unless she decides to level up, that is,” She explains.   

“But well, I think she will able to manage with this much.”  

“Yeah, I think so, too. Thank you very much,” I say delightedly, reaching out to take the ring from her.   

But before I could even touch it, Naomi closes her fist again, moving her hand behind her back.   

“Now, now, Jacob. Don’t be hasty. You really thought that I will help you for free?” she says, smirking impishly.   

… this bitch.  

*Sigh*  

“What do you want, then? Do I have to change my decision and come to the Beastkin country, now?” I ask, rolling my eyes.   

“Nope, that ship has sailed. It would bring nothing but trouble for everyone if you change your decision now. Anyway, what I want from you is exactly what you want from me— help,” she says with a shrug.   

…  

“… How can I help you with anything?” I ask, frowning heavily.   

This sounds even more bizarre than me defeating Ilyrana and Zakira.  

“Oh, believe me, you can— just not right now. At the moment, all I want from you is a promise,” She says, leaning in so close that her face is just inches away from mine.  

“A promise to help me when I need it,” she says, her tone getting serious all of a sudden.   

…   

Okay, I must be imagining things, but did her eyes just turned completely white for a second there?   

No, it’s probably because of the lighting… I am sure…  

“…”  

Naomi continues to stare into my eyes, waiting for my reply. For some reason, I feel as if her gaze is penetrating my mind and looking into my soul or some shit like that.   

Well, I really want this ring for Rebecca. I cannot wait to see how happy she will be…  

“S-Sure, I guess I can help you—” I stop to think for a second, before adding, “— as long as I am comfortable with the request.”  

This is better…   

I’ve made far too many mistakes in the last couple of days, let’s try not to add anything else to the list.   

Naomi raises her eyebrows, looking amused. Then, slowly, a smile forms on her face.   

“Hehehe… Clever. Very clever,” she says, chuckling as she stands up again.   

“But I can work with this— we have a deal!”   

Declaring this, she throws the silver ring towards me— a bit out of my reach, though. I nearly stumble down the bed trying to catch it.   

“Hey! Don’t throw—”  

 I stop speaking. Naomi is gone.