"By the way," Lu Zhaoran said, suddenly recalling the casual manner in which Cipher had opened that bottle. Her face filled with confusion. "Sister Cipher, did you really feel nothing from that aura?"
To Lu Zhaoran, simply being near it felt like staring into the abyss of death itself, yet Cipher had been standing right there holding the bottle.
'Is it because the item doesn't affect the host? I can't exactly explain it like that, can I?'
...Wait. 'I am the Demigod of Deception. With the help of Jade's aura, maybe I can spin a little lie?'
At that thought, the corners of Cipher's mouth curved into a subtle arc as she wove her falsehood.
"It's because any ability related to instant-death types is completely useless against me. If it weren't, I wouldn't have been able to get close to the shut-in princess, let alone become friends with her."
"All instant-death abilities... are useless against you?!"
Lu Zhaoran was shocked for the umpteenth time, completely ignoring the strange title of "shut-in princess" in her surprise.
"What? You don't believe me? My memory has only partially returned, but I trust what I remember."
As she spoke, Cipher retrieved the [Wisp of Aura] again. She made a move to open the cap and stick her hand inside to prove her point to Lu Zhaoran.
The moment the bottle appeared, Lu Zhaoran's eyes filled with terror again. She waved her hands frantically in dismissal.
"Sister Cipher! Don't! I never said I didn't believe you! Please, put that thing away! I can truly feel that thing trying to take my life!"
"Fine..."
Seeing her so terrified, Cipher could only put the bottle away with a hint of disappointment.
"Whew..." The moment the bottle vanished, Lu Zhaoran let out a visible sigh of relief.
"I'll get back to preparing lunch. Sister Cipher, could you please go wake Luo Lin and the others?" Lu Zhaoran reminded her as she walked toward the kitchen.
Before Cipher could even get a "Sure" out, Lu Zhaoran suddenly froze in her tracks. Just as Cipher was wondering if something had happened, Lu Zhaoran let out an anxious cry.
"Sister Cipher! If even my A- rank strength felt a chill from that aura at a distance... what about Luo Lin and the others? They're much weaker than us!"
"...Oh no!"
Cipher reacted instantly. With a flash of gold and purple light trailing behind her, she vanished from the study in a heartbeat. Lu Zhaoran disappeared into thin air a second later.
Following the sound of breathing from upstairs, Cipher quickly located Luo Lin and her team. However, they had all fainted.
"Sister Cipher, how is the situation?"
The air distorted for a moment as Lu Zhaoran appeared by Cipher's side, asking anxiously.
"It's fine, don't panic." After checking on Luo Lin and the others for a moment, Cipher relaxed. "They were affected by my friend's aura, but because their strength is insufficient, they simply blacked out."
"Since they weren't in close proximity, there won't be any lasting impact on their bodies. They should wake up in an hour or two. You can rest easy."
"That's a relief."
Lu Zhaoran breathed a long sigh of relief. She looked at the three lying on the floor and then turned to Cipher.
"Let's move them to the bedrooms first. It's not good to leave them lying on the floor."
Cipher nodded in agreement, and the two of them quickly moved the trio into three separate guest rooms. Once that was done, Lu Zhaoran checked her terminal and turned to Cipher.
"Sister Cipher, you can stay in this bedroom for now. I need to get back to lunch."
"Alright."
Cipher nodded, but instead of entering the bedroom, she headed back into the study. She planned to find a few books to kill some time and talk to Lu Zhaoran about getting a terminal during lunch. Even though she was currently sitting on a fortune of 290,000 credits, she didn't even have a personal terminal, which made the money rather hard to spend.
Initially, Cipher hoped to find some history books, but after scanning the shelves for a while, she stood frozen in place.
"'The Cold-Blooded CEO's Body Double Bride: 99 Escapes'? 'The Spoiled Little Troublemaker of the Five Brothers Loses Her Disguise Again'? 'Imprisoned Love: The CEO's 33 Days of Lust'? 'Bone-Eroding Danger: President Lu, Your Wife Has Been Buried at the Crematorium'? What on earth are these?!"
The shelves were packed with all sorts of ridiculous, old-school romance novels. Looking at the titles, Cipher—who had never touched "female-oriented" web novels in her past life—felt her entire worldview being assaulted. Just by reading the titles, she felt as if a giant bucket of soap-opera drama was being splashed directly into her face.
"Okay... forget it. I won't judge. Let's see if there are any other genres."
She shoved the romance novels back onto the shelf and looked at the other side.
"'Dragon Servant,' 'Soul Creator,' 'Tribulation of the Mortal Dust'? These look a lot more normal."
Cipher felt somewhat fortunate that there was at least something relatively normal to read. She pulled out a copy of Dragon Servant, intending to see what it was about.
However, she hadn't flipped through more than a few pages before her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. She slammed the book shut with a heavy thud. Staring at the book in her hand, her gaze turned fierce as she spoke through gritted teeth.
"Why! Is! It! Even though the name sounds so normal, it's actually an erotica novel!!!"
She stuffed it back and pulled out Soul Creator. Unsurprisingly, it was more of the same.
"Fine, just destroy everything. I'd rather go back to the romance novels."
Sighing in exasperation, she reluctantly pulled out a novel titled After Transmigrating, I Became the Prince's Hachimi. At the very least, this title seemed more normal than the others.
(Note: This white fox knows Hachimi refers to a honey drink from a parody video of Tokai Teio, not a cat, but since many people now associate it with cats, the title of this fictional novel reflects that.)
The story followed a female protagonist who transmigrated to ancient times as the Prince's cat, experiencing a series of events through a feline perspective.
While the plot was quite cliché, for Cipher—who had never really read romance before—it was like discovering a new world. She actually found herself reading it with quite a bit of gusto.
"Sister Cipher, lunch is ready! Luo Lin and the others are waking up!"
"Oh! Coming, coming!"
The shout snapped Cipher out of the story. She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that two hours had already passed. Answering Lu Zhaoran, she put the book down and hurried out of the study.