"So, what exactly is going on?"
Inside Herta's Office, Herta sat composedly in her chair, her fingertips lightly tapping the armrest.
"Ms. Herta, that was truly just an employment collaboration."
"Employment collaboration?"
Herta raised an eyebrow slightly, picked up her phone, and the screen clearly displayed a screenshot of Silver Wolf's ambiguously worded chat log:
"An employment collaboration to this extent?"
Bai Luan glanced at the chat log and couldn't help but inwardly complain.
Compared to that Silver Wolf girl's strange choice of words, the fact that you have the complete chat log is far more noteworthy, isn't it?
Although he already knew this.
"Is there a possibility..."
Bai Luan sighed helplessly and spread his hands.
"She said that deliberately, with the purpose of—"
He paused, looking toward Herta.
"Putting me in this current situation so she can watch the fun from the sidelines."
"How do you know her thoughts so well?"
"Because..."
Bai Luan averted his gaze, his tone flat.
"When I usually mess with others, I follow roughly the same line of thought."
Of course, the main victims are Silver Wolf and Sparkle.
"Furthermore..."
Bai Luan looked back at Herta, his eyes carrying a perfectly appropriate mix of innocence and helplessness.
"When I went to Logos, you were the first person I invited, but you were the one who refused."
"I..."
Herta was momentarily speechless.
Damn it, why didn't I go then?
What was I doing?
"Relax."
Bai Luan's voice softened, carrying a comforting smile.
"Even if you didn't go with me then, don't I still..."
He paused, looking directly into Herta's eyes, and said clearly and naturally:
"...love you very much?"
Herta's fingertips, which had been tapping the armrest, completely stopped.
Bai Luan smiled at Herta, who was clearly momentarily stunned, and appropriately changed the subject:
"Do you want to hear what exactly I did in Logos? That way you won't keep getting misled by Silver Wolf's few nonsensical words."
...Although, that declaration of love seemed more effective than any explanation.
"I want to hear it."
Bai Luan recounted his experience in Logos in great detail: why he went to Logos, how he dumped all the work onto Silver Wolf, what he played there, and... the reunion with his deceased family in the dream.
However, because that part also involved the system, Bai Luan simplified the story, saying Herta also came to the dream and met his family.
This was the first time Herta had touched upon the past that Bai Luan had voluntarily mentioned.
Before this, his past was like a celestial body shrouded in mist, with only a vague outline.
The information provided in this account was still limited, but it was enough for her to glimpse—that it was not an easy or pleasant time.
What surprised Herta the most was that even though she had refused Bai Luan's invitation to go to Logos, she still appeared in his dream.
In terms of companionship, her real self seemed to have lost to her dream self.
"...If I hadn't appeared in the dream, would you still have fallen in love with me?"
Bai Luan shook his head himself:
"There is no 'if' in this world. Instead of dwelling on terrible possibilities that never happened, you should be glad—that a Herta just happened to appear there at that time."
Saying this, Bai Luan laughed:
"Whether it's the you in the dream or the you in reality."
His gaze was frank, carrying a hint of naturalness.
"Maybe as long as it's a Herta, I can't help but be attracted. Perhaps love is just that unreasonable; falling for one Herta means falling for all Hertas."
After his words fell, the office was silent for a few seconds.
Bai Luan looked at Herta.
He saw signs that she had been breached, was momentarily stunned, and then couldn't help but let the corner of his mouth curl up slightly, looking at her just like that.
He watched her, his eyes carrying warmth and a hint of teasing.
Maybe those words were a bit sappy, but saying them to her didn't feel that way.
Perhaps saying sappy things to a person of the opposite sex without realizing it means you've fallen in love with them—at least, that's how it was for him.
Catching Bai Luan's gaze, Herta glared at him, then lightly hit him once.
Soon after, she returned to her usual demeanor.
She looked at Bai Luan.
"I should have gone with you then."
"Why regret it?"
Bai Luan's smile deepened, his voice gentle.
"We still have many, many 'thens' to spend together."
...In short, the misunderstanding was resolved.
Bai Luan began to ponder how to get back at Silver Wolf.
Should he ban her account again?
Hmm... Before banning it, he should send her a threatening letter; that would achieve the best result.
Bai Luan took out his phone, just about to send Silver Wolf a message, but she messaged him first.
Silver Wolf: Banned! Everything's banned!
Silver Wolf: Why didn't you ban me too?!
Hmm... Bai Luan scratched his head, feeling confused.
But I haven't made a move yet?
The next second, the message Silver Wolf sent him cleared up his confusion.
Silver Wolf: Are you two out of ideas or something!?
Silver Wolf: One deletes accounts! One bans accounts!
Silver Wolf: Why are you two going all out to persecute just me!?
It seems Herta's big hand has taken action.
Bai Luan: I think this is mainly your own problem, though.
╮(＾▽＾)╭
Bai Luan: Who told you to deliberately make her unhappy?
Silver Wolf: Who knew her reaction would be so quick and so extreme!
Silver Wolf: Damn it, why is she only targeting me? Why doesn't she take her anger out on you?
Silver Wolf: Why isn't this situation following the script I predicted!
Bai Luan: You're not Elio.
Bai Luan: What gave you the illusion that you could easily scheme against a genius?
Silver Wolf: ...Damn you! Just you wait!
Everything will be fine once I send Detroit: Become Human to Screwllum.
Silver Wolf comforted herself this way.
Bai Luan: Look on the bright side, at least you have experience dealing with this kind of thing, right?
Bai Luan: After all, this isn't the first time your account has been banned.
Silver Wolf: You're bringing that up again!
Silver Wolf: Will you ever stop?!
Silver Wolf: This isn't a good thing!
Bai Luan: Hey, how can you say that?
Bai Luan: At least she left you some hope of unbanning it.
Silver Wolf: Thank you.
Silver Wolf: I really thank you for comforting me!
Bai Luan: You're welcome, Silver Wolf.
Bai Luan: Since she already banned your account, I won't ban yours.
Bai Luan: I'll just simply bestow a title upon you.
Bai Luan: I shall title you the Banned Account Lolita.
Bai Luan: Ms. Silver Wolf, whose account was deleted and then banned.
Silver Wolf: Don't call me that!
Bai Luan: Alright, Ms. Silver Wolf, whose account was deleted and then banned.
Bai Luan spent some time changing Silver Wolf's contact note to that, then screenshotted it and sent it to her.
Ms. Silver Wolf, whose account was deleted and then banned: "¥0πfu€&in&m0T^£√"
Watching the frantic Silver Wolf in the chat window, the corner of Bai Luan's mouth curled up slightly.
A beautiful day starts with persecuting Silver Wolf.
It's truly delightful for the mind and body.
After sending that screenshot, no matter how many messages Bai Luan sent Silver Wolf, she didn't reply.
It seems she went to figure out how to unban her account.
What a pity.
Bai Luan put away his phone.
But it was indeed time to get busy with serious matters.
He still hadn't created that Rayquaza.
I Must Secretly Elbow the Equilibrium!
...