"I'm back."
"Welcome back."
After accepting Morgan's arrival, Galacta suggested holding a banquet to feast. In the evening, Morgan didn't sleep in the room Artoria arranged but instead slipped into Artoria's bed. Just like those previous days, Morgan crawled into Artoria's covers, hugged Artoria's slender waist, and quickly fell asleep. When she fell asleep, Artoria had actually been awake for a long time; she didn't stop Morgan's actions. Artoria gently rubbed against Morgan's hair, and that feeling from before appeared again—that sense of home-like warmth that made Artoria feel cozy. Carrying this wonderful feeling, she entered her dreams. Upon waking in the morning, her holy green eyes met those soul-bewitching purple eyes, and Artoria and Morgan exchanged a warm greeting.
"These two? There's something fishy going on."
Galacta saw the scene of the two walking out of the room together, which left her very puzzled. Wasn't this woman supposed to be in another room? Why did she come out of Artoria's room? This woman named Morgan was very strange; that was Galacta's feeling. Perhaps Gaea had no idea that her actions were like inviting a wolf into the house—letting a cat guard the safety of a fish. Isn't this just delivery service coming to the door!
"Forget it, why bother? Since she's someone Gaea arranged, she shouldn't hurt Artoria, right?"
After thinking for a moment, Galacta gave up her doubts about the woman named Morgan. Since she was someone Gaea called over and had Gaea's aura on her, it meant she was the real deal. Gaea wouldn't allow someone who might hurt Artoria at any time to be here. After figuring this out, Galacta continued her day of gourmet food. Today was Turkish barbecue. Although Artoria said the taste was strange, it won out on quantity. For this reason, Galacta specifically ordered three roasted camels, wanting to try a portion size that could stuff someone to Death. This bold way of eating suited her personality well. Tomorrow she would make a reservation and have the chef make Taiwanese-style hotpot; she heard from Artoria that hotpot is delicious.
"Just treat this as your own home and stay here!"
Ignoring the look Galacta cast her way, Artoria spoke to Morgan beside her. Although Morgan didn't look injured like last time, Artoria still extended her kindness. Since she had come to her home, she might as well stay! Her house had plenty of rooms anyway, and she didn't mind another person or two. Facing Artoria's kindness, Morgan smiled and nodded. She was very happy with Artoria's attitude toward her. Such a friendly attitude was a huge change compared to her sister's cold demeanor in their past life.
All of this current happy life was like an illusion in a dream. This was something Morgan wouldn't have dared to imagine in the past, and now it had all come true. Morgan was now very grateful to Gaea for giving her this opportunity. Although she didn't know why the other party had found her to sign a contract or what Gaea's ultimate purpose was, Morgan was still very grateful.
"I will. Come back early, and I'll use my specialty dishes for you to taste."
At this moment, Morgan spoke to Artoria like a wife seeing her husband off. Even Galacta, who was far away, heard this sentence.'Specialty dishes'—hearing this term made Galacta remember Gaea's 'unidentified organism' cooking. Galacta subconsciously shuddered. Artoria blinked; she remembered this beauty's identity as King Arthur's sister. Morgan was also a Master of the mystery side, proficient in both Alchemy and magic. Could such a person cook? At this thought, Artoria wasn't very expectant of this dinner. After forcing a smile, Artoria quickly left the house. She suddenly wanted to go out and hide for two days. Why do all women like to cook!
After seeing Artoria off, Morgan's expression turned flat. Her soul-bewitching purple eyes scanned the room, finally landing on Galacta, who was eating snacks and watching the show. Facing eyes that weren't much different from her own, Galacta was startled and felt a chill down her back. Fortunately, Morgan's gaze didn't linger on Galacta for too long. The moment Morgan's gaze left, Galacta breathed a sigh of relief. This person was truly terrifying.
"Miss Artoria, your mood seems very good today!"
When Artoria returned to the company, Gwen happily observed Artoria's complexion. Seeing Artoria's appearance, Gwen felt the other's mood was excellent. This made Gwen curious; Artoria had rarely appeared at the company these past few days, and even when she did, she would just quickly sign some papers and leave. This version of Artoria was something Gwen hadn't seen in a long time, so she couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"It's nothing, I just encountered something good. As for the specifics, I won't tell you."
Gwen's question gave Artoria a start. Was her smile really that obvious? Since Gwen had asked, Artoria smiled, tapped Gwen's head, and spoke somewhat playfully. After doing this, Artoria quickly left the spot. Teasing a girl and then running away—how fun. Facing Artoria's teasing, Gwen blushed and touched her head, the spot Artoria had just touched. At this moment, Gwen was like a young girl in the first flush of love.
"Did something happen?"
While Gwen was feeling shy, Susan also came to the office. Seeing Gwen standing there blankly, Susan asked curiously what was wrong. Why had she suddenly turned into a dazed idiot? Could she have gone crazy? That would be a bit troublesome and hard to treat. Unlike a physical illness where you can survive by removing the lesion, a mental problem might last a lifetime.
"I'm fine. These are the recent financial reports; take a look and see if there are any issues."
Susan's arrival brought Gwen back from her shyness. She wasn't willing to tell Susan about her interaction with Artoria just now, so she could only change the subject. Regarding Gwen's change of topic, Susan didn't have many other thoughts. After all, she was also responsible for the company's finances, and there had indeed been more financial issues lately. Because many new events had been released recently, everyone was spending quite a lot on gacha. It seems those with bad luck can only change their fate with money.
"To think it's about to be born so soon; it's truly beyond my expectations."
At this moment, Gaea, who hadn't noticed she was being watched by 'Lü,' was quietly staring at the dragon egg in the lava. Originally, Gaea thought this child would hatch in a thousand years. She didn't expect that in just a few months, this child would actually be able to absorb enough power from Artoria. It was clear what kind of powerful talent the child inside the dragon egg possessed; this was the first time Gaea had encountered such a situation.
"For a child with such aptitude to be born at this time, it seems the future destiny will be very rough."
Gaea looked at the thin crack on the dragon egg. From her long life, she knew that if some major event was to occur, destiny would give the weak a chance at survival. The most obvious sign was the appearance of genius-level figures. The appearance of a genius symbolizes the impending arrival of a great disaster. The higher the genius's aptitude, the greater the disaster. Gaea had witnessed all of this personally, so facing the birth of this child, Gaea was currently very conflicted.
On one hand, this child was her most beloved existence. Without Artoria's knowledge, she had used Artoria's bloodline to forge this child and bring it into this world. Facing this situation, Gaea felt very guilty toward the child for making it carry the destiny of the world.
"I'm truly sorry, my child."
Gaea stepped lightly onto the lava as if stepping on a floor. She gently touched the shell of the dragon egg, apologizing in this way, her eyes unable to stop tears from falling. She really couldn't bear to let her child carry such a heavy burden, but she didn't regret giving birth to this child. Seemingly sensing its mother's sadness and guilt, the dragon egg moved slightly, as if comforting Gaea not to be too sad. All of this made the scorching volcano feel very warm and tender.
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