Chapter 306: Delicious Snake, and an Unexpected Possibility
"Snake!"
Lorne snapped his eyes open, scanning his surroundings alertly.
The desk, scattered documents, and an empty coffee cup—
Still in the office—he'd just been too tired and accidentally fell asleep—he sighed in relief, rubbing his throbbing temples from sleeping face down, feeling a wave of exhaustion hit him.
"It seems even Beyonders can't work beyond their limits."
The newly acquired factories, their staffing, employee retention, and the handover of various businesses were all waiting for him to handle. Although he tried to keep the original framework of those factories as much as possible, how to efficiently integrate these factories with different styles was still a headache.
He had the "Robot" ability, but some things were his first time encountering them, so he could only learn and feel his way through while trying—
"It would be nice to have a secretary or something—" Lorne muttered to himself.
He stood up, poured himself a glass of water, and took a small sip.
"That dream just now—" Thinking of the strange dream that startled him from his fatigue, he put down the glass, his brow furrowing slightly.
He couldn't remember the specific details clearly, only that he seemed to have seen a bizarre scene from a bystander's perspective.
"A pitch-black Tower—a giant snake—and a little boy—" He tried hard to recall the scenes in the dream.
"Hiss—a snake, wanting to eat a little boy—"
"No!" Lorne shook his head slightly, feeling the description wasn't accurate enough. He rested his chin on his hand, thinking for a while, and changed to a more fitting description: "A delicious-looking snake, wanting to eat a delicious-looking boy."
"Wait, why would I think that? I'm not a 'Werewolf'."
"This strange dream—what does it mean?"
As a Beyonder, the dreams he had certainly had some symbolic meaning. It was just that this dream was too abstract, making it impossible for him to analyze anything for the moment.
He couldn't figure out what that snake represented for now. But that boy immediately made him think of someone.
Will Auceptin!
"Could it be—he's being hunted by someone?!"
—
"Hiss—regardless, this dream doesn't seem like a good omen. There are so many key things happening lately; I hope it doesn't really cause any trouble for me."
"Ugh, so annoying—"
Fors irritably ruffled her long brown hair, looking completely listless.
Originally, she had been in a pretty good mood.
When discussing what gift to give Miss Audrey, Mr. Scott had specifically asked her if she wanted to accompany him to that Charity Gala.
She was really excited at the time. Because between that young lady Hairuier and herself, he had chosen her!
What did this mean? It meant that in Scott's eyes, she—mature, intellectual, and sharing common ground—was more attractive than a young, worldly-inexperienced lady with a tsundere temper!
This was the advantage of a mature woman!
However, just as she was happily about to agree directly, Xio suddenly pulled her aside and whispered with an unusually serious expression, "Fors, think clearly! There will definitely be many reporters at that kind of gala. If you're photographed and it's published in the newspaper, and your pen pal Lorne sees it—won't he misunderstand? Won't he be jealous?"
Xio's expression was very serious then, with warning, persuasion, and some complex emotions she couldn't quite name in her eyes.
Fors was a bit intimidated by Xio's gaze, and considering her current situation, she had no choice but to eventually refuse Scott's invitation.
"Sigh—"
She pulled a cigarette out of her case, intending to use it to soothe her frustrated mood. Just then, Xio pushed open the door and entered the study.
"Smoking is bad for your health," Xio said, sniffing.
"Xio, I don't need you to remind me," Fors gave her a resentful look, "You're such a buzzkill."
Knock, knock.
A knock at the door? No. Lorne's gaze turned to the window nearby.
It was a knock on the window.
"Teacher Sharon?" he asked tentatively.
"It's me."
Wearing a Gothic Court Dress and a Small Black Bonnet, Sharon's figure slowly emerged from the shadows outside the window.
Well, it's not a hallucination—you really did knock on the window. This entrance—it's truly "Wraith-like," giving off the feel of an old horror movie—Lorne complained silently in his heart, while remaining calm on the surface.
"This is what you wanted." A crystal-clear ruby appeared in her hand.
"Thanks." Lorne reached out and took it.
"This way, there's no problem with the materials for the Talisman."
"Talisman?" Sharon was a bit confused. Although this ruby was a good spiritual material, wouldn't it be inappropriate to use it for making a Talisman, or rather—too wasteful? A gemstone's capacity for spirituality was not as good as common metallic materials.
"I have no choice; it has to be a bit fancy," Lorne explained.
"Although I'm not as skilled as the Captain, I can still make some low-level Talismans."
"Captain—" Sharon murmured in a barely audible voice.
"If needed, I can help too."
"After all, I am technically your teacher now."
"No need—" Lorne shook his head slightly, "It's just a small gift, no need for you to trouble yourself."
"A gift?"
"Yeah, a gift for a noble lady," Lorne shrugged and said, "It's that Audrey Hall. When giving a gift to the daughter of a high noble, the item naturally has to be a bit fancier and more valuable."
"Actually, I originally planned to give some mysticism knowl—" Lorne stopped halfway through his sentence, suddenly feeling the atmosphere in the office was a bit off.
Eh? Is it a bit cold? Did the temperature around here suddenly drop?
Sharon's azure eyes were quietly staring at Lorne, her brow furrowing imperceptibly. Always like a doll, she actually showed a rare trace of emotion.
You asked me to help buy a gemstone just to make a gift for a noble lady?
Is this... right?
Temperance—must practice temperance—reason told Sharon she shouldn't have such a large emotional fluctuation.
But, there was just some—indescribable sense of stagnation.
"Why send her a gift?"
After a moment of silence, she spoke softly.
This was serious—though Sharon's tone was as cold as ever, Lorne still felt something unusual in it.
"She's a friend of mine. When I was detained, my friends asked her for help—"
He briefly recounted the situation Xio and Fors had told him to Sharon.
"Mhm." Sharon nodded slightly after listening, her expression unreadable.
But the mysterious coldness in the air seemed to return to normal.
Actually, Sharon had known about this for a long time. She had been present the day Fors, Xio, and Hairuier came to find Lorne. She had heard everything and could easily figure out the cause and effect with a little thought.
But—she just inexplicably wanted to hear Lorne explain it to her personally.
"What about the gala? What do you think?" Sharon changed the subject.
Lorne glanced at her and said, "I don't plan on bringing a date—"
"I've thought about it; bringing a date doesn't really fit the 'Hero' persona."
"As for Hairuier's side, although I need to cooperate with Councilor Macht, I don't want to reveal my stance too early—all things considered, it's better to go alone." He smiled.
"After all, heroes are always lonely—"
"Then what about the dancing?" Sharon asked again.
"The core of the gala is charity and networking; there might not even be a dancing segment. If I really need to dance—I'll just have to find a lady to dance with on the spot."
"As for whether I'll mess up the steps or make a fool of myself—" Lorne said nonchalantly.
"I'm not a real noble; I don't care that much about appearances."
Hearing this, Sharon lowered her head and fell into a long silence.
"
After a long time, she raised her head and gazed at Lorne with an exceptionally serious expression, a faint light seemingly swirling in her azure eyes.
"Actually, I have a proposal."
"A proposal?" Lorne said curiously, "What is it?"
Sharon took a deep breath: "You'll know later. Goodbye."
She didn't seem to intend to explain now, her body quickly becoming transparent and vanishing into the shadows.
"Hiss—this again." Lorne looked at the empty room, helpless, then rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
He suddenly had a strange premonition that something he completely didn't expect might happen.
"A proposal—the Temperance Faction shouldn't do anything too drastic, right