"No, no, no... What you two did has nothing to do with fines." Zhongshan waved her hands repeatedly.
"What you've done will not only break the releaser's heart but might even anger that benevolent and merciful Aeon~"
Zhongshan clasped her hands together, praying devoutly.
"Aeons won't bother with your petty nonsense... Hiss, that doesn't sound right."
Stelle awkwardly turned her head, glancing at Adrian out of the corner of her eye.
"Who knows... The heavens' might is unfathomable. Maybe on some distant planet beyond the stars, THEY'RE watching us right now."
Zhongshan suddenly turned cryptic, but her words held no sway over Stelle.
"Ahem... The members of [Releasers Inc.] wouldn't want to see all their hard-earned release merits go to zero."
"Here's an idea: Come with me to meet the [Five Great Benefactors] of [Releasers Inc.] and explain the situation? Oh, right—it's the [Three Great Benefactors] now..."
Stelle, her anti-scam instincts on high alert, flatly refused. "What's this, some new extortion racket?"
"Aiyo~ I already said I'm not here to cause you trouble, so why so on guard? With your numbers and the way you punched out those vicious wolves, who could touch you?"
"It's not like it's two against one with the odds in my favor, right? I'm just an ordinary Luofu citizen—expecting me to take on you two single-handed?"
"Mm..." Seeing Zhongshan act so innocently, even on the verge of tears, made the extortion vibe even stronger to Stelle.
Whatever—she was a woman who'd gone undercover in the [Drug Lord's Secret Teachings]. At worst, she'd just dismantle another gang!
"So... what do you do in [Releasers Inc.]?"
"Releasing!"
Stelle: ...
"Oh~ Position? Think of me as a mentor who recommends newcomers and guides folks toward goodness!"
"The [Five Great Benefactors]... I mean, the [Three Great Benefactors], should be at the Cauldron Division right now. Let's head over together."
...
Considering Zhongshan's presence as a stranger, they made the trip to the Cauldron Division on foot.
"See, those five up ahead are the [Five Great Benefactors] of [Releasers Inc.]. Let me introduce them first..."
Zhongshan poked her head out from behind the wall, lowering her voice to start the rundown, only for her chin to suffer a brutal impact from Stelle.
"Ow!" She yelped in pain despite herself, rubbing her reddened chin.
"Big sis... No matter how suspicious I seem, you didn't have to go for the [Rocket Headbutt]! Hiss~ It hurts hurts hurts!"
"Screwlloyd?"
Stelle rubbed her eyes. From her prior encounter with it in the Exalting Sanctum, even with Screwlloyd disguised as Blake's likeness, she'd seen through the mechanical's disguise.
Adrian's expression shifted ever so subtly. HE'd assumed the fifth would be Freesna—never expecting the honest and dutiful steward Screwlloyd.
The [Drug Lord's Secret Teachings] had Screwlloyd before, and now [Releasers Inc.] did too.
Adrian furrowed his brow. Had this guy turned into a side-quest magnet?
"The woman on the far left is called Doniya—she's the representative of [Releasers Inc.]'s [Beast Faction], obsessed with releasing powerful, fierce beasts. Those little wolves you killed? She released them."
Zhongshan continued the introductions one by one: "Next to her is the one you should recognize—Bena. She's the rep for the [Conservation Faction], mainly focused on releasing rare, endangered little critters."
"Then there's this guy, Hissman... He's the [Herb Faction]'s representative, dedicated to releasing plants." Zhongshan pointed at a brown-haired man in casual clothes.
"Yeah, that pointy-haired blue one is called Nannan. Old bro's a native Luofu folk, but he got ousted by the other three recently—same as your pal Screwlloyd."
"Because he was all about releasing... microorganisms in mineral water. The big three thought that kind of [releasing] was too half-assed, called him the [Half-Ass Faction], and squeezed him out... Poor guy."
"Releasing... mineral water?"
Stelle's mouth twitched slightly. The other three had their reasons for sidelining him—who'd waste time releasing mineral water otherwise!
"And that Screwlloyd fellow—guess what he released?"
"Mm... Screws?"
For an Intelligencer, Stelle couldn't imagine it releasing anything but spare mechanical parts... But thinking of that god-tier move with the mineral water.
Yeah, pair that with the church staff's abstract mindset, and Stelle suddenly had a bad feeling.
"The answer's in: Brother Screwlloyd's releases were right on par with Nannan's—milk tea from some no-name rundown teahouse!"
She didn't notice at all how, the instant those words left her mouth, Adrian's lips twitched at an imperceptible angle.
"Whoa whoa whoa—don't say that kinda thing!" Stelle quickly clamped a hand over Zhongshan's mouth. If it were Immortal's Delight Tea from the Sleepless Earl teahouse, she'd get it—but calling out the [rundown teahouse]? Who else could that be referring to?!
Stelle ranted internally, only to see Adrian's lips twitch even faster.
Yeah... She hated mind-reading.
"All I can say is they got sidelined for good reason—one releasing mineral water, the other milk tea... I can't even critique it." Stelle shifted the topic. As the most impartial Galactic Reviewer in the universe, she couldn't pick a single flaw right now.
The gripes and issues had piled up so high they'd evolved into virtues—Nannan and Screwlloyd were basically flawless!
"Hold on, let me explain things about you two to them."
Zhongshan composed herself and went up to chat with the benefactors. When Screwlloyd heard Stelle and Adrian's names, his lips gave the tiniest twitch.
A moment later, she turned back and beckoned to the pair, signaling them to come over.
...
Exalting Sanctum, [Supreme Savors] Restaurant
Amid the restaurant's steamy haze, March 7th's gaze locked onto the silver-haired elf coming to take their order.
Her moonlit tresses cascaded loosely at the nape of her neck, a few stray strands brushing her smooth forehead, accentuating those emerald-green eyes—deep and lustrous.
A slightly stiff, freshly starched white shirt with broad shoulders wrapped her slender yet toned waist, paired with a matching dark knee-length skirt. The prim tailoring constrained the elf's innate grace.
This rigid human attire did nothing to dim her elfin radiance; instead, it honed the otherworldly silver hair and jade eyes to an even sharper brilliance.
"Huh... Am I seeing this right? Priestess sis, you're still working here?"
"No, this is magic that makes people rich—it earns lots of Credit Points." Freesna deadpanned her excuse with utmost seriousness.
As expected, the Emanator of [Eternity] was as abstract as ever. March 7th immediately ruled out any "life experience" angle—this was clearly her stuck here for unpaid tabs by the owner.
"Teacher Adrian, this is one of your rare [Emanators]—gotta be nicer to your subordinates..." March 7th murmured to herself.
Qingque sat beside March 7th, watching them chat it up.
With years of workplace hustling under her belt, she'd been to plenty of gatherings. Best move now: stay silent and wait.
But... this elf waitress seemed like an [Eternity] Emanator, just like Adrian.
Even better—no worries there. They should all be as easygoing as Adrian.
The Luofu was buzzing these days, drawing in so many Emanator-level big shots. Qingque was definitely broadening her horizons.
After a few pleasantries with March 7th, Freesna finally turned to Qingque. One glance, and she nearly dropped the menu—shocked.
Too busy chatting with March 7th, her [Eternity] detector had only just kicked in.
This girl... The [Eternity] readings in her were almost catching up to Freesna's!!