Chapter 113: Will the rival choose Alice or Lynn?

“Specifically, we need Keti to realize that the one she cares about most—Alice—is at risk of being taken away.

Then we persuade Keti to rejoin the team, because only by doing so can she protect Alice, huff…

Although this might help bring those two together, only if Keti comes back first do we have a chance!”

Listening to Sylvia’s urgent words, Layla hesitated a little. Ah… so this is what Sylvia meant when she said Alice was right this time?

Although the elf girl’s reasoning made some sense, the priestess still felt uneasy… or rather, unwilling.

Just thinking about having to rely on her jealousy toward the male companion of another rival to bring back the boy she liked made Layla feel…

***

So useless.

“Ugh—”

The purple-haired, jellyfish-style older sister immediately slumped, propping up her huge breasts, then gloomily shook her head.

Seeing this, Sylvia beside her grew anxious. It was already this late—why was she still caught up in such trivial matters?

“Ahem, didn’t I just say? Although it looks like matchmaking, you’re not unfamiliar with that Alice girl.

Even if Keti returns, their relationship won’t smooth over anytime soon.

The key now is that only if Keti comes back do we have a chance…

Or, let me put it this way: between Alice and that Lynn…

If you had to pick one as your rival, who would you choose?”

Tsk—

That was a really good question.

Layla originally thought Alice, who had been Keti’s childhood friend for over a decade, was the biggest obstacle in her pursuit of him.

But… thinking back to that night in the fitting room—

That man had subjected her Keti-chan to such terrifying yet skilled ‘training’ that it nearly broke her. Ugh…

Now, whenever Layla thought of Lynn’s face, she couldn’t help but shudder inside. Too… terrifying.

So, although she was reluctant to admit it… her biggest rival now was apparently a man.

“Then… maybe it’s better to just compete with Alice for Keti, ha…”

“Exactly!”

The elf girl immediately nodded. Since that was the case, there was nothing more to oppose.

Layla took a deep breath. After a moment, she looked up and asked:

“So, what exactly is the plan?”

“Phew… it’s simple.

First, we pretend to agree to let that Jiaxia join the team.

Then, have Alice organize a welcome dinner party.

Finally, we bring Keti over without mentioning the new teammate in advance, so she can see it with her own eyes.

To Alice, we say it’s that friend of Keti’s we mentioned before.

That way, she’ll act out of revenge, but we’ll have to remind her to keep it in check.

In short, we want to stimulate Keti, then tell her Jiaxia surely has sinister intentions, and use that chance to persuade her to come back and protect Alice!

Once all that’s done, Keti will definitely rejoin!”

Sylvia sneered coldly. Wow, this smooth little combo had Layla a bit stunned.

“Uh… so basically, bring Keti to meet Alice but don’t let them recognize each other yet, right?”

“Right.

We can’t expose the fact that Keti-chan has become a girl yet; otherwise, things might get more complicated.

Once she confirms rejoining, we’ll confess everything to Alice.”

“Got it! Then… I-I’ll go find Keti~!”

Phew.

***

After the three girls returned to the bedroom, the huge villa’s living room was left with only Jiaxia’s figure.

The “silver-haired handsome youth” awkwardly tugged at the corner of his mouth, sighed after a moment, and then sank back onto the sofa.

His black spade and heart-shaped tail no longer hidden, his silver short hair gradually turned pale purple, and his flat chest suddenly bulged.

As for below… that place hadn’t been transformed, so there was no need to change it.

In an instant, the delicate young boy of the capital city had vanished without a trace, replaced by a succubus lady with dark circles under her eyes, a haggard expression, and a faint look of despair.

That’s right—the silver-haired youth image was nothing but a false disguise.

Jiaxia’s true identity was a female succubus… and not an ordinary one at that, but the infamous Pink Skeleton from the urban legends on the outskirts of the capital—a terrifying story among adventurers.

It was said that meeting her meant being drained dry, the ultimate nightmare.

In short… an incredibly driven, overworked succubus!

Phew… how annoying.

Snapping back to reality, Jiaxia shook her head tiredly.

As a succubus, she never rested well, and right now, she had to fight off strong drowsiness while thinking over the current situation.

It seemed the situation in this team was more complicated than she had imagined.

Really frustrating—pretending to be a man was exhausting.

Magic transformation itself consumed a lot of mana, so it was good to be thrown here to rest a bit.

So, had she really joined this team or not?

She’d thought Alice was in charge in the Hero Squad, but it seemed like she couldn’t handle those two women at all and could only seethe in helpless rage.

And those two women seemed very opposed to her joining because of that Keti person, even though she had used hypnosis and suggestion magic…

Hmm… but that stuff didn’t seem very effective on women.

Even with a male disguise, it only slightly improved how they treated her, but it didn’t allow her to fully control anyone’s mind.

She was beginning to feel like giving up.

But… no, not yet.

Such a good opportunity… how could she just give up?!

After all… Jiaxia’s mind involuntarily recalled that day’s scene.

“Ha… ah~! Master, Master, Lady Jiaxia~ please spare me, I’ve already told you about all the valuable people I know.”

In the dark adventurer camp, Jiaxia crossed her long white legs, twirling a long pink magic whip in her hand.

She sneered at the naked, scarred, and wildly excited low-level adventurer in front of her, then cracked the whip again.

“Is that really all?

Don’t you want a reward from your master?

Useless trash, those guys you mentioned are all nobles and officials, either highly skilled in magic or surrounded by bodyguards. How am I supposed to deal with them?

Think harder!”

“Ah~—! Ha… uh~ right, right, I remember now, Lady Jiaxia!

Recently, a team called the Hero Squad came to the capital.

That team’s blonde little loli captain, Alice or something, seems to have the bloodline of a hero!

If you could defeat her and absorb her power, your magical talent would definitely break through!”

“Roar”