Miss Lulu?
Hearing that somewhat familiar name, Alice immediately recalled—this person was the one Layla had inquired about before, the woman who seduced Keti-kun.
Guh…
In an instant, looking at the other’s silver-gray long hair and familiar facial features, Alice clenched her teeth, a strong surge of jealousy swelling in her heart.
A cheating cat who stole from her childhood friend, and on top of that… she even looked somewhat like Keti.
Th-this… could this be the legendary “couple resemblance”?!
Ugh…
Back when they were still in the village, everyone used to say Keti and Alice looked like a married couple.
Every time she heard that compliment, Alice would be delighted, but… this, this woman looks even more suited to Keti than she does!
Just thinking about it made Alice even more jealous.
Especially when her eyes landed on the heavy weight pressing against the woman’s chest—an impressive figure that made the blonde twin-tailed loli feel a sharp, indescribable sting of bitterness.
Why do all these cheating cats she meets have such assets!?
How did Layla manage to bring this one here? Could it be… that the busty cheating cats have joined forces!?
Damn it!
Ugh…
Gripped by fury and despair, Alice bit her lip, cursing herself for not eating enough as a child and suffering from malnutrition. Ugh… mainly the malnutrition.
In the midst of this intense emotion, moments later,
the blonde twin-tailed loli suddenly squinted her eyes and then… realized something.
It seemed she suddenly understood the purpose behind Layla bringing this silver-haired loli here.
The Lulu before her was seemingly the only channel through which she could now convey information to Keti.
Heh… well, that works out perfectly.
She was just worrying about how to let that idiot Keti know about the new teammate.
Thinking this, after a while, Alice’s gaze grew increasingly plaintive.
Watching this strange shift in emotion, the silver-haired beauty suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. N-no…
This…
Could it be she’d been recognized at a glance again?! Hiss… it wasn’t impossible after all, considering the other was also her childhood friend. Ugh.
The silver-haired beauty hastily averted her gaze, her small legs trembling nervously.
Trying to distract herself, her eyes inadvertently landed on another person nearby. Then, the girl suddenly froze on the spot.
Eh?
Strange, why was there suddenly another person next to Alice?
Keti stared blankly at the similarly silver-haired Jiaxia.
After a moment, Alice’s eyes narrowed triumphantly as she silently thought, “Looks like this random little one is still useful.”
Then she promptly patted the succubus lady’s shoulder and chuckled lightly.
“Ah, so it’s Miss Lulu. Looks like you’re quite familiar with that idiot Keti.
Well then, let me introduce myself. I’m Alice, Keti-kun’s childhood friend, and this is Jiaxia, the newest member of our hero squad~”
After staying in the imperial capital for a while, he came to talk with me…
N-new… new teammate?!
The moment she heard this, Keti’s gaze wavered.
After a long, long while, she finally took a deep breath, her breathing more hurried than before.
“Pfft. Jiaxia-kun isn’t just an A-rank talent alchemist—much stronger than that idiot Keti—but also has a really cute personality~ With his addition, our hero squad will only get stronger! Hmph… I was originally waiting for that idiot to come back, but he just kept avoiding us.”
Alice spoke proudly, then suddenly seemed to remember something and awkwardly muttered.
“Ugh… but, well, actually this decision was made rather suddenly. If Keti-kun has anything he wants to say… Miss Lulu, could you please pass it along to him? I can still… it’s okay, haha…”
Having said this, Layla and Sylvia beside her finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from their brows.
Before coming, they had repeatedly hinted to Alice that if she still wanted to get Keti back, she should leave some room to maneuver.
Although this young lady kept arguing, at least she was listening. Looks like… behind that proud facade, she’s quite anxious after all.
Layla felt this was a good opportunity.
She immediately looked at Keti, hoping the silver-haired beauty would erupt now, reveal her identity, and impulsively return to the hero squad!
Then—
Eh, no, wait!
The purple-haired jellyfish-headed older sister suddenly felt a jolt in her heart.
Keti’s expression was off—it felt like she was overdoing it.
She looked so wronged!
What… should I say to her?
The silver-haired beauty suddenly found it a bit amusing.
Even though she had already found a new teammate, they were still trying to get her back, even inviting her to tonight’s dinner.
Was this to show off the person who replaced her?
Yeah, that’s exactly it.
An A-rank alchemist would definitely be much stronger than… than a D-rank nobody like herself.
In the end… she was still someone nobody needed.
Ugh—!
Thinking this, Keti no longer held back.
She shook off Layla, who tried to pull her back, then quickly ran out without looking back…
That’s it. Let it all end!
Uh, wait, it’s not over yet.
She hadn’t run more than a few steps before awkwardly stopping.
Because the silver-haired beauty realized a major problem—
In her flustered excitement, she’d run in the wrong direction!
No, no, she hadn’t run toward the tavern’s exit but instead ran deeper inside.
This only took her further from the door.
Keti’s mouth twitched awkwardly.
***
After a while, she quietly turned to glance back.
There stood Layla, Sylvia, Alice, and Jiaxia—all staring at her with blank faces, their expressions seeming to say,
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Gah—
Feeling even more embarrassed, the silver-haired beauty’s vision blurred.
After a while, she could only pretend she was just going to the bathroom, then hurried into the tavern’s restroom, her mind filled only with the idea of escaping by climbing out a window.
Only to find—
No windows!
What the hell was she supposed to do now?
Turning back was impossible, Layla and the others would definitely stop her.
This was… absolutely deadly! Damn…
After calming down, Keti decided to take care of business and sort out her emotions.
Then she resolved that when she went back, she wouldn’t say a word, just put on a sullen face and leave.
If Layla tried to stop her, she’d just shrug her off and run.
With this thought, the silver-haired beauty stood up again.
Just as she stepped out—
She suddenly heard a strange voice calling out.
“Hey, Miss Lulu, sorry to bother you, but I have a question.
You… are the former teammate of the hero squad, right?”
…It’s about the hero—