Rohan felt a slight tug on his mind when glancing at Stella. It was as if she were probing him somehow, through a mysterious power he couldn’t sense.

’I wonder what type of Awakened she is.’ He thought, more curiosity welling up inside him as he looked at her.

However, Stella looked into Rohan’s eyes with even more amusement. That single look made all the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

It wasn’t the pressure of a stronger Awakened bearing down on him. No, it wasn’t like Harland’s presence or the suffocating aura of the Red Fang exchange manager.

This felt even more dangerous than that! This was an ability that could affect the mind! ’This woman is the most dangerous I’ve ever met.’

Far more dangerous in its own way, even if Stella might technically be weaker than Harland or other Awakened around that rank. Though there wasn’t any reason to compare when he didn’t know how strong she was yet.

It felt like she’d just leaned over his shoulder and read the contents of his mind without asking permission.

"...What?" Rohan asked before he could stop himself.

Stella’s red lips curled slightly.

"Oh, nothing." She responded far too smoothly. "You simply have a very expressive face for a boy trying not to be expressive."

Rohan’s mouth closed at once.

What a very non-reassuring answer.

’Don’t tell me she can really read minds...’

If that were true, then this place was far more dangerous for him than any other due to the immense secrets he held. His Evolution Gene was not something he ever wanted to enter the eyes of the public — at least not until he was strong enough that it didn’t matter.

So some mysterious woman running a high-end exchange house in the Federation’s strongest city potentially being able to read his mind was not something he wanted to deal with.

Stella took in his wariness and gave a soft laugh.

"You don’t need to look so frightened. If I could truly hear every thought drifting through your head, I would have thrown you out the moment you started wondering if I was probing your intentions with Elane."

Rohan’s face went still.

Elane’s head whipped toward him so quickly her hair almost lashed his cheek.

"You thought what!?" She asked, half offended and half mortified.

Rohan immediately raised both hands.

"Hold on, that’s not—"

Stella’s laugh rang out.

"Oh, this is delightful!"

Elane’s face reddened even further, though whether from embarrassment or irritation, even she probably didn’t know anymore.

Rohan, meanwhile, felt like his soul had just tried to crawl out of his body and die in a ditch.

"You did that on purpose," he said flatly.

Stella placed a hand to her chest. "I have no idea what you mean!"

That was a lie, a very obvious one.

But Rohan clicked his tongue, no longer in the mood to argue back. He decided then and there that this woman was troublesome in a way entirely different to Harland. Harland was heavy, blunt and a bit of a boomer. But at least he was easy-ish to read.

Stella was smiling, playful and clearly enjoying every second of watching other people squirm.

Dangerous.

Absolutely dangerous!

Still, at least the atmosphere in the room had loosened a little.

"Stop messing around, Stella! We came here for business!" Elane pouted, crossing her arms.

She turned back to Rohan before Stella could pull anymore stunts like that.

"Don’t listen to her; she can’t actually read your mind. She just has a gene that boosts all her senses, which makes her much more observant and deductive than an ordinary person. Hmph!" Elane snorted, trying to hide her own embarrassment.

At this point Stella dropped the act and clicked her tongue. "Tsk. You just had to go and spoil the fun, little Elane."

She didn’t seem too bothered by the fact that Elane revealed the ability of one of her genes, which, to most Awakened, was quite a sensitive topic.

And more importantly, Stella had already made it clear that she knew Elane well enough to not waste time on pointless niceties. If they wanted help, they should get to the point before she found some new way to amuse herself at their expense.

Rohan exhaled slowly, choosing his words wisely.

"We’re here because we need some very specific types of Genetic Armaments."

Stella’s amusement faded, and her curiosity sharpened.

"Oh?"

Elane stepped in before Rohan had to keep fumbling through Stella’s strange rhythm. It was better for her to take the lead in this exchange, since she already had years of experience of dealing with this tricky woman.

"We’re looking for one-time use Genetic Armaments."

That got Stella’s full attention.

Not dramatically, but Rohan saw it in the stilling of her posture and the way her gaze sharpened just a touch. ’Is this what Stella sees every time my thoughts change?’

"Disposable types?" she asked, just to confirm.

Elane nodded.

"The strongest F rank ones you have, preferably with exceptional penetrating power or explosive force."

Now Stella’s expression changed for real. The teasing look in her eyes faded, replaced by thoughtfulness.

Then by curiosity.

That made Rohan uneasy all over again. Because their request had caught her interest. If Stella started probing, Rohan wasn’t confident he could keep their plans a secret from this tricky woman.

Her ability to deduce things just from his body movements and expressions were practically on par with sherlock holmes — not someone he wanted to deal with.

"And what," Stella asked, looking between the two of them with a measured expression, "do two very young Awakened need with that sort of firepower?"

Rohan didn’t answer. He didn’t even reveal a change in expression.

He felt like any possible reply he could make would be a mistake.

Elane thankfully solved that for him.

"We’re preparing for a hunt."

Stella’s eyes slid to her.

"That is a beautiful way of saying absolutely nothing."

Rohan almost smiled. ’Nice one Elane!’

Finally, their side had returned the annoying favour to her!

But the exchange wasn’t over yet; it was just beginning.