Ha, she's actually getting shy.

Watching the Cat Queen hide her entire body below the windowsill, trying hard to avoid his gaze but inadvertently revealing her ears, Leon couldn't help but chuckle. He waved at those twitching little ears.

Thanks, I've got the gift. Even people with sensitive skin can use it, and I'll give you a good review... Hmm... what's this?

...

Just as Leon turned around to leave, the world in his eyes, maintained in "double vision" mode, suddenly brightened. A blazing white light abruptly shone down from the sky, striking the spot he was about to walk to in two seconds.

Although there was no sense of danger in that light, Leon, out of caution, promptly stopped in his tracks, avoiding the white beam now projecting from the sky.

The coverage area of the white beam wasn't large, only about two meters in diameter. Thanks to Leon's timely stop, the white beam missed him, hitting the ground in front of him instead, causing two stone tiles over an inch thick to vanish without a trace.

It felt like some kind of "teleportation" or "summoning" ability.

Looking at the two tiles that suddenly disappeared before him, a cautious look appeared in Leon's eyes. The white beam, having missed its mark, seemingly was not discouraged, reappearing a few seconds later in the "future vision" of [Time's Quiver].

Someone wants to take me away?

Realizing the strange white light's intent, Leon immediately retreated two steps, stepping into a small puddle that hadn't evaporated, and quickly shifted positions through the Mirror World, moving to another mirror surface dozens of meters away.

Seemingly "angered" by missing again, the frequency and speed of the descending white light abruptly soared, chasing him all the way from the Inner Court of the Grand Sorcery Courtyard, through several streets, wherever he went, it followed.

However, the protection of the Cat Queen was truly powerful. Although the "lead time" given was less than three seconds, it was continuously effective. Coupled with Leon's near-human-limit reaction speed, the white light without a "lock-on" never caught up with him.

The relentlessly pursuing white light projected seventy to eighty times in a minute, but besides snatching a pile of random junk, it failed to even touch the corner of Leon's clothes.

After a while of futile pursuit, the strange white light finally gave up, instead dropping a thicker, broader white beam, returning all the previously snatched items, before falling silent.

A moment later, a young barking noise echoed in the Mirror World. A small mirror being clutched in its mouth, peeked out of Leon's cufflink.

"Leon, it's me looking for you."

Once Leon connected the "call," the face of the Taurus Director, looking a bit exasperated, appeared in the Celestial Globe Mirror.

"After learning of the issue in the Realm of the Dead, Director Capricorn dashed back from Heavenly Mountain. The white lights trying to cover you earlier weren't attacks; they were part of Director Capricorn's travel method [Pathway to Paradise]. Standing within would bring you straight to headquarters. You need not evade anymore."

"Oh, okay."

Leon had already suspected the white beams didn't seem like an enemy's method, more akin to the Bureau trying to bring him over. Still, out of caution, he hadn't faced them head-on, opting to assess the situation first.

Now reassured by the Taurus Director, Leon eased his guard, standing still and letting the more-than-two-meters-wide white beam envelop him entirely.

The flow of light and shadow whirled.

After a somewhat unpleasant bout of vertigo, the blinding white luminescence vanished. When Leon's vision returned to normal, the small alley of the Witch Kingdom had transformed into a spacious palace adorned with sheep-head and fish-tail motifs.

"Hello."

Nodding toward Leon, a tall, thin man in a lavish robe scrutinized him curiously, initiating a friendly conversation:

"Nice to meet you, I'm the current Director of the Capricorn Palace. You may call me Harry."

"I am..."

"You are Leon, Leon Laine, who succeeded Camus to become the new Director of the Aquarius Palace, and the youngest director in the Bureau's history, introduced by Joan and the others."

"Then you..."

"I'm a chatterbox, full of nonsense, and have a bad habit of interrupting others. If you don't like it, I can apologize in advance. I hope you won't mind."

"I don't..."

"You don't mind? That's good. Although even if you did, I probably couldn't help it. But please believe I mean no harm nor hold any prejudice against you; I simply can't resist talking."

"I under..."

"You understand? That's nice of you.

Ahahaha, sorry, I've been at Heavenly Mountain for nearly thirty years. It's full of polluted Angels and divine creatures there, their mouths spewing nothing but insults or mad ravings—a poor choice for conversational partners.

Struggling to find people to talk to, I've developed this bad habit conversing with them, which I find hard to kick... Oh, right, this is the Capricorn Palace. Welcome to visit, Joan and the others are waiting in the Inner Hall..."

The kindly, tall, thin man chattered away, enthusiastically leading Leon by the arm toward the Inner Hall of the Capricorn Palace, his rapid speech almost deafening Leon.

More troubling, the Capricorn Director's words seemed to carry a peculiar magic, resembling both sacred, melodic Sanskrit hymns and sinister, garbled whispers. Even as Leon attempted to plug his ears, the constant barrage of rambling words drilled into his mind unceasingly.

Fortunately, upon entering the Inner Hall and greeting the other directors seated around a round table, the Capricorn Director, who could talk your ear off, was himself distracted, happily engaging the nearby Sagittarius Director in conversation. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

In Leon's struggling gaze, within less than twenty seconds, the Capricorn Director, excited to reconnect with old friends, had shifted through five or six topics.

From recounting his acquaintance with the Sagittarius Director to the thrilling selection battles, to the loneliness of Heavenly Mountain and the trials of purifying corrupted Angels and divine creatures, and his own loneliness over the years.

Even with the Sagittarius Director seemingly ignoring him, eyes shut and offering no response, the Capricorn Director, undeterred by the lack of reaction, continued his enthusiastic chatter.

"Leon, come over here, this is for you."

Waving Leon over to sit beside him, the Taurus Director, also struggling with the situation, first pointed at his own ear, then handed Leon two black beans.

[Name: Silence Beans (Silence, Silencing, Sight-Blocking)]

[Appearance: Two pitch-black beans, feeling much like dried goat droppings, with a strange expired holy water scent]

[Ability: Silence (Capricorn), silencing speech (Capricorn), sight-blocking (Capricorn)]

[Cost: Until the Silence Beans are removed from your ears, you can only communicate with other Silence Beans wearers]

[File: After guarding Heavenly Mountain alone for over thirty years, the current Capricorn Director, in constant conversation with purification targets, suffered significant malicious contamination from outer gods, resulting in a severe pathological mutation in his language.

The words from his mouth transcend auditory boundaries, penetrating deep into the soul. Engaging in conversation or even merely observing his lips moves will forcibly impart vast amounts of information.

Realizing this, the beleaguered Taurus Director hastily crafted an entire jar of Silence Beans overnight, distributing them to the other tormented directors to help them fend off the overpowering sonic magic of the Capricorn Director...]

[Evaluation: People are born of humans; monsters are born of monsters. Thus, being a monster is akin to being a person; one should have a merciful heart. With a compassionate heart, one is no longer a monster, but a trans... What's your mother's last name?]

[Contamination Value: 0.1]