You Are All My Wings!

Silvia's gaze rested quietly on the arm Chloe was tightly clinging to. Deep within her pink eyes, something seemed to be slowly solidifying.

"Why does she call you Big Brother? Do you... really know each other? And your relationship... seems quite unusual?"

Silvia's voice was very soft, even gentler than usual, but every word felt like a thin ice blade lightly scraping against Greg's eardrums.

"I should be asking you that!"

Before Greg could speak, Chloe, who was holding onto his arm like a kitten protecting its food, suddenly looked up. Her beautiful but hostile eyes glared fiercely at Victoria and Silvia.

Though her cheeks were still flushed from her earlier excitement, her expression had already snapped back into her familiar bratty girl persona.

"Why are small fry like you with my Big Brother?! What exactly is your relationship with him!"

She pulled Greg's arm even closer as if staking a claim, her voice rising in pitch.

"I knew it! Big Brother's sudden disappearance before was because you two took a liking to his face during the entrance exam, so you teamed up to kidnap him! I knew it! You small fry with your impure intentions!"

"Hey! What kind of nonsense are you spouting, you alchemist girl!"

Victoria, already on edge, flared up at Chloe's ridiculous accusation. She let go of Greg's collar and turned to shout at Chloe.

"Who kidnapped him!? And as for that face of his? Hmph! I wouldn't take him even if he were free!"

"You'd actually rather lie and slander Big Brother's looks! You're clearly just jealous!" Chloe snapped back like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"I am not! Stop making things up!"

"You are!"

"Wait, everyone just calm down for a second!!!!"

Seeing another round of bickering about to escalate, Greg shouted to stop them just in time.

All three girls turned to look at him simultaneously.

Greg: "Alright, I have to confess. This was actually intentional on my part."

Although he hadn't anticipated this situation at all, Greg, being a scumbag at heart, quickly thought of an excuse to smooth things over.

Chloe: "Big Brother, what do you mean by intentional?"

"By intentional, I mean—er, anyway, Chloe, let go of my arm first."

Chloe pouted at his words and reluctantly let go of his arm, though she remained pressed tightly against his side.

Then, Greg turned to Victoria, whose face was still sour, and Silvia, whose eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions.

"Actually, I had heard about the friction between you all before, so I intentionally arranged for the three of you to meet this time."

"?"

All three girls looked at Greg with confused expressions.

He paused and continued, "Of course, I had a reason for doing this. I know very well that the conflict between you exists simply because of a misunderstanding."

He looked at Chloe. "Chloe, I know you were intentionally making things difficult for Victoria and the others because of me. But there is actually no conflict between us. Those things I did were just foolish acts intended to help me break away from my family."

"To break away from your family?" Chloe looked puzzled.

"Yes, I'll explain that to you later."

Then he looked at Victoria and Silvia. "As I said before, Chloe isn't actually a bad person. She only targeted you because she misunderstood our relationship."

"I won't ask you to apologize to each other or anything, but if possible, I hope you can get along from now on. Because you are all my win—er, you are all important people to me!"

"Hmph, so it really was because of you."

Victoria crossed her arms and let out a cold snort. Though her expression remained stern, her anger seemed to have subsided a bit. At the very least, she no longer thought Greg had teamed up with Chloe to play her.

Silvia didn't say anything. She just quietly watched Greg and then looked at Chloe, who was huddled close to him. Her smile dimmed slightly, and her pink eyes lowered as she drifted into thought.

Chloe, on the other hand, was incessantly whispering to herself, "Important people... I'm an important person to Big Brother...!"

The atmosphere in the shop instantly softened. At the very least, the sense of imminent hostility had vanished.

Once he was sure things were mostly safe, Greg brought the topic back on track. "By the way, since you're here, Chloe, does that mean you're the one who made that Strong Paralysis Venom Gland in the display case?"

At the mention of her work, Chloe's eyes immediately lit up. The confident radiance of an alchemy genius appeared on her face as she nodded vigorously.

"Mhm! I extracted it personally! It has a purity of 92%! The potency is also very well-preserved! Do you need it, Big Brother? Do you want me to prepare anything else for you? Like a Strong Corrosive Agent? Or..."

"Stop. Just that venom gland is fine."

Greg quickly interrupted her before she could launch into a long speech, pointing at the bottle of purple liquid. "Can you give me a bit of a discount? My funds are quite limited right now."

"A discount?"

Chloe blinked, then shook her head firmly, her brown ponytail swaying with the movement.

"If you want it, Big Brother, just take it! Why talk about money! What's mine is yours!"

With that, she hurried to the display case, carefully took down the venom gland, and held it out to Greg with both hands like a precious offering. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him, her face full of expectation for praise.

"Ah, this..."

Looks like I'm getting a free ride again, folks.

Greg looked at the high-quality item worth 25 gold coins, then at Chloe's sincere gaze, and hesitated.

Taking it for free felt a bit wrong.

But if he tried to pay, judging by Chloe's attitude, she probably wouldn't accept it. It might even make her feel like he was treating her like a stranger, which would hurt her feelings.

Forget it... I'm the one who sowed the seeds back then, so it's only right that I reap some of the harvest now.

Greg finally took the Strong Paralysis Venom Gland and nodded to Chloe. "Thanks, Chloe. This is a huge help. I'll remember this."

Upon hearing Greg's thanks, a brilliantly radiant smile bloomed on Chloe's face, as if she had received the most precious reward in the world.

She shook her head vigorously. "You're welcome! I'm just happy to be of help to Big Brother!"

With the transaction complete, Greg felt it was about time to leave. Although tomorrow was a day off, he was about to head into the second layer of the dungeon with Victoria and Silvia, so it was better to make the most of their time.

He put away the item and said to Chloe, "We still have some things to take care of, so you should get back to your own business too. Just be careful and don't go causing any random explosions."

"Mhm! I will! You be careful too, Big Brother!"

Chloe respected and trusted Greg, so she didn't want to delay his important business. She nodded firmly and added:

"If you ever need any more alchemy items or have materials that need processing, Big Brother, you can come to me anytime! As long as you need it, I'll agree to anything!"

"Yeah, I got it."

Greg gave a vague response, feeling like he had heard a similar line not too long ago.

"Well then, let's go."

Victoria gave Chloe another glare, huffed, and was the first to turn and walk out.

Silvia gave Chloe a slight nod and followed her out.

Greg gave Chloe one last wave before stepping out of the shop as well.

After walking a short distance, he glanced back at the clean shop. He could vaguely see Chloe's figure standing behind the display window, watching them until they were out of sight.

"Sigh, I really don't know if this is a good or a bad thing."

He shook his head and pushed the thought aside.

The most important thing right now was conquering the second layer of the dungeon.

The three of them walked quickly toward the entrance of the Academy Dungeon.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long, also reflecting the figure of the brown-haired girl who remained behind the shop window for a long time.

She watched the direction Greg had gone. Only after the three figures completely disappeared around the corner did she slowly withdraw her gaze. She lowered her head, the corners of her mouth curving into a slight arc.

"Big Brother... this time, I will definitely be able to help you. I won't just be watching from afar anymore."

She clenched her small fist, a determined light shining in her eyes.