“I mean… what I truly wish to say is that, to a researcher such as myself, you are extraordinarily rare. I, too, am enduring my own torment—resisting the urge to drag you away for study. Of course, I doubt I possess the power to manage that.”

  The woman hurried to explain, attempting to steady her own emotions.

  Another one who wants to study me… Glenn could only feel exasperated.

  First that mage named Defar, and now this mysterious woman. It seemed he truly did possess some alarming research value.

  “If you have something to say, say it quickly. My time is precious,” Glenn replied, letting a hint of impatience show.

  She lifted the moonstone delicately. “I know you desire this deeply—there’s no need to pretend. I truly can give it to you for free.”

  “Free things are always the most expensive,” Glenn muttered, speaking his honest thoughts.

  At first, the mysterious woman seemed puzzled by the contradictory phrase, but after a moment’s contemplation, she grasped the meaning.

  Still holding the moonstone, she folded her arms and chuckled softly. “Hehehe… you make a fair point. Then allow me to tell you—this is not entirely free. Why not hear my terms? Believe me, a moonstone is a treasure that may never again cross your path. You must not miss this chance.”

  Her emphasis on the word “free” was particularly heavy.

  Glenn forced his gaze away from the tempting glow in her hands and, after pondering briefly, nodded. “Let’s hear it.”

  The woman put the moonstone away, and Glenn immediately felt much more at ease—though the condition she stated next surprised him.

  “I want to ask a favor of you. It should be a small matter for someone like you. I hope you can protect my two children in my stead.”

  “Children?” Glenn couldn’t make sense of it.

  “Yes—my children. You’ve met them. One is named Parindes, the other Aina.” A faint guilt tinged her voice.

  Glenn’s eyes opened slightly wider. “You’re their master?”

  The woman let out a light laugh. “So they’ve spoken of me… It must have been Aina, yes? She’s always the purest one.”

  That was an admission.

  Glenn still had many questions. “You want me to protect them? Can you not do it yourself? They’ve been searching for you constantly—could you not meet with them even once?”

  “It’s complicated. I can hardly protect myself, much less them,” she replied, her tone oddly casual, as if discussing mundane affairs rather than life and death.

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  Glenn nodded. Since she offered nothing more, additional questions would likely yield no answers. So he shifted topics.

  “You seem to know a lot about me. Have you been watching me for a long time?”

  “I wouldn’t call it watching.” She thoughtfully touched her chin, her posture elegant. “I inferred your situation from the memories of my children, along with the recent reports of a Seventh-Rank werewolf. So…”

  “I see.” Glenn sighed. It was indeed deduction, not surveillance.

  “So you can read Aina and her brother’s memories at any time?” he asked.

  “I can only see what they see and hear what they hear—never their thoughts. And I must be close enough for it to work.”

  “So you’ve been to Bayek?”

  “Yes, though I cannot enter—only observe from outside.”

  Glenn fell silent, thinking.

  He understood the general picture. Someone—or some powerful force—was hunting this woman and her two creations. Whoever it was, they were formidable. Aina had once mentioned they had lived in the town for over a century. For a grudge to last that long… it had to be something deep and unsolved.

  Remembering how Miss Puppet had defied her elder brother to help him—risking offense to other townsfolk—Glenn felt obliged to repay that kindness.

  And even without today’s encounter, if Aina were ever in danger, he would help. In truth, he had already earned the moonstone.

  Having sorted his thoughts, Glenn nodded. “Fine, I’ll agree. But don’t even think about scheming against me. I bear grudges as well.”

  The woman chuckled again. “I’m far from capable of that. If you transformed into your Seventh-Rank form, you would sense how shallow my strength is. I pose no threat to you.”

  Glenn did not transform. Having mastered the wolf-venom and heightened his senses, he could vaguely gauge her strength already.

  Judging from the extraordinary individuals he had encountered so far, she was likely between the Sixth and Seventh Rank. But whether she was a mage remained unclear—the energy within her was neither magic nor battle-qi, but something unusual.

  “I trust Aina’s master’s character. So I won’t bother checking,” Glenn said solemnly.

  Whether she believed him or not, the woman merely examined him for a moment. Then she produced the moonstone once more, holding it reverently in her palms as she stepped before him.

  “The moonstone only needs to be kept on your person. It will consume magic to stabilize your mind and suppress the werewolf’s frenzy.”

  Glenn started to reach for it, but her explanation made him hesitate. “Can’t it be turned off manually? Activated only when I actually need it?”

  He could control his ferocity during normal transformations—this would be useless unless he needed to stabilize a Seventh-Rank form. And even then, who knew if such a situation would occur? Using it on ordinary transformations would only deplete it pointlessly.

  The woman fell silent. After a moment, she said, “As long as a werewolf retains sanity, its combat power increases dramatically. The moonstone will activate whenever you transform. For a Seventh-Rank werewolf, it should last several days—already impressive. Fifth-Rank transformations consume almost nothing. There’s no need to be overly frugal.”

  “Give me a switch anyway. Otherwise, I’d rather not take it.” Glenn insisted stubbornly.

  After another pause, she finally took out a small sphere bearing fierce, grotesque features.

  Bringing the moonstone near it, she let the sphere’s maw snap open—jagged teeth glinting—as it swallowed the moonstone whole.

  Glenn nearly lost control and lunged for it, but managed to restrain himself.

  “This is a Bipogo Fruit,” she explained. “It acts as a storage pouch. Anything it swallows becomes completely isolated from the outside world. If you don’t need the moonstone, simply keep it inside.”

  Glenn’s eyes lit up instantly. It was practically a spatial ring—immensely convenient.

  “How do I retrieve the contents?” he asked, taking the sphere.

  “You just tickle it,” she replied, trying to sound composed.

  Glenn stared at the little sphere, unsure where to begin.

  Finally, he scratched lightly at its side. Its tiny features twisted, and with a sudden gape, it spat out everything stored inside.

  Only the moonstone.

  “Fascinating.” Glenn was genuinely delighted.

  He lifted his head to speak—

  —but the woman had already vanished.