Emilia thought that both Crystal and her big sister were being a bit too optimistic, but she also hoped that their hunch was right. After all, if the prime minister of Phoenix had a good impression of her, it would certainly make things much easier in the future.
Of course, if she turned out to be hostile instead, then some of their plans would need a little ‘modification’ to prevent unnecessary risks.
’I hope it’s not like that, though.’ She sighed.
Sam coughed. “By the way, Emilia, do you want to visit mom and dad now that we’re here? The villa they purchased is a little far from the capital, though.”
Of course, given that the White Deer didn’t lack money, and Mr. and Mrs. White had arrived long ago, they wouldn’t stay in a rented place. Not to mention, having their own place made it much more convenient to arrange business meetings and such.
Emilia thought about it for a moment before shaking her head in denial. “No need, we can meet up on the day of the Golden Crown. They’re probably busy with business, and we might as well take the rest of the day off to relax.”
Not to mention, since Justine should be visiting her soon, it wouldn’t be wise to miss her at such a crucial moment. After all, while they had communicated through secure messages and calls from time to time, some things could only be mentioned in person.
Sam sighed in regret as she collapsed on the sofa. “Oh well, I was hoping we could ask mom and dad more details on what the prime minister said and what her expression was at that time.”
In fact, one of the primary reasons Sam and Crystal believed that the prime minister had a good impression of Emilia was because the woman had supposedly ‘praised’ her when she met Mr. and Mrs. White.
Emilia didn’t think that was worth mentioning though, especially compared to the public statements. After all, the prime minister of Phoenix definitely wouldn’t be stupid enough to badmouth someone’s daughter to their face, would she?
With the White Deer Corporation’s continuous growth and seemingly bright future prospects, it only made sense that most people who met Mr. and Mrs. White would try to get closer to them any way they could. And knowing they doted on their daughters, wasn’t complimenting them just a basic strategy?
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As Emilia expected, Justine arrived at the villa they were assigned to the very next morning, along with her three ‘students’ before the clock had even struck six.
”Yes, she’s my friend. Please allow her in.”
”I see, understood. We will still have to search and disarm them if they’re carrying anything dangerous as per our protocol, please understand.” The man in charge of their security closed the image on his tablet before communicating the orders to his subordinates after seeing Emilia nod nonchalantly.
Inwardly, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. ‘Luckily, the guests are much more amicable than I expected.’
Given Emilia’s reputation and appearance, he had fully expected enduring tantrums and all kinds of willful behavior when he first heard that he would be assigned to her, but fortunately, none of them turned out to be true.
Naturally, the ex-policewoman wasn’t stupid enough to be caught with weapons at this time, and was easily led through after a quick search.
Of course, Justine could have tried sneaking in, but given how secure the villa was and how vigilant the security of phoenix was at the moment, that would just be unnecessarily risky behavior.
If she was caught at this time, even if Emilia could save her from any consequences, wouldn’t it make their later missions much less likely to succeed?
The chief of security nodded after he escorted her to the hall. “I’ll take my leave then, please feel free to call me in case there is any issue.”
Emilia waved him away with a smile. “Sure.”
Of course, the moment she saw the crimson-haired beauty, Justine hadn’t been able to control herself no matter how hard she tried. “Emilia! I missed you so much, ahhh!”
Emilia smiled as she patted her back. “Me too. Let’s go in and talk, okay?”
Fortunately, she’d already told Dixie not to ‘overreact’ when Justine arrived. After all, the girl worked so hard for her in such an unfamiliar environment, and it would be a bit too sad if she got beat up the moment she met them again.
With her hair still colored a prominent shade of navy blue and form-fitting field clothing, Justine still looked pretty much the same as she remembered, but Dixie’s friends had already changed to an almost unrecognizable state.
Not to mention Emilia, even Dixie was shocked. “W-What happened to you three?!”
Not only was their getup way more muted, with all three wearing the similar field clothing as Justine, but their hairstyles had also all changed from being identical to completely different.
Just seeing Lara without skimpy clothing was strange enough, but unfortunately, it wasn’t just their appearance that had changed.
Compared to their previous selves, it was all completely the opposite. Of course, even if they changed a lot, they were still happy to meet their friend after so long.
”What do you mean what happened to us? Is that how you greet us after so long?!”
”We missed you, Dixie!”
”Dixie, hug!”
Although she begrudgingly allowed them to embrace her in their ‘group hug’, Dixie was still sure that their attitude had changed. She just couldn’t figure out how, though. ‘Ahh, why is Crystal still asleep?!’
It was obviously Emilia’s fault for keeping the girl up for so long, but the dark-haired girl naturally wouldn’t blame her princess for anything.
Fortunately, either Crystal heard Dixie’s complaints somehow, or the commotion woke her up as she groggily entered the hall with a yawn. “G-Good morning~”
Of course, once her sight landed on Justine and the others, she couldn’t help but jump in embarrassment. “A-Ahhh! H-Hi, you girls, l-long time no see!”
Justine was already snuggled up against Emilia on one sofa, while Dixie and her friends occupied the other two, each having just enough space left for one person.
”Good morning, Crystal!”
Emilia grinned as she waved her over, but Crystal seemed to have other plans as she coughed awkwardly. “U-Um, y-you catch up with Justine, I-I have something to discuss with Dixie.”
The crimson-haired girl tilted her head in confusion, but she could only shrug and turn back to the pouting Justine, who continued complaining about how hard a life she’d had in this ‘unforgiving, foreign’ land.
Of course, Crystal’s mind was elsewhere completely as she whispered urgently into Dixie’s ears. “Did you already know these three had a thing for each other?!”
The dark-haired girl turned to her with a blank look on her face. “What?”
Crystal coughed awkwardly as she faced the strange looks of the three girls she was about to gossip about, though fortunately they hadn’t managed to overhear her. “W-We’ll be right back, just one minute!”
Before the trio could protest, the blonde girl dragged Dixie away all the way to her room before slamming the door shut.
The dark-haired girl couldn’t help but blink in confusion. “What’s going on?”
Crystal took a deep breath to calm herself before slowly breathing it out. “Okay, seems like you didn’t know…”
Feeling a little conflicted over whether she should disclose such a private thing or not, in the end the blonde decided she might as well confide in Dixie. After all, she knew the dark-haired girl might be a bit crass at times, but she was definitely not insensitive when it came to her friends.
Crystal gulped. “Your three friends, t-they—”
Dixie tilted her head in confusion. “They what…?”
The blonde girl bit her lip nervously before sighing. “Keep calm, okay, but… Lara, Jenna, and Emma… they seem to love each other!”
Crystal braced for the dark-haired girl’s reaction, but contrary to her expectations, Dixie didn’t seem to be shocked at all.
”So…? I already knew that.”
The blonde girl blinked, dumbfounded. “You did?!”
How come she didn’t get a hint of that at all?!
Dixie nodded. “Of course, although they often bicker and fight among themselves, the three of them are indeed the best of best friends, and would do anything for each other. What’s so strange about that?”
Crystal couldn’t help but groan out loud. ‘I knew it… she doesn’t get it at all!’
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