Chapter 153: Bounty!

Andy reacted the moment he heard Catherine's shout. Before the embroidered ball could even hit the ground, he cast a telekinetic "Wizard's Hand" through the air and snatched it right out of the sky!

Just then, a burly man standing not far ahead of Andy and Catherine suddenly erupted with an earthy-yellow glow, and his physique began to swell. It was none other than the "Tyrant's Body" technique unique to the Baal family.

The massive man crouched slightly, raised his right arm high into the air, and roared at the top of his lungs, "Heavenly Steel Ascending Dragon Fist!"

Propelled by his shout, he vaulted more than three meters into the air, shattered Andy's Wizard's Hand with a single punch, and then swept the embroidered ball directly into his grasp!

"Good grief, are you some kind of tree-climbing monkey?" Andy muttered inwardly. He immediately activated his God-tier Stealth technique, intending to materialize right beside the fellow the moment he landed and snatch the prize away before he knew what hit him.

That fellow's mid-air interception had thoroughly annoyed Catherine. She fished a small trinket out of her spatial pouch and tossed it directly at the spot where the big man was about to land. A single glance was all it took for Andy to recognize it as a novelty item inspired by his own ideas and crafted by Catherine herself—a pastime from his previous life commonly known as "Mahjong." The specific tile Catherine had just hurled was a "Bamboo 2"!

A curse of the double circles!

Upon landing, the big man was just about to turn around and flash Andy a triumphant smile when he suddenly felt his footing slip beneath him. He hurriedly took a couple of steps to forcefully regain his balance, only to accidentally kick his foot hard against a loose stone.

As he sprawled flat on the ground, the big man remained utterly bewildered. "Where on earth did a stone come from in the Royal Capital's Central Square?" Yet before he even had a chance to ponder the mystery, he felt his hands suddenly grow empty—taking advantage of the opening, Andy had darted in and snatched the embroidered ball away.

When the big man finally climbed back to his feet, all he saw was Catherine holding the embroidered ball and making a playful face at him. Deeply depressed, he offered Andy a helpless shrug and an innocent smile.

At that moment, a round of bell chimes echoed across the square, signaling the official end of the ball-grabbing time limit. This year's carnival competition had proven far more intense than in previous years. Due to the unique circumstances, the grand prize offered a privilege far more alluring than the title of honorary citizen: a personal audience with the Queen. Many scions of the four great families who harbored ambitions regarding the Queen intended to seize this rare opportunity, and the burly man from earlier had been one of them.

Once the list of one hundred finalists was finalized, the court ceremonial officials presiding over the event began instructing the guards to distribute the props. Before long, guards carried a wicker basket radiating a faint magical glow over to Catherine. A single peek inside the basket left Andy with a very peculiar expression on his face.

It was filled entirely with eggs, tomatoes, cabbage leaves, and the like. Could the so-called "Smashing of the Brulu" actually involve pelting someone with these things...?

Just as Andy was silently offering condolences in his heart to that unfortunate soul from two millennia ago, the ceremonial official's public explanation confirmed that it was indeed precisely as he had feared.

Before the activity officially commenced, Andy put on a deeply knowledgeable front and analyzed tactics with Catherine. When the pelting began, he advised her, she should prioritize choosing eggs because they were small, heavy, and much easier to aim accurately; tomatoes should be her second choice; and she should avoid cabbage leaves entirely, as they were far too light and fluttery, making their trajectory nearly impossible to control...

Catherine's little head bobbed up and down in continuous agreement. The moment the official gave the signal, her dainty hands reached straight for the eggs.

Over a hundred contestants immediately launched into a frantic race to pelt the Brulu, and the atmosphere in the square erupted into joyous celebration. Before long, the entire surface of the central statue was slathered in a riot of colors—yellow, red, green...

Unfortunately, physical endurance was not Catherine's strong suit. Barely halfway through the allotted time, she began to break into a sweat, and her pace slowed down considerably.

Even though Catherine failed to secure a top ranking in the end, she remained utterly thrilled by the experience and demanded that Andy promise to accompany her to the carnival again next year. Andy readily agreed without a second thought, promising that when she celebrated her coming-of-age ceremony next year, he would bring her straight back to enjoy the festivities.

Whether it was merely his imagination or not, the moment those words left his mouth, he noticed a flush of red creep up across Catherine's cheeks...

"That surely wasn't just a natural rush of blood from physical exertion, was it?" Andy wondered to himself, suddenly finding himself looking forward to next year's carnival with genuine anticipation!

Following the event, Andy and Catherine did not linger long in the square; they still had serious business to attend to today. They were going to teach the so-called "Four Darlings of Prontera" a lesson they would never forget!

The Fragrance Garden, the largest entertainment establishment in the Royal Capital, was constructed with breathtaking magnificence and luxury. It was Andy's first time visiting such an establishment, and he couldn't help but have his eyes opened wide.

Of course, bringing Catherine in her human form into a place like this would have been far too incongruous, so Catherine had transformed back into her feline form and was currently snuggled cozily in Andy's arms.

Upon entering, Andy was not greeted by the clichéd heavily makeup-clad women waving silk handkerchiefs and cooing, "Master, come on in~," as he had half-expected. Instead, he was welcomed by a demure, delicate-featured young maiden.

The girl first politely inquired whether Andy was a member of the establishment and whether he had any acquaintances among the hostesses. Upon receiving a negative reply, she produced an illustrated catalog detailing the service personnel available and invited Andy to browse, subtly recommending a few particular young women.

Andy feigned deep concentration as he flipped through the pages, while his mind raced with schemes on how to find out which room those scumbags were occupying. At that moment, he caught Catherine signaling to him out of the corner of his eye. Andy extended his hand slightly, and the kitten deftly traced a room number right into his palm.

As it turned out, the moment they crossed the threshold, Catherine had dispatched her spectral familiars to scout ahead, and she had now successfully located the scumbags' whereabouts and relayed the information to Andy.

Upon learning that the room directly adjacent to that particular suite was currently vacant, Andy promptly booked it. To avoid looking too conspicuous, he casually pointed to one of the girls in the catalog and requested her company as well.

By the time Andy arrived at his designated room, the hostess was already waiting inside. This prompted a silent internal sigh of admiration from Andy—truly, this was the most renowned establishment in the Royal Capital; just look at this efficiency!

With Catherine currently present in the room, Andy certainly couldn't afford to let his guard down or act dissolutely. He engaged in idle, disjointed chatter with the hostess while racking his brain for an excuse to dismiss her so that he and Catherine could put their plan into motion.

Because Andy's mind was elsewhere, the conversation inevitably hit an awkward lull. However, the hostess was thoroughly trained through professional protocol and swiftly managed to steer the conversation back on track. She lavished praise upon the cat Andy had brought along, exclaiming how utterly adorable the kitty was and asking what its name might be.

Andy casually tossed out Catherine's actual name—after all, giving a pet a human name was an exceedingly common practice.

The moment Andy uttered Catherine's name, however, he noticed that the young woman's expression abruptly turned unnatural, and she began casting frequent, intense glances toward Catherine!

Andy asked her if something was the matter. At that, the girl's demeanor suddenly grew coy and hesitant. Speaking in a soft, delicate voice, she informed Andy that she must have eaten something that disagreed with her stomach over the past few days, and she needed to step out for a moment to clear her head and visit the Fragrance Garden's in-house physician for some medicine. She warned him that she might be gone for quite a while, and if Andy couldn't wait, she could easily summon another one of her sisters to serve him instead...

Andy had just been racking his brains for an excuse to send her away, never expecting her to be so delightfully self-aware. Overjoyed inward, Andy maintained a calm, understanding exterior, reassuring her that her health came first, that she could take as long as she needed, and that there was no need to call anyone else—he was perfectly content to wait.

The moment the girl departed and Catherine's spectral guards took up watch at the door, Catherine immediately transformed back into her human form and began setting up a spell array designed to completely isolate the room.

At that time, neither she nor Andy had any inkling that the moment the girl stepped out of the room, she practically bolted out of the Fragrance Garden. Using the excuse of purchasing medicine, she had slipped past her floor manager with strict instructions that the guests were under no circumstances to be disturbed!

Once outside the Fragrance Garden, a look of wild, unadulterated elation bloomed across the girl's face. As she hurried frantically toward the direction of Grimm Academy, she muttered to herself, "There's no mistaking it, it's her! That black cat named Catherine matches the bounty description down to the very last detail. I'm going to be rich, I'm going to be rich!..."

Then, she turned back to cast a venomous glare at the Fragrance Garden, utterly convinced that she had finally found the capital she needed to escape from this den of demons forever!