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The insinuation of the middle-aged man's words was obvious.

If their team didn't pick a reliable 'backer' in time, no matter how 'well' they performed in the game, it wouldn't take long for certain forces in the real world to capture the 'Crimson Witches' for themselves.

After all, while it was possible that they might be able to get strong enough to defend themselves from most 'threats' in due time, no one who coveted them would be stupid enough to wait for that moment to arrive.

Sensing Danielle's hesitation, Norman smiled confidently. "In fact, if you didn't realize, we've already been protecting you in secret for quite a while. Otherwise, most of the offers you received so far wouldn't have been so polite."

Of course, while his words were true, they weren't the complete truth. Aside from 'protecting' the Crimson Witches, his team's presence around the area in which the Crimson Witches operated also served the purpose of 'monitoring' them.

After all, the higher-ups had never put much faith in anyone's ability to convince a bunch of 'brats' who somehow obtained powers they didn't deserve. And in case they were really 'rebellious' enough to reject all their good offers, they had to be prepared to use 'other means' to subdue them.

It wasn't clear if Danielle realized which 'force' the middle-aged man really represented, or if she just 'appreciated' his thoughtful 'protection' so far, but her attitude also turned a lot more polite. "Mr. Norman, I'm happy that you thought highly enough of us to make such an offer, but… to be honest, we're just a few girls having fun in a game, and don't really know much about other things."

Obviously, it was a polite rejection, but Norman didn't look upset at all, and even smiled.

"Does Miss Danielle realize how dangerous things are going to be in the future? It won't be very 'fun' at that time, so I suggest you think it over carefully."

His sharp gaze turned to Emilia, who was still blinking at him curiously. "There are certain people in your team more 'vulnerable' to temptation than the others, and there's no telling how much they'll suffer when things turn bad, after all."

In Norman's mind, he was doing them a favor by making such an 'early' and 'good' offer for 'cooperation' while everyone else in his department was in favor of much 'stronger' measures to control the bunch of immature girls well, but his good intentions were rejected without a thought.

It was impossible for him not to be angry.

Danielle frowned. 'I didn't want to offend him or the forces behind him since it seems like they're influential enough to really hurt us if they want, but… he seems really against Emilia for some reason?'

Contrary to her thoughts, however, the crimson-haired elf didn't get upset at being 'pointed out and ridiculed', and even grinned happily at the middle-aged man.

"Is Uncle worried about Emilia getting hurt? Don't worry, Uncle, Emilia is actually very strong, and very careful when playing!" She giggled. "But Emilia is happy that uncle wants to protect me like a knight, ehehe…" The crimson-haired elf turned to pull at Danielle's sleeves shyly, though her eyes glinted mischievously. "Danny, Danny, can't we join Uncle's team? He looks super strong!"

Not to mention Danielle, even Sylvia and the others were completely stunned.

Although Emilia sometimes acted a bit 'childish', they couldn't recall her talking like that to anyone else all this time they'd been together.

Could it be that this guy really had some 'mature charm' that completely ensnared their 'innocent and naïve' Emilia?

Their impression of Norman immediately plummeted to the bottom. Well, except for Crystal. She could tell Emilia's real intentions, and was trying her best to not let her amusement show on her face.

After all, the other side contained plenty of professionals who might be able to guess that something was wrong from their expressions alone, or so the blonde girl thought.

Meanwhile, Norman's impression of Emilia was also reversed completely.

Previously, he thought she was just a spoiled and arrogant brat who did as she pleased and didn't listen to anyone. But now that she was so 'obedient' to himself and also seemed to admire him a lot, the little beauty immediately turned into a daughter-like figure in his mind.

He couldn't help but smile. "Little Emilia is really wise for her age. Miss Danielle, won't you listen to her?"

Norman realized that while the crimson-haired girl was younger than Danielle and the others, it was only by three to five years, at least on paper. But since Emilia was from a 'backward community' living in isolation, it was possible that she was actually much younger than her registration details indicated.

Thinking about it this way, their observed behavior made much more sense.

He knew that Danielle and the others seemed to spoil Emilia a lot, and followed her whims to an almost nonsensical degree. In fact, this was one of the reasons his impression of Emilia had been so 'poor', as he believed that this naughty 'little girl' would probably lead everyone else in the 'wrong direction', and make things difficult for himself.

But now that he thought about it, maybe they just realized the 'truth' earlier, and took care of the little girl more out of some sort of motherly instinct.

Of course, now that things turned out to be the opposite of his expectations, Emilia's image in his mind immediately changed from 'annoying' to 'adorable'. He even hoped that Danielle and the others would continue to listen to their 'little sister' or 'daughter' or whatever they thought of her as devoutly as always.

Instead of holding a grudge against a little baby, he might as well take care of her more. Young children were quite easy to teach and mold, after all. And with the little girl's attitude, it didn't seem like things would be particularly difficult going forward.

Norman didn't realize that the more he thought about it, the younger Emilia seemed to get in his mind, and the more 'fond' of her he became.

As he expected, Danielle's previous 'perfunctory' attitude was easily changed once the crimson-haired beauty expressed her stance.

"Give us a day, um… we'll think about it."

Really sorry about the missed uploads the last couple days, ahhh! I was super sick. T.T

The medicine seems to be working now, though, so it should be possible for me to update regularly. Who knows, if my mind works, I might even be able to write more than usual, being stuck in bed... >///<