In the northern region of the city, in a secluded courtyard, there was a dimly lit house.

  A black-robed man was looking at Seuss with a grim expression as he reported, “Team Leader, we’ve been unable to gather any leads regarding the whereabouts of Narson and his team. However, when we visited their base, we discovered that they had left many weapons behind, so they most likely hadn’t left Chaos City voluntarily. It’s very likely the case that they were completely wiped out during their search for Alex.”


  “Does that mean they found Alex?” another black-robed man exclaimed before immediately clapping his hand over his mouth as a horrified look appeared on his face.

  The atmosphere in the room immediately cooled to a freezing point. The dozen or so black-robed figures stood silently in the room, and all of them could see their own horror mirrored in each other’s eyes.

  Even though they had been searching for Alex for all these years, they were still horrified rather than elated that they might have discovered his whereabouts.

  That legendary man had severely traumatized them, and all of them were still very fearful about the prospect of having to face him in battle.

  “It can’t be Alex. He’s already a cripple, so there’s no way that he can wipe out Narson’s team on his own.” Seuss shook his head in a decisive manner as a cold smile appeared on his face, and he said, “But no matter who it is, anyone who dares to kill a team of us Black Falcons must pay the ultimate price.”


  The black-robed figures’ expressions eased slightly upon hearing this, and confidence reappeared in their eyes.

  “It’s impossible for Alex to be the one who killed them, but this incident may not necessarily be unrelated to him. I’m going to gather all of the Black Falcons in Chaos City and search through the entire city for Alex as well as Narson’s team.” Seuss clenched his fists with a cold smile, and said, “I have a feeling that he’s right here in this Chaos City. After all, hiding in the wilderness isn’t his style.”


  “Yes!” the black-robed figures responded in unison……

  After bidding farewell to the city lord and his daughter, Mag took Amy and Anna upstairs to tuck them into bed. He bribed Babla with a black pepper steak to bathe Anna before dressing her in a pretty little pink nightgown, and the two of them lay down on Amy’s little bed.

  “Meow~”


  Ugly Duckling cried urgently at the foot of the bed, trying to catch Amy’s eye as it stuck out its head.

  Amy turned her gaze toward Ugly Duckling, and said, “Ugly Duckling, I already have Big Sister Anna now, so I don’t want you anymore. You can sleep on the floor from now on.”


  “Meow~” Ugly Duckling’s ears immediately drooped as it looked up at Amy with a pitiable expression. There were already tears swirling in its eyes.

  “Poor Ugly Duckling.” Anna turned to Ugly Duckling with a sympathetic expression. She contemplated the situation for a moment before her eyes lit up, and she suggested, “How about we let it sleep between us?”


  “Meow!” Ugly Duckling was very excited to hear this, and it skipped on the spot before looking up at Amy with an expectant gaze.

  “Alright, seeing as Big Sister Anna is speaking out for you, I’ll let you onto the bed. But, you have to behave.” Amy contemplated the proposal for a moment before picking Ugly Duckling up from the ground and placing it between herself and Anna.

  “Meow~”


  Ugly Duckling got into a comfortable position between the girls, and immediately fell asleep after closing its eyes.

  “What a good little kitten.” Anna stroked Ugly Duckling’s fur with a wide smile on her face.

  “But it’s only getting fatter and fatter. I feel like it won’t be long before it crushes this entire bed.” Amy heaved a forlorn sigh as she squeezed Ugly Duckling’s chubby cheeks.

  “The chubbier it gets, the more adorable it is. Look at how fun it is to squeeze its cheeks like this; it’s like its made from water!” Anna grabbed onto Ugly Duckling’s face with her hands and gently kneaded it into different shapes.

  “Wow! I didn’t know you could do that!” Amy’s eyes immediately lit up with curiosity. She squeezed Ugly Duckling’s cheek from the other side, and its face was twisted into another shape, drawing peals of laughter from its tormentors.

  What a poor cat. Mag, who had just gotten out of bath, couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile upon seeing this. Every other pet owner treated their cats as if they were the masters of the household, yet Ugly Duckling was constantly being toyed with.

  After having the time of her life squeezing Ugly Duckling’s cheeks, Amy turned to Mag, and wheedled, “Father, can you tell us a bedtime story?”


  Anna’s also turned to Mag upon hearing this, and her eyes lit up with anticipation. Back when her grandfather was still alive, he would tell her a bedtime story every night.

  “Sure. I’ll tell you two the story of Snow White today.” Mag carried a stool over to the bed and sat down on it.

  Amy raised her little hand, and asked, “Is Snow White made of ice cream?”


  “No, Snow White is referred to as such because her skin is as fair as snow.” Mag shook his head with a smile. As expected, Amy really could link everything to food.

  “I see. That’s a pity.” Amy nodded with a wistful expression.

  Mag didn’t know what she was feeling so disappointed about, but he still began to tell the story in a gentle voice.

  “During a cold winter, snowflakes as large as goose feathers danced in the air. The queen sat in front of the window, looking out at the vast expanse of snow, and made a wish……

  “Snow White’s tragic life stemmed from this beautiful wish of the queen, who was jealous of her beauty. She was abducted to the forest, where she encountered the seven dwarves. However, she was still unable to escape from the queen’s sinister grasp, and she was almost strangled to death first before almost being killed by a poisonous hairbrush……”


  Amy and Anna were completely absorbed in Mag’s story. They were concerned for the welfare of Snow White while expressing anger toward the cruel queen.

  However, after reaching the part in the story where Snow White ate a poisoned apple and fell into a deep death-like slumber, Mag’s voice came to a halt.

  As a father, he simply couldn’t bring himself to tell the original version of the story, where a necrophilic prince had fallen in love with Snow White’s body and purchased it with money before living happily ever after with her.

  That was too dark a story for him to tell.

  “What happened next, Father? Did Snow White really die?” Amy looked at Mag with a sad expression.

  There were also tears shimmering in Anna’s eyes. She felt as if Snow White was just as unfortunate as she had been.

  Mag thought to himself momentarily before a flash of brilliance occurred to him, and he said, “In the end, the seven dwarves transformed into seven gourds, and were willingly refined into seven different pills for Snow White to take. After taking the pills, Snow White came back to life and gained seven different types of magical powers. She went back to the royal palace, shut the queen into a dark well for all of eternity, smashed that magic mirror, and became the new owner of the palace.”