«Did you invite him here?» – She asked him directly. This question had been bothering her all the time.

«I've never heard a sillier thing!»

«Well… I don't know you at all! What if you decided to cash in at my expense… You've been doing it for a while, anyway. What if it's your revenge for the stolen ring or the imprisonment.» – She looked at him, confused, looking for an answer in his eyes, all in vain. She wished she could read him like an open book…

«Do you think that I would risk my precious life because of miserable half a million spheres, that I would break my oath?! Do I look like someone with no money?»

«…»

«G.o.ds! You can't have such a low opinion of me. I can alone, without the help of my family, make more money than you and all your guild altogether! Believe me, it has nothing to do with my invaluable service. You are my only customer. It doesn't count.»

The girl snorted skeptically and went faster. She had no intention to continue this stupid conversation.

«You don't believe me, do you?» – Kyon smiled. – «Alright, then. I will show you what I can.» – He caught up with her and pointed his finger at a crow that was sitting on a lamppost nearby. – «I bet a hundred thousand that the crow will fly away exactly thirteen seconds after I snap my fingers. I am not going to scare it on purpose.»

A greedy flame sparkled in her beautiful black eyes. – «Prove you have the money.»

«Are you going to steal it?»

«You have my oath…»

Kyon showed the necessary amount with a smile and held out his hand. – «Deal?»

The girl hesitated a little, then she put on a glove and shook his hand.

Kyon snapped his fingers loudly and, with a faint smile on his face, turned his eyes to the crow, counting under his breath. – «One, two, three, four… seven, eight, nine… twelve…»

At the last second, crow (which at that moment was under Lovr's control) sarcastically croaked. It had almost flown off the post when Kyon felt a sharp pain as if his brain was struck by lightning.

When he looked at the place where the bird was sitting a second ago, he saw a little headless body falling on the ground. The evil a.s.sa.s.sin had killed the crow, throwing a sphere right into its head! She had outwitted him. Of course, it wouldn't fly away if it was dead!

«Are you f.u.c.king kidding me!» – Kyon yelled in a fit of anger.

The girl carelessly took his money. – «I must admit, you were right, only in the opposite sense. You alone can squander money faster than me and my guild altogether.» – She said and walked off, pleased with herself. Easy money is always a good idea! And to twist a fool around her little finger is even better.

«Very funny! Hha!» – Kyon grunted. After a second's hesitation, he pulled out a weighty bag with spheres of different phases with a total value of three million. – «I bet three million that at a click of my fingers, the birds will form a V in the sky. In one distant country, a V means... Never mind. You won't dare to take this bet, anyway!»

The little thief quickly grabbed Kyon by the wrist, not letting him hide the money back. – «I take the bet.»

«Wait! I didn't mean it! I was just kidding! Ha ha» – Kyon giggled nervously and tried to pull his hand back, but his companion's grip was very tenacious.

«No, you weren't kidding. You blurted out something stupid, and you're going to pay for this. The bid is accepted and non-refundable.» – She carefully checked the contents of the bag, her eyes glittering with greed. Three million spheres don't come along every day! Her guild would make this much in three months at best! This boy was really a doofus! She was glad to have met him, such a stupid and naive fool, the son of a G.o.ddess, sent to her to make her life much easier.

The little thief put the money in her ring in a matter-of-fact way.

«You… You've just ripped me off! You swore by your uncle!» – Kyon was outraged.

«I just keep the money during the bet, silly boy. You're going to lose it anyway. You have started this folly, and you will pay for it. I repeat, the bid is accepted and non-refundable.»

Kyon snapped his fingers. All the feigned emotions of dismay, despair, anger, and resentment had completely disappeared from his face. Only the smug complacency was written all over it. – «You are a peach, little thief. I adore you. I see your lack of foresight has backfired again. Aren't you tired of underestimating me? Think carefully about your mistakes when you lose.» – He pointed upwards.

He had left too many gaps in the conditions of the first bet for a reason. It would give some credibility to the second bet. He had almost managed to pull off a similar trick with XiaoBai at the party, but, alas, Kara ruined everything.

«What are you talking about, silly boy?» – She asked in bewilderment and looked at the sky, frowning.

The birds were gradually forming the letter "V" up above.

The girl's lips parted in a silent "Oh." Her dark eyes focused on the inscrutable boy in disbelief.

She needed money to cultivate her body and soul and get her revenge in the future. Three million was too big a loss! Enough to get depressed. It was all the d.a.m.ned boy's fault! Once again, he played with her feelings like a skilled violinist!

«What did I tell you about my talent to make money?» – Kyon asked shamelessly, stretching out his hand in a gesture of "give me my money."

The girl gritted her teeth in frustration, but she had to take out six million and give it to him. Her hand did not want to let go of the bags. Kyon had to make an effort to take them away. She could not understand why she should give away her honestly earned money?! She had just lost three million for nothing! It was sheer folly! She made a decision long ago to cast aside humanity and dignity for the sake of power that couldn't be obtained without money. Then why?!

Kyon weighed the pouches and sniffed them, teasing the girl. – «Hmm… I adore the sweet scent of easy money!»

«One more word!» – She threatened with an icy tone and disappeared, not wis.h.i.+ng to be near this terrible person another second. Things used to turn around the Black Queen. Everything was as she wanted, but this time, the situation changed. He was unusual to deal with! He was driving her mad! It was a nightmare to lose so much money in just a couple of minutes! She had been robbed in broad daylight! The money her guild had made in three months had vanished in thin air!

«You can't run from yourself, dear! Ha ha...» – Kyon yelled after her, playing with fire.

He went to the battle hall and trained there hard until late at night.

A bird delivered him a ring. He found inside 250 thousand spheres and a note that said: "Dear little brother! Have I told you how much I love you? My love is now twice as much. I am amazed at your ability and luck to make money! You have found the wanted girl twice (!) in a couple of weeks in a huge city! From now on, you owe me nothing. I am looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming auction. Yours XiaoBai.

P.S. Where did you get this beautiful figurine?! If it is really made of precious stones, as you said, then it's priceless! The "Golden Piggy" is sure to take it as the next lot at the auction! I've sent it to my friend jeweler for evaluation, just in case... "

Kyon folded the letter and burst out laughing. He was hoping to make some money with his earth element. The advanced grade allowed him to create precious stones like diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and whatnot. He had recently created a beautiful figurine of the fiery phoenix with lots of gems. According to his calculations, a single lot should not attract too much attention, and a few hundred thousand spheres (if not more) would always come in handy.

At the moment, he had a total of 12.150.000 spheres. He received eight million for cleaning, three million for winning the bet (minus 100 thousand that he had lost). He got 250 thousand from the prince (XiaoBai had shared the information. There was one million left from the old blackmail (he received five million then and spent four million on the medicine). If he correctly calculated his strength, he would easily make more money, making bets during the tournament of the families that took place soon. He couldn't wait for the auction to begin. He was hoping to get an expensive and necessary thing - the impenetrable cloth.

As for the oath he had broken, "not to harm her in any way," she would have to prove he had. All in all, he considered the oath exclusively from the materialistic point. No unknown forces would punish him.

By three in the morning, he had returned to his (well, not quite his) house to have a few hours of sleep.

The little thief had just come for a regular dose of key cleaning.

«How are you feeling?» – Kyon asked her.

«Shut up, please.» – She answered in a quiet, melodious voice.

The intonation betrayed her bad mood.

Kyon shrugged. – «Don't be a sore loser.»

«I didn't lose. You didn't leave me any choice… You cheated.»

«I didn't cheat. I outwitted you, taking advantage of your greed and lack of forethought.»

«Shut up already…» – She gave him another grim look.

«There are only two keys left, the light and the water. I'll begin with the light.»

The girl silently took off her blouse, revealing her straight ivory white back, her slender waist, and the hills hidden behind a s.e.xy dark bra that she covered with her hand for some reason. The girl cast him a surprisingly docile glance and lay on the bed, turning her eyes away.

Kyon wondered what had caused her unusual behavior. He had a theory as for her being detached, taciturn, reserved. It even gave her a peculiar charm. But he could only guess why she had taken off her blouse for the first time, showing off always carefully hidden bare skin.

Kyon approached the little thief and touched her solar plexus. The tactile sensations from contact with her delicate velvety skin were delightful. He gently reached her soft breast under the bra and began ma.s.saging a small area near her heart (where the key of light was). Only a few centimeters separated him from the pointed peak, the single touch to which, even an "accident" one, could cost him his life. He could feel the tense atmosphere of an "intimate and dangerous" moment. Her tight breast under his fingers was driving him insane.

It all took about half a minute.

Kyon noticed the girl's heartbeat increase as well as his. He looked into her eyes and was surprised by what he saw. She was no longer testing him for l.u.s.t or any other evil intentions. She was trying to understand what he was like. Wasn't it cute! There was not even a trace of the usual disgust on her pretty face. Did she no longer consider him a nasty slug?

They say that girls love those who make them suffer and experience strong emotions. In this case, there was still a long way till love, but their relations had certainly reached another level.

Her cold, careless att.i.tude towards him had become a real challenge for Lovr. He dreamed of melting her heart! Gradually changing her opinion, Kyon was like a successful hunter. He could feel his blood rush through his veins, his excitement heightened to a fever pitch. Before he knew it, the mysterious icy cold girl had started to mean a lot for him. It was now a matter of principle to make her his.

Meanwhile, the girl looked at the busy boy and could not understand why she was experiencing a whole palette of strange, unusual feelings when she was next to him.

She caught herself thinking that she could no longer take him as a boy, and couldn't say why. His actions and character didn't strike her as brave! He behaved like a fool more often than not! He always took advantage of her, cracked dirty jokes. His words were at times pure nonsense, and yet, he always meant what he said, and, in the end, he always had it his way...

When Kyon finished the cleaning, the little thief silently put on her blouse and left, deep in her thoughts.

As soon as she left his house, the kaleidoscope of unusual feelings had suddenly disappeared. Everything was back to square one. The world had only shades of gray. Everything seemed futile, dull, uninteresting. A wave of misery and apathy washed over her. In this lifeless void, there was only a distant, mercilessly unrealistic dream to take revenge on the murderers of her family. The girl accepted long ago that her life would be always like this, but everything was different, completely different just a minute ago! Did she really forget about her worries next to this incorrigible rascal? Why did he evoke so many different emotions in her? How could he draw all her attention to himself, making her forget all the world around her?