Bunbun, at the mere mention of her father, the bunny girl visibly freaked out. Her entire body went rigid, muscles tensing like she'd been struck. For the first time since emerging from under the desk, she looked up and met Sylphia's gaze directly—those red eyes now wide with panic as they stared into golden wolf-like ones.

"No! My father doesn't know!" The words tumbled out in a desperate, frantic rush, nearly tripping over each other. "Please, please, PLEASE don't tell my father Slyphia!"

The thought alone was unbearable. It was too embarrassing. Too shameful for her to even contemplate.

She'd left the clan with such confidence, such self-assurance. She'd stood before her father and declared with her head held high that she would return as a warrior—someone worthy of respect and honor, someone who could stand on her own merit rather than just being "the clan chief's daughter." She'd made promises about proving herself, about bringing glory to their family name.

She couldn't show herself in this state. She absolutely couldn't.

She knew her father would get her out of this situation in no time if he found out—probably within a day or two of learning about it. He had the resources, the connections, the political power, and the raw strength to make the slave bracelet disappear as if it had never existed.

But she'd lose all credibility in the process. She'd have to return to the clan as a complete failure, as someone who couldn't survive even a week on her own. Someone who needed rescuing like a helpless child who'd wandered too far from home. The looks of pity and disappointment would be worse than any physical punishment.

She couldn't do that. She wouldn't allow herself to become that person.

The bunny girl's hands shot out and clutched desperately at Sylphia's arms, her fingers digging in with surprising strength. Tears were forming in her red eyes, threatening to spill over and run down her cheeks. "Please," she repeated over and over again like a mantra, her voice cracking and breaking with each repetition. "Don't tell my father about this. Please. I'm begging you."

Sylphia felt her heart clench painfully at the raw desperation in her friend's voice. The anger that had been burning so hot moments ago transformed into something softer but no less intense—a deep sadness at seeing someone she cared about reduced to this state. She placed one gentle hand on the bunny girl's back and rubbed in slow, soothing circles, the way her own mother used to comfort her when she was young.

"I won't tell your father," she promised softly, meaning every word despite her reservations about keeping such a secret. "But you have to tell me everything. How did you end up in this position? What happened?"

The bunny girl nodded repeatedly, her head bobbing up and down like she couldn't stop the motion. Relief flooded through her despite the lingering embarrassment of having to explain her circumstances.

Sylphia had already created a barrier of wind element around both of them, forming it silently the moment she'd started this conversation. The technique was subtle but highly effective—a sphere of carefully controlled air currents that prevented sound waves from escaping while still allowing them to see everything happening outside. To anyone watching from beyond the barrier, they could see the two demi-humans talking animatedly, but not a single word would reach their ears. It was a skill she'd perfected over years of needing private conversations in public spaces.

Leon, Seraphine, and Loriel stood several meters away near another desk, watching the interaction unfold before them with varying degrees of curiosity, concern, and suspicion.

They couldn't hear the conversation directly—the wind barrier was too well-constructed for normal eavesdropping to penetrate.

All except Leon.

His spatial awareness pierced through the barrier as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter, allowing him to detect the minute vibrations of their voices traveling through the air and reconstruct the exact words being spoken. He was listening to absolutely everything, missing not a single syllable.

Seraphine had leaned close earlier and whispered into his ear, her breath warm against his skin, "Can you hear what they're saying?"

Leon had nodded affirmatively, and immediately, both women had requested that he relay the information to them. They were far too curious to simply stand there in ignorance.

So now he was using his telepathic ability, which was found, resulting in copying the kirin—the one he'd learned by copying it from the Kirin during their battle—to send simplified knowledge directly into both Seraphine and Loriel's minds. A mental link that allowed instant communication without any external signs.

He condensed the conversation as he transmitted it, summarizing the key points while maintaining enough contextual detail to keep everything coherent and understandable. But hearing it directly like this, with all the emotional subtext stripped away and presented as pure factual information, was honestly a bit funny and overly dramatic.

The mental image of a grown woman throwing what amounted to a tantrum under a desk because someone called her by a childhood nickname was putting an involuntary smile on Leon's face, despite the underlying serious nature of the situation.

All three of them found themselves genuinely curious about how exactly the bunny girl had ended up as a slave, especially since she so clearly had strong connections to a famous four-star adventurer. Someone with that kind of relationship should have been protected, should have had resources and options. The story promised to be interesting at minimum, possibly tragic.

----

The bunny girl took a long, shaky breath that seemed to come from deep in her chest. She steadied herself, gathering her thoughts and her courage. Then she began her tale, her voice soft but growing steadier as she continued.

"It started exactly one week ago. I left my clan and told my father directly to his face that I would return as a warrior—someone he could genuinely be proud of, not just tolerate because of family obligation."

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