Chapter 273 - 272: The Deeply Scheming, Smoldering Old Man

Leo Grant was so exasperated he laughed, grinding out the words through his teeth.

"My ever-so-dear girlfriend. You really shouldn’t have."

Yvonne Lowell shrugged. ’If he doesn’t want it, that’s on him. I was worried he’d get me killed right out of the gate anyway.’

"This is actually not so bad, is it? I think the stuff Warren Lynch soaked in to activate his superpower was even more painful than this."

"It’s fine. It’s within a tolerable range."

Once Leo Grant got his breath back, the discomfort in his body gradually began to fade. "Can I soak in the same stuff Warren Lynch used?"

Yvonne Lowell’s hands didn’t stop moving; she just glanced up at him. "You can’t."

After a pause, Yvonne Lowell continued.

"What I mean is, you can’t handle that medicinal bath. I don’t see any new, activatable superpowers in you right now, so there’s no need to suffer for nothing. Besides, isn’t having two superpowers not enough to satisfy you?"

Leo Grant raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing. "Oh, I understood you perfectly. No need to explain it again."

Yvonne Lowell couldn’t stop the corner of her mouth from twitching. "Is that so? Well, it’s great that you understood."

’What a sly, reserved old man!’

’If I actually believed his nonsense, I’d be an idiot.’

’If I hadn’t added that last part just now, this old codger would have probably spent all night trying to prove to me whether he ’could’ or not.’

’And the one suffering then would be... my hand.’

Leo Grant chuckled, deciding not to press the point. "Did you already figure out my superpower back when we met on Comet?"

"Nope. I was too busy looking at your face then. I only figured it out the next day when I went looking for you at The Grants," Yvonne Lowell said nonchalantly.

’It was mainly because this old guy’s spiritual power is pretty strong, which is why I couldn’t detect it at first. It was definitely not because I was mesmerized by his handsome face!’

The smile on Leo Grant’s lips froze. ’It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours! What’s the difference between that and finding out on the same day?!’

’This little monster... she’s even more terrifying than I imagined.’

Yvonne Lowell’s game had reached the results screen. Seeing that the time was about up, she put her phone away and spoke.

"Time’s up. Get up and just rinse off with clean water. I’ll wait for you outside."

With that, she got up and walked out of the room without a backward glance.

’The heartless little thing! Use me and then ditch me. It’s not like she hasn’t seen it all before!’

Leo Grant could only obediently do as told. By the time he reemerged in a bathrobe, Yvonne Lowell was sitting on the sofa, one arm around each of her companions.

One hand on the Leogryph, the other on the Mountain Lord, she was petting them gleefully.

Just as Leo Grant was about to step forward and reclaim his rightful place, the Leogryph stood up and roared at him.

"ROAR!" ’Hey, kid, did you step in the Mountain Lord’s poop? Why do you stink so bad?! You reek!!!’

"AWOO!" ’Don’t be ridiculous! I’m a proper lady who practices good hygiene! I would never poop just anywhere!!’

The Mountain Lord reached across Yvonne Lowell and gave the Leogryph a mighty slap.

"ROAR!" ’Then he must have eaten something bad! My apologies, sis. My mistake. I’ll give you half my meat tonight.’

Leo Grant somehow understood what the two of them were saying. His expression froze for a second, and he sniffed his left and right sides uncertainly.

’I don’t smell, do I? I obviously washed up thoroughly, okay?!’

’Wait, no, I don’t stink to begin with! Even if I hadn’t washed, I wouldn’t stink!’

Yvonne Lowell couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Their sense of smell is more sensitive than ours. Why are you taking them so seriously?"

’Oh, right...’ Leo Grant had a sudden epiphany.

’I must have been possessed by Nolan Crawford just now. Those thoughts definitely weren’t mine. How unlucky!’

Nolan Crawford: ...What did I ever do to you?! ?ヽ(`Д′)?┻━┻

Leo Grant stepped forward, grabbed the Leogryph by the scruff of its neck, tossed it aside, and sat down next to Yvonne Lowell.

"ROAR!" ’You’ve got some nerve, kid! You dare try and steal my mom from me?!’

The Leogryph was so furious it started headbutting him and pawing at his bathrobe.

It was, however, sensible enough to keep its claws retracted. After all, if it dared to hurt this kid, its mom would break the law just to chop it into pieces.

Leo Grant shot it a sidelong glance. "What’s wrong? You don’t think I stink anymore?"

The Leogryph froze, its eyes filled with a human-like accusation. ’How dare you, villain?!’

"ROAR!" ’Are you threatening me?! You win!! I refuse to stay in the same room as a stinky man!!’

The Leogryph gave him one last swat before jumping off the sofa and bolting from the room.

The Mountain Lord lifted its tiger eyes to watch the retreating figure, then glanced at Leo Grant, before continuing to lie on Yvonne Lowell’s lap and letting her pet it.

’That big oaf Leogryph is just not on my level. So what if it acts more human than me? Is it just because it’s had a few more months of meat?’

’A little impatience spoils great plans. If you can’t even stand a little stink, how are you supposed to steal Mommy back from this smelly man?’

Leo Grant narrowed his eyes, studying the big cat before him. ’Why do I get a sense of provocation from it?’

As if sensing his gaze, the Mountain Lord snuggled deeper into Yvonne Lowell’s embrace.

"AWOO!" ’Mommy, his glare is so scary! Does he not like me being this close to you? He doesn’t have violent tendencies, does he? If he dares to glare at me today, he’ll dare to hit you tomorrow!’

Yvonne Lowell was unmoved. She continued to sit there calmly, not getting involved in the silent war of looks between them.

’Those two won’t actually fight anyway. Let them bicker all they want. It’s a good way for the father and daughter to bond.’

Leo Grant looked at the tigress with a smirk. ’So she’s a manipulative little thing, is she?’

He reached out, cupped Yvonne Lowell’s face, tilted his head, and planted a loud, resounding kiss on her lips.

Then he turned to look at the tigress provocatively. "Mountain Lord, you need to recognize your place. She’s mine."

"AWOO!" ’Seriously, what is wrong with you?!’

’I thought this stinky man was going to pet me. I was all ready to play the victim, planning not to get up unless he pampered me for three days and three nights.’

’But you were just luring a poor tiger in for the kill, weren’t you?! You disgusting lovebirds are the absolute worst!’

The Mountain Lord copied the Leogryph, gave him a swat, and then ran off without looking back.

Question Leogryph, understand Leogryph, become Leogryph, transcend Leogryph.

Yvonne Lowell looked at him, utterly speechless. "Could you be any more childish?"

’And here I thought this old guy’s methods were so brilliant. Turns out this is all he’s got?’

Leo Grant raised an eyebrow and kissed her again.

"It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice. Anyway, I won. A complete 2-0 landslide."

...

After spending nearly a week in Apeiron, Yvonne Lowell and her group decided it was time to leave.

"You really can’t stay a little longer? Once you’re gone, who knows when you’ll be back? I’m going to be a lonely, abandoned old man again."

Kai Preston covered his face with his hands, turning aside to fake-cry. "Sigh. Busy, everyone’s busy. It’s good to be busy."

After spending this time together, Kai Preston had revealed his true nature to them—a tsundere, sharp-tongued, cringey tryhard who loved to surf the internet.