Chapter 404: The Stalkers Picked the Wrong Women

Aiko walked beside Miona for a while before finally asking, "So... where exactly do you want to go?"

Miona thought for a moment before answering casually, "Do you know somewhere large and empty?"

Aiko blinked in confusion. "Large and empty? What do you need a place like that for?"

Miona nodded and rolled her shoulders. "I need somewhere to vent a little. I’ve been feeling rather irritated, and I could use some exercise."

Hearing this, Aiko immediately remembered Miona’s annoyed expression from earlier and quickly understood what she meant.

She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Ahh... If that’s the case, there’s actually a huge open area outside the city where cultivators sometimes go to practice."

However, she suddenly remembered just how ridiculously powerful Miona was.

Aiko immediately clasped her hands together and looked at Miona pleadingly. "But considering how strong you are... Please, I’m begging you! Don’t destroy the place too much, alright?"

Miona simply smiled confidently. "Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing."

For some reason, Aiko found that answer even less reassuring than before.

Nevertheless, she could only sigh helplessly and hope that Miona wouldn’t do anything too outrageous.

Without wasting any more time, Aiko led Miona, Helena, Linsey, and the five servants toward one of the city’s outer gates.

Unbeknownst to them, the mysterious shadowy figures who had been secretly following Damian’s group had already split up.

Several continued tailing Damian and the women accompanying him, carefully maintaining their distance to avoid attracting attention.

Meanwhile, the remaining figures quietly followed Miona’s group as they made their way toward the city gates.

They moved discreetly through the bustling streets, keeping their presence concealed while observing the group’s every movement.

For now, none of them made any attempt to interfere, seemingly waiting for the right opportunity to make their move.

Unbeknownst to the mysterious figures, however, Miona had already noticed their presence long ago.

Despite knowing that several people were secretly following them, she said nothing aloud and continued walking as if everything were perfectly normal.

Instead, she silently activated an ancient communication technique within her mind.

[Mind Talk]

It was a far more advanced communication method than ordinary communication talismans, allowing people to communicate directly through their minds without speaking aloud.

Both Miona and Serina had long since connected everyone in their group to this technique, making it incredibly convenient for exchanging information discreetly.

[Miona: You two noticed we’re being followed, right?]

[Helena: Just noticed them.]

[Linsey: Ohhh... So that’s why you suddenly wanted to split up from Master!]

[Miona: Exactly.]

[Miona: Honestly, sitting around with that pervert while he watches other women dance sounded boring as hell anyway.]

[Miona: This is much better. We get some exercise and deal with those annoying stalkers at the same time.]

[Linsey: Hehe! Now you’re speaking my language!]

Miona then shifted her attention toward the five servants following behind them.

[Miona: You five have been training for quite a while now, haven’t you? This time, I want to see just how much you’ve improved.]

[No. 1: Yes, Mistress!]

[No. 2–5: Yes, Mistress!]

Hearing their obedient responses, Miona nodded slightly in satisfaction before giving everyone one final instruction.

[Miona: Good! For now, just act like we haven’t noticed anything. Let those idiots keep following us, alright?]

[Linsey: Hehe! Leave it to me! I’m pretty good at acting innocent!]

[Helena: I’m already doing that. Just make sure you don’t scare them off too early.]

Miona almost laughed at Helena’s response but managed to maintain her usual expression.

Meanwhile, Aiko remained completely unaware of the silent conversation taking place around her.

Thanks to everyone’s natural behavior, she didn’t notice anything suspicious and simply continued guiding them toward their destination.

Once they had passed through the city gates, Aiko cheerfully pointed toward a vast open area in the distance. "Look! We’re almost there! The training grounds are just ahead, so let’s pick up the pace!"

Miona followed the direction of her finger and noticed the enormous, mostly empty training grounds stretching across the landscape.

A mischievous grin slowly appeared on her face. "Perfect! What a great place to vent."

---

Damian was happily following Ren toward the famous courtesan house, completely unaware that several mysterious figures were secretly following them.

Unfortunately for those figures, the women accompanying Damian had already noticed their presence.

Cassandra glanced casually toward a nearby rooftop before exchanging a brief look with Serina.

Without saying anything aloud, Serina silently activated their ancient communication technique.

[Serina: I assume everyone has noticed those people following us?]

[Cynthia: Yes. They’ve been following us for quite some time now.]

[Cassandra: Hehe! Should I go over there and have a little fun with them?]

[Serina: There’s no need, Cassandra. They haven’t actually done anything to us yet.]

[Cassandra: Aww... You’re no fun.]

[Cynthia: I agree with Serina. For now, let’s just let things play out naturally. If they don’t do anything, we don’t need to do anything either.]

[Serina: Exactly. There’s no reason to create unnecessary trouble when we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves.]

[Cassandra: Fine, fine! But if they try anything funny, don’t blame me for what happens next. Hehe!]

[Serina: Of course. We’ll deal with them if necessary.]

With that settled, the women simply continued walking as though nothing had happened.

Evelyn, who had remained silent throughout the entire conversation, merely glanced toward the distant rooftops before returning her attention to the street ahead.

Meanwhile, Damian was completely unaware of their silent discussion.

After all, although Miona and Serina had taught the [Mind Talk] technique to the women in his group, they had never bothered teaching Damian himself.

The reason was actually quite simple.

They wanted to keep it as an exclusive girls’ group chat where they could freely discuss anything without Damian listening in.

More importantly, considering how ridiculously shameless Damian already was, none of them wanted to imagine how much worse he might become if he could communicate directly with them through their minds whenever he pleased.

Knowing his personality, he would probably use it to flirt with them all day long.

Naturally, the women had unanimously decided that Damian was better off not knowing about it.