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Despite having been friends with the two overreacting girls for so long, Danielle discovered for the first time that they could be such goofballs, and she couldn't help but sigh. 'Although she definitely has real talent… I'm starting to wonder if letting her be our 'leader' was really a good idea.'
Of course, what was done was done, and the blonde girl knew better than to let herself be lost in what ifs and if onlys.
At least their absurd behavior managed to distract her from the strange feeling she'd had when Emilia unexpectedly gave her that shockingly adorable teary-eyed look.
If they hadn't, Danielle wasn't sure if she'd have been able to resist simply agreeing to her risky proposal without a thought.
Glaring at the two 'goofballs' to calm them down, Danielle turned her hopefully cold gaze to Emilia. "Don't give me that look, it won't work."
The crimson-haired girl almost rolled her eyes, thinking how it almost had, then initiated her 'plan B', which was…
"Hold on, I have a better idea!" Cynthia coughed. "Threatening people like Danielle might make them concede for a while, but they'll resist your instructions even more in the future if you force it like that. Instead, since you've already grasped her weakness… why not continue exploiting that?"
Emilia paused, a little surprised. 'You don't mean…'
Her partner chuckled. "That's right."
It was rare for Cynthia to suggest an idea to her, but whenever she did, Emilia had to admit that it led to good results, and this time should be no different.
The crimson-haired girl still felt a little reluctant, but considering how it had been her own decision to reduce her age and cause less suspicion, she soon realized that not going this way would only be counterproductive. Since she had the 'resources', why not use them?
And so…
"Are you seriously just gonna sulk like that?" Danielle exclaimed in exasperation as she watched Emilia go crouch down in a corner, seemingly refusing to talk to her anymore.
Of course, she didn't really need to, considering how Nico and Robin kept hounding the poor villainess in her stead.
"You should at least take a look at what she was trying to show you, captain!"
"Yeah, bullying her like that, you're being too much!"
Danielle almost burst a vein. 'Bullying?! I was only telling the truth! It IS my team!!!'
But explaining herself had never been her style, or there wouldn't be so many rumors and misunderstandings about her in the first place.
The villainess turned around to go to her office to check out the videos Emilia had shared with her before without a word.
Only to be interrupted by a way-too-tall and imposing dark beauty.
"I think you should seriously consider her idea, Danielle. If you don't… well, it's fine. Once I earn a little more, I was planning to make my own team, anyway." Sylvia smirked.
Danielle's mind turned blank. 'This bitch did not just threaten to poach my new star player with MY money, did she?'
Luckily for them, Emilia seemed to have sensed that things were about to take a turn for the worse once the villainess and the heroine collided, and interrupted their furious brawl before it could begin.
Forcefully inserting herself between the two in the blink of an eye, the crimson-haired beauty grinned. "Okay, I'm done moping. Let's watch all the videos together first, and if you still think we don't need to jump ship, it's fine!"
Sylvia looked a little disappointed at losing the opportunity to righteously pummel the annoying drill-haired girl into the ground, but when she thought about how she would be able to start a new team with Emilia and her best friend in a few more months, she realized that it didn't really matter.
The salary here was the fuel to their future, after all. It was better not to lose it in a fit of passion.
Danielle also nodded. "That's fine by me. You two, come along."
The three of them left for the 'strategy room' to use the big screen there, but Robin and Nico stayed rooted to their spot.
The short-haired tomboy shuddered. "Did I just… blink and miss it…?"
Nico gulped. "N-No… um, that little red bunny… she can really move fast, huh…"
Naturally, little red bunny was their private nickname for Emilia, to make sure that the girl didn't realize when they were gushing over her.
She had surprisingly sharp ears, after all. They would twitch oh so adorably whenever her name was mentioned even from the other side of the room.
The thought gave them another pause.
"I never realized how amazing people who are born and raised close to nature can be…" Robin sighed.
Nico couldn't help but jump to shut her mouth in a panic. "D-Don't mention that so casually, we don't want the captain to know we stole and peeked into Emilia's file!"
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Danielle was obviously irked by the late arrival of her remaining two teammates, but managed to restrain her temper when she recalled how the 'youngest' member of their team had been agitated quite a bit already.
She might be a bit rude, but that didn't mean she was completely lacking compassion.
"Alright, since everyone is here, let's watch just what is so amazing about this 'Arcadia' that we can't even wait for its release day to decide if it will be worth it to jump ship."
The blonde girl pressed the button on her smartphone to start the stream to the larger screen, and instantly, the trailer for the game started playing.
Emilia smirked, knowing it was a done deal the moment Danielle decided to give her idea a try. The genius hero knew how to pitch his dream project, after all.
Originally, Danielle's team missed out on the launch week of Arcadia due to her stubbornness, leaving them far behind the trailblazers for a while. And with their lack of synergy, it was really no surprise that they had to separate from Sylvia and her friend soon after.
The only thing that the Crimson Witches had left at that point was Danielle's savings, but they too soon ran dry, and their team completely vanished into obscurity.
Of course, the blonde villainess herself still managed to make a name in Arcadia. Prominent enough to make the heroine realize that this 'hateful' person was still around, at least.
But considering how she was snuffed out by the hero soon after, Emilia thought she was quite pitiful for a villainess, having never really managed to accomplish anything.
'Since the game's abilities will bleed into reality… as long as I can convince them to follow me, I should be able to make her shine quite brightly considering her talent.' Emilia nodded to herself.
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The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l