Love Means Mutual Loyalty

"Back then, I really loved playing with him. We played football together every day, and we were the aces of the rearing institute's youth team, winning so many tournaments..." "But after I started developing and had to wear a training bra, he never called me 'forward' again... Why do boys' and girls' football teams have to be separated? I only started playing football because I liked him!" Freya patted Teresa's shoulder and led her out of the consulting room. "Your condition is much better than I imagined. You should try more physical combat activities in the future. Playing football is a great idea, but don't join women's football. Joining unrestricted football will give you more motivation and joy. Deep down, you need a victory to prove yourself." "Mm." Teresa rubbed her eyes and nodded silently. "When should I come for a follow-up?" "You don't need a follow-up. Your mental state is great. You just need to keep recalling the maxim I told you every day." Freya smiled. "Do you still remember it?" "Stay true to yourself, learn to love others." Teresa sniffled hard. "But what if I want to come for a follow-up?" "Just remember to tell me in advance when you come. Eating cake alone makes it way too easy to get fat, so if you're here, you can help me share it." Freya gave Teresa's waist a little pinch and pouted. "Your figure is so nice, I'm jealous! I'm going to feed you until you're fat!" Teresa couldn't help glancing at the strained shirt buttons straining against Freya's chest and stretching the white coat tight. Blushing, she said, "How could my figure compare to yours, Elder Sister... Right, we both came from the same rearing institute, so, um, could I..." "Hm?" "Could I call you Elder Sister?" Teresa asked bashfully. The Veela blinked, then pulled the nervous Teresa into her embrace, rubbing cheeks against cheeks as she said happily, "Back at the rearing institute, I was always the little sister who was taken care of. I never expected I'd have a little sister of my own!" There were other patients in the waiting room. Teresa didn't actually like public displays of affection, but when it was Freya's doting, she felt a shy joy and truly enjoyed being cherished like this. As for reporting a crooked doctor, she had cast that thought to the back of her mind long ago. "Oh, right, it's about time for dinner, and I don't have any more appointments scheduled. Let me treat you to the hospital cafeteria! Tonight they have dragon fruit and Blazing Lalafell!" Without giving Teresa a chance to argue, Freya pulled her outside. Teresa protested endlessly with her mouth, but her feet followed behind quite honestly. However, right after they left the waiting room, a tall elf male walked straight toward them. He was also wearing a hospital white coat, with cyan hair and long pointed ears, but his eyes were as deep as rubies—a sight that immediately gave away his identity to anyone who saw him: a Blood Saint elf! "Dr. Freya." He conjured a purple rose and offered it to Freya. "I've reserved a table at the Fire Phoenix Restaurant. Would you be free to have dinner together tonight?" Teresa had a deep impression of the Fire Phoenix Restaurant; it was an exclusive upscale dining establishment in Kaimeng City where the head chefs were all water and fire sorcerers, operating as a private, members-only restaurant not open to the public. In *100% Sorcerer*, there was a scene where the characters dined at the Fire Phoenix Restaurant. After watching it, Teresa had wanted to go too, but she couldn't even find a way in. Freya accepted the purple rose graciously and shook her head. "Dr. Yiwuo, I just promised to have dinner with Teresa. Looks like you'll have to invite another female doctor who's prettier than me~" "I can have the Fire Phoenix Restaurant add another seat." Yiwuo nodded gallantly toward Teresa. "I wonder if this lady would do me the honor?" Teresa looked between Yiwuo and Freya, then shook her head decisively. "I decline!" "Or," Freya twirled the purple rose, "you could join us in the hospital cafeteria. They have dragon fruit today!" "I have nothing against the cafeteria, but tonight the Fire Phoenix Restaurant received a rare Shadow Evil Lalafell. I heard that you're very fond of Lalafell cuisine, Dr. Freya. You definitely shouldn't miss this opportunity." "Shadow Evil Lalafell... Ugh..." The Veela fell into troubled contemplation, but she still pressed her palms together and said apologetically, "Still no, I won't accept any date invitations. But after you eat it, Dr. Yiwuo, could you give me a review of how it tasted?!" Yiwuo's composure visibly frayed a little. "Why? If I recall correctly, Dr. Freya, you aren't currently in a steady relationship." "Because I already have someone I like." Freya blinked. "Dr. Yiwuo, it's not that I think you're bad, but my head is already filled with someone else. I don't want to waste your time." "This is just dinner between friends. The person you like wouldn't be so narrow-minded as to mind a simple dinner, would he?" Yiwuo tried to salvage the situation. "Love means mutual loyalty." Freya tilted her head. "Putting myself in his shoes, if I would mind it, then I shouldn't do it. But if it's eating in the hospital cafeteria while discussing work, you're very welcome to join." "Well... alright." Yiwuo coughed twice to mask his embarrassment. "Sorry to have bothered you." "Don't forget to tell me what the Shadow Evil Lalafell tasted like!" Once Yiwuo left, Teresa couldn't wait to ask, "Elder Sister Freya, you have someone you like?" "Yeah, is that so strange?" Freya feigned anger. "Can't a Veela have someone she likes?" "o(╥﹏╥)o Ah, no, that's not what I meant!" Teresa was nearly brought to tears. "I'm not discriminating against you—" "Just teasing, just teasing." Freya quickly pulled her to sit down nearby. "Actually, I think it's pretty strange for a Veela to have someone she likes too, since most of my kin aren't like that. Forget having someone they like—if they can wear the same pair of panties three times, that's practically considered devotion, since normally they just disappear while being worn." "Then the person you like, does he have a higher status than that Blood Saint elf from earlier?" Teresa guessed. "Is that why you rejected a Blood Saint elf?" Freya chuckled and shook her head. "If we're talking status in the Blood Moon Country, he definitely can't compare to Yiwuo. He's just an ordinary human, after all." "Then how could he be worthy of you, Elder Sister?" Teresa furrowed her brow. "While I didn't think that Blood Saint elf was particularly great either, there's no need for you to tie yourself to an ordinary human, right?" The two Blood Moon races were naturally the highest stratum in the Blood Moon Country, but even within the Blood Saint clan, there was a hierarchy of discrimination: Blood Saint elves >>> Blood Saint humans > Blood Saint murlocs = Blood Saint orcs = Blood Saint ogres > Blood Saint goblins. The status of Blood Saint elves far exceeded all other Blood Saint races. Aside from legendary Sanctuary Sorcerers, a Blood Saint elf was practically the highest-caliber suitor one could ever find. Freya ruffled Teresa's hair and smiled wryly. "I've been roasted by a lot of people for this, but this is the first time I've been roasted by someone I just met." "I'm sorry," Teresa realized she had spoken too familiarly too quickly, and nervously wrung her hands. "I shouldn't have said that..." "It's fine. It just means you care about me. Loving someone is a very complicated matter, but you can learn slowly," Freya said with a smile. "Maybe in other people's eyes I really am a bit weird, but this is my understanding of love." "If you fool around with others while having someone you like, not only does it insult the person you love, but it also insults your own sincere feelings." "That's why I firmly turn down every suitor." The Veela tilted her head. "Who on earth accepts someone else's love when they already love someone?" "I think there are quite a lot of people like that..." Teresa muttered softly. "But if someone can't even love another whole-heartedly, how can they believe someone else will love them with their whole heart?" Freya said seriously. "Half-hearted people never find happiness." Teresa nodded in half-understanding. Just then, a voice came from behind: "Are you trying to preach that surreal romantic philosophy of yours again, Veela?" "Isn't it very romantic?" Freya retorted immediately. "That's exactly why it's surreal." Xifulin walked over, tapped Freya's head with a clipboard, and glanced at Teresa. "Time to eat." Teresa promptly took her leave, declining Freya's dinner invitation. Xifulin asked, "This is the first time I've seen you care so much about a patient. Are you finally making a move on women?" "She's my little sister from the rearing institute." Freya rubbed her head. "And she's very pretty, hehe. Time to prepare some fresh grass-scented perfume; it'll come in handy when she returns for her next appointment." "I heard on the way here that Yiwuo was shot down by you," Xifulin smiled. "Even though I don't think much of Yiwuo either, haven't you ever thought about starting fresh?" "Starting fresh from what? It never ended." "Not only did it not end, you haven't even started." Xifulin stuck out her tongue. "You can't even compare to Annan. At least Annan took his first kiss!" However, the Veela was long accustomed to taunts of this level. "Hmph, she only took the first kiss of that day!" Xifulin was instantly floored by this outrageous logic—did she think Yaxiu reset to a pristine state every midnight? Could the Mind Bewitchment Inheritance actually bewitch someone to this degree? Freya's work as a psychotherapist, aside from earning money, was primarily to cultivate the Mind Bewitchment Inheritance. Cultivating the Mind Bewitchment Inheritance was utterly bizarre; its most notable feature was that the King of Time had directly granted Freya a permanent passive miracle: the Mind Bewitchment Halo! It required no consumption of sorcery power and remained perpetually active! Xifulin had searched through every book she could find, yet failed to uncover any information about this kind of miracle, being able to label it only as an "eternal miracle." The only thing remotely similar to an eternal miracle was probably the necromancer Harvey's Ghost King Shackles—which unlocked new undead troop types through continuous progression. Both were divine arts transcending the mortal realm. At the beginning, the effect of the Mind Bewitchment Halo was very weak, but each time Freya extracted a person's deeply hidden true face, her Mind Bewitchment Halo would strengthen its power and unlock new abilities. Its upper limit might even reach the realm of the gods. This cultivation method complemented the role of a psychotherapist to perfection; in just a few months, Freya had become the star therapist in the affiliated hospital's psychiatric department, with appointment slots being snapped up immediately every night at midnight. "Since you still like him, why were you scolding him so harshly just now?" "Huh? Who was I scolding?" Xifulin blinked. "Weren't you scolding Yaxiu?" "No, I wasn't." Freya shook her head repeatedly. "Why would you think that... Ah!" Seeing that the Veela had finally realized what she had implied, Xifulin teased, "According to your words, Yaxiu is an absolute scumbag. You should give up on him, because being with that kind of person will never bring you happiness!" Freya's face flushed red, and after holding it in, she squeezed out: "To keep him from ruining other women, I'm willing to sacrifice my own happiness." *This Veela is beyond saving,* Xifulin thought. * Returning to the apartment, Teresa pushed open the door and shouted, "Norma!" "Ah?" The bespectacled girl watching the light screen in the apartment turned her head. "You're a member of Freya's support club, right!" Teresa closed the door and said excitedly, "I want to join too! I remember you saying they sell the doctor's personal items!" Norma raised her eyebrows, gave her glasses a tactical push, and said unhurriedly, "Not just anyone can join the support club. Ignoble scoundrels who merely lust after the doctor's beauty, greedy parasites who only demand the doctor's dedication without considering giving anything in return..." "Dr. Freya took me in as her little sister!" Norma froze. "What?" "She and I came from the same rearing institute! Before leaving, I asked if I could call her Elder Sister, and she agreed!" "You managed that on your very first appointment..." An unmistakable look of jealousy appeared on Norma's face. Pouting, she tapped the light screen and said after a moment, "Alright, I've pulled you in!" Teresa opened her light screen and found herself added to a group called "Freya's Pillars." The moment she opened it, an announcement popped up: *"We strive to be Freya's Pillar of Strength, defending Freya's beauty."* *"We strive to be Freya's Pillar of Wisdom, dispelling Freya's disasters."* *"We strive to be Freya's Pillar of Life, praying for Freya's health."* *"We strive to be Freya's Pillar of Joy, wishing for Freya's happiness."* *Not bad, not bad at all—a bona fide secret society!* Teresa checked the items currently up for auction in the group and was instantly shocked—the first item was a ruined shirt Freya had worn for a month, complete with photo evidence showing the second button on the chest had burst off; and the second item was the button that had burst off. For a moment, Teresa couldn't even tell which of the two items was more valuable. She looked at the price, a bewildered expression appearing on her face. "What are these prayer coupons? How much does one cost?" "You can't buy them with money," Norma said. "Those are rewards obtained only after praying to Dr. Freya. Pray once a day, and the group owner awards one to ten coupons. But you only get ten coupons if your prayer is filled with absolute piety; the most I've ever seen awarded is five!" "But how does the group owner know if we prayed?" "No idea, but she just knows." Norma shrugged. "Or maybe she doesn't know either and everyone's just playing along? Though someone did once say they prayed and the group owner didn't reward them. It's set up just like a religion." These kinds of groups often had an element of text roleplay, so Teresa didn't pay it too much mind. She asked, "Can anyone prove these items actually belong to Dr. Freya?" "No," Norma said. "But my gut tells me they really are Dr. Freya's." "Isn't it even creepier if they are hers? That means the person supplying them is a stalker!" Norma shook her head. "All the items are provided by the group owner. The group owner claims to be the doctor's friend who helps dispose of trash the doctor doesn't want anymore, which is why she puts them up as prizes in the group." Teresa took a closer look and discovered that the group owner's ID was "Freya's Constant Companion."