A few days later, after tidying the office, Favna lazily sank into the sofa and started gaming.

Honestly, spending time with Alte had made her noticeably more relaxed—partly thanks to his gentle care.

“Mmm~"

From Alte’s view, Favna lay sprawled on the couch, her small feet clad in white stockings swinging leisurely.

*Did she think this was her bedroom?*

Alte set down his console with a sigh. “What if someone sees you like this?”

“Does it matter?” Favna rolled over nonchalantly, leaning back against the cushions. “No one ever visits your office anyway.”

True enough—during her stay, only Prince Abel and his wife Shia had dropped by once.

“That’s fair…” Alte walked over, gently helping her sit up. “But lying down while gaming strains your eyes.”

“I know…”

Chided, Favna straightened obediently and fiddled with her console.

Alte watched the silver-haired girl and chuckled. “I remember you being scared of me just days ago.”

“Well… you just seem like the safe type, Alte. The kind who’d never lay a hand on anyone.”

After all, the *most* intimate thing he’d ever done was poke her cheek—once, on their first day. Nothing since.

Who could stay tense around someone like that? Especially Favna, a naturally lazy homebody dragon.

“How do you *know* I wouldn’t?” Alte muttered, torn between laughing and sighing.

He’d meant to help her adjust to living independently… yet she’d grown utterly comfortable *here*, while avoiding the outside world. Without him dragging her out, this dragon would probably hole up forever. Not ideal.

“Oh, right—Favna.”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“You mentioned you handle intel gathering?”

“A bit.”

“Perfect.”

Alte busied himself mysteriously, leaving Favna puzzled. Soon, he wheeled a brand-new computer onto his long desk, shifting his own setup aside to make space.

Favna blinked at the twin screens. “What’s this?”

“Since you’ve got the skills… how about helping me track those slave traffickers? Consider this your post.” He gestured to the machine.

Favna hesitated. “…Secretary?”

Alte cleared his throat. “*Deputy officer*. Deputy officer, got it?” (He knew exactly what rumors swirled around “secretary.”)

If her skills checked out, she could patch gaps in the Imperial Intelligence Bureau—and ease his own burden.

Favna finally sat down, though she added dryly, “This setup feels like two side-by-side stations at an internet cafe…”

“Now that you mention it… yeah.”

“Whatever. Back to my game… Wait—you’re hunting Demonkin clues, right?”

She’d quietly helped before, but without the Dragon Knights Order’s internal network, her leads were thin. This new rig changed everything.

“Yeah… those Demonkin. A real headache.”

Naro City stayed quiet, but villages nearby reported disappearances. Too chaotic for proper investigation.

“Let me check…”

Favna smoothly opened the dark web—only to find an account already logged in. *Alte’s.*

A single request glowed on screen: *“High reward for any clues regarding the Dragon Clan…”*

She glanced up. “You posted this?”

“Yep.” He’d explained his reasons before; no need to hide it.

But Favna stared thoughtfully. Alte was just a surface-level visitor here—like a supermarket shopper. She? Staff behind the counter. Without connections, his intel was nearly useless.

“Haven’t you investigated this dark web?”

Logically, he *should* have. (Though Favna hoped he wouldn’t.)

“We tried,” Alte said, voice tinged with frustration. “The Bureau hit dead ends every time. Without targets, we’d just be headless flies.”

“Ah…” Favna fell silent. She’d never realized how hard it was for outsiders.

She pulled up her own account, typed her password on instinct—and hit login.

*Click!*

In under a second, Favna slammed the tab shut, face burning crimson. Trembling, she forced an awkward smile.

“S-so… you don’t usually check this, right?”