Miranda yed along. "So, why exactly are you here?"


    Elian was momentarily speechless. This girl never yed by the rules.


    "Hey, wait up! Why''d you leave me behind?"


    Jasper''s voice interrupted them as he hurriedly approached. Spotting Elian without his mask, Jasper decided to drop the pretense too. "Elian, seriously? That''s not cool. Miranda''s my guest. How could you two just took off without me?"


    Elian frowned and replied in a nonchnt tone, "You could always call Sebastian, asking him to pick you up.''


    Miranda observed the dynamic between Elian, Sebastian, and Jasper. It was clear they were in some kind of a triangle.


    Back at the vi, Miranda went straight to theb to reprocess the piece of stone she''d acquired. The thing piqued Crystal''s interest the moment she spotted it. "What''s that thing?"


    Crystal, clutching a bag of chips, eyed the stone with curiosity.


    Miranda answered, "Good stuff."


    Crystal squinted at the stone for a while. "Doesn''t look like much."


    Miranda shrugged it off and changed the subject, asking, "How''s your papering along?"


    Crystal brightened up at the mention. "Almost ready to publish, on the journal you suggested. Oh, and I''ve cultivated some new nt specimens from your medicinal garden. They''re even better than thest batch."


    Miranda was pleased. Since Crystal started helping out, her garden flourished. She spent substantial time on her nts, and was expressly interested in them; in order to nurture those herbs, she even took a course in agriculture.


    Miranda teased purposefully, "Having the future medical genius as my gardener - isn''t that a bit of a waste?"


    Crystal raised an eyebrow. "What? Tired of me already? There''s no love anymore? Thinking of recing me?"


    Miranda paused, "What?"


    Crystal huffed softly, "Only I can be your gardener. If you dare rece me, I''ll poison you."


    With that, Crystal walked off with a yful air of indignation.


    Miranda felt puzzled. She hadn''t realized Crystal enjoyed gardening so much.


    As for why Elian was at that ce earlier, he never got the chance to exin, thanks to Jasper''s interruption. But Miranda could guess. Elian was usually quite the peacock, always making a grand entrance, much like Logan. Yet, this time, he''d gone incognito. Him appearing to that ce had to be about either a person or an object.


    If for an object, nothing seemed to require his attendance, let alone ying a masquerade. Thus, there was only one reason, for someone.


    And the only person worth that kind of effort was Logan. Someone like him on the home turf would be seen as a threat to many.


    Back in the Ashcroft family estate, Mr. Ashcroft picked up his cup and took a sip of his tea. "I simply mentioned it. Didn''t expect you''d handle it personally."


    Elian replied, "The man''s dangerous. I was worried he might cause trouble in Zephra."


    Mr. Ashcroft nodded. "The military''s been watching him since he entered the country. Buting straight to Zephra? He must want something here."


    Elian took a sip of his own tea. "Yeah, but he didn''t get it."


    Mr. Ashcroft looked up. "What?"


    "I intercepted it."


    "And where is the thing now?"


    "I gave it away."


    Mr. Ashcroft was rendered speechless.


    The next day, Miranda was a bit surprised when she heard Marion''stest update.


    "You mean to tell me the former members of Vortex Esports have joined us too?"


    Miranda had initially only instructed Marion to recruit the Shadow Reapers. But apparently, Vortex Esports'' team hade along as well.


    Marion replied, his voiceced with delight, "I asked around. Turns out they left because they were fed up with Lysander and his sister. You should have seen the drama unfold when we announced their signing. Vortex Esports was furious, and we managed to stir up quite the online buzz by throwing some shades on that siblings. It''s a free ride on the publicity train."


    Miranda sighed to herself, "The best business strategy is often the simplest."


    "Thepany''s finances are healthy enough now to sustain itself, so under the definite profit earning circumstance, your personal funds can stay untouched for now." Marion continued, "However, I''ve got my eye on a few investment opportunities and am thinking to invest wanted to see what you think."  Opening the car, Miranda got in. "Handle the business as you see fit. For legal matters, consult Maximus, and for finances, talk to me. Oh, and


    when you get a chance, dig into the Hawke family''s main branch for me."


    Marion smirked. "Okay, but you''ll need to give me a raise. You do know that a lot of headhunters have


    been after metely, right?"


    Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Thinking of jumping ship?"


    Marion was about to respond when Miranda''s cold reply stopped her short.


    "I''ll break your legs if you do."


    After hanging up, Marion nced at his phone, his lips twitching slightly. So, the raise conversation was conveniently skipped, huh?