Chapter 100: Completely Speechless

"This outfit is defective," Zephyra said from inside. "It has no protection. It’s so tiny that I’m practically naked. I can’t come out like this."

Amber pressed a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking as she tried not to burst into loud laughter.

"Z, nobody expects it to stop daggers," Evren chuckled through the curtain. "It’s for swimming in the ocean, not raiding a fortress."

"That is irrelevant!" Zephyra hissed back, obviously distressed. "In the shadow corps, being seen without combat gear is a vulnerability. My legs are exposed. My midriff is exposed. Even my collarbones have no shielding!"

"Oh, for heaven’s sake," Amber giggled, reaching for the edge of the curtain. "I’m coming in."

"Wait... Amber, don’t..."

Amber slipped through the curtain, letting it fall shut behind her.

From inside came the sound of rustling fabric, a sharp gasp from Zephyra, and Amber’s warm, soothing laughter.

"Look at yourself in the mirror, Zephyra! Stop covering your stomach with your hands... let me tie the shoulder ribbons... there! See? You look gorgeous! Stop being silly and come out."

"Amber, please... Evren is standing right out there..."

"Which is exactly why you’re coming out!"

The curtain rings rattled along the brass rod as Amber pulled the velvet drape fully open.

Zephyra stepped out onto the marble floor.

Evren’s jaw dropped.

The midnight-violet water-silk hugged her slender physique.

The triangular bikini top barely managed to cup her breasts, revealing a tantalizing swell of pale, surprisingly full cleavage that had remained hidden beneath heavy armor and loose combat tunics.

Her waist was impossibly narrow, tapering down into a taut, flat abdomen that led to the smooth, dangerous flare of her hips.

Even with the sheer black-and-silver chiffon wrap draped around her waist, the translucent fabric did almost nothing to hide the firm, compact round curve of her peach-shaped ass and the long, pale sweep of her thighs.

She held her arms self-consciously over her chest to shield herself, but the posture only pushed her breasts together, deepening the tempting line of her cleavage.

Her pale skin was flushed from her collarbones all the way to the tips of her pointed ears.

Evren stared at her, completely frozen, his pulse spiking as he took in the beauty before him.

Without her combat leathers and daggers, Zephyra didn’t look like a shadow assassin at all. She looked ethereal, strikingly beautiful, and completely breathtaking.

Zephyra noticed his gaze. "E-Evren..." she stammered, her voice barely louder than a whisper as she looked down at the ground. "Stop... stop staring like that. It is... highly distracting."

Amber wrapped an arm around Zephyra’s waist, beaming with sisterly pride as she looked at Evren.

"I told you," Amber whispered with a delighted grin. "He is completely speechless."

Evren cleared his throat, a genuine, warm smile spreading across his face as he walked over.

"You look amazing, Zephyra," Evren said softly, meeting her guarded violet eyes. "Really. You don’t need armor to look incredible."

Zephyra’s breath hitched. She looked up at him, seeing the honest warmth and admiration in his eyes, and the tension in her shoulders slowly melted away.

A tiny, shy smile touched her lips, even as her cheeks continued to burn.

"Thank you, Evren," she murmured softly.

Evren turned toward Madame Vivienne, pulling out his card.

"We’ll take both of these," Evren said smoothly. "Along with the matching wraps, the sun hats, and every jar of natural aloe sun salve you have in stock. In fact, pack the entire summer resort line in their sizes."

Madame Vivienne’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "The... the entire collection, Chairman?"

"Every piece," Evren replied calmly. "Robe sets, sundresses, swimwear, and accessories. Calculate the total."

"Right away, sir!" Madame Vivienne said, snapping her fingers.

She tapped her tablet, summoning her head cashier and two senior attendants.

They pulled up the store’s digital inventory system, tallying the full summer catalog in Amber’s and Zephyra’s measurements... dozens of silk wraps, handcrafted sundresses, imported sun hats, tailored swimwear, and fifty jars of rare pearl-aloe sun salve.

Within two minutes, Madame Vivienne turned the screen toward Evren, her hands trembling slightly with excitement.

"Chairman Evren, the complete summer collection in both ladies’ sizes, including the silk evening wear, resort accessories, and our full stock of pearl-aloe salves, comes out to exactly one million nine hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars," Madame Vivienne said respectfully.

"With complimentary VIP garment steaming, monogramming, and private delivery to your villa, we can round the exclusive package to an even two million."

"Works for me," Evren said, handing her the black card. "Charge the two million. Pack the wardrobe into trunks and have Gerard’s staff deliver them directly to our villa dressing rooms before noon. We’ll just take the salves, hats, and wraps down to the beach with us now."

"Of course, Chairman! Immediately!" Madame Vivienne beamed, bowing deeply.

She took the black card with both hands and swiped it through the gold terminal on the marble counter, while two attendants swiftly packed the aloe salves, sun hats, and beach towels into a pair of elegant canvas beach totes.

CHIME.

[TRANSACTION APPROVED: $2,000,000.00 USD]

At that exact second, the familiar golden system chime chimed softly directly inside Evren’s mind:

[DING!]

[DETECTED EXPENDITURE ON HEROINES: $2,000,000.00 USD!]

[EXPENDITURE BREAKDOWN: DESIGNER RESORT WEAR, WARDROBE & SKINCARE REAGENTS]

[BENEFICIARY 1: AMBER STERLING ($1,000,000.00 USD — 200X MULTIPLIER APPLIED!)]

[BENEFICIARY 2: ZEPHYRA NIGHTSHADE ($1,000,000.00 USD — 150X MULTIPLIER APPLIED!)]

[CALCULATING COMBINED CASH REBATE...]

[AMBER REBATE: $200,000,000.00 USD!]

[ZEPHYRA REBATE: $150,000,000.00 USD!]

[TOTAL CASH REBATE: $350,000,000.00 USD!]

[FUNDS TRANSFERRED DIRECTLY TO HOST’S ACCOUNT!]

[HEROINE DEVOTION MILESTONE: ZEPHYRA NIGHTSHADE DEVOTION INCREASED: 60% ➔ 70%!]

[HEROINE DEVOTION MILESTONE: AMBER STERLING DEVOTION INCREASED: 80% ➔ 85%!]

Evren pulled out his phone as it buzzed softly in his hand.

The banking app refreshed immediately. After deducting the two-million-dollar charge and crediting the fresh three-hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar rebate, his liquid checking balance updated to $10,924,197,542.50 USD.

Evren stared at the screen for a second, a quiet smirk touching his lips.

He honestly still didn’t completely understand how the System decided where to route his cash.

Yesterday, the three-billion-dollar rebate from the villa had been dumped straight into the transdimensional System Sovereign Vault alongside the two hundred billion from Zephyra’s rescue.

Yet today, this three-hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar rebate landed right in his active checking account.

Maybe the System automatically routed massive, multi-billion-dollar sums to the Vault to keep imperial tax auditors from having heart attacks, or maybe it just had a mind of its own.

Either way, Evren wasn’t going to complain. Money was money, whether it was sitting in his pocket or floating in a dimensional vault.

He pocketed his phone and black card with a satisfied smile.