Chapter 454 - 453: The Strange Ring

Chapter 454: Chapter 453: The Strange Ring

Squidward... no.

Seraphina Sinclair frowned, looking at Gray’s new form.

Seraphina Sinclair estimated that the current Gray was about five-foot-seven, with long, straight legs and a flawless face.

’No way. This is Gray?’

Seraphina Sinclair felt like her jaw was about to hit the floor.

’Who in their right mind could possibly connect this kind, big-sisterly human figure before her with that piece-of-shit octopus monster, Gray?’

What was even more terrifying was that when the "big sister" sat down in front of Seraphina Sinclair and spoke, it was still in a man’s voice. "My Lady, what do you think of my new look?"

The lady herself: "..."

’Just knock it off already,’ Seraphina Sinclair thought. She really couldn’t handle this.

"I think you looked better before."

After all, the image of Squidward was just too deeply ingrained in her mind. She simply couldn’t accept this change.

’In Seraphina Sinclair’s opinion, when a creature of another species pretends to be human, it should at least act like one.’

Gray, or rather, this unidentified creature wearing the skin of a kind "big sister" but speaking with a gruff male voice, was clearly crushed by Seraphina Sinclair’s words.

A flicker of hurt crossed its meticulously designed eyes. Its long eyelashes fluttered twice, and paired with that gentle face, it looked as if it had suffered a grave injustice.

The sight almost made Seraphina Sinclair’s heart soften.

But the next second, its gruff voice came out, and that bit of softness vanished completely.

"My Lady, I spent a fortune on this skin! You have no idea how in-demand good-looking human skins are right now. I waited in line for three days to get this one!"

Seraphina Sinclair rubbed the bridge of her nose.

’She really wanted to say it wasn’t a problem with the skin, but a problem with his voice.’

But seeing the "praise me, praise me" look of anticipation written all over Gray’s face, she swallowed the truth.

"Alright, alright. I called you here for business."

Gray’s hurt expression immediately vanished. The light in his eyes switched from "seeking praise" to "awaiting orders" so quickly that Seraphina Sinclair suspected his previous look had been a complete act.

"At your command, My Lady!"

Seraphina Sinclair took the ring out of her Silver Moon Earrings and placed it on the table, sliding it in front of Gray.

"Do you recognize this?"

Gray looked down, his brow furrowing slightly.

That expression on such a gentle face, combined with that gruff voice, made the sense of incongruity even stronger.

It reached out, picked up the ring with its long, slender fingers, and held it up to the light for a few seconds. Then, it brought it closer to sniff it, and finally, even stuck out its tongue to lick it.

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

"My Lady, where did you get this thing?"

Seraphina Sinclair raised an eyebrow. "I found it. Why?"

She wasn’t trying to be deceptive in the slightest; finding something in a graveyard still counted as finding it.

Gray was a bit dazed. It couldn’t imagine where one could even buy something like this.

But it quickly realized it shouldn’t get hung up on that. The lady’s goal was to ask about the item’s use, and its job was to help find the answer.

After a moment of careful inspection, Gray looked up at Seraphina Sinclair with a blank expression and shook his head.

"My Lady, although I can’t identify what this is, I’m absolutely certain it’s something good! My Lady, how about I take it back and use my methods and permissions to appraise it for you?"

A free appraisal? Of course, Seraphina Sinclair had no reason to refuse. "Fine, take it back and appraise it. How long will it take?"

"If it’s quick, a day or two. If it’s slow..." Gray thought for a moment. "Three to five days? Don’t worry, My Lady, I’ll use my fastest speed!"

Seraphina Sinclair grunted in acknowledgment. Just as she was about to say something else, she suddenly heard a RUSTLING sound from the corner of the room.

She turned her head and saw 001 peeking out from under the covers. He was looking over with sleepy eyes, his messy hair sticking up even more wildly, making him look just like a small animal that had just been plucked from its nest.

"My Lady..." 001’s voice was still thick with sleep. "Did I just hear Gray’s voice?"

"001, I’m right here."

froze for a second, then his eyes shot wide open.

"Gr... Gray?!"

He scrambled out from under the covers with a WHOOSH and ran over barefoot, the pitter-patter of his feet echoing on the floor. He circled Gray three times, his little face filled with disbelief.

"You, you, you... How did you turn into this?!"

Gray was clearly enjoying this reaction. It stood up a little straighter, trying to maintain an elegant posture.

opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, finally managing to stammer out, "...How come your voice didn’t change?"

Gray’s smile froze on its face.

Seraphina Sinclair, standing to the side, almost burst out laughing.

This time, 001 had truly and precisely hit Gray’s sorest spot.

Gray took a deep breath, struggling to maintain the "kind big sister" demeanor, but the expression on its face had already half-collapsed.

"The voice... the voice is hard to change. It costs extra."

said, "Oh," circled Gray one more time, and finally came to a stop beside Seraphina Sinclair. He looked up with his little face and asked, "My Lady, do you think it looks good?"

Seraphina Sinclair was silent for two seconds before asking back, "What do you think?"

thought about it seriously, then shook his head.

"It was better before. I was used to how it looked."

Seraphina Sinclair nodded.

Gray’s upright posture immediately slumped. Wordlessly, it clutched the ring in both hands and, looking like it wanted to say something but couldn’t, walked into the Lightgate.

’But you had to admit, it really was quite beautiful when it wasn’t talking.’

Watching it leave, 001 was still mulling it over. "That was just too weird."

Seraphina Sinclair nodded in profound agreement. She sent 001 away, and when she turned her head, she saw the ring had appeared on the stone table.

She slowly blinked, making sure she wasn’t seeing things, then frowned and reached out to touch the ring. 𝖋𝙧ⅇ

It was solid.

’The ring is here?’

’Then what did Gray take?’

Seraphina Sinclair put a hand to her forehead. ’Did I see it wrong? Did Gray not leave with the ring?’

Seraphina Sinclair stared at the ring on the stone table, then looked at the finger she had just used to touch it, and finally cast her gaze toward the now-closed Lightgate.

’If Gray really did walk through that gate clutching the ring, then what was this one on the table?’

She reached out, picked up the ring, and examined it over and over. This was clearly the same one from before!

Just as Seraphina Sinclair was doubting herself, the Lightgate suddenly opened again. An octopus head poked out, shouting anxiously, "My Lady! My Lady! The ring is gone!"

"What ring?" she asked.

Gray’s tentacles reached out from the Lightgate, gesturing frantically. "The one from just now! The one you gave me! The one I was taking back to appraise! I was halfway there, I reached into my pocket, and it was gone!"

Seraphina Sinclair held up the ring in her hand. "This one?"

Gray’s eyes went wide as saucers. "How... How is it with you?!"

Seraphina Sinclair fell silent. She wanted to know the answer to that, too.

"Are you sure you took it with you?"

Gray nodded frantically. "Positive! I was clutching it! The whole way! Halfway there, I decided it was inconvenient to hold, so I put it in my pocket. But when I just checked, I found the ring was gone."