"Meow meow?"

After waiting for a while without any response, even the hand massaging her had unconsciously stopped, the Cat Princess couldn't help but look up at the pondering Evil Prince, inquiring in confusion.

'It's nothing.'

After scratching the Cat Princess's chin, Leon, coming back to his senses, spoke thoughtfully:

'I just find it odd that the Slaughter King Association is suddenly targeting the Yarnball Society. Given the current situation, they have no reason to do so, so there must be something we don't know about.'

Hearing this, the Cat Princess squinted her eyes and spoke uncertainly:

'If they're targeting the Yarnball Society, could it be they're trying to use their safety to threaten me?'

'No need.'

Leon shook his head and said:

'You're already locked, you can only follow the "plot" set by the [Bedtime Story]. They don't need to do anything; when the fixed "plot" points arrive, you will go to them on your own initiative, without needing to threaten others.

So there must be rules in this [Bedtime Story] that we don't know yet, and they're critical information... Oh right, how's that hat? How much longer before it can be taken out?'

'Almost done!'

Upon hearing Leon's inquiry, the Cat Princess lifted her right paw and, like a human rummaging through pockets, searched through the fur on the outside of her right leg and pulled out a shiny piece of amber, from which a large red sleeping cap with a white ball at the top was inching its way out.

'I can't destroy this hat, and I was worried they'd find me through it, so I sealed it inside the amber. It should be done in about half an hour.'

'Alright, alright.'

Looking at the woolen sleeping cap, which had almost freed itself from the confines of the amber crystal and revealed its white top ball, Leon couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and reach out to gently touch the cap ball.

[Name: Sleeping Cap of the God of Tales (Truth, Truth, Tale)]

[Appearance: A brightly colored tall red sleeping cap, with a densely fuzzy white ball at the top, made of a soft, skin-friendly, fluffy, and warm material, capable of putting the wearer into a good sleep]

[Ability: Narration of Nonexistence, Azure Sleep, Story Intervener]

[Cost: Upon putting on the sleeping cap and intervening in the tale, one will become an ordinary person in every aspect until the tale has fully ended, unable to perform any actions contrary to the "role"]

[File: After seeing the Supreme Four Pillar Gods who had died in the past on the Old Soil, the God of Tales awakened the sleeping "Azure Sleep", asked it to put on its own cap, and successfully borrowed the truth belonging to "Azure Sleep", obtaining the qualification to put parts of the order into slumber...]

[Evaluation: "Narration of Nonexistence" refers to stories that are not real, yet after putting on the sleeping cap, though you must abide by the order set by the God of Tales, you also gain the qualification to intervene in a "Narration of Nonexistence"]

[Contamination Value: Comparable to the user's maximum contamination value]

"Zzz"

[Through personal observation and summary, you have gained a wealth of information concerning the "Sleeping Cap of the God of Tales"... your resistance to this abnormal object has greatly increased, and you are now able to shield deeper influences]

...

Although it feels a bit abstract, it seems I'm not entirely without gains?

Staring at the [Sleeping Cap of the God of Tales] several times, Leon, having barely grasped some understanding of the situation, furrowed his brows in contemplation.

He remembered listening to some content about the Supreme Four Pillar Gods during a chat with Director Aquarius.

The old man told him that "Asur" is a term Old Soil humans use for "order, prosperity, and destiny," whereas sleep in their language, for those on Old Soil who don't much need sleep, seems to carry the connotation of nearing death and an end.

Therefore, the truth grasped by the Supreme Four Pillar God's [Azure Sleep] translates to disorder, prosperity no more, and destiny's end; should this ancient Pillar God voluntarily enter slumber, then order would no longer be stable, prosperity would decline, and even destiny would fall into chaos.

During the exploration of the Old Soil, [Narration of Nonexistence] met the already deceased [Azure Sleep] at different times, borrowing the truth to disrupt order from its three truths, and along with the truth of "Narration of Nonexistence", acquired the power to forcibly alter reality.

So, the so-called [Bedtime Story] is essentially a combination of the two truths, "Narration of Nonexistence" and "Order of Sleep", where order and rules are forcibly disrupted, granting the originally "imaginary" story the eligibility to become reality...

"Zzz"

[Through personal deduction and thought, you have gained a wealth of information regarding the "Bedtime Story"… your resistance to this abnormal object has slightly increased and you are now able to shield a certain degree of influence]

Finally, it's activated!

Hearing of the activation of [Materialism] and experiencing a familiar relief, as if a heavy burden was lifted, Leon felt a tremendous sense of comfort throughout his body, even his technique of stroking the cat became a lot more dexterous.

Indeed, it has to be [Materialism]!

There's even a difference between anomalies, what is the amber-colored [Immortal in Liquor] but courage from a bottle; whereas the [Man behind the Queen], though alluring, remains but a hapless bowl of soft rice. Only my revered [Materialism] is the one true god!

"Meow meow meow?"

Feeling the sudden increase in strength of the Evil Prince's cat stroking, alongside the drastic improvement in finger agility, the Cat Princess in Leon's embrace couldn't help but shiver, happily spreading the paw pads of all four feet, trying hard to issue a weak protest.

"Sorry, I'll be careful next time."

With a smile that was uncharacteristic of the Evil Prince's persona, Leon apologized to the wide-eyed Cat Princess, without immediately explaining the changes in himself, and turned his head to glance at the reception room's doorway.

Shortly thereafter, the Cat Princess's ears perked up too, faintly capturing the approaching heavy footsteps in the hallway beyond the door.

It should be the Great Witch Court's captain arriving... Wait! I'm a cat now, isn't Leon locked by the [Bedtime Story]? How can his hearing be better than mine? Could it be he's found a way to escape the [Bedtime Story]?!

"I can't completely break free from the [Bedtime Story] yet, but I've got some semblance of an idea."

From the Cat Princess's translucent eyes, Leon faintly discerned her thoughts. Finally able to shed part of the "persona", a greatly relieved Leon chuckled, pinching the Cat Princess's highly tactile cheek.

"Once we wrap things up here, we'll go kidnap the Princess and help you properly vent some frustration!"