Faced with the temptation of the "truth," the captain of the Grand Witch Court's guard ultimately couldn't resist and signed his name on the membership application for the Yarn Ball Society.

Steady~

Feeling the newly acquired "+1" disposable target, the evil prince who successfully "turned" the captain of the Grand Witch Court's guard nodded in satisfaction, then adhered to the agreement and revealed the truth.

"I want to catch her, but it's not the right time; she wants to be caught by me, but she's a bit timid."

"????"

You've said each word I can understand individually, but when put together, why does it make me so confused?

Confused? It's supposed to be confusing! I only promised to tell you the truth, not to make you understand it~

Smiling at the still-confused captain, Leon didn't offer any further explanation. Instead, he tucked away the newly acquired indenture contract and turned back to his original position, ready to hunt for the next prey.

After witnessing him trick yet another worker, exhibiting that satisfied expression, the cat-girl witch waiting by the roadside couldn't hold back anymore and proactively asked:

"Your Highness, the people you've brought into the Yarn Ball Society, though elites from various societies, are in terms of actual strength inferior to even a level-three Cleaner in most cases—is there any point to what you're doing?"

"Of course there is."

Smiling at the puzzled cat-girl witch, Leon responded with a counter-question:

"Have you noticed a slight reduction in the constraints on yourself?"

"?"

Startled by Leon's counter-question, the cat-girl witch instinctively checked her condition and was surprised to find that the bindings on her from the [Bedtime Story] seemed genuinely weakened.

Although the degree of weakening was far from enough to escape control—and would be hard to notice if not deliberately sensed—she indeed felt significantly "freer" than before, even capable of uttering words contrary to her role.

"This is one of the purposes of my continuous recruitment."

Before the cat-girl witch could inquire further, Leon proactively explained:

"I've pretty much figured out the rules of the [Bedtime Story]. While its effect is extremely powerful, it also has many limitations, especially regarding the total 'Leon Value'."

"Total?"

"That is, the sum of the 'total Leon Value' of all targets pulled into the story."

After explaining the concept of "total," Leon squinted slightly and said:

"Pisces Division was stationed in Secret Magic City before. With the Slaughter King Association's hostility towards our Cleaning Bureau, if they had a chance to completely capture the Pisces Division, they wouldn't have let it slip.

However, they didn't include the Pisces Division within the [Bedtime Story] to eliminate them; instead, they allowed Pisces Division to retreat because they couldn't do it. The [Bedtime Story] itself has limitations—it's challenging to capture so many targets simultaneously."

"Moreover, although the [Bedtime Story] covers the entire Secret Magic City, the number of individuals truly caught up in it isn't as many as it seems.

The vast majority are merely bystanders unrelated to the story. Currently, only you, me, the impostor princess, and a few unavoidable people and forces in the 'story plot' are truly involved in the [Bedtime Story] and affected by its binding, like…"

"Like my Yarn Ball Society!"

Upon hearing this, the cat-girl witch's expression subtly shifted as if she suddenly understood something, and she said with a look of realization:

"No wonder they are targeting the Yarn Ball Society! They're not worried about me utilizing the power of the Yarn Ball Society but are concerned about me dragging its people into the story!"

"Exactly, that's precisely what I pinpointed."

Seeing the cat-girl witch instantly grasp the point, Leon couldn't help but nod approvingly, then patted the thick stack of indenture contracts in the small cart and continued explaining with a chuckle:

"The members you've chosen for the Yarn Ball Society are more than half composed of the elites from the Seventeen Great Societies. Although most of them are not adept at combat and might not defeat a level-three Cleaner, their combat power can be entirely disregarded.

Nevertheless, after years of researching various mystical powers, their own Leon Value is quite high, at least around the level of a level-two Cleaner. Some outstanding ones even touch the threshold of a level-one Cleaner, and the sum of their Leon Values is substantial.

Although the [Bedtime Story] created by the Narration of Nonexistence can disrupt order and transform falsehood into truth, it ultimately remains a fictional story. The greater the disparity between the crafted story and reality, and the more and stronger the people affected by the [Bedtime Story], the more power is consumed.

And coincidentally, your Yarn Ball Society contains dozens or hundreds of 'Cleaners,' almost equivalent to another Pisces Division. The Narration of Nonexistence can only control the story's nodes and general direction, unable to manage a complete story, so it's tough to exclude the entire Yarn Ball Society.

Thus, to be prudent, they chose to act first by concocting a fictitious assassination of the Grand Witch King, aiming to dismantle your Yarn Ball Society, preventing you from dragging these people into the [Bedtime Story] during your resistance, and adding an extra burden for him."

"I understand now!"

Upon hearing this, the cat-girl witch fully comprehended Leon's plan and said with bright eyes and joy:

"You're recruiting people into my Yarn Ball Society to continuously broaden the scope of the [Bedtime Story]! Extend it until the person weaving the story can no longer endure..."

Though the constraints from the [Bedtime Story] had been diluted significantly with the Yarn Ball Society's new members signing the indenture contracts, the cat-girl witch still couldn't entirely escape and struggled to fully articulate the name of Narration of Nonexistence. So she switched tactics, saying:

"Expand it to the point where even the storyteller can't hold it any longer! Even if he possesses the undisputed truth, it requires power to wield it. Even if we can't completely escape the bindings, we can distribute the intensity of the binding!"

"Exactly."

Seeing that the cat-girl witch had grasped his idea, Leon smiled and then said:

"What we need to do next is to continue stuffing people into your Yarn Ball Society. The more and stronger the people, the weaker the constraints on us, and the more power we can wield.

Once our power is restored to a certain degree, we can kidnap the presidents of the Seventeen Great Societies and force each member to press their fingerprints to join, then lead them into the Grand Witch Court. We'll capture the ineffectual Grand Witch King and coerce her into abdicating...

Uh... oops, that was my usual spiel while handing out flyers."

Noticing the cat-girl witch's expression was hard to maintain, Leon quickly subdued his mischievous air, donned a serious face, and corrected his words:

"Not coerce, but invite. We can invite Her Majesty the Grand Witch King to order all individuals in Secret Magic City and throughout the Witch Kingdom with a Leon Value to press their fingerprints and drag them all into the story.

And by then, even if the [Bedtime Story] concocted by the Narration of Nonexistence can still be maintained, its binding effects would be diluted a thousandfold, rendering them effectively nonexistent. Furthermore..."

At this point, Leon paused slightly, then curiously hypothesized:

"I'm quite keen on figuring out, since the truth is inexorable, would the pillar god who laid down this truth end up being drained to death by his truth when he can no longer bear the cost of utilizing his truth?"