"How come you're using that same line too…"
Akira frowned slightly, and in that moment, a certain exquisitely beautiful face surfaced in his mind—Idis.
Xu Feiyan's way of speaking was almost identical to Idis's. It perfectly matched his stereotypical image of merchants.
That said, compared to Idis, Xu Feiyan lacked a certain ruthless edge.
After all, Idis showed absolutely no mercy to her enemies. And from spending time around her, Akira could sense something deeply mysterious about that succubus—an aura that no one could truly approach, yet no one could resist.
But interestingly, in the eyes of others, Idis appeared completely different from how Akira perceived her.
For example… that mermaid he had just met—Paqiya.
"I don't really mind," Akira shrugged and continued, "If a C+ rank mission fails, it just refreshes after 24 hours. But completing this one won't be easy. There are quite a few guilds taking part in hunting the Moonlight Witch's clone."
"I know. And it's not just those adventurers," Xu Feiyan nodded slightly, clearly already well-informed. "I've heard that even a Crescent Priest from the Moon God Empire will be participating. His level is over 90."
In fact, she had already begun preparing for this mission half a month ago.
"Do you know what caused this dream?" Akira suddenly asked. "Why did the Moon God Empire suddenly decide to hunt the Moonlight Witch's clone?"
As the guild master hired by the Moonlight Witch, Xu Feiyan undoubtedly knew more than he did.
"Because of a divine oracle from the Moon Goddess!"
Xu Feiyan answered honestly, "The Moon Goddess issued a decree—to purge all 'impure beings.' And the Moonlight Witch… is one of them."
"Impure?"
Akira's confusion deepened.
What exactly was the Moonlight Witch's true identity? She wielded the power of the Moon Goddess—so why had she been labeled impure?
"I only understand fragments myself," Xu Feiyan said helplessly. "If you want the full truth, we'll have to complete this mission successfully."
She paused before continuing, "Also, my objective isn't to protect the Moonlight Witch's clone. On the contrary, after defeating it, I need to retrieve something hidden within it—the Moonlight Key of Truth."
"And the Moon God Empire's goal… is that same Key."
"The Moonlight Key of Truth?"
Akira had never even heard of such a thing. None of the other witches possessed anything like a "Key of Truth."
What puzzled him even more was this—the Moonlight Witch had hired Xu Feiyan's guild… to kill her own clone, just to retrieve the Key hidden inside it?
Why?
Had she lost control of the clone she created?
Questions swirled endlessly in Akira's mind, yet none of them had answers.
The only way forward… was to help Xu Feiyan complete the mission—and then find the real Moonlight Witch.
"Alright, I get it. But if I fail the mission, don't forget to compensate me for the losses," Akira said lightly, half-joking.
Hearing that he agreed, Xu Feiyan's lips curved upward into a faint smile. "Don't worry. I won't treat you unfairly."
"…Just don't make any unreasonable requests. I'm a little worried…"
"You're worried?"
"Let's talk about that after the mission," she quickly deflected, then took out a pile of items from her inventory and initiated a trade. "These are everything I prepared. They should help you—make sure you bring them all."
"These…"
Akira glanced over the trade window and frowned slightly.
There were a lot of items—most of them Epic-grade, capable of providing some support in battle.
But for him, they seemed… somewhat underwhelming.
And more importantly… weren't these all female-oriented items?
The reason was obvious. Xu Feiyan had originally planned to go herself, but after careful consideration, she chose to seek Akira's help instead.
Because she had absolute confidence in her own role.
A pure support unit. A literal accessory.
"…You don't need them?" Xu Feiyan noticed the subtle change in his expression and seemed a little disappointed. "I spent days preparing those…"
"I'll take them, I'll take them!"
Akira accepted all the items at once, then asked, "By the way, from what you said earlier, this mission isn't just about retrieving the Moonlight Key of Truth, right?"
"Mhm…"
Xu Feiyan nodded, brushing aside a strand of hair from her forehead as she explained, "It is an A-rank promotion mission, after all. The process is a bit complicated. But don't worry—I'll stay by your side while you're inside the dream."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
Akira froze for a second.
Then, in the very next moment—he understood.
"Everyone, you can come in now!"
Xu Feiyan sent out a message to Petico and the others. Moments later, members of the Immortal Consort Guild began entering Puff Fantasyland through the teleportation array one after another.
"Guildmaster, we're here!""Sorry for the intrusion~""…"
With flashes of white light, over a dozen guild members gradually filled Akira's guild hall.
"Wait—don't tell me you're planning to enter the Moon Dream from my guild?" Akira suddenly realized.
"Of course," Xu Feiyan stood up and walked toward her adventurers. "If I'm asking for your help with something dangerous, then naturally, I'll stay by your side the entire time."
Akira remained seated, his gaze sweeping across the gathered members.
Even though his guild had been expanded, suddenly cramming in over a dozen people still made it feel crowded.
More importantly—
"During the Moon Dream, everyone entering will fall into a sleep state," Akira rubbed his temples and said. "You're not seriously thinking my guild has enough space for all of you to sleep, are you?"
"You think I don't know your bed is five meters wide?" Xu Feiyan shot him a glance, as if she already knew his guild inside and out.
"You even know that?"
"We're running out of time. Let's get ready before things get chaotic," she said, quickly changing the subject.
"Alright~"
Akira stood up and called out to Loserine and the others, "Everyone, get ready. We're starting the mission."
"Understood~ Master~"
Soon, Akira gathered his guild members and prepared to enter the Moon Dream.
Xu Feiyan had deployed her entire guild—determined to complete this crucial promotion mission.
On Akira's side, however, Alice, Vilora, and Ivsha were left behind.
The reason was simple—the crescent pendant provided by the Moon God Empire was defective, allowing only a limited number of adventurers to enter the dream.
Meanwhile, Xu Feiyan's members bore the Moonlight Witch's mark, granting them direct access.
It was worth noting—the mark was quite beautiful. A multicolored butterfly, resting delicately on their collarbones.
"Master~ we really can't go with you?" Alice asked, her voice tinged with disappointment.
"There's no choice. We're at capacity," Akira said with a smile, gently patting her head. "Be good and wait for us at the guild, okay?"
"Okay…" Alice puffed out her cheeks, still clearly wanting to follow him.
Naturally, she had already guessed that the crescent pendant came from a Moon God Empire mission.
"Well, it can't be helped~"
Ivsha gently wrapped an arm around Alice's and comforted her, "Mr. Akira is doing this for the mission. And… as much as I hate to admit it, our strength really can't compare to Lucia and the others."
"I guess that's true…"
Alice blinked her watery eyes and reluctantly accepted it.
After all, her strength was far below Lucia's group.
"My adventurers are ready. What about yours?" Xu Feiyan asked as she stepped out of Akira's bedroom.
"I'll be there in a second."
Akira replied, then turned to Lucia and the others. "Just follow the plan I gave earlier. Get ready."
"Mm."
Lucia nodded, then walked into Akira's bedroom alongside the Dark Elf Queen.
Due to limited space, Mare Rhein had to squeeze into Loserine's room and share a bed.
Alice and Vilora's rooms, along with the living room, were temporarily occupied by Xu Feiyan's guild members.
As for Akira's own bedroom—it was already packed.
Besides the Dark Elf Queen and Lucia, Petico, Delorie, and Honglian were all inside as well.
When Akira entered the room, he found Camellia enthusiastically showing her exquisitely crafted silver coffin to Petico, who was also a vampire.
"Well, junior? Isn't my coffin amazing?" Camellia stood with her hands on her hips, looking incredibly proud.
Petico circled the coffin, eyes full of admiration. "It's incredible! These materials are all diluted treasures! As expected of the Progenitor!"
"Hehe~ If you leave your current guild and join Puff Fantasyland, I'll give you a matching coffin!" Camellia hopped forward and patted Petico's shoulder, trying to recruit her.
But as the strongest adventurer of the Immortal Consort Guild, there was no way Petico would agree.
At the same time, she couldn't directly refuse a Progenitor either.
"Th-that might not work… Guildmaster wouldn't approve…"
"What's there to worry about! Junior! I'll cover for you—"
Thud!
"Ow ow ow!"
Before she could finish, Akira's fist had already landed squarely on her head.
"What are you doing, brat?! I'm recruiting a top-tier member for you! And instead of thanking me, you hit me?!"
"Enough messing around. We're starting," Akira said, grabbing her slender waist and stuffing her back into the coffin.
He really didn't know what to say about this vampire progenitor… giving coffins as gifts?
Well… maybe it was just a cultural difference.
"Hmph! What a rude little brat!" Camellia glared at him resentfully before pulling the lid shut.
Akira sighed helplessly.
Then he turned to Xu Feiyan. "Alright, let's—"
"Human!"
Before he could finish, Mare Rhein burst into the room again.
"You still haven't explained why I can't sleep in my own dragon nest! Why do I have to give it to them?! Why?!"
"…Sigh."
Akira rubbed his temples.
His guild really was full of problem children.
Not long after, he finally managed to calm Mare Rhein down—with a barrel of top-grade beast milk.
By the time he returned to his bedroom, Xu Feiyan and the others had already been waiting for a while.
"Finally done?"
"Yeah."
"Then hurry up and lie down. Let's begin."
"Alright."
Dragging his exhausted body, Akira climbed onto his five-meter-wide bed.
A spot had been left for him in the center.
To his left were Lucia and Delorie.To his right—the Dark Elf Queen, Honglian, and Petico.
Six people on one bed felt a bit cramped… but being squeezed in the middle wasn't actually that bad.
"Then… shall I begin?" Xu Feiyan asked, gripping the crescent pendant.
"Mm."
Akira nodded, slowly lying down and closing his eyes.
As Xu Feiyan activated the pendant's power, a layer of blue-silver moonlight gradually enveloped their bodies, pulling them into slumber.
After they fell asleep, Xu Feiyan placed the now powerless pendant on the table.
Then she walked slowly to Akira's side.
A trace of loneliness flickered in her eyes—along with a resurfacing memory.
...
Within a separate space, a radiant crescent moon hung in the sky.
Seated upon it was a woman draped in moonlight robes, her face veiled behind a curtain of pure white.
Below the moon, Xu Feiyan looked up at her, confusion written across her delicate features.
"Su—Kurose Akira? Wasn't I the one you chose? Why are you letting him enter the Moon Dream instead?"
She couldn't understand.
She was the one who had accepted the mission—yet the Moonlight Witch had personally named another player.
And by sheer coincidence… it was Akira.
"This is for your own good, Guildmaster of the Immortal Consort," the Moonlight Witch's lips did not move, yet her ethereal voice echoed beside Xu Feiyan's ears. "Your personal strength is too weak. Even with ample preparation, you would not withstand the power of the Moon Goddess."
"But rest assured. The mission rewards remain unchanged. I will not break the oath I have sworn."
"I…"
Xu Feiyan did not refute her.
It was true—her own strength had glaring shortcomings.
But she still couldn't understand…
Why Akira?
Did they know each other?
Or was it something else entirely…?
"I hope you can understand," the Moonlight Witch continued. "I am trying to free myself from suffering… and at the same time, help you complete the mission."
"…I understand."
Xu Feiyan let out a soft sigh and chose to accept the revised condition.
"However, there is one thing I wish to ask."
"Go ahead~"
"…Do you know Kurose Akira?" Xu Feiyan stared intently at the woman on the moon, waiting for her answer.
"..."
After a brief silence, the Moonlight Witch parted her crimson lips.
"Yes. I know him. He is one of the few I can trust."
"I hope you can find him. Tell him it is the Moonlight Witch's request… and I believe he will agree."