"Why is the room locked…?"
Just as Kurose Akira was about to carry Xu Feiyan back to her room, he realized the door was locked.
After thinking it over for a moment, he had no choice but to bring her into his own room instead.
"Am I too excited? I don't feel sleepy at all…"
After laying Xu Feiyan gently on the bed, Akira suddenly noticed that his mind was unusually alert—there wasn't a trace of fatigue in him.
"Guess I'll log into the game."
He thought for two seconds, then immediately entered the game.
When Akira arrived at the guild hall, it was still night in the game world.
The dim hall was bathed in faint moonlight filtering through the windows, draping everything in a pale, snow-white glow. Tiny white motes drifted down from above, almost like falling snow.
"This moonlight…"
Akira frowned slightly, sensing something off.
The environment within the guild territory was supposed to be fixed—a small, isolated world untouched by external laws.
Yet what he was seeing now was something he had never encountered before.
Could it be… an anomaly in the guild space?
Carrying that doubt, Akira walked toward the window.
When he reached it and looked up, he saw a bright, pristine moon hanging in the sky.
"Is that… an artificial moon?"
he muttered to himself. At the very least, it clearly wasn't the moon of the Magic Continent… nor Earth's moon.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Akira noticed a small, delicate figure drifting across the surface of the moon.
Like a celestial spirit, she danced in the sky—almost as if she were praying beneath the moonlight's blessing.
"That is…?"
Akira narrowed his eyes, trying to make out her features. But after staring for a while, his eyes began to sting, and he still couldn't see clearly.
She seemed to be thousands of meters above the ground.
"Strange… can monsters spawn inside the guild zone too?"
Akira was baffled, though the figure didn't seem hostile.
"She's getting closer!"
He suddenly realized the figure was descending—and fast.
In just a few seconds, she was within a few hundred meters.
And only then did he finally see her clearly.
"Xue'er!?"
"Master~"
Flapping her tiny wings, Xue'er landed lightly in his palm. Her snow-white dolphin-like tail swayed gently, and her chubby little cheeks carried a bright, innocent smile.
"Little Xue'er, what were you doing up there just now?"
Akira poked her cheek with his fingertip, curiosity written all over his face.
He had never expected that the fairy dancing across the moon would turn out to be her.
What was going on?
How did this little thing end up flying around on the moon?
"Me?"
Xue'er tilted her head adorably, then said with a smile,
"I was taking a bath~"
"A bath?"
Akira froze for a second at her answer.
He carefully examined her from head to toe. Since Xue'er's body resembled a being formed from ice and snow, even her clothing seemed woven from frost.
Her fluffy white dress made her look like a little princess, with a delicate crystal-blue bow at her chest—playful and charming.
But…
There were no signs of her having bathed.
And besides—wouldn't ice melt when it came into contact with water?
"Xue'er, you said you were bathing in the sky? Using rain to wash yourself?"
Akira pressed further.
"Nope~"
Xue'er shook her head and replied cheerfully,
"Xue'er uses moonlight!"
"Moonlight?"
Akira raised an eyebrow. He knew full well that the "moonlight" she referred to wasn't the metaphorical kind—but it still surprised him.
Bathing in moonlight… that was a first.
"Yep~"
She nodded and continued,
"The white moonlight can cleanse Xue'er's body and soul~ It keeps Xue'er happy all the time, so I don't think about sad things anymore!"
"Sad things?"
Akira's expression darkened slightly as he looked at her intently.
By all logic, Xue'er had just hatched from the Snow Dolphin Egg. Although various clues suggested she might be a manifestation of the Frost Witch, she had never shown any signs of remembering anything related to that past.
But now…
She had just said she remembered "sad things."
Which meant—
She still retained fragments of the Frost Witch's memories?
Akira gently reached out and stroked her, soothing her softly.
"Don't be afraid. I'll protect you."
"Master is the best~"
Xue'er nuzzled against his finger affectionately, expressing her attachment.
"Alright, it's getting late. Time for you to go to sleep."
With that, Akira carried Xue'er back to her room.
Inside, the Demonic Flame Silver Phoenix Butterfly was already perched on a branch, quietly asleep.
He placed Xue'er gently onto the bed and tucked her in.
"Good night."
"Mmm~ Good night, Master."
After settling her in, Akira returned to the hall and sat down on the sofa.
He began organizing his current tasks.
The C+ rank quest was still in a reset state, while the daily quests were being handled solo by Loserine.
Most of those tasks involved simple monster subjugation or delivering letters, so they were completed quickly.
And since Loserine didn't need sleep, she always finished them early in the morning.
If every member of the guild worked as hard as she did…
Wouldn't the guild rise to prominence in no time?
"Sigh…"
Akira let out a small sigh.
Looks like Lucia and the others just weren't working hard enough!
[You have received a private message!]
"Hm?"
Akira immediately opened the chat interface.
[Kena's Bunny: Su Xuan! I've finally reached the most critical stage! Tomorrow! Tomorrow I can accept the special commission to advance to a C-rank guild and take the assessment!]
"Oh? Congratulations. If you need help, just ask."
Akira smiled slightly. He was genuinely surprised.
Liu Xue's guild was progressing pretty fast—she had only recently been at D-rank, and now she was already preparing to take on the C-rank advancement quest.
[Kena's Bunny: I'll remember that! Don't you dare go back on your word!]
"I won't."
[Kena's Bunny: Hehe~ But I'll try to break through to C-rank with my own strength and my adventurers first! We can definitely do it!]
"Good luck."
[Kena's Bunny: By the way, how did you know I recruited a Legendary adventurer?]
"Huh? I didn't ask you that."
Akira blinked, then chuckled.
He hadn't expected Liu Xue to have recruited a Legendary-tier adventurer.
Her previous one had been an Epic-tier centaur, Sophie. This girl's luck was seriously outrageous.
[Kena's Bunny: Alright, alright~ I know you're jealous of my Legendary adventurer! She's just an ordinary half-angel~ Hehe~ Pretty amazing, right?]
"Half-angel?"
Akira's eyes widened in surprise.
The mention of angels reminded him of the beings he had encountered during the Holy Light Baptism—a group that had clearly intended to kill him for desecrating the light.
Still…
"What exactly is a half-angel? A hybrid of angels and something else?"
[Kena's Bunny: Not at all! Half-angels are native beings of the Magic Continent. They're guided by the God of Light and serve as his messengers. There are rumors their combat strength is second only to dragons! They're incredibly powerful adventurers!]
"Then they should be called pseudo-angels…"
Akira muttered to himself.
He had assumed they were hybrids, but it turned out they were simply beings chosen by the God of Light.
[Kena's Bunny: Alright! I'm off to level up my little angel! She's my guild's strongest fighter now!]
"Go on."
Akira smiled and closed the chat.
Even though Liu Xue had recruited a Legendary angel, he didn't feel jealous at all.
It's just an angel… an angel…
"Right!"
He suddenly remembered—the purple recruitment scroll he had obtained upon reaching C+ rank still hadn't been used.
He pulled it out of his inventory and began reviewing his trait pool.
[Widow], [Sacred Judgment Pact], [Emptiness].
These three traits could be combined to form a new adventurer. Given their high rarity, the result would be at least Legendary-tier.
However…
Something felt off.
Perhaps it was because [Emptiness] was only Rare?
For someone with perfectionist tendencies, if he could evolve [Emptiness] into Super Rare, the summoned adventurer would be absolutely monstrous.
Too bad traits couldn't be evol—
[Would you like to consume one Angel's Bell to upgrade a trait's quality?]
"…There actually is a way?"
Akira's eyes widened in shock.
He had only thought of it casually—yet the system actually provided an option!
But…
What exactly was an Angel's Bell?
Something related to angels?
Maybe he could ask Lucia later.
"What are you… spacing out about?"
A voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Akira turned around. At some point, Edith had appeared silently behind him.
"When did you get here?"
"I came because I have business with you."
Edith circled around and sat elegantly beside him. Crossing her legs, the fabric of her dress traced the graceful curve of her thighs.
"I hope you haven't forgotten. Tomorrow is the wedding."
"I didn't forget!"
Akira answered quickly.
Because… he had completely forgotten.
Who could blame him? Reality had been far more… stimulating.
"Is that so?"
Edith cast him a brief glance but didn't press further.
"Tomorrow at six in the morning. Be at the royal palace of the Star Kingdom. Don't be late."
"Got it, got it!"
Akira nodded vigorously.
She really was meticulous—leaving no room for error and treating this wedding with utmost importance.
Clearly, this ceremony was far more significant than he had initially thought.
"By the way, how is Princess Vivian doing lately?"
"She's fine," Edith replied coolly. "She's returned from the Abyss. But… you might find her unfamiliar now."
"Unfamiliar?"
"Do you want to go see her?"
"No, no…"
Akira shook his head. He wasn't particularly interested in Vivian.
He just wanted a general sense of the Star Kingdom's situation—and the condition of the princess who would soon ascend the throne.
"That's all for now. After the wedding, I'll fulfill your wish."
Edith stood up to leave.
"But you must take this wedding seriously. Regardless of the outcome… this is Ivsha's first time."
"I understand."
Akira nodded.
Even if it was an act, his feelings for Ivsha were real.
Maybe… it could become something more than just an act.
"I'll be going. See you then."
Her body gradually dissolved into rose petals. Just before disappearing completely, she tossed a ring into Akira's hand.
"This is…?"
He examined it closely.
[Abyssal Oath Ring (Mythic): Forged from the heart of the first Lust Demon King, it contains legendary power and serves as proof of true devotion!]
"A Mythic item!?"
Akira was stunned.
He hadn't expected Edith to give him something of such rarity.
Though… this was likely the ring he would place on "Vivian" during the ceremony.
"She's really gone all out for this wedding…"
Akira smiled faintly and stored the ring.
Now, he was truly looking forward to tomorrow.
But first—today, he needed to deliver the Key of Moonlight Truth to the New Moon Priestess.
"Hmm~"
Stretching lazily, he glanced out the window.
It was already around seven in the morning. Everyone should be waking up soon.
Almost on cue, Loserine stepped out of her room and walked straight toward the teleportation array.
Diligent as ever—she was about to solo the daily quests again.
"Loserine!"
Akira called out to stop her.
"What is it?"
She turned, her expression as calm as ever.
"You don't need to do the daily quests today."
"Why?"
"Because…"
Akira smiled slightly.
"I'm getting married. Tomorrow."
His gaze remained fixed on her, watching for a reaction.
But her face remained unchanged—her sapphire-like eyes devoid of any visible emotion.
After a few seconds of silence, she simply said,
"I see."
Then she turned and walked back into her room.
Bang!
The door shut.
"This girl…"
Akira shook his head with a helpless smile.
He had expected some kind of reaction.
But there was nothing at all.
Sigh…
Guess he'd have to look forward to Lucia's response instead.
Though knowing the clever Pope, she would definitely question the sudden leap to a wedding.
After all, who skips straight to marriage without even a proposal?
Meanwhile—
Inside her room, Loserine leaned against the door.
Within her soul-body, countless starlike points flickered with unprecedented brilliance.
Of course she cared.
How could she not?
He was getting married tomorrow.
Even if her guild leader marrying someone had nothing to do with her directly—
They weren't lovers.
But…
For some reason, her chest felt unbearably heavy.
Like that day—
When the Yerman family's ship had been swallowed by the darkness at sea, when the Night Witch descended.
That same suffocating despair, that same helpless plunge into the abyss—
It surged back, violently disturbing a heart that shouldn't even exist.
"What is this…?"
Loserine pressed a hand to her chest.
She could feel it.
A long-forgotten sensation.
"My heartbeat… is still there…"