The Untold Story of the Head of the Twelve Gates of the Zodiac

In the guild's temporary camp, the afternoon sun lazily shone on the ruins. Everyone was busy with their own things; some were carrying bricks, some were drinking, and some were taking a nap.

A burst of hurried footsteps broke the afternoon tranquility.

A large group of girls stormed in, numbering at least twenty, all dressed in their finest attire, but their expressions were as if they were there to collect a debt.

They shuffled into the camp in their high heels, their eyes scanning the surroundings like a pride of lionesses searching for prey.

"Where's Loke?! Where is Loke?!"

The girl in the lead stood with her hands on her hips, her voice sharp as fingernails scratching a blackboard.

Lisanna was wiping glasses behind the bar when she was startled by the commotion and almost dropped the glass in her hand.

She quickly put down the rag and gave an apologetic smile.

"We don't know where Loke went either, sorry."

Upon hearing this, the group of girls erupted in a cacophony of complaints, like a swarm of wasps whose nest had been disturbed.

"How could this happen! You promised to spend today with me!"

"Did some vixen seduce him and take him away?!"

"We clearly agreed to go on a date together, boohoo!"

"Why did you suddenly break up with me? What did I do wrong? Waaah!"

One girl was crying her eyes out, while the other girl was stomping her feet in anger.

Surrounded by the group of girls, Lisanna was caught in a dilemma, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. She could only shout at the top of her lungs, "Lucy, Mira! Come help me!"

Lucy, who had been hiding behind a pillar watching the commotion, turned pale when she heard Lisanna call her name and ran away.

"Lisanna! Don't drag me into this!"

She ran faster than a rabbit, disappearing behind the ruins in the blink of an eye.

Lisanna watched Lucy's retreating figure, stomping her feet in anger, but faced with this group of aggressive girls, she could only grit her teeth and continue to deal with them.

At night, the moonlight was as clear as water, and the streets of Magnolia were filled with the unique heat of the bathhouse.

Lucy emerged from the public bathhouse, her long, wet hair draped over her shoulders, her skin slightly flushed from the hot water, and she looked as relaxed as a cat that had just finished soaking in a hot spring.

She took a deep breath, feeling the pleasant cool night breeze on her face.

Lucy.

A familiar voice came from the side.

Lucy turned her head and saw Loke leaning against a lamppost by the roadside, wearing a loose shirt with the collar slightly open, revealing the line of his collarbone, and a signature charming smile on his lips.

He was holding a bottle of drink and waved it at Lucy.

If you look closely, you'll see a simple line drawing of Riyao's head on the bottle. It's drawn crookedly, but the smug expression is quite vivid.

"Drinking a bottle of this after a bath will make you feel even more refreshed."

Loke handed him the drink.

Lucy took the drink, and remembering what happened during the day, she couldn't help but complain, "I almost got into big trouble today because of your girlfriends. Do you know how miserable Lisanna was?"

Loke chuckled and raised his drink, "Don't be angry, cheers to Lucy's bright eyes!"

Lucy rolled her eyes, but still clinked glasses with him. She took a sip of her drink, and it was surprisingly delicious—sweet with a hint of fruitiness. The cool liquid slid down her throat, making her feel refreshed from the inside out.

"It tastes delicious! What kind of drink is this?"

"This is a special edition made by Riyao."

Loke leaned back against the lamppost, his tone relaxed.

Lucy nearly choked. "Huh? Riyao can actually have normal things?"

In her memory, Riyao was either scheming and playing pranks on people, or eating sunflower seeds and watching a show, or secretly recording videos; he was completely unrelated to the word "normal."

Loke laughed heartily and shook his head, "Don't let Riyao's appearance fool you, Riyao's always been producing potions for the guild. Healing potions, recovery potions, nutritional supplements—most of the potions in the guild are made by Riyao. He just doesn't like to sell them."

Lucy was stunned; she hadn't expected Riyao to have this side to it.

A night breeze blew by, and the starry sky overhead shone exceptionally brightly.

A shooting star streaked across the sky, leaving a long trail of light in the night.

Lucy looked up at the shooting star and sighed, "I wonder where it ends up."

Loke's signature smile faded from his face, replaced by a deep melancholy, like a dark cloud obscuring the moonlight.

He lowered his head, his voice becoming very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

"Lucy, do you know how sad it is for a star that can never go back to the sky?"

Lucy was stunned. Looking at Loke's expression, she realized it wasn't a joke or flirting; it was a genuine sadness from the bottom of his heart.

But then she thought about it again and realized something was wrong.

"You don't always use this trick to pick up girls, do you?" Lucy crossed her arms and looked at Loke with suspicion.

Loke paused, then scratched his head, chuckled sheepishly, and resumed his nonchalant expression. "Sorry, sorry, I enjoyed chatting with you like this. I'm off."

He turned and left, his steps much slower than usual, his silhouette casting a long shadow under the streetlights.

Lucy watched his retreating figure, feeling that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Lucy returned home and tossed and turned on her bed, her mind filled with Loke's words.

How sad would a star be if it could never return to the sky?

The more she thought about it, the more concerned she became. She sat up in bed, took out the Celestial Spirit Key, and summoned Crux of the Crux.

Crux was an old Celestial Spirit with a cross-shaped beard. He started dozing off as soon as he appeared, his eyelids drooping and his head nodding.

"Crux, please use your power to help me find out about any Celestial Spirit Mages connected to Loke."

Crux pushed up his reading glasses, yawned widely, and then began to circulate his energy to investigate.

But as he continued the examination, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, his head drooped lower and lower, and in the end, he actually fell asleep standing up and started snoring.

Happy, seeing Crux sleeping standing up, exclaimed in shock, "Eh! How did he fall asleep?!"

Crux suddenly opened his eyes as if he were having a nightmare.

"I can't say too much about the specifics, but the Celestial Spirit Mage connected to Mr. Loke is Karen."

Lucy was taken aback, her mouth agape in surprise. "It's Karen from Blue Pegasus!?"

Happy tilted his head and scratched it. "Is it famous?"

Lucy turned to Happy, her voice excited, "Miss Karen is a very famous Celestial Spirit Mage! She's the mascot of Blue Pegasus, and it's said that her Celestial Spirit summoning skills are top-notch throughout the entire kingdom! How could she be related to Loke?"

As she was thinking, the window was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

Riyao's head popped out from under the window, his hands gripping the windowsill like a cat trying to climb over a wall, his expression urgent.

"Loke has left the guild! Everyone's out looking for him!"

Lucy and Happy were both shocked. Lucy almost jumped out of bed. "What?! Quitting the guild?!"

Happy's wings stood on end. "Why would Loke suddenly leave the guild?!"

Riyao didn't explain much. He climbed in through the window and then climbed out again, his movements fluid and graceful, as if he were used to it.

His figure quickly disappeared into the night, leaving only one sentence floating over.

"Go find someone quickly, don't let him do anything foolish."

Riyao mentally gave himself a perfect score for his performance.

Lucy and Happy exchanged a glance, quickly put on their clothes, and rushed out of the house.

And what about Riyao?

He did go out to look for people, but his search was in a different direction than everyone else's.

He jogged all the way to the waterfall outside the city, found a clean, large rock to sit on, took out a handful of melon seeds from his pocket, crossed his legs, and looked in the direction of the waterfall.

Moonlight spills onto the waterfall, creating a misty spray that resembles a thin veil.

Riyao munched on sunflower seeds, a slight smile playing on his lips, and muttered to himself, "The show's about to begin."

He knew Loke would come here.

Riyao wasn't in a hurry to find Loke, because he knew that some things had to be done by Lucy.

All he needs to do is stand by and watch the show.