"Mm... all right. I'll wait for you here."
Rita reluctantly let go of Liu Bai's arm.
"..."
Just like Natasha, after Liu Bai entered the restroom, Rita stood there blankly for two minutes.
"I-I-I... what did I just do?"
...Though she did not regret it at all. When she thought of Liu Bai, it even seemed somewhat acceptable?
No! Her cognition had clearly been altered!
Although Rita admitted that she thought highly of Liu Bai, it had not reached this extent, had it?
But even knowing that did not help at all...
"That woman Natasha... would rather get hit by it herself just to drag me down with her? She's seriously the biggest bastard alive!"
Even though Rita's manners were usually excellent, after briefly reviewing what had happened, she realized the problem and started cursing.
Dream.
However...
"Hmph... I won this time, didn't I?"
A hint of smugness returned to Rita's face.
Being able to push Natasha this far was enough.
As for the relationship between Shencheng Pharmaceuticals and World Serpent... she could not get any information out of Natasha for now.
The other woman's lips were as tightly sealed as her own. They were evenly matched.
That said, what exactly had been put in that cup of coffee? It had silently altered her cognition.
It had directly made her see Liu Bai through the filter of someone she loved.
She still did not understand how this drug worked, but if it were ever mass-produced...
Rita shuddered. She still remembered that feeling of being swept away by love.
Even now, although Rita knew that sending a message and leaving first was the best option, she still felt reluctant to part with him.
Ding-dong...
Liu Bai: Little Gui set the house on fire while cooking. I'm heading back first.
...Today's incident had really been thanks to Mr. Liu Bai noticing that something was wrong.
Otherwise, there was no telling how things might have ended.
Rita suppressed the urge to keep flirting with Liu Bai through the messaging app and turned off her wristband.
Today's operation ended here.
Retreat.
"Today must have been exhausting for you, Mr. Liu Bai."
After returning to the Serenitea Pot, Firefly poured Liu Bai a cup of tea.
"The exhaustion on your face is practically overflowing."
"Mm... sometimes dealing with absurd emergencies is even more tiring than following a plan and matching wits." Liu Bai sighed.
"Absurd emergencies...?"
Firefly tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"Mm... I think I can understand that? Was our crash-landing on Earth also an absurd emergency? This place is clearly beyond the Trailblaze routes..."
"I'm afraid it is more than merely beyond the routes."
A purple-haired swordswoman came down from the second floor, her aura icy and her attire revealing yet practical.
"Miss Acheron."
Liu Bai greeted the swordswoman.
The biggest gain from yesterday, after Yelan had finished spending all her currency.
Acheron.
Also known as a rice-cooking lady with a permanent cat-faced scowl.
As for their relationship, it was one of employment.
Her starting favorability was 30.
Other than Firefly, she was probably Liu Bai's greatest trump card.
Getting the featured character in fifty pulls was a fairly standard result.
"Miss Acheron, what do you mean by that?"
Firefly tilted her head, confused.
She could sense a dangerous aura from Acheron.
"...Sir, you have another companion, correct? She is also a Pathwalker?"
"Yes."
"Call her back so we can discuss this together. Though it is only a conclusion I have inferred."
Acheron looked serious, so Liu Bai had no choice but to take it seriously as well. He called back Guinaifen, who had been watching Xiao Kong.
"Isn't this meeting a little too serious...?"
Seeing Acheron's expression, Guinaifen felt that the atmosphere around them was somewhat stifling.
"Um... Miss Acheron, right? What did you want to say?"
"This planet."
Acheron was sparing with her words, as though carefully considering her phrasing.
"This planet may not merely be outside the routes. It may very well be... beyond the sight of the gods."
"?"
"?"
"?"
A question mark appeared over each of the three listeners' heads.
"Uh... what does 'beyond the sight of the gods' mean?"
"Miss Gui, do you know who the earliest known Pathwalker was?"
"I do, I do. The Builders, who revered and imitated the acts of the Lord of the Sky-Filling, the Amber King."
Among the Xianzhou's beliefs, only two gods could be respectfully called the Lord of Fate.
One was The Hunt, and the other was Preservation.
Having spent so long around the Xianzhou, Guinaifen knew at least that much.
"Mm. At that time, the Aeon of Trailblaze had not yet ascended. In that era, only Aeons could travel the starry sea, and the universe was almost a forbidden land to ordinary people. Yet even so, it did not prevent someone's devotion from earning a glance from the Amber King and allowing them to step onto a Path—even if they were not a Builder who imitated his deeds."
"Ah..."
After hearing Acheron's words, Firefly seemed to vaguely understand something.
But Guinaifen and Liu Bai were still rather confused.
"...Miss Gui, have you discovered any Pathwalkers on this planet?" Acheron helplessly explained further.
"Not in this city so far... but maybe there are some elsewhere?"
"Miss Gui, you are also a Pathwalker."
For someone with a permanent cat-faced scowl, Acheron had put that rather tactfully.
She was just short of saying, "Even you are a Pathwalker. Do you really think you have not encountered anyone in this world better than you?"
Guinaifen: "..."
Guinaifen was starting to sweat.
She had to admit that although she and Liu Bai had not met many people so far, every one of them had been an elite.
"You... you mean the Aeons cannot reach this planet? That has to be... a joke, right?"
Although she did not have much faith, as an interstellar traveler accustomed to the existence of Aeons, Guinaifen still voiced her doubts.
"You may treat it as a joke."
"..."
This new companion was really hard to deal with... especially with that icy attitude.
"Um, but I still have my power, don't I?"
"Ultimately, for Pathwalkers, the Path is merely a glance from an Aeon. Even without the Path or Aeons, skills tempered through countless trials will not betray you."
After all, most Pathwalkers only received the Path from an Aeon. Those who received blessings were few and far between—oh, but the Denizens of Abundance did not count.
Some organizations that worshipped Aeons caused trouble everywhere. Part of it was probably for self-satisfaction, while another part was to please the Aeons and gain their blessings.
"Uh... ahem, I think I understand. So what use is this information to us?"
"What use..."
Acheron thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"I don't know. I merely said what I had realized."
"..."
Why did this fierce new companion suddenly seem a little adorably airheaded?
"The use is that there will be no rescue coming?"
Liu Bai spoke up.
"At least for now, we cannot hope for some rescue falling from the sky—by the way, Miss Acheron, are you all right?"
"Please rest assured. As long as I have this blade, it is enough. And this world..."
There was no emotion in Acheron's calm voice.
Mm... seen that way, she was still quite dependable.
"I'll return to my room first."
Acheron gave a slight nod before turning and heading upstairs.
Only after the sound of a door closing came from upstairs did Guinaifen scratch her head and speak.
"Um... didn't Miss Acheron go into Firefly's room?"
"Maybe she got it wrong because she only arrived recently? There are plenty of empty rooms anyway, so I can just find another one—ah, right. Mr. Liu Bai, would you like to stay in the pot tonight? You haven't stayed here since the Serenitea Pot was renovated, have you?" Firefly did not mind at all and instead turned the subject to Liu Bai.
Mm... now that she mentioned it, that really was true.
"Sure. It does not matter where I sleep. I'll let Little Gui out later—by the way, don't you two feel anything about what Acheron just said?"
"You mean not being able to go back? Eh, whatever. Even if I went back, I'd just be running around the various Xianzhou ships. I do miss my younger siblings a little, but with my big brother and the others around, there's nothing to worry about."
"As for me, simply surviving is already incredibly fortunate. Not being able to return... is nothing. At least Mr. Liu Bai is here with me... and it looks like there might be more and more people joining us?"
"...Not necessarily. What if this place suddenly comes under someone's notice?"
Would the condition for clearing this be returning to the universe?
Then they would probably have to place their hopes on the Stellaron.
"Enough of that. I'll go prepare a room for you right away, Mr. Liu Bai."
Firefly eagerly got up and headed upstairs.
"Miss Firefly looks really happy. Boss Liu, you should probably be careful tonight."
Before you continue