As a battleship, the Moonlight Throne naturally could not dock just anywhere. It could only berth at a commercial spaceport, which required a fee. Fortunately, since it was a Schicksal battleship, most of the fee was waived. That counted as good news...
"Wow, is this Neon? It feels kind of crowded..."
After parking the battleship, the four of them walked through Tokyo's streets. Kiana was like a rabbit freshly released from its cage, bouncing around energetically everywhere. She seemed like a completely different person from the Kiana who always dozed off during class...
"Of course there are lots of people. This country already has a huge population, but it's also very small. And nearly a third of all those people are concentrated in the Tokyo area!"
Mei smiled as she explained it to Kiana. After all, this was her own country. It would have been a little excessive if she did not even know something like that!
"Bronya dislikes crowded places..."
For safety's sake, Bronya had brought Project Bunny along as well. She was currently riding on it as they moved forward, but that naturally attracted quite a few stares from passersby...
"Don't worry, I already booked the inn!"
Ling Feng held his phone as he checked it and said, "I took Mei's advice and booked one at a fairly moderate price. There's food, hot springs, and even... mixed bathing. Want to go?"
Mixed bathing...
Kiana and Mei both froze for a moment. Kiana had heard of mixed bathing and seen it in plenty of anime, but she had never experienced it herself. Mei probably knew all about it, right...
But... Mei did not know either. Ever since she was little, she had always used her own private hot spring, entirely by herself. Where would mixed bathing come from? So even though she was a local, she only knew about many things in Neon without ever having experienced them!
"Uh... I read that wrong!"
Seeing that the three of them had fallen silent, Ling Feng hurriedly corrected himself and said with a smile, "Um, we booked a private suite. The whole set, with several rooms and one hot spring. We don't have to go to any mixed bath..."
Ling Feng might have had some thoughts about mixed bathing, but he truly did not want Kiana and Mei to go either. Because... it was enough for him to look at his own wife. Going to a mixed bath would feel like losing a hundred million. Besides, he had only heard about it; he had never seen it with his own eyes...
"Oh!"
"I see!"
Mei and Kiana immediately returned to normal and continued chatting and laughing. They could just pretend nothing had happened...
As for the language issue, there was no need to mention Mei—she obviously knew her own language. But the other three... well, the less said, the better!
Still, it did not really matter. It was enough that Mei knew it!
Following Mei's lead, they first went to a bank to exchange local currency, then took the subway to find the inn they had booked...
The size was about the same as in the photos, and the suite was decent enough. It was a detached courtyard-style suite with two rooms, a living room, a small hot spring, and even... some sort of evil product designed to stop humans from reproducing sitting on the table!
The living room was not large—more accurately, it was a little small. The rooms were not large either, roughly four meters by four meters. But there was nothing to be done about that. The price was right there; how big did they expect it to be?
It was just that there were only two rooms...
P.S.: I have something to do today, so I'm posting early. Please excuse me!
The remaining chapter will probably be posted early as well. If not, it should be posted after midnight!
Psychology, Holding Hands!
"Hey, how are we supposed to sleep with... only two rooms?"
Kiana was the first to notice the issue, frowning slightly...
But in reality, she was not the first to notice it. Mei and Bronya had spotted it long ago; they simply had not brought it up. Both of them hoped Kiana would take the initiative to raise the issue, and Kiana had indeed lived up to everyone's expectations!
"Uh... there's nothing we can do. We don't have enough funds, so we'll just have to make do..."
Ling Feng wore an apologetic expression as he said, "This trip is basically a vacation, right? We can't come all this way and not soak in a hot spring. Besides, if we chose an inn that was too cheap, the hot spring quality would be poor, and lots of people would be soaking in it back and forth. Kiana, you definitely wouldn't want that, right? So I thought we should choose a slightly more upscale inn. It costs a bit more, but it's great value for money!"
That was what Ling Feng said, but it was only the surface explanation. Though it was not wrong, in truth...
Heh heh, such a rare chance to travel together. If I don't take the opportunity to do something to bring us closer, this trip will have been wasted. I chose two rooms on purpose, of course. Two people per room is perfect. And among these three, the only one willing to share a room with me would probably be Mei. Then... heh heh...
Even if we can't become more than friends, we can still get a little closer. Maybe just holding each other without doing anything else would have an eighty percent chance of working...
He also had to thank Tesla. If Tesla had not sponsored him with five thousand, he absolutely could not have afforded a hot spring inn at this price. He would probably have had to choose a cheaper one. Then there would not have been a private hot spring, and rooms in that kind of inn were not expensive, so they could have booked more rooms. In that case, he would only have been left alone in an empty room!
"This..."
Kiana hesitated for a moment, then suddenly thought of something. Her eyes widened as she looked at Mei...
Mei looked at Kiana at the same time...
(The lines after the colons are inner thoughts!)
Kiana: This... is an opportunity...
Mei: This is a very good opportunity...
Kiana: Class President said...
Mei: Tesla said...
Kiana: Take the initiative!
Mei: I need to take the initiative!
Kiana: Even if I fail, I can't let Mei succeed!
Mei: Even if I fail, I absolutely can't let Kiana get what she wants!
At that instant, the two seemed to form a telepathic connection. Though neither spoke, each read the other's thoughts from her eyes. This was an invisible war!
"Let's go out and have a look around first!"
Ling Feng stepped in at just the right moment to break the silence. Smiling, he said, "We finally made it here. What fun is there in staying at the inn all day? Let's take a walk. And Kiana, I heard Neon has lots of delicious food!"
To avoid discussing the issue right then and there, Ling Feng successfully redirected the conversation toward sightseeing. Since no one was sleepy yet, discussing room assignments would be difficult. But...
It was like negotiating with someone. If they talked normally, it would probably take a long time. But if they chose noon, prepared delicious food next door, and adopted the attitude that no one ate until the negotiations were over, trust him, the negotiations would quickly reach a result...
So, they would discuss the room issue at night, when everyone was a little sleepy. That way, they would quickly reach a conclusion, and they would also be more likely to accept a result they normally could not accept. That was psychology!
Ling Feng declared that he had already seen through everything. This move was suffocatingly brilliant. This sports car was steady as an old dog. A professional driver never overturned!
Time: Tonight!
Target: First--Bloo1d!
"Good food? Mm, I approve!"
Sure enough, Kiana was still Kiana. The moment delicious food was mentioned, her attention was instantly diverted. Ling Feng had basically found the method to tame Kiana. There was only one answer: feed her...
After putting their things away, the four went out to explore. Bronya also left Project Bunny at the inn. It could not be helped—this thing was simply too conspicuous and became the center of attention wherever it went!
Although it could turn invisible through quantumization, that consumed quite a bit of energy. So she simply left it at the inn, where it could also watch their luggage. Killing two birds with one stone!
The streets were no less prosperous than Magic City's, though the styles felt rather different, mainly in the architecture. The buildings here looked more traditional, while Magic City had quite a bit of a futuristic feel!
Ling Feng did not want to comment too much on such unimportant matters, but there really was plenty of food...
None of the four had eaten dinner yet, especially Kiana. As gluttonous as she usually was, she had surprisingly not eaten much at noon. She had saved room specifically for tonight...
As for the cost of living, things like fruit were a little expensive, while seafood was quite cheap...
"Mm, that tastes good. Captain, let's go to the next one!"
After taking two bites to finish the snack in her mouth, Kiana walked toward the next stall while still chewing. Tonight, the Captain was treating them. Nothing else mattered; she would eat her fill first!
"Hey, slow down! If you get lost, I'm not going to look for you!"
Ling Feng hurriedly followed after her. Honestly, given Kiana's intelligence, he was genuinely worried she would get lost...
"Captain, you don't need to spoil Kiana so much..."
Mei quietly walked beside Ling Feng with a helpless smile on her face. She did not object to Ling Feng spoiling everyone, but she did not want him to indulge Kiana constantly either. After all, Kiana was an elite-level foodie!
"It's fine, it's fine!"
Ling Feng waved his hand and smiled. "After this trip, who knows when the next one will be? It's rare for us to get out like this, so if we don't have as much fun as possible, that would really be a huge loss!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Mei nodded gently, agreeing with Ling Feng's words. In her heart, she also liked this side of his personality...
"Hey, Mei, why did you suddenly start calling me Captain?"
Ling Feng had actually wanted to complain about this ever since that afternoon. After taking over the Moonlight Throne, Mei's form of address for him had changed from his name to Captain. It always sounded a little strange!
"Because..."
Mei deliberately paused, then turned to look at Ling Feng. Tilting her head slightly to the left, she smiled in a questioning tone. "Maybe... because I like it?"
"Huh?"
Ling Feng did not quite understand what Mei meant...
Like it? What did she mean? Did she like me?
Ling Feng hesitated. He wanted to ask, but he felt that asking such a question would be stupid, so...
Imitating what he had seen on television, Ling Feng silently extended his right hand toward Mei like a gentleman and smiled. "Then, this beautiful lady, would you grant me the honor of being your escort?"
"Of course. It would be my honor, Captain!"
Mei smiled softly and nodded. She naturally placed her hand in his...
"I will swear loyalty to you!"
"Captain, Mei, come over! What flavor do you want?" Kiana waved at them from not far away. She had already found the next delicacy she wanted to eat!
Ling Feng and Mei looked at each other, smiling in unspoken agreement, then walked forward hand in hand...
However, they did not hold hands for long. They had to buy things, carry things, and pay, after all. As the lyric went, where did the time go? Before they had even properly felt it, it was gone...
It seemed that not wanting a third wheel on a date was a perfectly reasonable request!
The four ate all kinds of delicious food while looking at little crafts, toys, and other trinkets. Kiana liked them quite a lot, of course, though delicious food would always rank first...
"What a coincidence, Captain!"
At that moment, Ling Feng heard a soft, sultry voice from behind him. That tone, that cadence, that pace—it was the maid named Rita?
Ling Feng quickly turned around. Sure enough, it was Rita. She was still dressed in that maid outfit, with those horn-like hair accessories she seemed never to remove. She was currently smiling at him!
"Miss Rita?"
Seeing Rita, Ling Feng promptly responded. He actually liked Rita quite a bit too, though not in a romantic sense. He simply liked her personality, and the maid trait was a bonus!
"Didn't you return to Schicksal headquarters? Why are you here?"
Liking her was one thing, but he still had questions to ask. Ling Feng did not believe Rita had come here for sightseeing. Even if she had, who traveled in a maid outfit...
"Well, I did go back, but the Bishop gave me a new mission..."
Rita merely smiled at Ling Feng's question. "Though it isn't anything important. I was simply told to follow the Captain, because Anti-Entropy seems to have sent people here as well!"
"Anti-Entropy?"
The moment Anti-Entropy was mentioned, Ling Feng and Mei both became serious. Mei had far too much psychological trauma from Anti-Entropy...
"Please don't worry, Captain. For now, it's only a suspicion. Nothing has been confirmed..."
Rita placed a hand over her lower abdomen and gave a slight bow, smiling as she said, "Still, while this may have been the Bishop's order, I actually volunteered to come to the Captain's side. Because I'm very interested in you, Captain!"
Ling Feng: ... Anyone could tell there was something fishy about a line like that, okay? I've heard it plenty of times...
"Uh... setting aside why you're here, how did you know I was the Captain? It hasn't even been ten hours since I took over as the Moonlight Throne's Captain..."
"It's Schicksal's system!"
Mei explained, "Schicksal has a central system through which many orders and pieces of information are transmitted. I think the Academy Head must have uploaded the information about you becoming Captain. And if that weren't the case, not only would the commercial spaceport not have waived our fees, our battleship might have been intercepted before it even entered Neon airspace!"
The Moonlight Throne was, after all, a military battleship. Without official registration, it certainly could not enter Neon normally!
"Uh... all right, I get it!"
Ling Feng nodded, fully understanding Mei's explanation!
"That's right, Captain!"
Rita nodded slightly, then a seductive smile appeared on her face. "So from now on, let this professional maid take care of you, Captain. And... special services are available too, though special services come at a price..."
"Special services? Ahem..."
Remembering that Mei was beside him, Ling Feng coughed calmly and said, "Miss Rita, please don't make jokes like that. I'm not the sort of person you imagine. But if you want to stay, I doubt I can stop you, so do as you please!"
Before you continue