Katarina: "Th-this is a banana?! Boohoo, that familiar taste... I haven't eaten a banana in over ten years. Group Owner, I love you!"
Akame: "..."
Maple: "I can't help feeling like Katarina is being raised as a monkey."
Ling Yuan: "Don't cry. Go, Monkey King! Keep hanging on!"
Katarina: "? I'd rather not have that kind of encouragement!"
Laxus: "Stop, stop, stop! All of you, stop for a second! What about my question?"
"Tsk."
Seeing Laxus's message, Ling Yuan curled his lip.
He was actually interrupting his monkey-watching.
Ling Yuan: "The answer is simple. You got beaten up—Natsu beat you until you were crawling around looking for your teeth, and then you were kicked out of the guild."
Laxus froze.
Looking at the answer in the group chat, he felt somewhat melancholy, but not surprised.
After doing something like that, the old man really would have kicked him out of the guild.
But when he entered the group chat again, he was dumbfounded.
Katarina: "I desperately request a memory copy of Laxus getting beaten until he crawled around looking for his teeth!"
Akame: "Desperately requested!"
Maple: "Desperately requested!"
Eighth Princess: "Desperately requested!"
Lightning Dragon Slayer: "Bastards! That's enough!"
After messing around for a while,
Ling Yuan exited the group chat.
That little commotion also woke Ling Yuan up completely.
Ophis, who had been lying beside Ling Yuan, opened her eyes and sat up with him.
"Sorry, I woke you up." Ling Yuan smiled apologetically.
Ophis shook her head.
"Ding-dong!"
Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang.
"?"
Puzzled,
Ling Yuan put Ophis away and went to answer the door.
Creak—
The door opened.
When Ling Yuan saw who had come, he was immediately surprised.
"Aunt Xiao?"
"May I come in and sit for a while?" Aunt Xiao smiled.
"Please, come in." Ling Yuan pulled the door open.
"Are you getting used to living alone?" Aunt Xiao asked as she looked around after entering.
"It's alright. I'm just making do." Ling Yuan poured a glass of water and placed it before Aunt Xiao.
After taking a light sip, Aunt Xiao looked at Ling Yuan. "Why don't I see your Contract Beast?"
"Oh, that little guy is covered in flames and catches fire at the slightest touch, so I put him inside my body. Still, he can usually be used for cooking. Saves on gas, too."
Aunt Xiao smiled faintly. "Could you let me take a look?"
"No problem."
Ling Yuan beckoned at the air, and a ball of flame appeared. Soon, a chibi Belleronus landed on the table with a nimble flip.
"Roar!"
He did not forget to let out a dragon's roar.
But not only was it completely unthreatening, it was also utterly adorable.
Aunt Xiao studied Belleronus and slowly extended her hand.
Belleronus looked at it, then finally raised his head and rubbed against it.
"What a cute child. Take good care of him. He may become a great help in the future." Aunt Xiao withdrew her hand with a smile.
Then she took a red crystal from her interdimensional ring and handed it to Ling Yuan. "I happen to have something here. Consider it a graduation gift."
"What is this?" Ling Yuan looked puzzled.
"This was left behind by Ranran's father. It's a Fire Attribute crystal that can increase the purity of flames a little. I'm giving it to you."
"How can I accept this?" Ling Yuan hurriedly tried to refuse.
It was practically a keepsake. How could he take it?
"It's fine, just take it. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving first."
Without giving Ling Yuan any chance to argue, she stuffed it into his hand and left directly.
It was not until the sound of the door closing rang out that Ling Yuan came back to his senses.
"A holy-type array mage and a fire-type Contract Spirit? Little Ling Yuan really has been hiding quite a few things."
Aunt Xiao murmured softly behind the door before heading home.
In the living room,
Ling Yuan stared blankly at the crystal in his hand.
"System, do you know what this is?"
"Ding! Analysis complete. In reply to Master, this is a High-level Fire Element Crystal."
"A High-level Fire Element Crystal?"
Ling Yuan was confused. It was the first time he had heard that term.
"It is a crystal condensed by a Super-rank Elemental Spirit. This single crystal alone is enough to reduce a small asteroid to dust."
"Holy shit!"
Hearing the system's explanation, Ling Yuan was startled.
He looked at the tiny crystal in his hand in disbelief.
This thing was that dangerous?!
"No, wait. How could Aunt Xiao, a single mother, possess something this dangerous? Could it be that her identity isn't simple?"
"Ding! Master, this item is highly compatible with the Plague Gem. If it is completely devoured, Belleronus will gain a complete True Fire Core."
Hearing the system's words, Ling Yuan turned his head and found Belleronus staring at him blankly—or rather, at the crystal in his hand.
"Alright, you can eat it."
Aunt Xiao had given it to Bella in the first place, and it was of little use to him anyway.
"Awooo!"
Bella opened her mouth and swallowed the crystal whole.
Immediately afterward, the entire dragon turned into light and flew into Ling Yuan's body.
"Ding ding ding!"
Just as Ling Yuan was about to summon Ophis,
the group chat notifications in his mind started ringing nonstop.
Katarina: "@Ling Yuan, Group Owner, please save little Hongyu!"
Ling Yuan: "I'm here, I'm here. What happened?"
Katarina: "Hongyu's brother is going to force her into something!"
Ling Yuan: "???"
Akame: "???"
Maple: "???"
Lightning Dragon Slayer: "What kind of explanation is that? It sounds so messed up."
Katarina: "Ahem, sorry. I've played too many games. I get worked up whenever I run into this kind of thing."
Ling Yuan: "So what exactly happened?"
Eighth Princess: "@Ling Yuan, Group Owner, it's like this. Today, Brother Hongyan came to my bedroom and said that I was going with him to conquer Labyrinth No. 37."
Ling Yuan: From Now On, Be My Little Sister
Ling Yuan: "Conquering a labyrinth? Isn't that a good thing? If I remember correctly, Hongyan should have two Demon Gods by now. With him there, you don't need to worry about safety at all."
Eighth Princess: "That's true, but Brother Hongyan said he wanted to see whether I had the courage expected of a warrior's child. He won't intervene at all, even if I'm killed by labyrinth creatures."
Katarina: "See, Group Owner? How can there be such an irresponsible older brother in this world?"
Akame: "..."
It reminded her of her own older sister.
But unlike this, the two sisters had faced hardships together. Though they eventually went their separate ways.
Eighth Princess: "Thank you all for keeping me company during this time. It has been the happiest period of my life, but it's time to say goodbye."
Ling Yuan: "Uh, I think you all may have misunderstood Hongyan."
Seeing Hongyu's grief-stricken words, Ling Yuan hesitated.
Ling Yuan: "He actually loves his younger siblings very much. As I understand it, he would rather give up the throne than see his younger siblings fail to get along."
Eighth Princess: "Eh? Really? Brother Hongyan usually looks so fierce..."
Katarina: "Could he be some kind of pervert with fantasies about his little sister?"
Akame: "Don't assume everyone is as filthy-minded as you, you fujoshi."
Ling Yuan's slender fingers rubbed against his chin.
Labyrinth No. 37... if he remembered correctly, it belonged to Phoenix.
A Demon God with healing abilities, and a great beauty too...
The Full Body Magic Armor seemed pretty good as well.
Ling Yuan: "@Eighth Princess, Hongyu, wait there. I'm coming over now."
Eighth Princess: "Eh?"
Ling Yuan: "@Eighth Princess, it doesn't matter if you don't trust Hongyan. From now on, be my little sister. I'll protect you."
Eighth Princess: "!"
Katarina: "Protect me too, protect me! I want to be your little sister too. @Ling Yuan, Ling Yuan oniichan~"
Ling Yuan: "Get up a tree, Monkey King. I don't want to get conquered in reverse."
Katarina: "?"
Akame: "Does the Group Owner have enough points already?"
Ling Yuan: "I'm the Group Owner, so of course I have certain privileges. They were established so I could get there in time whenever group members encounter danger or other critical moments."
Maple: "Group Owner big brother is so gentle."
Before you continue