Banquet (Part 1)

K City seemed not to have seen anything this big in a very long time.

A princess from some Small Nordic Country had come to China to study abroad. To experience life better, she had deliberately shaken off her attendants and arrived at her destination alone ahead of time. While the Relevant Departments were hurriedly preparing a welcome ceremony with little time to spare, Her Highness the Princess was mooching food and drinks at some Chinese high school student's home—this was the script Sandora had directed.

The big-eating girl in front of me was rapidly shoveling food into her mouth, while I fought back a twitch in my face and said, "Sandora, can't you find somewhere to stay? Why do you keep coming here to mooch meals every day?"

Sandora answered through a mouthful of food, "Mm—because I like being with you—and I never expected your Older Sister's cooking to be this good..."

Older Sister immediately replied somewhat stiffly, "Thank you..."

Even now, Older Sister still found it unbelievably strange that I had managed to bring a princess home.

Seeing that Older Sister was still uncomfortable, I said helplessly, "Sis, just relax. Other than having the title of princess, this girl isn't any different from us."

Older Sister immediately said, "A Jun, you can't say that! Sandora is a princess, after all. We should be more respectful, or this could turn into an international dispute..."

Older Sister, you really were overthinking it. If we got into a conflict with Sandora, it would probably escalate into a racial and interstellar dispute. Calling it an international dispute was far too mild.

Over the past few days, our classmates had been eagerly discussing what the mysterious princess who had suddenly arrived might look like. They had no idea that the person they were discussing was the noble blonde girl beside them, who ate enough for three people every noon. The reason was simple: although Sandora had all the bearing of a princess, and the four foreign bodyguards she had brought along on her first day had looked impressive enough, her appetite had outright killed any possibility of anyone connecting her with the identity of a princess.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. A foreign princess coming to study in this city was clearly a major event, and the princess, who had yet to show herself, drew even more attention because of her mystery. During this time, I gradually learned how Sandora had given herself such an unbelievable identity.

Sandora's target had been Liska, a cold island nation in Northern Europe. It had an area of sixty thousand square kilometers and a population of over five million. Because of the cold climate, most of its population was concentrated around the capital, Fulton, while the rest of the country could be described as vast and sparsely populated. With no notable specialties and no great figures who had shaken the world, this island nation, not exactly small in area, had little fame. Still, thanks to its developed commerce and recently emerging tourism industry, Liska's residents lived fairly prosperous lives. Sandora and her subordinates had taken one look at this Nordic nation, with its massive floating population and broad uninhabited ice fields, and set their sights on it.

Before this, I had never known exactly what ability Sandora had gained in the Abyss. I had only seen her Abyss combat form; as for her Abyss ability, I knew nothing. It was not until yesterday that Sandora personally told me what her power was.

Event Creation.

That was what Sandora called it.

Specifically, it transformed her will into the power to directly interfere with the Law of Causality, forcibly turning a fictional event into reality. Using this ability, Sandora had fabricated an identity for herself as a princess.

Without question, this was practically a heaven-defying ability—if it did not have so many restrictions.

Its success rate was less than one in ten. The greater the area affected and the further the fabricated fact deviated from reality, the more severe the backlash inflicted on the user. Each activation would leave the user in a near-death state of weakness for twenty-four hours, and if it failed, it might even trigger the collapse of the Law of Causality...

With so many restrictions, I truly did not know whether to call this ability heaven-defying or useless. Sandora really was bold enough to take such a risk despite consequences this severe.

"It's fine," Sandora said, waving a hand when I criticized her for being too reckless. "It worked, didn't it? At worst, I just won't use this ability again."

In a small café near the downtown plaza, Qian Qian, Sandora, Pandora, and I were killing a boring afternoon—after having extra classes every day, suddenly getting a day off left us rather unaccustomed to it.

I leaned over to look at the open-air banquet venue outside, which was nearly ready, and said to Sandora, "At this point, if you still don't show up, won't the organizers panic themselves to death?"

"It's fine." Sandora waved her hand, then grabbed one of the little pastries in front of me and stuffed it into her mouth. "I already told them I would naturally appear when the time came. If they don't even have that much composure, there is nothing I can do about it."

"Sandora," Qian Qian said, still looking somewhat confused, "are you really a princess?"

"That's right." Sandora stuffed my last pastry into her mouth, then snapped her fingers. "Waiter, another serving!"

Why was the contrast between how this girl acted in public and in private so huge?

Qian Qian turned her head back and forth, her gaze sweeping between the three of us. Then she suddenly said, "Lately, I've started feeling like all three of you are really strange. It's like I'm the only exception here."

"Because you're the only ordinary person here," Sandora said seriously.

"I want superpowers too..." Qian Qian said weakly, slumping onto the table.

Just then, a commotion suddenly rose outside. We looked over and saw a group of foreigners dressed in what looked like medieval European court attire riding motorcycles into the venue in neat formation.

"I think horses would suit them better," Qian Qian commented.

I nodded in agreement. "Riding motorcycles in ancient clothes really does look pretty stupid."

Since the open-air banquet had already begun, there was no need for us to waste any more time here. I had deliberately gone hungry since noon just for this moment...

This was a genuine free gathering. No matter who you were or what your family background was, anyone who wanted to come could attend—of course, there was still some appropriate screening, but we were not among those being screened out. The eye-catching identity of a foreign princess and the completely free food and drinks had attracted countless people. Some had come to see a beauty, some had come for free food, and even more had come to eat while looking at a beauty...

Although the downtown plaza was enormous, the crowd it had attracted was even more overwhelming. The sea of people nearly packed the entire plaza. The four of us were squeezed into the crowd and could barely move. Only then did I realize that the so-called free food and drinks had been a complete scam. Under these circumstances, finding the few food stations scattered among the crowd was no different from looking for a needle in the ocean. Honestly, I was starving to death... If I'd known, I should have fought Sandora when she took pastries from my plate earlier.

After squeezing through the crowd for ages, Sandora suddenly sighed, "There are so many Earthlings."

Qian Qian was greatly surprised. "You make it sound like you aren't an Earthling!"

I gave an awkward chuckle. "This girl just talks nonsense."

Looking at the dense crowd around us, I suddenly worried, "If this keeps up, won't we still be unable to get in by the time the banquet ends?"

"Can the banquet end if I don't show up?" Sandora rolled her eyes at me, seeming completely unconcerned.

"Do you have some good way to get in?" Seeing Sandora look so confident, I could not help asking. Thinking about it, Sandora had seen all kinds of grand occasions. How could she have overlooked something this simple?

Sandora giggled, then waved a hand. "The life experience is over. Follow me now!"

This girl really had kept something in reserve!

The three of us followed Sandora out of the crowd. After winding through several turns, we arrived at the other side of the plaza, where a small group of foreigners in suits were anxiously pacing in circles.

Sandora straightened her clothes, which had been wrinkled from the crowd, and her bearing abruptly changed. She transformed from a playful, adorable girl next door into a noble foreign princess, then stepped forward and reprimanded them, "Why are you behaving so disgracefully?"

The sudden sound of Sandora's voice startled the foreigners. When they saw who had arrived, they were so delighted they nearly jumped up. But remembering that they were before the princess, these well-trained security personnel quickly calmed down. Still, their voices carried undisguised excitement and relief. "Your Highness! You've finally arrived. We've been unable to contact you..."

"Enough." Sandora waved a hand. "Didn't I tell you that with my four personal bodyguards, I would be fine? That is all. It is getting late. These are my friends. Take us over there together."

"Th-this..." The foreigners exchanged glances. "Would that be appropriate?"

"Do you have an objection?" Sandora said coldly, unleashing the full force of her mental pressure. The foreigners immediately shuddered and repeatedly shook their heads. "No objection, no objection..."

"Now I believe it," Qian Qian said, sticking out her tongue. "Sandora really is a princess."