Monica

A beauty threw herself into his arms, and Edward, who was wearing only a shirt, clearly felt the impact of her breasts. The collision was warm and astonishingly springy. A few seconds later, his nose began to sting, and the metallic smell of blood filled his nostrils. He hurriedly pushed the beauty away with one hand and covered his nose with the other.

"Mo... Monica? H-how did you find me here?"

Edward took a tissue from his Spatial Ring to wipe the blood from his nose, then asked in a voice only the two of them could hear.

The beauty gazed at Edward with glistening eyes, her lips seeming to tremble. The others thought she was simply too emotional to speak. But a faint voice reached Edward's ears.

"You traitor! You left me and the brothers of the Godfall Brotherhood behind and ran off to the New Continent to live it up?"

Edward was startled. He realized the beauty before him was using Ventriloquism. He awkwardly smiled at the onlookers and said, "What a coincidence, running into my distant cousin. Please wait a moment, everyone. We just need to talk."

Whether the others believed him or not, he couldn't worry about that now. He quickly pulled the beauty behind the Screen Wall behind the counter, vanishing from everyone's sight.

The three mercenaries who had come to get their Steam Crossbow repaired looked utterly bewildered. They were curious, but they didn't dare say anything for fear of the Big Sister's usual "tyranny."

In the rest area, Alice tugged at the Knight Princess, who had gone stern-faced. Seeing that she remained seated without making a move, Alice glanced back at her cousin, as if to say, "If you're not going, I will."

Then the Mage girl tiptoed toward the Screen Wall under everyone's watchful eyes, trying to eavesdrop. Harry loyally stepped in front of her and even coughed twice on purpose.

Alice looked exasperated. She glanced at the freckle-faced, red-haired young man and muttered,

"You're no fun." Then she huffed back to her cousin and sat down.

Edward led the "tenderly gazing" beauty to the back, gripped her shoulders with both hands, and asked in a serious, hushed voice,

"Monica, where have you been all this time? How can you say that about me? You and those people who called themselves the Godfall Brotherhood were the ones who dragged me into the group. I said my goodbyes before I left. I just couldn't find you at the time, so I didn't get a chance to tell you."

"Hmph—"

With a cold snort, the tender expression vanished from the beauty's face. She knocked Edward's hands away and folded her arms across her chest, making her cleavage even more pronounced. Edward didn't dare look for long and pulled out another tissue to keep wiping his nose. The beauty stared at him as if she'd seen a ghost and whispered,

"You were dragged into it?

You were just lusting after my body. Now I'm your 'little sister'? Back in the Brotherhood, you were more enthusiastic than anyone.

Who was it they called the 'Destroyer Dragon of the Empire'? And who was the 'Silver-Winged Magician'? From the Imperial Capital to Lipton Port, young people are imitating you now, wearing white suits and white top hats... Want me to let everyone outside hear about your 'glorious deeds'?"

"Stop... stop, just hear me out." Edward covered his face in embarrassment at the mention of his old nicknames. The past was too humiliating to look back on! He wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.

"When the Brotherhood disbanded, I explained everything to everyone, but nobody could find you. I didn't wrong you or the others. You were the one who vanished without a trace." Edward paused, then continued, "I owe you one. What do you want?"

"I haven't decided yet... Let me stay here for a few days first." The beauty played her last card, lowering her head with a hint of shyness. "I haven't dared sleep soundly for more than ten days. I feel safe here with you..."

Only then did Edward notice the heavy dark circles hidden beneath her thick eyeshadow. He couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

Now here was a problem. When you're just about to start looking for a new girlfriend, your ex suddenly shows up and asks to stay at your place for a few days. What are you supposed to do? Answers urgently needed.

He was just about to grit his teeth and refuse when the beauty before him said through clenched teeth,

"If you dare say no, I'll report you. Which do you think would fetch a higher bounty, the 'Destroyer Dragon of the Empire' or the 'Silver-Winged Magician'?"

"Stop... I'll let you stay," Edward said, pausing to gather his thoughts. "But you have to do as I say and pretend to be my 'little sister,' all right? The people outside are the princess of the White Hawk Duchy, the Royal Mage, and the captain of the knights. Whatever you do, don't expose yourself."

"Fine. It's just acting. Haven't we done plenty of that before?" The beauty shot the Alchemist a glance that seemed to hook into him, almost reeling the young Alchemist's soul right out of his body. Then she said,

"You seem awfully anxious. There must be someone out there you care about, right?" As she spoke, she sneaked a glance outside. "Let me guess—the flat-chested girl isn't your type. So it must be that blonde beauty... Ooh, you even gave her your 'treasure.' Back then, you wouldn't even let me touch it, but now you just hand it over to her. Tsk, tsk, looks like you've found true love this time?"

"Don't make things up. That's not what happened. I sold it to her!" Edward denied it three times in a row, then continued, "Whatever you do, don't reveal that you're a thief. Those two girls outside are very perceptive."

"I'm not a thief. I'm an assassin—a master assassin!" The beauty bristled like an angry cat and snarled "fiercely" at Edward.

"An assassin who can't bring herself to kill is just a thief..." Edward added.

"You..."

"Ugh, stop arguing. Remember, don't give yourself away. I still have to invite them to lunch later. And remember, don't say anything you shouldn't."

Then Edward led the beauty back around the Screen Wall. With an awkward grin, he said to everyone, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I ran into a long-lost relative, and we got caught up talking." Then he pointed to the beauty behind him. "This is my distant cousin, Monica."

"I'm so sorry, everyone. I was so excited to see my big brother Edward that I behaved rather rudely just now. Please forgive me."

Monica smiled as though she had just "cried tears of joy," clasped her hands, and bowed to everyone in the shop. The plunging neckline of her dress showed off even more cleavage. The Knight Princess across from her remained expressionless, while the Beautiful Girl Mage curled her lip. The captain of the knights, the priest, and the red-haired Harry were all young men in their prime, and they couldn't help covering their noses. Yini, standing nearby, angrily pinched Harry in the small of his back.

Seeing this, Edward couldn't help thinking that this woman was a born actress. Then he introduced Monica to everyone present.

According to social etiquette, he should have introduced the most important person first. But for some reason, he introduced the Knight Princess last. To everyone's surprise, the Knight Princess, who had been stern-faced moments earlier, smiled and greeted Monica.

Andrea suddenly raised a slender index finger and wagged it between the man and woman before her as she asked,

"Edward, I know this might be rude, but you must have it wrong. Miss Monica doesn't look like your 'little sister.' She looks more like your 'big sister' to me."

"Your Highness, you're joking. Monica is only twenty-one, a year younger than I am," Edward explained.

Edward and Monica stood together, with the same hair and eye color and similarly tall, slender builds. They really did look like relatives. But Monica's heavy makeup gave her a worldly air, making her seem much older than Edward.

Everyone let out a collective "Huh," showing that they really hadn't guessed. The three mercenaries reacted the most dramatically: their "Big Sister," who usually kept them firmly in line, was actually just a twenty-one-year-old young woman.