Monica

The beauty flew into his arms, and Edward, wearing only a shirt on his upper body, clearly felt the impact of those peaks. The collision was warm and astonishingly elastic. A few seconds later, he felt his nose heat up, and a metallic, coppery smell drilled into his nostrils. He quickly pushed the beauty in his arms away with one hand while covering his nose with the other.

"Mo... Monica? How... how did you find me here?"

Edward asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, pulling tissues from his Spatial Ring to wipe his nosebleed.

The beauty's limpid eyes fixed on Edward, her lips seeming to tremble, making others think she was just too emotional to speak. But a thread of sound entered Edward's ear.

"You traitor! You abandoned me, abandoned the Brotherhood brothers, and ran off to the New Continent to live it up?"

Edward was startled, recognizing the beauty's Ventriloquism. He quickly forced an awkward smile at the onlookers and said, "What a coincidence today, running into my distant cousin. Everyone, bear with me a moment, we need to talk."

Whether anyone believed him or not, he couldn't care less. He hurriedly pulled the beauty behind the counter, past the Screen Wall, and out of everyone's sight.

The three mercenaries who had come to repair the Steam Crossbow looked utterly bewildered. Though curious, they dared not speak, cowed by 'Big Sister's' usual 'tyranny.'

In the rest area, Alice tugged at the Knight Princess, who had already put on a stern face, but saw her sitting there without moving. She glanced back at her female cousin, as if to say: If you won't go, I will.

Then the young mage 'tiptoed' over to the Screen Wall in full view of everyone, trying to eavesdrop. Harry loyally stepped in front of the young mage and deliberately coughed twice.

Alice looked helpless, shot a glance at the red-haired lad with freckles, and muttered quietly:

"You're such a killjoy." Then she huffed back to sit beside her cousin.

Edward pulled the 'lovesick' beauty to the back, grabbed her shoulders, and said seriously in a low voice:

"Monica, where have you been all this time? How can you say that about me? Back then, it was you and those guys calling themselves the Godfall Brotherhood who dragged me into it. I said my goodbyes before I left. I just couldn't find you at the time, didn't get a chance to tell you."

"Hmph—"

With a cold snort, the loving expression on the beauty's face vanished. She raised her hand and knocked Edward's hands away, crossing her arms over her chest, deepening her 'cleavage' even more. Edward dared not look, pulling out another tissue to wipe his nosebleed. The beauty stared at him as if he were a ghost, whispering:

"Dragged you into it?

Wasn't it you who was after my body? Now I'm your 'cousin'? Back in the Brotherhood, no one was more eager than you.

Who was called the 'Destroyer Dragon of the Empire'? Who was the 'Silver-Winged Magician'? Now from the Imperial Capital to Lipton Port, young people are all copying you, wearing white suits and white top hats... Do you want everyone out there to hear about your 'Glorious Deeds'?"

"Stop... stop, listen to me first." Edward covered his face in embarrassment at hearing his old 'nicknames.' The past was unbearable to recall! He wished he could find a crack in the floor to crawl into.

"When the Brotherhood disbanded, I explained everything to everyone, but no one could find you. I didn't wrong you or those brothers. You were the one who vanished without a trace first." Edward paused, then continued, "I owe you one. What do you want?"

"I haven't decided yet... Let me stay at your place for a few days." The beauty revealed her final card, lowering her head with a hint of shyness. "I haven't dared to sleep properly for over ten days. At your place, I'll feel safe..."

Only then did Edward notice the heavy Dark Circles hidden beneath her thick eye shadow, and he couldn't help feeling a pang of pity.

Now the problem was: when you're about to start looking for a new girlfriend, your ex suddenly shows up and wants to stay at your place for a few days. What do you do? Asking for a friend, urgent.

He was about to grit his teeth and say no when he heard the beauty grind her teeth and hiss:

"If you dare refuse, I'll report you. Guess which has a higher bounty—the 'Destroyer Dragon of the Empire' or the 'Silver-Winged Magician'?"

"Stop... I agree," Edward paused, organizing his words, "but you have to listen to me and play my 'cousin,' okay? Outside right now are the Princess of the White Hawk Duchy, the Royal Mage, and the captain of the knights. Don't expose yourself under any circumstances."

"Fine, it's just acting. Haven't we done plenty of that before?" The beauty shot a glance at the Alchemist, a look that seemed to hook him, nearly pulling the young alchemist's soul out. Then she said:

"Seeing you so anxious, there must be someone out there you care about, right?" She sneaked a peek outside. "Let me guess. That flat-chested little girl isn't your type. So it must be that blonde beauty... Oh, you even gave her your 'baby.' Back then, I couldn't even touch it, and now you hand it over just like that. Tsk tsk, looks like you've found true love this time?"

"Don't talk nonsense, that's not true, I sold it to her!" Edward denied it three times, then continued, "Don't you dare reveal your thief profession. Those two girls outside have sharp senses."

"I'm not a thief, I'm an assassin, a great assassin!" The beauty bristled like an angry cat, 'fiercely' growling at Edward.

"An assassin who doesn't kill is just a thief..." Edward delivered the finishing blow.

"You—"

"Hey, stop arguing. Remember, don't expose yourself. I still have to treat them to lunch later. Don't say anything you shouldn't."

Then Edward pulled the beauty back out from behind the Screen Wall. With an awkward smile, he said to everyone:

"Sorry to keep you all waiting. Ran into a long-lost relative, got a bit carried away." He turned and gestured to the beauty behind him. "This is my distant cousin, Monica."

"I'm really sorry, everyone. Seeing Brother Edward got me a bit emotional. Please forgive my rudeness earlier."

Monica, wearing a smile like she'd just cried tears of joy, clasped her hands and bowed to everyone in the shop. The wide neckline of her dress revealed even deeper 'cleavage.' Across from her, the Knight Princess remained expressionless, while the Beautiful Girl Mage curled her lips in disdain. The captain of the knights, the priest, and the red-haired Harry—all hot-blooded young men—instinctively covered their noses. Yini, standing beside Harry, pinched his Lower Back in annoyance.

Seeing this, Edward couldn't help but marvel at what a natural-born drama queen this woman was. Then he began introducing everyone to Monica.

According to social etiquette, the highest-ranking person should be introduced first. But for some reason, Edward saved the Knight Princess for last. Surprisingly, the Knight Princess, who had been stone-faced moments before, smiled and greeted Monica.

At that moment, Andrea suddenly extended her long index finger, wagging it back and forth between the pair, and asked:

"Edward, this might be rude of me, but are you mistaken? Miss Monica here doesn't seem like your 'cousin'—she seems more like your 'older sister.'"

"You jest, Princess. Monica is only 21, a year younger than me," Edward explained.

Standing together now, Edward and Monica shared the same hair and eye color, both tall and slender, looking like they could indeed be relatives. But Monica's Heavy Makeup gave her a worldly air, making her appear much older than Edward.

Everyone let out a collective "Huh?" in surprise, clearly not buying it. The three mercenaries were the most dramatic—the 'Big Sister' who had kept them in line all this time was just a 21-year-old girl?