Warm yellow light from glazed lamps filled the elegant tea room in the Hoshimi Family's main residence.
Having shed the imposing air of the captain of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, Hoshimi Miyabi sat straight-backed at a rosewood table. Her expression was serene and untroubled, with just the right touch of cool detachment.
She looked up at the woman sitting across from her and spoke softly, her even, gentle tone betraying no shift in emotion:
"Mother, what did you want to see me about?"
Hoshimi Kiyohime sat upright across from her, her features gentle, with tender affection for her daughter hidden in her eyes.
She reached out and gently pushed a plate of neatly cut melon toward her, its fruity fragrance filling the tea room.
"Xiao Ya, you've seemed unhappy ever since you came back from the team today."
Noticing that something was amiss with her daughter, Hoshimi Kiyohime asked patiently in a gentle voice:
"Did something happen in Hollow Special Operations Section 6? Or did one of your teammates upset you? If someone has wronged you, you need only tell your father."
The tips of Hoshimi Miyabi's ears twitched slightly, but her expression did not otherwise change.
She picked up a delicate silver fork, speared a piece of melon, and brought it slowly to her mouth. She chewed and swallowed, her movements as precise as a programmed routine.
"No, Mother." Her words were measured, her tone bland, revealing neither joy nor anger. "Lord Dragon Emperor once urged me to find companions I could fight beside and trust.
"The members of Hollow Special Operations Section 6 are the comrades I found. I get along well with them."
She paused, then picked up a second piece of melon with her fork, her movements unhurried.
"My spirits are low today not because of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, but because I discovered something of vital importance-
"Lord Dragon Emperor may still be alive. Today, at a clothing store on the street, I obtained a recently taken photograph of him appearing in the world from a store clerk."
The words fell lightly, yet they exploded like thunder in the quiet tea room.
The warm atmosphere froze in an instant, and a deathly silence descended over the room.
The air seemed to stand still, and even the evening breeze passing outside the window fell silent.
Hoshimi Miyabi remained impassive, repeating the mechanical movement with her fingertips as she speared a third piece of melon and slowly brought it to her lips.
Only after she had swallowed it completely did Hoshimi Kiyohime, who had been silent for several long seconds, suddenly come to her senses.
Her gentle, dignified expression vanished. Her pupils contracted, and her eyes instantly filled with shock and wild joy. Her emotions surged, and she could no longer maintain the composure of a great family's matriarch.
"Our benefactor isn't dead?!"
Hoshimi Kiyohime's voice trembled slightly, rising involuntarily, filled with incredulous joy.
When news of the Dragon Emperor's death had spread throughout New Eridu, the whole city had mourned. Grateful to him for saving their lives, the Hoshimi Family had shut its doors and observed three days of mourning.
"How is that possible?! The whole city held a public memorial, everyone mourned, and every faction confirmed the news of his death. All of us believed it was true!"
She leaned forward slightly, her eyes full of eager anticipation, unable to conceal her excitement.
"Xiao Ya, is he really still alive? Do you know where he is now? Can you take me to see him right away?"
After all this time, learning that the benefactor who had saved her life was still alive turned the grief long pent up in Hoshimi Kiyohime's heart into burning joy. Filled with an urgent desire to find him, she could no longer remain calm and composed.
Faced with her mother's surging emotions, Hoshimi Miyabi remained unruffled. She gently shook her head, her expression serene and her tone as steady as ever.
"Mother, we can't determine his exact location for now. I just confiscated that recently taken photograph from the store clerk. The evidence is now in Vivian's hands."
She lowered her gaze slightly and calmly stated the clues she had uncovered, without a trace of personal emotion:
"However, based on the clerk's detailed description, I can more or less conclude that Lord Dragon Emperor was most likely gravely injured when he appeared this time. He can now neither see nor speak."
"Gravely injured?!"
Hoshimi Kiyohime's heart tightened, her wild joy instantly replaced by anxiety. Her voice was full of concern.
"If he's badly injured, weak, and out there alone, how can you sit at home? In his current condition, with no one to care for him and danger all around, the slightest mishap could be fatal!
"Why haven't you immediately mobilized all your contacts and resources to search for him with all your strength?"
Faced with her mother's anxious questions, Hoshimi Miyabi remained calm, taking small bites of melon. Her words were slightly muffled.
"All the surveillance cameras throughout Lumina Square have stopped working. The official explanation given to the public is that all the equipment is undergoing maintenance."
She said evenly, "That explanation is full of holes. It's enough to confirm that the upper echelons of New Eridu have long since detected signs of Lord Dragon Emperor's appearance and secretly moved to suppress every clue."
Hoshimi Kiyohime froze, instantly understanding the stakes. Her wild joy and urgency subsided somewhat, and her gaze grew more serious.
"So you came back today hoping to use the Hoshimi Family's intelligence network and influence to secretly search for our benefactor?"
Her eyes lit up again, and her voice grew excited once more.
"This is absolutely wonderful news! Your father has never been willing to believe that the Dragon Emperor, whose strength surpassed everyone in New Eridu, could have died so easily.
"As long as our benefactor is alive, there's still a chance for everything to turn around! Let's mobilize all the family's resources and search the entire city right now!"
"No."
Hoshimi Miyabi gently set down her silver fork and slowly pushed the empty fruit plate to the front of the table. Her movements were elegant and precise, her tone calm but unwaveringly certain.
"We can't rashly bring him back to the Hoshimi Family. The only thing we can do now is help him clear away the dangers lurking around him."
She analyzed the situation with clear reasoning, her tone steady and untroubled. "Lord Dragon Emperor is most likely suffering from amnesia and has lost all his past memories. We have no way of knowing how much of his strength remains.
"Compared with living in a great family's residence under the watchful eyes of countless factions, hiding among ordinary citizens is the safest choice for now.
"Our most important task right now is to hold back the restless Dragon Emperor Guard and stop them from acting rashly and throwing everything into disarray."
The calm analysis instantly made Hoshimi Kiyohime's heart sink, followed by even deeper concern.
"Does Vivian know about this too?" Her brows drew tightly together, her face full of worry. "Xiao Ya, how could you tell her about it?
"You know Vivian's condition better than anyone. She's obsessive and extreme, and her possessiveness is terrifying. Once she knows our benefactor is alive, she'll stop at nothing to abduct him and keep him imprisoned at her side. She won't care about Lord Dragon Emperor's wishes at all!"
Hoshimi Miyabi's clear eyes dimmed for an instant, but her face remained largely untroubled. Her tone was as flat as if she were stating a trivial matter unrelated to her.
"I always held out hope before, thinking there was still a chance for Vivian's obsessive condition to improve.
"I used to naively believe that, given more time, the obsession in her heart would fade and she would return to normal."
She nodded slightly, her tone cool and indifferent. "Now it seems I was wrong. Her obsession has sunk into her bones; there's long been no cure for it."
The tea room fell quiet again, warm lamplight falling on Hoshimi Miyabi's cool profile.
Hoshimi Kiyohime watched her daughter's indifferent expression in silence, a touch of tenderness and melancholy stirring in her heart.
After a moment of silence, she spoke softly, her tone solemn yet gentle.
"Xiao Ya, let me ask you a question."
Hoshimi Miyabi looked up, her clear eyes meeting her mother's. "Go ahead, Mother."
Hoshimi Kiyohime gazed into her daughter's clear, pure eyes, as though trying to see through that exterior and glimpse her truest feelings. She asked softly, "Xiao Ya, do you like Lord Dragon Emperor?"
The simple question exposed the first tiny crack that day in Hoshimi Miyabi's otherwise steady, untroubled composure.
The tips of her delicate ears trembled slightly, the faint movement vanishing so quickly it was difficult to catch.
Her eyes remained calm and untroubled, with none of a smitten girl's shy excitement, only their usual coolness.
"Yes."
She answered frankly, her words measured and her tone even.
"Yanagi asked me a similar question a few days ago." She stated it frankly, her tone objective and pure.
"Lord Dragon Emperor saved both my life and the Hoshimi Family's. He saved Mother when she was in danger and protected the Hoshimi Family's members time and again. He gave us a new lease on life.
"I like Lord Dragon Emperor."