Cold Feet

The journey was quite quiet in the car. Along the way, Bai Mo observed several countries that had connections with Hastinapura, and they were indeed all making preparations for the fire ritual.

"Duryodhana exactly is that guy doing?"

The crowd was somewhat puzzled. Feeding these greedy Kshatriya wolves would Duryodhana result in a huge financial loss. Moreover, strictly speaking, Khandava Forest was still within the territory of Hastinapura. Allowing people from other countries to lead their armies into their territory to fight seemed rather absurd.

According to the five brothers, Karna at most had some unpleasantness with Dhritarashtra, but it shouldn't have escalated to this point, right?

Meanwhile, Arjuna slowly lowered his head, his eyes dimming. Seeing this, Draupadi reached out to comfort him, saying, "It's alright. Gods uphold the Dharma and protect the world. Even if a king demands it, they won't do their utmost."

"I know, I'm not worried about those things. I'm just worried about whether the people of Sweetness City will accept us."

Arjuna changed the subject, glancing at the vehicle ahead, where Krishna, Kama Bai Mo unconcerned about the matter.

On the train, Bai Mo and Krishna talked about the rituals in Sweetness City. Kama didn't know why Bai Mo was suddenly interested in this, but since she didn't want to work, she naturally wouldn't be involved in any grand rituals.

So she's basically not interested in this topic.

"Master, can I rest my head on your lap? I'm so sleepy listening to you guys chat."

Bai Mo glanced at her helplessly. Seeing Bai Mo's gaze, Kama became a little uncomfortable, twirling her fingers and saying, "What? It's like what you're saying has nothing to do with me."

"Hehehe, it's true that we can't say there's no connection."

Krishna, driving the chariot without turning around, said something that puzzled Kama. Whether it was the siege of the gods or the ritual, it had nothing to do with him, the god of love. If he had to say, Kama only had an indirect connection through Bai Mo.

The wheels rolled forward, crushing the gravel and weeds on the road.

Sweetness City was now in sight. At this moment, the city was somewhat unfamiliar to Bai Mo. Since absorbing Maya, Sweetness City had changed every day.

At the city gate, Karna was already standing there, seemingly having been waiting for quite some time.

"Master, how was the trip?"

"Well, it was a bit bumpy, but in the end, it's not bad."

Karna then greeted each of the Pandavas. Yudhishthira praised Karna's ability to mobilize these people to build such a magnificent city, while Bhima warmly chatted with Karna about past events.

"Karna, we have no choice but to come to you this time. To be honest, the only place I've had a decent meal in all this time Kampilya."

"Don't worry, I've already prepared accommodations for everyone."

Karna then led everyone into a prepared palace, right next to his own, and summoned several snake-woman attendants to welcome them.

The Pandavas were all astonished when they saw the snake woman.

Bai Mo was puzzled when she saw these snake women. Kama, who was standing next to her, came up to her with a smug smile.

"Don't think I didn't help! Look, these snake women are my creation!"

"I see..."

Bai Mo raised an eyebrow. These snake women, judging from their figures, were somewhat like scaled-down versions of the Gorgon they had encountered in Uruk, except, of course, they didn't have that snake hair.

Moreover, the Pandavas stared intently at these snake women, because they were scaled down proportionally, so even with the body size of a normal person, their figures could be described as demonic.

"Anyway, they're all those criminal snakes that were driven away by the Takshaka in the forest. It's actually better for them to live a human life here. Hmm, I guess this can be considered a kind of depravity."

Kama laughed, and Bai Mo didn't want to concern himself with it.

Back in the palace, Bai Mo was about to give Karna some instructions when he noticed him pacing back and forth, seemingly troubled. Upon seeing Bai Mo, Karna first bowed, then asked:

"Master, I'm going to find Kunti... Mother, what do you think of this time?"

"Anytime is fine. I'm here to ask you for a small favor: help me test the Yudhishthira a type of weapon)."

Some time later, Bai Mo brought Karna next door. When they arrived at the restaurant where the Pandavas were, they saw Draupadi carrying plates of food and placing them on the table.

Meanwhile, the Bhima standing to the side was clearly drooling, but Yudhishthira held him back.

"Draupadi, a servant cannot eat with his master, much less eat food prepared by his master."

"If I say it's okay, then it's okay. Besides, I've been safe the whole way thanks to your protection. Since that's the case, I deserve to reward you, and we can all eat together from now on."

Draupadi spoke with an unquestionable tone, and Bhima, seeing this, was also impatient; his stomach had been growling for a long time. Since leaving the Palace of Lac, he had only eaten two full meals, and who could stand this?

"Furthermore, I know that the purpose of this Sweetness City is to oppose oppression, so, both for public and private reasons, I will not allow you to eat sitting on the ground!"

Thus, even Yudhishthira couldn't hold back the Bhima, and could only sit down at the table.

Although the snake-man could take care of her, he couldn't cook at all, so the job fell to Draupadi. At this moment, she had changed into simple clothes, her hair was a little messy, and there were vegetable leaves on her fingernails.

But this lifelike scene warmed the Pandavas, and their resistance to it lessened considerably.

"Delicious! This is really good. Draupadi, will you still be able to cook in the future?"

"That's about enough, Brother Bhima. After all, you're the only one among us who can cook. If you hadn't been sneaking bites in the kitchen, Draupadi wouldn't be so busy."

Nakula joked, and Bhima, seeing this, pressed his head down, resulting in a close, brotherly encounter.

Seeing this, Kunti smiled with relief. Meanwhile, Karna whispered to Bai Mo:

"Master, what's going on with this woman? What does she mean by saying that servants can't eat with their masters?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, for various reasons, these brothers must now protect Draupadi until the kingdom is reclaimed. Um... to put it bluntly... because of the requirements of the Sage Vyasa and Heaven, and for the sake of Dharma in the world, these brothers have pledged allegiance to Draupadi."

Upon hearing Bai Mo's words, Karna's calm eyes widened instantly.

My brothers, are they really going this far? Wait, what if I were to acknowledge them as family now...?

Should I also acknowledge Draupadi as my master...?

Karna felt a chill run down his spine, while Bai Mo, clearly unaware of Karna's mental Storm, continued to explain:

"Well, there was actually an option to recognize Draupadi as their mother, but they didn't choose it."

... Three mothers? That's a bit tricky...

Karna couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"In short, the Pandavas are now considered Draupadi's slaves, but of course, this is only temporary. Try not to bring it up, after all, judging from their atmosphere, it doesn't seem like that kind of thing, right?"

Karna, however, paid no heed; only one question occupied his mind: if he acknowledged this elder brother as his superior, then...

Should I also become Draupadi's slave?

He reminisced about all the moments he'd shared with Vrishali during this time. How should he tell her?

"Vrishali, I've reunited with my biological mother, but because her sons need to be slaves to Draupadi, I'm going to serve this mistress as well."

Karna had unknowingly broken out in a cold sweat.

That can't be the case. No matter how straightforward he is, he knows very well that there are some things in this world that he simply cannot do!

After speaking, Bai Mo knocked on the door. Upon seeing this, Draupadi and Kunti welcomed him.

"You're here. Please sit down. I'll get you some cutlery."

"No need, I've already eaten. I won't bother you any longer. Speaking of which, Maya has class, so I'll be going now."

And so, Karna fled as if he were escaping.