Transferring through Star Bridge Hall, Yaxiu and his companions took only ten minutes to board Blood Moon Country's sightseeing train; transit among the five nations was remarkably efficient.
The identities Annan had arranged for them were Gospel tourists. Fortunately, they were heading to Blood Moon Country, or a tourist visa wouldn't have been so easily approved. The Abyss, Paradise, and Fanxing currently only permitted business visas accompanied by official personnel throughout the journey; only Blood Moon issued tourist visas in large numbers, welcoming travelers from all nations to visit Blood Moon Country.
Granted, they could have crossed the border illegally—no one had noticed when Yaxiu carried Sonia to Fanxing on his back last time. But this time they were here on vacation, and enjoying public services required legal status; they couldn't just have Vichy dominate the waitstaff every single time.
Naturally, they could also simply flaunt brute force. Heaven certainly wouldn't dare dispatch angels down to the mortal realm anyway, ensuring that all living beings wherever they went would bow in submission, like subjects during an emperor's royal tour. But the price would be kissing their vacation goodbye: opportunistic schemers would stop at nothing to get close and flatter them, and any subtle hint of intent they leaked would be magnified countless times, sending ripples across society... Just the thought was suffocating.
Entering Blood Moon as ordinary travelers under disguised identities was far better. Not only could they enjoy a complete vacation, but they could also relish the superiority of thinking, *Hmph, you ignorant rabble certainly have no idea there's a Sorcery Supreme walking among you.*
The sightseeing route would traverse the Blood Moon territory, stopping at several stations along the way—including Kaimeng, Yaxiu's "starter village." Unfortunately, before he'd had a chance to properly explore it back then, he had been thrown into that desperate dungeon: Shattered Lake Prison.
"Seventeen, seventeen... here!"
Diya slid open the compartment door and saw a four-person seating arrangement inside. Unlike regular carriages, the first-class car of the sightseeing train was divided into private compartments, each featuring two facing pairs of seats with a table in between. Board game cards were thoughtfully provided at the side, allowing passengers to enjoy fun times with friends if they ever grew tired of the scenery.
The compartment had excellent soundproofing; talking loudly inside wouldn't disturb other passengers. On reflection, the design was surprisingly delightful: taking in the rushing scenery in a private space with friends and family without worrying about outside eyes—nothing could be more fitting as the beginning of a wonderful holiday.
Such compartments were only sold to groups of three or more travelers, never individually. Yaxiu, Sonia, Diya, Weise, Vichy, Felix, and Daedalose totaled exactly seven people, so Annan had booked two compartments for them.
However, once they saw inside the compartment, the female sorcerers immediately realized a problem:
A compartment sat four people, which meant that besides Yaxiu, only three others could join him.
"Yaxiu," Sonia asked casually, "why don't you assign the seats? Which three people do you want to share a room with?"
The atmosphere abruptly tautened. Watching them, Felix reflexively held her breath, too nervous to move a muscle, as if Sonia hadn't just asked "which three of the four do you choose," but rather "which of the four do you want to discard first?"
Then again, knowing Yaxiu's personality, he'd probably say, "Let's all five of us squeeze in together"... Actually, Miss Weise didn't even need to sit; she was a god and could float around... Hmm, another possibility was Yaxiu sitting under the table and letting everyone step on him...
While Felix's mind wandered wildly, Yaxiu glanced at the board game cards and asked, "Who among you wants to play board games?"
Share a table with whoever wants to play board games? He actually threw the question back, but that's completely pointless... Felix watched as all four operators raised their hands, without even Sister Vichy being an exception.
"Great! Since all of you want to play board games, the four of you can have one compartment."
Yaxiu opened the adjacent compartment and said, "I want to watch shows, so I'll share this one with Daedalose and Felix."
The Sword Princess and the other three could only watch helplessly as Felix and Daedalose entered Yaxiu's compartment with apologetic expressions. Then the four of them quietly filed into their own compartment. Because of the seating layout, they had to sit facing each other, unable even to pretend not to notice one another's sullen expressions.
"Vichy, how old are you to still be playing board games..." Diya grumbled.
"Exactly. Someone who wants to have a baby ought to have outgrown board games," Weise chimed in at once.
Vichy looked at them coldly, a sneer suddenly curving her lips. "That's right. I don't actually like playing board games. I only raised my hand to be with Yaxiu. Who told me to want his baby?"
"Since none of you have childbirth plans, that's just perfect."
Lifting her chin, arms crossed over her chest, she said leisurely, "That means my child will be Yaxiu's first child... The firstborn always receives the most favor and attention. Wouldn't you say so, Sword Princess?"
Diya and Weise choked on their words. They hadn't expected Vichy to shed all shame the moment Yaxiu wasn't around; once the Spectre Prophet cast aside her modesty, there was truly little they could do against her. Looking toward Sonia, they could only hope the female college student could suppress the maid's arrogance.
Sonia rested her cheek in her palm and looked at the scenery outside. Only after the train slowly started moving did she say, "I don't consent."
"You didn't consent to his first kiss not being yours either," Vichy laughed. "What good is your lack of consent?"
"If I don't consent, you won't get a chance."
"You can't hold him back anyway. It only takes once—"
"Then I won't give you even once!" Sonia stared wide-eyed straight at Vichy, enunciating every word: "I'll keep him so occupied that not a single drop will be left!"
Diya piped up immediately: "Same here!"
Weise covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.
Vichy gave a cold snort, scoffing, "With just you? You underestimate me, and you overestimate yourself."
"What's the point of bickering like this?" Weise reached over, took a deck of cards, and smiled. "Let's make a bet."
"Bet on what?"
"Whoever loses the most has to sit out the next Developer Conference. How about that?"
Sonia's mind raced, quickly catching her drift, and she countered, "Why shouldn't the biggest winner get to develop him alone?"
"Because the three losers would definitely renege. Take you, Sword Princess—if you lost, you'd surely team up with the others to void the results," Weise said. "Whereas now, three out of four count as winners. If you still manage to lose under those odds, you won't throw a fit, will you?"
Sonia blinked and turned to look out the window. "...I won't."
*This girl is truly as shameless as Yaxiu,* everyone thought.
"Speaking of which, aren't four people a bit too many?" Diya discussed in all seriousness. "While one is best, two or three can also trade a little comfort for more fun."
"Aren't four people just right?" Vichy replied offhandedly. "Left, right, above, below—none of them are left idle."
"If it were just you alone, then left, right, above, and below would all be serving you," Sonia said. "It's not as simple as one plus one plus one plus one. That feeling of being immersed in an ocean of embrace is incomparable... Huh?"
She suddenly looked up at the compartment's front and rear walls, pointing toward one side ahead. "Did the wall over there just lower?"
Weise and Vichy glanced back and found that the rear wall had indeed lowered slightly. Realizing something, Weise searched around the armrest, promptly found a button, and pressed it firmly. The rear wall descended soundlessly, revealing the compartment on the other side.
They stood up. In the other compartment, Yaxiu was engrossed in a movie on the light screen, while Daedalose and Felix were flipping through magazines.
"Eh?" Felix turned around in surprise. "So this is an adjustable partition... Fantastic, that means we aren't really split into two rooms!"
Sonia pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. "How much did you hear?"
"How much did we hear of what?" Felix blinked. "The soundproofing on this wall is pretty good; we couldn't hear a thing from here."
The pink-haired maid suddenly asked, "Then do you think four is too many?"
"It is a bit much—" Felix covered her mouth the moment the words slipped out, letting out pitiful whimpers for mercy. Daedalose buried her head even lower. Yaxiu held it in for a full three seconds before he couldn't help bursting into laughter.
After hurling several mineral water bottles at Yaxiu, the four operators finally deigned to sit down. Weise and Diya were relatively unfazed, but Sonia and Vichy were blushing so hard their faces seemed ready to bleed, forced to pretend to watch the scenery to lessen the embarrassment.
"Are we still playing cards?" Diya asked. "Just sitting here is so boring."
"...We're playing."
"Still betting?"
"Bet!"
"Wait." Sonia stood up, looked toward Yaxiu's compartment, and narrowed her eyes slightly. "We're going to be on this train for several hours..."
"So?" Diya asked. "Redeem the stakes right here? Whoever takes last place goes out and swaps Yaxiu in?"
"That's not what I meant, but it's close."
"I understand." Weise knelt on the seat and looked across at Felix and Daedalose. "Leaving Yaxiu in the same space with two women carries far too much risk."
"I won't even mention your prejudice against me," Yaxiu's lips twitched, "but this isn't an enclosed space! You can see me just by standing up!"
"To be precise, we can only see the part of you above the tabletop," Sonia said. "From our angle, we can't see what happens below the table. Weise, Vichy, could you—"
"Done."
"Works for me."
Weise and Vichy combined a miracle, slipping three collars around the necks of Yaxiu, Felix, and Daedalose.
Yaxiu froze. "What's this?"
"Detection collars," Weise said. "The moment any of you tries crawling under the table and the collar becomes level with the tabletop, the collar will activate and sever your head."
"Soul-bound. You can't take it off," Vichy added.
"Sonia didn't even state what she wanted, and the two of you managed to combine this miracle?" Yaxiu was flabbergasted. "When did you two become so telepathic?!"
Felix panicked as well. "I won't crawl under the table! Believe me! Besides, why on earth would I crawl under there?"
"Apart from picking something up, anything is possible," Vichy said with a shrug. "Perhaps you'll want something to drink—"
"I'm not that perverted!"
The next second, Felix was certain she saw the Grim Reaper. Four streams of pitch-black murderous intent raged through the compartment, threatening to scatter the second young lady of the Voslodas like mist. Daedalose buried her head even lower, doing her utmost to reduce her presence. Yaxiu sighed, stood up, and reached out to turn Felix's head toward him.
"There's only one pervert here, and that's me. Understand?"
"...Understood."
The surging, boiling darkness behind them gradually subsided. Only then did Felix realize her back was drenched in cold sweat. Lowering her head to look at the magazine on the table, after a moment she whispered, "I'm sorry."
Yaxiu glanced at her and said casually, "It's fine. Really, they were in the wrong first. Suspecting that I'm a trash can is one thing, but how could they suspect anyone would voluntarily jump into a trash can?"
"...Mhm."
"Wait, I want to file a complaint!" Yaxiu suddenly caught on to a problem. "Why put a collar on me? I'm not going to crawl under the table!"
Weise poked her head out and looked at him. "Hold on, let us discuss."
A dozen seconds later, Weise poked her head out again. "Following our discussion, your collar stays."
"Why?!"
"This is a reasonable risk assessment based on your performance last night."
Now, not only Felix, but even Daedalose couldn't resist looking up at Yaxiu. Yaxiu opened his mouth, his face burning like fire, and silently picked up a magazine beside him, holding it upright to shield his face.
On the other side, the four operators high-fived one another, celebrating this minor victory.
Chapter 1251