Take the Seat That Fits

Void Realm, Time Continent. The moment Sonia opened her eyes, she turned around excitedly. "Tonight, I—" She shut her mouth instantly. In the back seat, the Watcher was sitting down while the Witch straddled him, the two of them practically wrapped in each other's arms. "Huh? Why is it like this again tonight? Watcher, Sister White told me to ask—did you do this on purpose?" "It was definitely a teleportation mishap! Probably an issue with all of us crowding through the Gate of Truth together. If you don't believe me, ask Sword Princess—this never happened when she and I were in the Sea of Knowledge!" The Witch turned around to look at Sonia. "Is that true, Sword Princess?" Sonia said, "Witch, could you get off the Watcher first?" "Oh, right!" Lately, whenever they entered the Void Realm, situations like this would occasionally occur: the Watcher and the Witch would materialize overlapping each other. Sometimes the Witch would be hugging him from the side, sometimes lying across his lap—all kinds of chaotic poses. Actually, Sonia didn't find this entirely incomprehensible. After all, teleporting three sorcerers to the exact same spot naturally came with minor discrepancies; having two people land on top of each other barely counted as an error. The issue was, why was she always the one watching from the side? Even mishaps ought to treat everyone equally! "By the way, Sword Princess, what were you going to say earlier?" Yaxiu asked as he took the front seat. "I recall you had a Meteor Tribulation match tonight?" "Yeah." Sonia nodded, suddenly feeling a bit deflated. "I won the quarterfinals. The last opponent wanted to clash miracles with me, but it seemed he only had the sorcery power of half-formed Golden Wings." Diya giggled. "Then weren't you just bullying him, Sword Princess?" Thanks to the various absorption speed bonuses from the sports car and the "Alchemical Throne," Yaxiu and the others' Golden Wings were already close to fully formed. On top of that, they possessed the Golden Fish Secret Poison, which could convert silver sorcery power into golden sorcery power, making their mana bars considerably longer than those of ordinary sorcerers. "Witch, how did you suddenly get the Golden Fish Secret Poison?" Yaxiu glanced through the operator directory. "Did you acquire it today?" "Mm-hmm!" Diya nodded vigorously. "A lot happened today, and then I suddenly believed that you really saw the Golden Fish! Oh, right, Sword Princess, can you teach me how to flirt with guys?" The president of the Paw-Stretching Club blinked. Meeting the earnest look in Diya's eyes, she asked curiously, "Can't you ask your sisters?" "They just have different ways of thinking than me, but we share the same pool of knowledge. Whatever I know, they know, and vice versa," Diya said. "Little Black told me that anyone can tell Sword Princess is a woman who knows how to wrap men around her finger, and told me to learn as much as I can from you!" Sonia glanced at Yaxiu, who was driving, and shook her head. "I'm not. I've never even been in a relationship." Yaxiu looked up at the reverse golden rain falling upward into the sky. "Tonight's golden rain is even more dazzling than before—just like a certain someone." Sonia said, "Still, I can teach you a few communication tricks. Maybe they'll make it easier for him to develop feelings for you. What kind of person is he?" "(>▽<) Well..." Diya pondered. "Kind, handsome, responsible, humorous, cheerful, gentle, considerate, adored by everyone..." "Got it. In short, someone you're head-over-heels in love with." Sonia rolled her eyes and pulled Diya close to whisper. Originally, she had planned to brag a little about tonight's quarterfinal match in the Meteor Tribulation. But on second thought, she hadn't taken first place yet. Even though this match had been her hardest-fought battle yet, they hadn't seen it, and mere words couldn't possibly convey how brilliantly she had fought. Besides, it wasn't as if the Watcher would praise her... As if noticing the Sword Princess's gaze, Yaxiu spoke up again: "The other day, I ate a little cake dipped in cream and honey. It was so sweet my heart melted, and it reminded me of someone." *Eat, eat, eat—food is all you think about!* After sharing a few tips on flirting with guys, Sonia looked at Diya's perked-up ahoge and couldn't help smiling. "Are you really happy today?" "Yeah!" "Did something good happen?" Diya blinked and shook her head. "Not really a good thing." "So the person making you happy is the one you like?" Sonia asked with a grin. "The one you get to kiss and hug every day?" "Hee-hee (*≧▽≦*)." A bit shy, Diya clung to Sonia coaxingly. "The one I kiss and hug every day is Sword Princess!" The Witch truly was overjoyed. Because of the List of Assassinations, Annan didn't dare let Banjie leave on his own. After all, the precedent was already set: Rogge and Hlaefeis had both been targeted by assassins sent by the Isu royal family to realize the futures shown in the Weaving Ceremony. If Banjie dared to act on his own, Annan feared she would end up seeing his corpse on the news. Since Banjie couldn't leave, there was naturally no need for Lisi to leave either. When it came down to it, no one besides Yaxiu cared about her life or death. Yaxiu had merely mentioned letting Lisi stay, and although Igola seemed to have some reservations, Annan had agreed immediately. Everything that followed would be simple: when the day of the operation arrived, she would accompany Yaxiu to the high tower to rescue Nina. Once the Weaving Ceremony concluded, she would pass the Bronze Dragon's trial to restore her true body, and then... she and Yaxiu could... Watching Diya, whose blissful smile seemed to radiate from every single strand of hair, Sonia felt her own mood brighten despite herself. Yaxiu, meanwhile, seemed to be making idle conversation just to fill the silence: "I once saw a river laden with starlight. It was like the night sky flowing through water, both dazzling and dreamlike, as though someone's dreams were flowing within it." *Does the Watcher want to join our conversation that badly?* Sonia shot him a puzzled look, though after that scene when they had just arrived, she still wasn't particularly inclined to indulge him. Moments later, the sports car pulled up outside the entrance of a mine tunnel. Yaxiu said, "There's a pack of Fishcleaver Dragons inside, probably including an overlord creature, a Ragecleaver Dragon. But first we need to lure them out—" "Leave it to me!" Diya could hardly wait to leap out of the car. Eager to share her inner joy with the Fishcleaver Dragons, she dashed like a child straight into the curtain of rain. The moment the Witch was gone, Sonia's expression slumped instantly. She stepped out of the sports car sluggishly, not even sparing Yaxiu a glance. Puzzled, Yaxiu asked, "Why did your mood suddenly turn sour?" "None of your business." "I clearly did as you wanted! You can't take your anger out on me!" "As I wanted?" The president of the Paw-Stretching Club cast him a sidelong glance. "Praising you!" Yaxiu said. "The moment I heard you won the quarterfinals, didn't I praise you right away?" "When did you?!" "I really did! It was just because the Witch was there, so I had to take a roundabout approach." "A roundabout approach?" "Mm-hmm." Yaxiu nodded repeatedly. "The dazzling reverse golden rain, the cake dipped in cream and honey, the long river laden with starlight..." "I described you using the most wonderful things in the world. You have to learn to take the seat that fits."