"How about this set? Fluffy fur paired with a floral dress—a fresh, soft, and adorable combo. Perfect for a female college student, giving off that 'first love' vibe."
"Trench coat, miniskirt, and a detective hat—the exact style from Daidalos's latest hit suspense drama Eight Wonders of Silver Blood. You look even better in it than Daidalos does! It'll definitely keep his eyes glued to you!"
"Windbreaker jacket, track pants, and a high ponytail. Who could resist the sweet charm of an athletic girl?"
"How about a cool, minimalist salt-style? A hint of aloofness whets an admirer's desire even more."
"Go straight for the sexy strike: miniskirt, camisole, over-the-knee socks, bursting with youthful vitality!"
"Or why not just wear your school uniform? But remember to wear a matching lingerie set, okay? As for spicy lingerie, you should at least wait until after a few dates to consider that."
Inside the Shining Star Nuan boutique in Sunset Hall, four youthful, gorgeous female college students tried on outfit after outfit before full-length mirrors. Their display drew every gaze from the men waiting in the lounge for their girlfriends, and even female shoppers couldn't resist sneaking glances to pick up some style tips.
Before long, it wasn't just about picking out a date-night combat outfit for Sonia; Lois, Adele, and even Ingrid joined in, styling themselves up too.
Unlike Adele, who frequently showed off her fiancé, the country girl's bashfully budding, rose-tinted romance was far better at awakening a college girl's yearning for love. In their hearts, each was thinking, *I want a sweet romance too... or if not sweet, even plain flavor would be fine.*
Leaving the boutique, the group was just heading toward a salon to get their hair done when they noticed shoppers in the mall's central lounge area staring up at the skylight.
"Huh?" Ingrid exclaimed in surprise. "It's only four in the afternoon. Why has night fallen over Jialesi?"
Everyone looked up. Through the skylight, they could glimpse a brilliance of stars, the Milky Way hanging upside down across the sky.
Adele opened her light screen to check the weather forecast and shook her head. "There's no notice from the Meteorological Bureau... Did the weather regulation system malfunction?"
Weather across the whole nation was uniformly regulated by the Meteorological Bureau. If they said rain, it rained; if they said blazing sun, the sun blazed. In certain specialized agricultural towns, it could go without rain for half the year and rain non-stop for the other half.
Though puzzled, no one gave it too much thought. Shoppers even found night falling in the afternoon rather amusing; nothing like this had ever happened before. Maybe it was a once-in-a-century occurrence, so they all snapped photos to commemorate it.
Sonia suddenly stopped, pausing before a gift shop.
Lois: "Do you want to buy a gift?"
"Yeah."
"Generally speaking, doesn't the girl only receive gifts on a first date?" Adele said. "You should wait for him to give you something first, and then you return the favor on your next date—that's why I bought so many snacks to keep in my cabinet, just to use as return gifts."
"What if the other person didn't prepare a gift?" Ingrid asked. "Wouldn't that game hit a dead end right away?"
Adele shrugged. "No idea. My boyfriend isn't that stupid. If that happens, my advice is to trade him in. Bye-bye to him, on to someone better..."
Lois smacked Adele on the head and said to Sonia, "Don't listen to this girl's nonsense. If you want to buy something, buy it. A girl should certainly maintain her dignity and self-respect, but the desire to treat someone well is just as precious. Saying 'I like you' ten thousand times cannot match the blush of a racing heartbeat."
As if a button had been pressed, Sonia instantly responded, "The Flawed Edge of Cunzhou, Episode 13, 11 minutes and 26 seconds—what Daidalos said to her friend."
Adele was momentarily stunned. "Even though I remember that line was from The Flawed Edge of Cunzhou, and I seem to remember it was Episode 13, there's no way on earth I'd know the exact minute and second... Soni, just how many times have you watched that show?! And Lois, didn't you say you hated Daidalos's dramas?"
Lois turned her head away. "You guys watched it so many times. I only remembered the line from walking past now and then."
Even though Adele hadn't seemed all that supportive before stepping into the shop, once inside, she was still the most enthusiastic about helping Sonia pick a gift: "How about this crystal pendant? Clamp it around his neck like a collar!"
"This bracelet is nice too! Make him wear it on his wrist to announce he's taken, just like a dog tag!"
"This toiletries set isn't bad either. It has a fresh scent, and once mixed with another smell, it becomes glaringly obvious. You'll know immediately if he's been around another woman."
Sonia stopped, her expression showing she was genuinely tempted.
Ingrid hung back a couple of steps, tugging Lois aside and asking in a low voice, "Is Adele intentionally picking terrible gifts to sabotage Sonia?"
Lois: "Have you met her fiancé?"
"No."
"If you had, you'd know her actions match her heart completely—unabashedly possessive as a clear mirror," Lois said. "I wouldn't be surprised if one day her boyfriend showed up with an 'Adele's Exclusive Property' stamp inked onto his face. That said, she really does love him. There are plenty of engaged men and women at Sword Flower University, but she's genuinely the only one who constantly brings up her fiancé to ward off improper advances."
Right then, Sonia stopped in front of a display counter, her eyes shining as she looked at the merchandise inside the glass case.
Adele blinked, then hastily grabbed Sonia. "You can't possibly want to give him this, can you? Usually, this is something a guy buys for you! Soni, calm down! Where's your dignity as a Sword Saint?!"
Lois couldn't help chiming in with advice either. "It's your first date. Even if you want to give a gift like this, shouldn't you wait until after a few dates to consider it?"
Ingrid took a look and asked, "Sonia, do you really want to buy it?"
"Yes."
"Then buy it. Hesitating and being bashful isn't the way of a sword sorcerer," Ingrid said. "If you want something, fight for it with all you have. If you want to do something, throw yourself into doing it. A sword sorcerer ought to face her feelings candidly. Don't make the person you like feel sad, and don't let your own heartbeat down."
Hearing these words, the Claw-Extending Sword Saint finally made up her mind and waved over the counter clerk to purchase the gift.
Just then, the country girl's miracle bracelet vibrated violently. A light screen popped open automatically, and an unauthorized message flashed directly before her eyes.
None of the others' bracelets showed any abnormality. Lois pulled Sonia aside and asked in an undertone, "What happened? Can you tell us?"
Sonia focused on the screen, her expression shifting slightly. "An emergency notice from the Throne Hall."
The Throne Hall?!
The girls' eyes widened. The Throne Hall, the House of Nobles, and Lookout Fortress were the three overt enforcement apparatuses of the Starry Kingdom. The Starflick Guard under the Throne Hall was the most elite; the Gryphon Company under the House of Nobles was the most widespread; and the Fortress Legion of Lookout Fortress boasted the largest numbers. Of these, the Throne Hall was the most mysterious, with the Starflick Guard existing solely to safeguard the royal house of Stars.
How could a Sword Baron noble like Sonia have dealings with the Throne Hall?
"Multiple foreign Legendary Sorcerers have broken into the Starry Kingdom again. The Throne Hall is urgently mobilizing all Sanctuary and Legendary sorcerers in Jialesi to join the Starflick Guard in eliminating two of the intruders," Sonia said slowly. "According to the sorcery power fluctuations detected, the last known area of activity for these two intruders was... the Lone Diamond District?!"
Everyone caught the strange note in Sonia's voice. Adele thought for a moment and said, "Why does the Lone Diamond District sound familiar... Ah, isn't that the famous villa district for wealthy merchants?"
"Yes," Lois said. "And we've been there before, remember?"
Ingrid realized at once. "Right! Last time we were invited to Felix's home, it was a villa in the Lone Diamond District."
"Felix won't be in trouble, will he?" Adele chuckled. "Like running into a stranded Legendary Sorcerer and getting taken hostage or something..."
"Don't jinx it." Lois tapped Adele on the head, then turned to Sonia with an uneasy look. "Sonia, can't you refuse this summons? What about your date tonight...?"
Only then did the others realize: Sonia was supposed to leave for her date in just a little while!
The Throne Hall's mobilization order clashed directly with her date!
Adele produced a bad idea almost effortlessly: "Pretend you're in the Void Realm and didn't receive the message!"
Lois: "...This is an internal messaging system with a read-receipt function. The moment Sonia looked at it, the Throne Hall knew she received it."
"What? Such an inhumane feature hasn't been abolished yet?" Adele fumed. "Whoever designed that function ought to be hung from a streetlight!"
"I can't refuse," Sonia exhaled deeply, shaking her head. "This is a mandatory mobilization order from the Throne Hall. The rights and duties of a Sword Baron include 'assisting state organs in apprehending dangerous suspects.' Refusal is treated as treason, which not only strips all noble privileges but also leads to a joint trial by the Throne Hall and the House of Nobles afterward. Even if I can't fight, I must answer the summons in person to state my reasons."
"And besides..."
Looking at the words "Lone Diamond District" and "two Legendary Sorcerers" in the message, tumultuous waves churned inside Sonia's heart.
How could she not know that Yaxiu had been dragged into this!
Because an outside Legendary intruder had broken into the Lone Diamond District, the sorcery power fluctuation scans had zeroed in on that area, ending up picking out Yaxiu as well... And the only reason Yaxiu failed the scan was that he had condensed a trace of sword-colored sorcery power during the battle last night!
The sorcery power scan was certainly aimed at abnormal-colored sorcery power. If Yaxiu still only had seven-colored sorcery power, he definitely would have been fine; a few Sanctuary Sorcerers staying in the Lone Diamond District was completely normal. The reason Yaxiu's group of three had previously been mistaken for Sanctuary Sorcerers was precisely because Yaxiu showed no fluctuations of off-colored sorcery power.
Hiding a Legendary Sorcerer was on an entirely different level of difficulty compared to a Sanctuary Sorcerer. There were over twenty Sanctuary Sorcerers in Jialesi, and almost all of them were nobles who were free to travel across the entire country. Who could tell whether a detected Sanctuary Sorcerer was from out of town or an outsider? If the authorities wrongfully detained one, the Sanctuary Sorcerer would complain that Jialesi was discriminating against outsiders.
Legendary Sorcerers were completely different. The few Legendary Sorcerers rarely ever budged from their usual domains. If you detected off-colored sorcery power in an anomalous location, that was definitely a foreign friend worth 500,000 gold coins on the bounty board!
Therefore, Sonia couldn't refuse the summons—she had to participate!
Yet this time, the Throne Hall had boldly dispatched the Starflick Guard and summoned every Sanctuary and Legendary in Jialesi... They were determined to eliminate the Legendary intruders without leaving any room for escape... If, during the encirclement and suppression, she actually ran into Yaxiu...
"Why don't you notify your boyfriend first and cancel tonight's date?" Lois said. "After all, there's nothing you can do."
"Who could have predicted that such an important date night would get exploited by the royal family?" Adele shrugged. "It's all the fault of those foreigners barging in out of nowhere."
Ingrid noticed something seemed off about the country girl. "Sonia, are you all right?"
The Claw-Extending Sword Saint shook her head. "I'm fine."
Just then, the sales clerk handed over the wrapped gift box.
Sonia took the gift box and gently pushed it open with her thumb, revealing the pair of matching couple rings nestled in red velvet.
"You're right."
Sonia closed the box and gripped it tightly in her hand. The corners of her mouth curved slightly upward, and her ruby eyes shone with a relaxed relief, as if she had cast off every restraint. Smiling, she said:
"I have no choice either."
Chapter 774