Welcoming the Observer of the End Back to His Place

On the ground floor, Dimi was plunged into massive confusion and astonishment, momentarily stunned where he stood. Up on the second floor, Sonia was equally dumbfounded in the shadows, and the sorcery procedure of Blade of the Hidden Hand quietly dissipated. Strictly speaking, neither of them knew this person personally; but if you asked anyone across the Stars whether they knew this lady, the answer was an unequivocal yes. "Miss Lena?!" Felix was dazed as well. "You... I... Why are you here?" "Did you forget? I keep some things in your basement, and I drop by your place to cultivate whenever I'm free." The dark-blue-haired young woman smiled. "It's just that I usually come in the morning, and you've barely been home lately." "Ah, ah... that's right." Felix caught on, turning a troubled look toward Dimi. "But I ran into a bit of a situation today..." Having finally seemed to digest the present reality, Dimi quietly stepped in front of Felix, looked at the dark-blue-haired girl, and asked, "Miss Lena, so you know Felix?" "We're pen pals!" The dark-blue-haired girl blinked. "You might know that I wasn't born into nobility and only became an aristocrat in the past two years. But sometimes I still need to know bits and pieces about aristocratic circles, so I made plenty of noble friends. Yet over all these years, only Felix became my close confidant." Dimi nodded. "Although I don't follow the news much, if a rumor broke out between you and my younger brother, I'm sure I would have heard of it..." "That's precisely why we're pen pals. Even when we meet up to hang out, we arrange to do it out of town so reporters never catch us." Rolling her eyes playfully, the dark-blue-haired girl rested her hands on her hips and suddenly added, "Yep, that's right—I'm your little brother's secret girlfriend. Didn't expect that, did you? But you look younger than me, so it feels a bit awkward calling you brother." Dimi turned to Felix, who nodded and said, "Miss Lena knows my true identity." "Huh? Don't tell me you already know Felix is actually a girl, Dimi?" The dark-blue-haired girl drooped dispiritedly. "Darn it, and here I wanted to see your shocked expression when you found out your little brother has a superstar for a girlfriend." "Just knowing that you two are acquainted is shocking enough, Miss Lena," Dimi said. "What shocks me even more is that you seemed to say just now that you left something in the basement..." "Mhm, it's a coffin," the dark-blue-haired girl admitted without the slightest concealment. "Inside are materials for my Necromancy faction cultivation, which I usually keep at Felix's place." Dimi's expression grew immensely complex. "You... you're so wildly successful in your career, so why would you cultivate the Necromancy faction? And why keep the coffin at Felix's house?" "Career is career, and hobbies are hobbies! I just wanted to study the Necromancy faction and become a lackey under Häagen-Dazs." The dark-blue-haired girl shrugged. "Still, I know cultivating the Necromancy faction would ruin my public image. Felix mentioned she had a super-secret basement, so I stashed all my necromantic materials down there and come over to cultivate whenever I have free time... Oh, right, I own property in the Lone Diamond District too, so reporters won't spot me!" Dimi fell silent for a moment. Everything lined up, and the reasoning was entirely plausible. Compared to sheltering three wanted fugitives, Felix keeping a secret for a friend was far more reasonable. More importantly, the person standing before him couldn't possibly be lying about this. She was a viscountess blessed by the stars; there was no way she would collude with Felix just to shield a few wanted criminals. No matter how much nobles exploited loopholes, they would never cross the bottom line of committing a crime. There was no need to suspect the source of the corpses either. While he didn't know which loophole she had exploited, those bodies certainly weren't acquired through criminal means. In that case... Dimi instantly felt his face burning hot, wishing he could transform into a ray of light and shoot straight out of the room. To make matters worse, the dark-blue-haired girl pointed at the longsword propped against the floor and asked, "Why is your sword stuck in the ground? Were you two planning to spar?" "He suspected the coffin belonged to the necromancer currently wanted by the authorities, thought I was harboring fugitives, and came here to persuade me to surrender myself," Felix said in a faint, melancholic tone. "Miss Lena, you almost sent me to prison." "Sorry, sorry!" The dark-blue-haired girl pressed her palms together in apology. "I had no idea it would cause such a misunderstanding... Dimi, Little Felie did all this just to help me. If this affects her reputation, you can just name me. Please, don't hurt her." "Of course." Utterly discomfited, Dimi made his retreat. "I'll make it clear to everyone that it was all a misunderstanding." "Thank you." Dimi pushed open the front door and was about to leave when he abruptly turned back. "Felix, I wronged you this time. I'm sorry." "It doesn't matter," Felix replied calmly. "Just don't come and disturb me in the future." "I know you despise Vosroda, but no matter who you are, you are my family," Dimi said earnestly. "I will protect my family." Felix wanted to retort with a sharp barb, but for some reason, she couldn't even muster the effort. She merely gave a cool reply: "I can already protect myself." As Dimi closed the door behind him and departed, the atmosphere inside the villa immediately relaxed. The dark-blue-haired girl casually opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of iced water, and smiled. "Aren't you going to introduce the other little friend to me?" "Sonia," Felix called out. "Come down. Miss Lena can be trusted." The Paw-Extending Sword Saint slowly walked down the stairs. Her eyes were fixed squarely on the dark-blue-haired girl, practically glowing with brilliance, as though she wanted to rush over yet dared not act rashly. Taking a deep breath, she actually stammered a little: "I... I am Sonia Servi." The dark-blue-haired girl beamed. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard so much about you. You're far more beautiful in person than on the light screen." "Not at all!" The country girl looked like a blessed darling favored by the gods, her face overflowing with giddy excitement. "You're the one who is far prettier than in your shows—and you're so slender!" "I thought we would meet sooner. I didn't expect you to turn down that collaboration offer back then." "There were reasons for that, Miss Daidalos!" Sonia said eagerly. "I've always, always looked forward to working with you! You're my idol!" Indeed, this woman with dark blue hair was none other than the legendary screen maiden whose fame echoed across the Stars, the number one song maiden, the dream lover of countless men, the aspirational idol of countless women, and the foremost beauty beneath the starry sky—Daidalos Lena! Not only was she the source of motivation that had driven Sonia out of her remote little town, but she was also the most radiant highlight in the country girl's childhood memories! "The honor is mine," Daidalos said with a smile. "By the way, what about the people you've hidden away? I'd like to take a look at them." "They're on the second floor." Sonia led them upstairs. Since Daidalos had just used her own reputation to cover for them, the Paw-Extending Sword Saint naturally had no reason to doubt the legendary song maiden's goodwill. "Right, are you really close with Felix?" Daidalos patted Felix's head. "Little Felie and I do get along quite well." "So you were willing to lie to cover for Felix?" "Not entirely." By now, they had reached the second-floor bedroom. Harvey and Igola were casually laid out to one side, while only Yaxiu rested on the bed. Daidalos merely spared a single glance at the necromancer and the swindler before her gaze locked tightly onto the sleeping face of the cult leader. A strange luminescence welled in her eyes, and she couldn't help reaching out a hand. "So he is..." *Smack!* Sonia caught Daidalos's wrist in a firm grip, tilted her head slightly, and said, "He is my lover, Yaxiu Heath. Do you know him?" "I do," Daidalos smiled. "And in fact, I probably knew him earlier than you did." The Sword Princess's smile gradually faded as her brows knitted slightly. "Oh?" The legendary song maiden blinked. "Come to think of it, I don't believe I've introduced myself properly yet. Forgive my bad manners. "Leader of the Four Pillar Cult, Feeler of the Stars, 'Chaotic Song Maiden' Daidalos Lena." Prying Sonia's fingers away one by one, Daidalos said, "Acting on the oracle of the Four Pillar Gods, I have come to welcome the 'Observer of the End,' Yaxiu Heath, back to his rightful place."