Starry Kingdom, November 15. In the second-floor bedroom of Felix's villa, a heart-stopping alarm suddenly shattered the morning calm.
"Nngh..."
Diya slapped the alarm clock off and sat up blearily, stretching her whole body taut with an uninhibited, cavernous yawn. But just seconds later, she flopped back down, wrapping herself around the person beside her like an octopus as she mumbled, "Good morning, Yaxiu."
Red Apostle: "Secret Princess..."
"Let me snooze a bit longer... just a few minutes."
White Queen: "Are you really going back to sleep?"
"Mm." Diya checked in with herself. "My bladder's not bursting yet. It's fine."
Black Butler: "Wait, Lisi doesn't seem to be awake."
"Mm, then let's all sleep together."
Ten seconds later, Diya's eyes flew wide open, sparkling with excitement. "Lisi isn't awake?!"
"Shh, you'll wake her if you shout like that," the White Queen cautioned. "Rare as it is, she really is fast asleep. She probably had too much fun playing with Daidalos over the past few days."
Ever since Ruby Mountain became inaccessible, Diya naturally had to sleep properly to relieve her physical exhaustion. There was no convenient luxury like having the other sisters manage the body during sleep; whoever stepped in would still feel drowsy—metabolism was no joke.
Influenced by the physical body, the various personalities within her soul grew tired as well. Theoretically, the Witch sisters' schedules were perfectly synchronized with Diya's. In reality, however, the sisters spent more time awake than Diya, never less. After all, as the primary persona, Diya was the "resident witch"; her working hours were the longest, so naturally she carried the most fatigue.
While the other witches would draw upon her cognitive capacity to undertake various projects—for instance, the Red Apostle constantly honed combat techniques, the White Queen deepened mastery over existing miracles, the Black Butler handled the research and development of new miracles, and the Little Witch Lisi learned new knowledge—compared to Diya, who had to be fully conscious, the other sisters slacked off immensely. They worked purely to pass the time. Whenever they felt like slacking, they would merge into Diya's primary perspective, effectively watching a livestream. In that state, they consumed virtually zero energy yet remained awake.
As a result, Diya's sleep quality had always been poor. Before she even opened her eyes, her sisters would already be awake and badgering her to get up.
And when she closed her eyes to sleep, they would chatter on about the embarrassing moments and bizarre worries she had encountered during the day.
Recently, however, Daidalos had found the Witch a job as a child star. Having no interest in playing a child, Diya had let Lisi take over as the primary persona. Lisi had been thrilled to be on camera and had spent days running around busy, so it was hardly surprising that she was sleeping even more deeply than Diya.
Yet to Diya, Lisi being asleep meant...
Only the adults were awake now!
With the manifestation of the Chiming Bronze Dragon, the one hugging Yaxiu was no longer a white-haired little girl, but a black-haired young woman clad only in an oversized shirt.
Though she could have conjured proper clothes, there was clearly no need for such redundancy right now.
As the Water-Born Line permeated inward, Diya swiftly took control of Yaxiu's nerves, muscles, and skeleton. Under her manipulation, the comatose Yaxiu seemed to come alive.
Diya had manipulated Yaxiu plenty over the past few days. Aside from special purposes, she also had to help stretch his muscles; otherwise, lying in bed for months on end would eventually lead to muscle atrophy. It was just that the way Yaxiu stretched his muscles was by giving her a massage.
Similarly, she helped Aunt Bogin and Uncle Harvey exercise their bodies. By now, the two legendary sorcerers could perform three hundred push-ups and fifty pull-ups in a row without a single muscle ache. When they returned, they would find themselves significantly buffed up.
With a flick of Diya's finger, Yaxiu arched his rear like a cat in a full-body stretch. Yaxiu had only ever done this once before—after Annan walked by and smacked his behind, he had never done it again—but the scene had left an indelible impression on Diya, who had been watching from the sidelines.
*Smack.*
Diya pulled back her hand in satisfaction. She really never got tired of slapping it. In the future, she would definitely have to write this stretching posture into their wedding vows.
Normally, the morning ritual would end here. But today Lisi wasn't awake. So Diya crooked her finger again, and Yaxiu sat up, gripping her shoulders. Their faces drew agonizingly close, tips of their noses brushing. Diya could even feel his faint, ghostly breath.
Even though this kind of contact happened almost every day, Diya's heart still thudded wildly, her entire body going pleasantly weak.
She wasn't like the Sword Princess. The Sword Princess could only hug Yaxiu like an oversized plush doll, but Diya could take things a step further, delve a little deeper, toying with a man with all the wanton abandon of a true witch—making Yaxiu move however she pleased.
It was only Lisi's presence that had always restrained the witches. Whenever Diya wanted to cross the line just a little, she had to ask the White Queen to cover Lisi's eyes. It was also for this very reason that the Sword Princess was so comfortable letting the Witch stay at the villa—after all, no third wheel shone brighter than Lisi.
Yet none of them had anticipated that Lisi would actually sleep in!
Diya's face flushed crimson. With a gentle twitch of her finger, she distinctly felt the body before her grow warm. Images and passages she had seen in the Sorcerer Manual flashed through her mind. Clearly, she had rehearsed this in her head countless times, and they often stayed up late whispering spicy topics out of Lisi's earshot. But now that she truly could do whatever she pleased, she couldn't help chickening out.
"Isn't this... a bit bad?" she asked with a trembling voice. "It feels like taking advantage of him while he's down."
The Black Butler, fulfilling her duty as the bad influence, immediately chimed in: "Of course not! You love each other. Melding flesh and soul is only a matter of time, so how is it taking advantage? What's his is yours; you can use it however you want! Besides, don't forget that that scheming bitch of a Sword Princess is full of tricks. Heaven knows what happened when they met last time—they have actual bodies in the Country of All Stars!"
Diya countered, "They only met for a few minutes! I asked the Gospel, and the Gospel said that little time isn't enough for Yaxiu!"
Black Butler: "Huh? Isn't a few minutes plenty for a kiss?"
Diya: "...Oh, so you meant kissing. I thought you were talking about hide-and-seek."
Black Butler: "Still, don't forget that Yaxiu's first kiss is already gone! He doesn't have many firsts left—we don't have many achievements left to unlock!"
Diya shook her head in distress. "Mm... White Queen, what do you think?"
The White Queen, assigned the role of the voice of reason, said calmly: "The Black Butler is right."
The Red Apostle said, "Can I bite off his buttons? I like the ceremonial feel of unboxing."
"So... unanimous approval?" Diya swallowed hard. "Is Lisi still asleep?"
"Still asleep."
"I'm going to do this for real, then. It's not too late to back out."
"No backing out."
"Alright, I... Shouldn't we take a bath first?"
The White Queen snapped, "If you don't dare, let me do it!"
"Alright, alright! Sister White, don't be hasty, I'm on it."
Diya took a deep breath and reached out to undo the top buttons of Yaxiu's clothes, peeling them back until the sleeping beauty's well-defined collarbones were exposed.
She could practically hear the witch sisters' breathing grow heavier, and then—
*Creak.*
In an instant, Diya reverted to a little girl, shoving Yaxiu flat onto the bed. Turning her head, she let out a yawn and said, "Sword Princess, you're here? So early today?"
Sonia rubbed her eyes, looking suspicious. "Did I just see the phantom of a Bronze Dragon?"
"No, no, your eyes must be playing tricks on you," Diya said with utter seriousness. "Bronze Dragon time is so precious, why would I squander it normally?"
Sonia glared at her. "Are you really sure you didn't use the Bronze Dragon to turn adult and start molesting Yaxiu first thing in the morning?"
"I'm not you! I'd never take advantage of someone when he's down!" Diya puffed up indignantly. "My interactions with Yaxiu have always been strictly all-ages! Unlike you, who has no shame, I still have to watch out for Lisi's upbringing!"
Offering no comment, Sonia walked over to take a closer look. "Why are his clothes undone? They were neatly buttoned before I left last night."
"Maybe Yaxiu rubbed them open in his sleep. He's a restless sleeper."
Sonia gave her a look, hesitating for a moment before dabbing two fingers in the hollow of Yaxiu's collarbone. "Why is it wet here?"
"Huh?" Diya reflexively wiped the corner of her mouth. "B-but I didn't..."
Realizing what she had done, the Witch's voice trailed off, and she lowered her head to await the Sword Princess's scolding. After all, they had agreed beforehand to develop things together and coexist harmoniously, never sneaking off to hoard the spoils behind each other's backs. While they both knew that was a pipe dream, they at least kept up appearances: as long as you weren't caught red-handed, it didn't count.
Competitive as Diya was with Sonia, she was still a good Empress who kept her promises; now that she had been caught red-handed, she could only accept her reprimand meekly.
Yet after a good while, the room remained quiet, bathed only in pale gold starlight.
"Sword Seat, Witch Seat, breakfast is ready."
Felix's voice called from outside. Diya looked up and saw Sonia wave a hand, saying calmly, "Go have breakfast."
"...You're not going to scold me?"
"What is there to say? I expected as much. I'd do the same in your shoes," Sonia said earnestly. "Just this once, though. If I catch you next time, I won't let you off so easily."
Moved yet ashamed, Diya nodded softly and climbed out of bed. But as she stepped outside the bedroom, she noticed Sonia lingered behind. Puzzled, she asked, "Sword Princess, aren't you coming down for breakfast?"
"I'll be right down. I want to say good morning to Yaxiu."
"Oh."
A few seconds passed. Seeing Diya still standing there, Sonia said, "Witch, go on down. Don't wait for me."
Diya hesitated. "But we agreed that aside from me sleeping in the same bed with Yaxiu at night, neither of us is allowed to be alone in the room with him..."
Sonia smiled. She walked to the doorway and crouched down, cupping Diya's little face in her hands. Leaning close, her crimson eyes bore into Diya as she spoke in a soft yet chilled tone:
"I didn't ask what you did after turning adult just now, did I, Lisidiya Yisu?"
The Witch froze, terrified to move a muscle. She could vaguely see the phantom of the Extinction Resentful Blazing Dragon looming behind the Sword Princess, feeling as though a grotesque beast were fixing its predatory gaze upon her.
"I'll be down shortly." Having said that, Sonia shut the bedroom door.
Diya stood dazed for three seconds, then obediently headed downstairs alone.
Seeing her come down alone, Felix didn't dare pry or say much. Even though she had grown increasingly disgusted by Yaxiu, her impression of the two "victims"—the Sword Princess and the Witch—had steadily improved. She silently poured the Witch a cup of warm milk.
Diya shoved forkfuls of fried egg into her mouth, a sudden wave of sorrow washing over her, ceaseless and overwhelming.
*Terrifying!*
*Being stared down like that was terrifying!*
*Having my full name spoken was terrifying too!*
*And I didn't even get to do anything—what a rip-off!*
*That Sword Princess actually had the gall to shut the door right in my face! I know full well what's going on in there, yet all I can do is sit here eating fried eggs!*
*Yaxiu, I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you this time!*
*But there will never be a next time! I swear on my honor as the Yisu Empress!*
More than ten minutes later, Sonia walked downstairs looking thoroughly refreshed. She greeted them, "Finished eating? Let's get going, then. Daidalos is waiting for us."
"I'm going too?" Felix asked. "If none of you are here, I should stay behind to watch over things."
"We can't let you spend all your time taking care of Yaxiu. Besides, the Four Pillar Cult has guards posted nearby anyway," Sonia said with a smile. "You're a young girl in the prime of your youth; you deserve a rose-tinted youth."
"There's no such thing. Don't you lack one as well, Sword Seat?"
"Oh, but I do." The Paw-Stretching Sword Saint tilted her head, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "I just had a taste of it."
Felix ignored Diya grinding her teeth beside them. Putting the dishes in the kitchen for the Four Pillar Cult's housekeeping sorcerers to clean up later, she asked, "But Sword Seat, didn't you come here today because you had business with us?"
"Two matters." Sonia pulled out a napkin and dabbed her lips. "First, Felix, why didn't you tell us your command seal upgraded?"
"What?!"
Diya reacted the most dramatically. She rushed over, grabbed Felix's hand, and discovered that Felix's two-star command seal "Vicar" had indeed upgraded to the three-star command seal "Advisor"!
"It only upgraded a few days ago, honestly," Felix said. "It wasn't a big deal, and I was busy, so I forgot to report it. My apologies."
Sonia walked up beside her. "I don't actually care what level your command seal is. Even if you upgraded to 'Chancellor' to co-manage the Four Pillar Cult with Daidalos, it wouldn't bother me."
*Upgrading to 'Chancellor' is fine, but upgrading to 'Queen' would be a problem, huh...* the Second Miss of the Vosroda family grumbled inwardly.
"The point is, why did it upgrade?" Sonia said. "Logically, command seals are distributed based on Yaxiu's level of trust. Unless his trust in you changed, the command seal shouldn't have changed."
"Your seal upgrading to three-star means Yaxiu trusts you more, but you haven't had any chance to interact with him at all. Or could it be..."
The Queens fixed their gazes upon the new Advisor. "Do you have a way to contact Yaxiu in the Country of All Stars?"
"No," Felix replied calmly. "Bound by the command seal, I am incapable of lying to the Queens."
Sonia thought that made sense, her face turning puzzled. "Then why did your command seal upgrade?"
"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," Felix said. "Because I am responsible for looking after the Observer Seat, the Observer Seat has come to trust me more. Though he appears comatose, he might faintly perceive the outside world."
Even as she said this, Felix found it bizarre. After all, she bullied Yaxiu whenever she felt like it. It was already a miracle that Yaxiu hadn't demoted his trust in her, let alone upgraded it! Did Yaxiu have some strange fetish?
Sonia froze. Instantly recalling something, her face flushed so crimson it looked ready to drip blood, her pearly teeth digging hard into her lower lip. Diya was hardly doing any better—her hair alternated between black and red as the witch sisters evidently descended into internal chaos.
Felix asked, "You mentioned two matters earlier. What's the second one?"
"Ah." Snapping out of her daze, Sonia said, "You'll understand once you step outside."
Once Felix and Diya dressed and walked out of the villa, their eyes were immediately drawn to a distant stream of golden light. Grand as this golden torrent was, it was confined to downtown Jialesi, with only faint golden glimmers scattering into the Lone Diamond District, which was why the two had not noticed the change from inside the villa.
"That... seems to be..." Felix's tone was uncertain.
"The River of Flowing Gold."
Leaning against her car, Daidalos said, "The Divine Lord of Stars has drawn a main tributary of the River of Flowing Gold into reality."
"The second feeding has begun."
Chapter 852