Lingsha set down what she was holding and went to answer the door.
Two people stood outside.
One was Bailu, her little face flushed red as if she had run all the way here.
The other was Yanqing. For once, the young Cloud Knight lieutenant wasn't wearing his sword. Instead, he was holding two food boxes, and his expression looked oddly stiff.
"Lingsha-jie!" Bailu cried the moment she stepped in. "I—I came to see the new High Elder!"
As she spoke, her eyes had already slipped past Lingsha, searching the courtyard.
Lingsha moved aside to let them in and lowered her voice. "What are you two doing here?"
"The General sent us." Yanqing lifted the food boxes a little.
"He said Miss Mebius has been on the Luofu for a week already and hasn't gone out much, so he told Lady Bailu and me to… come by and mingle a bit."
When he said mingle a bit, his face looked like he'd swallowed a fly whole.
Jing Yuan's intentions were obvious. Bailu was the Luofu's Healer Lady, Mebius was the High Elder of Yuanqiao—both Vidyadhara, both High Elders. In theory, they ought to get along.
As for sending Yanqing along, that was probably because Jing Yuan was worried that if two little girls got together, something might happen, and he wanted someone reliable there to keep an eye on them.
It was a very thoughtful arrangement.
But he had forgotten one thing.
The first time Bailu and Yanqing met Mebius, they had nearly gotten a dragon made of water right in the face.
"Um…" Bailu carefully stepped into the courtyard and looked at the figure curled up on the soft couch. Her voice dropped as though she were afraid of startling something. "Lady Mebius?"
Mebius didn't move.
Bailu took two more tiny steps forward and spoke even more softly. "Um… I'm Bailu, the Luofu's Healer Lady. I—I brought you some pastries. They're specially made by the Alchemy Commission, the kind that are good for your health…"
Still no movement.
Bailu panicked a little and turned back to look at Lingsha.
Lingsha shook her head, telling her not to rush.
Then Bailu saw Mebius's shoulder twitch.
It was the slightest movement, like she had merely turned over. Then, from beneath that mass of pale green hair, one emerald eye peeked out.
That eye rested on Bailu for a moment, then drifted down to the food box in her hands.
And lingered there for another moment.
"…Pastries?"
Mebius's voice came muffled from the cushion, husky with sleep.
Bailu hurriedly nodded and fumbled the food box open. "Y-Yes! Osmanthus cakes, lotus seed pastries, and poria cakes too! They're all sweet!"
Mebius finally sat up and fully opened her eyes.
She looked at the pastries in the box, then at Bailu, and finally let her gaze fall on the pair of tiny dragon horns on Bailu's head.
"I didn't pay much attention before," Mebius said, "but now that I'm looking at them… are you a High Elder too?"
Compared to Mebius's own horns, Bailu's really did look a little too… chibi.
Bailu opened her mouth, then shut it again. She shook her head, then nodded, then shook it once more, and finally said in a small voice, "I… I'm the Luofu's Healer Lady. The dragon elders say I'm the High Elder, but I actually…"
She didn't know how to finish.
Say that she didn't know the things a High Elder was supposed to know? Say that the dragon elders scolded her every day? Say that she didn't want to be any kind of High Elder at all?
Mebius didn't press her.
She simply took a piece of osmanthus cake from Bailu's hand and popped it into her mouth, chewing twice.
"It's decent," she judged, and then took another piece.
Bailu's eyes lit up at once.
She felt like she had been acknowledged—well, maybe only the osmanthus cake had been acknowledged, but still.
"Th-then, Lady Mebius…"
"Don't call me Lady." Mebius frowned. "I'm only three."
Bailu froze.
Three?!
Was she really that young?
Bailu looked instinctively at Mebius's dragon horns, then at her own. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
What had she been doing when she was three? The memory was so distant she could barely remember.
And yet this three-year-old High Elder was someone who could kick the General to death.
The gap between dragons really was enormous.
"Th-then… Miss Mebius?" Bailu tried a new form of address.
Actually, judging by age alone, Bailu kind of wanted to call her little sister Mebius.
But with that aura, she simply couldn't make herself say it.
Mebius didn't object. That counted as acceptance.
Bailu let out a small sigh of relief and scooted a little closer. "Then, Miss Mebius, what do you usually like to do?"
"Eat grilled meat."
"…Other than eating?"
"Sleep."
Bailu fell into deep thought.
She felt like she had found a kindred spirit.
"I—I like sleeping too!" Bailu said excitedly. "The dragon elders always say I shouldn't sleep so much, but sleeping feels great!"
Mebius glanced at her, and for once, nodded. "They don't get to decide."
At that, Bailu grew even more delighted.
See? Who said High Elders couldn't love sleeping? Here was one right in front of her.
Watching from the side, Lingsha's feelings were a little complicated.
She remembered that when she had been little, she'd been just as innocent and carefree.
Later, because of what happened, she'd left the Luofu, gone to the Zhuming, studied so many things, met so many people, and little by little, she had become the calm, composed person she was now.
Looking at Bailu and Mebius together now, she suddenly felt that maybe there was nothing wrong with staying a little innocent.
Yanqing stood by the doorway, watching the two little heads in the courtyard, unsure whether he should go inside or keep waiting outside.
He had come with a mission.
The General had told him to observe Miss Mebius's daily behavior, to see whether she was adjusting to life on the Luofu and whether she showed any unusual tendencies.
But the General had never said that this dragon sovereign's daily routine consisted entirely of eating and sleeping!
What exactly was there to observe? He'd rather have been out preparing for the Wardance.
"Who's that?" Mebius asked suddenly, looking at Yanqing.
Yanqing jolted. He came back to himself and realized Mebius was somehow already standing in front of him.
She was looking up at him, her emerald eyes reflecting his image.
Only then did Yanqing realize that this Dragon High Elder really was very short—even half a head shorter than he was.
Of course, a three-year-old child wasn't supposed to be tall.
But paired with her absurd strength, the height difference gave off a bizarre sense of dissonance.
"My name is Yanqing," Yanqing said instinctively, cupping his hands in salute. "Cloud Knight lieutenant, acting under the General's orders—"
"I know you," Mebius cut him off. "You and that little dragon girl were eavesdropping outside the Alchemy Commission the other day."
A bead of cold sweat broke out on Yanqing's forehead.
"Um… I had no such intention…"
"You look pretty weak," Mebius said suddenly.
And to be fair, compared to Mebius's fully maxed-out three-year-old account, Yanqing really was pretty weak.
Yanqing's expression froze.
He opened his mouth, wanting to protest, but compared to her, wasn't he actually kind of weak?
So the line I was personally trained by General Jing Yuan and my swordsmanship is already accomplished got stuck in his throat and became a dry little, "Yes…"
"But that's fine." Mebius walked past him, her skirt fluttering in a small gust. "Weak can be trained. There's no cure for stupid."
Yanqing: "..."
He had the distinct feeling she wasn't praising him, but he couldn't find any way to refute her.
In the end, Yanqing picked the safest possible response. "Thank you… for the guidance, Miss Mebius."
But Mebius was already no longer looking at him.
She strolled back toward the couch, let her gaze drift over the few pastries left in the box, and unceremoniously took another lotus seed pastry.
"Um, Miss Mebius," Bailu leaned over again, "what do you think of the Luofu? Is it fun?"
Mebius chewed thoughtfully and answered flatly, "So-so. The food is pretty good, but there isn't a single person here who can fight me."
Bailu's expression stalled for a second.
So this new fellow High Elder… liked sparring?
She instinctively turned to look at Yanqing. Among the people she knew, aside from the General, he was probably the best fighter.
And if she remembered correctly, Yanqing liked sparring too, didn't he?
Yanqing immediately fell silent.
He remembered the two water dragons that had hung inches from his face outside the Alchemy Commission. Then he remembered the General privately saying: Her strength is not below mine.
So Yanqing lowered his head and studied the tips of his shoes.
"Um… Miss Mebius," Bailu tried again, "if you want someone to fight, maybe the General could—"
"He's too weak," Mebius said without hesitation.
Bailu and Yanqing: "..."
Even the General is weak?
At that moment, Lingsha poked her head out from the kitchen, still holding a bundle of bamboo skewers. She heard the remark, paused, and gripped the skewers a little tighter.
She decided not to participate in that topic.
"Well then…" Bailu wracked her brain for a way to change the subject. Her eyes darted about the courtyard, finally settling on the skewers in Lingsha's hand. "Lingsha-jie, are you making grilled meat?"
"Mhm." Lingsha answered with a note of helplessness. "Miss Mebius said she wanted some. I couldn't stop her."
Bailu's eyes sparkled.
"Then can I eat too?"
"Of course." Lingsha smiled, then turned to Yanqing. "Lieutenant Yanqing, you should join as well. The General said you were to come mingle, and eating together counts as mingling."
Yanqing hesitated.
He really didn't have urgent duties today. Preparations for the Wardance had reached a pause, and the General had specifically given him half a day off so he could come check on the situation.
"In that case… I would be honored," he said.
Mebius sat up from the couch, her emerald eyes drifting back and forth between Bailu and Yanqing.
"Fine. More people means more fun. Danzhu, make more."
Lingsha inhaled deeply.
"Little High Elder, my name is not Danzhu. And you already agreed earlier that you'd only eat five skewers—"
"That was the me from earlier who agreed," Mebius declared righteously. "The me right now never agreed."
Lingsha: "…What kind of reasoning is that?"
"The reasoning of a three-year-old."
Lingsha opened her mouth, then gave up on arguing.
She turned to Bailu, hoping the Healer Lady might back her up.
Bailu immediately looked away and pretended to admire the flowers in the courtyard.
Then Lingsha turned to Yanqing.
Yanqing was already studying the toes of his shoes again, with such concentration that it was as though an entire sword manual had been written there.
Lingsha resigned herself.
She went back into the kitchen, set the bamboo skewers onto the cutting board, and started counting their supplies.
Meat… still some left. She'd bought extra yesterday, when Mebius had suddenly started clamoring for grilled meat. Enough seasoning. Charcoal already prepared.
With a sigh, she started preparing the ingredients.
Meanwhile, out in the courtyard, three heads had huddled together.
Or rather—two.
Because Mebius had already taken the opportunity to run off.
…
A little while later, Mebius—now thoroughly escaped—was strolling alone through Exalting Sanctum.
Before leaving, she had even taken the trouble to put on a hooded cloak. The wide hood hid her dragon horns completely, leaving only a few strands of pale green hair visible.
Since Lingsha was so clingy, this was the first time Mebius had gone out alone since coming to the Luofu.
Tch. The other maxed-out accounts could all run around freely, so why did Mebius have to be watched?
Well, too late for regrets. Since she was already playing this account, she might as well continue.
Suddenly, a public notice board caught her eye.
Along with the noisy crowd gathered around it.
"Damn, the IPC really is rich. They actually put a bounty of one hundred trillion credits on that Kallen?" one passerby was saying, eyes fixed on the endless string of zeroes as if he were trying to count them all.
"If I remember right, that Stellaron Hunter—the most expensive one of them is only worth a bit over ten billion, right? If somebody really managed to catch this Kallen, they'd be rich enough to buy an entire planet!"
The person beside him immediately chimed in, "Look at what Kallen actually did, though."
"She's a monster above an Emanator. She can survive a direct hit from an Aeon. Who's supposed to beat her?"
"If you ask me, the IPC's just trying to save face. They keep making the number bigger and bigger, but do they have any actual progress?"
Hearing that, the people around them seemed to agree.
And did any of this have anything to do with Mebius?
Yes. Absolutely yes.
Who would have thought the IPC's bounty notices would make it all the way to the Luofu?
Normally, IPC and Xianzhou bounties didn't overlap. There was no reason something like this should appear here.
After all, the IPC and the Xianzhou Alliance weren't even part of the same power structure. A person wanted on one side might well be treated as an honored guest on the other.
If one needed an example—there was a certain Galaxy Ranger.
Take Boothill. The IPC had him wanted, sure. But on Xianzhou territory, he had the identity of a Galaxy Ranger. As long as he didn't do anything monstrous, the Alliance wouldn't exactly roll out a red carpet, but it also wouldn't allow his wanted poster to be plastered on its own streets.
Looks like the IPC had really spent a lot of effort trying to patch over its dignity.
Mebius shrugged inwardly and moved on.
Her plan right now was to go to the Artisanship Commission first.
After all, that ship she'd used to run her little scam was still there being repaired.
And it wasn't cheap. It really was the sort of vessel that could wander the galaxy for thousands of years without running out of power.
Even an Emanator would have had a hard time catching it if she'd used it to run.
Bang!
But just as Mebius had barely taken a few steps, another commotion drew her attention.
Normally, Mebius wasn't the sort to stick her nose into other people's business.
But certain words mixed into the shouting made the ears hidden beneath her hood twitch ever so slightly.
"You Xianzhou people seriously have no sense at all, do you?"
"Heh, now I get it. In your words, this is called taking advantage of a crisis, isn't it?"
A male voice reached her ears—thin, sharp, and unbearably irritating.
Wow, why does that voice sound so punchable?
For reasons she herself couldn't explain, Mebius instantly found her curiosity piqued.
So without hesitation, she changed course to go take a look.
And then she saw the two sides of the dispute.
On one side were people from the Sky-Faring Commission, apparently carrying out some sort of inspection. The man on the other side was opposing them as hard as he could.
And that man…
Wearing a purple suit, sunglasses, and brown hair—
Huh.
Wasn't that Scott?
Mebius recognized him at once.
Of course, she didn't only know him because of his extremely memorable performance in the game.
She also knew him because back when she was slacking off at the IPC—but still wanted it to look like she wasn't slacking off—she'd run into him a few times while doing grassroots work.
Back then, Scott had sucked up to her pretty hard…
Mebius stood among the crowd, her hood pulled low, emerald eyes peeking out from beneath the brim as she watched the little farce unfold.
Scott's voice was as recognizable as ever.
That deliberately raised, oily tone made him sound like someone reciting lines on stage.
"I've dealt with your Sky-Faring Commission before," Scott declared, waving the contract in his hand so hard his sunglasses nearly slid off his nose.
"And I'm already used to how much you people love making things difficult."
"But now you're outright seizing company goods? Don't you think that's going a little too far?"
The official from the Sky-Faring Commission facing him looked profoundly helpless.
"Mr. Scott, we are not seizing the goods. This is a routine inspection."
"The listed manifest does not match the actual cargo. Under Alliance trade regulations, we are required to—"
"Doesn't match?" Scott cut in again, his voice shooting up another notch.
"How does it not match? I, Scott, conduct business with absolute honesty! This is slander!"
He jabbed a finger toward them and let a note of threat creep into his voice. "I'll tell you right now—if you keep holding my shipment, I'll file a complaint straight to your General!"
The male official frowned and was about to say something when the female official beside him tugged his sleeve and whispered a few words.
Mebius had good ears. She caught them clearly.
"Orders from above lately. Don't make too much trouble."
Oh?
Mebius blinked.
Looks like things really were unstable on the Luofu. Jing Yuan was probably arranging something behind the scenes if even the Sky-Faring Commission had been told to keep things quiet.
But what did that have to do with her?
She was just an innocent three-year-old little High Elder who wanted grilled meat and wanted to go check on her ship.
And yet, just as Mebius was about to slip away, another person arrived and caught her attention.
Yukong?
Mebius blinked. The master of the Sky-Faring Commission, one of the Luofu's highest authorities—she had actually come in person for something this small?
"Lady Yukong!" the male official from the Sky-Faring Commission cried at once, standing up straighter, his voice full of relief.
Yukong gave a slight nod, her gaze sweeping over the two subordinates before landing on Scott.
"Mr. Scott," she said evenly, "I hear you have objections to our inspection procedures?"
Scott's arrogance seemed to shrivel the instant he recognized her.
Clearly, he knew who Yukong was.
"Th-this… this is a new IPC regulation, for the sake of ensuring medical supplies remain safe in transit. Lady Yukong, I hope you'll understand."
But Yukong was not about to let him off so easily.
"I heard you say just now that these company goods of yours are backed by some important person?"
She fixed him with a level gaze.
"Would you mind telling me who this important person is? I might even know them."
Scott froze.
But with all the eyes from the surrounding crowd on him, he seemed to make up his mind in an instant.
Fine. If it came to this, then he'd go all in.
At once, Scott's tone grew arrogant again.
"Lady Yukong, let me remind you of something."
"I am Linden Scott. And my boss is none other than Wenliang, the newly appointed head of the Market Development Department!"
Mebius: ??????
Who the hell did you just say your boss was?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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