After saying her piece, Hysilens turned and left, giving Fu Zhu absolutely no opportunity to respond.
Fu Zhu watched her retreating figure, rubbing his temples with a headache. He downed the rest of the wine in his hand in one gulp.
Just as he finished the drink, March 7th approached, rubbing her stomach with Evernight in tow. Seeing Fu Zhu drinking alone, she asked with a hint of suspicion.
"Why are you drinking all by yourself?"
Fu Zhu put down his glass and glanced at March 7th's slightly bulging stomach. He took a digestion tablet out of his inventory and handed it to her.
"Doesn't it hurt to eat that much?"
March 7th took the tablet and swallowed it, letting out a helpless sigh.
"Hysilens was just too enthusiastic... I couldn't really fight her off!"
Evernight, standing beside her, rolled her eyes intensely. Enthusiastic? She was clearly up to no good!
Evernight felt she needed to be on high alert. Why did it feel like this Hysilens was coming for March 7th?
It was one thing for March to be snatched away by Fu Zhu, but if she were to be snatched away by Hysilens now, that would be a disaster!
Fu Zhu glanced at the time. It was about time for them to rest up and prepare to retrieve the final Coreflame tomorrow.
"Let's go. Time to rest, my two beautiful ladies."
Fu Zhu very naturally took March 7th's and Evernight's hands and began to walk inside. March 7th didn't seem to think anything of it, leaning comfortably against his shoulder. Evernight, however, grew flustered, the tips of her ears turning red as she tried to pull her hand away.
"Wait, what does this have to do with me!"
Fu Zhu shot her a half-smile. "Aren't you another March? You yourself said you have all of March's memories."
Evernight's mind immediately flashed to all the private moments between Fu Zhu and March 7th, and her face instantly turned crimson.
Beside them, March 7th also grew vigilant, narrowing her eyes at Fu Zhu.
"What are you planning?!"
"I'm planning."
March 7th & Evernight: "!!!"
The two girls immediately began to struggle. The idea of being with another version of themselves was just too strange for them to handle.
However, from Fu Zhu's perspective, their struggles were no different from a little girl's pout. He let out a theatrical, heartbroken sigh.
"March, Evernight, we've been apart for so long. You have no idea how much I've missed you two..."
Evernight couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes.
Missed us? Missed us while picking up so many other beautiful girls?!
Just as Evernight was about to retort, March 7th's tone softened beside her. She blushed and mumbled in a tiny voice.
"I... missed you too."
Evernight stared at March 7th, her eyes wide with disbelief.
March, you're surrendering just like that?!
---o---
In the grand hall, the feast was winding down. Many of the Chrysos Heirs, like Cipher and Tribbie, had already retired for the night, leaving only a few people to clean up.
Stelle leaned back in her seat with a satisfied burp, chatting idly with Dan Heng. As they talked, they saw the trio of Fu Zhu, March, and Evernight stumbling back into the hall, all tangled up.
Stelle's gaze instantly locked onto the three of them. She perked up her ears, straining to eavesdrop on their conversation, and ended up hearing some rather blush-inducing content.
"Hiss... the younger generation sure plays wild!"
Dan Heng, sipping his tea beside her, shot her a sideways glance. "You seem to understand it all quite well. I guess you're not so innocent yourself."
Hearing Dan Heng say that, Stelle couldn't help but protest, "It's not my fault! It's the internet's fault! It's the one that sullied this pure, untainted sheet of white paper that is me!"
Even Dan Heng, who had known Stelle for a long time, couldn't help but twitch at that line. He let out a helpless sigh, put down his teacup, and stood up to head for bed.
"You should also get some rest. We'll be busy later."
Stelle, however, smacked her lips. It was still a bit too early to go to bed now. Usually, around this time, she'd be secretly huddled under her covers, playing games while hiding from Himeko.
But now, without Himeko's supervision, her phone also had no internet. How was she supposed to pass this boring time?
Stelle glanced in the direction Fu Zhu's group had gone, and an idea suddenly hatched in her mind.
---o---
The next morning, Fu Zhu and the other Chrysos Heirs all received a message from Cerydra to assemble.
Today, they would retrieve the final Coreflame and complete the true Re-Creation.
As Dan Heng pushed open his door, he saw Fu Zhu emerging from the room across the hall. Evernight and March 7th were leaning on his shoulders from either side, their eyes half-closed and drowsy, looking as if they were only half-awake.
Dan Heng only needed one look to know that the trio had definitely wasted a lot of stamina last night. He shook his head with a helpless sigh.
Just then, Stelle also emerged from the room next to Fu Zhu's, sporting a pair of dark circles under her eyes. Dan Heng was a bit surprised to see her looking like this.
"Stelle, were you playing games all night again? But doesn't Amphoreus not have any internet?"
Dan Heng was confused. The games Stelle played were all online games. He would even occasionally help her clear her daily stamina, so he knew them well.
But on the internet-less Amphoreus, she shouldn't have been able to log in to her games.
Stelle rubbed her eyes and shook her head, looking listless. "Nah, I just listened to a comedy routine all night. Compared to me, Dan Heng, you should be more worried about my brother. I'm afraid he's even more tired than I am."
Stelle shot a teasing look at Fu Zhu, who responded with a confused expression. "Me? Why do you say that?"
Stelle grinned slyly, then cleared her throat twice. She deliberately pinched her nose and began to imitate the sounds she had heard last night.
"Evernight, get out of March 7th's body! It's against the rules for you to hide in there!"
"Idiot, you get out of March's body first!"
With just those two short sentences, Stelle instantly activated the still half-asleep March 7th and Evernight. The two of them blushed simultaneously and, as if by reflex, pushed away from Fu Zhu. They appeared on either side of Stelle in a flash, grabbing her cheeks and pulling.
"Little kids shouldn't be saying such nonsense! You need to be punished!"
"We'll pinch you to death for eavesdropping!"
Despite her cheeks being pinched mercilessly by the two girls, Stelle couldn't stop laughing.
Dan Heng couldn't bear to watch and covered his face with his hand. Sure enough, with these companions around, even the end of the world couldn't feel tense.
Even Fu Zhu, thick-skinned as he was, felt a little embarrassed after hearing Stelle's perfect reenactment. He quickly coughed twice to change the subject.
"Alright, Cerydra is waiting for us. Let's get going."