"Oh, ooooh!"
"L-lord Viel, p-please stop…"
"Is this…"
"No! P-please don't put your finger in there"
"Hmm…"
"D-don't twist it!"
"Can you guys shut up!? I am trying to concentrate here! Agh, damn it! I lost again! I will defeat you, Dark Lord!", Xing Cai said as she inserted a piece of coin in a huge box.
Viel, Xianying, and Xing Cai were currently in a room full of boxes with mirrors that emitted light.
An Arcade, is what Xianying called it, and they have been here for 3 hours, effectively wasting their time.
After the whole fiasco with Elder Augustus and the moaning winged people, they waited for Viel to wake up first before finally saying their farewells and going back home to their palace above the skies.
Xing Cai wanted to go home to check on the situation on Taizhou, but Viel said that Mr. Voice told him that they should be alright, now that the enemies are gone. Xing Cai was about to ask how he knew that, but she hesitated as she knew already knew what Viel was going to answer.
They returned to the previous city they were in, but everything was wrecked and closed due to the Drakel wave. So, the group decided to roam around another city that Xianying recommended with the time they have left. but once they entered this so-called Arcade building, they never left.
"Uhm… I think we should leave, there are still a lot of interesting things around the city"
Xianying, a soldier, turned driver, turned caretaker, and now, a tour guide.
"Just a little longer, Lieutenant. The Dark Lord is almost defeated!", Xing Cai, however, was ignoring Xianying's pleas as she continued to press some buttons on the box.
Xianying was about to cry. All the coins that the two were using came from her own pockets, and she definitely was not being paid enough by the military to be able to splurge this much money. But what can she do?
Before a tear can fall from her face, she felt someone poking at her leg. It was Viel, holding a gem on his hand and he seemed to be giving it to Xianying. His hair was still long due to the weird… transformation earlier, as they didn't have time to cut it.
"L-lord Viel!? T-this is for me?", Xianying could not believe it. She has seen this gem earlier when Viel tried to hand it over to Elder Augustus. And she was not an expert in minerals and stones, but she was sure that this was worth a ton of money.
Viel nodded as he placed it on Xianying's hand.
Xianying was shaking, with this, she imagined that she doesn't need to work again for the rest of her life.
"Thank you, Lord Viel!", she could not help but hug this cute little golden-haired child.
But then, she smelled something burning. She opened her eyes, only to see one of the machines burning.
"M-master Xing Cai, we really should go"
"Just a few more minutes. I can already smell it, the Dark Lord's defeat."
"N-no. That's definitely not the Dark Lord you're smelling, Master Xing Cai. Lord Viel has… broken something"
"W-what!?", Xing Cai then turned her back, only to see smoke filling the entire arcade room. Then a loud ringing noise reverberated in the room as water showered from above, "W-what is this spell!? I did not even notice anything!"
"This is not the time for that, let's run!", Xianying shouted as she tried to drag both Viel and Xianying out of the building.
"Nooo! Curse you, Dark Lord! You will meet your doom, sooner or later!", clamored Xing Cai as they exited the building.
The three ran away like little children, except for Viel, he really was a child.
They did not stop until they were sure that no one was chasing them.
"*Huff* This is good", Xianying almost sat down on the floor as she held her breasts. It started to hurt as it was flailing all around the place while they were running.
"I will get us something to drink. Lord Viel, do you want a milkshake?", Xianying said as she wiped her sweat from her face.
"A milk shake?"
"Yes, it's a sweet drink. I figured you would like it. The stall there sells it", Xianying pointed at the nearby pop-up store.
"Really!? Okay then, please get me 5!", Viel raised his hand excitedly.
"N…no, one will be enough. It's a big serving", Xianying chuckled nervously as she touched her pockets. She did get a gem from Viel, but that needed to be sold first. "What about you, Master Xing Cai?"
"I'll get the same.", Xing Cai nodded as she stared at their surroundings. For some reason, the people there were looking at them.
"What flavor then? There's vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, blue-"
"Chocolate! I will get the chocolate!"
Xianying could not even finish her sentence before Viel excitedly raised his hand again.
"O-okay, what about you, Master Xing Cai?"
"Hmm… is a straw berry some kind of fruit?", Xing Cai placed her hand on her chin. Deliberating on what to get.
"Y-yes"
"I will have that, then"
"O-okay, the two of you can take a seat for now", Xianying pointed at the set of seats covered by a parasol before she went ahead and fell in line.
As the two sat down, people were still awkwardly taking glances at the two of them. Perhaps rightfully so, as the two were wearing robes. Some of the people started talking about them.
"A-are they actors? Is there a filming near here?"
"This is the first time I am seeing them. The little girl with golden hair doesn't seem to be wearing a wig. Is it an international film!?"
"The woman looks so beautiful. Is she a model? Her skin is so smooth, I would love to lick it"
"No, they are probably royalty. The was a woman wearing a soldier's uniform with them earlier"
"I saw her too. Even the soldier was gorgeous, did you see her tits?"
There were a lot of whispers and murmuring, this of course did not escape the ears of Viel and Xing Cai. Viel did not mind as the milk shake was the only thing on his mind right now. Xing Cai, however, stopped the urge to approach the man the wanted to lick her and hit him on the head.
Xianying, who was currently in line, also noticed this and could not help but chuckle nervously. She hoped that Xing Cai was not going to do something drastic.
"Oh. Is that you, Little Xianying?"
It was Xianying's turn to order. To her surprise, the old lady that was serving the milkshake seemed to know her.
"Ah! Grandma Long! How are you?", Xianying paused for a while to search her memories. But it didn't take a while for her to recognize the old woman in front of her.
"I am fine, dear. Please do not call me grandma, it makes me feel old", the old lady chuckled. "Have you moved back to your old apartment?"
"N-no, I am just here accompanying some friends of mine"
"I see. I see. I really am sorry to hear about your brother. He was a fine young lad. Really too bad about the accident", the old lady had a very regretful expression on her face as she handed Xianying's beverages.
"T-thank you, miss Long", Xianying awkwardly bowed as she claimed her orders. It was obvious that she did not want to talk about her past.
She dejectedly approached Viel and Xing Cai and handed the milk shakes to them. She sat down on the empty chair as she silently sipped her drink. But she almost choked due to Viel's sudden shout.
"W-what is this!?", Viel shouted, his mouth covered with cream. "It's cold and sweet!"
Xing Cai wiped Viel's mouth with a tissue and handed her a straw. "Use this tube, you're going to make a mess"
Xing Cai almost did the same as Viel, but it was a good thing that she saw Xianying using the small tube provided, or else she would be in the same situation as Viel.
Xianying could not help but smile, she was seeing the human side of these celestials more and more. If the people around here knew what these two were capable of, they would surely not be glancing at them, much less talking about them.
"So, Miss Xianying, you have a brother?", suddenly, Viel asked Xianying a question.
"W-what? H-how do you know?"
"You said it to the old lady that's selling these heavenly sweets"
"I… I see", Xianying almost coughed as she heard the reason.
"Viel, it is not nice to pry on other people's business", Xing Cai took Viel's milk shake as she reprimanded him. Viel reached for it but it was too late as Xing Cai started sipping on it.
"No! My milk shake!", Viel placed his hand on his chest, as if heartbroken. Xing Cai, on the other hand, wiped her lips as she returned the half drank milk shake to Viel.
Xianying chuckled, besides these two's earth-shattering strength, they really seemed really normal.
"My… brother…", Xianying started to speak, albeit meekly.
Viel and Xing Cai who were currently prattling with each other, could not help but put their attention towards Xianying.
"My younger brother was in the military like me. But he died before his first tour", Xianying said as she carried a sorrowful expression on her face. "Perhaps it was my fault, for putting ideas on his head on how glorious being a soldier is…"
Xianying paused to see the reactions of her companions. Viel and Xianying were looking at her while sipping their drinks, waiting for her to continue the story.
"While I was on a tour, I received a call. Telling me that my brother got into an accident while on training…", Xianying released a deep breathe, "Bullshit! There haven't been any accidents in training for a hundred years!"
Viel almost choke with Xianying's sudden change of tone.
"They told me that a grenade went off and my brother just happened to be beside it. I mean, what kind of nonsense is that!? How could the officer in charge even miss that!? A live grenade near where the cadets are sleeping!? They even told me that it was my brother's fault. But I am sure my brother will not make that kind of mistake!"
Xianying continued her rant, a tear falling from her eye. She sniffled as she wiped the single tear on her face, "A-anyway, it does not matter now. It has been a year since then and the people from high up has been ignoring my requests for an investigation. I apologize for suddenly ranting on like that"
"No, Lieutenant. You have every right to be mad", Xing Caid said as she tapped Xianying's milk shake with hers. As if they were drinking alcohol.
"T-thank you, Master Xing Cai.", Xianying was about to say something else, when she felt someone hugging her leg.
It was Viel, who had a face that was almost about to cry. "From now on, you are also family, sister Xianying"
Hearing Viel call her sister hit something in her. She could not help but gulp and pat Viel on the head, remembering his own brother when they were still younger.
"Owooo!", suddenly, a flash of light appeared from almost every direction.
"W-what is this!?", Xing Cai quickly stood up and put up her stance.
"WWWOOOO!", however, this only made the flashing of lights even worse. And now, people were starting to clap their hands and cheer.
"M-master Xing Cai, I think we should go…", Xianying immediately got up and tried to drag Xing Cai away.
"What!? Again? Why? What's with these people, what manner of trickery is this!?"
"N-no, they're just cameras. I will explain later, but we need to go now"
The people continued to cheer as the three were leaving. Viel, who could not help but be curious as to why they were cheering, turned around as they were running away. His now long golden hair waved in the air, reflecting the light of the sun on it, as if it was a treasure long lost in the sea.
"OOOHHH!", the cheers got louder, majority of them were men. Viel could not help but chuckle at the sight of the people cheering like monkeys for no apparent reason.
This chuckle, however, put the final nail on the coffin. As the cheers reached their peak. One man even started foaming in his mouth before completely shaking on the ground.
It took a while before the three escaped the entranced mob as they started chasing them as well. They were now hiding in a spacious room in a tall building.
"You have very weird people in your world, Lieutenant", said Xing Cai as she finished the last sip of her milk shake. Viel was surprised that Xing Cai still had a few left of the milk shake, but then he remembered that she drank half of his. Xing Cai, however, ignored Viel's intense gaze.
"What were those blinding lights they cast on us?"
"N-no, they were taking a photo of us… for some reason, like this", Xianying approached a cabinet on the side of the room and grabbed a wooden frame.
"This… is you? And I assume this was your brother? The detail on this painting is immaculate", Xing Cai was impressed, her eyes wide open. On the wooden frame was a painting of Xianying and his brother. The details on them were too realistic, it was as if they were ready to jump at any time.
"Y-yes…and no. This is a photo"
"Those flashing lights are capable of producing this?", Xing Cai was apparently curious about this technology. Viel grabbed the photo from Xianying's hand and looked back and forth, comparing the woman on the photo and Xianying.
"Kind of, master Xing Cai. Perhaps it would be much better to show you"
Xianying once again walked towards the cabinet where he got the photo and took something from one of the drawers.
It was another black box with a sort of mirror on it. "This is a self-camera. It prints out photos instantly once you take them, it's a bit old… but I think it still works", Xianying pointed the camera towards Viel as it released a bright flashing light. After a few seconds, a paper came out of it.
"Impressive, this small thing can beat any renowned painters in Choryu", Xing Cai could not help but be in awe as she checked Viel's photo.
"S-shall we take a photo together?"
"Can we?"
"O-ofcourse, master Xing Cai", said Xianying as she pointed the camera towards them, holding it in one hand. "Say cheese!"
"What!? Where's the cheese!?"
"Ah! Lord Viel. Look at the camer-"
*ka-chick*
The camera flashed and soon ejected the photo. Surmised to say, the only one that was looking in front was Xing Cai.
"L-let's take another one…"
Xianying was about to raise the camera again to take another photo, but a ringing sound reverberated in the room before she could do so.
"Now what?", voiced Xing Cai.
"S-sorry, it's my phone.", Xianying retrieved a pink box from her pockets and placed it on her ear. She gave the photo to Viel, "I have to take this call, please excuse me for a second"
Xing Cai nodded as Xianying went to the corner of the room, talking with this so-called phone.
"Why are all their artifacts shaped in a cube…", Xing Cai placed her hand on her chin, maybe if they made their artifacts like a box, it would also produce exciting results.
"AHAHA, Miss Xianying looks like she has seen a ghost here!", Viel laughed as he looked at the photo.
Viel and Xing Cai waited for a while before Xianying was finished with her call.
Xing Cai already had her eyes closed, meditating. Viel, however, was playing with Xianying's things in the drawer.
Xianying cleared her throat to get the two's attention.
"U..uhmm… Someone invited us to dinner…"
"Oh?", Xing Cai half opened her eyes, she was not really that interested about it. Viel, however, was ecstatic as soon as he heard the word 'dinner'.
"Y-yes, it seems they saw the photos from when we were in the milkshake store earlier, and that we were together."
"We will go if you wish to, Lieutenant. You have been helpful to us from the beginning", said Xing Cai.
"Y-yes. We should probably go… after all…-
It was from the Emperor"