Returning to the tea-drinking and spectating area, Stelle dragged Caelus back mainly to get him to finish the remaining tea. The Stellaron was being completely unhelpful, offering no assistance whatsoever in processing the tea she had drunk.
After several trips to the restroom, Stelle still couldn't finish the tea. Based on the principle of 'no waste,' it was time for the backup stomach to make an appearance.
With help from Caelus and March 7th, Stelle finally managed to finish off the high-end tea they had gotten for free.
Full and refreshed, the group headed for the Quench-Dust Hostel under Tingyun's guidance.
It was a high-class inn brimming with the ancient cultural charm of the Xianzhou, the kind whose price you could guess just from its exterior.
"Oh, right, Caelus, why did you give that cup of 'Immortal's Delight Tea' to Miss Tingyun earlier?"
Feeling like she'd forgotten something, March 7th tapped her little head, wracking her brain for a moment before she finally remembered.
"What was the deal with that milk tea? Was the new flavor really that bad?"
At March 7th's mention of it, Welt also recalled the strange events of the day, looking at March 7th and Caelus with a bizarre expression.
"It's not a question of whether it was bad or not... It was just... the kind of thing that's hard to even imagine..."
March 7th held out her small hands, which trembled continuously. The conflict in her words and expression was on full display; she didn't know how to describe it.
It took quite a while before, with White Seele's help, she managed to haltingly explain everything to Welt.
And then Old Yang was dumbfounded. Utterly numb!
Huh?
The milk tea Tingyun drank was actually the 'special edition' concocted by Stelle and Caelus during one of their crystal-induced frenzies, and among the ingredients were...
The corner of Old Yang's eye twitched uncontrollably.
"Speaking of which, did any of you notice anything suspicious about Tingyun?"
Caelus ushered everyone into his room and closed the door.
"Hmm?"
Welt's expression changed, immediately turning serious. "Caelus, you think there's something wrong with Tingyun? Did you discover something amiss?"
"Yeah."
Caelus stroked his chin, his tone profound. "Don't you guys think that the name Tingyun, combined with her being a fox spirit, just screams 'mole'?"
"She might even be a sock puppet account for the culprit who brought the Stellaron to the Xianzhou."
"Hiss~"
Stelle took a tactical sharp inhale, crossing her legs and affecting a worldly-wise demeanor. "I didn't think anything was wrong at first, but now that my dear Caelus mentions it, I also think the name Tingyun is very suspicious."
"?"
A question mark popped up over Welt's forehead.
Old Yang felt an itch in his brain. They were perfectly ordinary words, so why couldn't he seem to understand them?
Making the deduction that she's suspicious based on the name 'Tingyun'?
What kind of logic is that?
"Caelus, Stelle, now is not the time for jokes."
"Uncle Yang, we're not joking. You don't think the name Tingyun is suspicious at all?"
Stelle lowered her voice.
"..."
Welt thought that even if the 'crystals' were real, the mental state of Stelle and Caelus was deeply concerning.
Then, to his even greater dismay, both March 7th and Seele had strange expressions, as if they were actually buying into what the two were saying.
"??"
A second question mark popped up over Welt's forehead.
He frowned slightly, his expression growing heavy, like a psychiatrist from Herta Space Station who, while treating Stelle and Caelus, ended up being driven mad himself.
Noticing Welt's odd stare, March 7th opened her mouth and blankly let out an 'Ah...' sound. After a long moment, she rubbed her little head.
"Uncle Yang, this might not sound scientific at all, but the two of them said something similar when we had just arrived on Jarilo-VI, the very first time we heard the name Cocolia. And then..."
March 7th threw up her hands. "Cocolia really turned out to be the mastermind behind Belobog, the big boss."
"(o_o)???"
A third question mark burst forth over Welt's forehead, and his eyes went wide, one bigger than the other.
"J-Judging a person by their name?"
Even little Bronya was stunned; she had never heard of anything so outrageous.
Recovering from his 'I've seen a ghost' state, Welt pondered for a moment before speaking. "Caelus, how confident are you?"
Analyzing it rationally, Old Yang couldn't rule out the possibility that Stelle and Caelus had some special intuitive ability. After all, the existence of the 'crystals' was inexplicable, and the two of them were shrouded in too many secrets.
If they didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't pry. He only asked how sure they were.
"I'm not sure yet. I need to test her."
Caelus planned to go to a research lab on the Herta Space Station and get some special energy residue that was harmless to humans but, for energy beings like Heliobi, was probably the equivalent of feces.
Sprinkle it on some pastries and give them to Tingyun to eat.
"...Alright."
Welt was uncertain, but he decided to trust them for now. It was just a test; as long as it didn't go too far, it should be fine.
Afterward, the group exchanged information and their views on the current situation.
A vibrating phone signaled a new message, and Caelus pulled his out to look.
"[Returning Wolf King: Bro, send me the account and password for 'Sword and Love'.]"
Although she could just hack in and steal it, this was a matter of showing proper respect to her big bro.
Caelus glanced at Seele, a corner of his mouth twitching. Without wasting words, he copied and pasted the account information for over forty games from his notes and sent it to Silver Wolf.
"[Wants to Share a Surname with Big Sis Asta: Includes all the games Seele plays. The password is ******** for all of them.]"
"[Returning Wolf King: Godfather!]"
A booming voice message.
"[Wants to Share a Surname with Big Sis Asta: By the way, Wolfie, there's something I need your help with.]"
"[Returning Wolf King: Speak, Godfather! I will go through fire and water and never shrink back!]"
The smile on Caelus's lips widened as he quickly typed on his phone.
"[Wants to Share a Surname with Big Sis Asta: Tingyun, the chief representative of the Whistling Flames merchant guild under the Xianzhou Luofu's Sky-Faring Commission, took a guild ship on a business trip to another planet a while back.]"
Caelus put himself in Phantylia's shoes. Even for a Lord Ravager, trying to sneak onto the Xianzhou, which was guarded by the seven Emanator-level Arbiter-Generals, and silently replace Tingyun...
...it wasn't impossible, but the risk would be far higher than making a move while Tingyun was off-ship for her business trip.
If he were Phantylia, he would definitely choose that window of opportunity.
"[Wants to Share a Surname with Big Sis Asta: Help me investigate the ship she took, the star chart routes for her round trip, and while you're at it, check if any unusual incidents have occurred on that route recently.]"
"[Returning Wolf King: A piece of cake~!]"
Silver Wolf pulled four chibi, two-heads-tall figurines in her own image from her smart arsenal.
These were the Wolf King's Four Heavenly Kings: Friend Xiao Yuan, Demon King, Part-Timer, and Slave. Silver Wolf shot them a look.
"Ro! Ger!"
Their tactical goggles slid up above their bangs, and two cowlicks stood up like antennae with their movements. The four chibi figures stood in a row, saluting with their short little hands pressed to their temples.
BGM: If You Come in the Deep of Winter
The boss's kindness can never be repaid.
After Caelus provided his brilliant strategic advice, this 'love advisory group' had been decommissioned and was now used entirely for manual labor!
Virtual screens of different colors popped up in front of each of the four figures. Demon King launched an attack on the server, Part-Timer took the opportunity to hack into the Sky-Faring Commission's system, Slave searched for the ship's serial number, and Xiao Yuan, shaking its buttocks, climbed onto Silver Wolf's shoulder, wanting to play games with Seele, only to be slapped back down.
It was then forced back to work by [Slave], who held its head down.
The four little figures had a clear division of labor and worked together in perfect sync.
Silver Wolf nodded in satisfaction.
"[Returning Wolf King: This will take a little time.]"
"[Wants to Share a Surname with Big Sis Asta: No problem, take your time.]"
Rushing things makes it easy to miss clues.
"[Wants to Share a Surname with Big Sis Asta: By the way, about Seele today...]"
Caelus gave Silver Wolf his daily report on Seele's activities, sending a few cute photos of her eating Flapper-Pea Fowl skewers.
Amidst Silver Wolf's repeated cries of 'Godfather, your kindness can never be repaid,' the chat came to an end.
On her end, Seele waited for a game invitation from Big Sis Silver Wolf, planning to 'repay' her today to make her investigate more efficiently on 'her' behalf.
"Damn it! My account got banned for seven days! This is outrageous!"
The Stellaron spirit had a sudden fit of rage, angrily punching Caelus's leg.
"Ugh?"
That actually hurt a bit. Caelus winced. "How did your account get banned too?"
"Too?"
March 7th first glanced at Caelus, then leaned her pink head over to look at Stelle's phone. "What did you do?"
"I just made a post calling for everyone to protect animals and care for those poor creatures who are homeless, wandering, constantly struggling and competing for food, yet are always chased away and cursed at, living cautiously but still inevitably bullied and persecuted."
Stelle gnashed her teeth while holding her phone, looking terribly wronged.
"That sounds like a perfectly normal post," said Silver Wing, who had already swapped consciousness with little Bronya.
"Right? I even got into a heated keyboard battle with some extreme and malicious individuals!"
"So why would they ban you?" March 7th didn't understand.
"It was probably because I asked that animal protection account when they were going to come protect me."
"Protect you?"
"Yeah. I'm a human. Humans are higher animals, but we're still animals. Shouldn't I be protected?"
Stelle said this with righteous indignation, earning a deadpan stare from March 7th.
"No, you're a Stellaron spirit."
Amidst the noisy laughter, it soon became time for bed. Seele and March 7th returned to their respective rooms.
Stelle frowned in thought, then turned to the silver-haired beauty with a smile:
"Bronya, want to take a bath together?"
Bronya and Caelus exchanged a glance, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Alright."
"Yay!"
The Stellaron spirit finally got her wish to be close with big-breasted Bronya.
However, since they had just arrived and were tired from a day of fighting, shopping, and treasure hunting, plus they had a mission tomorrow, the three of them just slept normally that night.
Stelle insisted on sleeping between Caelus and Bronya.
As Caelus fondled the soft, tender orbs, he mused that besides having Silver Wolf investigate, he had one other reliable method to test Tingyun.
But first, sleep.
The next day.
Caelus got out of bed, completed his morning routine with the help of Shadow Raccoon Stelle, and savored a truly, truly, truly authentic~ Xianzhou breakfast.
Just as Stelle, Caelus, and March 7th were sitting in the inn's lobby discussing where to go play today...
The foxian lady in an embroidered brocade robe walked into the inn with elegant steps, her charming-but-not-seductive face beaming with a smile:
"Have our guests rested well? This little lady is in no hurry; waiting a few more days for you would be no problem at all."
She was clearly being sarcastic.
"Really? Then let's play for a few days before we go catch her," Caelus said, acting as if he took her words at face value.
"We can go to the Exalting Sanctum to buy some snacks first, and give them to Mommy when we catch her," Stelle chimed in with a grin.
Such filial piety!
Even Phantylia couldn't help but roast them in her mind.
"Ahem, my apologies, Miss Tingyun. The young ones are a bit overly energetic."
Although Caelus thought there was something wrong with Tingyun, until it was confirmed, Welt was only slightly wary and still treated her as their official guide.
Tingyun chuckled. "Oh, you flatter this little lady far too much."
"You are all the General's esteemed guests. I am but a humble guide. It is my honor to be able to assist you."
"So, when do you all plan to make your move?"
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