"Wow, there are so many people! It's much more bustling than the last time we were here," March 7th exclaimed, gazing at the sea of faces at the docks.
"All sorts of people are here... It feels even grander than the Charmony Festival!" After a moment, March 7th seemed to realize what she had said, quickly clapping a hand over her mouth. "Uh... nothing worse than what happened during the Charmony Festival could possibly happen, right?"
"As long as our little March doesn't jinx us and overthinks things, absolutely nothing bad will happen," Lumina reassured her, her heart warmed by March 7th's lively and adorable demeanor.
Something even bigger than the Charmony Festival? That's definitely not going to happen.
After all, there aren't many powers in the universe stronger than the divine Sunday.
Unless I suddenly go mad and start attacking the Luofu with a 360-degree assault...
"Really?" Despite hearing these reassuring words from her own Sister Lumina, March 7th planted her hands on her hips, her face full of skepticism. "Back when we entered Penacony, I wasn't even thinking about anything!"
"But... didn't something like that still happen?"
"Don't worry," Lumina smiled reassuringly. "This time, there's absolutely no chance of that happening again. The Luofu currently has three Xianzhou Generals present. Even if another Sunday-level threat were to appear, we could handle it with ease."
"Th-three Generals?" March 7th exclaimed in shock, the image of Jing Yuan summoning the Lightning-Lord still fresh in her mind.
Hearing that the Luofu had three Generals present gradually calmed March 7th's earlier anxiety.
Three Generals, three Emanators, and Sister Lumina—there's no way anything can go wrong.
"Oh, right!" March 7th suddenly remembered something and asked Lumina, "Sister Lumina, when Sunday unleashed his ultimate move, did you help us block it?"
"Help? What help? Help with what?" Lumina countered, feigning confusion.
"You know, when Sunday unleashed his ultimate move, did you help us block it?"
"Lumina doesn't know anything about that," Lumina replied, shaking her head.
"Hmph, it's definitely you, Sister Lumina! Don't deny it!" March 7th immediately wrapped her arms around Lumina's arm, pressing herself tightly against her with a soft huff.
"Alright, alright, it was me," Lumina relented, feeling the soft warmth on her arm and giving up on concealing the truth from March 7th.
Seeing this, Stelle didn't want to be left out. Seizing the moment before Little Swarm could react, she swiftly moved in and firmly wrapped her arms around Lumina's other arm, leaving Little Swarm standing awkwardly alone, her hands dangling uselessly, unsure what to do.
After a moment's hesitation, Little Swarm stretched out her arms and tightly embraced Lumina from behind, her face radiating pure bliss and contentment. Meanwhile, Dan Heng, his arms still crossed, stood watching with his lips twitching incessantly.
Spending every day with these three was truly starting to wear on Dan Heng.
Feeling the warmth and softness pressing against her from her left, right, and back, Lumina sighed helplessly, inwardly praising Dan Heng for his stoicism.
"Um, March, Stelle, Little Swarm... if you keep hugging me like this, I won't be able to move at all," Lumina finally spoke up after a moment, finding it increasingly difficult to walk with the trio clinging to her.
We're out on the street. If only we were in a more secluded place... Lumina sighed inwardly with a hint of regret. If they were in a private room right now, she wouldn't utter a single complaint—even if there were not just one on her left, one on her right, and one behind her, but also one in front.
After all, they were all her daughters. No matter how many there were, Lumina, as their mother, would never find them burdensome.
Well, of course, if there were too many, even Lumina, as an Emanator, would struggle to bear the weight if they all swarmed her at once.
"Ugh... fine," March 7th grumbled. Since Sister Lumina herself had spoken, she reluctantly released her grip, shooting Little Swarm and Stelle an exasperated glare that seemed to say, Can't you two restrain yourselves for once?
Stelle responded to March 7th's expression with a mocking smirk.
"You—!" March 7th bristled, about to lunge at Stelle for a brawl. But remembering Sister Lumina's presence, she suppressed the impulse.
Seeing March 7th and Stelle release their hold, Little Swarm also reluctantly let go.
"Alright, is there anywhere you want to go?" Seeing them release her and move away, Lumina felt a sudden pang of emptiness.
It was like an old mother waiting alone at home for the New Year, longing for her children's return, only to feel a hollow ache after the brief warmth of their visit had faded.
"A place to go..." March 7th murmured, her brow furrowing as if she'd forgotten something important.
"Yanqing," Dan Heng sighed, stepping forward to remind them. "We're supposed to find Yanqing in the crowd ahead." He couldn't help but roll his eyes at March 7th's dazed expression and the utterly unconvincing performances of Stelle and Little Swarm.
"General Jing Yuan sent Yanqing to meet us at the docks, but we haven't seen him yet," Dan Heng explained, scanning the crowd for any sign of the young officer.
"I see," Lumina nodded slightly, then pointed to a spot not far ahead. "Let's check by the Loom. It's the most prominent landmark in the entire harbor."
Without objection, the group headed toward the Loom.
"Huh?" After walking for a while, March 7th seemed to notice something and asked Lumina curiously, "Sister Lumina, does no one here recognize you?"
"That can't be right! With Sister Lumina's reputation across the Cosmos, even if you're not particularly popular on the Luofu, you shouldn't be completely unknown, right?"
March 7th had personally witnessed Lumina's grand appearance at the Saintess Support Club, and frankly, it was even more spectacular than the Charmony Festival...
"No, I've applied a Cognitive Barrier to myself," Lumina explained in response to the puzzled question.
Then, considering March 7th's... intellect, Lumina kindly demonstrated.
In the blink of an eye, the Sister Lumina who had been stunningly beautiful from every angle in March 7th's eyes suddenly transformed into an utterly ordinary, nondescript NPC.
"See? This is how I appear to most people," Lumina said, letting March 7th and the others observe before lifting the Cognitive Shielding.
Cognitive Shielding was specifically designed to conceal generic NPCs, not to hide beautiful girls like Lumina.
After all... her face was undoubtedly a major asset when it came to making friends with beautiful girls.
After all...
Someone so beautiful couldn't possibly have bad intentions, right?