The next day—
-
With the turn of the sky, it was finally time for the Royal Ring Secret Realm to officially open! This long-awaited moment instantly plunged the capital city into a bizarre state of morning madness.
Mm, perhaps a 'festival' was a more accurate term…
From the crack of dawn, the noble district surrounding the 'Central Square' had transformed into an enormous celebration aptly named the 'Opening Festival'. The Central Square acted as the heart of the event, while the surrounding streets and the corresponding infrastructure of the connecting districts flowed naturally towards the center, like a long river converging into a central sea.
Today, throughout the whole of Llynun, every road led towards the fairgrounds.
Countless banners stretched overhead, connecting buildings and bridges, while colorful streamers gently swayed in the chilly morning wind. Temporary bridges and elevated walkways had been built between rooftops to ease the pressure below, while entire sections of the street had been converted into market lanes, food stalls, performance stages, and temporary gatherings for practitioners and professionals to gather and mingle. Merchants and peddlers loudly hawked strange treasures, while restaurants and food stalls extended directly into the streets. Each inn was overflowing with guests, and traveling performers occupied every corner they could find.
While walking towards the Central Square, the deeper one went, the denser the crowds became, and among these crowds were nobles, merchants, adventurers, scholars, and countless foreign races, all of which were powerful cultivators from all over the world!
Every major power had gathered here, and the entire capital almost seemed alive!
But at the same time, the sky remained hazy and pale, while traces of the light of dawn stretched across the distant horizon. Thin white mist drifted lazily through the streets, while the smell of breakfast food, fresh bread, smoke, and morning dew all mixed together beneath the slowly waking city.
It felt lively, comfortable, and a little bit nostalgic.
Mm, there was something strangely familiar about wandering through the cold market before sunrise, while waiting for the event to truly begin. The atmosphere almost resembled a childhood memory, which you could no longer remember clearly, yet somehow still missed.
It was that kind of hazy feeling…
-
Within this slowly stirring atmosphere—
Petra's group had already arrived, appearing early in the morning, and currently, the six girls were wandering together through the streets while moving with the flow of the growing crowd.
Petra, Wind, Mell, Rose, and Lira—
Oh, and of course, little Poya! This forgotten little friend had come out today to join in the excitement!
Apparently, they had arrived unusually early because they were too excited about the opening ceremony and didn't want to miss any of the fun. This was naturally because of Petra's request, this so-called Royal Ring Secret Realm and all the events surrounding it were completely new to the little green-haired lolita, so she wanted to experience all of it from start to finish.
The girls advanced through the streets.
Naturally, Mell walked in the very front.
Compared to the others, whose attention constantly drifted everywhere, Mm, except where it should be, Mell alone remained grounded and composed. Her long dark ponytail swayed behind her back while she carefully observed the surrounding crowd with her sharp green eyes, constantly monitoring the group while mentally organizing their route through the increasingly chaotic city.
It was a great task, yes, but she was the only one willing to do it…
Despite appearing the most ordinary among the maids, Mell somehow carried the greatest sense of maturity. At some point, without any of them actually realizing it, she had naturally become the responsible one who was trusted to lead.
Meanwhile—
Wind walked a step behind her, while tightly holding Petra's hand, and at the same time, Petra's other hand was being held by Poya, creating a strange three-person chain.
Unlike Mell, who always had a serious expression, Wind, this shortie, had a face that already looked frustrated despite the day only just beginning. The relationship between Petra and Wind had gradually evolved into something strangely similar to an 'over-exhausted babysitter' desperately trying to supervise an 'overactive child'. If Mell was like the de facto leader, then Wind was more of a guardian, or a bossy big sister, just lacking a bit more common sense than Soryn.
Winds voice could be heard amid the chattering children—
"…Don't run around, and don't pick unnecessary fights."
"Mm…"
"…Remember to not use poison and focus on your combat like Levy instructed when we enter later."
"Mm..."
"…We're here for business, so don't lose track of time and don't run off to buy random things."
"…Mm?"
Petra looked away innocently, but this caused Wind to immediately narrow her eyes.
"…You already bought something, didn't you? I didn't even see you leave the group, don't tell me you brought 'those things?' Those should be against the rules, right?" The rules naturally being the 'strict' set of 'instructions' Levy had given Petra beforehand.
AS for what she was talking about, she was naturally talking about the Ant Avatars!
These twelve 'little girl-like puppets' had taken on an appearance similar to Petras, and although they were still a work in progress, their ability to remotely act in her place was terrifying! It could even be said that with those things here, Petra had an extra twelve sets of hands and legs, but because they were modeled after Petra while still possessing their own personalities and will, each of them was worse than the next, living like unkillable cockroaches that often behaved even worse than Petra!
Even now, Wind didn't really know if Petra had brought them or not because they would only act in the background, but recently, from time to time, especially around the house, she would see the occasional flash of green, only to turn and think it was Petra, then later discover that it was only a 'Petra-like girl' who acted innocent and stupid when caught.
'They' never talked, and all they did was lurk and laze, but Wind was sure that they were up to no good!
Wind had no idea what Petra was using them for, but as time went on, they became more and more humanlike, which was beginning to drive her crazy!
Ahem, you really had to be there to understand her plight…
Author: (ᵕ—ᴗ—)
-
Petra, after being caught, began to whistle innocently.
Beside them, as Wind continued to look at Petra with deep and terrifyingly judgmental eyes, Poya silently stared at a passing bird for nearly fifteen full uninterrupted seconds before suddenly pointing at absolutely nothing…
She was then ignored!
Nobody knew what she was thinking, and similar to Petras puppets, Poya was a complete enigma!
The tiny mushroom-themed girl simply wandered along the road while holding Petra's hand. She had an unreadable expression, occasionally becoming distracted by random objects, colors, sounds, smells, or people before abruptly losing interest a moment later. Unlike Petra's intentional chaos, Poya's unpredictability came entirely from a complete lack of attention span and ability to focus.
In short, she was a derp…
Poya wasn't mischievous, she was simply impossible to understand...
As for the final pair in this group of girls—
Rose and Lira wandered together, staying slightly behind the others.
The two red-haired beast girls resembled troublesome sisters moving through a fervent festival.
Rose walked with crossed arms and an annoyed expression, continuously trying to maintain her composure despite the overwhelming crowd that had surrounded them. Meanwhile, Lira's eyes endlessly sparkled as she looked around at absolutely everything, nearly unable to contain herself.
The more one thought about it, the more one would realize that all of Petra's maids had somehow inherited a portion of her personality.
At least, the bad sides of it…
"Oooo…!"
Every few minutes, Lira noticed something new! It could be as simple as street food, a painting, or special weapons, it could also be strange decorations, never-before-seen animals, or a simple streetside trick. There were candied fruits, dancers, and even magicians, and she loved all of it. Even after spending so much time with Petra's group, the former savage still became endlessly fascinated by new experiences and unfamiliar sights. Unlike Petra, who usually became interested in things because she wanted to touch them, steal them, experiment on them, or weaponize them or whatever, Lira simply enjoyed discovering new things, and that was the biggest difference between them.
Petra caused trouble because she actively sought entertainment, Poya caused trouble because she fundamentally lacked an attention span, Rose caused trouble because she couldn't control her temper, Lira, however, simply loved the world around her and wanted to understand everything that she could...
* * *
The deeper the girls wandered into the morning market, the livelier the atmosphere became.
Shops were opening one after another, while workers carried crates through the streets and merchants loudly prepared their stalls before the larger crowds fully arrived. Fresh steam rose from food stands while distant music occasionally drifted between the buildings.
Everything was clad in a thick aura of laughter and excitement.
The city was waking up.
Everywhere one looked, people were preparing for the opening of the Secret Realm.
Cultivators discussed the recent rumors, while Adventurers checked their equipment. Foreigners from overseas explored the city, while children ran through the streets carrying festive toys.
Even the city guard, who were normally lazy, looked more alert…
-
Petra's group continued wandering through the streets.
Mell remained in the lead the entire time, and at some point, she had unknowingly taken on an almost parental role within the group of girls. Whether it was guiding everyone through the crowded streets, deciding where and when they would stop, organizing their food, keeping track of supplies, or preventing Petra from accidentally escalating sudden situations, Mell handled nearly everything.
Even Petra occasionally listened to her, which was quite rare!
Well—
At least, sometimes…
One had to know that despite Mells' best efforts, controlling Petra was still a monumental task! Without the help of Wind, she would definitely be suffering a lot more, which was why both girls had come out for today's gathering… At one point, Petra somehow obtained a skewer of roasted meat without anyone noticing, and at another, Poya wandered into the middle of the street only to face an oncoming wagon because she became distracted by a floating ribbon.
Mell had to simultaneously stop both incidents before once again handing 'the children' back to Wind.
It was truly a headache…
"…Why are you two like this…" she muttered weakly.
Petra puffed out her cheeks.
Poya puffed out her cheeks.
Wind: '…'
Neither looked particularly apologetic, but they both followed the script provided and apologised…
Behind them, Rose and Lira moved through the muddled morning together.
Lira continuously bounced between excitement and curiosity, while Rose followed behind like an exhausted, but still slightly annoyed, older sister who was trying to pretend she wasn't worried. Every so often, Lira would suddenly point toward something random and excitedly shout:
"Rell! Look, look!"
And every single time, Rose looked, even knowing that she didn't care…
Like this, the morning moved on…
* * *
Eventually, after wandering through the increasingly crowded streets for nearly an hour, Mell finally led the group toward one of the many pop-up restaurants that had appeared throughout the fairgrounds.
Compared to the packed food stalls, this place was much quieter and more private.
It was a multi-level pop-up restaurant constructed from layered wooden platforms and reinforced scaffolding that wrapped around and extended from the side of an older stone building. Decorative lanterns hung from ropes while a series of large cloth canopies fluttered softly in the wind.
The smell alone was enough to stall Petra in place!
With a twitch of the nose, she could smell roasted meat, some kind of sweet sauce, a variety of spices, and the deep smell of smoke. It was the kind of tangy taste that stuck in the air.
Petra's eyes immediately lit up!
Without warning, she grabbed Wind's sleeve and aggressively pointed upward toward the rooftop area like some kind of child discovering a treasure.
"Let's go to that one!"
Wind stumbled back slightly from the sudden tug, then turned her head.
"You already decided before we even looked at the menu…"
Petra nodded seriously.
"Mm! I can smell that smoky smell, it should be trustworthy!"
"…That's not how it works..."
"Tsk!"
Unfortunately, nobody listened to Wind…
-
Several minutes later, the group found themselves seated together, located at a table along the upper roof deck that overlooked the gradually awakening festival district below. The cold morning air gently drifted across the open terrace, while distant music and the noise of the crowd echoed through the streets below. From up here, they could see colorful banners stretching across the city roads, while streams of people continuously flowed toward the Central Square in the distance.
Petra climbed onto her chair, then immediately crossed her legs beneath herself while staring intensely at the menu.
"…Mm!"
She narrowed her eyes.
"…This place really understands meat! I wonder where they're from?" Petra exclaimed while looking at the list of over a dozen different meats on the main menu…
Mell sighed.
"We're sharing, so make sure you order enough..."
Petra looked comically horrified!
She knew what that meant!
Five minutes later—
The entire table, following Petra's large grin, collectively ordered one enormous roasted spirit pig alongside several trays of side dishes, a bowl of bread, a spicy red soup, and enough breakfast to terrify the nearby staff.
The waiter silently stared at the group, then slowly looked toward Petra.
She didn't know what to say…