"Yay! Xana is so excited! Owner, Xana finally finished her task!" Her eyes looked toward Cassian, who was lying back, waiting to see what she had accomplished.
He opened his eyes to inspect the result.
The breakfast table was completely set before him, with the cups properly arranged, the drinks neatly lined up to one side ready to be poured, and the appetizers resting on a plate off to the side.
Then his gaze shifted toward a corner of the floor, where several broken utensils and suspiciously torn tablecloths lay scattered.
He looked back at Xana, who was watching him with hopeful eyes.
"Mmm, you did well," he replied, though inwardly he found himself missing Adela dearly at moments like this, and even Mina. But he couldn't steal his sister's maid.
Thalassa laughed quietly from the side. In truth, she had been the one helping Xana so the wolf girl could finally finish the task after failing ten times.
Cassian reached for a cup of tea, but Xana's hand quickly intercepted him.
"Owner! Let me! Let me!"
However, Cassian deftly avoided her and shook his head.
"There's no need. You already worked hard. I can handle this."
Xana looked at him uncertainly, her fluffy tail drooping in disappointment before she reluctantly nodded. But the moment she saw him bringing out more food, her excitement instantly returned, and she quickly sat beside him to eat breakfast together.
Thalassa also began eating, though with an elegance that sharply contrasted with the wolf woman's unrestrained enthusiasm.
"We should be close," Cassian murmured.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"What are we going to do with the carriage?"
He looked at her without any intention of answering such an irrelevant question.
Thalassa bit her lip before blurting out irritably, "You would've answered her," she said, pointing at Xana, who was stuffing her mouth with food and looking back and forth between them as if wondering whether they were talking about her.
"Because I expect that kind of question from her, Thalassa. But I expect you to think for yourself at least a little."
She looked away, annoyed, while Cassian watched her with obvious boredom.
"Will you store it... wherever it is you keep all of this?" she asked, gesturing toward the food.
"Maybe... Though we could also keep using it on the water. I don't want to get wet, but I'm not sure which option would consume less energy. Besides..." His gaze shifted toward Xana, whose wolf ears immediately perked up. "How good are you in the water?"
"Water? Xana doesn't like water."
"I can tell your aura is quite strong, Xana," he said seriously. "She's a mermaid, and we're heading to the bottom of the sea. How well can you handle it?"
The wolf woman's expression turned serious for a brief moment.
"I should be fine, Owner..."
"Good. By the way, Thalassa, your people should consider relocating or adapting your home to make it more accessible. You wouldn't become the weak link or be abandoned if you did."
The mermaid listened to the suggestion in surprise. At first, she wanted to argue and defend herself, but as his words sank in, she realized they actually made sense.
"You really think so? That the fact we're so isolated has that much of an impact?"
"Well, I certainly wouldn't choose a target that wasn't isolated. Starting with the weakest isn't always the best strategy, but starting with the most ignored certainly is. We've traveled through several places during this journey. Have you heard anyone talking about what happened to your people? I'm not saying you have no contact with anyone, because I'm sure your race isn't completely disconnected from the rest of the world. You said your people haven't spoken with other races for a long time, but I don't believe that's entirely true. What I do believe is that everyone is simply too lazy. Too lazy to care about what's happening somewhere they rarely hear about. And the people who understand that are taking advantage of it."
Thalassa remained silent, absentmindedly fidgeting with her fingers.
Meanwhile, Cassian's thoughts drifted away from the carriage and the spell he had been planning inside his personal space. Instead, they turned toward the one behind everything—the person manipulating those standing at the peak of this world's power like disposable puppets.
Nyx Aeterna.
How long had it been since he'd last seen her?
He hadn't left the sect in quite some time. Between the sisters chasing after him every time he tried to visit another world... like that time he wanted to see Thalassa's race in person. There was an entire world inhabited by them, where every single one was female, but Liwei and Luowei had dragged him back and relentlessly insisted that he couldn't go, while Ruolan kept pestering him for alchemy advice that "couldn't possibly wait."
An invisible smile appeared on his lips, one that didn't escape the notice of the two women inside the carriage. They immediately exchanged confused glances, but he quickly erased it and returned his thoughts to the first person.
Nyx.
Lately, everything led to her. It was hard not to when this world was so obviously covered by her web.
Of all places... it had to be this one.
He really had no desire to face her.
...
Far from where Cassian currently was, though not too far from Demor.
The Midvern Empire, neighboring and directly bordering the Lucratis Empire.
Its emperor had ascended more than thirty years ago, and the empire was fairly stable, though it had never stood out much, always remaining in Lucratis's shadow.
Sylvia Sterling, Selyne Astaford, Cassandra Demor, and Lisbeth Vitalis stood upon the imperial capital of Midvern.
The first three radiated the aura of Transcendent Realm cultivators, while the last carried herself with the holy, miraculous presence of a saint.
"Another war... I don't know if I like this," Selyne muttered.
"But you do like it when he gives it to you again," Sylvia shamelessly replied just to tease her.
The duchess rolled her eyes. Cassandra looked at them in disbelief, while Lisbeth bit her lip as if trying to suppress something.
"Lucky ones..." the saint thought to herself.
"Anyway," Sylvia continued more seriously, "this should be easy. I don't think Midvern has many Transcendent Realm experts. If we simply introduce ourselves to the emperor and have a nice little conversation, everything should end peacefully."
Cassandra was far more pessimistic.
"We should've brought that man's Shadows."
"Adela said she didn't want to use them unless it was an emergency. She said they'd stain the gift."
The saint nodded enthusiastically at Sylvia's explanation, while Cassandra merely gave an indifferent nod.
"Don't worry. If I could deal with a god, there's no way I can't handle Midvern," Sylvia added proudly.
"Hmph. Don't let it get to your head. I'm sure he helped you. All I saw was you passing out while he still looked perfectly fine."
"Come on, Cassandra. Don't be jealous just because you couldn't even handle the weakest one."
The ancestress didn't seem to appreciate those words. She stepped closer to the redhead until they were nearly face-to-face. Just when it seemed they were about to start fighting, Cassandra simply smiled gently.
"Are you sure? I have more experience than you in every regard. Don't get so proud over power you only gained with someone else's help."
"There are no excuses that matter, Cassandra. Between being stronger and not being stronger, I'll always choose the first option, no matter how I obtain it."
Cassandra held Sylvia's gaze for a few more seconds before letting out a quiet snort.
"Let's hope that confidence is enough."