“It is already the third day.”
Marlene gazed worriedly at the palace before her. It was pitch-black as usual. Ever since Rhode left three days ago, he hadn’t been back once. However, this wasn’t uncommon for Marlene as she knew that he loved roaming about in places and was used to it already. But this time, the situation was a little different as there was no response from him at all. Even though Rhode was seeming undisciplined, Marlene knew that he was clearly a responsible person who would ask about the recent ongoings in the territory through spiritual communications. But now, three days had gone by and there was no news from him at all. Marlene tried to speak to him through spiritual communications but received no answer. Not only that, but Canary and Mini Bubble Gum also had no news of him, which was really rare. In the past, Rhode would still get Canary to pass a message to Marlene if it was inconvenient for him to do so and Marlene didn’t feel like it was unacceptable for Canary to be above her in position. Although she awakened the power of a Deity Warden and was basically the final form of a BOSS in the face of all spell casters, she had no intention of fighting with Canary over the number one position in the harem. Therefore, all in all, Rhode’s harem was rather stable and peaceful currently.
Of course, most of it benefited from the tacit understanding between Marlene and Canary. In the game, Canary wasn’t considered the strongest in the number one echelon. But despite that, she conducted herself well and was popular among the players. That wasn’t the real world, but the virtual-reality world where most players were neither bothered by conflict of interest nor issues with reputation.
Even if problems existed, players would privately curse this beautiful young lady as a shameless wh*re, at the very most. In that case, Canary definitely didn’t rely on ‘acting cute’ to gain the likes and support of players in Starlight. On the other hand, Mini Bubble Gum disliked these troublesome matters, so she didn’t cause any ruckus.
As for Marlene, she was the heir of a huge, noble family, so if she couldn’t even learn worldly wisdoms, she would be better off marrying to another family, assuming the traditional role of a good wife, and bringing some political capital for her families related by marriage. As for Lize, she had a gentle temperament and disliked fighting for power. On the other hand, Lapis was a geek who was easily satisfied after Rhode accepted her for who she was. Perhaps she didn’t even think about her future. Meanwhile, Anne didn’t mind anything else as long as she could sleep in the same bed as Rhode. Sonia’s identity was relatively lower in comparison. She knew that she was unlike the other young ladies. After all, her relationship with Rhode wasn’t built on ’emotional basis’, which was why she kept an extremely low profile. Even after Rhode turned her into a card spirit, she remained low-profile and didn’t intervene with anything that didn’t involve her. Moreover, she spent most of her time with Lilian, which actually saved her a lot of the awkwardness from meeting others.
As for Nell and Angelina, they weren’t even considered members of the harem. Between them and Rhode, they were considered his ‘secretaries’, at the very most. There weren’t much emotions involved and most of their interactions came from their duties and some random talks. As for the others… it wasn’t up to them to manage.
But this time, not only did Canary not receive any news, but Sonia and Nell also didn’t have any responses from Rhode. It was the same for Alice and Marlene. They knew that Rhode went searching for Cassidy, but with Alice’s ability, she couldn’t retrieve any ‘historical record’ under the double, imposing presences of Cassidy and Rhode, so she couldn’t find out exactly what happened. The only thing she was sure was that Rhode had definitely found Cassidy, but as for what happened after… no one knew.
Currently, the entire Void Territory was rather peaceful, thanks to Rhode not ‘managing’ too much everyday. In fact, most operations in the Void Territory didn’t require his approval to complete, unless there were situations like the Country of Darkness or Chaos invading. If not, Marlene would handle almost everything and it was due to this reason that Rhode’s disappearance didn’t affect the Void Territory too much. However, Marlene felt worried. This wasn’t due to the internal problems of the Void Territory, but more of her concern as a woman.
What exactly happened to Rhode?
“…!”
All of a sudden, Marlene heard a loud noise from the near distance. She lifted her head in astonishment, gazed ahead, and saw a massive dragon with its wings expanded, flying toward Grandia. Upon witnessing the dragon, Marlene heaved a sigh of relief. The illusory appearance that resembled the starry sky, as well as the massive body proved one thing. It was the Void Dragon right before her—Rhode.
But… what’s going on?
Marlene was puzzled because she knew that Rhode disliked showing up in his dragon form. But this time… Marlene shook her head at this thought and threw the doubt to the back of her head. She quickly made her way to the plaza behind the palace.
When she arrived at the plaza, the Void Dragon was gradually flapping his wings and descending. At this moment, Canary, Mini Bubble Gum, and Alice also arrived. After all, they were worried. Rhode hadn’t responded for days and was finally back. What exactly happened? Did he manage to recover Cassidy? Where had he been? These questions were all floating around in their heads.
“Hmm?”
As soon as Canary saw the Void Dragon, she knitted her brows dubiously. She realized that something was amiss as the actions of this Void Dragon was rather different from what she recalled. In the past, Rhode always seemed imperious whenever he landed on the surface in his dragon form. It could also be said that he was like the final, world-destroying BOSS who appeared at the end of the game like the Neltharion… Meanwhile, Rhode also indulged in it as Starlight was considered by many opposing players as the ‘evil force’ that must be taken down as they were too powerful beyond words. As the guild leader, Rhode was undoubtedly the ‘final BOSS’ and in this world, he actually got the chance to become one. This was why he had more or less imitated the actions of the final BOSS and as one of his most intimate people, Canary knew he had this interest.
But this time, she discovered that the behavior of this Void Dragon seemed rather different. Its descent wasn’t as imperious as before and on the contrary, its movements were so gentle and nonchalant. It had an indescribable, imposing presence as though it were looking over the world. Even though it landed gradually on the surface, it gave Canary a misconception that it was looking at this world with the most peaceful and gentle gaze!
What’s going on? Is Rhode…
But before Canary figured out what happened, the Void Dragon had landed on the platform and folded its wings. Along with its movements, the massive body gradually shrunk and shortly after, it disappeared in an illusory mist and someone walked out of it.
“…”
Everyone was taken aback when they witnessed the person.
It was a young lady.
Even though her face looked exactly the same as Rhode’s, her curvaceous figure told them that it clearly wasn’t a man standing before them. This young lady seemed slightly younger than Rhode and Canary, but much older than Christie. Her growing body exuded a youthful vitality. She wore a pitch-black, elegant long dress and her silky, long hair extended to the side of her feet. The young lady presented a gentle smile. Her pale complexion was as though she was suffering from a serious illness. Despite that, the massive aura hidden inside her slender body was so powerful and distinct that even Rhode couldn’t match up with her.
“Who is… this?”
Mini Bubble Gum gazed blankly at the young lady, scratching her head in puzzlement and turning to Canary. On the other hand, Canary’s gaze became rather complicated. She bit her lip and her expression was caught between hesitation and agitation. But despite that, she said nothing and only stood by the side, observing the young lady in silence. Compared to the confused Canary and Mini Bubble Gum, Marlene and Alice seemed more impacted by the presence of this young lady. They stared blankly at her with unconcealable surprise and doubt in their expressions. Even Alice, who didn’t care about anything else other than books and rarely showed her feelings, seemed agitated at this point. She embraced the tome in her arms tightly and went ahead with quick steps. Meanwhile, Marlene also stepped onto the plaza with complicated emotions. However, they weren’t the only ones.
A bright, gentle radiance emanated from the ground and burst into the sky. Then, a petite figure with a face identical to Christie’s appeared within. She seemed incomparably perturbed and nostalgic.
Witnessing everyone’s arrival, the young lady smiled. She turned to Alice, Marlene, and Christie in order and nodded slightly to them. Then, she broke the silence.
“Long time no see, my adorable children.”
