Little Pink Starfish

Pei Sen immediately grew anxious. A war was about to begin, and yet the young master had just left for the royal capital and already lost contact with him—this was definitely not a good sign.

“Could it be that the mirror was confiscated by the Duke?”

It wasn’t impossible.

From Pei Sen’s end, the only thing he could determine was that the mirror hadn’t been damaged—or at least, the magic circle inside it remained intact. Otherwise, his mirror would have also shattered quickly.

The next day, there was still no news from Eagle. Pei Sen finally lost his composure and went to find Aken. “I want to make a trip to the capital.”

Aken was surprised. “Eagle just left not long ago. You two don’t need to be this clingy, do you?”

He also knew that at least until Eagle turned twenty, there shouldn’t be any major danger. Even if Eagle was taken to the capital, he was only fifteen this year. Duke Burke Angre probably wouldn’t do anything to him.

After all, Duke Burke Angre was Eagle’s father, and His Majesty Leiser was his uncle. In Aken’s eyes, even if they didn’t like Eagle, they wouldn’t endanger his life.

Not to mention, Sadin’s strength was formidable. A sword saint guarding him was enough to ensure his safety. Aken couldn’t imagine what could possibly go wrong.

Ichabod felt Pei Sen was overreacting. “Maybe the young master is just too busy these past two days, so he hasn’t contacted you. I bet you’ll hear from him tomorrow.”

Pei Sen shook his head. “No way. The young master promised me before he left—unless something happened, he would contact me every day.”

Even though Pei Sen hadn’t known Eagle as long as Aken and Ichabod had, he knew Eagle wasn’t the type to make empty promises. He took everything seriously.

“How about this—I’ll go to the capital alone. You two keep doing what needs to be done here. Don’t worry, I won’t go marching in openly,” Pei Sen smiled. “I’ll try to sneak in quietly. If the young master is fine, I’ll come back.”

Aken was about to agree when Ichabod frowned. “And what about the Bix tribe after you leave?”

This war was critical, and everything depended on the Bix. Ichabod feared that if Pei Sen left, the tribe might become uncontrollable, and the war effort would fall apart.

“I’ve already explained everything to them. You don’t have to worry about them backing out.” Pei Sen said seriously.

Plus, Pei Sen could monitor the battlefield and respond in real time via the forum. In fact, staying in Frost Maple Territory wasn’t really necessary anymore. He had already discussed with Aken the public construction tasks for players, and the magical stones needed for skill gambling could also be bought from other “NPCs.” Although Eagle wanted him to stay safe in Frost Maple, his presence there no longer seemed essential.

Seeing Pei Sen’s determination, Aken and Ichabod couldn’t persuade him otherwise and reluctantly agreed to let him leave.

Aken was more accepting. Ichabod, on the other hand, felt a bit resentful. He thought the young master had already been overly sentimental in appointing Pei Sen. And while it was true the Bix were powerful allies, Ichabod had kept quiet.

Now, just a short time later, Pei Sen was ready to abandon everything to go find Eagle?

Both of them were just… how should he put it… love-struck?

As far as Ichabod was concerned, their behavior lacked reason.

But one was the young master, and the other was beyond his authority. He could only remain silent.

The next day, after making some final arrangements, Pei Sen set off alone.

He didn’t take anyone with him—only a cat.

When Peks learned he had to go with Pei Sen, he nearly cried. He had just settled into a peaceful life at Red Maple Castle, spoiled by the maids who eagerly fed him, knowing he was Eagle’s pet. He had returned to his former life of eating and sleeping in bliss. But that joy didn’t last long.

Why did a cat have to suffer like this? The cat didn’t want to go find its former owner.

The cat wanted to stay at Red Maple Castle.

But the cold and heartless new owner didn’t care about the cat’s protests and even threatened to throw him into the dark pet bag if he didn’t come willingly.

What a hard life for a cat.

The players had no idea Pei Sen had left. They were busy preparing for war. In their eyes, Pei Sen was just an NPC. Even knowing that Eagle had been taken to the capital, they wouldn’t do anything without a quest prompting them.

To them, it was just an NPC. If the game didn’t involve them, the life or death of an NPC was nothing more than a spectator’s experience.

Pei Sen first returned to Lanno Territory. Since the war quest was going public, even players who weren’t interested in public construction wanted to join. The reason was simple—some rich players had already started bidding to buy Settlement Tokens. Bix Magic Cube had no pay-to-win channel, but that didn’t stop players from trading in real life. The price of a Settlement Token had already skyrocketed.

Driven by profit, players were flocking to Frost Maple Territory, leaving Lanno looking relatively deserted.

But Lanno hadn’t had many quests left for players anyway. In just this short time, Pei Sen could already see how much the place had changed.

Casey City wasn’t just completed—it had been expanded. It had absorbed the Golden Rose Manor. From one side of Casey City, one could now see the towering structure of the newly built manor, constructed based on player-provided blueprints.

In the Yali Continent, other than mage towers, there had never been such tall buildings. Craftsmen lacked the necessary skills, and unless it was a magic tower, most mages weren’t interested in helping build tall structures.

Wearing a black cloak to hide his identity, Pei Sen even made Peks keep his head down to avoid being recognized. He carried a sword and wore ordinary boots, riding a lean, medium-sized gray horse. Everything about him looked like an ordinary adventurer.

It was cold, snow fell at night, and under the bright moonlight, hoofprints trailed across the snowy ground, lonely and cold.

Leaving Lanno Territory meant entering more dangerous areas. His striking appearance wasn’t a problem when beside the young master, but alone, even as a transcendent, such beauty could cause trouble.

Pei Sen was well aware of this. His main character’s appearance in real life wasn’t bad either, but not to this extent.

Compared to other players, Pei Sen had a deeper understanding of Bix Magic Cube—especially since he now believed this was a real world. So, to safely reach the royal capital as quickly as possible, he resolved to keep a low profile the entire way.

Fortunately, the Black Mist Cloak was very effective. Even with the Eye of the Undead in his possession, the cloak concealed his presence so well that no one could detect it.

Pei Sen wore the Eye of the Undead for a simple reason: he wanted to use it to locate the Lich’s legacy sites.
Since he was going to the capital alone, and while there might be scattered players nearby, relying on them would be difficult. Even if Bix Magic Cube allowed him to post a task, Pei Sen had to think carefully—those players hadn’t joined the young master’s faction. If things went wrong because of the players while trying to rescue Eagle, it would be disastrous.

Unlike players, “NPCs” had only one life. Eagle was a unique existence in this world—he wouldn’t come back to life after dying, unlike Pei Sen.

To avoid any mishap, Pei Sen had to reduce all risks to the minimum. He had always been a cautious and steady person, never fond of reckless risks. If he liked taking risks, he would never have entered the Golden Rose Manor in the first place.

“Maybe becoming a Lich is the better choice.” Pei Sen had learned some necromancy from the Lich still residing in Frost Maple Territory, but it was far from enough. To change classes, he needed to find three Lich legacy sites and master fifty necromancy spells. The latter was even harder than the former.

Fortunately, the sigil ring the young master left him actually contained a small necromancy book.
He couldn’t help but admire that mysterious powerhouse from the Burfield family—it was beyond imagination how one could collect thousands of magical tomes. He had no idea where they all came from.

Near the Lanno border was Viscount Hemingya’s territory. Since Arzi Town fell, many adventurers and mercenaries had started gathering here again. The greedy viscount charged a hefty toll for entry. Pei Sen paid quietly and passed through peacefully.

Beyond that lay unfamiliar lands.

From there to the royal capital, even riding non-stop, it would take at least half a month. And that was with the capital not even being at the center of the Kingdom of Esmia—if one came from the southern border, it would take two months.

Pei Sen didn’t know the roads well. Midway, the Eye of the Undead reacted. He veered off to a Lich site with no guardian, completed a task, then got lost for a few days before finding the correct path again.

Seeing there was still no news from Eagle, Pei Sen decided to abandon the Lich mission and rushed toward the capital without delay.

Pei Sen was deeply anxious. The mirror remained unresponsive—this was the seventeenth day already. He had no idea what had happened to Eagle, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

“If only my level was higher.” Pei Sen felt regretful—he was only level 48, not even strong among intermediate mages.

What worried him more was that if he died in the capital, his respawn point would be the nearest one he had activated on the way—which meant losing more time getting back. Worse yet, with his identity, it might be impossible to get close to the powerful figures who held the information about Eagle.

“Everything’s so hard.” Pei Sen didn’t hesitate, urging his horse toward the capital.

He may not enjoy taking risks, but once he made a decision, he never wavered.

“No matter how hard it is, I’ll go. I promised the young master.”

He promised to rescue him—whether he could or not.

Pei Sen had no idea what the capital, untouched by war, would look like. As the capital of the Kingdom of Esmia, it was called the Jewel of the Northern Continent.

The continent of Yali was roughly split in half by the Endless Sea. Without transcendents, no one could have crossed it at this era’s technological level—the sea was too stormy, too dangerous.

But this world had powerful swordsmen, rogues, mages, and even clerics of the Light Church who could perform divine miracles. So the Endless Sea was no longer an insurmountable barrier.

Even so, the people of Yali still called the northern half “the Northern Continent” and the southern half “the Southern Continent.”

The Kingdom of Esmia was the largest nation on the Northern Continent. Around it were scattered small states like the Duchy of Balst. Only near the Endless Sea was there a confederation barely able to rival Esmia.

The fame of the Eternal City, the capital, echoed throughout Yali.

Standing outside its walls, Pei Sen saw the tall, massive stone fortifications. This was the Eternal City that Eagle had spoken of. The walls were connected to a massive underground magic circle, capable of becoming an impenetrable magical barrier during times of invasion.

“I’ve arrived. Young master, where are you?” he whispered.

Then he pulled down the hood of his cloak, revealing his handsome, elegant face, and led his horse into the city.

Here, Pei Sen wasn’t afraid of being recognized—other than Sadin and a few in Atwell, no one knew what he looked like.

Besides, in the capital of Esmia, wearing a cloak to hide your face would only make you look suspicious, possibly attracting attention from the city guards.

Unlike elsewhere, even conmen dared not act rashly here—this was the capital, after all.

Once inside, he was awed by the grand city and didn’t mind the curious looks he drew.

Pei Sen stayed low-key, briefly toured the city, saw the splendid royal palace built entirely of special stone, and also spotted Duke Burke Angre’s Ministerial Residence nearby.

Burke Angre had his own fief, but he mostly lived in the capital. His estate was managed by stewards.

Pei Sen walked a circle around Burke Angre’s residence and then found an inn two streets away with lodging. He settled down and began gathering intel.

He had spent a total of nineteen days traveling. That was with barely any rest, riding day and night. He was exhausted, and Peks had even lost weight—his once-fat cat belly had noticeably shrunk.

“Peks, go find out what you can,” Pei Sen said, sitting on a not-so-clean inn bed. He looked at the weary black cat. “Try to sneak into Burke Angre’s estate and see if you can pick up anything.”

Peks let out a weak “meow.” Why are you making things so hard for a cat? Cats aren’t meant to do this!

“Shadow cats are meant to do this,” Pei Sen said, as if reading its mind. “I’m not asking you to fight, just to spy. It shouldn’t be that dangerous inside Burke Angre’s residence.”

At least he wasn’t sending it to Leiser’s royal palace.

Who said it wasn’t dangerous? The Duke definitely had elite guards around him.

What if it ran into Sadin?

“If you really do run into Sadin, just hide in the shadows. Don’t get caught.”

The cat had lost weight, so at least it wouldn’t get stuck in the shadows this time.

Peks was terrified. That Sadin was terrifying—it was almost impossible to avoid him!

“If you do get caught, it’s fine. Sadin knows you’re the young master’s cat. He won’t be too hard on you.”

Peks really didn’t want to go, but under Pei Sen’s stern gaze, he reluctantly slinked out.

At night, a black cat running around wouldn’t draw much attention.

Using Peks was smarter than going himself. As a magical beast and Pei Sen’s pet, Peks could communicate with him via the game’s system—something other NPCs couldn’t do.

The key, of course, was getting the lazy cat to actually follow orders.

With surprising agility, Peks slipped into the garden of Burke Angre’s estate.
He knew this was the house of his former master’s father. As a high-tier magical beast, Peks wasn’t stupid. He usually looked like a normal cat, but his intelligence was far above that.

The garden was eerily quiet—not a soul in sight. Not even a gardener or servant.

Peks roamed around and eventually snuck into the grand estate. Compared to this place, the Golden Rose Manor looked like a rural cottage. No wonder Eagle had once scorned it.

Inside, he saw only a few idle maids. The master wasn’t home, and the servants seemed to have slacked off.

Peks crept around but didn’t find anything useful. He ended up crouching in a corner to eavesdrop on two maids chatting.

No real danger, so why bother hiding in the shadows?

“…he’s been going to the palace a lot lately.”

“His Majesty’s health isn’t good. It’s natural for our Duke to care more.”

“They say the Duke and His Majesty have that kind of relationship… maybe only His Majesty is worthy of him,” one maid said dreamily.

“The Duke…” sighed the other, both maids resting their heads in their hands, eyes glazed with admiration.

When Burke Angre first came to the capital, even the nobles were stunned. Let alone the servants.

Most maids here were replaced frequently—many couldn’t resist the Duke’s charm and acted irrationally.

These two had just arrived less than a month ago. They’d only seen the Duke a few times before he moved into the palace.

That didn’t stop them from falling hopelessly in love with him.

Pretty boys… always in demand.

Peks was half asleep, watching the maids swoon.

Then one of them said, “I overheard the butler say—the young master came back to the capital?”

“Seems like it. But none of us have seen him.”

“They say he looks a lot like the Duke. Just turned eighteen—must be handsome too.”

“But wasn’t he sent to the palace immediately?”

“Right. His Majesty is the young master’s uncle. So… he’s the child of the Duke and Princess Carolina?”

“But the Duke is with His Majesty—”

“Shh, we’re not supposed to talk about that.”

“Right, sorry.”

Peks perked up. This was what he came to hear. He was about to sneak away when—

Strong hands grabbed him by the scruff.

“You.”

Peks was hoisted into the air. He wanted to scratch and flee, but then he met the eyes of his captor.

And instantly went docile. “Meow~”

Sadin frowned at the cat, which was supposed to be far away in Frost Maple Territory. Most black cats looked similar, but not many were this fat.

“What are you doing here?”

Peks widened his eyes innocently. “Meow meow?”

Cats can’t talk. Cats are just cats.

Sadin narrowed his eyes. “Who brought you here? I don’t believe this lazy cat made it to the capital on its own. Was it… Pei Sen? He’s here too?”

Peks froze.

That confirmed it.

Sadin didn’t need to ask further—he already had his answer from the cat’s reaction.

“So it was him.”

The cat panicked. It wasn’t the cat’s fault! The cat didn’t betray anyone!

But Sadin’s expression slowly softened. He put Peks down and gently petted his sleek fur. He could tell the cat had slimmed down—it must have suffered on the journey.

“The young master gave him power and status. In Frost Maple, he could’ve lived comfortably,” Sadin said quietly. “A common-born, foreign race… now a true noble. He could’ve had a life of ease.”

And yet, Pei Sen had abandoned all that to rush to the capital the moment he lost contact with Eagle.

Others might covet power and status. Pei Sen, apparently, did not.

Sadin hated Pei Sen. He hated the Bix. But in this moment, he murmured, “He truly cares about the young master.”

If he only wanted benefits, he already had them. There was no reason to risk everything just because contact was lost.

Pei Sen must have known how dangerous the capital was for someone like him.

Yet he came anyway.

“Peks, take me to him,” Sadin sighed. “I… will bring him to see the young master.”

In that moment, Sadin’s heart softened, just a little.

Because of Pei Sen, maybe—just maybe—he saw that there was still someone in this world who genuinely cared for Eagle.

Someone who wanted nothing in return. Someone willing to give everything.

“At least let me, Sadin, do one last thing for the young master.”

Whatever the outcome… Eagle shouldn’t have to feel—

Alone.