Little Pink Starfish

In truth, it wasn’t easy at all for Pei Sen to dig this piece of information out of his memory.

Back then, there were only a handful of famous NPCs running around, and they were all extremely dangerous. Of course, there were fearless players who tried to get close to them. But most NPCs capable of traveling to other servers were very well aware of what players were like — they generally didn’t try to curry favor, and in fact, many of them harbored some level of hostility toward players.

Even those who maintained a neutral stance were already considered relatively friendly.

Pei Sen could recall this mainly because he had had some contact with one of those NPCs — a class-specific Occultist who only appeared in the late stages of the game. Pei Sen didn’t know much about this class, but that NPC was among the few who were relatively friendly toward players. Pei Sen had received a quest from him and vaguely remembered that he had shown some interest in his Magic Cube necklace.

He didn’t go to ask Bix Magic Cube about the silver cube. Not only might Bix Magic Cube not know, but even if it did, it might not tell Pei Sen.

Pei Sen had already sensed that this was likely a very secretive matter — Bix Magic Cube probably didn’t want these overly powerful natives to roam freely across servers. But once they obtained special items, Bix Magic Cube didn’t restrict them much either.

“That must be it. The only thing I don’t know is whether that silver cube was originally that small, or if that Occultist shrank it with some kind of spell.” Pei Sen rubbed his temples in frustration. “Sigh. Maybe it’s time to part ways with the young master. He’s grown up now and has plenty of self-defense abilities. He doesn’t really need me for protection anymore. His divine spells are strong enough to keep him safe. As long as Leiser doesn’t come after him, the young master should be able to live out his noble life in peace.”

Then he thought again, maybe there was no need to go through all the trouble of dragging Eagle along with him. Eagle was, after all, a native of Yali Continent. Maybe he didn’t want to leave at all?

Pei Sen realized he had been assuming too much. “Even if I leave Yali Continent for a while, I can still come back to visit the young master when I have time.”

That thought made Pei Sen feel a bit more at ease. It’s not like he was completely bound to Eagle. Sure, he had developed feelings for the boy, but he wasn’t arrogant enough to think Eagle couldn’t live without him.

“There’s no such thing as a feast that doesn’t end,” Pei Sen sighed, recalling that famous saying from Earth. “Besides, Qinghun Era won’t open for another three months. Even when it does, there’s no guarantee I’ll be sent there right away. No point in overthinking it now.”

Feeling more relaxed, Pei Sen followed Eagle down from the carriage and looked at the group of well-behaved Frost Maple Knights.

Previously, the war in the Frost Maple Territory had been raging, yet the Frost Maple Knights had barely been involved. Their plea for reinforcements never arrived, and events moved so quickly that by the time they finally decided to join the fray, the war was already pretty much over!

There’s no medicine for regret. Now that they regretted it… it was already too late.

“Young Master, the Bix Tribe isn’t entirely trustworthy. You should keep some power in your own hands,” Pei Sen whispered to Eagle.

Eagle didn’t need the reminder — he was already well aware of that.

In Eagle’s eyes, Pei Sen was technically also part of the Bix Tribe. The fact that he was warning him against trusting his own people… that really said something.

So Eagle walked up to the Frost Maple Knights. He neither enthusiastically welcomed their allegiance nor coldly ignored them. His attitude was a bit aloof, but not rejecting — which immediately put the knights’ commander and vice commanders at ease.

They hadn’t expected Eagle to treat them as important at this point anyway. They had to swallow the consequences of their own mistakes.

Eagle’s current stance was actually the best they could hope for, prompting them to act even more loyally and obediently.

After bringing Pei Sen into Red Maple Castle, Eagle gave him a gentle look. He knew that among all the people around him, Pei Sen was the most trustworthy. Pei Sen valued him more than his own kin and had repeatedly reminded him not to fully rely on the Bix Tribe.

Recalling how Pei Sen had rushed day and night to the capital to rescue him, Eagle felt even more reassured. He even smugly thought that Pei Sen must really like him — how else could he be willing to go to such lengths?

“Pei Sen,” Eagle called.

Pei Sen was sorting through various quests he could assign to players, thinking how he was getting more and more professional at this task. He was lost in thought and responded a bit slowly, “Young Master?”

Eagle sounded slightly displeased. “What are you thinking about?”

“…Just thinking about the Bix Tribe.”

Eagle smiled. “They’ve done a lot this time. I should reward them.” He extended a hand toward Pei Sen. “I haven’t been back in a while. Come, Pei Sen, bathe with me.”

“Oh, alright.”

Pei Sen didn’t think much of it. As Eagle’s personal steward, he was used to doing this kind of thing and didn’t mind it. He asked the maid to fetch a towel, business as usual.

Red Maple Castle was different from Golden Rose Manor, which was spacious and luxurious. The young master had a slight obsession with cleanliness and loved to bathe — something uncommon even in the Kingdom of Esmia.

Because Eagle enjoyed bathing so much and disliked others who didn’t, Red Maple Castle had a large bathing pool engraved with multiple magical arrays — not only for heating but also with healing properties.

Everything was prepared, and before long, Eagle arrived. Pei Sen didn’t know whether Eagle had maintained such hygiene during his five years trapped in the ruin’s stone slab, but considering Burke Angre had brought so many attendants in with him, he probably managed.

Still, Eagle never liked being surrounded by attendants while bathing. As always, aside from Pei Sen, no other servant was present — a longstanding habit of his.

Pei Sen stepped forward naturally to help Eagle unbutton his clothes. Though he had done it many times before, this time he felt inexplicably awkward.

As he looked up slightly and met Eagle’s eyes — which looked a deep green through the rising steam — he suddenly understood.

“No wonder this feels weird,” he thought. “He used to be just a bit taller than me. Undoing his buttons was easy. Now he’s so much taller… no wonder it feels awkward.”

Eagle wore the kind of elaborately decorated shirt nobles loved. The buttons were delicate gems, small and fiddly. Pei Sen focused on unbuttoning them, trying to ignore his discomfort.

But halfway through, Pei Sen suddenly froze.

“What’s wrong?” Eagle asked, confused. His voice, now deeper and huskier than in his youth, carried the charm of a grown man — no longer the clear, bright tones of a boy.

Pei Sen: “…”

He couldn’t explain. He had forgotten something important again!
The censorship system! His mosaic was gone!

That’s right — Pei Sen had been completely used to this. He used to bathe with Eagle regularly, calmly undressing him without batting an eye, because Bix Magic Cube censored everything he wasn’t supposed to see.

As Eagle’s personal steward, helping him bathe was just part of the job — not a big deal. He could even zone out and browse forums while doing it. No problem.

But now the mosaic… was gone!

Staring at Eagle’s pale, half-exposed chest, Pei Sen’s fingers refused to move.

“Pei Sen?” Eagle called again.

It took a while before Pei Sen found his voice. “Young Master… I’m feeling a little unwell. Could you—”

Eagle looked surprised, then remembered Pei Sen vomiting during the journey. But he had seemed fine since then. Why now?

Eagle gave Pei Sen a discreet glance — his face wasn’t pale. In fact, his complexion looked quite good in the misty steam, and even his ears were slightly red… almost cute.

A faint smile curled Eagle’s lips. “Then wait over there. Once I finish bathing, I’ll use divine magic to treat you.”

Pei Sen: “…” (He didn’t need treatment at all!)

Still, since Eagle no longer needed him to help undress, Pei Sen felt relieved. He stood off to the side, towel in hand, determined to act like a gentleman and avert his gaze.

Then he started to think he was being ridiculous. “We’re both men… And I’ve been to public baths. I’ve seen plenty. Why am I being so awkward now?”

Maybe it was because Eagle was just too handsome?

Water sounds came from the bath — Eagle had entered the pool. Pei Sen sighed in relief and let himself relax. The mist obscured much of the view, so even without a mosaic, it wasn’t a big issue anymore. Holding the towel, Pei Sen squinted toward the bath, touched his burning ears, and quietly sighed.

He wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t in denial either. But after thinking carefully, he realized this was his first time having romantic feelings for another man.

“Turns out men really are visual creatures,” Pei Sen admitted honestly to himself. His feelings for Eagle were probably all due to the young man’s exceptional looks.

Aside from that, what else was attractive about this brat?

Lost in his thoughts, another splash came from the bath. Pei Sen looked over, quickly turned away, and muttered, “Done already, Young Master?”

Eagle’s voice sounded amused. “Because you’re not feeling well. I couldn’t relax.”

Pei Sen: “…”

He didn’t dare look at Eagle. With his back pressed against the wall, he handed out the towel, hoping Eagle would take it himself.

Heat surged to his cheeks and ears as a hand, still damp with warm water, braced itself on the wall beside his face. Eagle’s soft chuckle sent a shiver down Pei Sen’s spine.

Almost reflexively, Pei Sen shut his eyes — the man was standing too close. He didn’t even dare open them.

In the darkness, he felt Eagle’s warm lips land squarely on his.

This wasn’t the light touch at the corner of the lips like last time, when Eagle was being taken away by Sadin.

This time, it was different.

This was a real kiss.