Little Pink Starfish

After Eagle finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Pei Sen was genuinely shocked. Eagle had never discussed this issue with him beforehand—apart from a brief kiss when they parted ways, and that incident in the bathroom… there had never been any real intimacy between them!

Even though plenty of people had misunderstood the nature of his relationship with Eagle, Pei Sen could say with a clear conscience that nothing like that had actually happened between them.

So what exactly gave this young master the confidence to say something like that?

Pei Sen was a little exasperated, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat pleased, as if a bubbling joy had burst forth in his heart.

In this materialistic modern society, being too serious and cautious in relationships often made others hesitate. It wasn’t that Pei Sen didn’t want to fall in love, and he wasn’t so rational that he couldn’t be moved—he just hadn’t met someone who could touch his heart and was also willing to approach love with the same level of seriousness and sincerity.

Humans seemed to be natural-born liars. Pei Sen had once read that any grand vow of eternal love—believing it made you a fool.

That was fair. Who could guarantee their feelings would never change? Pei Sen couldn’t either. But he believed that, with his rationality and effort, he could maintain a relationship long-term. He was ready for that.

Unfortunately, most people didn’t believe it. So someone like Pei Sen often made others feel hesitant or wary.

Especially since the kind of people he was attracted to were usually outstanding individuals with many better options—they had no reason to engage in such a serious emotional gamble with him.

So, if Eagle said what he said, did that mean he was serious? Besides, the Lanno family had always seemed rather persistent in matters like this.

Although Pei Sen found it a bit ridiculous to think of an entire family as prone to developing decade-long infatuations, just look at Burke Angre and Swiggy—maybe it really was something hereditary?

Thus, even though Pei Sen was deeply shocked, he didn’t rush to speak. He figured he’d wait until Sadin and Ichabod weren’t around—he didn’t intend to publicly slap Eagle in the face.

Sadin was still holding Burke Angre’s ashes. He silently looked at Eagle and realized the young master wasn’t speaking out of impulsive emotion. On the contrary, Eagle appeared remarkably calm and rational when he said those words.

He wasn’t doing this to get revenge on Burke Angre. He had seriously decided to be with Pei Sen, a non-human.

…Sadin actually wasn’t surprised. The signs had been there for a while.

Ichabod was similarly stunned at first, then couldn’t help but sigh softly.

Like Sadin, he had “known” about Eagle and Pei Sen’s relationship before. So this turn of events really wasn’t all that unexpected.

Most importantly, Eagle was no longer that somewhat immature youth. Now, with the Light Element awakened within him, he exuded both power and authority. Neither Sadin nor Ichabod had any intention of trying to dissuade him—they skipped right over that topic and began discussing Burke Angre’s burial.

The Lanno family’s cemetery was located within their territory, not far from Golden Rose Manor. For nobles like them who possessed their own lands, it was typical to have family cemeteries situated on their own estates.

Just then, Aiken sent another male servant over with a message. Pei Sen slapped his forehead in frustration—this was Eagle’s first day back in the Frost Maple Domain, and already one thing after another was piling up.

They had originally agreed to reward the players who had performed well in the war that day, but it would have to be postponed until the next. Even so, Eagle still wasn’t going to get any proper rest today.

In the middle of the meeting, Eagle had to leave for the reception room, where Aiken was waiting.

Pei Sen didn’t even have a chance to sneak in a word with Eagle. He quickly made arrangements for Sadin and then rushed over to the reception room—only to freeze in surprise the moment he stepped inside.

No wonder Aiken had rushed to fetch Eagle—the people sitting in the reception room were clearly bigshots, and more specifically, high-ranking mages.

He whispered to Neil, “When did these people arrive? Who are they?”

Neil, now the steward in charge of general affairs at Golden Rose Manor, had transferred to Red Maple Castle once the integration of the Lanno and Frost Maple territories had begun.

“They just arrived,” Neil whispered back. “I heard they’re from the Mage Association.”

Because of Pei Sen, Neil had been able to rise to his current position, so he was always extremely respectful and responsive to him.

Pei Sen nodded thoughtfully. He guessed as much. The Mage Association had previously come to the Lanno territory but had been forced to retreat after being harassed by players. They were never going to let things go easily—especially after seeing what was inside that secret-pattern ring from the Burfield family. Pei Sen knew very well the Mage Association wasn’t going to give up so easily.

There were only three who appeared to be of particularly high status. The one in the center wore a deep blue mage robe, which looked like it had been cut straight from a star-speckled night sky—pure, dark, and breathtakingly beautiful.

This man had neatly combed silver hair and wore spotless monocles. Despite his age, his eyes were clear and bright, not at all cloudy like those of many elderly people.

Neil quietly told Pei Sen, “That’s Lord Finn Rayne, the head of the Mage Association’s Esmia Kingdom branch.”

Pei Sen knew the Mage Association was a major organization. In his main account, he’d once tried to join but failed the evaluation. The Mage Association was predominantly academic, only occasionally accepting powerful battle mages.

In the original timeline, Bix’s situation wasn’t great, so the Association had generally refused to admit mages of the Bix race. Some players had managed to infiltrate the organization through unusual means, mainly just to learn spells—they were always ready to betray if necessary.

In fact, there had been an incident where a Bix player, who had joined the Mage Association, stole several important magical tomes and fled. After that, the Association effectively blacklisted all players tagged as Bix, and Pei Sen’s attempt to join happened after that scandal—naturally, he was rejected.

However, since he had tried before, Pei Sen had heard of Finn Rayne. He was considered a senior member of the Association and a leading candidate for the next Grand Master. Among the candidates, he was quite popular—but in the original timeline, he eventually died in a conflict between the Mage Association and the Church of Light.

Yes, on the continent of Yari, the Mage Association and the Church of Light had a notoriously hostile relationship. The church wasn’t strong yet, but later on, they would rise and engage in several clashes with the Association.

To Finn Rayne’s left sat a mage in a purple robe. Strangely, Pei Sen couldn’t determine this man’s age. He looked like he could be either 27 or 45. His face was full of smiles, unlike many gloomy mages—he actually seemed cheerful and approachable, though this aura felt rather incompatible with his mage identity.

The man was strange—he had the vitality of youth but also an eerie air of age and decay. Pei Sen couldn’t help but look away after just one glance—he had a strong feeling this person was dangerous.

“…The one to the left of Lord Finn Rayne is Lord Annis. He’s also a noble of the Kingdom of Esmia and distantly related to the young master. His surname is Miller. Apparently, a lady from the Lanno family married into the Miller family generations ago—her husband was one of Lord Annis’s ancestors…”

Pei Sen was surprised. Who knew there was even that kind of connection? But this was a distant relation, cut off for probably 800 years—not exactly something to base kinship on.

And considering how Eagle treated his own parents, did anyone really think some distant cousin would be considered family?

Neil continued, “The one on the right is Lord Annis’s wife—Mistress Curse Magpie.”

“Curse Magpie?” Pei Sen found that name… odd.

Neil nodded. “No one knows her real name. She’s a curse mage. Very few people in this world know her true name.”

This woman wore a black robe and even indoors kept a hood that concealed half her face. But her robe was clearly no ordinary garment—it was smooth as silk and flowed like water around her petite, slender frame, giving her an air of mystery and elegance far beyond the standard adventurer’s gear.

Aside from these three, the other four were clearly lower-ranked mages who had come along with them. In other words, only these three were worth noting.

Pei Sen couldn’t help but glance at the composed Eagle. Even now, the secret-pattern ring was still in Pei Sen’s possession—Eagle had never taken it back.

A treasure like that would surely be pursued relentlessly by the Mage Association.

The so-called “disappearance” of Kesso back then had already indicated that the ring was in his hands. Kesso had ultimately died at Golden Rose Manor—that wasn’t something the Association would have trouble uncovering. It wouldn’t be hard for them to guess that Eagle now possessed the ring.

But Pei Sen and Eagle were well aware of that already, so they weren’t alarmed by the sudden appearance of these high-ranking mages.

“Young master,” Pei Sen said as he walked behind Eagle. Eagle nodded without a word—he knew exactly what Pei Sen meant. The two of them had already anticipated this scenario.

At this point, Finn Rayne, Annis, and Curse Magpie all glanced toward Pei Sen, making his skin crawl a little.

Uh… what’s with the synchronized stare? What do they want?

In truth, the fact that the Mage Association had timed their arrival to coincide precisely with Eagle’s return to Red Maple Castle was no coincidence. They had already been in the Frost Maple Domain, just waiting for Eagle to come back so they could make their move.

During their stay, they had gathered plenty of information. The mission to locate Kesso had originally belonged to Roys and Jona—the two senior mages who had first visited the Lanno territory and been chased off by players. Like any major organization, the Mage Association was rife with factions. Roys and Jona never got along with Annis, so they offloaded the task onto him.

They didn’t want to deal with the bizarre and frustrating non-human race again.

Unlike them, Annis was very clever. He and Curse Magpie had already been staying in the Frost Maple Domain for some time—gathering intel, biding their time.

Finn Rayne had only arrived two days ago. He came after hearing in the capital that Eagle had awakened the Light Element, and after receiving Annis’s message, he decided to come in person.

Annis’s report had played a major role in convincing him—the information about the Frost Maple Domain was nothing short of shocking.

Much of it concerned the Bix race—and then, of course, Pei Sen.

Pei Sen had instinctively taken his place behind Eagle because he understood that, as an NPC, his identity was Eagle’s steward. This young master was also his immediate superior.

What he didn’t know was that, as players gradually rose to prominence on the continent of Yari, Pei Sen, who had become the “leader” of the Bix race and had some degree of control over them, was now viewed by many as a major figure in his own right.

A ruler with real power over 90% of the territory of the Principality of Barst—who had also awakened the Light Element and become one of the most powerful divine spellcasters on the continent. One who commanded legions of tireless and possibly immortal non-human warriors, all of whom were extraordinary.

Both Eagle and Pei Sen had, in a very short time, become “big shots.”

That was why Finn Rayne, the branch head of the Mage Association—also a major figure—had personally come to meet them.

Though neither Eagle nor Pei Sen fully realized that yet.

One had just barely managed to struggle free from a predestined fate; the other knew full well that he was not some true “leader” of the non-human race—players could never be completely controlled by anyone.

Finn Rayne smiled with perfect grace. He had originally planned to seize the ring, but now he had no choice but to behave like a polite gentleman paying a social visit.

In that moment, Eagle experienced a sudden moment of clarity. Perhaps this was what Pei Sen had once described—

The feeling of holding power in your own hands.

As long as you’re strong enough, no matter the time or place, you could always receive this kind of treatment.

He smiled and, unexpectedly, found it all quite amusing.