"Seriously, you're such a jerk, kid!"
Inside a high-speed, nearly hundred-meter-long monorail train, a golden-haired girl sat next to a black-haired, golden-eyed child, muttering discontentedly.
"What did I do now?" Muria, in his childlike form, blinked in confusion.
"I'm talking about how you treated your student! Don't you think you went too far?"
"What's so bad about it? I gave him time to visit his family and friends, and when he returned, I even lent him that Divine Regalia. As his teacher, I've fulfilled my duties admirably."
"Don't play dumb! I saw everything. When you dragged him back, wasn't there a naked girl lying next to him? That was his girlfriend, right? You yanked him away at such a moment—you're terrible!"
"I gave him exactly one day, and I simply adhered to the time limit," Muria replied with a calm expression, his tone righteous. He certainly wouldn't admit that, in his mind, he was a paragon of honesty, integrity, and fairness.
"Come on, don't pretend with me! I've spent enough time with you to know how you operate. You totally did that on purpose!"
"Not going to entertain this," Muria muttered, closing his eyes.
"When you dragged him back, he was fuming inside. But you shut him up by offering to lend him the armor. Classic manipulation," Arina analyzed aloud, her tone growing more amused. "You did all that because you were jealous, weren't you? He got to enjoy a tender moment with his girlfriend, and meanwhile, you don't even know where your partner is."
"You're talking too much," Muria opened one eye and glared at her. "If you're bored, I can find something for you to do."
"Nope, I'm good. I can meditate," Arina quickly replied, shrinking back as if she had never been more obedient.
After a brief silence, curiosity got the better of her again. "So, are we really going to visit that Luminous fleet?"
"Yep."
"And... what exactly are you planning to do?"
"Nothing much. Just take a look."
"Really?"
"Under normal circumstances, I don't interfere with the natural order of worlds."
"Wow. You make that sound so noble, but seriously, you've already meddled plenty," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"I said under normal circumstances. Of course, I intervene when necessary," Muria replied, veins faintly throbbing on his forehead. He spoke slowly and deliberately. If this girl weren't someone special, he might have already flung her into the distance.
"Wow, this is insane! All of these ships are man-made?" Arina gasped in awe. She stood in the middle of a barren desert, staring at the massive fleet of disc-shaped warships hovering above. The sheer number of them stretched beyond the horizon.
Around them, thousands of other onlookers—backpackers, thrill-seekers, and adventurers—had gathered to witness the alien armada. Many had traveled great distances just to catch a glimpse of this high-tech wonder.
The Luminous fleet had chosen this remote desert as their base of operations, citing a desire to minimize their interference with local civilization.
"This was your own decision, was it?" Muria teased, smirking as he glanced sideways at Arina. "If I recall, you followed me out of fear of my overwhelming power, not out of any enlightened choice."
"Details, details," Arina replied dismissively. "The end result is all that matters!"
Muria snorted. He finally saw a bit of his mother, Atris, in Arina—particularly in her shameless ability to twist the truth to her advantage.
"Whatever. I don't have time to argue with you," Muria sighed. "Get ready. We're going up there soon."
"Huh? You're serious?" Arina's eyes widened in shock. "You're not planning to cause trouble, are you? This fleet isn't something you should provoke lightly. They built those massive fortresses; who knows what kind of retaliation they're capable of!"
She was clearly intimidated by the scale of the Luminous fleet. Despite her travels with Muria and the awe-inspiring sights she had seen across various realms, the sheer engineering marvel of this fleet left her deeply shaken.
"Relax. I understand the concept of risk versus reward," Muria replied coolly. "These ships might look scary, but they're not enough to make me retreat."
Muria reached out and took Arina's hand, but she immediately began to struggle furiously.
"Let go of me, you brat! If you want to go, go by yourself! Don't drag me into this! If things go south, you can escape easily, but I'll be toast!"
"Are you listening to yourself? You're my mother. Do you really think I'd abandon you?" Muria asked, his grip unyielding.
"I'm your mother! I should be supporting you, not slowing you down. Just leave me here and go do your thing," Arina insisted, though her struggles were in vain.
"No. Wherever I go, you come with me," Muria said firmly.
"What are you so worried about? You think I'm going to run off? I don't even know my way around this world!"
"Oh, so now you're doubting my ability to protect you?" Muria raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Let me prove it to you by blasting a few of those tin cans out of the sky."
"Stop it, you psycho!" Arina gasped, panic creeping into her voice. "Don't do anything reckless! Seriously, you're going to make things worse!"
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