Cipher was acting completely self-righteous, suddenly realizing that she was, in fact, the one kidnapping Aglaea.
Besides, she had an incredibly powerful helper on her side.
Who did this seamstress think she was, lecturing her the moment she opened her mouth? Did this annoying woman not see the situation they were in?
Watching Cipher's antics, the corners of Aglaea's mouth curled up slightly. She found it a bit funny, yet couldn't help but let out a sigh.
In the past, she had often worried about this "stray cat" who had left her side for reasons unknown.
But now that things had settled down—where brute force was no longer the priority and paperwork had taken its place—the cat's naughtiness was truly testing Aglaea's patience.
Furthermore, did this person really not understand why she had been tossed out of Dawncloud in the first place?
Just as Cipher and Aglaea began their bickering, the owner of the house, Castorice, noticed the commotion. She peeked her head cautiously out from the hallway.
Initially on guard, her expression shifted to one of pure shock when she saw Aglaea tied to a chair and two Ciphers standing there.
"Madam Aglaea? And... two Ciphers? What is going on...?"
Hearing Castorice's voice, Aglaea turned her head, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she was currently bound to a chair.
"Hello, Castorice. Sorry for the sudden intrusion; I hope we aren't disturbing you. I'll be sure to give Cifera a proper talking-to later."
"No way! I'm the one lecturing you! Why do you get to boss me around?" Cipher snapped back. "Hey, Princess Homebody, we're borrowing your room for a bit."
Aglaea and Cipher spoke one after another. Between the shouting and the bizarre scene, Castorice's face was a mask of confusion.
She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, then opened it again, before finally deciding to just go with "respect and understanding."
"No... it's fine. But... well, it's okay. You two carry on."
With that, Castorice's head popped back behind the corner. She clearly had no intention of overthinking this.
"Pffft..."
The other two didn't react, but 'Cipher' couldn't hold back a laugh. She remembered that Castorice loved to write. There was a good chance this very scene would end up in one of her stories someday.
Come to think of it, she wasn't sure how Castorice had been doing lately. 'Cipher' gave Aglaea a nod, wanting to catch up, and started walking toward the hallway to leave the two of them alone.
As for whether Cipher would be "counter-killed" by Aglaea without her backup... well, that wasn't her problem.
Walking through the hallway, she reached a courtyard filled with blooming flowers. Castorice sat there, gazing at the sky, lost in thought.
"Castorice, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Bai Ming."
"You recognized me too?"
'Cipher' sat down beside her. Castorice scooted over on the stone bench to make room and nodded.
"I think you're the only person Madam Aglaea and Cipher would both accept like that, Bai Ming."
"How have you been? And your sister?"
"Thanks to you, I've been doing well. Though, I might have gotten a bit too addicted to the Interastral Network... my sister lectured me and even confiscated my phone."
"..."
Since when did she become an internet addict? Bai Ming wondered. For her sister to actually take the phone away, she must have been deep in the rabbit hole.
Sensing Bai Ming's skeptical look, a faint blush crept onto Castorice's face.
"Please don't misunderstand. It was just a few times where I found a story I liked and went a few days without resting. For me, sleep isn't strictly necessary anymore, but my sister is just being overprotective."
"...I don't think sleep is the main issue here," Bai Ming replied, her lip twitching.
It seemed Castorice's addiction was no joke. Even if she didn't technically need sleep, given her old habits, going days on end without a wink would naturally worry her sister.
"Um... did something happen between Cipher and Madam Aglaea? Why is the Madam tied up?"
Castorice felt the same "vibe" coming from Bai Ming that she got from her sister.
Whenever her sister lectured her, she used that same tone before forcibly taking her devices away—leaving Castorice to sit in the garden, soaking up the sun and daydreaming to pass the time.
Though she didn't think Bai Ming was the type to lecture her, Castorice decided to change the subject.
"Oh, them? Cipher felt that Aglaea was too busy with work to play with her, and that she'd just been sent off to wander around Okhema alone. So, she came to demand an explanation."
Castorice blinked. Unlike Bai Ming, she knew a bit of the inside story.
Cipher was... well, she wasn't exactly built for office work.
It wasn't that she was dim; she just wasn't the type to sit still and process documents. Madam Aglaea likely thought it was better to let her roam free rather than trap her in an office.
But in Cipher's eyes, it seemed to mean something else entirely.
"I think Cipher might have misunderstood Madam Aglaea's intentions."
"Heh, don't worry. It's simple: Cipher feels like Aglaea isn't spending time with her, so she's just lonely."
"I see..."
Castorice nodded, but before she could finish her sentence, Cipher's face—now bright red—appeared at the other end of the hallway as she screamed:
"I am not!! Bai Ming, how can you just slander my innocent reputation like that!"
But quickly, another voice drifted from behind Cipher.
"So that was it? I'm sorry, Cifera. I neglected your feelings. I apologize; I'll be more mindful from now on."
"Huh? Heh... Wait, no! I told you, I'm not lonely! Seamstress, do you not speak English?!"
Hearing the commotion inside, Castorice covered her mouth and stifled a giggle.
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say," Bai Ming called back with a chuckle, deciding to leave the two of them to it.
"Is Cipher's reaction what they call 'Tsundere' in the wider universe?" Castorice asked.
"Yeah, I'd say she's a textbook Tsundere."
It really did seem like Castorice had been spending a lot of time online.
"And how have you been, Bai Ming? Everyone was worried about the crisis outside Amphoreus. Khaslana even regretted not staying behind to farm; he said if he hadn't left with Mydei, he could have provided support."
Castorice brought up the recent events. However, the situation had stabilized before they could even send help, so they didn't know the full details.
"I've been good. As for what happened, it was an accident, but luckily it didn't turn into anything major."
Bai Ming paused, then asked, "Khaslana and Mydei won't be back for a while, right?"
"Don't worry, Princess Cerydra has already instructed them not to return yet."
Castorice smiled as she talked about Cerydra.
The Princess had realized her personality wasn't quite suited for the current state of Amphoreus, so she had handed over almost all authority to Aglaea and Tribios.
Lately, she hadn't even participated in major decisions.
The last time Castorice saw her, she was discussing with Hysilens about where their first stop in their galaxy-faring adventure should be.
It seemed she had been dying to step out into the stars for a long time.
"By the way, for you to bring them into my home so silently... were you using the power of the Titan of Trickery?"
"I thought you hadn't noticed, Castorice. That's exactly right. You can consider me a complete Titan of Trickery for now."
Bai Ming didn't bother hiding it. She was curious—if she admitted it openly, would the power be broken by someone else's perception?
But even with Aglaea and Castorice knowing, her high speed still seemed to work perfectly fine.
It was strange. After transitioning the rules of Amphoreus into the real world, how exactly could the "truth from lies" be broken, other than her choosing to deactivate it?
Or perhaps the rule had changed in a way she hadn't realized yet?
She felt she needed to experiment more outside of Amphoreus to find the boundaries of this power.
"Incredible. The power of the demigods was just a simulation from the scepters, yet you can replicate it in reality. What do you think the power of the Titan of Death would look like in the real world?"
Castorice's eyes sparkled with curiosity. But that question truly stumped Bai Ming.
"That's hard to say. I don't know much about that Path to begin with. I can't even imagine what it would look like."
"True... I can't really imagine where the Underworld of the galaxy would even be."
In Amphoreus, death connected to an internal Underworld, but there was no such cycle of reincarnation in reality.
If one had to define the "death" of all things, it would point toward IX and Nihility. But the Titan of Death didn't represent Nihility.
If that power were ever manifested in reality, it would certainly be something to see. Bai Ming figured she'd have to wait until she pulled Castorice's character card to find out how it would look.
As they spoke, the other two finally seemed to have worked things out and stepped outside.
Aglaea was as calm as ever. As for Cipher, she was trying to look composed, but her tail, which was practically wagging toward the sky, completely betrayed her mood.
"My apologies, Madam Bai Ming. Because of me, you were dragged into Cifera's nonsense. Please accept my apology."
Looking at the sincere Aglaea, Bai Ming waved it off. "No need to be so formal. I came to Amphoreus to relax anyway. So, is Cipher's 'problem' solved?"
Aglaea glanced at Cipher, who was humming a little tune while wagging her tail, and offered a tolerant smile.
"Yes. Cifera wanted to remind me that I've been too buried in work and neglecting other matters. I accept her criticism."
"...I see."
Bai Ming glanced at the white-haired "big cat" and thought about how easy she was to handle. She was the polar opposite of herself!
After a while, Bai Ming couldn't stand watching Cipher's lovestruck behavior anymore, so she took a detour to visit Tribios and Cerydra.
Things in Amphoreus were looking up. With the presence of Khaslana and Demiurge, other factions didn't dare stir up trouble, even if they saw Amphoreus as relatively underdeveloped.
Reveria had left a while back—she had taken the Elation Saint Graph and set out to find her own value.
After getting the gist of the current situation, Bai Ming returned to the space station to prepare for her trip to the Xianzhou Fanghu.
--+--
Several days passed.
It was time for the appointment with General Xuanquan. Bai Ming went to Ruan Mei's place and took her along to the Xianzhou Fanghu.
Though it wasn't her first time there, the feeling of accidentally stumbling into a dragon's den was still a fresh novelty for Bai Ming.
"Ms. Bai Ming, Ms. Ruan Mei, welcome. I know you both dislike red tape, so how about I take you to your lodgings first?"
General Xuanquan stood before them with several officials. She wore a smile, but her demeanor held a hint of caution.
Bai Ming had expected this. Her request was a sensitive matter, after all. It was actually quite incredible that Xuanquan had agreed at all.
Bai Ming looked at Ruan Mei, only to find that after a brief introduction, she had taken a step back behind her—clearly adopting a "you handle it" attitude.
So, Bai Ming took the lead in the negotiations.
"Then I'll trouble you, General. I didn't expect you to greet us personally; it's quite an honor."
Xuanquan smiled and replied, "It's not just a greeting. For your upcoming research, I will personally accompany you."
"Furthermore, the subject of your research... will be me. This serves as both supervision and a gesture of my sincerity."
"..."
Xuanquan's statement left Bai Ming speechless. Wait, let's not be so blunt about it. Did you get everyone to agree to this proposal?
She could feel the Vidyadhara accompanying the General glaring at her.
Sensing Bai Ming's concern, General Xuanquan waved a hand and laughed.
"From the standpoint of a General and the Vidyadhara, I cannot ask any of my citizens to cooperate with outsiders for experiments. But as an individual, I am willing to trust you, Bai Ming."
"...That's a heavy weight to carry."
Bai Ming looked into Xuanquan's eyes and saw nothing but seriousness. This dragon lady meant every word.
"Alright, enough talk. Follow me; I'll take you to my private residence."
Since they were cooperating on an experiment, it certainly couldn't be done in the General's Hall. They needed a private location.
Xuanquan had made these arrangements beforehand, ensuring her schedule was clear for the coming days before inviting Bai Ming and Ruan Mei.
Of course, her subordinates weren't happy. Even if they trusted Bai Ming, a Xianzhou General shouldn't just offer themselves up as a test subject. It was simply improper.
But as Xuanquan said: as a General, she couldn't force others, but as a person, she chose to trust Bai Ming. Therefore, she was the most suitable choice.
Besides, in a worst-case scenario, she—the General of the Fanghu—could actually put up a fight. Anyone else would just be a sitting duck.
General Xuanquan admitted she was gambling. But if she won, she felt the payoff would be anything but small.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL