A few days later.
Qlipoth Fort.
Welt had made a special trip here. After sealing the Stellaron, he did not rush back to the Astral Express but stayed instead.
Now a grand banquet was being held here.
Among the invited guests were Oleg and Natasha from the Underworld, as well as various officers from the Overworld.
Zeig and March 7th insisted on sitting at the same table as Hook and the other kids, so Dan Heng and Welt had no choice but to sit there too.
Their table had fewer main dishes but a lot of snacks.
Hook happily lay back in her chair, clutching Snowy Jumping Candy and munching away nonstop.
She heard all this food was free.
To Zeig's left sat Fu Hua. She had only taken some rice and was quietly eating alone.
Right now she wore a trench coat, her hair tied up, and a monocle—looking extremely cool.
Welt sat to Zeig's right. Finally unable to suppress his intense curiosity, he kept examining this "Fu Hua."
He couldn't help but ask:
"Zeig, what exactly is going on here?"
If the real Fu Hua were sitting here, that would be far too bizarre.
Zeig chewed on the Snowy Jumping Candy and said:
"For now, let's just call it a clone. It has partial memories. Since the power source is me, the moves no longer consume Honkai energy but Stellaron energy instead—perfectly adapted to the current version."
Welt nodded deeply. He had also heard about Fu Hua punching through the Stellaron carrier in the Underworld with a few hits.
At first he found it hard to believe, but if the energy supply for Fu Hua came from a Stellaron, achieving that level wasn't impossible.
After all, the Stellaron inside Zeig's body seemed far more powerful than ordinary Stellarons, and he could control it 100%.
You have to know—
The Stellaron on Jarilo-VI had tormented generation after generation. Peaceful coexistence was impossible, let alone full control.
Noticing Welt staring at her the whole time, Fu Hua suddenly paused, then looked toward Welt and gave a polite smile:
"Hello, Sovereign."
"Hello, hello."
Welt returned the smile.
Drifting among the stars, meeting someone from his homeland again filled him with a mix of emotions.
Although Seele and Bronya existed here too, they ultimately weren't the ones Welt knew.
By comparison, this Fu Hua felt especially dear.
"Captain, is it really okay for me to appear for such a long time?" Fu Hua asked worriedly.
"No problem. As long as Class President doesn't start fighting, everything's fine," Zeig nodded.
Actually, this was Cocolia's suggestion—she insisted Fu Hua had to attend this banquet no matter what.
"Mm, I'll be careful." Fu Hua nodded.
Dan Heng also stared at Fu Hua for a long time, eyes slightly narrowed—the more he looked, the more familiar she seemed.
March 7th lightly patted his shoulder and laughed: "What are you staring at? If you're willing to treat me to a meal, how about I go get her contact info for you, hehehe."
Dan Heng shook his head. "No need. I just find her a bit familiar."
He shifted his gaze upward—Cocolia was giving a speech.
March 7th also looked up and smiled:
"Hey, today is a great day for Belobog! Cocolia said so much, and it's all off the cuff—straight from the heart!"
Up above, Cocolia was passionately summarizing the snow disasters that had plagued the planet for years.
Then she spoke of beautiful visions for Belobog's future.
Many people were moved to tears.
Especially the Underworld folks who came up with Oleg and Natasha—they wiped snot and tears, unable to hold back.
Many Overworld people felt deep emotions too.
Now that the Stellaron was sealed, the blockade between Overworld and Underworld was gone.
Everything seemed to be getting back on track.
Of course, the ones most deserving of thanks were the Astral Express crew.
Thus—
"Shwaa—!!"
Projections of five giant statues were projected in front of everyone with Svarog's assistance.
Zeig and March 7th burst out laughing when they saw them.
Sampo, who had sneaked in and was hiding in the corner, also cracked up and laughed out loud—only to be immediately caught by the Silvermane Guards.
Only Dan Heng remained expressionless.
"…"
Out of the five statues, he had two to himself.
The one made by the Silvermane Guards for Cocolia was the most normal—extremely dignified.
But paired with Dan Heng's flower-chewing pickup line statue, the whole vibe instantly changed.
As for why these statues were built, it all started with two bored people.
"What are you looking at us for?!" Zeig and March 7th noticed Dan Heng's gaze and shouted.
"Nothing."
…
"In the name of the Supreme Guardian, I once again thank the guests from the Astral Express. You will forever be Belobog's most honored VIPs," Cocolia said with a smile.
Everyone expressed agreement, and soon the entire Qlipoth Fort rang with enthusiastic applause.
"Clap clap clap clap clap—!!"
Hook, munching Snowy Jumping Candy across from Zeig, clapped along in a daze.
Amid the applause.
Sampo crawled out from the side in a sorry state, sweating profusely, and squatted between Zeig and Welt like someone who had survived a disaster.
"Big bro, I finally made it in! These Silvermane Guards are too much—even Hook got let in, but they blocked only me! Clearly I, Sampo, contributed a huge part too!"
"Sigh, they just didn't want you stealing stuff." Zeig picked up a piece of meat and fed it to Sampo like feeding a pet.
Sampo opened his mouth and swallowed it, chewing while muttering: "What kind of talk is that? Your old Sampo has always been upright and honorable! How could I do something so despicable and shameless?"
Clang—!!
A silver utensil slipped from Sampo's pocket and fell to the ground.
"Heh, hilarious." Zeig sneered.
Right after he spoke, another light sound came.
Clang—!!
In Welt and Sampo's eyes, a gold utensil dropped to the ground.
It had clearly slipped from Zeig's pocket.
Sampo dazedly picked up the gold item—it was a golden goblet. He quickly compared it to his own silver one and murmured:
"As expected of big bro—even when swiping stuff, you only swipe the expensive ones!"
Across the table, Hook's ears perked up like she had discovered a new world.
"So you can take things out? Then can Hook take snacks too?"
The kids nearby heard and hesitated.
"Lady Hook… can we take some too?" one kid asked uncertainly.
"Probably… Honor Member said only he could do it, so it must be allowed!" Hook said seriously.
Seeing the other kids not daring to move, Hook hesitated too and didn't act.
"But they're taking gold and silver… If we take snacks, wouldn't that make us different from them?"
"Yeah yeah, maybe gold and silver are allowed, but that doesn't prove snacks are okay too."
The words of the two masterminds woke everyone up.
Hook blinked, suddenly enlightened:
"Then… let's not take any."
Suddenly, a fair, slender hand reached from behind and held her little hand.
Cocolia had appeared beside Hook at some point and said with a smile:
"These snacks were prepared for you kids anyway. Eat as much as you want, take as much as you want. If you can't finish, take them home."
"Really?"
"Of course." Cocolia smiled.
Then she looked toward the other side of the table—at the two squatting on the ground comparing loot.
…
"Big bro, mine has gems inlaid—clearly mine is more valuable, right?"
"You know jack! Mine was used by Cocolia—can gems compare to the Supreme Guardian's prestige?"
"But at most it's just a cup, and the material is pretty ordinary."
"Heh, didn't you see her lip print on it? You can't judge by appearances alone. Ever heard of 'imperial use'? This cup is worth who knows how many times more than your junk."
Under Cocolia's darkening gaze, Fu Hua and Welt silently lifted their chairs and scooted to the sides, fully exposing the two squatting figures.
"…" Cocolia narrowed her eyes.
…