"So," Mobius continued, looking at Lingsha, "as a member of my Vidyadhara people, you actually don't know what Yuanqiao is?"
To be honest, Mobius was genuinely curious whether these Xianzhou people ever studied history at all.
The original story had hinted at this more than once.
To begin with, for long-lived species like the Xianzhou natives, even the legends of the High-Cloud Quintet—events from a mere eight hundred years ago—had already faded from public memory. When Yanqing first met Jingliu, he did not even know where Cangcheng was.
Compared to that, Lingsha not knowing about a ruined Xianzhou vessel from five thousand years ago almost seemed understandable.
Even so, in order to preserve her persona, Mobius deliberately let her tone drip with suspicion.
As though not knowing Yuanqiao made Lingsha unfit to call herself a proper Vidyadhara.
Lingsha clearly caught the implication.
For a moment, she actually grew anxious.
Then, after frantically searching through her memories, she finally found the relevant thread.
Not long ago, a shocking video had spread through the entire Xianzhou Alliance.
Though not much time had passed and the authorities had yet to issue any official statement, most Xianzhou people had been paying close attention to it because it involved the Reignbow Arbiter and the Marshal.
And in that video, the Marshal seemed to have mentioned Yuanqiao…
Yuanqiao… Yuanqiao… Yuanqiao?!
Lingsha's eyes widened in sudden realization. Wasn't Yuanqiao the name of the Xianzhou ship that had crashed nearly five thousand years ago?
She took a breath and finally answered, "Do you mean… the Xianzhou ship Yuanqiao, the one that was already destroyed?"
But Mobius wore a sorrowful expression and answered a different question entirely.
"…So Yuanqiao really did fall in the end?"
Lingsha opened her mouth, then closed it again, unsure how to respond.
She was beginning to realize that she and this girl were not speaking on the same wavelength at all.
Their conversation had wandered onto two completely different tracks.
After all, matters concerning the Enigmata and Yuanqiao were still being handled only at the highest levels of the Alliance. Though the Xianzhou intended to cooperate with other factions to investigate further, that information had not spread beyond the upper ranks.
Lingsha took a slow breath and forced herself back to the matter at hand.
"Miss Mobius, according to our examinations, your body is no longer in any danger."
"But according to protocol, we still need to register some information. After all, you entered the Luofu through abnormal means, and the General will need an explanation."
This time, however, Mobius did not answer.
Instead, she lifted her right hand.
In an instant, an overwhelming pressure swept through the entire Alchemy Commission.
"Who's spying from out there?!"
Boom!
The wooden door of the room exploded open under a tremendous force, and two towering water dragons burst into view.
Their jaws were wide open, crystal-clear fangs gleaming as they lunged straight toward whatever stood behind the door.
"W-Wait!"
Two childish cries rang out from outside.
In the next moment, two young faces appeared.
Mobius immediately recognized them.
Bailu and Yanqing.
The water dragons froze the instant they came within three inches of the pair's noses, hanging motionless in the air.
The young Cloud Knight prodigy went pale, his hand instinctively flying to the hilt of his sword. Beside him, Bailu had shrunk into herself in terror.
Lingsha instinctively stepped in front of Mobius, but just as quickly realized that, with the pressure this Dragon Sovereign had displayed, she hardly needed protecting.
"Yanqing, Your Highness the Dragon Lady—what are the two of you doing here?!" Lingsha demanded, shocked and angry.
These two were no ordinary children. If they were hurt in the Alchemy Commission, it would become a serious matter at once.
Bailu peeked timidly out from behind Yanqing, her small face pale.
"S-Sister Lingsha…"
"I-I heard the Alchemy Commission had brought in an injured Vidyadhara, so I came to take a look. Don't be angry…"
Even as she spoke, however, her eyes would not stop darting toward Mobius.
And the moment Bailu's gaze landed on the crystal-clear horns above Mobius's head, she froze.
Those were… dragon horns?!
Bailu rubbed her eyes as though she suspected a trick of the light, only to confirm that she was not mistaken.
But how could that be?!
As the current Dragon Lady of the Luofu, Bailu naturally knew exactly what it meant for a Vidyadhara to have true dragon horns.
She had seen portraits of the Dragon Sovereigns from the other Xianzhou ships before, yet none of them matched the girl before her.
So where had she come from?
Could it be that the Dragon Elders had finally run out of patience with her and found a replacement?
That possibility…
Was wonderful!
Dragon Sovereign, Dragon Lady—every day she was watched, managed, and forbidden from going anywhere. She had long since stopped wanting the title.
At that thought, Bailu's eyes lit up.
"H-Hello!" Bailu darted out from behind Yanqing and scampered up to Mobius, craning her head back to study her face.
"Are you the new Dragon Sovereign the Dragon Elders found to replace me? Are you going to stay on the Luofu? Then… then…"
She inhaled deeply, summoning all the courage she could muster.
"Then can I stop being Dragon Sovereign now?"
The entire Alchemy Commission fell silent.
"Your Highness the Dragon Lady, what are you saying? How could the Dragon Elders possibly find someone to replace you?!" Lingsha was the first to recover.
She was genuinely alarmed by Bailu's words.
If any of the Dragon Elders heard talk like this, there was no telling what sort of trouble it might stir up again.
Bailu flinched under Lingsha's tone, shrinking her neck, but she still muttered stubbornly, "But… but I don't want to be Dragon Sovereign…"
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, though her eyes kept straying toward Mobius.
Yanqing, meanwhile, finally regained his composure.
Carefully sidestepping the hovering water dragons, he approached Mobius.
"Ahem… Miss, I'm Yanqing. I've come under the General's orders. He said that once you woke, he would ask that you come to the Seat of Divine Foresight."
As he spoke, he glanced discreetly toward Lingsha, clearly hoping the older woman would rescue him.
Lingsha could only sigh.
…
In the end, under Lingsha's guidance, Mobius arrived before the great doors of the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Mobius herself was not especially moved by this.
After all, two of her other identities had already visited this place before.
Though today's visit did feel more important than most.
Yet Lingsha stopped beneath the corridor eaves and did not go farther.
Her gaze shifted between Mobius and the tightly shut doors before she finally spoke in a low voice.
"Miss Mobius, from here on… it would be inappropriate for me to accompany you."
There was no need for Jing Yuan to say it aloud; Lingsha had enough sense on her own.
Strictly speaking, a matter involving a Vidyadhara Dragon Sovereign ought to be reported first to the Dragon Elders.
But the Dragon Sovereign before her clearly did not belong to the Luofu Vidyadhara line, and the Dragon Elders currently on the Luofu were hardly stable themselves.
Mobius said nothing more and walked in alone.
Thus, she stepped once again into the heart of the Luofu.
The furnishings of the Seat of Divine Foresight were much as always. A game of chess still sat unfinished atop a sandalwood table, and several bamboo slips lay scattered nearby.
Jing Yuan sat at the head seat, a teacup in hand, his posture as languid as ever.
Standing to his left and right were Fu Xuan of the Divination Commission and Yukong of the Sky-Faring Commission.
Jing Yuan. Fu Xuan. Yukong.
Truly the Luofu's familiar trio.
Then again, the Luofu did not currently have that many people it could rely on. On the surface, it really was these three who carried the ship on their shoulders.
"This must be Miss Mobius, I presume?"
Jing Yuan was the first to speak, his tone so casual it sounded as though he were greeting a neighbor from down the street.
"I wonder, Miss Mobius—did you sleep comfortably enough in the Alchemy Commission?"
Hearing that, Mobius did not react at once.
Her gaze swept across the three of them in turn before settling on Jing Yuan's face.
"It was acceptable."
Then she walked over and sat down on the cushion opposite him.
Jing Yuan chuckled softly.
"That's good. Lingsha's medical skill is among the finest on the Luofu. Since she says you're unharmed, I can set my mind at ease."
He paused, setting down his tea with a light clink.
"Then next, may we discuss some more serious matters, Miss Dragon Sovereign?"
This time, he had not called her by name, but had instead very deliberately used the title Dragon Sovereign.
Mobius did not object.
"That would be fine. After all, having only just woken up, I too have quite a number of questions."
And yet Jing Yuan did not continue immediately.
He merely lifted his teacup again and took a leisurely sip, studying the girl through the faint drift of steam.
For long-lived species, appearance had never been a reliable indicator of age.
And yet, somehow, when it came to this unfamiliar Dragon Sovereign, Jing Yuan could not shake the feeling that she was genuinely very young.
At the same time, he had already received Yanqing's report.
This supposedly youthful Dragon Sovereign was far from ordinary in strength.
Jing Yuan sighed inwardly.
Why did every troublesome matter in the universe have to gather on the Luofu?
No sooner had the matters of Phantylia, Starbane, and the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus begun to settle than a mysterious new Dragon Sovereign dropped out of nowhere.
What an age of endless misfortune.
"Miss Mobius, since you also have questions, perhaps we can sort things out one by one."
"To begin with, the three of us would very much like to know exactly where a Dragon Sovereign such as yourself has come from."
Mobius answered without hesitation.
"I am the Dragon Sovereign of Yuanqiao."
"The Dragon Sovereign of Yuanqiao, is it…" Jing Yuan began, clearly intending to continue, before finally processing what he had actually heard.
"Wait. Did you say Yuanqiao?"
Mobius's eyes sharpened.
"What, do you think there is something wrong with what I said?"
Wrong? There was too much wrong with it.
Not only Jing Yuan—Fu Xuan and Yukong at his side were equally stunned.
As the highest authorities currently on the Luofu, the three of them naturally knew a great many secrets.
That meant they knew about the Enigmata, about the Yuanqiao before the Enigmata, and about Yuanqiao's general.
Yet now, before they had even managed to understand all of that themselves, a Dragon Sovereign from Yuanqiao had suddenly appeared on the Luofu?
It was difficult not to suspect some deeper conspiracy.
In the end, Fu Xuan was the one who stepped forward. Drawing on the most publicly recognized facts available, she offered a cautious test.
"Miss, surely you jest."
"The Xianzhou Yuanqiao was destroyed and lost five thousand years ago. That is a major event in the Alliance's history, thoroughly recorded in every archive."
"And the Great Vidyadhara Migration took place only a little over three thousand years ago. In that case, where exactly is this Yuanqiao Dragon Sovereign of yours supposed to have come from?"
But the moment Fu Xuan finished speaking—
Mobius could no longer remain seated.
She rose to her feet in one fluid motion, glaring indignantly at the three of them.
"What, because I look young, you think you can trick me?"
"If you keep spouting such absurdities, then I really will have to stop being polite."
Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.The streamer's been staying up too late writing lately, and on top of that, yesterday's class assignment kept getting rejected, so I'm genuinely exhausted.
I turned into a slug today. Only two updates. Sorry, dear readers.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin