- Before Xuan Kai and Qing Yue returned -
"Wow… that was one hell of a day," Yu An Yan said, collapsing on the couch. "I never thought Qing Yue would pull sothing like that off…"
"Definitely," Feng Mian added with a sigh. "That was… rather unexpected, to say the least."
"…" anwhile, i Gui was silent, contemplating whether she could use the sa tactic when it was her turn.
The girls were currently back at their house in the Long Family residency, having just returned from a long day of discretely following Xuan Kai and Qing Yue on their date. They had ca back after the two settled down in the manga cafe, since it was clear they weren't going to head anywhere else for the day.
"Who knows? Perhaps, she did it on purpose, fufu…" Ling Xin giggled softly, having joined them shortly after her eting was over in the morning. "She knew we were watching, so she wanted to encourage us to be more proactive as well by doing that. Of course, I don't really understand her motive… I an, any normal girl wouldn't want her boyfriend to be seduced by other won, isn't that right?"
"Mm, mm!" Axilia nodded in agreent. "I wish darling was mine and mine alone, fufufu~"
"Erm…" Ignoring the lustful and slightly terrifying look in Axilia's eyes, Lan Xiao Su clenched her fists tightly and berated herself. Am I… just not strong enough to be proactive…?
"Okay! That aside, they should be coming ho very soon," Feng Mian said, standing up from the chair and stretching her muscles a bit. "Let's start preparing dinner. Oh, and don't put any aphrodisiacs in it, Axilia, like you did yesterday. Xuan Kai must be tired after such a long day, so he'll probably just want to sleep."
"Grr…" Axilia frowned in displeasure as she was caught red-handed, and reluctantly stuffed the vial of libido-boosting substance back into her pocket. Feng Mian, seeing this, gave a sigh, and headed into the kitchen along with the other girls.
*****
(Xuan Kai's Perspective)
Soon, Qing Yue and I arrived at our manor in the Long Family residency, which Long Lu had so kindly allowed us to stay in for the duration of this break. Before going in, however, I stopped in my tracks. Since Qing Yue's hand was held by mine, she too was pulled to a stop, and tilted her head at in confusion.
"What's the matter, Big Brother Xuan Kai?"
"Before we go in, I just have a quick question I was hoping you could answer," I said awkwardly.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Do you… er, know what kind of things Feng Mian likes? She's been with for a while, but things have been moving so fast that truth to be told, I never got a chance to get to know her that well…"
"Hehe~ that's understandable. But in all honesty… I think Feng Mian doesn't have that many hobbies, actually," Qing Yue said. "She's the type of sweet girl that will just enjoy spending ti with you, y'know? No matter what you do, she'll be happy."
"Huh…"
"But… that being said, not having many hobbies doesn't an she'll never have any. Maybe you can use the date tomorrow as an opportunity to help her discover so?" Qing Yue shot a wink. I was still confused on what exactly I should do tomorrow, but Qing Yue wasn't just going to give a clear answer. She was doing this on purpose, to let beco more experienced with things like this and think for myself. I was grateful for that, but at the sa ti… man, this is hard. I would much rather go kill a dragon or sothing.
But if it's simply helping her discover so hobbies… I guess I could start with the common ones. For example… shopping, or sothing along those lines…
After a while, I gave up on thinking about it. My mind and body were both exhausted. The girls seed to understand that, and resorted to simply cuddling with in bed tonight rather than the more 'intense' variant. After all, after yesterday, none of them were particularly craving for it.
Peacefully, I fell into sleep, with beauties all around .
*****
- The Infinite Realm -
Or, at least, I thought I was falling into sleep.
In reality, I just got dragged into the Infinite Realm by none other than its owner, Sylvoir.
"Yo, Sylvie," I said, waving my hand casually at her. "Long ti no see, eh?"
"Long ti no see indeed," the short Elental girl spun and glared at , half her beautiful face covered by the kitsune mask on her head. "Suddenly disappearing off this world like that… what were you thinking?"
"Ah… were you worried about ?" I chuckled charmingly, purposely keeping the conversation as light-hearted as I can despite the full dead seriousness in Sylvoir's eyes. "I'm flattered, really."
"Hmph, in your dreams!" She snapped, suddenly smacking on the head with a folded fan that seed to be pulled from thin air. "Answer , where did you go? Even with my omnipotent sensing abilities, I couldn't detect a single trace of you in this world."
"Yeah," I said with a smile. "In this world."
She frowned. "… What?"
"Put frankly, I kind of got myself teleported into the Death Realm," I replied. "I managed to find my way back, but that's probably why you couldn't sense in this world—I wasn't in it to begin with."
"The Death Realm… and you managed to survive there?"
"It's not what you think it is," I explained. "It's not like Hell or anything. They have civilization and humans and beasts there just like the Living Realm does, and is far more advanced in terms of magic and power, though technology is still stuck in the Middle Ages era."
"I must say… I did not even know of its existence until now."
"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would surely know about the existence of other Realms. I an, the Realm we're in right now is one of them, no?"
But to my surprise, she shook her head.
"The Infinite Realm is not a full-on Realm like the Living one. Instead, it is one of the Living Realm's Subrealms."
"A Subrealm…?" I folded my arms. "So, what separates a Subrealm from a full-on Realm?"
Sylvoir sighed. "Well, for one, it's a lot smaller. Really, the entire Infinite Realm is just those stone pillars behind you. The library in the distance is but a re illusion, a cognitive version of the real Library of Infinite Beginnings."
I chuckled. "So much for being 'infinite'."
"Shut it," Sylvoir snapped coldly, then sighed and folded her arms behind her back, staring out into the beautiful blue horizon. "Another quality of Subrealms, and perhaps the most important one, is that they are closely affected by the Major Realm they are tied to. In other words… if the Living Realm is destroyed, the Infinite Realm will suffer as well."
"Hm… I see."
"Therefore, it is your duty to not only protect the Library, but also the entire Living Realm as a whole. Rember that well."
"Sheesh, relax. The Living Realm is where I live. Of course I'm going to protect it. But why do you sound like the world's going to end or sothing…"
"…" Sylvoir didn't say anything in response to that, and instead rely stared at uncomfortably for a while. Then, after several seconds, she sighed. "Just try not to leave this Realm in the future. And if you truly have to, let or one of the other Founders know beforehand. Understand?"
I nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Then off you go. And don't forget about Count Draculus's mission to you."
*****
(Sylvoir's Perspective)
After Xuan Kai left, I let out a sigh.
"I couldn't bring myself to tell him about it after all…"
Right now, I was the only one who knew of that. I have refrained from discussing this matter with any of the other Founders, since I didn't know if they would take seriously. However, Xuan Kai was different. He was the type to believe if I told him 'my instincts' when he asked how I knew of that. The others would all request proof. Rock, solid, evidence, which I didn't have.
So… why? Why couldn't I tell him?
"Tch…" Dissatisfied with myself, I bit my nail and sank into deep thought once more.
"But why do you sound like the world's going to end or sothing…" I echoed his words, then shook my head. "It's because it is, Xuan Kai."
Indeed, the end was coming.
I could feel it, in a prophecy I was given by my 'instincts'.
Sothing dark, powerful, and calamitous would soon arrive in the Living Realm, bringing destruction to all that was in it. There was still so ti to prepare—a couple of years, maybe—but it would inevitably co.
Even I myself didn't know what it was. All I knew was that if it was not properly defended against… the Living Realm, its Subrealms, and everything within would cease to exist.
As the guardian of Elentals and the Pri existence of this world, it was my duty to protect this realm from the calamity that was going to strike. However, I could not do it alone. Back when I chose Xuan Kai to beco one of the Founders of the Library, I had factored this into my plan as well. He wielded a special power—a power that could very well stand against the impending doom.
I could only hope that when the ti ca, he would lend a hand.
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