It was around seven o’clock at night. Held princess-style in Snow Hill’s arms, Sang landed directly on the balcony of their hotel room. He scrambled down in a hurry, terrified that someone might spot his flushed face. Without so much as glancing back at Snow Hill, he hurried into the room on his own.
Damn it!
He was a grown man, yet he’d let a woman tease him like this.
A princess carry? What the hell!?
This was the first time in his life he’d been carried like that—and by a woman, no less. Sang might not seem like the type, but he had a bit of that straight-guy streak in him (though technically, his very first princess carry had been from the True Ancestor—at the time, he’d already been rolling his eyes back, completely out of it).
As mentioned before, this was a three-bedroom suite with a living room. The nightly rate was a steep two silver coins—more than many people from this other world earned in a month.
The moment Sang stepped inside, he spotted the Pink-Haired Little Lolita sitting in a chair in the living room, happily sucking on a lollipop. She’d apparently taken the chance to freshen up in the interim. Gone was the maid outfit; now she wore a fancy, elegant Lolita dress in soft pink and white, complete with white stockings and scarlet shoes.
This wasn’t the first time she’d dressed like this. Back when they’d been outside the Heavenly Key, she’d sported a similar look.
Sang was starting to get a read on the Pink-Haired Little Lolita. Her two great loves in life: sweets and Lolita fashion.
Truth be told… Aisha Hodhua had it pretty rough. She should have grown up happy and carefree as a little girl, but as the discarded child of her family, she’d been tossed into the Heavenly Key early on, cut off from the world to fend for herself.
“Sang, why is your face so red?” Forget Snow Hill’s emotional intelligence—Aisha Hodhua’s was clearly offline as well. She added, “Are you running a fever or something?”
Sang waved his hands frantically. “N-no… no, it’s just too hot in here, that’s all.”
Even as he spoke, an ice sculpture of a woman loomed behind him, radiating an invisible chill.
Under the influence of that cold aura, his excuse rang hollow. This cold, and you’re hot? He didn’t bother explaining. Instead, he headed straight for the bathroom, planning to take a cold shower.
By the time Sang emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered, Snow Hill had already retreated to her room. Aisha Hodhua was the only one left in the living room, sorting through the Lolita outfits she’d bought from the market that day. The Pink-Haired Little Lolita’s face was lit up with a smile, and for some reason, it made Sang feel inexplicably content. He asked, “Having fun?”
“It… it was okay, I guess~”
“Tsundere Pink-Haired Little Lolita…”
“You’re the tsundere one, Stinky Watermelon~!”
After spending so much time together day in and day out, Sang and Aisha had grown exceptionally close—like siblings. No, more like brother and sister!
Don’t let her petite loli appearance fool you; she was nearly a hundred years old.
Just then, someone knocked on the suite door. Normally, this would have been the maid Aisha Hodhua’s job to handle, but Sang wasn’t versed in noble etiquette. Before she could react, he spun around and went to answer it himself.
He figured it was the hotel’s room service.
To his surprise, the two faces staring back at him belonged to Liyou and Hyacinth. Why did these women keep popping up no matter where he went?
At the moment, both Liyou and Hyacinth were dressed in the hotel’s standard server uniforms.
“Esteemed guest, good evening! We’re here with your room service~”
Those were Liyou’s gentle words spoken aloud. But the instant their eyes met, her Supernatural Ability—Telepathy—activated. In his mind, she said, “Long time no see, Sang.”
Sang schooled his surprise and replied mentally, “What are you doing here?”
“To be honest, we had no idea you’d left the Heavenly Key at first. It was only recently, piecing together intel from the Northern Region, that we tracked you down. The current head of the Hill Family, Orcus Hill, was gravely wounded by the Wolf King and now hovers on the brink of death. Not only that, but Snow Hill plans to use your blood to save him… Such a huge event, and you didn’t even let us know?”
Even as she spoke, Liyou smiled like an angel in white, her eyes narrowed in that gentle way.
Yeah.
Right.
Sang hadn’t notified the organization about this trip, and he had no intention of doing so. Last time, they’d promised to respect his choices, only for Bruno to turn around and beat him half to death.
He still held that grudge!
Staring at Liyou’s smile—so warm, with no hint of anything off—he answered honestly, “After what happened last time, who could blame me for not trusting your promises!?”
“I’m sorry. Bruno lost his mind after Jessica’s death. I never imagined things would escalate like that…” Liyou’s tone carried a trace of sympathy and regret.
For some reason, Sang had no defenses against Liyou’s smile—especially those squinted eyes of hers. They reminded him of Sister Lilian, giving off a warmth that pierced straight to the soul.
“But your intel network is seriously impressive…”
As he spoke, a spark of realization hit Sang. He asked suspiciously, “Was today’s incident connected to you guys?”
He’d been puzzled—why had those assassins summoned Titan Beasts and then fled without pressing the attack, unlike before?
Something told him the black-cloaked figures today weren’t with the previous attackers.
Liyou gave him a gentle smile. “As fellow members of the same organization, I won’t lie to you—yes. We had no intention of causing casualties. For one thing, we wanted to stir up some chaos to create an opening to talk with you. For another, we were curious to witness the true power of the legendary Ice Princess… But what we didn’t expect was…”
“What?” Sang asked, puzzled.
“That you… would step in to help the Blood Race?”
Liyou’s face still held that angelic smile, like a white-clad angel. Beside her, Hyacinth—the fighter of the pair—let a faint trace of killing intent slip out.
Whether it was the Hunting Organization or other human groups opposed to the Blood Race, their ideals were much the same: exterminate the Blood Race and liberate humanity.
Probably worried that Snow Hill inside might sense the killing intent, Hyacinth reined it in after just a moment. She settled for shooting Sang a look laden with inexplicable reproach.
Liyou smiled faintly. “Our operation in Central last time ended in failure. The True Ancestor brutally slaughtered many of our comrades, Bruno included… He and Hyacinth grew up together as orphans. Don’t hold it against her; she’s been emotionally unstable lately…”
“Oh…” That explanation made Sang sympathize with Hyacinth a bit.
If someone killed Luna and Adolf, he’d probably go even crazier than her—maybe even lose his reason entirely.
The next moment, Sang had no idea how to justify helping the Blood Race. He simply lowered his head and fell silent.
Though he’d agreed to aid the Hunting Organization by infiltrating the Heavenly Key and gathering intel near the True Ancestor, Sang had always clung to his principles: there were good and bad among both the Blood Race and humanity.
He couldn’t bring himself to wipe out the Blood Race… not even stand by and watch someone die.
Liyou seemed to read the boy’s mind and coaxed him gently. “Sang, last time I asked for a code name, and you gave me An Xiguang. I’ve already entered your name in the Hunting Organization’s roster. No matter what, you’re one of us now.”
For some reason, hearing those words stirred a sense of belonging in Sang’s heart—along with a deepening guilt toward humanity and the organization.
“So… what do you want from me this time?”
