Published at 13th of August 2019 3:00 pm

Volume 2, Chapter 1: Rivals in Love Meet and Suffer Extreme Jealousy

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Translator: lucathia (proofread by Trespasserby)

“Lalala~ I love swamp piranhas. Little flower, quickly gobble other people up. Once you’re full, Shooting Star will pick you~.”

Shooting Star happily picked the last piranha. That was, if you could call the action of forcefully digging something out that was as half as tall as him from the dirt “picking.”

After he picked it, he customarily tossed the piranha at Xiao Bai, and then customarily, Agid rushed over in the nick of time to grab the gigantic, smelly, disgusting, but beautiful flower—he was already carrying three piranhas, five coils of thorny brambles, and all sorts of other weird plants.

Even Agid, whose strength and height was much greater than most, was finding it difficult to bear, but in front of Bai Saya, even if he couldn’t bear it, he had to force himself to bear it!

Yet, his teammate was even helping to add on to his suffering…

“Shooting Star, Shooting Star, there’s another blossom here!” Belle happily waved Shooting Star over.

“Really? I’m coming over, coming over!”

Shooting Star happily sped over. The piranha mission paid per flower, and the pay wasn’t bad. What was even better was that Philo and the others hadn’t snatched this mission, so the rewards would all be his, hehehe!

Seeing the ridiculously gigantic piranha, Agid’s face crumpled. He had nowhere to carry that on him!

Bai Saya kept tossing Agid sympathetic looks. Since he was mute, he couldn’t persuade Shooting Star to stop. After a moment of hesitation, he walked to Agid’s side and reached his hand out to take the piranha on the other person’s shoulder.

“No, no, Saya, you can’t carry something this disgusting.” Agid dodged, unwilling to allow Bai Saya to take the piranha.

To the side, Philo’s face had been dark for a long time because of Shooting Star’s actions. However, upon seeing Agid’s behavior, with one of them not wishing to fight yet the other willingly suffering, who was he to say anything if his teammate wanted to suffer? All he could do was sigh and say, “Saya, don’t carry it. I’ll help Agid carry it.”

After he said that, he reached his hand out and took two piranhas. Even though he frowned at the odor, he still didn’t speak a word of complaint.

Bai Saya froze. As a man, he had never been shown such attentive care before. He really didn’t know what he was supposed to think about it. He didn’t feel touched, but he did feel nearly overwhelming guilt.

Goodness, I’ve already claimed to have a fiancé. Why are they still so nice to me?

This caused the thing inside of his heart called a “conscience” to sting with relentless pain.

“Saya, Saya?”

Huh? Who’s calling me? Bai Saya dazedly looked toward the person who had called him, discovering that both Philo and Agid were staring at him. Their gazes made him feel deeply uncomfortable.

Seeing Bai Saya’s guilt displayed on his face, Philo smiled slightly. “Don’t worry. I’ve already asked Elena. After we make camp tonight and process these plants, there’ll only be a few bags of powder left in the end. They won’t be too difficult to transport.”

Oh! Bai Saya relaxed and nodded. If we had to carry these huge, smelly flowers the entire way, no matter how much Shooting Star protested, I’d definitely throw them away!

Afterwards, while everyone scattered to finish gathering, Bai Saya couldn’t help but pull Shooting Star aside. He whispered, “Don’t give them any more trouble. I’ll feel really guilty.”

“Why feel guilty? They’re obviously the ones who wanted to act that way.”

“B-but, they’re doing that because they think I’m a woman.”

“That means they’re huge perverts, so they have wicked intentions. Why should you feel guilty?”

Bai Saya froze. Is that so? B-but that doesn’t seem right. Agid and Philo don’t seem like bad people. How is it that Shooting Star can make them into huge perverts? He pondered over just what had gone wrong.

Shooting Star yawned widely and waved his hand. “Why not treat them worse and make them hate you?”

“Treat them worse?”

Bai Saya nodded in understanding. If a girl had a temper, he would want to distance himself from her. Okay! I’ll do that!

Following that, Bai Saya put on a displeased expression, though his expressions in the presence of Belle and Elena were much gentler. After all, they were female… Wait, treating women better, don’t tell me I’m also a huge pervert like what Shooting Star is saying?

Bai Saya immediately grew conflicted. But if I had to treat Belle and Elena poorly, my conscience would only feel even worse, wouldn’t it?

Besides, I can’t do it! After thinking it over again and again, Bai Saya made the smartest decision he had ever made in his life—ignoring a huge portion of Shooting Star’s words.

After he stopped worrying over it, Bai Saya began executing his “make Agid and Philo hate him” plan.

As long as Agid and Philo looked over, Bai Saya would vehemently glare back at them. This was truly a difficult feat for someone who was always even tempered. It wasn’t even noon when he felt that his face was stiff to the point of twitching, and his eyeballs were nearly about to fall out from glaring.

Being angry was truly a difficult feat. Bai Saya truly believed that. As expected, Shifu was correct. Treating others with benevolence was the correct path.

“What’s going on with Saya? She turned so mean…”

After being glared at for half a day, Agid finally reacted. He pulled his teammates over, asking them in confusion.

In order to avoid Bai Saya from overhearing, they had purposely moved to the side to speak, but Bai Saya had trained in martial arts. As long as he strained his ears, he could still hear the contents of their conversation.

“Did the two of you anger her in some way?” Belle didn’t have the least bit of camaraderie, immediately placing the blame on her teammates.

Agid was greatly wronged. All along, he had been trying to win Bai Saya’s favor. All that was missing was offering his entire fortune. How would he even dare to anger her?

Belle looked to the left at Agid’s aggrieved expression and to the right at Philo’s confused one.

“Saya’s mood changed so abruptly for no reason.” Philo wasn’t very happy about it. After all, the smelly flowers he carried over his shoulder should have originally been Bai Saya’s to carry.

Success! He’s starting to hate me! Bai Saya, who had heard these words, nearly wanted to jump up in celebration.

At this time, the normally quiet Elena coldly snapped, “What spineless men. Women have always had a few inconvenient days. Want me to give you a few stabs so you can try out what it feels like to bleed continuously while traveling?”

“So it’s that time of the month!” Belle nodded and said, “Goodness! It’s that time of the month, yet she still needs to stay in this kind of dirty, stinky place, unable to bathe for several days. That really sucks.”

Agid came to a sudden realization. So it’s “that time of the month”! He nodded several times. Right, right. Every month, there are always a few days when Belle is unhappy. As for Elena, she always has a displeased face whether or not she’s happy, so it’s impossible to tell.

“S-so these are inconvenient days for her?” Philo’s face reddened a bit, his expression greatly shamed. He was truly not sympathetic enough toward women.

W-what inconvenient days? Bai Saya’s face was full of confusion.

So these are inconvenient days for Bai Saya right now! Bwahaha! Shooting Star laughed so much that he collapsed to the ground.

“Shooting Star, you sure love to laugh!” Belle poked Shooting Star, who had laughed so much that he was twitching.

“Saya, we’re about done with the missions. The remaining ones take more effort than is worthwhile. Why don’t we hit the road and head straight to Shore City?” Philo walked beside Bai Saya, his heart full of apology. He used his gentlest voice to say, “Once we arrive, we’ll go straight to an inn. You can take a good bath.”

Bai Saya nodded, not knowing what was going on. He guessed that “inconvenient days” was about how his body was very dirty, so he needed to bathe?

“We can bathe? Awesome!”

After staying in such a dirty swampland for so many days, the moment she heard that they could bathe, Belle was so happy that she jumped up and yelled, “Shooting Star, we can bathe together!”

Bathe together?

Hearing that, Shooting Star, who had been laughing so much that he was rolling on the ground, immediately froze.

“Bai Saya-jiějie, we can bathe together, too!” Belle giggled and said, “I can’t wait to see how good Saya-jiějie’s figure is!”

Bathe together? Bai Saya paled.

Hearing that they could bathe, even the normally frigid Elena warmed up and nodded, “It’s inconvenient for Saya, so she should wash up separately. The three of us can bathe together.”

Hearing that he could wash up separately, Bai Saya breathed a huge sigh of relief and even peacefully enjoyed Shooting Star’s somewhat pitiful expression. He felt rather gleeful… Wait, I’m actually feeling gleeful over someone else’s misfortune?

I really have been led astray by Shooting Star. But since the person I’m felling gleeful about is Shooting Star, my conscience doesn’t feel guilty at all!

With unease, with guilt, with excitement, each person carried different feelings as they began to make haste on the road.

Even though Shooting Star would have to face the serious problem of “bathing” once they reached Shore City, he still felt touched to the point of nearly bursting into tears the moment he laid eyes on the city. After all, they had been traversing the mountains and swamplands for more than two months.

They finally reached Shore City!

Grief evolving into fury, Shooting Star gritted his teeth and bit out, “Damn that Tang Wulie, causing us to spend more than two months before we could get here. When we go back, I’m definitely for sure flaying him!”

Compared to the furious Shooting Star, Bai Saya was rather thankful toward Tang Wulie. Even though there were nothing but mountains and swamplands during their journey, and the road was tough, the result was that they had predominantly acquired their food on the spot. Wolves, metalligators, bats, and the like, whatever there was, they caught and ate. Therefore, even though Shooting Star’s appetite was as huge as always, they didn’t have to spend any money at all. They had the same exact amount of money on hand as they had when they had first departed Stella City!

No, no! They had completed several missions along the way, so they had actually earned a fair amount of money. If they had taken a normal path, even though they would have spent less time, it was likely that they wouldn’t have any money by now to pay for their mastery appraisal.

It’s great that we still have money right now for the appraisal. Bai Saya felt happy with his money pouch in hand. He had already forgotten about nearly freezing to death on the snowy mountains.

“So many people!”

Shooting Star’s eyes shone. He glanced everywhere. Compared to the small city of Stella, Shore City was much grander, and there were a lot more people coming and going. All types of stores were everywhere, and both sides of the streets were even filled with all sorts of odd and unique stalls.

This lively scene excited both Shooting Star and Belle. The two who had hit it off squeezed into the crowd, hand-in-hand. Only a head of fiery red could be seen from time to time, buried among the crowd, before appearing on the other side, rushing into a shop, and then rushing out to stare at a certain stall. Of course, Belle was running around along with Shooting Star the entire time.

This scene caused both Philo and Bai Saya to sigh in unison. Then, they glanced at each other, simultaneously glimpsing the helplessness in the other person’s gaze. All of a sudden, they began feeling sympathetic toward each other.

Philo suggested to Bai Saya, “Saya, come with me to turn in the completed missions.” Then, he turned toward the team and instructed, “As for everyone else, go and find an inn first. Currently, Shore City is in its busy season. There are lots of auctions, so it might be difficult to find a place to stay.”

At this time, Bai Saya suddenly remembered about getting his appraisal. He wanted to ask yet couldn’t do so. He frowned, not knowing what to do.

“Is something wrong?” Seeing Bai Saya’s frown, Philo immediately grew nervous.

An idea flashed across Bai Saya’s mind. He grabbed Philo’s hand and used his finger to write the word “appraisal” on Philo’s palm. After he finished writing it, he looked up in anticipation for Philo’s response.

Philo smiled. “So, it’s about getting appraised. Don’t worry. Appraisals are done at set times, once during the middle of the month and once at the end of the month. You must register at the Adventurers’ Guild three days in advance. If you register now, you’ll be just in time to make the end of the month appraisal. When we head over to accept our mission reward money in just a bit, you can register at the same time.”

Bai Saya nodded at the explanation. Even though he didn’t understand the appraisal process very well, with Philo by his side, there should be no problems.

Belle hugged Shooting Star and happily said, “All right, Shooting Star, let’s hurry and find an inn. Then, we can bathe!”

That’s not all right at all! Shooting Star tried his hardest to use his gaze to suggest to Bai Saya, Take me with you!

Bai Saya decided to turn a blind eye to him, pretending to be ignorant until the very end.

Because of Shooting Star’s mischief over their gender, during this entire trip, not only had he been treated as a woman, he had to hold back from speaking for more than two months. Also, he had been on the receiving end of Agid’s brash attention, as well as occasional burning gazes from Philo, causing goose bumps to rise all over his skin…

Now, Shooting Star was finally reaping what he had sown. It was such a rare event for the gods to finally address this, so of course he wasn’t going to obstruct the heavens from punishing Shooting Star.

Heartless bastard, you are my servant pet!

As the servant pet, you actually dare to let your master hang out to dry? How could you?

Receiving an endless stream of silent complaints Shooting Star shot over with his glaring eyes, Bai Saya rolled his eyes and briskly waved Philo over to head to the Adventurers’ Guild. He left behind Shooting Star, who was grinding his teeth in frustration, wishing he could use his eyes to burn a hole in Bai Saya’s back.

“Let’s go!” Belle giggled and pulled Shooting Star along, refusing to let him go.

No! I don’t want to bathe. Just let me rot! Shooting Star had two long streaks of tears as he wailed silently and got dragged away by Belle.

Compared to Stella’s Adventurers’ Guild that was only around three times larger than a normal house, Shore City’s Adventurers’ Guild was much closer in scale to what a guild building should look like. The main building was a huge one, three stories tall, made of stone, and the main entrance was nearly able to fit a horse and carriage with no problems.

There was even a small plaza in front of the entrance. In the middle of the plaza, there was a statue of a warrior raising a sword in the middle of battle. The size was a bit taller than a normal person. The entire guild occupied a vast piece of land, and the building was grand, allowing one to feel with one glance that the Adventurers’ Guild’s size was nothing to scoff at.

Philo turned to look. Bai Saya was currently stunned by the guild’s architecture. Philo smiled and said, “Isn’t this place big? Other than the Adventurers’ Guild headquarters at the capital, Shore City’s guild is the largest in size.”

Bai Saya nodded. This place had indeed opened his eyes. I wonder just how grand the Adventurers’ Guild headquarters at the capital must be? If I have a chance, I should visit one day.

Philo smiled as he said, “Come, let’s head inside.”

The moment they reached the guild’s front doors, Bai Saya was shocked by the flow of people. People were scurrying everywhere. He could only see the tops of lots of different colored heads squished together. He couldn’t see where the counter was at all.

“I’ll head over to receive the reward money, and I’ll help you and Shooting Star register for your appraisal as I’m at it. You can wait here for me. If you feel it’s too stuffy in here, you can take a stroll around the plaza outside. There are many stalls there.”

Seeing Bai Saya’s face pale so abruptly, he figured that she had been frightened by the overwhelming crowds, so he took the initiative to make a thoughtful suggestion.

Even though Bai Saya felt it would be too lazy of him, he really didn’t want to squeeze inside the crowd once he saw the countless heads crammed together. Therefore, he nodded a bit embarrassedly.

Philo smiled, took the mission papers from Bai Saya’s hands, and headed into the crowd.

Bai Saya strolled around inside the building for a bit. He found the mission bulletin, yet that place was similarly packed. He only stood on the outskirts to take a momentary look when he already felt it difficult to breathe from getting crowded. He didn’t at all have the heart to seriously look for a mission. He could only sigh and head to the door in resignation.

I’ll head to the plaza to look at the statue. No one’s going to crowd me there, right?

It was evident that no one was all that interested in the statue in the plaza. Other than a few birds fooling around on the statue, there was no one else. Finally, he wouldn’t be crowded. Only then did Bai Saya go over to observe the statue with a light heart.

The statue seemed to be carved out of pure, white stone. However, since it was exposed in this outdoor plaza, it couldn’t be helped that all sorts of colors had stained it. The final result of the colors all mixed together was a grayish hue.

The statue was of a warrior. He couldn’t tell if the facial features were vague from the start, or if it was the result of weathering. In any case, he couldn’t distinguish the face. As for the statue’s clothing, it had a full body of armor and even a huge sword carried over the shoulder. The sword was actually two meters long, longer than three arms put together!

Bai Saya looked at the sword in admiration. Can the warrior really wield this sword? Maybe the size of the sword is being used by the carver to exaggerate the warrior’s strength?

“This is the Battle God Morisot. Three hundred years ago, he led the Sky Knight Company, the Earth Knight Company, the Gold Knight Company, and the Silver Knight Company. They fought against the demon race’s invasion and finally chased the demon race back to the Northern Continent.”

This voice! It can’t be… Bai Saya snapped his head back to look.

Dan was currently looking at him. He smiled and said, “They say that Morisot’s power was strong enough to cleave mountains and part the sea, so he wields a double-handed heavy sword made out of shadow silver. A single swing could topple mountains and empty the sea. However, I believe it’s just an exaggeration. Otherwise, he’d be even stronger than the Battle God Sot.”

Suddenly seeing someone unexpected gave Bai Saya a huge shock. Since he had forced himself not to speak for over two months, he actually momentarily forgot that he could open his mouth to speak. He could only stare at Dan with large eyes.

“Long time no see, Saya. Why have you come to Shore City?”

Bai Saya was so frantic that he didn’t know how to respond. On top of that, he was mute and couldn’t speak…

“Saya?” Dan walked a step closer and asked in concern, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Ah! It’s not like Dan is a part of Philo’s team. He knows that I’m not mute! It was like Bai Saya had just woken up from a dream. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry over how he hadn’t dared to speak. I’ve really pretended to be mute for too long. I really thought I was mute…

He lifted his head, about to open his mouth to say a greeting when he suddenly saw how close Dan’s face was. Shocked, he recalled all the things Shooting Star had said about Dan. His face paled, and he immediately shoved the other person away. He blurted, “Go away! Don’t come close to me!”

Unprepared, Dan was shoved several steps away before he found his footing.

It was only at this time that Bai Saya realized what he had done and immediately felt ashamed. I’ve truly gotten scared from getting pestered by Agid and Philo for over two months. I’ve actually pushed Dan away so rudely, and I said such hurtful words…

“Why are you treating me this way?”

Dan, who had always had a gentle smile, showed a different expression in front of Bai Saya for the first time. However, it wasn’t one that blamed him. Rather, it was a hurt expression, a pained one.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s because y-you…” Bai Saya felt very awkward. He couldn’t complete the rest of his sentence at all.

Dan’s voice was unyielding as he asked, “Have I taken any actions toward you beyond that of friends?”

After Bai Saya hesitated and thought about it for a while, he shook his head honestly.

“Then, why can’t you think of me as a friend?”

Bai Saya stuttered, “B-because…”

“Because I like you, right?” Dan admitted generously, yet at the same time, those words simplified many other reasons. In actuality, this was much more complicated than “liking,” but at this moment, the other person didn’t need to know more than that.

Bai Saya nodded awkwardly.

Dan said rather sincerely, “I do like you, but I have never given voice to it, nor have I forced you to give me a response. I just want to be friends. Is that not possible either?”

“Friends?”

Bai Saya looked at Dan in suspicion, while the latter gazed back with a frank expression. It was even one that did not show any romantic overtones—at least, it wasn’t like the way Agid and Philo looked at him.

Thinking about it now, Dan really hadn’t done anything. Not only that, he had even helped him a lot. If it weren’t for Shooting Star saying that Dan liked him, he might not have discovered this matter at all. Then, Dan and I really would have been normal friends, right?

“All right.”

Even though he still had doubts, he felt guilty since he had just yelled at him. In addition to that, there were many more reasons, such as owing him money and not being able to pay it back. In the end, Bai Saya still nodded his head, but he couldn’t help but lay out the condition, “As long as you don’t keep using a burning gaze to look at me, we can be friends.”

“A burning gaze?” Dan was stumped. He asked in confusion, “What kind of expression is that?”

What kind of expression? Bai Saya frowned and thought about it. He said, “It’s hard to describe. It’s kind of like the expression Shooting Star has when he sees an entire table of delicious food.”

Hearing such a comparison, Dan’s face reddened. In a rare occurrence, he stuttered, “Sorry, I-I will be more aware about that.”

“That would be great…”

“Saya!”

Hearing someone call him, Bai Saya turned his head instinctively. Philo’s face full of anger came into view, shocking Bai Saya into a stupor. He didn’t know what kind of serious thing had happened for the other to actually show that kind of expression.

Philo grabbed Bai Saya, his strength so great that the latter was dragged back several steps, forced to step behind Philo.

Dan immediately growled, “What are you doing?!”

“I’m the one who wants to ask what you’re doing, demon! Don’t you dare bother Saya.” Philo warned. At the same time, he quickly moved to shield Bai Saya.

Dan pursed his lips, his face revealing his unhappiness. Even though he had long been discriminated against many times on this continent because of his race, and he had grown used to it, he was unwilling to bear the brunt of it considering that Bai Saya was present.

Bai Saya hurriedly held onto Philo’s arm, wanting to open his mouth to explain—Shoot! Philo is here. Great. I’m mute again! He had never ever felt so much desire to be able to open his mouth to speak, even if it were only a single sentence!

Philo merely told Bai Saya, “Don’t worry, I am here.” His cautious gaze never left Dan, as he was worried the latter would suddenly sneak an attack.

Worry? What am I supposed to be worried about? Bai Saya looked at Philo in confusion, feeling that the two of them were on completely different pages.

“Saya, who is he?” Dan had also discovered that something was odd with the situation. His gaze went past Philo, looking directly at Bai Saya, hoping that the other person could explain.

Bai Saya unfortunately could not open his mouth to speak. He could only gesture at Philo. Then, he shook his hands before he waved them. He meant that he hoped Dan would not get involved with Philo. It would be best for him to leave as soon as possible. However, Bai Saya hadn’t taken into account that not opening his mouth to speak and having an expression that was full of confliction would actually make Dan super suspicious. Dan felt that Bai Saya had unspeakable difficulties, so he was even more unwilling to leave.

On the other side, Philo had decided from the start that the demon in front of him was a lecher trying to hit on Saya. In order to stop him from bothering Saya, Philo naturally answered, “I am Saya’s boyfriend.”

Boyfriend? Dan was stunned for a moment before he looked toward Bai Saya. The latter of course shook his head and waved his hands as if his life depended on it. He used all he could besides using his voice to illustrate his denial.

Seeing that, Dan naturally didn’t believe what Philo had said. He even mocked, “You’re obviously the one who is bothering Saya. If you don’t step away from Saya, don’t blame me for what I’m going to do!”

Philo immediately drew out his knight’s sword and shouted, “Come at me!”

“Hmph!” Dan snorted coldly. His hands weren’t idle either. Not only had he drawn his weapon, his hands were also in battle-ready position.

W-what’s going on? Bai Saya’s mouth fell open. He didn’t understand how things had turned out like this. He just had to be “mute,” so he couldn’t even open his mouth to stop them.

This just makes me want to cry… W-what should I do? Shooting Star, save me!

“Hot damn, is there going to be a duel?”

As if their hearts had connected, Shooting Star’s voice actually did sound next to Bai Saya’s ear. He turned his head to look. Shooting Star’s eyes were wide, brimming with, “This is too amusing” at another’s demise.

Another than Shooting Star, that fellow who was enjoying his demise, the other people in the team had also arrived. All of them stared at the sight of Philo and Dan squaring it off. They rarely ever saw Philo get so angry at someone.

“Eh, Dan? Why are you here?” Shooting Star shouted excitedly. This is great! As long as Bai Saya is here, we can have Dan pay for our dinner, tomorrow’s breakfast, tomorrow’s lunch, and endless meals beyond!

Even though having all three meals free was important, Shooting Star was more curious and amused by the current situation of Dan and Philo almost getting into a fight. No matter how he looked at it, it looked like two men getting jealous over a woman!

Philo and Dan fighting over Bai Saya… Bwahahaha!

“Dan?!”

Philo and Agid both paled. Agid yelled, “You are Saya’s fiancé?”

“Fiancé?” Dan froze. They had only just become friends, and now he had suddenly jumped several stages to fiancé. He couldn’t follow what was happening at all.

To the side, Passerby A pulled on Passerby B, excitedly gossiping, “Did you hear that? Fiancé! But isn’t that a guy?”

“It’s a woman! And a great beauty at that,” Passerby B objected.

“It’s a guy! A super handsome one!” Passerby C showed a smitten smile, staring straight at Bai Saya.

“A hot babe!” Passerby B shouted.

“A handsome guy!” Passerby D also interjected.

Bai Saya’s face flushed red. He was finally unable to bear the gossiping of the people around him, as not only had they started discussing his gender, they had also began placing bets over whether Philo or Dan would win. There were even people who bet that he would choose both of them.

Hearing that much, Bai Saya rushed over and grabbed Dan. He used his light movements, fleeing the scene at a quick speed. Luckily, Dan was also quite agile. Otherwise, he would have ended up on the floor, dragged along like a broom.

“We all guessed wrong. They’re eloping!” Passerby A, B, C, and D said at the same time.

Bai Saya ran for a while before he suddenly halted, glancing backward in paranoia. Both eyes narrowed dangerously. He ground his teeth as he considered, Is that laughter behind me from Shooting Star?

Damn it, the one to blame actually dares to laugh at me!

“Saya?” Dan asked in confusion, “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Only then did Bai Saya remember that he was pulling someone along! He hurriedly released Dan’s hand and apologized nonstop, “I’m so sorry. I got you involved.”

“I don’t mind that you got me involved, but the situation seems a little strange.”

Dan furrowed his brows. He really couldn’t figure out what kind of situation would cause a “human” man to say that he was Bai Saya’s boyfriend.

Commonly, humans were rather against homosexual relationships, and they would never reveal it so openly. Not only that, I’ve actually become Saya’s fiancé? He didn’t recall undergoing the engagement ceremony.

Thinking of how messy the situation was, Bai Saya truly didn’t know how it would all end. When he thought of Philo and Agid, he felt completely and utterly helpless.

“To sum it up, this is just a prank Shooting Star has been playing. Those people think I’m a woman, and Philo… he’s the guy who was arguing with you, and his teammate Agid, they… um… like me, so to turn them down, I could only say that you’re my fiancé.”

“They believe you’re a woman?” Dan frowned and said, “But you don’t resemble a woman. How could they mistake that? Be careful of getting tricked!”

Hearing that, Bai Saya was nearly to the point of bawling. See! Just how am I like a woman?

“I don’t think they’re tricking me. It was just a series of coincidences that made them come to the wrong conclusion.”

Coincidences like his skin being pale from freezing on the snowy mountain, Bones masquerading as boobs, and Shooting Star adding oil to the fire off to the side…

When he heard that, Dan was still worried. He felt that Bai Saya was truly too trusting. No matter if it was that unqualified companion, or that lot of humans who thought he was a woman, he practically trusted anyone who came his way.

He wanted to persuade Bai Saya to leave with him, but he knew that Bai Saya wouldn’t agree.

Helpless, Dan pulled out from his possessions a metal badge that was slightly smaller than his palm.

Bai Saya asked curiously, “What’s that?”

“The admission credentials to the auction held by the Goldenstyle Merchant Guild. If you’re interested, come take a look. It’s fine if you don’t bid on anything. This is a great chance to look around.”

Since he couldn’t make Bai Saya leave with him, Dan could only find other things to interest him. That way, at least he wouldn’t forever disappear from his sight after they parted.

Bai Saya took the badge, curiously flipping it again and again. Other than the complicated designs on it, he could also feel some sort of power hidden in it. However, he was unable to determine what kind of power it was. That wasn’t strange though. After all, even though he had stayed on the Western Continent for some time, there were still many things that he didn’t understand.

“What kinds of things will the auction be selling?” Bai Saya thought about whether or not he should take Shooting Star there. With how much Shooting Star likes interesting things, he would probably love something like an auction, right?

“All kinds of things. Expensive jewelry, magic items, and slaves.” Dan explained helpfully, “There’s even a rarely seen elf this time… ah, you were even confined with him last time.”

“You mean Alan?” Bai Saya blurted.

Seeing that he had grown interested, Dan relaxed and smiled as he said, “I don’t know his name, but the only auction selling an elf on the Western Continent should be this one. That’s why I have been called to maintain the order here.”

Recalling the golden-haired, blue-eyed elf, Bai Saya couldn’t help falling in deep thought. So, he’s about to be sold? Even though the elf hadn’t shown him any goodwill, at least he hadn’t sold him out. Alan had even been willing to tell Bai Saya his name.

Learning that the elf was about to be auctioned off as a slave really made Bai Saya’s feelings plummet. But, what can I do? There’s nothing I can do…

Seeing Bai Saya’s expression, Dan helpfully made a suggestion. “The auction is three days long. He is shown around for the first two days. The third day is the day of the actual auction. If you would like to see the elf, I can take you to see him now.”

Hearing that, Bai Saya abruptly lifted his head, deep determination held in his eyes.

“Shooting Star~~”

Belle called out to him using a soft tone that was completely buttering him up, so much that even his bones were going soft.

“What?” Shooting Star picked at his ears. After he found a more comfortable position, he answered, unconcerned, “Is it time for dinner?”

You still want to eat? Shooting Star’s gonna bankrupt us from eating! Belle pouted unhappily and said, “Look at Philo-gēge. Poor him!”

She gestured at Philo, who was sitting on the bed in the corner. The other person, with his head lowered, was currently polishing his sword without a single word. He didn’t even notice that Belle was pointing at him.

Ever since Bai Saya had run off with Dan in hand, and all of them could only stare at each other, they had no choice but to return to the inn first. Philo and Agid, worried that Bai Saya wouldn’t be able to find the inn, had waited at the plaza for a long time. However, their wait proved fruitless, and they could only return dejectedly. They each headed to a different corner to be depressed.

“Really? I feel that Agid is even more pitiful!”

Shooting Star used a gaze that was way more amused than sympathetic to look at the large guy hiding in the corner. Poor guy! When Philo is turned down, at least his teammates will complain for him. Agid, on the other hand, has absolutely no one giving a damn. He can only squat in a dark corner, so deathly depressed that even ghostly fires are about to burst out around him.

Who told you to be so ugly? The president of the Appearances Association, Shooting Star, “felt sorry” for Agid inside his heart, as if it had nothing to do with him.

“Ah, Agid-gēge is very pitiful too!” Hearing Shooting Star’s words, Belle finally felt a twinge of guilt. She hurriedly added on this sentence.

“Yeah! So pitiful.” Shooting Star used a tone that was enjoying his companion’s demise to sympathize with him.

Seeing that both her hints and appeals weren’t effective, Belle couldn’t help but use her fists to pound at Shooting Star several times. However, even though the latter’s body wasn’t all that strong, it wasn’t to the point that he would get hurt from a cleric’s fists. He even changed his position a bit, letting the fists travel from his left shoulder to his right shoulder. He continued to enjoy the “massage.”

“Shooting Star!” Now, Belle was truly frustrated. She shouted, “Are you going to help or not?”

“Help with what?” Having had his fun, only then did Shooting Star sigh deliberately. He showed a distressed expression and said, “You know it too… Xiao Bai… Saya-jiějie and Dan are engaged. What could I help you with?”

“Philo-gēge is definitely several hundred times better than that Dan!” declared Bell in a loud voice as she clenched her fists.

Shooting Star’s lips twitched. Without even taking into account that Bai Saya was a guy, even if he were a woman, Shooting Star would definitely still make him choose Dan! At least, Dan was very wealthy! Under the principle that loving someone meant loving everything about them, then Dan being nice to Bai Saya meant he would definitely also fawn on him, as he was “Bai Saya’s owner.”

When that happens, would it still be a hard feat to eat the most lavish meals and sleep in the most extravagant beds? Wahahaha!

Although he thought that way, he couldn’t say it out loud. Shooting Star raised a normal retort, “Says who? Dan doesn’t lose to Philo in looks, and he also has a proper high-paying job. He’s strong too. He’s a model young guy with a bright future. No matter what, he’s much better than an adventurer who has to rely on missions to survive!”

Belle frantically said, “It’s not like that! Philo-gēge isn’t an adventurer. He’s the royal…”

“Belle!” Elena suddenly shouted, stopping Belle from saying more.

Shooting Star had on a baffled expression, but a strange glimmer flashed across his golden eyes.

“B-but…” After Belle was cut off, she had a face full of grief. She still refused to give up. It would be such a pity if Philo-dàgē missed getting together with Saya-jiějie!

“You can stop now, Belle.” Philo, who had been sitting quietly in the corner of the room the entire time, suddenly stood up. Like Elena who had shouted to stop her, he calmly said, “It’s late. Let’s all retire to our own rooms to rest.”

The rogue Pisce kicked Agid, who was in the corner. He watched as the latter unsteadily stood up. Then, he left with the dejected warrior in tow.

After Belle, who was pouting, watched Philo leave the room, she sighed loudly. She had finally seen Philo-dàgē fall in love with a woman, and she was even Saya-jiějie, whom Belle thought was very nice. Of course she would wholeheartedly help them get together!

As for Agid, he slobbered after girls day and night, so she wasn’t ever going to help him chase Saya-jiějie.

“Shooting Star, help Philo-dàgē already!” Belle couldn’t think of anything, so she could only do her best to appeal to Shooting Star.

Seeing that, Elena frowned but didn’t say anything to stop Belle.

At that development, Shooting Star felt uneasy. Belle was a girl who liked to fool around, but Elena wasn’t. If even she wasn’t putting a stop to this, then he had really played with fire too much!

Even though it was a lot of fun seeing them think of Bai Saya as a woman, but if they truly fell in love with Bai Saya, who knew if that love would turn into hatred when they learned the truth? At that time, there’d be consequences to face!

“Belle.” Shooting Star deliberately said as if distressed, “I’ve watched Saya-jiějie and Dan walk an extremely hard path because of race. They’re finally able to be together after overcoming lots and lots of obstacles on the way…”

As he spun the story, he actually came up with a tragic, forbidden love that transcended race. Belle’s face dripped with tears as she listened, and she kept crying that it was too sad. Even Elena was touched by the story.

“So that’s how it is. Saya-jiějie really had it hard…” Suddenly, Belle wiped her tears, her tone changed, and she said resolutely, “But Philo-dàgē is definitely better than Dan! If Saya-jiějie had been with Philo back then, he definitely wouldn’t have let her suffer so much like Dan did. That’s why Saya-jiějie should be together with Philo-dàgē!”

Shooting Star immediately fell over. Hey hey, where are your promised tears and touched blessing for them?

“All right! I’m going to continue to work hard. I’m definitely going to help Saya-jiějie fall in love with Philo-dàgē!”

After she ambitiously shouted that, Belle turned around with a smile at Shooting Star. Just as the latter felt uneasy, he then heard frightening words.

“I’m going to see if the bathing room I’ve asked to be prepared is done yet. Shooting Star, get your change of clothes ready. We’ll be able to bathe in just a bit!”

“Eh?” Shooting Star froze.

The moment she thought of being able to bathe, Belle happily hummed a song. She pulled Elena along to see if the bathing room was ready yet.

After he saw the two women off with a smile, Shooting Star’s expression immediately changed. Please. No matter how much of a baby-face he had, he was still a guy! Even if he claimed to be “flat-chested” to explain his very flat chest, it wasn’t like he could hide the “little guy” down there.

Damn it, that bastard Bai Saya left and hung me out to dry! Shooting Star gritted his teeth vehemently. Just wait, when he next saw Bai Saya, he was definitely going to give him a good punch.

“But just where has that guy gone? Doesn’t he hate Dan a lot? It’s so late already, yet he hasn’t returned yet. Don’t tell me, he’s…”

Shooting Star furrowed his brows, his expression very serious—

“Sneakily letting Dan treat him to a good meal! Grrr, he didn’t invite me! That has to be it!”

Shooting Star clenched his fists and jumped on the bed. He hugged the pillow hard, as if it were Bai Saya, who had abandoned him and was eating good food without him. He used all his might to pummel the pillow. Take this! Rawr!

“No! What am I doing? It’s bath time soon. I have to think of something.”

Shooting Star frowned. He pondered and pondered but couldn’t think of a good solution. He sighed loudly and said, “Oh well. Even though they’re a lot of fun, if Philo and Agid truly fall in love with Bai Saya, and then find out we’re both guys, I’m not a big deal since no one fell in love with me, but if they find out that Xiao Bai is a guy…”

He couldn’t help but shiver. A broken-hearted man was not to be trifled with, let alone two of them at once!

Let’s not dawdle any more. I gotta run away first.

Shooting Star immediately began packing his things, planning to get help from his pet. Even though he didn’t know where Xiao Bai was, he had to leave this place first in any case. He had to escape the danger of bathing first.

After he slung on his bag for fleeing, Shooting Star kicked open the window, directly jumping through the window to flee. However, a black shadow suddenly blocked him. …What the! Are you serious? I ran into someone on the roof?

Shooting Star quickly turned to dodge. Who knew that the other person would choose the same action? The person even turned in the same direction. In the end, they ran right into each other, and both cried out in pain at the same time.

“Ouch!”

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