As he spoke, a private message appeared from Ice Condensation. "Smart. Thumbs up. Head toward coordinates 3995, 8588. There’s a large open area there, full of wolves. Our players are holding the perimeter. Plenty of cover."

Don replied, "Thank you, Ice Condensation."

"Don’t mention it. This was all Sister Diana’s arrangement."

He gave Lily a pointed look and a slight tilt of his head. She caught it, barely.

They walked away.

After they’d put some distance between themselves and the chaos, Lily punched Don in the arm. "Don! I was right in the middle of that fight! You just pulled me away without any warning."

Don put a hand gently on her shoulder. "Little girl, now isn’t the time for us to be involved in this. The most important thing right now is protecting our levels and staying in Extraordinary Studio. That has to come first."

Kira nodded. "Lily, Don’s right. We don’t even know who our employer is, or what their stance is toward these guilds. If we make open enemies of major guild players, we might be creating problems for whoever’s running the studio. That’s not fair to them."

Lily was quiet for a moment, but her expression showed she was still turning something over. "Sister Kira, I want to ask you something. With the strength our small team already has, why do we even need to work for someone else at Extraordinary Studio? Don clearly has the leadership aura. He gets along with the Sword Song leadership, Reincarnation’s core players respect him, why not just build something of our own?"

Kira shook her head. "Because our leader’s heart is already with Extraordinary Studio."

Lily’s gaze shifted to Don. "Why?"

He didn’t lie. "Because Star has shares in this studio. Star was one of the people who shaped who I am. Without him, without Tian Ge, without Ash, without Sherry, there would be no Star who killed the Demon Lord, and I wouldn’t be where I am today. I can’t undermine my own family."

"But if that’s true, why are you here as a trainee like the rest of us?"

"Because neither Brother Star nor Tian Ge would give their own people special treatment at a moment like this. They’re both people of principle, and I’d never want them to break their rules for my sake." Don smiled, though it was a difficult one. "Besides, Brother Star told me the head of this studio is someone from our old family. I miss him. I’ve been looking forward to seeing his face again, to building a second Family World together with him."

Lily was quiet for a long moment. Then, softly, "Brother Don, is family really that important to you?"

"More than almost anything. Because I was an orphan. If it weren’t for the people who adopted and sheltered me, I might have gone completely astray, or worse. So when I lost my home, I knew I had to build a new one for myself someday." He paused. "That’s why I’ve been pushing you to go home these past few days, Lily. I’ll be honest with you, I envy you. I’m even a little jealous that you have parents who love you."

He hadn’t meant to say all of that. But before he realized it, his eyes were beginning to sting.

As Don said those words, tears threatened to spill from his eyes again. He squinted hard, took a slow breath, and pushed the feeling back down through sheer will.

Lily patted his shoulder. "Brother Don, I’m willing to build that home with you. All of us, together." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Don felt something soft pressing against his legs. He looked down at a sixty-degree angle and found Little Chili hugging his thighs with both arms.

He laughed despite himself. "What are you doing, chili pepper?"

"Currying favor to get on good terms with Lily!"

"..."

The four of them arrived at the coordinates Ice Condensation had given them. The location was well-chosen, a natural depression surrounded by golden wheat fields, with hundreds of Sword Song dwarf players lying in ambush within the stalks, keeping watch while simultaneously harvesting. Wheat was the ingredient for bread, and bread granted players a 50-point attack buff lasting thirty minutes.

Nobody should underestimate crafting-focused players. In Realms Online, Nimi Dwarves were no weaker than combat classes when properly equipped. Their attack power, when geared to a high level, was devastating. And as long as you could endure the high early costs and push your gathering or crafting skills far enough, dwarves were among the wealthiest and most prosperous of any player class. A saying had circulated on the forums even before the game launched: "Better to offend a girl than to cross a dwarf."

Meanwhile, their adorable little chili pepper continued her fierce butchering career, skinning wolves one by one as they fell. Although the team was using shared experience distribution, her production skill usage generated additional EXP on top of the share, so she reached Level 28 after only a handful of kills.

Don connected with Cappuccino privately and learned what had happened afterward. Ice Condensation and Cloud Wind had righteously released both Adventure King and Mark, an act of respect that Don had quietly requested through the glance he’d given Ice Condensation. Because deep down he hadn’t wanted to kill Mark. Mark was an enemy, but he was a player of real integrity, and those were rarer than good equipment.

He just felt a little sorry for the guy. Mark had voted for the wrong leader.

With that matter resolved, Sword Song recalled all their players. The Reincarnation members who’d accumulated red names were assigned to Sword Song’s main team to hunt in low-traffic areas and clear their infamy timers. The boss in Ghost Wolf Village, a Normal-rank Ferocious Wolf King, was dealt with separately. The Sword Song team cremated it in under two minutes. It dropped a single Level 30 bronze dagger, which Ice Condensation personally unsealed. The revealed attribute increased durability. The Sword Song thieves were devastated.

Don’s own group fared well. The advantage of fighting higher-level monsters was that red name timers burned off faster. After one hour of grinding, they’d shed more than two hours of fame time.

They logged off afterward for dinner. Before leaving, Don greeted the leader of Sword Song’s production team and exchanged a few polite words, all necessary, all calculated.

Downstairs, the four of them crossed to the restaurant alley across from Henshaw Tower. This meal was primarily a welcome for Little Chili, so Don chose a Southern restaurant. They ordered cold noodles, dry pot bullfrog, and boiled fish. After asking everyone’s preference, he opened a bottle of Snow Beer for each of them.