At that moment, the young butler called for them to follow, and Lys obediently tagged along. Together, they looked almost like siblings.

Then Iger joined in. His presence added to the scene, turning it into a portrait of a beautiful young woman holding two angelic children. Ashe instinctively kept his distance, unwilling to lower the group's average attractiveness.

While Pankey led them on a tour of the other rooms on the floor, Iger's earlier words kept echoing in Ashe's mind. They had all worked together to execute the plan to escape the Blood Moon Kingdom. Even after a series of events beyond the Virtual Channel, Iger and Harvey continued to display the high-level criminal skills expected of death row inmates. It had never once crossed Ashe's mind that they would panic in unfamiliar territory.

Only after placing himself in their position and thinking it through did the comparison strike him. Even during his most rebellious phase, Ashe had felt awkward and afraid when he left home alone for college in a distant city.

Their escape this time was on an entirely different level. They were not merely leaving home. They were stepping into a foreign land with a different culture and political system, and there was no possibility of return. For the foreseeable future, survival would be their only certainty.

They would likely adapt quickly, but during that period of adjustment, they would still have to wrestle with longing, regret, and loneliness.

The reason Ashe felt no such burden was that this was already his second time traveling to a new world. Last time, he had technically switched an entire "universe's servers", whereas this time, it was only a regional one. Naturally, Ashe would fare better than the other two. More importantly, unlike Harvey and Iger, he was no longer alone. In such a case, the right way to treat Iger and Harvey should be...

"Iger," Ashe said, patting the fraudster's shoulder with concern. "You're not getting any younger. Isn't it about time you date someone? Or maybe find a partner?"

Iger looked at Ashe as if he were staring at a pile of excrement.

The young butler concluded the tour and said, "You're free to enjoy the food and drinks, but please maintain your weight. Do not starve yourself or overeat. Call me if you need anything. I'm usually in my room. Personally, I recommend starting with the documentary Book of Gospel[1] to get a basic understanding of the Gospel Kingdom. Any questions?"

Lys looked up eagerly. "Brother Pankey! Brother Pankey! How old are you this year?"

Iger and Ashe exchanged a glance. Well asked!

Pankey had made no effort to hide it. From earlier conversations, they had already suspected that Pankey was far older than he appeared.

They had debated how to broach the topic delicately, but Lys's childlike directness spared them the trouble. That was the advantage of being a child. Even if she asked a sensitive question, she could get away with it simply by acting cute. Had Iger or Ashe tried, it would likely have made things awkward.

Pankey glanced at them, tying his light-blue hair back with a headband, then tilted his head. "I'm sixty-one years old."

Sixty-one!? Are you sure it's not sixteen? 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Iger's eyes widened. "If you're sixty-one... then the last Woven Festival—"

"Do you know why the Lady is willing to pave the way for you at all costs?" Pankey smiled. "That's because I, too, am from another land. Or at least, I once was."

"So... you were an Echoer in the last festival?"

Pankey nodded, pressing his fingers to the dimples on his cheeks. "This is my reward as an Echoer."

Inspired, Lys poked her own cheeks, looking adorably innocent. Ashe glanced back and forth before shaking his head. "Lys, you've lost this round."

"Daddy... I didn't ask..."

"No further questions? Then enjoy your free time. Lunch starts at twelve; I'll notify you," Pankey said, waving before departing.

Iger decided to follow his advice. "I'll watch the documentary Book of Gospel."

"I want to try the simulation room and play the virtual games!" Ashe said eagerly.

The two notoriously ruthless criminals glanced at the little girl. Lys raised her hand. "I'm going to the library to read! I can take care of myself! Daddy, Aunt Perskin, you do your own things!"

"Ashe, let me help educate your daughter—"

"Wait! I have a contract with her! I have to protect her! If you want to spank her, you'll have to go through my dead body first!"

"I couldn't have asked for more."

***

Lys ignored the two adults behaving like children and dashed straight to the library, slamming the door behind her. She approached the mirror and spoke to the reflection of the beautiful, white-haired little girl within.

"Secret Princess Dia, are you there?"

"Little Witch Lys, I'm here."

With a blink, Lys transformed into Dia. Dia twirled in place, stretched her neck, and bounced twice, muttering under her breath about how inconvenient this body was. She would have preferred the Bronze Dragon turning her into an old crone rather than a form that relied entirely on cuteness to survive... but at least now, she had free time.

Dia set up a ladder and pulled several reference books from the shelves, which included How to Trigger a Virtual World Turbulence with Bare Hands, 100 Must-Know Interpersonal Rules, Introduction to Virtual World Creatures, Brief Analysis of Sorcery Classes, Essential Combat Techniques for Defense-Type Sorcerers, and Wilderness Survival Starting with Just a Dog. To avoid being seen, she placed some cute picture books nearby as a cover, then dived into the dense, heady volumes.

Anyone glancing at this reading list would have guessed that Dia had never attended school or received formal sorcerer training. She could read, sing, play instruments, understand rhythm, and paint with skill. In short, she had mastered all the refined arts unrelated to survival, but when it came to sorcery classes or practical survival skills, she knew almost nothing.

Her current abilities, survival techniques, and interpersonal strategies had all been acquired in the Virtual World, through reading the Sorcerer's Handbooks and consuming Experience Orbs. Without that knowledge, she would probably still be a princess locked in a high tower, staring at the sky framed by the window, smiling with naïve innocence, content to accept her fate.

After using the Bronze Dragon's power to leave the tower, Dia had set herself a goal. Her plan was to identify her knowledge gaps, absorb information, and refine her sorcerer's system while learning survival skills, all in preparation for her life in exile. Originally, she had wanted to train in the Time Class, but since Pankey had advised against it, she had no intention of defying him. The reason was simple. She genuinely wanted to join the "Desecrate the Gospel" plan.

Every twist of fate—from landing in the Four Pillars Cult hideout, being captured by cultists, to attracting Annan's attention and becoming her pawn—had perfectly aligned with Dia's needs. She deliberately picked this moment to trigger the Bronze Dragon's Favor and erase her past, all so she could enter the Woven Festival as a blank slate, become an Echoer, and seize the Omnipotent Wish.

Becoming Annan's pawn carried risk, but it also offered the opportunity Dia had been dreaming of. Dia only knew that to exploit the loopholes in the Woven Festival, she had to have the Bronze Dragon erase her past, but she was still completely clueless about how to make use of it. Then Annan appeared, like a starving knight confronting a greedy dragon. At that point, either the knight would slay the dragon to fill his belly, or the dragon would fatten the knight to satisfy its appetite. In either case, one of them was bound to achieve their goal.

There was no doubt that the Bronze Dragon had arranged for their meeting. As the rarest mechanism in the Virtual World on the Continent of Time, the Bronze Dragon's Favor granted Dia more than just a curse. It included the Dragon's mischievous blessings. Her current situation matched the description in the Sorcerer's Handbook perfectly. The Favor presented trials while guiding the trialist toward their wishes, and the process was often whimsical, like a fairy tale. In short, the Dragon loved to play tricks.

Dia had been tossed about and uprooted, yet in the end, she landed in Annan's office through a mixture of fortune and misfortune, essentially gaining a shortcut to the Omnipotent Wish. Without this chain of coincidences, she would never have met the irreverent Annan, who shared her goal. Yet the same coincidences forced Dia to rely on cuteness for survival, placing her indirectly under Annan's control.

She could complain about the Bronze Dragon's antics, but she had to admit they worked in her favor. Fortunately, the "little witch" Dia had created was clever enough to avoid forming a direct contract with Annan, instead bonding with the seemingly foolish Ashe. This left her room to resist while giving her a servant she could exploit.

The only complication was that the servant didn't seem particularly useful. Had Lys chosen Iger as "Dad," things would have been different. Since she hadn't, Iger remained cautious and resistant to cuteness, definitely not an easy target.

Dia couldn't help but wonder. If Lys had called Ashe Dad and Iger Mom, could she have dragged Iger into the plan?

She recalled Annan's methods and realized that the formidable woman wouldn't hesitate to add another contract involving her and Iger. Sighing quietly, Dia acknowledged that Lys was just too cautious; otherwise, they could already have two servants under their control.

1. This is a documentary that happens to share the same name as the book. I'll use italics whenever I refer to the documentary to better distinguish it from the actual book. ☜