Chapter 454: The festival

After lunch, Rory changed her clothes, put on her makeup, and sat in the living room messaging Gina while waiting for Lola to arrive.

Lola’s airship was already on its way.

Rory and Gina had agreed that as soon as Lola arrived, they would head over together to visit her. Gina’s partner had bought an estate in the Central District, where she was planning to settle down permanently.

Half an hour later, Lola pulled up to the estate.

"Sis, are you ready? Let’s go!"

Seeing Rory all dressed up, a look of genuine awe flashed in Lola’s eyes. "Sister, you look absolutely stunning today!"

"Thank you for the compliment," Rory replied with a smile, looking at her warmly. "You look beautiful too."

Rory linked arms with Lola. "Let’s head out. I’ll introduce you to Gina. She’s also a gorgeous female with a wonderful personality."

Instead of taking her own ship, Lola rode with Rory in her vessel.

The airship Rory was using today was the latest large-scale model that Nix’s laboratory had just sent over yesterday. It could carry over a hundred passengers and was remarkably fast. The journey from the castle to Gina’s estate normally took an hour in a standard airship, but this model could cover the distance in just a little over ten minutes.

Lola eyed the new airship with clear envy. "Nix really lives up to his reputation as the Empire’s greatest genius. This ship is incredible."

Only Nix’s lab could pull off speeds like this. What’s more, her partner had mentioned to her earlier that this wasn’t even its top speed. Traffic was particularly heavy today due to the All-Females Festival, which was holding the ship back.

"Sis, could you speak to Nix for me and ask if he’d sell me one like this too? I won’t even haggle—as long as he’s willing to sell, I’ll take it."

Inventions from Nix’s lab weren’t something money alone could buy. Many wealthy people failed to acquire anything from him, let alone a flagship airship he had personally designed.

If anyone else had made such a request, Rory would have brushed it off. But since it was Lola asking, she was determined to make it happen.

"No problem. I’ll bring it up with Nix in a bit."

"I knew you were the best, Sis!" Lola was over the moon.

---

The airship touched down in front of Gina’s estate. The moment Rory and Lola stepped outside, they saw Gina running out to meet them.

"Rory!" Gina rushed over and wrapped Rory in a tight hug. "Let me hold you! I haven’t seen you in so long, I’ve missed you to death!"

"Gigi, I missed you too. Let me introduce you to a new friend." Rory gestured to Lola beside her. "This is Lola, my sister-in-law."

She then turned to Lola. "Lola, this is Gina, the one I was telling you about."

Gina extended her hand to Lola with a warm smile. "Hello, Lola. I’m Gina. It’s so lovely to meet you."

Lola was equally thrilled. "Hello, Gigi!"

After introductions were out of the way, the three women quickly boarded Rory’s airship.

"Where should we go first?" Rory asked, looking between Gina and Lola.

No matter where they chose to go, Vincent and the others had already mapped out all the potential routes.

Gina offered, "We could start at the Floating Sea of Flowers—it’s the most beautiful spot in the Central District. I heard it’s only open during the All-Females Festival. They’ve replicated tens of thousands of rare, legendary flowers that were thought to be extinct, and it even simulates the dramatic shifting of the four seasons. It’s perfect for photos!"

Lola nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Yes, exactly! I also heard there’s a Wishing Star Pool at the very center of the flower sea. If we deposit our spirit-mark into it, it lights up a custom star that merges into a whole galaxy of light. It’s ridiculously romantic!"

Listening to their descriptions, Rory was thoroughly intrigued. "Alright then! Our first stop today is the Floating Sea of Flowers!"

---

Sitting not far away, Vincent and the others watched Rory’s radiant expression, unable to hold back their own smiles.

Jasper remarked, "Rory loves a lively crowd. She hasn’t had the chance to just relax and have fun like this in a long time. She used to talk about wanting to visit the Outer Reaches. Once the festival is over, we should take her there."

Aren agreed with a nod. "Great idea. Rory was always curious about my past as a scavenger. I bet she’d love to experience the thrill of scavenging firsthand."

Vangar shot him a pointed look. "Scavenging is fine, but don’t you dare take Rory to steal warships from the Zerg again."

Aren gave him a look of mock offense. "How can you call it stealing? I call it salvaging! I was making a contribution to the Empire—besides, didn’t I hand over every warship I brought back to you guys?"

Vincent was speechless. "You handed them over, sure, but it’s not like you gave us a discount."

"Hey, I couldn’t just give them away for free," Aren defended himself smoothly. "I’ve got a whole crew of brothers under me to feed."

Vangar countered, "Then stop framing it as a contribution to the Empire. You charged us an arm and a leg." He hadn’t given them a single penny’s discount.

Speaking of warships, Nix couldn’t help asking, "Aren, when are you heading back to the Outer Reaches anyway?"

Although Aren hadn’t sold those Zerg warships cheaply to the military, his supply had taken a massive burden off Nix’s research lab. If Aren stayed away from the Outer Reaches for good and the military lost him as a warship supplier, all that pressure would fall squarely back on the lab’s shoulders. When that happened, he’d be worked to death.

Aren shrugged innocently. "I’ve lived out in the Outer Reaches for years; it’s high time I took a break. Unless Rory goes, I’m not going back."

In the past, he was a single beast without a female master, so it didn’t matter where he lived. The Outer Reaches were dangerous, but at least they kept things interesting. Now that he had a female master, he was no longer alone—his place was by her side, not wandering off to parts unknown.

"If you don’t go, what happens to your warship supply?" Nix pressed. "If you stop providing them to Vincent and the others, they’re just going to dump extra orders on my lab again."

Even if he didn’t have to personally oversee every single production batch, he still had to handle constant R&D and troubleshooting. It was enough to drive a beast insane.

Aren offered a helpless shrug. "Then I guess you’ll just have to work a little harder."

Nix: "..."

---

Before long, the airship arrived above the Floating Sea of Flowers. Nix used a light-screen control to land the ship smoothly at the adjacent landing pad.

As Rory, Gina, and Lola stepped off the ship, a vast ocean of flowers unfolded before their eyes. Many of the blooms were digital fabrications recreated using cutting-edge holographic technology, yet they looked indistinguishable from real flowers—they even carried realistic fragrances.

Quite a few females had already gathered in the area.

"Let’s head over there," Gina suggested, pointing toward a stretch of deep purple blossoms nearby.

Rory and Lola nodded in agreement.

As the three women made their way toward the eastern section, Vincent and the rest of the group—alongside Lola’s and Gina’s partners—hurriedly followed behind.

Walking beside Vincent, Wen suddenly paused and glanced back over his shoulder.

"What is it?" Vincent asked immediately.

Wen kept his eyes trained on the space behind them. "I sensed a familiar aura. You stay with Rory. I’m going to check it out."

"Is there any danger?"

"None," Wen replied smoothly. "Just an old friend."

Reassured that there was no threat, Vincent nodded. "Go ahead, then."