“The pillar of prosperity is finally on New Era’s side, huh? This is bad,” Sacred Grat chuckled nervously as he sat on his throne. Before him, seven individuals knelt in respect, their eyes fixed on him.

“As I proposed, Sacred, let me and the other Pillars catch her,” Juvin stated seriously. He was a teenager with brown skin, short red hair, and striking grey eyes with golden stars in them, star marks also decorating his body.

“I object, Juvin,” Grat replied calmly.

“You’d all be slaughtered,” Peter chimed in, his green clock-like eyes gleaming mischievously.

“So you do know who New Era is!” Vivian, sitting beside Peter, said angrily.

“You’re my son. Why won’t you tell me?” she asked, worry etched across her face.

“Mother, it’s for your own good,” Peter answered coolly, avoiding her gaze.

“Hehe, you’re all crazy for protecting that child!” Vivian scoffed.

“But Sacred Grat, may I ask—why would the High God even want to meet New Era?” Peter asked, his gaze shifting back to Grat.

“I’m just following the words of our god, Barbados, but I wonder myself. Every future relating to the meeting is blank for me, which is not a good sign... but she’ll be fine,” Grat said, standing up and staring out the window, deep in thought.

“That’s good,” Peter muttered under his breath.

“I don’t like the idea of someone like her roaming around, knowing what she’s capable of. But if we’re not going to imprison her, we might as well bring her to our side,” Elena said excitedly as she rose to her feet. She was a vampire with brown skin and two pairs of stunning ruby eyes, her sharp teeth gleaming faintly.

“True,” Shuwi, a floop, agreed softly. She was a fair-skinned beauty with long golden hair and a pair of gorgeous white wings that sprouted from her back. Her light purple eyes glowed softly, her fluffy ears twitching in agreement.

“So far, we have everyone apart from New Era and Prosperity,” a Mecha teenager stated with a robotic voice. He appeared as a fair-skinned guy with mechanical parts, including robotic wings, but wore casual clothes like any other teen.

“‘Peace’—Juvin Mintresh, the Starlight. ‘Hope’—Elena Celosia, the vampire. Chaos, me,” Peter added proudly, pointing to himself, “‘Retribution’—Zeche Yildaran, the Mecha. ‘End’—Christopher Tatsusai, the dragon. ‘Light’—Shuwi Asphodel, the floop.” Peter concluded with a grin.

“I don’t really see the point in all of us being together, though,” Peter muttered.

“It’s so we don’t stray from the righteous path. The more we stick together, the more we can understand each other and build stronger friendships!” Juvin replied enthusiastically.

‘Yeah, I don’t like him,’ Peter thought, frowning slightly.

“Hey, hey, Peter! What does New Era look like? And Prosperity too!!” Elena asked eagerly as she bounced over to Peter’s side, her excitement palpable.

“Well, they’re both girls,” Peter replied nonchalantly.

“Yayyy! New girls in the group! Hell yeah!” Elena cheered, jumping up and down in excitement.

“How cute,” Shuwi commented with a soft smile, her hand delicately covering her mouth.

“Huh?” Elena stopped, looking confused.

“Oh, nothing,” Shuwi replied with a teasing smile.

“Since there’s nothing more to discuss, I’d like to leave,” Peter said, standing up.

“Oh... any reason... so?” Christopher mumbled sleepily, barely lifting his head.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

“Well, I’ve got things to do, after all,” Peter responded with a sly smile before walking off.

“I don’t know what that guy’s thinking—it’s frustrating,” Zeche grumbled, his frown deepening.

“It’s alright, I’ll talk to him. I’ve noticed he doesn’t like me much, but I don’t understand why. I’ll try to resolve this issue immediately!” Juvin declared loudly before sprinting after Peter.

---

“You want some of my blood? Why?” Aurianna asked, her eyes narrowing in confusion as she stared at Jade.

“Doing tests,” Jade replied curtly.

“And so?” Aurianna raised an eyebrow.

“Need to do more experiments to see how I can make my monsters stronger,” Jade said flatly.

‘Aren’t his monsters already strong?’ Aurianna thought to herself, puzzled.

"It'll be quick, don't worry," Jade said, swiftly turning his finger into a syringe. He inserted it into Aurianna's hand, extracting a sample before walking away without a second glance.

"Thanks. I’ll be on my way now," he added, his voice as distant as his retreating figure.

"Yeah, whatever," Aurianna muttered, rubbing her hand as she made her way up to the captain's deck. There, Saem stood, intensely studying the maps laid out before him.

"Hey, Saem, when are we going to reach the mainland already?" Aurianna asked, leaning casually against the wall.

Saem glanced up, his sharp eyes scanning her briefly before returning to the maps. "By the texture of the air, I'd say in a week. The continent we're heading to is nearby," he replied.

"Finally!" Aurianna groaned in relief.

---

"Finally, land! Yessss!" Aurianna cheered, practically bouncing as she disembarked from the ship with the others. She twirled around on the shore, her summer dress swirling with her, while a long white veil covered her face from the harsh sunlight.

"Ahh, I’m so happy!" she exclaimed, her joy contagious.

"Hold on," Saem said, grabbing her shoulder.

"You all have to wait. The officers are coming," he warned, keeping a steady hand on her to prevent her from running ahead.

Aurianna huffed, her excitement dampened by the newd. "Officers, huh?" she muttered, glancing ahead to sea a man in a blue soldier suit approaching them.

"Yeah, just normal protocols," Saem replied, releasing her shoulder but keeping a watchful eye on her. "We need clearance before we can move freely on the continent. Especially as non citizens."

"Ugh, I hate waiting," she groaned, folding her arms. Her eyes darted around the busy shoreline, seeing the group of sailors unloading supplies and people getting into ships as well.

A moment later, the human officer appeared before them, and stared at their ship with a bored expression. Appearing as a tall, stern-looking man with black hair. The insignia on his chest showing that he was a port officer.

"Names, reason for arrival, duration of stay, and ID cards," the officer demanded, his tone brisk.

"I’m Saem, and these are my crew mates. Here’s the profile of everyone in this folder," Saem replied, handing over a neatly bound file and the officer checked through it.

"We’re here as tourists, hoping to meet some friends, and we plan to stay for approximately 30 to 90 days," he added.

"And ID cards?" the officer asked, glancing up from the folder.

"Only a few of us have ours," Saem admitted.

"What happened to the others?" the officer asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Traveling through stormy seas caused some of our belongings to be swept away," Saem explained calmly.

The officer’s gaze shifted to Aurianna, his curiosity piqued. "Is that your madam? Why is she wearing a veil?"

"Yes, she was really interested in visiting a few countries here. The veil... that's just personal," Saem replied smoothly.

‘She’s too eye-catching,’ Saem thought to himself nervously.

"Hmm, alright then. I wouldn’t want to delay this beautiful madam any longer. So, if you could please pay the fee of 20 gold coins for temporary citizenship and ship parking, that would be wonderful," the officer said with a smile.

"Twenty gold coins?! That’s daylight robbery!" Dami, the bull demi-human, protested.

"Oh, young man, normally it would be cheaper, but that doesn’t guarantee the safety of your ship. Paying this fee ensures marine officers can watch over it. And since some of you don’t have citizenships, I’m being lenient by only charging a fee," the officer explained.

"Just take it and go," Aurianna interjected, her voice sharp as she tossed a pouch at the officer.

The officer caught it, surprised by its light weight, so he quickly inspected it and gasped in shock, "Five platinum coins? Madam, this is too much!"

"I don’t care. Just make sure no one touches the ship," Aurianna said curtly, her eyes cold beneath the veil.

"Of course, of course! Please, allow me to escort you to the gates!" the officer offered eagerly.

"No need," Aurianna replied, already turning to leave.

"At least let me arrange a carriage for you," the officer insisted.

"Fine," Aurianna agreed with a sigh.

"I’ll get one of the finest carriages available," the officer said with a slight bow.

And a few moments later he arrived with a luxurious carriage with a coach.

‘That’s better. I doubt these kids have the same stamina as me and the other adults,’ Aurianna thought, glancing at Saem's crew mates.

"Don’t worry about the carriage fee—it’ll be free for you for the whole day, my lady," the officer added graciously.

"No need for the whole day. We just want to reach the nearest city or town," Aurianna said, her voice firm but polite.

"That would be Heaha Town, in the Dungeon Lands, between the Promised Land of Karo and the Cletus Kingdom. It would take half a day to get there," the coachman said, glancing back at the group.

"A lot of illegal activities also happen there, despite it being a beautiful place. Are you sure you want to go?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I’m sure. Let’s get going," Aurianna replied.

‘Maybe I can find some information on the Flonkong Organization,’ she thought to herself, eyes narrowing slightly under her veil before they all entered the carriage.

"Hmm... what continent are we on again?" Aurianna asked, her tone casual, though her mind was clearly elsewhere.

"We’re on the Star Continent. I thought this is where you wanted to come. Or did you forget?" Saem raised an eyebrow, slightly confused.

"Oh yeah, right. Don’t mind me—I’ve got memory issues," Aurianna said, waving it off. “Also, I'll let you keep the ship the way it is. It could help a lot more with your, uh, so-called cause."

"You’d really do that?" Rufus, the shark man, asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, why not?" Aurianna shrugged.

"So generous, thank you, lady boss!" the rest of the crew cheered, their faces lighting up with gratitude.

Aurianna, however, remained unfazed, her expression neutral. After a moment, she turned to Saem, curiosity flickering in her eyes. "But I wonder... why did you so easily agree to come with me to the Star Continent?" she asked.

Saem hesitated, then sighed. "You want me to help you with something, don’t you?" Aurianna continued, already reading him like a book.

"It’s crude of me to ask, but yes... please help us," Saem finally admitted, his tone serious.

Aurianna’s expression hardened. "I refuse. If it benefits me in no way, I won’t do it," she said flatly.

"I knew she’d refuse," Candy muttered under her breath, shaking her head.

"Of course I would," Aurianna responded coldly. "We aren’t friends, so I owe you no favors."

"Please, we’re begging you," Giev interjected, desperation clear in his voice.

"We want to save Echiya, Candy, and Faston’s families. We heard they might be held captive as slaves by the Flonkong Organization in Heaha Town, in the Dungeon Lands. A large slave organization operates there," Giev explained, his eyes pleading with Aurianna.

Aurianna’s demeanor shifted instantly. Her eyes darkened, and her voice dropped low. "Did you say... Flonkong Organization?!"