After a lovely dinner at home with friends and family and a snooze in a bed that wasn't made of straw and stone for once, Zhen Liu and his compatriots were all set to return to Dozing Salamander and continue on their journey. Follow current novᴇls on novel✦fire.net

However, they weren't just heading back by themselves.

"Are you guys sure you don't need Tiny and Mini to help around the estate? I'm pretty sure you guys are going to need them for some of the heavy lifting around here," Zhen Liu asked as he watched some of the Zhen Clan servants adjust some saddlebags onto the aforementioned Raijin Hippos' backs.

"Yes, we're sure," Daria assured her son. "Your kaijin have provided us plenty of muscle in the form of giant spiders. Although, they have caused some people to pass out from fright."

"Yeah...sorry about that."

"Eh, don't be," Daria waved her hand in dismissal. "The spider silk alone is reason enough to let these guys stick around."

"Meow."

As if agreeing with her owner's sentiment, her pet cat let out a noise of assurance while walking past in a newly tailored outfit made completely out of spider silk.

"Besides, the clansmen could use some resilience training."

"Ok…"

Aside from the added assistance in the form of the Raijin Hippos, Zhen Liu and company were about to be accompanied by two more powerful warriors who were also in a relationship with him.

"Oooh, it's been years since I've travelled to Dozing Salamander!" Jinju Ren said aloud while stretching with anticipation. "The last time I was there, I secured the service of my Hurricane Draguar."

"Is the quarry in Dozing Salamander any different from the ones that are native to here?" Rianna wondered aloud. "I wonder if any of there are any giants bugs over there that are tasty…"

Now that Zhen LIu's connection to the [Library of Nowhere] had been repaired, Jinju Ren and Rianna figured that they could now tag along with him on his journey through Dozing Salamander.

After all, they couldn't tag along for his trip to the Abyssal Lands, nor his trip through the [City of Mirrors], nor his stint in causing a rebellion in a slave mine.

They wanted exciting adventures too, dammit!

"Wait a minute, Miss Jinju, wouldn't your tutor be upset about you ditching him so that you can go gallivanting across another continent?" Rianna pointed out.

"Probably," Jinju Ren readily admitted, "but he was explicitly chosen by mother because she knew I was a wild child who needed an equally wild teacher."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm coming along."

"Whoa!"

Appearing behind the young women like a ghost, Hermit Zhong Wei made his presence known.

Dressed in his signature ragged clothes while combing his wild beard, the man looked less like he was ready to go on a trip to another continent and more like he was ready to go and find a bridge to sleep under.

Regardless of his appearance, though, the man radiated the unmistakable aura of an Aether Lord.

"Princess, I hope you understand that even if you have some level of diplomatic immunity on another continent, it doesn't mean you have the right to act with impunity," Zhong Wei lectured his student.

"I know, master, I know…" Zhen Xun Tian complained with a mildly sarcastic tone to her voice, fully expecting a lecture about being responsible in order to avoid the consequences of one's actions.

"The only way to have true immunity from the consequences of your actions is with power, plain and simple."

"Wait, what? I thought you were going to impart a lesson about ethics or learning to be peaceful at the right moment or something like that…"

"The fact that you're trying to ask me about those lessons already proves to me that you know these lessons by heart."

"...huh."

Regardless of these questionable lessons in ethics, once everyone was accounted for, Zhen Liu and his friends all mounted up on to Tiny's back and proceeded to ride her all the way to the [Library of Nowhere].

From there, they immediately walked through the doorway back to the [Mines of Malevolence] after Zhen Liu had opened the way with the [Key to Which Way].

"Hmmm? Xiao Liu, did your key get bigger or am I seeing things?" Jinju Ren asked as she looked over the key.

"No, no, it did. Consequence/Benefit of how I repaired the key."

"Ah."

Once they were back at the mines, the group didn't take too much time after arriving to get ready to leave again.

Except, this time, there wasn't going to be an incredibly convenient spatial door connected to their destination.

Instead, there was going to be a whole lot of walking involved.

Well, that and a lot of blending in with some shady characters.

"Alright, ladies, gentlemen, and Kaijin, here's the plan: In the next few hours or so, there's going to be a caravan coming in from Rainbowden. At least, that's what this schedule we got from Dante's quarters suggest," Zhen Liu announced to the group, "we're going to be tagging along with them under the guise of Dante having a sudden change of heart about being a weird loner and travelling with them back to Rainbowden. If you're wondering why we're doing that instead of travelling straight to Rainbowden by ourselves, it's so that we can establish an alibi if necessary. Please, take this time to consider whether or not you still want to go, since I know some are native to these mines and have questionable history with some of the caravans that brought you here, while the rest of you that still want to go, please take this opportunity to either coordinate a disguise or a cover story. If you need assistance, let me know. In the mean time, I'm going to help prepare the latest shipment with the help of the Gallop Brothers."

...POV switch, those aformentioned natives of the mines...

After Zhen Liu had his intentions to the others known; Maggie, Taurna, and Leona went about discussing about whether or not they were going to go along to Rainbowden as well.

To be more precise, Taurna and Leona were going along and wanted to know why Maggie had decided to change her mind about coming with them.

"Are you sure about staying here, big sis?" Leona asked Maggie. "You were fairly hell-bent on leaving this place behind and getting as far away as possible."

"I am certain, my sisters. Depth Strider and his brothers are going to be sticking around here in order to help reinforce the idea that Dante is still in charge, since they looked the most like how Dante made his kaijin" Maggie explained. "However, they're going to need help in selling the act. You know how bad of a bad poker face They had when they were human? That didn't really change now that they're Kaijin."

"That and because you want to catch up on all those lonely years without being in each other's arms?" Taurna joked on a slightly lewd manner.

In response to this incredibly accurate observation, Maggie smacked Taurna's head.

Thwack!

"Ayeesh! So rude!"

Also,she made an observation of her own.

"As we read in one of those books in the library, don't throw stones if you live in a glass hut. I know Leona is going because she wants to try and seduce Zhen Liu with her wiles."

"Seduction with my wiles is a bit of an overstatement..." Leona retorted in a weak voice.

"And I know that you're going along because you and that snake boy have been hooking up while the rest of us are sleeping."

"I knew it!"

Taurna didn't even respond to this accusation, she simply started blushing a deep crimson red.

"H-how did you—?!"

"I woke up in the middle of the night once, saw you two together, you make for a cute couple."

"M-moo..."

"Either way, I'm glad you two found people you want it pursue and are taking active steps in cementing those relationships," Maggie said in a sudden shift in tone, her gazing softly shifting to Depth Strider in the distance."You never know when your going to spend time with someone in the last moments."

"..."

"..."

Maggie and Depth Strider had gotten incredibly lucky that their relationship was revived in the manner that it was.

Most people weren't friends with some reality defying embodiment of [Chaos], that also happened to have a bleeding heart for the romantics.

Taurna and Leona understood this fact as well, and took Maggie's advice to heart.

"Don't worry, big sis. We won't let love slip through our fingers," Leona answered with certainty.

"To be fair, you might have a harder time than me in that pursuit. The guy you're into already seems spoken for in more ways than one," Taurna pointed out.

"Yeah, funny thing about that," Leona trailed off in an embarrassed tone of voice. "Princess Jinju Ren actually gave me some pointers the night prior... apparently she could tell we had some similar mindsets on certain things."

"Seriously?"

"Wow."