CHAPTER 468: 468. TO HER NEST

Inside the room, the atmosphere felt almost suspended in time. The lanternlight cast warm flickers over polished wood and faint motes of dust, the air thick with quiet anticipation.

The girls had long since removed their disguises, their real faces and features now revealed in full. With that came an unspoken ease, yet also a heightened sense of focus — as if now, with the masks gone, every word mattered more.

They sat in a loose circle, each posture a little different — Lily cross-legged with an ever-sharp gaze, Mathilda draped lazily over the edge of a couch, Darla leaning against a pillar with her arms folded. And at the center of attention was Zuzia, her eyes glimmering with mischief and her voice carrying a melodic, almost hypnotic cadence as she recounted her tale.

There are many drinks and Snacks on the table. Mana is already devouring it , while Zuiza’s tail is stealing some snacks now and then.

"That mysterious one who gave you his drop of blood," Lily said when Zuzia paused, "is definitely the Dragon King." The certainty in her tone was so firm it seemed carved into stone.

Zuzia, however, was not in any sort of dignified pose for this discussion. She was seated on Tyler’s lap, much as she had done in the past — except now she wasn’t the young, tiny form she once had been.

This time she was in her mature, adult form, and there was an undeniable shift in presence. Every small movement, every tilt of her head and curve of her smile carried an allure that could make a saint reconsider their vows. Tyler himself seemed perfectly composed — which only made the sight more exasperating for the others.

"Tyler..." Zuzia’s voice was soft yet dripping with expectation, "now that I’m all grown up, shouldn’t we... mate?", she whispered, her words silky and utterly unfiltered.

Tyler’s hand came down in a comical bonk against her forehead. "Since when did you become the second Mathilda?"

From across the table, Mathilda smirked like a cat who’d just been complimented. "Tsk. Look who’s talking — you’re the male Mathilda."

Tyler gave her a flat look. "So you’re admitting you’re a pervert?"

"I’m not a pervert, just... a bit horny," Mathilda replied matter-of-factly, leaning back with the confidence of someone too shameless to be embarrassed.

Lily coughed loudly, cutting through the escalating banter. "Alright, enough. Back to the topic. That person who gave her the drop of blood — it is definitely one of the Overlord of the Sea – The Dragon King."

"I thought all the Overlords went past the Metric Zone," Tyler mused, frowning.

The room grew a shade more serious at that. The Metric Zone — an infamous chaotic region in the far north, riddled with the still-active remnants of the Gods’ Trials. Passing through it was perilous in the extreme. According to records, it was nearly impossible without the guidance of an Immortal. And entering without such guidance? Unthinkable.

In short, the only groups that can Venture the Metric Zone is an Immortal faction.

Then Darla spoke in a dreamy, distracted voice, as though seeing some vision only she could perceive. "He also mentioned Queen Lydia. Do you think the legendary Mermaid Queen and the Dragon King have a thi— mmm!"

Mathilda slapped a hand over her mouth instantly. "Don’t gossip about those beings," she hissed. "What if they hear you?"

Darla’s eyes widened, and she froze, clearly imagining the consequences.

"Relax," Lily said with a smirk. "The Dragon King and Mermaid Queen Lydia are famous figures. Even now, millions of people across the world talk about them openly. Especially Lydia — I mean, the currency in whole world is literally called ’Lydia.’"

"Still," Tyler said firmly, "don’t speak of them with ill intentions. Unless you’ve learned to conceal yourself from karma, divinations, and... other things, it’s not worth the risk."

"Now... Why are you a Dragon Princess again?" Mana asked suddenly.

Zuzia tilted her head, finally chiming in. "You know, I’m not really the one who started this whole ’Dragon Princess’ thing. That was Myrtle. She’s the one always dragging me around, calling me that in front of everyone." She smiled faintly. "Not that I minded. I liked playing wherever she brought me."

"Hmm..." Lily’s eyes sharpened. "So, you weren’t originally aiming for that title. Makes sense. But with a drop of Dragon King’s blood in you, you’d naturally be able to suppress lesser dragons and dragonions through sheer bloodline pressure. That would make you look like royalty to them."

Zuzia shrugged. "I just thought they were... weak."

Tyler pinched the bridge of his nose. "Weak, right."

Meanwhile outside, the air on the ship’s deck was entirely different — sharper, more restless. The waves lapped against the hull in rhythmic slaps as Myrtle stood, leaning casually against the railing. She squinted at the figure standing across from her — a bunny girl dressed in an eye-catching, very suggestive bunny costume and a mask.

The bunny girl, Su Fei, tilted her head, studying Myrtle with a critical eye.

"What?" Myrtle finally asked.

"Hmmm..." Su Fei tapped her chin. "You’re at Divine Seeker Realm. But you’re too weak."

Myrtle’s brows shot up. "Haaaan? Wanna fight?" Her body began to glow faintly, an aura flickering to life around her.

"There’s... a lot of Yin Energy inside you," Su Fei observed casually.

The words made Myrtle pause mid-step.

"Hmmm... You’re not just an ordinary Turtle Folk," Su Fei continued, voice musing. "You’d sell for a lot on the Oceanic Planet."

Myrtle’s expression went from startled to glacial in an instant. "Sell? Trafficking?" she said coldly. "I know a place where they buy rabbits like you. First, they eat you — and then they eat you for real."

"Eat and eat?" Su Fei’s lips curled. "Oh... that kind of eat?" She smirked. "Well, don’t worry about me. There’s a Winter Wolf inside who only eats pretty girls like us. Maybe he’s already eating your princess."

She didn’t know why she said it — some part of her simply wanted to tease Myrtle.

"There’s no way the princess would—" Myrtle began, but her words cut off.

"Well, I understand you won’t believe it. It’ll take time for you to accept the truth..." Su Fei said, her tone dripping with teasing condescension. Then she smirked. "Turtles are slow anyway..."

Myrtle’s head tilted dangerously, her eyes narrowing into that you just poked the wrong shell kind of glare. "Oh really? You should know that the rabbit was overconfident and lost to the turtle in the race..."

"Pfft," Su Fei waved a hand dismissively. "See? You’re even telling the story wrong. That was a hare and a tortoise. Completely different from a turtle."

"No," Myrtle said flatly, crossing her arms. "It was a turtle and a rabbit."

"Wrong."

"Right."

"Wrong."

"RIGHT."

They were leaning closer to each other with each repetition, foreheads nearly touching, glaring like two predators squaring off — except one had long floppy ears and the other had a glowing body.

By now, the guards of the Dragon Princess and the crew members of the Phantom Pirates had all... very quietly... turned away. Some pretended to be busy tying knots that didn’t need tying. Others inspected the clouds with suspiciously deep fascination.

Meanwhile, Myrtle and Su Fei were still circling verbally.

"Face it, Bunny Girl," Myrtle said, smirking now, "your kind is only good at running away."

"Oh?" Su Fei leaned in closer. "And your kind is only good at hiding in a shell."

"At least we live longer," Myrtle shot back.

Su Fei narrowed her eyes. "...Idiot we are all Immortal Practitioners, ofcourse we live longer."

It was at that moment that the cabin door opened, cutting short the verbal duel — and as before, Myrtle’s jaw nearly hit the deck when she saw Zuzia.

The Dragon Princess was there — getting a piggyback ride from the Phantom Blackwood. And the craziest part? It wasn’t him forcing her up there. Zuzia was the one clinging to his back, rubbing her cheek against him like a spoiled cat.

"Hehe..." Su Fei muttered with a victorious smirk. "Told you. Be careful — he’ll eat you too..." And with that, she vanished into the black mist in the ship.

Not only Myrtle but her guards were also shocked.

Myrtle stared after her for a moment, then turned to Zuzia. "Princess... If you don’t mind, can you tell us about Phantom Blackwood?"

Zuzia smiled lazily. "He’s family."

"Family," Myrtle repeated slowly, her eyes narrowing. "The kind of ’family’ that makes you cling like that?"

Ignoring her skepticism, Zuzia glanced toward the horizon. "We’re going to my nest," she announced.

Myrtle blinked. "Your... nest?"

"Yes," Zuzia said with complete seriousness. "And we’re going to mate there."

The words hit Myrtle like a physical blow. Her eyes went wide, her mouth opened, closed, then opened again. She turned to look at Tyler — the so-called "family" — and felt an unexpected surge of something hot and sour.

"You’re joking," Myrtle said finally, her voice thin.

"I never joke about mating," Zuzia replied calmly.

For a moment, Myrtle genuinely looked as though she might cry. Instead, she exhaled slowly, shooting Phantom Blackwood a resentful glare — one that carried more than a few unspoken curses — before finally muttering, "...Fine. If that’s what the princess wants."

Zuzia’s smile softened just slightly, as though pleased with the answer. Tyler, however, remained expressionless... though the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth might have been amusement. Or resignation.

And so, with the matter apparently decided, the crew began preparations to set course for the Dragon Princess’s nest.