Xyrin Empire

The continuous days of sunny weather have completely dispelled the last bit of chill left by winter. Outdoors, you can already feel the rich warmth of spring. In this northern city where spring always arrives later than elsewhere, such weather only lasts for a few days each year. Thus, even those who most dislike going out, the homebodies, would be willing to step outside to bask in the sun and disinfect their nearly moldy backs.

Our gigantic house, halfway between a villa and a warehouse, was found with Lin Xue's help because the house where my sister and I lived was simply too small due to the abruptly increased population at home. And a certain Miss, who loves dismantling things, accidentally broke a super space core and almost had to sell herself into servitude (though considering her thick skin, this is probably an exaggeration). So, I casually snagged this house from her, and you know what, being Lin Family property, it's really in a good location. Reportedly, Mr. Lin initially intended it to serve as the fixed base for the superpower organization in this city, so it's conveniently located but not noisy. We can even build a small yard in front of the house without worrying about encroaching on public green spaces. That yard, completed last year, has become a sunbathing spot for a few lazy bones in the family who don't like to go out.

For example, Bubbles, and me, among others.

Considering there are several people at home who aren't fit to appear in front of ordinary folks, Sandora activated the yard's disguise system to ensure some aliens jumping around at the door wouldn't catch the attention of passersby, such as the Mercury Lamp currently snoozing on the courtyard wall.

It might be because she finally managed to win a match against Lilina; this gal was pumped and didn't sleep until midnight last night, so she's probably sleep-deprived now.

"Spring, ah… A year goes by so quickly."

I took a chair and sat at the yard's entrance, sighing leisurely. On the grass beside me, the Nine-tailed Fox Yakumo Lan, working hard to curl herself into a big golden fur ball, heard me and lifted her head, yawning comfortably after looking at the sun. Her fox ears twitched lightly, and she wrapped her tail around her head without moving anymore.

Really makes me want to pet it; her tail seems even smoother now after surviving the gel disaster. How about… touching it? She probably won't bite, right?

Idleness begets mischief. Normally, I'm not this bored, but today, I've rare time off and nothing to do in the morning, so I start daydreaming. The thing most grabbing my attention is, of course, this tame and easy-to-bully fox beside me.

As for why the fox is sunbathing here, the reason's a bit complicated. It's due to a certain sleep god: After a brief awakening, Yukari Yakumo announced she'd entered her spring lethargy phase, needing to catch up on a month's worth of sleep. As one of Fantasy Country's liaisons in Shadow City, her blatantly slack attitude obviously wouldn't do, especially since Ling Meng severely criticized her good friend for being lazy, evasive, and irresponsibly dumping all work onto her. So, the fox was thrown here by her unscrupulous master to carry out Yukari Yakumo's liaison work. The demons of Fantasy Country aren't quite the same as the Shadow City or Avalon residents; they're not considered vassal races but are given special Empire privileges due to relocation compensation, staying like foreign nationals next door to the President's Mansion—a complex and sensitive position. Though I think these generally rowdy folks won't cause trouble, rules are rules, requiring them to maintain constant contact with the Imperial High Level, ensuring that they are "perceived" to be strictly managed. Originally, Ling Meng and Yukari Yakumo took turns handling this job; now one's asleep and the other's lazy, so the honest and diligent Lan has become a full-time liaison officer, shuttling between Demon Town and the First Family. Today is her day to report on the demons' work condition.

Currently, the demons' work involves suppressing or treating "aliens" affected by lunar energy around the world. This job is nearing completion, as ghost energy radiation between Earth and Moon has dropped to a safe threshold, and many strong-willed superpower users and native demons have regained self-control, turning to help suppress those around them. The pressure on Boundless Love has naturally lessened greatly, to the point where, with the superpower team fully recovered, I've considered ending Boundless Love's mission early.

However, this plan was jointly vetoed by Miss Lin and Qianqian.

Without any troublesome "aliens," the Fantasy Country demons have fully entered a state of indulgence and relaxation. Before Boundless Love formally announces the end of their mission, they're practically on a public-funded tour, this inexperienced bunch almost making a spectacle out of world travel, especially led by characters like Cui Xiang and Moriya who fear the world will not be chaotic enough, causing who knows what level of craziness day-to-day. Anyway, postcards and trinkets sent from all over the world keep arriving at my place because the demons in the Outer World know only my home address.

Until today, the database extracted from Mars is at the final stage of deciphering, and the world's superpower user's unrest has mostly been suppressed—truly can be described as suppression. Although I wasn't directly involved, it's said that some restless alien organizations did question and aggressively resist Boundless Love's actions, so in certain parts of the world, suppression evolved into subjugation, executed by Miss Lin under the name of the superpower team. But in the Dark World, everyone knows Boundless Love and China's superpower team's relationship is unclear. Moreover, only Boundless Love remained unaffected amidst this global event, whereas the superpower team's high-level officials fell one after another. Hence, the real situation of "subjugation" is actually self-evident—in short, everything's going so smoothly it's making me sleepy, hence granting me this rare day off.

A breeze blew, carrying a slight chill, gently stirring the fur on Lan's tail. I glanced around before letting out a mischievous chuckle and reached out to grab the fox's tail.

Often, I'd see Cheng Miao rolling around in this fluffy mass; the texture's indeed nice.

I stroked the giant fluff ball on the ground along the direction of its fur, but there wasn't any evil intention; it just felt fun, like grooming a pet cat or dog at home. Although this cat was a bit bigger, Lan really did resemble a cat when she was quiet, especially now, lying on the lawn by the house, hugging her tail and dozing off in the sunlight—it was just too amusing.

What's even more amusing is that she seems quite slow-witted; I tugged her tail twice, and this creature showed no sign of waking up!

"Hey, boss, you're teasing a fox spirit."

A cheeky voice suddenly came from behind at this moment, causing my movements to freeze instantly.

Turning my head, sure enough, Lilina was standing less than three meters behind me with a look of "I know the truth" on her face, her gaze naturally focused on the tail of the Nine-tailed Fox.

"Boss, you really have varied interests, finally awakened a strange hobby for non-human girls?"

The Fake Lolita Priestess, whose mouth was never tactful, came over with a grin that was more fox-like than the fox beside my feet. I knew she was ready to take this chance to demand some benefits. So, pondering for a moment, I hesitated, "Do you think I should kill you to silence you?"

"Oh dear!" Lilina nearly fell over, then looked over here with a particularly resentful expression, "So, my position with you is one where I can be killed to be silenced at any time?"

I said nothing, bending down to take off my shoe.

"Ah, don't hit! It was just a joke…" Lilina hugged her head and crouched on the ground. Only after confirming no shoes flew over did she slowly get up, "Who's unaware of your nature, slow as anything, someone who would never cross the line in this lifetime."

Then we both squatted there together to study the color of Yukari Yakumo's fur.

The fox slept carelessly, completely oblivious that her tail had become someone else's toy. She held one of her tails while using others as a cover over herself, looking like a massive ball of fur, with even her head buried beneath the fluff, only a pair of pointed ears sticking out. If you got close, you could hear the even, slow purring sound—this was my first time knowing a Nine-tailed Fox snores when sleeping.

Lilina, being full of mischievousness, couldn't resist the itch in her hands even this time. After confirming the fox was in a deep sleep, she took a small pair of scissors from her pocket, planning to cut a string of little figures holding hands on the fox's tail. If I weren't here, she probably would have really done it.

I sternly reminded Lilina not to bully the fox while she wasn't looking, getting a similarly serious verbal promise from the little girl afterward. I moved my small stool to a spot in the yard with the best sunlight, concentrated my spiritual power, and bright lights scattered before a holy and pure figure stumbled out from the air.

"Alaya, it's time to get up and bask in the sun."

The Angel Sister had been sleeping for nearly fifteen hours and had just woken up. I felt she had been too bored lately, so I shook her out to enjoy the sun. Alaya has always been the least noticeable among us, spending most of the day sleeping, and when she's not asleep, she's babysitting in my Spirit Sea. Even handling those reports from the Raven Corps at Shadow City, she completes them in the Spirit World. So sometimes, besides me, everyone else might even forget about this scatterbrain's existence, and when there's no other way, I have to forcibly drag her out to enjoy the sun.

Even though it was nine thirty in the morning, Alaya still persistently mumbled "Good morning" to me, then looked up at the clear sky and warm sun. The Angel Sister immediately beamed with a happy smile, opened her three-meter wings with a swish, sat on the ground, placed one wing on my knee, and handed over a small bottle: "Lord Brother, give me a hand."

As soon as I saw the label on the little bottle, I was dumbfounded: Feather Care Essence.

Does Alaya really use this weird stuff to rub on her wings?

My angel sister, in her soft voice, instructed me on how to use this slightly osmanthus-scented essence to care for her wings. I followed her directions with a curious feeling, spraying the translucent liquid onto a brush, brushing along the direction of her feathers, just like when I usually groom Alaya's feathers. The sun, the grass, the white angel kneeling on the grass, and me sitting on a stool brushing the angel with a shoe brush…

I suddenly felt that something in that scene was actually unnecessary…

Anyway, peaceful days are truly nice.

Alaya has many habits that are unique to her, such as, when someone is grooming her feathers, she suddenly raises her other wing straight up and then leisurely puts it down. At first, this always startled me, but later I learned that this is how she stretches—can you imagine what an angel stretching looks like if you haven't seen it yourself?

It's just like setting sail…

While I was grooming Alaya's feathers, I heard light footsteps behind me, followed by Bingdisi's surprised voice: "Wow, sunning your wings—your feathers have a nice sheen, how do you usually care for them?"

I turned my head and saw the Rogue Goddess curiously bending down to stroke Alaya's smooth wings. The sight of a pair of at least D to E-sized peaks almost made me forget how to breathe, and I awkwardly turned my head away: "Don't move around, I'm brushing her feathers right now."

"Brushing feathers? No wonder the feathers look so good," Bingdisi said, casting a curious glance at the brush and essence in my hands. She leisurely sat down on the other side, and with a swish, unfurled her own black wings, "You're just sitting there idly, why not give me a scratch. Wait, Alaya, try this, everyone in the Divine Realm uses this for feather care. I think it's pretty good."

The always calm angel sister suddenly brightened up, looking expectantly at the black crystal bottle Bingdisi took out from her pocket, then tugged at my sleeve: "Lord Brother, let me try this one!"

I didn't know how to describe my feelings at that moment, but they were filled with various subtle senses of discord. Looking at the black crystal bottle in my hand, I certainly didn't doubt it was treasure: anything from the Divine Realm, even if it were a brick, would have a divine artifact suffix, let alone something that looks so exquisitely packaged, exclusive for nobles.

"Isn't this color-specific?"

I shook the bottle in my hand and asked, my gaze landing on Bingdisi's wings behind her. So beautiful, like draping the pure black of night over her shoulders. The only issue is, it's black, while Alaya's feathers are white.

Bingdisi only threw me a look as if I were an idiot upon hearing my question: "Color-specific? You think this is shoe polish?"

Me: "…"

Bingdisi ignored me and started chatting with Alaya about topics only they could discuss: "Girl, you must remember, as bird people, we must know how to protect our most precious wings. Otherwise, you'll suffer. Wings aren't just organs for movement, in this hectic era, they're your second face. Dry, discolored, and messy feathers not only affect your mood but also give off a sloppy impression, making it hard to find a partner. I see your wings are in pretty good shape, just not very well adorned. Next time I go to the Divine Realm, I'll introduce you to a place that does ionic perms, we'll get some cloud patterns and waves under your wings… Your Lord Brother is nice, but he could definitely improve in terms of taking care of girls…"

Me: "…"

The two bird people were chatting away about feather maintenance, and even extended the topic to lifelong matters. I couldn't get a word in edgewise, so I silently and miserably applied oil to these two talented girls. You tell me, isn't this a rare occurrence? I bet anyone else would be equally speechless.

But this was just the beginning. I had just finished attending to these two bird people, letting them sun themselves on the grass, when I heard the sound of wings flapping behind me. Before I could turn around, a small figure was already sitting on my shoulder: it was Mercury Lamp, who had been dozing on the wall and was now awake.

Bingdisi and Alaya both propped themselves up and looked at Mercury Lamp, who was slowly retracting her black wings, and said in unison:

"Do you know the four methods of waxing wings?"

The little doll looked at the two bird people sunning their wings on the ground in confusion, before finally fixing her gaze on Bingdisi's back. Her eyes slowly lit up, and with a "plop," she jumped to the ground and reached out to grope the Rogue Goddess's feathers: "They're much bigger than mine."

"Jealous, aren't you?" Bingdisi arrogantly lifted her face, "Then eat more spicy chicken wings, eating those can grow wings… Also, make good use of your dad, he's a guy who likes handling other people's wings externally, let him brush your feathers when he's grooming Alaya's, it feels great—this bottle of essence is for you, it can protect against hundreds of harmful radiations."

Bingdisi had quite a quirky way of chatting, saying whatever came to mind without reservation. Before I could even retort to her saying "external control," Mercury Lamp awkwardly floated over: "Dummy, you really can groom feathers, right?"

Me: "…"

It seems like this girl didn't object to others calling me her dad just now?

A few minutes later, there was another little doll lying on the ground, sunning wings.

But this was only the beginning. Soon after, Monina returned from grocery shopping and, seeing the two large and one small pair of wings neatly arranged on the grass, also became envious, joining in as the fourth in the wing-sunning line.

The fifth and sixth were Yelsen and Uncle Kenser, but Bingdisi used the excuse of "no men allowed in the ladies' area" to drive these two guys elsewhere. Due to limited space in the yard, these two ended up hanging off the wall on my suggestion, one on each side like door gods. I didn't even know how the situation escalated to this point, but by the time I realized it, the house and yard were filled with bird people… angels… or just winged beings in general, sunning their wings. Even Lin showed a little hunting spirit, wanting to sun her scales, but I had to hold her back with all my might. This silly Dragon God girl had too much power; how could her hundreds-of-meters-long body fit in the yard?

Having an entire houseful of winged beings collectively sunning their wings in the yard is quite a spectacle. Not only was I awestruck, but even Qianqian became curious and wanted to sun something. Unfortunately, she didn't have wings. After some serious thought, she ended up bringing out all the quilts from the house…

Today is so peaceful… (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)