In the livestream chat—
[Seele]: Heh, impressive. Just one look and Rift monsters drop dead on the spot.
[Sushang]: I'm curious—what does Miss Robin's singing actually sound like?
[Guinaifen]: Sushang, wanna go to Penacony together sometime?
[Qingque]: Count me in, count me in! Gotta broaden our horizons.
[Fu Xuan]: I think you just want an excuse to slack off.
[Trailblazer]: Heh, that's nothing… when I was born, a Doomsday Beast showed up just to celebrate.
[March 7th]: Celebrate? I almost died, okay?
[Pela]: I still say none of that compares to our Lynx.
[Sampo]: Exactly! If anyone messes with Lynx, forget Doomsday Beasts—even an Emanator's getting blown away.
Back in Belobog, Lynx grew more irritated the longer she watched.
Pela's strange glances didn't help either.
"…Maybe I should just hide out in the wilderness for a while."
This was way too embarrassing.
She honestly couldn't understand how her usually steady older brother had turned into this.
Was he like this all the time in the Silvermane Guards?
If he went around bragging like this every day…
That'd be social death on a planetary scale.
Decision made.
Once this game was over, she was definitely teaming up with Serval to deal with him properly.
Meanwhile, Robin wasn't feeling much better either.
All the other rooms were perfectly normal.
Even Kafka and Himeko were still maintaining a peaceful coexistence.
So why were these two turning the arena into a sibling-bragging contest?
"…I think I'll go to Penacony a bit later."
The Charmony Festival was approaching, and she'd originally planned to visit her brother early.
But after this performance… yeah, better not.
Time flowed on.
Because the arena's time passed differently from the outside world, the viewers only felt like they'd been watching for a short while—yet inside, the players had already endured quite some time.
"Dinner time."
Checking the clock, Valerius stood up and pushed out a small food cart, heading toward the cottages.
He stopped at Cottage No.1 and knocked.
"Who is it?"
Jean's surprised voice came from inside. Weren't they supposed to stay isolated for a hundred days? Why was someone knocking?
"It's probably Valerius, delivering food," Kuki Shinobu said after a moment's thought.
She opened the door—and sure enough, there he was with the cart.
"Dinner's here."
He rolled the cart inside.
"What are we eating today?" Kuki asked curiously. Everything was covered—she couldn't even smell it.
Valerius lifted the lid in one motion.
A sea of pale white.
"…Steamed buns?"
"That's right. Steamed buns."
Kuki took one and bit into it.
No flavor. None at all.
Her lips twitched.
You didn't even add sugar?
"Take only what you'll eat," Valerius said calmly. "No wasting food."
"…Got it."
Leaning casually to the side, Valerius watched Kuki and Jean chew their buns, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
It was only the first day.
The real fun hadn't even started yet.
He left the room and headed to Cottage No.2.
Same routine. Same buns.
This time, both Kafka and Himeko looked visibly pained.
Just as Valerius was about to leave, Kafka suddenly reached out and stopped him.
"…Don't tell me we're eating steamed buns every day from now on."
"Yes," he replied matter-of-factly.
The two women felt their hearts sink.
A hundred days of this?
Was this a game—or solitary confinement?
Even prison gave you time in the yard.
Valerius, unmoved by their expressions, wheeled the cart onward.
After delivering food to Lyney and Kamisato Ayato, he finally arrived at Cottage No.4.
Inside, the scene was… memorable.
The room was empty, so the two occupants sat on the floor with water cups beside them.
Clearly, all that bragging had left them thirsty.
After handing over the buns, Valerius turned to leave—then paused, as if remembering something.
"Oh, right," he said, looking back. "Lynx and Robin asked me to pass on a message."
Both men straightened instantly.
"What message?"
"They said—"
Valerius smiled.
"—that you two can enjoy your steamed buns. They're off eating something good."
"PFF—!"
Both of them froze solid, as if pierced by a thousand arrows.
Sister!
How could you do this?!
Didn't you see your brother throwing away all dignity for your sake—and this is how you repay him?!
[Sampo]: Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Learned something new today.
[Sparkle]: Love it. Adore it. Give me more.
[Lynx]: Mr. Valerius, when did I ever say something like that?!
[Robin]: Exactly! Our brothers are suffering—how could we possibly go eat good food on our own?
[Valerius]: Heh.
He snapped his fingers.
A new projection lit up beside everyone's screens.
Inside it—
Lynx was squatting by a campfire, happily sprinkling seasoning over skewers of roasting meat.
Robin had it even better: seated at a table, surrounded by beautifully plated dishes, with a bottle of obviously expensive grape wine at her side.
[Lynx]: ...…
[Robin]: ...…
[Keqing]: Looks like these sisters aren't very reliable either.
[Sparkle]: Hah!
[Trailblazer]: That food looks amazing—save me a spot.
[Paimon]: Me too!
[Lumine]: What do you mean by that? Is Fried Radish Balls not good enough for you anymore?
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