Chattering and giggling, the three of them happily set off towards the other end of the Qi Qiao Market. Although they had traveled around the world before, they didn't know much about the Eastern Continent, particularly Aya. After a round of browsing, they came across many new and interesting things.

"Candied hawthorn sticks--oh, Miss, here are the two sticks of candied hawthorn you ordered." Aya took the two sticks of candied hawthorn from the vendor carrying a target made of grass and turned around to look for the two people. "Hey, where are you guys? You lost the candied hawthorn again?!"

From then on, they kept repeating the cycle of buying things, searching for people, and introducing the two inexperienced youngsters. It was almost enough to exhaust Aya, who played the role of both a father and a mother.

"Aya, what's this?"

"A bamboo dragon water wheel, used for drawing water. It's the Eastern Continent people's ingenious creation."

"Mom, what about this?"

"A spinning top and a diabolo, toys."

"Aya, what about this?"

"A slingshot, used for shooting birds... Oh, it could also be used to shoot pigs with birds."

Let me emphasize once again, Aya really didn't know anything about the Eastern Continent. Must you ask one question after another and tire me out?!

"Aya, over there..."

"The Blood Cross and the Fang of Judgment, the FFF Alliance, used for burning lovers... What the hell?"

As soon as Aya lifted her eyes, a commotion suddenly erupted on the street. A group of people carrying torches and holding a flag with the words "Burn the heterosexual" rushed into the scene aggressively. There were easily hundreds of them, and they scattered countless couples in the crowd.

Many single dogs who were originally lazing around with a bored face suddenly lit up when they saw this. They casually grabbed a piece of black cloth to be used as a makeshift booth and enthusiastically shouted, "We pledge to follow the Blood Covenant's guidance" as they joined the crowd.

These people joined together like countless small streams merging into a river, rapidly increasing in numbers. In less than a hundred meters of charge, their numbers doubled. Wherever they went, chaos ensued, and no couple was left unscathed.

"The Heresy Inquisition? They exist here too?" Aya recalled the time when the group of idiots burned people under the Ferris wheel in the capital city. She couldn't help but smirk. Moreover, the scale was more than twice as big as before. They were aiming for the sky.

"I sense pure and fervent faith, but unfortunately, it's not towards our Goddess Majesty... Infidels, perhaps?" Little Angel raised her head warily.

"The faith of those guys? Burning people? It's more like the grievances of the single dogs," Aya said regretfully, then suddenly slapped her forehead. "Wait a minute! Hey! They're all coming this way, shouldn't we retreat first?!"

Unfortunately, the crowd surged forward, and their only escape route was blocked. Although their group didn't seem to be the target of attack, seeing the black wave coming towards them made them feel a bit anxious. Who knew if these hot-headed members would attack indiscriminately? Little Angel's eyes, which had transformed from their usual disguise into pure gold, displayed no concealment as she prepared to defend herself.

"Halt!"

When they reached Aya, the leader, who wore a mask with a crimson letter F, calmly raised his hand to stop the restless members behind him. The whole team immediately stopped as if they were the most elite army, obediently following orders and coming to a halt.

Gazing at Aya and the others for a few seconds, the eerie look in their eyes made Aya's scalp tingle. Unexpectedly, the person lowered his head and extended a hand towards Aya, like a naive young boy, eyes closed and shouting, "Miss, I like you! Can you tell me your contact information?"

Hmm, he seems to be around fourteen or fifteen years old based on his voice, but his emotional intelligence and IQ are both lacking... It serves you right for being single!

"Traitor!" "He betrayed the organization!" "Burn him!" "Get rid of him!"

Before Aya could react, the captain in front of her was already overwhelmed by a surge of anger. Four or five of his former subordinates hastily tied him up with coarse hemp ropes, turning him into a rice dumpling. Then, a group of people took turns lifting him above their heads and carried him towards the makeshift stake they carried with them. Along the way, the captain struggled like a caterpillar, but he couldn't resist the crowd's determination to set him on fire.

Fortunately, at this moment, even though the efficiency of the garrison was low, they finally reacted. Three or four soldiers, who were originally responsible for maintaining order at the venue, entered from various entrances and charged towards the FFF Corps that had paused. The officer with a large beard at the front of the group ran while angrily shouting:

"Where do these troublemakers come from? Arrest them all!"

Phew, finally someone to take charge. Aya breathed a sigh of relief. Even though these guys were strict and disciplined, they were facing organized garrison troops. There was no way they could resist the torches and petrol in their hands...

"Hold on, everyone! Among you, there should also be comrades who have sworn to the Blood Pledge, right? On this special day, we should stand together united against outsiders, right?"

Suddenly, the captain, who had already been tied to the stake, shouted... Wait, you're not dead yet! And are you trying to defect the kingdom's army? You're reaching for the sky, my friend!

Unexpectedly, it worked. Many of the garrison soldiers, who had previously pounced on the FFF Corps, immediately stopped in their tracks.

"Right? Right? Just think about those damn normies who show affection in front of you every day! They can even get the second cup of milk tea at half price, while people like us can only silently drink two cups and be humiliated as fat otakus. Aren't you angry? Don't you want them to kneel before you in repentance?"

"Stop talking nonsense! What my wife and I do is none of your business, damn it!" The officer with the beard waved his hand. "Get them all!"

But this time, no one responded to him.

"What? What are you all waiting for? Hey, what are you planning to do?"

"See? This is the repulsive face of the normies! Brothers, today is the time to pass judgment on them!"

The captain, still bound to the stake, hopped into the crowd and kicked off with a final blow: "Burn heterosexuals to death!"

"Oh oh oh oh! Burn heterosexuals to death!"

This Qixi Festival was destined to be recorded in history, remembered by all future members of the great FFF Corps.

...

"This is simply insane..."

As Aya pulled her daughter and little Angel away from the chaotic scene that was beyond repair, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, disgruntled, "Let's call it a day for now. It's about time to go back, right?"

"But the fireworks..."

Little Angel widened her eyes and looked at Aya, her gaze filled with a pleading meaning.

Hey, don't try to act cute with me! I'm telling you, I've seen through that trick of yours, Chirp. It won't work on me anymore!

"Mommy..."

Chirp, stop trying to join in. It hasn't been long since the venue turned into this chaos. Who knows what might happen if we wait a little longer!

"...Then, let's stay a bit longer and watch the fireworks before going back, okay?"

"Hooray!"

The two little ones spontaneously high-fived, as if they were in cahoots from the beginning.

Aya could only sigh helplessly. "Let's move further away from that place, I remember there was a small pavilion near where we bought the pumpkin cakes. The view should be nice from there. Let's go... Huh?"

A familiar figure suddenly appeared in Aya's field of vision. Although it was only for a moment, Aya would never mistake that silhouette and bright hair color of Aya's maid, Mimi.

"Mimi? Why are you here?" Aya wondered. She had even offered to take Chirp along when she invited Mimi earlier. It was a condition that Mimi could hardly refuse, but the maid chief still refused.

Could it be that the maid chief was actually a hypocrite? Saying no but secretly following along? Was she actually tsundere?

An opportunity! Aya's eyes lit up. Wasn't this a perfect chance? She could finally make fun of her after being bullied all the time.

"Chirp, Lael, wait for me here. If you want anything, you can go buy it yourself. I'll be right back." Aya instructed, leaving behind a few coins before following Mimi's disappearing figure into the alley.

"Huh? Wait a minute, sempai!" "Chirp?"

...

While running, Aya imagined the frustrated expression Mimi would have after being made fun of. She was even grinning so much that her mouth almost reached her ears.

But this path seemed a bit familiar... Huh? Isn't this place...

Aya recognized the destination this path led to.

"Ah, I'm here, Mimi-chan! Sorry for the wait!" A lazy male voice came from around the corner. Based on the voice... Roger? The supplier and artist from Tiran?

Suddenly, Aya realized that things might not be exactly as she had imagined.

"What I wanted was..."

After a moment of silence, Mimi spoke, but her voice sounded different from usual. How should she put it? It seemed a bit less confident and more like a shy little girl.

No way! How could such a voice come out of the maid chief's mouth!

Aya doubted whether she had misheard and held her breath, crouching at a corner to listen.

"Hehe, don't you trust me to handle things, Mimi-chan?"

"It's precisely because it's you that I don't trust..." This opinion was surprisingly similar to Aya's.

"I'm here. There are three dosages in total. As long as you take one, you'll... in the end..."

Roger lowered his voice afterwards, and even Aya couldn't hear clearly without using magic. But by the time she was ready to enhance her hearing, the transaction had already been completed, and the sound of Mimi's footsteps gradually faded away.

What kind of potion did she buy? Aya speculated based on what she heard.

First of all, doing things so secretly, it could definitely not be something good. So the next thing to determine is the target...

With Mimi's loyalty, Tiran could be the first one to be excluded. As for the remaining options, it couldn't be the ordinary maids in the castle, and Justice was a colleague, so Mimi didn't have any grudges with him...

Fine, what kind of ghostly speculation is this! It must be something she bought to harm herself!

Aya started to panic. Yes, it must be because she had been too close to Tiran that she finally drove Mimi crazy. But she couldn't defeat her head-on now. She had to find out her exact plan before that!

Spreading her dragon wings, Aya leaped towards the castle.