“I’m sorry the folk of Moonhundred City left a chill on you, Lord Yumigawa.”

Colton bowed deep, apology clouding his face like winter fog. “It’s an honor that you’d spend time on such a small matter to visit this humble hall.”

His tone turned hard as ice. “General Getuya, lead the army at once and drive every young noble back home. Until Lord Yumigawa’s party departs, no one takes a single step outside. Violate it, and they die.”

“By your command, Your Majesty!” His voice rang like steel on stone.

Getuya took the imperial order, bowed to us, and strode from the palace, boots thudding like distant drums. No wonder he wears a crown; looks like we picked the right man.

“If you don’t mind, please sit a while. I’ll have the finest dishes prepared.” His promise drifted warm, like steam rising through frost.

Once Getuya left, Colton’s hard mask thawed into respectful warmth. He urged us to stay like a host with lantern held high.

“Food?!” Lanxia’s eyes lit like twin stars. “This dragon happens to be hungry, Yumigawa. Let’s linger a bit!”

She said it while shaking my hand, wheedling like a kitten tugging silk. Hard to refuse that.

“Lingxiao, Lingsaki, Lixue—why not stay for a bite and tour the Ice Rock imperial palace?” The thought moved like a glide over glassy ice.

“No problem. As long as I’m with dear brother, anywhere is fine,” she said, following like a warm lantern in snow.

“Mm. I’ll follow whatever brother decides.” Her voice was soft as snow obeying wind.

“Where the Emperor goes, I go.” A pledge like shadow to flame.

Looks like the three had no objections to my call; the mood lay calm as a still lake.

“Nalu, you?” My voice rang like a quiet bell.

“Same as Miss Lixue and the others. I’ll listen to Yumigawa.” Her certainty bent like a reed in the current.

“Alright.” The word fell like a pebble into clear water.

Colton moved fast. While we spoke, he’d already set dishes and a welcome in motion, servants scattering like swallows. He turned back with bright courtesy. “Since you’re interested in this humble hall, allow me to lead the way.”

“Then we’ll trouble you.” Our smile was a spring thaw.

“No trouble at all. Serving you is my greatest honor!” His words bowed like a willow in a breeze.

We followed Colton, strolling the Ice Rock palace, corridors gleaming like frozen rivers under pale light. Not as grand as the Eastern Moon Empire’s Proud Moon Palace, but its craft was fine as frost lace.

“The Mizumi Clan’s might is beyond what I imagined,” Nalu murmured, awe like moon-shadow stretching long. “Their name alone makes the Ice Rock Emperor bow.”

“You bet.” Lanxia squared her chest, proud as a high banner in wind. “When this dragon was little, parents and elders poured every tale of the Mizumi Clan into me, carving it in bone. They taught that befriending them mattered most to all Dragon Kin.”

“I doubt any race wants to cross the Mizumi Clan,” Lixue quipped, tone testing a blade against a mountain.

“True. Except that foolhardy Dark Demon,” Lanxia said, disdain flicking like a fan. “No other force dares oppose them.”

Lanxia nodded, then remembered, a cat-sly smile curling. “Speaking of the Dark Demon—they recently injured the Dragon God’s precious daughter. His Majesty the Dragon God rose like a storm and ordered every Dark Magic Guild branch in the Dragon Realm wiped out. He warned the Divine race that had been in bed with them. I bet they won’t keep partnering up.”

“I’ve heard a little of this Dark Demon,” Nalu mused, thoughts gliding like dusk over water. “They claim they’re second only to the Mizumi Clan, boasting they’ll topple you. But for centuries they’ve done nothing big. They’ve become a joke. Still, their strength should be formidable, a blade left too long in its sheath.”

“Hmph. Mere Dark Demon, daring to oppose the Mizumi Clan,” Lingxiao said, contempt sharp as frost, “a flea barking at thunder.”

“Just a circus clown,” Lingsaki added, scorn capering like a stray monkey.

“You’re right,” Colton said, agreement ringing like iron on a bell. “That Dark Magic Guild doesn’t even look at what it is, yet dares shout they’ll topple the Mizumi Clan. We humans hold our place in this world because of the Mizumi Clan. Calling them the hope of humanity isn’t exaggeration. And their guildmaster is human—what a disgrace to our kind.”

“A thousand years ago, if Yugou Sage hadn’t ended the war, and later if the Mizumi Clan hadn’t steadied the peace,” he went on, indignation kindling like fire in dry grass, “humans would’ve grown weaker year by year. How would that Dark Demon leader have the gall to shout? Survival itself would be in doubt. The Guild’s full of ungrateful idlers, crows cawing at dawn.”

The more Colton spoke, the more his anger burned bright; we felt a bit embarrassed, heat like sunset on our faces. Those were Xinuo and the ancestors’ merits, not us juniors—Lingxiao, Lingsaki, or me.

“You’re giving too much credit...” My voice drifted soft as a snowflake.

“No!” Colton cut me off, words flashing like a blade. “The Mizumi Clan’s existence is a blessing to all humans. No doubt.”

“Let’s not let Dark Demon spoil the mood,” Lixue said, laying the topic down like a heavy cloak. “Let’s finish our tour.”

“You’re right. Sorry, I got carried away.” His breath eased like wind over ice.

Meanwhile, in Moonhundred City’s central district, streets stretched like a river of stone. Getuya led several thousand soldiers, driving the loafing young nobles off the roads, iron boots rolling like a tide.

Force breeds pushback; soon, a well-backed noble heir sprang out, temper snapping like a whip. He pointed at Getuya and barked, “Getuya, don’t think that as general of the Empire’s 20th Legion you can run wild! My father holds the Empire’s treasury. If you don’t explain, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

“Yeah! You’re just a 20th Legion general. By what right?” Voices buzzed like hornets before rain.

“Give us a reason we can accept, or we won’t let you off!” Threats sparked like flint.

With one out front, the rest chorused, reeds rustling in a stiff wind.

“Shut it, all of you!” Getuya’s shout cracked like ice across a lake.

He raised the order he’d received from Colton, decree gleaming like a drawn blade. He’d been told to kill violators, but he allowed for ignorance, keeping steel sheathed.

“Today, the Ice Rock Empire welcomed guests of rare weight,” he said, words falling like hail. “Your idle antics displeased them. His Majesty ordered me to drive you brats home. Until they leave, you don’t step out.”

“What kind of guests make His Majesty this tense?” Curiosity flared like torches in a tunnel.

“Even if Emperor Beserlot came, it wouldn’t be like this, right?” A name dropped heavy as a mountain.

“And we upset them? When did that happen?” Faces turned blank as fresh snow.

Pampered as they were, they weren’t fools; guests who make an emperor tense are thunder beyond the hills—not to be trifled with.

“Don’t play dumb,” Getuya snapped. “Those lords wanted to stroll Moonhundred City, and you kept pestering them. Lucky they’re kind. Otherwise, wiping Moonhundred City—or the whole Ice Rock Empire—would take minutes.” His memory left him cold, a draft through armor.

Thankfully, Yumigawa Sumeragi and his group were easygoing, rain-soft rather than arrogant.

“Wait. You don’t mean...” Realization cracked like lightning.

Getuya’s words sparked memories. Lingxiao, Lingsaki, and Lixue were too stunning—faces like moonlit snow and peonies in bloom. One glance, and forgetting was impossible. Easily the most beautiful women these heirs had ever seen in their lives.