Before she reached the camp, Yue Liuyi spotted a figure sprinting from afar, like a deer cutting through tall grass.

Brown hair, a deep umber robe, an emerald staff—earth and leaf made flesh; it was the wood mage, Emily.

“Lady Dixue! Someone’s looking for you… huh!? What is that!?”

Emily’s eyes widened, startled; before her, Yue Liuyi’s doll floated between the trees, like a pale lantern among leaves. Cute, yes, but without context it felt eerie.

“Ah! Emily, it’s me—Fengyi! For now, I’m possessing a doll for… reasons.”

Yue Liuyi flexed the body-pillow frame, swaying between trunks in greeting, like a windchime in shade.

“Eh? Lady Fengyi? Then… Lady Dixue asked for that little cart for Lady Fengyi? Wow! If I’d known, I should’ve made the cart more carefully.”

Emily clutched her head, feathers-ruffled like a sparrow caught in rain.

“It’s fine. It’s comfy as is.”

“Nope, I’ve gotta refit it! If it’s for Lady Fengyi, it should be—”

Emily fell into thought, gears turning like windmills, plotting tweaks to make the blue-haired girl more comfortable.

“That’s not urgent… Right! Emily, you looked rushed—did something happen?”

“Oh, this!” The brown-haired girl clapped, quick as a sparrow’s peck. “A very pretty elf lady just arrived at the camp. She said she had business with Lady Dixue. But Lady Dixue and Lady Fengyi weren’t here, so she’s waiting.”

“An elf lady? Did she give her name?”

Dixue smoothed a strand of hair, thoughts pooling like ripples, weighing who would come now.

“Mm… she didn’t. But she’s a big-sis type with yellow-green hair, and…”

Emily blinked; her brown eyes drifted to Yue Liuyi’s chest, a blush rising like dawn. “And her chest is huge, bigger than Fengyi’s…”

“Eh!?”

“Oh, that’s Qiu Ruyi! If she came herself… that means the commission’s done!”

“LittleSnow?”

“Little Moon, come with me. She’s our friend among the elves.”

…

The adventurers’ camp buzzed as always, a hive under sun and smoke. Wood dust rose like morning mist.

Besides warehouses, bunks, and the kitchen, they were tackling trickier rooms now: an alchemy lab, a smelting room, a parlor. The visiting elf girl took the parlor for now, waiting for Dixue’s return.

“LittleSnow, who’s Qiu Ruyi?”

“She’s the branch head of the Rangers Lodge in the Elven Capital. I visited her a few days ago and commissioned a few things.”

“Was that when you brought back the little dresses?”

“Mm. The commissions should’ve progressed. For her to come in person, the harvest must be heavy.”

“Eh? What did you ask for?”

“The identity of the white-robed people. And intel on the third-party force in the Elven Forest. Before we launch the final rescue, we must clear all interference.”

“I get it! Later… do I still need to pretend to be a body pillow?”

“No need. Little Moon, move freely.”

…

They pushed the parlor door open. An elf girl lounged on a wooden chair, boredom pooling like still water.

“W-woah… that’s big!”

First, Yue Liuyi’s gaze crashed into the girl’s astonishing bust—two pale, soft moons straining her elven bodice, tugging eyes like tide to the shore.

Next came her light-green hair—a shade lovely even among elves. Long strands spilled over the wooden armrest, unarranged yet untouched by chaos, the kind of effortless beauty that feels like wind over grass.

She was tall, taller even than Dixue in heels. From the emerald hem showed white, strong thighs, like marble pillars beneath silk.

Around her swirled two opposing airs: a wordless maturity and a lazy disdain for the world. They braided together like smoke and wine, impossibly pleasing.

“Oh… Dixue, is it? You made me wait a long time. Now, you’ve gotta keep me company for a drink; that’s non-negotiable.”

The green-haired girl wagged a finger, and even with Dixue stepping in, she didn’t rise—she stayed draped over the chair like a cat in sun.

“I don’t have wine on me. But as promised, let me show you my new Little Moon.”

“Huh…? Where? This body pillow!?”

She looked at Yue Liuyi, and that lazy gaze finally flickered with a hint of surprise, like wind rippling a pond.

“Hello. I’m Yue Liuyi, Dixue’s collaborator. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Senior Qiu Ruyi.”

Making introductions cute and lively was Yue Liuyi’s inherited art; even inside a doll, she didn’t drop the charm, like bells and petals in spring.

“Wh-what is this… Has the Inner Ring Civilization already produced AI this adorable?”

“It’s not AI. It’s spirit-binding. My Little Moon’s attached to a doll for now for certain reasons. Of course, the original Yue Liuyi is even cuter.”

“Ah… that makes sense.”

Her face smoothed again, yet Qiu Ruyi kept her gaze on the doll, speaking slow as falling snow. “A fine collaborator. I’ve dug up the intel. As you guessed, those white-robes are from the Inner Ring Civilization—an outlaw group called Crimson Paradise.”

“Crimson Paradise? I haven’t heard of them.”

“They’re new. It’s normal you haven’t. They arrived in the New Land just a month ago, and their reach has grown like fire in dry grass.”

“So why come to the New Land? What do they gain by stoking war between elves and humans?”

“Mm… on that point, you need to be careful, Dixue.”

Qiu Ruyi rolled her body, shifted, and kept lying there; her gaze gained a playful edge, like a cat with a string. “From what I gather, their aim is simple…”

“What is it?”

“To gather every beautiful, adorable girl under heaven into a harem.”

“Huh!?”

Her words froze both Dixue and Yue Liuyi, like frost on glass.

“Of course, cute and handsome boys too. Their leader is a woman called the Crimson Baroness. Her background’s unknown, but she’s extremely seductive and very skilled. Rumor says she uses special means to break resisters, who end up joining Crimson Paradise.”

“Ugh… a person like that…”

“So many among Crimson Paradise were once her opponents. Now they serve her willingly. Some… were even police.”

“So scary!”

Yue Liuyi recalled little tales she’d heard with similar twists. But seeing it bleed into reality felt unreal, like ink spilling into clear water.

“Hehe… Dixue, your collaborator’s already spooked. What about you?”

“As the chair of the Rangers Lodge, I won’t bow to lust of the flesh!”

“LittleSnow, that’s a big fat flag you’re raising!”

Silver-haired Dixue smiled, her green eyes clear as a mountain lake. “This Crimson Baroness? She’s miles behind my Little Moon. If she wants me in a harem, she’d need Little Moon’s level of sweet clueless charm. Flashy seduction alone won’t cut it.”

“Don’t just tease me out of nowhere! I’m not clueless-cute!”

“Heh-heh~”

“Then I’m relieved…” Watching them joke so lightly, Qiu Ruyi nodded, eyes narrowing like a cat’s. “Next, I’ll lay out everything.”

“We’re all ears.”

In the mature, languid voice of the seductive girl, the facts about Crimson Paradise unfolded piece by piece, like scrolls unrolled across a table.

Crimson Paradise revolves around one core—the Crimson Baroness. Every department exists to serve her.

It’s said she’s stunning, with succubus blood. The succubus race excels at seduction; male or female, they’re dangerously alluring, a magnet to the opposite sex.

It’s said she wields mind-bending intent. She can probe a target’s weakness, then conjure what they crave or fear most, trapping them in unspeakable dreams.

Many outlaws came chasing her legend. Stunned by her craft, they joined her ranks willingly.

Thus Crimson Paradise swelled in recent days. Counting servants and menials, they number over three hundred now.

As for combat units like those white-robed robots, they have over a thousand.

This is no small outlaw force. Not to mention her harem retainers—thirty-two in total. Each is beautiful, and at least elite-tier in power.

That’s on par with a Special Envoy Ranger. Worse, six of them have reached master-tier—each capable of holding a front alone.

As for the Crimson Baroness who commands them, her strength’s unknown, but conservatively, she’s a master.

With at least seven masters and over thirty elites, this outlaw group can’t match the Elven Kingdom’s size, but it rivals a minor power in the New Land.

The Inner Ring Civilization noticed their strength and organized a purge once. But a sudden war broke out, and the operation was aborted.

Outsiders like Dragon Heaven and the Sacred Radiance Empire had to face the Elven Kingdom’s threat, and they shelved dealing with such outlaws.

“So that’s it! Under the smoke screen of war, the direct beneficiary is Crimson Paradise!”

“Eh? You mean… Crimson Paradise stirred things in the dark to spark the war?”

“Mm. Didn’t Master Gray say the joint counter-terror action was blocked? If it had gone ahead, Crimson Paradise would’ve been in danger. So they fanned hostility on both sides.”

“I see…”

“But Little Moon… I doubt their plan is that simple. With all these moves, the Crimson Baroness must want something more.”

“Something more?”

“The Elven Queen.”

“Th-the Elven Queen?”

“Tisinate is a great beauty, you know? Only a little behind your sister Dixue. If the Crimson Baroness is truly that kind of person, there’s no way she won’t meddle.”

“Ugh… if so! Then this was planned. Maybe… Ailuna was taken by them too, to pressure the Elven Queen!”

“Mm, that’s possible. So we must prepare. Ruyi, what’s the stance of the Elven Parliament?”

“The councilors haven’t grasped Crimson Paradise’s danger. Their focus is on the war with the Sacred Radiance Alliance… a bunch of old stubborns.”

“Then we’ll make them understand how dangerous Crimson Paradise is.”

“Oh-ho? What do you plan, Dixue?”

“Draw the snake from its hole. Force Crimson Paradise to strike early.”

“Good proposal. What’s the method?”

“The Ice-and-Snow Maiden—Yedie Snow, branch head of the Rangers Lodge—should be bait enough, right?”