7, Extra: The Gathering at the Elven Royal Palace (7–8)

Though called a maiden, by the World Tree Maiden’s years Yue Liuyi was but an infant; letting liquor coil around her like night vines was out of the question.

So the blue‑haired girl only took a light sip, the flower‑dew sweetness blooming on her lips like a small spring; Miss Charlotte’s heart‑stirring brew really was on another level.

“Wow! It’s so good! Is it really okay for me to drink?”

“Mm. Hearing praise from the World Tree Maiden is my honor, like wind chimes ringing.”

“Heh‑heh...” Her laugh fluttered like a shy sparrow.

Under Miss Charlotte’s gentle gaze, Yue Liuyi smiled, bashful as a young fawn under moonlight.

They say boys should be hardened and girls cherished; Yue Liuyi had known scarcity most her life, and strangers’ kindness now pooled warm in her chest like fresh tea.

Her bright smile was balm; to Dixue and the elves it felt like sunrise melting frost.

One glance washed away a day’s fatigue like rain on dust; she was painfully cute.

(A hush of contentment first—being a girl isn’t so bad; I can bring others a little happiness.) The thought drifted like pollen.

As that thought rippled, a familiar voice brushed her ear like wind through bamboo.

“Sister Yue, Sister Dixue! You’re here!”

“Huh? What—”

“I’ve been searching for you forever, like chasing fireflies through dusk!”

Yue Liuyi looked up; Zaocun, cat‑ears fluffy like spring buds, waved her left hand and ran from afar.

“Zaocun...?”

“Sister Yue! Sister Dixue! I heard you’re leaving soon. Little Ai—Ailuna—set up a gathering for you at the Elven Royal Palace. She’s waiting, lanterns ready!”

“A g‑gathering...?” The word trembled like a drop on a leaf.

A party should be bright as lanterns, yet Yue Liuyi’s mood dulled like ash.

Because it would be a farewell feast, a river flowing away from her shore.

Yue Liuyi didn’t want to step into that current at all.

“Little Moon...” Dixue’s voice fell soft as snow.

Sensing her drift, Dixue gently patted her head, her palm a leaf shading summer light.

“LittleSnow... I...” Her throat tightened like silk caught on a branch.

“Little Moon, it’s okay. A farewell feast isn’t a final winter. Travel is easy now; we can still reach each other by Skyship, like stars signaling across the night.”

“Mm...” A small whimper, cool as dawn dew.

She nodded, yet sorrow pooled thick, like ink dissolving in water.

If she could, she’d slip away quiet, the way she slipped in—like a breeze behind curtains.

If she faded from sight like mist, maybe no one would ache.

She’d return to Dreamwood Star; others had paths to walk—no way to stay bound. Better to embrace that truth now than let distance erode ties like slow rain.

But the blue‑haired girl had underestimated Ailuna’s resolve, iron under petals.

“Little Ai said if Sister Yue won’t come, she’ll jump from the World Tree and end herself!”

“What—?!”

The words struck like a thunderclap; Yue Liuyi jolted.

What stunned her more: simple Ailuna had somehow foreseen her thought, like moonlight reading a sealed book.

“Uu—did Ailuna really say that?”

“Mm!” The answer was firm as a drumbeat.

“Then... I have to go, like a leaf drawn by the stream.”

She looked up at the Elven Royal Palace above, hesitations fluttering like startled sparrows.

What kind of gathering awaited, a shore hidden in fog?

She knew she’d end up crying, rain without umbrellas.

So embarrassing!

8,

The Elven Royal Palace blazed with lanterns and ribbons; the air was a garden of light.

The girls arrived in cute, bright dresses, blossoms gathered for a spring evening.

A towering cake stood at the center like a white mountain. Bonsai pines wore multicolored candies like fruit, and green streamers rolled across the ceiling in waves.

They sat around a white round table, plates piled with fresh‑picked fruit, dew still clinging like pearls.

“We agreed ahead of time! Tonight’s a happy gathering—no one’s allowed to cry... waaah!”

Ailuna said it, then cried first, tears pouring like a little river carving the floor.

Strange sweetness: seeing Ailuna cry, Yue Liuyi didn’t want to. The blue‑haired girl reached out, mimicking Dixue, and patted Ailuna’s head, smoothing feathers after storm.

“Mm—head pats for comfort.”

“Uuu... from now on I won’t see Liuyi‑chan! Won’t be with Liuyi‑chan! Won’t get head pats... uuu...” Her words tumbled like scattered petals.

“No, that won’t happen,” the reassurance fell like a warm shawl.

Memories unfurled like silk: their first meeting’s frailty; the growth after learning who she was; the final resolve, marching together into the Rainbow Secret Realm.

Those shared trials told Yue Liuyi: the pink‑haired girl was gentle and pure. Ailuna’s heart held no shadows; even when chaos gnawed, she bore it alone, rather becoming a touch masochistic than burdening anyone.

Such Ailuna was almost painfully kind, like soft rain on dry earth.

“So...” The decision ripened like fruit.

“Here—this is for Ailuna. Even if I leave, you can still see me.”

“Eh? What’s—” Her eyes glimmered like wet glass.

Yue Liuyi pulled out another Yue Liuyi from her side; Ailuna blinked through tears, wide‑eyed and bewildered, like a kitten watching its reflection.

“My life‑size body pillow—the one I entered before.”

“Wow! It’s that one!!” Her voice leaped like a lark.

Of course Ailuna recognized the maple‑clad pillow. Back at the Azure Front camp, she first sensed something wrong and, with Dixue, saved Yue Liuyi from despair’s cliff.

“Liuyi‑chan... you’re really giving me this pillow?”

“Mm. I heard Ailuna loves dolls. This way, you can see me anytime, like moonlight behind a curtain.”

“Ah! Then—then me too! I have something very important for Liuyi‑chan!” Her resolve sparked like flint.

She hopped off her chair, wiped her teary corners, and dashed toward a corner, feet scattering light like flying petals.

“A‑Ailuna?!”

“This is my favorite teddy—must give it to Liuyi‑chan! This is the prettiest little dress—also for Liuyi‑chan! These are the tastiest cookies—Liuyi‑chan must accept! This is my—” Her list spilled like beads from a broken string.

She’d prepared long ago. With Tisinate’s help, Ailuna hauled in a hill of gifts—over a dozen—leaving Yue Liuyi wide‑eyed like lanterns at midsummer.

“Yikes! That’s too much—and I can’t carry it all!” Her protest fluttered like a moth.

“Then put them in this little chest. I’ll give it together to Liuyi‑chan!” Ailuna’s smile curved like a crescent.

Ailuna offered a finely shaped white box, laptop‑sized, yet somehow swallowing every small gift like a pocket of sky.

“Eh! A fold‑space storage chest? It’s too precious; you really don’t need to give me this.” Her voice trembled like a thin reed.

“B‑but I truly want to give it to Liuyi‑chan...” Tears gathered again like pearl rain.

“Heh‑heh, Little Moon, just accept it. It’s Ailuna’s heart, and to her it isn’t that costly,” the gentle advice fell like snow on a flame.

“Huh?” The surprise blinked like a firefly.

“Mm‑mm! Liuyi‑chan must accept!” The insistence rang like a bell.

“Th‑then... thank you, Ailuna!” Gratitude warmed like sunlight through leaves.

Smiling with happiness like light in water, Yue Liuyi hugged the adorable pink‑haired girl tight, arms a circle of willow.

(Relief wove first—)

(no need to be like before anymore.)