Watching Pei Guang type out such outrageous messages so smoothly, both Stelle and March 7th couldn't help but start applauding.
Stelle: "Ah Guang! As expected of you, spouting that kind of pervy stuff like it's nothing…"
March 7th: "Right~ If someone can still accept those kinds of lines, they're definitely not normal."
Of course, March 7th didn't actually think Pei Guang was a pervert because of what he said. He was her companion… and also someone she had feelings for.
After all this time together, she knew exactly what kind of person Pei Guang really was.
Stelle: "I agree. Ah Guang is showing us his true self~"
Pei Guang: "Hey, are you praising me or roasting me right now?"
Stelle gasped dramatically: "Obviously praising you! Ah Guang, you've got earth-shattering intelligence!"
For some reason, hearing Stelle's compliment gave Pei Guang a strange sense of déjà vu. Thinking more carefully… hadn't he praised her in a similar way before? Is this karma coming back around?
As the three bantered, a new message popped up on the phone from the other side:
"Sure~ But you'll have to come to the Xianzhou Luofu~ Don't worry, we can meet at Starskiff Haven, where it's always crowded. I'll give you a kind of joy you've never experienced before~ Little~ sweetie~"
Before Pei Guang could even respond, March 7th's mind went blank from the shock. She immediately felt her temper flare: "Unbelievable! Does this person have no shame? To actually say that to Ah Guang! To you! You! I'm furious! Ah Guang! That shameless freak is definitely up to no good—come on, let's catch them now!"
March 7th was clearly getting emotional. After reading that message, her mind had conjured up an image of a fox girl snatching Pei Guang away and having her way with him: at that moment, March 7th felt she couldn't stay calm.
Today, March 7th was ready to bring justice to the world!
Pei Guang patted her on the shoulder and tried to calm her down: "Don't get too worked up. But you're not wrong: the person on the other end really is suspicious. That message wasn't normal."
This wasn't just Pei Guang guessing either: when he saw that message, the system log had already alerted him.
[Player Pei Guang has been subjected to a weak mental influence. Mental influence: ineffective.]
According to the system's logs, the level of mental influence was comparable to that of the Albinauric's headgear—weak, but still effective. Combined with the suggestive content of the message, Pei Guang could confirm that something was definitely off.
Just from the fact that the text could carry a mental influence, he could tell the sender's identity was suspicious. Considering that a Heliobus had recently escaped, odds were high this was their doing.
With that in mind, Pei Guang calmly replied:
"Sure sure~ Hehe~ I hope I get to see something even more beautiful next time~"
Foxian Beauty: "No~ problem Let's meet right here at Starskiff Haven…"
Pei Guang: "Great, I'll head to Starskiff Haven right away. Wait for me, miss~ Oh—by the way, I've got a few people here who are also connected to you and want to meet you. Can we come together?"
Foxian Beauty: "No problem (o≧ω≦o), the more the merrier~ I can handle~ them~ all~"
She even attached a photo of a foxian woman.
Her looks were average at best, but Pei Guang was certain even the image carried a mental influence. While he didn't know what the exact effect was, it was easy enough to guess she had laced it with charm magic.
Reading through the exchange for a second time, March 7th looked shaken: "Wait a second: who is she calling 'little sweetie'?"
Stelle pointed at Pei Guang: "Ah Guang, obviously. But he's not hers—he's ours."
March 7th: "Exactly! Ours! Ah Guang, I won't let some trash seduce you!"
Hearing them, Pei Guang just chuckled: "Hahaha! Don't worry, don't worry. But from here on out, we might need to split up a bit."
March 7th narrowed her eyes: "What do you mean? Are you really going to meet that woman?"
Pei Guang quickly explained: "Of course not! How could a scummy fish like her compare to you? I'm just going to prep things on the Luofu. The plan is to catch her, then stage a little entrapment scheme with Asta's staff.
While helping Asta complete her mission, if I can also finish making the new map I'm designing, we'll have a steady source of special effects from now on. We're not always out exploring, and we definitely can't rely on a consistent enemy supply, so we need a long-term way to farm materials for effects."
Pei Guang's plan was airtight. This mission gave him a chance to accomplish several things at once: help Asta, create a new map that could generate weapon effects, and, if the culprit really was Heliobus, help the Luofu capture it. Win-win-win.
Hearing Pei Guang's explanation, March 7th let out a relieved sigh.
"Wait… why am I sighing in relief again?" she muttered to herself, then turned back to Pei Guang: "Fine, go. But when you catch that creep, you have to bring me along. I want her to pay."
Pei Guang: "No problem! And don't worry, I'm already certain that this so-called Foxian Beauty is Heliobus."
Stelle: "How can you be so sure?"
Pei Guang sighed: "Fox-spirit, seductive speech… back in my world, that's 100% a fox demon. But the Luofu doesn't have things like demons or monsters. So either it's some person messing around, or it's Heliobus. And since their messages carry a mental influence, it's probably Heliobus."
Stelle: "If it's Heliobus, then there's nothing to worry about. Leave this side to us. Once you're ready, just call us over~"
Pei Guang nodded: "No problem~"
He looked over at March 7th and gave her a reassuring smile—then he turned and set off.
After Pei Guang left, Stelle and March 7th talked it over and then each set off in different directions.
This time, March had a feeling that something really fun was about to happen. As for just how fun: it would have to wait and see.
Following the words of the "Foxian Beauty," Pei Guang arrived at Starskiff Haven to meet her.
Just as Pei Guang had suspected, this Foxian Beauty was indeed a Heliobus.
No—that's not quite accurate. Calling the Foxian Beauty a Heliobus would be misleading. If this were before the revival of the Arbor, then she would have just been a scammer.
But after a Heliobus escaped, it took over this scammer's body. From then on, the Foxian Beauty became this Heliobus's disguise. And calling her a Foxian Beauty isn't wrong either, since the body she took over belonged to a member of the Foxian race.
She had gotten along well with the original Foxian, so she kept using her name: she called herself Tutu.
And this Heliobus wasn't an ordinary one. Before her battle with the general, she had possessed the bodies of countless PUA "masters" and learned a great deal of human knowledge.
As for whether she had harmed anyone, she wasn't exaggerating when she said that since becoming self-aware, she had never killed a single person. Because during her time learning from that Foxian girl, she had come to understand something: 'As long as you don't kill, maim, or make people disappear permanently, human society doesn't care if someone vanishes for a few days.
Hurting or making people go missing raises human alertness and increases their response, while killing someone maxes out their vigilance and triggers direct action. After studying and weighing the pros and cons, she concluded that keeping people alive had a better cost-benefit ratio for her growth plan.'
Most Heliobi don't care about the lives of their hosts: once they drain one dry, they just move on. But under the influence of that former host, Tutu developed a mindset that was different from most Heliobi.
Or perhaps, every Heliobus is different in their own way. Just look at Fyxestroll Garden: there are ones who sing opera, ones who date humans, ones who quit being Heliobi, and even one who got scared by a ghost.
With Tutu added in, it seemed like the whole Heliobus "family" was kind of offbeat. Maybe it was Heliobi like Cirrus and Tail who were the strange ones among them?