During the great battle between Derick and Sunday, two groups of people were consistently overlooked. The first was the group of Memokeepers kicked out by Sparkle and Black Swan, and the other was Black Swan and Sparkle themselves, who had been dealt with by Derick's Fifth Clone.
They had merely free-fallen from mid-air. In a world like Penacony, and with the enhanced physical conditioning of people like Sparkle and Black Swan, even crashing into the ground wouldn't cause them any harm.
After landing, Sparkle quietly slipped away. Black Swan, on the other hand, found herself intercepting these Memokeepers and engaged them in battle.
Although the Memokeepers were numerous, they couldn't overcome the fact that Black Swan was no ordinary Memokeeper; her strength far surpassed the others. Even outnumbered, she held the advantage.
Derick and his companions happened to pass by and witness the scene.
"Black Swan, I'll help you!" Derick swiftly moved to assist her.
Although Black Swan was associating with Sparkle, which seemed somewhat problematic, she had kindly warned him before and even proposed an alliance. Seeing her in this situation, he felt compelled to help.
Derick now possessed the true power of an Emanator. With his intervention, the Memokeepers were quickly dispatched.
"Thank you." Seeing Derick's help, Black Swan breathed a sigh of relief. Then, noticing his current level of power, she asked in surprise, "How has your strength already reached the level of an Emanator?"
Derick had no intention of explaining.
"It's a secret, just like why you're hanging out with Sparkle."
Black Swan gave a helpless shrug and a smile.
"Alright. Everyone needs their secrets."
She said as much, but for a Memokeeper who loved to peer into others' secrets, not knowing the full story was torture. However, Black Swan also knew she couldn't force anything out of Derick, so she could only offer pleasantries.
"I can help you interrogate these Memokeepers. We can share whatever information we gather."
"Alright." Derick considered it for a moment and agreed.
Derick himself didn't know how to interrogate Memokeepers. Entrusting the task to a fellow Memokeeper like Black Swan was undoubtedly the most suitable option.
"By the way, what about that Masked Fool? Where is she now?" Derick asked Black Swan.
"I don't know either."
Black Swan replied with a shrug.
Since there was no trace of Sparkle, Derick didn't dwell on it.
Having finally finished a major battle, it was naturally time to get some rest. Derick and the others returned directly to The Reverie Hotel in reality.
Back in Derick's room, the Astral Express crew had all gone to rest. Only the people from Amphoreus who came with Derick remained, and even Huohuo and Acheron had retired to their own rooms. Cipher wasn't there either; she was still carrying out the thieving tasks Derick had assigned her.
As soon as Castorice entered, she eagerly asked Derick, "Derick, did General Huaiyan call you over because of Yunli? Did he find out about you two?"
Hearing Castorice's question, Derick nodded, then said with some embarrassment, "It's not as simple as General Huaiyan just finding out about Yunli and me. The most crucial part is... Yunli is pregnant."
"What!? Pregnant!?" Hearing Derick say this, everyone present was stunned.
"Really?" Hyacine asked Derick curiously.
Derick nodded. "Of course. I have no reason to lie about something like this."
After he spoke, Derick's gaze shifted to Castorice, wanting to see her reaction, to see if she would be angry. However, he saw no anger in Castorice's eyes. Instead, he saw a different kind of fire.
Looking into her eyes, Derick knew his loins were in for a rough night.
"What are you going to do next?" Castorice asked him.
Derick thought for a moment and replied, "After things on Penacony are settled, I'll make a trip to the Xianzhou Zhuming to see how Yunli is doing."
"Alright."
Castorice nodded.
Her relationship with Derick wouldn't be affected by this. Since learning that he was intimate with other girls, Castorice had anticipated that someone else might have his child, his descendant. She just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
I'm not even pregnant yet. Castorice thought to herself.
"Derick is tired from today's battle. You two should go back and rest as well," Castorice said to Polyxia and Hyacine.
Polyxia and Hyacine exchanged a glance, understanding Castorice's meaning. They had wanted to tell her that, given the current state of Amphoreus natives, Castorice wouldn't get pregnant even if she and Derick stayed in bed for seven days and seven nights. But seeing how eager Castorice was, Hyacine and Polyxia wisely kept their mouths shut.
The two of them left silently.
After they were gone, Castorice immediately wrapped her arms around Derick's.
"I won't be outdone," Castorice said simply, before sealing his lips with her own.
Tonight was a sleepless night.
The next day at noon, Derick was contentedly sipping a non-alcoholic beverage.
It turned out that reaching the level of an Emanator improved more than just his combat prowess. There was also his... stamina.
Castorice was still sound asleep, nestled in the blankets.
He had to admit, besides the comfortable Dreampools, the beds in The Reverie Hotel were also exceptionally comfortable.
Because he had freed everyone on Penacony from the Dream of Oneness the previous night, Derick was now famous on the planet. Many people wanted to get close to him, hoping to bask in his fame and gain some benefits.
Finding the situation tiresome, Derick released a bit of pressure from his aura to keep the crowd at bay. The aura of an Emanator-level powerhouse was enough to deter most people without him even having to make a move.
Just as he finished his drink, Derick sensed someone approaching. They wore a beige trench coat, a flat cap, a face mask, and sunglasses. But with just a single glance, Derick knew who it was.
"Robin, are you alright?"
Derick asked her.
"I'm alright, I suppose. After all, I had nothing to do with what my brother did. The other families of Penacony have no reason to trouble me. The only thing they asked about was the Oak Family's assets. They said many of the Oak Family's contracts and financial records had disappeared and wanted to know if I knew anything. When they saw I genuinely didn't, they stopped asking," Robin replied to Derick.
Hearing this, Derick couldn't help but smile.
"Once things here calm down, I'll secretly return all those Oak Family contracts to you."
Derick had little interest in management. He'd had Cipher steal them with the intention of returning them to Robin once the situation settled. Of course, any liquid assets would belong to Cipher.
Robin instantly understood his reasoning and knew Derick was helping her. But then, she shook her head at him.
"You should keep those contracts and agreements, Derick."
"Hm?" Derick looked at Robin, confused.
At that moment, Robin stood up.
"Can you... come with me somewhere private?" she asked Derick.
Derick assumed she wanted to find a secluded place to talk about her brother, Sunday, so he nodded and agreed.
The two of them walked out of The Reverie Hotel in reality.
Penacony's most famous landmark in reality is The Reverie Hotel, but that doesn't mean it's the only building. Many people live elsewhere.
There was a sports car parked at the entrance of The Reverie Hotel. Robin pulled open the door, gesturing for Derick to get in. He nodded and complied, and Robin drove the car towards another part of Penacony.
After they had driven some distance, Robin spoke up. "My brother... is he alright?"
"He should be. I only defeated him and dispelled the Dream of Oneness. Without the Dream of Oneness, your brother isn't exactly helpless, is he?" Derick said to Robin.
"No, not at all."
Hearing Derick's definitive answer, Robin felt relieved.
She continued to ask, "Then... when can I see him again?"
"That's up to him. Sunday is still on Penacony. He said that if he decides to leave or do anything else, he'll come find me first. When that time comes, if you want to see him, I'll find a way to make him stay for a while."
"Mm, thank you, Derick," Robin said gratefully.
"Hey, we're friends. No need for thanks!"
Derick was mid-sentence when he suddenly felt a slender, cool hand take his. Robin had removed her hat and mask, revealing her exquisite, beautiful face, and was now looking at Derick with deep affection.
Derick's eyes widened.
"Hey—"
Before he could say anything else, Robin leaned in and kissed him on the lips.
If words of thanks weren't enough, she would show it with her actions.
Then, a loud crash echoed as the car slammed precisely into a pole.
This proved that driving while distracted and not watching the road is an extremely dangerous thing to do. Fortunately, when the impact occurred, Derick had used his power to protect them both, so they were unharmed.
Robin pulled away from Derick and, seeing the speechless, eye-rolling expression on his face, couldn't help but laugh.
"Derick, with you here, I knew I wouldn't be in any danger," Robin said. Then, she glanced at the wrecked car and said with a smile, "The car is broken. Should we stop for a while?"
Derick looked at Robin, knowing what she was implying. After a moment of thought, he opened the car door and got out.
"Let's go. There's a small town nearby. We can rest there for a bit before moving on."
"Mhm."
The town wasn't large, and there were very few people outside. After all, Penacony was a world of dreams; those with jobs had all gone to the dreamscape.
Robin got out of the driver's seat and walked over to Derick's side. She reached out and took his hand.
"If anyone saw us, rumors about the two of us would probably spread across the entire universe," Derick said to her.
Robin touched a finger to her lips and said, "I have a way to solve that."
"What's that?"
"If we make it a reality, it's not a rumor," Robin said, wrapping her arms around him.
"I love you."
She whispered in his ear.
He had saved her from danger twice, and both times he had taken excellent care of her. Faced with such an outstanding man, Robin had no reason not to be moved.
With her brother possibly leaving, Robin also needed to find an anchor in her heart, so she decided to take the initiative with Derick and reveal her feelings.
It was like a caged bird that, upon seeing the cage door open, would fly out without a second thought. No matter what it might encounter after flying out, and regardless of whether it was ready. Faced with a chance that might only come once in a lifetime, it would cast aside all hesitation. Even if it meant dying outside.
Derick reached out and interlaced his fingers with Robin's, their hands connecting tightly, sharing their warmth.
"How much longer will you be staying on Penacony?" Robin asked Derick.
"I'll be leaving soon," Derick answered. "Once I've handled things here, I have to make a trip to the Xianzhou Zhuming. After that, I'll probably have to think about saving Amphoreus. Things are going to get busy."
"Then I'm glad I wasn't too late."
Hearing Derick say this, Robin showed a look of relief.
The two of them turned their heads and looked at a hotel in the middle of the town where they had stopped.
Derick and Robin exchanged a glance. Robin's face was flushed, but she still nodded at him.
Derick felt a pang of nervousness himself.
But he still took Robin's hand and led her towards the hotel.
Not long after Derick and Robin entered the hotel, a figure appeared next to the wrecked car.
It was Sunday. He had been wandering this way, his presence concealed.
Seeing the familiar vehicle, Sunday was startled.
What happened!? Could his sister be in trouble!?
He quickly inspected the car. Seeing that the inside of the car had been protected, he breathed a sigh of relief.
But then he felt something was wrong. This protective power seemed to come from Derick.
Having fought Derick, Sunday was somewhat familiar with his power.
His sister... why was she with Derick?
Sunday suddenly had a bad feeling. He then used his abilities to sense the fluctuations of energy transference.
And then, he discovered that the two of them had gone into the hotel.
"Derick! You bastard, you took my sister to a hotel!"
Sunday cursed inwardly, wanting nothing more than to rush into the hotel and drag them both out.
But then he thought, if something had already happened, and he went over there, his sister would be utterly humiliated.
Sunday could only hide at a distance from the hotel, quietly gritting his teeth, waiting for Derick and his sister to come out.
______
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