Sunday waited outside for Derick and his sister to come out.
One hour, two hours, three hours…
Sunday's expression grew darker and darker.
Derick, you bastard, stop tormenting my sister, will you? You're an Emanator-level powerhouse whose body wouldn't even be scratched by a collision with a meteorite. How could my sister's delicate body possibly endure that? Don't you know the first thing about being gentle with a lady?!
Sunday desperately wanted to rush in and stop Derick, but he held himself back.
"Just keep waiting!" he said through gritted teeth.
Four hours, five hours, six hours…
Sunday felt like his heart was about to explode.
…
In reality, Robin was sleeping soundly, nestled in Derick's arms.
Her slender arms rested on Derick's chest, her right hand caressing his cheek.
One of Derick's arms was pinned tightly beneath her body, and he could clearly feel the soft smoothness of her skin.
Robin's skin was not only fair but also exceptionally smooth. Her delicate, pink feet rested on his calves, her toes intertwined tightly with his, giving him no chance to pull away.
Derick was a man who knew how to be gentle, so of course, he wouldn't struggle forcefully. Their situation was more like one hour of 'exercise' followed by five hours of rest. He was being very considerate of Robin's body.
Just then, Robin's eyes fluttered open. Seeing that Derick was already awake, she looked at his cheek and gently reached out to give it a pinch.
"This feels so good!" Pinching Derick's cheek, Robin thought to herself.
Feeling Robin's touch, Derick was a bit exasperated.
"Why does every single one of you love pinching my cheeks so much?"
Derick then gave Robin's bottom a pat.
"Be gentle~" Robin shot Derick a look.
She picked up her phone to check the time, realized she had slept for several hours, and hurriedly grabbed her clothes.
"We should hurry back," she said to Derick urgently.
"Mhm." Derick nodded.
Robin intended to get dressed, but feeling how sore and weak her limbs were, she had no choice but to hand the clothes to Derick.
Even after sleeping for several hours, her stamina hadn't fully recovered.
"Um, Derick, could you help me get dressed?" Robin said to Derick.
Derick nodded, "Alright."
After helping Robin dress and putting away the token of her purity, Derick and Robin left the hotel.
However, because Robin was still weak, she was practically leaning her entire body against Derick, supported by him as they walked out.
Once outside, Derick planned to fly directly back to The Reverie Hotel.
But as soon as they emerged, they saw an exasperated figure standing right in front of them. It was Sunday.
"Brother!" Robin said, her face lighting up with pleasant surprise.
But she quickly remembered their current appearance, and she shyly lowered her head.
Reuniting with her brother should have been a joyous occasion. But his timing was truly awful.
"Mm." Sunday nodded gently to his sister.
He observed his sister's complexion. Although she looked a little tired, she seemed to have rested well, which put him slightly at ease.
Then he turned to Derick, his face filled with rage, looking as if he wished he could conjure another Dream of Oneness and fight Derick to the death.
"Shouldn't you offer an explanation?" Sunday said to Derick through clenched teeth.
At that moment, before Derick could speak, Robin spoke to her brother first, "Brother, Derick didn't force me into anything. It was all my own choice."
Sunday looked at Robin, then at Derick, and pointed towards a nearby restaurant.
"Let's go over there and talk."
"Alright." Both Derick and Robin nodded in agreement.
The three then went to the restaurant, and Derick took the lead in requesting a private room.
Once the three of them were in the room and had just sat down, Robin took the initiative, asking her brother, "Brother, are you alright now? I've been so worried about you since yesterday."
Sunday shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Since yesterday, I've just been wandering around Penacony. With my power, as long as it isn't someone like Derick or the few others on his level, I won't be harmed."
"I know you're powerful, but I still can't help but worry. Brother, please come back with me, or else I'll be anxious." Robin said to Sunday.
Sunday shook his head.
"I can't go back with you. After what happened last night, I'm almost certain to become a wanted criminal across the universe. Staying here will only bring you trouble."
"Besides, I don't want to stay here. There are things I need to think about, to observe, so I can reach my own conclusions."
Hearing this, Robin lowered her head sadly.
Derick patted her shoulder to comfort her, which made Sunday's blood boil.
Derick said to Sunday, "Even if you don't stay, you should at least leave a way to contact you. If you just disappear without a word, who knows how much Robin will worry about you."
Derick really gets me.
Hearing Derick's words, Robin nodded repeatedly.
Sunday first glared at Derick, signaling him to take his hand off his sister.
Then, after thinking for a moment, he said to Derick and Robin, "Fine. I'll leave you my contact information."
"That's wonderful, brother!" Robin said happily, hugging Derick.
Sunday glared daggers at Derick, then said through gritted teeth, "My business is settled. Now it's time to talk about the issue between you two."
"Issue? What issue?" Robin looked at her brother and said in a lighthearted tone.
"I love Derick and I want to be with him. What's the issue with that?"
"The issue is that Derick already has a girlfriend!" Sunday said to Robin.
"I know." Robin nodded, glancing at Derick and then back at Sunday.
"That's why I don't plan on leaving Penacony with Derick. After you leave, brother, someone needs to handle things here. I intend to take temporary responsibility for the Oak Family's affairs until you can return." She said this to both Derick and Sunday.
As she spoke, she took hold of Derick's hand.
"Brother, please trust my choice." Robin looked at Sunday, her tone pleading.
Seeing his sister's eyes, full of hope for his approval, Sunday was at a loss for words.
Her words weren't particularly persuasive, but in them, Sunday saw his sister's unshakable determination.
After the series of events in Penacony, his sister's affection for Derick had taken deep root; she was completely in love with him.
Sunday thought about it.
He was about to leave, and his sister, alone, might be targeted by other families or factions.
Derick, on the other hand, was extremely powerful in both strength and influence. With him around, he could protect Robin from danger.
Finally, he stood up, his jaw tight.
"Contact me often in the future. If you're wronged in any way, I'll be sure to settle the score with Derick."
Sunday turned and left.
"Hey, brother!" Robin called out hastily, but Sunday walked away even faster.
"He probably needs to cool down, but this is good in a way. He's worried about you, so he'll definitely contact you often," Derick said, comforting Robin.
Hearing Derick say this, Robin nodded.
"You're right, Derick. What you said makes sense."
She then looked at Derick and said with newfound determination, "Derick, do you think I can handle the Oak Family's situation?"
"I believe you can do it. If you need anything, I can help you."
Robin shook her head. "I don't need help. I believe I can do it myself."
At that moment, she stood up, and her entire demeanor changed again.
"If I asked for your help with everything, I'd truly become someone dependent on others. I love you, but I also want our relationship to be one of equals. I will manage the Oak Family's affairs well, and I will make Penacony even more prosperous than before. You... if you miss me, then come to Penacony to see me." Robin said in a serious tone.
In the current situation, she didn't want to leave Penacony.
"Alright."
Derick nodded.
Just then, Derick felt Robin tugging at his sleeve again.
"Hmm? What is it, Robin?" Derick wondered, looking at her expression.
Robin looked up at Derick, her eyes full of expectation, and said, "Derick, to restore the Oak Family, I feel that I'm not enough on my own. We need more family members."
Derick couldn't join the Oak Family, but he could help Robin "create" more Oak Family members.
How could Derick possibly refuse such a request from Robin?
He had slept for half the day, and his energy had fully recovered.
Hiss!
…
Penacony, Golden Hour.
Although some disturbances had yet to be resolved, things had largely returned to normal.
In a corner, Sparkle found Old Sampo, rubbing her shoulder.
When she fell from the Great Crater, Sparkle adjusted her posture in mid-air and landed with minimal injury.
After landing, Sparkle immediately chose to relocate and hide. She didn't dare show her face until the situation stabilized the next day.
"So? How does it feel to be made a fool of this time?" Seeing Sparkle like this, Old Sampo said in a mocking tone.
Sparkle found a crate, hopped up, and sat on it, saying with an air of indifference, "I'm very happy. Since I chose to stir up trouble, I have to be prepared to fail. The thought that I was actually outsmarted... just thinking about it is exciting."
The Masked Fools, you could say, are both sadistic and masochistic. Tricking people is exciting, but being tricked is also a lot of fun.
If you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
"Besides, I didn't come away from this with nothing."
Sparkle thought about the Fifth Clone's actions, and a bold conjecture formed in her mind.
If it hadn't been so direct this time, it would have been hard to guess the connection between you all.
Sparkle quickly reviewed the locations where the pitch-black monsters had appeared and what they had done.
"That guy... he isn't planning a grand show to deceive the entire universe, is he? Elation... now that sounds like a whole lot of Elation." Sparkle thought to herself.
Opposite her, Old Sampo didn't have nearly as much information. Seeing her say this, he asked, "What are you talking about? Did you gain something?"
"I can't tell you that. If I did, it wouldn't be any fun," Sparkle naturally wouldn't tell Old Sampo.
Hearing Sparkle's reply, Old Sampo had a premonition. He remembered something and said to her with a smile, "By the way, speaking of gains, I found something for you."
"Oh? You found something for me?" Sparkle asked Old Sampo.
"That's right." Old Sampo nodded with a grin.
"I actually found you a boyfriend, and now a lot of people in Penacony know about it."
"Hmm?"
Just as Sparkle was wondering about this, Old Sampo handed her a photo he'd taken of Derick and Sparkle (Cipher in disguise) kissing intimately.
"So? Having the famous Derick, who's all the rage in Penacony right now, as your boyfriend isn't an insult to you, is it!"
"Hey, hey, hey, was I impersonated too? This disguise technique is at least on my level. I really want to see who has this kind of skill." Sparkle looked at the 'herself' in the photo, saw no flaws, and immediately asked Old Sampo excitedly.
Old Sampo nodded.
"Yes."
"Interesting, really interesting. No wonder so many people gave me strange looks when I was looking for you. Old Sampo, did you spread this information to everyone in Penacony?" Sparkle asked Old Sampo.
Old Sampo nodded. "More or less."
"Perfect." Sparkle hopped down from the crate excitedly and started walking away.
Sampo asked her, "Where are you going?"
Sparkle held up her photo and said to Old Sampo without looking back, "To find my rumored boyfriend, of course."
"Good luck!"
Watching Sparkle go, Old Sampo called out to her.
…
The Reverie Hotel, reality.
Derick quietly brought Robin to her room.
After getting her to her room and letting the exhausted Robin fall asleep, Derick left.
"I was tormented by Castorice all last night, and then by Robin all day today. I really need to get a good rest tonight." Walking down the hallway, Derick thought to himself.
Then, he saw a petite figure appear at the end of the corridor.
"Huh? Hasn't Cipher finished impersonating Sparkle yet?" Looking at her, Derick subconsciously thought to himself.
But he quickly realized the person before him wasn't Cipher disguised as Sparkle, but the real Sparkle.
She actually came looking for him!
Unsure what she was thinking, Derick walked towards her.
______
✅ Until 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
Claim your 40% OFF spot and unlock everything now:
👻 P - Walnutchan