As Sunday finished speaking, the atmosphere at the scene instantly turned somewhat chilly and oppressive. Although the Family Head wore a gentle smile on his face, for some reason, it gave off an eerie, suffocating feeling.
Herta said nothing. Ruan Mei said nothing. Sunday also fell silent. Time slowly passed. A few minutes later, Herta was the first to react.
Our Lady Herta abruptly tore off her disguise, smoothed her silky hair, and then produced a purple-black beret from who-knows-where, gently placing it on her head.
"As expected, your disguise didn't do a damn thing, Ruan Mei."
Hearing Herta's complaint, Ruan Mei merely shrugged indifferently before likewise shedding her own disguise. And so, right there in the Family Library, the two Emanators of [Erudition] stood in confrontation with the head of the Oak Family of the 'Family.'
"Heh heh. May I ask what business brings the two Emanators of [Erudition] to sneak into the Family's secret archive in the dead of night?"
Sunday narrowed his eyes slightly, a dangerous glint flashing through them.
"What business? If I said we were just out for a stroll, accidentally ended up here, and then accidentally…"
"…accidentally opened this door, which is how we ran into Family Head Sunday."
The first half of the sentence came from Herta, while the second half was smoothly picked up by Ruan Mei. The two of them sang in perfect harmony, leaving Sunday with a face full of dark lines.
"Lady Herta, Lady Ruan Mei—this isn't funny."
"You are both members of the Genius Society, but even if I am dull-witted, the two of you shouldn't mock me like this."
As he spoke, although Sunday still wore a smile, deep inside, this Family Head was already seething with anger. Though truthfully, that anger didn't have much to do with the two people before him.
"Tch, boring guy." Herta curled her lip, her expression clearly saying 'young man, you're really no fun.'
"…Lady Herta, Lady Ruan Mei, we are all intelligent people. Let's not beat around the bush. The two of you have sneaked into the Family's forbidden ground in the middle of the night. Shouldn't you give this head of the Oak Family some kind of explanation?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the temperature at the scene dropped several more degrees. Herta raised an eyebrow and pondered briefly.
"Give the Family an explanation? Sure. But Family Head Sunday… do you really have the ability to bear the explanation that two Emanators of [Erudition] might give?"
As she spoke, the aura around Herta suddenly exploded outward. Surging power of the Path poured forth, and the full, unrestrained pressure of an Emanator-level being enveloped Sunday without reservation.
"Heh heh, Lady Herta—this is the Family's territory, the domain of [Harmony]. As an Emanator of Erudition, isn't your current behavior somewhat overstepping your bounds?"
As his words fell, an equally powerful surge of Path power erupted from within Sunday, fiercely countering Herta's pressure without the slightest sign of yielding.
"This aura… I never expected it to be like this!"
Herta's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she silently withdrew her pressure. The power of the Path within her body also sank back into calm.
Ruan Mei, who had been watching from the sidelines, also furrowed her brows and gave up her intention to act.
"The power of [Order]… Heh heh. I never would have thought that Sunday, head of the Oak Family—one of Penacony's five great families and the one in charge of politics—would actually be a remnant of [Order]. How interesting."
The corners of Herta's mouth curved upward as she looked at Sunday before her with great interest.
It had been hundreds upon thousands of Amber Eras since the fall of [Order]. In all that time, Pathstriders of the Path of Order had become exceedingly rare in the world.
After all, the Aeon of [Order] at the apex of the Path—Ena—had been devoured and assimilated by [Harmony]. After that, very few people would still choose to walk the Path of [Order].
Yet unexpectedly, here in Penacony—one of [Harmony]'s main strongholds—a remnant of [Order] actually existed. And this person had even attained Emanator-level power and risen to become the head of the Family.
Tsk tsk. Truly, 'the affairs of the world are ever-changing; the large intestine wraps around the small intestine.'
"Heh heh. I have never been one of [Harmony]. Within law, humanity builds society. Within [Harmony], we embrace [Order]!"
...
Just as Herta and Ruan Mei confronted Sunday, as [Harmony] and [Order] clashed—
Inside Clockie Restaurant… in the "Dreams" private room…
All the dishes Yun Fan had ordered had now been served in full. In addition to the dessert Firefly loved, there were also plenty of Penacony's signature delicacies.
In total, over a hundred dishes densely covered the long table in front of the two of them. This was already after some had been temporarily set aside outside due to the table not being long enough.
"Sir, all the dishes you ordered have been prepared. The rest have been temporarily placed on the Clockie serving cart for you. I will wait outside the door. If you need anything, please feel free to press the call bell on the table at any time."
The waiter respectfully bowed to Yun Fan, then left the private room and gently closed the door behind him once more.
Standing respectfully outside the private room door, the waiter finally let out a breath of relief. "Whew… I never expected someone of such stature would actually come to dine at Clockie Restaurant. This is way too surprising."
Because the sheer quantity of dishes Yun Fan had ordered was truly excessive—the total cost of all the food came to several million credit points. Honestly, situations like this were extremely rare.
Therefore, to avoid the possibility of a guest being unable to pay after eating, the restaurant required payment upfront before preparing the dishes.
Yun Fan naturally had no objections and directly handed over the bank card Sunday had given him to the waiter.
Upon seeing the black card with gold-embossed 'Family' branding, the waiter felt a jolt in his heart and immediately realized the person before him was no ordinary guest.
When he swiped the card, the settlement screen popped up with the name 'Sunday' in real-name verification, causing the waiter to shiver from head to toe.
Outside of Penacony, Sunday might not be widely known. But here in Penacony—the stronghold of [Harmony]—Sunday's name was known to everyone, just like a president on Blue Star.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the waiter immediately reported it to the restaurant manager. The manager was equally shocked upon hearing the news and personally came to greet Yun Fan.
But how could Yun Fan possibly care about greetings from such minor figures? Especially right now, when he was enjoying afternoon tea together with his 'little girlfriend' Firefly—where would he find the time to deal with these two grown men?
The manager was no fool either. Seeing that this important figure had no intention of acknowledging him, he quickly took his leave after a brief greeting.
He only instructed the waiter to wait outside the door and to do his utmost to fulfill any request Yun Fan might have.
"Um… um, Yun Fan, there are only the two of us. These 100-plus dishes—we, we…"
Looking at the dazzling, colorful array of dishes covering the table, Firefly felt a little dizzy just from the sight. So many dishes and desserts—even though this was the dreamscape world and there was no need to worry about being unable to finish them.
But even so, wasn't this way too much?
"No problem. Just take your time eating, Miss Firefly. I believe you can handle all these dishes and desserts."
Yun Fan gave a gentle smile. Then his gaze slowly swept over Firefly's body, and the corners of his mouth curved into a smile with an ambiguous meaning.
"Hiss… I have a feeling you're thinking something naughty right now, Yun Fan…"