"Is SoulGlad the only kind of drink available here?"
"We offer SoulGlad in a variety of flavors, guaranteed to make you want to stay. However, if you require alcohol, please present your relevant identification. We need to ensure you are of legal age. Even though this is a dream, it doesn't mean we will sell alcoholic beverages to minors. That is illegal."
Raiden Mei looked with a peculiar expression at the bartender-attired person mixing drinks before them. Prohibiting alcohol for minors was actually a common law across the universe? On Earth, many countries didn't forbid this.
The bartender seemed to notice Raiden Mei's confusion and, with a service-oriented attitude, began to explain.
"Perhaps on your home planet, some places do not prohibit adults from drinking. But for us, who have entered the interstellar age, ordinary alcoholic beverages indeed do not uniformly cause addiction or harmful effects to the minors of various species."
"However, if certain limits are not imposed, these minors might start by wanting ordinary alcohol and then seek greater thrills. At that point, many potent liquors, concocted to suit other species, could cause them irreversible harm, or lead them to make serious mistakes."
"The species in this universe are as numerous as stars. Some species, even in their youth, can cause severe harm to other species if they drink and go wild."
"This is why we prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors. Adults may have their reasons for drinking, but the vast majority of minors drink merely to look cool or out of curiosity. By the time they grow up, when their adult minds have developed self-control and their bodies' various organs have matured, alcohol will not cause such severe harm. Of course, it's best not to drink to excess and to drink within one's limits. Drinking too much will cause problems no matter what."
"Thank you for your explanation."
"You're welcome. So, what flavor of SoulGlad would you two like?"
The bartender bowed gracefully, then asked the two with a smile.
Xin Yu and Raiden Mei both ordered a bottle of classic original flavor SoulGlad. Looking at the orange-yellow liquid in the glass bottle, Xin Yu still wanted to complain; this stuff really looked too much like…
"This Golden Hour is a giant shopping mall. I hear other 'Hours' have different styles. Mei, hmm? An old friend has arrived."
Xin Yu was still talking to Raiden Mei about whether they should experience the scenery of the other Hours when he sensed a familiar presence. He looked up towards the other side of the crowd, watching as a middle-aged man holding a cane, wearing glasses, and with a streak of white in his hair, walked towards them.
"Teacher Welt!"
Xin Yu smiled and waved in that direction.
Welt, who walked over, looked at Xin Yu waving at him, and then at the familiar figure beside him. He couldn't help but sigh deeply. He walked up and said to the two, "If my synchronized memories are not mistaken, you just rewrote Bronya's past and recent history, and then you brought Raiden Mei here for a tour. And about two weeks from that point in time, I recall it's St. Freya Academy's final exams… Xin Yu, it seems you've packed your schedule quite tightly."
"Ah, this…"
Help, I ran away from school with my girlfriend—ah, no, ran away from the planet to play. I originally wanted to greet my future teacher, but now my future teacher is suddenly concerned about my studies. What should I do?
Xin Yu scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "Well, you know my power involves time, so there's definitely enough time for revision. You don't need to worry about that."
"I'm surprised you even thought of using your time powers for studying. I thought you were planning to go back and rewrite whatever you got wrong after taking the exam."
"That would be too much trouble. If I really wanted to cheat, I wouldn't need time powers."
Xin Yu immediately changed the subject.
"By the way, Mr. Welt, how has everyone on the Express been lately? And about you wanting to go back and take a look, do you need my help? I can send you back to Earth to see. Kiana is there, so I can use her temporal existence to link us there."
"A lot has happened after the series of events on the Luofu. The Xianzhou Alliance has been probing us, both openly and secretly, for your existence. The Interastral Peace Corporation and other interstellar factions have also been sending out various feelers simultaneously."
"The fact that you can cure the Mara-Struck has had a huge impact. The Xianzhou side says your power comes from Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt. The Abundance Denizens claim you are Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt, walking among mortals, one of His myriad incarnations. Even Herta has been trying to get information about you from us, even some of your hair and such."
"And the Interastral Peace Corporation has already put out a bounty. They say that anyone who can provide information about you will receive a handsome sum of money. If anyone can deliver you, intact and unharmed, into the hands of the Interastral Peace Corporation, they will directly receive long-term ownership of a planet."
"Furthermore, a faction known as the Candle Bearers has emerged in the universe. This faction claims to have received the blessing of a newly manifested Aeon who possesses the power to interfere with time. They act like the Galaxy Rangers, performing acts of chivalry and helping others everywhere. Coincidentally, the 24 leaders of this faction are precisely the 24 Mara-Struck individuals you cured…"
"The power over time is too alluring; countless factions are already stirring restlessly."
"The entire galaxy has been thrown into turmoil because of this news. Countless bounty hunters are rushing about, and those high and mighty figures are all deeply unsettled. All because of the news of that new Aeon."
"The appearance of an entirely new Aeon means a growth in power, a re-planning of established interests and territories, and that many people's 'cakes' will be touched. This has forced everyone to put aside what they are currently doing and go all out to investigate the truth of this news."
Welt looked directly at the somewhat embarrassed Xin Yu and said, "The most crucial thing is, if this was just a rumor initially, people wouldn't have reacted so strongly. But the biggest problem is that Aha, the Aeon of Elation, personally stepped forward and said this rumor is true."
"Of course, everyone knows that the Aeon of Elation's credibility is rather… unreliable. But another Aeon has also confirmed the truth of this news."
"Nous, the Aeon of Erudition, responded to a query from a certain genius of the Genius Society regarding this news. It stated that indeed, a new Path utilizing Imaginary power has appeared in the universe."
"Regarding all of this, do you have any clues, Xin Yu?"