Three days later.
As one of the world's most renowned ski resorts, the Alps in March were a perfect place for people to relax and unwind.
Fu Li had sent invitations to all thirteen Flame-Chasers. Unfortunately, of the male Flame-Chasers, only Kalpas and Kosma ended up coming. Kevin and Su had both declined for other reasons.
Kosma's reason for coming was that little Griseo had also come along with Aponia.
On the other hand, many of the women had come. Mobius, Eden, and the other girls he was on good terms with had basically all shown up.
"Wow, this is the first time I've ever seen such a big snowy mountain."
Arriving in this brand-new environment, Pardofelis was naturally filled with a sense of novelty and wonder.
Back when she lived on Twilight Street, she had never seen so much snow, and she had rarely encountered similar scenery during her missions.
She felt the sudden urge to take a running leap and bury her head in the snow.
"Mm, it really is beautiful."
Seele nodded beside her, a similar look of yearning on her face.
Ever since she learned that both Pardo and Fu Li had become Herrschers, she, as the former Herrscher of Death, had grown visibly closer to the two of them.
After all, while they had lived together before, she had still been an anomaly. Now, they had become the same kind.
Just as Pardo was curiously taking in the scenery, a familiar aura approached.
"Oh, it's you, Li."
"That's right. Do you like it here?"
Fu Li walked over to Pardo's side and reached out to re-tie her scarf.
"Even if you're not afraid of the cold, you still need to wear your scarf properly, just like Seele. Got it?"
"Hmph... I know, I know."
Pardo exhaled a puff of white air, her face a little red. Her ears twitched unnaturally, though it was hard to tell if it was from the cold or something else.
"By the way," Pardo subconsciously changed the subject, "aren't we here to ski? Why don't I see a ski resort?"
Pardo curiously scanned her surroundings, only to find that aside from their group, the area was nothing but pure white snow and a few green pine trees.
This was an area perfectly suited for skiing, not crowded with tourists. They had even arrived directly by helicopter.
"The ski resorts are too crowded, so I asked someone to find an uninhabited area suitable for skiing. In any case, an environment like this poses no danger to us."
"So, after we're done skiing, are we going to camp here?"
"Camp? No. After we're done playing and have had dinner, we'll go back to the hotel at the foot of the mountain."
"Oh, I see."
Pardo nodded, gazing at the beautiful scenery. Her tail swayed gently, indicating that its owner had something on her mind.
After all, Black Pardo had been acting mysteriously for the past few days and still refused to show herself, which made her feel a little uneasy.
But just then, Fu Li's voice pulled her attention back.
"By the way, Pardo, Seele, do you want a snowboard or skis?"
Seele replied, "I'll take the skis."
Pardo thought for a moment before answering, "Hmm... then I'll take the snowboard?"
"Alright. But snowboards are a little harder to use than skis. Still, for you, that little bit of difficulty is nothing."
After handing the equipment to the two of them, Fu Li waved his hand, indicating he had other things to attend to.
---o---
A hundred meters away, Eden leaned against a pine tree. Beside her, several bottles of expensive red wine were buried in the snow, chilling.
The only person who would use snow to chill fine wine without a second thought was probably Eden.
"Hey, my dear Eden, what are you doing~♪"
A pleasant voice suddenly rang out, causing Eden, who had been secretly watching Fu Li, to tense up.
"Ah, it's you, Ely."
"Mhmm~ Long time no see. Did you miss me~♪"
Elysia approached with light steps, a teasing smile in her eyes.
She had noticed that no matter where she was, Eden always had a golden goblet in her hand. But whether she was enjoying the taste of fine wine or reminiscing about something else, Elysia couldn't know for sure.
After all, even she found it difficult to completely figure out a girl's heart~♪
"We just saw each other this morning," Eden said with a light laugh, nonchalantly averting her gaze.
"Mmm~ Then maybe it's because I missed you too much~♪" Elysia wasn't embarrassed at all. She came to Eden's side and looked at the others who were busy getting ready, a knowing smile on her face.
"Look, aren't they having so much fun?"
"Yes, they are. Relaxing once in a while really does make one feel happy."
Eden agreed half-heartedly. Anyone could see that she was somewhat distracted.
For someone like her, this was an extremely rare occurrence.
But soon, Elysia managed to pull her attention back.
"By the way, Eden, are you going to join the ski race later?"
"Hm? A ski race?"
Hearing this, Eden's gaze finally refocused, and she tilted her head slightly.
"That's right. Didn't you see them all warming up?"
"Warming up? I don't think so. Look, aren't Mobius and Klein just relaxing?"
As she spoke, their gazes turned to the two who were engrossed in a computer, and for a moment, they were at a loss for words.
They had all said they were coming here to play and get some exercise! But now that they were here, those two were like hibernating snakes, too lazy to even move.
Eden had no doubt that if the person who invited them hadn't been Fu Li, that brother-obsessed snake would have been too lazy to take a single step out of her laboratory and would have just stayed there researching some system.
According to Mobius, the system she was researching was based on Fu Li's cycles, and she wanted to use it to intervene in his loops.
Unfortunately, Eden didn't have a mind like Mobius's, so her understanding of it was partial at best.
"Ahem. You know that as researchers, the Doctor and the others are not skilled in sports or combat, so they don't wish to participate in the race."
"Is that so?"
Withdrawing her gaze, Eden neither confirmed nor denied Elysia's statement.
While Mobius indeed disliked exercise, her combat ability was by no means weak. She was, at the very least, stronger than Hua, who was a trained warrior.
One could say that among her current rivals, Aponia and Mobius were definitely the most dangerous.
And although this cycle was the little cat's home field, Eden wasn't worried.
After all, what bad intentions could a little cat possibly have? All she wanted was a carefree life.
As for her Herrscher transformation, that wasn't her fault. It was almost certainly the fault of those resentful spirits.
The two of them walked on the soft snow, chatting idly about various topics, from Elysia to fine wine, to their differing opinions on the other Flame-Chasers.
However, they didn't chat for long. The sound of a whistle drew their attention, followed by Fu Li's voice:
"Everyone! Whoever wants to participate in the ski race, get ready to gather up now!"
Seeing that the first event of the day was starting, Elysia immediately grabbed her snowboard from nearby and waved to Eden. "I'm going to race! Are you coming, Eden?"
"Me? I think I'll pass. I'm fine just watching."
"Mmm~ Is that so? Then you'd better watch my performance carefully."
"Mm-hm, I will. Go on."
Although she said this, Eden's gaze remained fixed on Fu Li, never once moving away. Her hand holding the golden goblet tightened slightly.
She recalled the eve of the final battle, when she and Fu Li went to the beach together. Back then, his eyes were only for her. But now...
A faint sense of regret began to spread in Eden's heart. If only, back then, we could have 'accidentally' kissed... how wonderful that would have been.