Sense of Belonging

As the starlight faded, dawn broke. The world gradually brightened, revealing a clear sky, and everyone slowly rose to their feet.

"Today, we were fortunate enough to behold the great Lord Kassadin."

"Those who went home for the New Year will definitely regret missing this if they find out."

"But there was nothing to be done about it. They were planning to come the day after tomorrow. No one could have expected the great God of the Void Kassadin to appear."

Excitement still lingered on everyone’s faces as they happily discussed what had happened.

Then, people began thanking Sonia for being willing to introduce them to Mr. Kassadin.

"You need not thank me. It was your devotion that moved Lord Kassadin and made him willing to descend here."

Sonia smiled faintly when she heard this and spoke softly.

Instead, she should have been thanking these people. It was only after Mr. Kassadin learned of their plans that he decided to spend the New Year on Xandar.

She had not known about the side Mr. Kassadin had revealed just now, either.

She only knew that Mr. Kassadin had instructed her to make the announcement at the appointed time.

This time, Mr. Kassadin had let the Void Cult members know that their prayers and offerings had all been seen.

For the many Void Cult members, this was undoubtedly the finest gift.

"Lord Kassadin has already felt your devotion."

"Therefore, everyone may divide up the food you brought yourselves. This is Lord Kassadin’s instruction."

Sonia then looked at the people who had yet to leave and spoke.

Sonia had not made this up herself. It was an instruction Mr. Kassadin had given her after learning that these people intended to offer not only food, but money as well.

All she had done was convey Mr. Kassadin’s will.

"Thank you for Lord Kassadin’s generosity!"

Although Miss Sonia had mentioned only the food and said nothing whatsoever about the money they had offered, no one felt dissatisfied.

Sonia then took her leave. As for the money, it would not be too late to collect it after the New Year.

Mr. Kassadin planned to leave in a few days, and it seemed he would be gone for quite some time.

So Sonia hoped to see Mr. Kassadin in person as much as possible, rather than contacting him through the Universal Communicator.

Once they learned that the food could be eaten, the many members began dividing it up.

Then, they split into small groups and scattered.

Tony, Renoli, Kyle, the Precognitor, and Lacey gathered together and chatted.

Renoli asked Tony about C53, his homeworld.

Tony naturally introduced Blue Star, saying that its environment was fairly similar to Xandar’s, though its technology was not as advanced.

He described the characteristics of Blue Star’s various countries, though he mainly mentioned its major powers, such as America and the Celestial Empire.

"Blue Star is divided into different countries?"

"Isn’t it a united community?"

Lacey was somewhat surprised by Tony’s introduction.

"Blue Star’s technology is still a long way from enabling free interstellar travel, so naturally everyone is focused on their own little patch of land."

"But when it comes to entertainment, Blue Star is quite developed."

"It’s more advanced than Xandar in that regard, so there are plenty of fun things there."

Tony understood what surprised Lacey. Most advanced civilizations in the universe were united communities, but he also knew that this would not be easy to change in the short term, so he replied with a smile.

"More entertainment-oriented? If I have the time, I’ll go take a look."

"Blue Star’s people won’t suddenly attack me, will they?"

Lacey became interested upon hearing that and jokingly asked.

"They won’t. Lacey, you don’t look too different from Blue Star’s humans."

"Even if you just blended into a crowd after arriving, no one would probably suspect you."

When Tony heard that Lacey wanted to go to Blue Star, he was wholeheartedly in favor.

Lacey would surely need somewhere to stay when she arrived in an unfamiliar place, so she would definitely come to him.

And once she was staying with him, asking Lacey to help out with any trouble would be easy.

"Are they similar to Xandarians?"

"Then I should be fine going there too, right?"

Kyle was tempted as well.

"You and Renoli will be fine as long as you don’t cause trouble."

Tony nodded. Kyle was over two meters tall and looked like a massive brute.

But Blue Star had people over two meters tall too; they simply were not as muscular as Kyle.

"So does that mean I’d have a problem if I went?"

Seeing that Tony had not mentioned him, the Precognitor spoke up.

"You’ll be fine too. It’s just that your outfit is a tiny bit fashionable by Blue Star standards."

"But even if you don’t change, people will at most think you’re cosplaying."

Tony looked over the Precognitor, whose entire body was wrapped in bandages and whose features could not be seen, and phrased it rather tactfully.

"I understand. You’ll be going back for a while this time."

"If you run into any trouble and need our help, you can contact us."

"We’ll head over to help you then."

The Precognitor understood upon hearing this and spoke.

"Even if I don’t need your help, you’re all welcome to visit Blue Star."

"As your host, I’ll show you the entertainment Blue Star has to offer."

Tony smiled at the Precognitor’s words.

"Alright. If we decide to go, we’ll let you know in advance."

Kyle laughed and said loudly.

The various small groups gathered together, eating delicious food and talking freely about the future.

Inside Harvey’s villa.

When Sonia left the temple and returned to the villa, she found that Mr. Kassadin had already returned, and the dining table was filled with food.

"Sit down and eat with me."

Seeing Sonia’s surprised expression, Harvey spoke.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Kassadin."

"However, it would be somewhat improper for me to sit at the same table as you."

Sonia was tempted when she heard this, but reason prevailed, and she politely declined with a smile.

"In the past, I was alone most of the time. Even during the New Year, I merely added a few extra dishes for myself."

"Other than that, it was not much different from an ordinary day."

"This time, I wanted to spend the New Year here because I knew you were here."

"So on New Year’s Day, there is no need to worry about such things. Sit down and eat with me."

Harvey did not mind Sonia’s refusal and spoke.

"…Alright."

A faint blush crossed Sonia’s beautiful face when she heard Mr. Kassadin’s words, and she nodded.

Then, she took a seat beside Mr. Kassadin instead of sitting directly across from him.

Sitting in that position indicated that her status was lower than that of the table’s host.

"Sonia, you’ve helped me greatly over the past year or so."

"I’ll have to trouble you to continue looking after Void Island in the future."

Harvey’s gaze flickered when he saw that Sonia had not chosen the seat directly opposite him.

At first, he had offered Sonia an annual salary of only five hundred thousand. Yet Sonia handled the daily trivialities so well that she had spoiled him with comfort.

She busied herself managing all kinds of matters on the island, far exceeding what the initial salary of five hundred thousand could have justified.

So Harvey could only reward Sonia with large sums of money from time to time.

"Even if you hadn’t told me to do so, Mr. Kassadin, I would have done it."

Sonia picked up her wineglass and smiled.

A harmonious scene unfolded between Harvey and Sonia, while the various small groups on Void Island were equally warm and harmonious.

Even the chefs responsible for preparing large amounts of food today gathered during their breaks after finishing the dishes, stir-fried a few small plates, drank a few cups together, and planned to return home to visit their parents after these busy days were over.

And all of this stemmed from their sense of belonging to Void Island.

The fourth update is here.