EXRT7

After setting up the moon altar and offerings in a designated spot in the hotel garden, Vien took out her phone and played the music required for the Moon Goddess Ritual. The two prepared to begin the dance for the ceremony.

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Nisa noticed the band's unique style. Wow, I haven't bought any of these albums before.

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The two obediently changed in the hotel's private changing room and came out.

"How do you look?"

"Better than I expected." Catherine came out first.

She was very satisfied with the outfit.

It was a dress that leaned towards casual wear, looking cute yet vibrant.

Comfortable and breathable.

"And it's enchanted." Ryder added, walking over.

"Huh? Magic?"

"The instructions say that regular drinks and ordinary methods can't stain it." Ryder handed the instructions to Catherine.

Although it looked very casual,

it was indeed a high-end product that had undergone special processing.

"Mom and Dad, how do I look?" Nora came out of the changing room.

It was an elegant dress, mainly white with a soft light blue sheen.

"It suits you very well, it seems my taste is still accurate."

Vien said with a smile.

"It's a pity it's not enchanted, I heard it's because of the material, but it's also very dirt-resistant so there's no need to worry." Ryder's choices tend to focus on making things more durable.

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But today, a familiar face appeared in the little corner of the garden.

That person seemed to have noticed Eloise's presence as well.

"Oh? Eloise, are you having afternoon tea too? I've prepared chocolate milk."

She smiled, showing Eloise the small gold metal tag she used for confirmation.

As if anticipating their meeting, this afternoon tea was also prepared for Eloise.

Eloise remembered her as the older sister who had visited her once in the hospital, and how sweet her scent was, so she skipped over.

"Why is my sister here?" Eloise asked innocently.

"There are so many bedbugs in the city lately, it's hard to even have a cup of tea in peace, so I came here. Do you mind if I bother you?"

"Not at all~" Eloise had already climbed onto the chair, curiously eyeing the desserts.

Ingrid smiled at this.

This was their first afternoon tea together.

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Meanwhile, in Grandpa Haider's garden…

Eloise is having a great time playing with all sorts of local residents.

"You touched it! You're it!"

But for a mushroom sprite with such short legs…

play tag is a bit unfair.

Luckily, the mushroom sprite has encountered this before.

Soon, Eloise will witness the rabbit knight's prowess.

Perhaps not particularly fast.

But more than enough to play with children.

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"Trouble?"

"Right now, our adorable little sister's life is worth a fortune on the black market, more valuable than the Queen herself." Ava flicked her finger, conjuring several fake bounty posters made with magic.

The old, Western-style papers featured little Elo's cute smiling face.

Yalter glanced at them and frowned.

"…Is this amount for real?" Buying the life of a five-year-old child requires a national budget?

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They were in their hotel room.

Vien and Ryder had, of course, bought some things at the auction.

But… "I wonder if this was really necessary?" Vien put on the armor Ryder had bought.

And felt a little uncomfortable.

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"All done. What do you think?" Nisa finished putting on an evening gown.

But it wasn't for any ball.

It was just something her mother had won at an auction, and she wanted Nisa to try it on.

"I think it's very elegant. Mom's taste is always spot on," Selene commented, sitting on the bed.

It was a purple evening gown called "Nightfall."

It was designed by a new designer.

It was said to be made of a very rare material that absorbs moonlight at night, giving the fabric a soft sheen.

And it had the elegant feel of top-quality silk.

The earrings were a separate auction item.

Ryder bought them simply to collect and give as gifts to his daughters.

The earrings and the gown surprisingly complemented each other well.

"Are you sure you want this for me?" Nisa already had an evening gown, so she didn't really need one.

"Purple doesn't really suit me. You can keep it. Dad gave me another pair of earrings."

The gown was beautiful.

However, the question as a whole didn't quite suit Selene's taste.

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The two stopped for a short break at a seemingly clean family-run restaurant.

They did a quick evaluation of the items on their list to decide which ones to bid on.

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The day before Eloise was discharged from the hospital.

Everyone was busy, so Eloise was alone in her hospital room, reading a picture book in bed.

Suddenly, a large raven landed by the window.

"Wow, what a big bird!"

Just as Eloise was about to get out of bed to get some fruit to feed the bird,

the raven flew into the room and started tap-dancing on the small table at the foot of her bed.

The sound of its claws tapping on the wooden tabletop was quite loud.

"Wow! Amazing!" Eloise stayed in bed and watched the raven dance.

After about a minute of simple dancing,

"Thank you for watching. Remember to tip with an apple!" the raven suddenly spoke and gave a simple bow.

"Okay~ A talking bird is amazing." Eloise clapped her hands and placed the apple on the table where the raven was.

"The reaction is a bit different from what I expected. At least be surprised that I can talk."

"It's amazing that a bird can talk."

Although little Elo added this,

the overall reaction was still different from what raven had imagined.

"Okay, it's alright." raven flew aside and transformed into human form.

She was a fair-skinned woman with black and white hair, wearing a cloak.

"Don't be afraid, little Elo. Look, I have this."

She took out a small gold metal tag, meant for Elo's verification.

After all, there were too many family members; it wasn't practical for a child to remember them all in a short time.

So only trusted family members were given this metal tag.

It had a lot of anti-counterfeiting features added; one of the uncles in the family was very skilled at this.

They seemed to have gotten a little carried away with it, making it quite formal, like some kind of currency, with family crests engraved on it.

This was all to prevent someone from impersonating a family member and taking Eloise away.

The raven sister held up a badge engraved with a sun and feathers.

She handed the tag to little Elo for confirmation.

"Ah, it's the family identification tag. Who is your sister?" Eloise asked curiously, having learned to recognize the tag's anti-counterfeiting design as her parents had taught her.

"Me? I'm Ava. Butterfly Dance. Vinaka." She struck a comical pose, trying to look cute.

But it looked strange.

"You look much better than the intelligence report said." She then scratched little Elo's cheek.

This made the little girl giggle.

It seems the intelligence report needs a slight revision.

"Let's go out and play. Come on, get in."

Because of the special circumstances, the little girl couldn't be out alone.

But there were exceptions.

She carried her little girl on her back and leaped out of the window.

"Eh!? Whoa~!" She transformed into a raven again, only larger, easily carrying little Elo in flight.

After flying for a distance.

The raven landed in a garden.

"This is Grandpa Haider's garden. You can run and jump around as much as you want here."

Even family members aren't allowed to come here casually.

The local residents quickly noticed the new little visitor.

Two blue-capped mushroom sprites curiously approached from behind a tree.

"Hey, that's not fair! I've never seen you show up so quickly before. How come you appear so soon after I've only been here a short while?" Ava grabbed one of them in protest.

(Ingrid Butterfly Imperial Topaz)

Age: 16

She has long, light blonde hair with black highlights.

Horns, wings, and tail are a blend of black and gold.

The black highlights are naturally formed, their cause unknown, but some say they are related to her magic.

She is of Mewni and Mineral Naga descent.

The local term for Mineral Naga is "mineral dragon."

Horns, wings, and tail are all influenced by her Mineral Naga bloodline.

The reason her surname is so long is due to the double surnames of the Mineral Naga people.

Double surnames are generally only possessed by high-ranking nobles or royalty.

Ingrid, for example, comes from the Imperial Topaz family within the Topaz clan.

Double surnames are a symbol of status and prestige within a clan.

However, she doesn't like being called by her full surname by acquaintances.

It feels like being constantly reminded of her status by familiar people.

She usually introduces herself as Ingrid Butterfly.

In Minlanaga, they are also known as the mixed-race generation.

Although her strength is somewhat lower compared to the pure-blood generation,

she gains resistance to poison, so in some ways, it's not a loss.

While it doesn't appear to have the Mewni's magic mark,

the mark actually appears on its wings, horns, and tail. It's a rather tiny star pattern that emits a faint glow when she uses magic.

Within her family, she's responsible for preparing aristocratic events such as tea parties and various diplomatic affairs.

Her noble bearing and lineage command respect even from those who consider themselves of high status in the collateral branches.

Her specialty is shadow magic, inherited from her grandmother, Selene.

However, the techniques and methods she uses are slightly different.

She has a calm personality and is not very talkative.

She has a particular fondness for black tea and milk tea.

She might occasionally pop into a few cafes to buy some tea and snacks and take a short break.

It's best not to disturb her at these times.

Otherwise, the consequences usually won't be good.

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(Ava Butterfly Vinaka)

Age: 14

She has long, glossy black hair that reaches her neck, with sections turned white due to atavism.

Ava herself is pleased with this elusive, mixed black and white hair color.

She has bright, begonia-red eyes, beautiful yet mysterious and alluring.

Rumors circulate that looking into her eyes for too long could lead to being controlled by her magic.

However, this has no such effect.

Even she doesn't understand where these rumors came from.

She finds them amusing, so she hasn't bothered to clarify.

Her skin is as white as the moon due to her frequent hiding in the shadows and wearing a cloak.

She's unaware of it, but it's fair to say she's naturally beautiful.

Her personality is quite unpredictable, but generally friendly.

For example, even though she may already see through the situation,

she always seems to enjoy making things more complicated.

She especially revels in making already horribly wronged villains suffer even more.

If the same solution works, she'll unhesitatingly choose the more interesting method.

She's complex, yet not so complex.

It's her own personal aesthetic.

Those who know her understand that her words are credible, but not entirely so.

She's normally responsible for intelligence work within the Royal Guard, covering the Butterfly Kingdom.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the Queen's eyes and ears.

She always manages to infiltrate and investigate undetected using illusion magic.

Having Winged blood, she's skilled at using magic to transform into birds.

Although she claims to perfectly mimic others' voices,

it's all an illusion created by illusionary magic.

She always carries magical potions and various magical gadgets made by her grandfather, Haider, around her waist.

The potions themselves are incredibly sturdy; they could be used to smash someone.

The potions include antidotes and healing potions, and she actually hides several more bottles under her cloak.

As for the hidden potions, Ava claimed they were for beauty and skincare, but nobody believed her.

Besides, there seemed to be quite a few other things hidden in the cloak.

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It seems someone had really messed with her and suffered quite a bit.

Wailing and groans rose and fell.

Today was another pleasant day for Ava.

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The two finally reached a main street frequented by tourists.

They stopped for a short break at an ice cream shop.

"Oh~ you should try this." Nora beamed after taking a bite of the famous cherry dark chocolate soft serve.

It was a perfect blend of the bittersweetness of dark chocolate and the sweetness of cherry.

Nora's attention was completely focused on the ice cream.

"Here you go! Your ice cream, miss." Catherine took the ice cream from the clerk.

"Do you think we should bring something back for Dad, Mom, and our other sisters?" Catherine also ordered three scoops of ice cream.

These were all her favorite flavors: blueberry, mint chocolate, and strawberry.

They could probably only bring back desserts that wouldn't melt.

However, Nora's attention was on the ice cream, and she might not realize it for a while.

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They saw the brown-haired boy on the street suddenly have his mouth covered by a masked man and be dragged into an alley.

"…Was the security here always this bad?" Nisa took out her pocket watch.

"It shouldn't be a security issue; those people have some kind of cursed aura about them." Selene immediately summoned two shadow fairies.

"Consider this a warm-up before the snacks."

"Agreed." The two skillfully assumed fighting stances.

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"Hey! Candlehead, you have to buy the artwork before you can touch it!" Just as the Candle Demon was about to touch the item hanging on the shelf with its claws, Vayne swung her scythe.

If it hadn't pulled its hand back quickly,

its hands would probably be on the ground.

"Hiss!" Candlehead raised its hands, emitting a threatening growl.

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"How about this? A Mr. Star doll. Little Elo loves dolls."

It's a cute mascot that often appears in recent children's picture books.

Ostri picked it up, played with it for a moment, then hugged it to check its texture.

Although it's simple—just a star with a face—it's surprisingly popular with children for some reason.

"You're giving her a Mr. Star doll? Then I'll give her a Mr. Rabbit doll, so we can have a duo." Yalter pointed to a Mr. Rabbit doll nearby.

Mr. Rabbit is also a main character in the story, and a very popular character in the series.

"You know about this too?" Ostri asked, somewhat surprised.

"How could a member of the Royal Guard who has to play with little kids not know? I can guess the series just by listening to the dialogue." Yalter casually mentioned a skill that sounded both impressive and unimpressive.

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