Fire Finch’s Ecstasy and Li Jia’s Confusion

Li Jia had barely left the Vermillion Bird Tower when an explosion reverberated from behind her.

Turning back, she witnessed a dazzling magical beam shoot out from within the tower.

The beam arced across the sky, painting a beautiful rainbow.

At its terminus, she thought she glimpsed her ‘fake best friend,’ Fire Finch.

‘No! It must be an illusion…’

****

Fire Finch, having been blasted away, was enveloped in a sphere of Undying Flame.

This was the innate flame of the Vermillion Bird itself.

Shielded by the Undying Flame and benefiting from its potent healing properties, Aya Tone’s magic, while dangerous, was far from lethal to her.

At most, it would inflict severe injuries, mere trivial severe injuries.

Absolutely!

No problems at all!

But let’s not dwell on that.

At that moment, Fire Finch casually raised a hand to block the path of the magical beam.

Even as she was uncontrollably flung backward through the sky, not a trace of anxiety marred her face.

On the contrary!

Once she was clear of Aya Tone, the smile she had been suppressing finally blossomed at the corners of her lips.

Her ‘lecherous hand’ gently touched her nose.

“Hiss~ hah~”

‘How many years has it been? This sensation, this scent!’

‘She had finally seized her chance.’

‘Confess Aya Tone’s true identity to Li Jia? What a joke.’

‘Fire Finch merely entertained the thought; if doing so made Aya Tone flee, where would she ever find him again?’

‘Should she ask Li Jia to trick him back?’

‘Don’t even think about it.’

‘Compared to her best friend Li Jia, she naturally favored the petite and adorable Aya Tone more.’

‘Heh heh…’

‘Those seemingly flat but subtly curved breasts, and those tiny grape-like nipples.’

‘So fragrant and soft.’

‘It’s decided! She wouldn’t wash this hand for the entire month!’

‘She could still envision Aya Tone’s shy expression; she definitely had to make multiple copies of it when she got back.’

‘A mere severe injury? Totally worth it!’

‘Hahahaha.’

Fire Finch, a wild, unrestrained smile gracing her lips, vanished into the horizon, transforming into the brightest star in the sky.

Indeed! Such was the resolve of the leader of Aya Tone’s fan club!

****

The chaotic antics of the three had no impact on the operations of the Vermillion Bird Guild.

One must remember this was the Vermillion Bird Guild’s headquarters; the fact that the Guild Master hadn’t intervened spoke volumes.

Absolutely no problem!

Fire Finch: ‘I fly to the sky, shoulder to shoulder with the sun…’

“Haha, that child seems full of spirit!”

An old man playing chess in the park chuckled, addressing his old companion.

The dazzling magical beam had not, in fact, caused any panic among the citizens.

The ranking matches were broadcast nationwide.

Aya Tone’s magic was simply too recognizable, especially emanating from the Vermillion Bird Tower.

Who else but their beloved Guardian could unleash such a potent skill?

“I just wonder who managed to provoke little Aya Tone.”

“Checkmate!”

“Hm? No, no, that doesn’t count. I was distracted just now, let’s restart!”

Such scenes were not uncommon in Yan’an City.

****

“Tone, are you and Fire Finch really ‘that kind’ of couple?”

The next day.

Having pondered it all night, Li Jia found the idea increasingly unbelievable.

That woman, Fire Finch, had spoken half-truths her entire life.

This time should be no different!

Rather than trusting her, it was better to ask one of the direct parties involved.

“Ah? Ah!” Aya Tone was unaware of what ‘kind’ of relationship Li Jia was referring to.

He assumed she was talking about the apartment and nodded.

It was true he was currently living in the apartment Fire Finch had found for him, so there was no mistake there.

He even had to pay Fire Finch rent on time every month, a hefty three thousand ‘silver dollars.’

It was exponentially more expensive than the house he had rented in the suburbs before.

While his heart ached, he knew it was well worth the cost.

“…”

Hearing Aya Tone’s affirmative reply, Li Jia’s heart tightened, and she bit her upper lip.

Still, unwilling to give up, she asked with a glimmer of hope: “What about Xiao Jiu?”

‘Surely little Aya Jiu isn’t Fire Finch’s child. How could two girls…’

“Xiao Jiu?” Aya Tone tilted his head.

For a moment, he couldn’t grasp why Li Jia would bring up Xiao Jiu.

“Xiao Jiu is at kindergarten.”

As the last large tree disintegrated into nothingness amidst a magical explosion, Aya Tone finally put away his magic wand.

Today’s work was complete!

Yay! ヾ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ

Perhaps some might wonder.

Was he so diligent because he intended to snatch all the adventurer jobs in Yan’an City?

But he truly had no other choice.

The resources from Fengtai City required time to convert into money, and during this interim, he could only compete with low-level adventurers for a living.

Of course, he didn’t touch dungeons ranked C or higher.

He typically accepted only the lowest-tier E-rank dungeons.

He would only intervene in C-rank or higher dungeons if adventurers couldn’t handle them or if they remained unclaimed for too long.

Otherwise, a single 150,000 reward felt like a significant loss.

Losing money was simply not an option!

And so, a unique feature of Yan’an City—an S-rank tackling E-rank dungeons—had charmingly come into being.

Most importantly, no one considered this a demeaning act.

At least, the person involved didn’t think so in the slightest.

Everyone was striving for money; what was there to be ashamed of?

“No.”

Li Jia stammered, “I mean, what’s the relationship between Xiao Jiu and Fire Finch?”

“Oh, so that’s what you were asking about.”

Aya Tone blinked. “There’s no relationship.”

‘How could Xiao Jiu and Fire Finch be related?’

‘What a strange question to ask.’

“Then…”

Li Jia intended to press further, but Aya Tone cut her off.

“Let’s not talk about that for now. If we don’t gather these resources soon, the dungeon will disappear.”

Because Li Jia had been so preoccupied, Aya Tone had already cleared the entire area, yet Li Jia hadn’t touched any of her own tasks.

The ground was littered with scattered resources.

Seeing this, Li Jia could only suppress her questions, resolving to address them after their work was done.

“How about I treat you to lunch?”

Aya Tone pondered, realizing he ought to show some appreciation.

After all, he had left Li Jia behind in Fengtai City, and he genuinely felt quite awkward about it.

It wasn’t yet noon, so having lunch with Li Jia wouldn’t interfere with picking up Xiao Jiu from school.

It was perfectly acceptable.

“!” “What?”

Li Jia froze. What had she just heard?

Aya Tone said he would treat her to a meal? Was this unprecedented event truly not a dream?

“It’s still early today, so consider it an apology.”

“Alright!”

Motivated by the promise of a meal, Li Jia slapped her own face.

‘Full focus, all things become one!’

****

“Tone… do you usually eat at places like this?”

Li Jia gazed at the bustling food stall before them, her expression hesitant.

This was quite different from the ‘treat’ she had envisioned.

In contrast, Aya Tone seemed far more at ease.

He simply found a vacant table and sat down, thoughtfully pulling out the chair beside him for Li Jia, motioning for her to sit.

“Yes, the food here is absolutely delicious! Order whatever you like, it’s my treat.”

Aya Tone waved a hand with an air of generous affluence.

The prices here were reasonable, and little Aya Jiu also adored the dishes the owner prepared.

So, whenever he thought of treating someone, this was the first place that came to mind.

Affordable, tasty, and simply the best!

“Uh…”

Li Jia swallowed hard. Given her background, she had truly never visited a roadside stall like this.

It was quite… novel.

Noticing Li Jia remained standing, Aya Tone reluctantly rose and gently pulled her to sit beside him.

“Just by looking at you, I can tell this is your first time. Sit properly.”

“Boss!”

“Coming!”

Aya Tone didn’t even need to consult a menu, rattling off dish names that left Li Jia utterly bewildered.

“That’s enough for now, and a bottle of Lei Bi, please.”

Since he had to care for little Aya Jiu at home, Aya Tone had no habit of drinking alcohol.

Whenever he went out for skewers, he always ordered other beverages; alcohol was a definite no.

“Got it!”

“…”

****