In the alleyway, a classic scene seemed to be unfolding.
Hearing Stelle's words, the Hound Family staff members were highly displeased.
"Dad? What dad? No matter who your father is, he has no right to shelter a stowaway... We're just following orders to apprehend a suspicious silver-haired individual. We advise you esteemed guests not to get into trouble!"
They were, naturally, completely bewildered. They were in the middle of a search for a silver-haired person. They finally found this silver-haired young woman and were about to apprehend her for questioning when this gray-haired girl inexplicably blocked their way.
Saving a beautiful girl? Do you think you're filming a teen drama?
As they stood there speechless, two more figures appeared.
"Where did you get that line from? If you want to protect a beautiful girl, how about you protect me more often?" March 7th sighed, stepping forward to apologize on Stelle's behalf.
"Sorry, my companion can be a bit... unstable sometimes. My apologies for offending you."
"But, you seem to be staff members. Could you tell us why you're trying to apprehend this young lady? And what do you mean by 'stowaway'?"
Glancing back at the pitiful-looking, silver-haired girl, Firefly, March 7th was a little confused. Though it was a bit embarrassing to admit, like Stelle, her first reaction was, how could such a beautiful girl be a stowaway?
"If you don't even know what a stowaway is, then please don't obstruct us in the execution of our duties!" Hearing March 7th's words, the Hound Family staff member was exasperated.
Before he could complain impatiently, his partner suddenly stepped on his foot, telling him to shut up, then immediately looked towards Su Mo with extreme caution.
"Esteemed guest! A 'stowaway' refers to someone who enters the Penacony dreamscape illegally, without following the proper procedures. The methods they use to enter the dream are generally very dangerous. For the sake of their own lives, as well as the rules of our Family, stowaways cannot be permitted."
Seeing his incredibly respectful demeanor, the first staff member was momentarily stunned. Was it really necessary to explain in such detail?
Noticing the change in the staff's attitude, Stelle immediately glanced at Su Mo. "You know my father?"
"You mean to say, this gentleman is your father?" Hearing this, the staff member's gaze towards Stelle was also filled with awe. "Esteemed lady, I do not know this gentleman's name, but during The Family's recent emergency training, it was mentioned that if we were to see this gentleman, we were to treat him with the same respect as a Family Head."
Hearing this, the other staff member's face went pale. So he was one of the individuals on the top-tier VIP whitelist? Damn it, I forgot to memorize it!
Fortunately, no one present was looking to cause him trouble.
"In that case, can we vouch for this young lady?" Stelle, who never hesitated to use power when she had it, immediately made her request.
"This..." The staff member hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded. "If this gentleman is willing to vouch for this young lady, then there is no problem."
"After all, we are only looking for a silver-haired stowaway. We have no evidence yet that this young lady is, in fact, one." He knew how to make concessions when privilege was involved.
"Alright. Then tell The Family that she is under my protection." Su Mo tossed his room key card over as a record.
After receiving it, the two staff members breathed a sigh of relief and quickly departed.
Once they were gone, Stelle put her hands on her hips and looked triumphantly at the silver-haired girl behind her. "Don't worry, you're safe now. The bad guys are gone!"
"Thank you!" Seeing her spirited appearance, the silver-haired girl offered a gentle smile that held a hint of nostalgia and thanked her softly.
"You're acting like you're the one who saved her!" March 7th muttered under her breath.
Stelle, however, pretended not to hear, hoisting her baseball bat onto her shoulder and flashing a villainous grin. "So, now, no one will come to save you even if you scream your lungs out... Mwahahaha!"
An ordinary person would surely be frightened by her change in demeanor. It looked exactly like a rich kid shooing away the authorities to have their way with a lone, beautiful girl. If Stelle wasn't a girl herself, the scene would have been cause for alarm.
However, in the face of her bizarre shift, the silver-haired girl's gaze remained soft, a familiar sense of helplessness tinging her gentle expression.
THWACK!
March 7th, feeling a bit embarrassed, gave Stelle a light knock on the head. "What are you doing? Don't scare her!"
"Hehe~ I just thought the atmosphere was right," Stelle said, sticking out her tongue sheepishly.
March 7th was about to retort when the silver-haired girl spoke up. "It's alright! This kind and righteous young lady helped me, so she must be a good person. She's just a little... lively. I wasn't scared."
"'A little... lively'?" Hearing the silver-haired girl's assessment, March 7th was dumbfounded. "Are you sure it's only a little?"
Meanwhile, Stelle proudly puffed out her chest. "That's right! Kind and righteous, that's me!"
"Your skin is so thick, I don't even know what to say anymore." March 7th felt a wave of exhaustion and turned to Su Mo. "Lord Su Mo, what do you think?"
"Me?" Su Mo spoke, shifting his gaze to the silver-haired girl.
The silver-haired girl immediately tensed up, looking at Su Mo with a pleading gaze, as if she didn't want him to expose her identity.
"Stelle's methods aside, shouldn't this young lady introduce herself first?"
Hearing this, the silver-haired girl's eyes widened. After confirming that Su Mo had no intention of revealing her identity, she gave him a look of immense gratitude and placed a hand on her chest.
"My name is Firefly. I am... an attendant of the Iris Family. Thank you all so much for helping me just now!"
"No problem! Helping a beautiful girl is my duty!" Hearing her thanks again, Stelle proudly puffed out her chest.
"How about the part where you intimidated a beautiful girl?" March 7th gave the gray-haired girl a speechless look, then kindly introduced herself and the others to Firefly.
"So you're from the Astral Express! I've admired the members of the Express Crew since I was a child. I can't believe I'm meeting Lord Su Mo too!"
March 7th hadn't gone into great detail about Su Mo, but Firefly still showed a rather excited expression.
Especially when she mentioned the Express Crew and Su Mo, there was a subconscious warmth that made it hard to doubt her words. No matter how you looked at it, she didn't seem like an enemy.
"Oh? You know about Lord Su Mo and us?" Hearing her say this, March 7th immediately took a liking to her. It wasn't strange for people to know Su Mo, but knowing the Express Crew meant she was really getting famous.
"Mhm!" Firefly nodded immediately and accurately recounted the Express Crew's past deeds.
March 7th then realized she was a die-hard fan, and was so happy she didn't know which way was up. Her favorability towards Firefly skyrocketed, and for a moment, she even forgot her initial wariness.
After a few minutes of conversation, Firefly finally looked at Su Mo and said, a little nervously, "I've long known of Lord Su Mo's deeds and admire you greatly... Excuse me, Lord Su Mo, but could you grant me an opportunity to ask a question in private?"
It was only at this moment that March 7th realized. A private question? Wait, don't tell me this girl is another competitor?
Before she could say anything, Su Mo had already agreed to the request. March 7th could only bite her handkerchief and lead a very curious Stelle away, leaving the space to Su Mo and the girl named Firefly.
"Greetings, Lord Su Mo!" As soon as the two left, Firefly immediately dropped to one knee, bowing with immense respect and gratitude. "Thank you, Lord Su Mo, for not revealing my identity in front of her."
"Stand up," Su Mo waved his hand, gesturing for her to dispense with the formalities, then asked, "Are you here this time to carry out a script from the Stellaron Hunters?"
"No," Firefly immediately shook her head and answered honestly. "Initially, Elio did give me a script. Although it was brief, it did require me to act according to it to resolve the crisis in Penacony."
"But after confirming the intelligence that Lord Su Mo had appeared, all scripts have been nullified. Elio said we could act freely, without restraint."
With Su Mo around, scripts and fate lost all meaning. This had been proven time and again, at the Herta Space Station, on Jarilo-VI, and in the Xianzhou Alliance. Elio was not foolish enough to go against Su Mo.
"Then why are you here?" Su Mo asked again.
"One reason is, I wanted to see her again." Firefly glanced at the corner of the alley, where Stelle was sneakily peeking at them. She waved and gave a gentle smile.
After greeting her, she finally looked up, her gaze becoming incredibly serious. "But the main reason is to pay my respects to you, Lord Su Mo!"
"Oh? To see me?" Su Mo showed a look of interest.