Surtr's words landed like a bombshell in the small, internet-famous ice cream shop.
Instantly.
The entire shop fell silent.
Everyone's eyes widened, even the young part-time waitress's mouth dropped open into an 'O' shape from shock.
Perhaps.
They had never in their lives encountered someone dining and dashing, and doing so in an ice cream shop, and saying it with such righteousness... as if she had every right to do it. It was too outrageous and absurd.
The waitress was so stunned she didn't react for a moment.
Seeing this, Surtr prepared to leave, but the young waitress quickly grabbed her hand.
"Wait!! You haven't paid yet! We're a small business, if you don't pay I'm calling the police!!"
Even the manager, who was busy in the back kitchen, heard the commotion and ran out, blocking Surtr's path.
As for the Penguin Logistics girls who had stood up to watch, their attention was entirely on Surtr's greatsword. Texas was the most sensitive to weapons. She could tell at a glance that the flaming greatsword by Surtr's side was the real deal, its sharpness far exceeding any blade she had seen in all her years. This red-haired girl... was not simple... definitely not simple. A sword that large must be incredibly heavy, yet she lifted it effortlessly with one hand, as if it weighed nothing.
Moreover.
The coldness and 'arrogance' in her eyes—Texas had seen that expression many times before. Back in Siracusa, many of the powerful figures in the Mafia had that same expression, one that regarded human life as insignificant.
A dangerous individual?!!
Texas labeled her as such, her hand silently moving towards her pocket, wanting to grab her light sword.
As for the other ordinary people, they mostly ignored the sword.
They basically dismissed it as a cosplay prop. After all, a huge comic convention was about to be held in Lungmen, and besides, the greatsword was much taller than the red-haired girl. How could such a large sword be used? No matter how you thought about it, it couldn't be real; it was probably made of foam.
That's what everyone thought.
To be honest, it was a good thing Surtr was genuinely very beautiful. A girl this pretty received special treatment wherever she went. If it had been a burly man carrying a sword, he wouldn't even get to order, the police would have been called the moment he walked in.
"Laevatainn, do you have money?"
Surtr spoke to Lucas Reeve.
Lucas Reeve was a bit embarrassed.
He... had no money either.
After all, who did he usually hang out with?
Jessica!
Was Jessica short on money?
Besides, he was a soul and didn't need money. He never thought he'd one day be held up by a mere 800 Lungmen Dollars. He couldn't have imagined this in the past.
"How could I have money?!"
Surtr fell silent again.
It wasn't just Surtr who fell silent; the manager did too.
Eight hundred dollars...
It wasn't actually that much.
Their shop wasn't large, but as the manager, he knew how high the profit margin on this kind of ice cream was. A 120-dollar set meal could net a hundred in profit. Plus, it was an internet-famous shop, with a daily net profit in the five figures. He wasn't short of eight hundred dollars. And the owner was a young man who, seeing Surtr's appearance, wasn't too keen on calling the police. He was thinking of letting her pay off the 800 in another way. Since she could eat so much, maybe she could be a competitive eating streamer for him for a few hours?
Lucas Reeve was also speechless. His spiritual power scanned left and right, and he suddenly spotted a familiar person in the shop.
He then quietly said something to Surtr.
Surtr nodded wordlessly, somewhat reluctant to do it.
Then.
Under everyone's watchful eyes.
Surtr turned around, facing the Penguin Logistics girls. Texas, Exusiai, Sora, and Croissant were taken aback.
She... seems to be looking at us?
Do we know her?
Just as the Penguin Logistics girls were wondering, Surtr pointed at the group with a calm and cold gaze, and said in a flat tone.
"Miss Sora, help me pay."
Her tone was not at all like someone asking for help paying. Paired with the habitual expression in Surtr's eyes from over the years, it seemed more like a superior ordering a subordinate to pay.
Tsk...
Lucas Reeve couldn't help but click his tongue, communicating with his spiritual power: "I say... Surt, can you be a bit more gentle with your tone? Don't act like everyone owes you money. It reminds me of an old lynx I once met."
Surtr didn't speak, but in her heart, she retorted to Lucas Reeve: "It's a habit... a bit hard to change..."
Her inner voice was noticeably cuter and calmer than her outward appearance.
This was a classic case of:
Online, they're all cute, humorous, and full of memes, able to chat all day. Then, when they meet offline, they're all dead-eyed, staring at each other, unable to squeeze out a word for ages.
Sora: ???
Ten thousand question marks flashed above the little idol's head.
Everyone in the shop turned to look at Sora. Fortunately, Sora's fame was far from being universally known, so luckily there were no fans of hers in the shop, otherwise it would have been chaotic.
Texas tilted her head, grabbed a Pocky, and stuck it in her mouth as if it were a cigarette. The Pocky bobbed up and down as she spoke.
"Sora-chan, a fan of yours?"
Sora's mouth twitched. "I... don't know either."
Croissant, eating beside her, said.
"But... would a fan talk to their idol like that?"
However, as an idol, Sora naturally did her best to be positive and cute in front of her 'fans'.
She forced herself to maintain her idol's grace, walked over, and helped Surtr pay. If her manager were here, he would have strongly supported this action. With a little hype, like <
This wave of hype could increase the loyalty of many ordinary fans, and her kind and cute persona could even win over many casual fans.
Seeing Sora voluntarily help pay.
The manager naturally had nothing more to say and returned to his work in the back kitchen.
No thank you.
Surtr turned to leave, but Sora grabbed her sleeve.
Sora's eye was twitching madly.
This person... is so rude!!
Not even a single thank you.
Is she an anti-fan!!
But Sora still forced herself to maintain a smile and asked cutely.
"Excuse me, are you a fan of mine?"
In the next second.
Surtr blurted out.
"No..."
"?????"
Sora froze, her strong professional training helping her struggle to keep smiling.
"Then, how do you know me? Since you're not my fan."
Surtr paused, and at this moment, Lucas Reeve speechlessly relayed a line to her.
"I'm Jessica's friend... I've heard her talk about you."
This time, Surtr repeated Lucas Reeve's words exactly, though her expression remained cold, like a plum blossom in the twelfth lunar month, aloof and chilly.
"Jessica!!!"
Sora's sparkling eyes widened, and her hands quickly grabbed Surtr's smooth little hands as she said excitedly.
"You know Jessica!!"
"You're Jessica's friend too!!!"
In an instant.
It seemed that Surtr's earlier 'rudeness' had been completely forgotten by Sora.
When Sora excitedly grabbed Surtr's hands, her body clearly stiffened. This was the first time in her life she had such direct physical contact with someone else. The feeling left Surtr speechless for a moment.
Sigh...
Time to switch.
Lucas Reeve sighed.
Since Surtr, Lucas Reeve, and Laevatainn were all connected by power, although Lucas Reeve couldn't leave the greatsword, he could swap souls with Surtr, similar to what he did with Jessica and the others.
Surtr offered no resistance and didn't hesitate at all, promptly swapping with him.
It was clear how much she disliked interacting with people, especially lively, talkative, and overly friendly ones. For Surtr, who was used to being alone, such people were a nightmare.
After the swap.
Surtr's cold and arrogant aura vanished in an instant.
In its place was a profound, gentle, and ancient presence.
The change was like a cold block of ice being replaced by an old antique in an instant.
Even Sora, who was holding Surtr's hand, felt a momentary daze.
For some reason.
She looked at Surtr with a strange expression.
Because this aura felt a bit familiar to Sora...
How was it exactly the same as the aura Jessica had back then?
Especially those eyes!!!
They were exactly the same as Jessica's eyes when she saved her from the self-detonating fan several months ago.
Sora felt she would never forget those eyes in her lifetime.
Even after so long.
She still often dreamed of them. Was this what love felt like?
Sora realized for the first time that love felt like this, so magical...
Sora's pretty face flushed, and as an idol, she actually started to stammer a little.
"Um.... excuse me, what is your relationship with Jessica-chan?"
Lucas Reeve said slowly, "We're close friends. I often hear her mention you when I'm with her. She says you're her favorite idol, bar none."
Lucas Reeve was telling the truth.
Even now that she was the head of Raythean Medica, Jessica still hadn't forgotten her original passion and loved Sora's songs. Even though she had little time to chat, whenever Sora released a new album, Jessica would casually spend a few million as pocket money to boost the charts for her favorite idol. This was also why Sora had been at the top of the popularity charts for the past few months.
After all, no one was richer than Jessica.
"Ahhh!!"
Sora was screaming internally, feeling a little flustered.
"Really!!"
Having not been in much contact for so long, Sora thought Jessica had forgotten about her. After all, although Sora didn't know about Jessica's family background, someone who could casually spend millions as if it were nothing, whose family gave them a ten-figure sum to start a business... her little idol self was too insignificant in front of such a person. It was normal to be forgotten...
Unexpectedly!
Jessica had remembered her all along.
"That's right."
Lucas Reeve nodded.
Perhaps it was a habit of Surtr's body, but Lucas Reeve also habitually tilted his head up when speaking. The moment his eyes met Sora's, Sora's heart trembled slightly for some reason.
It feels like....
Sora felt something was strange.
Why... were this young lady's eyes... exactly the same as Jessica's back then....
Was it an illusion?
Or something else...
"Hello, my name is Sora."
Sora formally introduced herself.
"Surtr."
Lucas Reeve shook Sora's hand, and internally, he explained to Surtr.
"This is called a handshake. It represents friendship. When someone extends their hand to you, don't stare blankly for more than a second, or it will make them think you look down on them."
The Surtr in his soul seemed much more obedient than the one in reality. She nodded obediently.
Surtr had absolutely no knowledge of common social customs because she had no memories of her past, not even of her own birth. It was normal for her to lack common sense. However, in the next second, Surtr suddenly said.
"What if I really do look down on them?"
"....."
Lucas Reeve was rendered speechless.
"Um, Miss Surtr, um, can I invite you to my place? Since you're Jessica-chan's friend, you must be my friend too. My friends will all be coming over for dinner tonight, and I want... to hear more about Jessica...."
Sora said with some bashfulness.
"Boring..."
The Surtr in his soul slowly complained.
"I've prepared an ice cream hot pot for a few days.... when the time comes..."
"I'm in."
Surtr's soul quickly changed its tune.