(Manami POV)

"So you left with him?" The white haired fox asked.

??

"Of course," I scoffed. "I've found my Master and mate, why would I let him go without following him?"

She frowned at me, "You stayed behind when I left the village."

I held her face with both hands, "Oh my dear little Kiyomi~ Were you lonely without big sister to take care of you?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Please don't treat me like a little girl anymore, elder sister. I have been out here longer than you have."

"Ufufufu~ My little sister has all grown up! I am so proud of you!"

She rolled her eyes at me, "We are twins, you are just a few seconds older..."

I ignored her and pulled her in for a hug, one that she did not return.

"Elder sister… Should I remind you that I'm working right now?"

"Ara ara? It's fine, isn't it? Just indulge in your elder sister for a bit~ I see you're now part of the Idol group here, how did you even make it in? I remember you were always the 'cool-headed little sister' back in town!"

She stared at me, "I learnt to act... It comes with the job."

"Ufufufu~ You really have grown up, Kiyomi! So, have you found a mate yet?"

"You know my stance on mates. They make me feel powerless and I don't like feeling powerless."

My smile widened, "Fufufu~ Well, perhaps you're just missing the right person? I'll introduce you to my Master next time. Who knows? He might be your destined mate too~"

Kiyomi scrunched up her face, "I doubt it… Don't you have other places to be? I told you I'm still working here."

"Fufu, well I'm here on vacation with my Master, so I--"

'Manami?'

My words were cut off when I received a thought transmission.

'It's Lian Li. We need to meet up, something's happened. Diao Chan and Eris are with me, we'll meet you at the town plaza.'

I sent back an affirmative before turning back to my sister, her head tilted to the side in confusion to my sudden silence.

I patted her head, "Fufufu~ Sorry Kiyomi, but something came up that elder sister needs to attend to. I'll come meet you again later~"

"Yes, yes. Do take care of yourself elder sister."

I waved at her before walking away at a quick pace, pushing my way through the crowd to the arranged meeting place.

It didn't take long for me to see the three of them waiting for me at the town's plaza, all three of them sitting around the fountain.

"Where is Cai Hong?" I asked.

"She said she was still busy with the group that she found, so we'll fill her in on the details later," Diao Chan explained.

Lian Li stood up and beckoned, "Come, I have a place we can use."

We followed behind her to a building nearby, I noticed the sign 'Xi Family Branch House' hanging above the entrance.

This must be where Lian Li came to look for contacts.

She led us to a room that I can only assume to be the personal quarters for the Head of this branch judging by how lavishly decorated it was.

That is, if you ignore the fact that there is a dead body hanging from the ceiling in the centre of the room, swaying slightly from the wind.

"There's no one else here and the room is soundproofed," Lian Li stated, taking a seat on the bed and ignoring the corpse entirely.

"Should I even ask?" I pointed to the body.

Lian Li waved her hand nonchalantly, "Just some idiot who did not know his place."

All of us nodded dropping the topic entirely.

"So, you mentioned that this was something pertaining to Master?" Diao Chan asked, taking a seat on one of the plush chairs.

Lian Li sighed, "Yes. Eris and I met with what I assume to be their High Priestess of the religion here.? It seems the people of this town believe in a god of 'An Ney May' and they take offense to us spreading Master's greatness to everyone."

"God of 'An Ney May'? What has this god ever done?" Diao Chan frowned.

"Apparently everything that you see around us," Lian Li shrugged. "They said that by giving them all this, he lost his divinity and will only regain it back after enough people have been converted."

"Ara? So no chance of us coexisting?" I asked.

"Unlikely," Eris shook her head. "They've already declared war on us."

I let a few balls of fire gather around my hand, "War? Shall we burn them all down?"

Lian Li shook her head, "Not that kind of war. We both agreed that neither of our gods would want us to kill each other over something like this… They suggested we only compete in converting as many people to our belief while retaining our own believers."

I raised an eyebrow, "And you trust them to keep their word?"

"Not at all. We'll keep to this deal until they break it. In the meantime, we'll get our people to be more vigilant. Though I trust our people to be steadfast in their belief in Master, there's no telling what the other side might do."

"Wait, didn't you mention to me just now that there were a few people who tried to take Eris away? What happened to them?" Diao Chan asked.

Eris thumbed the hilt of her sword, "I dealt with them of course. They're good, but not that good."

I tilted my head slightly, "Ara, ara? And they let you all go even after you attacked them?"

Eris shrugged, "It's self defense. And their priestess told them to let us go because they couldn't handle us anyway."

I nodded my head in understanding.

"Well, we just have to make sure more people believe in Master than their so called 'An Ney May' god."

Diao Chan licked her lips, "Poaching the other side's believers is on the table right?"

Lian Li smiled devilishly, "Definitely."

"Kukuku… Because the group that I got in contact with have already realised who's the better one to serve~ Such simple people really~"

I chuckled, "Ufufufu~ We are on their home turf after all. We have the head start advantage while they will have to go all the way to Jin city if they want to poach ours."

"Yes, the Xi family is on their last legs as well," Lian Li stated, standing up from the bed to walk over to the hanging corpse. "We'll be able to take over them soon and gain all their connections to further our goals. The insect is finally proving itself quite useful."

"Ara? That is convenient. So what should we do, Lian Li?"

"Convert as many as we can while we're here and get the others back in Jin city to double their efforts. This is a trial we will not lose. All for Master."

"All for Master," We echoed.

We were just about to go further into planning when a thought transmission came in.

'Big sisters? Umm… Master got taken by the mean fox… Cai Hong needs help… Cai Hong is at the mansion kitchen...'

We were shook out of our state from those words.

"Go! Manami, now!" Lian Li declared.

Manami immediately invoked her teleportation technique, sending us to where Cai Hong was.

For such a thing to befall Master in our absence and in his current helpless form, this is an unforgivable oversight!