There were many reasons why Ash hated Vichy, but telling the truth was not one of them.

If it was before, he could still use nonsense like the three great illusions of life to muddle through, but now it was no longer possible. From Blood Moon to Starry Sky, from Silver to Legend, Ash had a gold rank in the Psychic Faction alone. How could he not be able to confirm a girl's thoughts now?

Even though Fili, the little lamb, has tried her best to hide her true feelings, Ash has already seen the burning sensation when Annan forcefully kissed him, the tears of Silver Lantern when she said goodbye to him, the shyness of Sword Princess when she hugged him, and the attachment of the Witch when they met again.

So when Ash's eyes met Fili's, he could recognize that familiar, dazzling light.

Even if you don't say a word, your love will still show in your eyes.

"…Why don't we go find her directly? She should be taking sword lessons now."

Wei Xi smiled and said, "You don't think she learned swordsmanship just to better manipulate your spectator mode? My maid mode is obviously more useful and easier for her. She just wants to have more in common with you... or with the sword princess you often mention."

"Master, you don't have to do anything. Just leave everything to me. I'll just work a little harder and work overtime on holidays. I'll immediately book a room at the best Starry Sky Hotel in Jiashi, fill it with flowers, light up the aromatherapy, and then push you two in. Then the little sheep will be unable to help but pounce on you, and you can keep your innocent expression until we're done."

"Although I want to ask if I should join in, I'm really not in the mood to please you today. Besides, this is the little sheep's first time after all, we must at least give her a perfect dream..."

As Vichy was talking, she was suddenly grabbed by the collar and lifted in front of Ash. She had to stand on tiptoe to barely touch the ground. Ash roughly dragged her to the alley on the pedestrian street and pressed her against the wall, staring at her coldly. The half of her face that was not illuminated by the light seemed to hide a surging undercurrent.

"Apologize."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Vichy was not afraid at all. "You can ask me to apologize as many times as you want. I don't mind calling Fili to apologize for the 'conspiracy' I'm still planning."

"only……"

She stretched out her fingers, which had just been painted with snowflake and galaxy patterns, and gently stroked Ash's face: "Are you angry about my dirty talk, or..."

"Are you angry that I told you the truth that you have to face?"

She pried Ash's hand away, straightened her clothes, and said, "Normally, isn't Fili the lover you men dream of? She worships you, loves you, and has indispensable value to be used. She is beautiful, young, has a sexy figure, and a simple personality. She is simply a perfect plaything."

"You don't even have to worry about losing your sense of freshness or being responsible, because she is just a resident of the land of illusion, an illusion that stays on the mirror, a bubble that is destined to burst."

"When you get tired of playing with her and have finished using her, you can throw her away."

Vichy reached out to adjust Ash's collar. "You don't have to bear any moral burden, and you don't even need to take any protective measures. After all, she is just an illusion, not the real person. The population birth rate of the Star Kingdom seems to correspond to the stars."

"And for Fili, what a wonderful life this must be - taking risks with the one she loves, loving each other deeply, and then ending it abruptly at the most passionate moment. All the eternal vows remain in the moment that both parties can still abide by. It is as dreamy as the love described in fairy tales."

Weixi walked out of the alley, looked at the crowded streets, and said leisurely:

"But I've waited for a whole month, and you haven't eaten her yet. But I'm even more surprised that Igula didn't instigate you. He is the trickster who does the dirty work in your gang."

"What's even more puzzling to me is that I found several times that Igula took the initiative to call me, Harvey, and Rose away, silently providing a suitable atmosphere for you. In other words, the trickster had the same idea as me, but as your friend, he didn't instigate you, he just provided convenience for Fili."

"He provided you with the answer, but he already knew you wouldn't choose it."

Ash suddenly smiled softly: "No wonder he brings a gift to me and Fili every day."

"So, Master, are you really that stupid?"

Vichy looked sideways at him and said expressionlessly:

"Do you really take the phantom as a real person?"

When Ash was in college, he had two roommates, one who loved playing games and the other who loved watching anime. He couldn't really understand why the former was so sad because of the love and hate in the game, nor why the latter used up all the tissue paper in the dormitory because of the life and death of the paper man.

It was fake from the beginning, so why would we invest so much emotion into it?

When Ash met Fili, he regarded her as an important tool, a moving enhancer. And Fili's admiration for Demir was like a preset plot in the game, an official CP in the animation, which could well enhance his sense of unreality.

He knew very well that Fili Lena was just one of the virtual characters placed on the stage of stars by the Master of Stars. Her personality, appearance, talents and even interpersonal relationships were nothing more than projections of the Stars themselves.

She was just a shadow and never had a destiny.

Ash didn't know when his opinion changed.

It might be because Fili ran up to him panting that day and said, "Senior Demir and I can only be friends" and "I want to learn swordsmanship," and looked at Ash with eyes that longed for praise.

It could also be dinner time every day. Igula and Harvey returned to the villa on time like children after kindergarten. Rose and Vichy cooked, and then everyone had dinner and chatted together. The TV played the magician movie and drama brought by Heath. Occasionally, Igula and Vichy would complain about the plot of the movie and drama, and occasionally Harvey would say a few interesting facts about corpses that would affect the appetite. This group of powerful people who could dominate the world wasted their time like ordinary people. Whenever Ash quarreled with them, Fili would always listen with a smile, and when the topic came to her, she didn't dare to talk back and could only blush and lower her head.

This kind of life is boring, ordinary, and meaningless, not to mention that Ash's goal is to return to reality. But he still looks forward to today's dinner, and hopes that such dinners can be repeated forever...

When you invest your feelings, the fake becomes real.

"yes."

Vichy looked at Ash in shock.

Ash said calmly, "Fili is my friend. You can add her to your "Friends Directory". All the friend precautions apply to her. Keep all those disgusting thoughts to yourself and don't say them out loud."

Vichy took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "Ahaha, my master actually treats an illusion as a friend, an illusion that is destined to be shattered, an illusion..."

She couldn't help it any longer, so she pulled Ash into the alley and held him back: "What's wrong with you?!"

I think I've said the same thing to my roommate before, Ash thought.

"Even Iguerra and Xavi can tell the difference, how come you can't? What are you doing, having feelings for a disposable rag? You are truly the most immature legend I have ever seen!"

"none of your business."

"How come it's none of my business? Our opponent is the Lord God, who has the power to destroy the world, and now you treat your only tool as a friend? What will you do if you need to use her?"

"Don't I still have you? I won't hesitate to send you to die at the critical moment."

Vichy stared at him with her lips pursed, but the rise and fall of her chest indicated that the young girl's menstrual period was seriously affecting the calm efficiency of this demigod.

"Let's clear our minds." She said slowly, "Even if you treat her as a friend, it doesn't stop you from eating her. And as long as you get tired of her, you will naturally know how to treat a disposable rag."

"I don't want to hurt her."

"She's dying, Ash." Vichy's voice became louder and louder: "She's going to die soon!"

"When the angel hunt ends, the Star Lord will no longer be able to maintain the Star Kingdom. When the mirror shatters, the shadow will no longer exist. Fili, Rose, and all the creatures in the Star Kingdom should not have existed from the beginning, and they will return to nothingness."

"Not only can you not change this ending, your actions are even accelerating its arrival. The sooner the Angel Hunt ends, the sooner you reunite with Sword Princess, and the closer Fili is to her end."

"Do you really think you are a good person? You didn't tell her that every bit of her effort is accelerating her precious reality, the stars that are insignificant in our eyes, into the abyss. Even if the Starry Lord is the mastermind behind everything, for the Starry Kingdom, Fili is indeed an out-and-out "devil." "

"And her little wish is just to get your approval and love. She will pay a painful price she can't imagine, but you don't even let her feel what love feels like before she dies. You even said that you are friends with her... To Fili, you are the real "devil"!"

Facing Vichy's questioning, Ash was not angry at all. He nodded gently: "You are right, can we go to the aquarium?"

Vichy looked at Ash's back, feeling somewhat confused. Even if she was right, Ash was not the type to accept criticism obediently - especially from her.

Unless, Ash has some secret thoughts that he doesn't want others to know.

When they arrived at the aquarium and saw an anchovy that had strayed from the school of fish, Vichy suddenly realized and unearthed Ash's most secret thoughts -

"Rather than saying you don't want to hurt Fili, you actually don't want to hurt yourself. You're afraid that the deeper your feelings for Fili, the harder it will be to face the inevitable separation."

Ash looked at the school of fish behind the glass curtain wall and said:

"You've given me one more reason to hate you."