Mei and Bronya Zaychik stood frozen in front of the castle for a full minute before they dared to even consider the possibility that they had truly won.
No... just... like that?
What embarrassing lines failed to achieve, Bella, their supposed enemy, had accomplished. Mei was currently in a complete daze, staring at Bella lying by the roadside, utterly bewildered.
Could there be a hidden motive? Was it a trap? Was there some secret plot point? Could it be...
Had she really won?
"Mei!" A cheerful shout snapped Mei out of her reverie.
She looked up. Kiana Kaslana had appeared at the castle entrance at some point and was now running towards her at full speed.
Mei instinctively opened her arms. Only when Kiana's warm, familiar embrace enveloped her did Mei dare to believe that she had truly triumphed.
The spoils of war... Kiana had been rescued! Wasn't that victory?
No... it really wasn't!
"Kiana!" Before Kiana could nuzzle in her embrace for more than a couple of seconds, Mei grabbed Kiana's shoulders and asked urgently, "Do you know where Shu is?"
Kiana, jostled a bit, thought for a moment. "Right now, I don't know... But yesterday afternoon, Shu came here and asked me to help him distract Bella..."
"He seemed to be in good condition then, so he should be fine..."
"Is that so..." Mei sighed in relief. "That's good..."
Kiana started to wriggle, trying to burrow deeper into Mei's embrace. But just as her plan was about to succeed, a slightly awkward cough came from the side.
"Mei-neechan, Shu is over there." Bronya, enduring Kiana's glare with her dead-fish eyes, pointed. Because she spoke, Mei instinctively pushed Kiana away and looked in the direction Bronya indicated.
Kiana had reason to suspect Bronya had deliberately spoken at that exact moment because Shu had already been standing in the spot Bronya pointed to for quite a while!
Kiana was the second person to notice Shu's early arrival!
Who was the first?
It was Homu.
"Homu! (I smell a powerful, malicious, evil aura!)" A few minutes earlier, Homu's body had trembled, its usually mischievous eyes instantly sharpening.
Schrodinger looked speechlessly at the Homu beside her, wondering what nonsense it was spouting now.
However, the words "powerful" and "evil" did make Schrodinger perk up. Following the direction Homu indicated, she found two disheveled figures.
When Shu and Joyce arrived, their faces were still covered in dust from their tumble when they exited that other space. Even though they had rushed, by the time they reached the scene, they only saw Bella lying on the ground and Kiana and the others reunited.
"What do we do now?" Shu asked, wiping the dust from his face behind the castle, looking at Joyce whose clothes were torn.
Joyce shrugged. "According to the plan, you should appear before them now, be defeated by them, and then be escorted back to the Great Homu Kingdom to meet Sirin."
"Can I just go out and talk to them directly?" Shu wanted to try.
Joyce pointed speechlessly at Bella, who had just rolled over by the roadside. "There's an outsider present. You have to at least put on a show of opposition... Rock-paper-scissors would work too. You're bound to lose anyway."
Shu fell silent. Two seconds later, he dusted himself off and walked out from behind the castle.
Dark clouds had gathered at some point, pressing down on the entire Dragon's Lair along with Shu's footsteps.
The previously bright sky instantly darkened. In this world where even rain was bright, such dark, oppressive clouds had never appeared before.
Shu paused for a moment, looked up, then silently rolled his eyes.
Don't misunderstand... this wasn't his doing... This really was a coincidence... Or perhaps this was also a [Demon Lord] setting? An imposing entrance effect?
"Homu... (What a powerful evil aura... Has it even caused the sky to change color?)" The professional commentator Homu was still providing output for Schrodinger.
Schrodinger was already immune. She looked at Shu, whose movements were even stiffer than Mei's, and sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation.
The oppressive feeling from the dark clouds instantly put the three girls on alert. Seeing it was Shu, they exchanged glances, and Kiana was the first to speak.
"Wait!"
Shu stopped, maintaining a certain distance from Kiana and the others.
He understood what Kiana was about to do. It was just a formality. He was actually pleased to see them maintaining their vigilance.
"Hmm..." Kiana thought for a moment, then held up a finger. "Let me ask you a question. Who is the person I like the most?"
"...Mei," Shu replied, his eyelids drooping.
"Wrong!" Kiana crossed her arms, shaking her head vigorously. Then she proactively walked forward, took Shu's hand, and started leading him towards Mei and the others.
"Everyone is the person I like the most!" Kiana grinned, revealing a row of pearly white teeth, and said cheerfully.
Shu paused, then sighed softly. "Alright... But let go first, there's still business to attend to."
"Huh?" Kiana looked back, puzzled, and let go of his hand. "What business?"
Shu gestured with his eyes towards Bella, who was dramatically "rising from her deathbed" nearby. "The story isn't written like this... The hero hasn't defeated the Demon Lord yet..."
Kiana pondered. Kiana understood. Kiana was eager to try.
"So, you want to fight us?" Kiana took two steps back, rubbing her wrists and stretching. "Perfect! Staying here these past two days, my bones are about to fall apart!"
Since when do princesses go into battle?! Shu's eye twitched. He then glanced at the Genesis Key Mei was wearing, and his eye twitched even more violently.
"Let's not talk about that first..." Pushing Kiana aside, Shu turned to Mei and extended his hand. "Mei, take off the Genesis Key first."
Mei looked down, then clutched her chest, looking around. "B-But I don't have any clothes to change into..."
What?! Really...
Shu's outstretched hand twitched, then he nonchalantly retracted it.
"Is that so..." Shu's gaze drifted to the side as he replied expressionlessly. "Alright then... I trust you can control yourself and not misuse the Divine Key..."
"Hehe, Mei, you can wear my clothes!" Kiana, who had been pushed aside by Shu, seamlessly switched to Mei's side, placing her hands on Mei's shoulders and smiling. "They're just a little small, but still better than Bronya's, right?"
Shu: "?"
Bronya: "???"