Just as the group was about to rush into the castle, Joyce had to step in and be the bad guy.
To put it bluntly, now was not the time for Shu to be enjoying a nice long nap.
But as Joyce walked out, even she felt a bit like a monster.
She had witnessed everything Shu had been through recently. She had been observing these individuals ever since they entered the Homu Kingdom.
She knew about Shu's nightly vigilance, and understood that it was highly probable he was guarding against her own prying eyes.
After that, Shu's experiences unfolded right beside her. He was brutally smashed from the sky to the depths of the earth. The physical data report Darwin provided made her doubt if Shu was even still alive.
After narrowly escaping death, he immediately followed her to the [Demon Lord's Castle] to investigate, accompanying her in and out. She might have even shattered Shu's "Dao heart"...
For three whole days, Shu not only had no time to close his eyes, but even his meals consisted of just grabbing a piece of dry bread and chewing on it.
Didn't Joyce know how terrible that bread was? Nobel had complained to her more than once that the bread was so hard Watt could use it as a hammer.
It couldn't be helped. It was precisely because the bread was made so hard that the underground town had a continuous supply of energy... Nobel and the others complained constantly, but no one was willing to improve the bread-making process...
They didn't have any spare time to waste on researching how to make bread tastier... Who do you think laid all those pipes and circuits in the underground town?
But even such bread, Shu only ate one piece a day, just enough to maintain basic bodily functions. Seeing Shu suddenly collapse now, she really wasn't surprised.
However, things weren't over yet. Joyce still had to pull Shu up for more overtime.
The moment she appeared outside, five intense gazes shot straight at her.
Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei, Bronya Zaychik, Bella cowering in a corner hugging her legs trying to minimize her presence, and Shu, his eyes open and bloodshot, glaring at her as if she were an enemy.
It seemed she wouldn't need to negotiate... The moment she approached, Shu had woken up instinctively, like an NPC whose aggro range a stranger had entered.
Upon seeing it was Joyce, Shu's angrily wide eyes immediately closed again, then struggled to reopen, his eyelids drooping, looking like he was about to fall asleep again any second.
"You're... Joyce?" Kiana sensed Shu's momentary hostility, then clearly felt it dissipate as he relaxed. Thinking for a moment, she quickly figured out who the other person was.
Yesterday, when Shu passed by here, the message he relayed mentioned he was now working with the first leader of Anti-Entropy.
Was the first leader of Anti-Entropy male or female? Kiana had forgotten. She just remembered blue hair, blue eyes, and that the second leader was called Uncle Yang.
If the second leader was called "Uncle," then he was definitely male.
And Herrschers were almost always girls... so it was perfectly normal for the first leader to be a girl, right!
That was Kiana's line of reasoning. However, while Kiana dared to make this assumption, Mei and Bronya did not.
Huh? Joyce? Female?!
The two suddenly understood what the gender-bending in Destiny Homu Crown meant to the locals... although the most outrageous gender-bending was right there among themselves.
Joyce nodded. "Yes, it's me."
"What are you doing here?" Mei stepped forward proactively and asked Joyce.
Glancing at Shu, whose eyelids had closed again, Joyce thought it best to let Shu have some rest. Even she felt tired, let alone Shu who got winded after running just a few steps. "I just came to remind you that your remaining rest time is not much..."
Joyce turned her head, glanced at Bella who was trying hard to shrink into the background and eavesdrop, then gestured for the others to enter the castle first before talking.
The three exchanged glances, then all looked towards Kiana.
"Kiana, do you think it's okay to go with her?" The three, supporting a half-asleep Shu, huddled together and whispered.
"I think it should be okay..." Kiana nodded. "Shu has been with her for so long. Since Shu hasn't found any problems, it should be fine, right?"
"Bronya believes the Anti-Entropy leader can be trusted... After all, she is one of the top names on Shu's Talent Acquisition List," Bronya said, referencing a term Shu had casually joked about three months ago.
The moment that phrase came out of Shu's mouth, Bronya had understood what kind of people were on that list.
The three nodded to each other, then turned and followed Joyce into the castle.
Bella watched the four enter her castle and close her main gate, leaving her, the owner, outside. She discontentedly wiped the tomato juice from her face and then continued to lie on the ground.
When can I return to the kingdom and see Lady Sirin? I haven't seen Lady Sirin's face for three whole days... Another day of missing Lady Sirin...
---||---
Inside the castle, Kiana placed Shu on the most comfortable bed she had slept in. Watching Shu sink into the soft, pink princess bed, she suddenly felt he might not like this.
"If you want to leave here, you have to take Shu to see Sirin," Joyce finally said, after Kiana and the others had settled Shu down.
"Why?" Mei immediately asked. "Letting Shu see Sirin... isn't that too dangerous?"
"Bronya also believes this is inappropriate," Bronya added seriously from the side. "Without a proper reason, Bronya will not agree."
Kiana's hand had already reached the gem on her chest, her eyes fixed intently on Joyce.
She didn't know if the other person was as strong as a Herrscher. If not, she could subdue her in an instant!
Joyce looked at the three before her, who seemed to be on high alert, and felt speechless.
Weren't you supposed to trust me? Is this how your Fire Moth shows trust?
"It's not about needing to hand Shu over to Sirin in exchange for our chance to leave..." Helplessly, Joyce decided to properly explain the plan they had formulated to Kiana and the others.
Mei pulled Kiana's hand away from the core on her chest and listened attentively to the plan Joyce laid out.
It indeed wasn't a plan that required sacrifice, and it was logical and reasonable. If successful, everyone could leave this dreamscape.
"I just have one question," Mei said solemnly, holding Kiana's fidgeting hands.
"How can you guarantee... that Sirin will be confined by her own [Setting]?"
Joyce pondered for a moment, then answered seriously:
"Because she hates those who break [Promises] the most."