After patiently listening to Homu-beard's introduction, the group watched him disappear down the corridor with smiles. The next moment, they all piled into Shu's room and locked the door.
"What's the situation now?" Raiden Mei asked first, once Shu had finished inspecting the room. She still hadn't fully processed what had happened.
Shu had said the source of these anomalies was likely a Herrscher, and Mei could guess that the Herrscher was probably the "King" the Homus spoke of.
But... why would a Herrscher want to be the king of Homus? Why manifest as this magnificent city inhabited by Homus?
Could it be the legendary Herrscher of Homu?
Mei was bewildered. She could only look to Shu, hoping he had an answer.
"Ai-chan," Shu called out instead of answering directly.
"Roger!" Ai-chan's voice replied from his glasses. "Based on the data Shu provided, not many conclusions can be drawn. However, it's certain that the place you're in is a complete city, perhaps even more than just one city."
"More than one city..." Shu fell silent for a moment. "Does that mean places like Bomb Village and Mushroom Beach also exist here?"
"Eh?" Kiana Kaslana and Mei stared wide-eyed, looking at Shu confusedly. "What... Bomb Village?"
Although both were fans of Homu, the film from 1912 was still a bit too obscure for them.
"It's from the 1900 Homu series film, the first one produced by Mr. Joyce, Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon," Bronya Zaychik explained.
"Only in this film is the Homu kingdom referred to as the 'Great Homu Kingdom.' Coincidentally, when we entered the city gate, a Homu introduced this place as exactly that, the Great Homu Kingdom."
"Also in Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon, alongside the Great Homu Kingdom, there exist Homu-la's Bomb Village, Hori's Mushroom Beach, and so on..."
Bronya truly was a professional Homu-logist. Kiana and Mei instantly understood what Shu was referring to.
"This city is already so huge, and it's still not the limit?" The thought that there were other places besides this city made Kiana's teeth ache.
It would take them a long time just to explore this royal city thoroughly, and now she was being told this wasn't even everything?!
Shu thought further than Kiana. His focus was now on the Herrscher still lurking in the shadows.
Hearing earlier that the King was human, he had naturally assumed the Herrscher candidate was this most "unexpected" King.
But things were different now. If Bomb Village and Mushroom Beach existed, what about Fairy Land? The Dragon's Lair?
Did the evil dragon Homusilla actually exist?
And even... the great Demon Lord Honkai, who never even appeared in the entire Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon movie?
The number of special candidates suddenly multiplied. The Herrscher could be any one of them, or even worse—a character Shu hadn't anticipated at all.
Shu calmed himself and sighed.
"Let's put aside matters outside the city for now. Since the Spring Festival is the day after tomorrow, let's just wait one day."
The easiest contact to make right now was the King of the Great Homu Kingdom. After all, he was also human. If it turned out he wasn't the Herrscher, he could potentially become an ally.
Compared to negotiating with the naturally righteous Homu King, trying to bargain with the evil dragon Homusilla, or even the Demon Lord Honkai, seemed like pure fantasy.
The others nodded, agreeing with Shu's proposal.
"So what do we do for the next two days?"
"Let's wander around the city..." Shu said. "Although this city is large, there aren't many restrictions. I have the ability to reach any part of this city instantly, and the protection I gave you can also serve as a warning..."
Only then did Shu realize that Kiana and the others hadn't brought their battlesuits. Each had only grabbed a simple weapon and some supplies from their emergency packs before following him.
How could I have overlooked that?
"To be safe, let's not separate too far," Shu added, tightening the conditions slightly.
Everyone nodded. The city was huge, just like in Shangjing. Separating would allow them to explore this vast city more efficiently.
"Right, there's one more important question," Mei suddenly interjected just as they were about to leave the room and head back out.
"Do we... need money here?" Mei looked up at the others.
Shu: "..."
Kiana: "..."
Bronya: "..."
Since they're called 'shops,' they must require money, right?
Shu put his hand back on his forehead.
---||---
Ten minutes later, at the inn entrance, Shu placed three heavy little cloth pouches into the hands of the three girls.
Kiana eagerly opened hers. Inside the unassuming bag was a small handful of gleaming gold coins, each stamped with the classic Homu logo.
Shu had borrowed one gold coin from the Homu receptionist, studied it for a while, confirmed there were no serial numbers or other anti-counterfeiting measures, and then used his [Wish], fueled by [Hope], to conjure these.
The cost wasn't significant, as they were essentially pure gold mixed with a tiny bit of Honkai energy.
"The purchasing power of these coins should be enough to buy two houses here," Shu said after weighing the bag he kept for himself to check the weight.
"The goods here are quite comprehensive, aside from food and some technological products." Shu turned to look at the street bustling with Homus. "Ingredients, fabrics, some herbs... I can't determine if they're real, but..."
He paused deliberately, then looked at the others and smiled. "It's been a long time since you've gone shopping, hasn't it?"
The three froze for a moment.
It was true. Since the Honkai outbreak, forget shopping, they had practically developed a habit of 'zero-cost acquisition.' Now, in the entire Fire Moth organization, probably only Fu Hua still said "thank you" when collecting supplies from shops.
"Since we've arrived in a 'fairytale' world, why not take this chance to relax a little?" Shu said with a smile.
"What about you?" Kiana asked reflexively.
"Me?" Shu pointed to himself, then held up his own pouch. "I shouldn't be an exception, right?"