Ann blurted out, "This name, no—clearly, it's not the same as what you said."
Paimon looked at the second line's content, which matched what Ann said, thinking she was also reading the book.
"Ann is reading together too? Then let's continue. Ahem."
[This is just a story, don't be so stingy. Ahem, continuing—having a protagonist, the story still lacks a character to obstruct the protagonist…]
[An evil villain!]
An evil villain… that would be the demonic dragon Narcissus.
How evil was he? Peace-loving people would tremble at his name because he didn't care about others' feelings at all.
He destroyed everywhere, spewing large mouthfuls of scorching flames. His rude wing flaps turned many cities to dust.
His hot breath left many kingdoms in ashes.
In the end, only Princess Lyris's kingdom remained intact.
Because Princess Lyris had always worked hard to protect her kingdom.
So the demonic dragon Narcissus's plan to destroy everything never succeeded.
Ann read, "Then, in Narcissus's story, am I also an evil villain?"
Paimon flipped a few pages back, her head starting to feel dizzy.
Because this wasn't an illustrated storybook at all.
It was more like a diary with drawings.
As soon as Lumine touched the diary with her hand, it brought everyone into the world of that illustration.
Lumine looked at Mu Yang—she was used to this kind of thing herself.
She didn't know if Mu Yang could get used to it.
Mu Yang, as an expert,
of course had to put on a vigilant appearance.
"...This is… the illustration in the book?" Paimon had the highest viewpoint.
She was the first to spot the distant buildings, exactly the same as the drawing in the book earlier.
Ann spoke. "This is the true Place of Slumber."
"The world should look like this, not the appearance outside. The children should live under the sunlight, among flowers and plants. Free from disturbance, free from harm."
Ann started speaking in riddles again.
Lumine only felt the mysteries piling up more and more.
And at this time, Paimon had already forgotten everything.
This was the true princess's back garden.
She had already imagined Lumine's life after retirement.
At that time, find a place just like this.
Plant lots and lots of delicious fruits, and sweet flowers.
Then invite friends over as guests.
Everyone could live together happily.
Lumine was silent for a while. "...We'll talk about it then."
Her journey wasn't over yet.
[Why did Paimon start raising flags]
[Antidote—Genshin ending or whatever, at least wait ten years after I die]
[What Yeager]
[Freedom, too much freedom]
Mu Yang returned from patrolling around. "There's singing over there."
So, the group began heading to find the owner of the voice.
At a small shed in the back garden, a blue-haired girl was softly humming.
"Hide and seek, hide and seek, where did Mary and her friends go♪"
"Yet without fences, the sea, to the source of all life♪"
Paimon saw her immersed in her own world and called out, "Hello."
Hearing the call behind her, she turned around. "Oh my, hello!"
[This is the Pure Water Spirit—I'm telling you]
[Blue clothes, blue eyes, blue hair… still that 3.8 flavor]
[So 3.8 was all rehearsal for 4.0]
"Sorry about that—I was preparing tea snacks earlier. I didn't notice you arriving. Please sit down. It's almost snack time."
"Yay! Snacks!" As soon as Paimon heard about snacks, she sat down directly.
Mu Yang was still quite vigilant.
But the person in front of them really didn't evoke even a hint of threat.
Could this be the Pure Water Spirit dean?
Seeing Paimon's happy appearance, the person proudly introduced that the snacks here were very delicious.
"I have to wait a bit—wait for the bell to ring before starting, or it would be too impolite."
Since it wasn't afternoon tea time yet,
let's do self-introductions first.
After all, this group was quite peculiar.
Everyone introduced themselves.
Except Ann—she didn't speak.
"This is our Pure Water Spirit friend, named Ann."
Lumine thought of something and introduced her.
"Oh my, what a nice name. Then, as for me, let's call me Mary-Ann."
[Isn't this the person Seymour was looking for?]
[So is this the Narzissenkreuz Ordo?]
[I feel like it's not]
[This story is hidden so deep—I feel like my brain is going to grow]
[@Silver Wolf, hurry and make an analysis episode—don't make me kneel and beg]
Mary-Ann hadn't met people from outside in a very, very long time.
She really wanted to know where Lumine and the others came from.
Hearing the name Mary-Ann, Lumine and Mu Yang both had a guess.
But they weren't sure yet.
Better to let Paimon talk more first and pry some information.
Mary-Ann knew about the demonic dragon Narcissus.
But didn't know about Princess Lyris.
This made Ann anxious.
"But… she should be here, right…"
Mary-Ann still smiled gently.
"Is that so? Ah, but I've lived here for a very, very long time. I haven't seen any princess. Perhaps your princess is somewhere outside."
Paimon then brought out the storybook they saw earlier.
Mary-Ann still shook her head. "The beautiful and kind Princess Lyris —I really don't know, sorry. But… Lumine looks a lot like a princess from far away!"
Lumine frowned. In this world, almost no one called her princess.
Though many people called her brother [Prince]—could it be…
"Ding-a-ling—"
A bell sound came from somewhere unknown, interrupting Lumine's thoughts.
"This is the signal to enjoy tea snacks together. In the past, when the children heard this bell, they would drop their wooden swords and come to the yard for snacks."
"Now they're not here, but I still have to follow the rules here. Otherwise, it would be too unfair to them. Let's dig in."
Though Lumine didn't have much appetite,
the smiling Mary-Ann made her feel that if she didn't eat or didn't follow the rules,
something unexpected might happen.
So, everyone enjoyed the 'delicious' snacks together.
Mu Yang whispered in Lumine's ear—asking if these snacks had no taste at all?
Lumine nodded—these exquisitely beautiful-looking snacks were like plain water, with no sweetness whatsoever…
Mary-Ann said she made them according to her memories.
The taste might be a bit different.
The group laughed it off and glossed over it.
Planning to see what Mary-Ann wanted to do.
After the meal, Mary-Ann took everyone to tour the garden they tended.
"This is the flower bed we carefully maintained—very pretty, right?"
"I heard from Bess that taking care of children is like taking care of flowers. You need good soil, sufficient sunlight, frequent watering and care, but you can't let them grow wildly unchecked."
Paimon's little brain didn't remember who Bess was at all—she just kept agreeing, providing emotional value.
"This Bess really speaks wisely!"
However, Lumine and Mu Yang exchanged a glance, both confirming that the person before them was the former dean.
Definitely not Mary-Ann.