"I understand."
Busujima Saeko's breath was moist, and she showed no signs of fatigue.
The Demon Blood surged within her body. Due to the presence of the Veronica enhancement, the two only recently completed their fusion, simultaneously awakening a Blood Demon Art. This made Busujima Saeko slightly manic and emotional lately.
The most obvious change was that while Busujima Saeko used to smile like an older sister when Kisaragi Rin was intimate with other girls, she now displayed an alluring "I'm a little jealous" expression in certain situations.
"Hmm... just be more vigilant in the future.
The station we chose is so remote; the possibility of this happening is still very small."
Kisaragi Rin took the [R'lyeh Text] out of the Workshop and placed it in Busujima Saeko's hand.
"Mortal, I am angry.
I am not an item you can summon whenever you please. Only if you sincerely offer the land deed you just saw as a sacrifice to me might I forgive you..."
The [R'lyeh Text] had already started shouting.
Busujima Saeko wasn't interested in the book, so she casually threw it to Spider Mother.
"Give it to Spider Mother instead. Through the Ryudoji Temple connection in the Workshop, she can better observe whether any changes occur to us in the Fairy Tale World."
"Thanks, hey."
Spider Mother felt a little grateful, then suddenly froze.
Why did she feel like the idiot in the company who worked herself to death chasing performance goals, only for all the credit to go to the connections, and she still had to say thank you?
Spider Mother ground her fangs, ultimately choosing to tease Yukino beneath her.
In fact, Spider Mother quite liked Yukino Mifuyu, otherwise she wouldn't be so concerned about her.
This was because Spider Mother was still a child before Kibutsuji Muzan turned her into a Demon, and Yukino Mifuyu gave Spider Mother a very warm feeling of maternal love.
Hmm... Busujima Saeko wouldn't do; Spider Mother only saw her as a rival to compete with.
At this moment, Kisaragi Rin suddenly felt that someone from the Workshop was contacting him, wanting to come over.
Kisaragi Rin agreed, and with a thought, Esdeath appeared here.
Esdeath stepped onto the soft, large bed, looking at the three people wrapped in the quilt, her deep blue eyes quickly shifting from jealousy to sweet anticipation.
"I remember you said the time flow in this world is twenty-four times that of the Main World, right?"
Showing no sign of shyness, Esdeath licked her lips and began undoing her clothes. Busujima Saeko also made room for her.
"That's right. Speaking of which, why didn't Medea and Mitsuri come over?"
"Hmm... because Haibara Ai... brought her elementary school classmates to the newly opened dessert shop, Mitsuri is busy trying to feed that... Kanna's dragon, and everyone else is gathering there to join the fun."
— —
Meanwhile, at the Second Stage.
The Gingerbread Witch held Itsuki in front of her, and with Itsuki piloting the Bread Robot posture, she severely smashed the Shepherd Witch's emotionless face.
Finally, the Shepherd Witch lay motionless on the ground.
Itsuki also let out a sigh of relief.
This battle was quite difficult.
Turning creatures into sheep, demonizing sheep, and turning sheep into delicacies that replenish vitality—these ensured the Shepherd Witch's main body safety. In combat, the distortion and jealousy of the two Demon Sheep were quite powerful, tormenting the Gingerbread Witch and the Scarecrow severely.
In the early stages, the Gingerbread Witch and the Scarecrow were completely taking a beating from the Shepherd Witch. Later, Itsuki and her sisters came up with a solution.
That was: join the battle herself!
According to the previous rules, Pokémon could not attack Itsuki, the Trainer.
Since the abilities of the two Demon Sheep required sight as a medium, as long as she stood with the Gingerbread Witch, she could greatly restrict the Pupil Techniques the two Demon Sheep used with their gaze!
Then, Itsuki sat solemnly on the Gingerbread Witch's chest.
The Mecha King has descended!
Although it was embarrassing, she still transformed with the Gingerbread Witch's Bread Man in a two-body, two-mind state, instantly pinning the stunned Shepherd Witch to the ground and fiercely hammering her.
The Shepherd Witch indeed had no way to control the two Demon Sheep to accurately activate their Pupil Techniques, but she did have a countermeasure for this maneuver: directing the two Demon Sheep to scatter and use guerrilla tactics.
Hmm... The Wolf Pretends to Sleep, concealing itself to lure the enemy.
In the end, after a miserable battle, Itsuki successfully subdued the Shepherd Witch.
Now they needed to head to the castle to rescue the Queen.
The Shepherd Witch rubbed her face, feeling a little distressed about her swollen cheek, and even more distressed as she summoned a special Apple Tree.
The branches and trunk of the Apple Tree were silver, and the fruits were golden.
The Shepherd Witch picked one and gave it to Itsuki, who immediately took a bite.
"So sweet. The deliciousness already surpasses the Gingerbread Man made by the Gingerbread Witch."
Saying this, Itsuki shoved the Golden Apple into the Gingerbread Witch's mouth. The Gingerbread Witch took a small bite and nodded in agreement.
Not only was it delicious, but the Gingerbread Witch felt like her mind had become clearer.
Shepherd Witch: "..."
Distressed, she picked another one, put it in her pocket, and said, "This is the key item to wake the Queen, and it is quite precious. Let's hurry to the castle."
"It can finally end."
Itsuki felt a little regretful that she couldn't taste more Golden Apples, but fortunately, the one in her hand was enough for the Nakano Quintuplets to divide up for everyone to have a taste.
Scarecrow: "The Queen you need to rescue is currently being controlled by Miss Red, and Miss Red... the few of us combined couldn't possibly defeat her."
"Precisely because of that, we don't need to worry about Miss Red making things difficult for us. After all, pretending to fight us would be quite embarrassing for her," the Shepherd Witch explained.
It sounded very reasonable, and in fact, it was true.
Itsuki noticed that the status panels of the three Strange Tales beside her had disappeared, which meant the Magic Mirror had ended this sudden trial.
"Then let's go."
Itsuki led the three Pokémon onto the path of Gym Challenge.
Arriving at the foot of the castle, the main gate was already open to Itsuki. As soon as she stepped forward, she and the three Strange Tales were transferred to the study on the third floor of the castle.
Miss Red sat on a chair, and at her feet was a Golden Goose that was currently honking.
"If you want to save the Queen, you only need to feed the Golden Apple into her mouth, and then take off the Miss Red on the Queen's feet."
Miss Red spoke elegantly, showing no intention of making things difficult for Itsuki.
"Then, I'm going?"
Itsuki already knew from the Scarecrow that the dancing shoes were Miss Red.
Although she knew Miss Red wouldn't trouble her, she still felt a little restrained facing such a powerful Strange Tale.
Taking the Golden Apple handed to her by the Shepherd Witch, Itsuki walked up to Miss Red. Staring at the Queen's cherry-like pink lips, she hesitated before trying to shove the Golden Apple into the Queen's mouth. The apple then knocked against the Queen's teeth with a dull thud.
"..."
Itsuki had thought the Golden Apple would turn into liquid and flow down, just like in fairy tales.
Miss Red: "..."
She felt a little distressed about her doll.
"Bite off a piece and put it in."
"Oh."
After feeding her a piece of the apple, Itsuki squatted down and took off the Miss Red.
[You have completed the Mission - The Sleeping Queen]
[Your final evaluation has been enhanced]