"She pulled you into a dream. What did she do?"
Biba Amatori's voice carried a trace of probing curiosity as his gaze settled on Mumei.
A faint blush rose to Mumei's cheeks. Her fingertips curled slightly as she gave a brief account of what had happened in the dream. At the end, she added, "That Houraiji Kyuusyou was very strange. She looked like her, but it felt like a completely different person."
"Similar appearance, yet a completely different feeling?" Biba Amatori frowned slightly, his fingers tapping lightly against the table.
"Mm." Mumei nodded heavily, confusion filling her eyes.
Biba Amatori fell into thought. Several possibilities flashed through his mind. Two personalities? A split between sweet dreams and nightmares? Or perhaps there had always been two 'Houraiji Kyuusyou' in reality?
After a moment, he suppressed his doubts for the time being and looked up at Mumei, a gentle smile curving his lips. "Mumei, I have a task for you."
"Brother, just give the order. Mumei will die a thousand deaths without regret." She immediately bowed, her tone respectful.
"Get close to Ayame Yomogawa and find out the true purpose of her group," Biba Amatori said slowly.
"But they..." Mumei hesitated, recalling the strangeness of Houraiji Kyuusyou in the dream and thinking of Ayame Yomogawa's position.
"Is there a problem?" His voice softened, yet carried unquestionable authority.
"N-No problem!" Mumei quickly shook her head, forcing down her concerns.
"Go." Biba Amatori waved a hand. As he watched her bow and withdraw from the room, the smile in his eyes deepened.
Dappled light filtered through the forest canopy, falling across Delta.
Houraiji Kyuusyou stared at her, curiosity brimming in her eyes.
"Why do you keep staring at me?" Delta asked first, uncomfortable under the gaze.
"I think you've become prettier," Houraiji Kyuusyou replied sincerely, without a trace of teasing.
Delta glanced at her lightly. "I'm no different from before."
"You are!" Houraiji Kyuusyou shook her head at once. "You feel more mature now, and not as cold as you used to be."
Delta paused. Her fingers unconsciously brushed the edge of her sleeve—was her change really that obvious?
She quickly changed the subject. "Did you come to see me about something?"
"Nothing major. Teacher Vita asked where I went," Houraiji Kyuusyou answered honestly, her tone casual.
"Vita?" Delta frowned slightly, the name sounding familiar.
"You know her?" Houraiji Kyuusyou's eyes lit up.
"I've met her a few times. I wouldn't say we know each other." Delta's tone remained calm. "Are you planning to go out?"
"I'm just a little bored." Houraiji Kyuusyou drooped. "Other than fishing, all there is to do here is watch humans fight wars. It's not interesting at all."
"It is rather dull," Delta agreed, then suddenly looked at her. "Want to go out for a walk together?"
Houraiji Kyuusyou's eyes instantly brightened. "Sure!"
The two left the forest side by side and headed toward the nearest station—Kongokaku.
Kongokaku Station bustled with noise. After two internal struggles, power had returned to Ayame Yomogawa.
At this moment, she was lying in her room, replaying that indistinguishable "joyful nightmare" over and over in her mind, murmuring softly, "Lord Kyuusyou..."
Meanwhile, Houraiji Kyuusyou and Delta, having just entered Kongokaku, were observing the scene on the streets.
"Looks like development's going pretty well," Houraiji Kyuusyou said with a smile. With the "experience" from the dream, progress in various places had accelerated considerably.
Delta, however, frowned slightly. "Too slow."
In her view, with "dream memories" as a reference, humanity's advancement should not have been so sluggish. As expected, only a crisis of life and death could truly force out humanity's potential.
When would humans fight their hardest?
When not fighting meant death.
"After two internal conflicts and multiple external invasions, being able to achieve this is already impressive," Houraiji Kyuusyou said in humanity's defense. She had been paying extra attention to Kongokaku, so she naturally understood its hardships better than most.
They walked side by side along the street. Even though Delta floated above the ground without her feet touching it, no one showed the slightest surprise. Under the interference of "utterly ordinary" and "this is how it should be," everyone regarded it as normal.
But the next second, Houraiji Kyuusyou suddenly stopped and jerked her head up toward the sky.
A homemade rocket trailed black smoke as it plummeted downward. Immediately after came a thunderous boom, flames swallowing a street corner as screams and shouts echoed through the station city.
"What happened?!"
"Did the Hunters attack?!"
Soldiers quickly assembled. The streets descended into chaos.
Delta glanced at the explosion not far away, her eyes completely calm. Homemade rockets were simple to manufacture and reasonably powerful. It was only natural that humans would mass-produce them in wartime.
With the groundwork laid by the "dream memories," prioritizing such weapons to compete for resources was perfectly normal.
She turned to Houraiji Kyuusyou and noticed the speechless look on her face. "What's wrong?"
"Little sister, don't you think we're like the protagonists in stories? Wherever we go, something happens?" Houraiji Kyuusyou pointed toward the explosion, her tone filled with helplessness.
Delta was briefly stunned, then nodded. "That's possible."
Mother once said that fate was like a script already written. One needed to understand which script one was in, and what role one was meant to play.
"I thought you'd say this was just an accident." Houraiji Kyuusyou sighed, clearly troubled.
"For us, there has never been such a thing as an 'accident,'" Delta replied calmly. "Your caution is justified."
"So what do we do now? Follow this lead and investigate?" Houraiji Kyuusyou asked.
"I have no interest in playing with human 'firecrackers,'" Delta said coldly, clearly indifferent to human wars.
"That's what I was thinking too!" Houraiji Kyuusyou agreed immediately. She had no desire to get entangled in human conflicts either.
"Come with me. We'll leave this place first." Delta floated to Houraiji Kyuusyou's side and took her hand. This had never been a trial or an examination ground to begin with. They had always been free to come and go.
A flash of light passed, and their figures vanished from Kongokaku in an instant.
When they opened their eyes again, they had returned to the elf palace of the Overlord world. But the moment they landed, a clear yet angry female voice rang out:
"Mei! I don't mind if you make a move on other girls, but she's my mom!"