"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am the Universal Entertainment Angel, Ikaros. I humbly ask that you take care of me."
Listening to the girl's introduction, the expression on Yu's face became somewhat strange.
The Universal Entertainment Angel, huh?
Entertainment to the death indeed, but... if Yu remembered correctly, Ikaros was actually the Universal Strategic Angel, codenamed Queen of the Skies, equipped with the most advanced high-altitude combat weaponry.
In her Queen of the Skies mode, Ikaros could even wipe out a small nation by herself.
Although Yu could accomplish such a feat without much effort as well, the situations of Yu and Ikaros were different.
Yu had obtained his power after killing a Heretic God, while Ikaros relied on technology, on scientific and military capabilities that far surpassed those of humanity.
"Master? Do you have any doubts? The Universal Entertainment Angel Ikaros will clarify them for Master."
Seeing that Yu remained silent, Ikaros tilted her head and asked.
"Nothing. Tell me, this can be hidden, right?"
Shaking his head, Yu extended his hand, but at that moment the sound of rattling chains reached his ears. Hearing it, he looked at the chain, scratched his head, and asked.
"Yes. Does Master wish to hide the imprint?"
Ikaros obediently nodded and asked the question.
Yu's intention was perfectly clear—he wanted to hide the chain created by the imprint. However, since Yu was her Master, Ikaros had no intention of doing anything unless he explicitly ordered her to.
"Hide it. Also... how did you end up here?"
Nodding, Yu watched as the chain gradually faded until it disappeared completely, and he felt relieved.
If that chain had remained visible, he would have had to go through lengthy explanations when Ichika and the other sisters returned. After all, Ikaros's clothing, the chain, and the way she addressed him as "Master" could easily lead the Five Sisters to the wrong conclusion that they were playing some strange game.
Thinking about that, Yu turned his attention to the current issue, looked at Ikaros, and asked.
"Um, I... was discarded..."
Hearing Yu's question, Ikaros answered calmly, although her words were somewhat fragmented, as if she were trying to remember something.
"Discarded, huh? Quite an outdated answer. Never mind, from now on you can come with me."
Hearing that, Yu rubbed his chin.
Honestly speaking, the answer "discarded" was something Yu had already expected, but he would never believe it.
After all, Ikaros was not the Universal Entertainment Angel she believed herself to be, but the Queen of the Skies, a Universal Strategic Angel and a weapon of war capable of destroying an entire nation.
Such an Ikaros could not simply be discarded.
Yu knew there was something more behind all of this, but he did not wish to think too deeply about it.
Only then did he suddenly remember that some time ago he had encountered a situation similar to Ikaros's.
Back then, the Mist Whale from the world of Re:Zero had suddenly appeared in this world, and he had killed it. Afterward, Yu had noticed eyes behind the rift between worlds.
Now that he thought about it, he felt that the Mist Whale incident had actually resembled an experiment more than anything else.
An experiment to determine whether beings from other worlds could be sent into this one.
And the purpose of that experiment was, naturally, to send Ikaros to him.
"Fine, I won't think about it anymore."
Yu could not understand why the person behind all of this would do such a thing, nor did he want to understand.
The most important task now was to gather all the pieces of the Asgard Key and obtain the power to travel through countless worlds.
Yu had a premonition that the current state of the world was inseparably connected to him, including the anomalies in the world of Re:Zero.
The world of Re:Zero was currently completely beyond the reach of Yu's observation, so after obtaining the Asgard Key, he planned to locate that world directly and see for himself what had happened.
"What is Master thinking about? Is Master thinking about discarding Ikaros again?"
Hearing Yu first say that she could come with him and then say that he would stop thinking about it, a look of confusion appeared on Ikaros's innocent face as she asked the question.
Ikaros did not understand why Yu had said that.
She had already formed the imprint with Yu, which meant that from this day onward Yu was her Master, and Ikaros would follow only him.
Of course, even if Yu wanted to discard her again, she would accept it.
As the Universal Entertainment Angel, Ikaros would not show any negative emotions toward the Master with whom she had formed the imprint, nor would she shed a single tear even if she were discarded.
"No, from now on you'll come with me."
Hearing Ikaros's words, Yu came back to himself, reached out and gently patted her on the head, then started walking toward the nearby villa.
"Eu should be home by now. Come on, Ikaros, I'll introduce you to someone. I think you and Eu should get along well, don't you?"
Thinking about it, Yu stopped, turned around, and motioned for the angel to follow him.
Looking at Yu, Ikaros was stunned for a moment, but quickly regained herself and nodded slightly.
"Yes, Master."
After that, the wings behind Ikaros's back fluttered, and her figure instantly appeared beside the young man.
Only then did Yu notice the wings on her back.
Looking at those wings, larger than a human body, Yu showed a thoughtful expression.
Actually, in the current world, Ikaros's wings were not much of a problem.
If she went outside with him, people would most likely mistake her for some kind of monster, without any further consequences.
It was just that the wings were too large and would certainly interfere with everyday life.
Thinking about that, Yu said:
"Ikaros, when you're not using your wings, hide them."
"Yes, Master."
Hearing Yu's command, Ikaros immediately retracted her wings.
The snow-white wings, more than two meters long, gradually shrank and within moments transformed into small wings only about half the size of her back.
If someone wasn't looking carefully, they would think they were merely decorative.
"Mm, let's go."
Since he had long known that Ikaros possessed such an ability, Yu showed no surprise.
He reached out and took Ikaros by the hand, leading her toward the door.
Just as he was about to open it, the door suddenly swung open, and a massive scythe rushed straight toward Ikaros.
Having sensed the danger in advance, Yu lightly raised his hand and stopped the enormous scythe.
"Eu, why are you so agitated? You're usually not like this."
Holding the scythe, Yu looked at Eu, and a puzzled expression appeared on his face.
When he had opened the door, Yu had sensed killing intent.
Although it wasn't directed at him, he had still remained cautious.
But he had not expected the source of that killing intent to be Eu herself, who was normally quiet and calm.
At that moment, Eu was cautiously watching Ikaros behind Yu.
She held the enormous scythe in one hand, while in the other she held her small notebook, on which the words had already been written:
"Danger!"
Looking at those two words, a question arose in Yu's mind.
Danger?
Did she mean Ikaros?