After a conversation that left her feeling incredibly guilty, Miss Yumo finally stepped out of Mengxi's room.
Standing outside the cabin, she let out a long sigh of relief.
Inwardly, she offered her heartfelt gratitude to the nurse who had come in at just the right moment to change Mengxi's dressing.
"Looks like... I managed to fool her."
Sigh...
Good thing I was quick enough to come up with a reasonable excuse.
That girl... probably isn't suspicious anymore...
Still...
Why had Mengxi suddenly become so concerned about her relationship with the Black Rose Family?
She'd never even brought it up before.
And those dishes...
Sure, they existed elsewhere too...
But was it really just a coincidence?
Or was that girl trying to hint at something...
Although...
Her expression hadn't looked like it.
Enmm...
How strange...
...
Sigh, I'll just keep observing for now.
Since she'd already promised to cook lunch for Mengxi, she needed to gather the ingredients.
Everything else would be easy enough.
As for Camel Dragon meat...
Whether the Black Rose Family actually had any was hard to say.
She might as well head back to the Great Winter Forest and catch one herself.
Since Avnora had awakened today, most of the servants had gone to her residence to help or receive new assignments.
In short, no one would be constantly watching her for the time being.
It was the perfect chance to secretly slip back home.
Besides, there were a few matters inside the Great Winter Forest that she wanted to take care of anyway.
With that thought, Yumo made up her mind.
Making sure no one was around, she darted into a pile of ruins that had yet to be cleared away.
Then, accompanied by a faint surge of crimson Shadow of Silence Power, her body dissolved into countless crimson particles of light, slowly dispersing into the air...
—
Some time later.
The eastern region of the Great Winter Forest.
The location of Yumo's "little cabin."
Upon the snowy ground,
countless crimson motes of light suddenly appeared.
As waves of Shadow of Silence Power rippled through the air, the motes rapidly gathered toward a single point, gradually forming the silhouette of a young woman.
The next instant,
as the power stabilized,
a peerlessly beautiful black-haired girl wearing a black gauze dress and standing barefoot appeared upon the snow.
As though sensing their master's return,
the nearby Abyss Demons all let out excited roars before happily scampering over to the black-haired girl, wagging their tails and sticking out their tongues, somehow producing an utterly unbelievable version of Abyss Demon cuteness.
Looking at the adorable little fellow standing five meters tall before her—with four heads, five enormous mouths, and a body wrapped in terrifying white bones—Yumo revealed a sweet smile.
She had always been rather fond of these Seventh-Tier Abyss Demons that possessed a small amount of intelligence.
Thus,
she slowly raised a hand and patted one of its little heads, despite it being covered in thick corrosive slime, before looking toward the excited crowd of Abyss Demons around her.
"Alright, alright. Good children. Quiet down now~"
The moment the boss spoke,
the Abyss Demons immediately stopped roaring.
Seeing how obedient they were, Yumo nodded in satisfaction.
Then she casually turned around,
toward where her little cabin should have been.
However,
the instant she looked behind her,
the black-haired girl's expression darkened.
The cozy little wooden cabin that had once stood there was nowhere to be seen.
In its place lay an enormous crater roughly twenty meters in radius and around thirty meters deep.
The lovely little cabin where she, the three little ones, and Mengxi had once lived together—
the little home she had painstakingly decorated, the very first home she'd had in this other world—
had completely vanished.
Perhaps the only things left were a few wooden splinters near the edge of the crater that had miraculously escaped being burned to ashes.
Although,
after seeing Yuan'er enter her "naughty child" mode, Yumo had already anticipated that her little cabin wouldn't survive.
Still,
she'd originally thought that after Yuan'er came out, the cabin would simply be smashed into pieces.
Maybe it could still have been repaired.
She had never imagined...
that nothing would remain except a few scraps.
"Dammit!! My cabin!!"
Clutching her head, Miss Yumo cried out miserably.
The surrounding air grew colder and colder as her mood plummeted.
Terrifying fluctuations of Shadow of Silence Power began radiating from the black-haired girl, causing the surrounding Abyss Demons to shiver uncontrollably.
However,
while crying out, Yumo suddenly frowned.
She slowly crouched down and picked up a few torn scraps of clothing lying on the ground.
"This is... an Asumos Church robe..."
Moreover,
although faint,
there truly were lingering traces of Holy Aura here.
For the aura to remain even now without dissipating, it must originally have been incredibly dense.
Its owner should have possessed strength above the Seventh Tier.
Wait...
There are two different Holy Auras?
The Asumos Church's Saint-Class...
the Earth Apostle.
Could it be?!
"The two Braves who were supposed to be in Wind Facing City... and their squad... actually came to my home?!"
Blinking several times, Miss Yumo wore a look of complete disbelief.
Have those Braves lost their minds?
One of them had only recently died.
And they actually came here to throw their lives away again?!
Still...
How did they even get here?
Countless question marks instantly filled Yumo's mind.
Furthermore,
after glancing around and carefully sensing the area for a while, she couldn't help showing a disappointed expression.
'Looks like Yuan'er never came back here either.'
Well...
That made sense.
Having retained her human way of thinking and been raised under those teachings since childhood, she was probably extremely resistant toward Abyss Demons.
Even knowing she herself was now a Demon King-class existence, she likely wouldn't return to the Great Winter Forest.
However,
just as Yumo was lost in thought,
a familiar girl's voice filled with excitement suddenly rang out from above.
"Mommy! You're back!!"
"Hm? I am."
Looking up at the sky, Yumo revealed a gentle smile tinged with affection.
Under Yumo's gaze,
the previously empty sky suddenly twisted strangely.
Surrounded by blue-and-gold Shadow of Silence Power, ripples spread through the air like waves across water.
The next instant,
a beautiful blue-haired girl in a light-blue dress suddenly appeared in midair.
A sweet, innocent, and incredibly excited smile blossomed across her face as she immediately flew down, wrapped her arms around Yumo's neck without another word, and practically hung from her while floating in the air.
"Mommy! I've missed you so much while you were gone! Since you're back this time, will you stay a little longer?"
Faced with her daughter's question, Yumo helplessly patted her little head.
"Sorry. I'll only be staying for a little while. I still have things to take care of over there."
"Uuu..."
Hearing that answer,
the excitement on Shuoyue's face visibly faded.
In an instant, she transformed from a cheerful, energetic girl into a listless, lifeless one.
Even so,
Shuoyue quickly composed herself and looked at her mother curiously.
"Mommy, then... why did you suddenly come back today?"
"Well? What do you think?"
As she spoke, Yumo slowly shifted her gaze toward the enormous crater nearby.
"Shuoyue... shouldn't you explain to me what happened to our home first?"
"?!!"
The instant she heard those words,
Shuoyue's heart skipped a beat.
A bead of cold sweat slowly rolled down her forehead.
"U-Um..."
"Not just the little cabin. Why are there traces of Braves here? Why did your little sister awaken ahead of time? And your two older sisters—where are they? Why can't I sense either of them at all?"
As each question left Yumo's lips,
her expression grew increasingly...
kind.
Shuoyue couldn't help trembling slightly.
Sure enough...
What was coming had finally arrived.
Then...
I'm sorry, Big Sister Limo!
'It's time to demonstrate the results of my training!'
At that moment,
without the slightest hesitation,
Shuoyue put everything she'd learned from Saiboke-Baniya into practice.
Hidden within Yumo's blind spot, Shuoyue quietly withdrew one hand and extended her thumb and index finger.
Then the blue-haired girl gritted her teeth, steeled herself, and mercilessly pinched the flesh of her own thigh.
An intense burst of pain instantly shot through her body.
Under Yumo's somewhat astonished gaze,
Shuoyue's adorable eyes quickly reddened as tears shimmered within them.
The very next second,
she burst into tears in a voice overflowing with guilt and grievance.
"Waaahhh! Mommy, I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I forgot to remind Big Sister Limo that the person from the Asumos Church she ate had one of the Child of Destiny's tracking devices on him! That's why the Braves found this place! Waaaahhh! A-And... and... I... I wasn't familiar enough with controlling the barrier, so they found a loophole and broke in! Waaaahhh! If I'd been more careful, the little cabin wouldn't have been destroyed, and little sister wouldn't have been attacked! Waaaahhh..."
Yumo: ??
—
Meanwhile,
far, far away,
a certain little white wolf suddenly raised her head and anxiously looked around.
"Mewoo?"
Why do I suddenly...
have a really bad feeling...
Enmm...
Forget it.
I'll keep eating~
With that thought, the absent-minded little white wolf lowered her head once more and enthusiastically resumed devouring the chicken drumstick feast Fengling-Valedin had prepared for her.
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