"I'm sorry, Mommy... The barrier was too huge. It was my first time managing it, and I really couldn't keep up. I never noticed there was a gap in the northwest corner... That's how... those Braves got inside... Waaaah..."
Shuoyue sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.
She cried so pitifully that anyone who saw her would feel their heart ache.
The sight instantly extinguished all of Miss Yumo's anger.
The fierce look on her face vanished without a trace, replaced by reluctance and heartache.
A complicated emotion unconsciously surfaced within Yumo's crimson eyes.
Perhaps...
the task she'd given this child had simply been too difficult.
Managing such an enormous barrier...
Making mistakes during the first attempt was only natural.
Back then, the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons had indeed been surrounded by a barrier that obstructed perception and blocked reconnaissance.
However, that barrier had essentially been an innate ability that existed while Yumo herself was the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.
Once she transformed into human form and left the Great Winter Forest, that barrier disappeared as well.
Therefore, in order to protect the little cabin and the surrounding living area, Yumo and Saiboke-Baniya had constructed a new barrier around the residential zone using several Saint-Domain spells.
Truthfully, even Yumo herself didn't know exactly how the barrier should be managed or operated efficiently.
Perhaps it had been unfair to leave it all to Shuoyue...
After all, she was only a child a few hundred years old.
And during most of those centuries...
she'd been asleep.
Failing to manage the barrier properly and accidentally allowing the Braves inside...
was understandable.
"Forget it, forget it. This isn't your fault. I should've thought it through better."
"Waaaahhh!!"
However, after hearing Yumo's words,
Shuoyue cried even harder.
She threw herself into Yumo's embrace, burying her face against her mother's soft chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Yumo could only continue patting her back helplessly.
"There, there... It's not your fault anymore. Don't cry, don't cry. Be good..."
...
...
After quite a bit of comforting from Yumo,
Shuoyue finally stopped crying.
She slowly pulled herself out of Yumo's embrace, continuing to sniffle while rubbing her eyes, which had even become slightly swollen.
Normally, a Demon King-class being would never have swollen eyes from crying.
It truly showed why Shuoyue had graduated at the top of Saiboke-Baniya's acting class among all Demon King-class Abyss Demons.
Incidentally...
Limo had ranked dead last.
After finally calming herself down, Shuoyue looked guiltily toward Yumo.
"I'm sorry, Mommy. It's all my fault... Otherwise the cabin wouldn't have..."
"I already told you. It isn't entirely your fault."
Shaking her head,
surrounded by the gathered Abyss Demons,
Yumo gently patted Shuoyue's head reassuringly.
"But after those Braves entered the barrier, why didn't you drive them away?"
"Didn't Mommy say we weren't allowed to attack the Braves? Didn't Big Sister Limo get scolded by Mommy before for attacking one? Shuoyue didn't want Mommy to scold her too... Besides, those Braves didn't look dangerous, so I..."
As she spoke, Shuoyue puffed out her adorable cheeks.
"...Seriously, why are you so rigid?"
Yumo couldn't help pressing a hand against her forehead.
"Once they're inside the barrier, it's a completely different situation, okay? Besides, I never said you absolutely couldn't attack them. I just said it's best not to kill them. If something special happens, then... Ah, forget it."
She sighed.
"What happened afterward? Did they enter the cabin? Didn't your sisters Limo and Liyu stop them?"
"No. Big Sister Limo and Big Sister Liyu weren't there at the time. Then those Braves went inside. After they entered... they seemed to attack little sister. That's what caused her to awaken suddenly... and blow up the cabin."
"I see..."
Yumo nodded with an expression of realization.
That explained why Yuan'er had awakened so much earlier than expected.
"What about those two Braves?"
"They... they were killed by little sister."
"Enmm... Alright."
Yumo shook her head helplessly.
"By the way, where are your two older sisters now?"
At that question,
Shuoyue once again innocently shook her head.
"I-I don't know. I really don't know where they went. I think... because of this incident, they went looking for Mommy..."
This time,
Shuoyue's expression wasn't an act.
Because she genuinely had no idea where her two sisters had gone.
They'd said they were going to find Mommy.
But judging from Mommy's reaction, they obviously hadn't met up with her.
Hm?
How strange.
Then where exactly had Big Sister Limo and Big Sister Liyu gone?
She hadn't even been able to contact them using the communication magic stones, so there hadn't been any chance to get their stories straight.
Thinking about that,
Shuoyue felt increasingly guilty.
Although her performance had been flawless,
there were certain questions that would immediately expose everything if Mommy ever asked Limo or Liyu herself.
Her heart had been pounding wildly the entire time.
If she hadn't forcibly suppressed it using Shadow of Silence Power,
Mommy probably would've noticed.
Still,
Shuoyue had no other choice.
There was no way she could tell the truth if she wanted to avoid the feather duster.
If she confessed, not only would her backside suffer, but the obedient, honest little daughter image she'd worked so hard to build in front of Mommy would be completely ruined.
For now, all she could do was get through today.
Afterward, she'd hurry and contact her two sisters so they could coordinate their stories.
At worst...
the three of them would get punished together.
At least that way, each of them would probably be hit less often.
No matter what,
thankfully...
'Mommy doesn't seem suspicious right now...'
Watching Yumo fall into thought about Limo and Liyu's whereabouts,
Shuoyue quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Then she took Yumo's hand and comforted her.
"Mommy, don't worry. Big Sister Limo and Big Sister Liyu will be alright."
"No. They're not what I'm worried about."
"Huh?"
Yumo smiled wryly as she rubbed her temple.
"What I'm worried about... is the people they'll run into... and the places they'll end up."
"Uh..."
Hearing that,
Shuoyue laughed awkwardly.
Every older brother and sister who had left the Great Winter Forest to travel through the outside world—including herself in the past—had first passed examinations confirming they could blend into human society.
The main reason Big Sister Limo and Big Sister Liyu usually remained inside the forest was that there were still certain skills they hadn't fully mastered.
Or rather...
they each had their own shortcomings.
Like Big Sister Limo's inability to resist eating people...
Sigh...
Forget Mommy.
Why am I suddenly getting nervous too...
Just as Shuoyue was feeling conflicted,
Yumo spoke again.
"Speaking of which, Shuoyue, where do you think Yuan'er might be now?"
"Yuan'er?"
"Oh, that's your little sister's name."
"Sorry, Mommy. I don't really have any ideas. I don't know much about the continent. Mommy... are you planning to look for little sister?"
"I can't just leave her alone, can I? I'll have Xiao's people gather intelligence and start a search."
"That makes sense..."
Shuoyue nodded in agreement.
"Then, Mommy, where do you think Little Sister Yuan'er might be? If we knew her general location, searching would be much easier. Mommy, can you sense her?"
Hearing that,
Yumo slowly rested a hand beneath her chin and thoughtfully looked toward the south.
"She's long since moved beyond my perception range. If I could still sense her, I wouldn't be worrying here."
"But... where would she go?"
"Since she didn't return to the Great Winter Forest, then she definitely headed south."
"Yuan'er still doesn't know how to properly control Shadow of Silence Power, so she can't hide her aura."
"If she entered one of the great empires like the Snow Night Empire or the Crimson Leaf Empire, she definitely would've triggered the Abyss Demon alarm systems."
"If that had happened, we wouldn't still have absolutely no news about her."
"So... that means little sister is..."
"Mhm."
"She should be somewhere in the central region... among those chaotic little kingdoms."
"Ohhh~"
Hearing that,
Shuoyue immediately looked enlightened.
Then she gazed at Yumo pleadingly and grabbed her hand again.
"Mommy! Let me take some scouting Abyss Demons to the central region! I'll find little sister and bring her back! Please? Please? Please??"
No matter what,
deep down Shuoyue still wanted to be Mommy's dependable little sweetheart and help solve her problems.
If she managed to bring Yuan'er back,
Mommy would surely think she was reliable.
Besides...
if she wanted to completely bring little sister over to their side,
she needed some time alone with her, away from Mommy.
That was the real reason she'd volunteered.
Unfortunately,
after hearing the suggestion,
Yumo completely ignored Shuoyue's adorable pleading expression and immediately rejected it.
"No."
"The Great Winter Forest can't be left without someone watching over it."
"Ahhh??~"
Her proposal rejected in an instant,
Shuoyue's little head drooped weakly.
Damn...
Cute mode failed...
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