"Miss Hina?"
After hearing Thoma's surprised words, Sangonomiya Kokomi suddenly remembered that the other person seemed to look a lot like the poster girl for [Yae Publishing House].
No wonder she always felt a bit familiar; it turned out that although she had never seen the real person, she had also seen the display boards made by [Yae Publishing House].
"Miss Hina, why are you here?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi asked suspiciously, not knowing why the other person had appeared in her room.
"No!"
"Miss Hina," hearing Sangonomiya Kokomi's words, the other person said in a voice that was about to cry.
"Lady Sangonomiya, it's me, Gorou!"
"I'm not some Miss Hina!"
Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma slowly formed a question mark on their foreheads.
"Miss Hina, you can't make this kind of joke," Sangonomiya Kokomi said seriously to the other person, then looked elsewhere.
"But speaking of which, it seems I haven't seen Gorou until now, even though the guards at the door said Gorou hasn't gone out."
"Lady Sangonomiya, please believe me!"
"I really am Gorou, your reliable right-hand man!"
"Although my appearance has changed a bit, you should be able to recognize me, Lady Sangonomiya!"
"Please look at me carefully!"
After hearing these words, Sangonomiya Kokomi once again fixed her gaze on the woman in front of her, then examined her closely.
"Hmm... He does seem to look a lot like Gorou, whether it's the ears, or the tail, or the tuft of hair at the very front of his head..."
"Miss Hina," hearing these words, the other person's eyes gradually lit up.
"So are you Gorou's older sister or younger sister?"
Snap, the light went out!
"I really am Gorou, Lady Sangonomiya!"
"I've been with you for so long, how could you not know whether I have an older or younger sister?!"
-
After some detailed verification, Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma accepted the fact that the gentle, elegant, and beautiful older sister before them was actually Gorou.
Thoma stared directly into the Abyss, feeling as if it were about to swallow him whole, and couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Big Brother Gorou... Miss... It must have been hard for you to endure this for so many years!"
Meanwhile, Sangonomiya Kokomi felt as if her brain had completely fried. After working together for so many years, she had never imagined that her most trusted and capable general was actually a young lady.
So, was she really this dense all along?!
"No, please let me explain. I only changed into this form about half a day ago."
"As for the reason, it seems there is a ghost inside my body!"
"A ghost?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma exchanged a glance, utterly confused by the situation.
"Um, Miss Hina... Brother Gorou... Miss Gorou... Anyway, maybe you should change your clothes first? After all, what you're wearing now is a bit..."
Thoma coughed twice and then spoke awkwardly.
Only after hearing Thoma's words did Sangonomiya Kokomi notice how provocative Gorou's current outfit was.
"I remember there are two miko outfits in the wardrobe. Gorou, you can change into one."
Just as Sangonomiya Kokomi finished speaking, she and Thoma clearly saw the expression on Gorou's face begin to crumble...
Half an hour later, after hesitating for a long time, Gorou finally chose to yield to reality and put on the miko outfit.
The light blue miko outfit was slightly too small on Gorou, especially across the chest where it was stretched completely tight. Gorou felt some discomfort, but as soon as he looked down and stared directly into the Abyss, he was instantly terrified.
Gorou's body trembled slightly, his hands tightly clutching the hem of the clothes, and his face was already covered in a deep blush, evoking a very strong desire to protect him.
Thoma's eyes went a bit vacant, but he quickly snapped back to his senses, then turned around and slapped himself, once again reminding himself in his heart of the fact that Gorou was his brother.
"Gorou, I didn't expect this outfit to suit you so well."
Sangonomiya Kokomi took a brief look at him, and a clear sense of discomfort appeared when she called his name. Gorou's current image had already made it somewhat impossible for her to look directly at him.
"Lady Sangonomiya, please don't make jokes like that!"
Gorou's voice choked with tears as he spoke, his expression one of utter despair, and even the tail behind him drooped completely.
Anyone would be deeply devastated if such a thing happened to them.
"Alright, Gorou, now you can tell us exactly what happened."
Hearing Sangonomiya Kokomi's question, Gorou took a deep breath, slightly calmed his mood, and then began to recount the events in detail.
"...It happened so fast. I didn't have a moment's warning when a ball of light suddenly flew in from outside and entered my body."
"Then I felt my body grow hot, as if it were about to burn up, to the point where I didn't even have the strength to crawl out of the room and ask for help. Not long after, I felt waves of dizziness in my head, and then my consciousness plunged into darkness."
"When I woke up again, I found myself changed into this state, and I also discovered that there was another presence inside my body."
"She said she was some Grand Mage, and she also said a whole bunch of strange things that I completely couldn't understand."
"What makes me most furious is that she's clearly staying inside my body, yet she still looks down on me. This is just too much!"
Gorou's emotions were somewhat agitated, clearly having suffered a great injustice.
After Sangonomiya Kokomi hurriedly calmed his emotions, she spoke.
"Gorou, ask that lady if she is from another world, and also how she is addressed."
At this moment, a hint of reluctance clearly appeared on Gorou's face, but in the end, he still fell into silence, yet his eyes kept flickering with an uncertain light, indicating that he was not simply spacing out.
"Lady Sangonomiya, she says her name is Daphne, from the God-Forsaken Continent."
Gorou spoke with some surprise, he didn't expect Sangonomiya Kokomi to actually guess correctly, that the other party was not a person from the Teyvat continent, but came from other worlds.
And Sangonomiya Kokomi's heart at this moment was also not calm, although she had already anticipated it, when all this was laid out before her, it still gave her a somewhat unreal feeling.
"Gorou, can you let her come and talk to us in person?"
"I'll try."
Gorou spoke softly, then closed his eyes.
When Gorou opened his eyes again, Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma discovered that his gaze had completely changed.
His gaze turned confident, even arrogant, and the aura around him also changed abruptly, giving off a domineering feel.
"Are you Miss Daphne?"
Hearing Sangonomiya Kokomi's tentative question, the other party snorted softly and spoke.
"Asking a question you already know the answer to."
"Hurry up and tell me what you want. The great Mage Daphne's time is very precious."
Daphne spoke very forcefully. The drastic change in the same face in such a short time made Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma feel a sense of discomfort, but they quickly suppressed this feeling.
"How did Miss Daphne end up in Brother Gorou's body?"
Thoma asked.
Daphne raised an eyebrow and spoke in a somewhat helpless tone.
"How should I know how things work in your world? I had only been dead for a short while before I was dragged here."
"That's one thing, but I met an extremely terrifying being as soon as I arrived in this world, and I was even almost controlled by her. Fortunately, I ran away quickly."
"How could the great Mage Daphne forever live under someone else's shadow!"
Hearing this, Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma both roughly guessed the other party's origin, but they were very curious about how she ended up in Gorou's body and why she had turned Gorou into such a pleasing appearance, so they quickly asked.
"As for this, after I escaped earlier, I discovered that if I didn't quickly find someone to possess, my soul would dissipate before long, so I started picking a person."
"A great mage like me, of course, cannot possess a nobody, so I made a wish to the stars, asking them to lead me to the most famous person among those most suitable for possession within a certain range. I never expected that I would end up on this young man in the end."
"How strange. Could it be that my Stellar Prayer Art had a problem again? Where did this young man get so much fame?"
Sangonomiya Kokomi exchanged glances with Thoma again. Thinking of Gorou's appearance after becoming a female, the two vaguely guessed something.
Sangonomiya Kokomi suddenly remembered that Gorou seemed to often write letters through the [Yae Publishing House] to help some people in trouble, and the [Yae Publishing House] was the property of that unpredictable Yae Miko.
So Miss Hina's appearance was not strange, not strange at all!
Just as Sangonomiya Kokomi hesitated for a moment over whether to tell Gorou this cruel truth, the other party spoke up to explain again.
"As for why I've taken this form, it's because this young man is too weak. That's why he was affected by the power I unconsciously emanated."
"The one appearing before you is Mage Daphne, who set the record for the youngest person to be promoted to Grand Mage! Even a sliver of the power I leak is enough to have an immeasurable influence on ordinary people!"
Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma were stunned by Daphne's words. Judging from the aura Daphne radiated, they knew her words were not false. They weren't sure exactly how strong she was, but at the very least, stomping them would be no problem.
However, they soon recovered. Even if you're that excellent, aren't you still a dead person? What's there to be so smug about?!
But they decided to keep such thoughts to themselves. Actually saying it out loud would be too irrational.
"Alright, don't worry. I won't seize his body."
"I have no interest in such a frail body. Once I find a way to exist directly in this world, I will leave his body."
Hearing Daphne's words, the corners of Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma's mouths both twitched. They hoped these words wouldn't be heard by Gorou and hurt his fragile heart.
"Besides, the power I leak will also imperceptibly strengthen his body. Just consider it rent for this period of time."
"Alright, I'm busy. Don't disturb me again in the future unless there's something important."
After leaving these words, Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma just watched the person in front of them complete another switch of their aura.
Seeing Gorou's disappointed look, it was obvious that he had also heard the previous words.
The two thought Gorou was because he heard Daphne say he was too weak, but after listening a bit more carefully, they heard Gorou wondering how he could have such a high reputation.
"Ahem, Gorou, there's no need to dwell on this matter anymore!"
Sangonomiya Kokomi quickly changed the subject. Yae Miko had helped her before, so she would help cover it up a bit.
Gorou never dreamed that Sangonomiya Kokomi would sell him out!
"Since things have already happened, we should consider how to solve it."
"Lady Sangonomiya, you are absolutely right!"
"I will strive to become stronger and then drive this woman out of my body!"
Gorou clenched his little fists and bit his lip, his eyes filled with a determined look. However, he didn't realize how cute he looked in his resolve, even making Sangonomiya Kokomi and Thoma feel that it wasn't bad for him to become like this.
"For the time being, Gorou, I'll have to ask you to bear with it and serve as a miko by my side."
Hearing Sangonomiya Kokomi's words, Gorou's lips moved as he wanted to refuse, but in the end, he chose to accept.
After all, returning to being the gloriously formidable General Gorou was not very realistic. Even his height was now vastly different from before, making it completely impossible to disguise himself back.
"Wait a minute, since Daphne says she's so powerful, she should be able to help me solve this problem, right?"
Suddenly, Gorou thought of something, his eyes lighting up, and he immediately went to communicate with Daphne.
However, not long after, seeing Gorou's depressed expression, it was obvious he had hit a wall.
"She said she doesn't want to waste unnecessary magic power, and that this appearance will also give me more motivation to become stronger," Gorou said somewhat angrily, clearly dissatisfied with Daphne's answer.
"It seems you'll have to be sisters with the other miko for the time being, Gorou."
Sangonomiya Kokomi said with a smile, and the expression on Gorou's face immediately cracked.
However, the smile on Sangonomiya Kokomi's face soon faded, and she asked Gorou about the topic she was most concerned with.
"Gorou, what's the current status of that research? Has Miss Yue remembered anything? Have any new beings related to that research appeared since then?"
This was the fundamental reason why Sangonomiya Kokomi had rushed back so urgently, but she had been interrupted by Gorou's situation just now and was only asking about it now.
After hearing Sangonomiya Kokomi's question, Gorou answered her one by one.
Upon hearing that Yue had already remembered some things, Sangonomiya Kokomi immediately ordered the research to be restarted.
And the deadline Sangonomiya Kokomi gave was... three days!
If no research results could be produced within three days, or if an unexpected situation occurred during the research that prevented it from meeting expectations, countless innocent victims would appear in Inazuma at that time, which was something Sangonomiya Kokomi was unwilling to see.
Upon hearing the time limit, Gorou was astonished.
"Lady Sangonomiya, isn't this timeframe too short!"
"I know time is short, but we truly have no time left."
Sangonomiya Kokomi raised her hand.
"Gorou, pass down my orders exactly as I have stated them."
"Yes, Lady Sangonomiya, I'll notify everyone immediately!"
Immediately after receiving Sangonomiya Kokomi's orders, Gorou hurried out of the room.
Shortly after he left, Thoma suddenly spoke up.
"Lady Sangonomiya, what authority is Brother Gorou using to announce this order?"
Hearing this, Sangonomiya Kokomi's expression changed slightly, and she moved to recall Gorou, but ecstatic voices were already coming from outside.
"Miss Hina, what are you doing here?!"
"Everyone, come look! Miss Hina is here!"