"Huh?"
The three people ahead didn't notice the intimate little interaction between Lumina and Herta behind them. Arriving at the open area, they first scanned their surroundings. After confirming there was no danger, their vigilance eased considerably.
"Doesn't seem like anyone's here... Was that voice just our imagination?"
Mem looked around after arriving but found no sign of anyone.
She scratched her head, voicing her confusion.
"No, it wasn't an illusion. I heard that voice too." Mem's words were immediately refuted by Castorice.
One person hearing it might be an illusion, but two people hearing it definitely wasn't.
The probability of two people experiencing the same illusion simultaneously was far too low.
"Everyone, I'm afraid someone is nearby."
"Whether they're friend or foe is unclear, but in any case... it's best to be careful."
[The Twelve Constellations are like eyes, Giants raise their cups to toast...]
Just as Castorice finished her warning, the voice echoed in their ears once more.
"It's here again... I can't figure out where this voice is coming from at all." Hearing the voice, Mem carefully looked left and right, searching for a while, then lowered her fluffy head, her small face falling as she indicated she couldn't pinpoint the source of the sound.
"The voice is coming from over there." Lumina joined the three, pointing a finger at a stone statue behind a nearby jar.
How could Lumina possibly know where the voice was coming from?
But Lumina knew the energy fluctuations were originating from that stone statue...
"Let's go. Whether it's a person or a ghost, we'll find out by taking a closer look."
[...]
Hearing Lumina's words, everyone nodded in agreement.
They stepped forward and quietly approached the stone statue.
It was a statue of an old man in a long robe, sitting cross-legged in meditation.
The stone statue was also covered in branches and vines, suggesting this was its original design.
"Hmm..." Gazing at the stone statue, Stelle, Castorice, and Mem all lowered their heads slightly, stroking their chins in thought.
"I've got it."
A moment later, Stelle's small eyes glowed faintly, and she quickly found a solution.
"Whoosh..."
Accompanied by a wave of scorching heat and the sound of crackling flames, a Flaming Lance materialized in Stelle's hand.
A smirk played on her lips. She shifted one foot back, braced one hand forward, and held the Flaming Lance behind her with the other, clearly preparing to solve the problem in the simplest way possible.
"Huh?" Castorice, standing beside Stelle, sensed the aura emanating from her and immediately stopped her train of thought, hastily intervening. "Wait, Miss."
"Don't use that method to solve this."
Although force was one way to solve problems, Castorice felt that in a place like this, it was absolutely not the way to go.
Especially not with Stelle's method, which involved raging flames. That was completely out of the question...
This was the Grove of Epiphany, situated inside a giant tree. If Stelle's Flaming Lance ignited something, it would be disastrous...
"Hmm... that makes sense." Hearing this, Stelle pondered for a moment.
Then, deciding Castorice's words were quite reasonable, she nodded and obediently dispelled the Flaming Lance.
Seeing Stelle act so docile, Lumina glanced at her a few times, finding it somewhat rare.
"Oh my, you little one, you gave me quite a scare."
Before Lumina could process her thoughts, a voice echoed clearly in everyone's ears.
"!"
Hearing the voice, Stelle, Castorice, and Mem startled, whipping their heads around to look.
Their expressions were wary, and they nearly drew their weapons on the spot.
Before them stood a woman, an ethereal figure.
But she wasn't a Memory Crystal. The woman's form was fully colored; aside from being slightly transparent, she looked no different from a normal person.
Her eyes were closed, her hands folded at her waist, and atop her head were several... pointed vines?
"You... you... who are you?!" Facing the suddenly appeared phantom woman, Mem covered her mouth with one hand and pointed with the other, her voice trembling with terror and fear.
Clearly, the woman's sudden appearance had startled Mem, whose attention had been entirely focused on the stone statue.
"Hehe..." The woman chuckled softly, not immediately answering Mem's question.
Instead, she opened her tightly shut eyes just a sliver, her gaze falling upon Lumina and Herta.
After lingering for a moment, she looked away and closed her eyes again.
"This little rabbit is quite lively."
"And... there's a familiar scent about her."
Did the woman seem to know Mem?
But no one present paid any attention to this.
Faced with the woman who had appeared out of nowhere, Castorice and Stelle didn't notice her familiarity with Mem.
As for Lumina and Herta, they were enjoying the unfolding drama. They noticed the woman's familiar tone toward Mem but didn't care in the slightest, with no thought of asking about it crossing their minds.
They also paid no mind to the look the woman had given them earlier.
No...
They did care, just a little.
Lumina's thought was: "Another beautiful girl! Amphoreus is so lucky!"
While Herta's was: "Where did this one pop out from?"
"Who are you? Keep your distance and state your identity, or... you'll face the consequences!" Although the woman before them didn't seem malicious, Castorice had no intention of being friendly to someone who had appeared so suddenly.
Under normal circumstances, Castorice wouldn't have reacted this way.
After all, not everyone is filled with malice; this world... still has plenty of warmth left.
But in the current situation, Castorice wouldn't think that way.
What was the state of the Grove of Epiphany now? The Black Tide's invasion, an unknown Black-Robed Swordsman... and now someone had suddenly appeared without anyone noticing. This instantly pushed Castorice's caution to its absolute limit.
A faint purple light emanated from her body, and her eyes grew noticeably deeper.
It seemed that if the woman before her couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, Castorice would send her straight to the Styx.
Though Castorice had maintained a calm expression on their journey here, her heart was already seething with rage.
Seeing the place where she once studied and lived reduced to this state, who could possibly remain calm?
The woman's appearance had directly put her in Castorice's line of fire.
"Wow, Little Lumina, did you see that?"
"Your little girlfriend is angry."
"So fierce! Even I'm scared of that aura."
On the side, taking in Castorice's appearance, Herta leaned close to Lumina's ear, crossed her arms over her shoulders, feigned a frightened look, and whispered.
Knowing Castorice was as fragile as a paper window, easily pierced, Herta lowered her voice so only she and Lumina could hear.
"My little girlfriend is angry?" Hearing this, Lumina turned to Herta.
"My little Herta girlfriend isn't angry at all, is she?"
"You look perfectly happy to me. Where's the anger?"
"If you're angry about something, just say the word."
"I... will patiently help you resolve it, you know,"
With that, Lumina winked at Herta, a wink no one could resist.
"Mmph..."
No one could resist it, and Herta, being a person, was naturally among that "no one."
Even a genius like Herta, receiving a wink from Lumina at such close range, was instantly captivated.
If others hadn't been around, and if Lumina wouldn't have dodged, Herta would have pounced and taken a few hearty "bites" right then and there.
"Mhm."
Noticing Herta frozen in place, her expression gradually turning fiery, Lumina paid it no mind.
After a soft hum, she returned her gaze to Castorice and the others.
As for Herta's current state, she'd just let her suppress it for now.
After all, she knew that even if Herta did erupt, it would just be an eruption; it couldn't affect her in any way.
So Herta wouldn't erupt, nor would she pounce and do anything to her.
She just needed to wait a while, and Herta would naturally return to normal.
Herta: ...
Just as Lumina had predicted, Herta reacted exactly as expected.
Once the fire in her eyes reached a critical point, it began to dissipate, eventually fading completely as she returned to normal.
Looking at Lumina's unguarded profile, which practically screamed, "What can you do to me?", Herta felt a rage she couldn't vent, forced to silently swallow this defeat.
"You just wait."
"Three Amber Eras, Cosmos East; Three Amber Eras, Cosmos West. Don't underestimate the weak Herta..."
"I refuse to believe you can maintain such composure every single time."
After muttering silently to herself, Herta dismissed the thought and, along with Lumina, refocused her gaze on Castorice and the others.
She listened quietly to their conversation.
"Hmm... This is... the aura of Thanatos." Hearing Castorice's menacing words, the woman showed no sign of panic.
Still with her eyes closed, her voice held a hint of reminiscence, as if she knew Thanatos.
"Hehe, I recognize you. The Hand of Shadow of Aidonia is quite renowned."
The woman chuckled like an elder, seemingly unfazed by Castorice's threat.
"If you know, then stop provoking the authority of [Death] and answer my question."
Under normal circumstances, hearing herself called the "Hand of Shadow" by someone else would surely make Castorice feel deeply uncomfortable, right?
But now, Castorice's expression hardened, and the menacing aura she exuded grew even more intense.
She wasn't joking with the woman before her. If she dared to provoke the authority of [Death] again, Castorice would send her to meet Thanatos herself.
"Hehe, baring your fangs... How adorable." The woman chuckled. Even in this situation, she still didn't answer Castorice's question, instead offering a teasing remark.
"Yes, yes, she's just too cute." Lumina wholeheartedly agreed with the woman's words.
Castorice's current appearance was practically an invitation to commit a crime.
Though committing that crime would lead directly to "death" without needing police arrest...
Lumina didn't perceive any threat in Castorice's fierce-but-cute demeanor that would work on a normal person.
Anyone seeing Castorice like this would probably assume her "threat" of sending you to meet [Death] meant she'd just pounce and bite you, right?
Hmm... that's pretty much the same thing, isn't it?
After all, anyone Castorice touches dies.
Never mind then.
How is fierce-but-cute not still fierce?
Lumina hummed softly to herself.
"..." Hearing the woman's words, a cold glint flashed in Castorice's eyes. It seemed she was done being polite and was preparing to inflict death upon her.
"Hehe, just call me Calypso."
"On behalf of the Seven Sages and the Lotophagism, I extend my greetings to you all."
Sensing that if the jest continued, Castorice would genuinely attack, Calypso responded to her words and briefly introduced herself.
"Hmm... I understand the logic, but you..." Listening to her words and seeing Calypso's harmless appearance, Stelle nodded.
Then she crossed her arms, looked Calypso up and down, and asked doubtfully, "Are you a ghost?"
"Be careful, Stelle... Although the owner of the Lotophagism has never shown their true face, in this situation, this person absolutely cannot be trusted easily."
To prevent Stelle from being deceived by this seemingly harmless person, Castorice quickly spoke up.
This time, Castorice directly called Stelle by her name, omitting the honorific "Miss."
To raise Stelle's guard, Castorice continued, "The Weft-Guide couldn't detect her aura just now."
"If this is merely an illusionary body, it's far too bizarre."
"But if she were a deceased person, I should have been able to perceive her..."
After saying these words and raising Stelle's guard once more, Castorice gave Stelle a smile that said, "Don't worry, leave it to me."
"Let me test her."
With a nod, Castorice shifted her gaze back to Calypso.
Seeing this, Calypso didn't rush to speak.
After glancing at Lumina and Herta, she said, "Ladies, what do you think? Would you mind if I joined this private discussion?"
Calypso treated Lumina and Herta with extreme caution.
Just as Castorice was cautious of Calypso.
Calypso didn't know the specifics of their situation, but her sense of danger told her...
...that either one of them, taken alone, was more terrifying, more dreadful, and more difficult to handle than the Black Tide...
Faced with this, even Calypso had to act according to their expressions.
It couldn't be helped. Even in her "transparent" state, Calypso still understood the principles of "social etiquette."