"What I just described pertains to the previous tournament. The victor was Phainon, who has held the debate championship for a full ten consecutive terms."
After Lumina and Herta's "breakup" discussion concluded, Castorice and Calypso's little Q&A game also drew to a close.
"Furthermore, to completely dispel your doubts about me, I shall offer you a piece of information far more valuable than anything about the Grand Debate," Calypso said with a smile, as if everything she'd said before had been mere child's play.
But in the next instant, her expression turned serious as she delivered news that brought relief and joy to Castorice and the others: "Anaxa of the Nousporists is not dead. I have rescued him, and he is now recuperating on the Luminary Throne."
"Well? Are you satisfied now?"
"Ah..." Castorice pressed a hand to her shoulder. Hearing this, her eyes widened, a flicker of joy shining in them.
"Hehe." Seeing Castorice's reaction, Calypso's serious expression vanished instantly, replaced once more by that teasing, child-like demeanor.
"This stunned expression is far more delightful and adorable than your previous one."
"'Castorice is adorable.' Lumina nodded in fervent agreement with Calypso's words."
Just moments ago, she was breaking up with Herta, and now she's already praising another beautiful girl.
She's the King of Scum, the Scum of Kings, the Scum King!
Hearing Lumina's whispered praise, Herta couldn't help but curse her inwardly.
With Lumina's level of scumbaggery, calling her a "scum girl" would be a compliment.
"As the saying goes, 'Seeing is believing.' Follow me, and let's all go to the Throne to see for ourselves." Calypso glanced briefly at the five people present... or rather...
...the five beings present.
"Mem! Are you thinking something incredibly rude about me?" Though Calypso hadn't said a word, Mem seemed to have a psychic connection, planting her hands on her hips and calling her out.
"Hehehe." Calypso said nothing, her gaze fixed on Castorice, awaiting her answer.
"..." After a moment of hesitation and silence, Castorice nodded.
"I'll be watching you closely."
Although the person before her wasn't entirely trustworthy, Castorice couldn't give up the clue about Teacher Anaxa.
"I'm deeply honored." Calypso smiled, feeling truly honored that Castorice would be watching her closely.
"Why are you rewarding her?" Lumina's voice held a hint of sourness.
Castorice would keep a close watch on Calypso.
But with Lumina, Castorice couldn't even make eye contact... On a normal day, if she wanted to look at Lumina, she'd have to do it secretly, never daring to look openly.
So, Castorice's promise to watch Calypso closely was clearly a reward.
"Can you stop being so crazy about things like this!" Herta truly couldn't stand some of Lumina's comments.
Castorice was clearly talking about surveillance, right? How is that a reward? If you're really that pent-up, you could just come to me, couldn't you? I could totally help you release that pent-up frustration!
Herta's mind was filled with exasperation, and her body moved uncontrollably, shoving Lumina hard to snap her out of her somewhat repressed thoughts.
"Little Herta, you're not being good." Lumina hummed softly, saying nothing more.
"So... is that it? We've reached an agreement?" Mem scratched her head, feeling the negotiation had gone a bit too quickly.
"As long as we make the waterwheel turn, we can then ascend step by step." Calypso smiled at Mem, then raised her head and briefly explained the secret of this place. "The answer is to awaken this heart."
After Calypso finished speaking, a puzzle-solving sequence began.
"Hey, Castorice, don't you have any guesses about Calypso's identity?"
While they were solving the puzzle, Lumina lowered her voice, moved beside Castorice, and whispered softly into her pointed ear.
"Eek!" Hearing Lumina's words and feeling the warm breath from her mouth on her ear, Castorice nearly jumped up like a startled bird.
"Lu... Lady Lumina... No, Sister Lumina, please... please don't stand so close."
She quickly glanced around at the others. Seeing that no one was looking at her, she breathed a small sigh of relief.
But the blush on her face and her ears, which were so red they seemed to be burning, showed no signs of fading.
Castorice hurriedly put some distance between herself and Lumina, then whispered a reminder.
"It's alright." Seeing Castorice's blushing face, seeing her pointed ears turn red, if Lumina were to say she had no thoughts at all, that would surely be a lie, right?
Taking a bite of that would probably feel incredibly good, wouldn't it?
"Si... Sister Lumina..." Feeling Lumina's somewhat fiery gaze, Castorice quickly turned her head away, ensuring Lumina was completely out of her line of sight.
While Castorice was indeed easily flustered, how could she be as fragile as thin glass right now, shattering at the slightest touch?
She clearly wasn't like this with anyone else...
Castorice felt utterly bewildered, but under Lumina's gaze, no matter how confused she was, she didn't dare to ask.
"Hmm?" Knowing Castorice was as fragile as glass, Lumina didn't launch any follow-up attacks. After all, Herta was still watching...
She had just tried to break up with Herta moments ago. Although it failed, that was no excuse for getting so close to another beautiful girl the very next second.
Lumina had initiated this conversation with Castorice for a serious reason.
"Little Sister Castorice, don't you think all of Calypso's actions point to a certain identity?"
"Mm... I... I have some guesses." Hearing this, and realizing Lumina had something serious to discuss, she took several deep breaths, trying to force down her shyness.
But even so, being watched by Lumina like this made Castorice's voice tremble as she spoke.
"Right? Right? The Rational Titan, that should be it, correct?" Seeing Castorice's state, Lumina knew it would be difficult to have a proper conversation with her like this.
So, as she spoke, she discreetly sent a small green orb of light into Castorice's body, unnoticed by anyone.
The next moment, Castorice's flushed face visibly returned to its normal color.
"Huh?"
Castorice naturally felt the change.
To recover so quickly from such a... deeply shy state, Castorice didn't think it was her own doing.
"Hoo..."
Taking a deep breath, she turned to look at Lumina.
Lumina's gentle smile entered her vision, causing a flash of awe and shyness in her eyes.
The moment she saw that smile, Castorice understood: Lumina had helped her.
For this, Castorice felt deeply grateful.
At the same time, empowered by this force, Castorice found the courage to meet Lumina's gaze.
Facing Lumina directly for the first time, Castorice etched that unforgettable face into her heart.
Simultaneously... in her mind, she silently replaced Herta with herself in the fanfiction she had already plotted about Lumina and Herta...
"Wuwuwu..."
At this thought, Castorice felt it was wrong and quickly shook her head, trying to shake the idea away.
How could Castorice do something so... morally questionable?
Not dwelling on the issue, Castorice recalled what Lumina had just said.
After a moment of thought, she nodded. Her gaze shifted to Calypso, who was smiling faintly and obediently following the group. Lowering her voice, she whispered, "Yes, Calypso's true identity is likely Circe herself."
Castorice might seem dazed, but she wasn't foolish.
With Calypso's behavior being so obvious, how could Castorice not guess?
Moreover...
"The head of the Lotophagists is named Medea, not Calypso."
Castorice's voice was soft and low, unheard by Calypso.
"Oh? You knew from the start that Calypso wasn't who she claimed to be. Why didn't you expose her?"
Lumina adored clever little butterflies like Castorice.
Clever, but not too clever, was even more to Lumina's liking.
Otherwise, if she were as difficult as Herta... while Lumina would still adore her, it would certainly be more troublesome.
After all... that would make her much harder to manipulate.
Hearing this, unaware of Lumina's thoughts, Castorice explained, "Because I didn't believe Circe would walk the earth in human form."
"Also... I was worried the Titan might already be under the Black Tide's control and would try to kill us..."
"And one more thing..."
"'Speak only with evidence.' This is a valuable lesson I learned while studying at The Grove."
At the time, Castorice was only speculating. She could prove Calypso wasn't the head of the Lotophagists, but she couldn't prove Calypso was actually Circe herself.
This was why Castorice didn't expose Calypso.
After all... at least she had genuinely brought them clues about Anaxa.
On that point alone, Castorice could temporarily set the matter aside.
"I see." Lumina nodded without saying more.
After giving Castorice a reassuring smile, she returned to Herta's side, allowing Castorice to focus on the task at hand.
"Done chatting?"
As Lumina rejoined Herta, she was met with a sudden, emotionless voice.
Now that Herta had fully expressed her feelings for Lumina, she could be openly jealous.
Though, she'd always been quite open about it before...
"Not yet. If no one else were around, I could get even closer to Castorice." Since Herta wasn't bothering to hide her feelings, Lumina saw no reason to keep up her own act.
She said what was on her mind with a cheerful grin.
Herta: ...
Good. Very good. Excellent.
Hearing this, Herta gritted her teeth and silently "praised" Lumina three times in her mind.
She used to just huff to avoid answering, but now she doesn't even bother to act, just says it plainly: "I, Lumina, just want to cuddle with other cute girls..."
This left Herta feeling quite bitter.
But there was nothing she could do.
"Hmph." With a cold snort, Herta turned her head away, deciding to ignore Lumina.
Lumina just smiled, paying Herta no mind.
Lumina had found it. She had found the way to defeat Herta in her current state.
And that was...
The cold shoulder!
Just keep giving Herta the cold shoulder, keep cuddling with other cute girls right in front of her, and completely ignore her. Repeat this process until Herta gets anxious, and her defenses will naturally crumble.
Besides, this also benefited Lumina.
Originally, Lumina had planned to send Herta away before befriending Castorice.
But now, that wasn't necessary.
Now, Lumina could become good friends with Castorice right in front of Herta.
This way, she could strengthen her bond with Castorice while also angering Herta, making her anxious, breaking her defenses, revealing her weaknesses, and ultimately bringing her completely under Lumina's control.
It was a perfect plan.
"I'm such a genius. When will Nous, the Erudition, finally notice me?"
Lumina's heart swelled with delight as she began to fantasize.
She started imagining Herta completely surrendering at her feet, calling her "Sister Lumina" with every breath.
And what if Herta got angry and left?
Simple. Lumina would just find a chance to offer her a sweet reward.
Lumina understood the principle of giving a slap, then offering a sweet date.
What if Herta stubbornly insisted on leaving her for good?
Hmm... Lumina hadn't actually considered that.
But if that really happened, Lumina would definitely drop everything to win her back.
Of course, this didn't just apply to Herta; it applied to all cute girls.
Lumina didn't want to lose a single one of them.
Not a single one!
-
Along the way, they occasionally chatted with Herta, and in the blink of an eye, Castorice, Stelle, and Mem had solved all the puzzles in the area.
After talking with Calypso for a while, the group rode the waterwheel to the upper level.
They passed through a narrow, single-path corridor and arrived before a large door.
Opening the door, fresh air filled their nostrils, lifting everyone's spirits considerably.
The only downside was the slightly chilly wind blowing at the top of the great tree.
Continuing forward, they reached a platform where a small, red-haired girl came into view.
"Wow, Little Grey, Cas, Sister Lumina, Big Sister Herta... and Pink Puppy!"
Hearing footsteps behind her, the red-haired girl turned around, her face beaming with a happy smile as she greeted them.
Clearly, this red-haired girl was Trianne, who had run ahead to clear the path for them!