"So, how on earth did you manage to turn this place into such a mess now?" A voice filled with doubt about life spread through the empty Gordcust volcano.

"Well, um..." The little Angel and Chirp next to her looked at each other, hesitated for a long time, and in the end, it was the little Angel who stood up.

About five minutes ago.

"Chirp, something is definitely not right about this place, right? It feels like we are going in the wrong direction!"

In the barren rocky mountains, the little Angel lifted Chirp under her armpits to stop her from moving forward.

Chirp struggled a bit, but in front of the little Angel, there was no way she could win, so she gave up.

"But, but it's really right in front of us! Really!"

"Although I am not very familiar with human habits, there can't possibly be a hot spring in a place like this, right?"

The little Angel spun Chirp around to let her see the surroundings clearly.

At some point, they had completely deviated from the trail in the high mountain coniferous forest. Initially, there were narrow paths trampled between the tall mountain pine trees, but later, there was only snow and loose gravel.

The only hopeful sign was probably that the snow around them had significantly reduced, and the temperature had actually increased as they climbed higher.

"Well, since we're already here..."

Persuaded by Chirp, the little Angel's heart softened, and she eventually led Chirp to the location where she claimed the hot spring was.

But... wasn't this just an empty space?

Although the terrain was somewhat sunken, there wasn't a drop of water in sight!

"Chirp, is this..."

"Right here, underneath! I'm sure of it!"

Chirp's tone was decisive as she jumped a bit on a deep gray rock. "If we dig down a little here, a hot spring will definitely come out!"

Digging underground? This must be a mistake.

The little Angel sighed. A hot spring underground? Though a bit troublesome, it was better than wandering around with no results.

"So, Chirp, step back a bit."

With her right hand forming a blade of light, the little Angel stabbed it into the ground after a brief pause. The purity of the Holy Light of the Angel was theoretically even higher than the Pope, the only representative of the Goddess of Light in the human world. The high temperature and penetrating nature of the light blade easily pierced through the hard rock layers.

However...

"It seems like nothing changed?"

The little Angel turned to look at Chirp, full of doubt.

"Huh? Did I calculate wrong?"

Chirp ran to the narrow hole left by the light blade's piercing, sniffed a couple of times, and her ears pricked up. "The scent of sulfur is stronger now, and there is an increase in water vapor. The node of earth energy is also here... there must be underground water heated by magma below. Fiona, can you dig deeper?"

"Deeper?" For the little Angel, this was not a problem at all. Given the hardness of the volcanic rock here, piercing several tens of meters with Holy Light was a piece of cake, it was just a matter of willingness. And for Chirp, she had no reason to refuse – after all, who wouldn't like to play with a cute elf girl? Besides, even if they didn't find the hot spring in the end, it was like having fun with a child, nothing to lose.

"Well, this could be a chance for me to have Aya invite me to another big meal..."

While regathering the Holy Light to pierce again, the little Angel started to daydream. The tropical fruits in Gordcust were known to be of excellent quality, so she could consider having a fresh fruit shaved ice for dessert.

With this and that thought, in a moment of distraction, the concentration of the Holy Light in the little Angel's hands increased just a tiny bit.

Suddenly, the quiet mountain beneath her feet trembled.

"A tiny bit?" Aya and Tiran both looked at the little Angel with suspicion.

"Um, maybe a bit more than just a tiny bit? Hehe." Little Fiona gestured with her right thumb and forefinger, then tapped her temple with her left hand, sticking out her tongue playfully to get past their scrutiny.

Turning back to look at the scene below, Aya and Tiran both covered their faces, thinking, "This can't be just a bit of force – the little Angel must have used a lot more!"

Originally, this place should have been a slightly indented depression on a gentle slope, with volcanic rocks at the bottom. But when Aya and Tiran arrived following the little Angel's cry, the entire depression had cracked beyond recognition – looking as if it had been parched and deprived of water under the scorching sun during a dry season.

Between the cracks of the collapsing rocks, a perilous red glow brewed with a dangerous aura.

The sense of danger was not only felt by the few people at the scene. In the same moment, almost all the residents of Gordcust felt the ground beneath their feet tremble.

"How did you manage to wake up a long-dormant volcano with just a beam of Holy Light?"

Aya was utterly puzzled, and the princess, considering the potential consequences, began to grow nervous.

The Gordcust area was the kingdom's most famous tourist destination, attracting countless visitors from home and abroad each year. The income generated from agricultural activities also contributed significantly to the treasury, making it a crucial part of Milanía's revenue.

If this massive volcano were to erupt, even if Aya and herself could protect the nearby residents and ensure their safety, the massive ash eruption would be unstoppable – blocking out sunlight would undoubtedly devastate Gordcust's agriculture, and the tourism industry would suffer as well.

Seeing Tiran, usually like a great demon, showing a look of imminent peril, the little Angel realized the severity of the trouble she had created. It had to be said that she was indeed an Angel, still feeling guilty about being teased and bullied by Tiran in various ways.

"I'm sorry, Chirp was wrong. It was Chirp who brought Fiona here to look for the hot spring..."

As another culprit, Chirp also straightforwardly admitted her mistake in front of Tiran, looking like she was about to cry in distress.

Aya and Tiran exchanged glances and each reached out to rub one of Chirp's ears, smiling brightly.

"It's okay~ Leave it to Daddy (Mommy)!"

These two would definitely be the kind of parents who would spoil their children.

"Well, handling these kinds of situations properly is indeed quite difficult, isn't it?"

The little Angel spoke uneasily. By this time, some rocks on the ground had been thrown up, and molten lava was spurting out, accompanied by a strong, pungent smell, indicating that the pressure had reached its limit.

Both Holy Ranks, Aya and Tiran, the little Angel could clearly feel the limitations faced when dealing with a volcano. Ensuring their own safety and protecting a portion of the people was no issue, but avoiding losses seemed to be...

"Why not just make it go back to sleep?"

The two unreliable parents unexpectedly uttered the same words.