"Your Highness, we have not yet located the identity of the giant god, but..."

"If we can't find it, then let's not bother looking anymore, we won't find it anyway. The most important thing now is to find the children of the two realms who can access the alien world before Edward."

Yukari slowly narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows tightly.

It's been so long, and she has always been at odds with Edward. Although they appear to be a father and daughter on the surface, they are actually enemies from different worlds!

Upon Yukari's suggestion, Flandre cautiously observed the surroundings and then snapped her fingers. Shockwaves began to spread in all directions, causing the surveillance cameras in the corridor to lose signal instantly.

"Everything is in place. We can begin our discussion."

"Very well!"

Without hesitation, Yukari began to dissolve the divine imprint within her body with her mind and spread them to every corner of the campus to search for the hidden children of the gods.

"Your Highness, we have found another group of divine children, but none of them seem to be at the level of a Divine Lord from their ripples."

"Is that so?"

Yukari sighed as she looked at the almost numb figures.

"If people deny someone's existence, no matter how hard you look, you'll never find them!"

"I guess I was right, that guy probably already knows we are watching him, and he likely has countermeasures in place."

"Well... maybe."

Helplessly, Yukari had to agree with his point of view and dismissed him.

"I just want some time alone now. Let's discuss the children of the two realms later."

This outcome was not disappointing for her; rather, it relieved Yukari. Why? Because even Flandre's earth eye couldn't perceive or observe things beyond, only Satan's heavenly eye could!

Satan's dark power had reached its peak, even surpassing the contemporary Shadow King...

"The power of the children of the two realms is that of a complete Divine Lord. Once the limits are surpassed, nothing is impossible..."

Yukari's tone suddenly became extremely solemn, discussing what extent this could reach.

"Even recreating a new world is possible, but the cost would be hatred that lasts forever~!"

...

"Achoo!"

My nose, which had been uncomfortable all along, finally felt a bit relieved. Then, I looked at the dust scattered by a sneeze on the ground and shook my head.

"... Looks like I have to clean again."

I've worked hard, or maybe I've tried too hard, but there's been no reward. Is that talking about me being a fool?

Am I at a loss for what to do next?

I checked my schedule, which said there were many things to do this afternoon, the next one being... right, Yukari wants to discuss a collaboration with me.

...

"How can Your Highness be so sure that the children of the two realms have not been subdued by Satan?"

"Don't worry, Flandre... We have already lost before this war began."

"What?!"

Flandre's muscles began to tremble all over. The renowned Night Queen conceding defeat was almost an impossible scenario. Or had the enemy's influence already spread across the entire situation?

Frande, who rashly jumped to conclusions about her own actions, found Yukari's remarks somewhat perplexing, especially since she herself was searching for the elusive child of the two realms that was difficult to detect.

"Frande, sometimes reality can be brutal like this, but rest assured, someone will take care of the child of the two realms for us. After all, the father of the child of the two realms isn't me!"

"But..."

"Frande!" Yukari, clearly irritated by his lack of tact, cut him off. "There are some things you shouldn't know, and it's better for you to stop asking."

"...Yes, Your Highness."

Frande, with a slightly anxious expression, reluctantly accepted the answer and quickly composed himself, ultimately having to swallow his pride.

Yukari was becoming increasingly frustrated with this thoughtless fellow, as his presence was hindering her flawless plan.

"I must warn you not to meddle with your worthless blood in this matter; you'll only make matters worse for me."

"Yes, I will take my leave, Your Majesty."

Her biggest concern was the Black Dragon Emperor, and with the whereabouts of the child of the two realms unknown, along with the missing Gigas, she was feeling overwhelmed by the triple pressure.

Then there were the truly terrifying entities that closely resembled human souls, embodying Evil Entity forms that only the deceased would have—an art that could empower humans to transcend limits and destroy everything before them!

"If only it were just Satan, we would have a guaranteed victory..."

Yukari muttered to herself as she polished the long sword in her hand.

"It's a shame, though, that I can't act against the Black Dragon Emperor unless he makes a move against me!"

"Your Majesty, perhaps I can help you gather some useful information."

"Well, if it's you, I can grant you a level of trust second only to that person."

Yukari sat back with a slight smile on her lips.

(6:00 PM)

"Boss, a glass of lemon juice with ice, please!"

As usual, I ordered juice. I couldn't stand the bitter taste of coffee, but cocktails were somewhat more tolerable.

"Oh, you're surprisingly punctual!"

Just a few minutes later, Yukari appeared at the entrance, and at the same time, the curfew bell rang from the city center.

"The curfew is approaching, the school gate will be closing soon..."

(At the guard post near the school gate)

"Well, today's mission is completed. Shouldn't the second team come to relieve us here?"

Over a thousand soldiers rotated shifts on the south wall of Elena, as the fortress was too vast for just two large teams to cover, with each team taking turns throughout the day.

"Alright, in another minute, the second team will replace us here. Prepare your weapons... Wait, why is there a child here?"

Three soldiers standing guard at the base of the city wall looked puzzled at the little girl in a black dress, whose shoulder-length bangs partially hid her slightly pale face, gradually appearing before them.

Crackle!! A lightning bolt struck from the sky, giving the impression that the weather was not bad today, even though the sky had been overcast all afternoon without a single drop of rain.

"You've waited long, even though it's not yet our agreed time... I didn't realize you had so much free time."

"Hehe, it's all right, I didn't expect you to be such a stingy timekeeper."

I pointed to the clock on the wall, where the hour and minute hands were aligned in a straight line, indicating that it was getting late. Although Yukari always managed time accurately as the student council president, nothing had changed in that regard.

As per our agreement, we were planning to apply for the partnership contract, and it wasn't very difficult since Yukari was the student council president.

Yukari had been sipping her soda since a while back, her eyes fixed on me making me feel uneasy.

"The atmosphere feels a bit awkward, doesn't it...hehe."

It was starting to feel like we were at a blind date event.

I was already on pins and needles, especially concerned about whether she would intentionally embarrass me due to some personal issue.

"Mmm, I know what you want to say. Are you thinking that I am deliberately picking on you and seeking revenge?" (Yukari once mentioned feeling disappointed if she couldn't defeat her opponent with a single blow.)

"Revenge?"

I couldn't understand why a violent demon mother and I had anything to discuss. I had annoyed the most prestigious queen of our school on my first morning here and should have been prepared for the consequences.

"So... I mean, what are you planning to do with me?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're so clueless..."

Saying that, Yukari neatly placed a stack of contract papers from her pocket next to my drink.

"Just sign your name here, and we can move into the new apartment for our training camp tomorrow."

"Is it really that simple... uhh, just like that?"

"Yeah, or did you want to perform some strange ritual instead?!"

Yukari mocked with her arms crossed, leaving me feeling more awkward than expected.

But considering her serious expression just prior, I could tell she wasn't joking. However, the person I was signing the contract with was no longer the Yukari I used to know, but a complete stranger!

The terms made it clear to me that I needed to pay attention...

"Before I sign, may I please review the contents and privacy terms of the contract?"

"Of course, feel free."

"Okay."

With her agreement, I relaxed and carefully examined the various clauses, with the strictest one being not to interfere with each other's privacy and to get along well.

That was the general gist of the contract, and just to be safe, I even flipped the paper to check for any additional unfair rules.

"Hey, not to be critical, but do you really think I'm such a cunning and ruthless person?"

She protested against my overly careful scrutiny, but I had nearly finished reading, so I simply apologized for my cautiousness.

"I'm truly sorry; recent events have made me have to be this careful."

As fellow Phantom Candidates, we were both chosen by the gods... It was all Edward's extremely cheesy talk, and I wouldn't let him manipulate me, hence my new suspicions.

"Edward sent you here to do this, right?"

"Edward sent me to do this, what do you mean?"

"I mean, he can't easily manipulate me; even using you is futile!"

The curfew time had already passed, not just on the streets but soon even within the school campus, we were about to reach the end of our time together.

"Good night, curfew is almost here. Although the curfew at our school is later than other places, it's only about half an hour later."

"Yes," I agreed with her, "my dinner is still waiting for me in the dormitory..."