"Yu Nai... no, Valkyrie, the person you've been searching for has been found. Isn't it time for us to fulfill our promise?"

Under a black cloak, a man sat on the throne at the end of the great hall, seemingly provoking Yu Nai at first glance. However, Yu Nai showed no sign of anger towards him, but instead, with the sword and shield stripped away, approached the man with a sneer on his lips.

"You still haven't gotten rid of your bad habit of asking for a beating, huh!"

...

I brushed past a peculiarly dressed black-haired man in the crowd, wondering if we've met before.

"Has that man been following me since yesterday?" I muttered to myself.

However, compared to the man from yesterday, the one in front of me now seemed fragile. Perhaps it was because of the unique design of his blue outfit, must be some kind of "cutting-edge fashion" or something. The person next to him was also wearing the same series, probably clothes from the same brand. They were probably tourists from the inner city outskirts like us.

"I really don't understand the so-called fashion trends of outsiders," I shrugged involuntarily.

"What don't you understand?"

A familiar voice came from behind, and I turned to see Teacher Frande.

After exchanging greetings, I gestured towards the direction where those two people had left.

"I meant those two people's outfits, it's just... too much."

"Huh? Where did they go... probably went into a shop?"

"Two people?"

"Oh, never mind, I just don't get that kind of retarded fashion."

And those guys from yesterday, I added silently in my mind, realizing that I truly couldn't comprehend it.

"Forget about the teacher, but it seems like your sister... um, have you become interested in recent fashion trends?"

"If she wanted to wear those clothes, I wouldn't care."

I definitely wouldn't allow it, but I didn't say it out loud, as he realized he was being teased by me again. That's the style of a superior, as I allowed a wry smile to show on my face.

"But, teacher, it's rare to see you at the shopping center in between work. What are you buying?"

"Oh, spare me, Chiyori and the others asked me to buy some late-night snacks since both you and your sister are not here, it's naturally up to me."

Frande raised his hands in surrender at his words.

"Haha, just kidding. It's actually a preliminary check because I'm in charge of this area during the festival, and there are still many storefronts nearby that need replacing."

"Although being dedicated to work is a good thing, isn't it a pity to patrol like this from tonight?"

"Haha, I already took the night off! Unlike you, who doesn't know how to enjoy. Think about it, at least I..."

"By the way, why are you here?" I asked with a deliberately teasing tone, pointing out the numerous pairs of men and women on the streets to provoke him, as expected.

Actually, even if I didn't ask her, I knew why the superior came here, because I had been dealing with him for far too long.

"Oh, well, same as you."

"On a day with nothing to do."

"As people grow older, they become forgetful. Unlike young people like you and me, who forget everything by the next day."

"Enough already, teacher, you're just deliberately changing the subject. Obviously no girl would want to go shopping with an old man like you, right?"

We looked at each other and chuckled.

"Let's hope this year will be peaceful too."

After nine o'clock in the evening, the night sky over the castle would light up with a dozen or so soaring columns of fire, and those seeking to make their wishes come true would also gather there.

The day after the festival was Yukari's birthday, a time to have a good chat with her. Just thinking about it made me nervous.

"Oh my, we can't be so leisurely anymore... It's time for a midnight snack tonight, let's go!"

Yukari straightened up and took my right hand, leading the way forward into the night life.

"Yes, Yukari!"

The night temperature felt very comfortable as we briskly moved through the cheerful shopping crowd.

Every call that came around this time in the evening always brought some bad news, without exception.

At most, it's rash to conclude there are no exceptions at the age of only eighteen. Saying so might be a bit hasty.

But at least, that was the case today, as I watched Yukari's back in front of me.

"Humph, Chiyori and Shinobi are taking too long to complete the mission, why haven't they returned yet?"

Yukari was getting impatient, complaining to me through gritted teeth.

"It's alright, let's just go for a stroll. It's a nice place where you can even see the sea, albeit virtually... Overall, it's perfect!"

...

"Oh, that's too bad!"

As expected, Edward crawled out of the rubble on the battlefield. He should never have trusted that guy's sweet talk in the first place. Little did he know how formidable Lior was, not giving him any room to breathe during the fight.

Initially, this was supposed to be a fair fight, and Edward shouldn't have made a mistake according to his plan. But reality wasn't going smoothly as he had hoped. He had lost the ability to fight, while Lior continued to revel in it.

"Hehe, what's wrong?" Lior, with white hair, hovered in the air, looking down on Edward provocatively, "You're not done yet, are you?"

"Cough... you're not done either."

From these words, one could hear his intentions on how to deal with the distance between his belief and expectations.

But this time, he was going to be greatly disappointed. Yes, Edward's performance didn't seem to satisfy him.

"Hey, we've been fighting for two days, shouldn't you be content now?"

Edward brushed off the dirt on him and adjusted his tie.

"I have to go back, the Elina organization can't do without me!"

"...you've changed!"

"Wrong, I never planned to just fight, I never do risky business."

...

Although it was already 12:37 in the evening, the nightlife of the city residents was just beginning. After the festival, men and women holding hands happily went to browse gift shops or clothing squares.

"Uh... Yukari, are we being too conspicuous?"

"Hmm, really?"

Contrary to this common perception, Yukari wasn't particularly interested in that.

If I really have to face Yukari like this for ten consecutive days, what should I say? Just thinking about it is already irritating enough. So when I heard that we would be leaving a bit later due to work reasons, honestly, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Chiyori and the others, they are really something. They said they would meet in the park, but it's already an hour late and they still haven't arrived!"

Although Chiyori said they would come a bit later to meet here, I didn't believe it. According to Yukari, they never miss appointments, unless it's an emergency task or an important event related to the Evil Entity that they have to inspect.

It's always like this, even for very small arrangements, they won't use work as an excuse to break them.

"It's okay, Yukari doesn't need to worry. Maybe they just got a little caught up with monsters for a while. Shall we...wait a bit more?"

My voice suddenly became cheerful again, as if I was encouraging myself, but in fact, I was also encouraging her.

Don't push yourself anymore, Yukari. I really want to say this to her. This time, she doesn't blame them for breaking the appointment, but instead is anxious.

Is it because getting rid of the Evil Entity is important work, so they take it seriously and end up being late? Yukari thought to herself.

For me, all of this doesn't matter, whether it's Yukari's concern...or me. I can't be sure if she is unaware of this, or just pretending not to know.

Either way, it doesn't make sense, it's all my fault.

...

Edward finally returned to the office, and coincidentally, the energy station providing power to the fortress called.

"Hello, what's up? If there's nothing, I might just..." Exhausted, he answered the phone with a hint of drowsiness.

"Sir, the energy station is under attack, we are currently engaging the enemy in combat, please send reinforcements quickly!"

"Reinforcements?"

Edward was puzzled. Didn't they send a group of competent individuals in the direction of the energy station? And now they seem to be... in trouble!

"Well, I'll go there personally to investigate... Yes, that's it, hold on a little longer, you guys!"

Three days and hours ago... a major incident occurred at the Hobis energy station on the eastern side of the Western Alliance. The scene was extremely chaotic, leading to the entire facility being temporarily sealed off, even the road to the castle was cut off.

It was just announced that the recovery operation had ended and they could resume operations from tomorrow.

"Don't worry, the guard team should be able to handle it. It means that place is still very safe, without an Evil Entity of a torrential level."

Although he kept comforting himself, beads of sweat still trickled down his forehead to his neck.

...

Would Dad worry too, Yukari thought to herself. Of course, she wouldn't say it out loud, even if she did, it would only make everyone worry unnecessarily. But even though she understood this, emotions are difficult to restrain.

"Dad isn't home at this time? I knew it..."

As soon as she hung up the phone, Yukari spoke with a hint of concern. Usually at this time, he would be at home checking the latest operational data, but today, they couldn't get through to the studio's phone no matter what.

"Hasn't there been an accident at the energy station before? Elena is working on resolving the issue internally, maybe soon... will have taken over right away!"