“Huh!? Then Ailuna is…”

Yue Liuyi glanced at the pink‑haired girl, soft as a petal, as if time had barely brushed her cheek.

Seven hundred years isn’t short, yet a World Tree Maiden sleeps through most of it, her waking days thin as morning mist.

“Yes. Ailuna likely came into being after the Rainbow Sanctuary.”

“T-then… before me, were there many Ailunas?”

“Most likely… But don’t worry. They were World Tree Maidens, same as you, like branches from the same sacred trunk.”

“Mmm… (*^▽^*).”

The pink‑haired girl nodded, then bloomed with a smile, warm as spring sunlight, tender as a first blossom.

“Hm? Ailuna, did something happy flutter into your mind?”

“Mm… I don’t know why, but when I think there were many ‘Ailunas’ before me, my chest warms like a hearth. I don’t feel alone—more like I’m sheltered by everyone.”

“Oh…”

The pink‑haired girl stepped to the little sprite, bent low like a willow: “Little Sprite, I’m no longer the Ailuna from back then. But I’ll try my best.”

“Eh…?”

The little sprite’s wings quivered like dewdrop leaves. Her crystal eyes studied Ailuna, bright as stars in a pond.

“B-but… you feel as gentle as the previous Lady Ailuna. Yes, the same softness, like familiar rain.”

“The same? Not really… Compared to my seniors, I’m probably not there yet.”

“That won’t do. Lady Ailuna is Lady Ailuna. I’ll serve you forever.”

The sprite nodded and settled on Ailuna’s shoulder, hugging a lock of her hair like a silken vine.

“Being entrusted like this… I’m a little embarrassed. But you’re amazing too, Little Sprite—guarding this fortress for a thousand years. That’s grand as a mountain.”

The pink‑haired girl lifted a finger and stroked the sprite’s glossy hair, light as a breeze on reeds.

“Th-thank you for the praise, Lady Ailuna…”

The sprite blushed rosy as a peach. “Th-then… Lady Ailuna, what brings you in person to the Forest Fortress this time?”

“Mm…” The pink‑haired girl glanced at Yue Liuyi, then spoke soft as moss. “I want to help my friends… to search for a treasure inside the Rainbow Sanctuary. Little Sprite, can you assist?”

“Of course. This fortress was founded by Lady Ailuna in the first place.”

“Eh?”

“So, Lady Ailuna, I’ll restore all permissions to you. As head maid of the Forest Fortress, Xiaofen welcomes your return.”

“Permissions? What’s that?”

“Ah… right, Lady Ailuna no longer has the old memories. Permissions mean the control of the Forest Fortress—command authority for troops, allocation of resources, room activation rights… a whole grove of systems, all returning to you.”

“I don’t quite get it, but it sounds awesome, like thunder in a clear sky…”

Ailuna blinked and tossed Yue Liuyi a pleading look, like a paper boat seeking a current.

“Uh…”

But Yue Liuyi only knew the basics of the Rainbow Sanctuary—rich as an orchard, dangerous as a cliff—nothing deeper than that.

“At crucial moments, elder sister will explain.”

Basking in their upturned eyes, the silver‑haired girl smiled with the poise of moonlight. “Xiao Yue, Ailuna, everyone, listen up. The Rainbow Sanctuary isn’t just an isolated trove. It’s a game where you stake your life, and courage and wisdom decide the score.”

“A… game!?”

The girls froze, wide‑eyed as startled deer.

Except Maria. The golden‑haired girl clearly knew the Sanctuary’s flow, and explained like a clear stream:

“In the Rainbow Sanctuary, adventurers split into twelve factions, each with its own fortress. A fortress is your base, with defensive turrets and tricks, plus magical combat units. You must deploy units and keep expanding your territory like spreading roots.”

“Put that way, it does feel like a game.”

Yue Liuyi thought it over. The rules echoed the games he once played on Dreamwood Star, like old songs returning on the wind.

“Exactly.”

Maria pushed her glasses up, knowledge shining like polished glass. “You’ll face monsters like neutral mobs. They sit on rare resource points. Defeat them and harvest wealth. Wealth lets you recruit higher‑tier units. And when the Sanctuary closes, what you’ve saved becomes yours to keep.”

“Oh…”

“Right, Xiao Yue, each color of fortress has its own tech tree and troop roster, with strengths and weak points, like different seasons. Adventurers can cooperate like flocking birds, or compete like rival streams. Among them, the Forest Fortress, White Fortress, and Black Fortress are the three most crucial. They sit where resources pool like lakes.”

“I see!”

Yue Liuyi nodded, understanding ripening like fruit.

“So that big pumpkin Zaocun found earlier—was that for fighting monsters?”

“Yes. Xiao Yue’s sharp as a needle.”

While Yue Liuyi wasn’t looking, Dixue ruffled her hair again, soft as down. “Those Deadwood Wardens are the Forest Fortress’s basic units. With enough resources gathered like stacked stones, you can recruit elemental sprites, pegasi, unicorns— even dragons.”

“Wah!”

Unicorns and dragons—Yue Liuyi had never seen either, creatures rare as moonflowers.

She overlooked the pure‑blood dragon she had seen… the orange‑haired girl behind her, in a maid outfit, currently stunned like a statue.

“This silver‑haired miss is right,” the little sprite chimed, voice tinkling like bells. “But for ordinary adventurers, higher units require steady tribute to the fortress. Lady Ailuna and her friends won’t need that. I’ll unlock dragon recruitment rights for you directly. Form the contract, and you can recruit.”

“Eh? Isn’t that basically… cheating?”

“For a World Tree Maiden to cheat… that’s heaven and earth doing what they do.”

“Mm… hard to argue with fate.”

“No time to waste. Let’s go in.”

Guided by the sprite, the girls stepped into the Forest Fortress like entering a living grove.

…

…

Vines coiled over the main gate slowly lifted, opening a winding path like a green whisper into shade.

Little yellow birds flitted and chattered, bobbing their heads at the girls like lanterns nodding in wind.

They stood on a leaf‑woven elevator. The vines rose, carrying them up to the mid‑level of the Forest Fortress like a tide lifting boats.

“This is the council hall. You can set your plans here.”

The sprite led them into a hall lush with green. The dome was woven from branches, and from it hung fruit like stars—apples, peaches, lychees, grapes, pears, pomegranates—gleaming, multicolored, mouthwatering as fresh rain.

The tables were rows of square watermelons, neat as tiles. With a straw, you could sip sweet juice straight from the rind, summer in a cup.

Yue Liuyi also noted a round pool at the center, about two meters across. The clear water lay like a mirror, calm as a held breath.

“Please wait here, Lady Ailuna and friends. I’ll fetch your room keys from the counter.”

“R-room keys?”

“Mhm.” The sprite nodded, bright as sunshine. “We have Standard, Deluxe, Lily, Presidential… Normally you unlock them by spending Rainbow Sanctuary resources. But since Lady Ailuna is here, please choose freely.”

“I’ll take a Presidential Suite!”

Ji Wan darted forward like a magpie after silver, picking the shiniest words on the board.

“Do you have a little‑fish room? Zaocun wants to eat small fish.”

“A standard for me and Zhi is fine.”

“Deluxe. Lingwei, want to room with me?”

“Breeze, anything’s fine…”

“Lily Suite! >< Give me and Xiao Yue a Lily Suite!”

And so, under the guidance of the front‑desk attendant and tour guide Xiaofen, the girls checked into the Forest Inn as smoothly as a swan gliding across a lake.

(Wait a sec… something feels off here…)