Inside the quiet study of the Lungmen villa, Patchouli carefully reviewed the four examination papers laid out before her. Every single sheet bore a flawless score of one hundred points, a result that brought a rare, genuine sense of satisfaction to her heart.
This perfect record proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Flandre had completely absorbed and mastered the complex theoretical frameworks within those heavy volumes.
In many ways, the study of Arts was remarkably similar to rigorous physical science. Successfully weaving a basic spell was akin to executing a flawless chemical reaction. Crafting advanced, high-tier Arts, however, was more like an engineer manually assembling a massive, precision-engineered machine—it tolerated zero errors. The higher the tier of the spell, the more absolute this truth became.
If advanced Arts were not understood to their very core, they simply could not be invoked at all. This was precisely where the massive gulf between a ninety-nine and a hundred points revealed itself: scoring ninety-nine proved one's understanding was capped at that level, whereas scoring a hundred represented a level of mastery that far transcended the boundaries of the test itself.
It was a chasm dividing superficial familiarity from absolute, profound comprehension.
"Very good. You passed with flying colors," Patchouli said, setting the papers down. "Go run along and play now."
The moment those words left Patchouli's lips, Flandre threw her arms high into the air with a triumphant cheer. "Yay!"
Without wasting a second, she fished her sleek smartphone out of her pocket and began tapping at the screen.
"Oh? Are you calling Sister Beatrice to boast about your test results?" Patchouli asked, shaking her head with a fond, amused sigh. There was hardly a need to make a formal announcement over a simple study exam.
"Nope! I'm calling Sister Hoshiguma!" Flandre beamed, her crimson eyes dancing as she imagined the feast ahead. "She promised that once my test was over, she'd take me out for something super delicious!"
Patchouli felt a light headache coming on, massaging her temples in silent surrender.
After finishing her quick call, Flandre looked back over at Patchouli. "Sister Patchy, do you want to come along with us tonight?"
Patchouli shook her head gently. "I'll pass. The dimensional boundary array out in the courtyard requires constant maintenance. Remi and the others could initiate the crossover at any moment, and I need to ensure the anchor remains completely stable."
Just as the words left her mouth, a glowing golden talisman materialized out of thin air before them, igniting in a flash of silent, mysterious flame before vanishing into ash.
"Speak of the devil," Patchouli noted, standing up from her seat. "It seems your sister and the others are already preparing to make the passage."
She turned and glided toward the backyard. As she passed through the doorway, she paused to instruct the two waiting maids: "Prepare a fresh set of tea and refreshments in the main living room. We will be receiving honored guests shortly."
The maids bowed respectfully and headed straight into the kitchen.
Patchouli led Flandre out to the spacious open platform in the rear garden, where a massive, intricate Arts formation had long been laid out. Following Patchouli's quiet instructions, Flandre stepped up to take her position at the primary blood-kinship anchor point before the array.
Patchouli unclasped her heavy grimoire, her soft, melodious chanting echoing across the quiet courtyard. Right on cue, the intricate runes of the Arts circle began to hum, shedding a brilliant crimson radiance.
Seconds later, the spatial fabric directly behind Flandre began to warp and ripple unnaturally. Like a sheet of heavy parchment being torn down the middle, a pitch-black, bottomless rift ripped open in midair.
Peering into that void, one could see countless glowing, curious eyes watching from within the dark gap.
"Hiss... even though I've seen it a hundred times, watching a Gap open up like that still gives me the creeps," Hong Meiling muttered, rubbing her arms as her fur stood on end.
From the depths of the shadowy rift, a pair of fair, delicate arms reached out smoothly, wrapping gently around Flandre's shoulders from behind to pull her into a close embrace.
"Sister!" Flandre showed not a single trace of fear, happily reaching up to place her small hands over those familiar arms.
"Flandre, long time no see," Remilia's elegant, refined voice echoed from the shadows.
Moments later, figure after figure stepped out from the tear in space.
There was a green-haired lady shielding herself under a bright sunflower parasol; a pair of sisters connected to floating, independent Third Eyes by long, delicate cords; and the blonde beauty who had been chatting with Remilia earlier, accompanied by her divine friend from the Hells.
Beside them stepped a fiery, hot-blooded hermit from the bamboo forest with silvery-white hair, as well as a tall, imposing figure from the Former Hell bearing massive, curved horns atop her head.
Unlike the smaller spirits from the initial crossing, this legendary group didn't immediately disperse across the continent. Instead, they stood in the garden, curiously surveying the vast sky and ambient Originium flow of this strange new realm.
"Wow... the fundamental atmosphere of this world is ridiculously young!"
The speaker was Hecatia Lapislazuli, her brilliant blue eyes narrowing slightly as she took her first intuitive sweep of the planet's macro-structure.
For a deity of her tier, a single passive thought was enough to scan the general contours of Terra. Under her divine perception, she discovered that this planet didn't even possess an established concept of a formalized Hell. That was precisely why she found the world so remarkably primeval.
She couldn't help but wonder: without a structured underworld, where did mortal souls drift once their earthly lives reached their natural end?
However, she was in no hurry to unravel those deep cosmological mysteries today. Having finally crossed the threshold, the secrets of this realm would inevitably be unveiled in time—a day or two made no difference. Experiencing this unique world called Terra with her own eyes felt far more practical for her future plans.
"Everyone, please come inside," Patchouli called out politely, gesturing toward the villa doors.
As the distinguished guests filed inside, Hong Meiling turned to close the patio doors behind them—only to feel an icy, bone-chilling gaze locking onto the back of her neck.
She looked up, freezing in place as she met Sakuya Izayoi's completely expressionless, piercing eyes.
A cold sweat instantly drenched Meiling's back.
I'm so dead!
Although she didn't know precisely how much of her recent couch-napping the Head Maid had witnessed through her scrying magic (in truth, Sakuya had seen every single second of it), Meiling instinctively understood that her life was forfeit in the very next heartbeat.
"The World!" Sakuya's crisp, terrifying voice echoed.
"No way—!"
That was the last frantic thought to cross Meiling's mind before her vision fell into absolute, instantaneous darkness.
After knocking Meiling flat onto the grass with a practiced combo, Sakuya brushed off her apron with deep satisfaction, closed the patio doors, and glided inside.
A few moments later, Meiling sat cross-legged on the lawn, twisting her neck with a painful wince. "Hiss... ow, ow, ow... that really hurt..."
Shaking off her grogginess, she scrambled back to her feet, put on her crispest posture, and slipped into the house to help the twin maids serve tea to the assembled guests.
Once everyone was comfortably seated around the grand living room, Patchouli looked over at Remilia. "Does everyone who crossed over today have specific itineraries planned?"
"As for me, I'm heading out to Higashi later to find those fellow drunks," Hoshiguma Yuugi declared first, taking a sip of tea. She paused, turning her gaze toward Flandre with an intrigued smile. "Before I head out, though, I'd really love to meet that local warrior who shares my family name—Hoshiguma. Flandre, do you think you could introduce us?"
In truth, Yuugi had known about the dinner plan all along and had brought it up quite deliberately.
She put on a delightfully surprised expression, looking at Flandre. "Would that be alright?"
"It should be totally fine!" Flandre replied brightly. "I'll call Sister Hoshiguma in a minute to check with her first!"
Flandre was well aware of basic etiquette and knew better than to bring unannounced guests along without asking. But if Hoshiguma minded, Flandre reasoned she could simply cover the entire bill herself tonight—after all, Hoshiguma had offered to treat, but that didn't mean Flandre couldn't pay!
As for the others, the blue-haired, three-bodied goddess Hecatia spoke up next, her voice brimming with curiosity. "We'll be staying here at the villa for a few days before traveling around to see the sights. We're very eager to explore the unique landscapes of this planet."
Beside her, Fujiwara no Mokou stroked her chin in deep thought for a long moment before grunting simply, "Honestly? I have no idea yet."